Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head for recording by discharging ink on a recording medium and a plurality of waste ink storage members connected in series for receiving waste ink from only one recording head and provided within empty space in the apparatus. The waste ink is exhausted by a discharge recovery process in order to maintain a state of ink discharge in said recording head at least in a good condition. Each waste ink storage member includes an aperture on its surface covered with a breathable fabric to allow air into the ink storage member.

Abstract: The recording apparatus includes a recording head that performs dot-recording on the recording material through a plurality of recording elements arranged on the recording head; a mechanism to move the recording head in a main scan direction to perform recording; and a transport mechanism to feed the recording material in a sub-scan direction perpendicular to the main scan direction after each main scan operation. The transport mechanism is formed of a combination of driving elements including a driving source. The feeding distance that the recording material is fed in one feeding operation is set synchronized with the driving cycle of the driving elements including the driving source. This arrangement allows the recording head, which has an array of ink ejection nozzles arranged with a conventional density, to produce a dot-recorded image having a resolution two or more times higher than the conventional resolution.

Abstract: In a spark plug, a main air gap (A) is formed between a parallel ground electrode (11) and the end face of a central electrode (2), a semi-surface gap (B) is formed between the end face (12C) of a semi-surface ground electrode (12) and the side face (2A) of the central electrode (2) and a semi-surface air gap (C) is formed between the end face (12C) and the side face (1E) of insulator. In addition, difference in a level E between the height of the lower end face (1D) of the insulator (1) and the height of the upper edge (12B) of the end face 12C of the semi-surface ground electrode 12 is E≦+0.7 mm, the distance B of the semi-surface gap (B) is longer than the distance A of the main air gap (A) and the distance C of the semi-surface air gap (C) and the insulator is shorter than the distance A of the main air gap (A).

Abstract: An ink jet apparatus has a sucking device for sucking ink from a cap, and this sucking device includes a sucking space formed by a cylinder and piston adapted to the cylinder, wherein an internal pressure variation in the sucking space varies according to the mutual relation of the cylinder and piston. The sucking device has a suction opening for transmitting the internal pressure variation in the sucking space to a cap for covering an ink discharge opening of a recording head. A controller regulates the sucking means so that a stroke of the piston in the cylinder of an idle suction when the suction is performed in a state where the cap is opened to atmosphere is smaller than that of a true suction when the suction is performed in a state where the cap is closed to the atmosphere.

Abstract: The present invention relates to a discharge recovery processing of an ink jet recording apparatus which forms an image on the recording medium by discharging the ink. The invention aims to prevent the increase in the running costs and the shortened life of a waste ink tank by preventing the wasteful ink consumption which may be caused by the dual use of an automatic recovery processing and a manual recovery processing after the replacement of an ink tank.Also, the invention further aims to provide an ink jet recording apparatus with high safety and reliability as well as effecting an appropriate recovery by controlling the movement of head in involving the recovery.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus records using a recording head. The head comprises a plurality of discharge ports for discharging ink, a common liquid chamber for supplying ink to the plurality of discharge ports, and a plurality of discharge elements for causing ink to be discharged from the plurality of discharge ports. The apparatus further comprises driving elements for substantially simultaneously driving said discharge elements corresponding to a first plurality of discharge ports which are not adjacent to each other, among said plurality of discharge ports, and for driving said discharge elements corresponding to a second plurality of discharge ports which are respectively adjacent to said first plurality of discharge ports, not simultaneously with said discharge elements corresponding to said first plurality of discharge ports, but at predetermined intervals within a drive period.

Abstract: In a recording apparatus using a plurality of kinds of head cartridges each comprising an ink jet recording head and an ink tank formed as a unit, the present invention prevents, when a wrong head cartridge has been mounted during cartridge exchange, data regarding the remain of ink in a thitherto used cartridge of other kind from being lost, and enables the remain of ink in that cartridge to be confirmed. A user is pressed for the exchange of the head cartridge now mounted to thereby effect the exchange actually, and is called on to confirm whether the newly mounted head cartridge is a right one, and the initialization of the data regarding the remain of ink is effected when the user has done the inputting of the confirmation.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus having an ink jet recording head and a cap. The apparatus includes a recording head, the recording head having a discharge port face with a discharge port arranged thereon, and a recovery device, the recovery device including the cap for covering the discharge port face, the cap having an interior and including a body portion and an edge portion opposing the discharge port face and having a leading end, the edge portion including an elastic member for covering a periphery of the discharge port, wherein during a capping operation a plane defined by the leading end of the edge portion is not parallel to the discharge port face and the edge portion is not displaced in a direction different from a capping direction between the cap and the ink jet recording head.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus is provided with at least one first electrode at least in either a recording head or ink retaining member, dielectric adjacent to the first electrode or laying between the first electrodes, a second electrode electrically connected to the first electrode through the dielectric and ink, power supply to apply and release voltage to and from the first electrode, potential difference detector for detecting the potential of the second electrode, and equivalent circuit to determine the ink remains at least in either one of the recording head and ink retaining member in accordance with the potential of the second electrode detected by potential difference detector. In this way, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus having equivalent circuit for detecting ink shortage, and expect a highly precise detection thereof, and also, to provide information processing systems having such recording apparatus for its output device.

Abstract: A recording apparatus in which a recording head for effecting recording on a recording medium can be carried on a carriage movable with a reading unit for performing an original reading operation carried thereon, including a white flat plate member removable provided at a location opposed to the reading unit and along an area in which the carriage is moved. A reading unit for use in a recording apparatus in which a recording head unit for effecting recording on a recording medium and the reading unit for reading the image of an original are selectively interchangeable relative to a reciprocally movable carrier, including original image reading means constituting a predetermined reading optical path entering and reflected by the surface of the original to read the image of the original, and a movable member having reference correction means for reading moved to a position on the reading optical path corresponding to the surface of the original when the carrier is in a predetermined position.

