Abstract: An ink cartridge including: an ink chamber for retaining liquid ink; a foam chamber maintained in fluid communication with the ink chamber through a communication hole. An ink supply port for supplying ink from a porous body accommodated in the foam chamber to a recording head is provided. The portion of the foam body confronting the ink supply port is compressed by the ink supply port. The ratio between the amount of ink initially charged in the ink chamber and that of ink absorbed in the porous body is in the range from 1:1 to 1:3. When a cartridge uses more than one color of ink for printing in color, a plurality of foam and ink cartridges are used. The cartridge is filled under reduced pressure while the interior of the cartridge is further evacuated before filling with ink.

Abstract: A titanium dioxide slurry for ink jet ink, which comprises water and surface-treated titanium dioxide particles dispersed in the water, the surface treatment being a treatment with an inorganic phosphoric acid compound. Also disclosed is an ink comprising the titanium dioxide slurry.

Abstract: An ink tank cartridge for an ink-jet type recording apparatus is provided. The ink tank cartridge comprises a first chamber and a second chamber formed adjacent the first chamber. A porous member is housed in the second chamber. A partition wall separates the first chamber from second chamber, which communicate through a communication hole therethrough which extends along a portion of the width of the partition wall. An ink supply port extends through a wall of the first chamber and supplies ink to the exterior of the cartridge from the porous member. An air vent is spaced from the ink supply port provides ambient air to the second chamber. The pressure in the first chamber and the second chamber is at a value less than normal atmospheric pressure, and a pressure difference which retains the ink in the first chamber is also maintained between the first and second chambers by the surface tension of the porous member in the vicinity of the communicating hole.

Abstract: An ink cartridge for supplying ink to a recording head is detachably mounted on a cartridge holder. A calculator performs calculation of an ink amount consumed by the recording head. A counter updates a residual ink amount in the mounted ink cartridge based on the consumed ink amount calculated by the calculator. A monitor monitors an ink amount contained in the mounted ink cartridge to judge at least an ink-end state in which the ink amount in the ink cartridge is a predetermined amount or less. A corrector corrects the way of calculation in the calculator based on the residual ink amount indicated by the counter, when the monitor judges that the mounted ink cartridge is in the ink-end state.

Abstract: A flexible ink bag in which ink consumed by a printer is stored is detachably mounted in the printer. A non-contact type memory IC is provided on the ink bag. A data communicator opposes to the memory IC to perform non-contact data communication. The memory IC stores data indicating an amount of ink remained therein. The ink bag is mounted such that the memory IC is substantially immovable with respect to the printer, regardless of the consumption of ink.

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: 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 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: An ink cartridge for mounting on an ink supply needle of a recording head is provided. An ink cartridge main body having a plurality of walls and an ink supply port disposed in a wall of said ink cartridge main body and communicating from the interior to the exterior of the ink cartridge for the flow of ink through the ink supply port are also provided. A cover is adapted to seal said ink cartridge main body and is formed with an ambient air vent in the cover which is in fluid communication with ambient air through a circuitous channel formed in the cover. A second air vent is also formed in the cover and is also in fluid communication with the circuitous channel. The interior of the ink cartridge main body is thus placed in fluid communication with ambient air through the circuitous channel while preventing any ink contained in the ink tank main body from evaporating.

Abstract: An ink tank cartridge for an ink-jet type recording apparatus is provided. The ink tank cartridge comprises a first chamber and a second chamber formed adjacent the first chamber. A porous member is housed in the second chamber. A partition wall separates the first chamber from second chamber, which communicate through a communication hole therethrough which extends along a portion of the width of the partition wall. An ink supply port extends through a wall of the first chamber and supplies ink to the exterior of the cartridge from the porous member. An air vent is spaced from the ink supply port provides ambient air to the second chamber. The pressure in the first chamber and the second chamber is at a value less than normal atmospheric pressure, and a pressure difference which retains the ink in the first chamber is also maintained between the first and second chambers by the surface tension of the porous member in the vicinity of the communicating hole.

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: To provide an ink-jet recording device provided with a subtank having a simple structure independent of the degree of flexibility of an ink reservoir. A subtank comprising a flexible ink bag provided with an ink inlet on one side and an ink outlet on the other side is connected on the passage connecting the ink reservoir and a recording head. As a result, equal performance to a case in which ink is supplied to a recording head with a flexible ink bag with small capacity is achieved.

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 type recording apparatus comprises a recording head of ink jet type for jetting ink droplets from a nozzle to form a dot pattern on a recording medium and a cleaning unit which is moved in and out of the path of movement of the recording head when required, and made up of a spatula-shaped elastic blade member and a water-absorbing rubbing member bonded to the member. In the case where the nozzle surface of the recording head is to be cleaned with the rubbing member, the cleaning operation is carried out with the rubbing member wetted with ink. In cleaning the nozzle surface with the blade member, the latter is abutted against the recording head as it is.

Abstract: An ink cartridge including: an ink chamber for retaining liquid ink; a foam chamber maintained in fluid communication with the ink chamber through a communication hole. An ink supply port for supplying ink from a porous body accommodated in the foam chamber to a recording head is provided. The portion of the foam body confronting the ink supply port is compressed by the ink supply port. The ratio between the amount of ink initially charged in the ink chamber and that of ink absorbed in the porous body is in the range from 1:1 to 1:3. When a cartridge uses more than one color of ink for printing in color, a plurality of foam and ink cartridges are used. The cartridge is filled under reduced pressure while the interior of the cartridge is further evacuated before filling with ink.

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: The invention comprises an ink cartridge wherein a pair of electrodes for detecting the depletion of ink from the ink cartridge for an ink jet printer are positioned within a highly compressed portion of a porous member contained within the ink cartridge. The porous member is highly compressed by an ink supply section in an ink chamber. The electrodes are maintained in contact with electrode plates. One electrode may be disposed so as to be exposed to the inside of an ink supply port defined by the ink supply section. One of the electrodes may be formed of a fine mesh, a portion of the filter being embedded within the cartridge and a portion of the filter being positioned outside the cartridge. The detection plate may be formed with microscopic asperities thereon, formed as microscopic holes or grooves, in areas brought into contact with the electrodes.

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.