EP0418815B1 - An ink jet recording apparatus - Google Patents
An ink jet recording apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0418815B1 EP0418815B1 EP90117931A EP90117931A EP0418815B1 EP 0418815 B1 EP0418815 B1 EP 0418815B1 EP 90117931 A EP90117931 A EP 90117931A EP 90117931 A EP90117931 A EP 90117931A EP 0418815 B1 EP0418815 B1 EP 0418815B1
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- recording
- ink
- shaft
- recording head
- carrier
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Expired - Lifetime
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Classifications
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J25/00—Actions or mechanisms not otherwise provided for
- B41J25/304—Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface
- B41J25/308—Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface with print gap adjustment mechanisms
- B41J25/3082—Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface with print gap adjustment mechanisms with print gap adjustment means on the print head carriage, e.g. for rotation around a guide bar or using a rotatable eccentric bearing
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- B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
- B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
- B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
- B41J25/00—Actions or mechanisms not otherwise provided for
- B41J25/304—Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface
- B41J25/308—Bodily-movable mechanisms for print heads or carriages movable towards or from paper surface with print gap adjustment mechanisms
Definitions
- the ink jet recording apparatus includes not only the elements directly related to the recording operation but also various elements peculiar to the ink ejection type recording.
- the ink jet recording apparatus inter alia, the recording head
- the recording head is recently manufactured through a thin film process or microprocessing as in semiconductor chip manufacturing, and, therefore, a small size and low cost recording head is going to be manufactured.
- a disposable type recording head having an integral ink container, for example has been proposed. Under certain circumstances, a small size and low cost apparatus easily usable by the users is desired.
- the movement of the recording head is desired to be parallel with a recording medium.
- the recording head is rotated about an axis to provide a proper gap between the recording medium and the ejection outlet of the recording head. With the proper gap, the position and size or the like of the image formed by the ink droplets are proper.
- a rotatable lever or another operating member is usually mounted on the recording head or the carrier, and, therefore, the operation thereof is rather difficult particularly in a small size recording apparatus.
- a problem that the positional relation with a recovery mechanism is deviated.
- the document DE-A-3 528 926 forming the preamble of the claims 1 and 5, respectively discloses an ink jet printer using a printing head which is movable relative to a sheet bearing member. On one side of the sheet bearing member, there is arranged an ink recovery and capping mechanism which has a cleaning blade, and which can be moved relative to the printing head.
- the printing head is movable relative to a recording sheet disposed on the sheet bearing member to effect recording on the recording sheet within a recording region, whereas it is movable to the outside of the recording region to oppose the ink recovery and capping mechanism when no recording is to be effected.
- the object of the invention is to further develop the known ink jet recording apparatus to the effect that the gap between the recording head and the recording medium can be adjusted with high accuracy, whilst the cleaning operation of the recording head is reliably accomplished.
- the gap between the recording means and the recording medium can be adjusted with high accuracy independently of the positional relation between the recording means and the recovery means. Or, the other way round, the distance between the recovery means and the recording means is maintained constant independently of the gap between the latter and the recording means.
- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1, illustrating the major portion of the apparatus without a cover.
- Figure 3A is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1, illustrating a sheet discharging system.
- Figures 4A and 4B are side views illustrating different positions of a recording head relative to different recording materials.
- Figure 10 is a timing chart of operations of various parts of the apparatus according to this embodiment.
- Figure 11 is a perspective view of a clutch mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the recovery system mechanism, in the apparatus of this embodiment.
- Figures 16A and 16B are side sectional views illustrating an operation of a pump for a recovery sucking operation.
- Figure 20 is a front view of a sheet discharging roller.
- Figure 22 is a side sectional view of the apparatus situated as shown in Figure 21.
- the part indicated by the reference numeral 106 functions as the recording material inlet.
- the outer cover 102 can be used as the discharge tray.
- a positioning hook 105 functions to fix the position of the outer cover 102, designated by a reference numeral 104 are the operation keys and displays.
- the lead screw 2 has at its right end a shaft 2g coaxially with the lead screw 2, and has a shaft at the left side.
- the shafts are supported by bearings provided on a front part 1c of the side plate 1b and on the lead arm 1h, respectively.
- the shafts are rotatably supported by the bearings.
- a lead pulley 3 is mounted on the lead screw 2 and is provided with the above-described grooves 3b and 3c and a pulley 3a at its end.
- the pulley 3a receives a driving force from a motor 11 through a timing belt 13.
- a carrier 6 is supported on the lead screw 2 and is movable along the length of the lead screw 2.
- the carrier 6 is provided with an urging portion for pushing an end surface of the clutch gear 4, which is formed integrally with a left side of the carrier 6.
- the carrier 6 has a lead pin 7 engaging with the lead groove 2a of the lead screw 2 and is guided along a guiding opening (not shown) of the carrier 6 for the urging to the lead screw 2.
- a lead pin spring 8 has an end mounted to the carrier 6 and has the other end urging the lead pin 7.
- a carrier guiding shaft 51 is slidably engaged with a guiding pin 6b formed on a rear end of the carrier 6.
- the guiding shaft 51 has an eccentric portion which is rotatably supported on side plates 51b and 51c by a portion 51a of said shaft provided at the opposite ends of the base frame 1.
- the portion 51a of the guiding shaft 51 adjacent the side plate 51c is fixed to a positioning knob 51d.
- the positioning knob 51d is generally in the form of a circular disk and is provided, substantially at its center, with a leaf spring 51h in the form of a canti-lever having a channel configuration.
- the leaf spring 51h is formed by lancing a part of the disk into the channel configuration.
- Figures 5A and 5B show the structure for providing the constant positional relation between the recording head and the recovery system during the recovery operation.
- Figures 5A and 5B correspond to Figures 4A and 4B.
- the engagement between the portion 51a and the pin 6b is effected without change in the height of the engagement position between the shaft 51 and the pin 6b.
- one of the parallel surfaces of a trapezoidal cam 51g is engaged with the pin 6b.
- the height of the recording head 9 is always constant, by which the predetermined positional relationship can be maintained between the recovery system and the recording head 9.
- the rotation of the knob 51d is not limited to the manual rotation, but may be automatically effected by rotating the knob 51d in response to a key input corresponding to the recording sheet to be used, for example, utilizing the driving force of a sheet feeding motor or the like.
- a carrier motor 11 for driving the carrier 6 is in the form of a pulse motor, for example.
- the left and right surfaces of the motor 11 are provided with pins 11a at aligned positions.
- the pins 11a (the right side one is not shown) are rotatably mounted in motor mounting holes of a recovery system base 50 movable on the base frame 1. It is a possible alternative that the pins are provided on the recovery system base 50, and the holes are formed in the side of the motor.
- the carrier motor 11 is, therefore, rotatable about the pins 11a.
- a projection 11b is extended integrally from the carrier motor 11 in parallel with the output shaft 12 of the motor.
- the projection 11b is abutted by a motor spring 14.
- the projection 11b is provided with a columnar projection to which an end of the motor spring 14 in the form of a coil is fixed.
- the recording head 9 effects its recording operation while moving along the lead screw 2 by the driving force transmitted through the lead screw 2.
- the distance between the recording sheet 40 and the recording head 9 is desirably the same irrespective of the position in the movable range of the recording head 9. Therefore, an adjusting mechanism is desirably provided to adjust the distance between the recording head 9 and the recording paper, by which the recording head is shiftable, while maintaining the parallelism relative to the recording paper.
- an adjusting mechanism may influence the constant positional relation with the recovery system.
- the position of the lead screw 2 is adjusted at opposite ends thereof by moving the base 50 and by moving the cam plate 50a.
- the recording head 9 is made movable in parallel with the platen supporting the recording sheet 40.
- the cam structure may be modified so that the cam plate is rotated about a predetermined axis by operating a pin engageable with a cam slot formed in the cam plate.
- the carrier motor 11 on the base 50 and the driving system associated with the motor 11, more particularly, the timing belt 13, the pulleys and the lead screw 2, and the recovery system mechanism mounted on the base 50, are moved, by which the position of the lead screw 2 at the recovery system side is adjusted.
- the lead screw 2 is made parallel with the recording paper, and the recording head can be adjusted for the movement parallel to the recording sheet.
- the adjusting operations are performed in this embodiment during the manufacturing of the recording apparatus, using an assembling robot.
- the adjusting operations can be performed by a user after the apparatus is used for a long period of time, or at the time of other repairing operations.
- a blade lever 16 has a boss 16a rotatably mounted on a setting shaft 15.
- the blade lever 16 has an arm 16b and a hook 16c.
- a blade 17 serves to wipe the surface of the recording head at which the ink ejection outlets are formed.
- the blade is made of silicone rubber, chloroprene rubber or hydrogen containing nitrile butadiene rubber or another elastic material.
- a blade shaft 18 clamps at its central position the blade 17 in such a manner that the blade 17 extends parallel to the shaft 15.
- the blade shaft 18 is rotatably mounted on the blade lever 16.
- a rotatable member 18a is formed integrally with the blade shaft 18.
- An ink carrier 19 is made of sintered plastic material, urethane foam material or the like, which is hydrophilic and porous, and is fixed to the blade lever 16 at a position below the blade 17.
- the blade 17 and the ink carrier 19 are placed at such a position that they overlap with the cap which will be described hereinafter, as seen from the head element 9a, so that they are actable on the head element 9a at the same position.
- the overlapping positional relation is advantageous because it can reduce the width of the apparatus in the scanning direction.
- a setting lever 20 is rotatably mounted on the setting shaft 15.
- the setting lever 20 is provided with stopping teeth 20a and 20b, a starting tooth 20c and a rotating tooth 20d.
- the starting tooth 20c has a thickness (measured in the longitudinal direction of the lead screw 2) which is approximately one half of the width of the other teeth.
- An arm 20e of the setting lever 20 is partly cut-away in the direction of its thickness, by which a setting surface 20f and a resetting surface 20g are provided.
- the surfaces 20f and 20g are effective to provide an accommodation for the rotating member 18a of the blade shaft 18 mounted to the blade lever 16, in which the blade 17 is movable between a projected position and a suspending position by the selective engagement of the rotatable member 18a with the surface 20f or the surface 20g.
- a spring 22 functions to support an ink absorbing material 23 and is fixed to the base 50 at the position shown in Figure 2, that is, at a position below the capping position of the cap. As shown in Figure 7C, it has an absorbing material supporting portion 22a and a spring 22b for rotating the pump which will be described hereinafter.
- the ink absorbing material 23 is made of a material which is hydrophilic and porous, similarly to the ink carrier 19.
- the ink absorbing material 23 has a cleaning portion 23a to which the blade 17 is contactable when it moves down.
- the lower portion of the ink absorbing material 23 is formed into an absorbing surface to which the ink carrier 19 is contacted to transfer the ink.
- a cylinder 24 has a cylinder portion 24a and a guide portion 24b for guiding a piston shaft 27 which will be described hereinafter.
- the inner side of the guide portion 24b is partly cut-away in its longitudinal direction to provide an ink passage 24c for residual ink.
- a projection 24d functions to receive a cap lever and has a lever seal 33 engaged therewith.
- An ink passage 24e is opened at a predetermined position in the cylinder portion 24a.
- a rotating lever 24f is formed integral with the cylinder 24 and is urged in the rotational direction by the spring portion 22b of the ink absorbing member supporting spring 22.
- a residual ink pipe 24g is integrally formed with the cylinder 24, and an end thereof is cut into an acute angle, so that it can be easily inserted into a residual ink absorbing material which will be described hereinafter.
- An ink passage 24h is formed in the residual ink pipe 24g.
- a piston seal 26 is inserted into the cylinder 24, and it has a smaller inside diameter to provide a predetermined contact pressure relative to the piston shaft which will be described below.
- the surface thereof may be coated with lubricating material to reduce the force required to slide the piston.
- the piston shaft 27 has an operating shaft 27a, a piston confining collar 27b, a piston receptor 27c, a connecting rod 27d and a guide shaft 27e.
- a groove 27f functioning as an ink passage is formed along the connecting rod 27d and the guide shaft 27e.
- a rotation stopper 27g is formed as a groove in the operating shaft 27a.
- a bearing 27h is provided at an end of the operating shaft 27a.
- a pumping chamber Designated by a reference numeral 42 is a pumping chamber.
