Abstract: A method for manufacturing a liquid discharge head comprises the steps of providing a head main body having liquid flow paths, and an aperture surface having flow path openings communicated with the flow paths; providing a discharge port plate having extrusions each on the circumference of an inside opening communicated with each of the discharge ports, being on the inner face on the side opposite to the discharge port surface provided with discharge ports for discharging liquid, and a base having a substantially flat surface. For this method, the discharge port plate is arranged in a state of these surfaces formed integrally to be in contact; bonding the aperture surface and the inner face to fit the extrusions into the flow path openings by pressing the head main body and the base in the direction of the head main body and the base approaching each other with the discharge port plate between them; and separating the base from other members.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to ensure a desired precision in positioning an orifice plate with respect to liquid flow paths of a head main body, so as to prevent a failure liquid discharge which will possibly be caused due to a problem involved in a process of forming the orifice holes. In detail, a head main body is formed on the lower wall thereof a plurality of heating elements, has a plurality of liquid flow paths formed by dividing an internal space with a plurality of liquid flow path walls and arranged in parallel relationship with one another. On either side of the plurality of the liquid flow paths there are formed two dummy liquid flow paths. An orifice plate is formed with a plurality of orifice holes arranged in parallel with one another for discharging ink. Further, on either side of the plurality of the orifice holes there are formed two projected portions so shaped that they are capable of engaging with the opening ends of the dummy liquid flow paths.

Abstract: In a liquid discharge head having an orifice plate in which a plurality of discharge ports for discharging liquid droplets therethrough are arranged, and a head body provided with a plurality of flow paths communicating with the plurality of discharge ports, a liquid chamber for supplying liquid to the plurality of flow paths, and a plurality of energy generation elements disposed correspondingly to the plurality of flow paths and generating energy for discharging the liquid droplets, the orifice plate being joined to the joined surface of the head body in which the communication ports of the flow paths communicating with the discharge ports are disposed, the orifice plate is formed with wall-shaped convex portions protruding from the inner peripheral portions of the discharge ports and having at least a portion thereof entering from the communication ports into the flow paths, and the width of the wall-shaped convex portions is greater in the portions thereof parallel to the row direction in which the plural

Abstract: An ink-jet recording method includes a step of applying each of a plurality of ejection signals to an ejecting device. Each of the ejecting signals is generated in such a manner that at least one of a quantity of energy to be fed to the ejecting device per unit time and a total quantity of energy differs from the other one. It is preferable that when a plurality of ink droplets are shot onto a recording medium at the substantially same location on the latter, an ejection signal for allowing at least one of a quantity of energy to be fed to the ejecting device and a total quantity of energy to be maximized is selected from a plurality of ejection signals, and subsequently, it is applied to the ejecting device.

Abstract: A replaceable ink cartridge has a body for storing the ink; an ink outlet for supplying the ink into a recording head; an air communicating port for communicating with an atmosphere; a peripheral portion around the ink outlet; a peripheral portion around the air communicating port; a seal member for removably sealing the peripheral portion around the ink outlet and the peripheral portion around the air communicating port. The replaceable ink cartridge has a structure that is formed so as to strip the seal member off from the peripheral portions of the ink outlet and the air communicating port in a manner that the air communicating port is opened at first and the ink outlet is opened at second.

Abstract: A liquid jet recording method using thermal energy to eject liquid from a liquid passage through an ejection outlet, the liquid passage being provided with a heat generating resistor, wherein at least one of the following conditions is satisfied:

Abstract: A replaceable ink cartridge has a body for storing the ink; an ink outlet for supplying the ink into a recording head; an air communicating port for communicating with an atmosphere; a peripheral portion around the ink outlet; a peripheral portion around the air communicating port; a seal member for removably sealing the peripheral portion around the ink outlet and the peripheral portion around the air communicating port. The replaceable ink cartridge has a structure that is formed so as to strip the seal member off from the peripheral portions of the ink outlet and the air communicating port in a manner that the air communicating port is opened at first and the ink outlet is opened at second.

Abstract: A liquid jet recording method of recording on a recording material with liquid droplets discharged trough plural scanning nozzles, in which: n/(s/p)≧2 n/(s/p)×k=g−1 are satisfied, where n (n≧2) is a number of the nozzles arranged at pitch P (&mgr;m); s (&mgr;m) is a distance of relative movement between the nozzles and the recording material between adjacent scans; k (k≧1) is a maximum number of ink droplets per pixel and per scan; g (g≧3) is a number of tone levels.

Abstract: A method for producing an ink jet printing head comprising a substrate having plural discharge energy generating elements for generating energy to be utilized for discharging an ink and a ceiling plate of a resinous material to be joined to the substrate to constitute, between the ceiling plate and the substrate, ink paths including discharge openings for discharging the ink and plural grooves communicating with the discharge openings and formed in positions corresponding respectively to the discharge energy generating elements is provided which comprises the steps of preparing the substrate provided with the plural discharge energy generating elements, positioning and contacting the ceiling plate and the substrate in such a manner that the discharge energy generating elements are respectively positioned in the grooves, and thermally fusing the contacting portions of the ceiling plate with the substrate while pressing the substrate and the ceiling plate in the positioned state, thereby joining the substrate a

Abstract: A replaceable ink cartridge has a body for storing the ink; an ink outlet for supplying the ink into a recording head; an air communicating port for communicating with an atmosphere; a peripheral portion around the ink outlet; a peripheral portion around the air communicating port; a seal member for removably sealing the peripheral portion around the ink cutlet and the peripheral portion around the air communicating port. The replaceable ink cartridge has a structure that is formed so as to strip the seal member off from the peripheral portions of the ink outlet and the air communicating port in a manner that the air communicating port is opened at first and the ink outlet is opened at second.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing an ink jet head comprises a first step of arranging on a substrate a passage molding material to form ink paths conductively connected to discharge ports for discharging ink, a second step of arranging on the substrate an edge portion molding material in the vicinity of the passage molding material, a third step of arranging on the substrate a wall formation material to cover the passage molding material and the edge portion molding material, and a fourth step of forming the paths with the wall formation material by removing the passage molding material from the substrate. With this method, it is possible to manufacture an ink jet head having an ink chamber and nozzles, which are configured substantially the same as the molding members, without creating cracks and other defects that are liable to occur on the extruded corners of the passage molding material with respect to the substrate when the conventional technique is applied.

