JPH08267780A - Electronic apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an electric apparatus having a waste ink storage section for evaporating waste ink from the waste ink storage section regardless of difference of posture and also provide the waste ink storage section of high reliability for contributing to making a device smaller by a simple constitution. CONSTITUTION: A waste ink storage section 6 provided in a casing 2 is formed along the direction of extending a printer unit 13, and a waste ink storage section 6 is provided with an ink absorber 7, and communicating openings 11b and 17b for communication of the outside with the waste ink storage section 6 are formed on the positions facing the ink absorber 7 on two walls or more constituting the waste ink storage section 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an ink jet printer for ejecting ink to a recording medium for recording, and a casing of various electronic equipment such as a computer, a word processor, a facsimile machine, a copying machine, etc., which is equipped with the printer. In particular, the present invention relates to a configuration having a waste ink storage portion in a housing portion of an electronic device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In various devices such as a computer, a word processor, a facsimile machine, and a copying machine, as a means for recording on a recording medium, high-speed recording is possible without generating the noise that is seen in a dot impact printer or the like. The ink jet method is widely used.

As an ink ejection method of an ink jet printer, there is a method of utilizing heat energy from a recording head facing a recording medium.

The advantage of this method is that it is suitable for a variety of device configurations because it is suitable for downsizing of the device, particularly for downsizing of the ejection mechanism, and it is housed in an independent device case as an ink jet printer and is constructed as a single unit. And various electronic devices for creating and inputting record information, such as word processors, personal computers, etc., or examples in which a device such as a facsimile device for inputting record information is built in and integrated into a device case. Can be mentioned.

Further, since the ink used in the above-mentioned ink jet printer uses a solvent, a means for recovering / maintaining the function of the recording head for ejecting the ink is usually used in order to maintain high recording quality of the ink jet printer. Is provided.

As this means, it is often adopted to have a function recovery means such as ejecting ink for the purpose of recording or sucking ink from the ejection nozzle portion.

In order to absorb and hold the waste ink from this means, the equipment is provided with a waste ink storage portion for storing the ink, and is made of a porous material or the like so that the waste ink does not flow backward in the apparatus due to a change in posture. The following ink absorber (hereinafter referred to as waste ink absorber) is provided inside. An example showing the structure of the waste ink storage portion of the conventional ink jet printer will be described with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 6, 1 is an upper cover, 2 is a lower cover, and 3 is a leg portion made of rubber or the like provided on the lower cover. A fixing screw 4 fixes the inkjet printer unit 5 to a boss provided on the lower cover 2.
On the printer unit 5, the carrier table 14 equipped with a recording head scans. The upper cover 1 is fixed to the lower cover 2 with screws (not shown) or the like.

Reference numeral 19 denotes a recovery system pump that causes a pressure difference in the ejection portion of the recording head in order to recover the recording head (not shown) as described above, and reference numeral 18 denotes the recovery system pump from the recording head. A pipe for guiding the ejected ink to the waste ink absorber. Further, 6 is an absorber case which is a waste ink containing portion for containing the waste ink absorber.

In the recovery process, first, the carrier table 14 is moved to the recording head recovery operation position, the recovery system pump 19 is operated, and the ink is absorbed from the ink absorption port (not shown) in contact with the recording head surface. , Recovery system pump 1
After that, the waste ink is guided to the waste ink absorber 7 through a pipe 18 provided in the absorber case 6 and then absorbed and held.

In the waste ink storage portion, a ventilation hole (generally a ventilation cloth is often provided at the opening) is provided in a part of the absorber case 6, and the ink is partially evaporated near the ventilation hole. I am trying.

[0012]

However, in the conventional configuration, when the portable electronic device is installed, the ink in the waste ink absorber moves depending on its posture, and the ventilation hole is blocked by the ink. The situation may be close to that, and it is not possible to expect a substantial increase in the waste ink storage amount due to the evaporation of ink from the waste ink absorber.

Then, it is necessary to design the volume of the waste ink storage portion in consideration of the change in the amount of ink evaporation due to the attitude difference. As a result, the volume of the waste ink storage portion having a safety factor higher than necessary is required for the electronic device. Since it is provided, it is against the recent trend toward miniaturization of the device.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic device having a waste ink containing portion that enables evaporation of waste ink from the waste ink containing portion regardless of a posture difference. Another object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable waste ink container that can contribute to downsizing of the device with a simple structure.

