1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a printing apparatus of the type having an inkjet printing device with an ink cartridge plugged into a cartridge carrier, and a control unit that controls the printing. The cartridge carrier is mounted on a sled that is moved back and forth during the printing. The sled can be controlled into a predetermined position to exchange the ink cartridge. The inserted ink cartridge is locked and can be unlocked and ejected via a mechanism installed on the side of the cartridge carrier. The printing apparatus is suitable for 1-inch receipt printers and is used in franking and addressing machines, and in other printing mail processing apparatuses.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An arrangement for exchanging ink cartridges is known from German Patent Application DE 102007060733 A1. This printing apparatus has a transport device for flat goods, a contact pressure device and a printing module, wherein the transport device is stationary in the printing device relative to a contact pressure device that presses the mail piece onto a transport belt of the transport device. The transport belt acts in the transport region with a predetermined stiction on a portion of the surface of the mail piece that has not been inprinted but is situated near to the region to be printed. An exchange position for ink cartridges is located before the transport region, on the front side of the printing device, or above the transport region of the transport device, which is designed to allow such exchange.
The printing module has a print carriage with two compartments for insertion of ink cartridges. Upon insertion, the ink cartridges have a bulge directed forward that includes an ink reservoir. The print carriage of the printing module has a respective opening for insertion of the ink cartridges, which opening is limited laterally by a right-side plate and left-side plate and at the floor by a shaped carrier part, as well as to the rear by a contact panel of the contacting and control electronics. The shaped carrier part is comprised of two halves that are offset relative to one another. A locking lever is attached to the right-side plate and left-side plate so as to be rotatable. The print head of each of the ink cartridges that are arranged offset relative to one another is situated in a printing position during the printing. The print carriage is designed accordingly in order to be moved forward—transverse to the mail piece transport direction—starting from the printing position into an exchange position. The exchange position lies at the front side of the printing device or above the transport region of a transport device that is thereby designed accordingly. The transport region is situated at the front side of the printing device, and the printing region adjoins this to the rear.
From German Patent Application DE 102008033052 A1, an arrangement for exchanging ink cartridges is known that has a print carriage with a shaft-like receptacle for ink cartridges. The contact panel of the contacting and control electronics on the back side of each shaft has a number of counter-contacts. The counter-contacts are arranged so as to be adjustable and are mechanically coupled with the latch of a locking mechanism so that the counter-contacts are distanced from the ink cartridge simultaneously with the unlocking of the ink cartridge, and the counter-contacts are contacted with the contact panel and a chip on the ink cartridge with the locking of the ink cartridge. The latch serves as a locking lever and interacts with a locking projection on the edge between the narrow top side and the narrow back side of the ink cartridge, wherein the locking projection is matched to the contour of the latch.
In the European Patent EP 1 880 857 B1, an arrangement for exchanging ink printing modules was proposed, wherein what are designated with the latter term are ink cartridges that can be inserted directly into a receptacle of the pivot device. The arrangement has latches to lock the ink cartridges and, per ink cartridge, a draw hook mechanically connected with a retaining spring as well as a guide lever. After the exchange, the retaining springs pull the draw hooks back into a starting position. This device attached to the ink cartridge receptacle for the exchange of said ink cartridges is materially intensive and can lead to a contamination problem given a disadvantageous manual operation of the draw hooks, because the lower trailing edge of the nozzle surface of the ink cartridge rests on an elastic part that should prevent contact of the counterpart with the contact panel, but the clearance is so small that contact of the counterpart to the contact panel due to contamination therebetween cannot be precluded. The contact problem results from the fact that the clearance is small and the elastic part and the contacts can be contaminated with ink upon removal of the ink cartridge, such ink having accumulated on the lower trailing edge during the printing. The draw hook and the elaborate mechanism of the aforementioned prior art are disadvantageous to an easy exchange of the ink cartridges.