- a piston pressing roller 29 is rotatably mounted at an end of the piston shaft 27.
- a piston resetting roller 30 is rotatably mounted at the end of the piston shaft 27. These rollers are supported on a pin 31.
- the cap holder 34 is faced to a hook 34a for engagement with an engaging portion 32e of the cap lever 32.
- An opening 34b is for mounting the cap 35.
- a sheet feeding roller 36 for conveying a recording medium such as paper or a sheet of paper is provided. It can be produced by, for example, applying elastic paint (urethane resin or acrylic resin material) on the surface of a drawn aluminum pipe.
- the roller 36 functions as a platen for limiting the surface of the recording medium on which the recording is effected, by its outer surface, and also functions to accommodate the residual ink at the inside thereof.
- Residual ink absorbing material 37 is within the roller 36, and it comprises a thin pipe made of plastic material such as vinylchloride or the like and polyester fibers or another absorbing material to enhance the ink absorption in the longitudinal direction.
- a residual ink pipe 24g of the cylinder 24 is inserted into the residual ink absorbing material 37. Even if the recovery system mechanism is moved by the movement of the base 50, the pipe 24g is supported in the absorbing material 37 in such a manner that the movement is impeded.
- the fibers of the absorbing material are not liquid absorbing, such as resin or metal, but may be of slightly liquid absorbing nature.
- Figure 10 is a timing chart, wherein it will be understood that the operational timing of various parts can be determined on the basis of the number of pulses supplied to the motor.
- the timing gear 21, as has been described in conjunction with Figure 7B, is provided with the starting teeth 21b1 and two different driving teeth 21b2 and 21b3.
- the teeth 21b1, 21b2 and 21b3 are formed at different positions of the gear 21 in the direction of the width thereof.
- Figures 12A, 12B and 12C and Figures 13A and 13B show various states of engagement between the clutch gear 4 and the timing gear 21.
- Figures 12A and 12B show the states which are assumed during the normal recording operation.
- the lead pin 7 In the state of Figure 13A, the lead pin 7 is not at this position, though.
- the blade 17 and the ink carrier 19 are disposed, although not shown in the Figure.
- the ink carrier 19 and the blade 17 slide on the surface of the cleaner 23a of the ink absorber 23, by which the ink received by the ink carrier 19 during the preliminary ejection, the foreign matter removed by the blade 17 from the ejection outlet side surface or the like are received by the cleaner 23a, and, in addition, the droplets of ink deposited on the ejection side surface can be absorbed. Accordingly, the ink absorbing power of the ink carrier 19 can be maintained for a long period of time.
- a transmission roller 62 is disposed between the sheet discharging roller 60 and the sheet feeding roller 36 to transmit the rotation of the sheet feeding roller 36 to the sheet discharging roller 60.
- the transmission of the rotation is effected by the friction force provided by the contact therebetween.
- the sheet discharging roller 60 is generally cylindrical, but the diameter at the opposite end portions thereof is different from that at the central portion.
- the transmission roller 62 is contacted to the central portion of the discharging roller 60 which has the smaller diameter. Therefore, the opposite end portions having the large diameter and functioning to convey the recording sheet rotate at a larger peripheral speed than the sheet conveying roller 36.
- the recording sheet is slightly stretched, so that the recording surface can be maintained in good order.
- the top cover 102 can be used as a stacking tray for the recording sheets.
- the top cover 102 is fixed at an angle which is different from the angle when the top cover 102 is used as a sheet guide for the supply of sheets.
- the ink container 9b contains an ink absorbing material 900.
- An ink supply port 1200 supplies ink to the ejection unit 9a, having the various parts 110 - 800. Before the ejection unit 9a is mounted to a portion 1010 of the ink container 9b, the ink is injected through the supply port 1200, by which the ink is absorbed by the absorbing material 900.
- the ink is supplied to the supply chamber 600 from the inside of the cartridge through the supply port 1200, a hole 320 of the supporting member 300 and an inlet opening of the supply container 600 at the backside in Figure 24A. From the supply chamber 600, the ink is supplied into the common chamber through a supply pipe and an ink inlet 420 of the top plate 400. In the connecting portions in the ink supply line, suitable gasket made of silicone rubber or butyl rubber or the like is mounted for the sealing to assure the ink supply.
- Figures 25A, 25B and 25C are a top plan view, a left side view and right side view of the carrier 6.
- a contact lever 602 is operated when the recording head is to be mounted on or dismounted from the carrier 6. It is rotatably supported on a shaft 601d of the carrier 6.
- a contact hook 603 is partly contactable to the recording head 9 for the mounting and dismounting of the recording head 9 by operation in engagement with a part of the contact lever 602.
- the hook 603 has an elongated slot 603c which is guided by a guide pin 601c mounted on the carrier 6 in the mounting and dismounting operation.
- the mounting and dismounting mechanism including the contact lever 602, the contact hook 603 or the like is disposed at a side of the carrier 6, that is, at a side in the carrier 6 movement direction, and, therefore, the mechanism does not require a large dead space to permit movement of the carrier.
- An abutment portion 601b is formed at a side and bottom portion of the abutment member 607 to position the recording head in a front-rear direction.
- the abutment portions 601c are for the positioning in the vertical direction, and two of them are formed at a side and bottom of the abutment member 607 and at a side bottom portion of the supporting plate 606, respectively.
- Figures 26A and 26B are a top plan view and a side view when the recording head 9 is mounted on the carrier 6.
- the abutment portion 906a of the recording head 9 abuts the abutment portion 601a of the carrier 6, and simultaneously, the pawl 906e of the recording head 9 is urged toward left in the Figure by the urging force of the coil spring 607a through the hook 603 engaged therewith.
- the recording head 9 receives a moment about the abutment portion.
- the substrate 906d of the recording head is abutted to the abutment portion 601f, by which the recording head 9 is correctly positioned in the left-right direction, and the position is retained.
- the projections 605A of the rubber pad 605 are compressed and deformed by the abutment with the substrate 906d.
- a press-contact force is produced between the contact pads of the flexible substrate 604 and the contacts of the board 906d.
- the substrate 906d is contacted to the abutment portions 601f, the amount of deformation of the projections 605A is constant, so that the press-contact force is stable.
- the recording head 9 In compliance with this movement of the contact hook 603, the recording head 9 is urged at the upper left part in this Figure by the engagement with the contact hook 603. Then, the abutment portion 906a of the recording head slides to abut on the abutment portion 601a, and the contact portion 906b is abutted to the abutment portion 601b. In this state, the substrate 906d and the flexible substrate 604 are not contacted.
- the contact hook 603 With the further counterclockwise rotation of the contact lever 602, the contact hook 603 is moved further leftwardly. During this, it moves the engaging pawl 906c, and, therefore, the recording head 9 rotates in the clockwise direction about the abutment between the abutment portions 906a and 906b into the state shown in Figure 28C, by which the position of the recording head 9 on the carrier 6 is determined.
- the mounting of the recording head in this embodiment includes a translational movement and a rotational movement of the recording head, and the angle of rotation is approximately 5 degrees.
- the recording head Since the recording head is mounted with a small rotational angle, no particular space is required for the mounting of the recording head.
- the relationship between the lever 602 and the hook 603 during the recording head dismounting process will be described.
- the contact lever 602 is rotated from the state shown in Figure 26A in a direction opposite from that in the mounting process, the cam surface 602c of the contact lever rotates in contact with the cam surface 603b of the contact hook.
- the contact hook 603 moves toward the right until the left end of the elongate slot 603c abuts the shaft 601e of the carrier 6. Thereafter, it rotates in the clockwise direction about the shaft 601e.
- the abutment surface of the contact lever 602 reaches the flat surface 602b, it abuts an end of the cam surface 603b of the contact hook 603, so that the state shown in Figure 25A is reached.
- the recording head 9 is pushed out by the portion 603d of the contact hook.
- the present invention is particularly suitable for use with a bubble jet recording head and a bubble jet recording apparatus proposed by Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan.
- the recording head and the apparatus is of the type disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796 which disclose a typical structure and the operational principle.
- the structure and the principle are applicable to a so-called on-demand type recording system and a so-called continuous type recording system.
- the bubble jet structure and principle are suitable for the on-demand type because the principle is, in brief, such that at least one driving signal is applied to an electrothermal transducer disposed on a liquid (ink) retaining sheet or passage, the driving signal being enough to provide such a quick temperature rise beyond a departure from nucleation boiling point, by which the thermal energy is provided to produce the film boiling at the heating portion of the recording head, upon which a bubble can be formed in response to the driving signal.
- the liquid is ejected through an ejection outlet to produce at least one droplet.
- the driving signal is preferably in the form of a pulse, because the development and contraction of the bubble can occur instantaneously, and, therefore, the liquid is ejected with quick response.
- the driving signal in the form of a pulse is preferably such as disclosed in U.S. Patents No. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262.
- the temperature increasing rate of the heating surface is preferably as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,313,124.
- the structure of the recording head may comprise the combination of the ejection outlet, the liquid passage and the electrothermal transducer as disclosed in the above mentioned U.S. Patents (linear liquid passage or rectangular liquid passage), or may be the one disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 4,558,333 and 4,459,600 in which the heating portion is disposed at a bent portion.
- the present invention is also applicable to the structure disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 123670/1984 in which a common slit is used as the ejection outlets for plural electrothermal transducers, and also to the structure disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 138/1984 in which an opening for absorbing pressure waves of the thermal energy is formed corresponding to the ejecting portion.
- the present invention is effectively applicable to a so-called full-line type recording head having a length covering the maximum recording width.
- a recording head may comprise a long single recording head or a plural recording heads combined to cover the entire width.
- the present invention is also effectively applicable to a recording head in the form of an exchangeable chip which is electrically connected with and supplied with ink from the main assembly of the recording apparatus when mounted on the main assembly, or in the form of a cartridge type recording head integrally mounted.
- capping means for capping the recording head cleaning means for cleaning the recording head, pressure applying means or sucking means for applying pressure to or sucking the liquid in the passage, preliminary heating means using the ejecting electrothermal transducers or by a combination of the ejecting thermal transducer and additional heating means, and means for effecting preliminary ejection of the liquid not for the recording operation. They can stabilize the recording operation.
- the recording mode of the recording apparatus it is not limited to the record only by a main color such as black.
- the present invention is effectively applicable to a recording apparatus having an integral recording head or a combination of plural recording heads for the recording operation at least one of the multi-color mode using different colors and a full-color mode using color mixture.
- the ink has been described as liquid. However, it may be an ink material which is solid at the room temperature or an ink material which is softened at the room temperature. Since in the ink jet recording system, the ink is usually controlled within the temperature not lower than 30 °C and not higher than 70 °C to stabilize the viscosity of the ink to stabilize the ejection, the ink may be such that it is liquid when the recording signal is applied in use.
- the present invention is applicable to the ink which is liquefied by application of the thermal energy thereto. In an example of such a type, the thermal energy is positively consumed for the phase change from the solid state to the liquid state so as to suppress the temperature rise by the thermal energy.
- the ink is solidified when left as it is, for the purpose of preventing the evaporation.
- the ink is liquefied by the application of the thermal energy thereto in response to the recording signal, and the liquefied ink is ejected.
- the ink already starts to be solidified when reaching the recording medium.
- Such an ink material may be retained as liquid or solid ink in holes or recesses formed in a porous sheet as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 56847/1989 and 71260/1985. In this case, the sheet is faced to the electrothermal transducers.
- the most effective actuation of the above-described ink is to cause film boiling thereof.
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- Particle Formation And Scattering Control In Inkjet Printers (AREA)
- Photographic Developing Apparatuses (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus according to the preamble of
claims - The ink jet recording apparatus includes not only the elements directly related to the recording operation but also various elements peculiar to the ink ejection type recording.
- When the liquid ejection is not carried out for a long period of time in a particular ejection outlet or outlets, depending on the nature of the data to be recorded, or when the recording apparatus is left unused for a long period of time, the water content of the ink in the ejection outlet or the ink passage communicating the ejection outlets is evaporated, so that the viscosity of the ink is increased. This can result in failure of ink ejection. When a droplet or droplets of ink or water or foreign matter are deposited on a surface in which the ejection outlets are formed, the ink droplet ejected is influenced by the deposited material with the result of deflection of the ink ejecting direction. To avoid these problems, the ink jet recording apparatus is equipped with various structures for so-called ejection recovery to prevent the ejection failure or the deflection of the ejecting direction.
