Patent Application
20250001760
The present disclosure generally relates to a liquid discharge apparatus.
In inkjet recording apparatuses, a recovery operation is performed on a recording head to recover discharge performance. When the recovery operation is performed, waste ink that is not used in recording is generated. Thus, among the inkjet recording apparatuses, some are designed to include a replaceable waste ink tank to store the waste ink.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-109415 discusses a configuration including an attachment unit to which a waste liquid container is attachable and a shielding unit that shields a waste ink ejection unit arranged in the attachment unit. Such a configuration is expected to provide an advantage of reducing adhesion of ink from the ejection unit when the waste liquid container is removed.
In the configuration discussed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2021-109415, however, waste ink that has adhered to an opening of the waste liquid container may drip downward.
According to some embodiments, a liquid discharge apparatus includes a suction unit configured to suction liquid from a discharge head configured to discharge liquid, and a tank that includes an introduction portion into which liquid suctioned by the suction unit is introduced, and is detachable from the liquid discharge apparatus, wherein the tank includes a retaining portion configured to retain liquid that has dripped from the introduction portion.
Further features of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description of exemplary embodiments with reference to the attached drawings.
Various exemplary embodiments, features, and aspects of the present disclosure are to be described with reference to the drawings. It is to be understood that the descriptions of the exemplary embodiments below are not intended to limit the disclosure, and that not all of combinations of aspects that are described in the following embodiments are necessarily required with respect to an issue to be solved by the present disclosure. Relative arrangements and shapes of components described in the exemplary embodiments are illustrative only, and the descriptions of the exemplary embodiments are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.
The term “record” used in the present disclosure represents not only a case where meaningful information such as text and a graphic is formed, but also a case where an image, a design, or a pattern is formed across a recording medium regardless of whether the image, design, or pattern is meaningful information or meaningless information, or the medium is processed. The resultant of the recording is not concerned whether it has become visually perceived by human. In the present disclosure, paper serves as “a recording medium”. However, the recording medium may be a medium such as cloth and a plastic film.
The term “ink” (may also be referred to as “liquid”) used in the present disclosure should be broadly interpreted as similar to the definition of “record” mentioned above. The term “ink” represents liquid that is added to a recording medium, so that an image, a design, or a pattern is formed, or the recording medium is processed. The term “ink” also represents liquid that is provided in an ink process (e.g., coagulation or insolubilization of a coloring material in ink to be added to a recording medium).
A first exemplary embodiment is to be described.
The recording head 4 is mounted on a carriage 5, and is reciprocally movable in an X direction along a guide rail 6 by a carriage motor 204 (not illustrated in
When recording is performed on a recording medium, the recording head 4 discharges ink while moving in the X direction with the carriage 5 to record an image of one line having a predetermined length in a Y direction. Then, the recording medium is conveyed for a predetermined amount by the conveyance roller 1 and the pinch roller 2, and the recording head 4 again records an image of one line on the recording medium. The recording apparatus 50 repeatedly performs a recording operation for one line by the recording head 4 and a recording medium conveyance operation by the conveyance roller 1 and the pinch roller 20, so that recording on the recording medium is completed.
The X direction and the Y direction represent a horizontal direction in which the X and Y directions intersect with each other (the X and Y directions orthogonal to each other in the present exemplary embodiment). Moreover, a Z direction is a direction intersecting with any of the X and Y directions (a direction orthogonal to any of the X and Y directions in the present exemplary embodiment), and corresponds to the direction of the gravity.
A recording head driver 207 controls the recording head 4. A carriage motor driver 208 controls the carriage motor 204 that drives the carriage 5. A conveyance motor 205 drives the conveyance roller 1 and the ejection roller. A conveyance motor driver 209 controls the conveyance motor 205. The host computer 214 includes a printer driver 2141. When a user instructs execution of a recording operation, the printer driver 2141 coordinates recording information such as a recording image and recording image quality, and communicates with the recording apparatus 50.
The MPU 201 exchanges the recording information such as a recording image with the host computer 214 via an interface (I/F) unit 213.