In German Patent DE 10 2008 030 530 B4, an ink cartridge receptacle is disclosed that has neither draw hooks nor the elaborate locking mechanism of the aforementioned prior art, and given which the contamination problem is remedied. The ink cartridge has been modified by a guide pin that is attached to the bulge or between bulge and head of the ink cartridge and projects past the flat side wall only on one side for the purpose of guiding the ink cartridge. While inserting the ink cartridge, the guide pin slides along into a connecting guide member in a wall of an ink cartridge receptacle. Given an inserted ink cartridge, a leaf spring is pre-tensioned in each cavity of the cartridge carrier (which cavity is provided for an ink cartridge) of the ink cartridge receptacle, and the exchange of the ink cartridge is assisted by spring force when the locking projection and the locking element of the ink cartridge carrier disengage per manual pressure on the ink cartridge and the ink cartridge is pivoted on an axis traveling nearly parallel to the guide pin in order to unlock the ink cartridge, wherein the clearance of the lower trailing edge of the ink cartridge from the contact panel of the cartridge carrier is precisely determined by the course of the connecting guide member.
A franking machine is known from German Utility Patent DE 202012005904 U1 that has an ink printing device onto which a flat good is pressed by a contact pressure device. The ink printing device includes exchangeable ink cartridges. Instead of a leaf spring, in the ink cartridge receptacle a compression spring is used via whose spring force the exchange of the ink cartridge is assisted after the locking projection and the locking element of the ink cartridge carrier have been disengaged per manual pressure. An advantage of the manual handling is that the ink cartridge is held in the hand after the contacts are released, and therefore the ink cartridge does not spring out of the cartridge carrier far enough so that the ink cartridge reaches the opened hatch of the franking machine.
A commercially available franking machine Mymail® from Francotyp Postalia GmbH (which has a very small structural shape) provides sufficient space for neither a leaf spring nor a compression spring in the cavity of the cartridge carrier for accommodation of the ink cartridge; see EP 1127701 B 1. Given an activated franking machine, at any point in time before printing a cover can be opened, a release can be unlocked and the ink cartridges can be removed. During the printing, the ink cartridge moves and therefore cannot be exchanged. The cartridge carrier (formed from two side parts in a manner known per se) is mounted on a sled in a known manner, which sled is arranged so as to move by sliding on a guide rod. The outside of the right-side part is designated in the following as what is known as the sled side, since this is provided for mounting of the cartridge carrier on the sled. The outside of the left-side part is designated as what is known as the connection side since this is provided for connection of a ribbon cable for conductive connection of the electrical terminal contacts of the ink cartridge with the control unit. The installed cartridge carrier has in a known manner an upward opening for sliding the ink cartridge into a cavity, and a narrow wall bent outward from the outer edge of the left-side part and right-side part. Given a small structural shape of the cartridge carrier with connecting guide member, a compression spring would be unsuitable in order to supply a force that would be necessary to convey the ink cartridge out of the cavity. The compression spring would need to be realized so as to be strongly compressible during the insertion of the ink cartridge into the cavity of the cartridge carrier of the ink cartridge receptacle, which requires an additional structural space. It is furthermore disadvantageous that the ink cartridge can also be manually exchanged when the cartridge carrier is rotated into a sealing position for the ink cartridge. The print head could be damaged if, given manual operation, the ink cartridge is pushed in too far in order to press the locking edge of the ink cartridge past an edge at the opening of the cartridge carrier. The print head of the ink cartridge could thereby be damaged given a contact with the service station. All of this is disadvantageous given a manual handling of the ink cartridges.
An object of the invention is to develop a printing apparatus in which the disadvantages of the prior art upon changing an ink cartridge (i.e. during the process of inserting and removing the ink cartridge) are remedied. It should be ensured that the ink cartridge can be exchanged only when the cartridge carrier has been driven or rotated before the exchange, into a position that is predetermined for exchanging cartridges when it arrives in the exchange position from a sealed position. Additionally, manual operating errors during the exchange should be precluded. A solution for unlocking the ink cartridge should be achieved in which an operator does not need, and preferably should not be able, to directly contact the ink cartridge for this purpose. Damage to the print head should be avoided. The cartridge carrier should have a suitable design shape that prevents the ink cartridge from being pushed too far into the cavity during the plugging of the ink cartridge into the cartridge carrier. Given retention of a connecting guide member during the insertion and movement of the ink cartridge in the cavity of the cartridge carrier counter to the elastic effect of a spring, a solution should be achieved for an even smaller structural space than is available in the cartridge carrier of the aforementioned Postbase® franking machine. After inserting the ink cartridge into an opening in the cartridge carrier, the ink cartridge should be locked in said cartridge carrier. The ink cartridge should be unlocked at the cartridge carrier before an exchange.
