JP2010082962A - Liquid storage body attaching mechanism and liquid jet apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

A liquid container mounting mechanism capable of preventing unnecessary detachment of a liquid container and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid container mounting mechanism are provided.
A liquid container mounting mechanism provided in a printer 11 includes a mounting unit that can mount an ink cartridge 21 that stores ink in a manner in which pressurized air can be supplied into the ink cartridge 21, and a mounting unit. A holding means 22 that can hold the mounted ink cartridge 21 in a non-detachable manner based on the applied pressure, a pressurized air supply path 27 F for supplying pressurized air to the holding means 22, and pressurized air And an atmospheric release valve 30F that adjusts the pressure by discharging. When the pressurized air is supplied into the ink cartridge 21, the atmospheric release valve 30 </ b> F is closed, and the pressurized air is supplied to the holding means 22 through the pressurized air supply path 27 </ b> F. 30F is opened to release the ink cartridge 21 from being stopped.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid container mounting mechanism capable of mounting a liquid container and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid container mounting mechanism.

  As a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects liquid from a liquid ejecting head to a target, for example, an ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) is known. Among these printers, in a printer of a type that additionally supplies ink by exchanging an ink cartridge (liquid container) that stores ink as liquid, a cartridge holder that constitutes a liquid container mounting mechanism in which the ink cartridge can be attached and detached It is common to have.

  In such a printer, when the pressurized air is supplied into the ink cartridge so as to pressure-feed the ink to the recording head (liquid ejecting head), the ink cartridge is detached from the cartridge holder during printing ( When the recording head is removed, there is a problem that the recording head is driven in a state where ink is not supplied, resulting in a decrease in the life of the recording head. In order to solve such a problem, for example, in the printer of Patent Document 1, the ink cartridge is prevented from being detached during printing, that is, when the ink cartridge is in a pressurized state.

That is, in the printer of Patent Document 1, an area that is easily elastically deformed is formed in a part of the outer case of the ink cartridge, and an engaged body is provided in this easily deformable area. When pressurized air is supplied to the ink cartridge, the easily deformable region is elastically deformed outward so that the engaged body is engaged with the through hole formed on the cartridge holder side. It was. As a result, when the ink cartridge is in a pressurized state such as during printing, the ink cartridge is inflated and deformed, and the engaged body engages with the through hole, thereby preventing the ink cartridge from being detached. It was.
JP 2003-200590 A

  By the way, if an ink cartridge that is not in an exhausted state is removed and then attached again, there is a risk that air bubbles may be mixed when the ink cartridge is attached or the ink may be dried while being removed. Therefore, not only when the ink cartridge is in a pressurized state, it is desirable not to perform unnecessary attachment / detachment except when the ink is exhausted and the ink cartridge is replaced with a new one. However, in the printer of Patent Document 1, when the ink cartridge is not in a pressurized state, the outer case returns to its original shape and the engagement between the engaged body and the through hole is disengaged. There was a problem that could not.

  In addition to the case of the above-described ink jet printer, in a liquid container mounting mechanism that prevents the liquid container from being attached and detached using an applied pressure, and a liquid ejecting apparatus including such a liquid container mounting mechanism. These facts are generally common.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a liquid container mounting mechanism capable of preventing unnecessary detachment of the liquid container and a liquid ejecting apparatus including the liquid container mounting mechanism.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid container mounting mechanism according to the present invention includes a liquid container mounting part capable of mounting a liquid container that stores a liquid in a manner in which pressurized air can be supplied to the liquid container. , A pressing means capable of pressing the liquid container mounted on the liquid container mounting portion so as not to be detachable based on the applied pressure, and pressurized air for generating the applied pressure to the holding means. And an air release valve that adjusts the pressure by releasing the pressurized air supplied through the air flow path, and when the pressurized air is supplied to the liquid container, the air release valve is Pressurized air is supplied to the holding means through the air flow path in a closed state, and when the liquid container is attached / detached, the atmosphere release valve is opened to release the liquid container from being blocked. Configured.

  According to this configuration, when the pressurized air is supplied to the liquid container, the pressurized air is supplied to the holding means through the air flow path with the atmospheric release valve closed, so that the supplied pressurized air is added. Based on the pressure, the liquid container mounted on the liquid container mounting part can be held in a non-detachable (that is, unremovable) state by the pressing means. Further, when the liquid container is attached / detached, the atmospheric release valve is opened and the liquid container is released from being blocked, so that the liquid container is not prevented from being attached / detached. Therefore, unnecessary removal of the liquid container can be prevented by holding the liquid container in a non-detachable manner by the holding means except when the liquid container is replaced.

