Seiko Epson Corporation

Manabu Yamada

Chiyoshige Nakazawa

Yukihiro Hanaoka

Koji Yamada

Atsushi Nishioka

Takeshi Komaki

Shuhei Harada

Keiji Matsumoto

Yuichi Urabe

Hiroyuki Nakayama

Masahiko Kobayashi

Hirokazu Yamano

Tomoji Suzuki

Tadahiro Mizutani

Noriaki Okazawa

Katsuko Aoki

Kazuyuki Yokoyama

Hiroshi Nose

Toshio Arimura

A liquid ejecting device includes a base portion, a liquid ejecting portion movably provided at the base portion, a medium supporting portion provided at the base portion and configured to support a printing medium in a printing region where the liquid ejecting portion performs printing, and a maintenance portion disposed in a region on the +X direction side of the printing region in the X-axis direction in the base portion. The maintenance portion includes a moisturizing portion that can form a closed space to which nozzle opens, a cleaning portion that can forcibly discharge liquid from the nozzle, and a wiper that can wipe a nozzle surface where the nozzle is provided. The moisturizing portion, the cleaning portion and the wiper are disposed side by side in the Y-axis direction.

Liquid ejecting device

A cap attached to an ink supply unit that supplies ink to a liquid ejection apparatus is provided. The cap has a sealing portion adapted to seal a liquid supply portion of the ink supply unit and an engagement portion adapted to engage with the engaging portion of the ink supply unit. The cap also has an opening provided in a portion opposed to the terminal portion of the ink supply unit such that at least a part of the terminal portion is exposed through the opening in a state where the protection member is attached to the liquid supply unit.

Protection member and liquid supply unit set

First, second, and third ink absorbing bodies are accommodated in a container of a recovery reservoir in this order from the side corresponding to a bottom surface of the container, so that an introduction chamber is defined in the middle of a recovery space. A lid having a shutter plate and a communication hole is located over the third ink absorbing body. The upper side of the introduction chamber is covered by the shutter plate to suppress volatilization of solvent element of waste ink introduced into the introduction chamber. In addition, the communication hole is located in a portion of the upper surface of the third ink absorbing body, so that solvent element of ink absorbed by the third ink absorption body volatilizes.

Liquid recovery containers and liquid ejection apparatus

There is provided a protection member configured to protect a liquid supply unit air-tightly. A cartridgehas an ink supply portformed in a bottom surfaceand an air holeformed in a top surface. A protection memberis configured to be attachable to the cartridge. The protection memberincludes a film memberconfigured to seal the air hole, and a cap sectionconfigured to seal the ink supply port. The cap sectionhas a columnar support portionhaving an upper end surfacewhich the film memberis joined with. The columnar support portionis provided in an area opposed to a left side surfaceof the cartridge

Protection member for liquid supply unit

An ink cartridge prevents ink from leaking from a waste ink recovery chamber, and an inkjet printer in which ink does not leak from the ink supply needle of the ink cartridge holder. The ink cartridgehas an ink chamberand a waste ink inletin the top of the ink cartridge. Ink overflowing the capacity of the waste ink recovery chamberflows through an ink trapand into the ink cartridgefrom the waste ink inlet. The ink supply needleof the inkjet printerhas an ink path, valve member, and coil spring. The valve membermoves between a closed positionA and a open positionB according to whether or not an ink cartridgeis installed, and prevents ink from leaking from the ink supply needle

Ink cartridge and inkjet printer

A fluid discharge device, a printing device, and a control method for a fluid discharge device enable accurately detecting an empty fluid state and suppressing fluid waste. An inkjet printerhas an ink cartridge in which ink is stored, a subtank that draws ink from the ink cartridge, an inkjet head to which ink is supplied from the subtank, a movable carriage on which the inkjet head and subtank are mounted, an ink pump unit that draws the ink supplied to the inkjet head from the ink cartridge by movement of the carriage, and a control unit that determines if ink is in the ink cartridge based on the load required to move the carriage.

