Patent Application
20230321990
This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-61240 filed on Mar. 31, 2022. The entire content of the priority application is incorporated herein by reference.
A printer provided with a detachable ink cartridge is known. In such printers, the ink cartridge may accommodate an ink container, and the ink container may be provided with an ink-leading out part and a circuit board.
In the printer described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-193093, the circuit board is provided on a location which is obliquely below the ink leading out part. An ink in the ink container is supplied to the printer from the ink leading out part.
In the printer described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-193093, since the circuit board is provided at the location obliquely below the ink leading out part, there is such a possibility that, in a case that the ink cartridge is inserted or removed with respect to the printer, the ink might scatter from the ink leading out part and might dirty the circuit board. In a case that the circuit board is dirtied with the ink, there is such a problem that there might be any conduction failure of an electric contact of the circuit board.
An object of the present disclosure is to provide a liquid storing cartridge and a printer each of which is capable of lowering a possibility that a liquid might adhere to an electric contact of a circuit board of a liquid container and of improving reliability of conduction of the electric contact of the circuit board.
A liquid storing cartridge according to a first aspect of the present disclosure includes:
According to the first aspect, since the circuit board is provided at the position which is more apart from the bottom surface than the supply port is, the possibility that a liquid scattered from the supply port might adhere to the electric contact of the circuit board is lowered. Accordingly, the reliability of the conduction of the electric contact of the circuit board is improved.
A printer according to a second aspect of the present disclosure includes the above-described liquid storing cartridge. According to the second aspect, in a case that the liquid storing cartridge is inserted or removed with respect to the printer, the possibility that a liquid scattered from the supply port of the liquid container might adhere to the electric contact of the circuit board is lowered. Accordingly, the reliability of the conduction of the electric contact of the circuit board is improved.
A printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be explained, sequentially with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a mechanical element in the drawings indicates an actual scale in each of the drawings. The drawings which are referred to are used for explaining a technical feature which may be adopted by the present disclosure, and the configuration of an apparatus which is described is not meant to be limited only thereto, and is a mere example for explanation. In the explanation of the present embodiment, a left lower side, a right upper side, a right lower side, a left upper side, an upper side and a lower side of
The configuration of the printer 1 will be explained, with reference to
The front wall 24 is provided on a front surface of the casing 2, and has, from the upper side toward the lower side, a first front wall 241 and a second front wall 242. Each of the first front wall 241 and the second front wall 242 is rectangular which is long in a left-right direction as seen from the front side. The first front wall 241 is provided on an upper part on the front side of the casing 2, and the second front wall 242 is provided at a location which is below the first front wall 241 and which is at the center on the front side of the casing 2. Each of the right wall 25, the rear wall 26 and the left wall 29 is rectangular which is long in an up-down direction. Further, each of the bottom wall 27 and the upper wall 28 is rectangular which is long in a front-rear direction.
The discharge port 21 is provided on a boundary between the first front wall 241 and the second front wall 242. The discharge port 21 is a rectangular opening which is long in the left-right direction as seen from the front side, and discharges a medium having printing performed thereon. The first front wall 241 is provided with a displaying part 3 and an operating part 4. The displaying part 3 displays a letter, an image, etc. The operating part 4 is provided on the right side with respect to the displaying part 3. The operating part 4 is provided with a touch panel or a plurality of buttons via which a variety of kinds of instructions are inputted.
The front cover 23 is provided on the front surface of the casing 2 and below the second front wall 242. The front cover 23 is a rectangular lid as seen from the front side, and is provided with a pair of hinges 231 on a lower end part of the front cover 23. By the pair of hinges 231, the front cover 23 is rotatable to a close position (see
As depicted in
The ink-jet head 8 prints an image on a medium M supplied from a supplying part 5. The ink-jet head 8 is provided with a plurality of nozzles 70 which discharges or ejects an ink G in a discharge direction. The ink-jet head 8 prints the image on the medium M by discharging ink G from the plurality of nozzles 70. The discharge direction is downward, and the ink-jet head 8 is provided at a location above a conveying route Q of the medium M, while the ink jet head 8 assumes a posture in which the plurality of nozzles 70 is oriented downward. The conveying route Q is a route or path along which the medium M is conveyed since the medium M is fed out from the supplying part 5 and until the medium M is discharged from the discharge port 21 to the outside of the casing 2.