  Further, in the liquid container mounting mechanism according to the present invention, the liquid container mounting part is configured to be able to mount a plurality of liquid containers in parallel, and the holding means is configured so that the liquid container is arranged from one side in the arrangement direction. It was comprised so that it could press toward the other side.

  According to this configuration, the liquid container mounting portion is configured to be able to mount a plurality of liquid containers in parallel, and the holding means can press the liquid containers from one side to the other side in the alignment direction. A plurality of liquid containers mounted in parallel can be pressed together. Therefore, since it is not necessary to provide a holding means for each liquid container, an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed.

  The liquid container mounting mechanism according to the present invention further includes a container that can store the liquid containers in a state where the liquid containers are mounted in parallel to the liquid container mounting part, and the holding means includes the liquids It arrange | positioned between the outer surface of the one liquid container mounted in the parallel end in the said row | line | column among the containers, and the opposing surface which opposes the outer surface of the said one liquid container among the inner surfaces of the said accommodating part.

  According to this configuration, the pressing means is disposed between the outer surface of one liquid container mounted on the parallel end and the opposing surface facing the outer surface of the one liquid container among the inner surfaces of the container. Therefore, by pressing the liquid containers located at the parallel ends, a plurality of liquid containers can be pressed together.

  Further, in the liquid container mounting mechanism of the present invention, the holding means has an air storage bag that can be expanded and contracted in accordance with an increase or decrease in the amount of air to be stored, and when pressurized air is supplied to the liquid container, The pressurized air is also supplied to the air containing bag from a pressurized air supply device that supplies pressurized air to the liquid container.

  According to this configuration, since the holding means has the air containing bag that can be expanded and contracted in accordance with the increase or decrease of the amount of air to be accommodated, the liquid containing body is retained by inflating the air containing bag with pressurized air. can do. Further, since the air containing bag can be shrunk by reducing the amount of air, if the air amount in the air containing bag is reduced when the liquid container is attached or detached, the liquid containing body is pressed to prevent attachment or detachment. There is nothing. Furthermore, since pressurized air is supplied to the air containing bag from a pressurized air supply device that supplies pressurized air to the liquid containing body, it is not necessary to provide a new pressurizing source to press the liquid containing body. .

In the liquid container mounting mechanism of the present invention, the atmosphere release valve is opened when the liquid stored in the liquid container is exhausted.
According to this configuration, when the liquid stored in the liquid container is exhausted, the air release valve is opened, so that the liquid stored in the liquid container is exhausted and replaced with a new one. The liquid container can be detached only when the operation is performed. Therefore, unnecessary detachment of the liquid container can be prevented.

In the liquid container mounting mechanism according to the present invention, the air release valve is configured to be kept closed when the power is shut off or at rest.
According to this configuration, the air release valve is kept closed even when the power is shut off or at rest, so that even if the supply of pressurized air to the liquid container is stopped at the time of power shut off or rest, The holding state of the container can be maintained.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid container mounting mechanism having the above-described configuration, a pressurized air supply apparatus for supplying pressurized air to the liquid container, and a liquid ejecting head capable of ejecting the liquid. Is provided.

  According to this configuration, the same function and effect as those of the liquid container mounting mechanism of the present invention can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer (hereinafter simply referred to as a printer) will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, when referring to “front-rear direction”, “left-right direction”, and “up-down direction”, the direction indicated by an arrow in each figure is used as a reference.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a printer 11 as a liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present embodiment includes a main body frame 12 having a substantially rectangular box shape, and a platen 13 is disposed at the front lower portion in the main body frame 12 in the main scanning direction. It is constructed along the longitudinal direction of the main body frame 12 (left and right direction in FIG. 1). The platen 13 is a support base for supporting the recording paper P as a target. The recording paper P is placed on the platen 13 by a paper feeding mechanism (not shown) in the sub-scanning direction (front and rear in FIG. 1). Direction).

  A rod-shaped guide shaft 14 is installed in the main body frame 12 above the rear portion of the platen 13 along the main scanning direction. A carriage 15 is supported on the guide shaft 14 so as to be movable along the guide shaft 14. . A driving pulley 16 and a driven pulley 17 are rotatably supported at positions corresponding to both end portions of the guide shaft 14 on the rear side surface in the main body frame 12. A carriage motor 18 is connected to the drive pulley 16, and an endless timing belt 19 is hung between the drive pulley 16 and the driven pulley 17 that make a pair. Since the rear end side of the carriage 15 is fixed to the timing belt 19, the carriage 15 can reciprocate in the main scanning direction along the guide shaft 14 by driving the carriage motor 18.

