Abstract: A recovery device comprising: a cap configured to cover a nozzle face in which a plurality of nozzle groups are formed; and a cap holder supporting the cap; wherein the cap includes: a sealing lip being configured to sealingly contact the nozzle face; a plurality of partitioning lips that partition an inside area surrounded by the sealing lip into a plurality of compartments corresponding to the respective nozzle groups; and a plurality of suction openings provided in the respective compartments; and wherein a common flow path, which is communicated with suction openings of some or all compartments and connects the suction openings to a negative pressure source, is formed in the cap or in the cap holder, or by a space containing faces of the cap and the cap holder opposed to each other.

Abstract: An ink cartridge includes a first side wall, a second side wall opposite from the first side wall, a front wall, a back wall opposite from the front wall, a bottom wall, a top wall opposite from the bottom wall, and an ink chamber formed in a space enclosed by the first side wall, the second side wall, the front wall, the back wall, the bottom wall and the top wall. The bottom wall includes an ink supply opening through which ink may be provided to a print head, and a protruding region of the ink cartridge protrudes outwardly from the first side wall.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus comprises a recording head ejecting ink droplets to perform recording, an ink cartridge, and a mounting portion on which the ink cartridge is detachably mountable. The cartridge has an ink chamber for storing ink, an ink supply port for supplying the ink to the head, and an air introducing port for introducing an atmospheric air into the ink chamber. The mounting portion has an ink supply portion for supplying the ink from the cartridge to the head, and an air introduction portion for supplying the air into the ink chamber. The air introduction portion comprises an air supply port positionally corresponding to the air introducing port of the cartridge as mounted on the mounting portion, an air intake port for taking in the air, and an air supply passage extending between the air supply port and the air intake port and comprising a turn.

Abstract: Two yellow buffer tanks communicate with each other through a communication portion so that yellow ink in the yellow ink cartridge is supplied to two nozzle arrays for yellow ink independently provided apart from each other. In the ink outlet provided in each of the yellow buffer tanks, a check valve is provided that allows supply of yellow ink to the corresponding nozzle array and inhibits an ink flow in the opposite direction.

Abstract: An ink-jet printer including recording heads; a carriage carrying the recording heads; ink flow passages which supply ink from ink tanks to the recording heads; air collecting chambers which are provided on the carriage and each of which collects air bubbles produced in a corresponding one of the ink flow passages; discharging passages which are provided on the carriage and each of which communicates with a corresponding one of the air collecting chambers; opening and closing valves each of which is normally closed and is provided in a corresponding one of the discharging passages such that the opening and closing valves are arranged in a first direction; opening and closing bars which arranged in a second direction parallel to the first direction, and each of which opens and closes a corresponding one of the opening and closing valves; an air-tight-space defining device including an air-discharge cap which has a bottom wall, a side wall projecting upward from a periphery of the bottom wall, and a suction hol

Abstract: An ink cartridge includes a cartridge case; an ink chamber situated within the cartridge case; an ink supply opening formed in the cartridge case for supplying ink from the ink chamber to an exterior of the cartridge; and a lever mechanism provided in the ink chamber, the lever mechanism including a light blocking member at a first end of the lever mechanism, the lever mechanism being rotatable about a rotation point on the lever mechanism, and the light blocking member being movable in association with rotation of the lever mechanism.

Abstract: The present invention relates to an inkjet printer and methods for mounting ink cartridges. The cartridge has a case with an ink chamber and a first and second opening. The inkjet printer has a recording head, a buffer tank, and a mounting portion with an ink supply tube and an air intake tube. The method includes establishing fluid communication between an interior of the ink chamber and the ink supply tube via the first opening, and then establishing fluid communication between the interior of the ink chamber and the air intake tube via the second opening, where the pressure of the ink chamber interior is less than atmospheric pressure. The inkjet printer includes a buffer tank in communication with a recording head, a mounting portion having an ink supply tube and an air intake tube, and an ink cartridge including a case having a first and second opening.

Abstract: An ink-jet printer that comprises: a carriage on which a recording head having nozzles for discharging ink and a buffer tank for supplying the ink to the recording head are mounted; an exhaust valve provided on an exhaust path for exhausting air in the buffer tank to the outside; an attaching unit disposed outside the carriage and at a height lower than the recording head, to which the ink cartridge is detachably attached; an ink flow passage having one end portion to which the ink cartridge to be attached to the attaching unit is detachably connected, for supplying the ink in the ink cartridge to the buffer tank. The ink in the ink flow passage moves to the side of the ink, due to the head difference between the buffer tank and the ink cartridge, by opening the exhaust valve when the ink cartridge is attached to the attaching unit.

Abstract: There is disclosed an inkjet printer comprising: an inkjet printhead having an actuator and a plurality of nozzle rows each consisting of a plurality of nozzles through each of which a droplet of ink is ejected onto a recording medium by driving of the actuator; an IC chip having a drive circuit for outputting a drive signal to the actuator based on print data so that the ink droplet is ejected from the each nozzle in accordance with the drive signal; and a temperature-difference-responsive controller which increases a period of time taken for completing printing of a first amount when a difference in temperature between two places at least one of which is on the printhead exceeds a reference value, the temperature-difference-responsive controller not increasing the period of time when the difference does not exceed the reference value.

Abstract: An inkjet printer has a printing head having a nozzle surface on which a plurality of nozzles are located that spray a plurality of kinds of ink and a cap that covers the nozzle surface of the printing head. This cap includes a ring-shaped seal lip that is constructed so that the tip end thereof comes in contact with the nozzle surface to perform capping and a partitioning lip that partitions the area inside the seal lip into areas for nozzle groups that correspond to the kinds of ink. The tip end of either seal lip or partitioning lip is shaped so that it is compressed more easily than that of the other.

