Abstract: An ink jet cartridge includes a first chamber for accommodating a negative pressure producing material and provided with air communication part for communication with ambient air, wherein a part of the negative pressure producing material does not contain ink adjacent the air communication part; a second chamber which is substantially closed except for a fine communication part for communication with the first chamber at a position away from the air communication part, wherein the second chamber directly accommodates the ink to be supplied to the first chamber.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing an ink jet recording head, which is provided with a first base plate having energy generating elements, a second base plate having grooves for forming ink flow paths corresponding to the energy generating elements, and a discharge port forming member for forming discharge ports for discharging ink. The method includes the steps of forming the discharge ports by irradiating the discharge port forming member with laser light reflected from the groove wall faces, and direct laser light, and forming the flow paths by bonding the base plate and the second base plate with the grooves inside.

Abstract: A liquid container includes a lever having one end supported to an outer wall of a housing containing a liquid therein and the other end as a free end, the lever being elastically deformable. The liquid container further includes a projection provided in an area of the housing which is opposite to and away from the supported one end of the lever, the projection covering at least a part of a space between the free end of the lever and the housing in the above area. By virtue of the projection, the lever can be protected against accidental external forces. In a cap-equipped liquid container, a straight line connecting a projected end of the projection of the liquid container and a distal end of a tab of a cap is set to cross a movable range of the lever provided on the liquid container in which the lever is allowed to angularly move with elastic deformation thereof.

Abstract: A hinge part (3) includes a first hinge part (1f) as a fitted part, which is formed by cutting out one of side parts of a first housing (1), and a second hinge part (32a), (3b), which is a fitting part protruded from one of the side parts of an inner surface (2A) of a second housing (2) toward an inner surface (1A) of the first housing (1), and rotatably engages with the first hinge part (1f), wherein the first hinge part (1f) and the second hinge part (32a), (3b) are not bulged out of the inner surface of the first housing (1). With such a mechanical arrangement, when the first housing (1) is placed on a work surface and the second housing (2) is opened, the side part of the first housing (1) which is closer to the a first hinge part (1f) is raised.

Abstract: Pattern projection apparatuses are placed on each other in a stack manner in a stripe pattern direction for projecting the same patterns. An image pickup apparatus (camera 1) is placed between the pattern projection apparatuses. The optical axes of the pattern projection apparatuses and the image pickup apparatus are aligned on the same plane parallel with the stripe pattern direction. On the plane, the principal points also become the same. An image of a stripe pattern is picked up directly by the image pickup apparatus without the intervention of a half mirror, etc., and is recoded. An image of the recoded stripe pattern is picked up by an image pickup apparatus (camera 2) and is decoded and the range of an object is measured by triangulation based on image correspondence points.

Abstract: An ink jet cartridge includes a first chamber for accommodating a negative pressure producing material and provided with air communication part for communication with ambient air, wherein a part of the negative pressure producing material does not contain ink adjacent the air communication part; a second chamber which is substantially closed except for a fine communication part for communication with the first chamber at a position away from the air communication part, wherein the second chamber directly accommodates the ink to be supplied to the first chamber.

Abstract: A three-dimensional shape measuring apparatus capable of simultaneously obtaining range information and luminance information with high precision, independently of an object. A controller scans slit light, emitted from a laser beam source and shaped by a cylindrical lens, on an object plural times, by mirror surfaces of a polygon mirror, while causing the laser beam source to flash by using a laser beam source driver. The slit light is time-sequentially combined into projection pattern light having plural light stripes, respectively 3-level or more intensity-modulated, and the projection pattern light is projected onto the object. An image processor obtains the range information and the luminance information based on reflection light obtained by image pickup by first and second cameras.

Abstract: A liquid container includes a lever having one end supported to an outer wall of a housing containing a liquid therein and the other end as a free end, the lever being elastically deformable. The liquid container further includes a projection provided in an area of the housing which is opposite to and away from the supported one end of the lever, the projection covering at least a part of a space between the free end of the lever and the housing in the above area. By virtue of the projection, the lever can be protected against accidental external forces. In a cap-equipped liquid container, a straight line connecting a projected end of the projection of the liquid container and a distal end of a tab of a cap is set to cross a movable range of the lever provided on the liquid container in which the lever is allowed to angularly move with elastic deformation thereof.

Abstract: A incoming call indicator has a configuration wherein a ring-like light transmissible member is disposed between an antenna main body and a portable phone main body at the base end part of the antenna main body, mounted projecting from the portable phone main body, and a light guiding member is provided in a hollow part of a fixing member for fixing the antenna main body, with the tip end part of the light guiding member disposed in a hollow part of the light transmissible member as well as with a light emitting element to be driven subject to an incoming call signal, provided facing to a light inputting part at the lower end part of the light guiding member.

