JP5906683B2 - Liquid ejector - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a liquid ejecting apparatus and a waste liquid collecting body that is detachably attached to the apparatus.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus, an ink jet printer that performs recording by ejecting liquid from a nozzle formed in a liquid ejecting head onto a target such as paper has been widely known. In such a printer, normally, so-called cleaning for forcibly sucking and discharging ink (liquid) having increased viscosity from the inside of the recording head (liquid ejecting head) as waste ink (waste liquid) is performed for the maintenance of the recording head. Is called. The forcibly sucked waste ink is discharged to a waste ink tank (waste liquid collection body) fixedly arranged at a predetermined location in the printer through a flexible tube or the like that functions as a waste liquid flow path.

  Here, the waste ink recovery capability in the waste ink tank has a limit due to the tank capacity and the like. Therefore, recently, as described in Patent Document 1, for example, a mounting portion where a waste ink tank is mounted at a predetermined location in the printer is formed so as to communicate with an insertion / extraction opening formed in the side wall of the printer. A waste ink tank in which connection terminals of a circuit board storing various information relating to capacity and the like are attached to the mounting portion on the outer surface is detachable via an insertion / extraction port.

  In the printer described in Patent Document 1, when the waste ink tank is attached to the attachment portion in the printer, the connection terminal on the waste ink tank side contacts with the connection terminal on the printer side provided in the attachment portion. Connected state. Based on the control command from the control device provided in the printer, information for judging the waste ink recovery capacity in the waste ink tank is transferred, and the drive state of the waste ink discharge pump is determined based on the judgment result. Is controlled.

  In other words, if it is determined that there is sufficient recovery capacity, the discharge of the waste ink to the waste ink tank is permitted, and the waste ink discharge pump that has been in the drive stop state is driven. On the other hand, if it is determined that there is no recovery capacity, it is necessary to remove the installed waste ink tank with no recovery capacity to replace it with another waste ink tank with recovery capacity. The driving stop state is maintained. Further, for example, when the waste ink tank is removed by the user from the mounting portion of the printer while the waste ink discharge pump is being driven, the waste ink discharge pump is turned on based on the control command from the control device. Driving is stopped.

JP 2003-326732 A

  Incidentally, in the printer described in Patent Document 1, when the waste ink tank is removed from the mounting portion, the fact is determined based on the detection result of the connection state between the connection terminal on the printer side and the connection terminal on the waste ink tank side. Is done. In other words, the waste ink tank is installed when the control device provided in the printer receives a detection signal indicating that the connection state of both connection terminals has been removed from the detection means for detecting the connection state of both connection terminals. It was determined that the pump was removed from the unit, and the drive of the waste ink discharge pump was stopped according to the determination result.

  Therefore, in order to stop the driving of the waste ink discharge pump based on such program control, it is necessary to construct a complicated control program and to remove the waste ink tank from the mounting portion. There is a time lag between when the pump moves in the removal direction and when the pump is actually stopped according to the control command at that time. Accordingly, the waste liquid discharged by driving the pump during the time lag is not received by the waste ink tank, and is discharged to the mounting portion from which the waste ink tank is removed, and then leaks out of the liquid ejecting apparatus.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and its purpose is to quickly and easily grasp the fact when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the liquid ejecting apparatus in which the waste liquid recovery body is removable. It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid ejecting apparatus that can be dealt with and a waste liquid recovery body that is attached to and detached from the apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above object, a liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid, a pump that is driven when the liquid is discharged from the liquid ejecting head as waste liquid, and driving of the pump. Power can be transmitted to the pump by engaging a waste liquid collector that is detachably mounted with a waste liquid collector that can receive the waste liquid that is discharged. While moving to a position, when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion, the moving liquid body is disengaged from the waste liquid recovery body and moves to a position where power cannot be transmitted to the pump. And a power transmission mechanism.

  According to this configuration, when the waste liquid collecting body is attached to or detached from the mounting portion, the moving part of the power transmission mechanism is engaged with or disengaged from the waste liquid collecting body attached to or detached from the mounting portion. By moving between a position where power can be transmitted and a position where power cannot be transmitted, the pump is switched to either the drive state or the drive stop state. Therefore, it is not necessary to construct a complicated control program for pump drive control. Further, when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion in a state where the pump is driven, the moving portion of the power transmission mechanism is disengaged from the waste liquid recovery body so that power cannot be transmitted to the pump. Since it moves to the position, the pump is quickly switched from the drive state to the drive stop state, unlike the case of the program control in which a time lag occurs. Therefore, when the waste liquid collection body is removed from the liquid ejecting apparatus in which the waste liquid collection body is detachable, the fact can be quickly and easily grasped and dealt with.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the power transmission mechanism may rotate freely to a position away from the drive side gear while being driven and connected to the pump and a drive side gear connected to the drive source. A disposed pump side gear, a power transmission position that meshes with both the drive side gear and the pump side gear, and at least one of the drive side gear and the pump side gear, depending on the position of the moving unit; Displacement gears that are displaced to a power shut-off position that is in a non-meshing relationship.

  According to this configuration, the power transmission position and power according to the position of the moving part of the power transmission mechanism when the waste liquid recovery body is attached to and detached from the mounting part with the displacement gear meshable with both the drive side gear and the pump side gear. The pump can be appropriately switched between the driving state and the driving stop state according to the attached / detached state of the waste liquid recovery body by simply providing a mechanism for displacing between the shut-off position.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the moving unit may include a position between the position where the moving unit is engaged with the waste liquid collecting body while supporting the displacement gear and the position where the moving part is disengaged from the waste liquid collecting body. A movable member that is movable along with the attachment / detachment of the waste liquid recovery body with respect to the mounting portion;

  According to this configuration, when the waste liquid recovery body is attached to and detached from the mounting portion, the moving part of the power transmission mechanism has a position where the movable member supporting the displacement gear is engaged with the waste liquid recovery body and a position where the movable member is in the disengaged state. Move between. At the position where the movable member engages with the waste liquid collection body, the displacement gear is displaced to the power transmission position that meshes with the drive side gear and the pump side gear, and at the position where the movable member is in the non-engagement state with the waste liquid collection body. The displacement gear is displaced to the power cut-off position that is in non-meshing relationship with the drive side gear and the pump side gear. Therefore, when the waste liquid recovery body is attached to and detached from the mounting portion, the movable gear in the moving part of the power transmission mechanism is moved between the position where the movable liquid engagement body is engaged with the waste liquid recovery body and the position where the waste liquid recovery body is brought into the disengaged state. It can be smoothly displaced between the power transmission position and the power cutoff position.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention, the waste liquid recovery unit may be configured to recover the waste liquid in association with the position of the wall surface on the opposite side to the direction in which the waste liquid recovery body is detached from the mounting part and the pump. The waste liquid recovery body in a state where the distance in the removal direction from the position of the discharge port for discharging the waste liquid toward the body is attached to the attachment portion is moved relative to the moving portion of the power transmission mechanism. It is longer than the moving distance until the engagement state is released with the movement in the removal direction while stopping the movement of the part.

  According to this configuration, in the movement process when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion, as long as the moving portion of the power transmission mechanism is engaged with the waste liquid recovery body, the waste liquid is discharged by driving the pump. Since the waste liquid is discharged from the outlet and the discharged waste liquid is reliably received by the waste liquid recovery body, it is possible to suppress the inside of the liquid ejecting apparatus from being contaminated with the waste liquid.

