Ink Cartridge Guide Mechanism for Printer Case
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing recording apparatuses, such as ink jet printers, face difficulties in easily setting multiple liquid holding members due to disordered configurations, leading to challenges in replacing ink packs and maintaining stable ink supply.
Innovation Solution
A recording apparatus design featuring a housing with a pivoting cover member and guide portions that facilitate smooth insertion and precise positioning of liquid holding members, along with visual confirmation indicators and contact portions to ensure accurate placement and prevent catching, allowing for easy handling and ink management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If multiple liquid holding members are stacked in a disorderly fashion to increase storage capacity, then the quantity of liquid holding members is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates because it becomes difficult to set and replace a desired ink pack
Solution Approach 1:
The case is divided into multiple storage spaces (first storage space and second storage space) with dedicated guide portions for each. This segmentation allows liquid holding members to be placed in specific designated areas, preventing disordered stacking while maintaining easy accessibility and replaceability of individual ink packs.
Solution Approach 2:
Guide portions are pre-formed in the case at specific positions and orientations. These guide portions preliminarily define the correct placement positions for liquid holding members, so when users place ink packs, they naturally follow the predetermined paths and end up in the correct positions without needing to consciously arrange them.
2Reliability
If a cover member is provided to open and close the case, then the protection of liquid holding members is improved, but the device complexity increases due to the hinge portion protruding into the storage space
Solution Approach 1:
The hinge portion, which protrudes into the storage space and causes interference with liquid holding members, is extracted and relocated to the outer surface of the cover member. This removes the problematic protrusion from the internal storage space while maintaining the cover's protective function.
Solution Approach 2:
A guide portion acts as an intermediary element between the cover member and the liquid holding members. The guide portion covers the hinge area and provides a smooth surface that guides liquid holding members during placement, preventing them from catching on the hinge while the hinge remains structurally necessary for the cover's operation.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the ink supply tube is inserted through a gap in the housing to connect the external ink bag to the liquid ejecting head, then the adaptability is improved by allowing external ink supply, but the reliability deteriorates because the ink supply tube may come into contact with moving parts
Solution Approach 1:
The ink supply tube connection is extracted from the moving carriage area and relocated to the stationary case structure. The discharge opening of the liquid holding member is directly connected to a connection portion in the case, separating the ink supply function from the moving parts and eliminating the risk of contact between the ink tube and moving components.
Data Source
AI summary
A recording apparatus includes a case, disposed outside a housing, holding a liquid holding member that holds a liquid to be supplied to a recording unit and having a discharge opening that discharges the liquid in the liquid holding member to the exterior, and a connection portion to which the discharge opening is connected. The case has a cover member capable of opening and closing the case by pivoting central to an axis line extending in a direction that intersects with a vertical direction, and a guide portion, provided on an inner surface of the cover member, that guides the liquid holding member when the liquid holding member is set in the case with the cover member in an open state so that the discharge opening of the liquid holding member is connected to the connection portion.