Entries |
Document | Title | Date |
20080204505 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS WITH MAINTENANCE-AND-RECOVERY MECHANISM - An image forming apparatus has a liquid discharge head to discharge droplets of a recording liquid to form an image on a recording medium and a maintenance-and-recovery mechanism to perform a maintenance and recovery operation on the liquid discharge head. The maintenance-and-recovery mechanism includes a suction device, a control unit, a drain tube, and a drain reservoir. The suction device suctions droplets of the recording liquid from the liquid discharge head. The suctioned droplets are not used for an image forming operation. The control unit controls a suction speed of the suction device. The drain reservoir stores the suctioned droplets drained from the drain tube. The drain tube is inclined relative to an opening portion of the drain reservoir. The control unit controls the suction speed of the suction device to change a drain speed of the suctioned droplets drained from the drain tube. | 08-28-2008 |
20080204506 | Liquid Droplet Ejecting Apparatus - A liquid droplet ejecting apparatus comprises an ejecting head including a passage which is connected to a sub-tank and an ejecting pressure applying device which applies a feed pressure to the liquid inside the passage, a main tank detector which detects that a main tank is mounted to a main tank mounting portion, a suction pump which applies a negative pressure to an air layer inside the sub-tank to discharge air from inside the sub-tank to outside, and a controller configured to control the suction pump and the ejecting pressure applying device, based on information from the main tank detector. The controller causes the suction pump to discharge the air from inside the sub-tank to outside and causes the ejecting pressure applying device to eject the liquid from a nozzle, when the main tank detector detects that the main tank is mounted to the main tank mounting portion. | 08-28-2008 |
20080211860 | INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS - An ink jet recording apparatus configured to perform recording by discharging ink from a plurality of discharge ports disposed on a recording head. The apparatus includes a cap adapted to cover the plurality of discharge ports disposed on the recording head, a recessed portion defined on a bottom face inside the cap, a suction hole facilitating introducing a negative pressure to the recessed portion, an atmosphere communication hole located outside a range of the recessed portion and communicating with atmosphere, an ink absorber mounted inside the cap to cover the recessed portion, and a suction pump connected to the suction hole and configured to generate a negative pressure. When the plurality of discharge ports is covered with the cap, a projection image obtained when the plurality of discharge ports is projected onto the bottom face exists within the range of the recessed portion. | 09-04-2008 |
20080231654 | TUBE PUMP, LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS, AND METHOD OF DRIVING TUBE PUMP - A tube pump comprising a flexible tube, a pressing member capable of generating a negative pressure in the tube by sequentially pressing the tube from as the pressing member moves from an upstream portion of the tube to a downstream portion of the tube during a pump operating process, a rotating member which includes a cam surface which the pressing member comes in sliding contact with when the pressing member moves between a pump operating position where a negative pressure is generated in the upstream portion of the tube and a pump non-operating position where the negative pressure is not generated, and a rack member corresponding to the cam surface which includes a plurality of teeth, wherein the pressing member is provided with a pinion member capable of engaging with the rack member when the pressing member rotatably moves between the pump non-operating position and the pump operating position. | 09-25-2008 |
20080231655 | Image forming apparatus equipped with maintenance mechanism - The image forming apparatus is an image forming apparatus equipped with a maintenance mechanism that is divided into a plurality of ink pans, which are connected to each other at an edge of each of which by means of pins, on a bottom surface of each of which a plurality of caps are arranged, which at the time of storage, are stored from guide rails so as to be stored at a position beneath a conveyance path in a V-shaped state, the caps in the ink pans being opposed to each other in a V-shaped state, which are drawn out horizontally along the guide rails to a position beneath the recording head group, and in each of which the caps are allocated to the nozzle surfaces of the recording heads by a hoisting and lowering operation of a belt conveying unit. | 09-25-2008 |
20080246800 | PRINTHEAD MAINTENANCE ASSEMBLY INCORPORATING A DABBING DEVICE - A printhead maintenance assembly having an ink manifold with a printhead, the manifold operatively supplying the printhead with ink. The assembly also includes a capper arrangement having a capper operatively fitted to the manifold over the printhead, the capper defining a capper chamber with a constriction member splitting said chamber into an air inlet channel and a vacuum channel, the constriction member located proximate the printhead to define a blast channel therewith between the inlet channel and the vacuum channel. The assembly also includes a dabbing device to dab the printhead after disengagement of the capper with the printhead. | 10-09-2008 |
20080259115 | LIQUID-EJECTING RECORDING HEAD AND LIQUID-EJECTING RECORDING APPARATUS - A recording head includes a plurality of nozzle arrays separately provided so as to correspond to kinds of recording liquids to be discharged, a plurality of common liquid chambers from which the recording liquids are supplied to the nozzle arrays, a plurality of recording-liquid introducing passages communicating with the common liquid chambers, and a plurality of filters provided in the recording-liquid introducing passages. Upstream aperture areas of the filters are equal to each other, and downstream aperture areas of the filters are different according to the kinds of recording liquids passing through the filters. | 10-23-2008 |
20080284815 | LIQUID DROPLET JETTING APPARATUS - A liquid droplet jetting apparatus includes a jetting head unit which has a nozzle which jets droplets of a liquid, and a heat generating section, a suction port which is formed in the jetting head unit, and which opens near the nozzle, and a suction device which sucks air around the nozzle from the suction port, and cools down the heat generating section of the jetting head unit by the air which is sucked. Since the heat generating portion is cooled down by the air sucked from the suction port by the suction device, it is possible to reduce a possibility of the heat of the heat generating section being transferred to the jetting head unit, and destabilizing an operation of the jetting head unit. Moreover, since the suction port opens near the nozzle, it is possible to suck fine liquid droplets together with air around the nozzle. | 11-20-2008 |
20080291236 | LIQUID DISCHARGING METHOD AND LIQUID DISCHARGING APPARATUS - A liquid discharging head is appropriately driven to effectively prevent a satellite from being generated irrespective of conditions such as a property of a discharge liquid or a head structure. The liquid discharging head is driven using volume variation in a manner that a liquid extending in a column shape at the time of separating a liquid droplet (main droplet) is gradually thickened from the separation portion to an discharge port, and that the liquid protrudes from the discharge port during a period where the length of the liquid extending in the column shape is shortened after the droplet is separated. Accordingly, it is possible to effectively prevent a liquid column from further being separated after the main droplet is separated, and to restrict the satellite from being generated, irrespective of conditions such as the property of the discharge liquid or the head structure. | 11-27-2008 |
20080309706 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus for ejecting liquid from an ejection head, the liquid being supplied from a liquid supplying source, the liquid ejecting apparatus comprising: a carriage having the ejection head including: a liquid channel configured for flowing the liquid from the liquid supplying source to the ejection head; a gas trap chamber which is formed in the midstream of the liquid channel and expands the width of the liquid channel; and a gas recovery chamber which is adjacent to the gas trap chamber and having a gas permeable wall between the gas recovery chamber and the gas trap chamber; a carriage driver which drives the carriage; an attachment/detachment connection which is detachably connected to the gas recovery chamber; and a depressurization unit which decreases a pressure of the gas recovery chamber to a pressure lower than that of the gas trap chamber via the attachment/detachment connection. | 12-18-2008 |
20090002433 | LIQUID DROPLET JETTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF EXCHANGING MAIN TANK - A main tank has a storage space which stores a liquid. A sub tank has a predetermined interior space and an atmosphere communicating hole which makes the interior space communicate with an atmosphere, formed therein, and has an opening and closing valve which opens and closes the atmosphere communicating hole. When the main tank is not mounted on a main tank installing portion, the opening and closing valve closes the atmosphere communicating hole. When the main tank is mounted on the main tank installing portion, a discharge operation of discharging the liquid from the nozzles of the head with the atmosphere communicating hole closed by the opening and closing valve is carried out. Thereafter, the opening and closing valve opens the atmosphere communicating hole. Accordingly, the liquid is prevented from being leaked out from the sub tank when the main tank is removed. | 01-01-2009 |
20090009555 | FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A fluid ejecting apparatus for ejecting a fluid includes a recording head and a capping device. The recording head includes a storage portion and a plurality of ejection nozzles. The capping device comes into contact with a discharge surface of the fluid in the recording head and receives the fluid discharged through the nozzles. The recording head capping device includes a cap-side channel and a passing portion. The cap-side channel faces the nozzles when the recording head capping device is in contact with the discharge surface. The passing portion creates negative pressure in the nozzles by passing a material in the cap-side channel. The cap-side channel includes a high flow rate section and a low flow rate section. | 01-08-2009 |
20090015625 | Printing Apparatus And Cleaning Mechanism Thereof - The present invention relates to a printing apparatus and a cleaning mechanism thereof. | 01-15-2009 |
20090015626 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CLEANING LIQUID DISCHARGE HEAD IN LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes two liquid discharge heads and a suction unit. Each of the two liquid discharge heads has a nozzle face on which at least one nozzle opening for discharging liquid is formed. The two liquid discharge heads are located so that the nozzle faces of the two liquid discharge heads face each other. The suction unit is placed between the nozzle faces of the two liquid discharge heads. The suction unit draws liquid on the nozzle faces between which the suction unit is placed. | 01-15-2009 |
20090051727 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - There is disclosed a liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting head having a nozzle from which a droplet of a liquid is ejected, a liquid supply passage connected with the liquid ejecting head and supplying the liquid to the liquid ejecting head, a gas discharge passage connected with the liquid supply passage to discharge a gas from the liquid supply passage, a gas-permeable film allowing only gases to pass therethrough and providing a partition separating the gas discharge passage and liquid supply passage from each other in a connecting portion where the gas discharge passage and liquid supply passage are connected with each other, a liquid suction cap for sucking the liquid in the liquid ejecting head through the nozzle, a sucking device sucking liquids and gases, a switching device selectively connecting the sucking device with one of the gas discharge passage and liquid suction cap, a differential pressure valve disposed in a portion of the gas discharge passage between the gas permeable film and the switching device, and being opened by a suction pressure from the sucking device to communicate the gas permeable film and the switching device with each other while the sucking device is operating, and disconnecting communication between the gas permeable film and the switching device while the sucking device is not operating, and a first liquid holding chamber which is disposed in a portion of the gas discharge passage between the differential pressure valve and switching device, and in which the liquid flowing into the gas discharge passage from the switching device is trapped. | 02-26-2009 |
20090051728 | MAINTENANCE DEVICE FOR LIQUID EJECTION HEAD AND LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS - A maintenance device for doing maintenance of an inkjet type recording apparatus having a recording head is provided. The maintenance device includes a selecting portion. The selecting portion has a plurality of movable bodies each corresponding to one of nozzle groups of the recording head. Each movable body is driven by the drive source so as to be movable between a selection position and a non-selection position. When arranged at the selection position, each movable body allows the suction portion to apply suction to the movable body and allows the wiper corresponding to the movable body to perform wiping. When arranged at the non-selection position, each movable body inhibits the suction portion from applying suction to the movable body and inhibits the wiper corresponding to the movable body from performing wiping. | 02-26-2009 |
20090058925 | SUCTION DEVICE, SUCTION SYSTEM, AND LIQUID DROPLET EJECTION APPARATUS HAVING THE DEVICE OR THE SYSTEM, AS WELL AS ELECTRO-OPTICAL APPARATUS AND MANUFACTURING METHOD THEREOF - Provided herein is a suction device having a plurality of head caps capable of closely contacting with and moving away from corresponding nozzle surfaces of a plurality of inkjet functional liquid droplet ejection heads. The suction device includes: a plurality of cap units having one or more of the head caps, a contacting/separating mechanism which makes the head caps contact and move away, a plurality of suction units which suck functional liquid from the head caps, a plurality of sets of suction channels each of which having a main channel and individual channels, and a plurality of channel switching units which selectively switch the suction channels to any one of the suction units. | 03-05-2009 |
