Toshiba Tec Kabushiki Kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba

Kazuhisa Kimura

Hideaki Nishida

Hidekazu Ishii

Hideyuki Akaba

Osamu Takagi

Takashi Shiraishi

Satoshi Kinouchi

Koji Tanimoto

Noboru Nitta

Isao Suzuki

Hiroshi Murata

Kiyoshi Hashimoto

Takashi Hatakeyama

Kazuo Sasama

Shinichiro Hida

Yoshiya Hashimoto

Koichi Hiruta

According to one embodiment, a cleaning device comprises a suction port portion, a guide portion, and an urging member. The suction port portion is configured to face a nozzle plate of a liquid discharge head at a predetermined gap distance between the suction port and the nozzle plate. The guide portion is configured to face a cover mask of the liquid discharge head and is moveable in a direction away from the cover mask. The cover mask covers a periphery of a surface of the nozzle plate. The urging member is configured to urge the guide portion toward the cover mask.

Cleaning device and liquid discharge recording apparatus

According to one embodiment, a maintenance apparatus includes a first suction nozzle having a first suction port facing a first nozzle row through which a first liquid can be ejected, the first nozzle row including nozzles aligned in a first direction on a nozzle plate, and a second suction nozzle having a second suction port facing a second nozzle row through which a second liquid can be ejected, the second nozzle row including nozzles aligned in the first direction on the nozzle plate and parallel to the first nozzle row.

Maintenance apparatus and liquid ejection apparatus

According to one embodiment, an inkjet head includes a mask part which covers a periphery of an actuator part in a state where a nozzle hole is exposed to outside and a peripheral edge part of which is opposite to an opening peripheral edge part of a frame part at other end while a gap is kept, and the gap between the peripheral edge part of the mask part and the opening peripheral edge part of the frame part at the other end is sealed with a seal agent having thermal insulation properties.

Inkjet 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.

Printing apparatus, cleaning device of ink-jet head and cleaning method of ink-jet head

In such a manner that ink in each of a plurality of pressure chambers for holding the ink therein is brought to a positive pressure state of being ejected from respective nozzles respectively communicating with the respective chambers to the outside of each of the pressure chambers, a cleaning member abutted against a nozzle plate formed with a plurality of nozzles is moved along the nozzles in a state in which pressure is applied to all of the pressure chambers, to thereby extrude foreign particles outside the pressure chambers by the ink ejected from the respective nozzles to the outside of the pressure chambers, thereby making it possible to recover the ink, whereby the occurrence of a delivery failure due to the foreign particles around the nozzles being absorbed into the pressure chambers, can be prevented, and the foreign particles contained in the ink can be purged without consuming much ink needlessly.

Ink jet recording apparatus having cleaning means for the cleaning of the nozzle surface of an ink jet head

An ink jet recording head maintenance apparatus of this invention is provided with a plurality of wiping members having different wiping forces to remove residual ink or foreign substances from the nozzle face of the nozzle plate of the recording head. When performing wiping operation, the optimum wiping member is selected from among the plurality of wiping members in accordance with a change in the kind of adhering substances and adhering condition. It is therefore possible to select the optimum wiping member and achieve a good wiping effect without increasing the number of counts of wiping operation.

Ink jet recording head maintenance apparatus and ink jet recording apparatus

An ink jet head cleaning apparatus is provided which includes a wiping unit which performs a wiping operation for a nozzle surface of an ink jet head and a suction unit which performs a sucking operation for the nozzle surface. An operation OFF condition of the wiping unit and an operation OFF condition of the suction unit is detected, and the wiping unit and the suction unit are actuated selectively in accordance with the operation OFF condition thus detected. If an elapsed time after the wiping operation is longer than a first predetermined time, the wiping unit is actuated, and if an elapsed time after the sucking operation is longer than a second predetermined time, the suction unit is actuated. The first predetermined time is longer than the second predetermined time.

Ink jet head cleaning apparatus and ink jet recording apparatus

A mechanism is provided for allowing a wipe member formed of an elastic material to abut against a nozzle plate in which a plurality nozzles communicating with a pressure chamber for holding ink therein are arranged, moving the wipe member along the nozzle plate to remove ink and foreign particles remaining in the nozzle plate, and switching the position of abutment of the wipe member against the nozzle plate, whereby satisfactory sweeping capability of the wipe member can be maintained without providing a wipe member cleaning mechanism and performing the work of replacing of the wipe member with another.

