Abstract: In a computer driven printer/plotter, a printing media feed and retaining apparatus which has at least three pinch rollers mounted on a pinch roller support member having a print media guide surface and a support and actuation arm extending from a side of the pinch roller support member opposite the guide surface, and wherein an axis of said support and actuation arm intersects a vertical centerline through the middle of a polygon figure defined by intersection of straight lines between pinch rollers and having one pinch roller at each corner thereof. The pinch rollers are supported such that they are self centering and track without skewing or damaging the printing medium without the use of precision parts or mounting techniques.

Abstract: A recovery method of an ink jet apparatus includes the steps of discharging ink for recovery from a plurality of discharge openings prior to recording, detecting a discharge condition for each discharge opening, and selectively discharging ink for recovery from the discharge openings detected to be unsatisfactory.

Abstract: A full width read and/or write assemblies, such as a full width thermal ink jet printbar, is disclosed, having materials with both a high thermal coefficient of expansion and a low thermal coefficient of expansion. A suitable adhesive which provides lateral give while firmly holding the respective components together provides dimensional stability to the printbar element having a low thermal coefficient of expansion when components having high thermal coefficient of expansion are assembled thereto. The flexible or floating mounting enabled by lateral give of the adhesive allows for the application of cost effective materials with a high thermal coefficient of expansion to be used for support functions such as, for example, circuit boards and ink manifolds. The flexible or floating mounting relieves shear stress cased by a differential in the expansion or contraction of materials having a different thermal coefficient of expansion.

Abstract: The back pressure of an ink pen is maintained by providing a capillary member adjacent a bubble generator. Regardless of the orientation of the pen, the capillary member maintains a quantity of ink adjacent an orifice defined by the bubble generator. The quantity of ink serves to supply a liquid seal formed in the orifice. As the back pressure within the ink pen rises to its maximum level, the liquid seal within the orifice is overcome and ambient air bubbles into the reservoir to lower the back pressure. As the back pressure returns to a desirable point, ink trapped by the capillary member enters the orifice to reseal the orifice.

Abstract: A digital driver for an ink jet printhead and an associated method for selectively applying voltage to a piezoelectric sidewall actuator of the ink jet printhead. The digital driver includes positive and negative voltage sources, a first switching element having a first control input, a first voltage supply input connected to the positive voltage source, and a first output, and a second switching element having a second control input, a second voltage supply input connected to the negative voltage source, and a second output connected to the first output to provide a single output connected to the piezoelectric sidewall actuator. By asserting the first control input for a first time period, the first switching element generates a positive voltage pulse at the single output to displace the sidewall actuator from a rest position to a first position.

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a plurality of recording elements a plurality of drive ICs, in which a plurality of drive signal lines containing a signal line for an image data signal and a signal line for a transfer clock which transfers the image data signal are connected in cascade. Each drive IC supplies a recording current selectively to the recording elements in correspondence to the image data signal. A transfer clock control circuit, which is located at an input part of the transfer clock in the recording apparatus, controls a duty of the transfer clock supplied to the drive ICs so that a duty ratio of the transfer clock at the final stage of the plurality of drive ICs is enough to transfer the image data signal.

Abstract: Signals indicating ink-discharge presence control priming and preferably halt document creation pending ink resupply--or pending an operator command to go on without resupply. A detector senses ink discharge; circuits including a programmed microprocessor apply the detector signal to control, most typically, pen priming or repriming--and preferably related functions including suspension of printer operation. The detector preferably includes an optical source and detector along an optical path that intersects an ink-discharge path. With a pen that has multiple ink-discharge nozzles, preferably the apparatus distinguishes between ink discharge from the different nozzles (by correlation with nozzle-actuating pulses), and accordingly controls priming of each nozzle independently. Preferably this system is operated before starting to print a new sheet and upon newly installing a pen.

Abstract: The drier consists of a plurality of nozzles that direct a small volume of air onto the printed image at as high a velocity as possible without disturbing the wet image. The air so delivered while it must be dry, does not have to be heated to effectively dry the image, however, the drying time can be reduced by increasing the air temperature if desired. The use of high velocity air creates what is known is "skin effect" to dry the ink where the outer surface of the ink is quickly dried.

Abstract: In an ink jet recording head, after a plate-shaped piezoelectric element is positioned and fixed onto a fixing plate, the piezoelectric element is sliced into a large number of vibrators and the leading ends of the vibrators are embracingly held in positioning holes 33 respectively formed in a top surface of a holding frame and are thus positioned in the surface direction thereof. Further, a cavity unit is positioned and fixed on the top surface of the holding frame.

Abstract: The contiguous inlets of components of a thermal ink jet printhead are sealed by applying a sealant to provide a substantial but not complete seal around the edge of an inlet of the printhead die mounted on a heater plate to provide an edge free of sealant and by injecting a liquid encapsulant to seal the contiguous inlets of the die and a manifold at the edge free of sealant.