  Furthermore, in order to achieve the above object, a waste liquid recovery body according to the present invention includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid and a pump that is driven when the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejecting head as waste liquid. A waste liquid recovery body that is detachable from the apparatus and is capable of receiving the waste liquid discharged from the liquid ejection head as the pump is driven, and when the liquid ejection apparatus is attached to the liquid ejection apparatus, The moving unit is moved to a position where power can be transmitted to the pump by engaging with a moving unit provided, while the moving unit is stopped at the position where power can be transmitted when being removed from the liquid ejecting apparatus. An engaging portion is provided that releases the engaged state and allows the moving portion to move to a position where power cannot be transmitted to the pump.

  According to this configuration, when the waste liquid recovery body is attached to the attachment portion, the moving portion of the power transmission mechanism moves to a position where power can be transmitted to the pump through engagement with the engagement portion. On the other hand, when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion, the engagement state where the moving portion of the power transmission mechanism is stopped at a position where power can be transmitted to the pump is released, and the moving portion cannot transmit power. Move to position. Therefore, the pump is driven and stopped by moving the moving part of the power transmission mechanism between a position where power can be transmitted to the pump and a position where power cannot be transmitted to the pump as the waste liquid recovery body is attached to and detached from the mounting part. You can quickly switch between states.

  The waste liquid recovery body of the present invention includes a liquid jet head that ejects liquid, a pump that is driven when the liquid is discharged from the liquid jet head as waste liquid, and a drive-side gear that is drivingly connected to a drive source. The waste liquid discharged by driving the pump in a liquid ejecting apparatus having a pump side gear rotatably disposed at a position away from the drive side gear while being connected to the pump. A waste liquid recovery body that is detachably attached to a mounting portion provided at an acceptable position, and a displaceable gear that can mesh with both the drive side gear and the pump side gear is rotatably supported. At the same time, the displacement gear is displaced to a power transmission position that meshes with both the drive-side gear and the pump-side gear by the movement when being mounted on the mounting portion, while the movement when being removed from the mounting portion. The displacement gear is displaced in at least one and a power shut-off position where the non-meshing relationship of the drive-side gear and the pump-side gear by.

  According to this configuration, the displacement gear supported by the waste liquid recovery body drives and connects the drive side gear and the pump side gear according to the movement when the waste liquid recovery body is attached to and detached from the mounting portion. Therefore, the pump can be appropriately switched between the driving state and the driving stop state in accordance with the attachment / detachment state of the waste liquid recovery body with respect to the mounting portion.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention includes a liquid ejecting head that ejects liquid, a pump that is driven when the liquid is ejected from the liquid ejecting head as waste liquid, and the waste liquid that is discharged when the pump is driven. The waste liquid collection body that can receive the liquid is detachably mounted, and can be displaced according to the position when the waste liquid collection body is attached to and detached from the mounting section, and the waste liquid collection body is attached to the mounting section. The power transmission includes a displacement gear that is displaced to a position where the driving wheel train is formed with respect to the pump, and is displaced to a position where the driving wheel train is not formed when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion. And a mechanism.

  According to this configuration, the displacement gear of the power transmission mechanism is displaced between a position where the driving wheel train is formed with respect to the pump and a position where the driving wheel train is not formed according to the position when the waste liquid collecting body is attached to or detached from the mounting portion. Therefore, the pump can be quickly switched to either the drive state or the drive stop state. In addition, when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion while the pump is being driven, the displacement gear of the power transmission mechanism is displaced to a position that does not form a driving wheel train with respect to the pump. Unlike the control, the pump can be quickly switched from the drive state to the drive stop state.

  In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention, the displacement gear may be disposed so that an axial direction thereof is along each axial direction of the drive side gear and the pump side gear, and in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. , It displaces between the power transmission position and the power cutoff position.

  According to this configuration, the displacement gear is displaced in the direction orthogonal to the axial direction as compared with the configuration in which the displacement gear is displaced in the axial direction and meshed with the drive side gear and the pump side gear. Can be smoothly displaced between the power transmission position meshing with the drive side gear and the pump side gear and the power shut-off position in the non-meshing relationship.

  The liquid ejecting apparatus according to the aspect of the invention further includes an urging member having an urging force that urges the displacement gear so as to be displaced toward the power cutoff position, and the displacement gear includes the waste liquid collecting body. By converting the moving force when mounted on the mounting portion using a force larger than the urging force of the urging member as a moving force to a displacement force, the power cutoff position is changed to the power transmission position. And displace.

  According to this configuration, when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion while the pump is being driven, the displacement gear is displaced to the power shut-off position by the urging force of the urging member. It is possible to quickly switch to the drive stop state. On the other hand, when the waste liquid recovery body is mounted on the mounting portion, if the waste liquid recovery body is moved toward the mounting portion with a force larger than the biasing force of the biasing member, the moving force at that time is changed to a displacement force. By displacing the displacement gear to the power transmission position, the pump can be reliably switched from the drive stop state to the drive state.

  Further, the liquid ejecting apparatus of the present invention determines whether or not the waste liquid recovery body is mounted on the mounting portion based on a load fluctuation when the driving source is driven, and controls the output of the determination result Was further provided.

  According to this configuration, for example, when the displacement gear is in the power cutoff position, the drive load of the drive source is relatively smaller than when the displacement gear is in the power transmission position. According to the determination result of the load fluctuation, it is possible to output whether or not the waste liquid recovery body is mounted on the mounting portion in a notification mode.

1 is a perspective view of a printer according to a first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a housing portion in the printer. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a waste ink tank is removed from the printer. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a housing portion in a printer according to a second embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a waste ink tank is removed from the printer. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a housing portion in a printer according to a third embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a waste ink tank is removed from the printer. FIG. 10 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a housing portion in a printer according to a fourth embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view illustrating a state where a waste ink tank is removed from the printer.

(First embodiment)
1 to FIG. 1 show a first embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in an ink jet printer that is a kind of liquid ejecting apparatus and a waste ink tank that is a kind of waste liquid recovery body that is detachable from the printer. 3 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printer 11 according to the present embodiment includes a frame 12 having a rectangular shape in plan view, and a platen 13 extends in the left-right direction, which is the longitudinal direction of the frame 12, in the frame 12. . The recording paper P is fed from the rear side to the front side on the platen 13 by driving a paper feeding mechanism having a paper feeding motor 14 disposed on the rear side of the platen 13. A guide shaft 15 extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction (left-right direction) of the platen 13 is installed above the platen 13 in the frame 12.

  A carriage 16 is supported on the guide shaft 15 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the axial direction (left-right direction) of the guide shaft 15. A driving pulley 17 and a driven pulley 18 are rotatably supported at positions corresponding to both end portions of the guide shaft 15 on the rear surface in the frame 12. A carriage motor 19 that is driven when the carriage 16 is reciprocated is connected to the driving pulley 17, and an endless shape in which a part in the length direction is fixed to the carriage 16 between the pair of pulleys 17 and 18. The timing belt 20 is hung. Accordingly, the carriage 16 moves in the left-right direction via the timing belt 20 while being guided by the guide shaft 15 when the carriage motor 19 is driven.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a recording head 21, which is an example of a liquid ejecting head, is provided on the lower surface of the carriage 16. On the other hand, on the carriage 16, a plurality (five in the present embodiment) of ink cartridges 22 for supplying ink as a liquid to the recording head 21 are detachably mounted. Each of these ink cartridges 22 individually corresponds to a plurality of nozzle opening rows (not shown) formed on a nozzle forming surface 21a (see FIG. 2 and the like) constituted by the lower surface of the recording head 21, Ink is individually supplied to the corresponding nozzle row via an ink flow path (not shown) formed in the nozzle 21.