  A box-shaped cartridge holder 20 is provided on one end side (the right end side in FIG. 1) in the main body frame 12. The cartridge holder 20 is configured such that a portion corresponding to the front wall and the front wall front portion can be opened and closed as a lid portion 20a.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cartridge holder 20 can be mounted with a plurality of ink cartridges 21 (21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E) as a liquid container and a holding means 22 in parallel. It has become. In the present embodiment, five ink cartridges 21 are provided for each color of ink as a liquid, and five are mounted in parallel in the left-right direction. Further, the holding means 22 is arranged on the right side of the ink cartridge 21E (that is, one liquid container) attached to the parallel end (right end in FIG. 1) in the arrangement direction of the ink cartridges 21 (left and right direction in FIG. 1). Has been.

  Each ink cartridge 21 (21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E) is connected to the upstream end of the ink supply path 23 (23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 23E) when mounted on the cartridge holder 20. It has become. Further, the downstream end of each ink supply path 23 (23A, 23B, 23C, 23D, 23E) is connected to the upstream side of the valve unit 24 (24A, 24B, 24C, 24D, 24E) mounted on the carriage 15, respectively. Has been. The downstream side of the valve unit 24 is connected to a recording head 25 as a liquid ejecting head provided on the lower surface side of the carriage 15.

  A plurality of nozzles 25 a (see FIG. 3) corresponding to the color of ink used in the printer 11 are formed on the lower surface of the recording head 25. In addition, the recording head 25 includes a discharge driving element 25b (see FIG. 3) corresponding to each nozzle 25a. When the ejection drive element 25b is driven, ink is ejected from the corresponding nozzle 25a, and the ejected ink droplets land on the recording paper P fed onto the platen 13 so that printing is performed. It has become.

  Further, a home position HP serving as a retracted position of the recording head 25 is provided between the cartridge holder 20 and the platen 13. Before starting printing, various maintenance processes such as cleaning the recording head 25 are performed at the home position HP.

  Above the cartridge holder 20, a pressure pump 26 constituting a pressurized air supply device for supplying pressurized air to each ink cartridge 21 and the holding means 22 is placed. The pressurization pump 26 is connected to the upstream end of the pressurization air supply path 27, and a pressure sensor 28 and a distributor 29 are connected to the pressurization air supply path 27 on the downstream side of the pressurization pump 26. . The pressurized air supply path 27 is branched into six in the distributor 29 arranged on the downstream side of the pressure sensor 28.

  Specifically, in the distributor 29, the pressurized air supply path 27 first branches into two, and one of the two branched into the pressurized air supply path 27 is provided with an atmosphere release valve 30A. And further branched into five on the downstream side of the air release valve 30A. Then, the pressurized air supply paths 27A, 27B, 27C, 27D, and 27E branched into five on the downstream side of the air release valve 30A are connected to the ink cartridges 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, and 21E corresponding to the respective downstream ends. It is connected. An air release valve 30F is provided in the pressurized air supply path 27F as an air flow path which is the other of the two branches in the distributor 29, and a downstream end of the pressurized air supply path 27F. Is connected to the holding means 22.

  The atmosphere release valves 30A and 30F are switched between a valve open state in which each pressurized air supply passage 27 is opened to the atmosphere and a valve closed state in which communication with the atmosphere is shut off. It is a pressure adjustment valve that adjusts the pressure of the space communicating with each pressurized air supply path 27. In the present embodiment, the liquid container mounting mechanism includes the cartridge holder 20, the holding means 22, the pressurized air supply path 27F, and the atmosphere release valve 30F.

  Next, the mounting mechanism of the ink cartridge 21 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram for explaining the mounting mechanism of the ink cartridge 21. The cartridge holder 20 and the ink cartridges 21A, 21B, and 21E are shown in schematic cross-sectional views, and the ink cartridges 21C and 21D and the push-buttons are shown. The stopping means 22 is shown by a top view (plan view). Further, the ink cartridges 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E and the pressing means 22 are shown in a state where they are attached to the cartridge holder 20, and the ink cartridge 21A is shown before being attached to the cartridge holder 20. In FIG. 2, the lid 20a of the cartridge holder 20 is not shown in order to clearly show the internal state.

  As shown in FIG. 2, each ink cartridge 21 includes a bottomed box-shaped case body 31, a case cover 32 attached to the opening 31 b of the case body 31 so as to face the bottom wall 31 a of the case body 31, and And an ink pack 33 containing ink. Then, the case cover 32 is attached in a state where the ink pack 33 is accommodated in the case main body 31, whereby the bottom wall 31a of the case main body 31 and the side wall 31c provided so as to be orthogonal to the bottom wall 31a, A pressure chamber 31d is surrounded by the case cover 32.

