Abstract: A printhead maintenance assembly for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The maintenance assembly comprises: (i) a printhead maintenance station comprising an elastically deformable maintenance belt having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead, the contact surface being sloped with respect to the face, and a conveyor mechanism for conveying the belt past the face; and (ii) an engagement mechanism for reciprocally moving the belt between a first position in which part of the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face.

Abstract: A printhead maintenance station for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The maintenance station comprises an elastically deformable pad having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead. The maintenance station also comprises an engagement mechanism for moving said pad between a first position in which the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face, a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face, and a third position in which the contact surface is engaged with a pad cleaner.

Abstract: A method of maintaining a printhead in an operable condition and/or remediating a printhead to an operable condition is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (i) providing an elastically deformable maintenance belt having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead, the contact surface being sloped with respect to the face; (ii) moving the belt into a first position in which a clean part of the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face, the movement being such that the contact surface progressively contacts the face during engagement; (iii) moving the belt into a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face, the movement being such that the contact surface peels away from the face, thereby providing an inked part of the contact surface; (iv) conveying the belt such that the inked part of the contact surface is conveyed away from the printhead; and (v) optionally repeating steps (ii) to (iv).

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording-head replacing portion, a feeding unit that feeds a recording sheet, and an eject unit that ejects the recording sheet on a front side of the apparatus. The apparatus further includes a head mount that is movable between the carriage and the head-replacing portion while the recording head is mounted on the head mount, a head-lowering member that moves the recording head from the carriage to the head mount, and a head-pushing member that moves the recording head mounted from the head mount to the carriage.

Abstract: A printhead assembly is provided. The assembly comprises a printhead having an ink ejection face, and a wicking element positioned for receiving ink from an edge portion of the face and/or an edge portion of a pad being disengaged from the face.

Abstract: A method of maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The method comprises the steps of (a) providing an elastically deformable pad having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead; and (b) moving the pad between a first position in which the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face. The movement causes the contact surface to be progressively contacted with the face during sealing engagement and peeled away from the face during disengagement.

Abstract: Example embodiments of wiping are shown and described in which a print head is wiped along a non-linear path.

Abstract: An image-forming apparatus includes a first monitor which detects whether a non-paper-medium supplier is attached to the main body of the image-forming apparatus. When a normal copying process is selected, the copying process is stopped immediately if the first monitor determines that the non-paper-medium supplier is attached and an error message indicating that a printing process cannot be performed since the non-paper-medium supplier is attached is shown on the main body. In addition, if a facsimile is received while the non-paper-medium supplier is attached to the main body, the user is informed that the facsimile call is received. Accordingly, the user can change the setting of the image-forming apparatus so that the facsimile can be received. Thus, the facsimile is received manually if the non-paper-medium supplier is attached to the main body and is received by operation after the line is acquired by a handset telephone.

Abstract: A printhead maintenance station for maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The maintenance station comprises: an elastically deformable maintenance belt having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead, the contact surface being sloped with respect to the face; and a conveyor mechanism for conveying the belt past the face. The belt is reciprocally movable between a first position in which part of the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face, and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face.

Abstract: An object of this invention is to prevent prolongation of the time taken for a suction recovery operation while suppressing wasteful consumption of ink in the suction recovery operation. An ink-jet printing apparatus includes a plurality of caps which, when a plurality of nozzles of an ink-jet head are divided into a plurality of nozzle groups, are arranged one by one for the respective nozzle groups, and cap the respective nozzle groups, a suction pump which generates a negative pressure in the plurality of caps to suck ink from the plurality of nozzles, and is arranged commonly for the plurality of caps, and a control unit which controls the suction pump so as to make the negative pressure by the suction pump act on all the caps when a common negative pressure is generated in the plurality of caps, and make different negative pressures by the suction pump act sequentially on the plurality of caps when different negative pressures are generated in the respective caps.

Abstract: A method of maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) providing an elastically deformable pad having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead; and (b) moving the pad between a first position in which the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face, a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face, and a third position in which the contact surface is engaged with a pad cleaner.