The cartridge 30 is accommodated in the opening part 11. The cartridge 30 accommodates a liquid container 100 which stores the ink in the inside thereof, and is installed in an installment part 7 of the opening part 11. The details of this will be described later on. The ink tube 48 is arranged in the inside of the casing 2 and connects the installment part 7 and the ink-jet head 8. The ink G in the inside of the cartridge 30 is supplied, via the ink tube 48, from the cartridge 30 to the ink-jet head 8.
The conveying device 45 is provided with the supplying part 5, conveying parts 270, 10, 15 and 19, a supporting part 80, a tension applying part 60 and a rotary body 75. The supplying part 5 is provided on a space which is located on the left side of a side cover 251 at the close position and which is located at a rear lower part of the printer 1 and surrounded by the partition wall 55 and the rear wall 26. The supplying part 5 holds a roll R. The supplying part 5 is provided with a shaft part 51 and a magazine 52. The shaft part 51 extends in the left-right direction, and is inserted into a paper tube K of the roll R. The magazine 52 is a supporting stand which has a shape of a letter “U” as seen from the front side. The magazine 52 supports both of left and right end parts of the shaft part 51 so that the shaft part 51 is rotatable about an axis extending in the left-right direction. The shaft part 51 is supported by the magazine 52 in a state that the shaft part 51 is detachable from the magazine 52. The magazine 52 is supported by the printer 1 in a state that the magazine is detachable from the printer 1.
An operator who replaces the roll R arranges the side cover 251 at the open position, takes out the magazine 52 from the inside of the casing 2 and performs a replacing operation of the roll R.
The conveying part 270 conveys the medium M in a conveying direction F in which the medium M is conveyed from the supplying part 5 toward the ink-jet head 8 and to a retuning direction B which is opposite or reverse direction to the conveying direction F. The conveying direction F is a direction along the conveying route Q which is from the supplying part 5 toward the ink-jet head 8. A part, of the conveying direction F, from the suppling part 5 up to the tension applying part 60 is a direction which changes depending on a remaining amount of the medium M, and is generally upward. A part, of the conveying direction F, from the tension applying part 60 up to the discharge port 21 is generally frontward.
The conveying part 270 is provided at a location on an upstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the ink-jet head 8, and on a downstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the supplying part 5. Namely, the conveying part 270 is provided between the ink-jet head 8 and the supplying part 5 in the conveying route Q of the medium M. The conveying part 270 has a conveying roller 271 which rotates about an axis extending in the left-right direction and a pinch roller 272 which rotates about an axis extending in the left-right direction. The conveying part 270 performs a nip conveyance, by the conveying roller 271 and the pinch roller 272, of conveying the medium M in the conveying direction F which is from the supplying part 5 toward the ink-jet head 8.
The conveying part 10 is provided on the upstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the conveying part 270, and conveys the medium in the conveying direction F and the retuning direction B. The conveying part 10 rotates the roll R held by the supplying part 5, conveys the medium M in the returning direction B, and takes (winds) the medium M on the roll R. The conveying part 10 detachably engages with the shaft part 51 of the supplying part 5. The conveying part 10 rotates the roll R held by the supplying part 5, conveys the medium M in the conveying direction F, and feeds the medium M from the roll R toward the ink-jet head 8.
The supporting part 80 is provided on the upstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the conveying part 270 and on the downstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the conveying part 10, and supports the tension applying part 60 and the rotary body 75. The tension applying part 60 is provided between the conveying part 270 and the conveying part 10 in the conveying route Q. The tension applying part 60 is arranged at a location above the supplying part 5, and is supported on the upstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the conveying part 270, in a state that the tension applying part 60 is capable of rocking about an axis extending in the left-right direction. The tension applying part 60 makes contact with the medium M and bends the medium M. With this, the tension applying part 60 imparts a tension to the medium M. The tension is a tension acting in a direction opposite to an advancing direction of the medium M.
