Seiko Epson Corporation

Masayuki Kumazaki

Yukihiro Uchiyama

Naoto Yamaguchi

Hiroshi Ishida

Kazuhiko Yamaguchi

Kazuo Saito

Seiichi Hirano

Michiyo Ichikawa

Shinji Sato

Masanori Yoshida

Ryuji Moriyama

Kenichi Miyazaki

Susumu Murayama

Tsuyoshi Tomii

Yoichi Kobayashi

Kazumi Kamoi

Hiromi Shishiuchi

Atsushi Nishizawa

Takashi Takeuchi

Hayato Nishikaze

Takao Mimura

Koichi Endo

Takumi Kawamura

A fluid ejection device has a fluid ejection head that ejects fluid droplets onto printing paper; a carriage that carries the fluid ejection head; and a static elimination member or charged member affixed to either or both the fluid ejection head and carriage. The static elimination member is configured to contactlessly eliminate the electric charge of an object, and the charged member has a polarized charge.

Fluid ejection device

A platen gap adjustment mechanism includes a carriage guide shaft, a carriage drive unit and a main carriage. The carriage guide shaft is configured to extend perpendicularly to a media conveyance direction that passes over a platen. The carriage drive unit is supported on the carriage guide shaft and pivotable around an axis of the carriage guide shaft. The main carriage is supported on the carriage drive unit, pivotable around a parallel axis that is parallel to the axis of the carriage guide shaft, and configured to carry a printhead for printing on a print medium conveyed along the media conveyance path past the platen. The main carriage is moveable toward and away from the platen according to a thickness of the print medium while being slidable in sliding contact with the print medium conveyed over the platen to maintain a constant gap between the printhead and the print medium.

Platen gap adjustment mechanism

Platen gap adjustment mechanism and printer

A ribbon guide includes a pair of upper and lower plates for limiting upper and lower ends of an ink ribbon. A ribbon guide plate is disposed between the pair of upper and lower plates so as to guide a non-transfer surface of the ink ribbon. Ribbon press bars are suspended between the pair of upper and lower plates so as to guide a transfer surface of the ink ribbon. Cutouts through which the ink ribbon is inserted are formed at the lower plate so as to surround lower end portions of the ribbon press bars.

Ribbon cartridge and printing apparatus

Ink ribbon cartridge

A sheet end detector comprising a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element for detecting changes in the amount of light associated with movement of a piece of a recording medium is provided. A standard value calculator detects the difference between the sheet end detector platen voltage Vp corresponding to light reflected only from said platen and said sheet end detector paper saturation voltage Vm corresponding to light reflected only from the recording medium. The amount necessary to feed the paper for platen voltage Vp to reach paper saturation voltage Vm is a constant value, irrespective of recording medium characteristics, which is when all of the light is reflected by the recording medium and the entire end portion of a piece of a recording medium has reached a predetermined position relative to the position of the sheet end detector. A standard value is calculated by multiplying this difference by a constant coefficient C and then adding back the lesser of Vp or Vm, C being a numerical value greater than 0 and less than 1 and being an indication of the desired position of the leading edge of the recording medium. A comparator compares the standard value and a signal from the sheet end detector and determines when the signal corresponds to the standard value, which is indicative that the presence of a leading edge or trailing edge of the recording medium has reached a predetermined position.

Method for detecting an end portion of a recording medium in a recording

In a printer, a bottom of an automatic paper feeder is formed by a bottom itself of a printer case; an operation lever is provided for operating a hopper and separation pawls arranged in a stacker section; a spring member is used as a changeover mechanism for a paper feed-in roller; an ink shielding portion is provided over an entire print area; the paper is discharged while forcibly urging the paper in a concave shape in which its printed surface is concaved; and a changeover is effected between a paper feeding operation and a pumping operation by a carriage at both ends of a carriage-moving area.

Printer sheet discharge method

The sheet end detector unit (10) is provided with a supporting plate (13), a depressed bearing part (14) for bearing against a sheet discharge roller shaft (5) and a pair of leg pieces (15) which engage with the sides of a unit attachment hole (3) provided in a sheet guide plate (1). The supporting plate (13) supports the sheet end detector unit (10) which is readily positioned on the sheet discharge roller shaft (5) by simply inserting the supporting plate (13) through the attachment hole (3) so that the legs (15) are securely engaged at one side of the supporting plate (13) and the other side of the supporting plate (13) abuts against the rear side of the sheet guide plate (1).

