Abstract: An ink tank cartridge is provided removably mountable onto an ink supply needle of the ink-jet type recording apparatus body. The cartridge has a housing provided with an ink supply port extending through and projecting from a wall of the housing and into the chamber of the housing. A porous member having ink impregnated thereon is positioned inside the chamber of the housing abutting against the ink supply port. A filter is mounted on the inner end opening of the ink supply port. The ink tank cartridge is further provided with a packing member for resiliently abutting against the outer periphery of the ink supply needle and is positioned adjacent one end of the ink supply port. The outer opening of the ink supply port is sealed with a sealing member through which the ink supply needle penetrates.

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 ink jet recording apparatus which includes a recording head communicated via an ink supply needle with an ink tank and including electrodes for detecting a remaining amount of ink and being responsive to a print signal for spouting ink drops to recording paper, a capping unit abutting against the front of said recording head for holding the nozzle openings in an airtight state, a suction pump for supplying negative pressure to the capping unit, a resistance value detection circuit for detecting electric resistance across the electrodes for detecting a remaining amount of ink, a reference value storage unit for storing a resistance value across the electrodes relative to the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank, a resistance value comparison unit for comparing the resistance across the electrodes with the reference value, and a pump control unit responsive to the resistance value comparison result for controlling a pulse motor driving the suction pump.

Abstract: A pump unit and corresponding method for applying negative pressure to a capping device to prevent clogging of a nozzle opening in an ink jet printer includes a frame having a supporting surface on which a pump tube is disposed. A plurality of gears which are driven by a motor of the ink jet printer are disposed in the frame. A plurality of pulleys are rotatably mounted to one of the gears for applying a pressure to the pump tube to thereby generate a negative pressure in the pump tube. The maximum contact region between the pulleys and the tube in the pump frame is selected to be smaller than 180.degree. to allow for the load applied to the tube by the pulleys to be essentially constant. Damper sheets are economically disposed in the frame to position the pulleys to contact the tube when the gear on which the pulleys is driven in a certain direction.

Abstract: An ink jet type recording apparatus in which two recording heads are mounted on one and the same carriage in such a manner that their spatial relationship is fixed, and the heads are positively sealed simultaneously by a capping means. A first cap member 13 adapted to seal the first recording head is provided near an end, proximate to the printing region, of a slider 20, which lifts a base stand according to the movement of a carriage. The first cap member has an air communication hole, and an ink suction hole therein. In addition, a second cap member 14 adapted to seal the second recording head is mounted through elastic members 74 and 75 on the slider 20. The second cap member 14 has an air communication hole, and an ink suction hole therein. The end of the slider 20, proximate to the non-printing region, is supported with an arm 30 which is elastically pressed vertically upwardly of the printing region. The two cap members are fixedly spaced from each other.

Abstract: An ink tank cartridge is provided removably mountable onto an ink supply needle of the ink-jet type recording apparatus body. The cartridge has a housing provided with an ink supply port extending through and projecting from a wall of the housing and into the chamber of the housing. A porous member having ink impregnated thereon is positioned inside the chamber of the housing abutting against the ink supply port. A filter is mounted on the inner end opening of the ink supply port. The ink tank cartridge is further provided with a packing member for resiliently abutting against the outer periphery of the ink supply needle and is positioned adjacent one end of the ink supply port. The outer opening of the ink supply port is sealed with a sealing member through which the ink supply needle penetrates.

Abstract: This specification discloses an information processing apparatus in which the temperature of the atmosphere in the apparatus is detected by system temperature detecting means, the temperature of an element on a control substrate is detected by substrate element temperature detecting means, and a preset temperature, the temperature detected by the system temperature detecting means and the temperature detected by the substrate element temperature detecting means are compared with one another and temperature management control based on the result of the comparison is effected.

Abstract: An ink jet printer casing which reduces the volume and thickness of a used ink tank by fully utilizing the inherent ink absorbing capability of the ink absorbing substance. A used ink containing room, defined by side walls, is formed on the bottom surface of the casing. The used ink containing room is divided into a plural number of segmental regions by partitioning plates. Individual segments of ink absorbing substance made of a porous material are placed in the segmental regions, respectively. If the casing is tilted, the water heads of the segments of ink absorbing substance are low as a whole when viewed in the vertical direction since the segments of ink absorbing substance are isolated from one another by the partitioning plates. The ink absorbing substance may also be formed as a single member, and the ink led to a central part of the used ink containing room.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus includes: an ink-jet recording head; a carriage on which the ink-jet recording head is mounted, the carriage being capable of traveling between a printing and a non-printing area, the carriage having an operating lever on non-printing area thereof; and a wiper for wiping the ink-jet recording head in the non-printing area, the wiper having a projected piece including two tilted sides, the tilted sides being projecting toward the passage in which the carriage moves when the wiper is set in position where the wiper is capable of wiping, wherein, while the carriage is moved in the directions of printing and non-printing area of the carriage, the operating lever comes in contact with the projected piece of the wiping lever so as to move the wiping means out of the traveling passage of the carriage.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording device in which a capping device a and cleaning device can be made as compact as possible. The ink-jet recording device includes a capping device which is disposed out of a printing area and, when pushed by a recording head or a carriage carrying the recording head, can be moved between a non-capping position and a capping position, a cam surface and a cam follower which, in a process where the recording head is moved from the non-capping position to the capping position, shift the capping device to the nozzle surface of the recording head, a cleaning device which is swingably mounted to the capping device by device of shafts and is movable between a non-cleaning position and a cleaning position in accordance with the movement of the recording head, and a suction pump which supplies a negative pressure to the capping device to thereby suck out ink within a cap member into a waste ink tank.

