HK1068001B - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

Printing apparatus

Technical Field

The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that is made thin and compact.

Background

A conventional multifunction device generally includes a printing function of printing on a recording medium such as paper, a scanning function of reading a document and generating image data, and a facsimile function of transmitting and receiving the image data through a communication line. For example, conventional multifunction devices have a flatbed scanner on the top and an inkjet printer on the bottom.

A multi-function device of an inkjet printer at the bottom, a feeder driven by a sheet feed motor conveys a recording medium into the printer, a print head ejects ink onto the recording medium, and then the recording medium is discharged from a discharge portion to the outside of the multi-function device. An output tray is generally provided at the discharge portion to guide the recording medium. The carriage on which the printhead and the ink cartridge are mounted reciprocates to effect printing. The ink cartridge needs to be replaced when the ink in the ink cartridge is used up. In order to replace the ink cartridge or to solve the paper jam, it is necessary to rotate the scanner with respect to the printer while stopping the multifunction apparatus.

The ink jet printer is also provided with a maintenance mechanism to maintain print quality, the maintenance mechanism including a wiper for wiping a head surface of the print head, a cap for sealing a nozzle array of the print head, and a drive motor for driving the wiper and the cap. In a printer in which ink is ejected downward from a print head, a maintenance mechanism including a drive motor is installed below the print head, and a cap is moved in a vertical direction in accordance with the movement of a carriage and a cam provided in the maintenance mechanism. The scanner at the top is provided with a glass plate on which a document is placed, a document reader that reads the document from the lower side of the glass plate, and a drive mechanism that drives the document reader.

Disclosure of Invention

With the widespread use of multifunction apparatuses, there is an increasing need for a multifunction apparatus that is compact and thin. However, the print head and the ink cartridge mounted on the carriage make it very difficult to reduce the height (thickness) of the multifunction apparatus because the scanner, the ink cartridge, and the print head are inevitably stacked in the height direction. Reducing the size of the printer is also limited by the structure of conventional maintenance mechanisms. The cover is moved in the vertical direction by respective members overlapped with each other, including a cover assembly such as a support cover, a support assembly supporting the cover assembly which moves in the vertical direction and engages with the carriage, and a base supporting the support assembly which moves in the horizontal direction. If the drive motor of the maintenance mechanism is provided separately from the sheet feed motor, the drive motor is also incorporated in each part, thus making the printer thick.

The multifunction apparatus cannot be made compact only by reducing the size of the respective components of the inkjet printer at the bottom. The size of the multifunction device depends on the size of the flatbed scanner. The minimum size of the flatbed scanner is determined by the size of the document being read, the size of the document reader, the stroke of the document reader, and the size of the drive mechanism.

The present invention addresses the problems described above and provides a printing apparatus that is made thin and compact by arranging its respective components in a space-saving manner as a whole.

According to an exemplary aspect of the present invention, a printing apparatus includes a scanner that reads a document image; a sheet transport path along which the recording sheet is transported; a printing unit having a print head that ejects ink onto a recording sheet; a discharge portion from which the recording sheet is discharged; and at least one ink cartridge storing ink to be supplied to the print head. The paper transport path and the discharge portion are disposed below the scanner, and at least one ink cartridge is disposed below the discharge portion.

According to another exemplary aspect of the present invention, a printing apparatus includes a flatbed scanner that reads an image of a document placed on a glass plate; a sheet transport path along which the recording sheet is transported; a printing unit having a print head that ejects ink onto a recording sheet; and a discharge portion from which the recording sheet is discharged. The scanner has a document reading sensor and a sensor driving motor that drives the document reading sensor. The paper conveying path and the discharge portion are disposed below the scanner. The sensor drive motor is placed on one side of the discharge portion, and the sensor drive motor and the printing unit are placed side by side in a horizontal direction in a side view plane of the printing apparatus such that the sensor drive motor and the printing unit partially overlap in a vertical direction.

According to another exemplary aspect of the present invention, a printing apparatus includes a carriage on which a printhead is mounted; a guide mechanism that guides and supports the carriage movable in the scanning direction; a carriage motor which moves the carriage in a scanning direction; a bracket, guide mechanism and carriage motor are mounted thereon. The printing apparatus further includes a maintenance mechanism having a wiper for wiping a surface of the printhead, a cap for sealing nozzles of the printhead, and a drive motor for driving the wiper and the cap. The drive motor of the maintenance mechanism is placed outside the carriage, and in a top plan view of the printing apparatus, the axis of the drive motor is directed in the vertical direction and the drive motor does not extend beyond the upper and lower ends of the carriage.

Drawings

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements, and wherein:

fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multifunction apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the printing unit with the ink cartridge with the cover removed;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the printing unit and carriage;

FIG. 4 is a rear view of the printing unit and carriage;

FIG. 5 is a left side view of the printing unit and carriage;

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the printing unit and carriage;

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of a printing unit holder;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VIII-VIII;

FIG. 9 is a plan view of the printing unit and carriage;

FIG. 10 is a plan view of the printing unit with the cover removed;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the maintenance mechanism;

fig. 12 is a perspective view of a multifunction apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 13 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer of the multifunction apparatus according to the second embodiment;

FIG. 14 is a plan view of an ink jet printer;

FIG. 15 is a schematic plan view showing the layout of the major components of the ink jet printer on the substrate;

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of an ink jet printer substrate;

fig. 17 is a side view of a multifunction apparatus according to a second embodiment;

fig. 18 is a perspective view of a multifunction apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention;

fig. 19 is a perspective view of a multifunction-device inkjet printer according to a third embodiment;

fig. 20 is a side view of a multifunction apparatus according to a third embodiment;

fig. 21 is a side view of a multifunction apparatus according to a third embodiment;

fig. 22 is a schematic plan view of a layout of main parts of the multi-function device according to the third embodiment; and

fig. 23 is a schematic front view of the layout of the main components of the multifunction apparatus according to the third embodiment.

Detailed Description

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. A multifunction apparatus incorporating the present invention, which has functions of inkjet printing, scanning, facsimile, and the like, will be described by way of example. In all the embodiments, the front face refers to the downstream side with respect to the sheet conveying direction in the inkjet printer of the multifunction apparatus, and the rear face refers to the upstream side thereof. The right side refers to the right side of the multifunction apparatus when viewed from the front, and the left side refers to the left side of the multifunction apparatus when viewed from the front.