A manual contact with the ink cartridge should be avoided entirely up to a point in time at the beginning of the process of removing the ink cartridge from the cartridge carrier, wherein this point in time is achieved only after a separation of the electrical connection from the contacts of the ink cartridge.
A spring force should not only be active to assist in the removal process of the ink cartridge, but also the effect of the spring force should also be limited and dimensioned so that the ink cartridge does not spring too far up out of the cartridge carrier before it can be grasped by a hand. It should be prevented that the upwardly moving ink cartridge strikes the opened hatch of the franking machine.
After the unlocking and removal of the used ink cartridge, the opening to the cavity in the cartridge carrier should remain freely accessible until the opening is required for the insertion of another ink cartridge filled with ink.
The object is achieved with the features of the printing apparatus according to invention, wherein the cartridge carrier has a cavity for insertion of an ink cartridge, and a locking-and-ejection mechanism is arranged on the outside of a side part of the cartridge carrier. The outside of the respective other side part is called the sled side, on which a sled is mounted. The locking-and-ejection mechanism is mounted on the outside of the aforementioned side part, i.e. on the connection side for a ribbon cable. In a printing apparatus designed for right-handed operation, this connection side is the left-side part of the cartridge carrier when the printing apparatus is viewed from the front.
The locking-and-ejection mechanism has a locking mechanism with a locking lever biased by a spring force produced by a first spring. The locking lever is pivotable on a rotation axis that is situated on the outside of the side part. The locking-and-ejection mechanism furthermore has an ejection mechanism with a lifting plate biased by a spring force produced by at least a second spring. This lifting plate is arranged on the outside of the side part so as to be rotatable on a rotation axis, with the rotation axis of the lifting plate being arranged stationary on the outside of the side part. The lifting plate is biased by a spring force from a two-stage spring system, wherein the spring force is dimensioned such that an ink cartridge can be released, lifted up, and ejected from the cartridge carrier.
The locking lever has a first locking mechanism and a second locking mechanism, wherein the second locking mechanism is provided to lock the first locking mechanism. An actuator is provided to unlock the latch of the second locking mechanism. The lifting plate is arranged so as to be rotatable so far that the locking lever is held in an unlocked position after an ejection of an ink cartridge. Because the rotated lifting plate keeps the locking lever in an unlocked position, this prevents the projection from being unintentionally locked given an ejected ink cartridge. An unwanted unlocking of the first locking mechanism can similarly be prevented by the second locking mechanism.
In a housing part of the printing apparatus (viewed from the front), the actuator is arranged above and next to the ink cartridge so that a locked ink cartridge can be unlocked only when the locking-and-ejection mechanism is in a predetermined position and at a predetermined distance D from a tip of the actuator. The locking-and-ejection mechanism has a locking mechanism that can be unlocked via a release mechanism. The release mechanism can be released by the actuator only in the predetermined position. For this purpose, before exchanging the ink cartridge, the print carriage of the printing apparatus must be driven to a side wall that is provided for exchanging the ink cartridge, or the print carriage must be rotated into this position. The print carriage has (as is known) a toothed belt and a sled that slides on a guide rod, wherein that side of the print carriage on which the sled is mounted is called the sled side in the following. The respective other side is called the connection side in the following.
An additional position is provided for sealing and servicing the ink cartridge. This additional position is achieved after the print carriage, with an ink cartridge inserted into the cartridge carrier, has been moved to a housing side wall and the print carriage is then rotated around an axis of the guide rod so that the cartridge carrier is tilted forward. Given a printing apparatus suitable for right-handed use, this is the right side wall of the housing within the printing apparatus viewed from the front. The release mechanism of the cartridge carrier tilted forward can then no longer be released via the actuator because, due to the rotation, the release mechanism and the actuator have been moved beyond the distance D that enables a release. Damage to the print head of the ink cartridge can advantageously be avoided since, in this position, the ink cartridge can neither be exchanged nor pushed too far into the cavity. It is thus avoided that a contact with the service station occurs and that the print head can be damaged.
