Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a recording head, a conveyance mechanism, a shutter, a storage portion, and a moving mechanism. The recording head includes an ejection surface in which an ejection port for ejecting ink is defined. The conveyance mechanism conveys a printing medium while the printing medium is facing the ejection surface. The shutter covers the ejection surface. The storage portion stores the shutter. The moving mechanism moves the shutter from the storage portion to a facing position while the shutter is separate from the ejection surface. The shutter faces and covers the ejection surface at the facing position.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a conveyance unit, a recording head, a sealing unit, and a carrier unit. The conveyance unit conveys a recording medium in a conveyance direction. The recording head includes plural recording portions. Each recording portion has plural ejection ports for ejecting ink. The recording portions partially overlap each other if viewed in the conveyance direction, when the recording head is located at a recording position where the recording head performs record with respect to the recording medium. The sealing unit is disposed in a region outside the conveyance unit. The sealing unit includes plural sealing portions each of which seals the ejection ports of each recording portion. The sealing portions are arranged in the conveyance direction. The carrier unit carries the recording head in a carrying direction between a sealing position where each sealing portion faces the ejection ports of each recording portion and the recording position.

Abstract: A feeding unit is disposed near the lower edge of an access opening formed in a front cover of a main casing. The feeding unit includes a pair of registration rollers and a pair of guide parts. One of the registration rollers and one of the guide parts are retained on the front cover. Thus, when the front cover is pulled to an open position, the registration roller and the guide part retained on the front cover displace together with the front cover, exposing a paper conveying path.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus that includes: a sheet conveying belt that conveys a sheet to a position opposed to an image carrier; a cleaning unit that cleans the sheet conveying belt; a first driving unit that drives the sheet conveying belt; a second driving unit that drives the cleaning unit, the second driving unit being independent from the first driving unit; and a sheet conveying mechanism that conveys the sheet separately from the sheet conveying belt, wherein the second driving unit drives at least a part of the sheet conveying mechanism.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes an inkjet head, a sealing member, a conveyance unit, a first moving unit, and a second moving unit. The first moving unit moves the sealing member along an outer circumference of the conveyance belt between a first position and a second position. The first position is located above the conveyance belt and faces the nozzle surface of the inkjet head. The second position is located under the conveyance belt. The second moving unit moves the conveyance belt between a conveyable position and a separate position. When the conveyance belt is located at the conveyable position and the sealing member is located at the first position, the conveyance belt presses the sealing member toward the nozzle surface so that the sealing member covers the nozzle surface.

Abstract: A paper feed device includes a setting plate, a support unit, a driving unit, a power transmission mechanism, a link mechanism, and an operation lever. The support unit elevatably supports the setting plate, and elevates the setting plate when the support unit receives a driving force. The driving unit drives the support unit. The power transmission mechanism transmits the driving force from the driving unit to the support unit. The operation lever is switched between a first state and a second state. When the operation lever is in the first state, the power transmission mechanism transmits the driving force to the support unit. When the operation lever is in the second state, the link mechanism cuts off the transmission of the driving force to the support unit.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus comprises: a housing; a supporter located in the housing, a plurality of developing apparatus attachable to and detachable from the supporter; and a restricting unit that restricts movement of the supporter while at least one developing apparatus supported by the supporter is inside the housing. The supporter is movable relative to the housing.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a plurality of rollers, an endless transportation belt, a belt rotating mechanism, a recording unit, a printing medium supply mechanism, and a control unit. The transportation belt is laid on the rollers and defines a first recess portion, which extends in a direction perpendicular to a printing medium transporting direction, in an outer circumferential surface thereof. The belt rotating mechanism applies a rotating force to the transportation belt. The recording unit is disposed to face the transportation belt and forms an image. The printing medium supply mechanism supplies a printing medium onto the transportation belt. The control unit controls at least one of the belt rotating mechanism and the printing medium supply mechanism so that when the printing medium is on the transportation belt, one of front and rear end portions of the printing medium is located in the first recess portion.

Abstract: In a gateway, a packet received from a first network contains first address data conforming to the first network in the packet header and second address data conforming to a second network in an auxiliary header. The first address data of the packet is then rewritten with the second address data of the packet and transmitted from the gateway to the second network.

Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus comprises an ink-jet head having an ink ejection surface on which a plurality of nozzles are arrayed; a medium carrier forming a carrying surface on which a record medium is carried; a carriage mounted with the ink-jet head such that the ink ejection surface confronts the carrying surface; a carriage drive mechanism including a plurality of parallel guide rods supporting the carriage and extending across the direction where the record medium is carried by the medium carrier, the carriage drive mechanism reciprocating the carriage along the guide rods; and a guide shift mechanism for shifting the plurality of guide rods in a direction where the gap between the ink ejection surface and the carrying surface varies.

Abstract: The unjamming process is conducted through an opening formed on a lateral side of a housing of the printer. A recording medium conveying unit of the printer does not get exposed to outside. The printer also inhibits inaccurate ejection of ink from recording heads because of the unjamming process. For the unjamming process, the recording medium conveying unit is moved away from head surfaces. This constitution prevents vibration or shock on the recording heads when a recording paper is removed, prevents breakage of menisci formed on respective nozzles of the recording heads, and furthermore prevents ink from being pushed outside of the nozzles, or inhaled toward an ink tank because positional relation between the recording heads and the ink tank does not change. Therefore, inaccurate control over ejection of ink can be inhibited.

