Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Kenichiro Hashimoto

Soichi Hiramatsu

Hiroyuki Inoue

Takashi Nojima

Tetsuo Suzuki

Shinya Matsui

Junichi Asano

Jiro Moriyama

Toshihiko Ujita

Hiroshi Sugiyama

Toshiharu Inui

Hideki Yamaguchi

Keiichi Murai

Yoichi Tosaka

Hisao Yaegashi

Isao Ebisawa

Haruyuki Matsumoto

Hiroyuki Saito

Hirofumi Hirano

Kosuke Yamamoto

Masahiro Taniguro

Seiichi Omino

Atsushi Noda

Masaaki Sakai

Kunihiko Ikeda

Tadashi Shiina

Tetsuya Ishii

An ink jet recording apparatus comprises a carriage movable in a given direction with a recording head which is detachably mountable on it and provided with discharge ports for discharging liquid. The apparatus is arranged to include a sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the carriage, the recording head, and at least one of the ink containers. This sensor is provided for the main body of the apparatus and positioned within the movable range of the carriage. With this arrangement, it is possible to simplify the structure required for detecting whether or not these vital elements for recording are installed without any auxiliary power-supply or memory means.

Ink jet recording apparatus

An ink cartridge, removably mountable on a fixed mounting portion of an ink jet recording apparatus for supplying discharged ink to a recording head carried on a movable carriage of the apparatus, comprises a flag member mounted for protrusion and retraction, an arrangement for protruding the flag member toward a path along which the carriage is moved when the ink cartridge is mounted on the mounting portion, and a photosensor mounted on the carriage in a position where it will be shielded from light by the protruding flag member.

Ink jet recording apparatus and ink cartridge for the apparatus

An ink jet recording apparatus for recording by discharging ink from a plurality of recording means to a recording material comprises a plurality of ink paths which are communicated with the recording means and an exchangeable ink tank for retaining ink to be discharged. The ink paths are arranged in a given number corresponding to the number of the recording means, and further, the end portion on the ink tank side is arranged in a position facing one or plural ink supply ports of a first ink tank having ink retaining units to supply ink to such a given number of recording means. This apparatus also comprise a second ink tank having ink retaining units in a number smaller than the aforesaid given number. Here, the second ink tank is provided with means for sealing at least one end portion of the aforesaid ink paths on the ink tank side, which supply ink having colors different from that of the ink contained in the second ink tank. With such structure, an ink jet recording apparatus can install an ink tank whose capacity is larger for a specific ink without making the apparatus larger, and also, prevent ink from being dried in the ink paths where no ink tank is installed.

Recording apparatus with plural ink tank configurations

An ink container, such as that used in an ink jet recording apparatus, is improved to effectively suppress permeation of ambient air into ink compartments through the container walls and to permit easy refilling with ink. The ink container includes a container body which has a plurality of liquid compartments defined therein by a plurality of partition plates to accommodate the ink, and inter-compartment communicating portions through which adjacent ink compartments communicate with each other, so that successive liquid compartments are emptied one after another as the liquid is progressively consumed. The container body also has a buffer compartment which covers at least the top walls of said liquid compartments. The ink container may have a discrete segments of a porous member which are disposed only in the inter-compartment communicating portions.

Refillable, evaporation-suppressing liquid container

An equipment, which comprises a scanning type carrier for performing a scanning operation upon reception of a driving force, includes a first standby portion for holding a functional element in a standby state at one end portion side in the scanning direction of the scanning type carrier, a second standby portion for holding a functional element in a standby state at the other end portion side in the scanning direction of the scanning type carrier, a guide mechanism for allowing the scanning type carrier to be movable between the first and second standby portions, and a selector for selecting a functional element located at one of the first and second standby portions in correspondence with the operation mode of the equipment or the functional element driving signal, and integrating the selected functional element to the scanning type carrier.

Equipment with scanning type carrier

The present invention provides a recording system including a recording head for performing recording on a sheet, a first rotary member disposed at a downstream side of the recording head and contacting an unrecorded surface of the sheet on which the recording is performed by the recording head and adapted to apply a feeding force to the sheet, and a second rotary member being provided at its peripheral surface with a plurality of teeth and contacting a recorded surface of the sheet with the tips of the teeth thereof, and cooperating with the first rotary member to feed the sheet. The plural teeth of the second rotary member are staggered with other teeth in a direction transverse to a sheet feeding direction. A member is provided to clean the first and second rotary members.

