Abstract:
An apparatus to remove an ink cartridge of an ink-jet printer. The apparatus includes a carriage having a supporting frame movably supported by a guide rail, and a receptacle connected to the supporting frame, an ink cartridge removable from the receptacle, the ink cartridge having a latching protrusion formed at an upper end thereof, a latching unit disposed at the supporting frame, being compressible and de-compressible to an original form, the latching unit in a compressed state latching the latching protrusion of the ink cartridge and the latching unit in a de-compressed state, is released from the latching protrusion, and a moving unit having a joint portion which pivots at a predetermined angle . The moving unit is pivotally disposed at the supporting frame, the moving unit to pivot in a first direction to completely mount the ink cartridge from a temporary mounting position in the receptacle and to compress the latching unit. The jointing portion is fixedly positioned in a bent state due to a recovery force of the compressed latching unit, and the moving unit pivots in a second direction, opposite to the first direction to permit the latching unit to return to the uncompressed state.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS  
         [0001]    This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2001-24163, filed May 3, 2001, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    1. Field of the Invention  
           [0003]    The present invention relates to an ink-jet printer, and more particularly, to an apparatus to remove an ink cartridge from the ink-jet printer.  
           [0004]    2. Description of the Related Art  
           [0005]    As shown in FIG. 1, an ink-jet printer generally comprises a carriage  20  for carrying an ink cartridge  10  mounted thereon along a predetermined guide rail (not illustrated). The ink cartridge  10  has an ink vessel  11  for storing ink, an ink cartridge head  13  for controlling an ink nozzle (not shown) disposed at a lower side of the ink vessel  11 , and a latch lid  15  for mounting the ink cartridge  10  to the carriage  20 .  
           [0006]    The carriage  20  comprises a supporting frame  21  mounted to a main frame (not illustrated) and moved along the guide rail, a receptacle  22  disposed at the supporting frame  21  for serving as a sub-guide when the ink cartridge  10  is mounted, and latching means for securing the ink cartridge  10  to the receptacle  22  by latching the receptacle  22  to the latch lid  15 . The latching means comprises a spring  23 , and a latch  24  disposed at one side of the supporting frame  21  and corresponding to the latch lid  15 , which is elastically pressed by the spring  23 . Also, a Flexible Printed Circuit (FPC)  25  and an elastic element  26  are provided between the supporting frame  21  and the receptacle  22 . The FPC  25  supplies power to the ink cartridge head  13  and the elastic element  26  for increasing a contact force between a dimple  25   a  provided on the FPC  25  and the ink cartridge head  13 .  
           [0007]    In order to mount the ink cartridge  10  to the carriage  20 , the ink cartridge  10  is inserted into the receptacle  22 . Next, an upper end of the ink cartridge  10  is forcibly pushed toward the carriage  20 . Then, as shown in FIG. 2, a sloping surface of the latch lid  15  raises the latch  24  while sliding over a sloping surface of the latch  24 . At the same time, the latch lid  15  moves forward in the direction indicated by the arrow labeled “A”. If the latch lid  15  is completely moved in the “A” direction, the ink cartridge  10  is in close contact with one sidewall of the receptacle  22 , and also the latch  24  descends due to a recovery force of the spring  23 , thereby preventing the latch lid  15  from moving in the direction indicated by the arrow labeled “B”.  
           [0008]    The ink cartridge  10  is removed from the carriage  20  in reverse order to the order by which the ink cartridge  10  is mounted to the carriage  20 . That is, the upper end of the ink cartridge  10  is pulled forcibly in the “B” direction, and thus the latch lid  15  is removed from the one sidewall of the receptacle  22  while lifting up the latch  24 , so that the ink cartridge  10  is removed from the carriage  20 .  
           [0009]    However, when the ink cartridge  10  is mounted in the way as described above, the spring  23  must have a predetermined force for increasing the contact force between the dimple  25   a  and the ink cartridge head  13 . Accordingly, it is difficult for a user to overcome the force of the spring  23  and replace the ink cartridge  10 . Also, it is not clear how to handle the ink cartridge  10  during mounting and removal . Thus, when an unskilled user handles the ink cartridge  10 , there may be damage to the ink cartridge head  13  or the dimple  25   a.    