Abstract: A recording apparatus for recording an image on a recording material includes a heat generating element for controlling a temperature of a recording head, a driver for driving the heat generating element to generate heat, and control circuitry for controlling the driver to generate heat from the heat generating element with plural steps with a predetermined heat generating period, after completion of a recording operation by the recording head.

Abstract: An ink cartridge employable for an ink jet type recording apparatus includes a fitting portion (4b) at the central part of a front plate (4a) of a case (4) so as to allow an ink outlet piece (2) secured to an ink bag (1) to be engaged with the fitting portion (4b). Once the ink outlet piece (2) is engaged with the fitting portion (4b), the ink bag (1) is located and received in the case (4). In addition, when two position determining shafts projecting from the innermost end of the cartridge holder are inserted through position determining holes (4g) and (4h) on the front plate (4a) of the case (4), an ink feeding needle projection from the innermost end of the cartridge holder is correctly located in alignment with the ink outlet piece (2) while the front plate (4) of the case serves as a reference.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus which includes a recording head communicated via an ink supply needle with an ink tank and including electrodes for detecting a remaining amount of ink and being responsive to a print signal for spouting ink drops to recording paper, a capping unit abutting against the front of said recording head for holding the nozzle openings in an airtight state, a suction pump for supplying negative pressure to the capping unit, a resistance value detection circuit for detecting electric resistance across the electrodes for detecting a remaining amount of ink, a reference value storage unit for storing a resistance value across the electrodes relative to the remaining amount of ink in the ink tank, a resistance value comparison unit for comparing the resistance across the electrodes with the reference value, and a pump control unit responsive to the resistance value comparison result for controlling a pulse motor driving the suction pump.

Abstract: An ink tank cartridge is provided removably mountable onto an ink supply needle of the ink-jet type recording apparatus body. The cartridge has a housing provided with an ink supply port extending through and projecting from a wall of the housing and into the chamber of the housing. A porous member having ink impregnated thereon is positioned inside the chamber of the housing abutting against the ink supply port. A filter is mounted on the inner end opening of the ink supply port. The ink tank cartridge is further provided with a packing member for resiliently abutting against the outer periphery of the ink supply needle and is positioned adjacent one end of the ink supply port. The outer opening of the ink supply port is sealed with a sealing member through which the ink supply needle penetrates.

Abstract: An ink expelling restoring device and method capable of reliably restoring the ink-expelling restoring capability of an ink jet type recording head and coping with the case where the ink supply is exhausted during the ink-expelling restoring process. The inventive ink-expelling restoring device for an ink jet printer includes a capping member for capping the front face of a recording head, an ink-residual quantity detector for checking the residual quantity of ink, and blade member for wiping the front face of the recording head. The ink expelling capability restoring operation is carried out by a sequence of a wiping operation, ink-suction operation, and flushing operation. The residual-quantity detector checks the residual quantity of ink during the operation of restoring the ink-expelling capability. When the residual quantity of ink is smaller than a preset quantity, the ink suction operation is stopped. The recording head is capped with the capping member after the flushing and wiping operations.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus uses a recording head to eject ink and has a sensor for detecting the ambient temperature of the head. A heating element in the head controls the temperature of the ink, while a counter counts a print waiting period. A table for determining drive information for the heating element in accordance with an output of the temperature detecting means is also provided. A controller, responsive to this table, controls the internal heating operation effected in the print waiting period after the end and before the start of a printing operation within a predetermined period, and controls a duty heating operation effected periodically when the predetermined period is exceeded.

Abstract: An ink jet type recording device has a recording head which is moved over a recording sheet to jet ink droplets to form dots on it, an ink tank for supplying ink to the recording head, a cap member arranged outside the printing region in such a manner that it is moved to and from the recording head, a suction pump having an ink sucking inlet connected to the cap member and an ink discharging outlet connected to a waste ink tank. Also, a switch is provided for starting the suction pump; a memory circuit is provided for storing data representing the quantity of waste ink sucked out by the suction pump; and a control circuit is provided for nullifying an ink purging instruction when the sum of the quantities of waste ink exceeds a predetermined value. When it is detected through the memory circuit that the sum of the quantities of waste ink thus sucked out is beyond the capacity of the waste ink tank, the ink purging operation is suspended irrespective of a forcible ink purging instruction from the switch.

Abstract: An ink jet type recording device has a recording head which is moved over a recording sheet to jet ink droplets to form dots on it, an ink tank for supplying ink to the recording head, a cap member arranged outside the printing region in such a manner that it is moved to and from the recording head, a suction pump having an ink sucking inlet connected to the cap member and an ink discharging outlet connected to a waste ink tank. Also, a switch is provided for starting the suction pump; a memory circuit is provided for storing data representing the quantity of waste ink sucked out by the suction pump; and a control circuit is provided for nullifying an ink purging instruction when the sum of the quantities of waste ink exceeds a predetermined value. When it is detected through the memory circuit that the sum of the quantities of waste ink thus sucked out is beyond the capacity of the waste ink tank, the ink purging operation is suspended irrespective of a forcible ink purging instruction from the switch.