- In order to prevent the ejection failure, the ejection recovery system includes a structure for preliminary ejection of the ink for driving out high viscosity ink into an ink receptor material, a structure for sucking the ink through the ejection outlet or an ink chamber to remove the high viscosity ink, and a structure for capping the ejection side surface to prevent evaporation of the water content of the ink through the ejection outlets.
- In order to prevent the deflection of the ejecting direction, there is a structure for wiping the ejecting side surface to remove the foreign matter or the ink droplet deposited adjacent to the ejection outlet.
- Recently, the ink jet recording apparatus is generally required to effect recording on various recording mediums such as usual paper envelopes. To meet this requirement, a particular structure is used to be responsive to different thicknesses of the recording mediums.
- More particularly, the gap between the recording head and the recording medium during the recording operation is adjusted by an adjusting mechanism to provide an appropriate gap in accordance with the recording medium used.
- On the other hand, the ink jet recording apparatus, inter alia, the recording head, is recently manufactured through a thin film process or microprocessing as in semiconductor chip manufacturing, and, therefore, a small size and low cost recording head is going to be manufactured. Accordingly, a disposable type recording head having an integral ink container, for example, has been proposed. Under certain circumstances, a small size and low cost apparatus easily usable by the users is desired.
- However, the reduction of the size of the apparatus necessitates reduction of the sizes of various parts and reduction of the space for disposing and operating various constituent elements. As a result, it is desired that the structures of those parts or other parts and the structures among them, are different from those of a relatively large apparatus.
- In order to effect good recording in the ink jet recording apparatus, the movement of the recording head is desired to be parallel with a recording medium.
- Conventionally, the adjustment for the parallel movement is carried out on the carrier (carriage) for carrying the recording head.
- However, the conventional adjusting mechanism has a complicated structure, which requires cumbersome operation. This impedes the reduction of the size of the apparatus.
- In addition, the adjustment can change the relative positional relation between the recording head and an ink sucking cap or a wiping blade, so that the performance of the sucking operation or the wiping operation is deteriorated.
- On the other hand, it is considered that in accordance with the recording medium, particularly, the thickness of the recording medium, the recording head is rotated about an axis to provide a proper gap between the recording medium and the ejection outlet of the recording head. With the proper gap, the position and size or the like of the image formed by the ink droplets are proper.
- In the conventional structure, a rotation cam or the like is provided on the recording head or a carrier, and, therefore, the mechanism is complicated and bulky in many cases.
- In addition, a rotatable lever or another operating member is usually mounted on the recording head or the carrier, and, therefore, the operation thereof is rather difficult particularly in a small size recording apparatus. In addition, there arises a problem that the positional relation with a recovery mechanism is deviated. In this connection, the document DE-A-3 528 926 forming the preamble of the
claims - Although the known ink recovery and capping mechanism serves to reliably accomplish a correct ejection of ink droplets from the printing head, this state of the art suffers from the fact that, in dependence on the thickness of the recording medium to be printed, the position and the size of the letters formed by the ink droplets ejected from the printing head on the recording medium differ significantly since the gap between the recording head and the recording medium varies with the thickness of the recording medium.
- Accordingly, the object of the invention is to further develop the known ink jet recording apparatus to the effect that the gap between the recording head and the recording medium can be adjusted with high accuracy, whilst the cleaning operation of the recording head is reliably accomplished.
- This object is solved by the features recited in the characterizing portions of the
claims - According to
claim 1, the ink jet recording apparatus comprises a shaft which is engageable with a portion of the recording means and rotatable about an eccentric axis to change the positional relation between the recording means and the recording medium. The shaft has an eccentric portion for permitting the change of a clearance between the recording means and the recording medium in the recording region. Further, the ink jet recording apparatus comprises a further shaft for maintaining a predetermined positional relation between the recording means and the recovery means outside the recording region, irrespective of the clearance between the recording means and the recording medium in the recording region. - According to
claim 5, the ink jet recording apparatus comprises a moving means for moving the recovery means and the shaft for guiding the carriage carrying the recording means, as one, in order to adjust a gap between the recording means and the recording medium, whereby the positional relation between the recovery means and the recording means is maintained constant independently of the positional relation between the latter and the recording medium. - As result, according to the invention, the gap between the recording means and the recording medium can be adjusted with high accuracy independently of the positional relation between the recording means and the recovery means. Or, the other way round, the distance between the recovery means and the recording means is maintained constant independently of the gap between the latter and the recording means.
- Advantageously developed embodiments of the invention are subject-matter of the
dependent claims 2 to 4 and 6 to 8. - The features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
- Figure 1 is a perspective view of an ink jet recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, illustrating the outer appearance thereof.
- Figure 2 is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1, illustrating the major portion of the apparatus without a cover.
- Figure 3A is a perspective view of the apparatus of Figure 1, illustrating a sheet discharging system.
- Figure 3B is a side view of the sheet discharging system of Figure 3A.
- Figures 4A and 4B are side views illustrating different positions of a recording head relative to different recording materials.
- Figures 5A and 5B are rear views of the recording head at its home position in different states.
- Figure 6 is a partly broken perspective view of a base for a recovery system mechanism engaged with a base frame.
- Figures 7A, 7B and 7C are perspective views showing a recording head wiping blade and an ink carrier.
- Figures 8 and 9 are an exploded perspective view and a sectional view of a sucking and recovery system for the recording head.
- Figure 10 is a timing chart of operations of various parts of the apparatus according to this embodiment.
- Figure 11 is a perspective view of a clutch mechanism for transmitting a driving force to the recovery system mechanism, in the apparatus of this embodiment.
- Figures 12A, 12B and 12C are side views illustrating the engagement among the clutch gear of Figure 11, a hook and a timing gear.
- Figures 13A and 13B are front views showing the engagement among the clutch gear, the hook and the timing gear shown in Figures 12A, 12B and 12C.
- Figures 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D are side views illustrating sequential operations of the blade and the ink carrier.
- Figures 15A, 15B and 15C are side views illustrating sequential operations of a cap.
- Figures 16A and 16B are side sectional views illustrating an operation of a pump for a recovery sucking operation.
- Figure 17 is a timing chart illustrating sequential operations of a preliminary ejection operation or a sucking recovery operation in the apparatus of the embodiment and partly another embodiment.
- Figures 18A and 18B are side views of a sheet confining mechanism.
- Figure 19 is a perspective view of a rowel in a sheet discharging system.
- Figure 20 is a front view of a sheet discharging roller.
- Figure 21 is a perspective view of an apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, used in another position.
- Figure 22 is a side sectional view of the apparatus situated as shown in Figure 21.
- Figure 23 is a perspective view illustrating the outer appearance of the recording head.
- Figures 24A and 24B are an exploded perspective view and an outer appearance perspective view of a recording head.
- Figures 25A, 25B and 25C are a top plan view, a left side view and a right side view of a carrier (carriage).
- Figures 26A and 26B are a top plan view and a right side view of the carrier shown in Figures 25A, 25B and 25C, when it carries the recording head.
- Figure 27 is a top plan view of the carrier before the recording head is mounted thereon.
- Figures 28A, 28B and 28C are top plan views of the carrier when the recording head is being mounted thereon.
- Referring to the accompanying drawings, the preferred embodiments of the invention will be described.
- In Figure 1, there is shown an ink
jet recording apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Theapparatus 100 is used selectively in a generally horizontal setting shown in Figure 1 or in a vertical setting, as will be described hereinafter. Theapparatus 100 is small and light. - The
apparatus 100 comprises acasing 101, anouter cover 102 and aninner cover 103. When theapparatus 100 is not used, theouter cover 102 covers theinner cover 103, and, therefore, the apparatus is compact. The user can accommodate the apparatus in a dedicated case and can carry it around. - When the
apparatus 100 is used in the horizontal setting, as shown in this Figure, the part indicated by thereference numeral 106 functions as the recording material inlet. Theouter cover 102 can be used as the discharge tray. - In either of the above cases, the part indicated by a
reference numeral 107 functions as a sheet discharge outlet. - A
positioning hook 105 functions to fix the position of theouter cover 102, designated by areference numeral 104 are the operation keys and displays. - Referring to Figure 2, the major part of the apparatus will be described.
- The apparatus comprises a
base frame 1, a left side plate 1a functioning as a guide for a recording medium such as paper and a right side plate 1b. Thebase frame 1 is provided with an opening (not shown) for rotatably supporting the carrier motor, which will be described hereinafter. - A lead arm 1h is provided for supporting a
lead screw 2 in the longitudinal and diametrical direction. Thelead screw 2 is rotatably supported on a bearing of the lead arm 1h. The lead arm 1h is securedly fixed on arecovery system base 50 through an unshown plate. - The
lead screw 2 is provided with alead groove 2a at a predetermined pitch faced to a recording range. Thelead screw 2 is provided, at a carrier home position side, with apositioning groove 3b for the positioning at the time of a capping operation by a cap and an operation for correcting improper ink ejection and for preventing improper ejection. Thepositioning groove 3b is formed along a circumferential portion of the screw shaft. Thepositioning groove 3b is continuously and smoothly extended from thelead groove 2a through anintroduction groove 3c. - The
lead screw 2 has at its right end ashaft 2g coaxially with thelead screw 2, and has a shaft at the left side. The shafts are supported by bearings provided on a front part 1c of the side plate 1b and on the lead arm 1h, respectively. The shafts are rotatably supported by the bearings. Alead pulley 3 is mounted on thelead screw 2 and is provided with the above-describedgrooves timing belt 13. - The
shaft 2g of thelead screw 2 is slidably engaged with a slit of the plate 1c functioning as a guide plate connected to the right side plate 1b and to thebase frame 1. It is pushed in its thrust direction by atongue 10a of aleaf spring 10 and is engaged with a cam slot of acam plate 50a rotatably supported on a pin fixed to the guide plate 1c. Around the circumferential periphery of thecam plate 50a, meshing teeth are formed which are engageable with aratchet 10c of theleaf spring 10, by which thecam plate 50a can be locked at a desired rotational position. By the rotation and the locking of thecam plate 50a, the position, in the slot of the guide plate 1c, of theshaft 2g engaging with the cam slot is determined, so that the position of thelead screw 2 at the right end is determined. This adjusting structure is used for adjusting a gap between the recording head and the platen, which will be described hereinafter. - A
clutch gear 4 is supported for sliding movement in the longitudinal direction on thelead pulley 3. It is fixed on thelead pulley 3 in the rotational direction by a key formed in thelead pulley 3, which will be described hereinafter in conjunction with Figure 11, so that the rotation of thelead screw 2 is transmitted thereto. Aclutch spring 5 is a compression spring to urge theclutch gear 4 toward thelead groove 2a. A limiting member is provided between theclutch gear 4 and thelead pulley 3 to limit the moving range of theclutch gear 4 in the axial direction within a predetermined range. - A
carrier 6 is supported on thelead screw 2 and is movable along the length of thelead screw 2. Thecarrier 6 is provided with an urging portion for pushing an end surface of theclutch gear 4, which is formed integrally with a left side of thecarrier 6. Thecarrier 6 has alead pin 7 engaging with thelead groove 2a of thelead screw 2 and is guided along a guiding opening (not shown) of thecarrier 6 for the urging to thelead screw 2. Alead pin spring 8 has an end mounted to thecarrier 6 and has the other end urging thelead pin 7. - A
recording head 9 is mounted on thecarrier 6. In this embodiment, therecording head 9 is in the form of a cartridge containing as a unit arecording head element 9a and anink container 9b (ink supply source). The cartridge is detachably mountable on thecarrier 6, and is disposable when the ink therein is used up. In place of the electrothermal transducer, an electro-mechanical transducer element is usable. The former is preferable since then the ink ejection outlet can be manufactured at a high density and since the manufacturing process is simple. - A
hook 6c is fixed to a part of thecarrier 6 to stably stop therecording head 9 at a capping position or the like. - A
carrier guiding shaft 51 is slidably engaged with a guidingpin 6b formed on a rear end of thecarrier 6. As will be described in conjunction with Figure 4, the guidingshaft 51 has an eccentric portion which is rotatably supported on side plates 51b and 51c by aportion 51a of said shaft provided at the opposite ends of thebase frame 1. Theportion 51a of the guidingshaft 51 adjacent the side plate 51c is fixed to a positioning knob 51d. The positioning knob 51d is generally in the form of a circular disk and is provided, substantially at its center, with a leaf spring 51h in the form of a canti-lever having a channel configuration. The leaf spring 51h is formed by lancing a part of the disk into the channel configuration. Theportion 51a is fixed substantially at the center of the leaf spring 51h. The free end of the leaf spring 51h is provided with a projection 51i for fixing the rotational position of the knob 51d. The rotational position of theshaft 51 is fixed by the engagement between the projection 51i of the leaf spring 51h of the knob 51d and an opening 51e formed in the side plate 51c, with the aid of the resilient force of the leaf spring 51h. - As shown in Figures 4A and 4B, this structure is used to properly adjust the gap between the recording surface of a
recording sheet 40 and ink ejection outlets of therecording head element 9a in accordance with the material of therecording sheet 40. More particularly, the knob 51d is manually rotated, by which the distance between theshaft 51 and thepin 6b is minimum when theshaft 51 takes the position shown in Figure 4A, and the distance may be maximum when theshaft 51 takes the position shown in Figure 4B. By doing so, therecording head 9 rotates about thelead screw 2, so that the distance can be fixed to match a relatively thin plain paper (Figure 4A) or a relatively thick recording paper such as envelopes (larger distance, as shown in Figure 4B). - It should be noted that the above structure is to meet the materials of the recording sheet during the recording operation. The situation is different when the
recording head 9 is moved to the recovery system at the left end of Figure 2 when the recovery process is to be performed. More particularly, at this time, the positional relation has to be constant between therecording head 9 and the recovery system. - Figures 5A and 5B show the structure for providing the constant positional relation between the recording head and the recovery system during the recovery operation. Figures 5A and 5B correspond to Figures 4A and 4B. In Figure 5A, the engagement between the
portion 51a and thepin 6b is effected without change in the height of the engagement position between theshaft 51 and thepin 6b. In order to maintain a constant height of the engaging position, one of the parallel surfaces of atrapezoidal cam 51g is engaged with thepin 6b. - In Figure 5B, when the
recording head 9 moves in the direction that thepin 6b is engaged with theportion 51a, the height of the engaging position of thepin 6b changes. In consideration of this, theshaft 51 is provided with a taperedportion 51f, and, correspondingly, thetrapezoidal cam 51g has a tapered surface. Therefore, the height of the engagement between thepin 6b and theshaft 51 is changed by the taperedportion 51f, so that a constant height is maintained when thepin 6b engages with theportion 51a of the shaft. - With the structure described above, when the
recording head 9 comes to the ejection recovery system, the height of therecording head 9 is always constant, by which the predetermined positional relationship can be maintained between the recovery system and therecording head 9. - The number of rotational positions of the
recording head 9 is not limited to two, but may be larger with the positions therebetween to meet a larger number of thicknesses of the recording paper. In order to accomplish this, the number of engagement positions between the projection of the knob 51d and the opening 51e of the side plate 51c may be increased. - The rotation of the knob 51d is not limited to the manual rotation, but may be automatically effected by rotating the knob 51d in response to a key input corresponding to the recording sheet to be used, for example, utilizing the driving force of a sheet feeding motor or the like.
