Brother Kogyo Kabushiki-kaisha

Other

Takashi Nakata

Shigeyuki Hayashi

Takashi Tomizawa

Yoichi Horaguchi

Motoshi Ohno

Hiroshi Igarashi

Yumio Matsumoto

Shinji Kimura

Hiroaki Kimura

Osamu Takagi

Makoto Ishii

Takemi Yamamoto

Kenji Sakakibara

Susumu Kuzuya

Kazumasa Makino

Toshio Sugiura

Kazuhito Ishida

Michitoshi Akao

Hiroshi Tokuda

Kazunori Tanabe

Hideo Yoshihara

Yasuo Kimura

Eiji Shibata

Hiroo Ogawa

Naoya Kamimura

Shunichi Higashiyama

Makoto Suzuki

Tsutomu Suzuki

Jun Sakai

Tatsuya Shindo

Noritsugu Ito

Makoto Yamada

Tsuyoshi Suzuki

Yuji Asano

Takayuki Hayashi

Naoyuki Hatta

Mitsuru Ohta

Osamu Nagata

Hiroshi Kawahara

Toshiaki Sugiura

Shogo Suzuki

Satoru Kuwabara

Keiko Suzuki

Katsuyoshi Sonobe

Morikazu Iwase

Kazuya Asano

Akao Michitoshi

Tauyoshi Suzuki

A hot-melt type ink jet printer includes a nozzle head for ejecting a hot-melt type ink onto a sheet. The printer has a sheet feed passage defined by, in order from an upstream side in a sheet feeding direction, a sheet supply roller, a preheat platen, a sheet feed roller, a main platen, a cooling platen, discharge roller and a sheet discharge opening. The preheat platen and main platen have preheater and main heater, respectively, and these platen and the cooling platen are supported on a frame. A first suction port is formed between the main platen and the cooling platen and a second suction port is formed between the cooling platen and the frame. A power board and a cooling fan is provided within the frame for cooling the power board. By rotation of the cooling fan, air is introduced from the sheet discharge opening into the frame through the first and second suction ports to also cool the cooling platen and the heating platen.

Hot-melt type ink jet printer having heating and cooling arrangement

An ink jet printer includes a print head having ink nozzles, which is movable in a direction across the feeding path. A supply mechanism is provided at one side of the feeding path, which supplies ink to the print head located in the ink supply station. A maintenance mechanism is provided at the other side of the feeding path, which operates a predetermined operation. The ink jet printer is further provided with a first clutch which transmits the rotation of the actuator to the supply mechanism only when the print head is located in the above-mentioned one side, and a second clutch which transmits the rotation of the actuator to the maintenance mechanism only when the print head is located in the above-mentioned the other side. With this, the supply mechanism and the maintenance mechanism are actuated by a common actuator.

Ink jet printer

An ink jet recorder includes a recording head, a carriage for reciprocating the head, a sheet conveying roller, a motor for driving the roller, a maintenance mechanism and an ink supply mechanism. The driving force from the motor can be transmitted through a first clutch to the maintenance mechanism, and through a second clutch to the ink supply mechanism. One of the clutches is connected to a turn lever, and the other is connected to a shift lever. Each of the clutches can be switched mechanically by the carriage engaging with the associated lever. The single motive power source can drive a plurality of mechanisms. There is no need of a special switch for changing over the source.

Ink jet recorder

The printer such that when characters are printed, a carriage is moved in a printing direction. Corresponding to the direction of the movement of the carriage, a printing hammer driving mechanism is selected through a pivotal lever, a pendulum member, and a selecting member. In this state a solenoid is energized to make the printing hammer driving mechanism operate. When misprinted characters are to be corrected, the carriage is first moved in a character correcting direction and, corresponding to the direction of the movement of the carriage, a ribbon lift mechanism is selected through the pivotal lever, the pendulum member, and the selecting member. In this state the solenoid is energized to make the ribbon lift mechanism operate. Thereby, either the printing hammer driving mechanism or the correction ribbon lift mechanism can be selected, and these mechanisms can be selectively connected to the driving motor by one solenoid corresponding to the direction of the movement of the carriage, which makes it possible to offer a printer of low cost by decreasing the number of solenoids.

