Liquid discharge apparatus

Abstract

To perform the attaching and detaching work of a waste liquid tank even if there is no large working space in the periphery.SOLUTION: The printer 100 includes a head 10, a waste liquid tank 50, a frame, and five covers 91 to 95. The waste liquid tank 50 has a side D1 longer in the front-rear direction than a side D2 in the left-right direction. The waste liquid tank 50 is pivotally movable about a front end thereof relative to the frame 80 and is detachably supported by the frame 80.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid ejection device provided with a waste liquid tank that stores waste liquid discharged from a liquid ejection head. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes an inkjet printer (liquid ejection device) that includes a waste ink tank (waste liquid tank), a waste ink tank replacement port that opens on the front of the printer, and a tank replacement port cover that covers the waste ink tank replacement port. The waste ink tank of this inkjet printer has a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vertical and front-to-rear directions of the printer, and is installed in the printer in an upright position. The waste ink tank can be replaced by removing the tank replacement port cover to the front of the printer and sliding it straight toward the front of the printer through the waste ink tank replacement port and pulling it out. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-9421 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In the inkjet printer described in Patent Document 1, when replacing the waste ink tank, a relatively large space is required in front of the printer to slide the waste ink tank in. This necessitates securing a large working space around the inkjet printer for attaching and detaching the waste ink tank to and from the printer.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a liquid ejection device that allows the waste liquid tank to be attached and detached even when there is not a large working space around the device. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The liquid ejection device of the present invention comprises a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid, a waste liquid tank that stores waste liquid discharged from the liquid ejection head, a frame that supports the liquid ejection head and the waste liquid tank, and a cover that is detachable from the frame and covers the waste liquid tank in a first direction perpendicular to the vertical direction, wherein the length of the waste liquid tank in a second direction perpendicular to both the vertical direction and the first direction is longer than the length in the first direction, the waste liquid tank is rotatable relative to the frame around one end that is one end in the second direction as the center of rotation, and the waste liquid tank is detachably supported by the frame. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the liquid ejection device of the present invention, after removing the cover, the waste liquid tank can be rotated around one end of the waste liquid tank as the rotation center, and then moved from one end to the other end in the second direction to remove it from the frame. The waste liquid tank can be attached to the frame by reversing the above procedure. This makes it possible to attach and detach the waste liquid tank even if there is not a large working space in front of the part of the liquid ejection device cover that covers the waste liquid tank. Furthermore, even if there is an obstacle in a position overlapping one end of the waste liquid tank in the first direction, it is possible to avoid the obstacle and attach and detach the waste liquid tank. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention as viewed from the left front. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a schematic plan view showing the internal configuration of the printer shown in FIG. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a left side view of the printer shown in FIG. [Figure 4] 2 is a schematic perspective view of the printer shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the left rear. [Figure 5] 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the printer shown in FIG. 1 with covers 91 and 93 removed. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a left side view of the printer shown in FIG. 3 with the cover 91, the cover 93, and the encoder disk 61 removed. [Figure 7] FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the waste liquid tank shown in FIG. 2. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a partial horizontal cross-sectional view of the printer with the cover 93 removed, showing the installation state of the waste liquid tank attached to the printer. [Figure 9] FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a partial horizontal cross-sectional view of the vicinity of a recessed portion of a cover 93 of the printer. [Figure 11] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main part showing a state in which a waste liquid tank and a substrate are attached to a frame. [Figure 12] 10 is a plan view of the main part showing a state in which the waste liquid tank is rotated from a frame to which the waste liquid tank and the substrate are attached. FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the printer. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] <Embodiment> First, with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the overall configuration of a printer 100 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described. The printer 100 according to this embodiment is a so-called multifunction device that is capable of printing on paper 9 (recording medium) as well as reading images. In the following description, the front-rear direction D1 and the left-right direction D2 are horizontal directions that are perpendicular to the up-down direction D3. The front-rear direction D1 is perpendicular to the left-right direction D2. The left-right direction D2 is the direction when the printer 100 is viewed from the front. The left-right direction D2 corresponds to the "first direction" of the present invention, and the front-rear direction D1 corresponds to the "second direction" of the present invention. In this embodiment, the up-down direction D3 is aligned with the vertical direction, but it may also be an up-down direction that intersects with the vertical direction. In this case, it is sufficient that the left-right direction and the front-rear direction are perpendicular to the up-down direction.