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a multifunction apparatus 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. A sheet feed mechanism 4 is provided behind the ink-jet printer 3, and a printing unit 14 is provided in front of a lower portion of the sheet feed mechanism 4. An output tray 17 is provided in front of the printing unit 14. A scanner 5 is provided on the upper surface of the inkjet printer 3, and an operation panel 6 is provided at a position forward of the upper surface of the scanner 5. A control unit (not shown) that controls the operation of the multifunction apparatus 1 is provided below the inkjet printer 3, and a telephone handset (not shown) is provided on the left side of the inkjet printer 3 and the scanner 5.

The structure of the inkjet printer 3 will now be described. As shown in fig. 2 to 6, the inkjet printer 3 includes a print head 10, a carriage 11 that houses the print head 10, a guide mechanism 12 that guides and supports the carriage so as to be movable in the left-right direction (left-right direction, that is, scanning direction), a carriage moving mechanism 13 that can move the carriage in the left-right direction, a sheet feeding mechanism 4 that feeds a recording sheet, a sheet conveying mechanism 15 that conveys the recording sheet so that printing can be performed thereon, and a maintenance mechanism 16 of the print head 10.

The printing unit 14 includes a print head 10, a carriage 11, a guide mechanism 12, a carriage moving mechanism 13, a paper conveying mechanism 15, and a printing unit support 18 shaped like a flat box which is slightly longer in the left-right direction and slightly shorter in the vertical direction. The devices 10-13 and 15 are located within the cradle 18. The sheet feed mechanism 4 is located behind the printing unit 14, and the maintenance mechanism 16 is located at the bottom right side of the printing unit 14.

As shown in fig. 2-10, the printing unit frame 18 has a metal frame 20 having an upper opening 20a and a metal cover 30 fixed to the frame 20 to cover the opening 20 a. The guide mechanism 12, the carriage moving mechanism 13, and the paper conveying mechanism 15 are mounted on the carriage 20, and the print head 10 in the carriage 20 performs printing. The cover 30 has an opening 35 formed therein to allow access to the paper in the holder 20.

The stand 20 has a main stand 21, which is constituted by a bottom plate 21a and a rear plate 21b, a pair of side stands 22, 23, and a front stand 24. The main, side and front brackets 21-24 are connected by screws or the like. The horizontal portions 22a, 23a of the lower portions of the side brackets 22, 23 are respectively fixed to the bracket mounting portion 1a of the multifunction apparatus 1 by a pair of screws 29.

The cover 30 has a top plate 30a with an opening 35 formed thereon and a door-like front plate 30 b. The top plate 30a of the cover 30 is fixed to at least the upper end of the rear plate 21b of the main stand 21 by screws 31. A pair of clip members 30c of the front plate 30b of the cover 30 contact the front bracket 24 from the front side and are fixed thereto with a pair of screws 32.

A sheet guide slot 25 slightly wider than a4 size sheets is formed in the rear plate 21b of the main frame 21, a sheet discharge slot 26 slightly wider than a4 size sheets is formed in the front frame 24, and a sheet passing slot 27 slightly wider than the sheet discharge slot 26 is formed in the front plate 30b of the cover 30, in front of the sheet discharge slot 26.

The sheet fed by the sheet feed mechanism 4 is guided from the sheet guide slot 25 into the carriage 20, and the sheet is conveyed forward by the sheet conveying mechanism 15 having the conveying roller 74, and is discharged from the sheet discharge slot 26 and the sheet passing slot 27 to the output tray 17. The paper being transported passes under the print head 10 in the carriage 20, and the print head 10 ejects ink downward onto the paper to perform printing.

As shown in fig. 2, 9 and 10, the guide mechanism 12 has a guide shaft 40 placed in the left-right direction, and is connected at its left and right ends to the side frames 22, 23, while the other guide rail 41 is placed in the left-right direction in front of the frame 20. The guide rail 41 is formed by the front end of the horizontal portion 24b, which is folded back from the top of the front bracket 24. The rear end of the carriage 11 is slidably mounted on the guide shaft 40, and the front end of the print head 10 mounted on the carriage 11 is slidably fitted into the guide rail 41.

Four nozzle arrays 10a to 10d are provided downward in the print head 10, and four colors of ink (black, cyan, yellow, and magenta) are ejected downward onto the paper sheet at the time of color printing. As shown in fig. 2, a cartridge mount 42 is provided below the output tray 17 outside the printing unit 14, and four color inks are supplied to the printhead 10 from ink cartridges 43a to 43d mounted on the cartridge mount 42 through four ink hoses 44a to 44 d.

As shown in fig. 2 and 10, two ink tubes 44a, 44B extending from the two left ink cartridges 43a, 43B are introduced into the carriage 20 from the left side of the carriage 20, and are fixed to a locking device 45 located at the substantially center of the horizontal portion 24B of the front carriage 24 in the left-right direction. The ink tubes 44a, 44b extend from the lock 45 to the print head 10 in a form convexly curved to the left.

Two ink tubes 44c, 44d are projected from the two ink cartridges 43c, 43d on the right side symmetrically to the ink tubes 44a, 44b, introduced into the carriage 20 from the right side of the carriage 20, and fixed to a locking device 47 located at substantially the center of the horizontal portion 24b of the front carriage 24 in the left-right direction. The ink tubes 44c, 44d extend from the lock 47 to the print head 10 in a form convexly curved to the right.

As shown in fig. 2 and 10, two FPCs (flexible printed circuits) 50, 51 extend in the horizontal direction and are connected to the printhead 10. The center of the left FPC50 is fixed to the latch 46, which is provided near the latch 45; the left FPC50 then extends from the latch 46 to the printhead 10 along the two ink tubes 44a, 44b in a left convex curve.

The middle of the right FPC51 is fixed into the latch 48, which is provided near the latch 47; the right FPC51 then extends from the latch 48 to the printhead 10 along the two ink tubes 44c, 44d in a right convex curve. These FPCs 50, 51 extend from a control unit (not shown) placed under the print unit holder 18 and are introduced into the print unit holder 18. The FPCs 50, 51 have control signal lines that electrically connect the control unit with the printhead 10.

As shown in fig. 2 and 10, a plurality of tube holders 52 made of synthetic resin are detachably attached to portions of the FPCs 50, 51. One of the two ink tubes 44a, 44b or 44c, 44d is fixed to the other with a tube fixing member 52. Two ink tubes 44a, 44b or 44c, 44d are bundled with FPC50 or 51, respectively, to extend from latch 46 or 48 to printhead 10.

