Seiko Epson Corporation

Eiichiro Watanabe

Hiroaki Okui

Yu Hasegawa

Masaru Kumagai

Shun Katsuie

Yukihiro Hanaoka

Jun Shimazaki

Taiki Hanagami

Izumi Nozawa

Masaru Takahashi

Katsuhiro Okubo

Shuichi Koganehira

Yuma Fukuzawa

Shinichi Nakamura

Takahiro Kanegae

Kazuaki Uchida

Shingo Tomimatsu

Tomoji Suzuki

Fumiya Takino

Kazunori Mori

Haruki Kobayashi

Takayuki Kawakami

Hirokazu Yanagihara

Hiroki Kobayashi

Tsutomu Kobayashi

Takuya Okina

Masami Ota

An individual flow path that communicates with a nozzle, a supply side common liquid chamber for supplying ink to the nozzle, a recovery side common liquid chamber for recovering the ink not discharged from the nozzle, an inlet that communicates with the supply side common liquid chamber, an outlet that communicates with the recovery side common liquid chamber, a first bypass flow path, and a second bypass flow path are provided, in which the inlet and the outlet are disposed between the first bypass flow path and the second bypass flow path, and a flow path resistance of the first bypass flow path and a flow path resistance of the second bypass flow path are different from each other.

Liquid ejecting head and liquid ejecting apparatus

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejection head, a circulation control section that controls a circulation operation of circulating the liquid in the first individual flow path, and a minute vibration control section that supplies a drive signal having a first waveform to the first piezoelectric element so as to control a minute vibration operation of causing the liquid in the first nozzle to vibrate to such a degree that the liquid is not ejected from the first nozzle. The circulation control section starts the circulation operation at a first time, and the minute vibration control section starts the minute vibration operation at a second time later than the first time.

Liquid ejecting apparatus

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a first head disposed such that an arrangement angle is a first angle; a second head disposed such that an arrangement angle is a second angle, which is greater than the first angle; a first circulation mechanism circulating liquid between a first reservoir and the first head; a second circulation mechanism circulating liquid between a second reservoir and the second head; and a control unit controlling the first and the second circulation mechanisms. The control unit performs circulation cleaning, in which the liquid is circulated, on multiple heads including the first head and the second head. The amount of the liquid circulating through the first head during the circulation cleaning is a first amount, and the amount of the liquid circulating through the second head during the circulation cleaning is a second amount that is greater than the first amount.

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejection head, a circulation control section that controls a circulation operation of circulating the liquid in the first individual flow path, and a minute vibration control section that supplies a drive signal having a first waveform to the first piezoelectric element so as to control a minute vibration operation of causing the liquid in the first nozzle to vibrate to such a degree that the liquid is not ejected from the first nozzle. The circulation control section starts the circulation operation at a first time, and the minute vibration control section starts the minute vibration operation at a second time earlier than the first time.

A printing apparatus includes: a wiping member extending along a first axis; a head including a nozzle surface; and a movement mechanism configured to change a relative positional relationship between the wiping member and the head, and the printing apparatus executes a first wiping operation that changes a position of the head relative to the wiping member along a second axis intersecting the first axis, with the nozzle surface and a first wiping area of the wiping member in contact with each other, and a second wiping operation that changes the position of the head relative to the wiping member along the second axis, with the nozzle surface and a second wiping area of the wiping member in contact with each other, the second wiping area being located at a position different from a position of the first wiping area in a direction along the first axis.

Printing apparatus

a first flow path communicating with the first common flow path; a second flow path communicating with the first common flow path at a position different from a position at which the first flow path communicates with the first common flow path; a third flow path communicating with the second common flow path; and a fourth flow path communicating with the second common flow path at a position different from a position at which the third flow path communicates with the second common flow path. In a first mode: through the first flow path, a liquid is supplied to the first common flow path; through the second flow path, the liquid is collected from the first common flow path; through the third flow path, the liquid is supplied to the second common flow path; and through the fourth flow path, the liquid is collected from the second common flow path.

Liquid discharging head and liquid discharging apparatus

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejection head, a supply tank, a recovery tank, a supply flow path, a recovery flow path, a pressurizing mechanism pressurizing the inside of the supply tank, and a depressurizing mechanism depressurizing the inside of the recovery tank. A filling period, in which a filling process is performed to fill, with the liquid, a nozzle, the supply flow path, and the recovery flow path, includes a period that is after a meniscus is formed in the nozzle and before the liquid reaches the recovery flow path. In the period, the pressurizing and the depressurizing mechanisms are driven; and in the period, Pt_out>−|Pm| is satisfied, where Pm indicates a pressure at which the meniscus is broken and Pt_out indicates a pressure in the recovery tank.