[0010] <Overall printer configuration> 1 and 2, the printer 100 includes a housing 100A, a scanner unit 100B, an image forming unit 1, a conveying unit 2, a paper feed tray 5, a paper discharge tray 6, an operation unit 7, a display unit 8, a power supply unit 65 (see FIG. 3), a control unit 70 (see FIG. 13), etc. The printer 100 corresponds to the "liquid ejection device" of the present invention.

[0011] Scanner unit 100B is a known scanner disposed to cover the entire upper portion of housing 100A. Scanner unit 100B includes an opening / closing cover 100B1 and an image reading unit 100B2 (see FIG. 13). Opening / closing cover 100B1 is configured so that the front portion thereof can rotate up and down about a rotation axis (a rotation axis parallel to left-right direction D2) at the rear end. Image reading unit 100B2 is disposed between image forming unit 1 and opening / closing cover 100B1 in the up-down direction D3. When opening / closing cover 100B1 is closed, the entire upper surface of image reading unit 100B2 is covered by opening / closing cover 100B1. Image reading unit 100B2 outputs the scanned image to control unit 70.

[0012] The housing 100A has a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape. The housing 100A accommodates the image forming unit 1, the transport unit 2, the platen 19, the receiving unit 3, the waste liquid tank 50, the encoder 60, the power supply unit 65, and a circuit board 71 that forms part of the function of the control unit 70. The transport unit 2 corresponds to the "transport mechanism" of the present invention.

[0013] 1, the housing 100A has an opening 100C formed in approximately the center of the front wall 100A1. A paper feed tray 5 and a paper discharge tray 6 are provided in two tiers, one above the other, in the opening 100C. In this embodiment, the paper discharge tray 6 is provided above the paper feed tray 5. The paper feed tray 5 and the paper discharge tray 6 are configured to be insertable and removable from the opening 100C in the front-rear direction D1, i.e., detachable from the housing 100A.

[0014] 1 and 3 to 6, the housing 100A includes five covers 91 to 95 and a frame 80. The frame 80 supports the image forming unit 1, the transport unit 2, the waste liquid tank 50, the substrate 71, etc.

[0015] Of the five covers 91-95, two covers 91 and 92 form the front wall 100A1, cover 93 forms the left end portions of the left side wall 100A2 and the rear wall 100A4, cover 94 forms the right end portions of the right side wall 100A3 and the rear wall 100A4, and cover 95 forms the center portion of the rear wall 100A4 in the left-right direction D2. These five covers 91-95 are each detachably supported on the frame 80 by screws or hooks. The five covers 91-95 can be easily removed from the frame 80 by removing these screws and hooks from the frame 80. The five covers 91-95 can be easily attached to the frame 80 by reversing the removal procedure.

[0016] As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the cover 91, which forms the left side of the front wall 100A1, is attached to the frame 80 so as to cover the front end of the substrate 71 in the front-to-rear direction D1. The covers 91 and 93 are configured to be separable from each other, and the cover 91 covers the waste liquid tank 50 in the front-to-rear direction D1 as shown in FIG. 2. The cover 93 is attached to the frame 80 so as to cover the image forming unit 1, the conveying unit 2, the receiving unit 3, the waste liquid tank 50, the encoder 60, the power supply unit 65, and most of the substrate 71 in the left-to-right direction D2 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 6. The cover 93 also has a recess 93A recessed toward the waste liquid tank 50 in a portion that faces the waste liquid tank 50 in the left-to-right direction D2 from the center of the waste liquid tank 50 in the front-to-rear direction D1 to its front end.

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the image forming unit 1 includes a head 10 and a head moving mechanism 11. The head moving mechanism 11 includes a carriage 12, a pair of guides 13 and 14, a belt 15, and a carriage motor 12M (see FIG. 13). The carriage 12 holds the head 10. The pair of guides 13 and 14 support the carriage 12. The belt 15 is connected to the carriage 12. The guides 13 and 14 and the belt 15 extend in a scanning direction parallel to the left-right direction D2. When the carriage motor 12M is driven under the control of the control unit 70, the belt 15 runs, and the carriage 12 moves in the scanning direction along the guides 13 and 14.

