Abstract: A port for replenishing ink on the side of a main ink tank advances and the nose or tip end of a main body of a pipe enters an ink replenishing opening on the side of a sub ink tank. When a valve body in the main body of the pipe and a valve on side of the sub ink tank are pressed with each other, a communicating port is opened by the valve body. When the main body of the pipe is further inserted into the ink replenishing opening, the valve is separated from a projection portion of a gasket, and a space therebetween starts to be widened. At this stage, as a lip portion of the gasket is not in contact with an outer peripheral portion of the main body of the pipe, an ink channel is opened to the atmosphere, the ink which is remained in or adhered to the outer peripheral portion of the main body of the pipe or an inside of the ink replenishing opening is absorbed into the sub ink tank dye ti a negative pressure in the sub ink tank.

Abstract: An ink supply device is provided in correspondence with a recording head unit. The recording head unit has a recording head that ejects ink drops onto a recording medium on the basis of image information. Additionally the recording head unit has a sub ink tank provided with an air communication hole. The ink supply device includes an ink supply unit that supplies ink to the sub ink tank by reducing pressure on the inside of the sub ink tank through a pressure reduction part. A sealing part at least implements sealing of the air communication hole while the ink supply unit is reducing the pressure inside the sub ink tank.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus which can prevent problems such as image defects caused by shortage of ink, and decreases in the printing speed from occurring. When execution of a print job is instructed, a printing processing for the print job is started. The number of pixels which have been actually printed is added to a current pixel count C1, and it is determined whether or not the print job is finished. When it is determined that the print job is finished and the pixel count C1 exceeds a predetermined number of pixels X1, an ink supply unit is controlled so that ink of a predetermined proportion A (%) of the amount of ink used, which amount corresponds to the pixel count C1, is supplied to a sub-ink tank.

Abstract: The invention provides an ink jet color recording apparatus capable of forming a good image by preventing solidification of ink. The ink jet color recording apparatus has a recovery step of recovering the injection function of a black nozzle by recovering black ink (pigment ink) remaining in the black nozzle into a black cap, and a supply step of supplying color ink (dye ink) to the black cap after the recovery step. Thus, the pigment ink recovered into the black cap by the recovery step can be made into mixed ink hard to dry, and further ink adhering to the inner wall of a suction hose connected to the black cap can be made into mixed ink residue hard to dry.

Abstract: A port for replenishing ink on the side of a main ink tank advances and the nose or tip end of a main body of a pipe enters an ink replenishing opening on the side of a sub ink tank. When a valve body in the main body of the pipe and a valve on side of the sub ink tank are pressed with each other, a communicating port is opened by the valve body. When the main body of the pipe is further inserted into the ink replenishing opening, the valve is separated from a projection portion of a gasket, and a space therebetween starts to be widened. At this stage, as a lip portion of the gasket is not in contact with an outer peripheral portion of the main body of the pipe, an ink channel is opened to the atmosphere, the ink which is remained in or adhered to the outer peripheral portion of the main body of the pipe or an inside of the ink replenishing opening is absorbed into the sub ink tank dye ti a negative pressure in the sub ink tank.

Abstract: An ink supply device is provided in correspondence with a recording head unit. The recording head unit has a recording head that ejects ink drops onto a recording medium on the basis of image information. Additionally the recording head unit has a sub ink tank provided with an air communication hole. The ink supply device includes an ink supply unit that supplies ink to the sub ink tank by reducing pressure on the inside of the sub ink tank through a pressure reduction part. A sealing part at least implements sealing of the air communication hole while the ink supply unit is reducing the pressure inside the sub ink tank.

Abstract: An ink supply device is provided in correspondence with a recording head unit. The recording head unit has a recording head that ejects ink drops onto a recording medium on the basis of image information. Additionally the recording head unit has a sub ink tank provided with an air communication hole. The ink supply device includes an ink supply unit that supplies ink to the sub ink tank by reducing pressure on the inside of the sub ink tank through a pressure reduction part. A sealing part at least implements sealing of the air communication hole while the ink supply unit is reducing the pressure inside the sub ink tank.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink jet recording apparatus which can prevent problems such as image defects caused by shortage of ink, and decreases in the printing speed from occurring. When execution of a print job is instructed, a printing processing for the print job is started. The number of pixels which have been actually printed is added to a current pixel count C1, and it is determined whether or not the print job is finished. When it is determined that the print job is finished and the pixel count C1 exceeds a predetermined number of pixels X1, an ink supply unit is controlled so that ink of a predetermined proportion A (%) of the amount of ink used, which amount corresponds to the pixel count C1, is supplied to a sub-ink tank.