The release mechanism is formed by a compression spring and a resiliently elastic hook support of a locking lever, wherein the hook support is equipped with a release trigger surface and with a notch at the end of which a snap-in hook is molded. The hook support is molded on a connecting part on the short end of the lever arm, and a bearing peg for the compression spring is fashioned below the connecting part on the short end of the lever arm. In a preferred variant, the release mechanism and a cartridge locking projection are molded on the end of the mounted locking lever, this end being directed upwardly. For the purpose of locking the locking lever, the snap-in hook is arranged in a window-shaped opening in the narrow wall angled outwardly on the upper edge of the left-side part of the cartridge carrier.
The cartridge carrier has the following advantages and modes of operation.
The insertion movement of the ink cartridge during the insertion into the cartridge carrier is limited by one end of the connecting guide member on the inside of the side part on the sled side. This prevents the ink cartridge from being pushed too far into the cavity, and a cartridge carrier with very small structural shape can be realized.
A tension spring of the ejection mechanism is arranged on the outside of the connection side of the cartridge carrier, instead of the previously used spring inside the cavity that has been described above. The tension spring interacts with a lifting plate; the two form only one part of the ejection mechanism. A small finger to lift the ink cartridge is angled inwardly at the lifting plate of the ejection mechanism, thus directed into a space of the cavity. It is called the cartridge lifting finger in the following and engages in a space in the region between bulge and neck of the ink cartridge. A spacer part at the floor of the cartridge carrier has a recess for the cartridge lifting finger.
Moreover, the ejection mechanism includes a u-shaped molded plate with a downwardly directed end that, in the installed state, is positively connected with a floor plate at the connection side of the cartridge carrier. The u-shaped molded plate has two side parts and a middle part with a flat base surface into which a hole is worked near the other end. The u-shaped molded plate is mounted on an attachment peg. The attachment peg protrudes outward on the connection side of the cartridge carrier and through the aforementioned hole. At that end that is directed upward in the installed state, the one side part of the u-shaped molded plate has a right-angle bend with a counter-bearing element for a compression spring. The compression spring is plugged at one end onto a bearing peg of a locking lever and at the other end is tensioned and mounted on the counter-bearing element. A gap in which the lifting plate of the ejection mechanism is mounted so as to be movable exists between the base surface of the downwardly directed side of the installed, u-shaped molded plate and the outer surface of the connection side of the cartridge carrier. The installed lifting plate has two support fins in the middle. At the one end of the lifting plate, a finger to lift the ink cartridge is molded on an inwardly directed bend. In addition to the finger, a suspension hole for the compression spring is also arranged at an outwardly directed bend of the lifting plate. A bearing hole is arranged at the other end of the lifting plate. The lifting plate is installed with its bearing hole on a bearing peg on the connection side, wherein the bearing peg enables a rotation movement of the lifting plate around a rotation axis during the ejection of the ink cartridge.
Given an inserted ink cartridge, on the one side a torsion spring engages at the aforementioned lifting plate; on the other side the torsion spring is arranged on the outside of a side wall of the cartridge carrier so that the spring force of the torsion spring acts only up to a stop molded on the connection side of the cartridge carrier. The ink cartridge is conveyed out of the cavity with a first force when the ejection mechanism is released for this. On the connection side (i.e. outside of the left-side part of the cartridge carrier), a locking lever is arranged so that a longer, downwardly directed lever arm of the locking lever is arranged next to the u-shaped molded plate. At its end the long lever arm has a control contour. A projection for locking the cartridge is molded on the opposite end of a short lever arm of the locking lever. Only when the sled has been moved into a position predetermined for exchanging cartridges is the actuator positioned at the end of the short lever arm of the locking lever so that it can act on the locking lever upon actuation and release this. The release mechanism arranged between the actuator and the locking lever can then unlock the locking lever upon actuation of the actuator, and thus release the ejection mechanism. In the preferred embodiment, the release mechanism is a component of the locking lever. In this variant, the release mechanism is formed by a compression spring and a resiliently elastic hook support that has a release trigger surface and a snap-in hook molded at its end pointing in the direction of the cartridge locking projection. Upon locking of the ink cartridge, the snap-in hook rests in a window-like opening in a narrow wall angled outward from a top edge of the left-side part. The window-like opening is open toward