JPH07246716A - Carriage - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce width and at the same time, keep a cartridge-opening state. CONSTITUTION:The rotating shaft 32 of a lever 30 is provided on the upper edge part of a case 12 on which a monochromatic cartridge 20' and a cartridge 20 are, mounted side by side and an activation part 34 which presses the upper surface of the cartridge is provided on the axial extension of a needle 14. In addition, a rack is formed on the outer wall surface of the cartridge, and further, a pinion lever 40 is provided which has a pinion to be engaged with the rack and pushes up the cartridge by the engagement between the rack and the pinion interlocked with the lever 30.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a carriage in which an ink cartridge (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a cartridge) is mounted in an ink jet printer. In particular,
The present invention relates to a carriage that can be reduced in width and can obtain a good opened state of an ink cartridge.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a conventional carriage, for example, those shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are known.

In these figures, 1 is a carriage, 2
Is an ink cartridge.

The carriage 1 has an ink jet head 1a at the bottom thereof and is adapted to eject ink from the head 1a while reciprocating while being guided by a guide shaft 3 to perform printing on a sheet (not shown). .

The ink cartridge 2 is removably mounted on a mounting portion 4 provided on the carriage 1 by operating a lever 5. A needle 4a having an ink flow path communicating with the head 1a is provided at the bottom of the mounting portion 4.

The lever 5 has a knob portion 5a and side plates 5b and 5b integrated with the knob portion 5a.
It is rotatably attached to both sides of the mounting portion 4 by shafts 5c and 5c provided on b and 5b. A cam groove 5d is formed in each of the side plates 5b and 5b, and the cam groove 5d is adapted to engage with the pins 2a provided on both side surfaces of the ink cartridge. Also, the side plates 5b,
An introduction groove 5e for guiding the pin 2a to the cam groove 5d is formed on the inner surface of 5b.

According to the carriage as described above, when the cartridge 2 is inserted into the mounting portion 4 with the lever 5 opened, as shown by the phantom line in FIG.
a is guided to the introduction groove 5e and guided to the start end portion of the cam groove 5d. After that, as shown by the solid line, when the lever 5 is closed,
The pin 2a is pushed down by the action of the cam groove 5d, and the cartridge 2 is mounted in the mounting portion 4. Cartridge 2
In the process of being pushed down, the cartridge seal 2c is broken by the needle 4a provided at the bottom of the mounting portion 4, and the ink in the cartridge is supplied to the head 1a through the ink flow path of the needle 4a.

When removing the cartridge, as shown by the phantom line, when the lever 5 is opened, the cartridge 2 is lifted by the action of the cam groove 5d, so that the cartridge can be easily removed.

[0009]

In the above-mentioned conventional carriage, the side plates 5b, 5b of the lever 5 are the cartridges 2.
Since the structure is rotatably supported on both sides, it is difficult to reduce the width (length in the reciprocating direction) of the carriage 1.

The cartridge pin 2a and the cam groove 5
Since the cartridge is pushed into the mounting portion 4 by the engagement with d, the cartridge seal 2c is pushed down in a skewed state with respect to the needle 4a as shown by the phantom line in FIG. Therefore, the seal 2c is not broken in a beautiful state by the needle 4a, but is broken into, for example, an elliptical shape, and there is a problem that air easily enters the ink flow path through the gap between the needle 4a and the needle 4a. There is a problem that printing defects occur when air enters the ink flow path.

The present invention solves the above problems, and a first object thereof is to provide a carriage whose width can be reduced.

A second object is to provide a carriage which can obtain a good opened state of the ink cartridge.

[0013]

In order to achieve the first object, the carriage according to claim 1 is detachably mounted with a head for ejecting ink and an ink cartridge for supplying the ink to the head. A reciprocating carriage comprising a mounting portion and a lever having a knob portion for mounting the ink cartridge on the mounting portion, wherein a rotation axis of the lever has an axis line that reciprocates the carriage. It is characterized in that it is provided on the upper end portion of the mounting portion so as to be parallel to the direction, and an action portion for pressing the upper surface of the ink cartridge is provided between the knob portion of the lever and the rotating shaft. .

