Abstract: An ink jet head for ejecting ink includes an ink passage for supplying ink from an ink container for containing ink; a filter chamber in the ink passage, the filter chamber containing therein a filter; wherein the chamber has a cross-sectional area larger than that of the ink passage, and is provided with an inlet opening in fluid communication with an inlet part of the ink supply passage for supplying the ink from the ink container to the filter chamber and an outlet opening in fluid communication with an outlet part of the ink passage for supplying the ink out of the chamber; wherein the inlet opening and outlet opening are faced to a filter with a clearance, and the chamber is provided with bubble moving portion for moving bubbles away from the inlet opening.

Abstract: The invention ensures the proper operation of an inkjet printer by determining whether ink contained within a remote ink cartridge is compatible with ink contained within a printhead cartridge, and controlling the printer accordingly. The invention determines compatibility by comparing information related to characteristics of the ink contained in each cartridge. The printhead cartridge memory device stores information relating to characteristics of the printhead and the ink stored in a printhead cartridge reservoir. The remote ink cartridge memory device stores information relating to characteristics of the ink stored in a remote ink cartridge reservoir. Since the number of characteristics that can be stored is determined by the capacity of the memory devices, the present invention overcomes the limitations of prior devices which forced compatibility by mechanical devices.

Abstract: In an image recording device which records an image on a recording medium responsive to a desired gradation in each pixel and which includes a recording head for jetting an ink droplet having a diameter at a speed therefrom, the diameter of the ink droplet is modulated in response to the desired gradation in each pixel while the speed is modulated dependent on the modulated diameter. Thus, a position of impact of the ink droplet is not deviated, so that quality of image is not deteriorated.

Abstract: An ink jet apparatus has a sucking device for sucking ink from a cap, and this sucking device includes a sucking space formed by a cylinder and piston adapted to the cylinder, wherein an internal pressure variation in the sucking space varies according to the mutual relation of the cylinder and piston. The sucking device has a suction opening for transmitting the internal pressure variation in the sucking space to a cap for covering an ink discharge opening of a recording head. A controller regulates the sucking means so that a stroke of the piston in the cylinder of an idle suction when the suction is performed in a state where the cap is opened to atmosphere is smaller than that of a true suction when the suction is performed in a state where the cap is closed to the atmosphere.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus comprises a recording head having ink ejection orifices, and a common ink chamber communicating with the ink ejection orifices to supply the ink to the ink ejection orifices, a driver for non-simultaneously causing at least one of adjacent ones of the ejection orifices of the recording head to eject the ink, and a driving controller for changing an order of ejection performed by the driver.

Abstract: An ink jet printing head includes a plurality of pressure chambers having a natural period T2 for propagation of a wave, and a plurality of piezoelectric elements having a natural period T1 for oscillation. T1 and T2 are selected such that T1=n.multidot.T2 or T2=n.multidot.T1 wherein n is a natural number. The driving voltage for the piezoelectric elements has a rise time T3 selected at T3=m.multidot.T2 wherein m is a natural number not lower than two if T1=2.multidot.T2, or selected at T3=m.multidot.T2 wherein m is a natural number if T2=n.multidot.T1. The rise time T3 may be selected at T3=n.multidot.T1 in the latter case. Both the rise time T3 and the voltage level V of the driving voltage are selected in a single printing head so that V/T3 is a constant for attaining a gray scale level printing. The rise time T3 thus selected provides stable ink droplets without satellite ink droplets degrading the printing quality.

Abstract: An ink jet head for ejecting ink, has an ink ejecting portion having an ink ejecting port formed thereon so as to eject ink through the ink ejecting port, a positioning portion for definitely determining the position of the ink jet head relative to an apparatus using the ink jet head when the ink jet head is fitted to the apparatus, an ink supplying portion adapted to be connected an ink supplying unit while ink is supplied to the ink jet head, and an electric connecting portion adapted to be electrically connected to an electric connecting portion on the apparatus side so as to send and receive signals. The positioning portion, the ink supplying portion and the electric connecting portion are disposed on a different surface from a surface on which the ink ejecting portion is disposed and at least one of the electric portion and the ink supplying portion is disposed on an opposite side surface to a surface on which the positioning portion is disposed.

Abstract: A recording apparatus using a recording head to effect recording on a recording material includes a recording head unit provided with a recording head for effecting recording on a recording material including a recording head supporting member for supporting the recording head at a predetermined position; a relaying electric contact member including a first electric contact member for external electric connection; a second electric contact for electrically connecting the first electric contact member with the recording head; and an electric current supplying device for supplying electric current to the first electric contact member.

Abstract: A printing system including an ink container having a memory and an ink level sensing circuit, a print cartridge having a memory, and a printer controller. Remaining ink level in the ink container is estimated pursuant to ink drop usage information provided by the ink container memory and ink level sense information provided by the ink level sensing circuit.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus for moving, relatively to a cloth recording medium, a recording head for discharging ink so as to record an image. The image recording apparatus is arranged such that the operation conditions of the recording head can be changed at the time of the recording operation in accordance with the thickness of the cloth, or the diameter of the fiber or the pitch of weaving the fiber of the cloth, so that the quantity of ink to be supplied to the cloth to record an image is controlled so that a high quality recorded image can be obtained regardless of the type of the cloth.