  Further, one end of the frame 12 in the longitudinal direction (the right end in FIG. 1), that is, the non-printing area where the recording paper P does not reach, is used when the printer 11 is powered off or when the recording head 21 is maintained. A home position HP serving as a maintenance position for positioning is provided. At a position below the home position HP, a maintenance unit 23 for performing various maintenance operations is provided so that ink ejection from the recording head 21 to the recording paper P is well maintained.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a housing portion 24 having a rectangular parallelepiped shape along the front-rear direction is formed at a position below the home position HP and on the front side of the maintenance unit 23 in the frame 12. ing. A housing chamber 26 that can accommodate a box-shaped waste ink tank 25 that is long in the front-rear direction is formed in the housing portion 24, and a predetermined position in the front-rear direction on the lower wall portion 24 b in the housing chamber 26 is a waste ink tank. It is set to a mounting position 27 as a mounting portion for detachably mounting 25. The waste ink tank 25 is a box having a predetermined capacity with an opening (not shown) formed on the upper surface side, and an ink absorbing material (not shown) capable of absorbing and holding ink is housed inside the waste ink tank 25. ing. Further, in the waste ink tank 25, the upper end portion of the wall surface 25s that is the front side when moving in the mounting direction (the upper end portion of the rear wall surface in FIGS. 2 and 3) is a slope that has a downward slope toward the mounting direction. The portion (engagement portion) 25a is formed so as to chamfer the corner portion where the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 and the rear wall surface 25s intersect.

  A rectangular insertion / extraction port 28 is formed on the front side of the housing portion 24 to allow the waste ink tank 25 to pass when it is attached to and detached from the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26. The insertion / extraction opening 28 is provided with an opening / closing door 30 whose upper ends are rotatably supported by a pair of shaft portions 29 provided on both sides of the upper edge portion of the insertion / extraction opening 28. The opening / closing door 30 is indicated by a closed position and a two-dot chain line indicated by a solid line in FIG. 2 by gripping a knob portion 30a formed on the front surface which is an outer surface thereof and opening and closing the shaft 30 around the shaft portion 29. Opens and closes between the open position.

Next, the maintenance unit 23 will be described.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the maintenance unit 23 includes a cap 31 formed in a bottomed box shape having a substantially rectangular shape corresponding to the nozzle forming surface 21 a of the recording head 21 and having an upper opening. Further, the maintenance unit 23 is provided with a lifting device (not shown) that lifts and lowers the cap 31. Therefore, when the elevating device is driven, the cap 31 moves up and down between a raised position that contacts the nozzle forming surface 21a of the recording head 21 and a lowered position that is spaced downward from the nozzle forming surface 21a. In the state where the carriage 16 is moved to the home position HP, when the cap 31 is raised by driving the lifting device, the cap 31 surrounds the nozzle opening row with respect to the nozzle forming surface 21a of the recording head 21. The cap 31 forms a sealed space with the nozzle forming surface 21a.

  As shown in FIG. 2, one end portion (upstream end portion) of the discharge tube 32 formed of a flexible material such as silicon rubber is connected to the lower surface side of the cap 31 so as to communicate with the inside of the cap 31. Thus, the waste ink can be discharged from the cap 31 through the discharge tube 32. The discharge tube 32 has a cylindrical intermediate portion 33a of the suction pump 33 whose intermediate portion in the length direction is located below the lowering position of the cap 31 and behind the mounting position 27 of the waste ink tank 25. The other end portion (downstream end portion) is extended to a position above the waste ink tank 25 attached to the attachment position 27. A discharge port 32 a is formed at the other end of the discharge tube 32 to discharge waste ink as the suction pump 33 is driven.

  In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the position of the wall surface 25 s on the side opposite to the removal direction from the mounting position 27 in the waste ink tank 25 mounted at the mounting position 27, and the discharge tube 32. The distance in the removal direction from the position of the discharge port 32a formed at the end is shown as a distance Y. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, when the waste ink tank 25 attached to the attachment position 27 moves to the front side in the removal direction from the attachment position 27, the sliding on the movable member 43 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is performed. A distance X at which the contact portion 43c is disengaged from the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 is indicated as a distance X. In the present embodiment, the distance Y is set to be larger than the distance X for these two distances X and Y.

  Further, the suction pump 33 is configured so that the intermediate portion in the length direction of the discharge tube 32 supported by the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the casing 33a is directed from the upstream side that becomes the cap 31 side to the downstream side that becomes the waste ink tank 25 side. This is a known so-called tube pump provided with a pressing member (not shown) that moves while being crushed between the inner surface of the peripheral wall. A driving force is transmitted to the suction pump 33 via a power transmission path (drive wheel train) formed by a power transmission mechanism 34 constituted by a plurality of (five in the present embodiment) gears. Hereinafter, the power transmission mechanism 34 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the pressing member is driven from the one of the left and right wall surfaces orthogonal to the axial direction in the cylindrical casing 33a of the suction pump 33 (on the right side, which is the front side in FIG. 2) when the pump is driven. One end (in this case, the right end) of the pump shaft 35 that rotates in order to move the shaft along the inner surface of the peripheral wall of the casing 33a protrudes in the horizontal direction. A pump gear 36 having a pitch diameter smaller than the outer diameter of the casing 33 a of the suction pump 33 is fixed to the projecting end of the pump shaft 35 so as to rotate integrally with the pump shaft 35.

  An example of a drive source is located at the same height as the pump shaft 35 in the frame 12 and at a distance from the pump shaft 35 in front of the pump shaft 35 (that is, the insertion / extraction port 28 side of the housing portion 24). A drive shaft 37 that is drivingly connected to an output shaft (not shown) of the drive motor M is installed so that its axial direction is along the axial direction of the pump shaft 35. A drive gear 38 having a smaller pitch diameter than the pump gear 36 is fixed to the drive shaft 37 so as to rotate integrally with the drive shaft 37.

  A plurality (with the axial direction along each axial direction of the pump shaft 35 and the drive shaft 37 at the same height position as the pump shaft 35 and the drive shaft 37 between the pump shaft 35 and the drive shaft 37 ( Two support shafts 39 and 40 are installed so as to be separated from each other in the horizontal direction (in this case, the front-rear direction in this case). Of the two support shafts 39, 40, the support shaft 39 on the side close to the pump shaft 35 supports a relay gear 41 that meshes with the pump gear 36, while the support shaft on the side close to the drive shaft 37. A relay gear 42 that meshes with the drive gear 38 is rotatably supported at 40.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the two relay gears 41 and 42 are formed so that the pitch diameter thereof is substantially the same as that of the drive gear 38, and the two relay gears 41 and 42 are not meshed with each other. Further, they are arranged so as to be separated by a predetermined distance (for example, a distance slightly shorter than the pitch diameter of each relay gear 41, 42) in the horizontal direction (front-rear direction). In this embodiment, the pump gear 36 and the relay gear 41 meshing with the pump gear 36 constitute a pump side gear, while the drive gear 38 and the relay gear 42 meshing with the pump gear 36 constitute a drive gear.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a power transmission mechanism 34 is provided between the relay gear 41 of the pump side gear and the relay gear 42 of the drive side gear in the front-rear direction, which is the moving direction when the waste ink tank 25 is attached and detached. The movable member 43 constituting the moving part is supported on the upper wall part 24a of the housing part 24 via a coil spring 44 which is a kind of urging member. When the coil spring 44 expands and contracts, the movable member 43 can be displaced while the displacement direction is restricted to the vertical direction by a guide member (not shown).

