Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-Kaisha

Brother Industries, Ltd.

Takamitsu Kawai

Kazuhito Ishida

Motohito Muraki

Yukio Shiohara

Seiji Shimizu

Naohisa Kinoshita

Koji Takito

Yoshio Nakagawa

Minoru Sakanobe

Masaki Takatsugi

Koshiro Yamaguchi

Yuji Koga

Atsuo Sakaida

Takashi Ohama

Tetsuya Ouchi

Hiroshi Suzuki

Takatoshi Takemoto

Hiroyuki Okuchi

Masafumi Kawaura

Teruo Deshimaru

Hiroo Ogawa

Naoki Oda

Tuyoshi Nagae

An ink-jet printer including: (i) a recording head which has an outer surface and includes at least one nozzle opening in the outer surface; (ii) a carriage which carries the recording head and which is reciprocateable in a main scanning direction; and (iii) a waste-ink retaining device which retains a waste ink forcedly ejected from the at least one nozzle of the recording head when a flushing operation is performed by the recording head. The waste-ink retaining device includes an ink receiving portion which is provided below a flushing position to which the recording head is moved to perform the flushing operation, and which receives the waste ink ejected by the recording head, and a first ink retaining portion which receives the waste ink from the ink receiving portion and retains the waste ink and which extends upward such that a top end thereof is positioned higher than a height position of the ink receiving portion.

Ink-jet printer

An multi-function apparatus includes a body, an openable image reading unit and an openable document cover. The image reading unit includes a locking member including a first engaging portion capable of engaging the body and a second engaging portion capable of engaging the document cover. The locking member is configured to be movable between a first position and a second position. When the locking member is moved to the first position, the first engaging portion engages the body and the image reading unit is locked to the closed position. When the locking member is moved to the second position, the second engaging portion engages the document cover, and the document cover is locked to the closed position. The multi-function apparatus further comprises a first urging member which urges the locking member at the second position when the image reading unit is in the opened position and a second urging member which urges the locking member at the first position when the document cover is in the opened position.

Multi-function apparatus

An image recording apparatus includes an apparatus body, a recording section for forming an image, a display panel assuming upright and laying posture with respect to the apparatus body by pivoting on a predetermined axis, and a covering member having a first end and a second end. The first end is mounted pivotably on one of the apparatus body and the back surface of the display panel. The second end engages slidably with the other of the apparatus body and the back surface of the display panel. Accordingly, the covering member can be accommodated substantially in parallel with the back surface of the display panel. As a result, when the display panel is laid down, it is low in height, thereby making the image recording apparatus to be compact.

Image recording apparatus with pivotable display

An image recording apparatus has an apparatus body; a display unit; a first axis, a first bearing, a second axis and a second bearing which support the display unit pivotably to the apparatus body; a separate part which is formed unintegrally from the apparatus body, to which the first axis or the first bearing is attached, and which has a key; and an engaging part which is provided to the apparatus body and which extends along a surface of the apparatus body, and which is formed with a receiving part formed for receiving the key; wherein the key has been engaged with the receiving part. Accordingly, the separate part is firmly and tightly fixed to the apparatus body, and the display unit is pivotally supported to the apparatus body in a firm and tight manner.

Image recording apparatus and method of producing image recording apparatus

Multi-function device with pivoting display

An electrical appliance includes an upper and lower main bodies, in which the upper main body is pivotally movable about a side edge of the lower main body to selectively be in an open state in which the top surface of the lower main body is exposed and a closed state in which the upper main body is disposed above the lower main body. A liquid crystal display panel is disposed on the top surface of the lower main body in the vicinity of a side edge near the front surface thereof. A notched opening is formed in the upper main body so that the display surface of the liquid crystal display panel is visible when the upper main body is in the closed state.

Electrical appliance equipped with liquid crystal display

A sheet presser including two pivot shaft portions fixedly disposed substantially coaxially with each other and parallel to a sheet of a document conveyed in a direction; a pressing member mounted on the shaft portions; a biasing member biasing the pressing member around the shaft portions in a direction to press the sheet; the pressing member having two elongate bearing bores each long in a direction substantially perpendicular to a surface of the sheet, which are formed in respective portions which are distant in a lateral direction of the pressing member to bear the shaft portions; and the biasing member biasing the pressing member such that at least one of the shaft portions is held in contact with one end of the bearing bore which is away from the sheet, so that an acute angle formed between the conveyance direction and the pressing member is within a predetermined range.