[0018] The head 10 is supplied with ink from an ink tank (not shown). As shown in FIG. 2, the head 10 also has a plurality of nozzles N formed on its underside. The plurality of nozzles N are arranged so that four nozzle rows are aligned in the scanning direction. The nozzle rows are configured with a plurality of nozzles N aligned in the front-to-rear direction D1. From the plurality of nozzles N, black, yellow, cyan, and magenta inks are ejected, starting from the nozzle row on the right side in the scanning direction. The head 10 corresponds to the "liquid ejection head" of the present invention.

[0019] The platen 19 is a plate along a plane perpendicular to the up-down direction D3, and is disposed below the head 10. The platen 19 supports the paper 9 conveyed by the conveying unit 2 from below on its upper surface.

[0020] The conveying unit 2 has two roller pairs 2A and 2B arranged with a platen 19 sandwiched between them in the front-to-rear direction D1. When the conveying motor 2M (see FIGS. 6 and 13) is driven under the control of the control unit 70, the roller pairs 2A and 2B rotate while sandwiching the paper 9, and the paper 9 is conveyed from rear to front in the conveying direction along the front-to-rear direction D1. The paper 9 stored in the paper feed tray 5 is conveyed to the conveying unit 2 by a paper feed unit (not shown). The paper 9 conveyed by the conveying unit 2 is then discharged to the paper output tray 6.

[0021] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the encoder 60 is a known encoder including an encoder disk 61 and an optical sensor 62, and is used to detect the amount of paper 9 transported by the roller pair 2A. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, a disk fixing portion 2A1 that rotates coaxially with one of the rollers of the roller pair 2A is disposed at the left end of the roller. The encoder disk 61 is detachably attached to the disk fixing portion 2A1. The encoder disk 61 has a circular plate shape that is slightly larger than the disk fixing portion 2A1 and is attached to the disk fixing portion 2A1 with double-sided tape. The outer peripheral edge of the encoder disk 61 has multiple slits (not shown) formed along the circumferential direction. The encoder disk 61 is disposed between the waste liquid tank 50 and the cover 93 in the left-right direction D2, and is disposed so that a portion of the encoder disk 61 overlaps with the rear portion 50B of the waste liquid tank 50 in the left-right direction D2.

[0022] As shown in Figures 2 and 5, the optical sensor 62 is arranged to sandwich the outer circumferential edge of the encoder disk 61 in the left-right direction D2. More specifically, the optical sensor 62 has a light-emitting unit and a light-receiving unit. These light-emitting unit and light-receiving unit are arranged to sandwich the outer circumferential edge of the encoder disk 61 in the left-right direction D2. The optical sensor 62 also detects the presence or absence of a slit in the encoder disk 61 and outputs a detection signal to the control unit 70. The control unit 70 derives the transport amount of the paper 9 based on the detection signal from the optical sensor 62 and detects the transport amount of the paper 9.

[0023] 2, the receiving unit 3 is a member that receives ink as waste liquid when flushing is performed, in which ink is ejected from the nozzles N. The receiving unit 3 is disposed between the guides 13 and 14 in the front-rear direction D1. The receiving unit 3 is also disposed to the left (toward the cover 93) of the transport region R through which the paper 9 is transported by the transport unit 2.

[0024] The receiving portion 3 is made of a plate-like member, and its length in the front-rear direction D1 is longer than the length of the nozzle row in the front-rear direction D1. The receiving portion 3 is disposed above the waste liquid tank 50 and at a position overlapping the waste liquid tank 50 in the up-down direction D3. The receiving portion 3 is disposed at an angle so that its right end is positioned above its left end. This allows the receiving portion 3 to guide the ink (waste liquid) received by flushing so that it flows into the waste liquid tank 50. By providing such a receiving portion 3, the ink ejected from the head 10 by flushing can be discharged into the waste liquid tank 50.

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 7, the waste liquid tank 50 extends longitudinally in the front-rear direction D1. That is, the length of the waste liquid tank 50 in the front-rear direction D1 is longer than the length in the left-right direction D2. The waste liquid tank 50 has a box shape that opens upward and houses an ink absorber 55 (see FIG. 8) inside. In this embodiment, urethane foam capable of absorbing liquid is used as the ink absorber 55, but any absorber capable of absorbing liquid may be used. The ink absorber 55 does not necessarily have to be housed inside the waste liquid tank 50.