Sheet feeding apparatus having multiple rotary members and cleaning

An image recording apparatus has a first recording-sheet storing section for storing a first recording sheet, a second recording-sheet storing section for storing a second recording sheet, a serial recording head for effecting image recording on the first recording sheet while travelling with respect to the first recording sheet, a line recording head for effecting image recording on the second recording sheet when the second recording sheet is in a stationary state, a first conveying device for conveying the first recording sheet to the position of the serial recording head; and the second conveying device for conveying the second recording sheet to the position of the line recording head. With this arrangement, it is possible to selectively effect serial recording and line recording and, in addition, to effect recording from an original document as well as recording and reproduction of the thus-read original document. Accordingly, a single recording apparatus can be used to achieve both serial recording and line recording.

Image recording apparatus

A replaceable ink cartridge can be inserted into and removed from a bubble jet printer receptacle for removably mounting the cartridge. The cartridge when mounted will cooperate with a hollow needle for supplying liquid ink to a print head and a pipe for removing waste ink from the head. The cartridge includes a container, a liquid ink reservoir and an absorber for waste liquid ink in the container, an outlet and an opening on the front wall of the container, and a label secured to the top wall of the container. The label contains a surface wiring resistance pattern including contact portions which are spaced apart and have an electric connection between them. When the container is mounted in the receptacle, the needle enters the outlet to connect the ink reservoir to the head, and the absorber enters a waste ink pipe opening. The contact portions then make sliding contact with spaced-apart electric terminals in the printer, connecting the terminals and thereby activating a control circuit in the printer.

Replaceable ink cartridge having surface wiring resistance pattern

A cap for capping the single surface of a recording head that is formed with a plurality of groups of ejection holes for inks of different colors so as to maintain an ink-ejectable condition of the recording head has an interior divided into a plurality of spaces individually corresponding to the plurality of ejection hole groups for different-color inks. The spaces include at least a first space corresponding to the ejection hole group for a black ink, and a second space corresponding to the ejection hole groups for yellow, magenta and cyan inks. The plurality of spaces are integrated in a single cap. When an ink-jet recording apparatus includes such a cap, a condition for proper ejection of ink is maintained in the apparatus and requires only a small system.

Ink receiving cap, and ink-jet recording apparatus and ink discharging

A recording apparatus includes a first housing having a control unit for controlling a recording mechanism for recording onto a recording medium and a feed mechanism for feeding the recording medium, a second housing connected movably to the first housing, and housing an attaching portion for attaching the recording mechanism thereto and the feed mechanism, and an operation portion. Access to the operation portion is unnecessary when the recording apparatus is not in use and, therefore, it is covered and protected with the second housing, but is opened by the rotation of the second housing when recording. The recording apparatus is placed in a thin form convenient for transportation or storage when not in use or in a form suitable for the conveyance of the recording medium when in use. When in use, the exterior of the first housing can form a part of a conveyance route of the recording medium.

Portable recording apparatus having relatively movable housing sections

The present invention provides a recording system including a recording head for performing recording on a sheet, a first rotary member disposed at a downstream side of the recording head and contacting an unrecorded surface of the sheet on which the recording is performed by the recording head and adapted to apply a feeding force to the sheet, and a second rotary member being provided at its peripheral surface with a plurality of teeth and contacting a recorded surface of the sheet with the tips of the teeth thereof, and cooperating with the first rotary member to feed the sheet. The plural teeth of the second rotary member are staggered with other teeth in a direction transverse to a sheet feeding direction.

Sheet feeding apparatus using pairs of spur rollers

A sheet conveyor for conveying a sheet by engaging an engaging member with openings formed in a sheet and conveying the sheet by displacement of the engaging member. The conveyor includes a holding device for holding the engaging member so as to be movable between an operative position and a retracted position retracted from the operative position, a device deformable to move the engaging member provided on the holding device between the operative position and the retracted position, and a drive device for driving the holding device to displace the engaging member.

Sheet conveyor having retractable pins held in a wheel for openings in a

A reader printer which is capable of employing a feed passage in common as a sheet feed passage for allowing a recording sheet of a recording system to be fed therethrough and an original feed passage for allowing an original to be fed therethrough so that it becomes possible to reduce the number of components, such as rollers and platens, which are conventionally needed for each of these passages, thereby enabling reductions in the size and price of the reader printer.

Apparatus for reading and recording image

A sheet conveying apparatus for conveying a sheet comprises a separation rotary member for separating a single sheet from a plurality of sheets and feeding the sheet, a supply rotary member for supplying the sheet toward the separation rotary member, driving means for generating a driving force to rotate the separation rotary member, intermission means for intermitting the transmission of the driving force from the driving means, operating means for shifting the supply rotary member between a supplying operation position and retracted position retracted from the supplying operation position, and driving force transmitting means for performing the transmission or interruption of the intermission means, in synchronism with the shift of the supply rotary member to the retracted position or to the supplying operation position by means of the operating means.

Growing community of inventors

Yokohama, Japan

Kenichiro Hashimoto