Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Kabushiki Kaisha Toyota Chuo Kenkyusho

Other

Kiyoharu Hayakawa

Yumio Matsumoto

Osamu Takagi

Akira Sago

Masashi Ueda

Hideaki Takahashi

Haruyoshi Kondo

Takashi Takeuchi

Yuji Asano

Shunichi Higashiyama

Takemi Yamamoto

Shigeyuki Hayashi

Keiichi Saji

Jun Sakai

Toshio Sakai

Yukichi Sawaki

Kazuo Sangyoji

Hiroshi Kawahara

Takao Nakazawa

Osamu Tagaki

Makoto Suzuki

Kenji Sakakibara

Katsunori Nishida

Tatsuya Shindo

Kazumasa Makino

Michitoshi Akao

Hikaru Kaga

Hideaki Muraki

Naoyuki Hatta

Takashi Tomizawa

Tokunori Katoh

Kazunori Tanabe

Hideaki Haigo

Hitoshi Nakai

Yoshimasa Hara

Keiko Suzuki

Yuki Asano

Kenji Sakaibara

An image forming apparatus includes: a liquid tank which retains a liquid; a liquid jetting head connected to the liquid tank and having a nozzle for jetting the liquid; a carriage on which the liquid tank and the liquid jetting head are provided; a recovery mechanism which recovers the liquid jetting head; a memory which retains predetermined history information; and a controller which controls the recovery mechanism based on the history information. The recovery mechanism selectively executes a first recovery operation for discharging air from the liquid tank and a second recovery operation for discharging air from the liquid tank and for discharging the liquid from the nozzle, and the controller controls the recovery mechanism to perform the first recovery operation if the history information in the memory includes an abnormality when a power of the image forming apparatus is switched ON.

Image forming apparatus and information recording medium

An apparatus for maintaining a recording head which has a nozzle opening in a nozzle-defining surface thereof, and ejects, from the nozzle, a droplet of an ink toward a recording medium, in a state in which the recording head is separate from a remaining portion of a recording device. The apparatus includes a cover member which is adapted to air-tightly contact the recording head to cover the nozzle-defining surface of the recording head such that a space is formed between the cover member and the nozzle-defining surface. The apparatus further includes a selectively communicating device which can selectively take (a) a first state thereof in which the selectively communicating device allows the space to communicate with an atmosphere so that substantially no difference is produced between an air pressure in the space and an atmospheric pressure, when the cover member is air-tightly contacted with the recording head; and (b) a second state thereof in which the selectively communicating device shuts off the communication between the space and the atmosphere, and thereby air-tightly closes the space, after the cover member is air-tightly contacted with the recording head.

Apparatus and method for maintaining recording head

A pump unit includes a suction pump and a driving mechanism for driving the suction pump. The suction pump has a pump body provided with a suction port and a discharge port which are axially spaced, and a first piston and a second piston slidably fitted in the pump body to form a suction chamber therebetween. In operation, the driving mechanism moves the first piston away from the second piston to expand the suction chamber so that a negative pressure prevails in the suction chamber and ink is suctioned through the suction port into the suction chamber; moves both the pistons at the same moving speed until the suction chamber is expanded to a predetermined extent, the suction port is closed by the second piston and the first piston opens the discharge port; moves the first piston in the reverse direction until the same comes into contact with the second piston to discharge the ink suctioned into the suction chamber through the discharge port; and moves both the pistons in the reverse direction to return the pistons to their initial position. The pump housing may be of a cylindrical shape or an annular shape. A suction pump in a modification may be provided with a plurality of pairs of pistons forming a plurality of suction chambers each provided with a suction port and a discharge port.

Pump with inlet and outlet simultaneously exposed to pump chamber and

In a pressure developing device employed in an imaging device like a duplicating machine, an optical printer etc., pressure force for evenly pressurizing a recording medium is capable of being varied in accordance with the width of the recording medium to be pressurized.

Pressure developing device

A photocopying system without using an intermediate film is disclosed. In this system, the photo-pressure sensitive sheet and an original are tightly overlapped on a photocopying stage. Scratching scars generated by friction therebetween can be avoided by drive means for changing a distance therebetween. Images on the reverse side of the original can be protected from being duplicated by changing a direction of a light beam. Figure/character images, as well as image trimming, can be arbitrarily photocopied by exposing to a light through display on liquid crystal panel.

Photocopying method and apparatus

A filter unit includes a plurality of filter members, a filter drive mechanism, and a switching mechanism. One of the filter members is continuously engaged with the filter drive mechanism, so that it is moved toward and away from an optical path extending between an exposure light source and an image recording medium. On the other hand, remaining filter members are selectively engageable with the filter drive mechanism. This selective engagement is provided by the switching mechanism. After remaining one of the filters is selected and engaged with the filter drive mechanism, the selected filter is moved toward the optical path. In this instance, the filter member always engageable with the filter drive mechanism is retracted from the optical path.