The rotary body 75 is supported to be rotatable about an axis extending in the left-right direction, on the upstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the conveying part 270 and on the downstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to at an end part, of the tension applying part 60, on the upstream side in the conveying direction F, namely a lower end part of the tension applying part 60.
The conveying part 15 is provided on a location below the ink-jet head 8 and on the downstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the conveying part 270, and conveys the medium M in the conveying direction F. The conveying part 15 is provided with a driving roller 113, a driven roller 14 and an endless belt 16. The driving roller 113 and the driven roller 14 are separated from each other in the front-rear direction. The endless belt 16 is stretched over the driving roller 113 and the driven roller 14. Accompanying with the rotation of the endless belt 16, the driven roller 14 is rotated. A position in the up-down direction of an upper end of an outer circumferential surface of the endless belt 16 is substantially same with a position in the up-down direction of a nip point 89 at which the medium M is nipped by the conveying part 270. The upper end of the outer circumferential surface of the endless belt 16 faces or is opposed to the plurality of nozzles 70 of the ink-jet head 8. The upper end of the outer circumferential surface of the endless belt 16 conveys the medium M in the conveying direction F in a state that the medium M which is (being) conveyed between the conveying part 270 and the conveying part 19 is attracted, by suction from a position below the medium M by a static electricity or a negative pressure, to the endless belt 16.
The fixing unit 143 is arranged on the downstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the ink-jet head 8 and on the upstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the conveying part 19. Further, the fixing unit 143 is provided on a location below the conveying route Q. The fixing unit 143 is provided with a heat source 144 which is capable of performing conduction heating and a heating plate (hot plate) 142 which is heated by the heat source 144. The heating plate 142 supports the medium M which passes the conveying route Q from a position below the medium M. The medium M is heated by the heating plate 142, thereby causing the ink G discharged onto the medium M by the ink-jet head 8 to be fixed on the medium M.
The conveying part 19 is provided on the downstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the ink-jet head 8 and the fixing unit 143 and on the upstream side in the conveying direction F with respect to the discharge port 21, and conveys the medium M in the conveying direction F and in the returning direction B. The conveying part 19 has a conveying roller 17 and a pinch roller 18 each of which rotates about an axis extending in the left-right direction, and performs a nip conveyance, by the conveying roller 17 and the pinch roller 18, of conveying the medium M while nipping the medium M between the conveying roller 17 and the pinch roller 18 in the up-down direction.
In a case that a printing processing is executed, a controller of the printer 1 drives the conveying parts 270, 10, 15 and 19 so as to convey the medium M. The printer 1 adjusts a driving amount of each of the conveying parts 270 and 10 so that the tension is applied to the medium M by the tension applying part 60. The controller of the printer 1 drives the ink-jet head 8 synchronizing with the conveyance of the medium M, thereby discharging, onto the medium M, the ink G supplied from the cartridge 30 via the ink tube 48. The controller of the printer 1 drives the heat source 144 so as to fix, to the medium M, the ink G on the medium M. The medium M is discharged from the discharge port 21 to the outside of the casing 2.
With reference to
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Further, as depicted in
A maintenance box (omitted in the drawings) is accommodated in the second accommodating part 62. The maintenance box has a shape of a rectangular parallelepiped, similarly to the cartridge 30. The maintenance box is fixed in a state that the maintenance box is accommodated in the second accommodating part 62. An accommodating body accommodating a nozzle cleaning liquid for maintenance is accommodated in the maintenance box. At a time of performing maintenance, the nozzle cleaning liquid is supplied to the ink-jet head 8 from the maintenance box.
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The first positioning part 71 is provided on a position which is obliquely lower left with respect to the supply port 109, in a crossing direction which crosses the opening direction (front direction) of the supply port 109. The circular hole 72 of which opening is circular is provided on a front end part of the first positioning part 71. The second positioning part 73 is provided on a position which is obliquely lower right with respect to the supply port 109, in the crossing direction which crosses the opening direction (front direction) of the supply port 109. The elongated hole 74 of which opening is elongated in a lateral direction is provided on a front end part of the second positioning part 73.
