Abstract: The present invention relates to a cover unit comprising a first metal cover having at least one side surface and a second cover made of a material not soluble to the material of the first metal cover. A tongue is formed on the side surface of the first metal cover. The second cover is formed with a brim covering at least one side surface end of the first metal cover and with a hole at a position corresponding to the position of the tongue of the first metal cover.

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a carriage for carrying a recording head, a sheet-feeding cassette for holding recording sheets to be recorded, a sheet-discharging cassette for holding recording sheets after recording, and a mounting-and-detaching part for mounting and detaching the recording head to and from the carriage. Loading of the recording sheets to be recorded into the sheet-feeding cassette, unloading of the recording sheets after recording from the sheet-discharging cassette, and mounting and detaching of the recording head to and from the carriage can be performed at a front part of the recording apparatus.

Abstract: A recording apparatus has a paper feeder wherein single sheets of paper can be set, a paper delivery device for transporting paper fed from the paper feeder to a recorder, and a control unit for controlling operation of the paper feeder and the paper delivery device. The control unit has a skew removal execution mode of only the first sheet of paper where the paper tip is bitten into a paper delivery roller forming a part of the paper delivery device and then the paper delivery roller is reversely rotated for ejecting the paper tip for the first sheet of paper at the start of recording and then forward rotating the paper delivery roller for delivering the sheet of paper whose skew is removed to the recorder and delivering the second and later sheets of paper to a record area without executing the skew removal.

Abstract: An auxiliary roller is disposed in the proximity of sides of feed rollers and in the proximity upward from a separation pad. At the print time, the auxiliary roller is slightly projected toward the side of print sheet from roller faces of the feed rollers. The auxiliary roller is displaced as paper is displaced in a stack direction of the paper, and can be freely rotated. A hopper is moved up, paper is pressed against the feed rollers, and the separation pad abuts the feed rollers. Then, the feed rollers and a transport roller are rotated forward for feeding the paper to the transport roller. Further, the paper is sent from the transport roller at a distance equal to or greater than the length along the feeding path between the position of the front end of paper placed in a paper feed tray and the abutment center point of the separation pad and the feed rollers. Subsequently, the feed rollers and the transport roller stop, the hopper is moved down, and the separation pad is brought away from the feed rollers.

Abstract: A paper feed unit includes a hopper on which sheets are stacked and which is turned around a rotation shaft. The hopper is turned to move apart from or move to a paper feed roller. The paper feed unit has three modes: a large release mode in which the hopper is turned to be most apart from the paper feed roller, a non-release mode in which the printing sheet is abutted against the paper feed roller, and a small release mode in which the printing sheet is slightly separated from the paper feed roller, and is at a medium level between the above two modes. When a paper feeding job is still present, a state that the uppermost printing sheet is slightly separated from the paper feed roller is retained by the small release mode, whereby a swing range of the hopper is minimized.

Abstract: Springs 34 and 35 are located on the back face of a paper cassette, between a movable plate 32 and a bar 31, coupled with a side edge aligner 27. A slot extending in the direction in which a spring load is generated is formed in the movable plate, and a hook portion is formed at the end of the spring in the direction in which the spring is extended or contracted. The length of the slot and the length of the spring end in the direction in which the spring load is generated differ for the individual springs, and correspond to the distance the movable plate is displaced. That is, a size difference is defined for each spring until the spring load is applied. During the insertion of the paper cassette, the movable plate is displaced by the mechanism constituted by the groove cam 41 and the boss 36a, and in accordance with the displacement, different spring loads are multiply applied the paper side edge aligning member via the bar.

Abstract: An ink jet recording device includes an external switch, a device for detecting the amount of ink left in each ink cartridge, and a device operating such that when an instruction to replace the ink cartridge is generated by the switch, or when a device detects an ink end of the cartridge, only the ink cartridge to be replaced is exposed through a window in the recording device. The ink cartridge to be replaced is specified, and only the specified ink cartridge is automatically moved to a replaceable position. Correct replacement of more than one ink cartridge is ensured, and the cartridge replacing work is simplified.

Abstract: Ink is sucked in a first amount from recording heads by applying negative pressure of suction pumps to the recording heads in a state in which communication between the recording heads and the atmosphere is cut off by sealing the recording heads by means of caps. The ink in the caps is then discharged by causing negative pressure of the suction pumps to act in a state in which the caps are made to communicate with the atmosphere, and then wiping is effected by a wiping blade.

Abstract: An auxiliary roller is disposed in the proximity of sides of feed rollers and in the proximity upward from a separation pad. At the print time, the auxiliary roller is slightly projected toward the side of print sheet from roller faces of the feed rollers. The auxiliary roller is displaced as paper is displaced in a stack direction of the paper, and can be freely rotated. A hopper is moved up, paper is pressed against the feed rollers, and the separation pad abuts the feed rollers. Then, the feed rollers and a transport roller are rotated forward for feeding the paper to the transport roller. Further, the paper is sent from the transport roller at a distance equal to or greater than the length along the feeding path between the position of the front end of paper placed in a paper feed tray and the abutment center point of the separation pad and the feed rollers. Subsequently, the feed rollers and the transport roller stop, the hopper is moved down, and the separation pad is brought away from the feed rollers.