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the movable member 43 includes a flat plate-like vertical plate portion 43a extending in the vertical direction along the side surface along the attachment / detachment direction of the waste ink tank 25, and an upper end portion of the vertical plate portion 43a. And a horizontal plate portion 43b that is bent in the horizontal direction and extends upward from the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25. The lower surface side of the horizontal plate portion 43b can be engaged with the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 in a sliding manner along the horizontal direction, and is chamfered at the upper rear end of the waste ink tank 25. A sliding contact portion 43c having a trapezoidal cross section that can be engaged with the inclined surface portion 25a in a sliding contact manner along an oblique direction is formed. FIG. 2 shows a state where the movable member 43 is in a raised position where the sliding contact portion 43c is brought into contact with the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 from above. It is in.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a support shaft 45 is provided at the lower end portion of the vertical plate portion 43 a of the movable member 43 so that the axial direction is along each axial direction of the pump shaft 35 and the drive shaft 37. A displacement gear 46 that can mesh with each of the two relay gears 41 and 42 is rotatably supported on the shaft 45 when the movable member 43 is in the raised position. As shown in FIG. 3, the displacement gear 46 is released from the state where the sliding contact portion 43c of the movable member 43 is engaged with the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 from the upper side and stopped. Due to the urging force of the coil spring 44, the coil spring 44 moves downward as it moves from the raised position to the vertically lowered position, and is in a non-engagement relationship with the relay gears 41 and 42.

  That is, as shown in FIG. 2, in the state where the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27, the displacement gear 46 has the movable member 43 at the raised position in the vertical direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft 45. As it moves, it shifts to a power transmission position capable of power transmission that meshes with both the relay gear 42 of the drive side gear and the relay gear 41 of the pump side gear. On the other hand, the displacement gear 46 has a relay gear 42 for the driving gear and a relay gear 41 for the pump side gear as the movable member 43 moves to the lowered position in the vertical direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the support shaft 45. It is displaced to a power shut-off position that is in a non-meshing relationship with both of them and cannot transmit power. When the displacement gear 46 is displaced to the power transmission position, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the five gears 36, 38, 41, 42, 46 forms a power transmission path (drive wheel train), and the power transmission path The suction pump 33 is driven based on the driving force of the driving motor M transmitted through the. Further, when the displacement gear 46 is displaced to the power cut-off position (that is, the position not forming the power transmission path), the driving force of the drive motor M is transmitted only to the relay gear 42, and the suction pump 33 is not driven.

  2 and 3, the drive motor M includes a control device (control means) 47 having a microprocessor, and a current sensor that detects a drive load when the drive motor M is driven based on current value fluctuations. (Detection means) 48 is electrically connected. In addition, a current sensor 48 is connected to the control device 47 so that a detection signal for the driving load of the driving motor M can be input. Based on the detection signal from the current sensor 48, the control device 47 determines whether or not the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26, and the determination result is, for example, a notification lamp (not shown). Output through the lighting control.

Therefore, the operation of the printer 11 configured as described above will be described below with particular attention paid to the operation of the power transmission mechanism 34.
As shown in FIG. 2, when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26, the waste ink tank is positioned immediately below the discharge port 32 a formed at the downstream end of the discharge tube 32. An opening on the upper surface side of 25 is located. In this state, when the recording head 21 is to be cleaned, the recording head 21 is positioned at the home position HP, and the cap 31 is raised based on the driving of a lifting device (not shown) so that the recording head 21 is driven. Abut the nozzle forming surface 21a. As a result, a sealed space is formed between the nozzle forming surface 21 a of the recording head 21 and the cap 31.

  In the state shown in FIG. 2, the movable member 43 is in the raised position where the movable member 43 is urged by the coil spring 44 and the lower surface of the sliding contact portion 43 c is engaged with the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 from above. Since the movable member 43 stops moving by engaging with the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25, the displacement gear 46 is accurately positioned at the power transmission position that meshes with both the drive-side relay gear 41 and the pump-side relay gear 42. Will be located. The power transmission mechanism 34 including the five gears 36, 38, 41, 42, 46 transmits power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the drive motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33. A power transmission path (drive wheel train) is formed.

  Therefore, when the drive motor M is driven based on the control command from the control device 47 in this state, the drive force is transmitted to the suction pump 33 via the power transmission path formed by the power transmission mechanism 34, and The suction pump 33 is driven based on the driving force. In this case, the current sensor 48 detects a current value supplied to the drive motor M and inputs it to the control device 47. Then, the control device 47 compares the input detected current value with a preset threshold current value. In this case, the detected current value becomes larger than the threshold current value due to the driving load of the suction pump 33. Therefore, in the control device 47, the power transmission mechanism 34 displaces the displacement gear 46 to the power transmission position to form a power transmission path, that is, the waste ink tank 25 resists the urging force of the coil spring 44 by the movable ink 43. Then, it is determined to be mounted at the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26 while being pushed up to the raised position.

  When the driving state of the suction pump 33 continues in such a state, the ink having increased viscosity is forcibly sucked and discharged from the recording head 21 into the cap 31 as waste ink. The ink is discharged from the inside through the discharge tube 32 into the waste ink tank 25. When the cleaning as described above is completed, the cap 31 moves to a lowered position (position shown in FIG. 2) that is separated downward from the nozzle forming surface 21a of the recording head 21 based on the driving of the lifting device. When the recording head 21 is moved to the printing area, printing on the recording paper P is enabled.

  On the other hand, when the old and new ink tanks 25 are replaced in the state shown in FIG. 2, the old waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26 as follows. First, as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 2, the opening / closing door 30 of the insertion / extraction opening 28 is opened from the closed position to the open position. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the front side in the removal direction from the mounting position 27 through the opened insertion / extraction port 28. Then, when the waste ink tank 25 that has been mounted at the mounting position 27 moves forward by a movement distance corresponding to the distance X, the movable member 43 has its sliding contact portion 43c positioned on the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25. Is released from the upper side, and slides into contact with the slope 25a at the upper end of the rear portion of the waste ink tank 25 and moves obliquely downward. Therefore, the movable member 43 is moved from the raised position to the lowered position by the urging force of the coil spring 44 in the extension direction, and the displacement gear 46 is disengaged from both the drive side and pump side relay gears 41 and 42. Displace to the lower power cut-off position.

  That is, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the five gears 36, 38, 41, 42, 46 mechanically interlocks with the movement in the removal direction when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27. The power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the drive motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33 is cut off. In other words, the movable member 43 that supports the displacement gear 46 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is disengaged from the waste ink tank 25 when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, thereby providing power. Move to a position where transmission is not possible. As a result, the driving force from the driving motor M is not transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is stopped driving. Accordingly, the waste ink is not discharged from the discharge port 32a at the downstream end of the discharge tube 32 when the suction pump 33 is stopped.

  Incidentally, the distance Y in the take-out direction between the position of the rear wall surface 25s of the waste ink tank 25 attached to the attachment position 27 and the position of the discharge port 32a of the discharge tube 32 is greater than the movement distance X described above. However, when the suction pump 33 is stopped, the discharge port 32a is displaced rearward from the upper opening of the waste ink tank 25 in the process of movement. However, in the present embodiment, the distance Y is set to be larger than the movement distance X, so that the displacement of the discharge port 32a does not occur, and the waste ink is discharged out of the waste ink tank 25. This situation is avoided.

  Even when the power transmission path from the drive motor M to the suction pump 33 is interrupted by the power transmission mechanism 34, the current sensor 48 detects the current value supplied to the drive motor M, and the detection result is used as a control device 47. To enter. Then, also in this case, the control device 47 compares the input detected current value with a preset threshold current value. In this case, since there is no drive load for the suction pump 33, the detected current value is smaller than the threshold current value. Therefore, the control device 47 is in a state in which the power transmission mechanism 34 displaces the displacement gear 46 to the power cutoff position and cuts off the power transmission path, that is, the waste ink tank 25 moves the movable member 43 down by the biasing force of the coil spring 44. It is determined that it has been removed from the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26 so that it can be moved to.