In order to achieve the second object, claim 2
The carriage according to claim 1 is the carriage according to claim 1, wherein a needle having an ink flow path communicating with the head is provided at the bottom of the mounting portion, and the bottom of the ink cartridge is ruptured by the needle at the time of mounting. A seal is provided, and the action part of the lever is located substantially on the axial extension of the needle when viewed from the axial direction of the rotating shaft when the upper surface of the ink cartridge is pressed. Is characterized by.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first or second aspect, a rack is formed on an outer wall surface of the ink cartridge, and a pinion that meshes with the rack is formed, and at least the opening operation of the lever is performed. A pinion lever that pushes up the ink cartridge by interlocking with the rack and the pinion is provided in conjunction with each other.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a carriage according to the first aspect.
In the carriage described in item 2 or 3, a monochrome printing head and a color printing head are provided as the heads side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage, and the mounting portion is configured to respectively supply ink to these heads. It is characterized in that the cartridge and the color cartridge are mounted side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage.

[0017]

According to the carriage of the first aspect, the ink cartridge can be mounted in the mounting portion by operating the lever while holding the knob portion, and the ink is supplied from the mounted ink cartridge to the head. Ink is ejected from the head while reciprocating to print.

The rotation axis of the lever is provided at the upper end portion of the mounting portion such that its axis is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the carriage, and the action portion for pressing the upper surface of the ink cartridge is the lever. Since it is provided between the knob portion and the rotary shaft, there is no part of the lever on the side portion of the ink cartridge.

Therefore, the width of the carriage (the length in the reciprocating direction) can be reduced accordingly.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first aspect, a needle having an ink flow path communicating with the head is provided at a bottom portion of the mounting portion, and a bottom portion of the ink cartridge is provided. Since the seal that is broken by the needle at the time of mounting is provided, the ink cartridge is automatically opened by mounting the ink cartridge in the mounting portion, and the ink is supplied to the head through the ink flow path of the needle.

When the upper surface of the ink cartridge is pressed, the action portion of the lever is located substantially on the extension of the axis of the needle when viewed from the axial direction of the rotating shaft, so that the ink cartridge is positioned relative to the needle. It will be pressed almost straight.

Therefore, the seal of the ink cartridge is neatly broken by the needle, and it becomes difficult for air to enter the ink flow path through the gap between the needle and the needle.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first or second aspect, a rack is formed on an outer wall surface of the ink cartridge, and a pinion that meshes with the rack is provided, and at least the lever. Since a pinion lever that pushes up the ink cartridge by the meshing of the rack and the pinion is provided in conjunction with the opening operation of (1), when the lever is opened, the ink cartridge is pushed up from the mounting portion.

Therefore, the ink cartridge can be easily taken out from the mounting portion.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the carriage according to the first, second or third aspect, the head for monochrome printing and the head for color printing are provided side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage. Further, since the monochrome cartridge and the color cartridge for respectively supplying the inks to these heads are mounted in the mounting portion side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage, monochrome printing and color printing can be performed at the same time.

In such a carriage, if the ink cartridge is mounted by using the lever 5 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, four side plates 5b are arranged in the width direction of the carriage. Will be done,
It becomes more difficult to reduce the width of the carriage.

Therefore, the above-described structure according to claim 1, 2 or 3, mainly the structure according to claim 1, is particularly applicable to a structure in which a monochrome cartridge and a color cartridge are mounted side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage. It is valid.

[0028]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the carriage according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG. In the drawings, reference numerals with "'" indicate parts or portions for monochrome, and reference numerals without "'" indicate parts or portions for color, but both parts or portions have the same basic structure. Therefore, unless otherwise specified, a color type will be described as a representative (for example, 20 is a color cartridge and 20 'is a monochrome cartridge, but both cartridges have the same basic structure. The color cartridge 20 will be described below as a representative.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, 10 is a carriage,
Reference numeral 20 is an ink cartridge, and 30 is a lever.

The carriage 10 has a base 11 and a case 12 fixed on the base 11, and the case 12 constitutes a mounting portion of the ink cartridge 20.

The base 11 has an inkjet head 1
3 and a needle 14 having an ink flow path 14a communicating with the head 13 are provided.

The carriage 10 carries the cartridge 20 and is guided by the guide shaft 15 to reciprocate while ejecting ink from the head 13 to print on the paper P.

The cartridge 20 is box-shaped, and has a seal 21 at the bottom thereof, which is broken by the needle 14 when mounted. A rack 22 is formed on an upper portion of one side wall surface of the cartridge 20.

FIG. 3 shows the lever 30 and the pinion lever 4.
It is an exploded perspective view which shows 0 and the attachment member 50 of these levers.