Printer with printing hammer

Disclosed is a carriage driving device in which a rack 8 with high rigidity and gear teeth 8a at one side elongated therethrough is fixed on a bottom frame 7c in a frame 7 of a printer 1 so that the rack 8 is arranged parallel with a platen 5, and both a pinion 16 meshed with the gear teeth 8a of the rack 8 and a driving motor 15 for rotating the pinion 16 are arranged on a plate 18 which is rotatably supported around a support shaft 17 in a horizontal direction on the carriage 2. The pinion 16 is biased by a spring 22 so as to constantly mesh with the gear teeth 8a of the rack 8. In the carriage 2, a first contact member 10 slidably contacting on the upper surface of the rack 8 and a second contact member 11 slidably contacting to the side of the rack 8 opposite to the side where the gear teeth 8a are formed, are arranged so that a predetermined positional relationship of the carriage 2 against the platen 5 is maintained. Thereby, the rack 8 concludes to have two functions for guiding the carriage 2 reciprocally along the platen 5 and for maintaining the predetermined positional relationship between the carriage 2 and the platen 5, in addition to a function for driving the carriage 2 in cooperation with the driving motor 15.

Carriage driving device in printing apparatus

An image recording medium is provided with an identifying index indicative of whether or not one side of the image recording medium is a front side coated with developing agent. In another image recording medium coated with developing agent, electrical resistance material is coated on at least one side of the image recording medium. In a detecting device for the another image recording medium, an electrode unit is provided for measuring electric conductivity of one side of the image recording medium. A control unit is connected to the electrode unit for identifying the image recording medium on the basis of the electric conductivity measured by the electrode unit. In another detecting device, a light emitting unit emits light with which at least one of front and back sides of an image recording medium is illuminated. A light receiving unit receives light reflected from the at least one side of the image recording medium. An identifying unit is connected to the light receiving unit for identifying the front and back sides and presence and absence of the image recording medium on the basis of the light received by the light receiving unit.

Image recording medium and detecting device therefor

A sheet feeding system for ensuring feed of a single sheet includes a suction cup for holding the uppermost sheet of a stack. During initial lifting of the sheet, movement of the suction cup is halted for a predetermined time to allow sheets which have clung, by static attraction or otherwise to the uppermost sheet, to return to the stack. The initial lifting of the sheet takes place by swinging the suction cup about an axis. Thereafter the suction cup is lifted vertically to bring the topmost sheet into position to be taken up by portion feeding rollers and fed into a feed path. A stack empty detector employs a swinging arm which is positioned above the position the position of initial displacement of the suction cup so that, even if the last few sheets of the stack are initially attracted by the suction cup, the indicator will be prevented from giving a spurious 'stack empty' signal.

Sheet supplying device

An auxiliary exposure device for an image forming apparatus which forms an image on a recording medium using slit-scanning exposure. The auxiliary exposure device comprises a reflection member which is insertable into and removable from a light path extending from a light source to a recording medium, a drive unit for moving the reflection member into and out of the light path, and a control unit for controlling a drive unit to adjust the amount of insertion of the reflection member into the light path. When the image to be copied is based on a photograph or like multi-toned original, requiring auxiliary exposure, the reflection member is inserted into the light path. In this state, when a part of an original image is irradiated by light emitted from a light source, the reflection surface of the reflection member is also irradiated. The light reflected from the original and the reflection surface of the reflection member pass to the photosensitive recording medium through the optical system and the primary exposure and the auxiliary exposure occur simultaneously.

Auxiliary exposure device for image recording apparatus

An image recording apparatus using an elongated photosensitive recording medium stored in a sheet cartridge in a rolled fashion. The apparatus provides an exposure stand and a reversal sheet feeding arrangement for reversely feeding completely unexposed microcapsule sheet to a position upstream of the exposure stand for the purpose of a subsequent exposure operation. A control means is further provided for automatically starting the subsequent copying operation. In one embodiment, the control means stores therein a copy start signal and automatically starts the next copying operation upon completion of the reversal sheet feeding operation. The copy start signal is generated by the manipulation of the copy start key manipulated at the reversal sheet feeding phase. In another embodiment of this invention, the control means forcibly stops the reversal sheet feeding operation in response to the copy start signal so as to automatically start the copying operation. The copy start signal is generated by the manipulation of the copy start key manipulated at the reversal sheet feeding phase.

Image recording apparatus having reversal sheet feeding device and

An image forming apparatus includes a cartridge spool wound with an elongated photosensitive recording sheet, a takeup spool for winding up the photosensitive recording sheet, an exposing unit for exposing the photosensitive recording sheet to light carrying image information, a cut sheet supplying unit for supplying cut sheet, a developing unit for bringing the recording sheet into contact with cut sheet so as to form an image on the cut sheet, a peeling roller for separating the photosensitive recording sheet from the cut sheet, a separation verification sensor for detecting a complete separation between the photosensitive recording sheet and the cut sheet and a rewinding motor for rotating the cartridge spool so as to rewind the cartridge spool with the photosensitive recording sheet. The rewinding motor rewinds the cartridge spool with a predetermined length of the photosensitive recording sheet, the predetermined length being equal to a distance between the exposing unit and the peeling roller, based on the detection of the separation by the separation verification sensor.