Abstract: A spark plug has a cylindrical metal shell, a ground electrode and an insulator fixedly supported within the metal shell with a front end of the insulator extended beyond a front end of the metal shell. The insulator has an axial bore in which a center electrode is placed to form a spark gap with the ground electrode. The front end of the metal shell is generally flush with or somewhat recessed into an inner wall of a combustion chamber of an internal combustion engine when the spark plug is mounted on a cylinder head of the engine. The front end of the insulator extends at least 4.0 mm from the front end of the metal shell.

Abstract: A display unit is provided so as to be rotatable with respect to a main body of an electronic apparatus. An inlet for manually inserting a sheet is provided in the vicinity of the center of rotation of the display unit, and a sheet feeding device capable of continuously feeding sheets is provided so as to be detachable with respect to the inlet. It is thereby possible to supply a sheet from the front side of the electronic apparatus.

Abstract: A recording apparatus for recording by discharging plural kinds of ink from the recording head to a recording medium comprises detection device for detecting the decrease of ink remains of each ink of the plural kinds of ink, ink amount indication device arranged in a number smaller than the number of the plural kinds of ink, and signal outputting device for outputting signals which enables the decrease of ink remains having the least amount of ink remains to be displayed on the ink amount indication device in accordance with the results of plural detections by the detection device.

Abstract: In an ink jet recovery apparatus, a recovery operation of the recording head is performed by exhausting ink from the recording head. The recording apparatus has a waste ink storage tank to store the ink exhausted in the recovery operation. The amount of waste ink currently stored in the waste ink storage tank is calculated in accordance with the amount of ink exhausted up to the present, the elapsed time since the last recovery operation, and the amount of ink exhausted in the current recovery operation. The amount of ink stored in the waste ink storage tank can thus be accurately monitored, so that waste ink is not allowed to flow out of the storage tank. Users can be informed of overflow of the waste ink and thereby prompted to exchange the tank; space required for the tank can thus be reduced.

Abstract: A document processing apparatus includes a developing unit for developing a dot pattern, a recording unit for recording a dot pattern on a recording medium using an ink, a transfer unit for transferring the dot pattern developed by the developing unit to the recording unit, and a transfer control unit for controlling a transfer timing rate of the transfer unit to improve a fixing property of the ink to the recording medium recorded by the recording unit. The transfer timing rate is controlled in accordance with the time required to produce the dot pattern, in accordance with the type of dot pattern to be printed, or with the type of recording medium used.

Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head for recording on a recording medium with the discharge of ink; a cap for covering a face of a recording head formed with a discharge port for discharging ink, the cap having an ink flow path with an ink suction port on an interior side thereof, and an ink exhaust port communicating with the ink suction port and located on the other opposite to the ink suction port, the ink exhaust port of the ink flow path having an area smaller than that of the ink suction port; an ink absorbing member disposed within the cap, the ink absorbing member covering a part of the ink suction port, and maintaining the remaining part thereof open; and a suction device for exerting a suction force on the inside of the cap, the suction means communicating with the ink exhaust port.

Abstract: In the operation of a main steam condenser of a steam turbine driven by a boiler and having a gland steam condenser, the gland steam condensate is normally fed from the gland steam condenser into the main condenser condensate. To avoid contamination of the main condenser condensate by oxygen-rich water, for at least part of the start-up period of the turbine, the gland steam condensate and other drain accumulating in the condenser is prevented from entering the main condenser condensate which is to be fed to the boiler. The gland steam condensate is fed to said main condenser and stored in a reservoir separate from the hot well thereof, to undergo de-aeration before being fed into the main condenser condensate.

Abstract: A recording apparatus for performing recording with an ink jet recording head, capable of ejecting ink onto a recording medium, comprises a cap to be opened and closed with respect to a discharge-orifice face of the recording head and a cap drive mechanism for opening the cap at the initiation of recording head driving and closing the cap when a non-driving period of the recording head exceeds a predetermined period of time .alpha.. A preliminary ejection circuit causes ejection of ink from the discharge orifices by driving the recording head to remedy defective ink ejection and preliminary ejection drive circuitry provides for preliminary ejection when a predetermined period of time .beta. is exceeded after a previously executed preliminary ejection, wherein the predetermined period of time .beta. does not include time during which the cap is closed.

Abstract: An ink jet recording system comprises an ink receiving member for receiving ink discharged from a recording head, an introducing device for directing the ink from the ink receiving member to a waste ink containing portion, and control structure, for controlling a relative position between the recording head and the ink receiving member so that the ink receiving member is not disposed in confronting relation to the recording head during an introducing process effected by the introducing device.

Abstract: In a center electrode for a spark plug, the center electrode is made of a heat-conductor core cladded with a nickel-alloyed metal. A recess is provided on the front end surface of the nickel-alloyed matrix and the columnar tip is made of a precious metal and fit in the recess in such a manner that a front end of the tip protracts from the recess. The outer surface of the tip is welded to an inner surface of the recess. The dimensional relationship of the components of the spark plug A, B, C, D, E, F and G is as follows: 0.3 mm.ltoreq.A.ltoreq.0.8 mm, 1.2A.ltoreq.B.ltoreq.3A, 0.1 mm.ltoreq.(C-A)/2.ltoreq.0.5 mm, D.ltoreq.(C-A)/2, E.ltoreq.B/4, 0 mm.ltoreq.F.ltoreq.0.5 mm and A/5.ltoreq.G.ltoreq.