20090073217 | Method of removing air from an ink jet device, and ink jet device - An ink jet device ( | 03-19-2009 |
20090079787 | DROPLET EJECTING APPARATUS - A droplet ejecting apparatus includes: a droplet ejecting head having at least one nozzle; a liquid supply passage for supplying liquid to the droplet ejecting head; an exhaust passage communicable with the liquid supply passage to exhaust bubbles in the liquid supply passage; an on-off valve which selectively opens or closes an communication passage provided between the liquid supply passage and the exhaust passage; an exhaust cap which fluid-tightly closes one opening of the communication passage close to the exhaust passage, and which is connected to one end of the exhaust passage close to the communication passage; a suction device connected to the other end of the exhaust passage; a switching device which indirectly operates the on-off valve through the exhaust cap from an outside thereof to selectively open or close the on-off valve; and a control device which controls the droplet ejecting head, the suction device, and the switching device. | 03-26-2009 |
20090085963 | PRINTER HAVING ARCUATELY MOVEABLE PRINTHEAD AND CAPPING/PURGING MECHANISM - A printer is provided which has a printhead having a plurality of ejection nozzles, a capping member for capping the ejection nozzles, a purging member for receiving material that is purged from the nozzle environment of the printhead, a first actuating mechanism for moving the printhead along a first arcuate path from first to second to third printhead positions, and a second actuating mechanism for moving the capping and purging members along a second arcuate path from a first position to a second position at which the capping member caps the nozzles of the printhead when the printhead is in the second printhead position and the purging member is able to receive the purged material when the printhead is in the third printhead position. | 04-02-2009 |
20090096830 | FLUID EJECTION APPARATUS - There is provided a fluid ejection apparatus for ejecting a fluid including a head for ejecting the fluid and a moisture retention head cap device for retaining moisture of the head. The moisture retention head cap device is disposed so as to surround a periphery of the head to cover the whole of the head when retaining moisture of the head. | 04-16-2009 |
20090122104 | Pagewidth Printhead Assembly Having A Capping Member Actuating Mechanism - Provided is a pagewidth printhead assembly. The assembly includes two printheads arranged on opposite sides of a print media path for duplex printing, and a printhead actuating mechanism configured to move the printheads relative to each other. The assembly also includes a capping member and a capping member actuating mechanism for moving the capping member between an uncapped position outside the media path and a capped position inside the media path for capping both printheads. | 05-14-2009 |
20090141073 | DROPLET EJECTING DEVICE HAVING CAP THAT SEALS NOZZLES - Each of first and second caps includes a concave section and a lip section configured to be in contact with a nozzle surface of a droplet ejecting head, so as to seal nozzles when a moving section moves a base toward the droplet ejecting head. The first and second caps are arranged in a second direction intersecting a nozzle alignment direction, the first cap being closer to a pivot section of a cap supporting plate than the second cap is. The concave sections of the first and second caps face different directions from each other. In a state where the second cap seals the nozzles in a part of a plurality of nozzle arrays, the first cap is spaced away from the droplet ejecting head in such a manner that the lip section of the first cap is gradually away from the nozzle surface toward a pivot section side. | 06-04-2009 |
20090141074 | LIQUID DROPLET JETTING APPARATUS - A printer comprises a first head which has first nozzles, a second head which has second nozzles each having a nozzle diameter larger than that of the first nozzle, and an ink cartridge which stores an ink to be supplied to the first and second heads. The first head is directly connected to the ink cartridge by means of a tube. The second head is connected to the first head by means of a tube, and thus the second head is connected to the ink cartridge via the first head. Accordingly, it is possible to shorten the tubes by connecting the ink cartridge and the two heads in series. Further, it is possible to decrease the frequency of the recovery operation by arranging, on the downstream side in the liquid supply direction, the head in which the jetting failure is hardly caused. | 06-04-2009 |
20090141075 | LIQUID EJECTOR - A liquid ejector includes a liquid ejection head, a discharge path, a cap, a pump, a first tank, a second tank, a first valve, and a second valve. The liquid ejection head ejects liquid through a nozzle. The cap covers the nozzle. The pump sucks the liquid from the liquid ejection head through the cap and the nozzle and conveys the liquid to a downstream end of the discharge path. The first tank communicates with the outside air, and temporarily stores the liquid in the discharge path. The second tank is detachably attached to the liquid ejector and is connected to the downstream end of the discharge path. The first valve switches the state of the first tank between open to and cut off from the outside air. The second valve switches the state of the first tank between connection to and cut off from the second tank. | 06-04-2009 |
20090167814 | INKJET RECORDING APPARATUS - A recording apparatus includes: a conveyor which has one or more holes penetrating from a first surface to a second surface thereof, and which conveys, in a conveyance direction, a recording medium supported on the first surface; and a recording unit which is at such a position as to face the first surface, and records an image on a recording medium while the recording medium is conveyed by the conveyor. The recording apparatus further includes an exhauster capable of causing air exhaust through the one or more holes so that airstream in the one or more holes is directed from the second surface to the first surface; and a controller which controls the exhauster so as to cause air exhaust through at least one medium-facing hole out of the one or more holes, the medium facing hole being a hole facing a recording medium. | 07-02-2009 |
20090213170 | Printhead Servicing System And Method - A system for servicing a printhead having a plurality of orifices formed in a face thereof includes a cap configured to mate with the face of the printhead; a porous material provided in the cap, wherein the porous material has a first side arranged to face the face of the printhead and a second side opposite the first side; and a vacuum communicated with the cap, wherein the vacuum is configured to draw fluid from the orifices of the printhead through the porous material provided in the cap. The second side of the porous material has a recess formed therein such that the vacuum is communicated with the recess. | 08-27-2009 |
20090213171 | INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS - An ink jet recording apparatus incorporating a plurality of ink tanks that is independently exchangeable. An amount of ink suction for a suction recovery operation is changed and controlled based on the ink tank being exchanged. In this way, a small-sized apparatus operating at a low running cost is possible by saving and decreasing the ink amount discharged by controlling the ink discharge more than necessary during the suction recovery process after exchanging the ink tank. | 08-27-2009 |
20090219334 | INK JET RECORDING HEAD AND INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS - An ink jet recording head includes a plurality of ink jet head substrates each including ejection outlets for ejecting ink and energy generating elements for generating energy for ejecting the ink; a supporting substrate for supporting the plurality of ink jet head substrates; an ink accommodating portion for accommodating the ink; and a filter provided at a communicating portion between the plurality of ink jet head substrates and the ink accommodating portion so as to be inclined with respect to gravitational direction. At a highest position of the filter with respect to gravitational direction, a suction opening through which the ink in the plurality of ink jet head substrates is capable of being sucked is provided. | 09-03-2009 |
20090231386 | DROPLET EJECTING DEVICE - A droplet ejecting device has a droplet ejecting head, a rotating member, a recovery unit, and a negative pressure generating unit. The rotating member is disposed so as to oppose a nozzle surface of the droplet ejecting head, and is a conveying body that conveys a recording medium. The recovery unit has a suction hole provided at a region of the rotating member on which the recording medium is not loaded, and recovers, from the suction hole, liquid that becomes a mist at a time when the droplets are ejected from the nozzles. The negative pressure generating unit generates negative pressure at the recovery unit. | 09-17-2009 |
20090278884 | FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A fluid ejecting apparatus includes an ejection head having an ejection surface with a nozzle region and a capping device that contacts the ejection surface. The capping device includes first and second contact members held by a cap body. When the first contact member contacts the ejection surface, a surface of the first contact member surrounds the nozzle region. The second contact member is formed in a closed frame-shape to be disposed outside a surface of the first contact member opposite the surface of the first contact member. The cap body includes first and second suction ports. The first suction port decompresses a first space formed between the first contact member and the ejection surface when the capping device contacts the ejection head. The second suction port decompresses a second space formed between the second contact member and the ejection surface when the capping device contacts the ejection head. | 11-12-2009 |
20090289989 | DISCHARGING APPARATUS AND REMOVING METHOD - When different liquids are charged in a plurality of nozzles, the liquids are drawn by suction or pushed out reliably from the nozzles, so that the liquids collected by suction or pushing out can be reused. For this purpose, a removing unit, which has a cap that operates to cover nozzle discharge ports and to come into tight contact with a head, is provided. Suction is performed from each nozzle separately. Different collection tubes and collection tanks are provided for the removing unit. A liquid having the same liquid composition is accumulated in one collection tank for the same liquid composition via the collection tube of a liquid channel for the same liquid composition. | 11-26-2009 |
20090295862 | IMAGE RECORDING DEVICE - There is provided an image recording device, comprising: a platen that supports a recording medium; a carriage that is located to face the platen and is configured to move in a first direction along the recoding medium; a recordation head that is mounted on the carriage and performs image recordation on the recording medium; a long member elongated, to face the platen, in the first direction within a region in which the carriage moves; a support member that fixes the long member such that the long member does not move in the first direction relative to the platen; and a guide member that is located on the carriage to deform the long member such that the carriage and the platen face directly with respect to each other. | 12-03-2009 |
20090309916 | PRINTER - A cleaning mechanism has a slider moving together with a carriage and a suction cap provided on the slider to cap one of print heads mounted on the carriage to perform suction therefrom. A first contact portion and a second contact portion are provided in each of the carriage and the slider, and a third contact portion and a fourth contact portion are provided in the slider. In the case that the suction cap performs suction from a black head, when the carriage moves toward the cleaning mechanism side, the first contact portion and the third contact portion come into contact with each other to position the carriage and the slider in such a manner that the suction cap faces the black head. On the other hand, in the case that the suction cap performs suction from a color head, when the carriage moves toward the cleaning mechanism side, the second contact portion and the fourth contact portion come into contact with each other to position the carriage and the slider in such a manner that the suction cap faces the color head. | 12-17-2009 |
20090309917 | INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS AND INK JET HEAD - An apparatus includes an ink jet head and a suction mechanism. The head includes liquid chambers connected with ink tanks by flow passages. The flow passages include a non-branching flow passage and a branching flow passage. The suction mechanism sucks the liquid chamber and ejection ports corresponding to the non-branching flow passage and the branching flow passage, respectively at substantially the same pressure. The distance from the flow passage junction to the ejection ports connected to the branching flow passage is shorter than the distance from the flow passage junction to the ejection ports connected to the non-branching flow passage. The volume of the liquid chambers corresponding to the branching flow passage is less than or equal to the volume of the liquid chamber corresponding to the non-branching flow passage. | 12-17-2009 |
20090309918 | FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A fluid ejecting apparatus includes: a plurality of ejection heads having ejection nozzles through which fluid is ejected; cap members that are provided so as to correspond to the ejection heads and form sealed spaces around the ejection nozzles in the ejection heads when brought into contact with the ejection heads; cap-member moving mechanisms that press the cap members against the corresponding ejection heads; a fluid suction unit that, while the cap members are pressed against the corresponding ejection heads, produces negative pressure in the sealed space of a selected ejection head to suck the fluid in the ejection head; cap-member selective-separation mechanisms that selectively separate the cap member from the corresponding ejection head having undergone suction; and a selective wiping mechanism that selectively wipes off the fluid deposited around the ejection nozzles in the ejection head separated from the corresponding cap member. | 12-17-2009 |