           [0010]    Furthermore, in order to remove the ink cartridge  10  from the carriage  20 , the user needs sufficient space to hold the ink cartridge  10  and pull out the ink cartridge  10  . However, this space may be so small that the user must use his/her fingertips or fingernails. Thus, fingernails may be broken, injured, or may contact components of the ink cartridge  10 , thereby causing damage.  
           [0011]    Furthermore, it is difficult for the user to ascertain with the naked eye whether the ink cartridge  10  is mounted accurately. Thus, the ink cartridge  10  might be mounted inaccurately, unbeknownst to the user. If the ink cartridge  10  is mounted inaccurately, the contact force between the dimple  25   a  and the ink cartridge head  13  becomes weak, and thus the ink nozzle cannot be properly controlled and printing quality deteriorates.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0012]    Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus to remove an ink cartridge of an ink-jet printer in which the ink cartridge is mounted and removed with little effort from a user.  
           [0013]    Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.  
           [0014]    The foregoing and other objects of the present invention are achieved by providing an apparatus to remove an ink cartridge of an ink-jet printer, the apparatus includes a carriage having a supporting frame movably supported by a guide rail, and a receptacle connected to the supporting frame, an ink cartridge removable from the receptacle, the ink cartridge having a latching protrusion formed at an upper end thereof, a latching unit disposed at the supporting frame, being compressible and de-compressible. In a compressed state, the latching unit latches the latching protrusion of the ink cartridge mounted in the receptacle, and in a de-compressed state, the latching unit is released from the latching protrusion. The apparatus further includes a moving unit having a joint portion to pivot at a predetermined angle, the moving unit pivotally disposed at the supporting frame, to pivot in a first direction to mount the ink cartridge from a temporary mounting position in the receptacle and to compress the latching unit. The joint portion is fixedly positioned in a bent state due to a recovery force of the compressed latching unit, the moving unit to pivot in a second direction, opposite to the first direction, to permit the latching unit to recover its original form.  
           [0015]    The latching unit includes a spring, a latch member connected to a first end of the spring, the latch member having a sloping side corresponding to the latching protrusion, and a contact member connected to a second end of the spring, opposite to the first end of the spring, the contact member having a guide recess formed at an upper end thereof to guide the contact member to contact the moving unit.  
           [0016]    Also, the moving unit includes a moving lever, a first end of which is pivotally disposed at the supporting frame, the moving lever to pivot downward to compress the latching unit, a handle lever disposed at a second end, opposite the first end of the moving lever, and to pivot at a predetermined angle, the handle lever first pivoting on the moving lever and then pivoting together with the moving lever. The moving unit further includes a lever spring disposed at a lower end of the handle lever, the lever spring pressing an upper portion of the ink cartridge from the temporary mounting position in the receptacle to contact the supporting frame during the pivoting movement of the handle lever.  
           [0017]    At least one of respective hinge connecting portions of the moving lever and the handle lever defines a jaw to restrict an angle of relative pivotal movement of the moving lever and the handle lever. The lever spring is a plate spring made of a metallic material or is made of an engineering plastic material or is a coil spring. The apparatus further includes a position protrusion formed at the moving unit to contact the latching unit during the pivoting of the moving unit, the position protrusion being disposed farther away from the supporting frame than a hinge point on the supporting frame of the moving unit. 