  Each ink cartridge 21 has a bottom wall 31a of the case main body 31 of the ink cartridges 21A, 21B, 21C, and 21D and a case cover 32 of the ink cartridges 21B, 21C, 21D, and 21E adjacent to each other. It is accommodated in the accommodating portion 20b of the cartridge holder 20 in a state of being aligned along the alignment direction (left-right direction in FIG. 2) so as to be close to each other with a gap of about 0.5 mm. That is, each ink cartridge 21 is mounted on the cartridge holder 20 so that the right side in FIG. 2 is the case body 31 and the left side in FIG.

  The cartridge holder 20 does not include a partition for individually storing the ink cartridges 21, and the storage portion 20b is an inner surface facing the ink cartridges 21A and 21E attached to the parallel ends (left and right ends in FIG. 2) in the arrangement direction. 20c and 20d, respectively. The holding means 22 includes an outer surface of the bottom wall 31a of the case main body 31 in the ink cartridge 21E mounted at the parallel end and an inner surface 20d (right side wall constituting a part of the storage portion 20b) in the storage portion 20b. That is, it is arrange | positioned between opposing surfaces.

  Each ink pack 33 is formed into a bag shape by a flexible film having gas barrier properties, and a bag portion 33a in which ink is sealed, and an end portion (the rear end portion in FIG. 2) of the bag portion 33a. And an ink supply part 33b fixed to the head. Further, the holding means 22 includes an air accommodating bag 22a that can be expanded and contracted according to an increase or decrease in the amount of air to be accommodated, and a connecting portion 22b that is fixed to an end portion (rear end portion in FIG. 2) of the air accommodating bag 22a. With.

  The case main body 31 of each ink cartridge 21 has an introduction hole 31e for introducing pressurized air into the pressure chamber 31d into the side wall 31c on the rear end side when the cartridge holder 20 is mounted, and an ink. A lead-out hole 31f for leading out the ink stored in the pack 33 is formed.

  Further, in the case main body 31 of each ink cartridge 21, various information (for example, ink color information, ink remaining amount information, etc.) relating to the ink cartridge 21 is stored in the upper side wall 31c when the cartridge holder 20 is mounted. The non-volatile memory 34 is provided, and a terminal 34a is exposed on the surface (upper surface) of the non-volatile memory 34 (see ink cartridges 21C and 21D). A connection terminal 35 (see FIG. 1) is provided at a position corresponding to each terminal 34a of the ink cartridge 21 mounted in the cartridge holder 20. Therefore, when each ink cartridge 21 is attached to the cartridge holder 20, the terminal 34a and the connection terminal 35 come into contact with each other, so that various information can be exchanged with the microcomputer 100 (see FIG. 3) provided in the printer 11. Delivery is to be performed.

  At the rear part of the cartridge holder 20, each ink cartridge 21 (21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E) and the holding means 22 are detachably mounted as mounting portions 36 (36A, 36B, 36C, 36D, 36E) and the mounting portion 37 are accommodated.

  Each mounting portion 36 includes an ink supply tube portion 38 and an air introduction tube portion 39 that project toward the inside of the storage portion 20b. In addition, each mounting portion 36 communicates with each ink supply pipe portion 38 and has an ink flow path 38 a through which the ink stored in the ink pack 33 can be discharged toward the recording head 25 side, and each air introduction pipe portion 39. An air flow path 39a for supplying pressurized air to the ink cartridge 21 through communication is formed. The ink supply pipe section 38 and the ink flow path 38a constitute a part of the ink supply path 23, and the air introduction pipe section 39 and the air flow path 39a constitute a part of the pressurized air supply paths 27A to 27E. ing.

  On the other hand, the mounting portion 37 includes an air introduction tube portion 40 projecting into the housing portion 20b, and an air flow path 40a for communicating with the air introduction tube portion 40 and supplying pressurized air to the ink cartridge 21. The air introduction pipe section 40 and the air flow path 40a constitute a part of the pressurized air supply path 27F.

  When each ink cartridge 21 is attached to each attachment portion 36, the air introduction tube portion 39 is inserted into the introduction hole 31e formed in the case main body 31, and the ink supply tube portion 38 is inserted into the ink through the outlet hole 31f. The ink supply unit 33b of the pack 33 is inserted. Therefore, when the pressure pump 26 is driven in a state where each ink cartridge 21 is mounted, pressurized air is supplied into the pressure chamber 31d through the pressurized air supply paths 27A to 27E. When the pressure in the pressure chamber 31d rises with the supply of pressurized air, the bag portion 33a is crushed, and the ink stored in the ink pack 33 is pumped to the recording head 25 side through each ink supply path 23. It is like that.