20090322824 | INKJET RECORDING APPARATUS AND HEAD MAINTENANCE METHOD - An inkjet recording apparatus has: an inkjet head which has an ink ejection surface and ejects droplets of an ink from the ink ejection surface onto a recording medium; a pressure drum which is disposed in a position opposing the ink ejection surface of the inkjet head, has a round cylindrical circumferential surface in which a recording medium holding position and a non-holding position are provided, an opening section corresponding to an ink ejection width of the inkjet head in the non-holding position where the recording medium is not held, a suction flow channel that is connected to the opening section and provided integrally with the opening section inside the pressure drum, and holds and rotates the recording medium at the recording medium holding position in such a manner that the recording medium is conveyed in a circumferential direction of the pressure drum; and a suctioning device which suctions the opening section and the suction flow channel at least in a droplet ejection region where the droplets of the ink are ejected from the inkjet head. | 12-31-2009 |
20100007695 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus that ejects a liquid from ejection nozzles formed in an ejection head. The liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a liquid receiver that is provided with a concave receiving the liquid from the ejection head; a suction pump that is connected to an opening formed in the concave and sucks the liquid in the concave; and a sucking auxiliary member that is applied with a negative pressure from the suction pump and drawn into the concave in a direction of the opening to assist the process of sucking the liquid in the concave by the suction pump. | 01-14-2010 |
20100020125 | FLUID EJECTION APPARATUS - A fluid ejection apparatus that ejects fluid from an ejection nozzle in an ejection head includes a fluid receiver that has a concave portion for accommodating the ejected fluid and defines a closed space around the ejection nozzle when the concave portion contacts the ejection head. Suction pumps suck the fluid in the concave portion through suction ports in the concave portion. A fluid suction unit sucks the fluid in the ejection head through the ejection nozzle by operating the suction pumps such that the concave portion contacts the ejection head. An air suction unit sucks the air and the fluid in the concave portion of the fluid receiver after completion of suction of the fluid in the ejection head, by allowing at least one suction pump to reverse the air flow in collaboration with the operation of at least one other suction pump. | 01-28-2010 |
20100020126 | LIQUID SUPPLY DEVICE AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid supply device is provided in a liquid ejecting apparatus which includes a liquid ejecting head and a cleaning section. The liquid supply device includes a liquid supply section that has a pump in the path of a liquid supply flow channel for interconnecting a liquid supply source and the liquid ejecting head and a pair of unidirectional valves on upstream and downstream sides of the pump. The liquid supply section supplies the liquid to the downstream side with a suction drive that suctions the liquid from the liquid supply source and a discharge drive that discharges the suctioned liquid. A valve section in the path of the liquid supply flow channel on the downstream side is maintained in a valve-closed state by the suction force applied to an ejection port, and is opened by a liquid supply pressure generated by the discharge drive in the valve-closed state. | 01-28-2010 |
20100026755 | Liquid Droplet Jetting Apparatus - A liquid droplet jetting apparatus is capable of carrying out selectively a first purge mode and a second purge mode. In the first purge mode, a first air discharge purge of discharging air in an ink storage chamber is carried out while maintaining a meniscus of the ink. In the second purge mode, a second air discharge purge of discharging air inside the ink storage chamber is carried out while destroying the meniscus of the ink. Accordingly, there is provided a liquid droplet jetting apparatus in which it is possible to discharge a gas inside a liquid supply channel from an upstream side of the nozzle, and also, when the degree of thickening of the liquid inside the nozzle is extreme, it is possible to discharge the thickened liquid assuredly from the nozzle. | 02-04-2010 |
20100033530 | PRIMING SYSTEM FOR PRINTER HEADS OF PRINTING DEVICES - A priming system for priming a print head of a printing device includes an elongated hollow member, a piston mechanism, a piston driving mechanism, and a suction cup. The piston mechanism disposed in the elongated hollow member is capable of reciprocally moving in a first direction and in a second direction opposite to the first direction within the elongated hollow member. The piston driving mechanism is operatively connected to the piston mechanism at an end portion of the elongated hollow member. The piston driving mechanism is capable of reciprocally moving the piston mechanism in the first direction and in the second direction. The suction cup is disposed above the print head and operatively coupled to the elongated hollow member. The suction cup is capable of extracting ink from a plurality of nozzles of the print head, when the piston mechanism moves in the first direction. | 02-11-2010 |
20100039474 | LIQUID DROPLET EJECTION APPARATUS, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICE, ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT - A liquid droplet ejection apparatus performs a drawing operation on a workpiece set on a set table by driving the ejection of a functional liquid droplet ejection head in a head unit while moving the head unit in a main scanning direction relative to the set table facing a drawing area by an X-axis table. The liquid droplet ejection apparatus includes a periodic flushing unit which is disposed on a main scan moving axis at a position offset from the drawing area towards the main scanning direction and which receives forcible ejection from the functional liquid droplet ejection head during non-drawing time and a pre-drawing flushing unit which is disposed adjacent to the set table and faces the drawing area and which receives forcible ejection from the functional liquid droplet ejection head performed immediately before starting the drawing operation. | 02-18-2010 |
20100053256 | INK SUCTION APPARATUS - An ink suction apparatus is disclosed. In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, the ink suction apparatus, which sucks in residual ink of an inkjet head, includes: a suction nozzle, which sucks in the residual ink; a heater, which is adjacent to the suction nozzle and heats the suction nozzle to prevent the suction nozzle from being blocked by the residual ink; a nozzle cover, which is installed on the suction nozzle and opens and closes the suction nozzle to control sucking power of the suction nozzle; a collection chamber, which collects the residual ink having been sucked into the suction nozzle; and a suction pump, which generates sucking power and provides the sucking power to the suction nozzle. The ink suction apparatus can prevent a suction nozzle from being blocked when sucking in hyper-viscous residual ink and control the sucking power of the suction nozzle by controlling the suction nozzle's opening and closing. | 03-04-2010 |
20100053257 | Liquid Droplet Jetting Apparatus - A printer controls a suction pump such that a difference in a discharge amount of an ink and a flow speed of the ink discharged from each nozzle is small between a complete purge in which all ink supply portions connected to a second head communicate with an atmosphere, and a suction purge is performed simultaneously for the nozzles of all types of the second head, and a partial purge in which a communication of a part of the ink supply portions with the atmosphere is blocked by a dummy cartridge, and the suction purge is performed only for the nozzles corresponding to the ink supply portions of which the communication with the atmosphere is not blocked. | 03-04-2010 |
20100053258 | LIQUID TRANSPORTING METHOD AND METHOD OF CLEANING LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - Provided is a liquid transporting method in a liquid ejecting apparatus having a fluid ejecting head having a nozzle, a liquid storing unit connected through a flow passage to the fluid ejecting head, and a suction unit sucking an inner portion of the nozzle from a nozzle opening side, wherein a portion of the flow passage is used as a pump chamber, and a pump driven to change an internal volume of the pump chamber and an output valve opened only at the time when the output valve is pressed from the pump are provided, the liquid transporting method including: performing choke suction of charging the pump with the liquid, and performing a suction operation of sucking the inner portion of the nozzle by using the suction unit, and then, performing a transmission operation of pressing the liquid from the pump to the output valve. | 03-04-2010 |
20100073419 | Printer - When the number of sheets that have been printed has reached the number of sheets guaranteed for printing, a number representing a upper limit of the number of sheets that can be printed, an ink jet printer declines to perform printing with an ink cartridge for which the number of sheets guaranteed for printing has been set, but when the number of sheets printed has not reached the number of sheets guaranteed for printing, performs printing of an image onto a recording sheet S by using the ink cartridge, the ink jet printer determining the number of sheets remaining N on the basis of the number of sheets printed that have been printed, and displaying on a display unit | 03-25-2010 |
20100103217 | INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS - The present invention provides an ink jet printing apparatus having a plurality of caps connected to a common negative-pressure supply source, in which an optimum amount of ink can be sucked and discharged from a plurality of print heads corresponding to the respective caps in spite of a variation in channel resistance among the caps. A plurality of individual suction paths connect a common suction pump to each of the plurality of caps. An introduction condition for a negative pressure to be introduced into each of the caps is set according to the channel resistance of the corresponding individual suction path. | 04-29-2010 |
20100118082 | FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A fluid ejecting apparatus includes: a carriage that supports a fluid ejecting head for ejecting fluid through a plurality of nozzles and is able to be reciprocated; a cap unit that comes in contact with the fluid ejecting head to form a plurality of cap internal spaces individually enclosing the nozzles; a suction unit that is able to suck the cap internal spaces via respective suction passages; and a selective blocking unit that is able to selectively block the suction passages as the carriage is reciprocated in a maintenance area for the maintenance of the fluid ejecting head, wherein the selective blocking unit includes: a blocking member that is reciprocated as the carriage is reciprocated in the maintenance area; and cam surfaces that engage with the blocking member as the blocking member is reciprocated to lead the blocking member to blocking positions for blocking the suction passages in order. | 05-13-2010 |
20100128084 | Suction Cap Device and Liquid Jetting Apparatus Provided with the Same - A suction cap device includes a cap member which is formed of an elastic member, which is formed to have a recessed portion, and which has a suction port formed in a bottom surface of the cap member to be located inside of the recessed portion; a suction mechanism which communicates with the suction port; and a cap protector which is accommodated in the recessed portion of the cap member, and which prevents the cap member from being deformed when a pressure inside the recessed portion is decreased. In a liquid flow passage formed in the cap protector, a lead-in port formed in the cap protector has a diameter which is greater than a diameter of a lead-out port formed in the cap protector. With this, it is possible to quickly discharge a liquid received in the cap member. | 05-27-2010 |
20100134556 | LIQUID DROPLET EJECTION APPARATUS, METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICE, ELECTRO-OPTIC DEVICE, AND ELECTRONIC EQUIPMENT - A liquid droplet ejection apparatus for drawing on a workpiece by ejecting functional liquid droplets includes a functional liquid droplet ejection head that is movable relative to the workpiece; and a suction unit that sucks the functional liquid droplets from an ejection nozzle of the functional liquid droplet ejection head. The functional liquid droplet ejection head is able to be replaced when the functional liquid droplet ejection head faces the suction unit. | 06-03-2010 |
20100165039 | INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS - Activation/deactivation of a pump | 07-01-2010 |
20100171788 | INK-JET PRINTER HAVING SUCTION FUNCTION AND METHOD OF OPERATING THE SAME - An inkjet printer having a suction function and a method of operating the inkjet printer includes a suction instrument that applies a suction force toward a platen so as to closely attach a printing medium to the platen during a printing operation and to suck spitted ink in a printing standby state. | 07-08-2010 |
20100182370 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a suction unit; a pressure unit configured to pressurize the inside of a supply channel extending from a liquid container to a recording head at a pressurizing position along the supply channel; an opening and closing unit configured to open and close the supply channel at a position downstream of the pressurizing position; and a control unit configured to cap a nozzle surface with a cap and suction ink from nozzles with the suction unit, to move the cap away from the nozzle surface after pressurizing the inside of the supply channel with the pressure unit to a pressure greater than or equal to atmospheric pressure, to wipe the nozzle surface with a wiping part after closing the supply channel with the opening and closing unit, and to open the supply channel with the opening and closing unit after wiping the nozzle surface. | 07-22-2010 |