  Based on the determination result, the control device 47 turns off the notification lamp (not shown) provided on the upper front side of the frame 12, for example, thereby removing the waste ink tank 25 from the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26. To the user of the printer 11. In addition to the lighting control of the notification lamp, the control device 47 determines that the waste ink tank 25 has been removed by other notification control such as controlling the display state of the display screen of the operation panel to display a notification message. You may make it alert | report.

  Further, when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27 in the storage chamber 26 from the state shown in FIG. 3, the power transmission mechanism 34 is moved in accordance with the movement when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted as follows. Are mechanically interlocked to form a power transmission path from the drive motor M to the suction pump 33. First, from the state shown in FIG. 3, the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the rear side in the mounting direction with respect to the mounting position 27. Then, the movable member 43 is in sliding contact with the sliding contact portion 43c engaged with the inclined surface portion 25a chamfered at the corner portion where the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 and the rear wall surface 25s intersect. In this case, when the waste ink tank 25 is moved in the mounting direction with a moving force larger than the biasing force of the coil spring 44, the moving force is converted into a displacement force of the displacement gear 46. Therefore, the movable member 43 moves from the lowered position to the raised position while contracting the coil spring 44 using the displacement force, and meshes the displacement gear 46 with both the relay gears 41 and 42 on the drive side and the pump side. Displace to the upper power transmission position.

  As a result, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the five gears 36, 38, 41, 42, 46 is engaged with the sliding contact portion 43 c of the movable member 43 when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27. By mechanically interlocking with the movement in the mounting direction, the movable member 43 constituting the moving unit moves from the drive gear 38 toward the pump gear 36 to a position where power can be transmitted. Accordingly, the driving force from the driving motor M is transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is driven, so that the waste ink is attached from the downstream end of the discharge tube 32 as the suction pump 33 is driven again. The ink is discharged toward the waste ink tank 25 mounted at the position 27.

According to the above embodiment, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) When the waste ink tank 25 is attached to or detached from the attachment position 27, the movable member 43 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is engaged or disengaged with the waste ink tank 25 attached to or detached from the attachment position 27. Since the suction pump 33 is switched between the driving state and the driving stop state by moving between a position where power can be transmitted to the suction pump 33 and a position where power cannot be transmitted, the suction pump 33 is driven. Construction of a complicated control program for control can be eliminated. Further, when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27 in a state where the suction pump 33 is being driven, the movable member 43 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is disengaged from the waste ink tank 25. It moves to a position where power cannot be transmitted to the suction pump 33. Therefore, unlike the case of program control in which a time lag occurs, the suction pump 33 is quickly switched from the drive state to the drive stop state. Therefore, when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the printer 11 from which the waste ink tank 25 is detachable, the fact can be quickly and easily grasped and dealt with.

  (2) A displacement gear 46 that can mesh with both the drive side gear (relay gear 42) and the pump side gear (relay gear 41) is placed at the position of the movable member 43 when the waste ink tank 25 is attached to or detached from the mounting position 27. Accordingly, the drive state of the suction pump 33 is switched by displacing between the power transmission position and the power cutoff position. That is, the attachment / detachment state of the waste ink tank 25 can be achieved simply by providing a simple mechanism for displacing the displacement gear between the power transmission position and the power cutoff position according to the position of the movable member 43 when the waste ink tank 25 is attached / detached. Accordingly, the suction pump 33 can be appropriately switched to either the drive state or the drive stop state.

  (3) When the waste ink tank 25 is attached to and detached from the mounting position 27, the moving part of the power transmission mechanism 34 is disengaged from the position where the movable member 43 supporting the displacement gear 46 is engaged with the waste ink tank 25. Move between positions. At a position where the movable member 43 engages with the waste ink tank 25, the displacement gear 46 is displaced to a power transmission position that meshes with the drive gear 38 and the pump gear 36, so that the movable member 43 is not engaged with the waste ink tank 25. At the position to be in the state, the displacement gear 46 is displaced to the power cut-off position where the drive gear 38 and the pump gear 36 are not engaged. Therefore, when the waste ink tank 25 is attached to or detached from the mounting position 27, the movable member 43 in the moving portion of the power transmission mechanism 34 is moved between a position where it engages with the waste ink tank 25 and a position where the waste ink tank 25 becomes disengaged. Thus, the displacement gear 46 can be smoothly displaced between the power transmission position and the power cutoff position.

  (4) In the moving process when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, as long as the movable member 43 constituting the moving part of the power transmission mechanism 34 is engaged with the waste ink tank 25, the suction pump By driving 33, waste ink is discharged from the discharge port 32a, and the discharged waste ink is reliably received by the waste ink tank 25. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the inside of the printer 11 from being stained with the waste ink discharged outside the waste ink tank lifter.

  (5) When the waste ink tank 25 is attached to the attachment position 27, the movable member 43 constituting the moving part of the power transmission mechanism 34 is sucked through engagement from the inclined surface 25a of the waste ink tank 25 to the upper surface side. It moves to a position where power can be transmitted to the pump 33. On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, the engagement state in which the movable member 43 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is stopped at a position where power can be transmitted to the suction pump 33 is released, and the movable member is released. 43 moves to a position where power cannot be transmitted. Accordingly, when the waste ink tank 25 is attached to and detached from the mounting position 27, the movable member 43 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is moved between a position where power can be transmitted to the suction pump 33 and a position where power cannot be transmitted to the suction pump 33, thereby performing suction. The pump 33 can be quickly switched between the drive state and the drive stop state.

  (6) The displacement gear 46 is displaced in the axial direction so that the displacement gear 46 is engaged with the drive side gear (relay gear 42) and the pump side gear (relay gear 41) in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction. It was set as the structure made to displace. Therefore, the displacement gear 46 can be smoothly displaced between the power transmission position that meshes with the drive side gear (relay gear 42) and the pump side gear (relay gear 41) and the power cutoff position that is in a non-meshing relationship.

  (7) When the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27 while the suction pump 33 is driven, the displacement gear 46 is moved to the power shut-off position by the urging force of the urging member (coil spring 44). By displacing, the suction pump 33 can be quickly switched to the drive stop state. On the other hand, when the waste ink tank 25 is attached to the attachment position 27, if the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the attachment position 27 with a force larger than the urging force of the urging member (coil spring 44), The moving force at that time is converted into a displacement force, and the displacement gear 46 is displaced to the power transmission position. Therefore, the suction pump 33 can be reliably switched from the drive stop state to the drive state.

  (8) For example, when the displacement gear 46 is in the power cutoff position, the drive load of the drive motor M is relatively smaller than when the displacement gear 46 is in the power transmission position. Whether or not the waste ink tank 25 is attached to the attachment position 27 can be output through the lighting lamp lighting control or the like.

(Second Embodiment)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in a part of the configuration of the waste ink tank 25 and a part of the configuration of the power transmission mechanism 34, and the other points are the same. Therefore, in the following, constituent parts different from those of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same reference numerals are assigned to the other same constituents, and redundant description will be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the waste ink tank 25 according to the second embodiment has a rib shape in the horizontal direction from the upper end edge of the side wall along the front-rear direction, which is the attaching / detaching direction with respect to the mounting position 27, over the entire longitudinal direction. A portion 25b is provided protruding. Instead of the chamfered portion 25a being chamfered at the corner where the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 intersects the rear wall surface 25s, the rib-like portion 25b extending along the upper edge thereof moves in the mounting direction. A slope portion (engagement portion) 25c is formed at the front end portion (the rear end portion in FIGS. 4 and 5), which is inclined upward in the mounting direction.

