Inkjet Printer Ink Tank Nesting for Tube Route Optimization
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing inkjet printer designs that relocate large ink tanks outside the main body require additional processing to secure tube routes, leading to potential defects and increased space requirements, especially for users who infrequently perform color printing.
Innovation Solution
A liquid ejecting apparatus with a transformable moving unit and a tube fixing member that optimizes the tube arrangement by integrating the ink supply within the printer's internal space, allowing the ink containers to be placed along the scanning direction and overlapping with the recording medium's transportation route, reducing the need for external space and additional processing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the ink tank is arranged outside the ink jet printer main body, then the ink capacity is increased, but additional processing is required to secure tube routes which may cause defects
Solution Approach 1:
The ink tank is nested within the inner space of the ink jet printer main body, specifically arranged in the discharge port region. This allows the ink tank to be integrated into the existing structure without requiring external tube routes, thereby increasing ink capacity while avoiding additional defect risks from external tube arrangements
2Quantity of substance
If all color ink tanks are arranged outside the ink jet printer main body, then the ink capacity is increased, but it requires additional large space outside the printer
Solution Approach 1:
The ink tanks are arranged in the discharge port region, utilizing the three-dimensional inner space of the printer body rather than extending externally. This dimensional reorganization allows multiple color ink tanks to be compactly arranged within the existing footprint, increasing capacity without requiring additional external space
3Ease of operation
If the tube is laid across the carriage from a side portion, then the ink can be supplied to the carriage, but the tube arrangement route requires additional processing and space
Solution Approach 1:
The ink tank is extracted from the external position and relocated to the inner space of the discharge port. This extraction eliminates the need for tubes to extend from the side of the printer body across the carriage, simplifying the tube arrangement and removing the requirement for additional processing to secure external tube routes
Data Source
AI summary
To optimize an arrangement route for a tube arranged between an ink tank and a carriage, when arranging the ink tank outside an ink jet printer main body. A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting apparatus main body 2 ejecting a liquid onto a recording medium from a liquid ejecting head mounted on a carriage; a liquid containing body 110 arranged inside the liquid ejecting apparatus main body 2; and a liquid supply tube 120 arranged between the liquid containing body 110 and the carriage, in which an inner space S is provided which is formed from the liquid ejecting head and a discharge port including a region where the recording medium is discharged, and the liquid containing body 110 is arranged in the inner space S.