Sheet presser and image scanner

An image processing device includes a first and second rotating member configured to selectively rotate between an open position and a closed position, and a first and second actuator configured to rotate in sync with the first rotating member and the second rotating member, respectively. The image processing device also includes a light sensor including a light emitter configured to emit a light, and a light receptor positioned opposite the light emitter. The light receptor is configured to receive the light from the light emitter, and a space is formed between the light emitter and the light receptor. In addition, the first actuator is selectively positioned within the space and outside of the space based on the position of the first rotating member, and the second actuator is selectively positioned within the space and outside of the space based on the position of the second rotating member. Moreover, the light sensor detects whether the first rotating member is in the open position or the closed position based on whether the first actuator is positioned within the space or outside of the space, and the light sensor detects whether the second rotating member is in the open position or the closed position based on whether the second actuator is positioned within the space or outside of the space.

Image processing devices

An electronic device is equipped with a wireless unit board for transmitting and receiving a radio signal to and from external equipment, where an accommodation space for the wireless unit board is enclosed by a side plate of a casing of the electronic device, a first shield plate covering a circuit board, and a second shield plate holding a main control board thereupon and disposed substantially horizontally above the first shield plate. The wireless unit board is disposed in the accommodation space with one of opposed major surfaces thereof facing to the side plate of the casing.

Electronic device

An image recording apparatus including: upper and lower unit cases; a stand member having first and second end portions, the first end portion attached to one of the upper unit case and the lower unit case; a guide member attached to the other of the upper unit case and the lower unit case in a manner that the guide member is positioned at a first position during a closing motion and is positioned at a second position during an opening motion, the guide member guiding the second end portion of the stand member; and a constraint portion disposed on the other of the upper unit case and the lower unit case, the constraint portion providing a frictional resistance on at least one of the guide member and the second end portion of the stand member when the guide member is at the first position.

Image recording apparatus and opening and closing mechanism

A waste ink tank including: a first storing section that stores waste ink and has an evaporation opening for the waste ink; a second storing section that stores the waste ink and is deeper than the first storing section, the second storing section having an evaporation opening which is smaller than that of the first storing section; and a waste ink receiving section which connects the first storing section and the second storing section and into which the waste ink is made to flow, the waste ink receiving section connecting the first storing section and the second storing section at a bottom surface thereof that is horizontal when the waste ink tank is used.

Waste ink tank and inkjet recording apparatus

An electronic apparatus includes a main body; a display portion, a responsive member and a frictional sliding member. The display portion is supported by the main body rotatably about an axis of a rotary shaft so as to extend and retract with respect to the main body. The responsive member reciprocates in a guide groove formed in the main body as a result of the extension and retraction of the display portion. The responsive member includes a first end rotatably attached to a rear side of the display portion at a position offset from the axis of the rotary shaft, and a second end including with an engagement piece engaged with the guide groove. The frictional sliding member is disposed along the guide groove and, when compressed by the engagement piece of the responsive member, the frictional sliding member applies a frictional force to the reciprocating responsive member. An image forming apparatus may include such an electronic apparatus.

Electronic apparatus and image forming apparatus comprising such electronic apparatus

A holder that is detachably attachable to a casing of a communication apparatus, including: a placement surface on which a handset can be placed; a first side surface; a displacement unit that is displaced in response to an act of placing the handset on the placement surface; a lever that is displaced according to a displacement of the displacement unit, the lever being projected in a first direction by a first distance from the first side surface; and an engagement portion being projected substantially in the first direction by a second distance, which is longer than the first distance, from the first side surface, the engagement portion engaging the holder with the casing.

Holder and communication apparatus

A feeding device for feeding a recording medium in a feed direction, including: a drive roller having an annular recess; and a driven roller rotatably held and positioned such that a radially outer end portion of the driven roller is positioned within the annular recess of the drive roller. The driven roller is displaceable away from the drive roller, so that the recording medium is fed to pass between the drive and driven rollers, with the recording medium being gripped by the radially outer end portion of the driven roller and the radially outer end portion of the drive roller. The feeding device further includes an overlap-amount limiter including a contact portion which is positioned within the annular recess and which is, during absence of the recording medium between the drive and driven rollers, held in contact at its surface with the radially outer end portion of the driven roller, for thereby limiting an overlap amount by which the radially outer end portion of the driven roller overlaps with the radially outer end portion of the drive roller.

Feeding device for feeding recording medium

A printer, including a printer body, a plurality of ink cartridges that store ink disposed in the printer body, a plurality of ink supply tubes, one end of each of the plurality of ink supply tubes attached to a corresponding one of the plurality of ink cartridges, the plurality of ink supply tubes extending below the plurality of ink cartridges in the printer body, a plurality of print heads disposed in the printer body, another end of each of the plurality of ink supply tubes attached to a corresponding one of the plurality of print heads so that the plurality of ink supply tubes supply ink from the plurality of ink cartridges to the plurality of print heads, the plurality of print heads disposed below the plurality of ink cartridges.

Growing community of inventors

Obu, Japan

Takamitsu Kawai