Canon Kabushiki Kaisha

Masaya Uetuki

Noribumi Koitabashi

Hitoshi Sugimoto

Hiromitsu Hirabayashi

Shigeyasu Nagoshi

Miyuki Matsubara

Fumihiro Gotoh

Hitoshi Nishikori

Osamu Iwasaki

Hiroshi Tajika

Toshio Kashino

Hidehiko Kanda

Atsushi Arai

Yuji Akiyama

Toshiharu Inui

Miyuki Fujita

Yoshie Asakawa

Yasuhiro Unosawa

Fumiyuki Mikami

Kiichiro Takahashi

Masao Kato

Naoji Otsuka

Kentaro Yano

Jiro Moriyama

Makoto Aoki

Shinichi Sato

Makoto Torigoe

Noboru Koumura

Hitoshi Tsuboi

Shinji Kanemitsu

Yoshihisa Takizawa

Masafumi Wataya

Shinichi Tochihara

Makoto Kashimura

Hideto Yokoi

Mayumi Yamamoto

Shinya Matsui

Shigeru Yoshimura

Masashi Kamada

Masaru Sato

Hiroshi Fukui

Kazuhiko Morimura

Takayuki Ninomiya

Kazuhiko Shinoda

Masaya Kikuta

Toshiyuki Onishi

Takayuki Fujita

Hisashi Morioka

Tetsurou Inoue

Yasutoshi Saito

A recording apparatus wherein a recording head which has been mounted can be identified more precisely by measuring characteristics of the recording head to obtain information for defining a drive condition of the head and storing the characteristics as ID information of the recording head.

Recording apparatus controlled with head characteristics and recording method

This ink jet recording apparatus makes it possible to reduce the requisite number of times that preliminary ejection is performed for the purpose of ejection recovery through suction, which must be effected to such a degree as to make color mixing on the recording paper sufficiently inconspicuous. With a plurality of recording heads using inks of different lightnesses, ejection recovery is performed successively on the recording heads in accordance with the descending order of ink lightness. In addition, the number of preliminary ejections after ejection recovery to be performed on the next recording head is also controlled, thereby attaining a still greater effect. In a method aspect, the present invention includes an initial discharge step for discharging ink from a recording head, interrupting the discharge of ink for an appropriate period set in accordance with the ink lightness, and discharging ink again from the discharge ports of the recording head after the interruption.

Refreshing and recovering ink discharge in a multi-color ink jet recording apparatus

A liquid jet head is provided with discharge ports for discharging liquid, liquid flow paths conductively connected with the discharge ports, air bubble generating areas for creating air bubbles in the liquid, and movable members arranged to face the air bubble generating areas, each having a free end in a position relatively near to the discharge port with respect to a fulcrum thereof. This movable member is inclined to position the free end of the movable member to release the air bubble generating area partly to the discharge port so as to enable the tangential line of the free end of the movable member on the side of the air bubble generating area or the extended line thereof to reach directly the discharge port formation area having the discharge port on the liquid flow path side before the creation of air bubble on the air bubble generating area, and with this position as reference, the movable member is displaced following the creation of air bubble on the air bubble generating area. With this arrangement, the liquid discharging efficiency and speed are significantly enhanced as compared with the conventional liquid jet head, and due to more stabilized discharge of droplets from the discharge ports, the quality of recorded images is improved.

Liquid jet head with a movable member, head cartridge using the liquid jet head, liquid jet apparatus and liquid discharging method

A plurality of recording heads for ejecting inks of different colors are reciprocally moved relative to a recording medium, and printing operations are performed by executing main scans in forward and backward scans of the recording heads. In this case, an area printable in a single main scan is recorded by performing a plurality of main scans using a plurality of thinning patterns in which an m&times;n pixel group is defined as a unit pixel group, and the pixel groups are arranged at non-neighboring positions, and which have a complementary arrangement relationship therebetween. A high-quality color image free from time difference nonuniformity, and density nonuniformity caused by, e.g., variations of recording elements is obtained at high speed.

Ink jet recording method and apparatus

There have been desired a liquid discharge method, a liquid discharge head and a liquid discharge apparatus capable of sufficient temperature adjustment for maintaining the viscosity of the discharge liquid within an appropriate range, there by maintaining constantly stable liquid discharge. In this invention, the movable member provided with a heating member simultaneously or individually controls the temperatures of the liquid in the first liquid path and that in the second liquid path.

Liquid discharging head, liquid discharging method, head cartridge, liquid discharging apparatus, liquid discharging printing method, printing system, head kit and head recovery method

A plurality of recording heads for ejecting inks of different colors are reciprocally moved relative to a recording medium, and printing operations are performed by executing main scans in forward and backward scans of the recording heads. In this case, an area printable in a single main scan is recorded by performing a plurality of main scans using a plurality of thinning patterns in which an m.times.n pixel group is defined as a unit pixel group, and the pixel groups are arranged at non-neighboring positions, and which have a complementary arrangement relationship therebetween. A high-quality color image free from time difference nonuniformity, and density nonuniformity caused by, e.g., variations of recording elements is obtained at high speed.