As shown in fig. 2, 4 and 6, the carriage moving mechanism 13 includes a carriage motor 60, a driving pulley 61 rotated by the carriage motor, a driven pulley 62 rotatably supported at the left end of the rear plate 21b, and a belt 63 connected to the pulleys 61, 62 and fixed to the carriage 11. The carriage motor 60 is mounted on the right end of the rear plate 21b with its axis directed forward and the motor being confined within the upper and lower ends of the bracket 20.

As shown in fig. 2, 4 and 5, the sheet conveying mechanism 15 includes a sheet feed motor 70, a driving pulley 71 rotated by the sheet feed motor 70, a driven pulley 72 disposed on the left side of the side stand 22, a belt 73 connected to the pulleys 71, 72, and a feed roller 74 operatively connected to the driven pulley 72. The sheet feed motor 70 is connected to the right rear side of the side frame 22 with its axis directed to the left and the motor is confined within the upper and lower ends of the frame 20. The feed roller 74 is placed below the guide shaft 40 in the bracket 20 in the left-right direction and is rotatably supported by the side brackets 22, 23. The decode disk 75 is fixed to the driven pulley 72, and the photo-interrupter 76 is attached to the side bracket 22 to sandwich the decode disk 75.

As shown in fig. 7 to 9, the side 36 of the opening 35 includes a front side 36a, a rear side 36b, a left side 36c, and a right side 36d, and a rear edge recess 36e is formed in a left portion of the rear side 36 b. The right and left sides of the opening 35 are curved approximately along the shape defined by the ink tubes 44a, 44b, 44c, 44d near the side 36 of the opening 35.

As shown in fig. 10, when the printhead 10 and the carriage 11 are moved to the left or right limit, the ink tubes 44a, 44b and the FPC50 or the ink tubes 44c, 44d and the FPC51 protrude from the left or right brackets 22, 23. To allow such protrusion, as shown in fig. 5 and 6, the side brackets 22, 23 are stepped to form openings 22b, 23b between the side brackets 22, 23 and the cover 30.

As shown in fig. 7 and 9, a guide 37 is provided on the side 36 of the opening 35 of the cover 30 to guide the tubes 44a to 44d and the FPCs 50, 51 downward and prevent them from protruding upward out of the opening 35 when the carriage 31 is moved in the left-right direction.

As shown in fig. 8, the guide 37 has an inclined portion 37a that is inclined upward to the opening 35 of the cover 30, and a horizontal raised portion 37b that extends from the inclined portion to the opening 35. A guide 37 is formed along the periphery of the edge 36, tapering in an upward direction. Therefore, the guide 37 has the guide function described above, and has the function of reinforcing the cover 30 and ultimately the printing unit frame 18. The front edge 36a of the opening 35 slightly extends rearward at the center in the left-right direction, and this extension is positioned above the locking devices 45, 47 of the ink tubes 44a-44d and the locking devices 46, 48 of the FPCs 50, 51.

As shown in fig. 2, 4, 6, 9, and 11, the maintenance mechanism 16 includes a wiper 80 for wiping the surface of the print head 10, two caps 81 each sealing two of the four nozzle arrays 10a to 10d, a drive motor 82 that drives the wiper 80 and the caps 81, and a mounting plate 84 on which the wiper 80, the caps 81, and the drive motor 82 are mounted. The wiper 80 and the two caps 81 are placed side by side in the left-right direction near the bottom of the rack 20, and are mounted on a mounting plate 84 in a vertically movable fashion. The driving motor 82 is disposed outside the rear side of the stand 20 with its axis in the vertical direction and the motor is defined within the upper and lower ends of the stand 20.

As shown in fig. 9 and 10, an opening 21c is formed on the bottom plate 21a (on the right side) of the bracket 20 at a position corresponding to the maintenance mechanism 16. When the mounting plate 84 is fixed to the bottom plate 21a, the mounting plate 84 covers the opening 21c and the wiper 80, and the cap 81 mounted on the mounting plate 84 protrudes from the opening 21c to the vicinity of the bottom of the bracket 20.

As shown in fig. 2, 5, and 6, the sheet feed mechanism 4 having a smaller width than the holder 20 is disposed on the rear side of the holder 20. The sheet feed motor 70 of the sheet transport mechanism 15 is disposed on the left side of the sheet feed mechanism 4, and the carriage motor 60 of the carriage movement mechanism 13 is disposed on the right side of the sheet feed mechanism 4. The sheet feed motor 70 and the carriage motor 60 are mounted to the rear of the frame 20. The drive motor 82 of the maintenance mechanism 16 is placed in the vicinity close to the carriage motor 60 so that they partially overlap in the height direction as shown in fig. 4.

As shown in fig. 11, the maintenance mechanism 16 includes a cam 90 connected to the wiper 80 and the cap 81, an ink suction pump 91 that sucks ink, ink suction switching mechanisms 93 that extend from the wiper 80, the cap 81, and an ink receptacle (not shown) to the ink suction pipes 92a to 92d of the ink suction pump 91 through an ink suction pipe 92e, and that can selectively connect one of the ink suction pipes 92a to 92d to the ink suction pipe 92e, a cam drive system having gears 94a to 941 that can transmit a driving force from the drive motor 82 to the cam 90, a pump drive system having gears 94a to 94g, 940 that can transmit a driving force from the drive motor 82 to the ink suction pump 91, and an ink suction switching drive system having gears 94a to 94n that can transmit a driving force from the drive motor 82 to the ink suction switching mechanisms 93. The wiper 80, the cap 81, and the drive motor 82 are mounted on the mounting plate 84 together with the cam 90, the ink pump 91, the ink suction tubes 92a to 92e, the ink suction switching mechanism 93, and the gears 94a to 94o, which form the maintenance mechanism 16 in the form of a unit.

The cam 90, the suction pump 91, the suction tubes 92a to 92e, the suction switching mechanism 93, and the gears 94a to 94o are disposed in such a manner that they have a small size in the vertical direction, and most of them are placed at the bottom of the bracket 20 when the mounting plate 84 is fixed to the bracket 20. Gears 94e-94g form a planetary gear train, with wobble gear 94g meshing with gear 94f or 94o to actuate cam 90, pump switching mechanism 93, or pump 91.