  Although the holding means 22 is also configured to be detachable from the mounting portion 37, the air introduction pipe portion 40 is normally mounted on the mounting portion 37 in a state where the air introduction pipe portion 40 is inserted through the connection portion 22b. Therefore, when the pressurized air is supplied to each ink cartridge 21, the pressurized air is also supplied into the air accommodating bag 22a through the pressurized air supply path 27F, and the air accommodating bag 22a expands as the amount of air to be accommodated increases. It is supposed to be. When the air release valve 30F is opened and the pressurized air supply path 27F is opened to the atmosphere, the air containing bag 22a contracts in accordance with a decrease in the amount of air to be stored. That is, the air release valve 30F adjusts the pressure in the pressurized air supply path 27F and the air containing bag 22a by releasing the pressurized air supplied from the pressure pump 26. In FIG. 2, the holding means 22 is shown in a contracted state.

Next, the electrical configuration of the printer 11 will be described with reference to FIG.
As shown in FIG. 3, the printer 11 includes a controller 50, and the controller 50 includes a microcomputer 100, a head drive circuit 101, a motor drive circuit 102, and valve drive circuits 103 and 104. In addition, the microcomputer 100 includes a control unit 110, a calculation unit 111, a timer 112, a ROM 113, a RAM 114, an ink consumption counter 115, an ink remaining amount acquisition unit 116, and a time measuring unit 117. The microcomputer 100 is connected to the drive circuits 101 to 104 as an output system and a pressure sensor 28 as an input system.

  The control unit 110 transfers print data (bitmap data) received by the printer 11 from a host computer (not shown) to the head drive circuit 101. The head driving circuit 101 drives the ejection driving element 25b based on the print data, whereby ink droplets are ejected from the nozzles 25a of the recording head 25.

  Further, the control unit 110 drives and controls the pressurizing pump motor 51 constituting the pressurized air supply device via the motor driving circuit 102. When the pressurizing pump motor 51 is driven forward, the pressurizing pump 26 is pumped and pressurized air is supplied to the pressure chamber 31 d in the ink cartridge 21 through the pressurized air supply path 27. .

  Further, the control unit 110 controls the atmosphere release valves 30A and 30F via the valve drive circuits 103 and 104 to open or close them. For example, when the pressurization pump 26 is driven, both the atmosphere release valves 30A and 30F are closed. On the other hand, when a predetermined pressure threshold is detected by the pressure sensor 28 provided in the pressurized air supply path 27, or when the ink cartridge 21 is replaced, the air release valves 30A and 30F are opened and the pressure is increased. The inside of the compressed air supply path 27, the pressure chamber 31d, and the air containing bag 22a is opened to the atmosphere.

  In addition, when the control process such as the printing process is not performed for a specified time while the power of the printer 11 is turned on, the control unit 110 performs a transition process to the power saving state in order to pause the printer 11. Do. Here, the transition process to the power saving state in the present embodiment refers to a process for transitioning to the power saving state, which is a hibernation state for suppressing standby power consumption. In such a power saving state, such as a power saving state, the data stored in the RAM 114 that is erased when the power is turned off is saved, and the display is temporarily stopped to reduce power consumption.

  Further, the control unit 110 can access the nonvolatile memory 34 through the connection between the terminal 34 a and the connection terminal 35. When the printer 11 is turned off, the current ink remaining amount temporarily stored in the RAM 114 is written in the nonvolatile memory 34 of the ink cartridge 21. Note that when the ink remaining amount reaches the ink end (ink exhaustion state) threshold, the control unit 110 issues a notification prompting replacement of the ink cartridge 21 in which the ink has been exhausted.

  The calculation unit 111 is constituted by a CPU, and performs calculations related to various processes executed by the control unit 110. The timer 112 is a counter that performs a counting process based on a clock signal from a clock circuit, and measures the driving time of the pressurizing pump 26 and the like.

  The ROM 113 stores a control program executed by the control unit 110 and the like. The RAM 114 temporarily stores the current ink remaining amount as a calculation result, various data to be processed by executing a control program, and the like. A part of the RAM 114 is used as a buffer for temporarily storing image data and print data before and after processing in the control unit 110.

  The ink consumption counter 115 counts the number of ink ejections (number of ink droplets) ejected from the nozzles 25a of the recording head 25 for each ink color based on the print data (bitmap data).

  The ink remaining amount acquisition unit 116 calculates the ink consumption amount for each color (for each ink cartridge 21) by multiplying the count value (number of ink ejections) counted by the ink consumption counter 115 by a predetermined coefficient. Then, the current ink remaining amount is obtained by sequentially subtracting the calculated ink consumption amount from the initial value or the ink remaining amount read from the nonvolatile memory 34 of the ink cartridge 21.