Liquid ejecting apparatus and liquid filling method

A liquid ejecting head includes an introduction portion for introducing a gas supplied, a discharge portion for discharging the gas, and drive circuits provided in each of head chips, in which the drive circuits include a first drive circuit for driving the first head chip and a second drive circuit for driving the second head chip, a gas path through which the gas flows from the introduction portion to the discharge portion includes a first path coupled to the introduction portion, a second path coupled to the discharge portion, a first branch path coupling the first path and the second path, and a second branch path coupling the first path and the second path so as not to pass through the first branch path, the first drive circuit is disposed in the first branch path, and the second drive circuit is disposed in the second branch path.

A flow passage member includes: a supply flow passage through which liquid flows; a filter provided on a path of the supply flow passage, the liquid being configured to pass through the filter; a fixing member which constitutes a part of the supply flow passage and to which the filter is fixed; and a first member which constitutes a part of the supply flow passage and to which the fixing member is fixed; wherein the fixing member is made of thermoplastic resin, and the first member is made of any of thermosetting resin, metal, and ceramic.

Flow passage member, liquid ejecting head, liquid ejecting apparatus, and method for manufacturing flow passage member

A liquid ejecting head includes an ejection surface including head chips, and a first-positioning-portion and a second-positioning-portion disposed in a second-direction orthogonal to a first-direction with respect to the ejection surface and positioning a holding member, the liquid ejecting head has a first-edge and a second-edge separated from each other in the first-direction and extending along a third-direction parallel to the ejection surface and inclined with respect to the first-direction and the second-direction, and one end portion and the other end portion forming both end portions in the second-direction, and the first-positioning-portion does not overlap a virtual parallelogram having a first-virtual side contacting the first-edge and extending along the third-direction, a second-virtual side contacting the second-edge and extending along the third-direction, a third-virtual side contacting the one end portion and extending along the first-direction, and a fourth-virtual side contacting the other end portion and extending along the first-direction.

A liquid ejecting head includes piezoelectric elements for ejecting liquid from nozzles, pressure chambers in communication with the nozzles, individual supply flow passages for supplying the liquid to the nozzles, individual collection flow passages for collecting the liquid not ejected from the nozzles, a diaphragm that defines a wall surface of the pressure chambers and deforms by driving the piezoelectric element, a flexible substrate having a drive circuit electrically coupled to the piezoelectric elements, and a heat release member that is either in contact with an surface of the flexible substrate that faces away from the drive circuit, or in contact with the drive circuit, and conducts heat of the drive circuit to the diaphragm. The heat release member is disposed closer to the individual supply flow passage than to the individual collection flow passage.

A liquid ejecting head includes: a plurality of individual flow channels provided with nozzles; a common supply flow channel through which a liquid is supplied to the plurality of individual flow channels; a common discharge flow channel through which the liquid is discharged from the plurality of individual flow channels; and a bypass flow channel that bypasses the plurality of individual flow channels and causes the common supply flow channel and the common discharge flow channel to communicate with each other. A combined flow channel resistance of the bypass flow channel and the plurality of individual flow channels is greater than a flow channel resistance of the common supply flow channel and is greater than a flow channel resistance of the common discharge flow channel.

The control section sets, as a first flow rate, a flow rate of the liquid, which is circulated by the circulating mechanism, per unit time, during an ejection operation of ejecting the liquid from the liquid ejecting head. The control section sets, as a second flow rate greater than the first flow rate, a flow rate of the liquid, which is circulated by the circulating mechanism, per unit time, during a recovery operation of recovering a state of the liquid ejecting head.

A liquid ejecting head includes: a nozzle face; a filter; a downstream chamber that includes a first outlet and a second outlet for discharging the liquid, the downstream chamber being located downstream of the filter; a first flow passage that is in communication with the downstream chamber through the first outlet; a second flow passage that is in communication with the downstream chamber through the second outlet; and a common flow passage that is in communication with the first flow passage and the second flow passage, wherein, as viewed perpendicularly to the nozzle face, the first outlet is located at a position that is shifted from a center of the downstream chamber in a first direction, and the second outlet is located at a position that is shifted from the center of the downstream chamber in a second direction that is opposite of the first direction.

A head includes an upper surface opposite from an ejection surface; and an electrical coupling portion disposed at a first-end portion of the upper surface in a Y-direction, an outer shape of the upper surface has first and second edges separated from each other in an X-direction, a third-edge disposed at the first-end portion, and a fourth-edge disposed at a second-end portion opposite from the first-end portion in the Y-direction, along a V-direction, and when viewed in a normal direction, the upper surface is not overlapped with an acute-angled portion of a virtual parallelogram having a first-virtual side contacting the first-edge, a second-virtual side contacting the second-edge, a third-virtual side contacting the third-edge, and a fourth-virtual side contacting the fourth-edge, and projects beyond an obtuse-angled portion of the virtual parallelogram in the X-direction.

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Matsumoto, Japan

Eiichiro Watanabe