  Further, regarding the power transmission mechanism 34, the relay gear 42 and the displacement gear 46 in the first embodiment are replaced with a displacement gear 52 that functions as a planetary gear with the drive gear 38 as a sun gear, whereby the first embodiment. The power transmission mechanism 34 that can form a power transmission path is configured by four gears 36, 38, 41, 52, which is one less than the number of gears 36. Specifically, the distance between the drive gear 38 and the pump gear 36 is narrower than in the case of the first embodiment, and the distance between the relay gear 41 and the drive gear 38 that meshes with the pump gear 36 is the same as both the gears 41, 38. Is set slightly shorter than the pitch diameter of the displacement gear 52 meshing with the gear.

  In this case, the displacement gear 52 functioning as a planetary gear is a substantially L-shaped lever member (movable constituting the moving portion) whose base end portion is rotatably supported by a drive shaft 37 to which the drive gear 38 is fixed. The member 50 is a carrier, and is supported rotatably with respect to the support shaft 51 protruding from the bent portion of the lever member 50 while maintaining the meshing relationship with the drive gear 38. It should be noted that the bent tip of the lever member 50 is formed in a sliding contact portion 50a whose cross-sectional shape is an arc shape, and with respect to the lower surface of the rib-like portion 25b when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27. Can be slid.

  When the sliding contact portion 50a of the lever member 50 is in contact with the rib-like portion 25b of the waste ink tank 25 from below, the displacement gear 52 supported by the lever member 50 is on the pump side as shown in FIG. It is located at a power transmission position that meshes with both the relay gear 41 of the gear and the drive gear 38 of the drive side gear. Therefore, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the four gears 36, 38, 41, 52 transmits power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the drive motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33. Form a pathway. Therefore, when the drive motor M is driven based on the control command from the control device 47 in this state, the suction pump 33 is driven based on the drive force.

  On the other hand, from the state shown in FIG. 4, when the opening / closing door 30 of the insertion / extraction port 28 is opened from the closed position to the open position as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Can be removed. As shown in FIG. 5, when the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the front side in the direction of taking out from the mounting position 27 through the opened insertion / extraction port 28, the lever member 50 is moved to the waste ink tank 25. The contact state from the lower side of the sliding contact portion 50a with respect to the rib-like portion 25b is released.

  For this reason, the displacement gear 52 supported by the lever member 50 moves around the drive gear 38, which is a sun gear, like a planetary gear. That is, in this case, when the drive gear 38 rotates clockwise in FIG. 5, the displacement gear 52 is displaced counterclockwise around the drive gear 38. As a result, the relay gear 41 of the pump side gear and the drive gear are driven. The drive gear 38 of the side gear is displaced to an upper power cut-off position that is in a non-meshing relationship.

  That is, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the four gears 36, 38, 41, 52 is driven by mechanically interlocking with the movement in the removal direction when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27. The power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33 is cut off. In other words, the lever member 50 that supports the displacement gear 52 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is disengaged from the waste ink tank 25 when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, thereby providing power. Move to a position where transmission is not possible. As a result, the driving force from the driving motor M is not transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is stopped driving. Accordingly, the waste ink is not discharged from the discharge port 32a at the downstream end of the discharge tube 32 when the suction pump 33 is stopped.

  Further, when the waste ink tank 25 is attached to the attachment position 27 in the storage chamber 26 from the state shown in FIG. 5, the power transmission mechanism 34 is moved in accordance with the movement when the waste ink tank 25 is attached as follows. Are mechanically interlocked to form a power transmission path from the drive motor M to the suction pump 33. First, from the state shown in FIG. 5, when the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the rear side in the mounting direction with respect to the mounting position 27, the lever member 50 moves in the mounting direction at the rib-like portion 25 b of the waste ink tank 25. The sliding contact portion 50a is slidably engaged with the inclined surface portion 25c formed at the front end. Then, the lever member 50 swings in the clockwise direction in FIG. 5 while moving the portion where the sliding contact portion 50a is engaged from the inclined surface portion 25c to the lower side of the rib-like portion 25b, and the displacement gear 52 is pumped. It is displaced to a lower power transmission position that meshes with the relay gear 41 of the side gear and the drive gear 38 of the drive side gear.

  As a result, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the four gears 36, 38, 41, 52 is engaged with the lever member 50 when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27, and moves in the mounting direction. By mechanically interlocking with each other, the lever member 50 constituting the moving unit moves from the drive gear 38 toward the pump gear 36 to a position where power can be transmitted. Accordingly, the driving force from the drive motor M is transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is driven. Accordingly, when the suction pump 33 is restarted, the suction pump 33 is restarted from the discharge port 32a at the downstream end of the discharge tube 32. Waste ink is discharged toward the waste ink tank 25 mounted at the mounting position 27.

According to 2nd Embodiment of the said structure, besides having the effect shown to (1)-(5) and (8) in 1st Embodiment similarly, there can exist the effect shown below.
(9) Since the power transmission mechanism 34 includes a smaller number of gears than in the first embodiment, the number of parts can be reduced, and the direction in which the smaller number of gears is orthogonal to the axial direction. Since it is sufficient if there is a region disposed in the space, it is possible to contribute to space saving of the entire apparatus.

  (10) The displacement gear 52 is not configured to be displaced between the power transmission position and the power cut-off position using the biasing force of the biasing member, but the drive gear 38 is a sun gear and the displacement gear 52 is around the drive gear 38. Since this is a planetary gear that rotates and displaces, it is possible to avoid the possibility of malfunction due to aging deterioration of the urging force that is a concern when the urging member is used.

(Third embodiment)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Note that the third embodiment differs from the first embodiment only in a part of the configuration of the waste ink tank 25 and a part of the configuration of the power transmission mechanism 34, and the other points are the same. Therefore, in the following, constituent parts different from those of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same reference numerals are assigned to the other same constituents, and redundant description will be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the waste ink tank 25 according to the third embodiment includes an end portion that becomes the front side when moved in the mounting direction at the upper edge of the side wall along the front-rear direction that is the attaching / detaching direction with respect to the mounting position 27. A bent arm portion 25d having a tip directed vertically downward is projected in the horizontal direction from (the rear end portion in FIGS. 6 and 7). Unlike the case of the first embodiment, the inclined surface portion 25a is not chamfered at the corner portion where the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 intersects the rear wall surface.

  In the power transmission mechanism 34, the two relay gears 41 and 42 in the first embodiment are omitted, and the drive gear 38 and the displacement gear 62 are arranged at positions different from those in the first embodiment. Yes. And the power transmission mechanism 34 which can form a power transmission path | route is comprised by the three gears 36,38,62 two fewer than 1st Embodiment. Specifically, the drive gear 38 is disposed at a position where the distance from the pump gear 36 is shorter than the pitch diameter of the displacement gear 62, and the displacement gear 62 is engaged with both the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38. The transmission position and the gears 36 and 38 are disposed so as to be displaceable between a power cut-off position where the both gears 36 and 38 are in non-meshing relation.

  That is, a plate-like support that extends long in the front-rear direction, which is the attaching / detaching direction of the waste ink tank 25, is located above the position where the drive gear 38 is disposed and approximately the same height as the position where the pump shaft 35 is disposed. The member 60 is supported by the frame 12 via a bracket (not shown). A long hole 60a is formed in the support member 60 along the longitudinal direction. In the long hole 60a, a support shaft (movable member constituting the moving portion) 61 that rotatably supports the displacement gear 62 is disposed in the longitudinal direction ( In this case, it is supported so as to be slidable in the front-rear direction, which is the attaching / detaching direction.

  Further, a pin 63 is fixed in the vicinity of the front edge in the mounting direction of the long hole 60a in the support member 60, and the rear side in the mounting direction of the long hole 60a is between the pin 63 and the support shaft 61. A coil spring (biasing member) 64 having an urging force capable of pressing the support shaft 61 toward the edge is attached. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the bent arm portion 25 d of the waste ink tank 25 mounted at the mounting position 27 can be engaged with the support shaft 61. In this engaged state, the support shaft 61 is attached to the support shaft 61. The coil spring 64 is pressed to the rear side (front side in the mounting direction) against the urging force of the coil spring 64 and moved to the approximate center of the long hole 60a.

