US 8,944,587 B2 · Liquid ejection apparatus

Abstract

A liquid ejection apparatus includes: a recording portion; a medium-supply portion; a support member for supporting a recording medium while facing the recording portion; a conveyor mechanism including a conveyance guide and a conveyor roller; a first housing accommodating the recording portion; and a second housing accommodating the medium-supply portion, the support member, and the conveyor mechanism. The first housing is pivotable about a pivot shaft with respect to the second housing. The conveyance guide includes a guide portion disposed downstream of the conveyor roller and upstream of the recording portion and having an inclined guide face. The guide portion is opposed to the recording portion in the second direction with a clearance therebetween. The recording portion is configured to pass through a space corresponding to the clearance when the first housing is pivoted between the ejection position and the distant position.

A liquid ejection apparatus, comprising:

a recording portion including a liquid ejection head having an ejection face, the liquid ejection head being elongated in a first direction as a main scanning direction parallel to the ejection face;
a supply portion configured to supply a recording medium;
a support member configured to support the recording medium while facing the ejection face;
a conveyor mechanism including (i) a conveyance guide configured to guide the recording medium and defining a U-shaped curved path extending from the supply portion toward the support member and (ii) a conveyor roller configured to convey the recording medium along the conveyance guide, the conveyor mechanism being configured to convey the recording medium in a second direction as a sub-scanning direction parallel to the ejection face and perpendicular to the main scanning direction;
a first housing accommodating the recording portion;
and
a second housing accommodating the supply portion, the support member, and the conveyor mechanism,
wherein the first housing is pivotable about a pivot shaft extending along the main scanning direction, between (i) an ejection position at which the recording portion ejects liquid onto the recording medium supported by the support member and (ii) a distant position at which the recording portion is farther from the support member than the recording portion in a situation in which the first housing is located at the ejection position,
wherein, when the first housing is located at the ejection position, the pivot shaft is located at a position that is farther from the support member than the ejection face in a third direction as a vertical direction perpendicular to the ejection face and that is downstream of the recording portion in the sub-scanning direction,
wherein the recording portion is configured to move along an arc containing a component of the sub-scanning direction, while the first housing is pivoted about the pivot shaft,
wherein the conveyance guide includes a guide portion disposed downstream of the conveyor roller and upstream of the recording portion in the sub-scanning direction, the guide portion having a guide face inclined obliquely downward toward a downstream side of the guide face in the sub-scanning direction, the guide portion being configured to guide the recording medium along the guide face,
wherein a downstream end of the guide face is located at a position lower than an upstream end of the guide face in the vertical direction,
wherein the downstream end of the guide face is disposed upstream of the recording portion, and is located at a position lower than the ejection face and higher than the support member in the vertical direction,
wherein, when the first housing is located at the ejection position, the guide portion is opposed to the recording portion in the sub-scanning direction with a clearance therebetween,
wherein the recording portion is configured to pass through a space corresponding to the clearance when the first housing is pivoted between the ejection position and the distant position,
wherein the recording portion further includes an annular member enclosing the ejection face, and
wherein the liquid ejection apparatus further comprises:
a facing member allowed to face the ejection face;
a moving mechanism configured to move the annular member in the vertical direction such that the annular member is selectively positioned at one of (i) a sealing position at which the annular member is held in contact with a facing face of the facing member to seal the ejection face and (ii) an open position at which the annular member is distant from the facing member;
a limitation portion configured to limit the pivotal movement of the first housing located at the ejection position;
a sensor configured to output a limitation release signal indicating a release of the limitation by the limitation portion;
and
a movement control section configured to control the moving mechanism to move the annular member to the open position when the limitation release signal outputted from the sensor is received.

20 more elements

Description12,928 words

Summary839 words

#The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2011-167035, which was filed on Jul. 29, 2011, the disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference in its entirety.

#1. Field of the Invention

#The present invention relates to a liquid ejection apparatus including a liquid ejection head for ejecting liquid.

Brief description of the drawings12 figures

#The objects, features, advantages, and technical and industrial significance of the present invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of the embodiment of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

#FIG. 1 is an external perspective view showing an ink-jet printer as one embodiment of the present invention;

#FIG. 2 is a side view generally showing an inside of the printer;

Detailed description11,730 words

#Hereinafter, there will be described one embodiment of the present invention by reference to the drawings.

#As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printer 1 includes an upper housing 1a (as one example of a first housing) and a lower housing 1b (as one example of a second housing) each having a rectangular parallelepiped shape and having generally the same size as each other. The upper housing 1a opens in its lower face, and the lower housing 1b opens in its upper face. As shown in FIG. 2, when the upper housing 1a is superposed on the lower housing 1b so as to seal the opening faces of the housings 1a, 1b, a space in the printer 1 is defined. A sheet-discharge portion 1e is provided on a top plate of the upper housing 1a. In the space defined by the upper and lower housings 1a, 1b is formed a sheet conveyance path through which a recording medium in the form of a sheet P is conveyed from a sheet-supply unit 1c which will be described below toward the sheet-discharge portion 1e along bold broken arrows R1-R5 shown in FIG. 2. A controller 100 is provided in the printer 1 for controlling components of the printer 1. A configuration of the controller 100 will be explained later in detail.

#It is noted that a direction perpendicular to a sheet face of FIG. 2 and directed from a front side toward a back side of the printer 1 in FIG. 2 is defined as a main scanning direction (as one example of a first direction), a direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction and directed rightward is defined as a sub-scanning direction (as one example of a second direction), and a direction perpendicular to both of the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction is defined as a vertical direction (as one example of a third direction).

Facts

Application

13/433,065Filed 28 Mar 2012

Priority

JP 2011-16703529 Jul 2011

Published

US 2013/0027490 A131 Jan 2013

Granted

3 Feb 2015

Term ends

23 Jun 2032

Estimated · how

20 years from earliest known nonprovisional domestic filing plus recorded patent term adjustment, including 87 days of adjustment. Maintenance-fee lapses, terminal disclaimers and statutory extensions have not been checked. The continuity chain may be incomplete; this is not an enforceability determination.

Classification3 codes

B41J 11/006
Devices or arrangements of selective printing mechanisms, e.g. ink-jet printers or thermal printers, for supporting or handling copy material in…:…
B41J 13/14
Sheet holders, retainers , movable guides, or stationary guides: aprons or guides for the printing section
B41J
Typewriters

Timeline

29 Jul 2011Priority claimedJP 2011-167035
28 Mar 2012Application filedUS 13/433,065
28 Mar 2012Assigned to Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaishaassignment of assignor's interest
31 Jan 2013PublishedUS 2013/0027490 A1
3 Feb 2015GrantedUS 8,944,587 B2
12 Oct 2026TodayWithin its term
23 Jun 2032Term endsEstimated, includes 87 days of adjustment

Liquid ejection apparatus

Life of this patent

Liquid ejection apparatus

Life of this patent

Life of this patent

Abstract

Drawings

Drawings

Claims19

Description12,928 words

Drawings

Classification3 codes

Life of this patent

Description12,928 words