When the print head 10 stops at its home position (right limit), the cap 81 rises and seals the nozzle arrays 10a to 10d from below to prevent ink from drying when the drive motor 82 is driven. In this state, the print head 10 is cleaned by sucking hardened ink and minute foreign substances through the nozzles 10a to 10 d. Subsequently, the wiper 80 is raised and the printhead 10 is moved so that the wiper 80 wipes the surface of the printhead to remove ink deposited on the printhead during cleaning.

In the inkjet printer 3, the nozzle arrays 10a to 10d are placed in a face-down form, and the print head 10 ejects ink downward onto a sheet of paper. The wiper 80 and the cap 81 are placed at the lower portion of the carriage 20, and the drive motor 82 is placed outside the rear portion of the carriage 20 in a plan view of the printing unit 14, and is restrained between the upper and lower ends of the carriage 20. The space behind the carriage 20 can be effectively utilized to mount the drive motor 82, so that the vertical dimensions of the carriage 20 and the maintenance mechanism 16 can be reduced.

In addition, since the drive motor 82 is disposed such that its axis is in the vertical direction, the power transmission mechanism including the plurality of gears 94a to 94d for transmitting the driving force of the drive motor 82 to the wiper 80 and the cap 81 is made thin in the vertical direction. In addition, ink cartridges 43a to 43d for supplying ink to the print head 10 are installed outside the printing unit 14. In this way, the vertical dimensions of the carriage 20 and the maintenance mechanism 16 are reduced, and the printer 3 is made as compact as possible in the vertical direction.

An opening 21c is formed in the bottom plate 21a of the bracket 20 at a position corresponding to the maintenance mechanism 16. The maintenance mechanism 16 has a mounting plate 84 fixed to the lower surface of the bottom plate 21a, and the drive motor 82 is mounted on a portion 84a of the mounting plate 84, which portion projects rearward from the bracket 20. The drive motor 82 can be easily and reliably mounted on an extended portion outside the rear of the carriage 20 with its axis in the vertical direction in plan view of the printing unit 14. Through the opening 20e, the wiper 80 is positioned so that it can wipe the surface of the printhead 10 and the cap 81 is positioned to seal the nozzle arrays 10a-10 d.

The wiper 80, the cap 81, the drive motor 82, the cam 90, the suction pump 91, the suction tubes 92a to 92e, the suction switching mechanism 93, and the gears 94a to 94o are mounted on the mounting plate 84 to form the maintenance mechanism 16 as a unit. The maintenance mechanism 16 is made compact so that it can be easily assembled to the printing unit 14 by fixing the mounting plate 84 to the bottom plate 21 a. Since the wiper 80 and the cap 81 can project from the opening 21c to near the bottom of the holder 20 when they are designed, they can be positioned correctly with respect to the print head 10 in the holder 20.

The sheet feed mechanism 4 having a smaller width than the holder 20 is disposed behind the holder 20. The sheet feed motor 70 of the sheet transport mechanism 15 is disposed on the left side of the sheet feed mechanism 4, and the carriage motor 60 of the carriage movement mechanism 13 is disposed on the right side of the sheet feed mechanism 4. The sheet feed motor 70 and the carriage motor 60 are mounted on the rear of the carriage 20. As shown in fig. 4, the drive motor 82 of the maintenance mechanism 16 is placed close to the carriage motor 60 so that they partially overlap each other in the height direction. By effectively utilizing the space on both sides of the sheet feed mechanism 4 behind the carriage 20, the printer 3 can be made compact in the vertical direction as well as in the horizontal direction.

The drive motor 82 of the maintenance mechanism 16 may be placed outside of the front or right side of the rack 20 without being placed near the outside of the rack 20, with its axis in the vertical direction and without the motor extending from the upper and lower ends of the rack 20. In this case, the mounting plate 84 is designed such that it extends forward or rightward from the bracket 20 to allow the driving motor 82 to be mounted on the extended portion.

Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a multifunction apparatus 101 according to a second embodiment of the present invention. As shown in fig. 12, the multifunction apparatus 101 is box-shaped and includes a flatbed scanner 500 and an inkjet printer 300 placed directly below the scanner 500, wherein the scanner 500 has a flatbed reader 350. More specifically, the multifunction apparatus 101 in fig. 12 has a box shape and is longer in the left-right direction than in the front-back direction and shorter in the vertical direction than in the left-right direction. The sheet feed tray 400 is used to feed sheets (not shown) into the inkjet printer 300, and is opened upward and placed at the rear of the multifunction apparatus 101.

The scanner 500 located on the top of the multifunction apparatus 101 is rectangular in plan view and has a flatbed reader 350. A bearing (not shown) is provided at a lower portion of the rear of the flatbed reader 350, and the bearing is fitted into the hinge 220 on the cover 200. The flatbed reader 350 rotates relative to the inkjet printer 300 about a bearing fitted into the hinge 220.

The inkjet printer 300 is disposed just below the scanner 500, and includes a substrate 100 on which various boards and printing units 140 are mounted, and a cover 20 covering the various boards and printing units 140. The printing unit 140 has almost the same structure as the printing unit 14 of the first embodiment. The substrate 100 has a cartridge mount 420, and four ink cartridges 430 storing ink on the front of the multifunction apparatus 101 are mounted on the cartridge mount 420. Four ink cartridges 430 are inserted from the front of the multi-function device 101 to the rear thereof, and each ink cartridge 430 has a thin box shape, being long in the insertion direction. Yellow, magenta, cyan, and black inks are stored in the four ink cartridges 430. The ink cartridges 430 are horizontally disposed side by side and substantially flush with each other, and can be removed from the front of the multi-function device 101. As shown in fig. 17, an ink needle (not shown) connected to a tube 440 (fig. 15) is inserted into the rear surface of each ink cartridge 430, and ink is supplied to a printhead (not shown) through the tube 440.

The structure of the inkjet printer 300 will now be described with reference to fig. 13 to 16. Fig. 13 is a perspective view of the multifunction apparatus 101 with the scanner 500 removed, and fig. 14 is a plan view thereof. Fig. 15 is a plan view showing the layout of the main components of the printer 300 on the substrate 100. Fig. 16 is a perspective view of a substrate on which components of the printer 300 are mounted. As shown in fig. 13 and 14, when the scanner 500 is removed from the multi-function device 101, the discharge portion 270 from which the paper fed into the printer 3 is discharged and the four ink cartridges 430 placed below the discharge portion 270 are exposed. The printer 300 has a cartridge base 420, a base 100, and a cover 20, components of the printer 300 being mounted on the base 100, and the cover 200 being placed on the base 100 to cover the respective components.