[0015]

As a means for achieving the above object, the present invention is an electronic apparatus having a housing having a printer unit for ejecting ink to perform recording, and the printer unit extends. A waste ink storage portion provided in the casing along a direction, the waste ink storage portion includes an ink absorber, and two or more walls forming the waste ink storage portion are connected to the outside and the waste ink storage portion. The present invention proposes a configuration having a communication opening that communicates with the storage portion at a position facing the ink absorber.

Further, in addition to the above structure, the waste ink storage portion is provided over substantially the entire width of the housing, and a plurality of the communication openings are provided on the surface forming the wall. The wall is the bottom surface of the housing. It also proposes a configuration in which the side surface and the back surface are combined. In addition to the above configuration, at least one of the communication openings is configured to be separated from the waste ink absorber, or at least one surface of the waste ink absorber is in a non-contact state with the wall. Is proposed in the waste ink storage portion, and the space portion is communicated with the outside through the communication opening.

[0017]

By adopting the above configuration, the inside of the waste ink container and the outside can be ventilated regardless of the posture of the electronic device, and the ink evaporation efficiency can be maintained high.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In addition, in each figure, elements with the same reference numerals are
It has the same or similar function.

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing the external appearance of an electronic device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is an upper cover, and 2 is a lower cover, which holds a substrate or the like as a housing of the electronic apparatus of this embodiment.

Reference numeral 8 is a cover provided on the front portion of the upper cover 1 for protecting a keyboard, which is an input means (not shown), when it is not in use. The cover 8 has a liquid crystal display as a display means incorporated therein. There is. Therefore, the cover 8
Has a structure that covers the above-mentioned keyboard when the electronic device is not used and raises it on the upper surface of the upper cover 1 when the electronic device is used.

A rear cover 9 is detachably provided on the upper rear part of the upper cover 1, and at the time of printing, the rear cover 9 is mounted as shown in FIG. 1 and a printer unit (not shown) provided therein is installed. Protects. The rear cover 9 will be removed when replacing the ink cartridge or handling a paper jam.

Reference numeral 10 is a handle provided for the user to use as a handle when carrying the electronic device shown in FIG. 1, and 20 is provided on the side surface for communicating the waste ink storage portion with the outside. It is a communication opening. The details of the communication opening 20 will be described later.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of an electronic device which is an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 13 denotes an inkjet printer unit, which is fixed to the lower cover 2 with screws or the like (not shown). In the present embodiment, the printer conveyance path is configured to convey the recording paper horizontally with respect to the bottom surface of the lower cover 2. Therefore, the ink is ejected from the recording head toward the floor surface.

A guide shaft (not shown) is supported and fixed to the printer unit, and the carrier table 14 is slidably arranged on the guide shaft.
A belt (not shown) is coupled to the carrier table 14,
The belt is fitted with a gear mechanism that transmits a drive source such as a motor. Here, 16 is a recording head, and in the present embodiment, it is configured to include an ink cartridge that stores recording ink.

Then, the recording medium 15 is moved from the paper feed port 2a provided between the keyboard 12 and the display cover 8 to the arrow A.
Inkjet printer unit 13
Is fed to. Next, the fed recording medium 15 is fed to the head 1 mounted on the inkjet printer unit 13.
Recording is performed by the ink ejected from the rear surface 3
The recording medium 15 is ejected from the paper ejection port 2b provided at 1. The conveyance of the recording medium 15 in the paper feeding and paper discharging process is
It is performed by the transport roller 24.

A waste ink storage portion 6 is provided below the ink jet printer unit 13, and a waste ink absorber 7 is provided inside the waste ink storage portion 6 in substantially the same area as the projected area of the printer unit 13. Here, the waste ink absorber 7 is
It is surrounded by the ribs 21 provided on the lower cover, the bottom surface 30, the back surface 31, and the left and right side surfaces 32 of the lower cover 2.
A plurality of communication openings are provided on each of the bottom surface, the back surface, and the left and right side surfaces.

