The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Jul. 24, 2001
Filed:
Dec. 27, 1996
Applicant:
Inventor:
Itaru Watanabe, Kawasaki, JP;
Assignee:
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Assistant Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B41J 2/300 ;
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
B41J 2/300 ;
Abstract
A detection unit for optically detecting the position of a carriage via a linear scale is fixed to the rear surface of the carriage that moves along the linear scale, and an absorber which serves as a cleaning member and can absorb liquid is fixed to the detection unit. The absorber moves upon movement of the carriage and slides on the scale to absorb and remove liquid contaminants such as ink, water droplets, or the like attached to the surface of the scale. Hence, generation of an error signal and a drop in signal output caused by contamination on the scale surface can be prevented, and high-resolution, high-precision position detection can be realized.