Abstract: A filter tower structure for removing air or gas bubbles from an ink jet printing structure which includes a filter tower attached to an ink reservoir for feeding ink from the reservoir to a printhead, the filter tower structure including a conduit having an interior in flow communication with the ink reservoir and the printhead and a tube having a first end in flow communication with the interior of the conduit and a second end in flow communication with a vacuum source, wherein activation of the vacuum source results in the application of a reduced pressure to the interior of the conduit such that air or gas bubbles are caused to flow into the tube and exit the conduit and ink from the reservoir is caused to flow into the conduit.

Abstract: A portable battery powered printer for printing images from an image source is disclosed. The image source can be a computer for storing a digital image and defining an opening. The printer is sized so as to be insertable into the image source opening and having a rechargeable battery. When the printer is connected to the image source it can be recharged and receives image data from the image source. The printer includes a device for printing an image from the received image data.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes: a timer (26) that outputs a signal upon measurement of a predetermined time that is longer than a predetermined cycle during a period for which recording heads (8, 9) are released from a cap member (uncapped period) after a print command has been outputted; and a flushing control means (27) that control to move the recording heads (8, 9) to an ink receiving means so that the recording heads jet ink droplets, in response to the signal from the timer (26), and to reset the timer (26). If the predetermined time set to the timer (26) is up during uncapped period, the flushing control means (27) flushes a maximum number of ink droplets, and upon end of a single round of printing, the flushing control means (27) flushes a number of ink droplets corresponding to a time measured by the timer (26).

Abstract: In the preferred embodiment, an inkjet printer includes a replaceable print cartridge which is inserted into a scanning carriage. An ink tube extends from the scanning carriage to a separate ink supply located within the printer. A fluid interconnect on one side of the print cartridge connects to a fluid interconnect on the carriage when the print cartridge is inserted into the carriage to complete the fluid connection between the external ink supply and the print cartridge. In one embodiment, the fluid interconnection is made between the print cartridge and the ink tube simply by placing the print cartridge into a stall in the scanning carriage. The print cartridge has contact pads on another side. The contact pads electrically contact electrodes on the carriage when the print cartridge is placed in the stall.

Abstract: An ink jet printer with a reciprocating carriage having a circuit element with a number of electrical contacts and a fluid aperture. A print head is connected to the circuit element and has a body defining an ink inlet aperture adjacent the fluid aperture. The print head includes a number of conductive leads at least partially encapsulated by a portion of the print head body and connected to an electrical contact on the circuit element. The print head includes a die electrically connected to the leads, and connected to the body in communication with the ink inlet aperture. The leads may be formed from a leadframe, and the die may be at least partially encapsulated by the body.

Abstract: A print head for use in inkjet printers and the like. The print head includes a plurality of nozzles for delivering droplets of ink onto a print medium and thereby producing dots on the print medium. The print head also includes an imaging sensor for forming an image of the dots in response to a control signal. A controller in the print head reads out the image information to a processor connected to the print head. In one embodiment of the invention, the image is formed and readout in response to the detection of a dot from one of the nozzles by a sensor. In the preferred embodiment of the present invention, the nozzles are arranged in a regular array characterized by inter-nozzle spacing and the imaging sensor includes a rectangular two-dimensional array of photodetectors in which the photodetectors are spaced apart from one another by a distance less than the inter-nozzle spacing.

Abstract: A printhead compatible with various printers, e.g. a printer having low print density or a printer having high print density, enables printing in the best capability of the printer. The printhead comprises: a determination circuit 24 which determines a type of a printer incorporating the printhead, and switches SW1 and SW2 which select a method of driving the printhead according to in the printer, on the basis of the determination result by the determination circuit 24. When the printhead is installed in the printer capable of printing at 360 dpi, four print dots printed at 720 dpi substantially express one dot printed at 360 dpi. Meanwhile, when the printhead is installed in the printer capable of printing at 720 dpi, one print dot expresses one dot printed at 720 dpi.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for printing digital color images with non-impact print heads whereby fluid flowing at a relatively high velocity proximate ink emitting nozzles affects flight trajectories of undesirable satellite ink droplets incidentally emitted from the nozzles, but does not affect flight trajectories of primary droplets. In one embodiment, a single fluid deflector member oriented upstream of the print head causes fluid flow intermediate the print head and the printing surface and urges the satellites to a preferred location on the printing media. In another embodiment, at least one additional deflector member is oriented to cooperate with the deflector member to ensure that such satellites encounter a forced fluid flow intermediate the print head and print surface.