Fluid discharge device and method of controlling a fluid discharge device

A fluid storage container enables the easy removal of recovered fluid and reuse of the container without incurring the added costs of disassembly and replacing an absorbent material. In one exemplary embodiment, an ink cartridgecan have an ink storage unitthat stores waste ink, an ink inlet/outletdisposed in a frame partthat can be the outside wall of the ink storage unit, an ink pathof which one endcommunicates with the ink inlet/outletand the other endis disposed opening into the ink storage unit, wall partsthat divide the ink storage unitinto an upper air chamberand a lower fluid chamberthat communicate with each other through a communication path, and an outside air channel, of which one endcommunicates with the air chamberand the other endenables communication with the outside at a position further from the air chamberthan the fluid chamber. Other embodiments of fluid storage containers are also disclosed.

Fluid storage container

A fluid storage container enables the easy removal of recovered fluid and reuse of the container without incurring the added costs of disassembly and replacing an absorbent material. In one exemplary embodiment, an ink cartridgecan have an ink storage unitthat stores waste ink, an ink inlet/outletdisposed in a frame partthat can be the outside wall of the ink storage unitan ink pathof which one endcommunicates with the ink inlet/outletand the other endis disposed opening into the ink storage unit, wall partsthat divide the ink storage unitinto an upper air chamberand a lower fluid chamberthat communicate with each other through a communication pathand an outside air channelof which one endcommunicates with the air chamberand the other endenables communication with the outside at a position further from the air chamberthan the fluid chamberOther embodiments of fluid storage containers are also disclosed.

An ink tank, which is mountable on an ink jet printer, includes an ink outlet adapted to supply ink stored in the ink tank to the ink jet printer through the outlet; an air communicating hole configured to introduce air into the ink tank through the hole in accordance with an amount of the ink supplied to the ink jet printer from the ink tank; a passage communicating with the ink outlet; a prism formed in the ink tank and adapted to detect whether a remaining amount of the ink in the ink tank is below a predetermined level or not; a filter disposed between the prism and the passage; and an ink chamber connected to an upstream opening of the passage. The prism and the filter are disposed in the ink chamber.

Ink tank and ink jet printer

In one exemplary embodiment of a fluid storage container or cartridge that can be reused, the ink cartridge can have an ink storage unit that stores waste ink, an ink inlet/outlet disposed in a frame part that can be the outside wall of the ink storage unit, an ink path of which one end communicates with the ink inlet/outlet and the other end is disposed opening into the ink storage unit, wall parts that divide the ink storage unit into an upper air chamber and a lower fluid chamber that communicate with each other through a communication path, and an outside air channel, of which one end communicates with the air chamber and the other end enables communication with the outside at a position further from the air chamber than the fluid chamber. Other embodiments of fluid storage containers and methods of removing fluid therefrom are also disclosed.

An ink tank of the foam type which is provided with a detected portion capable of exactly and surely detecting the amount of ink used by the printer or remaining in the ink tank. The ink tank includes a sub ink chamber that is disposed or formed between a main ink chamber and an ink outlet of an ink tank of a foam type. When an amount of air flowing into the sub ink chamber increases, one or more reflecting surfaces of a right-angled prism, which function as ink interfaces, resume their original function of reflecting surfaces, thereby enabling the detection of an ink end. Air bubbles having entered the sub ink chamber are surely led onto the one or more reflecting surfaces by a bubble storage part. At an ink passage having a narrow width, which is defined by the one or more reflecting surfaces, air bubbles are pressed against the one or more reflecting surfaces to be put to a crushed state and in surface contact with the latter. Air bubbles are surely led onto the one or more reflecting surfaces, and are crushed and pressed against the reflecting surfaces. This configuration prevents the one or more reflecting surfaces from being covered with ink retained in spaces among the air bubbles. Therefore, the ink end can be detected surely and exactly.

Growing community of inventors

Nagano, Japan

Manabu Yamada