Abstract: A fluid ejection head comprises a heater disposed in a fluid path. A bubble is generated by supplying electric power to the heater, and ink is ejected in a direction substantially parallel to a face of the heater. The fluid path is shaped to have a first part with a constant-sectional area adjacent to an ejection orifice a second part located behind the first part and containing the heater. The cross-sectional area of the second part increases by twice as large as the cross-sectional area of the ejection orifice, a length (A) between an end of the first part of the fluid path and a top end of the heater is greater than or equal to half of the height Ph of the ejection orifice, and a shortest gap between the ejection orifice and the heater is less than or equal to a sum of a half of the height Ph of the ejection orifice and a length (L) of the first part of the fluid path.

Abstract: In a jet recording method, a normally solid recording material is placed in a heat-melted state within a nozzle and heated to generate a bubble therewithin by applying a bubble-generating heat energy, thereby ejecting droplets of the recording material out of the nozzle onto a recording medium. In the method, the ejection of the recording material droplets can be stabilized by applying prior to the bubble-generating heat energy a preheating energy which decreases continuously or discontinuously.

Abstract: A liquid jet recording method for recording on a recording material with liquid droplets discharged through plural scanning nozzles arranged in a width measured in a direction of main scan. The recording method includes a first main scan by relative movement between the nozzles and the recording material, in which pixels are recorded with numbers of droplets through a nozzle, the numbers of droplets corresponding to respective tone signals. The method also includes a sub-scan by relative movement between the nozzles and the recording material in a direction crossing with a movement direction of the first main scan. The method further includes a second main scan in which the pixels are recorded with numbers of droplets through a different nozzle, the latter numbers of droplets corresponding to tone level signals. The sub-scan and second main scan steps are repeated to record a tone image by discharging plural droplets for a pixel.

Abstract: In a printing apparatus using a plurality of heating elements as printing elements, there are provided CCD elements for storing electric charges whose quantity correspond to temperatures in correspondence to each of the printing elements, and for sequentially transferring these electric charges. As a printing head driving apparatus, an analog shift register having a series of CCD elements is employed in order to perform data transfer operation, data alignment, and driving operations of the respective printing elements. Also, the above-described CCD elements are commonly used with CCD elements for storing and transferring temperature data. As a result, a compact printing apparatus can be made while suppressing shading in images caused by temperature increasing due to the driving operation of the printing elements.

Abstract: A method of fabricating an ink jet recording head includes forming a photosensitive resin layer on a substrate having formed thereon an energy generation device for generating energy for ejecting recording droplets; pattern-wise exposing the photosensitive resin layer to an active radiation to a portion of the photosensitive resin layer where formation of a pattern of an ink fluid path is desired; laminating a top plate on the photosensitive resin layer; and eluting the pattern exposed portion of the photosensitive resin layer to form a pattern of an ink fluid path.

Abstract: In the case that a size of each liquid droplet is enlarged to such an extent that liquid droplets each having a different color come in contact with each other on a printing medium before completion of penetration into the printing medium, e.g., when the number of liquid droplets nb required for forming a black pixel and the number of liquid droplets ny required for forming a yellow pixel are "7", a maximum number of liquid droplets capable of overlapping each other at a substantially same location is limitatively determined to assume a value smaller than the numeral "7", which that is a normally employed maximum numeral with respect to at least one ink color, e.g., yellow, whereby an image can be obtained without any deterioration of quality while preventing a malfunction of color-staining from arising along the boundary between adjacent ranges each having an ink color.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus including a heating member for heating a recording medium in order to accelerate the fixation and adhering of liquid ink being discharged from a recording head onto the recording medium, wherein the heating of the recording medium promotes the evaporation of the liquid ink but creates moisture in the area of the recording head. A moisture condensation preventing member positioned near the recording head decreases the moisture in the vicinity of the recording head. This prevents condensation of this moisture on the recording head, which can lead to faulty recording.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing an ink jet recording head, having the steps of forming an ink flow path pattern on a substrate with the use of a dissoluble resin, the substrate having ink ejection pressure generating elements thereon, forming on the ink flow path pattern a coating resin layer, which will serve as ink flow path walls, by dissolving in a solvent a coating resin containing an epoxy resin which is solid at ordinary temperatures, and then solvent-coating the solution on the ink flow path pattern, forming ink ejection outlets in the coating resin layer above the ink ejection pressure generating elements, and dissolving the ink flow path pattern.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus has a recording head provided with a plurality of ink discharging openings, ink paths leading to the ink discharging openings and an ink chamber commonly connected to the ink paths. Each ink path has a recording thermal energy generating element for causing film boiling of ink in the ink path so as to form a bubble of the ink vapor thereby discharging an ink droplet from the discharging opening. In order to recover from any ink discharging failure caused by bubbles stagnating in the ink paths, the recording thermal energy generating element can be driven in a specific driving condition with a smaller thermal energy input rate than in the recording operation. Tiny bubbles generated in each ink path as a result of the driving form a comparatively large void with which at least a part of the ink in each ink path is replaced so that stagnant bubbles are merged in the void and, hence, extinguished.