Separator Through Portion Positioning for Liquid Leakage Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Liquid leakage in liquid ejecting apparatuses, such as ink jet printers, often results in liquid adhering to electrical and connecting members, leading to failures and operational issues.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus incorporates a separator with a through portion that positions the liquid flow to avoid overlapping with electrical and connecting members, reducing the likelihood of liquid adherence and enhancing detection and collection mechanisms for quick leakage identification.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If liquid containers are stacked in the up-down direction to save space, then the apparatus becomes more compact, but liquid leakage may adhere to electrical members causing failures
Solution Approach 1:
The mounting unit is divided into multiple spaces by separators positioned between stacked liquid containers. This segmentation prevents liquid from one container from reaching electrical members in other spaces, resolving the contradiction between compact stacking and reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
Separators act as intermediary barriers between liquid containers and electrical members. The separators with through portions allow controlled liquid passage while blocking liquid from adhering to electrical members, thus maintaining both compactness and reliability.
2Reliability
If a separator is introduced to divide the mounting unit space, then liquid adherence to electrical members is prevented, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The separator serves multiple functions: it divides the mounting unit into separate spaces, provides through portions for liquid passage, and acts as a barrier to prevent liquid adherence to electrical members. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional components, thereby limiting the increase in device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The separator is implemented as a thin plate-like structure that is simple in form but effective in function. This minimalistic design achieves space division and liquid control without adding significant structural complexity to the mounting unit.
3Reliability
If the through portion is positioned to avoid electrical members, then liquid leakage failures are reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The through portion is positioned in the up-down direction away from electrical members located in the front-rear direction. This spatial arrangement in different dimensions allows liquid passage while avoiding electrical members without requiring extremely high positioning precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The separator has different functional zones: areas with through portions for liquid passage and areas without through portions that extend toward electrical members to block liquid. This local differentiation of structure and function achieves reliability without demanding high overall manufacturing precision.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design effectively reduces the occurrence of failures due to liquid leakage by preventing adherence to critical components and facilitates efficient detection and management of leaked liquid, ensuring reliable operation.
Implementation Method 1
The liquid having leaked drops toward the bottom of the ink-cartridge mounting unit through this opening
Data Source
AI summary
A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head and a mounting unit. The liquid ejecting head is able to eject liquid. A plurality of liquid containers containing the liquid to be supplied to the liquid ejecting head mounted so as to overlap in an up-down direction. The mounting unit includes a separator and an electrical member. The separator separates, in the up-down direction, a space where the plurality of liquid containers are mounted. The electrical member allows electricity to flow therethrough. The separator has a through portion that penetrates through the separator in the up-down direction. The through portion is positioned such that, when seen in the up-down direction, an edge portion of the through portion does not overlap with the electrical member positioned below the through portion.