Inkjet Carriage Wall Height Variation for Mounting Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing liquid ejecting apparatuses, such as ink jet printers, face difficulties in visually recognizing incomplete mounting of liquid containers, leading to mounting failures that are not easily detectable.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus includes a holder with wall sections of varying heights to accommodate liquid containers, where the protrusions on the containers are inserted, allowing for easy visual recognition of mounting failures by observing the varying heights of the containers when a failure occurs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If projections are provided on the holder to prevent erroneous insertion, then erroneous insertion is prevented, but visual recognition of mounting failure becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The holder is divided into multiple wall sections, each with different heights, corresponding to different liquid containers. This segmentation allows each container's mounting status to be independently visualized through height variations, solving the problem of detecting mounting failures while maintaining prevention of erroneous insertion.
Solution Approach 2:
The holder structure incorporates vertical height variations in addition to the horizontal arrangement of liquid containers. By adding this vertical dimension to the mounting interface, the system enables visual detection of mounting failures through height differences, while the horizontal projection structures continue to prevent erroneous insertion.
2Device complexity
If all wall sections have the same height, then the structure is simple, but mounting failures cannot be visually recognized
Solution Approach 1:
Different wall sections of the holder are given different heights locally, while maintaining the same basic structural form. This local differentiation in height allows visual recognition of mounting failures without fundamentally changing the overall holder structure, balancing simplicity with detectability.
3Ease of manufacture
If wall sections are arranged in height order, then the structure is systematic, but mounting failures at certain positions are harder to recognize
Solution Approach 1:
The wall sections are designed with asymmetric height variations rather than a uniform gradient pattern. This asymmetric arrangement ensures that mounting failures at any position create noticeable height differences, improving visual detection while maintaining systematic manufacturing processes.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting apparatus includes, a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid onto a medium, a plurality of liquid containers 2 that stores liquid which is supplied to the liquid ejecting head, the liquid containers 2 being provided with protrusions 24a and 24b, and a holder 50 that carries the plurality of liquid containers 2, the holder including wall sections 57 and recesses 58a and 58b disposed inside the wall sections 57 into which the protrusions 24a and 24b of each of the plurality of liquid containers 2 are inserted, wherein the wall sections 57 at least adjacent to one another have different heights corresponding to the plurality of liquid containers 2.