Recording device

Abstract

To provide a recording device that is suppressed in mist leakage.SOLUTION: A recording device for discharging ink from a recording head to record an image includes: a first cover constituting part of an outside wall of the recording device; a connector to which a cable is connected; a second cover including an opening for exposing the connector and an abutment part abutting on the connector and engaged with the first cover; and a biasing part for biasing the abutment part to the connector.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a recording device. [Background technology]

[0002] There are recording devices equipped with an exterior cover having an opening for exposing the internal mechanism. When ink is ejected onto a recording medium in the recording device, ink that does not adhere to the recording medium may leak out from the opening as mist. In Patent Document 1, the exterior parts that make up the recording device have a shape that allows them to abut against each other internally, thereby preventing mist from leaking outside the device. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Publication No. 2022-125760 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in the configuration of Patent Document 1, minute gaps may occur due to variations in component tolerances.

[0005] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to suppress mist leakage. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above problem, the recording device of the present invention is a recording device that records an image by ejecting ink from a recording head, and is characterized by comprising: a first cover that forms part of the outer wall of the recording device; a connector to which a cable is connected; an opening that exposes the connector; a second cover that has an abutment portion that abuts against the connector and is engaged with the first cover; and a biasing portion that biases the abutment portion against the connector. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the present invention, a recording device in which mist leakage is suppressed is provided. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the appearance of a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of a recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the left side cover of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment, as seen from inside the apparatus. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a USB cover of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the recording device according to the first embodiment, with the USB cover engaged with the left side cover. [Figure 6] 10 is a cross-sectional view of the recording device according to the first embodiment, showing a state in which the USB cover is engaged with the left side cover. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the periphery of a USB connector and a USB cover of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. However, the following embodiments do not limit the present invention, and not all of the combinations of features described in the embodiments are necessarily essential to the solution of the present invention. Furthermore, the relative arrangements, shapes, etc. of the components described in the embodiments are merely examples, and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to those alone.

[0010] "Recording" not only includes the formation of meaningful information such as characters and figures, but also the formation of images, patterns, designs, etc. on a recording medium, whether meaningful or insignificant, or the processing of the medium, regardless of whether it is manifested in a way that can be perceived visually by humans. In addition, although paper is assumed as the "original" and "recording medium" in this embodiment, they may also be cloth, plastic film (transparency), metal plate, glass, ceramics, wood, leather, etc.

[0011] Furthermore, "ink" (sometimes called "liquid") should be interpreted broadly in the same way as the definition of "recording" above. Therefore, it refers to a liquid that can be applied to a recording medium to form an image, design, pattern, etc., to process the recording medium, or to process ink (for example, to solidify or insolubilize coloring materials in ink applied to the recording medium).

[0012] [First embodiment] Fig. 1(a) is a perspective view of the recording device 1 as seen from the front. Fig. 1(b) is a perspective view of the recording device 1 as seen from the back. Note that the X direction shown in the figure corresponds to the left-right direction (width direction) when the recording device 1 is seen from the front, the Y direction corresponds to the depth direction (front-rear direction) of the recording device 1, and the Z direction corresponds to the up-down direction (height direction).

[0013] 2 is a perspective view showing the internal structure of the recording device 1. The recording device 1 is an inkjet printer equipped with a recording head 11 that performs recording by ejecting ink onto a recording medium. Although detailed description will be omitted here, the recording head 11 has an array of nozzles, and when a plurality of heaters (electrothermal conversion elements) corresponding to the plurality of nozzles are energized, the ink is heated and foamed, and ejected from the corresponding nozzle. In another embodiment, piezoelectric elements may be used in place of the heaters in the recording head 11.

[0014] The recording apparatus 1 further includes a platen 120, a tank 130, a carriage 140, a transport unit 150, a recovery unit 16, a paper feed unit 17, and a paper discharge unit 18. The platen 120 is disposed opposite the recording head 11 and supports the recording medium from the side opposite the recording head 11.

[0015] The tank 130 stores ink to be supplied to the recording head 11. The recording head 11 receives the ink from the tank 130 via a tube (not shown) and ejects the received ink when recording. In this embodiment, multiple types of ink (and optionally multiple colors) are used, and multiple tanks 130 are attached to the device body. Examples of multiple types of ink include pigment ink and dye ink. The recording head 11 may be configured as a cartridge type integrated with the tank 130.

[0016] The carriage 140 is configured to carry the recording head 11 and to be able to move back and forth in the X direction, thereby enabling the recording head 11 to scan in the X direction. In this embodiment, the carriage 140 includes a pulley 141, a belt 142, and a power source 143. The belt 142, which is stretched around the pulley 141, receives power from the power source 143 and runs, causing the carriage 140 to slide along a rail extending in the X direction. A known electric motor is used as the power source 143.