  The time measuring means 117 is composed of a real time clock built in the printer 11 or a CPU that acquires time measuring information from a host computer connected to the printer 11 via a communication cable, and the elapsed time when the printer 11 is powered on. The elapsed time while the printer 11 is powered off is counted.

Next, the operation of the printer 11 configured as described above will be described below.
When the ink cartridge 21 is installed in the cartridge holder 20, the pressurization pump 26 is driven as a print preparation operation, and the air storage bag in the pressure chamber 31 d of each ink cartridge 21 and the holding means 22 through the pressurized air supply path 27. Pressurized air is supplied into 22a. Thereby, in each ink cartridge 21, the bag portion 33 a of the ink pack 33 is crushed and the ink is pumped to the recording head 25 side through each ink supply path 23, and the ink supply path 23 is filled with ink. On the other hand, in the holding means 22, the air containing bag 22 a expands as the amount of stored air increases, and the ink cartridges 21 </ b> E are aligned along the alignment direction (left and right direction in FIG. 2) from one (right) to the other (left). ) Then, the ink cartridge 21E presses the adjacent ink cartridge 21D, and the ink cartridges 21D, 21C, and 21B press the ink cartridges 21C, 21B, and 21A, respectively, so that the ink cartridge 21A becomes the inner surface of the left side wall of the housing portion 20b. 20c. As a result, each of the ink cartridges 21 (21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E) is pressed by the expanded air containing bag 22a so as not to be removable (that is, not removable).

  Subsequently, when the ejection driving element 25b is driven and a predetermined amount of ink is ejected from the nozzle 25a of the recording head 25 at the home position HP, the print preparation work is completed. After the print preparation work is completed, when print data is received from the host computer and printing is started, the pressure pump 26 is driven and the ink in each ink pack 33 is pressurized and supplied to the recording head 25. . When the printing is finished, the driving of the pressure pump 26 is stopped, the atmosphere release valve 30A is opened, and the insides of the pressurized air supply paths 27A to 27E and the pressure chambers 31d are opened to the atmosphere. The

  Accordingly, the atmosphere release valve 30A is in an open state when printing is finished and the power is shut off or when the printer 11 is shifted to a power saving state, that is, when the printer 11 is turned off or stopped. On the other hand, the air release valve 30F provided in the pressurized air supply path 27F is kept in the closed state even when the power is shut off or stopped after the printing is finished. Therefore, each ink cartridge 21 is held by the air containing bag 22a even when the power of the printer 11 is shut off or stopped. Therefore, even if each ink cartridge 21 is to be attached / detached when the power of the printer 11 is shut off or at rest, it cannot be removed from the cartridge holder 20 because it is held by the air containing bag 22a.

  When the ink stored in any one of the ink cartridges 21 is exhausted and the ink cartridge 21 is replaced, the air release valve 30F is opened as well as the air release valve 30A. Specifically, when the amount of ink necessary for printing the received print data exceeds the current remaining ink amount, the control unit 110 determines that the ink in the ink cartridge 21 has been exhausted. Cancel the printing process. Then, after the carriage 15 is moved to the home position HP, a notification is made to prompt replacement of the ink cartridge 21 that has been exhausted, and the atmosphere release valves 30A and 30F are opened. As a result, the inside of the pressurized air supply passage 27 is opened to the atmosphere, the air containing bag 22a contracts, and the hold of each ink cartridge 21 is released.

According to the embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) At the time of supplying pressurized air to each ink cartridge 21, the atmosphere release valves 30A and 30F are closed and the pressurized air is supplied to the holding means 22, so that it is based on the applied pressure of the supplied pressurized air. Thus, each ink cartridge 21 mounted on the mounting portion 36 can be locked by the pressing means 22 so as not to be removable. Further, when the ink cartridge 21 is attached / detached, the atmosphere release valves 30A and 30F are opened to release the ink cartridge 21 from being blocked, so that the attachment / detachment of the ink cartridge 21 is not hindered. Therefore, the ink cartridge 21 can be prevented from being unnecessarily attached / detached by holding the ink cartridge 21 in a non-detachable manner by the holding means 22 except when the ink cartridge 21 is replaced.

  (2) The mounting portion 36 is configured so that a plurality of ink cartridges 21 can be mounted in parallel, and the holding means 22 can press the ink cartridge 21 mounted on the mounting portion 36 from one side to the other along the alignment direction. Therefore, it is possible to collectively hold a plurality of ink cartridges 21 mounted in parallel. Therefore, since it is not necessary to provide the pressing means 22 for each ink cartridge 21, an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed.

  (3) The holding means 22 is formed on the outer surface of the bottom wall 31a of the case main body 31 of the ink cartridge 21E mounted at the parallel end (right end) in the direction of alignment with the mounting portion 36 and the right side wall of the storage portion 20b facing this. Since it is arranged between the inner surface 20d, the plurality of ink cartridges 21 accommodated in the accommodating portion 20b can be pressed together.

