Seiko Epson Corporation

Tatsuya Seshimo

Hisashi Miyazawa

Seiji Mochizuki

Takahiro Naka

Takao Kobayashi

Yukihiro Hanaoka

Toshihisa Saruta

Satoshi Fujioka

Takayuki Ishii

Koichiro Yokoyama

Kenjiro Murakami

Yukihiro Uchiyama

Hikonosuke Uwai

Satoshi Shinada

Minoru Usui

Fujio Akahane

Hitoshi Igarashi

Tsuyoshi Kitahara

Kiyoto Komuro

Hitoshi Hayakawa

Takeshi Fujishiro

Susumu Murayama

Osamu Nakamura

Seiichi Hirano

Kazuhiko Yamaguchi

Mitsutaka Iwasaki

Kouichirou Yokoyama

A recording apparatus includes a transportation mechanism that supports and transports a recording medium by a support surface; a recording head that is disposed in a region facing the support surface and is capable of ejecting an ink from a nozzle provided on an ink ejection surface to the recording medium; a suction unit that is capable of sucking the ink inside the nozzle; and a wiping unit that is provided as a separate body from the suction unit and is capable of wiping the ink ejection surface. The recording head is moved in a direction to be separated from the support surface when sucking the ink inside the nozzle. The suction unit is moved to a suction position facing the ink ejection surface of the recording head. The suction unit is moved below the recording head when wiping the ink ejection surface.

Recording apparatus

A recording apparatus includes a transportation mechanism that supports and transports a recording medium by a support surface; a recording head that is disposed in a region facing the support surface and is capable of ejecting an ink from a nozzle provided on an ink ejection surface to the recording medium; a suction unit that is capable of sucking the ink inside the nozzle; and a wiping unit that is provided as a separate body from the suction unit and is capable of wiping the ink ejection surface. At least one of the suction unit and the wiping unit is provided on a farther downstream side of the recording medium in a transportation direction than the recording head and a gap between the one and the support surface is wider than a gap between the ink ejection surface and the support surface.

A fluid ejecting apparatus includes: a fluid ejecting head which includes nozzle rows each having a plurality of nozzles and ejects a fluid onto a medium, the fluid ejecting apparatus being capable of performing a flushing operation in which the fluid is ejected to an absorbing member used to absorb the fluid ejected from the nozzles, wherein the absorbing member is a linear member which extends along the nozzle row and is capable of relatively moving to a position retracted from a flying path of the fluid ejected from the nozzles.

Fluid ejecting apparatus

A valve unit supplies ink supplied from a plurality of ink cartridges to a recording head. The recording head includes a plurality of nozzle rows respectively corresponding to the plurality of ink cartridges. The valve unit includes a plurality of liquid supply passages and at least one flow passage formation body. Each liquid supply passage supplies the ink supplied from the corresponding ink cartridge to the corresponding nozzle row. Each liquid supply passage includes a common portion functionally in common with another liquid supply passage. The common structure of the plurality of liquid supply passages is formed in the same flow passage formation body.

Liquid supplying device and liquid ejection apparatus

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a liquid ejecting head, a carriage carrying the liquid ejecting head, a plurality of subtanks carried on the carriage, a main tank disposed on a body of the apparatus, and a feed pipe. The carriage is moved back and forth in a main scanning direction. Each subtank contains a highly concentrated color ink which corresponds to one of the respective ink colors. The main tank contains a diluent containing no coloring component and/or a colorless ink. The diluent and/or the colorless ink is supplied from the main tank to the carriage through the feed pipe. The liquid ejecting head is supplied with the respective color inks and ejects the inks.

Liquid ejecting apparatus

An ink cartridge of the present invention has a storage element, in which plural pieces of specific information relating to an ink cartridge are stored at specific addresses having predetermined data lengths. For example, a piece of information on the year of manufacture is registered in a data length of 7 bits, a piece of information on the month of manufacture is registered in a data length of 4 bits, and a piece of information on the date of manufacture is registered in a data length of 5 bits. A piece of information on the time (hour) of manufacture is registered in a data length of 5 bits, and a piece of information on the time (minute) of manufacture is registered in a data length of 6 bits. The technique of the present invention determines whether the storage element incorporated in the ink cartridge is normal or abnormal, based on the piece of information on the month of manufacture. This arrangement ensures the easy and adequate determination of whether or not the information stored in the storage element is destroyed.

Method of normality decision with regard to ink cartridge and printer actualizing the method

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: a head member having a nozzle and a liquid-ejecting unit; a main controlling part that drives the liquid-ejecting unit based on ejecting data; a capping member relatively movable between a position away from the head member and a position in contact with the head member; a suction way communicated with an inside of the capping member; and a built-in slide-rotator type of positive displacement pump provided in the suction way. A state-quantity recognizing part recognizes a state quantity related to a dry state in an inside of the positive displacement pump. A judging part judges whether the inside of the positive displacement pump is dry, by comparing the state quantity with a standard state quantity. A preliminary-operation carrying-out part carries out a preliminary operation for wetting the inside of the positive displacement pump, when the inside of the positive displacement pump is dry.