20100231640 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head that performs liquid ejection with respect to an ejection target medium, a carriage that reciprocates with the liquid ejecting head being mounted, a linear encoder that has a linear encoder scale extending in a movement direction of the carriage and a detector which detects the linear encoder scale, a cleaning member that cleans the linear encoder scale, and a recovery unit that recovers the liquid adhered to the cleaning member in a non-ejection area other than an ejection area for performing ejection with respect to the ejection target medium. | 09-16-2010 |
20100231641 | LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD THEREOF - A simple, low-cost liquid ejection apparatus is provided which can prevent a reverse flow of ink from within the cap into the print head, which would otherwise occur when the interior of the cap is returned to an atmospheric pressure. For this purpose, the ink is sucked out of the nozzle ports of the print head by the recovery unit with the atmospheric vent valve of the subtank open. | 09-16-2010 |
20100245465 | LIQUID SUPPLYING APPARATUS AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head and a cleaning device. The liquid ejecting head has a nozzle formation surface and nozzles formed therethrough. The cleaning device applies a suction force to the inside of the liquid ejecting head through the nozzles to suck the liquid out of the liquid ejecting head for forcible discharging of the liquid. A liquid supplying apparatus includes a liquid supplying passage through which the liquid is supplied from a liquid supplying source at an upstream side, toward the liquid ejecting head at a downstream side. A pump is driven for suction and discharging operations. The pump includes a pump chamber and a displacement member. The displacement member is displaced between two or more positions that include a close position for closing an outlet port through which the liquid flows out of the pump chamber to the downstream side. | 09-30-2010 |
20100245466 | HEAD CLEANING METHOD AND HEAD CLEANING APPARATUS - A head cleaning method of wiping and cleaning a nozzle surface of a head with a band-shaped liquid absorbing body by, while pressing and abutting a pressing member on which the liquid absorbing body that travels is wrapped against the nozzle surface of the head, sliding the pressing member over the nozzle surface of the head, includes: a first cleaning step of wiping and cleaning the nozzle surface of the head with a non-wet region of the liquid absorbing body; a wet region forming step of forming a wet region on the liquid absorbing body; and a second cleaning step of wiping and cleaning the nozzle surface of the head with the wet region of the liquid absorbing body. | 09-30-2010 |
20100271420 | PRINTING APPARATUS AND RECOVERING METHOD THEREFOR - A printing apparatus comprises: a temperature sensor configured to detect an environmental temperature of the printing apparatus; a suction unit configured to suck ink from a printhead according to a target suction amount indicating amount of ink that the suction unit should suck per unit time at a predetermined environmental temperature; and a controller configured to cause the suction unit to suck ink such that the target suction amount in a case where the environmental temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature is greater than the target suction amount in a case where the environmental temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature. | 10-28-2010 |
20100283815 | FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A fluid ejecting apparatus includes a fluid ejecting head that has a nozzle formation surface and ejects fluid from a nozzle formed as a hole through the nozzle formation surface. A fluid catching unit has an opening that faces the nozzle formation surface of the fluid ejecting head at the time of flushing, as waste fluid is ejected from the nozzle of the fluid ejecting head. The fluid catching unit receives the waste fluid ejected from the nozzle through the opening. A cover mechanism includes a cover member that moves between cover retracted positions. At the cover position, the cover member can close the opening of the fluid catching unit. At the retracted position, the cover member cannot close the opening during the flushing. Negative pressure is generated inside the fluid catching unit when the cover member is positioned at the cover position. | 11-11-2010 |
20100289850 | MAINTENANCE METHOD FOR FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS AND FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A maintenance method for a fluid ejecting apparatus having a fluid ejecting head which ejects fluid and a fluid reception member which receives the fluid in a predetermined posture, includes changing a posture of the fluid reception member to an inclined posture which is a posture inclined with respect to the predetermined posture; and sucking fluid in the fluid reception member in the inclined posture after changing the posture to the inclined posture. | 11-18-2010 |
20100289851 | METHOD FOR MAINTAINING FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS, AND FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A method is used to maintain a fluid ejecting apparatus having a fluid ejection head that ejects fluid onto a medium. A rotary body has a fluid reception member that receives the fluid and a medium support member that supports the medium and is rotatable around a shaft extending in a direction perpendicular to an ejecting direction of the fluid. A rotation driving device drives and rotates the rotary body and moves the fluid reception member from a fluid reception position where the fluid reception member faces the fluid ejection head to a fluid non-reception position where the fluid reception is retracted from the fluid reception position. A suction device sucks the fluid in the fluid reception member. The method for maintaining the fluid ejecting apparatus includes synchronizing a driving operation of the rotation driving device with a driving operation of the suction device. | 11-18-2010 |
20100302308 | INKJET RECORDING APPARATUS - An inkjet recording apparatus includes an inkjet head having an ejection surface on which a plurality of nozzles are formed, a cap including (1) a bottom surface portion, (2) an annular elastic member, (3) a plate member, and (4) at least one discharge outlet, and a discharge mechanism. The elastic member includes a contact portion which is provided on an inner circumferential surface thereof and which is configured to be distant from the plate member when the end portion of the elastic member is not in contact with the ejection surface, and to be in contact with the plate member along an outer circumference of the plate member by elastic deformation of the elastic member when the end portion of the elastic member is in contact with the ejection surface. | 12-02-2010 |
20100309249 | INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS - A plurality of ejection portions are divided into groups, each containing at least one ejection portion, so that the suction-based recovery operation can be performed for each group independently. Since the number of ejection portions contained in each group differs, if an ink flow resistance varies among the different groups, simultaneous suction-based recovery operations can be done by using a common suction pump, without having to sequentially perform the suction-based recovery operations under an optimum pump driving condition. For this purpose, inner diameters of a plurality of ink discharge tubes running from a plurality of cap units, which cap a plurality of print head units having different numbers of ejection portions, to the common pump are differentiated. This allows different flows to be produced in different ink discharge systems, thus generating desirable ink flows for individual ink supply systems. | 12-09-2010 |
20110050797 | MAINTENANCE METHOD FOR LIQUID JETTING APPARATUS AND LIQUID JETTING APPARATUS - A maintenance method which is used for a liquid jetting apparatus provided with a jetting head which has a nozzle surface formed with nozzle holes and which jets a liquid from the nozzle holes and a cap which covers the nozzle surface, includes: detecting a temperature in the liquid jetting apparatus; discharging the liquid in the jetting head from the nozzle holes into the cap in a state that the nozzle surface of the jetting head is covered with the cap; sucking the liquid discharged into the cap via a discharge hole provided at a bottom portion of the cap in a state that the cap is separated from the jetting head; and determining a suction amount for sucking the liquid discharged into the cap per a predetermined period of time based on the detected temperature. | 03-03-2011 |
20110050798 | MAINTENANCE METHOD FOR LIQUID JETTING APPARATUS AND LIQUID JETTING APPARATUS - A maintenance method for a liquid jetting apparatus provided with a jetting head which has a nozzle surface formed with nozzle holes and which discharges a liquid from the nozzle holes, and a cap which covers the nozzle surface includes discharging the liquid in the jetting head from the nozzle holes into the cap in a state that the nozzle surface of the jetting head is covered with the cap; and sucking the liquid discharged into the cap via a discharge hole provided at a bottom portion of the cap in a state that the cap is separated from the jetting head; and the liquid, which is discharged into the cap, is sucked in first and second suction modes in which suction amounts per a predetermined period of time are different from each other. | 03-03-2011 |
20110050799 | INK DISCHARGE APPARATUS - An ink discharge apparatus is provided, including a discharge head which has a nozzle surface formed with a first nozzle for discharging an ink of a first color and a second nozzle for discharging an ink of a second color darker than the first color; a cap; a sucking mechanism which performs suction for a space in the cap; a moving mechanism which positions the cap at a capping position and at a retracted position; and a purge control mechanism which controls the moving mechanism so that the cap is separated from the nozzle surface while allowing a second distance between the cap and an area near the second nozzle to be smaller than a first distance between the cap and an area near the first nozzle after completion of a purge operation. | 03-03-2011 |
20110074872 | PRINTING APPARATUS - A printing apparatus includes a printing medium support unit supporting a printing medium supplied to a print execution area and guiding the transported printing medium. The printing medium support unit includes a support portion supporting the printing medium and defining a predetermined gap between a print head and the support portion. A suction hole disposed in a width direction of the printing medium adsorbs and supports the printing medium on the support portion by applying a suction force to the printing medium. A first recess portion with an ink discharge port is disposed at a position corresponding to a position at an edge of the printing medium of a size which is supposed to be used and receives ink possibly discarded upon executing marginless printing. A first communication passage applies some of the suction force to the first recess portion in a passage independent from the ink discharge port. | 03-31-2011 |
20110074873 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS AND LIQUID CHARGING METHOD - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head with one nozzle group for ejecting one type liquid and another nozzle group for ejecting two types of liquid, thereby ejecting multiple types of liquid from the nozzle groups. A cap forms a sealing space that is suctioned by a suction pump. Flow-passages supply the liquid from a liquid container toward the liquid ejecting head. Flow-passage pumps in the downstream side of the liquid container in the flow-passages suction the liquid from the liquid container and discharge the liquid toward the downstream side. A choke valve has a valve chamber at the downstream side of the flow-passage pump to allow the liquid to flow therein. A flexible member changes a volume of the valve chamber by flexing. A discharge hole in an inner portion of the valve chamber is opened or closed by the flexing of the flexible member. | 03-31-2011 |
20110090281 | HEAD REPAIRING APPARATUS AND FLUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A push latch cam is provided so as to be rotatable integrally with a intermittence gear, a cam driving gear for rotating a wiper support member cam rotates in connection with the rotation of the intermittence gear, and in a range in which the intermittence gear is engaged with a planetary gear, so that the intermittence gear can be rotated, a rotation range of the intermittence gear capable of opening and closing a atmosphere opening valve by the push latch mechanism and a rotation range of the intermittence gear in which the wiper is displaced by the rotation of the wiper support member cam are set in non-overlapped positions. | 04-21-2011 |
20110115845 | INK JET PRINT HEAD WITH AUTOMATED CLEANING AT THE START OF PRINTING - Liquid jet ( | 05-19-2011 |
20110115846 | RECORDING APPARATUS - An apparatus includes a recording head arranged so as to oppose a sheet moving in a first direction, in which a plurality of first nozzle chips and a plurality of second nozzle chips each having a nozzle array are arranged as different arrays in a second direction crossing the first direction, and in which the first nozzle chips and the second nozzle chips adjacent to each other are shifted from each other in the second direction, a first suction unit opposed to the first nozzle chips and configured to suction ink from a part of the nozzle arrays included in the first nozzle chips, a second suction unit opposed to the second nozzle chips and configured to suction ink from a part of the nozzle arrays included in the second nozzle chips, a suction holder configured to retain the first suction unit and the second suction unit, and a movement mechanism configured to cause relative movement between the recording head and the suction holder in the second direction, wherein the first suction unit and the second suction unit are shifted from each other in the second direction in correspondence with the shift between the first nozzle chips and the second nozzle chips. | 05-19-2011 |
20110134184 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a liquid tank, a first fluid flow path supplying liquid to the recording head, a second fluid flow path being in communication with the liquid tank, a pressure adjusting valve allowing fluid communication between the first and the second fluid flow paths, a cap member covering a nozzle surface of the recording head, and a suction unit being in communication with the cap member. The pressure adjusting valve includes a movable member movably disposed in the internal fluid flow path, wherein the movable member includes a sealing unit that seals the communication between the first and the second fluid flow paths when the cap member covers the nozzle surface of the recording head and a negative pressure is generated in a cap-member space formed between the cap member and the nozzle surface by driving the suction unit. | 06-09-2011 |
