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:
Aug. 16, 2011
Filed:
Aug. 02, 2010
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Kawasaki, JP;
Hiroshi Tajika, Yokohama, JP;
Hitoshi Nishikori, Tokyo, JP;
Daisaku Ide, Tokyo, JP;
Takeshi Yazawa, Yokohama, JP;
Atsuhiko Masuyama, Tokyo, JP;
Akiko Maru, Kawasaki, JP;
Hideaki Takamiya, Tokyo, JP;
Hirokazu Yoshikawa, Kawasaki, JP;
Hiroshi Tajika, Yokohama, JP;
Hitoshi Nishikori, Tokyo, JP;
Daisaku Ide, Tokyo, JP;
Takeshi Yazawa, Yokohama, JP;
Atsuhiko Masuyama, Tokyo, JP;
Akiko Maru, Kawasaki, JP;
Hideaki Takamiya, Tokyo, JP;
Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Tokyo, JP;
Abstract
A plurality of ejection portions are divided into groups, each containing at least one ejection portion, so that the suction-based recovery operation can be performed for each group independently. Since the number of ejection portions contained in each group differs, if an ink flow resistance varies among the different groups, simultaneous suction-based recovery operations can be done by using a common suction pump, without having to sequentially perform the suction-based recovery operations under an optimum pump driving condition. For this purpose, inner diameters of a plurality of ink discharge tubes running from a plurality of cap units, which cap a plurality of print head units having different numbers of ejection portions, to the common pump are differentiated. This allows different flows to be produced in different ink discharge systems, thus generating desirable ink flows for individual ink supply systems.