US 8,132,891 B2Granted

Image recording apparatus

AssigneeBrother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha

InventorManabu Hibi

Life of this patent

Estimating the term…

Loading patent…

Abstract

An image recording apparatus including an ink-jet head having four ink supply passages, manifold passages communicating with the respective ink supply passages, and individual ink passages extending from the common passages to nozzles open in an ink ejecting surface, wherein groups of the nozzles communicating with the respective manifold passages are open in respective unit areas u1-u4 arranged on the ink ejecting surface. The apparatus further includes a wiping member which is moved by a moving mechanism to wipe the unit areas, an ink supply device for selectively supplying the ink supply passages with an ink to perform a purging action for discharging the ink from the nozzles, and a control device controlling the moving mechanism and the ink supply device such that before a wiping action of the wiping member in each unit area is initiated, the purging action in the following unit area as seen in a wiping direction has been initiated and such that the purging action in each unit area is completed immediately before the wiping action in that unit area is initiated.

Claims8

Dependent claims

An image recording apparatus comprising:

a liquid-droplet ejecting head which extends in one direction and which includes a plurality of incoming passages having respective inlets receiving a liquid, a plurality of common liquid passages communicating with the respective incoming passages, and a plurality of individual liquid passages extending from outlets of the common liquid passages to nozzles open in a liquid ejecting surface through pressure chambers;
a liquid supply device configured to selectively supply the liquid to said plurality of incoming passages;
a wiping member formed of an elastic material;
a moving mechanism for moving the wiping member in said one direction, in contact with the liquid ejecting surface;
and
a control device configured to control said liquid supply device and said moving mechanism,
and wherein said liquid ejecting surface has a plurality of unit areas which are arranged in said one direction such that a plurality of groups of said nozzles communicating with the respective incoming passages are open in the respective unit areas,
said control device controlling said liquid supply device so as to sequentially supply the liquid to the incoming passages corresponding to the respective unit areas, in the order of arrangement of the unit areas in said one direction, until a predetermined volume of the liquid is discharged from the nozzles in each of said unit areas, and controlling said moving mechanism such that said unit areas are sequentially wiped by the wiping member after the predetermined volume of the liquid is discharged from the nozzles in each of the unit areas

5 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.