Abstract: In a postage printing device, a printer is employed to print postage indicia on mail pieces. The printer is preferably a noncontact printer such as an ink-jet printer. Printing occurs as the mail piece moves relative to the print head of the printer, which requires that reliable motion information (e.g. a print clock signal) be made available to the electronics driving the print head. The reliable motion is provided in a noncontact way, preferably by directing a laser beam toward the mail piece and detecting a moving speckle pattern in the light scattered from the mail piece.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head having a discharge portion, the discharge portion having discharge ports arranged for discharging ink to a recording medium, an absorbing member provided in the vicinity of the discharge portion, and a wiping member engageable with the discharge portion and the absorbing member, wherein a range of the discharge port array<a width of the wiping member≦a width of the absorbing member.

Abstract: The invention comprises an ink cartridge wherein a pair of electrodes for detecting the depletion of ink from the ink cartridge for an ink jet printer are positioned within a highly compressed portion of a porous member contained within the ink cartridge. The porous member is highly compressed by an ink supply section in an ink chamber. The electrodes are maintained in contact with electrode plates. One electrode may be disposed so as to be exposed to the inside of an ink supply port defined by the ink supply section. One of the electrodes may be formed of a fine mesh, a portion of the filter being embedded within the cartridge and a portion of the filter being positioned outside the cartridge. The detection plate may be formed with microscopic asperities thereon, formed as microscopic holes or grooves, in areas brought into contact with the electrodes.

Abstract: Driving signal generating member for generating a first signal for drawing as meniscus at a nozzle aperture by smaller force as ambient temperature rises, a second signal for contracting a pressure generating chamber and ejecting an ink droplet and a third signal for restoring the contracted pressure generating chamber after an ink droplet is ejected by larger drawing force as ambient temperature rises is provided, speed at which the meniscus is moved toward the nozzle aperture is prevented from decreasing by setting force for drawing the meniscus before an ink droplet is ejected when temperature falls to a large value and the delay of filling the pressure generating chamber with ink is prevented by setting force for drawing the meniscus after an ink droplet is ejected to a small value and damping the residual vibration of the meniscus utilizing attenuation by increasing the viscosity of ink.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus achieves increased print speed without reformation of the recording head and without printing quality impairment. The ink jet recording apparatus has a print mode judging means 35 for judging a print mode from an externally applied command, an image developer 32 for developing a single pixel in print data into a plurality of pieces of bit map data and outputting the developed plurality of pieces of bit map data to an image buffer 33, an image reader 34 for thinning the bit map data developed in the image buffer 33 so that at least a single dot is included per pixel and for outputting the thinned data to a recording head 6 when a high speed printing mode has been specified, and a carriage controller 37 for increasing the speed of the carriage to correspond to the thinning operation. Since the dot data includes at least a single dot per pixel, there is no significant impairment of printing quality, and print speed can be increased in proportion to the number of dots reduced.

