Liquid discharging apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2025319701-A1
Application number	US-202519252369-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Jun 27, 2025
Priority date	Apr 1, 2022
Publication date	Oct 16, 2025
Grant date	—

Abstract

A liquid discharging apparatus, having a housing, a liquid discharging head, and a waste liquid tank for storing waste liquid, is provided. The waste liquid tank is demountably mounted in the housing through an opening formed on a sideward face on one side in a widthwise direction, which is parallel to a nozzle surface of the liquid discharging head and intersects orthogonally with a conveying direction to convey a sheet. The opening is formed between a first position and a second position apart from the first position in the conveying direction. The waste liquid tank is mounted in the housing in an arrangement such that a length in the widthwise direction is shorter than a length in the conveying direction. The waste liquid tank is mountable in and demountable from the housing along the widthwise direction of the waste liquid tank.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A liquid discharging apparatus, comprising:
a housing; a liquid discharging head including nozzles for discharging liquid; a waste liquid tank demountably mounted in the housing through an opening formed on a sideward face of the housing on one side in a widthwise direction, the widthwise direction intersecting orthogonally with a conveying direction to convey a sheet in a conveyer path from a first side toward a second side, the waste liquid tank being configured to store waste liquid; and a flushing unit configured to guide the liquid discharged from the liquid discharging head in a flushing process to the waste liquid tank, wherein the waste liquid tank is mounted in the housing in an arrangement such that a length of the waste liquid tank in the widthwise direction is shorter than a length of the waste liquid tank in the conveying direction, the waste liquid tank being mountable in and demountable from the housing along the widthwise direction of the waste liquid tank, and wherein the flushing unit is located to overlap the waste liquid tank in a direction intersecting orthogonally with the widthwise direction and the conveying direction.

2 . The liquid discharging apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a storage for storing sheets,
wherein the waste liquid tank is located at a position to at least partly overlap the storage in a view from the sideward face of the housing along the widthwise direction.

3 . The liquid discharging apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a reader located on an upper side in the housing, the reader being configured to read an image of an object, wherein
the reader is pivotable with respect to the housing on a hinge being a pivot axis; and the hinge is located on the one side of the waste liquid tank toward the first side in the conveying direction.

4 . The liquid discharging apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a carriage, on which the liquid discharging head is mounted, the carriage being movable in a scanning direction, the scanning direction being the widthwise direction; a guide rail extending along the scanning direction, the guide rail supporting the carriage; a supporting frame extending in the direction intersecting orthogonally with the widthwise direction and the conveying direction, the supporting frame supporting the guide rail, the supporting frame being located between the conveyer path and the sideward face of the housing in the widthwise direction, wherein the waste liquid tank and the guide rail are located at positions to at least partly overlap each other in a view from an upper side of the housing, and wherein the waste liquid tank is located on an outer side with respect to the supporting frame in the widthwise direction.

5 . The liquid discharging apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
a carriage, on which the liquid discharging head is mounted, the carriage being movable in a scanning direction within a movable range, the scanning direction being the widthwise direction; and a guide rail extending along the scanning direction, the guide rail supporting the carriage, wherein the waste liquid tank and the guide rail are located at positions to at least partly overlap each other in a view from an upper side of the housing, and wherein, when the carriage is at an end of the movable range toward the sideward face of the housing in the widthwise direction, one end of the carriage toward the sideward face of the housing in the widthwise direction is located between one end of the waste liquid tank toward the sideward face in the widthwise direction and the other end of the waste liquid tank opposite to the one end in the widthwise direction.

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Shirai Haruhisa
• Kobayashi Kazuma
• Saigusa Kazushige
• Nakamura Fumiya
• Ichikawa Shohei
• Hashimoto Asami
• Kawagoe Masako

Classifications

• B41J2/1728

  Closed waste ink collectors · CPC title

• B41J29/02

  Framework · CPC title

• B41J2/185

  Ink-collectors; Ink-catchers · CPC title

• B41J2/17509

  Whilst mounted in the printer · CPC title

• B41J29/13

  Cases or covers · CPC title