EP0398347A2
Expired / Lapsed
EP
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An ink jet recording apparatus
Assignee: Canon Inc
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Filing: 1990-05-18
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2010-05-18
Abstract
Abstract An ink jet recording apparatus, including a plurality of recording heads (86A-86D) each having an ink outlet, a liquid passage communicating with the outlet and an ejection energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink through the outlet; a refresher for refreshing the ink in the passage by driving the ejection energy generating element to eject the ink when a recording operation of the apparatus is not performed; and a controller for changing a driving condition for the ejection energy generating element by the refresher for the recording heads.
Inventors
- 👤 Norifumi C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Koitabashi
- 👤 Haruo C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Uchida
- 👤 Hiroshi C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Tajika
- 👤 Hiromitsu C/O Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Hirabayashi
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-01 08:44
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/135; B41J2/165; B41J2/16517; B41J2/1652; B41J2/16505; B41J2/16508
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 9
Claim 1
Independent Claim
88 words
An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising a plurality of recording heads each having an ink outlet, a liquid passage communicating with the outlet and an ejection energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink through the outlet; means for refreshing the ink in said passage by driving said ejection energy generating element to eject the ink when a recording operation of said apparatus is not performed; and means for changing a driving condition for said ejection energy generating element by said refreshing means, for said recording heads.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
88 words
An ink jet recording apparatus, comprising a plurality of recording heads each having an ink outlet, a liquid passage communicating with the outlet and an ejection energy generating element for generating energy for ejecting ink through the outlet; means for refreshing the ink in said passage by driving said ejection energy generating element to eject the ink when a recording operation of said apparatus is not performed; and means for changing a driving condition for said ejection energy generating element by said refreshing means, for said recording heads.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
59 words
An apparatus according to Claim 1, further comprising a wiping member for sequentially wiping such surfaces of said recording heads as have the outlets, wherein said changing means drives more the ejection energy generating element of a said recording head wiped later by said wiping member than the ejection energy generating element of a said recording head wiped earlier.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
75 words
An apparatus according to Claim 1, further comprising a wiping member for sequentially wiping such surfaces of said recording heads as have the outlets, wherein said recording heads are operated with ink materials different at least in lightness, and said changing means drives more the ejection energy generating element of a said recording head used with a high lightness than the discharge energy generating element of a said recording head used with a low lightness.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
27 words
An apparatus according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein said ejection energy generating elements includes an electrothermal transducer for generating thermal energy as the ejection energy.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
47 words
An ink jet recording apparatus according to Claim 1, further comprising discharging means for forcedly discharging the ink through the outlet by applying pressure to said recording head, switching means for switching working time or pressure in accordance with the state of each of the recording heads.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
31 words
An apparatus according to Claim 5, wherein said discharging means includes a cube pump for contact with such surfaces of said recording head as have the outlets to suck the ink.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
76 words
An apparatus according to Claim 6, wherein said switching means includes means for actuating said discharge means when said apparatus is in stand-by state and means for starting said discharging means each time a predetermined mount of recording operation is completed, wherein the pressure or the working time is decreased in the forced discharging each time the completion of the recording operation of the predetermined amount than in the forced discharging operation in the stand-by state.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
28 words
An apparatus according to Claim 5, wherein said ejection energy generating element is in the form of an electrothermal transducer for producing thermal energy as the ejection energy.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
No citation records indexed.
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