Printing apparatus and printing material supply system

A printing apparatus adapted to have a cartridge detachably mounted thereon, wherein three space axes orthogonal to one another are represented by an X-axis, a Y-axis and a Z-axis of the cartridge,

• the cartridge comprising:
• a first face located on a −Z-axis direction side and a second face located on a +Z-axis direction side, as two surfaces opposed to each other in the Z-axis direction;
• a third face located on a +X-axis direction side and a fourth face located on a −X-axis direction side, as two surfaces opposed to each other in the X-axis direction;
• a fifth face located on a −Y-axis direction side and a sixth face located on a +Y-axis direction side, as two surfaces opposed to each other in the Y-axis direction;
• a cartridge-side corner section arranged to connect the first face with the third face;
• a printing material supply port placed on the first face and configured to supply printing material to the printing apparatus;
• a first cartridge-side restriction portion placed on the third face;
• a sloped surface arranged to form part of the cartridge-side corner section and inclined in a specific direction including the +X-axis direction component and the −Z-axis direction component;
• and
• a plurality of cartridge-side terminals located on the sloped surface, wherein
• the X axis, the Y axis and the Z axis with respect to the printing apparatus in an attached state of the cartridge to the printing apparatus respectively correspond to an X axis, a Y axis and a Z axis of the printing apparatus,
• the printing apparatus comprising:
• a cartridge mounting structure configured to have:
• (i) an apparatus-side bottom wall member opposed to the first face of the cartridge in the attached state;
• (ii) a first apparatus-side side wall member opposed to the third face of the cartridge in the attached state;
• and (iii) a second apparatus-side side wall member opposed to the fourth face of the cartridge in the attached state;
• a printing material supply tube structured to have a central axis parallel to the Z-axis, a base end provided on the apparatus-side bottom wall member and a peripheral end to be connected with the printing material supply port;
• a plurality of apparatus-side terminals located in an apparatus-side corner section where the apparatus-side bottom wall member intersects the first apparatus-side side wall member, wherein in the attached state, the respective apparatus-side terminals are in contact with the respective cartridge-side terminals to apply a force to the cartridge in a specific direction including the +Z-axis direction component;
• and
• a lever placed on the first apparatus-side side wall member in a rotatable manner to be used for attachment and detachment of the cartridge to and from the printing apparatus, wherein
• the lever is structured to have:
• an operating member located at the +Z-axis direction end and configured to receive an external force applied by a user;
• and a first apparatus-side locking portion located at the −Z-axis direction end, wherein in the attached state, the first apparatus-side locking portion engages with the first cartridge-side restriction portion of the cartridge, so as to restrict motion of the cartridge in the +Z-axis direction,
• the lever additionally has an axis of rotation at a specific position between the operating member and the first apparatus-side locking portion, wherein in the attached state, the axis of rotation is located on the +Z-axis direction side and on the +X-axis direction side of a specified locking position where the first apparatus-side locking portion engages with the first cartridge-side restriction portion, and
• when an external force is applied to the operating member of the lever from the +X-axis direction to the −X-axis direction, the lever moves the first apparatus-side locking portion about the axis of rotation from the specified locking position toward the +X-axis direction and disengages the first apparatus-side locking portion from the first cartridge-side restriction portion, so as to eliminate the restriction of the motion of the cartridge.