Abstract: An ink tank includes a stirrer supported in a freely moveable manner near an inner wall of an ink storage chamber. When the stirrer moves closest to the inner wall, a predetermined gap is formed between opposing surfaces of the inner wall and the stirrer.

Abstract: A liquid container includes a housing, a flexible film, a liquid reservoir configured to directly store liquid therein and defined by the housing on one side and the flexible film on the other side, a liquid supply port provided in the liquid reservoir and configured to supply liquid to a recording head, and an overhang protruding from the housing and located in the liquid reservoir and substantially near the liquid supply port. The absorbing member is configured to absorb the inertial force of liquid, the inertial force being generated in liquid in the liquid reservoir by an external force applied to the housing.

Abstract: An ink tank includes a tank case and a stirrer. The proximal end of the stirrer is supported by the inner surface of the tank case in a pivotal manner. When the stirrer moves close to the inner surface of the ink tank, the stirrer is substantially parallel to the inner surface. The stirrer includes a through-hole in the vicinity of the proximal end thereof.

Abstract: A liquid container having a liquid containing portion adapted to contain a liquid, a supplying portion facilitating supplying the liquid from the liquid containing portion to outside, and an agitating member configured to agitate the liquid, in which the agitating member has a bending portion.

Abstract: An ink supply system in which gas is promptly and smoothly discharged without having a complex structure. The ink supply system includes a hermetically-sealed structure communicating with a liquid-using section, a liquid accommodating section having a liquid storage adapted to store liquid, the liquid accomodating section including a negative pressure generation means, and a plurality of communication paths, including first and second communication paths, that facilitates communication between the liquid chamber and the liquid accommodating section. Each of the first and second communication paths includes a liquid chamber side opening extending into the liquid chamber and a liquid accommodating section side opening extending into the liquid accommodating section.

Abstract: An ink supply system comprises an ink tank which contains ink, and a liquid chamber which is connected to the ink tank through a plurality of communication paths, and supplies ink taken from the ink tank to a recording head, wherein the liquid chamber, except the plurality of communication paths and a connection section to the recording head, forms a substantially sealed space; the liquid chamber is provided with a filter which can partition the inside of the liquid chamber into a first region at the side of the ink tank and a second region at the side of the recording head, and can form a meniscus of ink which is broken by a pressure of gas in the second region.

Abstract: An ink supply system comprises an ink tank which contains ink, and a liquid chamber which is connected to the ink tank through a plurality of communication paths, and supplies ink taken from the ink tank to a recording head, wherein the liquid chamber, except the plurality of communication paths and a connection section to the recording head, forms a substantially sealed space; the liquid chamber is provided with a filter which can partition the inside of the liquid chamber into a first region at the side of the ink tank and a second region at the side of the recording head, and can form a meniscus of ink which is broken by a pressure of gas in the second region.

Abstract: This invention provides a liquid container capable of stably supplying a liquid contained therein, a liquid using device, a printing apparatus, and a method of manufacturing the liquid container. In one preferred embodiment of this invention, a one-way valve used in an ink tank is constructed of a flexible sheet. In an area of the flexible sheet, an undulated portion is formed whose undulated form is maintained in an operation range of the one-way valve.

Abstract: In a structure of an ink tank having a deformable sheet that constitutes the tank and a spring for imparting a negative pressure, unstableness of the negative pressure attributable to the deformation of the sheet as a result of ink consumption is prevented. For this purpose, a plate-like member is joined to a top section of the sheet formed in a convex shape, and the spring for generating the negative pressure in the tank is mounted to the same member. This makes it possible to maintain a high volume ratio of the ink tank and to achieve stableness of the negative pressure by adequately regulating the deformation of the sheet when the sheet is displaced in the direction of retracting toward the interior of the tank as a result of a reduction of the amount of ink in the tank.

Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes a mechanism for opening and closing an ink supply route between an ink tank and a printing head and capable of attaching and removing the ink tank by a horizontal movement. More specifically, a moving member 60 and the communication pipe 51 engaged therewith are moved upward by moving an operation member 70 upward. As a result, the communication pipe 51 moves into an ink lead chamber 16 and a communication channel 52 of the communication pipe 51 comes into communication with the ink lead chamber 16 through its opening. In this way, the ink lead chamber 16, namely, an ink storage chamber 12 comes into communication with a liquid chamber 50 of a printing head 20. An ink supply route is opened in this manner. The ink supply route is closed by the reverse operation to that mentioned above.

Abstract: A liquid container is provided which can prevent a leakage of liquid from an air introduction portion under any environment of use and storage and which can maintain a stable negative pressure characteristic irrespective of a degree of liquid consumption. The liquid container includes a liquid containing portion, a liquid supply portion to supply liquid from the liquid containing portion to a liquid using portion, a valve chamber having a one-way valve which permits a gas introduction into the liquid containing portion and prevents the liquid and gas from getting out of the liquid containing portion, a communication path to communicate the liquid containing portion with the valve chamber, a mechanism having a function of maintaining a volume of the liquid containing space, and a communication path closing member capable of enabling or disabling a communication between the liquid containing portion and the valve chamber through the communication path.