  (4) Since the holding means 22 has the air containing bag 22a that can be expanded and contracted in accordance with the increase or decrease of the amount of air to be stored, the ink containing cartridge 21 is pressed by inflating the air containing bag 22a with pressurized air. can do. Further, since the air containing bag 22a can be contracted by reducing the amount of air, if the amount of air in the air containing bag 22a is reduced when the ink cartridge 21 is attached or detached, the ink cartridge 21 is pressed to attach or detach. Will not be disturbed. Furthermore, since pressurized air is supplied to the air containing bag 22a from the pressurizing pump 26 that supplies the pressurized air to the ink cartridge 21, it is not necessary to provide a new pressurizing source to press the ink cartridge 21. .

  (5) Since the air release valve 30F is opened when the ink cartridge 21 is in an ink exhausted state (ink end), the ink stored in the ink cartridge 21 is consumed and replaced with a new one. Only when the ink cartridge 21 can be removed. Therefore, unnecessary detachment of the ink cartridge 21 can be prevented.

  (6) The air release valve 30F is kept closed even when the power is shut off or at rest (when shifting to the power saving state), so that the pressurized air to the ink cartridge 21 is shut off when the power is shut off or at rest. Even if the supply is stopped, it is possible to hold the ink cartridge 21 in the stopped state by the holding means 22.

  (7) The printer 11 employs a so-called off-carriage method in which a liquid container mounting mechanism including a cartridge holder 20 and the like is fixedly disposed in the main body frame 12. On the other hand, in the so-called on-carriage system in which the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage, the ink cartridge moves together with the carriage during printing, and after printing is finished and the carriage moves to a predetermined ink cartridge attachment / detachment position. The ink cartridge is attached and detached. That is, in the off-carriage type printer, the ink cartridge is physically easy to be attached / detached as compared with the on-carriage type printer in which the attachment / detachment position of the ink cartridge is limited. The prevention of desorption by 22 is particularly effective.

The above embodiment may be changed to another embodiment as described below.
A holding means 22 may be provided between the inner surface 20c of the left side wall of the housing portion 20b and the outer surface of the leftmost ink cartridge 21A in the direction of alignment, or the ink cartridges 21A to 21E may be sandwiched from both the left and right sides. You may provide the holding means 22 in both.

  A plurality of ink cartridges 21 mounted in parallel may be pressed from the upper side or the lower side. In short, what is necessary is just the structure which presses from the direction which cross | intersects the attachment or detachment direction of the ink cartridge 21. FIG. Also in this case, since it is not necessary to provide the pressing means 22 for each ink cartridge 21, an increase in the number of parts can be suppressed.

  The lid 20a of the cartridge holder 20 may be provided with the pressing means 22 so that the lid 20a is closed, and then the ink cartridge 21 is pressed from above by the pressing means 22. In this case, the release of the pressing means 22 can be interlocked with the opening / closing timing of the lid portion 20a.

  -Only a part of the ink cartridges 21 may be pressed by one pressing unit, or a plurality of pressing units may block different ink cartridges 21 respectively.

  The member that presses the ink cartridge 21 is not limited to the air containing bag. For example, a pressure chamber in which a wall surface facing the outer surface of the ink cartridge 21 is formed of a flexible film is provided at the end of the accommodating portion 20b, and the flexible film is supplied by supplying pressurized air into the pressure chamber. The ink cartridge 21 may be pressed by being bent and deformed toward the ink cartridge 21 side. Alternatively, the ink cartridge 21 may be pressed by a piston or the like configured to operate by air pressure.

-You may make it equip the holding means 22 or the cartridge holder 20 with the air release valve for releasing air in the air containing bag 22a.
-You may make it provide a separate pressure sensor with the pressurized air supply path 27A-27E and the pressurized air supply path 27F.

The pressurized air may be supplied to the holding means 22 from a pressure source different from the pressure pump 26 that supplies the pressurized air to each ink cartridge 21.
-It is good also as a structure with which the ink cartridge 21 arrange | positioned in parallel is mounted | worn so that it may become upper and lower multistage.

  Not only when the ink cartridge 21 is exhausted, but with a cartridge replacement button, for example, when the ink cartridge 21 is simply replaced or when the ink cartridge is removed for inspection or other purposes. The stop may be released.

-You may make it detect that the ink accommodated in the ink cartridge 21 was exhausted by methods other than what was shown in the said embodiment.
A so-called on-carriage printer in which the ink cartridge is mounted on the carriage may be provided with a holding means.