Here, 11b is a communication opening provided on the bottom surface 30, and 17b and 23 are communication openings provided on the back surface 31. Further, the bottom plate 25 provided in the printer unit 13 prevents the evaporated ink from entering the print scanning area of the recording head 16. In order to regulate the flow of the evaporated ink to the internal mechanism of the printer unit 13 or the like, a flame-retardant sheet (made of vinyl chloride) or the like is formed between the upper surface of the waste ink absorber 7 and the printer unit bottom plate 25. (Illustration) may be provided, and the sheet may be perforated.

The position of the communication opening provided in the waste ink container 6 of the electronic device in this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. FIG. 3 shows a rear surface 31 of the electronic device of this embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a schematic view seen from the side, that is, from the sheet discharge port 2b side.
FIG. 3 is a schematic view from above showing the lower case 2 with the upper case 1 and the like removed from the electronic device.

In FIG. 3, communication openings 17a and 17b for communicating the lower portion of the waste ink storage portion with the outside are shown.
Two communication openings for communicating the upper part of the waste ink storage section with the outside
3 shows.

In FIG. 4, a control board 22 for controlling display and calculation of electronic equipment is provided at the center of the lower cover 2, and is fixed by screws or the like. Further, a rib 21 is provided on the lower cover 2 behind (on the back side of) the lower cover 2 so as to surround the waste ink absorber 7. And
As described above, the waste ink storage portion 6 is composed of the wall including the rib 21, the back wall 31, the left and right side walls 32, and the inner bottom surface of the lower cover 2.

Further, as shown in FIG. 4, in the present embodiment, a plurality of communication openings 11a and 11b are provided on the bottom surface of the lower cover 2 in order to communicate the inside of the waste ink container 6 with the outside. . In the waste ink storage section, the above-mentioned communication openings 11a and 11b are provided close to the bases of the walls that form the waste ink storage section, and the communication opening 11 serves as a peripheral wall (rib 21, rear wall) of the waste ink storage section 6. 31, side wall 32)
Are provided so as to have a predetermined interval along the.

As shown in FIG. 1 described above, a communication opening 20 is provided on the side of the waste ink container.

Next, FIG. 5 shows a state in which the waste ink absorber 7 is provided in the waste ink container. Here, the waste ink discharged from a head recovery system mechanism (not shown) provided in the inkjet printer unit 13 is dropped onto the area indicated by B of the waste ink absorber 7. This dripping area B
Are separated from the end of the waste ink absorber, the rib 21 and the back surface 31, respectively. In addition, the amount of waste ink sent to the waste ink container 6 by one recovery process is about 0.1 cc / sec, and the amount of ink that the waste ink absorber itself can hold is 250 cc.

Therefore, since the communication openings are arranged at the corners of the waste ink container 6 as described above, the waste ink does not easily reach the communication openings with the outside.

As described above, by providing a plurality of communication openings on one wall surface, it is assumed that the ink is concentrated in the waste ink absorber near a part of the communication openings and the communication openings are closed. Even when it becomes difficult to evaporate the ink from some of the communication openings, the effect of evaporating the ink from the other communication openings can be sufficiently expected.

Further, by providing a plurality of communication openings on at least two or more surfaces of the wall surface forming the waste ink storage portion 6, depending on the posture in which the electronic device is mounted, the inside of the waste ink absorber can be adjusted. Even if the ink distribution state changes, for example, the communication opening provided on the surface located on the lower side in the direction of gravity approaches the closed state due to the ink meniscus formed in the adjacent waste ink absorber, and ink evaporation becomes difficult. Even so, since the communication opening is provided in the other surface, the ventilation state with the outside is maintained.

Therefore, according to this embodiment, it is possible to increase the substantial amount of waste ink stored in the waste ink storage portion by promoting ink evaporation.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, the waste ink absorber 7 is provided in the width direction of the lower case 2 in the waste ink containing portion. The width is such that a part is formed.

Therefore, the communication opening 11b shown in FIG. 4 is covered with the waste ink absorber 7, while the communication opening 11a communicates with the above-mentioned space and does not face the waste ink absorber 7. . Similarly, the communication opening 17b shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is provided so as to face the waste ink absorber 7, and the communication opening 17a communicates with the space. In this embodiment, by setting the above-mentioned opening size of the communication opening to 2 mm × 5 mm, it is possible to prevent the waste ink from forming a meniscus in the communication opening and suppressing the evaporation of the ink due to the retention. .