20110164087 | Apparatus for cleaning inkjet print head - An apparatus for cleaning an inkjet print head includes: a cleaning plate disposed to correspond to an inkjet print head with an ink flow space interposed therebetween; and a pneumatic device installed in the ink flow space and removing ink in a direction different from a direction in which ink is discharged by changing a fluid pressure of the ink remaining at a nozzle of the inkjet print head. | 07-07-2011 |
20110169890 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - When a negative pressure is introduced into a closed space formed by a cap abutting to an ejecting head, the cap abuts to the ejecting head with a greater pressing force than that in a case where the negative pressure is not introduced into the closed space. Therefore, the cap can abut to the ejecting head with a weak pressing force during the time when the negative pressure is not introduced, it can be avoided that the cap abuts to the ejecting head with a significant pressing force over a long time, and collapse of the cap can be significantly suppressed. | 07-14-2011 |
20110181657 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - A disclosed droplet discharge apparatus includes a droplet discharge head; a head sealing member that is disposed so as to face the droplet discharge head and that is moved to a position where a surface of the droplet discharge head is sealed off from outside of the head sealing member; and a suction force generator that generates a suction force inside the head sealing member. Further, the head sealing member moves droplets remaining on a nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head along the nozzle surface and suctioning as well as suctioning ink from a nozzle surface of the droplet discharge head. | 07-28-2011 |
20110187790 | MAINTENANCE METHOD FOR LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - There is a first process of pressurizing the liquid introduced into the discharge pipe by driving a pump device and transferring the liquid to one end side of the discharge pipe; a second process of applying an electric field between a liquid reception unit, which is disposed to face the surface of the nozzle openings of the liquid ejecting head in a non-contact state, communicates with the other end side of the discharge pipe and is ejected with liquid from the nozzles, and the surface of the nozzle openings; a third process of detecting a change in voltage based on electrostatic induction when the pressurizing of the liquid in the discharge pipe due to the pump device is released; and a fourth process of detecting the discharge state of the liquid from the discharge pipe on the basis of detection result of the change in voltage. | 08-04-2011 |
20110199425 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - The image forming apparatus includes: plural heads arrayed in a direction orthogonal to a conveying direction of a recording medium and configured to eject ejection liquids onto the conveyed recording medium from plural nozzle holes formed on nozzle surfaces; a cap unit configured to simultaneously cap the nozzle surfaces of all the plural heads; a suction unit configured to simultaneously suck all the nozzle holes on the nozzle surfaces of one head among the plural heads; and a contact and separation mechanism configured to relatively move the cap unit and suction unit and the nozzle surfaces of the heads to be capable of coming into contact with and separating from each other. | 08-18-2011 |
20110199426 | Cleaning Control Method for a Fluid Ejection Head, and a Fluid Ejection Device - A cleaning control method accurately detects the nozzle recovery condition after cleaning and efficiently eliminates ejection problems. When a regular cleaning command is received from a host device | 08-18-2011 |
20110199427 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a head portion which ejects liquid; a plurality of liquid reception portions which receive the liquid discharged from the head portion and in which flow-out ports of the liquid are provided on the bottoms; a suction pump which is connected to each of the flow-out ports of the plurality of the liquid reception portions and sucks the flow-out ports; and closure members each of which is provided in each of the plurality of liquid reception portions, is formed so as to float in the liquid, and closes each of the flow-out ports in a state where the liquid has flown out. | 08-18-2011 |
20110205293 | LIQUID DROPLET JETTING APPARATUS - A liquid droplet jetting apparatus includes a jetting head unit which has a nozzle which jets droplets of a liquid, and a heat generating section, a suction port which is formed in the jetting head unit, and which opens near the nozzle, and a suction device which sucks air around the nozzle from the suction port, and cools down the heat generating section of the jetting head unit by the air which is sucked. Since the heat generating portion is cooled down by the air sucked from the suction port by the suction device, it is possible to reduce a possibility of the heat of the heat generating section being transferred to the jetting head unit, and destabilizing an operation of the jetting head unit. Moreover, since the suction port opens near the nozzle, it is possible to suck fine liquid droplets together with air around the nozzle. | 08-25-2011 |
20110242207 | LIQUID-DROPLET JETTING APPARATUS - A liquid-droplet jetting apparatus which jets a liquid droplet of a liquid, includes: a liquid-droplet jetting head which has a nozzle for jetting the liquid droplet of the liquid; a maintenance mechanism which includes: a suction cap which comes into contact with and separates from the liquid-droplet jetting head and which faces the nozzle; a suction pump which sucks a fluid in a space defined by the suction cap and the liquid-droplet jetting head in a state that the suction cap comes into contact with the liquid-droplet jetting head; and a discharge tube which is connected to the suction pump and discharges the fluid flowing through the suction pump; and a maintenance controller which controls the maintenance mechanism. | 10-06-2011 |
20110279525 | RECORDING APPARATUS - An apparatus includes a recording head having nozzle chips arranged in a staggered configuration along a second direction that intersects a first direction in which a sheet is conveyed, a first suction portion corresponding to a first row of nozzle chips in the staggered configuration, and a second suction portion corresponding to a second row of nozzle chips. The first suction portion and the second suction port are in a positional relationship in which they are displaced in the second direction so as to correspond to displacement between a first nozzle chip in the first row and its neighboring second nozzle chip in the second row in the second direction. The apparatus further includes a positioning member having a plurality of reference surfaces for use in positioning the recording head at different locations in a third direction that intersects the first direction and the second direction. | 11-17-2011 |
20110285783 | LIQUID JETTING HEAD, LIQUID JETTING RECORDING APPARATUS, AND METHOD FOR FILLING LIQUID JETTING HEAD WITH LIQUID - A liquid jet head including: a wall portion ( | 11-24-2011 |
20110310170 | INK DISCHARGE APPARATUS - There is provided an ink discharge apparatus including a discharge head provided with a nozzle surface having a first nozzle which is formed in the nozzle surface and via which a liquid droplet of a first ink is discharged and a second nozzle which is formed in the nozzle surface and via which a liquid droplet of a second ink, having a color deeper than a color of the first ink, is discharged; a maintenance device which performs maintenance of the discharge head; and an apparatus body in which the maintenance device is arranged. The maintenance device includes a suction cap which is arranged with respect to the apparatus body, with a predetermined clearance, so the suction cap is rockable three-dimensionally; and an urging mechanism which urges a corner portion of the suction cap in a direction orthogonal to the nozzle surface. | 12-22-2011 |
20120013680 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - At a front-end side opposite to a head-fixing-member-attachment side, a protection member has an inclined plane sloped up from a head side toward the opposite outer side in a direction in which liquid ejecting heads are arranged in a row. The surface of the front end is located at a position that is not closer to a head-fixing member in comparison with the nozzle surface of each of the liquid ejecting heads attached to the head-fixing member or level therewith. A recess is formed at a part of the inclined plane. In a state in which one of the caps faces the protection member and, in addition, each of the remaining caps is in contact with the nozzle surface of the liquid ejecting head, a part of the cap facing the protection member is in the recess, which ensures that the cap is not in contact with the protection member. | 01-19-2012 |
20120056932 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, METHOD OF SUCTIONING LIQUID FROM NOZZLES OF RECORDING HEAD AND COMPUTER READABLE INFORMATION RECORDING MEDIUM - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head configured to have a nozzle face on which nozzles that discharge liquid droplets are formed; a cap configured to cap the nozzle face of the recording head; a discharge path configured to be connected to the cap; a suction pump configured to be provided in the discharge path and be made of a tube pump; and an atmosphere opening part configured to open an airtight space, created when the nozzle face is capped by the cap, to the atmosphere. The atmosphere opening part is configured to communicate with the inside of the cap at a position higher than a surface of liquid discharged into the cap, and a check valve configured to prevent a flow of the liquid toward the cap from the suction pump is provided in the discharge path. | 03-08-2012 |
20120056933 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including: a recording head having a nozzle surface in which nozzles to eject liquid droplets in a horizontal direction or a direction slanted from the horizontal direction are formed, the nozzle surface being disposed in a vertical direction or a direction slanted from the vertical direction; a head tank to supply liquid to the recording head; a suction cap to cap the nozzle surface of the recording head; a suction member connected to the suction cap to suck out liquid from the nozzles by the suction cap; a valve member to open or close a sealed space formed by capping the nozzle surface with the suction cap to atmosphere; a liquid supplier to supply the liquid to the head tank and return the liquid from the head tank; and a control unit to control servicing of the recording head. | 03-08-2012 |
20120056934 | PRINTER HAVING PRINTHEAD PURGING MEMBERS - A printer is provided having duplex printheads arranged in a printing position on opposite sides of a print media path, two purging members each inclined at a predetermined angle to the print media path, tubes connecting the purging members with a suction pump, and a displacement mechanism configured to displace the printheads between the printing position and a purging position at which the printheads are located at the predetermined angle adjacent the purging members. | 03-08-2012 |
20120069085 | INKJET PRINTER - An inkjet printer | 03-22-2012 |
20120069086 | LIQUID COLLECTION RECEPTACLE AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A waste ink tank capable of collecting discharged ink includes: an ink absorption member having a receiving area that receives the discharged ink and causes the ink to be absorbed; a recess that causes a suction force to act within the ink absorption member; and a recess, disposed in a position that is closer to the receiving area than the aforementioned recess, that causes a pressurizing force to act within the ink absorption member. | 03-22-2012 |
20120069087 | LIQUID COLLECTION CONTAINER AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A waste ink tank which is capable of collecting discharged ink includes an ink absorbing material which absorbs discharged ink and a recess which makes a suction force act on the ink absorbing material. | 03-22-2012 |
20120098886 | PRINT HEAD MAINTENANCE SYSTEM - A print head maintenance system for maintaining a stationary print head is disclosed. The maintenance includes both cleaning and priming In one embodiment the system includes a suction nozzle, a pump for supplying suction to the suction nozzle, and a positioning mechanism for moving the suction nozzle longitudinally past the print head. In an alternative embodiment the system further includes an ejection nozzle closely spaced to the suction nozzle, and a further pump for supplying fluid to the ejection nozzle. The positioning mechanism moves the ejection and suction nozzles longitudinally past the print head. | 04-26-2012 |
20120105539 | PRINTING APPARATUS, CLEANING DEVICE OF INK-JET HEAD AND CLEANING METHOD OF INK-JET HEAD - According to one embodiment, a printing apparatus includes an ink-jet head including a nozzle plate with a nozzle string in which a plurality of nozzle holes for discharging ink are arranged, and a cleaning device including an ink-repellent surface with ink repellency which is configured to come in contact with the nozzle plate in a state in which the ink-repellent surface is opposed to the ink-jet head, an ink-affinitive surface with ink affinity which is configured to create a gap between the ink-affinitive surface and the nozzle plate in a state in which the ink-repellent surface is in contact with the nozzle plate, and to have a smaller ink contact angle than the ink-repellent surface, and a plurality of suction ports formed in the ink-affinitive surface. | 05-03-2012 |
20120105540 | Liquid Ejecting Apparatus - In a printer, a transport mechanism and a waste ink container are arranged in this order from a recording paper accommodating section, the transport mechanism, a recording head, and an ink tank loading section are arranged in order of the recording head and the ink tank loading section from a side of the transport mechanism, the array direction of the recording paper accommodating section, the transport mechanism, and the waste ink container and the array direction of the transport mechanism, the recording head, and the ink tank loading section cross each other. | 05-03-2012 |
