Liquid Ejecting Apparatus Head Gripping Portion Arrangement
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing liquid ejecting apparatuses with densely disposed heads face maintenance challenges due to the narrow spacing between heads, making it difficult to grip and replace them effectively, which affects maintenance workability.
Innovation Solution
The liquid ejecting apparatus is designed with a head unit having multiple heads arranged in a specific configuration where each head has a gripping portion on its upper surface, with the positions of these gripping portions optimized to allow for easier handling, including a unique arrangement in the third direction where the second gripping portion's position differs from the first and third gripping portions, and the distances between heads are narrower than a human finger's thickness, enabling easier access and replacement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple heads are densely disposed on the carriage along the short direction, then the nozzle layout density is improved, but the distance between adjacent heads is narrowed making maintenance difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dimensional differentiation by arranging gripping portions not only in the short direction (second direction) but also in the longitudinal direction (third direction). Specifically, even-numbered heads have gripping portions on upper surfaces while odd-numbered heads have gripping portions on lower surfaces, creating spatial separation in the third dimension. This allows maintenance personnel to access and grip heads that are densely arranged in the second direction, resolving the contradiction between high density and maintainability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs asymmetric arrangement where heads with even serial numbers and heads with odd serial numbers have different gripping portion configurations. Even-numbered heads have gripping portions primarily on upper surfaces, while odd-numbered heads have gripping portions on lower surfaces. This asymmetric pattern creates alternating access points that prevent crowding issues while maintaining dense head arrangement.
2Area of stationary object
If the distance between adjacent heads is narrowed for dense layout, then the carriage utilization is improved, but the head cannot be easily gripped for replacement
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes the third direction (longitudinal direction) to create gripping access points. By placing gripping portions on both upper and lower surfaces of heads at different longitudinal positions, the patent ensures that even when heads are closely spaced in the short direction, maintenance personnel can access them from different longitudinal positions and directions, enabling easy replacement despite narrow spacing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the gripping portion arrangement by head serial number (even vs. odd), creating distinct gripping patterns for different head groups. This segmentation allows systematic access to individual heads through specific gripping portions, making head replacement feasible even in densely packed configurations where uniform gripping arrangements would fail.
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a head unit having heads that configure to eject a liquid in a first-direction, and in which a second-direction orthogonal to the first-direction is a short direction and a third-direction orthogonal to the first and second-directions is a longitudinal direction, and a holding member. The head unit has a first-head, a second-head adjacent to the first-head, and disposed in the second-direction, and a third head adjacent to the second-head, and disposed in the second-direction. The first head has a first-gripping portion provided on an upper surface. The second-head has a second-gripping portion provided on the upper surface. The third-head has a third-gripping portion provided on the upper surface. A position of the second-gripping portion with respect to the third-direction is different from positions of the first-gripping portion and the third-gripping portion with respect to the third-direction.