A sheet feed cassette 400 that feeds sheets is provided behind the printer 3. The sheet feed cassette 400 has an opening 400a opened upward to support sheets at an angle. The sheet feeding cassette 400 has a sheet feeding roller 650 to feed the sheet into the printer 300. Although the output tray is not provided near the discharge portion 270, the rib 250 formed on the upper surface of the ink cartridge 430 functions as the output tray. The rib 250 protrudes upward from the upper surface 430a of the ink cartridge 430 to the discharge portion 270. The rib 250 is shaped like a rectangular plate extending in the insertion direction of the ink cartridge 430. A pair of ribs 250 are formed on the side of each ink cartridge 430, which are opposed in the direction perpendicular to the insertion direction. The upstream portion of the ribs 250 with respect to the sheet conveying direction is made in a partially inclined pattern so that the sheet can be smoothly guided on the ribs 250 and supported.

The cover 200 has a cut-away portion 210 shaped like an angular C and having three walls defined by the periphery of the cut-away portion 210. The wall facing the rear of the printer 3 is formed by a discharge portion 210 from which the paper is discharged. The left and right walls 210a and 210 b (not visible in the drawing) defined on the left and right sides of the cutout 210 continue to the left and right walls 420a and 420 b (not visible in the drawing), the left and right walls 420a and 420 b standing upward from the left and right sides of the cartridge mount 420. A pair of hinges 220 are provided at the rear of the cover 200, the hinges cooperating with bearings (not shown) of the scanner 500.

As shown in fig. 16, the substrate 100 is box-shaped and substantially square in plan view, and has a cartridge mount 420, the cartridge mount 420 being lower than the periphery and located in front of the printer 3. The cartridge mount 420 has a rectangular shape, and occupies one third of the substrate 100 in the front-rear direction, and spans the entire substrate 100 in the left-right direction. Left and right walls 420a and (not visible in the drawing) stand upward from the left and right of the cartridge mount 420.

A printing unit mount 170 and an absorber mount 180 are formed on the substrate 100 at the rear of the cartridge mount 420. The main board 110 controlling the operation of the multi-function device 101 is installed inside under the printing unit mount 170, and the printing unit 140 is installed on the printing unit mount 170. The ink supplied from the ink cartridges 430 to the print head generates some waste ink, which is absorbed by a waste ink absorber 150 (fig. 15) mounted on the absorber base 180. The waste ink here refers to ink sucked from the print head at the time of purging and ink discharged from the print head at the time of flushing. The separation wall 160 separates the cartridge mount 420 from the main board 110 and the absorber mount 180 to prevent the ink absorbed by the waste ink absorber 150 from entering the main board 110 and the cartridge mount 180. The separation wall 160 also prevents ink leaked from the ink cartridges 430 from entering the main board 110.

More specifically, behind the separation wall 160, the printing unit mount 170 is located on the left side of the separation wall 450, and the absorber mount 180 is located on the right side of the separation wall 450. The separation wall 450 is interposed between the printing unit mount 170 and the absorber mount 180, and extends from a substantially middle portion of the separation wall 160 toward the rear of the printer 300 perpendicularly to the separation wall 160. The print unit mount 170 and the absorber mount 180 share a separating wall 450. The printing unit mount 170 is formed of the top surface of the substrate 100, and the separation wall 450 continues to the top surface of the substrate 100. The printing unit mount 170 is recessed at the lower side of the substrate 100. The absorber base 180 is formed of the bottom surface of the substrate 100 and the separation wall 450, and the separation wall 450 continues to the bottom surface of the substrate 100. The absorber base 180 is recessed on the upper side of the substrate 100.

In other words, the printing unit mount 170 and the absorber mount 180 are vertically recessed in opposite directions with respect to the separation wall 450 located therebetween. The cartridge base 420 and the printing unit base 170 are formed in a stepped shape. The cartridge mount 420 and the absorber mount 180 are separated by the separation wall 160 therebetween, and the cartridge mount 420 is substantially flush with the bottom surface of the absorber mount 180. The printing unit 140 is mounted on a printing unit mount 170, the waste ink absorber 150 is mounted on an ink absorber mount 180, and the main board 11 is mounted under the printing unit mount 170.

As shown in fig. 15, on a substrate 100 in the inkjet printer 3 are mounted an ink cartridge 130, a main board 110 that controls the operation of the multifunction device 101, a network control unit board (hereinafter referred to as "NCU board") that controls the connection between a facsimile (not shown) and a telephone line, a power supply board 130, a printing unit 140, a waste ink absorber 150 that absorbs waste ink in the printing unit 140. The components 430, 110, 120, 130, 150 other than the printing unit 140 are mounted on the substrate so that they do not overlap each other when viewed from the plan view of fig. 15, or in the height direction.

More specifically, the main board 110 and the waste ink absorber 150 are disposed directly behind the four ink cartridges 430 (directly above the four ink cartridges 430 in fig. 15), which are inserted from the front (lower side in fig. 4) of the printer 300. The main board 110 and the waste ink absorber are disposed on the left and right sides, respectively. The main board 110 is substantially rectangular, and extends almost to the rear end of the printer 300. The waste ink absorber is substantially rectangular and extends to the rear side of the printer 300 to half the length of the main board 100. The NCU board 120 and the power supply board 130 are disposed directly behind the waste ink absorber. The NCU board 120 is next to the main board 110, and the power supply board 130 is placed on the opposite side of the NCU board 120 with respect to the main board 110.

The print unit 140 is disposed on the main board 110 and the waste ink absorber 150, and covers a portion of the main board 110 to completely cover the waste ink absorber 150. Each tube 440 connected to each ink cartridge 430 is connected to a print head (not shown) in the printing unit 140, so that ink is supplied from the ink cartridges 430 to the print head. Ink supplied to the printhead is ejected from nozzles of the printhead onto the paper. Each tube 44 extends from a corresponding needle that penetrates the rear side surface 430b of the corresponding ink cartridge 430. The tubes 440 are bundled together in pairs, one pair directed to the right and the other pair directed to the left, so as not to interfere with the sheet transport path 750. Each pair of tubes 440 then goes up, then in, and finally into the print head. The paper transport path 750 passes through the printing unit 440, and the print head located above the paper transport path 750 ejects ink onto the paper to perform printing.