20120113187 | FLUSHING APPARATUS FOR INKJET PRINTER - A flushing apparatus includes a suction mechanism and an ink mist collecting mechanism. The suction mechanism is to suck ink mist. The ink mist collecting mechanism is to collect the ink mist by a suction force of the suction mechanism. The ink mist collecting mechanism includes an upper face part and a droplet forming member. The ink ejected from the nozzle is dropped on the upper face part. The upper face part includes a plurality of suction holes through which the ink mist is sucked into an inside of the ink mist collecting mechanism by the suction force of the suction mechanism. The droplet forming member is provided at a position corresponding to the plurality of the suction holes to provide droplets from the ink mist sucked through the plurality of the suction holes. | 05-10-2012 |
20120133705 | LIQUID JETTING HEAD, LIQUID JETTING RECORDING DEVICE, AND METHOD FOR REFILLING LIQUID JETTING HEAD WITH LIQUID - Provided are a liquid jet head and a liquid jet recording apparatus which are capable of improving ability to collect excess liquid to prevent contamination with excess liquid and which are capable of stabilizing jetting of liquid after the liquid is filled. A liquid jet head includes a nozzle guard ( | 05-31-2012 |
20120133706 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including a recording head having a nozzle surface on which multiple nozzles to eject droplets are arranged in a line; a suction device; and a cap to cover the nozzle surface of the recording head. The cap includes a suction hole to connect a space formed by the cap and the nozzle surface with the suction device; an air hole to connect the space with air; and an absorbent located inside the cap. The top surface of the absorbent is retracted from the contact portion of the cap to be contacted with the nozzle surface so that when the nozzle surface is capped with the cap, a flow passage is secured between the air hole to the suction hole without obstructed by the absorbent. | 05-31-2012 |
20120133707 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - Disclosed is an image forming apparatus including a recording head; a cap member capping the nozzle surface of the recording head and including a release port and a suction port; a suction unit in communication with the suction port; a switch unit opening and closing the release port to the air and capable of adjusting the opening amount of the release port to at least a first opening amount and a second opening amount larger than the first opening amount; and a control unit that controls the suction unit and the switch unit so that the release port is opened to the first opening amount to have a predetermined amount of air flow into the cap member after the cap member is suctioned by the suction unit, and the release port is then opened to the second opening amount. | 05-31-2012 |
20120147089 | CAP DEVICE, MAINTENANCE DEVICE, AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - In a clutch mechanism | 06-14-2012 |
20120162311 | LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS - A liquid ejection apparatus including: a liquid ejection head that ejects ink through liquid ejection openings in a liquid ejection surface of the head, a cap device that establishes a sealing state, such that an ejection space opposed to the liquid ejection surface is sealed from an exterior space by the cap device, an air introduction opening and an air discharge opening that are located in the cap device, and a humidifier that supplies an humidified air into the ejection space through the air introduction opening and that discharges an air from the ejection space through the air discharge opening. The air discharge opening opens in an area other than a liquid discharge area onto which the ejected liquid is to be discharged. The apparatus further includes a flow restrainer that restrains the liquid discharged onto the liquid discharge area, from flowing to the air discharge opening. | 06-28-2012 |
20120194608 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a pressure control unit provided in a liquid flow path so as to control pressure. The pressure control unit includes a liquid introduction unit, a liquid chamber having a diaphragm, a communication hole that allows communication between the liquid introduction unit and the liquid chamber, and a wall portion provided on the side of the liquid chamber, so as to switch between a first mode in which the wall portion forms a first flow path for the liquid flowing through the communication hole toward the liquid outlet without contacting the diaphragm in accordance with a pressure in the liquid chamber, and a second mode in which the wall portion forms a second flow path different from the first flow path, in contact with the diaphragm. | 08-02-2012 |
20120206536 | PRINTING APPARATUS AND RECOVERING METHOD THEREFOR - A printing apparatus comprises: a temperature sensor configured to detect an environmental temperature of the printing apparatus; a suction unit configured to suck ink from a printhead according to a target suction amount indicating amount of ink that the suction unit should suck per unit time at a predetermined environmental temperature; and a controller configured to cause the suction unit to suck ink such that the target suction amount in a case where the environmental temperature is higher than a predetermined temperature is greater than the target suction amount in a case where the environmental temperature is lower than the predetermined temperature. | 08-16-2012 |
20120224000 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including a recording head having an array of nozzles disposed in a surface of the recording head to eject liquid droplets vertically upward to form an image on a recording medium conveyed above the recording head, a suction cap to cover the surface of the recording head from above, and a waste liquid receiver provided to a periphery of the recording head to receive liquid streaming down the periphery of the recording head upon removal of the suction cap from the surface of the recording head. | 09-06-2012 |
20120224001 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including a recording head having an array of nozzles disposed on a nozzle face of the recording head, a suction cap to cover the nozzle face of the recording head, a cap holder movable relative to the recording head to movably hold the suction cap, an induction member provided between the cap holder and the suction cap to receive liquid dropping from the suction cap, and a discharge channel connected to the induction member through which the liquid retained by the induction member is discharged externally. The suction cap is first removed from the nozzle face of the recording head while the induction member still remains in contact with the nozzle face of the recording head so that the induction member receives liquid dropping from the suction cap upon retraction of the cap holder from the recording head. | 09-06-2012 |
20120224002 | MAINTENANCE DEVICE, POWER TRANSMISSION SWITCHING DEVICE, AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A maintenance device includes: a tube pump which suctions internal spaces of a cap via each of suction passages; a selective blocking mechanism which has a slider that establishes engagement with a carriage in a movement midway area of the carriage positioned on the path of movement to a maintenance area and is moved by being linked with the carriage, selectively blocks the suction passages according to movement of the slider, and releases the engagement between the slider and the carriage while maintaining a blocked state of the selected suction passage; and a separation and approach movement unit which establishes and releases the engagement between the slider and the carriage by moving the slider to approach or be separated from the carriage. | 09-06-2012 |
20120229562 | NON-CONTACT INKJET PRINT HEAD CLEANING - In one embodiment, a non-contact print head cleaning device includes an elongated cavity underlying a print head and a vacuum port connected to the elongated cavity and generating a low pressure in the elongated cavity. A slot in a wall of the elongated cavity has a geometry that varies along its length to produce an airflow with a substantially uniform velocity into the slot. The airflow sucks contaminants off the print head into the slot. A method for non-contact print head cleaning is also provided. | 09-13-2012 |
20120229563 | MAINTENANCE DEVICE AND LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A maintenance device includes a cap that is brought into contact with a liquid ejection head on which nozzles for ejecting ink are disposed in a manner that surrounds the nozzles to form a closed space between the cap and the liquid ejection head, a separating unit that moves the cap which is in contact with the liquid ejection head away from the liquid ejection head, and a pressurizing unit that applies a pressure to the closed space before the cap is moved away from the liquid ejection head so that a pressure inside the closed space becomes higher than a pressure outside the closed space. | 09-13-2012 |
20120256985 | LIQUID EJECTION HEAD AND LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS - A liquid ejection head includes a downstream filter chamber that is disposed at an inlet opening of an ink introduction path and is provided with a filter disposed therein, and a flexible film that is disposed on an inner wall of the filter chamber at a position downstream of the filter, wherein the flexible film is configured to deform in accordance with the pressure changes in the flow channel. | 10-11-2012 |
20120287202 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING RECORDING HEAD FOR EJECTING LIQUID DROPLETS - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, head tanks, replaceable main tanks, liquid feed pumps, a first driving source, and a drive switching assembly. The feed pumps feed liquids from the main tanks to the head tanks and in reverse from the head tanks to the main tanks. The drive switching assembly selectively transmits a driving force of the first driving source to the feed pumps. The drive switching assembly includes a second driving source, a cam, a slider member, and a switching gear. The switching gear receives the driving force of the first driving source and is movable with the slider member between positions to engage driving gears of the feed pumps and a position to disengage from the driving gears. With movement of the switching gear, the driving force of the first driving source is selectively transmitted to the feed pumps. | 11-15-2012 |
20120320125 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a cap, a suction unit, and a recovery device. The recording head has nozzles at a nozzle face to horizontally eject droplets of liquid. The cap caps the nozzle face of the recording head. The suction unit is connected to the cap. The recovery device drives the suction unit with the nozzle face capped with the cap to create a negative pressure in an internal space of the cap and suck the liquid from the recording head. The cap has a contact portion to contact the nozzle face and a suction port to communicate with the suction unit. The suction port is disposed away from the contact portion with a minute gap at a lowermost area of the cap in a vertical direction. | 12-20-2012 |
20130002755 | PRINTING APPARATUS - The invention prevents and suppresses wasteful expenditure of ink which occurs when recovering nozzles. In greater detail, a plurality of head units arranged in a direction which intersects a transportation direction of a printing medium is provided, a plurality of cleaning units is disposed to face the plurality of head units, and at least one of the plurality of cleaning units is selected and moved so as to be in close contact with the corresponding cleaning unit. By such a method, only the cleaning head unit which faces the head unit of which nozzles need to be recovered is selected and is brought into contact with the head unit, and liquid is sucked in from the nozzles of the head unit. | 01-03-2013 |
20130027465 | LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS - A liquid ejection apparatus includes: a conveyor mechanism conveying a recording medium in a conveying direction; a plurality of liquid ejection heads each having an ejection face from which a liquid is ejected and arranged in the conveying direction; a support member opposed to the ejection face and supporting the recording medium; a first suction mechanism which has a first suction opening located between two of the plurality of liquid ejection heads adjacent to each other in the conveying direction, and which sucks air via the first suction opening; and at least one first contact member located between the two liquid ejection heads in the conveying direction and contactable with a recording face of the recording medium at a position closer to the support member than the first suction opening in a direction perpendicular to the ejection face. | 01-31-2013 |
20130044158 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS HAVING CARRIAGE MOUNTING RECORDING HEAD FOR EJECTING LIQUID DROPLETS - An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a carriage, a first recording head, a second recording head, and a maintenance assembly. The carriage is movable in a main scanning direction. The first recording head has nozzles in a nozzle face thereof to eject liquid droplets. The second recording head has nozzles in a nozzle face thereof to eject liquid droplets. The second recording head is displaced from the first recording head in a sub scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. The maintenance assembly maintains and recovers the first recording head and the second recording head. The maintenance assembly includes a first maintenance device and a second maintenance device. The first maintenance device is held by the apparatus body. The second maintenance device is reciprocally movable between a first position to oppose the first recording head and a second position to oppose the second recording head. | 02-21-2013 |
20130083121 | LIQUID JETTING APPARATUS - A liquid jetting apparatus is provided including: a liquid jetting head having a nozzle formed therein through which the liquid is jetted; a driving unit which is configured to output energy to the liquid jetting head; an energy recovery mechanism which is configured to recover and supply a part of the energy supplied from the driving unit to the liquid jetting head; and a mist removing unit to which the part of the energy recovered by the energy recovery mechanism is supplied so that the supplied energy is used to remove a mist generated under a condition that the liquid jetting head jets the liquid. | 04-04-2013 |