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0018]    These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent and more readily appreciated from the following description of the preferred embodiments, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings of which:  
         [0019]    [0019]FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing a carriage and ink cartridge of a conventional ink-jet printer;  
         [0020]    [0020]FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing the interaction between the ink cartridge and the carriage of FIG. 1;  
         [0021]    [0021]FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing an apparatus to remove an ink cartridge of an ink-jet printer according to an embodiment of the present invention;  
         [0022]    [0022]FIG. 4 is a side view showing the apparatus to remove an ink cartridge of FIG. 3;  
         [0023]    [0023]FIG. 5A is a schematic sectional view showing parts of FIG. 3;  
         [0024]    [0024]FIG. 5B is a sectional view showing a portion of FIG. 5A in detail;  
         [0025]    [0025]FIG. 6 is a sectional view showing parts of FIG. 5A;  
         [0026]    [0026]FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a connecting part of a moving member and a handle lever according to another embodiment of the present invention; and  
         [0027]    [0027]FIG. 8 is a side view showing a state in which an ink cartridge is mounted in a receptacle according to the present invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0028]    Reference will now be made in detail to the present preferred embodiments of the present invention, examples of which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout.  
         [0029]    As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, according to an embodiment of the present invention, an apparatus to remove an ink cartridge of an ink-jet printer includes a carriage  40  capable of moving along a guide rail  30 , an ink cartridge  50  removably connected to the carriage  40 , a latching unit  60 , and a moving unit  70 .  
         [0030]    The carriage  40  includes a supporting frame  41  which is supported by and slides along the guide rail  30 , and a receptacle  43  connected to the supporting frame  41  to contain and support the ink cartridge  50 . The receptacle  43  defines a space sufficient to move the ink cartridge  50  without restriction.  
         [0031]    The ink cartridge  50  has a latching protrusion  51  formed at an upper end thereof. The latching protrusion  51  has a guide cap  67  to contact a latch member  63 , which will be described later. Since the ink cartridge  50  and various parts disposed between the ink cartridge  50  and the carriage  40  have been described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the descriptions thereof will be omitted.  
         [0032]    As shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B, the latching unit  60  is disposed at the supporting frame  41  to be compressed downward and de-compressed upward. If the latching unit  60  is compressed to give pressure to the latching protrusion  51 , the latching protrusion  51  is latched to an immovable state. If the latching unit  60  is elastically de-compressed, the latching protrusion  51  is released from the latched state such that the latching protrusion  51  can be moved by an external force. The latching unit  60  comprises a spring  61 , a latch member  63  connected to a lower end of the spring  61  and a contact member  65  connected to an upper end of the spring  61 . The latch member  63  has reverse mountain-shape sloping surfaces  63   a  to correspond to the latching protrusion  51 . Accordingly, if the ink cartridge  50  is moved when the latching protrusion  51  and the latch member  63  are in contact with each other, the latching protrusion  51  raises the latch member  63  while moving.  
         [0033]    Also, the contact member  65  has a valley-shaped guide recess  65   a  formed at an upper end thereof, to guide the contact member  65  to contact a lower end of a moving lever  71  (described later) when the moving lever  71  pivots. Accordingly, the contact member  65  maintains secure contact with the moving lever  71  when the moving lever  71  pivots such that the contact member  65  is able to compress the spring  61 , without being twisted or deviated by the pressure of the moving lever  71 . The latching unit  60  is guided and prevented from being removed by a guide cap  67  disposed at the supporting frame  41 .  
         [0034]    The moving unit  70  has one joint portion formed at a center portion thereof that pivots at a predetermined angle. The moving unit  70  comprises the moving lever  71 , one end of which is pivotally disposed at the supporting frame  41 , a handle lever  73  pivotally disposed at an opposite end of the moving lever  71  from the supporting frame, and a lever spring  75  disposed at a lower side of the handle lever  73 . The moving lever  71  is attached to the handle lever  73  by the joint portion. The moving unit  70  also pivots on a hinge point on the supporting frame  41 , i.e., on a position fixing pin P 1 . When the moving unit  70  pivots downward on the position fixing pin P 1 , the moving unit  70  pushes the ink cartridge  50  from the temporary mounting position in the receptacle  43  to a final mounting position, compressing the latching unit  60 . Under the recovery force of the latching unit  60 , the joint portion is fixedly positioned in a bent state.  
         [0035]    The moving lever  71  pivots on the position fixing pin P 1  at a predetermined angle and has a position protrusion  71   a  to be in contact with the contact member  65  when the moving lever  71  pivots downwardly. The position protrusion  71   a  has reverse mountain-shape sloping surfaces corresponding to the guide recess  65   a  of the contact member  65 .  