[0017] With this configuration, the print head 11 is capable of scanning in the X direction, and prints on the print medium during this scanning. Such a print head 11 is also referred to as a serial head. In another embodiment, the print head 11 may be a line head that extends across the entire width of the print medium.

[0018] The transport unit 150 transports the recording medium taken in from the paper feed unit 17 to the recording head 11, and transports the recording medium on which recording has been completed by the recording head 11 to the paper discharge unit 18. In this embodiment, the transport unit 150 includes a plurality of rollers arranged inside the device body, and FIG. 1 shows, as examples of some of these rollers, a transport roller 151 and a pinch roller 152 arranged upstream of the recording head 11 in the recording medium transport direction.

[0019] The conveying roller 151 is a drive roller that is driven by the power of a power source (not shown). The pinch roller 152 is a driven roller that is biased against the conveying roller 151 and is in rotatable contact with the conveying roller 151. The conveying roller 151 and the pinch roller 152 function as a nip portion that nips (holds) the recording medium, and conveys the recording medium taken in from the paper feed unit 17 toward the recording head 11.

[0020] In the recording device 1 having the recording head 11 as a serial head, an operation in which the transport unit 150 transports the recording medium by a predetermined distance and an operation in which the recording head 11 scans and records while the transport unit 150 inhibits the transport are alternately performed. In this way, the intermittent transport operation by the transport unit 150 and the scanning and recording operation by the recording head 11 are alternately and repeatedly performed, thereby realizing recording on the entire area of ​​the recording medium.

[0021] The recovery unit 16 is provided in a part of the area in which the recording head 11 can be moved by the carriage 140 (typically, an area at one end of the movable area), and is configured to be able to recover the ink ejection function of the recording head 11. For example, the recovery unit 16 includes a suction pump 163, and performs a suction operation on the nozzle surface (ink ejection surface) of the recording head 11. This removes air bubbles, viscous ink, etc. from inside the nozzles, and recovers the ink ejection function of the recording head 11. The ink sucked in this way is sent as waste ink to a waste ink container 4 (see FIG. 2, etc.), which will be described later.

[0022] The above suction operation is performed for each type of ink, and in this embodiment, the pigment ink and dye ink sucked by the suction pump 163 are sent individually to the waste ink container 4 via the waste ink tube 161 and the waste ink tube 162, respectively. To distinguish between them, the waste ink tube 161 and the waste ink tube 162 may be referred to as, for example, a waste pigment ink tube and a waste dye ink tube, respectively.

[0023] 1, on the left side of the recording device 1 when viewed from the front, there are provided a left front cover 5 which forms a left front wall which is part of the outer wall of the device, a left side cover 3 which forms a left side wall which is also part of the outer wall of the device, and a USB cover 4. An upper case 6 is provided on top of the left side cover 3.

[0024] 3 is a perspective view of the left side cover 3 as seen from inside the device. Various shapes are provided on the inside of the left side cover 3 for engaging with the left front cover 5, USB cover 4, and upper case 6. Hook 9a is shaped to engage the left side cover 3 with the upper case 6. Hook 9b is for engaging with a groove provided in the lower case 7.

[0025] The countersunk shape 10a is for screwing the left side cover 3 to the lower case 7. The countersunk shape 10b is for screwing the left side cover 3 to the upper case 6. The hook 9c is for engaging the left side cover 3 with the left front cover 5. The boss 21 is for positioning the left side cover 3 with respect to the upper case 6.

[0026] Figure 4 is a perspective view of the USB cover 4. The recording device 1 has a USB connector 8 (see Figure 7) for connecting a USB cable on the left side wall, and the USB cover 4 covers the periphery of the USB connector 8. By connecting a USB cable to the USB connector 8, the recording device 1 is electrically connected to an external device such as a host computer.

[0027] The two hooks 9d shown in Fig. 3 engage with the two engaging portions 9g of the USB cover 4 shown in Fig. 4. The two hooks 9e shown in Fig. 3 engage with the engaging portion 9h of the USB cover 4 shown in Fig. 4. The recess 90 shown in Fig. 3 engages with the hook 9f of the USB cover 4 shown in Fig. 4. Furthermore, the rib 9i shown in Fig. 3 abuts against the elastic portion 14 serving as the biasing portion shown in Fig. 4. The shape and number of portions for engaging the left side cover 3 and the USB cover 4 are not limited to those in this embodiment.

[0028] The USB cover 4 is inserted from the rear side of the device (downstream side in the +Y direction) toward the front side of the device (upstream side in the +Y direction) into the left side cover 3, thereby engaging with the left side cover 3. In the engaged state, the USB cover 4 is positioned relative to the left side cover 3 in the X and Z directions, and is held in a state where it can move in the Y direction.

[0029] The USB cover 4 has an opening 12 that connects the inside of the housing 2 (see FIG. 1(a)) with the outside, and an abutment portion 13 that abuts against the USB connector 8. The opening 12 serves to expose the USB connector 8. The abutment portion 13 is configured to surround the periphery of the opening 12. An inclined surface 15 that connects the abutment portion 13 with the outer wall of the opening 12 is a surface that inclines in a direction that widens outward from the abutment portion 13.