[0026] The waste liquid tank 50 has a protrusion 51 at its front end and a projection 52 at its rear end. The protrusion 51 has a convex shape that protrudes forward from the front end and has a rectangular columnar portion with chamfered corners. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the protrusion 51 has an abutment surface 51A that abuts against a boss portion 81 (described later) of the frame 80. The abutment surface 51A is a flat surface that extends along the up-down direction D3 and the front-rear direction D1, and forms the left side surface of the protrusion 51.

[0027] The protrusion 52 protrudes rearward from the rear end of the waste liquid tank 50, and both end faces 52A, 52B in the left-right direction D2 are inclined so as to taper toward the rear. The front end corresponds to the "one end" of the present invention, and the rear end corresponds to the "other end" of the present invention. The front corresponds to the "one side" of the present invention, and the rear corresponds to the "other side" of the present invention. The convex portion 51 corresponds to the "first engaged portion" of the present invention, and the protrusion 52 corresponds to the "second engaged portion" of the present invention.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 9 , the frame 80 includes a boss portion 81, a plate member 84 having a hole 83, and a substrate support portion 86. The boss portion 81 extends in the up-down direction D3 and has a concave shape that opens to the right. The boss portion 81 has a boss surface 81A at the bottom of the concave shape. The boss surface 81A is a flat surface along the up-down direction D3 and the front-rear direction D1. When the waste liquid tank 50 is attached to or detached from the frame 80, the boss surface 81A comes into contact with the abutment surface 51A to form a pivot point for the waste liquid tank 50. The boss surface 81A is disposed parallel to and opposite the abutment surface 51A of the waste liquid tank 50 attached to the frame 80. The boss surface 81A abuts against the abutment surface 51A to restrict leftward movement of the waste liquid tank 50. The boss portion 81 corresponds to the “first engagement portion” of the present invention, and the plate member 84 corresponds to the “second engagement portion” of the present invention.

[0029] The plate member 84 is disposed along the left-right direction D2 and is configured in a cantilever shape with its right end fixed and its left end free. That is, the plate member 84 can be bent so that its left end can be displaced in the front-rear direction D1. In this embodiment, the hole 83 penetrates in the front-rear direction D1 and is configured to allow the protrusion 52 to be inserted therein, but the hole 83 may be a recess that does not penetrate in the front-rear direction D1. In short, it is sufficient for the hole 83 to be configured so that the protrusion 52 can be inserted therein. The protrusion 52 of the waste liquid tank 50 is inserted into the hole 83 of the plate member 84 and engaged with the hole 83, thereby supporting the waste liquid tank 50 on the frame 80.

[0030] The board support portion 86 is disposed forward of the boss portion 81 and is formed of a plate-like member extending in the front-rear direction D1 and the up-down direction D3. The board support portion 86 also has three screw holes 86A to 86C for screwing the board 71. Of the three screw holes 86A to 86C, two screw holes 86A and 86B are disposed in the front and the screw hole 86C is disposed in the rear. The three screw holes 86A to 86C are disposed in different positions from one another in the up-down direction D3.

[0031] As shown in Fig. 7, the waste liquid tank 50 has a front portion 50A including a front end portion disposed higher in the front-rear direction D1 than a rear portion 50B including a rear end portion. As shown in Figs. 2 and 11, the waste liquid tank 50 has a longer length in the left-right direction D2 than the front portion 50A, and is disposed at a position where the rear portion 50B overlaps with a connector 72 (described later) of the circuit board 71 in the front-rear direction D1. The waste liquid tank 50 is disposed at a position where the front portion 50A does not overlap with the connector 72 in the front-rear direction D1. A recessed portion 93A of the cover 93 is disposed to the left of the front portion 50A, between the connector 72 and the rear portion 50B.

[0032] As shown in Figures 4 and 10, a through-hole 93B facing the connector 72 is formed on the front side of the recess 93A. The portion of the cover 93 surrounded by the recess 93A is provided with a wiring arrangement space 100D in which wiring 111 connected to the external connector 110 mated with the connector 72 is arranged. The wiring arrangement space 100D is located to the left of the waste liquid tank 50 and displaced rearward from the connector 72. The rearward direction corresponds to the "removal direction" of the present invention, and the wiring 111 corresponds to the "external member" of the present invention. Furthermore, the wiring arrangement space 100D corresponds to the "external member arrangement space" of the present invention.