         [0036]    The position protrusion  71   a  is disposed farther away from a position varying pin P 2  (described later) than from the position fixing pin P 1  . That is, the position fixing pin P 1  is disposed between the position protrusion  71   a  and the position varying pin P 2  such that the position protrusion  71   a  is subjected to a strong force when the handle lever  73  and the moving lever  71  pivot. Thus, the position protrusion  71   a  easily compresses the latching unit  60 .  
         [0037]    The handle lever  73  is used as a working lever when a user mounts or removes the ink cartridge  50  and is pivotally connected to the moving lever  71  by the position varying pin P 2 . Also, the handle lever  73  pivots to a predetermined angle in relation to the moving lever  71 . To achieve this, the moving lever  71  has a recess  71   b  of a predetermined depth formed at a portion corresponding to the position varying pin P 2 . In a state that a leading end of the handle lever  73  is inserted into the recess  71   b , the handle lever  73  is connected to the moving lever  71  through the position varying pin P 2 . In the above construction, the recess  71   b  is defined within a jaw  71   c  (shown in FIG. 6) that restricts a pivoting angle at which the handle lever  73  pivots in relation to the moving lever  71 .  
         [0038]    According to another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, at respective portions where the moving lever  71 ′ and the handle lever  73 ′ are connected to each other by the position varying pin P 2 , jaws  71   c ′ and  73   a ′ are formed to restrict the angle of relative pivotal movements of the moving lever  71 ′ and the handle lever  73 ′. According to this construction, when the handle lever  73 ′ pivots in a predetermined direction, first, the handle lever  73 ′ alone pivots freely at a predetermined angle. Then when the handle lever  73 ′ contacts the respective jaws  71   c ′ and  73   a ′, the handle lever  73 ′ pivots on the position varying pin P 2  together with the moving lever  71 ′.  
         [0039]    Accordingly, even if the handle lever  73  or  73 ′ is suddenly pivoted by an excessive force, any possible shock is lessened due to the presence of the respective jaws  71   c  or  71   c ′ and  73   a ′. Also, in the state in which the ink cartridge  50  is mounted, the respective jaws  71   c  or  71   c ′ and  73   a ′ are subjected to the recovery force as the lever spring  75  (described later) is compressed. Under the recovery force, a deformation of the handle lever  73  and moving lever  71  can be effectively prevented.  
         [0040]    The lever spring  75  is disposed at the lower side of the handle lever  73  to elastically contact an upper portion of the ink cartridge  50  when the handle lever  73  pivots. The handle lever  73  may be a plate spring made of a metallic material or the lever spring  75  may be made of an engineering plastic material. Although not illustrated, the lever spring  75  may also be a coil spring.  
         [0041]    We will now describe the operation of the above-described apparatus.  
         [0042]    First, as shown in FIG. 8, the ink cartridge  50  is temporarily mounted in the receptacle  43  in a state in which the moving lever  71  and the handle lever  73  are both raised (as indicated by the dashed lines). Then, the ink cartridge  50  is put into a position inclining at a predetermined angle without being in close contact with the supporting frame  41 . At this time, when the handle lever  73  is moved downward, the handle lever  73  pivots at a predetermined angle in relation to the moving lever  71 . Then, when the leading end of the handle lever  73  contacts an inner wall of the recess  71   b , i.e., with the jaw  71   c , the handle lever  73  pivots together with the moving lever  71 . At this time, as shown in FIG. 5A, the lever spring  75  pushes elastically on an upper portion of the ink cartridge  50  and thus the ink cartridge  50  makes close contact with the supporting frame  41 . While the ink cartridge  50  is pushed into the close contact with the supporting frame  41 , the sloping surface of the latching protrusion  51  slides over the sloping surface  63   a  of the latch member  63 . That is, the latching protrusion  51  raises the latch member  63  slightly and moves inwardly. At the same time, the position protrusion  71   a  disposed at the lower end of the moving lever  71  pushes the contact member  65  downward to compress the spring  61 . Then, the ink cartridge  50  closely contacts the supporting frame  41  and the latch member  63  is subjected to pressure due to the force of the spring  61  in the state in which the latching protrusion  51  is disposed inwardly from the latch member  63  such that the latching protrusion  51  is restrained from movement. Accordingly, unless the latching protrusion  51  is subjected to the force sufficient to overcome the recovery force of the spring  61 , the latching protrusion  51  is not removed from the latch member  63 .  