As described above, the ink cartridges 430, the main board 110, and the waste ink absorber 150 are mounted on the same plane so that they do not overlap with each other in the height direction. In addition, these components are designed so that they can effectively use the range of the scanner 500, and they are designed to have a relatively large area and a relatively small thickness. Therefore, the thickness, i.e., the vertical dimension, of the printer 3 is reduced. Further, these components are designed so that the scanner 500 can cover most of them when the scanner 500 is placed on the printer 300. Accordingly, the area of the printing unit 140 can be reduced to the minimum area required for the flat bed scanner. Finally, the multifunction apparatus 101 is made compact.

After all the components are mounted on the substrate 100 as described above, the cover 200 is placed on the substrate 100, and the ink jet printer 300 shown in fig. 13 is obtained. At this time, as shown in fig. 17, the upper surface of the ink cartridges 430 is substantially flush with the upper surface of the waste ink absorber 150. Thereby adjusting the waste ink absorbing capacity of the waste ink absorber 150 according to the size (capacity) of the ink cartridges 430. In addition, the lower surface of the print unit 140 and the upper surface of the waste ink absorber are close to each other, and the upper surface of the ink cartridge 430 is almost flush with the upper surface of the waste ink absorber' 15. Accordingly, the print unit 140, the waste ink absorber 150, and the ink cartridges 430 are disposed with a minimum of empty space, while providing a storage space for the paper discharged from the print unit 140. The storage space allows the sheet having passed through the discharge roller to fall from the sheet conveying path and stay there without being pushed out by the subsequently discharged sheet.

In addition, since the ink cartridges 430 are placed below the discharge portion 270, the water head difference between the nozzle surface of the printhead and the ink surface in each ink cartridge 430 can be appropriately adjusted to eject a desired amount of ink from the nozzle surface. In addition, since the ink cartridges 430 having a small vertical size are placed side by side, the variation of the water head difference therebetween is minimized regardless of the amount of ink that has been consumed. Therefore, a negative pressure is stably applied to the printhead from the initial use of ink in the ink cartridge 430 until the ink is used up, thereby reducing the influence of the remaining ink on the ejection performance of the printhead.

As described above, in the multifunction apparatus 101 according to the second embodiment, the ink cartridges 430 storing ink have a small size and are placed below the paper ejection portion 270. Therefore, the ink-jet printer 300 can be made thinner, and the area of the ink-jet printer 300 in the direction perpendicular to the thickness direction is also reduced. In addition, since the ink cartridges 430 are placed side by side in the horizontal direction, the thickness of the printer 300 is not increased, and the ink jet printer 300 can be made thinner. Further, since the ink cartridges 430 are removable from the front of the printer 300, they can be easily removed from the printer 300.

Ribs 250 are provided on the upper surface 430a of the ink cartridge 430, which protrude toward the discharge portion 270, and the paper discharged from the discharge portion 270 is guided to the outside on the ribs 250. The ink jet printer 3 is compact and simple in construction since there is no need to provide an output tray.

In addition, the partition wall 160 that separates the ink cartridges 430 from the main board 110 and the waste ink absorber 150 can prevent ink from the ink cartridges 430 from entering the main board 110 when there is leakage of the ink. The partition wall 160 also prevents waste ink from flowing to the ink cartridges 430. Another separation wall 450 separates the waste ink absorber 150 from the main board 110, preventing the waste ink from entering the main board 110. Further, since the upper surfaces of the ink cartridges 430 are almost flush with the upper surface of the waste ink absorber 150, the waste ink absorbing capacity of the waste ink absorber 150 can be adjusted according to the size (capacity) of the ink cartridges 430.

A multifunction apparatus 111 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to fig. 18 to 23. In the third embodiment, the multifunction apparatus 111 has basically the same structure as the multifunction apparatus 101 of the second embodiment except that the inkjet printer 301 is provided with the output tray 271 and the media boards 800, 810. In the third embodiment, the same elements as those of the second embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the elements already described in the second embodiment are not described repeatedly herein. The structure of the scanner 500 and the positional relationship of the drive motor provided to the printer 301 will be described in detail here.

As shown in fig. 19, four ink cartridges 430 (fig. 22) are mounted on the front of the substrate 100 of the multifunction device 111, and they are entirely covered by the cover 260. The cover 260 includes a first cover 260a movably disposed on the four ink cartridges 430 and a second cover 260b rotatable with respect to the pivot 230 (fig. 20) and provided at a front edge of the first cover 260 a.

In addition, as shown in fig. 20, the output tray 271 is placed downstream of the output portion 270 with respect to the sheet conveying direction of the sheet conveying path 750. The output tray 271 is omitted in fig. 18 and 19. As shown in fig. 20, the output disc 271 is attached to the periphery of the cut-away portion 210 with a slight gap between the left wall 210a and the right wall (not visible in the drawing). The output tray 271 is placed above the ink cartridges 430 with its downstream end (left end in fig. 20) tilted upward.

The printing unit 140 having almost the same structure as the printing unit 40 of the first embodiment is placed between the sheet feeding tray 400 and the output tray 271, and it partially overlaps with the sheet conveying path 750 shown by a two-dot chain line. A carriage motor 600 is provided in the printing unit 140 to drive the carriage to reciprocate in the left-right direction. The carriage motor 600 is externally connected to the rear of the printing unit 140 with its axis directed forward, and it does not protrude from the upper and lower ends of the printing unit 140.

As shown in fig. 21 and 22, the sheet feed motor 700 is provided at a position above the main board 110 and just behind the printing unit 140, the axis of the motor 700 is directed to the left and the motor does not protrude from the upper and lower ends of the printing unit 140. The sheet feed motor 140 feeds the sheet into the printer 301, conveys the sheet along the sheet conveying path 750, and discharges the sheet from the discharge portion 270 onto the output tray 271. A low noise motor capable of being driven at high speed is used as the sheet feeding motor 700.

The structure of the scanner 500 will now be described with reference to fig. 20 to 23. Fig. 20 and 21 are a right side view and a left side view of the multifunction apparatus 11, respectively. Fig. 22 is a schematic plan view showing the layout of components of the multifunction device 111, and fig. 23 is a front view of the multifunction device 111. As shown in fig. 20 and 21, the scanner 500 has a flatbed reader 350 that can rotate with respect to the printer 301, and the flatbed reader 350 is provided with a document glass 360 on which documents are placed in a letter-down manner. The document glass 360 is covered with a cover 370, the cover 370 is rotatably placed on the document glass 360, and the contact image sensor 450 is placed right under the document glass 360 for reading the letters of the document on the document glass 360. The scanner 500 is provided with an automatic document feeder (not shown), and the document glass 360 includes a first small glass 360a and a second large glass 260b, which are in contact with the document letter surface fed from the automatic document feeder. The first and second glasses 360a, 360b are placed side by side in a direction perpendicular to the document conveying direction (vertical direction in fig. 22), and the two glasses are connected by a guide 365 on their lower sides, the guide 365 straddling the first and second glasses 360a, 360 b.