[0033] 11, the substrate 71 is disposed on the left side of the substrate support portion 86 and disposed forward of the waste liquid tank 50 in the front-to-rear direction D1. In other words, the substrate 71 is disposed to the left of the waste liquid tank 50 and at a position that does not overlap with the waste liquid tank 50 in the left-to-right direction D2. Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the substrate 71 is made up of a plate-like member that extends in the front-to-rear direction D1 and the up-down direction D3.

[0034] Electronic components such as connectors 72 and 73 are mounted on both left and right surfaces 71A and 71B of the substrate 71. Note that while the connectors 72 and 73 are shown mounted on the left side surface 71A of the substrate 71 in FIGS. 5 and 6, the electronic components mounted on the right side surface 71B of the substrate 71 are omitted. Also, as shown in FIG. 6, the substrate 71 has a cutout portion 71C that is partially cut out to avoid overlap with the power supply unit 65 in the left-right direction D2.

[0035] The connector 72 in this embodiment is a board-mounted type USB female connector. The connector 72 can be mated with the external connector 110, which in this embodiment is a USB male connector. The connector 72 is mounted on the board 71 so that the insertion direction (forward direction) and removal direction (rear direction) of the external connector 110 relative to the connector 72 are parallel to the front-to-rear direction D1. The connector 72 corresponds to the "device-side connector" of the present invention.

[0036] The connector 73 in this embodiment is a female connector for a coaxial harness. A coaxial harness 74 is connected to the connector 73. As shown in FIG. 2, one end (front end) of the coaxial harness 74 is connected to the connector 73, and the other end (rear end) is connected to the optical sensor 62. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the coaxial harness 74 has a first portion 74A that is forward of the rear end of the front portion 50A of the waste liquid tank 50 in the front-rear direction D1, and is disposed below the waste liquid tank 50 and to the left of the front portion 50A. In addition, the coaxial harness 74 has a central portion 74B, one end (left end) of which is connected to the rear end of the first portion 74A, that is also disposed below the waste liquid tank 50. The central portion 74B is disposed so as to cross the waste liquid tank 50 from left to right. The coaxial harness 74 has a second portion 74C connected to the other end (right end) of the central portion 74B and disposed rearward, and connected to the optical sensor 62. The coaxial harness 74 corresponds to the "wiring member" of the present invention.

[0037] The power supply unit 65 supplies power to the electronic components (including connectors 72 and 73) mounted on the substrate 71, the optical sensor 62, the carriage motor 12M, the transport motor 2M, the head 10, etc. As shown in Fig. 6, the power supply unit 65 extends in the front-to-rear direction D1 and is disposed below the waste liquid tank 50. The front end of the power supply unit 65 is disposed forward of a center line C passing through the center of the housing 100A in the front-to-rear direction D1, and the rear end is disposed rearward of the center line C. In other words, a portion of the power supply unit 65 is disposed forward of the center of the housing 100A in the front-to-rear direction D1.

[0038] As shown in FIG. 13, the control unit 70 includes a CPU 70A, a ROM 70B, and a RAM 70C, and controls the operation of the head 10, carriage motor 12M, transport motor 2M, optical sensor 62, image reader 100B2, display unit 8, etc. The CPU 70A executes various controls in accordance with programs and data stored in the ROM 70B and RAM 70C based on data input from an external device or operation unit 7. The external device is, for example, a personal computer (PC). The control unit 70 also derives and detects the transport distance of the paper 9 based on a detection signal from the optical sensor 62.

[0039] The ROM 70B stores programs and data for the CPU 70A to perform various controls. The RAM 70C temporarily stores data used when the CPU 70A executes programs.

[0040] Next, the attachment and detachment of the waste liquid tank 50 will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 4 to 6, 11 and 12. FIG.

[0041] When removing the waste liquid tank 50 from the printer 100, first remove the cover 91 shown in FIG. 1 from the frame 80, and then remove the cover 93 from the frame 80. Because the cover 91 covers the front end portion of the cover 93 from the outside, the cover 91 must be removed first. By opening the opening / closing cover 100B1, the screws (not shown) that secure the cover 91 to the frame 80 are exposed. After removing these screws, the cover 91 can be removed from the frame 80 by disengaging the hooks (not shown) of the cover 91 from the frame 80.

