Carriage Stabilization in Liquid Ejecting Apparatus Capping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printers face challenges in accurately moving a carriage with a liquid ejecting head due to the generation of turning forces that cause the carriage to separate from the sliding surface during capping operations, leading to instability and potential printing failures.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a liquid ejecting apparatus with a movable body and a cap member that abuts the liquid ejecting head, where the abutment portion of the slide body contacts the movable body at a position perpendicular to the sliding surface, either at the same position as the connection portion or further in the anti-gravity direction, ensuring the carriage remains pressed against the surface and preventing separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the slide body abuts on the movable body at a position lower than the connection portion during capping operation, then the cap member can effectively surround the nozzles, but the turning force causes the movable body to separate from the sliding surface
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the vertical dimension of the abutment position, moving it from below the connection portion to the same level or above it. This dimensional change in the vertical direction fundamentally alters the moment arm of the reaction force, transforming the turning force from a destabilizing to a stabilizing effect that prevents separation from the sliding surface.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies preliminary anti-action by positioning the abutment point to generate a counter-moment that opposes the separation tendency. The reaction force from the slide body abutment creates a turning moment in advance that counteracts the destabilizing effect, preventing the movable body from separating from the sliding surface before separation occurs.
2Stability of the object's composition
If the abutment position is moved to the same level or above the connection portion, then the movable body remains stable on the sliding surface, but the structural configuration becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the abutment structure multi-functional by designing it to simultaneously achieve stable positioning on the sliding surface and effective capping operation. The same abutment mechanism that provides stability also enables the slide body to effectively surround and cap the nozzles, eliminating the need for separate stabilization mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies local quality by concentrating the stabilization function at the specific location of the abutment portion on the movable body. Rather than redesigning the entire structure, the solution focuses on the local geometric relationship between the abutment point and connection point, optimizing this local configuration to achieve global stability.
3Measurement precision
If the carriage moves on the sliding surface with an inclined posture due to separation, then the capping operation cannot be performed at the reference position, but maintaining contact increases frictional resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the positioning accuracy problem by changing the vertical dimension of force application. By moving the abutment position to the same level or above the connection portion in the vertical direction, the reaction force creates a stabilizing moment that maintains contact with the sliding surface, preventing the inclined posture that would compromise positioning accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a liquid ejecting apparatus including a main body frame that has a main guiding member which has a sliding surface and enables a carriage to move in a scanning direction in a state where the carriage is mounted thereon, and a slide body which has a cap member which can abut on a liquid ejecting head to surround nozzles in such a manner that the slide body moves along with the carriage in a state where an abutment portion which can abut on the carriage abuts on the carriage, in which the carriage has a connection portion in which the carriage is connected to a movement mechanism which moves the carriage in the scanning direction.