- Referring back to Figure 2, a carrier motor 11 for driving the
carrier 6 is in the form of a pulse motor, for example. The left and right surfaces of the motor 11 are provided with pins 11a at aligned positions. The pins 11a (the right side one is not shown) are rotatably mounted in motor mounting holes of arecovery system base 50 movable on thebase frame 1. It is a possible alternative that the pins are provided on therecovery system base 50, and the holes are formed in the side of the motor. The carrier motor 11 is, therefore, rotatable about the pins 11a. A projection 11b is extended integrally from the carrier motor 11 in parallel with theoutput shaft 12 of the motor. The projection 11b is abutted by amotor spring 14. The projection 11b is provided with a columnar projection to which an end of themotor spring 14 in the form of a coil is fixed. - A motor pulley is fixed to the
output shaft 12 of the carrier motor 11. Thetiming belt 13 is stretched between the motor pulley and the pulley 3a mounted on the shaft of thelead screw 2. Themotor spring 14 is in the form of a compression spring in this embodiment and is compressed between an end of the lead arm 1h and the spring receiving projection 11b of the carrier motor 11, by which the carrier motor 11 is urged in a direction A to apply tension to thetiming belt 13. Designated by areference numeral 15 is a setting shaft, to which the recovery mechanism is mounted. The recovery mechanism includes means, projected from an unshown side plate fixed on thebase 50, for maintaining a good state of the ejection outlet forming surface, the cap and the other means contributable to the recovery from and the prevention of the improper ejection. - As described hereinbefore, the positional relation between the recovery mechanism and the
recording head 9 is important. More particularly, the positional relation between the ejection side surface of therecording head 9 and the blade for wiping the ejection side surface is important in order to maintain the desirable wiping performance, and the distance between the cap and the ejection side surface is important in order to maintain the capping performance. Therefore, it is desirable that the positional relation is maintained constant between the recovery mechanism and therecording head 9. - On the other hand, the
recording head 9 effects its recording operation while moving along thelead screw 2 by the driving force transmitted through thelead screw 2. During the recording operation, the distance between therecording sheet 40 and therecording head 9 is desirably the same irrespective of the position in the movable range of therecording head 9. Therefore, an adjusting mechanism is desirably provided to adjust the distance between therecording head 9 and the recording paper, by which the recording head is shiftable, while maintaining the parallelism relative to the recording paper. However, such an adjusting mechanism may influence the constant positional relation with the recovery system. - Accordingly, in this embodiment, the carrier motor 11, the
recovery system base 50 mounting the recovery system which will be described in detail hereinafter and thelead screw 2 are movable relative to thebase frame 1. - The position of the
lead screw 2 is adjusted at opposite ends thereof by moving thebase 50 and by moving thecam plate 50a. By the adjustment, therecording head 9 is made movable in parallel with the platen supporting therecording sheet 40. - Referring to Figure 6, there is shown a mechanism in the
base 50 for accomplishing this. Figure 6 is a perspective view of therecovery system base 50 as seen from the opposite side from Figure 2 and is partly broken away. Aguide member 50e is fixed to a side of a groove formed in a backside of thebase 50. A groove of themember 50e is engaged with a guide portion of a guiding member 1k having an L-shape, fixed on thebase frame 1, by which the movement direction of thebase 50 is limited, and, in addition, thebase 50 is prevented from rising from thebase frame 1. - As will be understood from Figure 2, when the
cam plate 50b is rotated about apin 50d mounted on thebase 50, the cam surface is contacted to a certain part of the surface of the cam slot 1l of thebase frame 1 to urge the contact surface. By doing so, thebase 50 is moved by the reaction in the direction guided by themember 50e and the member 1k. - The cam structure may be modified so that the cam plate is rotated about a predetermined axis by operating a pin engageable with a cam slot formed in the cam plate.
- By the movement, the carrier motor 11 on the
base 50 and the driving system associated with the motor 11, more particularly, thetiming belt 13, the pulleys and thelead screw 2, and the recovery system mechanism mounted on thebase 50, are moved, by which the position of thelead screw 2 at the recovery system side is adjusted. - On the other hand, a fine adjustment of the other end of the
lead screw 2 is accomplished by rotating thecam plate 50a. - By the above adjusting operations, the
lead screw 2 is made parallel with the recording paper, and the recording head can be adjusted for the movement parallel to the recording sheet. - The adjusting operations are performed in this embodiment during the manufacturing of the recording apparatus, using an assembling robot. However, the adjusting operations can be performed by a user after the apparatus is used for a long period of time, or at the time of other repairing operations.
- Referring to Figures 7A, 7B and 7C with continued reference to Figure 2, the description will be made as to means for maintaining a good condition of the ejection side surface of the recording head, which is a part of the recovery system.
- In Figure 7A, a
blade lever 16 has aboss 16a rotatably mounted on a settingshaft 15. Theblade lever 16 has an arm 16b and ahook 16c. Ablade 17 serves to wipe the surface of the recording head at which the ink ejection outlets are formed. The blade is made of silicone rubber, chloroprene rubber or hydrogen containing nitrile butadiene rubber or another elastic material. Ablade shaft 18 clamps at its central position theblade 17 in such a manner that theblade 17 extends parallel to theshaft 15. Theblade shaft 18 is rotatably mounted on theblade lever 16. A rotatable member 18a is formed integrally with theblade shaft 18. Anink carrier 19 is made of sintered plastic material, urethane foam material or the like, which is hydrophilic and porous, and is fixed to theblade lever 16 at a position below theblade 17. Theblade 17 and theink carrier 19 are placed at such a position that they overlap with the cap which will be described hereinafter, as seen from thehead element 9a, so that they are actable on thehead element 9a at the same position. The overlapping positional relation is advantageous because it can reduce the width of the apparatus in the scanning direction. - A setting
lever 20 is rotatably mounted on the settingshaft 15. The settinglever 20 is provided with stoppingteeth 20a and 20b, a startingtooth 20c and arotating tooth 20d. The startingtooth 20c has a thickness (measured in the longitudinal direction of the lead screw 2) which is approximately one half of the width of the other teeth. Anarm 20e of the settinglever 20 is partly cut-away in the direction of its thickness, by which asetting surface 20f and aresetting surface 20g are provided. Thesurfaces blade shaft 18 mounted to theblade lever 16, in which theblade 17 is movable between a projected position and a suspending position by the selective engagement of the rotatable member 18a with thesurface 20f or thesurface 20g. - A
timing gear 21 is rotatably mounted on thebase 50 by an unshown supporting member. - As shown in Figure 7B, the
timing gear 21 is provided with a stoppingcam 21a for engagement with the stoppingteeth 20a and 20b of the settinglever 20 described above, at a part of the periphery of thetiming gear 21. It is further provided with three driving teeth 21b1, 21b2 and 21b3 which are partly cut away. It is further provided with acapping cam 21c at a predetermined position to swing a capping lever which will be described hereinafter. Furthermore, it is provided with a piston setting cam 21f for urging a piston of a pump which will be described hereinafter. The piston setting cam 21f is in the form of a face cam. Also provided is a piston resetting cam 21g at a predetermined distance from and corresponding to the piston setting cam 21f. - A
spring 22 functions to support anink absorbing material 23 and is fixed to the base 50 at the position shown in Figure 2, that is, at a position below the capping position of the cap. As shown in Figure 7C, it has an absorbingmaterial supporting portion 22a and aspring 22b for rotating the pump which will be described hereinafter. Theink absorbing material 23 is made of a material which is hydrophilic and porous, similarly to theink carrier 19. Theink absorbing material 23 has acleaning portion 23a to which theblade 17 is contactable when it moves down. The lower portion of theink absorbing material 23 is formed into an absorbing surface to which theink carrier 19 is contacted to transfer the ink. The absorbing material supporting portion of the supportingspring 22 is urged upwardly with a small resilient force, so that it is locked at a predetermined position by an unshown stopper. Therefore, when theink carrier 19 is contacted to theink absorbing material 23, theink absorbing material 23 displaces downwardly to flex the ink absorbingmaterial spring 22 to secure the contact therebetween. - Referring to Figures 8 and 9 mainly, the description will be made as to a recovery system unit which is a part of the recovery system mechanism. In Figures 8 and 9, a
cylinder 24 has acylinder portion 24a and aguide portion 24b for guiding apiston shaft 27 which will be described hereinafter. The inner side of theguide portion 24b is partly cut-away in its longitudinal direction to provide anink passage 24c for residual ink. Aprojection 24d functions to receive a cap lever and has alever seal 33 engaged therewith. Anink passage 24e is opened at a predetermined position in thecylinder portion 24a. Arotating lever 24f is formed integral with thecylinder 24 and is urged in the rotational direction by thespring portion 22b of the ink absorbingmember supporting spring 22. Aresidual ink pipe 24g is integrally formed with thecylinder 24, and an end thereof is cut into an acute angle, so that it can be easily inserted into a residual ink absorbing material which will be described hereinafter. Anink passage 24h is formed in theresidual ink pipe 24g. - A
cylinder cap 25 is press-fitted into an end of thecylinder 24. Alever guide 25a is disposed at a position faced to thecap lever receiver 24d of thecylinder 24. - A
piston seal 26 is inserted into thecylinder 24, and it has a smaller inside diameter to provide a predetermined contact pressure relative to the piston shaft which will be described below. The surface thereof may be coated with lubricating material to reduce the force required to slide the piston. - The
piston shaft 27 has an operatingshaft 27a, apiston confining collar 27b, apiston receptor 27c, a connectingrod 27d and aguide shaft 27e. Agroove 27f functioning as an ink passage is formed along the connectingrod 27d and theguide shaft 27e. Arotation stopper 27g is formed as a groove in the operatingshaft 27a. Abearing 27h is provided at an end of the operatingshaft 27a. - A