Abstract: Springs 34 and 35 are located on the back face of a paper cassette, between a movable plate 32 and a bar 31, coupled with a side edge aligner 27. A slot extending in the direction in which a spring load is generated is formed in the movable plate, and a hook portion is formed at the end of the spring in the direction in which the spring is extended or contracted. The length of the slot and the length of the spring end in the direction in which the spring load is generated differ for the individual springs, and correspond to the distance the movable plate is displaced. That is, a size difference is defined for each spring until the spring load is applied. During the insertion of the paper cassette, the movable plate is displaced by the mechanism constituted by the groove cam 41 and the boss 36a, and in accordance with the displacement, different spring loads are multiply applied the paper side edge aligning member via the bar.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus having a sheet forward roller 8 and a pump unit 11 connected to a single drive motor 7, and a drive force is transmitted to the pump unit 11 through time lag mechanisms 33-34 that cause a time lag at the time of switching rotational directions. Sheet feeding/discharging operation and ink sucking operation are performed with the single drive motor by taking advantage of a timing at which there are no load fluctuations accompanied by the switching operation, without requiring any switching mechanism.

Abstract: Cap holders (60, 70) are accommodation in a holder receiving member (40) in such a state that the cap holders are urged by springs toward the side of a recording head at two places with inclinations at angles of &thgr;1, &thgr;2 in the moving direction of a carriage and at an angle of &thgr;3 in a direction perpendicular thereto. Moments are produced by giving a difference to the distance between the whole periphery of a cap and the recording head, and peeling is effected from one point, so that the sealing of the recording head and the peeling of the cap off the recording head are made compatible.

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a carriage for carrying a recording head, a sheet-feeding cassette for holding recording sheets to be recorded, a sheet-discharging cassette for holding recording sheets after recording, and a mounting-and-detaching part for mounting and detaching the recording head to and from the carriage. Loading of the recording sheets to be recorded into the sheet-feeding cassette, unloading of the recording sheets after recording from the sheet-discharging cassette, and mounting and detaching of the recording head to and from the carriage can be performed at a front part of the recording apparatus.

Abstract: Cap holders (60, 70) are accommodation in a holder receiving member (40) in such a state that the cap holders are urged by springs toward the side of a recording head at two places with inclinations at angles of &thgr;1, &thgr;2 in the moving direction of a carriage and at an angle of &thgr;3 in a direction perpendicular thereto. Moments are produced by giving a difference to the distance between the whole periphery of a cap and the recording head, and peeling is effected from one point, so that the sealing of the recording head and the peeling of the cap off the recording head are made compatible.

Abstract: An ink cartridge employable for an ink jet type recording apparatus includes a case (4) having a front plate (4a) with at least one position determining hole (4h/4g) formed therein. An ink bag (1) containing a supply of ink is received in the case (4) in a manner such that the position determining hole (4h/4g) allows the insertion of a position determining shaft (16/17) projecting from an inner end of a cartridge holder (90) through the position determining hole (4h/4g) to guide and properly locate the ink cartridge (80) relative to the cartridge holder (90) without establishing communication between the ink bag (1) and the position determining shaft (16/17).

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes: a timer (26) that outputs a signal upon measurement of a predetermined time that is longer than a predetermined cycle during a period for which recording heads (8, 9) are released from a cap member (uncapped period) after a print command has been outputted; and a flushing control means (27) that control to move the recording heads (8, 9) to an ink receiving means so that the recording heads jet ink droplets, in response to the signal from the timer (26), and to reset the timer (26). If the predetermined time set to the timer (26) is up during uncapped period, the flushing control means (27) flushes a maximum number of ink droplets, and upon end of a single round of printing, the flushing control means (27) flushes a number of ink droplets corresponding to a time measured by the timer (26).

Abstract: On a slider which is pressed by a carriage to follow the movement the carriage while moving up and down on a base in accordance with the movement of the carriage, a cap is provided swingably through a support frame urged against a recording head by a spring or the like so that only one of its corners projects out at the time of non-capping. The cap moving up in accordance with the movement of the carriage, first, comes into contact with a nozzle plate of the recording head, and then expands the contact region gradually until it contacts with the whole of the nozzle plate. Therefore, pressure is concentrated in the contact free region partially so that the cap becomes familiar to the nozzle plate from its one corner and expands the contact region to make sealing finally.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes an ink consumption operating unit that adds a quantity of ink to be discharged by suction processing as a quantity of ink consumed before performing the suction processing. The ink jet recording apparatus includes also a suction control unit that performs the suction processing after such addition. A remaining ink level is calculated by estimating a quantity of ink to be used in a large volume for sucking as a quantity of ink consumed, and, even if a power supply switch is turned off before the sucking operation is terminated, the calculated remaining ink level as a quantity of ink consumed is added to a consumption storage unit 33. As a result, a possible erroneous overestimation of the remaining ink level in an ink cartridge can be avoided.

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.