the cavity so that the projection protrudes into the cavity to lock the cartridge. Given an actuation of the release trigger surface, the resiliently elastic hook support is pushed out of the opening and the compression spring is relaxed, whereby the locking lever is moved so that the cartridge locking projection no longer protrudes into the cavity. The ejection mechanism is released by relaxing the compression spring in that the locking lever flips in a rotation axis so that the end of the long lever arm is moved onto the left side wall of the cartridge carrier. The control contour of the locking lever interacts with the drive lugs of the lifting plate so that said lifting plate performs a rotation movement around a rotation axis. The ink cartridge is first accelerated via the spring force on the torsion spring (which acts on the lifting plate) to a velocity, and then a braking contour in the upper third of the groove of the connecting guide member on an inner wall of the cartridge carrier brakes the further movement of the ink cartridge to the extent that the ink cartridge cannot move too far upward. The spring force of the aforementioned tension spring supports the removal of the ink cartridge. However, it is too weak to cause the ink cartridge to jump upward out of the cartridge carrier so far that said ink cartridge strikes the opened hatch of the franking machine. The very simple structural design of the kinematic coupling of the actuation means with the locking lever is important. For example, the actuator mounted in the upper part of the housing is a button. This button is situated over the release trigger surface of the hook support of the release mechanism when the ink cartridge inserted into the cartridge carrier has been moved into the position provided for exchanging the ink cartridge. Otherwise, the button and the release mechanism are not engaged and cannot interact further.
a shows Detail A of
a is a front view of the cartridge carrier without an ink cartridge therein.
b is a side view of the cartridge carrier according to
a is a front view of the cartridge carrier with an inserted ink cartridge.
b is a side view of the cartridge carrier according to
c is a perspective view of parts of the cartridge carrier (
a is a perspective view of the completely installed print carriage from the front top left, without an ink cartridge and with an installed sled.
b is an exploded view of the print carriage from the top front left, with a completely installed cartridge carrier (
a, b are perspective views of the locking lever.
a, b are perspective views of the lifting plate.
a shows a perspective presentation of Detail A. The cuboid actuator is preferably a button. The one upper edge of the button is preferably situated coplanar with the upper level edge of the first level 111. The upper level edge travels sloping upward to the rear and then bends at a right angle to the left to form a bent upper level edge. The second window-like opening 110 in the second level 112 extends approximately the same distance up to the bend. The cartridge carrier 6 is composed of two side parts 61, 62. The ink cartridge 5 (which previously had been inserted into the cartridge carrier 6) is secured against a manual removal by a projection 612111 for cartridge locking. A window-like opening 610 in which the projection 612111 is directed so as to be movable is arranged in a narrow wall angled outward from the upper edge 61111 of the left-side part 61.
An installation (not shown) of the side parts 61 and 62 takes place via three attachment elements 31, 32 and 33 via three holes 617, 618 (see
a shows a front view of the cartridge carrier 6 without ink cartridge. The wall (shown in section) of the side part 61 shows the locking-and-ejection mechanism 612 arranged on the connection side of the left side part 61. The locking lever 61211 has a long lever arm 612112 that ends in a control contour 612118 which interacts with a drive lug 612232 of the lifting plate 612233, wherein the latter holds the locking lever 61211 in an unlocked position. The shown unlocked state of the locking-and-ejection mechanism 612 is assumed after the ejection of the ink cartridge and remains until an ink cartridge is plugged into the cavity again. The locking lever 61211 is mounted such that it can be pivoted or tilted around a rotation axis 612110 on the connection side of the side part 61. The locking mechanism 6121 has a short lever arm 612112 and a compression spring 61212 that—in the shown unlocked state—is compressed between the short lever arm 612112 and a counter-bearing point (not visible here) at one end of the u-shaped plate, such that the spring is under a pre-tension that acts on the short lever arm. The short lever arm 612112 branches at the lever arm end into a projection 612111 and a connecting piece 612115, wherein the projection 612111 points towards the cavity and the connecting piece 612115 is directed away from the cavity. In the shown unlocked state, the short lever arm is tilted away from the connection side of the cartridge carrier 6. Due to a control contour 612118 molded on its lever end, the long lever arm 612113 of the locking lever 61211 is pressed against the outer surface of the side part 61 because the drive lug 612232 at the lever arm of a lever plate 61223 acts on the control contour 612118. The rotation axis 612230 of the lifting plate 61223 proceeds orthogonally to the rotation axis 612110 of the locking lever 61211.