  As a result, the displacement gear 62 supported by the support shaft 61 is displaced to the power transmission position that meshes with both the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38, so that the power transmission mechanism 34 including the three gears 36, 38, 62 is obtained. A power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the drive motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33 is formed. Therefore, when the drive motor M is driven based on the control command from the control device 47 in this state, the suction pump 33 is driven based on the drive force.

  On the other hand, from the state shown in FIG. 6, when the opening / closing door 30 of the insertion / extraction port 28 is opened from the closed position to the open position as shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. Can be removed. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, when the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the front side in the removal direction from the mounting position 27 through the opened insertion / extraction port 28, the support shaft supporting the displacement gear 62 is supported. 61, the backward pressing state by the arm portion 25d of the waste ink tank 25 is released.

  Therefore, the displacement gear 62 supported by the support shaft 61 is displaced forward together with the support shaft 61 in the detaching direction by the urging force of the coil spring 64, and is not meshed with the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38. It will be displaced to the front power cut-off position. That is, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the three gears 36, 38, 62 mechanically interlocks with the movement in the removal direction when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, thereby driving the drive motor M. The power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33 is cut off. In other words, the support shaft 61 that supports the displacement gear 62 of the power transmission mechanism 34 is disengaged from the waste ink tank 25 when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, thereby providing power. Move to a position where transmission is not possible. As a result, the driving force from the driving motor M is not transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is stopped driving. Therefore, the waste ink is not discharged from the downstream end of the discharge tube 32 when the suction pump 33 is stopped.

  Further, when the waste ink tank 25 is attached to the attachment position 27 in the storage chamber 26 from the state shown in FIG. 7, the power transmission mechanism 34 is moved in accordance with the movement when the waste ink tank 25 is attached as follows. Are mechanically interlocked to form a power transmission path from the drive motor M to the suction pump 33. First, from the state shown in FIG. 7, when the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the rear side in the mounting direction with respect to the mounting position 27, the support shaft 61 of the displacement gear 62 is moved to the front side in the mounting direction of the waste ink tank 25. Engage with the arm portion 25d formed at the offset position. Then, the support shaft 61 moves to the rear side (front side in the mounting direction) in the long hole 60a of the support member 60 against the urging force of the coil spring 64, and the displacement gear 62 is moved to the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38. It is displaced to the rear power transmission position that meshes with the.

  As a result, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the three gears 36, 38 and 62 is driven by mechanically interlocking with the movement in the mounting direction when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27. A power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33 is formed. Accordingly, the driving force from the driving motor M is transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is driven, so that the waste ink is attached from the downstream end of the discharge tube 32 as the suction pump 33 is driven again. The ink is discharged toward the waste ink tank 25 mounted at the position 27.

According to 3rd Embodiment of the said structure, the effect shown to (1)-(8) in 1st Embodiment and the effect shown to (9) in 2nd Embodiment can be show | played similarly.
(Fourth embodiment)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. The fourth embodiment is different from the first embodiment only in a part of the configuration of the waste ink tank 25 and a part of the configuration of the power transmission mechanism 34, and the other points are the same. Therefore, in the following, constituent parts different from those of the first embodiment will be mainly described, and the same reference numerals are assigned to the other same constituents, and redundant description will be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the waste ink tank 25 according to the fourth embodiment has an end portion that becomes the front side when moved in the mounting direction on the upper side of the side wall along the front-rear direction that is the attaching / detaching direction with respect to the mounting position 27. A bent support arm 25e is projected in a horizontal direction from the rear end (in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9) toward the rear which is the front side in the mounting direction. A support shaft 70 is fixed to the tip of the support arm 25e, and a displacement gear 71 is rotatably supported on the support shaft 70. Unlike the case of the first embodiment, the inclined surface portion 25a is not chamfered at the corner portion where the upper surface of the waste ink tank 25 intersects the rear wall surface.

  In the power transmission mechanism 34, the two relay gears 41 and 42 in the first embodiment are omitted, and the displacement gear 46 supported by the movable member 43 is supported by the support arm 25e of the waste ink tank 25. Further, the drive gear 38 is disposed at a position different from that in the first embodiment. A power transmission mechanism 34 that can form a power transmission path is configured by a total of three gears, that is, a pump gear 36 and a driving gear 38 provided on the printer 11 side and a displacement gear 71 provided on the waste ink tank 25 side. ing. Specifically, as in the case of the third embodiment, the drive gear 38 is disposed at a position where the distance from the pump gear 36 is shorter than the pitch diameter of the displacement gear 71. The displacement gear 71 is disposed between the power transmission position where the displacement gear 71 meshes with both the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38 and the power cutoff position where the gears 36 and 38 are not meshed with each other. It is configured to be displaced in conjunction with movement during attachment / detachment.

  That is, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, in the waste ink tank 25, the support arm 25 e that supports the support shaft 70 of the displacement gear 71 is provided at a position that is substantially the same height as the position where the pump shaft 35 is disposed. Yes. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, in a state where the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27, the displacement gear 71 moves in the mounting direction together with the support arm 25e, and the rear side becomes the front side in the mounting direction in the waste ink tank 25. The tooth portion of the displacement gear 71 protruding from the wall surface is displaced to the power transmission position where it engages with both the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38.

  Accordingly, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the three gears 36, 38, 71 has a power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the drive motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33. Form. In this state, when the drive motor M is driven based on a control command from the control device 47, the suction pump 33 is driven based on the drive force.

  On the other hand, when the open / close door 30 of the insertion / extraction port 28 is opened from the closed position to the open position from the state shown in FIG. Can be removed. As shown in FIG. 9, when the waste ink tank 25 is moved toward the front side in the direction of removal from the mounting position 27 through the opened insertion / extraction port 28, the displacement gear 71 is moved to the waste ink tank 25. And move to the front power shut-off position where the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38 are disengaged. That is, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the three gears 36, 38, and 71 mechanically interlocks with the movement in the removal direction when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, thereby driving the motor M. The power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33 is cut off. In other words, when the waste ink tank 25 is removed from the mounting position 27, the support arm 25e that supports the displacement gear 71 of the power transmission mechanism 34 moves together with the waste ink tank 25 to a position where power transmission is impossible. As a result, the driving force from the driving motor M is not transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is stopped driving. Therefore, the waste ink is not discharged from the downstream end of the discharge tube 32 when the suction pump 33 is stopped.

  Furthermore, when the waste ink tank 25 is attached to the attachment position 27 in the storage chamber 26 from the state shown in FIG. 9, the power transmission mechanism 34 is moved in accordance with the movement when the waste ink tank 25 is attached as follows. Are mechanically interlocked to form a power transmission path from the drive motor M to the suction pump 33. That is, when the waste ink tank 25 is moved from the state shown in FIG. 9 toward the rear side in the mounting direction with respect to the mounting position 27, the displacement gear 71 moves integrally with the waste ink tank 25, and the pump gear 36. And it is displaced to the rear power transmission position that meshes with the drive gear 38.

  As a result, the power transmission mechanism 34 including the three gears 36, 38, 71 is driven by mechanically interlocking with the movement in the mounting direction when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27. A power transmission path for transmitting power from the drive gear 38 directly connected to the motor M to the pump gear 36 directly connected to the suction pump 33 is formed. Accordingly, the driving force from the driving motor M is transmitted to the suction pump 33, and the suction pump 33 is driven, so that the waste ink is attached from the downstream end of the discharge tube 32 as the suction pump 33 is driven again. The ink is discharged toward the waste ink tank 25 mounted at the position 27.