The lever 30 has a knob portion 31 and a shaft 32, and the shaft 32 is rotatably supported in the bearing hole 51 of the mounting member 50.

The pinion lever 40 has a pinion 41 that meshes with the rack 22 of the cartridge, and an abutment portion 42 that abuts the lever 30, and a pin 44 is inserted through a shaft hole 43 formed in the center of the pinion 41. , Mounting member 50
Is rotatably attached to. The shaft 44 is fitted and fixed in the hole 52 of the mounting member 50. A spring 45 is attached to the shaft 44. One end of the spring 45 engages with the pinion lever 40 and the other end engages with the mounting member 50, so that the pinion lever 40 is constantly urged in the direction of arrow a. is doing. The abutting portion 42 is formed in a pin shape, and the pinion lever 40 has a spring 4 as described later.
When it rotates in the direction of the arrow b against the biasing force of 5, it comes into contact with the guide groove 33 formed in the lever 30.

The lever 30, the pinion lever 40, and the mounting member 50 as described above are mounted on the upper part of the case 12, as shown in FIGS. In this mounted state, the shaft 32 of the lever 30 is located at the upper end portion of the case 12, and its axis is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the carriage 10.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the lower surface of the lever 30 is provided with an operating portion 34 for pressing the upper surface 23 of the cartridge 20 between the knob portion 31 and the shaft 32. When the upper surface of the cartridge 20 is pressed, the action portion 34 is located in the axial direction of the shaft 32, that is, substantially on the axial line extension of the needle 14 in FIG. 2 (the axial line is indicated by the one-dot chain line O). Further, as shown in FIG. 1, two monochrome action parts 34 ′ are provided so as to sandwich the needle 14 ′, and the color action part 34 ′ has three needles 14 ′.
Two are provided so as to be located between. In addition, the color cartridge 30 is divided into three chambers, each of which is red,
It is filled with blue and yellow inks, and the three needles 14 communicate with the respective chambers in a one-to-one correspondence.

The knob 31 has a top edge 1 of the case 12.
A hook portion 35 that engages and disengages with the 2a is formed.

The mounting and dismounting operation of the cartridge 20 is as follows.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, the lever 30 is opened and the cartridge 20 is inserted into the case 12. Then, the rack 22 of the cartridge 20 and the pinion lever 4
The 0 pinion 41 meshes with or can mesh with each other. If the urging force of the spring 45 that urges the pinion lever 40 in the direction of arrow a is greater than the weight of the cartridge 20, the cartridge 20 will not be engaged simply by being lightly inserted, and if the urging force of the spring 45 is less than the weight of the cartridge 20. The cartridge 20 will be engaged only by lightly inserting it. In this embodiment, the urging force of the spring 45 is slightly increased so that the cartridge 20 will not be engaged even if it is lightly inserted. That is, when the cartridge 20 is lightly inserted into the case 12, the cartridge 20 is temporarily held in the state shown in FIG. At this time, since the pinion lever 40 is biased in the direction of the arrow a, the rack 22 and the pinion 41 are properly meshed with each other. That is, for example, when the user inserts the cartridge 20 with the lever 30 standing upright in FIG. 4 for some reason, the pinion lever 40 is also in the state of being rotated clockwise from the position shown in FIG. If so, the rack 22 will start to mesh with the pinion 41 in the middle,
The cartridge 20 cannot be completely attached to the case 12, but the pinion lever 40
Is urged in the direction of arrow a, so that such a situation is prevented.

Next, when the knob portion 31 of the lever 30 is pinched and rotated in the clockwise direction in FIG.
Contacts the upper surface 23 of the cartridge 20. The pinion lever 40 is in the position shown in FIG. 4 unless the cartridge 20 moves downward.

Further, when the lever 30 is rotated until the hook portion 35 is engaged with the upper end edge 12a of the case 12 by pushing the knob portion 31 downward, the action portion 34 pushes the upper surface of the cartridge 20, When the cartridge 20 moves downward and the seal 21 is broken by the needle 14, and the pinion 41 meshes with the rack 22, the pinion lever 40 rotates in the clockwise direction (direction of arrow b), and its contact portion 4
2 lightly contacts the guide groove 33 of the lever 30.

That is, the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is reached, and the mounting of the cartridge is completed.

In this state, the ink in the cartridge is supplied to the head 13 through the ink flow path 14a of the needle 14.