         [0043]    Also, the recovery force of the spring  61  provides the contact member  65  with an upward pressure which is transmitted to the moving lever  71  to maintain the joint portion between the moving lever  71  and the handle lever  73  in the bent state. Since the joint portion between the handle lever  73  and the moving lever  71  is maintained to be bent due to the pressure of the spring  61 , the handle lever  73  and the moving lever  71  cannot be easily moved unless a user lifts up the handle lever  73  with an external force. By simply moving the handle lever  73  downward, which is different from the conventional method, the ink cartridge  50  can be easily mounted in the receptacle  43  due to the lever action. Also, if the ink cartridge  50  is mounted, since the position protrusion  71   a  of the moving lever  71  fits in the guide recess  65   a  of the contact member  65  and the ink cartridge  50  is pressed, the accuracy of the mounting position of the ink cartridge  50  and reliability of the mounted state thereof can be increased.  
         [0044]    Meanwhile, in order to remove the ink cartridge  50  from the receptacle  43 , the handle lever  73  pivots in reverse order to the order by which the ink cartridge  50  is mounted in the receptacle  43 . That is, the handle lever  73  is raised as shown in FIG. 5A to the position indicated by the dashed line. Then, the lever spring  75  is released from contact with the ink cartridge  50  and the handle lever  73  pivots together with the moving lever  71 . Accordingly, the position protrusion  71   a  is released from contact with the contact member  65  and the spring  61  is de-compressed such that the latching protrusion  51  is released from the force of the spring  61  that is generated due to the compression of the spring  61 . When the latching protrusion  51  and the latch member  63  are released from the pressure therebetween, the user seizes the ink cartridge  50  and pulls the ink cartridge  50  from the supporting frame  41  . Then the latching protrusion  51  raises the latch member  63  slightly and is removed outwardly from the latching connection such that the ink cartridge  50  is again put into the position inclining at a predetermined angle, as shown in FIG. 8. Finally, by removing the ink cartridge  50  from the receptacle  43 , the operation to remove the ink cartridge  50  is completed. Next, a new ink cartridge  50  is mounted in the receptacle  43  in the ink cartridge mounting order as described above and then the ink cartridge replacement is repeated.  
         [0045]    In the embodiments of the present invention described above, a printer employing more than two ink cartridges which are replaced one by one is exemplified. However, it is understood that the present invention should not be limited to this example but a construction to replace two or more ink cartridges simultaneously can also be made.  
         [0046]    According to the apparatus to remove the ink cartridge  50  of the ink-jet printer as described above, the apparatus comprises a moving unit  70  to latch and unlatch the latching unit  60  so that the ink cartridge  50  can be easily removed.  
         [0047]    Also, when mounting the ink cartridge  50 , since the handling point is determined by the latching unit  60 , the user is not required to put his/her hand in the apparatus to check the handling point. Thus, there is an additional advantage that damage to the parts can be prevented and the stability thereof can be increased. Also, the present invention can be applied regardless of a configuration of the ink cartridge.  
         [0048]    Since there is less friction between the latching protrusion  51  and the latch member  63  than in the conventional design, there is almost no abrasion generated therebetween. Accordingly, even if the apparatus is used several times, the contact force between the ink cartridge  50  and the supporting frame  41  is not decreased. Also, since the dimple  25   a  is subjected to less pressure than in the conventional design, there is no contact deficiency between the dimple  25   a  and the ink cartridge head  13 , and thus the reliability of the product is improved.  
         [0049]    Although a few preferred embodiments of the present invention have been shown and described, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that changes may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.