20130141490 | LIQUID EJECTION HEAD, AND RECORDING METHOD AND SUCTION METHOD USING THE LIQUID EJECTION HEAD - Provided is a liquid ejection head, including: a substrate; a pressure chamber; a first common liquid chamber; a filter for inhibiting inflow of foreign matter in liquid supplied to the pressure chamber; a second common liquid chamber; a first supply opening and a second supply opening, the first supply opening communicating to the first common liquid chamber, the second supply opening communicating to the second common liquid chamber; and a liquid receiving portion formed in the second surface of the substrate in which the second common liquid chamber, the pressure chamber, and the first common liquid chamber are arranged in this order in a first direction from an end of the substrate to a center of the substrate; and the first common liquid chamber communicates to the pressure chamber via the filter, and the second common liquid chamber communicates to the pressure chamber not via the filter. | 06-06-2013 |
20130141491 | PRINTING SYSTEM WITH SELF-PURGE, SEDIMENT PREVENTION AND FUMES REMOVAL ARRANGEMENTS - A printing head assembly with integrated purge mechanism is disclosed. The printing head assembly comprises: (a) a liquid dispensing head comprising one or more dispensing nozzles enclosed in a nozzle plate, driven by at least first and second pressures, and (b) a shielding mask including an opening in front of the one or more nozzles, wherein the opening being configured such that when printing liquid is dispensed from the head driven by the first pressure, the liquid being dispensed in pulses through the opening in the shielding mask, and (ii) when purge printing liquid is dispensed from the head driven by the second pressure the liquid being drawn to a capillary gap formed between the shielding mask and the nozzle plate thereby removing the purge printing liquid from the nearby nozzles. | 06-06-2013 |
20130141492 | Ink Jet Printing - A continuous ink jet printer has a line ( | 06-06-2013 |
20130176361 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes recording heads, a maintenance device, a carriage, cap members, cams, a cam shaft, a feeler member, a home position detection device, and a cap position determination device. The feeler member has a first portion to detect a home position of the cam shaft with the home position detection device and a second portion to determine with the cap position determination device whether the cap members are at a raised position or a lowered position. When the cap position determination device determines that a suction cap is at the raised position, the suction cap is lowered to the lowered position before the carriage mounting the recording heads moves for scanning in a first direction. When the cap position determination device determines that the suction cap is at the lowered position, the carriage is permitted to move to a print start position. | 07-11-2013 |
20130182036 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head having a nozzle surface including plural nozzles configured to eject liquid droplets, a suction cap configured to seal the nozzle surface of the recording head, a cap holder configured to displaceably hold the suction cap via an elastic member and retractably disposed corresponding to the recording head, and a wiping member configured to wipe the nozzle surface of the recording head in a direction from an upper side to a lower side. The cap holder is provided with a guide part configured to come into contact with an upper end surface of the recording head to frictionally move on the upper end surface of the recording head, and the guide part is disposed on an upper side of the recording head. | 07-18-2013 |
20130222471 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS HAVING CARRIAGE MOUNTING RECORDING HEAD FOR EJECTING LIQUID DROPLETS - An image apparatus includes a carriage, a first recording head, a second recording head, and a maintenance assembly. The carriage is movable in a main scanning direction. The second recording head is displaced from the first recording head on the carriage in a sub scanning direction perpendicular to the main scanning direction. The maintenance assembly includes a frame member, a first maintenance device, and a second maintenance device. The frame member has a guide portion, a first contact portion, and a second contact portion. The second maintenance device is reciprocally movable along the guide portion in the sub scanning direction between a first position to oppose the first recording head and a second position to oppose the second recording head. The second maintenance device stops at the first position in contact with the first contact portion and at the second position in contact with the second contact portion. | 08-29-2013 |
20130229458 | LIQUID EJECTION DEVICE - A liquid ejection device includes: an ejection head configured and arranged to eject liquid from a nozzle; a suction container in which a first suction port, a second suction port that is farther away from the nozzle compared to the first suction port, and a discharge port are formed, air sucked from the first suction port and the second suction port passing through the suction container; and a suction device configured and arranged to suck the air from the discharge port to an outside of the suction container. | 09-05-2013 |
20130241994 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING LIQUID EJECTION HEAD FOR EJECTING LIQUID DROPLETS - An image forming apparatus includes a liquid ejection head, a head tank, a liquid storage container, a liquid supply passage, a liquid feed device, a control valve, and a suction device. The control valve is disposed at the liquid supply passage to open and close the liquid supply passage between the head tank and the liquid storage container. The head tank has a filter, a flow channel, a deformable wall face member, and a gap maintaining elastic member. The wall face member is opposed to the filter and forms a wall face of the channel. The elastic member is disposed in the head tank to urge the wall face member in a direction to increase a gap between the wall face member and the filter. When the suction device sucks liquid from the nozzles with the valve closed, the wall face member deforms in a direction to approach the filter. | 09-19-2013 |
20130300799 | INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS - An ink jet recording apparatus includes at least: a print head that discharges ink jet recording ink from nozzles which are formed on a nozzle forming surface toward a recording medium; a wiping mechanism that wipes out ink which is attached to a nozzle forming surface using an absorbent material having an impregnating solution; and a cap member that adheres closely to the nozzle forming surface in a state in which a space is included in an area facing the nozzles, and removes at least ink of the space, and further includes the following characteristic (1) or (2). (1) Ink jet recording ink composition includes a first resin having a heat distortion temperature of 10° C. or less. (2) Ink jet recording ink composition includes a second resin and includes substantially no glycerin. | 11-14-2013 |
20140002541 | INKJET PRINTING APPARATUS | 01-02-2014 |
20140009531 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a recording head, a cap member, and release valves. The head has a nozzle face with nozzles to eject liquid droplets. The head is placed in the apparatus body so as to eject the droplets obliquely downward in any of the vertical or horizontal arrangement of the apparatus body. The cap member caps the nozzle face and has openings at opposed ends in a longitudinal direction of the cap member to communicate an inside of the cap member with an outside of the cap member. The valves open and close the openings relative to an atmosphere. One of the valves placed higher than another one of the valves in accordance with the vertical or horizontal arrangement is configured to open the inside of the cap member to the atmosphere through one of the openings placed higher than another one of the openings. | 01-09-2014 |
20140015896 | DROPLET EJECTION DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE DROPLET EJECTION DEVICE - A droplet ejection device includes a recording head having a nozzle face with nozzles to eject droplets, a maintenance assembly including a cap to seal the nozzle face to form a sealed space therein and a wiper to wipe the nozzle face, a droplet suction channel connected to the cap to collect droplets sucked from the nozzles, and an air release channel connected to the cap to introduce air to return the sealed space to atmospheric pressure. The suction channel and the release channel are communicable with the sealed space to simultaneously perform collection of the droplets sucked from the nozzles and introduction of air into the cap. The suction channel has a flow rate greater than the release channel. When the droplets are sucked from the nozzles into the suction channel, air is introduced from the release channel at a flow rate lower than that of the suction channel. | 01-16-2014 |
20140063119 | PUMPING CAP FOR APPLYING SUCTION TO PRINTHEAD - An inkjet printer includes an inkjet printhead including nozzles disposed in a printhead face; a cap including: a base; and a sealing face for sealing around the printhead face, wherein suction is generated at the printhead face for priming the nozzles when the base is moved from a first position to a second position, wherein the first position is located a smaller distance from the sealing face than the second position; and a valve having an open position and a closed position, wherein the valve is configured to be in the open position when the base of the cap is moved from the second position to the first position for relieving excess pressure in the cap. | 03-06-2014 |
20140063120 | NOZZLE CLEANING MECHANISM OF INKJET PRINTING DEVICE - A nozzle cleaning mechanism of an inkjet printing device includes an ink pump, plural ducts, and a switching module. The ink pump is used for generating a suction force. The plural ducts are connected with the ink pump and corresponding plural print heads. The switching module is used for controlling open/close statues of the plural ducts. For cleaning a first nozzle of a first print head by the nozzle cleaning mechanism, the first duct is corresponding to the first print head is controlled to be in the open status by the switching module. Consequently, the first nozzle is cleaned in response to the suction force. At the same time, the other ducts are in the close status. | 03-06-2014 |
20140071200 | CAP MEMBER OF LIQUID DISCHARGE HEAD, LIQUID DISCHARGE DEVICE, AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING LIQUID DISCHARGE DEVICE - The present invention provides a cap member for a liquid discharge head. The cap member is configured to seal a discharge surface of the liquid discharge head and includes a lower receiving portion; a liquid-absorbing member disposed opposite the discharge surface of the head and including a nozzle-facing surface and a bottom portion; and a suction hole, provided at a bottom of the cap member, through which ink is discharged. In the thus-configured cap member, the bottom portion of the liquid-absorbing member is disposed apart from the lower receiving portion and from the suction hole disposed at the bottom of the cap member, and has a surface slanted toward the suction hole. | 03-13-2014 |
20140098159 | IMAGE FORMING DEVICE - An image forming device includes a drive transfer device that selectively transmits a driving force of a first drive source to one of liquid feed pumps, a suction part of a maintenance recovery device and an air-vent opening part. The air-vent opening part is arranged to have a maximum driving-force transmission path leading to the drive transfer device among the liquid feed pumps, the suction part and the air-vent opening part. The maintenance recovery device, the drive transfer device and the liquid feed pumps are arranged in order in a sheet transport direction. The suction part of the maintenance recovery device and the drive transfer device are arranged on opposite sides of a cap of the maintenance recovery device in the sheet transport direction. | 04-10-2014 |
20140111576 | PRINTING UNIT OF THE IMPROVED TYPE AND INKJET PRINTING DEVICE COMPRISING SAID PRINTING UNIT - A printing unit is provided having a moveable printing head with a nozzle plate having a plurality of nozzles to eject liquid ink; a cleaning station having a cleaning surface with at least one suction element to generate air suction; the cleaning station configured to clean the nozzles when the printing head overlaps with the cleaning station so that the nozzle plate and the cleaning surface at least partially overlap; a movement actuator means configured to move the printing head with respect to the cleaning station between a first position in which the suction element overlaps a first end of the nozzle plate and a second position in which the suction element overlaps a second end, opposite the first end, of the nozzle plate. A proximity sensor means measures a distance between the nozzle plate and the cleaning surface. | 04-24-2014 |
20140125732 | INKJET PRINTING DEVICE - An inkjet printing device includes at least one ink cartridge, at least one ink pipe, at least one print head, an ink refill mechanism, and a pump module. The ink refill mechanism includes at least one transfer channel. After the ink refill mechanism is enabled and the at least one transfer channel is in an open status, in response to a suction generated by the pump module, the air within the at least one print head is ejected out through the at least one transfer channel, and the ink within the at least one ink cartridge is transferred to the at least one print head through the at least one ink pipe. | 05-08-2014 |
20140132664 | INKJET PRINTING APPARATUS AND CLOGGED NOZZLE RECOVERING METHOD - The present invention provides an inkjet printing apparatus in which aggregate or the like clogged in a nozzle is sucked to recover the clogged nozzle and provides a clogged nozzle recovering method. The inkjet printing apparatus in accordance with the present invention includes a cap which is structured to cover some of plural nozzles formed in a nozzle face of a head of an inkjet printer, a pressure sensor which acquires a pressure in an inside of the cap in a state that the some of the plural nozzles are covered by the cap, a suction means which sucks the inside of the cap with a pressure lower than a negative pressure at which a meniscus of a nozzle that is not covered with the cap is broken, and a nozzle recovery judgment means which judges recovery of a nozzle by comparing a reference pressure value, which is obtained when nozzles without being clogged are covered by the cap and sucked and is stored beforehand, with a pressure value which is outputted from the pressure sensor. | 05-15-2014 |