piston 28 has a main portion as an inner layer as seen from the cylinder side, which is made of an elastic and porous material. It may be a foam material (sponge or the like) having independent pores or a porous material having fine continuous pores. A porous material having continuous pores such as urethane foam is preferable. It may be such that plural continuous pores exist in a direction crossing with the direction of elastic deformation. The outside diameter thereof is larger than the inside diameter of thecylinder 24 by a predetermined degree so that it is compressed to a proper extent when it is inserted into thecylinder 24. The foam material is so oriented that the solid (skin) layer of the material is at the outerperipheral surface 28a and anend surface 28b contacted to thepiston confining collar 27b of thepiston shaft 27. Even if the material of the piston is of a communicating foam type, the skin film does not allow the liquid communication, and, therefore, the skin film provides the function of the piston. If a material without a skin film is used, a coating layer may be provided. - Designated by a
reference numeral 42 is a pumping chamber. Apiston pressing roller 29 is rotatably mounted at an end of thepiston shaft 27. Apiston resetting roller 30 is rotatably mounted at the end of thepiston shaft 27. These rollers are supported on a pin 31. - A
cap lever 32 has arotational shaft 32a, anink guide 32b and alever guide 32c. At an end thereof, a sealingsurface 32d is provided which is spherical convex. Thecap lever 32 is provided with a vertical pair of engagingmembers 32e for engagement with pawls of acap holder 34. Anink passage 32f extends from the sealingsurface 32d, through the inside of thelever 32, deflected at 90 degrees, and through the center of theink guide 32b. The passage opens at the end thereof. At a lower position of theink guide 32b, a cut-awayportion 32g is formed. The cut-awayportion 32g is effective to connect theink passage 24e through a communicatinghole 33a of thelever seal 33 to the inside of thecylinder 24a. - The
lever seal 33 is mounted on theink guide 32b and is press-fitted into thecap lever receptor 24d. Thecommunication hole 33a provides liquid communication between the cut-awayportion 32g of theink guide 32b and theink passage 24e. - The
cap holder 34 is faced to ahook 34a for engagement with an engagingportion 32e of thecap lever 32. Anopening 34b is for mounting thecap 35. - The
cap 35 functions both to close the recording head so as to prevent the ink from drying and to seal the recording head when the ink is sucked therefrom. Thecap 35 has a capping portion in which a suckingport 35b is formed, and, therefore, opens toward thecap holder 34 through the center of thecap 35. - A
flange 35c functions as a latch when mounted on the cap holder. Theflange 35c has acap seal 35d which is spherically concave to conform the sealingsurface 32d of thecap lever 32. When it is urged to thecap lever 32, only the central portion communicates, and the other portion is sealed. Since theseal portions recording head element 9a has a step on the ejection side surface, and even if so, the cap can accommodate the step to provide the stabilized sealing condition. - Referring back to Figure 2, a
sheet feeding roller 36 for conveying a recording medium such as paper or a sheet of paper, is provided. It can be produced by, for example, applying elastic paint (urethane resin or acrylic resin material) on the surface of a drawn aluminum pipe. Theroller 36 functions as a platen for limiting the surface of the recording medium on which the recording is effected, by its outer surface, and also functions to accommodate the residual ink at the inside thereof. Residualink absorbing material 37 is within theroller 36, and it comprises a thin pipe made of plastic material such as vinylchloride or the like and polyester fibers or another absorbing material to enhance the ink absorption in the longitudinal direction. Into the residualink absorbing material 37, aresidual ink pipe 24g of thecylinder 24 is inserted. Even if the recovery system mechanism is moved by the movement of thebase 50, thepipe 24g is supported in the absorbingmaterial 37 in such a manner that the movement is impeded. The fibers of the absorbing material are not liquid absorbing, such as resin or metal, but may be of slightly liquid absorbing nature. - A
sheet confining plate 38 is made of fluorinated resin or a material to which carbon fibers are mixed, for example. As shown in Figure 3, it is divided into four portions, which are mounted on thebase frame 1. Ashaft 38A is provided to release the confining force of the confiningplate 38. To an end of theshaft 38A, agear 38B is fixed, and the other end thereof is engaged with a bearing 38C for supporting theshaft 38A. The bearing 38C is fixed on thebase frame 1. Thegear 38B is meshed with a gear of a release lever, which is not shown. Asheet feeding motor 39 is coupled with thesheet feeding roller 36 through a reduction mechanism having a predetermined reduction ratio. - Designated by a
reference numeral 40 is a recording medium such as paper or film. - The operation will be described.
- In normal recording operation, the rotation of the shaft of the carrier motor 11 rotates the
lead screw 2 through thetiming belt 13. Then, thecarrier 6 moves in the scanning direction through the engagement between thelead groove 2a and thelead pin 7. Since the carrier motor 11 is urged by themotor spring 14, thetiming belt 13 is always stretched, to provide a good drive transmission. - An inertia exists upon movement of the
carrier 6, upon start and upon termination, but the weight of the motor 11 absorbs the inertia, so that the force applied to themotor spring 14 is small. The load required to the motor 11 is also small. If an air damper or an oil cylinder is provided in association with themotor spring 14, the noise attributable to the vibration of the rotor of the motor can be reduced upon the start and stop of the carrier. By properly selecting the weights of the motor and the carrier and the damper coefficient, the overshooting of the motor can be reduced, so that the noise can be reduced. - Referring to Figures 10 and 16, the operation of the apparatus will be described when the apparatus is not performing the recording operation.
- Figure 10 is a timing chart, wherein it will be understood that the operational timing of various parts can be determined on the basis of the number of pulses supplied to the motor.
- Figure 11 is a perspective view showing the structure of the
clutch gear 4 and thetiming gear 21. Thekey groove 4d of theclutch gear 4 is engaged with the key 2h of thelead screw 2, by which the clutch gear is slidable on the lead screw, while it is rotatable together with thelead screw 2. Theclutch gear 4 is urged by thespring 5 toward thecarrier 6, so that it is at a predetermined position along the groove 2i of thelead screw 2 during the recording operation and rotates together with thelead screw 2. When therecording head 9 moves to the home position, theclutch gear 4 is urged by thecarrier 6 to be engaged with thetiming gear 21. - The
clutch gear 4 has a starting tooth 4c1 and driving teeth 4c2 which are formed at different positions of the clutch gear in the direction of the width thereof. In addition, the driving teeth 4c2 are not formed uniformly over the entire circumferential periphery, but have acurved surface portion 4b at a part thereof. Theclutch gear 4 has aflange 4a along the entire circumferential periphery thereof. - The
timing gear 21, as has been described in conjunction with Figure 7B, is provided with the starting teeth 21b1 and two different driving teeth 21b2 and 21b3. The teeth 21b1, 21b2 and 21b3 are formed at different positions of thegear 21 in the direction of the width thereof. - Figures 12A, 12B and 12C and Figures 13A and 13B show various states of engagement between the
clutch gear 4 and thetiming gear 21. Figures 12A and 12B show the states which are assumed during the normal recording operation. In the state of Figure 13A, thelead pin 7 is not at this position, though. Above theink absorber 23, theblade 17 and theink carrier 19 are disposed, although not shown in the Figure. - At this time, the
clutch gear 4 rotates together with the rotation of thelead screw 2. Since, however, the starting tooth 4c1 and the starting tooth 21b1 are out of an engageable positional relation (Figure 13A), thetiming gear 21 does not rotate. In addition, since the driving teeth 21b2 at the left end of thetiming gear 21 and theflange 21h are at the engageable (interferable) positions with a small clearance from theflange 4a, thetiming gear 21 is prevented from rotation in any direction. - Therefore, the
timing gear 21 does not rotate unintentionally even if an erroneous manual force is applied or an unexpected rotational force is applied to thetiming gear 21. Thus, the operating position of the recovery system is prevented from deviating. - When the
recording head 9 is moved toward the home position to such an extent that thecarrier 6 urges theclutch gear 4, the positional relation between theclutch gear 4 and thetiming gear 21 becomes finally as shown in Figure 13B. During the process, the engageable positional relation is established between the starting tooth 4c1 and the starting tooth 21b1 (at this time, however, thelead pin 7 is not yet at this position). - Then, with the movement of the
lead pin 7 of thecarriage 6 from thegroove 3c to thegroove 3b of the lead screw 2 (Figure 2), theclutch gear 4 rotates in the clockwise direction in Figure 12A, by which the positional relation changes from the state shown in Figure 12A to the state shown in Figure 12C. Until the starting tooth 4c1 is engaged with the starting tooth 21b1, thetiming gear 21 does not move unintentionally to engage first the other teeth, since thecurved surface portion 4b (non-engaging portion) shown in Figure 11 is closest to thetiming gear 21. - Therefore, the engagement between the
clutch gear 4 and thetiming gear 21 always starts by the engagement between the starting teeth thereof, so that the rotation of thetiming gear 21 starts from the correct position at all times. - This assures the correct operation of the recovery system driven through the
timing gear 21. - An additional advantage is that the mounting positional accuracies of the
clutch gear 4 and thetiming gear 21 are not required to be very high. - The driving tooth 21b3 of the
timing gear 21 provided at the different position shown in Figure 7B is brought into engagement when thecurved surface portion 4b is contacted again to thetiming gear 21. If these driving teeth are at the same position as the driving teeth 21b2, they are contacted to thecurved portion 4b. Therefore, the driving teeth are engaged at the deviated position. - As long as the
timing gear 21 is rotated by the engagement of the driving teeth, thehook 6c of thecarrier 6 slides on the surface of thetiming gear 21 opposite from the recording region. - By doing so, the
recording head 9 is prevented from aparting from the home position which may occur when thelead pin 7 is away from thegroove 3b before the engagement between the predetermined teeth, for example). This is because thelead screw 2 rotates during the recovery processing operation with therecording head 9 at the home position, so that thelead pin 7 can move to thegroove 3c. - In the foregoing embodiment, the series of recovery operation is effected by two rotations of the lead screw, but this is not limiting, and the degree of the rotation may be properly selected by one skilled in the art. Thus, the latitude in the design of the clutch mechanism or the like can be increased.