Image forming apparatus having a photosensitve recording medium

A thermal fixing unit provided with gas purification means for use in an image recording medium. The gas purification means traps gaseous component released from a developer sheet upon heating thereof. The purification means includes a duct body disposed to surround a main frame of the thermal fixing unit, a support body having one end connected to the duct body, a fluid passage being defined between the main frame and the duct body, and the fluid passage being connected between the one end of the support body and sheet inlet and sheet outlet of the thermal fixing unit, the gas venting fan rotatably provided at the support body for sucking fluid in the main frame through the sheet inlet, the sheet outlet and the fluid passage, and a filter member disposed in the support body for trapping the gaseous component released from the developer sheet.

Thermal fixing unit having gas purification means

A sheet supplying device for supplying an uppermost sheet of a stack of sheets in a sheet cassette used in an image forming apparatus includes suction cups movable into and out of contact with the uppermost sheet in the sheet cassette, an evacuator for developing a vacuum in the suction cups to enable the suction cups to attract the uppermost sheet, a moving member for upwardly and downwardly moving the suction cups to pick up the sheet from the sheet cassette, a sheet feeding member for feeding the sheet from the moving member along a sheet feed path, and a control system for judging on the basis of a detection signal from each sensor for detecting an image forming error provided in the image forming apparatus whether the error occurs during the sheet supplying operation, and when judging that the image forming error occurs during a sheet supplying operation, the control unit ceasing the sheet supplying operation and controlling the driving of at least one of the suction cups, the evacuator, moving member and the sheet feeding member so that at least one of those members carries out a predetermined operation selected from the series of operations to be performed by at least one of the members.

Sheet supplying device having control unit for sheet supplying operation

A sheet storage case for storing therein a stack of sheets. The sheet storage case is assembled into a sheet feeding device which feeds out an uppermost sheet of the stack of sheets. The sheet storage case includes a bottom plate, a first positioning member fixedly secured to the bottom plate and a slidably movable second positioning member provided in the bottom plate. The second positioning member has a sheet receiving portion for receiving the stack of sheets. The second positioning member is movable toward and away from the first positioning member. To mount a stack of sheet on the sheet storage case, the second positioning member is moved away from the first positioning member, the sheets are placed on the sheet receiving portion, and then the second positioning member is moved toward the first positioning member. The side edges of the sheets are aligned, because the sheets are fittedly interposed between the two positioning members. The uppermost sheet is taken out by a mechanism which includes a suction cut which is brought to contact with the uppermost sheet to attract the latter. The suction cup to which the sheet is attracted is swung in the position above the sheet storage case to separate the uppermost sheet from the reminder.

Sheet storage case for use in image recording apparatus

An image recording apparatus employs a transfer type recording medium which includes a photosensitive pressure-sensitive recording sheet and a developer sheet. The former sheet is exposed to light to form a latent image corresponding to an image of an original. This sheet is exposed to light while being transported at a speed equal to or in the case of making a copy of enlarged or reduced size, at a speed different from a speed at which the original is scanned by light. The photosensitive pressure-sensitive recording sheet on which the latent image is formed is brought into facial contact with the developer sheet and the latent image is developed under pressure to provide a visible image on the developer sheet. This developing operation is performed while moving the superposed two sheets at the same speed as the speed when the latent image is formed on the photosensitive pressure-sensitive recording sheet. Since both the exposure and developing operations can be performed substantially simultaneously, the copying speed is increased. Further, no receiving unit needs to be provided in a position between the exposure unit and the developing unit, which may otherwise be needed for receiving the exposed recording sheet if development is performed upon completion of the exposure. Thus, the overall apparatus can be made compact in size.

Image recording apparatus using photosensitive pressure-sensitive

A thermal fixing device for an image forming apparatus is disclosed which comprises a heater for heating a piece of developer sheet to thermally fix and accelerate coloring of the image on the developer sheet, a sheet delivery path along which the developer sheet is delivered, a cover casing for substantially covering the heater, and a suction/discharge unit for sucking/discharging a gas generated from the developer sheet by the heater. The suction/discharge unit is connected to the cover casing.

Thermal fixing device for image recording apparatus

Growing community of inventors

Nagoya, Japan

Takashi Nakata