Liquid Ejecting Head Gripping Portion for Dense Maintenance
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing liquid ejecting apparatuses with densely disposed heads face maintenance challenges due to the narrow distance between adjacent heads, making it difficult to grip and replace them effectively, which affects maintenance workability.
Innovation Solution
The liquid ejecting head design includes a gripping portion on its upper surface, allowing for easy handling and movement, with the gripping portion functioning as a knob for attaching and detaching the head from the holding member, and featuring a shape that can be gripped regardless of orientation, such as a regular hexagonal column or a polygon with R-shaped corners, to facilitate easy replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If multiple heads are densely disposed on the carriage to improve productivity, then the distance between adjacent heads is narrowed, but the heads become difficult to grip and replace, worsening maintenance workability
Solution Approach 1:
The liquid ejecting head is segmented into a functional portion (nozzles, pressure generation chambers) and a gripping portion. The gripping portion is provided separately on the upper surface, allowing maintenance personnel to grip and replace the head without interfering with the densely arranged heads on the carriage, thus resolving the contradiction between dense head arrangement and ease of maintenance.
2Productivity
If the distance between adjacent heads is narrowed to improve productivity, then more heads can be arranged on the carriage, but the heads are less likely to be gripped, worsening maintenance workability
Solution Approach 1:
The gripping portion is positioned on the upper surface of the liquid ejecting head, which is a different spatial dimension from the lateral arrangement of heads on the carriage. This vertical positioning allows maintenance personnel to access and grip the head from above, independent of the horizontal spacing between heads, thus enabling easy gripping even when heads are densely arranged.
3Ease of repair
If a gripping portion is added to the liquid ejecting head to improve maintenance workability, then the head can be easily gripped and replaced, but the size of the holding member may need to increase
Solution Approach 1:
The gripping portion serves multiple functions: it provides a grip for maintenance personnel to remove and install heads, and it can also serve as an attachment interface with the holding member. This multi-functionality allows the gripping portion to be integrated into the head structure without requiring additional components or increasing the holding member size, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of maintenance and compact design.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting head configured to eject a liquid in a first direction includes an upper surface facing a direction opposite to the first direction, and a gripping portion provided on the upper surface to grip the liquid ejecting head.