Color filter unit

An image processing apparatus, including an irradiating device for emitting an image radiation representative of an original image, a projecting device having a viewing screen which is irradiated by the image radiation from the irradiating device and which provides a view of a visible image represented by the image radiation, and an exposing device for exposing a photosensitive recording medium to the image radiation from the irradiating device to produce a visible image represented by said image radiation. The apparatus further includes an optical guide device for directing the image radiation from the irradiating device to the projecting device and the exposing device.

Image processing apparatus for reproducing images on projector screen

In a cassette for accommodating therein a photo-sensitive recording medium, a pair of cassette halves formed of synthetic resin are united together to form a cassette body having defined therein an accommodating chamber for the recording medium. A drawing opening is formed in an outer surface of the cassette body. The recording medium is drawn out of the accommodating chamber through the drawing opening. An optically inert feed passage is defined by cooperation of a wall section of one of the pair of cassette halves with a wall section of the other cassette half when the one and other cassette halves are united together. The feed passage has one end thereof communicating with the accommodating chamber and the other end communicating with the drawing opening such that the recording medium passes through the feed passage when the recording medium is drawn out of the accommodating chamber through the drawing opening.

Cassette for photo-sensistive recording medium

An image recording apparatus including a pattern forming device for forming a light-shielding pattern on one of opposite surfaces of a photosensitive recording medium. The light-shielding pattern is formed of a light-shielding material which is capable of shielding a radiation. The apparatus further includes an exposing device for irradiating the above-indicated one surface of the recording medium, and thereby forming an optical latent image which corresponds to the light-shielding pattern. The light-shielding pattern is removed by a cleaner from the recording medium after the optical latent image is formed. The optical latent image formed on the medium is developed into a visible image.

Image recording apparatus forming photomasking pattern on photosensitive

In a pressure developing device employed in an imaging device like a duplicating machine, an optical printer etc, pressure force for pressurizing a recording medium is capable of being varied in accordance with the width of the recording medium to be pressurized. A sensor for detecting the width of the recording medium is provided, and the pressure force is varied based upon the detected value.

A method and an apparatus of exposing a photosensitive medium for forming thereon a latent image which corresponds to an original image to be reproduced and which is developed into a visible image. The photosensitive medium has a basic minimum amount of exposure to a radiation, below which a density of the visible image remains constant and above which the density varies with an amount of exposure to the radiation. An entire recording surface of the photosensitive medium is evenly exposed to a first radiation by a predetermined first exposure amount determined by the basic minimum amount, and each label area of the recording surface is exposed to a second radiation by a second exposure amount which corresponds to a density in a corresponding local area of the original image, so that the first and second exposure amounts cooperate to form the latent image.

Image transfer system with preliminary-exposure device

An exposure unit for exposing a photosensitive image recording medium with light for forming an image corresponding to an original. The exposure unit comprises a light source; an original mounting table for mounting the original thereon, the original mounting table being disposed above the light source and extending over a light path zone so as to maintain the original at the light path zone, the photosensitive image recording medium being travelled over the original; contact means disposed above the photosensitive image recording medium for providing an intimate contact between the original and the photosensitive image recording medium when the original is brought into the light path zone for allowing a light to pass through the original and to reach to the photosensitive image recording medium; and, means for guiding travel of one of the original and the photosensitive image recording medium.

Image recording apparatus having exposure unit

An exposure system for use in an image recording apparatus includes a photosensitive and pressure-sensitive recording sheet which is sensitive to light in a certain wavelength range. The exposure system also includes a light source disposed on one side of the photosensitive and pressure-sensitive recording medium for applying the light in the predetermined wavelength range to the photosensive and pressure-sensitive recording medium through a first original, and a space region disposed on said one side for accommodating therein an optional exposure unit for optionally exposing the photosensitive and pressure-sensitive recording medium through a second original. The light source is movable while applying the light to the photosensitive and pressure-sensitive recording medium through the first original. The exposure system also includes a rest area for resting the light source out of a light path along which the optional exposure unit exposes the photosensitive and pressure-sensitive recording medium through the second original.

Exposure system for image recording apparatus

An image recording apparatus includes a medium supporting device for supporting a roll of a photosensitive recording medium in the form of a web, such that an active length of the web supplied from the roll extends along an exposing path. The apparatus further includes an exposing device for imagewise exposing the active length of the web of the photosensitive recording medium to an image radiation representative of an original image to be reproduced, while the active length is placed in the exposing path. The apparatus has an upper section disposed above the exposing path and including the medium supporting device, and a lower section disposed below the exposing path and including the exposing device. The upper and lower sections are separable from each other at the exposing path.

Image recording apparatus having upper and lower sections separable from

A process and system for forming images on a recording sheet, according to source image information as provided on an original, wherein a pressure-sensitive photosensitive sheet is image-wise exposed to a radiation, to form thereon latent images corresponding to the source image information, and a pressure is applied to the image-wise exposed photosensitive sheet, to cause a chemical reaction and thereby develop the latent images into visible images on the recording sheet. The thus pressurized recording sheet is heated so that the chemical reaction is promoted to thereby increase a density of the visible images.

Growing community of inventors

Aichi, Japan

Kiyoharu Hayakawa