Abstract: A thermal ink-jet pen cartridge having a rigid external frame member fabricated of a rigid engineering plastic, and an interior frame structure attached thereto, formed of a softer, more ductile plastic material than an engineering plastic. An ink reservoir is defined by the interior structure and a pair of flexible bag membranes formed of a plastic material impervious to the ink and compatible with the interior member material, allowing the membranes to be joined to the interior member to form a leak-proof joint. The external structure has locking features formed into an interior surface. When the interior member is injection molded to the external member, the molten material flows into and around the locking features, securing the interior member to the external member and resisting the shrinkage forces as the molten material cools. The ink reservoir is filled through a fill port passageway extending through the external frame member and the inner member.

Abstract: A method of multi-tone printing employs a drop-on-demand printing apparatus 100 for depositing ink droplets from an array of channels 104 on printing element areas of a substrate 111 which is movable relatively to said apparatus. The channels length and nozzle location and dimensions afford each channel with a high longitudinal resonant frequency and electrically actuable means 110,112,114,116,118 supply energy pulses to a selected band of channels at or near the resonant frequency of the channels to deposit from each selected channel in the corresponding printing element area of the substrate a number of drops equal to the number of pulses applied thereto, the number of pulses applied being dependent on the tone of printing required. Droplet ejection from even numbered channels is in anti-phase at the resonant frequency with droplet ejection from odd numbered channels.

Abstract: An ink jet printing head which is composed of a smaller number of parts than those in a conventional one, which leads to a reduction in the number of assembly steps, enhanced productivity and a reduction in the cost. A piezoelectric element is provided on a diaphragm at the portion corresponding to each pair of adjacent pressure chambers. A piezoelectric element includes an electrode which extends along each pressure chamber. An electronic machine incorporating this ink jet printing head is also provided.

Abstract: A method of driving an ink jet recording head comprising the steps of: retreating a vibrating plate to a predetermined position from a nozzle opening at such a speed as to allow a meniscus at the nozzle opening to be jetted from the nozzle opening while applying a drive voltage to a piezoelectric vibrating element; holding the vibrating plate at the position; and advancing the vibrating plate toward the nozzle opening when the meniscus has returned to a position 1/3 or more of the farthest retreat position thereof. As a result, a pressure chamber contracted to thereby apply pressure to ink when inertial stream of the ink become stable and heads toward the nozzle opening, producing an ink droplet to be jetted at a predetermined speed irrespective of the position of the meniscus.

Abstract: An ink jet apparatus has a piezoelectric ceramic arrangement including a plurality of grooves filled with ink. The grooves are separated from one another by side walls, and the inside of the grooves are partially furnished with electrodes. The electrodes receive a driving voltage to selectively vary the inner volumes of the grooves based on the piezoelectric thickness slip effect. The selectively varied inner volumes of the grooves cause the ink to jet out therefrom. In this structure, the height of the side walls divided by the width thereof is at least 2 and at most 9. Using a low driving voltage, the apparatus boosts the ink pressure within the ink chambers so as to keep the velocity of jetted ink droplets sufficiently high and the volume thereof sufficiently large to form characters and images onto a printing medium.

Abstract: In a preferred embodiment, a nozzle member containing an array of orifices has a substrate, having heater elements formed thereon, affixed to a back surface of the nozzle member. The back surface of the nozzle member extends beyond the outer edges of the substrate. Ink is supplied from an ink reservoir within a print cartridge body to the orifices by a fluid channel within a barrier layer between the nozzle member and the substrate. The nozzle member is adhesively sealed with respect to the print cartridge body by forming an ink seal circumscribing the substrate, between the back surface of the nozzle member and the body. The print cartridge body is formed so that the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of the body in the vicinity of the nozzle member in a critical direction is within about 100 PPM/C of the CTE of the nozzle member in the critical direction to reduce thermally induced stress on the nozzle member.

Abstract: An ink jet recording head includes a plurality of heat generating elements for ejecting ink using thermal energy; a conductive line commonly connected to an end of each of the heat generating elements and to another end of adjacent heat generating element; a driving circuit for selectively providing positive or negative current to the common lines, the driving circuit actuates the heat generating elements by applying a high level potential and a low level potential to adjacent lines, respectively.

Abstract: A method of normalizing performance of an image forming marking element, the method comprising the steps of operating the marking element with an adjustable operating parameter set to a first test value and quantifying a first value of a quantifiable performance characteristic of the marking element, operating the marking element with the operating parameter set to a second test value and quantifying a second value of the quantifiable performance characteristic, calculating an optimum value of the operating parameter, and adjusting the operating parameter to its calculated optimum value.

Abstract: A droplet jet apparatus using an actuator serves as an electromechanical transducer that acts as an energy generator used for the ejection of droplets. The actuator has a plurality of grooves and walls made of piezoelectric material that define liquid channels and pressure chambers. Drive electrodes are formed on both sides of each wall. The drive electrodes formed on both sides of each piezoelectric wall fall within an electrode depth range of .+-.30% or less with respect to a set value of an electrode depth d extending in the wall height direction. Thus, the droplets can be stably jetted for a long period of time by setting the electrode depth to a proper value.

Abstract: A fixater has a fixing unit for expediting the fixation of an image recorded on a recording medium, a conveying unit for conveying the recording medium and a coupling unit detachably mountable in the mounting section of a cassette for stacking the recording medium for the recording apparatus. The fixater is mountable in place of the cassette for stacking the recording medium.