Seiko Epson Corporation

Katsuhiko Iida

Katsuhiro Okubo

Kenichi Miyazaki

Tsuyoshi Tomii

Toshio Kumagai

Fujio Akahane

Takahiro Katakura

Nobuhito Takahashi

Kazuhisa Kawakami

Shinji Yasukawa

Narihiro Oki

Shigenori Fukasawa

Masanao Matsuzawa

Kazuo Saito

Norihiko Kurashima

Hideaki Sonehara

Toshiaki Ohshima

Shigeki Kanai

An ink feed container that accommodates a plurality of ink storage bags in a small space. Ink storage bags are accommodated in a case main body, and are separated by a partitioning plate. The partitioning plate has at least one partitioning plate engaging part which engages with the case main body.

Ink feed container for accommodating a plurality of ink storage bags in a case main body with partitioning members

An ink feed container that accommodates a plurality of ink storage bags in a small space. Ink storage bags are accommodated in a case main body separated by a partitioning plate. Detectable pieces of detection plates, which are mounted on the ink storage bags, are positioned so that they deviate from each other. Pointed ends on the detectable pieces are arranged at uniform heights. When an ink storage bag becomes empty, the corresponding detectable piece displaces a common detection lever.

Ink feed container

An ink jet printer having an ink jet head for ejecting ink onto a sheet of paper or the like during a printing operation is provided. A gap defining member is also provided in opposition to the ink jet head. The gap defining member has a planar portion which supports the sheet of paper or the like on its rear face, and thus defines the distance of the gap between the sheet of paper and the ink jet head. The gap defining member also has a plurality of ribs extending from the planar portion in the direction of the paper feed path. These ribs help to guide and to further support the sheet of paper or the like.

Ink jet printer and device for insuring proper printing

An ink-jet recording device in which a capping device a and cleaning device can be made as compact as possible. The ink-jet recording device includes a capping device which is disposed out of a printing area and, when pushed by a recording head or a carriage carrying the recording head, can be moved between a non-capping position and a capping position, a cam surface and a cam follower which, in a process where the recording head is moved from the non-capping position to the capping position, shift the capping device to the nozzle surface of the recording head, a cleaning device which is swingably mounted to the capping device by device of shafts and is movable between a non-cleaning position and a cleaning position in accordance with the movement of the recording head, and a suction pump which supplies a negative pressure to the capping device to thereby suck out ink within a cap member into a waste ink tank. In the ink-jet recording device, the capping device and cleaning device can be selectively moved to and from a recording head moving path only by device of the movement of the carriage.

Ink-jet recording device

A serial printing device that has a wider printing region without elongating the platen shaft. The serial printing device includes a serial printing head (7, 8) mounted on a carriage, a medium feed control device (23), a carriage control device (24), and a data discriminating device (21). The serial printing head includes a plural number of dot forming element series each having a plural number of dot forming elements linearly arrayed in a printing medium feeding direction. The dot forming element series are arrayed in a printing medium width direction. The medium feed control device controls a first printing process wherein, when the carriage is accelerated and moved from a home position at a constant speed for printing, print data is outputted to the serial printing head to print an image of one line by one printing path. In a second printing process, print data is outputted to only the dot forming element series located furthest from the home end of the serial printing head, and an image of one line is printed by a plural number of printing paths as the printing medium is fed in small increments. The data discriminating device discriminates the type of printing process, i.e., the first or the second printing process, based on the print data, and selects the discriminated printing process.

Serial printing device having data discrimination

An on-demand type ink jet print head, comprising: a plurality of ink tanks disposed at a lower position of a carriage to be independent of each other, pressure varying means provided on one of the tanks; an air release port communicating with the other one of the tanks; a head assembly provided on top of the tanks to communicate with the tanks through flow paths at both sides of the head assembly. The object of the invention is to achieve stable printing independent of the amount of ink in an ink tank and discharge bubbles in a nozzle head together with the ink.

On-demand type ink jet print head

A capping device for an ink jet printer includes a cap supported on a cap support member adapted to press the cap against a print head with a uniform pressure distribution despite variation in the positional relationship between the print head and the cap support member. The uniform pressure distributed is enhanced by supporting the cap by the support member in such a manner to permit the cap to pivot in at least two degrees of freedom. After the cap is sealed around an ink orifice of the printer, a preliminary suction operation reduces the pressure within a cavity defined by the cap and the print head. The pressure within the cavity is then returned to atmospheric pressure and then reduced again, but to a level which will not interfere with the ink meniscus level in the print head. The first period of suction lasts longer than the second suction period. By providing the capping device with tubes which resist the corrosive effects of ink and prevent gas from penetrating therethrough, excessive air buildup within the print head can be avoided.

Capping apparatus for an ink jet printer

A capping device for an ink jet printer includes a cap supported on a cap support member adapted to press the cap against a print head with a uniform pressure distribution despite variation in the positional relationship between the print head and the cap support member. After the cap is sealed around an ink orifice of the printer, a preliminary suction operation reduces the pressure within a cavity defined by the cap and the print head. The pressure within the cavity is then returned to atmospheric pressure and then reduced again, but to a level which will not interfere with the ink meniscus level in the print head. The first period of suction lasts longer than the second suction period. By providing the capping device with tubes which resist the corrosive effects of ink and prevent gas from penetrating therethrough, excessive air buildup within the print head can be avoided.

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Nagano, Japan

Katsuhiko Iida