Sheet end detecting device

A paper detection device for a printer, includes: a support member; a main lever pivotably mounted on the support member, wherein the main lever has a self-resetability to an upright position and is pivotable only in a sheet-feed-direction; an auxiliary lever pivotably mounted on the main lever, including a free end protruding into a sheet passage, wherein the auxiliary lever has a self-resetability and moves the main lever in the sheet-feed direction when the free end thereof is urged in the sheet-feed direction, but does not move the main lever in a reverse-sheet-feed direction when the free end of the auxiliary lever is urged in a reverse-sheet-feed direction.

Paper detection device for printer

A ribbon mask for use with a impact dot matrix printer is provided. The ribbon mask comprises a head confronting surface and a pair of opposed side plates each positioned on an opposite side of the head confronting surface. An obtuse angle is formed between said head confronting surface each of the opposed side plates. A pair of fitting tabs are also provided. Each fitting tab is positioned on one of the pair of opposed side plates. An acute angle is formed between each of the fitting tabs and a plane parallel to a plane in which the head confronting surface lies. As a result of this construction, when the ribbon mask comes in contact with a sheet of a recording medium, the ribbon mask is deformed so that a portion of the head confronting surface comes into contact with an end of a recording head, which in turn prevents the ribbon mask from interfering with the sheet of the recording medium.

Ribbon mask for impact dot matrix printed

A method of printing on a printing medium is provided, including providing a printing head for printing on a recording medium and conveying the recording medium in a first direction with a conveyer. A detector is positioned on the upstream side of the print head, the detector then detecting a trailing edge of the recording medium. The amount of recording medium conveyance by the conveyer upon the detection of said trailing edge is computed and it is determined whether the recording medium is of a standard size. Thereafter, a printing region on the recording medium is defined in accordance with the size of the recording medium if the recording medium is a standard size. A printer for printing on a printing medium which employs the above method is also provided wherein a detector is positioned upstream of the print head for detecting a trailing edge of the recording medium which is being conveyed. A computer computes the amount of the recording medium conveyance by the conveyer upon the detection of the trailing edge by the detector, and a size determiner determines whether the recording medium is of a standard size and defines a printing region on the recording medium in accordance with the size of the recording medium if the recording medium is of a standard size.

Paper size determining method and printer in which the method is used

A printing method of playing out piled sheets of paper one by one, feeding the played-out sheet of paper to the position of a platen, and printing the sheet of paper, the printing method includes the steps of: (a) feeding the sheet of paper played out from the piled position thereof at a first speed until the sheet of paper approaches a platen which is stopping; (b) feeding the sheet of paper at a second speed lower than the first speed until a required short time passes from a time when the sheet of paper is engaged with the stopping platen, for performing a sheet flexing and a sheet skew removing; and (c) driving the platen at the second speed to feed the sheet of paper to a printing position. And the printing apparatus performs the printing method.

Printing method and printing apparatus

A method of discharging paper by forcibly urging the paper in a concave shape in which a printed surface is rendered concave as viewed in a discharging direction and an ink jet printer including a pair of supporting portions for supporting both side portions of the paper which has been discharged after being printed on an upper surface thereof, and a pushing-down portion for pushing down a central portion of the paper.

Ink jet recording apparatus having an antismear sheet deformation

A printer apparatus having a sheet feeding roller which rotates in the forward direction only when the platen rotates in the reversed direction, and a auxiliary sheet feeding roller rotating in the forward direction both when the platen rotates in the forward direction and when it rotates in the reverse direction, when the platen rotates in the forward direction, the printing sheet is nipped at a predetermined amount between the platen and the driven roller, and thereafter while the platen is rotated in the reverse direction sufficient for pushing the thus nipped sheet back while the auxiliary sheet feeding roller rotates in the forward direction to eliminate an undesirable skew, whereby the printing sheet is bent being pushed in front and in rear, and thereafter the platen is rotated in the forward direction again, to transport the printing sheet to a printing start position.

Printing apparatus and method of forward and reverse sheet feeding to

A mechanism for automatically adjusting the gap between the platen and print head of a printer includes a paper thickness lever detecting lever pivotably mounted on the printer base so that one end selectively contacts the surface of the platen. The opposite end of the lever contacts a pressure sensitive conductive member or adjusts the amount of light striking a photosensitive member of a paper thickness detector to generate an initial signal. After paper is fed onto the platen the lever contacts the surface of the paper and the paper thickness detector generates a second paper thickness signal corresponding to the different position of the lever. A carriage control circuit receives this signal and controls a print head carriage guide to adjust the relative position between the carriage and the platen to provide a suitable distance for printing.

Growing community of inventors

Nagano, Japan

Masayuki Kumazaki