  According to the fourth embodiment having the above-described configuration, the effects shown in (1) to (6) and (8) in the first embodiment, and the effect shown in (9) in the second embodiment can be similarly achieved. The following effects can be obtained.

  (11) The displacement gear 71 supported by the waste ink tank 25 according to the movement of the waste ink tank 25 with respect to the mounting position 27 is changed into the drive side gear (drive gear 38) and the pump side gear (pump gear 36). Are displaced between a power transmission position for drivingly connecting the two and a power cutoff position for not drivingly connecting the two. Therefore, the suction pump 33 can be appropriately switched to either the drive state or the drive stop state according to the attachment / detachment state of the waste ink tank 25 with respect to the attachment position 27.

In addition, you may change each said embodiment as follows.
In the first embodiment, the pump shaft 35 and the drive shaft 37 and the two support shafts 39 and 40 do not have to be at the same height position. In the second embodiment, the pump shaft 35 and the drive shaft 37 and The single support shaft 39 may not be at the same height position. Further, in each of the above embodiments, a known gear such as a compound gear other than a spur gear may be used for each of the gears 36, 38, 41, 42, 46, 52, 62, 71.

  In the fourth embodiment, the support arm 25e may be formed of an elastically deformable material. In this way, the impact when the waste ink tank 25 moves to the mounting position 27 and the displacement gear 71 meshes with the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38 can be reduced.

  In the fourth embodiment, the support shaft 70 that rotatably supports the displacement gear 71 may be configured to protrude from the side wall of the waste ink tank 25. That is, if the tooth portion of the displacement gear 71 is supported by the support shaft 70 and protrudes from the rear wall surface on the front side in the mounting direction of the waste ink tank 25, the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27. Sometimes the displacement gear 71 can mesh with the pump gear 36 and the drive gear 38.

  In each of the above embodiments, the current sensor 48 may be omitted. In other words, a configuration may be adopted in which the eye notification control regarding whether or not the waste ink tank 25 is attached based on the detection result of the change in the driving load of the driving motor M is not performed.

  In each of the above embodiments, the current sensor 48 is replaced with the rotation detection sensor of the pump shaft 35, and the control device 47 determines whether or not the waste ink tank 25 is attached to the attachment position 27 based on the detection result of the rotation detection sensor. You may do it.

  In the first and third embodiments, the urging member that urges the displacement gears 46 and 62 toward the power cutoff position is replaced with another urging member such as a leaf spring instead of the coil springs 44 and 64. May be.

  In each of the above embodiments, the displacement direction of the displacement gears 46, 52, 62, 71 linked to the movement when the waste ink tank 25 is attached / detached may be a direction along the axial direction instead of a direction orthogonal to the axial direction. However, in this case, when the waste ink tank 25 is mounted at the mounting position 27, it may be necessary to adjust the rotation so that the displacement gear meshes well with the pump side gear and the drive side gear.

In each of the above embodiments, the number of gears constituting the power transmission mechanism 34 may be changed to an arbitrary number by adjusting the number of relay gears.
In the above embodiments, the size of the gears constituting the power transmission mechanism 34 may be arbitrarily changed in the pitch diameter of each gear in order to adjust the reduction ratio of the power to be transmitted.

  In each of the above embodiments, the liquid ejecting apparatus is embodied as an ink jet printer. However, the liquid ejecting apparatus is not limited to this, and a liquid or gel in which liquids other than ink or functional material particles are dispersed or mixed in the liquid. The present invention can also be embodied in a device that ejects or discharges a fluid. For example, a liquid material ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid material that is dispersed or dissolved in materials such as electrode materials and color materials (pixel materials) used in the manufacture of liquid crystal displays, EL (electroluminescence) displays, and surface-emitting displays. Further, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a bio-organic matter used for biochip manufacturing, or a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid that is used as a precision pipette and serves as a sample may be used. In addition, transparent resin liquids such as UV curable resin to form liquid injection devices that pinpoint lubricant oil onto precision machines such as watches and cameras, and micro hemispherical lenses (optical lenses) used in optical communication elements. A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid onto the substrate, a liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects an etching solution such as acid or alkali to etch the substrate, and a fluid ejecting apparatus that ejects a fluid such as a gel (for example, a physical gel) It may be. The present invention can be applied to any one of these devices. In the present specification, “liquid” includes, for example, an inorganic solvent, an organic solvent, a solution, a liquid resin, a liquid metal (metal melt), and the like, as well as a liquid and a fluid.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Printer (liquid ejecting apparatus), 21 ... Recording head (liquid ejecting head), 25 ... Waste ink tank (waste liquid collection body), 25a, 25c ... Slope part (engaging part), 25d ... Arm part (engaging part) ), 25 s ... wall surface, 27 ... mounting position (mounting portion), 32 a ... discharge port, 33 ... suction pump (pump), 34 ... power transmission mechanism, 36 ... pump gear (pump side gear), 38 ... drive gear (drive) Side gear), 41 ... relay gear 40 (pump side gear), 42 ... relay gear (drive side gear), 43 ... movable member constituting moving part, 44, 64 ... coil spring (biasing member), 46, 52 , 62, 71 ... displacement gears, 47 ... control device (control means), 50 ... lever member (movable member constituting the moving portion), 61 ... support shaft (movable member constituting the moving portion), M ... drive motor ( Drive source), X, Y ... distance.

Claims (5)

A liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid;
A pump that is driven when the liquid is discharged from the liquid ejecting head as waste liquid;
A mounting portion on which a waste liquid collecting body capable of receiving the waste liquid discharged as the pump is driven is detachably mounted;
The waste liquid recovery body is moved to a position where power can be transmitted to the pump by engaging with the waste liquid recovery body mounted on the mounting section, while the waste liquid recovery body is removed when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting section. And a power transmission mechanism having a moving part that is disengaged and moves to a position where power cannot be transmitted to the pump. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,
The power transmission mechanism is
A drive-side gear drivingly connected to the drive source;
A pump-side gear disposed rotatably at a position away from the driving-side gear in a drivingly connected state with the pump;
A power transmission position that meshes with both the drive side gear and the pump side gear according to the position of the moving part, and a power cutoff position that is in non-meshing relationship with at least one of the drive side gear and the pump side gear. A liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a displacement gear that displaces the liquid. The liquid ejecting apparatus according to claim 2,
The moving unit is
It is possible to move between a position where the waste liquid collecting body is engaged while supporting the displacement gear and a position where the waste liquid collecting body is disengaged from the waste liquid collecting body as the waste liquid collecting body is attached to and detached from the mounting portion. A liquid ejecting apparatus having a movable member. In the liquid ejecting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
The waste liquid collection body that is mounted on the mounting section is configured to discharge the waste liquid toward the waste liquid collection body as the pump is driven and the position of the side surface opposite to the direction of removal from the mounting section. The distance in the detaching direction from the position of the outlet is engaged with the waste liquid recovery body in a state of being mounted on the mounting portion while stopping the movement of the moving portion with respect to the moving portion of the power transmission mechanism. A liquid ejecting apparatus, wherein the liquid ejecting apparatus is longer than a moving distance until the moving state is released along with the movement in the removing direction. A liquid ejecting head for ejecting liquid;
A pump that is driven when the liquid is discharged from the liquid ejecting head as waste liquid;
A mounting portion on which a waste liquid collecting body capable of receiving the waste liquid discharged as the pump is driven is detachably mounted;
It can be displaced according to the position when the waste liquid recovery body is attached to or detached from the mounting portion, and when the waste liquid recovery body is mounted on the mounting portion, it is displaced to a position where a drive wheel train is formed for the pump. And a power transmission mechanism having a displacement gear that is displaced to a position where the drive wheel train is not formed when the waste liquid recovery body is removed from the mounting portion.