Abstract: An ink cartridge includes at least one wall; an ink chamber capable of storing ink, the ink chamber being bounded, at least in part, by the at least one wall; an ink supply opening configured to permit communication between the ink chamber and an area outside of the ink chamber; and a detection portion. The detection portion extends away from the ink chamber relative to portions of the ink cartridge adjacent to the detection portion, at least when the ink cartridge is installed in an image forming apparatus; and at least one part of the detection portion is capable of obstructing at least a portion of a light beam directed through the detection portion.

Abstract: A pressure retaining device for retaining a pressure in a communication passage which are communicated between a supply tank for supplying a first fluid and a nozzle for ejecting the first fluid, comprises a compressing unit provided across an intermediate of the communication passage for compressing the first fluid transferred from the supply tank to the nozzle, and a pump for supplying to the compressing unit a second fluid on which a pressure is loaded thereby. In the construction above, the second fluid is supplied by the pump to the compressing unit to compress the first fluid in the compressing unit, and the first fluid in the nozzle is then compressed by a pressure loaded on the first fluid in the compressing unit.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a print head having a plurality of nozzles; a plurality of ink cartridges storing inks of different colors, respectively, to be supplied to the print head; and a pressure applying section for applying pressure in an ejecting direction to the inks in the nozzles of the print head by supplying compressed air to the ink cartridges, and the pressure applying section has a pump for supplying compressed air to the ink cartridges through an air channel provided between the ink cartridges and said pump; and a charge tank provided in the air channel, for temporarily keeping the compressed air, and, after increasing the pressure in the ink cartridges, charge tank and air channel by the supply of compressed air from the pump, the compressed air is released to the print head and the pressure is applied to the inks in the nozzles of the print head.

Abstract: An ink cartridge includes a cartridge case; an ink chamber situated within the cartridge case; an ink supply opening formed in the cartridge case for supplying ink from the ink chamber to an exterior of the cartridge; and a lever mechanism provided in the ink chamber, the lever mechanism including a light blocking member at a first end of the lever mechanism, the lever mechanism being rotatable about a rotation point on the lever mechanism, and the light blocking member being movable in association with rotation of the lever mechanism.

Abstract: An ink cartridge includes a cartridge case; an ink chamber situated within the cartridge case; an ink supply opening formed in the cartridge case for supplying ink from the ink chamber to an exterior of the cartridge; and a lever mechanism provided in the ink chamber, the lever mechanism including a light blocking member at a first end of the lever mechanism, the lever mechanism being rotatable about a rotation point on the lever mechanism, and the light blocking member being movable in association with rotation of the lever mechanism.

Abstract: An ink cartridge includes an ink-holding portion, a flexible film, and a sensor lever. The ink-holding portion has an indented surface portion and an opening portion. The flexible film covers the opening portion of the ink-holding portion and is capable of deforming toward the indented surface portion in association with reduction in ink amount in the indented surface portion. The sensor lever has two ends. One end serves as an ink residual amount detection point and is disposed to protrude upward above the indented surface portion in the ink-holding portion. The other end extends away from the ink-holding portion. The flexible film presses the ink residual amount detection point of the sensor lever when the flexible film deforms toward the indented surface portion.

Abstract: A critical path detecting unit for detecting critical paths for a design in which cells are placed on an integrated circuit and information concerning timing constraints. A representative-critical-path extracting unit extracts a representative critical path by having one critical path represent critical paths which share more intervals than a certain number, and which are similar to one another, out of critical paths which have been detected by the critical path detecting unit. A path-image generating unit renders the representative critical path, which has been extracted by the representative-critical-path extracting unit and reflects information concerning other critical paths, which are similar to the representative critical path, on the representative critical path.

Abstract: An apparatus for maintaining a recording head which has a nozzle opening in a nozzle-defining surface thereof, and ejects, from the nozzle, a droplet of an ink toward a recording medium, in a state in which the recording head is separate from a remaining portion of a recording device, the apparatus including a cover member which is adapted to air-tightly contact the recording head to cover the nozzle-defining surface of the recording head such that a space is formed between the cover member and the nozzle-defining surface; and a selectively communicating device (50c, 80; 53, 53c, 94; 53c, 96; 50c, 62; 50c, 52; 50c, 71) which can selectively take (a) a first state thereof in which the selectively communicating device allows the space to communicate with an atmosphere so that substantially no difference is produced between an air pressure in the space and an atmospheric pressure, when the cover member is air-tightly contacted with the recording head, and (b) a second state thereof in which the selectively commu

Abstract: An ink cartridge includes at least one wall; an ink chamber capable of storing ink, the ink chamber being bounded, at least in part, by the at least one wall; an ink supply opening configured to permit communication between the ink chamber and an area outside of the ink chamber; and a detection portion. The detection portion extends away from the ink chamber relative to portions of the ink cartridge adjacent to the detection portion, at least when the ink cartridge is installed in an image forming apparatus; and at least one part of the detection portion is capable of obstructing at least a portion of a light beam directed through the detection portion.

Abstract: There is disclosed an inkjet printer comprising: an inkjet printhead having an actuator and a plurality of nozzle rows each consisting of a plurality of nozzles through each of which a droplet of ink is ejected onto a recording medium by driving of the actuator; an IC chip having a drive circuit for outputting a drive signal to the actuator based on print data so that the ink droplet is ejected from the each nozzle in accordance with the drive signal; and a temperature-difference-responsive controller which increases a period of time taken for completing printing of a first amount when a difference in temperature between two places at least one of which is on the printhead exceeds a reference value, the temperature-difference-responsive controller not increasing the period of time when the difference does not exceed the reference value.