Ink Jet recording apparatus having maintenance means for cleaning an ink jet recording head

An image recording apparatus includes a recording head which has an ink discharge nozzle to discharge ink and an ink non-discharge nozzle to eliminate bubbles, a suction unit which makes suction for maintenance by moving a suction nozzle on the ink discharge side of the recording head, contacting with or closing to the ink discharge nozzle surface of the recording head, and a control unit which controls the suction unit to make suction by a first suction force when the suction nozzle is in the position corresponding to the ink discharge nozzle and by a second suction force when the suction nozzle is in the position corresponding to the ink non-discharge nozzle.

Image recording apparatus and maintenance method of recording head of the same

A picture image forming system has a large and conspicuous display of stapling positions and thereby helps prevent an erroneous stapling position from being selected. The picture image forming system includes a picture image forming system body for forming a picture image on the basis of an inputted picture signal and for reading image data including the orientation and size of an original to be copied, using a picture image reader. The picture image forming system also includes an operating part for displaying a picture image of only one type of original so as to include a vertical or horizontal orientation and for displaying a plurality of selectable stapling positions on the picture image of only one type of original in layers. The operating part reads one or more stapling positions selected from the plurality of selectable stapling positions. The picture image forming system further includes a stapler for binding a plurality of copied sheets on the basis of information about the selected stapling positions.

Picture image forming system with stapler

As an image forming apparatus of this invention, a color copying machine in which four image forming units are juxtaposed along the convey direction of a paper sheet is known. Each image forming unit has a photosensitive drum which is in rolling contact with a conveyor belt. Around the photosensitive drum, a charging device, exposure device, developing device, transfer device, cleaning device, and charge removing device are placed in turn along the rotation direction of the drum. An image unit is interposed between the photosensitive drum in the predetermined image forming unit, and the photosensitive drum in the image forming unit, which neighbors that image forming unit on its upstream side. The image unit integrally holds the developing device for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the downstream photosensitive drum, and the cleaning device for cleaning the upstream photosensitive drum. Also, the image unit is detachably inserted between the two neighboring photosensitive drums.

Image forming apparatus with integrally holding image unit

A color printer comprises first and second photo-conductive drums which are supported between first and second supporting plates substantially in parallel to each other. Rotational shafts of the drums are attached to the first supporting plates through first and second supporting members and to the second supporting plates through a third and fourth supporting members. The first supporting member has a first driving force transmission shaft for rotating a rotational shaft of the first drum, and a first pivot bearing member rotatably supporting the first driving force transmission shaft. The second supporting member has a second driving force transmission shaft for rotating a rotational shaft of the second drum, and a second pivot bearing member rotatably supporting the second driving force transmission shaft. The third supporting member has a third pivot bearing member rotatably supporting the rotational shaft of the first drum. The fourth supporting member has a fourth pivot bearing member rotatably supporting the rotational shaft of the second drum. The first and second transmission shafts have distal ends which are engageable with the third and fourth pivot bearing members, respectively.

Image forming apparatus

A color copying machine includes a plurality of image forming sections having rotatable photoconductive drums, respectively. One of the drums, which is used for forming images in black, is rotated by a first drum drive motor, and the other drums are rotated by a second drum drive motor. A plurality of transfer devices are arranged to oppose the image carriers, respectively. A paper sheet is sequentially moved to positions opposing the drums and clamped between the drums and transfer rollers so as to transfer images on the drum to the paper sheet. When a image formation is performed by using the image forming section for black, the first drive motor is operated and the second motor is stopped. The transfer rollers opposing the drums for other than black are moved to positions wherein these transfer rollers are away from the corresponding drums.

An image forming apparatus for producing a visible image on an image forming medium includes a photosensitive drum for carrying a latent image thereon, a developer for developing the latent image to form a developed image on the photosensitive drum, and a transferring drum for supporting the image forming medium and transferring the developed image onto the image forming medium. The image forming apparatus further includes a stepping motor, which has a plurality of exciting windings, for rotating the photosenstive drum, a driver for driving the stepping motor, and a controller for controlling the driver such that the plurality of exciting windings are switched to be excited in a prescribed manner, the controller periodically varying the switching time intervals for exciting the windings in correspondence to variations in the rotational speed of the stepping motor.

Growing community of inventors

Hiratsuka, Japan

Kazuhisa Kimura