Abstract: A method of maintaining a printhead in an operable condition and/or remediating a printhead to an operable condition is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (i) providing an endless maintenance belt having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead; (ii) moving the belt into a first position in which a clean part of the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face; (iii) moving said belt into a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face, thereby providing an inked part of the contact surface; (iv) conveying the belt such that the inked part of the contact surface is conveyed away from the printhead and past a cleaning station, the cleaning station cleaning the inked part of the contact surface; and (v) optionally repeating steps (ii) to (iv).

Abstract: A method of modulating a peak power requirement of an inkjet printhead is provided. The printhead comprises a plurality of transversely aligned color channels, each color channel comprising at least one nozzle row extending longitudinally along said printhead. Each nozzle in a color channel ejects the same colored ink. The printhead is comprised of a plurality of printhead modules, each printhead module comprising a respective segment of each nozzle row. The method comprising each of the printhead modules firing a respective segment within a predetermined segment-time, wherein at least one of the fired segments is contained in a different color channel from at least one other of the fired segments.

Abstract: A method of maintaining a printhead in an operable condition is provided. The method comprises the steps of: (a) providing an elastically deformable pad having a contact surface for sealing engagement with an ink ejection face of the printhead; and (b) reciprocally moving the pad between a first position in which the contact surface is sealingly engaged with the face and a second position in which the contact surface is disengaged from the face. The movement causes a contact angle hysteresis such that ink is wicked from the printhead onto the contact surface during disengagement, but remains substantially in or on the printhead during engagement.

Abstract: A carriage is automatically and accurately stopped at a wiping position, so that a nozzle surface of a recording head is accurately wiped clean independently of the accuracy of the stop position of the carriage. An inkjet recording apparatus includes a wiping member for wiping clean a nozzle surface of the recording head and a carriage position control member which defines a movement range of the carriage by abutting the carriage on the carriage position control member. The wiping member wipes clean the nozzle surface while the carriage is caused to abut on the carriage position control member (that is, while a carriage motor causes the carriage to abut on the carriage position control member).

Abstract: A device for washing an inkjet head and an inkjet printing system having the same is provided. The device includes a bath which holds a washing solution and a wiping device disposed above the bath. The wiping device has a holding portion and an elastic wiper coupled with the holding portion. The elastic wiper is movable with respect to the holding portion, thereby permitting easy removal of alignment material from a nozzle on the inkjet head and cleaning of the elastic wiper.

Abstract: Various embodiments of a printing system including a vacuum duct are disclosed.

Abstract: During the creation of print job data on a job creation terminal, a flushing pattern placement reservation region is previously arbitrary specified and described in placement condition data. Flushing pattern data is previously stored in a storage part. A flushing judgment part specifies frequency with which ink is ejected from each nozzle of a printing apparatus from rasterized data, to judge whether a flushing operation is needed or not. When the flushing operation is needed, a printing execution instruction part acquires the flushing pattern data for causing the ink ejected from a target nozzle to form a certain flushing pattern, to combine the flushing pattern data with the rasterized data, and the printing apparatus executes printing based on the resultant data obtained by the combination. This achieves the production of a printed material while ensuring the flushing operation.

Abstract: A head cleaner is disclosed that includes a blade that has a top face and wipes the nozzle face of a liquid droplet ejecting head that ejects liquid droplets from nozzles, and a cleaning part that cleans the top face of the blade.

Abstract: Images are printed up to the edges of printing paper while preventing ink droplets from depositing on the platen. According to the present invention, an area R for ejecting image-forming ink droplets is specified for a region lying beyond the edges of a printing paper P. The pixels of an external upper edge portion Rfp extending beyond the upper edge Pf are recorded solely by the nozzles disposed opposite the downstream slot of the platen. An internal upper edge portion Rfq, which is disposed downstream of the external upper edge portion Rfp, is recorded solely by the nozzles disposed opposite the downstream slot. When dots are recorded, blank spaces are prevented from forming in the edge portions of the printing paper, and ink droplets are prevented from depositing on the platen when the printing paper P deviates from its intended position, provided the upper edge of the printing paper P remains on the inside of the external upper edge portion Rfp or internal upper edge portion Rfq.