A fixed material transportation apparatus having a reciprocating stage, plural sucking holes, a decompression chamber connecting to the plural sucking holes, and a sucking device sucking air in the decompression chamber set at a discharging side of the fixed material. The fixed material is fed on the fixed material transportation surface of the sucking device by the delivering device, and is stuck on the fixed material transportation surface through the sucking holes by the sucking device. The fixed material is transported gradually to a downstream side from an upstream side by the delivering device on the fixed material transportation surface. The fixed material then separates from a surface of the fixed material transportation surface and rises slightly by blowing air from the sucking holes so as to move to discharging direction, that is, the downstream side.

Fixed material transportation apparatus, fixed material discharging apparatus, method for discharging the fixed material, liquid fixing apparatus

The present invention involves a sucking device having a fixed material transportation surface including plural sucking holes, a decompression chamber connecting to the plural sucking holes, and a sucking device sucking air in the decompression chamber. The fixed material is fed on the fixed material transportation surface of the sucking device by the delivering device, and is stuck on the fixed material transportation surface through the sucking holes by the sucking device. The fixed material is fixed by a fixing head at the state of being stuck and is transported gradually to a downstream side by the delivering device on the fixed material transportation surface. When fixing is finished, the fixed material separates from the surface of the fixed material transportation surface and rises slightly by blowing air from the sucking holes by a blowing device so as to move to a discharging direction.

Fixed material transportation apparatus, fixed material discharging apparatus, method for discharging the fixed material, and liquid fixing apparatus

In an ink jet recording apparatus comprising an ink jet recording headfor receiving supply of ink from an ink cartridgeprovided with a storage devicestoring data for determining compatibility to a recording apparatus, and a print controllerfor determining compatibility of ink based on the data in the storage deviceand executing the print operation, when an ink cartridgeis mounted, if compatibility to the ink cartridgecannot be confirmed, a caution is given and the recording apparatus awaits an input of a continuation instruction by a user to execute a subsequent operation. Even if a cartridge whose compatibility cannot be confirmed is mounted, printing is enabled as much as possible without incurring damage to the recording apparatus.

Ink jet recording apparatus

The invention enables even further improvement in quality of a recording image. A recording method for recording on a recording paper comprises the steps of: carrying the recording paper for a predetermined amount, based on a first carrying amount for which the recording paper is to be carried; executing recording on the recording paper that has been carried for the predetermined amount; executing an addition process of adding an amount obtained by subtracting the predetermined amount from the first carrying amount to a second carrying amount for which the recording paper is to be carried; and carrying the recording paper based on the second carrying amount to which the addition process has been executed.

Method of controlling carrying of recording paper, recording apparatus, and recording method

When ink is sucked from the nozzles during a cleaning process, a rubber cap having a plural number of small spaces independently operable for ink suction is applied to a print head, and only the small space associated with a clogged nozzle of those nozzles of the print head is connected to a suction pump. A user looks up in advance the number and location of a clogged nozzle, judges the cause of the clogging of the nozzle on the basis of the number and location of the clogged nozzle, and selects a suitable type of cleaning process, a selective cleaning (based on the specified-nozzle suction) or a conventional cleaning (based on the all-nozzle suction).

Ink jet printer and printing system using the same

A valve unit is arranged in an ink supply path located between an ink cartridge and a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus. The valve unit controls the opening and closing of the ink supply paths between the ink cartridge and the nozzle openings during a cleaning operation of the recording head. Air bubbles entered into the recording head when the ink cartridge is replaced are discharged by opening the valve unit after applying negative pressure within a cap covering the nozzle openings. By closing valve units disposed on the other recording head that does not receive a new ink cartridge, unnecessary ink suction discharging ink equally through all nozzle openings can be avoided.

Ink jet recording apparatus and recording head cleaning control method thereon

A printing apparatus arranged to perform printing while a monochrome printing head and a color printing head are moved in a direction in which the two heads are moved, the printing apparatus being arranged to print a plurality of patterns in which the relative quantity of deviation of printing timings of the two heads is changed in a stepped manner to cause a user to select a pattern having the smallest quantity of deviation among the plural patterns. Then, the selected pattern is used as a central value when a plurality of patterns in which the relative quantity of deviation of the printing timings of the two heads is changed in a stepped manner are furthermore printed to cause the user to select a pattern having a smallest quantity of deviation from the plural patterns. The above-mentioned process is repeated as necessary. As a result, the operation which is performed by the user to adjust the printing position can simply and easily be performed. Control is performed in such a manner as to change color to be printed by the color printing head whenever an adjustment mode in which the relative quantity of deviation of the printing timing is adjusted is started.

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Nagano-ken, Japan

Tatsuya Seshimo