- Referring to Figures 14A, 14B, 14C, 14D, 15A, 15B, 15C, 16A and 16B, and also referring to Figures 12A, 12B, 12C, 13A and 13B, the operation will be described. Figures 14A, 14B, 14C and 14D illustrate various operational states of the mechanism including the
blade 17 or the like; Figures 15A, 15B and 15C illustrate sequential operational states of the mechanism including thecap 35; and Figures 16A and 16B illustrate the operation of a mechanism for introducing the residual ink into aresidual ink container 37 within theroller 36. - First, the
carrier 6 moves to the home position in the direction indicated by an arrow B. At this time, as shown in Figure 13A, thelead pin 7 is engaged with thelead groove 2a, and theejection outlets 9c of thehead element 9a are at a position facing to the ink carrier 19 (Figure 14A). At this position, all of the energy generating elements of thehead element 9a for producing the energy contributable to ejecting the ink are driven to eject the ink therethrough (preliminary ejection) by which the ink having a slightly increased viscosity or the like is ejected. Then, the recovery operation using the preliminary ejection is terminated. Also, the preliminary ejection may be effected at this position, periodically in order to prevent the viscosity of the ink from increasing adjacent such ejection outlets as are not used in the normal recording operation. Figure 14A is a side view at this position. - As shown in Figure 13B, when the rotation of the
lead screw 2 moves thecarrier 6 in the direction B, theclutch gear 4 is pushed by the urgingportion 6a, so that theclutch gear 4 is moved in the same direction (B) to shift the start tooth 4c1 to a position for engagement with the start tooth 21b1 of thetiming gear 21. Thereafter, theclutch gear 4 rotates in synchronism with thelead screw 2, by which the start teeth are engaged with each other, so that thetiming gear 21 rotates in the direction D, as shown in Figure 14B. On the other hand, thelead pin 7 is guided in thepositioning groove 3b from theintroduction groove 3c, and, therefore, thecarrier 6 does not move even if thelead screw 2 rotates. - When the
timing gear 21 rotates in the direction D, the settinglever 20 starts to rotate in a direction E, since the gear of thetiming gear 21 is meshed with the gear of the settinglever 20. Until this point of time, theblade lever 16 has not been moved since thehook 16c of theblade lever 16 is engaged with a pawl of thebase frame 1, and only the settinglever 20 rotates. Sooner or later, the settingsurface 20f of the settinglever 20 rotates in a direction F, while pushing down the rotatable member 18a of theblade shaft 18, and, therefore, theblade 17 rotates in a direction G to be set into a state engageable to the ejection side surface. - When the
timing gear 21 further rotates in the direction D, thehook 16c of theblade lever 16 is released from the pawl of thebase frame 1, and the settinglever 20 and theblade lever 16 also rotate further. As shown in Figure 14C, theblade 17 wipes the ejection side surface of therecording head element 9a. The residual ink or the like removed by theblade 17 is directed only in one direction, that is, downwardly, in this embodiment. The ink liquid or the like thus removed is absorbed by or retained on the top portion of theink carrier 19. At this time, theink carrier 19 is started to contact theink absorber 23. When the settinglever 20 rotates further, theink carrier 19 and theblade 17 slide on the surface of the cleaner 23a of theink absorber 23, by which the ink received by theink carrier 19 during the preliminary ejection, the foreign matter removed by theblade 17 from the ejection outlet side surface or the like are received by the cleaner 23a, and, in addition, the droplets of ink deposited on the ejection side surface can be absorbed. Accordingly, the ink absorbing power of theink carrier 19 can be maintained for a long period of time. - The
timing gear 21 rotates further in the direction D. Since, however, the stoppingteeth 20a and 20b of the settinglever 20 are faced to and contacted to the stoppingcam 21a of thetiming gear 21, the rotation of the settinglever 20 is stopped, and, simultaneously, the driving teeth absent portion of thetiming gear 21 is presented, and, therefore, the rotating drive is not applied. - As described, the absorber for retaining the ink or the like removed by the blade also functions as an ink receptor for the preliminary ejection, by which the size of the apparatus can be reduced, and also, the time required for the recovery operation can be reduced.
- The
timing gear 21 further rotates. Since thecapping cam 21c of thetiming gear 21 controls therotational shaft 32a of thecap lever 32c shown in Figure 8, at the initial stage, thecap 35 is at rest at a position away from the ejection side surface of thehead element 9a, as shown in Figure 15A. When thetiming gear 21 further rotates in the direction D, thecapping cam 21c is released, so that, as shown in Figure 15B, therotating lever 24f of thecylinder 24 is urged by thespring 22b of theink absorbing spring 22. This rotates thecylinder 24 in the direction F. Then, the cappingportion 35a of thecap 35 is brought into press-contact with the ejection side surface, thus accomplishing the capping operation. As will be understood, the cappingportion 35a is brought into contact to the ejection side surface gradually from the bottom portion. By doing so, the air in the space between the cappingportion 35a and the ejection side surface can be pushed out without pushing back the meniscus of the ink in the ink ejection passages of the recording head. Figure 13B is a top plan view in this state. As will be understood, the urging force of the cap closely contacts the sealingsurface 32d to thecap seal portion 35d. - The foregoing is the cleaning and capping operation for the ejection side surface. Normally, the operation stops here, and in response to the subsequent production of the recording signal, the reverse operation is performed, and then the recording operation is started.
- Then, the description will be made as to a sucking recovery operation which is performed when a good ejection is not accomplished even by the preliminary ejection.
- When this is started, the
timing gear 21 is further rotated from the capping position, by which thecap lever 32 is urged by thecapping cam 21c to displace thecap 35 slightly away from the ejection side surface, as shown in Figure 15C. - When the
timing gear 21 rotates further in the direction D, it is released from thecapping cam 21c, again, so that the cappingportion 35a is press-contacted to the ejection side surface. - The pumping action will be described. When the recovery operation is started after the completion of the capping operation, the sucking operation is started.
- The rotation of the
timing gear 21 causes the piston setting cam 21f to push thepiston urging roller 29 mounted on thepiston shaft 27, by which thepiston shaft 27 moves in a direction H, as shown in Figure 16A. Thepiston 28 is pushed by thepiston confining collar 27b and is moved in the direction H. Then, thegroove 27f is closed, so that a level of vacuum is established in thepumping chamber 42. Since a skin layer is provided at the outer periphery of thepiston 28 and at the contact surface with thepiston confining collar 27b, the ink is prevented from leaking through the continuous pores of the foam material. - Since the
ink passage 24e of thecylinder 24 is closed by thepiston 28, thepiston 28 is movable only to increase the vacuum of the pumpingchamber 42. On the other hand, after the recapping operation described above, theink passage 24e is opened, as shown in Figure 16A, so that the ink is sucked from thehead 9 through the suckingport 35b of thecap 35. The sucked ink flows through theink passage 32f formed within thecap lever 32, the communicatinghole 33a of thelever seal 33 and through theink passage 24e of thecylinder 24 into the pumpingchamber 42. - With the continued rotation of the
timing gear 21, thecap 35 is again slightly moved away from the ejection side surface of the recording head by thecapping cam 21h, upon which the ink is sucked from the ejection side surface and from the inside of thecap 35 by the vacuum remaining in thepumping chamber 42 to remove the residual ink from these portions. - Then, the
timing gear 21 is rotated in the reverse direction (opposite from the direction shown by the arrow in Figure 14D), the piston resetting cam 21i pulls thepiston resetting roller 30, by which, as shown in Figure 16B, thepiston shaft 27 is moved in a direction indicated by an arrow J. When this occurs, since thepiston 28 moves only after it is contacted to thepiston receiving portion 27c of thepiston shaft 27, a clearance Δl is provided between theend surface 28b of thepiston 28 and thepiston confining collar 27b. Then, by the movement of thepiston shaft 27 and thepiston 28, the residual ink absorbed in thepumping chamber 42 is discharged to the neighborhood of a center of the residualink absorbing material 37 through the above-described clearance Δl, thegroove 27f of thepiston shaft 27, theink passage 24c of thecylinder 24, and theink passage 24h of theresidual ink pipe 24g. Here, theink passage 24e of thecylinder 24 is closed by thepiston 28 at the initial stage of thepiston 28 operation, and, therefore, the residual ink does not flow reversely toward thecap 35. - Figure 17 shows in summary the sequential operations for the preliminary ejection and the sucking recovery. However, the shown sequence is for the case in which the
blade 17 is awaited in the operable state (setting state shown in Figure 14B); then, theblade 17 becomes inclined with respect to theabsorber 23 after the wiping operation (reset state shown in Figure 14A); and, thereafter, theblade 17 is set to the operative position immediately before the settinglever 20 restores its original position. - Referring to Figures 3A and 3B, the description will be made as to the recording medium feeding mechanism from the recording operation to the sheet discharge operation.
- In these Figures, the sheet confining plate is made of fluorinated resin or a material in which carbon fibers are mixed. It urges the supplied recording sheet or paper to maintain a predetermined gap between the recording sheet and the ejection side surface of the
recording head 9. The confining force of thesheet confining plates 38 is provided by the spring 38D. Figures 18A and 18B show details of the mechanism. - In Figure 18A, the
sheet confining plates 38 apply the confining force to the sheet feeding roller. Theshaft 38A has a "D" shape (a part of its circumference is cutaway into a straight surface) and is in slidable relation with thesheet confining plates 38 in the rotational direction. In the state of this Figure, the straight portion of theshaft 38A is at such a position that it is contacted to theend 38F of the spring plate 38D. Therefore, theend 38E of theplate 38 is urged upwardly by the spring plate 38D. Accordingly, the confiningplate 38 is urged to rotate in the clockwise direction about an axis of theshaft 38A to apply the confining force to thesheet feeding roller 36. - On the other hand, Figure 18B shows the state in which the urging force by the
sheet confining plate 38 is released. When theshaft 38A rotates so that the arcuate portion of theshaft 38A urges theend 38F, the spring plate 38D is entirely urged downwardly, and, therefore, theend 38E is not urged by the spring plate 38D. - In this released state, the
shaft 38A and thesheet confining plate 38 are engaged with each other with a certain degree of friction, so that thesheet confining plate 38 is prevented from changing the rotational position to a large extent. Therefore, even when the necessity occurs to release the urging by thesheet confining plate 38, the movement of the recording head or the like is not obstructed by thesheet confining plate 38. - The sheet confining mechanism described above is capable of providing such urging force as not to prevent the proper conveyance of the recording sheet by the
sheet feeding roller 36 within a limited space. - More particularly, the sheet confining plates themselves are not made of elastic material, and the urging force is provided by the leaf springs disposed on the
bottom base frame 1 which is usually an empty space, and, therefore, the latitude for the urging force adjustment accomplished by the adjustment of the length of the leaf spring is increased. In addition, the size of the sheet confining members can be reduced. - The leaf spring 38D is mounted on the
base frame 1 by an unshown mounting member. - Referring back to Figures 3A and 3B, a sheet discharging roller functions to discharge the recording sheet having been subjected to the recording operation.
Rowels 61 function to confine the recording sheet conveyed by the dischargingroller 60 to confine the sheet discharge direction of the recording sheet and to provide conveying force therefor. - A
transmission roller 62 is disposed between thesheet discharging roller 60 and thesheet feeding roller 36 to transmit the rotation of thesheet feeding roller 36 to thesheet discharging roller 60. The transmission of the rotation is effected by the friction force provided by the contact therebetween. Thesheet discharging roller 60 is generally cylindrical, but the diameter at the opposite end portions thereof is different from that at the central portion. Thetransmission roller 62 is contacted to the central portion of the dischargingroller 60 which has the smaller diameter. Therefore, the opposite end portions having the large diameter and functioning to convey the recording sheet rotate at a larger peripheral speed than thesheet conveying roller 36. Thus, when the sheet is discharged, the recording sheet is slightly stretched, so that the recording surface can be maintained in good order. - The rotational shafts of the
transmission roller 62 and therowels 61 are made of coil springs having a proper elasticity coefficient. The mechanism will be described in detail, taking therowel 61 as an example, referring to Figure 19. - In Figure 19, a
shaft 61A is made of a coil spring extending through the center of therowels 61 at the opposite sides thereof, and is rotatably engaged with therowels 61.Bearings 103B support opposite ends of theshaft 61A, and are formed as a part of theinner cover 103 shown in Figure 1. Thebearings 103B support theshaft 61A for sliding movement in the longitudinal direction. Limitingmembers 103C limit the movement of therowel 61 in the direction of the rotational axis and in the direction perpendicular thereto. They are disposed at opposite sides of therowel 61, and are formed as a part of theinner cover 103. - By the structure described above, the
shaft 61A supports therowels 61, and, simultaneously, provides an urging force of therowels 61 to the dischargingrollers 60 by its resilient force. - The
inner cover 103 has aspring 103A formed at the rear end thereof, as shown in Figure 3A to receive an urging force toward thesheet discharging roller 60 by the reaction force from thecase 101. By the cooperation between the urging force and the resilient force of therotational shaft 61A, therowels 61 provide a proper urging force to thesheet discharging rollers 60. - Since the
inner cover 103 receives the urging force, the engagement is assured between the fixingmember 103D of theinner cover 103 and therotational shaft 60C of the dischargingrollers 60, as shown in Figure 3A. As a result, the positional relation between therowels 61 and the dischargingroller 60 are maintained constant at all times. Alternatively, by abutting and fixing therotational shaft 60C to a locking member or the like, the highly accurate relation can be maintained irrespective of the accuracy of the inner cover. - The function of the
rotational shaft 62A made of a coil spring is the same as that of thetransmission roller 62. More particularly, by the resilient force of theshaft 62A, the contact pressure to thesheet feeding roller 36 and thesheet discharging roller 60 is provided. - As described in the foregoing, the discharging
roller 60 has a smaller diameter in the longitudinal central portion than in the opposite portions. This will be described in detail in conjunction with Figure 20. - In Figure 20, a
cover member 60A is made of rubber material. Acore member 60D is cylindrical, but the diameter at its opposite ends is larger than that at the center. Thesheet discharging roller 60 is produced by covering thecore member 60D with acylindrical cover member 60A. - Therefore, it is not necessary to integrally form rubber material or the like into the shape, and, therefore, the sheet discharging roller can be produced relatively easily and at lower cost.