[0030] 5 is a perspective view of the left side cover 3 with the USB cover 4 engaged. The elastic portion 14 comes into contact with the rib 9i of the left side cover 3, and urges the USB cover 4 in the +Y direction (toward the back of the device) by its elastic force. That is, the elastic portion 14 urges the USB cover 4 in the opening direction of the opening 12 (or the direction in which the USB cable is connected). The hook 9h is inserted into the left side cover 3 in the X direction, thereby restricting the rotation of the USB cover 4. The abutment portion 13 acts as a limiter to prevent the USB cover 4 from disengaging from the left side cover 3, even after the USB cover 4 moves in the Y direction due to the elastic force of the elastic portion 14.

[0031] 6 is a cross-sectional view of the area around the USB cover 4 when the USB cover 4 is engaged with the left side cover 3 and assembled. During assembly, the inclined surface 15 of the USB cover 4 can move in the -X direction while abutting against the USB connector 8, allowing assembly to be performed without being obstructed by the opening 12 or surrounding components. After assembly, the USB connector 8 abuts against the abutment portion 13 of the USB cover 4. After assembly, the USB cover 4 is positioned at a position moved a predetermined distance in the -Y direction compared to before the USB connector 8 was inserted. The inclined surface 15 of the USB cover 4 has a length in the Y direction that is at least a predetermined distance or more.

[0032] In the above, the USB connector 8 itself is configured to abut against the inclined surface 15 during assembly, but regardless of this, a peripheral member that partially surrounds the USB connector 8 may be provided, and the peripheral member and the inclined surface 15 may abut against each other during assembly.

[0033] 7 is a perspective view of the periphery of the USB connector 8 and the USB cover 4. When the USB connector 8 is inserted into the opening 12 of the USB cover 4, the inclined surface of the USB connector 8 comes into contact with the contact portion 13 of the USB cover 4, thereby closing the opening 12. Furthermore, by being biased in the +Y direction (toward the back of the device) by the elastic portion 14, the USB cover 4 receives a compressive force in the direction of contact with the USB connector 8, which makes it easier to close the gap of the opening 12.

[0034] Generally, mist that is ejected from the recording head 11 and floats inside the housing 2 without landing on the recording medium tends to leak out of the device through gaps in the opening 12. In contrast, by configuring the USB cover 4 to be biased against and abut against the USB connector 8 as in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent gaps from forming in the opening 12 and prevent mist from leaking out of the device.

[0035] In this embodiment, the elastic portion 14 is used to bias the USB cover 4, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, other biasing means such as a spring can also be used. Also, in this embodiment, a configuration in which the USB cover 4 has the elastic portion 14 is disclosed, but a configuration in which the biasing means is provided as a component separate from the USB cover 4 may also be used.

[0036] In this embodiment, a USB cable and a USB connector are used as an example, but the present invention is not limited to this and can be applied to all forms of cables for connecting to external devices and corresponding connectors.

[0037] The disclosure of the above-described embodiment includes the following configurations.

[0038] (Configuration 1) A recording device that records an image by ejecting ink from a recording head, a first cover that constitutes a part of the outer wall of the recording device; a connector to which the cable is connected; a second cover that has an opening that exposes the connector and an abutment portion that abuts against the connector and is engaged with the first cover; a biasing portion that biases the contact portion against the connector.

[0039] (Configuration 2) 2. The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the biasing portion biases the contact portion in the opening direction of the opening.

[0040] (Configuration 3) 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second cover has an inclined surface that is connected to the contact portion.

[0041] (Configuration 4) The recording device described in configuration 3 is characterized in that, when the distance that the abutment portion moves along the opening direction by abutting against the connector is defined as a first distance, the inclined surface has a length in the opening direction that is equal to or greater than the first distance.

[0042] (Configuration 5) 5. The recording apparatus according to any one of configurations 1 to 4, wherein the second cover has the biasing portion. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1. Recording device 3 Left side cover 4 USB cover 8 USB connectors 11 Recording head 12 Opening 13 Contact part 14 Elastic part

Claims

1. A recording device that records an image by ejecting ink from a recording head, a first cover that constitutes a part of an outer wall of the recording device; a connector to which the cable is connected; a second cover that has an opening that exposes the connector and an abutment portion that abuts against the connector and is engaged with the first cover; a biasing portion that biases the contact portion against the connector.

2. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the biasing portion biases the contact portion in an opening direction of the opening.

3. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the second cover has an inclined surface connected to the contact portion.

4. The recording device described in claim 3, characterized in that when the distance that the abutment portion moves along the opening direction by abutting against the connector is defined as a first distance, the inclined surface has a length in the opening direction that is greater than or equal to the first distance.

5. 5. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the second cover has the biasing portion.

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