Movable Wall Liquid Container Tray for Inkjet Printers
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In liquid ejection devices like inkjet printers, variations in liquid container sizes cause orientation and position changes during replacement, affecting the liquid supply state due to gaps and misalignment with the support surface.
Innovation Solution
A liquid container tray with movable walls that adjust to contact the container, guided by grooves and lock mechanisms, ensures stable positioning and alignment regardless of container size, using the movable walls as both positioners and side walls to prevent inclination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a fixed side wall structure is used to surround the liquid container, then the structure is simple and easy to manufacture, but the liquid container's orientation and position change when the container size varies and gaps are formed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the side walls movable instead of fixed. The side walls can move in the radial direction to adapt to different liquid container sizes, ensuring continuous contact and stable positioning. This dynamic structure resolves the contradiction by allowing the tray to accommodate various container dimensions while maintaining operational stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses the parameter changes principle by allowing the side walls to change their position parameter (radial distance from center) based on the liquid container size. When a smaller container is detected, the side walls move inward to reduce the gap; when a larger container is used, they move outward. This parameter adjustment ensures consistent positioning accuracy across different container sizes.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the liquid container tray is designed to hold various sized containers, then versatility is improved, but positioning accuracy deteriorates due to gaps formed with smaller containers
Solution Approach 1:
The movable side walls dynamically adjust their position to match the size of the liquid container being held. This dynamic adaptation allows the tray to maintain precise positioning accuracy across a range of container sizes, resolving the contradiction between versatility and positioning accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The liquid container tray is designed with universal functionality to accommodate different container sizes through its movable side walls. The same tray structure can adaptively hold various sized containers while maintaining positioning accuracy, embodying the universality principle.
3Manufacturing precision
If movable walls are added to adjust to container size, then positioning accuracy is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces movable walls that can dynamically adjust to maintain contact with liquid containers of varying sizes. This dynamic mechanism improves positioning accuracy by eliminating gaps that would otherwise cause misalignment during attachment to the liquid ejection device.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a liquid ejection device including a liquid container tray that can suppress change in orientation and position of a liquid container on a support surface due to the difference in size of the liquid container.The liquid ejection device includes: a casing including a guide wall: a liquid container tray configured to support a liquid container: and a recording head that ejects liquid supplied from the liquid container that is supported by the liquid container tray to a medium. The liquid container tray is configured to be inserted to or removed from a casing along the guide wall, and includes a support surface that supports the liquid container and a movable wall configured to move in at least one direction on the support surface.