Abstract: An ink jet printer is provided with: an ink discharge device for discharging ink, having (i) a body prescribing an ink flow path through which the ink is supplied, a plurality of ink storing chambers each connected to the ink flow path in which the supplied ink is temporarily stored and a plurality of ink discharge holes connected to respective one of the ink storing chambers though which the temporarily stored ink is discharged, and (ii) a plurality of piezoelectric elements for selectively changing capacities of the ink storing chambers; a driving voltage generating device for generating a driving voltage having a pulse-like waveform, which causes the ink to be discharged from each of the ink discharge holes by deforming the respective one of the piezoelectric elements; a plurality of analog switching devices for selectively opening and closing each current-carrying path, through which the driving voltage is supplied to the respective one of the piezoelectric elements; a power source voltage supplying devic

Abstract: A plurality of pressure-application ink chambers communicate with a plurality of nozzles, respectively. A plurality of energy generating elements generate energy for applying pressure to ink in the plurality of pressure-application ink chambers so as to cause ink drops to be fired from the plurality of nozzles, respectively. A driving-waveform generating portion generates a plurality of driving waveforms for driving the plurality of energy generating elements. A driving-waveform selecting portion selects one of the plurality of driving waveforms generated by the driving-waveform generating portion for each one of the plurality of energy generating elements in accordance with image information.

Abstract: An ink jet recorder includes an ink jet head having a nozzle, which can be capped with a cap and a suction pump for purging the nozzle through the cap. The recorder further includes a pressure control unit interposed between an ink supply and the head to control the pressure on the ink in the nozzle. At least just before purging finishes, the control unit applies positive pressure to the ink in the nozzle to prevent the air bubbles, the foreign substances and/or the like sucked into the cap by the pump from flowing back into the head. The control unit may include an ink tank and a height adjuster for adjusting the height of the tank relative to the front end of the nozzle.

Abstract: A liquid ink printing system for printing images having different grayscales through control of a printhead carriage velocity and the number of drops deposited per pixel location. The liquid ink printing system prints from print data an image on a recording medium including pixel locations being deposited with liquid ink drops. The printing system includes a printhead, including a plurality of drop ejectors, for depositing the liquid ink drops, a scanning carriage, coupled to the printhead, for moving the printhead across the recording medium, and a print driver, operatively coupled to the scanning carriage and to the printhead, for controlling the scanning carriage to move at a plurality of velocities, each of the plurality of velocities being associated with one of a plurality of grayscales. Each of the plurality of grayscales is characterized by a maximum number of ink drops deposited at one of the pixel locations.

Abstract: An ink jet printer performs adjustments such that even if the ink ejection speed decreases, the ink droplet landing position on a recording sheet will not deviate. Based on the ink droplet transit time between ejection of an ink droplet and the landing thereof on the recording sheet, and the moving speed of the print head carriage, a control unit controls the time of applying a drive voltage to a piezoelectric element of a print head so that an ejected ink droplet lands at a predetermined position on the recording sheet being conveyed. During printing, the control unit receives a pulse signal from an encoder and detects the reception time thereof. The control unit then determines the next reception time by adding to the previous time, an encoder signal period based on the signals received. The control unit also determines an ink droplet transit time which depends on the characteristics of the piezoelectric elements, the power-on time, and the like.

Abstract: An ink jet head includes bump-shaped electrodes and of a recording element board and a drive element board, respectively. Of both electrodes, Young's modulus of a material forming the electrode is made smaller than Young's modulus forming the other bump-shaped electrode. With this construction, when the electrode and the electrode are press bonded to each other, since the electrode is relatively smaller in rigidity to the deformation, it deforms for itself thereby minimizing deformation in the electrode. As a result, when a new board is mounted, even if the electrode has an error, good bonding can be carried out.

Abstract: A printer comprising a printing head for discharging ink alone or ink and diluent according to the present invention employs a polyimide polymer at least around nozzle opening(s) on the nozzle opening side of the printing head so as to enable to form a recorded image of a high resolution as well as to enhance the productivity. It is preferable that the polyimide polymer have a coefficient of water absorption as 0.4 (%) or below when dipped in water of 23 (°C.) for 24 hours. Furthermore, it is preferable that the printing head excluding the portion made from the polyimide polymer be made from polysulfone, polyethersulfone, or a polyimide polymer having a coefficient of water absorption as 1.0 (%) or above when dipped in water of 23 (°C.) for 24 hours. Moreover, it is preferable that nozzles are formed by ablation processing using eximer laser.