- A
groove 60B (Figure 3A) continuously formed adjacent an end of thesheet discharging roller 60 is effective to lock an end portion of the recording sheet when the recording sheet is discharged by the dischargingroller 60, so that the sheet discharging operation is assured even when the position of the recording sheet is deviated. - The configuration of the
core member 60D is not limited to that described above. For example, it may be an extension ofgrooves 60B having a smaller central portion, if it is formed into a cylinder by covering it with rubber material. - Referring to Figures 21 and 22, the description will be made as to the case in which the ink jet recording apparatus of this embodiment is vertically placed and operated.
- When the apparatus is placed vertically, it can be used with an automatic
cut sheet feeder 200 or it can be used with a thick material such as envelope which is supplied through a supply inlet at the backside of the apparatus. - When the normal recording sheets usable with the automatic feeder are used, the
top cover 102 can be used as a stacking tray for the recording sheets. In this case, thetop cover 102 is fixed at an angle which is different from the angle when thetop cover 102 is used as a sheet guide for the supply of sheets. - The use of the
top cover 102 as the stacker will be considered. - The
top cover 102 is situated in such a manner that the discharged recording sheet is conveyed in the air to a certain extent due to the rigidity thereof and is first contacted to thetop cover 102 or the top of the stacked sheets, adjacent atop end 102A of thetop cover 102. By doing so, the sheet being discharged slides on the topmost of the already stacked sheets only within a limited range, that is, in the neighborhood of the leading edge of the recording sheet. This minimizes the sliding movement of the recording sheet, so that the contamination of the recording sheet by the insufficiently fixed ink can be prevented. - To accomplish this, in this embodiment, the
top end portion 102A is placed adjacent to the sheet discharging line, that is adjacent to the common tangent line between thesheet feeding roller 36 and thesheet discharging roller 60, and, in addition, the bottom end portion 102B is lower than thetop end portion 102A. - Additionally, the arrangement is such that, when the trailing edge of the recording sheet stopped on the
top end portion 102A is completedly discharged, the sheet falls at the position without slide on the stack. - To accomplish this, the length of the
top cover 102 measured in the sheet discharge direction, that is, the length from thetop end 102A to the bottom end 102B, is important. Where the recording sheet is a usual sheet, and where the sheet is discharged substantially horizontally, the length is 60 - 90 %, preferably 70 - 80 % of the length of the recording sheet. - If the structure of the recording apparatus is different, if the using conditions are different, or if the sheet discharging direction is different, the length of the stacking tray is determined in consideration of the above by one skilled in the art.
- In Figures 21 and 22, designated by a
reference numeral 108 is a tongue for preventing that the stacked recording sheet is introduced into thesheet feeding inlet 106. - Referring to Figures 23 - 28, the
recording head 9 and thecarrier 6 will be described in detail. - Figure 23 is a perspective view showing the outer appearance of the
recording head 9 comprising as a unit anejection element 9a and anink container 9b. Apawl 906e is engaged with a hook of a carrier when therecording head 9 is mounted on thecarrier 6. As will be understood from the Figure, thepawl 906e is within an entire length, that is, within the length measured without thepawl 906e. Adjacent theejection element 9a at the front side of therecording head 9, an abutment positioning portion is provided, although not shown in this Figure. Anopening 906f is formed in the head for receiving a supporting plate which is projected from thecarrier 6 to support a flexible substrate and a rubber pad. - Figures 24A and 24B are an exploded perspective and an outer appearance perspective view of the ink jet recording head shown in Figure 23. As described in the foregoing, it is a disposable type recording head having an integral ink container (ink supply source).
- In Figure 24A, designated by a reference numeral 110 is a heater board having a Si substrate, electrothermal transducer elements (ejection heaters) and aluminum or the like lead lines for supplying electric power thereto, wherein the transducer elements and the lead lines are produced by a thin film process. The heater board 110 is electrically connected with a
wiring board 210, and the corresponding lines are connected by wire bonding. - The recording head is provided with a
top plate 400 having partition walls for defining ink passages and an ink chamber. In this embodiment, thetop plate 400 is made of resin material having an integral orifice plate. - A supporting
member 300 made of metal and a confiningspring 500 are engaged with each other with the heater board 110 and thetop plate 400 sandwiched therebetween, so that the heater board 110 and thetop plate 400 are clamped by the urging force provided by the confiningspring 500. To the supportingmember 300, thewiring board 210 may be bonded, and the supportingmember 300 may provide a positioning reference relative to thecarrier 6. The supportingmember 300 also functions as an element for irradiating the heat of theheater board 100 resulting from the driving of the electrothermal transducer. Anink supply chamber 600 receives ink from theink container 9b (ink supply source), and functions as a subordinate container for supplying ink to the common chamber defined by bonding thetop plate 400 to the heater board 110. Afilter 700 is disposed in thesupply chamber 600 adjacent the ink supply port to the common chamber. Thesupply chamber 600 is covered by acover 800. - The
ink container 9b contains anink absorbing material 900. Anink supply port 1200 supplies ink to theejection unit 9a, having the various parts 110 - 800. Before theejection unit 9a is mounted to aportion 1010 of theink container 9b, the ink is injected through thesupply port 1200, by which the ink is absorbed by the absorbingmaterial 900. - The cartridge has a
cover 1100 which is provided with ahole 1301 for providing communication between the inside of the cartridge and the ambience. In thehole 1301, there is provided a water repellent material, by which the ink is prevented from leaking through thehole 1301. - When the ink is filled in the
ink container 9b through thesupply port 1200, theejection unit 9a comprising various elements 110 - 800 is positioned relative to theportion 1010. The correct positioning therebetween is accomplished byprojections 1012 of theink container 9b andcorresponding openings 312 formed in the supportingmember 300. Thus, therecording head 9 in the form of a cartridge as shown in Figure 24b is manufactured. - The ink is supplied to the
supply chamber 600 from the inside of the cartridge through thesupply port 1200, ahole 320 of the supportingmember 300 and an inlet opening of thesupply container 600 at the backside in Figure 24A. From thesupply chamber 600, the ink is supplied into the common chamber through a supply pipe and anink inlet 420 of thetop plate 400. In the connecting portions in the ink supply line, suitable gasket made of silicone rubber or butyl rubber or the like is mounted for the sealing to assure the ink supply. - Figures 25A, 25B and 25C are a top plan view, a left side view and right side view of the
carrier 6. - A supporting
plate 606 is projected from the bottom of thecarrier 6. It supports aflexible substrate 604, and arubber pad 605 which hasprojections 605A corresponding to contact pads formed on thesubstrate 604. - An
abutment member 607 is projected from the bottom of thecarrier 6 adjacent its front end. The thickness of theabutment member 607 is desirably as small as possible in order to provide maximum volume for the ink container within the limited space on thecarrier 6. Therefore, themember 607 has threeribs 608 to provide mechanical strength thereof. Theribs 608 extend in a direction ofcarrier 6 movement to provide a strength against the rotational direction upon the mounting or dismounting of the recording head relative to thecarrier 6. In addition, theribs 608 have a dimension such that they are approximately 0.1 mm beyond the ejection side surface when therecording head 9 is mounted. By doing so, the recording sheet is prevented from rubbing the ejection side surface, and, therefore, from damaging the ejection side surface, even if the recording sheet is present in the recording head moving path for some reason or another. - A
contact lever 602 is operated when the recording head is to be mounted on or dismounted from thecarrier 6. It is rotatably supported on a shaft 601d of thecarrier 6. Acontact hook 603 is partly contactable to therecording head 9 for the mounting and dismounting of therecording head 9 by operation in engagement with a part of thecontact lever 602. Thehook 603 has an elongated slot 603c which is guided by aguide pin 601c mounted on thecarrier 6 in the mounting and dismounting operation. - The mounting and dismounting mechanism including the
contact lever 602, thecontact hook 603 or the like is disposed at a side of thecarrier 6, that is, at a side in thecarrier 6 movement direction, and, therefore, the mechanism does not require a large dead space to permit movement of the carrier. - The description will be made as to the abutment portions for the positioning of the recording head. The
abutment portions 601a are effective to the positioning in the left-right direction, and two of them are at a side of theabutment member 607. As for the left-right direction positioning, anabutment portion 601f on the supportingplate 606 is used in addition to theabutment portions 601a. - An
abutment portion 601b is formed at a side and bottom portion of theabutment member 607 to position the recording head in a front-rear direction. - The
abutment portions 601c are for the positioning in the vertical direction, and two of them are formed at a side and bottom of theabutment member 607 and at a side bottom portion of the supportingplate 606, respectively. - Figures 26A and 26B are a top plan view and a side view when the
recording head 9 is mounted on thecarrier 6. - An
abutment portion 906a is formed on therecording head 9 for the abutment to thecarrier 6, and theabutment portions abutment portions - Referring to Figure 26A, the engagements in the various portions will be described when the recording head is mounted on the carrier.
- The
abutment portion 906a of therecording head 9 abuts theabutment portion 601a of thecarrier 6, and simultaneously, thepawl 906e of therecording head 9 is urged toward left in the Figure by the urging force of thecoil spring 607a through thehook 603 engaged therewith. Thus, therecording head 9 receives a moment about the abutment portion. At this time, thesubstrate 906d of the recording head is abutted to theabutment portion 601f, by which therecording head 9 is correctly positioned in the left-right direction, and the position is retained. - Also, at this time, the
projections 605A of therubber pad 605 are compressed and deformed by the abutment with thesubstrate 906d. By the deformation, a press-contact force is produced between the contact pads of theflexible substrate 604 and the contacts of theboard 906d. In this case, since thesubstrate 906d is contacted to theabutment portions 601f, the amount of deformation of theprojections 605A is constant, so that the press-contact force is stable. - In the Figure, the compressed and deformed state of the
projections 605A is not shown. - As will be described hereinafter, the positioning of the
recording head 9 in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction has already been accomplished during the mounting process. - Figure 27 is a top plan view of the
carrier 6 before the recording head is mounted, thecontact lever 602 being omitted in this Figure for sake of simplicity. - In the state shown in this Figure, the
contact lever 602 is retracted (toward rear) (Figure 25B), and, at this time, the position of the contact hook is as shown in Figure 27. The carrier waits for therecording head 9 to be mounted with this position. - Figures 28A, 28B and 28C are top plan views showing the process of the recording head being mounted. The
recording head 9 is moved close to thecarrier 6 from above thecarrier 6 so that theopening 906f receives the supportingplate 606. At this time, as shown in Figure 28A, therecording head 9 is mounted on thecarrier 6 with inclination because of the positional relationship among theabutment member 607, the supportingplate 606 and thecontact hook 603 and because of the relation between the total length of therecording head 9 and theopening 906f. - When the
contact lever 602 is rotated in the counterclockwise direction (Figure 25B), thecontact hook 603 rotates in the counterclockwise direction about theshaft 601e, and, thereafter, when it becomes horizontal, it moves toward left into the state shown in Figure 28B. - In compliance with this movement of the
contact hook 603, therecording head 9 is urged at the upper left part in this Figure by the engagement with thecontact hook 603. Then, theabutment portion 906a of the recording head slides to abut on theabutment portion 601a, and thecontact portion 906b is abutted to theabutment portion 601b. In this state, thesubstrate 906d and theflexible substrate 604 are not contacted. - With the further counterclockwise rotation of the
contact lever 602, thecontact hook 603 is moved further leftwardly. During this, it moves the engagingpawl 906c, and, therefore, therecording head 9 rotates in the clockwise direction about the abutment between theabutment portions recording head 9 on thecarrier 6 is determined. - The front-rear and vertical positions are determined during the process of the mounting.