The recording head 4 has a discharge port surface on which a discharge port that discharges ink is arranged. A cap 12f covers a discharge port that discharges black ink, whereas a cap 12g covers a discharge port that discharges color ink. In a case where pigment ink and dye ink are mixed, the ink solidifies. Accordingly, in the present exemplary embodiment, the caps 12f and 12g (collectively called a cap or caps 12) are separately arranged for black ink and color ink. Suh arrangement prevents ink from being mixed in the cap.
The cap 12 and the suction pump 13 are connected by the suction tube 14. When the suction pump 13 is driven, the ink inside the cap 12 is suctioned. In the present exemplary embodiment, a suction tube 14f and a suction tube 14g are arranged. The suction tube 14f connects the cap 12f to the suction pump 13 to suction black ink, whereas the suction tube 14g connects the cap 12g to the suction pump 13 to suction color ink.
The ink (the waste ink) suctioned by the suction pump 13 is ejected to the waste ink tank 21 via the ejection tube 16. The ejection tube 16 connects the suction pump 13 to the ejection unit 15 of the waste ink tank 21. In the present exemplary embodiment, an ejection tube 16f and an ejection tube 16g are arranged. The ejection tube 16f connects the suction pump 13 to a black ink ejection portion 15f, whereas the ejection tube 16g connects the suction pump 13 to a color ink ejection portion 15g.
The waste ink suctioned by the suction pump 13 is introduced into the waste ink tank 21 from the ejection portions 15f and 15g via the introduction portions 23f and 23g, respectively, and is then absorbed and retained by the absorber 22. If a counter value of the control unit (the MPU 201) of the recording apparatus 50 exceeds a predetermined amount, the MPU 201 prompts a user to replace the waste ink tank 21 via an operation display unit 211.
The user removes the waste ink tank 21 in which the predetermined amount of the waste ink is retained from the recording apparatus 50, and attaches a new waste ink tank 21 in replacement. When a connection terminal 26 arranged in the waste ink tank 21 and a connection terminal (not illustrated) arranged in the recording apparatus 50 are electrically connected, the MPU 201 detects attachment of the waste ink tank 21 and updates a counter value. Accordingly, the waste ink tank 21 is detachable from the recording apparatus 50.
The container 23 includes a first regulation portion 23a, a second regulation portion 23b, a third regulation portion 23c, a contact portion 23d, a spring holder 23e, rib portions 23h, and the shielding unit 25, in addition to the introduction portions 23f and 23g. The rib portion 23h is arranged at a position below the introduction portions 23f and 23g (in a −Z direction), and is a raised rib protruding from a surface on which the introduction portions 23f and 23g are arranged. The rib portion 23h is formed so as to extend in a Y direction.
The shielding unit 25 includes a first regulation portion 25a, a second regulation portion 25b, a third regulation portion 25c, a contact portion 25d, a spring holder 25e, openings 25f and 25g, and rib portions 25h. The rib portion 25h is arranged at a position below the openings 25f and 25g (in a −Z direction), and is a raised rib protruding from a surface on which the openings 25f and 25g are formed. The rib portion 25h is formed so as to extend in a Y direction. The rib portion 25h is arranged on a surface opposite the container 23 in a state in which the shielding unit 25 is attached to the container 23. That is, the rib portions 23h and the rib portions 25h are arranged to be opposite each other in a state in which the shielding unit 25 is attached to the container 23.
The shielding unit 25 and a compression spring 27 are attached to the container 23. The top of the compression spring 27 (an end portion of the compression spring 27 in a +Z direction) comes into contact with the spring holder 23e of the container 23, and the bottom of the compression spring 27 (an end portion of the compression spring 27 in a −Z direction) comes into contact with the spring holder 25e of the shielding unit 25. The first regulation portion 23a of the container 23 is engaged with the first regulation portion 25a of the shielding unit 25. Accordingly, a position of the shielding unit 25 in a Y direction is regulated and set relative to the container 23.
The second regulation portion 23b of the container 23 is engaged with the second regulation portion 25b of the shielding unit 25, and the third regulation portion 23c of the container 23 is engaged with the third regulation portion 25c of the shielding unit 25. Accordingly, a position of the shielding unit 25 in an X direction is regulated and set relative to the container 23. Thus, the shielding unit 25 is movably attached in a Z direction relative to the container 23.