A Detail B of
b shows a side view of the cartridge carrier according to
The ejection mechanism 6122 is shown in a state after the ejection of an ink cartridge from the cavity of the cartridge carrier 6. The tension spring 61222 and the torsion spring 61221 form a two-stage spring system that acts on the lever arm 612233 of the lifting plate 61223 before the ejection of an ink cartridge from the cavity of the cartridge carrier 6. Given an unlocked locking lever 61211 (see
The lifting plate 61223 has a bearing hole 612231, the drive lug 612232 to hold the locking lever 61211 in the shown unlocked state, the lever arm 612233 with an angle piece 612236 and the cartridge lifting finger 612237 at the end of the lever arm. With the bearing hole 612231, the lifting plate 61223 is mounted so as to be rotatable on a bearing peg on the connection side of the side part 61. The tension spring 61222, which is attached with the one end in a spring suspension hole 6122360 of the angle piece and with the other end at the floor of the first bay, is under a pre-tension. The cartridge lifting finger 612237 at the end of the lever arm of the lifting plate 61223 engages through a curved opening 6114 of the left-side part 61 and rests in a stop on the upper end of the curved opening.
a shows a front view of the cartridge carrier 6 with inserted ink cartridge 5. As a result of the insertion of the ink cartridge 5, the cartridge lifting finger 612237 at the end of the lever arm of the lifting plate 61223 is pressed down against the spring force effect of the two-stage spring system, and the short lever arm 612112 of the locking lever 61211 is pivoted onto the outer surface of the left-side part 61 of the cartridge carrier 6 via the spring force effect of the compression spring 61212. The projection 612111 thereby locks the inserted ink cartridge 5. After pivoting on, the locking lever 61211 is held in the shown locking state by the snap-in hook 6121163, which now arrives in the opening 610. The snap-in hook 6121163 locks the projection 612111 which then locks the inserted ink cartridge 5. The projection 612111 cannot be manually removed from the inserted ink cartridge 5 as long as the snap-in hook 6121163 engages in the opening 610 (Detail C). The resiliently elastic hook support 612116 has a release trigger surface 6121161 that is removed from the snap-in hook 6121163 via the notch 6121162. The snap-in hook is molded at an end of the hook support 612116 pointing in the direction of the cartridge lifting finger. The actuator 4 is formed by the button 41; an actuation lever 42; a wall 43 that is arranged below the first level of the upper housing part and is drawn in section; and a compression spring 44. The actuation lever 42 has a longer lever arm 421 and a shorter lever arm 422 and can be tilted on a rotation axis 40. The button 41 has a trigger finger 411 molded facing downward at the one end of the longer lever arm 421. At the end of the shorter lever arm 422, a peg-shaped lower stop 4221 is fashioned that extends in the same direction as the button 41 and is plugged onto the compression spring 44. Given an actuation of the button 41, the actuation lever 42 charged with a spring force of the compression spring 44 tilts only until the stop peg 4221 strikes the wall 43 below the first level of the upper housing part. An upper stop 4211 is molded on the long lever arm of the actuating lever, wherein the stop 4211 extends in the same direction as the button 41 and is fashioned in the shape of a block. Due to the spring force of the compression spring 44, the stop block 4211 stops at the wall 43 below the first level of the upper housing part when the button is not actuated. The wall 43 has an opening 430 for the button 41 and a mount 431 (and 432, covered) for the actuation lever 42. The mount 431 (432 covered) has bearing holes 4310 (4320 covered) for the bearing of two rotation pegs 4231 (4232 covered) of the actuation lever 42. An ink cartridge exchange position is reached due to the movement of the print carriage. After the movement of the print carriage or, respectively, rotation of the cartridge carrier, the release trigger surface 6121161 is arranged, positioned at the trigger finger 411, so that the latter compresses the ends of the hook support 612116 (the manner is not shown) upon actuation of the button 41. The snap-in hook 6121163 thereby disengages with the inner edge of the opening 610, and the spring force of the compression spring 61212 that presses the short lever arm 612112 of the locking lever 61211 onto the outer surface of the side part 61 is overcome, and the projection 612111 is therefore also released. A distance D up to the release trigger surface 6121161 of the hook support 612116 is thereby initially overcome by a tip of the trigger finger 411, and after this the snap-in hook 6121163 disengages with the inner edge of the opening 610, wherein the snap-in hook overcomes a vertical travel H, wherein the vertical travel H corresponds to at least the thickness of the bent wall 611 (