Abstract: An ink supply device is provided in correspondence with a recording head unit. The recording head unit has a recording head that ejects ink drops onto a recording medium on the basis of image information. Additionally the recording head unit has a sub ink tank provided with an air communication hole. The ink supply device includes an ink supply unit that supplies ink to the sub ink tank by reducing pressure on the inside of the sub ink tank through a pressure reduction part. A sealing part at least implements sealing of the air communication hole while the ink supply unit is reducing the pressure inside the sub ink tank.

Abstract: A simplified, reduced-size ink-jet type image forming apparatus includes a cap member that covers a nozzle, a pump member that sucks air from inside the cap member, a cap through-hole seal member that seals the through-hole of the cap member, a wiper member that removes the ink adhered to an edge of the nozzle and a carriage position fixing member to which is affixed a recording head transfer carriage, that is moved by a drive motor.

Abstract: An ink-jet image forming apparatus is formed from a plurality of nozzles which eject ink corresponding to image information, a plurality of cap members which cover the nozzles and an ink suction pump that is connected to the cap member which suctions ink in the cap member. The pump is formed by a cylinder formed from an interior space and two ink suction ports that go through to the interior space and a piston arranged as movable in this interior space. Each ink suction port is connected to a different cap member and the piston is moved between the two ink suction ports.

Abstract: An ink-jet type image forming apparatus expells ink smoothly from a cap member to an expelled ink tank when the ink expulsion flowpath is in a horizontal direction. In the apparatus, a nozzle ejects ink according to the prescribed image information. A cap is located opposite to the nozzle while an expelled ink storage member stores the ink held in the cap member. An ink expulsion path forming member forms an expulsion path of ink from the cap member to the expelled ink storing member. This is accomplished through an ink transfer suction device arranged in an ink guide tubular member that causes ink to flow to the interior of the ink expulsion path forming member via an ink flowpath in the tubular member.

Abstract: In the ink jet holder, a plurality of cap members are disposed in such a manner that they can be contacted with a plurality of record heads, respectively. Each of the cap members includes an air-communication passage which allows the interior of the cap member to communicate with the air, while the air-communication passage can be closed or opened by the corresponding closing member for each of the record heads. With the cap members respectively contacted with the record heads, and also with the air-communication passages respectively closed by the closing members, if suction pumps are operated, then the ink jet holder executes a first suction step of sucking ink from the record heads. On the other hand, with the cap members respectively contacted with the record heads, and also with the closing members separated from the air-communication passages, if the suction pumps are operated, then the ink jet holder executes a second suction step of sucking ink from the cap members.

Abstract: An ink jet recording device is disclosed, comprising:recording heads for ejecting ink and printing on recording media;a carriage member having said recording heads and moving reciprocatingly between a printing region and a non-printing region; anda cleaning member for cleaning a (front) surface, which has nozzles, of said recording heads by contacting with said surface when said carriage member enters said non-printing region, andsaid cleaning member moving to a position at which said cleaning member is capable of contacting with said surface, which has said nozzles, of said recording heads, linking with a movement, which is for entering said non-printing region, of said carriage member, and moving to a position at which said cleaning member does not contract with said surface, which has said nozzles, of said recording heads, linking with the passage of an engaging portion of carriage side at a position of a projecting engaging portion of blade holder side when said carriage member is moved from said non-prin

Abstract: In an ink-jet recording apparatus, a replacement of a head carriage can be readily performed within a short time, and when the head cartridge is mounted on the head carriage, the mounting position is fixed. A head cartridge K arranged by a head supporting member F and an ink-jet recording head H includes an unloosen preventing member 55c. The head carriage C has a depression means 37 for depressing along a predetermined direction the head cartridge K under such a condition that the head cartridge is mounted on a head supporting member mounting portion 32, and also a loosen preventing member 35 engaged with the unloosen preventing member 55c when being depressed.