- In the state shown in Figure 28C, the
contact lever 602 is urged toward left by thecoil spring 607a in the inside of the rotational shaft, as described hereinbefore, and the urging force is effective to fix therecording head 9 onto thecarrier 6 through thecontact hook 603. - As will be understood from the foregoing, the mounting of the recording head in this embodiment includes a translational movement and a rotational movement of the recording head, and the angle of rotation is approximately 5 degrees.
- Since the recording head is mounted with a small rotational angle, no particular space is required for the mounting of the recording head.
- Referring to Figures 25A and 26A, the relationship will be described between the contact lever and the contact hook.
- As shown in these Figures, the
contact lever 602 is provided with twoflat surfaces recording head 9 is fixed (Figure 28C), thesurface 602a is engaged to a portion 603a of thecontact hook 603 to apply an urging force to thehook 603. - The relationship between the
lever 602 and thehook 603 during the recording head dismounting process will be described. Thecontact lever 602 is rotated from the state shown in Figure 26A in a direction opposite from that in the mounting process, thecam surface 602c of the contact lever rotates in contact with thecam surface 603b of the contact hook. Then, thecontact hook 603 moves toward the right until the left end of the elongate slot 603c abuts theshaft 601e of thecarrier 6. Thereafter, it rotates in the clockwise direction about theshaft 601e. When the abutment surface of thecontact lever 602 reaches theflat surface 602b, it abuts an end of thecam surface 603b of thecontact hook 603, so that the state shown in Figure 25A is reached. - In the process from the state of Figure 26A to the state of Figure 25A, the
recording head 9 is pushed out by the portion 603d of the contact hook. - The present invention is particularly suitable for use with a bubble jet recording head and a bubble jet recording apparatus proposed by Canon Kabushiki Kaisha, Japan.
- Preferably, the recording head and the apparatus is of the type disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 4,723,129 and 4,740,796 which disclose a typical structure and the operational principle. The structure and the principle are applicable to a so-called on-demand type recording system and a so-called continuous type recording system. Particularly, however, the bubble jet structure and principle are suitable for the on-demand type because the principle is, in brief, such that at least one driving signal is applied to an electrothermal transducer disposed on a liquid (ink) retaining sheet or passage, the driving signal being enough to provide such a quick temperature rise beyond a departure from nucleation boiling point, by which the thermal energy is provided to produce the film boiling at the heating portion of the recording head, upon which a bubble can be formed in response to the driving signal. By the development and contraction of the bubble, the liquid is ejected through an ejection outlet to produce at least one droplet. The driving signal is preferably in the form of a pulse, because the development and contraction of the bubble can occur instantaneously, and, therefore, the liquid is ejected with quick response. The driving signal in the form of a pulse is preferably such as disclosed in U.S. Patents No. 4,463,359 and 4,345,262. In addition, the temperature increasing rate of the heating surface is preferably as disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 4,313,124.
- The structure of the recording head may comprise the combination of the ejection outlet, the liquid passage and the electrothermal transducer as disclosed in the above mentioned U.S. Patents (linear liquid passage or rectangular liquid passage), or may be the one disclosed in U.S. Patents Nos. 4,558,333 and 4,459,600 in which the heating portion is disposed at a bent portion. The present invention is also applicable to the structure disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 123670/1984 in which a common slit is used as the ejection outlets for plural electrothermal transducers, and also to the structure disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 138/1984 in which an opening for absorbing pressure waves of the thermal energy is formed corresponding to the ejecting portion.
- The present invention is effectively applicable to a so-called full-line type recording head having a length covering the maximum recording width. Such a recording head may comprise a long single recording head or a plural recording heads combined to cover the entire width.
- The present invention is also effectively applicable to a recording head in the form of an exchangeable chip which is electrically connected with and supplied with ink from the main assembly of the recording apparatus when mounted on the main assembly, or in the form of a cartridge type recording head integrally mounted.
- The provision of the recovery means or the auxiliary means for the preliminary operation is preferable, because it can further stabilize the advantageous effects of the present invention. As for examples of such means, there are capping means for capping the recording head, cleaning means for cleaning the recording head, pressure applying means or sucking means for applying pressure to or sucking the liquid in the passage, preliminary heating means using the ejecting electrothermal transducers or by a combination of the ejecting thermal transducer and additional heating means, and means for effecting preliminary ejection of the liquid not for the recording operation. They can stabilize the recording operation.
- As regards the recording mode of the recording apparatus, it is not limited to the record only by a main color such as black. The present invention is effectively applicable to a recording apparatus having an integral recording head or a combination of plural recording heads for the recording operation at least one of the multi-color mode using different colors and a full-color mode using color mixture.
- In the foregoing embodiment, the ink has been described as liquid. However, it may be an ink material which is solid at the room temperature or an ink material which is softened at the room temperature. Since in the ink jet recording system, the ink is usually controlled within the temperature not lower than 30 °C and not higher than 70 °C to stabilize the viscosity of the ink to stabilize the ejection, the ink may be such that it is liquid when the recording signal is applied in use. The present invention is applicable to the ink which is liquefied by application of the thermal energy thereto. In an example of such a type, the thermal energy is positively consumed for the phase change from the solid state to the liquid state so as to suppress the temperature rise by the thermal energy. In another example, the ink is solidified when left as it is, for the purpose of preventing the evaporation. In these examples, the ink is liquefied by the application of the thermal energy thereto in response to the recording signal, and the liquefied ink is ejected. In one example, the ink already starts to be solidified when reaching the recording medium. Such an ink material may be retained as liquid or solid ink in holes or recesses formed in a porous sheet as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application Nos. 56847/1989 and 71260/1985. In this case, the sheet is faced to the electrothermal transducers.
- The most effective actuation of the above-described ink is to cause film boiling thereof.
Claims (8)
- An ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means (6, 9) for depositing ink onto a recording medium (40) which is disposed in a recording region, said ink jet recording apparatus comprising a recovery means (15 - 35) for contacting an ink ejection side surface (9a) of said recording means (6, 9) to clean or cover it, said recording means (6, 9) being movable relative to said recording medium (40) to effect recording on the latter within a recording region, and movable to the outside of said recording region to oppose said recovery means (15 - 35), characterized by a shaft (51) engageable with a portion of said recording means (6, 9) and rotatable about an eccentric axis to change the positional relation between said recording means (6, 9) and said recording medium (40), said shaft (51) having an eccentric portion for permitting the change of a gap between said recording means (6, 9) and said recording medium (40) in said recording region, and a portion (51a) for maintaining a predetermined positional relation between said recording means (6, 9) and said recovery means (15 - 35) outside said recording region, irrespective of said gap between said recording means (6, 9) and said recording medium (40) in said recording region.
- An apparatus according to claim 1, characterized by a driving means (2 - 5, 7, 8, 11 - 13) for moving said recording means (6, 9) in a direction different from the direction in which said recording medium (40) is fed, wherein said shaft (51) is capable of guiding said recording means (6, 9) when it is moved by said driving means (2 - 5, 7, 8, 11 - 13).
- An apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that said driving means (2 - 5, 7, 8, 11 - 13) comprises a lead screw (2, 2a).
- An apparatus according to one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said recording means (6, 9) includes an electrothermal transducer for producing energy by which the ink is ejected from said recording means (6, 9).
- An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising a carriage (6) for carrying a recording means (9) for depositing ink onto a recording medium (40), a shaft (2) for guiding said carriage (6), and a recovery means (15 - 35) for contacting an ink ejection side surface (9a) of said recording means (9) to clean or cover it, wherein said carriage (6) is movable in a direction different from the direction in which said recording medium (40) is fed, characterized by a moving means (1h, 1k, 1l, 50, 50a - 50e) for moving said shaft (2) and said recovery means (15 - 35) as one, in order to adjust a gap between said recording means (9) and said recording medium (40), whereby the positional relation between said recovery means (15 - 35) and said recording means (9) is maintained constant independently of the positional relation between the latter and said recording medium (40).
- An apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that said moving means (1h, 1k, 1l, 50, 50a - 50e) includes a first moving member (50b) for moving a plate-like supporting member (50) on which said recovery means (15 - 35) is mounted, and a second moving member (50a) for moving said shaft (2).
- An apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, characterized in that said recovery means (15 - 35) includes a capping mechanism (35), a cleaning blade (17) and a driving source (11) therefor, wherein said driving source (11) applies a rotational force to said shaft (2) via a transmission mechanism (12, 13), and wherein said shaft (2) has a lead screw (2, 2a) for moving said carriage (6) by the rotation of said lead screw (2, 2a).
- An apparatus according to one of the claims 5 to 7, characterized in that said recording means (9) includes an electrothermal transducer for producing heat by which the ink is ejected from said recording means (9).
Applications Claiming Priority (4)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP241078/89 | 1989-09-18 | ||
JP1241078A JP2752722B2 (en) | 1989-09-18 | 1989-09-18 | Ink jet recording device |
JP241079/89 | 1989-09-18 | ||
JP24107989A JP2648372B2 (en) | 1989-09-18 | 1989-09-18 | Ink jet recording device |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0418815A2 EP0418815A2 (en) | 1991-03-27 |
EP0418815A3 EP0418815A3 (en) | 1992-01-08 |
EP0418815B1 true EP0418815B1 (en) | 1996-12-18 |
Family
ID=26535072
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP90117931A Expired - Lifetime EP0418815B1 (en) | 1989-09-18 | 1990-09-18 | An ink jet recording apparatus |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0418815B1 (en) |
AT (1) | ATE146405T1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69029443T2 (en) |
HK (1) | HK63697A (en) |
Families Citing this family (7)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0549989B1 (en) * | 1991-12-20 | 1997-04-09 | Seiko Epson Corporation | Paper supply mechanism in a printer |
JP3165722B2 (en) * | 1992-01-20 | 2001-05-14 | キヤノン株式会社 | Ink jet device |
FR2699155B1 (en) * | 1992-12-01 | 1995-03-03 | Canon Information Syst Res | Device for grouping or storing sheets. |
US6771378B2 (en) | 1994-10-20 | 2004-08-03 | Canon Kabushiki Kaisha | Information processing apparatus which obtains information concerning residual ink amount from an attached ink jet printer |
JP3326780B2 (en) * | 1995-04-28 | 2002-09-24 | セイコーエプソン株式会社 | Printer |
KR970000595A (en) * | 1995-06-13 | 1997-01-21 | 구자홍 | HEAD GAP ADJUSTMENT FOR INK JET PRINTER |
US6329479B1 (en) | 1997-04-17 | 2001-12-11 | Denki Kagaku Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha | Transition metal compound as catalyst component for polymerization, aromatic vinyl compound-olefin copolymer having stereoregularity and method for its preparation by means of the transition metal compound as catalyst component |
Family Cites Families (4)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
DE2754630C3 (en) * | 1977-12-08 | 1981-02-19 | Olympia Werke Ag, 2940 Wilhelmshaven | Method and medium for cleaning the nozzle surface on an ink recording head |
JPS60162655A (en) * | 1984-02-03 | 1985-08-24 | Nec Corp | Ink jet printer |
DE3528926A1 (en) * | 1985-08-12 | 1987-02-19 | Siemens Ag | Method and device for cleaning and closing the nozzles of a print head in an ink jet printing apparatus |
EP0306589B1 (en) * | 1987-09-09 | 1993-03-03 | MANNESMANN Aktiengesellschaft | Device for parallel justification of print head carriage guides relative to the platen in a printer, particularly in a matrix printer |
-
1990
- 1990-09-18 DE DE69029443T patent/DE69029443T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1990-09-18 EP EP90117931A patent/EP0418815B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-09-18 AT AT90117931T patent/ATE146405T1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
-
1997
- 1997-05-15 HK HK63697A patent/HK63697A/en not_active IP Right Cessation
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0418815A3 (en) | 1992-01-08 |
ATE146405T1 (en) | 1997-01-15 |
DE69029443D1 (en) | 1997-01-30 |
DE69029443T2 (en) | 1997-06-26 |
HK63697A (en) | 1997-05-23 |
EP0418815A2 (en) | 1991-03-27 |
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