  A plurality of modes (sleep mode, power saving mode, etc.) with different states during the suspension may be set as the suspension state of the printer 11, or based on a sleep button or other suspension instruction via the host computer Then, it may be possible to shift to a dormant state.

  In the above embodiment, the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the present invention is embodied as an ink jet printer and an ink cartridge. However, the liquid ejecting apparatus ejects or discharges liquid other than ink, and the liquid. It may be embodied as a liquid container containing That is, the present invention can be applied to various liquid consuming apparatuses including a liquid ejecting head that discharges a minute amount of liquid droplets. In addition, a droplet means the state of the liquid discharged from the said liquid ejecting apparatus, and shall also include what pulls a tail in granular shape, tear shape, and thread shape. The liquid here may be any material that can be ejected by the liquid consuming device. For example, the material may be in a liquid phase state, a liquid state with high or low viscosity, sol, gel water, other inorganic solvent, organic solvent, solution, liquid resin, liquid metal (metal melt) ) And a liquid as one state of a substance, as well as a material in which particles of a functional material made of a solid such as a pigment or metal particles are dissolved, dispersed or mixed in a solvent. In addition, typical examples of the liquid include ink and liquid crystal as described in the above embodiments. Here, the ink includes general water-based inks and oil-based inks, and various liquid compositions such as gel inks and hot melt inks. As a specific example of the liquid consuming apparatus, for example, a liquid containing a material such as an electrode material or a color material used for manufacturing a liquid crystal display, an EL (electroluminescence) display, a surface emitting display, a color filter, or the like in a dispersed or dissolved form. It may be a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a bio-organic material used for biochip manufacturing, a liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a liquid as a sample used as a precision pipette, a textile printing apparatus, a microdispenser, or the like. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate or the like may be employed. The present invention can be applied to any one of these ejecting apparatuses and liquid containers.

1 is a schematic plan view of an ink jet printer according to an embodiment. The schematic diagram for demonstrating the cartridge holder in embodiment. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an electrical configuration of the printer.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer as a liquid ejecting apparatus, 20 ... Cartridge holder which comprises a liquid container mounting mechanism, 20b ... Storage part, 20c, 20d ... Inner surface (opposing surface), 21, 21A, 21B, 21C, 21D, 21E ... Liquid Ink cartridge as a container, 22 ... pressing means, 22a ... an air containing bag, 25 ... a recording head as a liquid ejecting head, 26 ... a pressurizing pump constituting a pressurized air supply device, 27F ... a liquid container mounting mechanism , A pressurized air supply path as an air flow path that constitutes, 30F... Atmospheric release valve that constitutes a liquid container mounting mechanism, 36, 36A, 36B, 36C, 36D, 36E... Mounting part as a liquid container mounting part, 51: A pressurized pump motor constituting a pressurized air supply device.

Claims (7)

A liquid container mounting portion capable of mounting a liquid container containing liquid in a manner capable of supplying pressurized air to the liquid container;
A holding means capable of holding the liquid container mounted on the liquid container mounting part so as not to be removable based on the applied pressure;
An air flow path for supplying pressurized air that generates the pressurizing force to the holding means;
An atmospheric release valve that adjusts the pressure by discharging pressurized air supplied through the air flow path;
When the pressurized air is supplied to the liquid container, the atmosphere release valve is closed and pressurized air is supplied to the holding means through the air flow path, and when the liquid container is attached / detached, the atmosphere release valve is provided. A liquid container mounting mechanism configured to release the hold of the liquid container in a valve open state. The liquid container mounting part is configured to be able to mount a plurality of liquid containers in parallel,
The liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the holding means is configured to be able to press the liquid container from one side to the other side in the arrangement direction. A storage unit capable of storing each liquid container in a state of being mounted in parallel with the liquid container mounting unit;
The pressing means is opposed to the outer surface of the one liquid container and the outer surface of one liquid container mounted on the parallel end in the arrangement direction among the liquid containers and the inner surface of the container. The liquid container mounting mechanism according to claim 2, wherein the liquid container mounting mechanism is disposed between the surface and the surface. The holding means has an air containing bag that can be expanded and contracted according to an increase or decrease in the amount of air to be stored,
When pressurized air is supplied to the liquid container, the compressed air is supplied to the air bag from a pressurized air supply device that supplies pressurized air to the liquid container. The liquid container mounting mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3. The liquid according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein when the liquid stored in the liquid container is exhausted, the atmosphere release valve is opened. Container mounting mechanism. The liquid container mounting mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the air release valve is configured to be kept in a closed state when the power is shut off or at rest. . The liquid container mounting mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 6,
A pressurized air supply device for supplying pressurized air to the liquid container;
A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a liquid ejecting head capable of ejecting the liquid.

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