Abstract: A tube pump for an ink jet printer includes a driving wheel that is selectively driven in a forward or reverse direction in accordance with the rotation of a drive source. The driving wheel contains two slots that extend symmetrically and radially from the center of the driving wheel. The pump also includes two rollers that are coupled to the drive wheel via roller shafts respectively extending from a radial center of the rollers into the slots. A pressing piece is also provided that forces the shafts into the radially outermost end of the slots to press a tube of the tube pump when said drive wheel rotates in reverse and forces the shafts into the radially innermost end of the slots to not press the tube when said drive wheel rotates in the forward direction. In an alternative arrangement, the tube pump contains a pump chamber, and a tube having an .alpha.-like-shaped loop portion is inserted into and disposed along the inner wall of the pump chamber.

Abstract: First and second cap members seal nozzle openings of first and second ink jet recording heads and are disposed on a side of a slider facing the nozzle openings. The slider is rotatably supported at the center portion in the longitudinal direction by a supporting member which is rotatable about a rotation shaft elongated in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage, and which is vertically movable in accordance with the movement of the carriage. When the carriage is moved, the slider swings about the shaft in a manner similar to a seesaw, whereby the two cap members are sequentially fitted into the recording heads.

Abstract: In a printer, a bottom of an automatic paper feeder is formed by a bottom itself of a printer case; an operation lever is provided for operating a hopper and separation pawls arranged in a stacker section; a spring member is used as a changeover mechanism for a paper feed-in roller; an ink shielding portion is provided over an entire print area; the paper is discharged while forcibly urging the paper in a concave shape in which its printed surface is concaved; and a changeover is effected between a paper feeding operation and a pumping operation by a carriage at both ends of a carriage-moving area.

Abstract: A printer including an automatic paper feeder having a stacker section capable of setting a plurality of sheets of paper therein, wherein a bottom of said stacker section is formed by a bottom itself of a printer case. In addition, the printer may include a hopper disposed in the stacker section to urge the paper upwardly, a pair of swinging members each having a separation pawl located above a corner of the paper and a pressing-down portion for pressing down the hopper, each of the swinging members being supported swingably about a shaft located between the separation pawl and the pressing-down portion and an operation lever having a pair of actuating portions capable of pressing downward the swinging members and supported rotatably above the stacker section.