When removing the cartridge 20, the lever 30 is rotated counterclockwise while holding the knob portion 35. Then, since the contact portion 42 of the pinion lever 40 is in contact with the guide groove 33 of the lever 30, the pinion lever 40 also rotates in the counterclockwise direction, and the pinion 41 and the rack 22 are meshed with each other so that the cartridge 20 can be pulled out. Four
It is pushed up from the case 12 as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the cartridge 20 can be easily taken out.

According to the above-mentioned carriage, the following operational effects can be obtained.

(I) The shaft 32 of the lever 30 is provided on the upper end portion of the case 12 such that its axis line is parallel to the reciprocating direction of the carriage 10, and acts on the upper surface 23 of the cartridge 20. Since 34 is provided between the knob portion 35 of the lever 30 and the shaft 32, there is no portion of the lever 30 on the side of the cartridge 20.

Therefore, the width (length in the reciprocating direction) of the carriage 10 can be reduced accordingly.

(Ii) Since the operating portion 34 of the lever 30 is located substantially on the extension of the axis O of the needle 14 when viewed from the axial direction of the shaft 32 when the upper surface of the cartridge 20 is pressed.
The cartridge 20 will be pressed almost straight against the needle 14.

Therefore, the seal 21 of the cartridge 20 is torn in a clean state by the needle, and it becomes difficult for air to enter the ink flow path 14a through the gap with the needle 14. For this reason, printing defects are unlikely to occur.

(Iii) A rack 22 is formed on the outer wall surface of the cartridge 20, and the rack 22
Has a pinion 41 that meshes with at least the lever 30
Since the pinion lever 40 that pushes up the cartridge 20 is provided by the engagement of the rack 22 and the pinion 41 in conjunction with the opening operation of, the cartridge 20 is pushed up from the mounting portion when the lever 30 is opened.

Therefore, the cartridge 20 can be easily taken out from the case 12.

(Iv) Head 13 'for monochrome printing
And a head 13 for color printing are provided side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage 10, and a monochrome cartridge 2 for supplying ink to these heads is provided in the case 12.
Since 0'and the color cartridge 20 are mounted side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage, monochrome printing and color printing can be performed simultaneously.

In such a carriage, if the structure is such that the cartridges 20 and 20 'are mounted by using the lever 5 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, four side plates are arranged in the width direction of the carriage. Since 5b is arranged, it becomes difficult to reduce the width of the carriage.

Therefore, the lever 30 in this embodiment
The structure of the monochrome cartridge 2 is the same as that of this embodiment.
This is particularly effective in the case where 0'and the color cartridge 20 are mounted side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention.

[0060]

According to the present invention, the width of the carriage can be reduced, and the ink cartridge can be opened in a good condition.

[0061]

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an embodiment of a carriage according to the present invention.

2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II in FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing a lever, a pinion lever, and a mounting member for these levers.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Carriage 12 Case (Mounting Part) 13 Head 14 Needle 20 Ink Cartridge 21 Seal 22 Rack 30 Lever 31 Knob 32 Rotating Shaft 33 Guide Groove 34 Action Part 40 Pinion Lever 41 Pinion

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location B41J 25/28 Z

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A head for ejecting ink, a mounting portion on which an ink cartridge for supplying ink to the head is detachably mounted, and a knob portion for mounting the ink cartridge on the mounting portion. A reciprocating carriage comprising: a lever having a rotation axis of the lever, the axis of which is parallel to a reciprocating direction of the carriage; A carriage characterized in that an action portion for pressing the upper surface is provided between a knob portion of a lever and the rotating shaft. 2. A needle having an ink flow path communicating with the head is provided at the bottom of the mounting portion, and a seal that is broken by the needle at the time of mounting is provided at the bottom of the ink cartridge. 2. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein the action portion of the lever is located substantially on the extension of the axis of the needle when viewed from the axial direction of the rotating shaft when the upper surface of the ink cartridge is pressed. 3. A rack is formed on the outer wall surface of the ink cartridge, and a pinion that meshes with the rack is provided, and the ink cartridge is pushed up by the meshing of the rack and the pinion at least in conjunction with the opening operation of the lever. The carriage according to claim 1, further comprising a pinion lever. 4. A monochrome printing head and a color printing head are provided as the heads side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage, and the mounting portion supplies ink to these heads, respectively. 4. The carriage according to claim 1, wherein the and are mounted side by side in the reciprocating direction of the carriage.