Abstract: A liquid container and its manufacturing method configured to contain a spring member and crimp a flexible member in a frame, wherein positional shift between the flexible member and the fixing member (frame) caused by compression of the spring during manufacturing process is prevented and no device is necessary for spring compression. Accordingly, the liquid container includes a liquid storage portion including a deformable flexible member, a planar portion disposed in the flexible member, and the spring member which abuts on the planar portion to generate negative pressure in the liquid container. The planar portion includes an engaging portion disposed in the planar portion and engaging the elastic portion so as to facilitate holding the elastic portion in a compressed state and releasing the elastic portion from the compressed state.

Abstract: A small-sized printing apparatus, which is stable in printing operation and high in reliability, is provided, although the installation area and the utility area are small. For this purpose, the conveying direction of a supplied printing medium is reversed generally in the opposite direction, and then guided in the vertical direction. Thus, the printing medium is firmly supported. Also, since the printing medium exists beneath the printing section in the vertical direction during the printing operation, it is possible to prevent the interior of the apparatus from being contaminated with ink dropping down from the printing region.

Abstract: There is disclosed a solid semiconductor element which very efficiently detects information about a liquid and bidirectionally exchanges the information with the outside. The solid semiconductor element is disposed in a liquid container, and includes at least energy converting unit, information acquiring unit, and information communicating unit. The energy converting unit converts an electromotive force from the outside to a power, and operates the information acquiring unit and information communicating unit. The information acquiring unit acquires the information about the liquid in which the solid semiconductor element is disposed from the liquid, and the information communicating unit transmits the information acquired by the information acquiring unit to the outside.

Abstract: In a configuration having an ink containing portion which is deformable at least in a part thereof, a spring for generating a required negative pressure in the container by exerting a force that expands the deformable part, and an air introducing section for allowing air to be introduced in accordance with an increase in the negative pressure in the container to keep the negative pressure in an adequate range, a one-way valve is used to prevent leakage of ink from a sealed containing space containing ink to the outside and to allow introduction of air into the containing space from the outside. As a result, there is provided an ink tank from which no ink leaks out through the air introducing section thereof in any ambience for use or storage and which can maintain stable negative pressure characteristics regardless of the phase of the consumption of the liquid.

Abstract: An ink tank is provided which can efficiently perform detection of information in an ink tank such as an ink residual amount in the ink tank with a simple configuration in which it is unnecessary to set wiring or the like. A solid semiconductor element, which is provided with an acquiring unit for acquiring environmental information of the outside, an information storing unit, a discriminating unit for comparing acquired information and stored information to make a determination, and an information communicating unit for displaying the acquired information or communicating the acquired information to the outside, is embedded in an outer wall of an ink tank such that the solid semiconductor element is exposed to an internal side and an external side of the ink tank from the outer wall.

Abstract: A liquid (ink) supply system having a closed structure with respect to an inkjet recording head is configured such that a gas hindering a recording operation and a liquid supply operation can be rapidly and smoothly eliminated from a liquid supply system without involving any complication in structure. An ink tank (10) and a liquid chamber (50) for leading ink supplied to the recording head (20) are brought into fluid communication via two communication channels (53 and 54). Thus, in the state where the gas exists inside the liquid chamber, the ink is moved from the ink tank (10) via one communication channel (53), while the gas is transferred to the ink tank (10) via the other communication channel (54).

Abstract: A liquid container has a movable member which defines a liquid containing space and which is displaced as the liquid is supplied, a valve for allowing a gas to be introduced into the containing space from the outside and for preventing the liquid from being extracted from the containing space to the outside, and an introduction channel for coupling the valve and the containing space to guide the introduced gas into the containing space. An intake port of the introduction channel located on the containing space side is positioned in an upper part of the containing space in an orientation in use. A negative pressure is kept substantially constant to consume the liquid completely. Since the air introduction for keeping the negative pressure at an adequate value is carried out in a region in a gaseous phase in the container, no leakage of ink occurs, and air is reliably introduced.

Abstract: It is an object of the present invention to provide a liquid supplying apparatus which enables a liquid housing container to be appropriately and smoothly attached to and detached from a print head. Thus, the present invention includes a liquid supplying tube projected from the print head and having a liquid introducing port which is in communication with the print head, a seal member rotatably movably held on the liquid supplying tube, the seal member being movable from a position at which the liquid introducing port is closed to a position at which the liquid introducing port is opened, a housing container main body in which the liquid is housed, the housing container main body having a liquid supplying port into and from which the liquid supplying tube can be inserted and removed, and a movable member which rotatably moves the seal member.

Abstract: The present invention provides a method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head utilizing ink bubbling by heating of an exothermic resistor to thereby eject ink and a method manufacturing the same, including the steps of: preparing a substrate provided with the exothermic resistor; applying such first resin on the substrate as to provide a first mold shape for forming the nozzle channel and the movable member; forming the first mold shape using the first resin; applying, on the substrate, second resin over the first mold shape for forming the nozzle channel and the movable member; and removing the first mold shape. By this method, the movable member is formed in the nozzle channel between the ink inlet and the exothermic resistor to thereby provide a high-density, high-accuracy ink jet recording head which can improve a frequency response while maintaining proper discharge performance.