[0042] Next, the two screws 88 shown in FIG. 4 that secure the cover 93 to the frame 80 are removed. Thereafter, the grappling hooks (not shown) of the cover 93 are released from the frame 80, allowing the cover 93 to be removed from the frame 80 as shown in FIG. 5. Then, the encoder disk 61, which is attached to the disk fixing portion 2A1 with double-sided tape, is peeled off and removed from the disk fixing portion 2A1 as shown in FIG. 6. This eliminates any interfering components of the printer 100 to the left of the waste liquid tank 50.

[0043] Next, the left end of the plate member 84 is displaced rearward to remove the protrusion 52 of the waste liquid tank 50 from the hole 83. In other words, the plate member 84 releases the waste liquid tank 50 from its engagement. Then, as shown in FIG. 11 , the rear portion 50B of the waste liquid tank 50 is rotated leftward. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 12 , the rear portion 50B of the waste liquid tank 50 is rotated leftward around the front end of the waste liquid tank 50, where the abutment surface 51A of the waste liquid tank 50 abuts against the boss surface 81A of the frame 80. The amount of leftward rotation of the rear portion 50B at this time is set to an amount that does not interfere with components of the printer 100 (such as the frame 80) even when the waste liquid tank 50 is moved in the removal direction D4, which is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the rotated waste liquid tank 50. The removal direction D4 is the direction from the front end to the rear end of the waste liquid tank 50.

[0044] Thereafter, the waste liquid tank 50 is removed from the frame 80 by moving the waste liquid tank 50 in the removal direction D4. Because the waste liquid tank 50 can be removed from the frame 80 in this manner, even if an obstacle K, shown in the area surrounded by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 12 , is located to the left of the printer 100 and to the left of the front portion 50A of the waste liquid tank 50, the waste liquid tank 50 can be removed from the frame 80. In other words, the waste liquid tank 50 can be removed or attached to the printer 100 as long as there is working space to the left of the printer 100's cover 93 and behind the center of the printer 100 in the front-to-rear direction D1. The waste liquid tank 50 can be attached to the printer 100 by reversing the removal procedure. This completes the installation and removal of the waste liquid tank 50 from the printer 100, making it possible to easily replace the waste liquid tank 50.

[0045] As described above, with the printer 100 of this embodiment, after removing the cover 93, the waste liquid tank 50 can be rotated around the front end of the waste liquid tank 50 as the rotation center, and then moved in the removal direction D4 to remove it from the frame 80. The waste liquid tank 50 can be attached to the frame 80 by reversing the above procedure. This makes it possible to attach and detach the waste liquid tank 50 even if there is not a large working space in front of (to the left of) the part of the cover 93 of the printer 100 that covers the waste liquid tank 50. Furthermore, even if an obstacle K is located in a position overlapping the front portion 50A of the waste liquid tank 50 in the left-right direction D2, it is possible to avoid the obstacle K when attaching or detaching the waste liquid tank 50.

[0046] The waste liquid tank 50 has a protrusion 51, and the frame 80 has a boss 81 that engages with the protrusion 51. This allows the waste liquid tank 50 to be easily attached to the frame 80 by engaging the protrusion 51 of the waste liquid tank 50 with the boss 81 of the frame 80. Furthermore, with the protrusion 51 of the waste liquid tank 50 engaged with the boss 81 of the frame 80, the waste liquid tank 50 can be rotated and then the protrusion 51 can be removed from the boss 81, allowing the waste liquid tank 50 to be easily removed from the frame 80.

[0047] The protrusion 51 has a convex shape, and the boss 81 has a concave shape, which allows the waste liquid tank 50 to be attached to and detached from the frame 80 with a simple structure.

[0048] The waste liquid tank 50 has a protrusion 52, and the frame 80 has a plate member 84 with a hole 83. As a result, the waste liquid tank 50 can be attached to the frame 80 by engaging the protrusion 52 with the hole 83 of the plate member 84. The waste liquid tank 50 can be removed from the frame 80 by disengaging the protrusion 52 from the hole 83 of the plate member 84. Furthermore, by bending the plate member 84, the protrusion 52 can be inserted into the hole 83, allowing the protrusion 52 and the plate member 84 to easily engage with each other. Furthermore, by bending the plate member 84, the protrusion 52 inserted into the hole 83 can be removed from the hole 83, allowing the protrusion 52 and the plate member 84 to easily disengage from each other.