Further, the first positioning part 71 extends from the front surface 101 in the opening direction of the supply port 109. Furthermore, the second positioning part 73 extends from the front surface 101 in the opening direction of the supply port 109. Moreover, the positional relationship among the supply port 109 of the connecting part 107, the first positioning part 71 and the second positioning part 73 is same as the positional relationship among the supply needle 9, the positioning projection 611 and the positioning projection 612 which are provided on the first accommodating part 61. In a case that the cartridge 30 is inserted into the first accommodating part 61, the supply port 109, the first positioning part 71 and the second positioning part 73 are provided on positions, respectively, facing the supply needle 9, the positioning projection 612 and the positioning projection 611.
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In a case that the cartridge 30 is to be installed in the printer 1, an user opens the front cover 23 of the printer 1, and inserts the cartridge 30 into the first accommodating part 61 as depicted in
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The printer 1 is capable of causing the cartridge 30 configured as described above to be installed therein. Accordingly, the printer 1 makes such a possibility that, in a case that the cartridge is inserted or removed in the printer 1, the liquid scattered from the supply port 109 of the liquid container 100 might adhere to the electric contact 141 of the circuit board 140, to be lowered. Accordingly, the reliability of the conduction of the electric contact 141 of the circuit board 140 is improved.
In the above-described embodiment, the cartridge 30 is an example of a “liquid storing cartridge”. The case 110 is an example of a “casing”.
While the invention has been described in conjunction with various example structures outlined above and illustrated in the figures, various alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents, whether known or that may be presently unforeseen, may become apparent to those having at least ordinary skill in the art. Accordingly, the example embodiments of the disclosure, as set forth above, are intended to be illustrative of the invention, and not limiting the invention. Various changes may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the disclosure. Therefore, the disclosure is intended to embrace all known or later developed alternatives, modifications, variations, improvements, and/or substantial equivalents. Some specific examples of potential alternatives, modifications, or variations in the described invention are provided below:
The liquid container 100 is not limited to being box-shaped. Although the liquid container 100 stores the ink, the liquid container 100 is not limited to this. For example, the liquid container 100 may store a liquid different from the ink. For example, the liquid container 100 may store a preservative liquid (storage liquid, shipping liquid) which is introduced to the ink tube 48 connecting the cartridge 30 and the ink-jet head 8 for a purpose of suppressing any solidification of the ink inside the ink tube 48, in a case that the printer 1 is shipped or in a case that the printer 1 is stored for a long period of time. Further, it is also allowable to omit the lower case 37 and the cover 36 of the cartridge 30, and to install the liquid container 100 directly in the printer 1.
In the above-described embodiment, although the ink is, for example, the black ink, the ink is not limited to or restricted by this. For example, the ink may be an ink such as a cyan ink, a magenta ink, a yellow ink, a white ink or a clear ink, etc.
In the above-described embodiment, although the liquid container 100 has the shape of rectangular parallelepiped, the liquid container 100 is not limited to this. For example, the shape of the liquid container 100 may be a shape of another polyhedron, or may be cylindrical. Further, it is allowable that the liquid container 100 does not have a shape which is symmetrical in the front-rear direction. Furthermore, the urging member 170 is not limited to the coil spring, and may be an elastic body which is made of a rubber, a synthetic resin, etc.
In the above-described embodiment, although the tap 105 is provided on a position which is biased toward the left side surface 104 in the left-right direction, the arrangement of the tap 105 is not limited to this. For example, the tap 105 may be provided on a position which is biased toward the right side surface 103. In such a case, the installment part 7 of the first accommodating part 61 may be provided on a position corresponding to the arrangement position of the tap 105. In the above described embodiment, the first holding member 131 is provided in the tap (tap unit) 105 such that the holding member 131 is capable of moving in the up-down direction relative to the liquid container 100. However, the first holding member 131 may be fixed with respect to the container 100 such that the first holding member 131 is not capable of moving in the up-down direction relative to the liquid container 100.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022-061240 | Mar 2022 | JP | national |