Abstract: A recording apparatus uses a liquid recording head for effecting recording by ejecting liquid through ejection outlets corresponding to heat generation elements provided in the recording head. The recording head has a heating device for heating the recording head. A controller will select a heat generating element from among the heat generating elements to correct a temperature distribution of the recording head resulting from the heating by the heating device such that the heat generating element generates heat to such an extent that liquid for recording is not ejected through the ejection outlet during the temperature correction.

Abstract: A liquid container for retaining a liquid which is detachably attached onto a main body of a printing apparatus that conducts printing by attaching the liquid onto a print medium, the liquid container includes a convex connecting portion which communicates with the main body of the printing apparatus, and a wall formed around the connecting portion, wherein the connecting portion includes an elastic member, and a leading edge of the connecting portion projected from the wall.

Abstract: An ink jet cartridge includes a first chamber for accommodating a negative pressure producing material and provided with air communication part for communication with ambient air, wherein a part of the negative pressure producing material does not contain ink adjacent the air communication part; a second chamber which is substantially closed except for a fine communication part for communication with the first chamber at a position away from the air communication part, wherein the second chamber directly accommodates the ink to be supplied to the first chamber.

Abstract: A recording apparatus and method of controlling the apparatus includes a recording head for ejecting liquid ink for recording by heat energization, a temperature change rate detecting device for detecting the temperature change rate of the recording head in a normal state, a storage device for storing the temperature change rate information, a determining device for determining the average ejection duty cycle from recording data, an obtaining device for obtaining information relating the temperature change rate in the normal state to the average ejection duty cycle, and a discriminating device for discriminating an abnormality of the recording head determined by the information relating the temperature change rate in the normal state to the average ejection duty cycle, and the temperature change rate detected by the temperature change rate detecting device.

Abstract: A liquid discharging head includes a discharge port for discharging liquid, a liquid passage communicated with the discharge port, a bubble generating area for generating a bubble in the liquid in the liquid passage, the bubble generating area including a heater for heating the liquid in the liquid passage, and a movable member disposed in a confronting relation to the bubble generating area in the liquid passage and adapted to be shifted by pressure caused by generating the bubble at the bubble generating area to direct the pressure toward the discharge port and to be returned to its initial position by negative pressure due to contraction of the bubble, and wherein resistance of the movable member against the liquid in the liquid passage when it is shifted is smaller than that when it is returned.

Abstract: An ink jet cartridge includes a first chamber for accommodating a negative pressure producing material and provided with air communication part for communication with ambient air, wherein a part of the negative pressure producing material does not contain ink adjacent the air communication part; a second chamber which is substantially closed except for a fine communication part for communication with the first chamber at a position away from the air communication part, wherein the second chamber directly accommodates the ink to be supplied to the first chamber.

Abstract: A substrate for liquid ejection includes a built-in energy generating element for generating thermal energy, a built-in electrode wiring portion for supplying an electric signal to the energy generating element, and a built-in temperature detecting element for detecting a temperature of the substrate.

Abstract: A substrate for an ink-jet element of an ink-jet printing head which ejects ink through ejection openings includes heating elements provided for each of the ejection openings and which generate thermal energy for ejecting the ink, a data holding circuit for holding an image data for driving the heat generating elements, by holding the image data in the number of bits corresponding to the number of ejection openings, and a driving circuit for driving the heating elements in units of the plural heating elements provided for each of the plural ejection openings based on the image data. A selection circuit selects at least one of the plural of heating elements provided corresponding to each of the ejection openings for driving. An ink-jet printing head and ink-jet printing apparatus employ such a substrate.

Abstract: A method for manufacturing an ink tank comprises the steps of supplying a container having an opening, inserting a porous member into the opening of the container in a compressed state, and holding the porous member in the compressed state by fixing a plate member to the opening of the container. The porous member is compressed more in a direction substantially orthogonal to the direction of the insertion into the opening. When compressing the porous member, the porous member is clamped in the same direction as the inserting direction so as not to allow the porous member to be deformed in the inserting direction, and in such state, the porous member is compressed in directions substantially orthogonal to the inserting direction.

Abstract: An ink jet recording device includes a recording head having a discharge portion which has a discharge port array of discharge ports for discharging ink to a recording medium, a wiping member engageable with the discharge portion to wipe the discharge portion, and a cleaning member engageable with the wiping member to clean the wiping member, wherein a range of the discharge port array is smaller than a width of the wiping member, and the wiping member is equal to or smaller than a width of the cleaning member.

Abstract: An ink tank having an absorbing member for holding therein ink to be supplied to a recording head for discharging ink to thereby effect recording, a tank container containing the absorbing member therein, a buffer portion capable of temporarily containing the ink therein, and an atmosphere communicating port disposed in the buffer portion and communicating the interior of the ink containing portion with the atmosphere, the buffer portion is disposed on a side portion of the absorbing member, and the direction from the absorbing member toward the buffer portion is a direction intersecting with the scanning direction of a carriage.