[0049] The encoder disk 61 is disposed between the waste liquid tank 50 and the cover 93 in the left-right direction D2 so as to overlap the rear portion 50B of the waste liquid tank 50 in the left-right direction D2. As a result, by removing the cover 93 and the encoder disk 61, the entire left side surface of the waste liquid tank 50 can be exposed to the outside. This makes it possible to easily attach and detach the waste liquid tank 50 to the frame 80. Note that the encoder disk 61 is attached to the disk fixing portion 2A1 with double-sided tape, so it can be easily attached and detached. Furthermore, the encoder disk 61 may be fixed to the disk fixing portion 2A1 with screws or the like instead of double-sided tape.

[0050] The first portion 74A of the coaxial harness 74 is disposed below the waste liquid tank 50. As a result, even if the first portion 74A of the coaxial harness 74 is disposed to the left of the front portion 50A of the waste liquid tank 50, it is possible to prevent the waste liquid tank 50 from interfering with the first portion 74A of the coaxial harness 74 when attaching or detaching the waste liquid tank 50 to or from the frame 80.

[0051] The substrate 71 is disposed to the left of the waste liquid tank 50 and at a position where it does not overlap with the waste liquid tank 50 in the left-right direction D2. This makes it possible to prevent the waste liquid tank 50 from interfering with the substrate 71 when the waste liquid tank 50 is attached to or detached from the frame 80.

[0052] The rear portion 50B of the waste liquid tank 50 is longer in the left-right direction D2 than the front portion 50A, and is disposed so that the rear portion 50B overlaps with the connector 72 in the front-rear direction D1, while the front portion 50A does not overlap with the connector 72 in the front-rear direction D1. The wiring arrangement space 100D is disposed to the left of the waste liquid tank 50 and at a position displaced rearward from the connector 72. This makes it possible to increase the volume of the waste liquid tank 50 while preventing interference between the wiring 111 and the waste liquid tank 50 when the external connector 110 is fitted into the connector 72.

[0053] The cover 91 and the cover 93 are configured to be separable from each other, and the cover 91 covers the waste liquid tank 50 in the front-to-rear direction D1. This allows the cover 93 to be separated from the cover 91, making it possible to attach and detach the waste liquid tank 50 to and from the frame 80. This makes it easy to attach and detach the waste liquid tank 50.

[0054] Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the claims.

[0055] The cover 93 in the above-described embodiment may be configured to be removable from the frame 80 without removing the cover 91. This eliminates the need to remove the cover 91. The cover 93 may also be attached to the frame 80 with only one or more screws, or with only a grappling hook. The cover 91 and the cover 93 may also be configured as an integrated unit.

[0056] The waste liquid tank 50 may have a concave first engaged portion instead of the convex portion 51, and the frame 80 may have a convex first engaging portion instead of the boss portion 81. Also, the waste liquid tank 50 may have a concave second engaged portion instead of the protrusion 52, and the frame 80 may have a convex second engaging portion instead of the hole portion 83. In these cases, the same effects as those described above can be obtained.

[0057] The encoder 60 does not have to be provided in the printer 100. Furthermore, the encoder disk 61 and the waste liquid tank 50 do not have to overlap in the left-right direction D2. When the first portion 74A of the coaxial harness 74 is disposed to the right of the waste liquid tank 50, it may be disposed above the waste liquid tank 50. Furthermore, wiring members other than the coaxial harness 74 may be provided in the printer 100, or the coaxial harness 74 may not be provided in the printer 100.

[0058] When the substrate 71 is disposed to the right of the waste liquid tank 50, it may be disposed in a position overlapping with the waste liquid tank 50 in the left-right direction D2. Also, the substrate 71 does not have to be provided in the printer 100.

[0059] The cover 93 does not have to have the recessed portion 93A. In other words, the wiring arrangement space 100D does not have to be provided at a position displaced rearward (in the removal direction) of the connector 72. Also, the receiving portion 3 does not have to be provided on the printer 100.

[0060] The type of liquid ejection head of the present invention is not limited to a serial type, but may also be a line type.

