Seiko Epson Corporation

Takeo Kishida

Masahiko Kobayashi

Manabu Kawahara

Yoshihiro Tatara

Hiromi Shishiuchi

Kazuhiro Miyoshi

Keisuke Inoue

Makoto Kobayashi

Hiroto Miyauchi

Masaki Shimomura

Nobuhito Takahashi

Wataru Suzuki

Hirokazu Yamano

Toshikazu Kotaka

Kiyoto Komuro

Takuya Yasue

Koichiro Yokoyama

Ikuo Masujima

Kazutoshi Kashiwabara

Yoshiaki Nakayama

Hirofumi Yanagisawa

Tomoko Yagi

Tatsumi Tsuboki

Keisuki Inoue

Printer

Combined printer and scanner

A platen-gap regulation apparatus for regulating a carriage with respect to a platen of a printer, comprises: a pair of guide members rotatably mounted on the printer via an eccentric portion, for running the carriage; and regulating means for imparting the same rotational displacement quantity to both the guide members, wherein the carriage is separated from and drawn near to a printing reference plane in parallel thereto.

Ink jet recording apparatus with a platen gap regulator

Inkjet printer

A sheet feeder assembly including and a sheet feed roller for feeding a sheet of paper in a sheet feeding direction. A sheet support is spaced apart from the sheet feed roller for supporting the sheet of paper thereon. A retaining plate is mounted on the sheet support. A hopper is displaceable between a first position spaced apart from the sheet feed roller so that the paper supported on the hopper cannot contact the sheet feed roller and at least a second position where the leading edge of the sheet of paper can contact the sheet feed roller so that the paper is urged towards the sheet feed roller.

Sheet feeder

Ink jet printer

A printer main body is provided having a print section therein for printing and a sheet feed inlet through which paper is supplied to the print section. An automatic sheet feeder is releasably mountable substantially at position for releasably mounting a manual sheet insertion guide so that each can feed paper through the sheet feed inlet. The manual sheet insertion guide is also releasably mountable on the automatic sheet feeder, preferable at an angle at which sheets can be fed through said sheet feed inlet.

A sheet feed mechanism including a first tractor slidably mounted onto a drive shaft and a guide shaft respectively disposed between a first and a second frame of the printer. A wire is passed through the first tractor and is stretched between the first and second frames by the use of a tension spring or another energizing device connected to one end of the wire adjacent the first frame. Both the first tractor and the second tractor have pin belts with a plurality of pins disposed thereon for aligning and meshing with the holes in the sides of successive sheets of paper. Furthermore, the first tractor includes a fixing assembly for fixing the first tractor to the wire, and also including a loosening assembly which, essentially simultaneously when or after the first tractor is fixed to the wire, produces a loosened portion in the wire at a position thereof intermediate the fixing assembly and the second frame that would permit the first tractor to slide on the drive and guide shaft to compensate for any increase or decrease in the width of a successive sheet of paper due to a change in temperature, humidity or the like.

Successive sheet feed mechanism

Growing community of inventors

Nagano-ken, Japan

Takeo Kishida