Method for recording an image with multiple scannings of a recording

An ink jet recording apparatus including a recording head for performing print recording by ejecting ink from an ejection orifice by thermal energy; temperature sensors provided in the recording head; a temperature calculation device for calculating a temperature change of the recording head in a unit time as a discrete value on the basis of the supply of energy input to the recording head, and for calculating the temperature change of the recording head by accumulating the discrete value in the unit time; a temperature presuming device for presuming a head temperature by both a calculated value of the temperature change and an adopted base value of the head temperature; a detection device for detecting a difference between the head presumed temperature and a detected temperature sensed by the temperature sensors; an update device for updating the adopted base value of the head temperature by the difference; and a control device for controlling ejection of the ink to be stabilized in accordance with the head presumed temperature.

Ink jet recording apparatus controlled by presumed temperature and

An ink jet recording method for recording in which an ink is discharged by the pressure of a bubble generated in the ink by means of thermal energy, having the steps of preparing an ink jet head having a liquid path provided with a heating element and communicated with a discharge opening supplying the ink into the liquid path, the ink having a surface tension equal to or less than critical surface tension of a recording medium generating thermal energy for generating a bubble with the heating element in such a manner that the bubble is communicated with the atmosphere from the discharge opening when the generated bubble has a negative internal pressure and discharging the ink from the discharge opening by means of the pressure of the bubble generated.

Ink jet recording method and ink jet recording apparatus

An ink jet recording apparatus can obtain characteristics of temperature sensors precisely in a short time by detecting that a new recording head is installed and presuming the characteristics of the temperature sensors of the recording head.

Recording method and apparatus for presuming characteristics of

There are provided a color image forming method with liquids, capable of ensuring sharpness and high density in basically all the color images, and a recording apparatus therefor. This invention employs a black ink of relatively superior diffusibility and color inks of relatively superior penetrability, different in color from the black ink, and is characterized by forming the boundary area of a black image area with the color inks instead of the black ink.

Ink-jet recording method employing inks of different characteristics and

A recording scan is performed through a relative reciprocation of color recording heads on a recording material. The recording heads can record with higher recording density than that of input image date. A plurality of pixels (2.times.2)are formed for each pixel of input image data. A mixed color image is recorded by multiple scans of the recording heads, in such a manner that pixels thereof (2.times.2) are not subjected to superposition of ink of two colors or more during a scan of the recording heads. Thus, it is possible to prevent an occurrence of variations in mixed color, and to record a high quality color image without increasing a recording time. Further, an amount of ink of one color may be reduced when recording a second one of the scans.

Multiple scan mixed color ink jet recording method

An information transmitting mechanism is described for transmitting information of an ink tank of an ink jet recording apparatus to a controller thereof. The recording apparatus performs recording by scanning a carriage on which a recording head and the ink tank are mounted; the ink tank is removably mounted to said recording head. The information transmitting mechanism includes the ink tank and the recording head; in particular, the ink tank has an information mark. The recording head is connected to the ink tank and has a signal terminal making a signal connection with the ink tank and with the controller of the apparatus. The content of the information mark is transmitted to the controller through the signal terminal. The information relating to the ink tank is transmitted to the controller through the head terminal and through the carriage terminal. The information relating to the recording head is transmitted to the controller through the carriage terminal.

Ink jet recording means and packaging therefor

According to the present invention, there is provided an ink jet recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium by discharging ink to the surface of the recording medium, wherein ink is reserved in an ink tank including a negative pressure generating member, such as an absorber and a foaming member, and a function of accurately detecting the residual quantity such that depletion to a predetermined level can be detected is realized. Light emitted by a photointerrupter is allowed to pass through a portion of a wall surface of the ink tank made of transparent plastic or the like which is transmissible with respect to detection light emitted by the photointerrupter to detect change in the light reflectance in the boundary portion between the wall surface and the ink absorber. In accordance with reflectance obtained in a case where no ink exists in the detected portion and that obtained in a case where ink exists, the residual quantity of ink can be detected.

Ink jet recording apparatus having residual quantity detection unit and

An ink jet recording apparatus includes a cap to cover the discharge ports for discharging ink. This cap includes an atmospheric conduction passage for conductively connecting the interior of the cap with the air outside, and an ink exhausting device for exhausting ink deposited in the interior of the cap to the outside preferably by utilizing the ink's own weight. With this cap structure, ink is exhausted outside the cap, thus reliably coping with ink leakage that might otherwise take place when ink tanks are replaced or the main body is vibrated. At the same time, it is made possible to maintain the atmospheric conduction passage in good condition at all times.

Capping mechanism for ink jet recorder

Growing community of inventors

Kawasaki, Japan

Masaya Uetuki