Abstract: In a gateway, a packet received from a first network contains first address data conforming to the first network in the packet header and second address data conforming to a second network in an auxiliary header. The first address data of the packet is then rewritten with the second address data of the packet and transmitted from the gateway to the second network.

Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning a printhead of an ink-jet printer includes a cleaning blade, a cleaning blade reciprocating system, a cap member, a cap member moving system, and a first driving force supplying system. The cleaning blade reciprocating system reciprocates the cleaning blade near the printhead so that the cleaning blade wipes an ink ejecting surface of the printhead. The cap member is formed to cover at least a part of the ink ejecting surface and receive waste ink discharged from the printhead. The cap member is moved by the cap member moving system toward and away from the printhead. The cap member comes into close contact with the ink ejecting surface when moved toward to the printhead. The first driving force supplying system is selectively connected to one of the cleaning blade reciprocating system and the cap member moving system to supply driving force thereto.

Abstract: A cleaning device for cleaning a printhead of an ink-jet printer. The cleaning device includes, a cleaning unit provided with a cleaning blade, and a traveling unit that carries the cleaning unit. The traveling unit reciprocates between first and second positions to perform a cleaning cycle of the printhead. The cleaning blade is held by the cleaning unit perpendicular to an ink ejecting surface of the printhead to clean the ink ejecting surface when the traveling unit moves in one direction. Further, The cleaning blade is inclined against the ink ejecting surface to avoid being rubbed against the ink ejecting surface when the traveling unit moves in an opposite direction.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a recording head, a conveyance mechanism, a shutter, a storage portion, and a moving mechanism. The recording head includes an ejection surface in which an ejection port for ejecting ink is defined. The conveyance mechanism conveys a printing medium while the printing medium is facing the ejection surface. The shutter covers the ejection surface. The storage portion stores the shutter. The moving mechanism moves the shutter from the storage portion to a facing position while the shutter is separate from the ejection surface. The shutter faces and covers the ejection surface at the facing position.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes a conveyance unit, a recording head, a sealing unit, and a carrier unit. The conveyance unit conveys a recording medium in a conveyance direction. The recording head includes plural recording portions. Each recording portion has plural ejection ports for ejecting ink. The recording portions partially overlap each other if viewed in the conveyance direction, when the recording head is located at a recording position where the recording head performs record with respect to the recording medium. The sealing unit is disposed in a region outside the conveyance unit. The sealing unit includes plural sealing portions each of which seals the ejection ports of each recording portion. The sealing portions are arranged in the conveyance direction. The carrier unit carries the recording head in a carrying direction between a sealing position where each sealing portion faces the ejection ports of each recording portion and the recording position.

Abstract: An ink-jet printer includes a belt conveyor mechanism, an ink-jet head having at its lower face a nozzle face where many nozzles are formed, and a maintenance unit that maintains the ink-jet head. Within the maintenance unit arranged are a blade, a wiping roller, an ink receiving member, and a purge cap, in this order from the near side to the head. The maintenance unit is first moved to a purge position at which the purge cap confronts the nozzle face of the ink-jet head, where a purge operation is performed. After the purge operation, attendant upon movement of the maintenance unit to get apart from the head, the ink receiving member, the wiping roller, and the blade successively confront the nozzle face in this order. With the movement of the maintenance unit, receiving ink with the ink receiving member and wiping ink up with the wiping roller and the blade are performed in order.

Abstract: An inkjet printer includes an inkjet head, a sealing member, a conveyance unit, a first moving unit, and a second moving unit. The first moving unit moves the sealing member along an outer circumference of the conveyance belt between a first position and a second position. The first position is located above the conveyance belt and faces the nozzle surface of the inkjet head. The second position is located under the conveyance belt. The second moving unit moves the conveyance belt between a conveyable position and a separate position. When the conveyance belt is located at the conveyable position and the sealing member is located at the first position, the conveyance belt presses the sealing member toward the nozzle surface so that the sealing member covers the nozzle surface.

Abstract: A sheet feeding mechanism comprises a sheet supporter, a pick-up roller, and a guide. The sheet supporter is capable of supporting a plurality of sheets in a stacked manner. The pick-up roller rotates in contact with a surface of, among the plurality of sheets supported by the sheet supporter, the endmost sheet in the stacking direction, to thereby pick up and convey the sheet. The guide has a surface that extends along a predetermined conveyance direction for the sheet. A line segment, between a center of the pick-up roller with respect to a direction of its rotation axis and a point at which the rotation axis intersects with the surface of the guide, forms an acute angle with a line segment extending forward in the predetermined conveyance direction from the point at which the rotation axis intersects with the surface of the guide.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head, a recovery unit, a reception member, and an arrangement mechanism. The recording head ejects ink therefrom to perform recording on a recording medium. The recovery unit causes the recording head to perform a purge process. The reception member receives the ink ejected in the purge process and has flexibility. The arrangement mechanism stores the reception member, which is in a wound state, outside a recoding area where the recording head performs the recording on the recording medium. The arrangement mechanism pulls out the reception member when the recovery unit causes the recording head to perform the purge process.