Abstract: A recovery method for recovering proper operation of an ink jet recording head having a plurality of discharge ports and a plurality of thermal energy generating elements each corresponding to each of the discharge ports includes providing a recovery device for performing recovery according to a first recovery mode for only applying pressure to the discharge ports to effect suction of ink from the discharge ports while the discharge ports are capped by a capping device, and a second recovery mode for concurrently applying pressure to the discharge ports and driving the thermal energy generating elements to forcibly exhaust ink from the discharge ports while the discharge ports are capped by the capping means. The method also includes selectively performing recovery according to one of the first recovery mode and the second recovery mode.

Abstract: An ink jet printer having an ink jet head is disclosed. The ink jet head includes a plurality of electrothermal transducers for producing thermal energy used to eject ink from the ink jet head. The ink jet printer has a storing device which stores image data used to drive the electrothermal transducers and a switching device which switches energization periods for the electrothermal transducers in accordance with the image data stored in the storing device. The printer operates so that during a recording operation, when an image datum stored in the storing device instructs recording, the switching device supplies a first drive signal for preliminary ink heating and a second drive signal for ejecting the ink. When the image datum stored in the storing device is datum not instructing recording, the switching device supplies the first drive signal and does not supply the second drive signal.

Abstract: In an inkjet printer, print image data indicating a pattern of ejection and non-ejection nozzles is produced from print data received from a host computer and the print image data is searched in blocks for an effective block including data indicating at least one ejection nozzle to count effective blocks, wherein a block has a predetermined size. Ink consumption caused by a print operation is detected based on a count of the effective blocks.

Abstract: An apparatus and method for correcting printing characteristics of a full-line printhead, and producing a high-printing quality printhead at high manufacturing yield, a corrected printhead by this apparatus, and a printer employing this printhead are disclosed. According to this method, an image is printed on a printing medium by using double pulses obtained based on fluctuation of resistance of each printing unit of a printhead, and a reference OD value is determined from an OD value histogram of the printed image. A preheating pulse width is selected, based on OD values of n printed images obtained by changing the preheating pulse width n times and the reference OD value, such that an OD value on each printing element is equal or close to the reference OD value. For example, assuming that the reference value is 0.43, a preheating pulse width on printing element No. 3 is 0.875.mu. sec.

Abstract: A method for making a record with multiple levels of a gradation on a recording medium, has the following steps:preparing a device for ejecting inks of different densities in a plurality of ejection amounts, respectively;linearizing a relationship between gradation and image density so that levels of the gradation of each of the inks of different densities can be interpolated with others; andmaking a record on a recording medium in response to multiple-level recording data in accordance with the relationship between gray scale and image density.

Abstract: An object is to provide ink jet printed products superior in the image quality such that ink jet printing onto the cloths satisfy the various conditions regarding the density, resolution, and graininess of dot. To accomplish this object, when an image is formed by a number of dots obtained by discharging the ink from a print head to attach the ink onto the cloths, the ink amount discharged from the printing head onto the cloths is controlled to produce ink jet printed products so that the average value of equivalent circle diameter for each dot after image formation may be three-fourths or less the average value of diameters of fibers constituting the cloths. Thereby, ink jet printed products excellent in image quality can be obtained with blurs reduced and high graininess of dot.

Abstract: A structure in which a plurality of leads are formed on a base film that are respectively connected to a plurality of terminal portions of a recording head of an ink jet printer by brazing has slits formed among the plurality of leads at this juncture so that gases generated in brazing are discharged from the slits thereby preventing brazing failure due to scattering of molten solder. Further, a slit maybe formed along a center axis of each of the plurality of leads at the juncture so the molten solder flows into the slits. As a result, the connection strength is improved by fillets formed at both sides of the slits. Further, the gases generated in brazing are also evacuated from the open ends of the slits thereby further minimizing brazing failures.

Abstract: An ink container for containing ink to be supplied to an ink jet head, includes fibrous material; an ink discharge port for discharging the ink to the ink jet head; a portion for containing the fibrous material at least adjacent the ink discharge port; wherein the fibrous material is deformed within a degree of elasticity, forming a plurality of intersections in different directions, and contained in the containing portion.

Abstract: The present invention aims to provide an ink jet recording apparatus and an ink jet recording method which can produce an image excellent in gradation and resolution and allows the image for text, graphics and listing to the obtained at high speed and good quality. The present invention allows a desired recorded image to be obtained by exchangeably comprising an ink jet unit for producing the image excellent in gradation, and an ink jet unit having higher character quality and capable of recording at high speed, and effecting recording control in accordance with the ink jet unit.

Abstract: Nonoptical properties of inks can be brought to bear in locating ink that is invisible to an automatic sensor. Physical characteristics of inks as liquids can be exploited to reveal their locations with surprising precision. The system includes an optical sensor. Using ink that is visible to the sensor, a preferably fractional fill pattern is printed on a region of a printing medium. Using ink that is invisible to the sensor, calibration indicia or other patterns are printed on particular portions of the same region. Bleed (running together of the liquids of the two inks) tends to convert the fractional fill pattern into a solid fill, within the particular portions that were also printed with the "invisible" ink. Resulting optoelectronic signals provide amply high contrast between (1) fractional fill in the particular portions where the "invisible" ink is applied and (2) the original fractional fill elsewhere.