As shown in fig. 20 to 23, the contact image sensor 450 extends in the left-right direction in fig. 20 and 21, and the drive motor 380 below the right side of the scanner 500 in a plan view (fig. 22) drives the sensor 450 to scan along the shaft 440 extending in the left-right direction in fig. 22. More specifically, the drive motor 380 is placed in the generated surplus space, which is located below the contact image sensor 450 and the document glass 360, above the ink cartridge 430. The drive motor 380 and the printing unit 140 are arranged in the horizontal direction so that the drive motor 380 partially overlaps the printing unit 140 in the height direction. A stepping motor or a hybrid motor suitable for position control of the image sensor 450 is used as the drive motor 380. The image sensor 450 is supported by a base member 460 directly below the image sensor 450, and the image sensor 450 can move together with the base member 460 along the shaft 440. Like the image sensor 450, the base member 460 extends in the left-right direction in fig. 20 and 21, and actuators 470 are provided near both ends of the base member 460. Thus, the image sensor 450 scans along the shaft 440 while both ends thereof are in contact with the guide 365 which connects the first and second glasses 360a, 360b and is equally spaced apart by the document glass 360.

As shown in fig. 21 to 23, in the front view (fig. 23) of the multifunction device 111, the left side of the discharge portion 270 of the printer 301 is provided with a plurality of media boards 800, 810 having connectors 800a, 810 a. External storage media such as COMPACTFLASH (trademark of Sandisk corporation), SMARTMEDIA (trademark of Toshiba), MEMORY STICK (trademark of Sony) are inserted into the connectors 800a, 810 b. More specifically, two media boards 800, 810 are provided on the side of the discharge portion 270 opposite to the drive motor 380 of the image sensor 450. The dielectric board 800 having the connector 800a is formed with a slot prepared for COMPACTFLASH, which is widest and provided at the bottom, and the dielectric board 810 having the connector 810a is formed with slots prepared for SMARTMEDIA and MEMORY STICK, which are provided on the upper surface of the dielectric board 800. The dielectric sheets 800, 810 placed in the horizontal direction are stacked in the vertical direction.

By inserting an external storage medium into the connectors 800a, 810a, image data read by the scanner 500 can be stored in the external storage medium, or data stored in the external storage medium can be printed on paper with the printer 301. From the bottom up, the widest COMPACTFLASH, the narrowest and longest MEMORY STICK, and SMARTMEDIA, which is wider than MEMORY STICK and is thinnest, may be inserted into the connectors 800a, 810 a. In other words, these external storage media are inserted in order of increasing surface area from top to bottom. Therefore, it is possible to easily check what kind of external storage medium is inserted when viewed from the top of the multi-function device 111. In addition, the media boards 800, 810 extending generally in a horizontal direction allow a user to see the brand surface of the media and insert the media in a right side up manner. Therefore, the external storage medium can be easily and reliably inserted into and removed from the medium boards 800, 810.

As shown in fig. 22, in the plan view of the multifunction device 111, the drive motor 380 of the image sensor 450 and the main board 110 are placed on the diagonal line from the upper left corner to the lower right corner of the substrate 100. Since the drive motor 380 and the main board 110 are placed as far as possible from each other in the multifunction device 111, the main board 110 is less likely to be affected by noise caused by the rotation of the drive motor 380. In addition, the carriage motor 600 that moves the carriage (not shown), the sheet feed motor 700 that feeds the sheet into the printer 301, and the drive motor 380 that moves the image sensor 450 are disposed apart from each other with their axes directed in different directions. Thus, these motors 600, 700, 380, which require relatively large space, can be fitted in the limited space of the compact multifunction device 111. Still further, the relatively heavy motors 600, 700, 380 are placed apart from each other so that the multifunction apparatus 111 has a better weight balance and stable condition.

As described above, in the multifunction apparatus 111 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the drive motor 380 that moves the image sensor 450 of the scanner 500 and the printing unit 140 of the inkjet printer 301 are placed in the horizontal direction while the image sensor 450 partially overlaps the printing unit 140 in the height direction. The carriage motor 600 and the sheet feed motor 700 are externally connected to the rear of the printing unit 140, and the motors do not protrude outward from the upper and lower ends of the printing unit 140. Since the printing unit 140 and the motors 380, 600, 700 occupy a minimum space in the height direction, the printer 301 can be made thin and compact. In addition, the ink cartridge 430 is placed under the driving motor 380 and the discharge portion 270, and the respective components of the printer 301 are placed in the remaining space between the ink cartridge 430 and the scanner 500. In this way, the multifunction apparatus 111 can be made thin and compact.

In addition, the carriage motor 600, the sheet feed motor 700, and the drive motor 380 for moving the image reader 450, which relatively require a large space, are separated from each other and are fitted into a limited space. Therefore, the functions of the scanner 500 and the printer 301 can be realized in the multifunction device 111 having a compact main body.

In addition, since the main board 110 mounted on the substrate 100 and the drive motor 380 for moving the image sensor 450 are disposed apart from each other in the multifunction device 111, the main board 110 is less likely to be affected by noise caused by rotation of the drive motor 380.

In addition, the driving motor 380 that moves the image sensor 450 is disposed at one side of the paper discharging portion 270, and the media boards 800, 810 having connectors so that an external storage medium can be detachably inserted are disposed at the other side of the discharging portion 270. The remaining space on both sides of the discharge portion 270 is effectively used, which makes the printer 301 thin and compact.

In the front view of the multi-function device 111, the media boards 800, 810 may be placed on the right side of the discharge portion 270 and the drive motor 380 for moving the image sensor 450 may be placed on the left side thereof, as long as no restrictions are imposed on the position and structure by introducing other components. Although each of the dielectric sheets 800, 810 is horizontally disposed, it is also possible to have them extend in the vertical direction. The layout of the respective components shown in the third embodiment may also be changed if necessary.