[0061] The object onto which the liquid is ejected is not limited to paper, but may be, for example, a cloth, a substrate, or plastic.

[0062] The liquid ejected from the head 10 may be black ink alone, or may be a liquid other than ink. For example, the liquid may be a treatment liquid that aggregates or precipitates components in the ink.

[0063] In the present invention, the printer 100 does not necessarily have to have the scanner unit 100B. The liquid ejection device can also be applied to facsimiles and copiers. The present invention can also be applied to liquid ejection heads used for purposes other than image recording. For example, the present invention can be applied to a liquid ejection head that ejects a conductive liquid onto a substrate to form a conductive pattern. [Explanation of symbols]

[0064] 3 Receiving part 10 heads 11 Head movement mechanism 50 Waste liquid tank 51 Convex part 52 Protrusion 60 Encoder 61 Encoder disk 62 Optical Sensor 71 PCB 72 connectors 74 Coaxial harness 80 frames 83 Hole 84 Plate members 91~95 Cover 100 printers 110 External Connector 111 Wiring D1 Anteroposterior direction D2 Left / right direction D3 Up and down direction D4 Removal direction R Conveying area

Claims

1. a liquid ejection head that ejects liquid; a waste liquid tank that stores waste liquid discharged from the liquid ejection head; a frame supporting the liquid ejection head and the waste liquid tank; a cover that is detachable from the frame and covers the waste liquid tank in a first direction perpendicular to a vertical direction, The waste liquid tank is characterized in that its length in a second direction perpendicular to both the vertical direction and the first direction is longer than its length in the first direction, and it is rotatable relative to the frame around one end which is one end in the second direction as the center of rotation, and is supported detachably relative to the frame.

2. the waste tank has a first engaged portion at the one end, 2. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the frame has a first engaging portion that engages with the first engaged portion.

3. The first engaged portion has a convex or concave shape, The liquid ejection device according to claim 2 , wherein the first engagement portion has a concave or convex shape.

4. the waste liquid tank has a second engaged portion at the other end thereof in the second direction, 3. The liquid ejection device according to claim 2, wherein the frame has a second engaging portion that engages with the second engaged portion.

5. the second engaged portion is a protrusion that protrudes from the other end of the waste liquid tank in the other direction in the second direction, 5. The liquid ejection device according to claim 4, wherein the second engagement portion is a plate member having a hole into which the protrusion can be inserted.

6. a transport mechanism for transporting a recording medium to the liquid ejection head; an encoder for detecting the amount of conveyance of the recording medium by the conveyance mechanism, the encoder includes an encoder disk and an optical sensor; The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the encoder disk is disposed between the waste liquid tank and the cover in the first direction so as to overlap with the waste liquid tank in the first direction.

7. a wiring member disposed between the waste liquid tank and the cover in the first direction, 2. The liquid ejection device according to claim 1, wherein the wiring member is disposed below the waste liquid tank.

8. Further comprising a substrate on which electronic components are mounted, The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the substrate is disposed on one side of the waste liquid tank in the second direction and at a position not overlapping the waste liquid tank in the first direction.

9. the electronic component includes an apparatus-side connector that is mateable with an external connector and is mounted on the board such that an insertion direction and a removal direction of the external connector are parallel to the second direction; the waste liquid tank has a length in the first direction longer than that of one end in the second direction, the other end in the second direction is disposed at a position where it overlaps with the device-side connector in the second direction, and the one end in the second direction is disposed at a position where it does not overlap with the device-side connector in the second direction; The liquid ejection device described in claim 8, characterized in that an external component placement space is provided on the cover side of the waste liquid tank in the first direction, at a position displaced from the device side connector in the removal direction, in which an external component connected to the external connector engaged with the device side connector is placed.

10. The cover is configured to be separable from another cover, The liquid ejection device according to claim 1 , wherein the other cover covers the waste liquid tank in the second direction.

11. a moving mechanism that moves the liquid ejection head in the first direction; a transport mechanism that transports a recording medium in the second direction relative to the liquid ejection head; a receiving portion that is disposed on the cover side with respect to a transport area of ​​a recording medium transported by the transport mechanism in the first direction and that receives the liquid ejected from the liquid ejection head, 2. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the receiving portion guides the liquid received from the liquid ejection head to the waste liquid tank.

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