A side view of the cartridge carrier (
A perspective presentation of portions of the cartridge carrier (
a shows a perspective presentation of a completely installed print carriage from the front upper left, without ink cartridge and with mounted sled. The print carriage 9 has the installed cartridge carrier 6 and a laterally mounted contacting and control electronics module 7 with a ribbon cable 71, which is directed out of the completely installed print carriage on the left side (connection side). The sled 12 also extends with one part behind the installed cartridge carrier, wherein a toothed belt 8 and a bearing sleeve 1241 are attached on the left to the aforementioned part and a bearing sleeve 1242 (hidden) is attached on the right to the sled box and are provided for sliding on a guide rod (not shown). The torsion spring 61221 adjacent to the bearing sleeve 1241 has legs 612211, 612212 that rest on the stops 6161, 6162. Only the tension spring 61222 still acts on the lever arm of the lifting plate, wherein the lifting plate acts on the long lever arm of the locking lever which is drawn tilted into an unlocked position and keeps the access to the cavity open.
b shows an exploded presentation of the print carriage 9 from the front top left, with completely installed cartridge carrier 6 that—as in
a and 7b show perspective presentations of the locking lever 61211. The short lever arm 612112 bears a first connecting piece 612115 on the short lever arm end between a projection 612111 and a resiliently elastic hook support 612116. A second connecting piece 612119 is arranged between a bearing peg 612114 and the projection 612111. The hook support 612116 has a release trigger surface 6121161, notch 6121161 and a snap-in hook 6121163. A bearing peg 612117 for the compression spring is molded on the second connecting piece 612119, under the first connecting piece, wherein the bearing peg 612117 extends in the direction of the hook support 612116, and wherein the second connecting piece 612119 is fashioned as a rectangular shaped piece in the direction towards the cavity, which rectangular shaped piece is adapted to the length L of the opening 610. The long lever arm 612113 bears the control contour 612118 at the lever arm end. The locking lever is fashioned so that it can be tilted around the rotation axis 612110 and is equipped with bearing pegs 612114 on both sides.
a and 8b show perspective presentations of the lifting plate 61223. The lifting plate 61223 has a bearing hole 612231 at the one end, a drive lug 612232 and two support fins 612234, 612235 that stick out laterally at the lever arm 612233, as well as an angled piece 612236 sticking out on one side of the end of the lever arm, which angled piece 612236 is bent upward at a right angle and is provided with a spring suspension hole 6122360 in the middle of the angle piece and with a recess 6122361 that extends laterally on the angle piece and whose opening faces towards the other side of the end of the lever arm. On the other side of the end of the lever arm, a cartridge lifting finger 612237 is bent towards the back side of the lifting plate. The rotation axis 612230 of the lifting plate 61223 travels orthogonal to the rotation axis 612110 of the locking lever 61211 (
A stop 6162 for the other leg of the torsion spring 61221 is molded on the inner surface of the side part 61 (which arises from
The printing apparatus is designed for a right-handed person, wherein the side part on the connection side of the cartridge carrier 6 is the left-side part. Alternatively, it can be provided that the printing apparatus is designed for a left-handed person, wherein the side part on the connection side of the cartridge carrier 6 is the right-side part. The arrangement of the parts of the locking-and-ejection mechanism in principle occurs exactly the same, only laterally reversed. The same applies to the actuator 4.
Although a specific embodiment (namely a button 41 as the actuator 4) is discussed in the present example, a different embodiment is not excluded from the scope of the invention.
Although modifications and changes may be suggested by those skilled in the art, it is the intention of the inventor to embody within the patent warranted hereon all changes and modifications as reasonably and properly come within the scope of his contribution to the art.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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102014103987.4 | Mar 2014 | DE | national |