One or more features of the present invention described in the embodiments described above may be applied in combination to an inkjet printer to make the printer body as thin and compact as possible. For example, in an inkjet printer, as described in the first embodiment, a maintenance mechanism is connected to the bottom of a printing unit, and a drive motor of the maintenance mechanism is connected to the rear of the printing unit, and components such as the printing unit, a main board, a waste ink absorber, and an ink cartridge are placed on a substrate as described in the second embodiment to minimize wasted space, while a drive motor of a scanner, a carriage motor, and a sheet feed motor of the printer are placed apart from each other while saving space in the vertical direction of the printer. By providing an ink jet printer with all of these space saving features of the present invention, ink jet printers and multifunction devices including ink jet printers can be efficiently made thin and compact.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, the description of the embodiments is illustrative only and is not to be construed as limiting the scope of the invention. Various modifications and alterations may occur to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims (26)

1. A printing apparatus comprising:

a scanner which reads a document image;

a sheet transport path along which the recording sheet is transported;

a printing unit including a print head which ejects ink onto a recording sheet;

a discharge portion from which the recording paper on which the ink is ejected is discharged;

a storing space provided on a downstream side of the discharging portion in a sheet conveying direction for storing the recording sheet discharged from the discharging portion; and

at least one ink cartridge storing ink to be supplied to the print head,

wherein the scanner extends above the discharge portion and the storage space, and at least one ink cartridge is disposed below the discharge portion and the storage space.

2. The printing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a guide portion provided on the sheet conveying path on a downstream side of the discharge portion in a sheet conveying direction for guiding the recording sheet discharged from the discharge portion.

3. The printing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

an output tray disposed on the sheet conveying path on a downstream side of the discharging portion in a sheet conveying direction for receiving the recording sheet discharged from the discharging portion.

4. The printing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a waste ink absorber for absorbing waste ink generated from ink supplied from at least one ink cartridge to the print head; and

and a main board that controls an operation of the printing apparatus, wherein the at least one ink cartridge, the waste ink absorber, and the main board are disposed so as not to overlap each other in a plan view of the printing apparatus, and an upper surface of the at least one ink cartridge is substantially flush with an upper surface of the waste ink absorber.

5. A printing apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein the scanner covers substantially all of the following components from above: at least one ink cartridge, a printing unit, a waste ink absorber, and a main board.

6. The printing apparatus of claim 4, further comprising:

a substrate, at least one ink cartridge, a printing unit, a waste ink absorber, and a main board are mounted on the substrate.

7. The printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein a separation wall is formed on the substrate, which separates the at least one ink cartridge from the main board and the waste ink absorber, and another separation wall is formed, which separates the main board from the waste ink absorber.

8. The printing apparatus of claim 6, wherein the substrate is vertically recessed in opposite directions to each other to accommodate the main board and the waste ink absorber on opposite sides of the substrate, and the printing unit is disposed above the main board and the waste ink absorber.

9. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the at least one ink tank has a small outer shape and a relatively large area in a direction perpendicular to a height direction of the at least one ink tank, and it has a relatively small dimension in a perpendicular direction.

10. The printing device of claim 9, wherein at least one ink cartridge is removable from a front face of the printing device.

11. The printing apparatus of claim 1, wherein the at least one ink cartridge includes a plurality of ink cartridges disposed side by side in a horizontal direction.

12. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the scanner includes a document reading sensor and a sensor driving motor that drives the document reading sensor, and the sensor driving motor is disposed below the scanner on one side of the discharge portion in a direction perpendicular to a sheet conveying direction.

13. The printing apparatus of claim 12, further comprising at least one medium plate having a connector into which an external storage medium is detachably inserted, wherein the at least one medium plate is disposed at the other side of the discharge portion below the scanner.

14. The printing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the image data read by the scanner is stored in an external storage medium, or the image data to be printed on the recording paper is stored in the external storage medium.

15. The printing apparatus according to claim 12, wherein the sensor drive motor and the printing unit are placed side by side in a horizontal direction in a side-view plane of the printing apparatus such that the sensor drive motor and the printing unit partially overlap in a vertical direction.

16. The printing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the at least one dielectric sheet includes a plurality of dielectric sheets, and the connectors of the dielectric sheets are all placed in a horizontal direction and stacked in a vertical direction.

17. The printing apparatus of claim 16, wherein the connectors of the media boards are arranged from top to bottom in order of increasing surface area of the media boards.

18. The printing apparatus of claim 13, further comprising:

a main board which controls the operation of the printing apparatus, and

a waste ink absorber for absorbing waste ink generated from ink supplied from at least one ink cartridge to the print head,

wherein the main board and the sensor drive motor are opposed to each other in a direction diagonally across the sheet transport path, and the waste ink absorber and the at least one medium board are opposed to each other in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the main board and the sensor drive motor are opposed.

19. The printing apparatus of claim 12, wherein the printing unit further comprises:

a carriage on which the printhead is mounted;

a carriage motor that moves the carriage in a direction perpendicular to the sheet conveying path; and

a sheet feed motor that feeds the recording sheet into the printing unit, wherein the sheet feed motor, the carriage motor, and the sensor drive motor are disposed apart from each other with their axes pointing in different directions.

20. The printing apparatus of claim 19, wherein the sheet feed motor and the carriage motor are disposed on opposite sides with respect to a carriage moving direction at a position upstream of the sheet conveying path with respect to the sheet conveying direction.

21. The printing apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:

a maintenance mechanism includes a wiper for wiping a surface of a print head, a cap for sealing nozzles of the print head, and a drive motor for driving the wiper and the cap, wherein the drive motor of the maintenance mechanism is disposed outside the print unit with an axis of the drive motor directed downward, and the drive motor does not extend beyond upper and lower ends of the print unit.

22. The printing apparatus of claim 21, wherein the maintenance mechanism further comprises a mounting plate on which the wiper, the cap, and the drive motor are mounted, and the mounting plate is secured to the base plate of the printing unit such that a portion of the mounting plate on which the drive motor is mounted extends outwardly from the printing unit.

23. The printing apparatus according to claim 22, wherein an opening is formed in a bottom plate of the printing unit, a position of the opening corresponds to the maintenance mechanism, and the wiper and the cap protrude into the printing unit through the opening.

24. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording sheet is discharged from the discharging portion toward a front side of the printing apparatus along the sheet conveying path.

25. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an operation panel for operating the printing apparatus, the operation panel being provided on an upper surface of the scanner on a front side of the printing apparatus.

26. The printing apparatus of claim 13, wherein the external storage medium is detachably inserted into the connector of the at least one medium board from a front side of the printing apparatus.