The contact portion 25d of the shielding unit 25 comes into contact with the contact portion 23d of the container 23, so that a position of the shielding unit 25 in a −Z direction is regulated. The shielding unit 25 is urged in the −Z direction relative to the container 23 by a pressing force of the compression spring 27. That is, in a state in which the waste ink tank 21 is removed, the contact portion 25d of the shielding unit 25 is in contact with the contact portion 23d of the container 23. The connection terminal 26 on the container 23 is arranged at a position displaced (in a different position) from a lower end portion 25k of the shielding unit 25 in a Y direction.
The attachment of the waste ink tank 21 to the recording apparatus 50 moves the shielding unit 25 upward (in a +Z direction). Accordingly, the introduction portions 23f and 23g are exposed from the openings 25f and 25g, respectively, and thus are not shielded by the shielding unit 25 as illustrated in
Attachment of the waste ink tank 21 to the recording apparatus 50 is to be described with reference to
When a user removes the waste ink tank 21 from the recording apparatus 50, the state is shifted in order of
For example, in a case where the waste ink tank 21 is removed during a suction operation that is performed by the suction pump 13, the suction operation is stopped based on detection by the connection terminal 26. However, there is a time lag between issuance of a stop instruction by the MPU 201 and the actual stop of the suction operation. In such a situation, the waste ink to be ejected from the ejection portions 15f and 15g may adhere to the introduction portions 23f and 23g at the time when the ejection portions 15f and 15g are respectively removed from the introduction portions 23f and 23g.
The waste ink which has adhered to the introduction portions 23f and 23g drips downward (in a −Z direction) by gravity. However, in the present exemplary embodiment, the rib portions 23h are arranged in the container 23, and the rib portions 25h are arranged in the shielding unit 25. Thus, when the waste toner reaches the rib portions 23h and 25h, the downward movement of the waste ink (in the −Z direction) is stemmed by the rib portions 23h and 25h, and the waste ink is retained up to a predetermined amount. For this reason, the periphery of the waste ink tank 21 is prevented from being soiled with the waste ink which has dripped from the waste ink tank 21.
Assuming a case in which ink the amount of which cannot be retained by the rib portions 23h and 25h drips. In such a case, the waste ink moves in a −Z direction (downward) along the shape of the shielding unit 25, and reaches the lower end portion 25k. In the present exemplary embodiment, since the lower end portion 25k and the connection terminal 26 are arranged at positions displaced from one another in a Y direction, adhesion of the waste ink to the connection terminal 26 can be prevented even if the waste ink drips to the lower end portion 25k. Thus, a failure in the recording apparatus 50 due to adhesion of the waste ink to the connection terminal 26 can be reduced.
The user moves the waste ink tank 21 upward (in a +Z direction) from the state illustrated in
In the present exemplary embodiment, a plurality of rib portions 23h and a plurality of rib portions 25h are arranged. However, one rib portion 23h and one rib portion 25h may be at least arranged. Such arrangement can reduce soiling of the periphery of the waste ink tank 21 with waste ink. However, arrangement of a plurality of rib portions 23h and a plurality of rib portions 25h as described in the present exemplary embodiment enables more waste ink to be retained and prevented from dripping.
The present exemplary embodiment has been described using a configuration in which both of the container 23 and the shielding unit 25 include rib portions. However, one of the container 23 and the shielding unit 25 may include a rib portion. Even in such a configuration, soiling with waste ink can be reduced as similar to the above.
The shapes of the rib portion 23h and the rib portion 25h are not limited to the rib shape. Even in a case where each of the rib portions 23h and 25h has a fine irregularity shape having capillary force, an advantage similar to the aforementioned advantage can be obtained. That is, the rib portions 23h and 25h can have a shape other than the rib shape as long as the rib portions 23h and 25h serve as retaining portions having functions of retaining waste ink (liquid) dripping from the introduction portions 23f and 23g.
The first exemplary embodiment has been described using a configuration in which the shielding unit 25 is arranged. However, a configuration in which the shielding unit 25 is not arranged as illustrated in
While the present disclosure has been described with reference to exemplary embodiments, it is to be understood that the disclosure is not limited to the disclosed exemplary embodiments. The scope of the following claims is to be accorded the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.
This application claims the benefit of priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-105355, filed Jun. 27, 2023, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2023-105355 | Jun 2023 | JP | national |
