Mimaki Engineering Company, Ltd.

Eiji Miyashita

Masanori Takada

Katsutoshi Yamabe

Tadanori Ipponyari

Tetsuharu Ikeda

Akio Kobayashi

Akira Takeuchi

Akihiko Mizusaki

Naoki Takizawa

Hisayuki Kobayashi

Shunsuke Akuta

Tomoya Kawai

Tomonori Amari

Ryuta Harayama

Masaki Kodaira

Yusaku Matoba

Tomoya Sato

Kazumi Sakurai

Tetsuji Ipponyari

A nozzle-clogging determining device is provided for detecting nozzle clogging without causing an increase in the cost. A nozzle-clogging determining device is configured to detect pass of droplets ejected from a plurality of nozzles of a head of an inkjet printer, and includes a droplet detector and a determination controller. The droplet detector includes a light emitter configured to emit detection light for detecting pass of droplets in a direction intersecting with a traveling direction of droplets, and a light receiver configured to receive the detection light. The determination controller consecutively ejects a plurality of droplets from each nozzle of the head at equal intervals, and has a threshold for performing determination on nozzle clogging on the basis of a light interception rate of the detection light which the light receiver receives when droplets are positioned inside a spot of the detection light which the light receiver receives.

Nozzle-clogging determining device

An inkjet printer includes an inkjet head configured to perform printing using ink along a main scanning direction onto a print medium by moving in the main scanning direction; a platen configured to support, from an opposite side of the inkjet head, a portion of the print medium being printed by the inkjet head by a printing portion supporting region extending in the main scanning direction; a print heater configured to heat the print medium via the printing portion supporting region; and a fan device extending in the main scanning direction, and configured to blow air out from a blower outlet for blowing the air toward a surface of the portion of the print medium supported by the printing portion supporting region.

Inkjet printer

A tension applying member of an inkjet printer can apply tension on a printing medium by pushing a portion of the printing medium that is not wound by a winding mechanism by its own weight in a rotating direction indicated with an arrow having an axis line as a center; a transport controller causes a motor to generate a power for winding the printing medium when a predetermined tension is no longer applied on the printing medium by the tension applying member; and the winding mechanism limits a torque with a torque limiter and applies a predetermined tension on the printing medium when the motor is caused to generate the power for winding the printing medium when the predetermined tension is no longer applied on the printing medium by the tension applying member.

Media transporting device and inkjet printer

A damper and an ink circulation method capable of suppressing deposition of color materials of ink are provided. A damper is a hydraulic head difference type damper for supplying ink supplied from an ink tank of an inkjet printer by a hydraulic head difference, into a head. The damper has a supply chamber for temporarily storing ink, an ink chamber connected to the supply chamber through a connection passage and configured to supply the ink into the head, and an on-off valve. The on-off valve opens the connection passage if the ink contained in the ink chamber decreases, and blocks the connection passage if the ink contained in the ink chamber increases. A guide port for guiding the ink contained in the ink chamber to a circulation tube for circulating the ink between the ink chamber and the ink tank is formed in the ink chamber.

Damper and ink circulation method

A printing apparatus is provided and includes cover members for covering at least a portion of a conveyance path for conveying a medium. The cover members are configured such that at least a portion of a part covering a conveyance path is able to expand and contract. Therefore, if necessary, it is possible to expand or contract the area of the cover members covering the conveyance path. On the occasion of setting the medium or when a jam has occurred, it is possible to contract the cover members in the conveyance direction of the medium. Also, even if the cover members move once from the state where they cover the conveyance path, it is possible to easily return the cover members to their original positions, and it is possible to easily return the cover members to the state where they cover a portion of the conveyance path.

Printing apparatus

A connection member is provided that can be fabricated at low cost and easily attached to a target component. The connection member is a member to be connected to and to communicate with a first component. The connection member is further connectable to another connection member to be connected to and to communicate with a second component. The connection member includes a communicating portion connectable to and communicatable with the first component, engaging portions engageable into the other connection member, and engaged portions into which the other connection member is engageable. These connection members are mutually connectable to communicate with each other.

Connection member and inkjet recording device equipped with the connection member

A problem is aimed to provide a liquid supplying technique that can efficiently perform liquid filling by a compact configuration, and an ink jet recording technique that uses this technique. As a solution thereto, in a liquid supplying device (), a part of a first liquid ejecting passage is arranged at a higher position than a liquid storage (), a second liquid ejecting passage includes a variable passage resistor (), and a second opening () leading to the second liquid ejecting passage at the liquid storage () is arranged at a higher position than a first opening () leading to the first liquid ejecting passage.

Ink jet recording device, liquid supplying device, and method of controlling ink jet recording device

A printer apparatus in the present invention includes a feeding mechanism having a feed roller provided at substantially the same height as an upper face of a medium support means and a plurality of roller assemblies having a pinch roller disposed above the feed roller and a printing medium placed on the medium support means is pinched between the feed roller and the pinch roller to be fed in the front and rear direction. The roller assembly is structured of an assembly main body and a roller member which includes the pinch roller and is attachable/detachable with respect to the assembly main body, and a clamp state can be changed by exchanging the roller member depending on material and/or thickness of the printing medium.

Printer apparatus and roller assembly

A medium transport apparatus includes a feeding roller configured to rotate around a rotational axis. A guide rail extends along the rotational axis. A slider is supported by the guide rail and movable along the rotational axis. A rotatable pinch roller is configured to clamp medium between the feeding roller and the pinch roller to move the medium. A lever is connected to the pinch roller and movable to change a clamping state with respect to the medium between the feeding roller and the pinch roller. An arm is connected to the slider and configured to take an engaging position where the arm moves the lever to change the clamping state when the slider moves along the rotational axis and a standby position where the arm is not engaged with the lever when the slider moves along the rotational axis.

Medium transport apparatus, printer, plotter and combination of printer and plotter

A printer-plotter includes a guide rail, a first head, a second head, a driving device, a first connecting mechanism and a second connecting mechanism. The guide rail extends in a longitudinal direction. The first head is supported by the guide rail and movable along the longitudinal direction. The second head is supported by the guide rail and movable independently of the first head along the longitudinal direction. The driving device includes a driving force transmitting member and a driving mechanism configured to move the driving force transmitting member. The first connecting mechanism is configured to detachably connect the first head to the driving force transmitting member. The second connecting mechanism is configured to detachably connect the second head to the driving force transmitting member.

Printer-plotter

A printer-plotter includes first and second heads which are supported by a guide rail and are movable along a longitudinal direction of the guide rail, independently. A driving member is supported by the guide rail and configured to move along the longitudinal direction between the first head and the second head. A first connecting mechanism is configured to connect the first head to the driving member detachably. A second connecting mechanism is configured to connect the second head to the driving member detachably. The first head is connected to the driving member by the first connecting mechanism and the second head is separated from the driving member in order to make the first head operate. The second head is connected to the driving member by the second connecting mechanism and the first head is separated from the driving member in order to make the second head operate.

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Nagano, Japan

Eiji Miyashita