20140132665 | INKJET PRINTING APPARATUS, CLOGGED NOZZLE RECOVERING METHOD AND CLOGGED NOZZLE RECOVERY PROGRAM - An inkjet printing apparatus, a clogged nozzle recovering method, and a clogged nozzle recovery program are provided. The inkjet printing apparatus includes a head, a tank, a first pump, a cap, a second pump and a control means. The head is provided with a nozzle face and a plurality of nozzles. The tank is connected with the head through a tube. The first pump is connected with the tank and maintains the tank at a constant negative pressure. The cap for suction covers a part of the nozzles on the nozzle face of the head. The second pump is connected with the cap for sucking an inside of the cap. The control means controls to lower the negative pressure of the tank that is maintained by the first pump when the inside of the cap is sucked by the second pump. | 05-15-2014 |
20140132666 | SUCTION DEVICE FOR CLEANING A NOZZLE SURFACE OF A PRINT HEAD - A suction device is provided for cleaning a nozzle surface of a print head. The suction device comprises a suction surface and a spacer, whereby the spacer is provided with a spacer channel, the spacer channel comprising a spacer opening at an outer surface of the spacer and the spacer channel being operatively coupled to an air flow source. The spacer is configured for positioning the suction surface at a predetermined distance from the nozzle surface for providing a suction gap. The suction device is configured to provide in operation an air flow through the suction gap, along the nozzle surface and into the suction channel. An air flow may be provided through the spacer channel of the spacer in order to clean an area of the nozzle surface of the print head. | 05-15-2014 |
20140184689 | LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS - A liquid ejection apparatus of the invention comprises a switcher configured to connect or disconnect a sucker with suction tubes individually. The switcher comprises a case and a rotator. The case comprises an internal space and holes each causing the internal space to communicate with an outside of the case. The rotator is accommodated in the internal space and is rotatable along an inner surface defining the internal space in the case. The suction tubes are respectively connected to the holes. The rotator comprises a passage formed therein. The passage is configured to cause the sucker to communicate with two or more holes without causing the sucker to communicate with the holes other than the two or more holes, depending on a rotational position of the rotator in the internal space. | 07-03-2014 |
20140184690 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes an ejecting head that can eject a solution; a rotational body that has a circumferential surface which can accommodate the solution ejected from the ejecting head; a scraper that can come into sliding contact with the circumferential surface of the rotational body; and an accommodation container that accommodates the solution which is scraped off from the circumferential surface by the scraper. The accommodation container has a liquid storage section that stores a liquid which can dissolve a solute component of the solution. | 07-03-2014 |
20140198153 | INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS - An ink jet printing apparatus prints an image by employing a print head capable of ejecting ink from ejection ports. The printing apparatus comprises a cap configured to cover the ejection ports, a valve configured to open and close an atmospheric communicating portion that communicates an inside of the cap and the atmosphere, a suction unit configured to generate a suction force, and a control unit. The control unit performs a first operation where the suction unit applies a first suction force to the inside of the cap in a state where the cap covers the ejection ports and the valve closes the atmospheric communicating portion, and a second operation where the suction unit applies a second suction force, less than the first suction force, to the inside of the cap in a state where the cap covers the ejection ports and the valve opens the atmospheric communicating portion. | 07-17-2014 |
20140210906 | INK JET PRINTING APPARATUS, AND PRINT HEAD RECOVERY DEVICE AND PRINT HEAD RECOVERY METHOD - In an ink jet printing apparatus prints an image by employing a print head capable of ejecting ink from ejection ports, a suction unit draws ink from the ejection ports into an interior of the cap by applying a suction force to the interior of a cap that is covering the ejection ports. An atmosphere communication unit exposes to the atmosphere the interior of the cap that is covering the ejection ports, and a pressure increase unit increases a pressure in an internal of the print head. A control unit permits the suction unit to apply the suction force to the interior of the cap, and permits the pressure increase unit to increase the pressure in the internal of the print head before the atmosphere communication unit exposes the interior of the cap to the atmosphere in a state where the ejection ports is covered with the cap. | 07-31-2014 |
20140210907 | MAINTENANCE DEVICE FOR A FLUID EJECTION HEAD, A FLUID EJECTION DEVICE, AND A PRINTER - A maintenance device for a fluid ejection head has a small, compact switching mechanism that can appropriately switch drive force from a drive source and drive a suction pump and a wiper. | 07-31-2014 |
20140218438 | SUCTION DEVICE, SUCTION METHOD, AND EJECTION DEVICE - A suction device for an ejection head provided with a nozzle includes a cap capable of sealing a nozzle surface provided with the nozzle, a decompression pump serving as a decompression device, and a suction passage provided between the cap and the decompression pump. The negative pressure level of the suction passage set by the decompression pump are controlled on the basis of a volume of the suction passage such that a liquid with which the ejection head has been filled is sucked out from the nozzle. | 08-07-2014 |
20140218439 | LIQUID DISCHARGE DEVICE AND CLEANING METHOD FOR LIQUID DISCHARGE HEAD - A liquid discharge device includes a liquid discharge head including a discharge port surface on which discharge ports for discharging liquid are formed, an electrothermal conversion element configured to generate energy for discharging liquid from the discharge ports, and a protection film configured to cover at least the electrothermal conversion element, and a cap configured to cover the discharge port surface, wherein the cap is arranged along the discharge port surface at a position opposite to the protection film via the discharge ports in a state where the cap covers the discharge port surface, and wherein the cap includes an electrode configured to be used to apply voltage between the protection film and the electrode. | 08-07-2014 |
20140247303 | LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS, METHOD, AND NON-TRANSITORY, COMPUTER-READABLE MEDIUM FOR CONTROLLING LIQUID EJECTION APPARATUS - A liquid ejection apparatus includes a liquid ejection head having a plurality of nozzle units, a plurality of capping devices, a movement mechanism, a plurality of suctioning tubes, a suctioning mechanism, a connection device, and a control device. The control device controls the suctioning mechanism to suction fluid in the capping device corresponding to one of the nozzle units and the capping device corresponding to a different one of the nozzle units. In response to expiration of a predetermined time period, which is a predetermined amount of time that the suctioning mechanism generates a suctioning force, the control device controls to disconnect the capping device corresponding to the one of the nozzle units from the suctioning mechanism. | 09-04-2014 |
20140285571 | RECORDING APPARATUS - A recording apparatus includes a transportation mechanism that supports and transports a recording medium by a support surface; a recording head that is disposed in a region facing the support surface and is capable of ejecting an ink from a nozzle provided on an ink ejection surface to the recording medium; a suction unit that is capable of sucking the ink inside the nozzle; and a wiping unit that is provided as a separate body from the suction unit and is capable of wiping the ink ejection surface. At least one of the suction unit and the wiping unit is provided on a farther downstream side of the recording medium in a transportation direction than the recording head and a gap between the one and the support surface is wider than a gap between the ink ejection surface and the support surface. | 09-25-2014 |
20140285572 | RECORDING APPARATUS - A recording apparatus includes a transportation mechanism that supports and transports a recording medium by a support surface; a recording head that is disposed in a region facing the support surface and is capable of ejecting an ink from a nozzle provided on an ink ejection surface to the recording medium; a suction unit that is capable of sucking the ink inside the nozzle; and a wiping unit that is provided as a separate body from the suction unit and is capable of wiping the ink ejection surface. The recording head is moved in a direction to be separated from the support surface when sucking the ink inside the nozzle. The suction unit is moved to a suction position facing the ink ejection surface of the recording head. The suction unit is moved below the recording head when wiping the ink ejection surface. | 09-25-2014 |
20140340444 | LIQUID DROPLET JETTING APPARATUS - A printer controls a suction pump such that a difference in a discharge amount of an ink and a flow speed of the ink discharged from each nozzle is small between a complete purge in which all ink supply portions connected to a second head communicate with an atmosphere, and a suction purge is performed simultaneously for the nozzles of all types of the second head, and a partial purge in which a communication of a part of the ink supply portions with the atmosphere is blocked by a dummy cartridge, and the suction purge is performed only for the nozzles corresponding to the ink supply portions of which the communication with the atmosphere is not blocked. | 11-20-2014 |
20150009261 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS AND CONTROL METHOD OF LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head, a driving signal generator which generates a micro vibration pulse, a controller which controls applying of the micro vibration pulse to a pressure generation unit, a cap which includes a sealing space not including an absorber inside, and seals a nozzle in the sealing space by being in close contact with the liquid ejecting head, and a suction unit which sucks liquid from a nozzle, in which micro vibration driving which causes liquid in the pressure chamber corresponding to a nozzle to be subjected to a micro vibration by applying at least one or more micro vibration pulses to the pressure generation unit corresponding to the nozzle in which a cleaning operation including a suction operation using the suction unit is performed is intermittently performed. | 01-08-2015 |
20150022585 | INK JET RECORDING APPARATUS AND INK JET RECORDING METHOD - An ink jet recording apparatus is provided which includes a recording unit including a recording head having a surface provided with an ejection opening therein, an aqueous ink that is ejected from the ejection opening to record an image on a recording medium, a protection unit including a covering member that covers the surface having the ejection opening, and a recovery unit separate from the covering member, having no member that scrapes the ink deposited in the ink receiving member or sucks the ink from the ejection opening. The recovery unit includes an ink receiving member that receives waste ink discharged from the ejection opening according to preliminary ejection data, directly from the ejection opening without interposing any other member. The aqueous ink contains a self-dispersible pigment containing the carboxyl group or the sulfonate group. | 01-22-2015 |
20150336386 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS - A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting unit which ejects a liquid onto a medium being transported in a state in which an edge portion thereof is aligned with a second end side of a first end and the second end in a width direction intersecting a transport direction of a transport path, a first reception section which receives the liquid discharged from the liquid ejecting unit as a waste liquid, a second reception section which receives the liquid ejected from the liquid ejecting unit toward the edge portion and is not received by the medium as the waste liquid, and a waste liquid holding section which holds the waste liquid, the waste liquid holding section including an inlet to guide the waste liquid received by the first reception section. | 11-26-2015 |
20150336387 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING RECOVERY DEVICE TO RECOVER DROPLET DISCHARGE HEAD - An image forming apparatus includes a recovery device to recover a droplet discharge head. The recovery device includes a slider and a suction unit. The slider contacts a nozzle formation face of the droplet discharge head and moves along a nozzle row of the droplet discharge head. The slider includes two portions spaced away from each other in a direction traversing a movement direction of the slider. The suction unit opposes nozzles of the droplet discharge head and moves without contacting the nozzle formation face. The suction unit is disposed at a position between the two portions of the slider and downstream from the two portions of the slider in the movement direction of the slider. The slider collects droplets adhered to an area outside the nozzle row of the nozzle formation face. | 11-26-2015 |
20150352845 | Inkjet Printing Device - An inkjet printing device is configured to allow appropriate separation of the ink solvent liquefied in the exhaust passage from the exhaust gas, and prevention of the separated exhaust gas from contaminating the inside of the print head into which it is returned so that the resultant function achieves the low running costs. When the ink fed from an ink container | 12-10-2015 |
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20160052277 | Waste Ink Recovery Unit, Printer, And Waste Ink Recovery Method - A maintenance unit | 02-25-2016 |
20160052278 | INKJET PRINTING APPARATUS AND RECOVERY METHOD OF PRINT HEAD - There is provided an inkjet printing apparatus that can execute a recovery process appropriate for a print head according to a use condition of the inkjet printing apparatus. Therefore a recovery operation is performed based upon both an elapsed time in a non-use state where the printing is not performed and an elapsed time from the previous recovery process. | 02-25-2016 |
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20170232748 | LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF CONTROLLING LIQUID EJECTING APPARATUS | 08-17-2017 |
20190143700 | INKJET PRINTING APPARATUS | 05-16-2019 |