As described above, by forming a space inside the waste ink storage portion and providing communication openings for ventilating the space and the outside on a plurality of wall surfaces (waste ink storage portion constituting surface), the waste ink storage portion is accommodated. Even if a large amount of waste ink is stored in the portion and a closed state equivalent to the formation of an ink meniscus at the communication opening facing the waste ink absorber as described above occurs, Since one side is always in communication with the atmosphere regardless of the posture of the electronic device,
Evaporation of ink in the waste ink absorber is ensured.

The ink (particularly water) absorbed by the waste ink absorber 7 causes natural convection of air at the outlet 11a on the bottom surface, the outlets 20 on the right and left side surfaces, and the outlet 23 on the back surface which are not in contact with the absorber. It also has the effect of promoting the evaporation of, and consequently further increasing the storage capacity of the absorber.

[0042]

As described above, according to the present invention,
By having a plurality of communication openings, the ink is temporarily concentrated in the waste ink absorber in the vicinity of some of the communication openings, and it is difficult to evaporate the ink from some of the communication openings in the same manner as when the communication openings are closed. In this case, the effect of evaporating the ink from the other communication openings can be sufficiently expected.

Further, by providing a plurality of communication openings on at least two or more surfaces of the wall surface forming the waste ink container, the ink inside the waste ink absorber can be set depending on the posture in which the electronic device is mounted. Even if the distribution state changes, for example, the communication opening provided on the lower surface in the direction of gravity approaches a closed state due to the ink meniscus formed in the adjacent waste ink absorber, and ink evaporation becomes difficult. However, since the communication opening is provided on the other surface, the ventilation state with the outside is maintained.

Further, by forming a space portion in the waste ink storage portion and providing communication openings for ventilating the space portion and the outside on a plurality of wall surfaces (waste ink storage portion constituent surface), the waste ink storage portion is accommodated in the waste ink storage portion. The amount of waste ink is increased,
As described above, even if a closed state, which is equivalent to the formation of an ink meniscus at the communication opening facing the waste ink absorber, occurs, one surface of the waste ink absorber always communicates with the atmosphere regardless of the posture of the electronic device. As a result, the evaporation of the ink in the waste ink absorber is secured.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electronic device showing an embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the electronic device shown in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of the electronic device shown in FIG. 1 viewed from the back side.

FIG. 4 is a top view of the housing of the electronic device shown in FIG.

5 is a schematic diagram in which a waste ink absorber is arranged in a waste ink container of the electronic device shown in FIG.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view of a waste ink container used in a conventional inkjet printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Upper Cover 2 Lower Cover 2a Paper Feed Port 2b Paper Exit Port 3 Leg 4 Printer Fixing Screw 5 Inkjet Printer Unit 6 Waste Ink Storage Unit (Absorber Case) 7 Waste Ink Absorber 8 Display Cover 9 Rear Cover 10 Handle 11a Communication Opening 11b Communication opening 12 Keyboard 13 Inkjet printer unit 14 Carrier table 15 Recording medium 16 Head 17a Communication opening 17b Communication opening 18 Pipe 19 Recovery system pump 20 Waste ink discharge port 21 Rib 22 Control board 23 Waste ink discharge port 24 Conveyor roller 25 Bottom plate 30 Bottom 31 Back 32 Side

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electronic device including a casing having a printer unit for ejecting ink to perform recording, the waste ink accommodating portion provided in the casing along a direction in which the printer unit extends. The waste ink storage portion is provided with an ink absorber, and a communication opening for communicating the outside and the waste ink storage portion is provided at a position facing the ink absorber in two or more walls forming the waste ink storage portion. An electronic device characterized by having. 2. The waste ink accommodating portion is provided over substantially the entire width of the casing, and the surface forming the wall is provided with a plurality of the communication openings. Electronics. 3. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the wall also serves as a bottom surface, a side surface, and a back surface of the housing. 4. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the communication openings is separated from the waste ink absorber. 5. The waste ink storage portion has a space portion that makes at least one surface of the waste ink absorber in a non-contact state with the wall, and the space portion is exposed to the outside through the communication opening. The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the electronic device communicates.