1. A liquid ejection apparatus comprising:
a liquid ejection head having a nozzle through which a liquid is ejected;
a maintenance portion that maintains the liquid ejection head;
a pressure source that applies pressure to the maintenance portion; and
a valve unit that controls the pressure applied from the pressure source to the maintenance portion,
wherein the valve unit includes:
a valve body movable in a first direction and a second direction opposite to the first direction;
a first passage defining member and a second passage defining member that are located at opposite sides of the valve body;
a first passage defined between the valve body and the first passage defining member; and
a second passage defined between the valve body and the second passage defining member,
wherein the valve body has a first passage valve that closes the first passage when the valve body moves in the first direction, and a second passage valve that closes the second passage when the valve body moves in the second direction, the first passage valve and the second passage valve being provided at opposite sides of the valve body and associated commonly with the valve body; and
wherein the first passage valve is capable of selectively opening and closing a pressure line defining a portion of a passage extending between the maintenance portion and the pressure source, and the second passage valve is capable of selectively opening and closing an atmospheric air passage that exposes the maintenance portion to the atmospheric air.
2. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure source is a negative pressure source that applies negative pressure to the maintenance portion.
3. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
an urging member that urges the valve body in the second direction; and
an operated portion operated to move the valve body in the first direction against the urging force of the urging member.
4. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein, in accordance with an operated amount of the operated portion, the first passage valve and the second passage valve are switchable among a state in which the first passage valve is open and the second passage valve is closed, a state in which the first passage valve and the second passage valve are both open, and a state in which the first passage valve is closed and the second passage valve is open.
5. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the operated portion depresses the valve body against the urging force of the urging member.
6. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 3, further comprising a plurality of valve devices each including the first passage valve and the second passage valve, the operated portion being arranged in correspondence with each of the valve devices.
7. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the valve bodies of at least two of the valve devices are formed by a single valve plate, and wherein a plurality of casing members forming a casing of the valve unit are joined together through the single valve plate.
8. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 3,
wherein the operated portion includes a pressing body that contacts the valve body, an operated body operated to depress the pressing member, and an elastic member, and
wherein the operated potion is maintained under pressurization by the operated body and the pressing body being urged away from each other by the elastic member.
9. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the valve unit includes a casing having a valve chamber that accommodates the valve body and a through hole communicating with the valve chamber,
wherein the operated portion has a pressing body that is passed through the through hole in such a manner that the pressing body contacts the valve body,
wherein the casing has a support tube portion and a valve seat portion, the support tube portion extending in a manner crossing the through hole, the atmospheric air passage extending in the support tube portion, the valve seat projecting from the support tube portion toward the valve body, the valve seat including a distal end having an opening that communicates with the atmospheric air passage and is opposed to the valve body,
wherein the pressing body has a slit defined at a position corresponding to the support tube portion and a hole defined at a position corresponding to the valve seat, and
wherein, while being prevented from interfering with the support tube portion and the valve seat by the slit and the hole, the pressing body is passed through the through hole from the side corresponding to the valve chamber in such a manner that a portion of the pressing body projects from the casing to the exterior and the portion of the pressing body in the valve chamber is capable of contacting the valve body.
10. The liquid ejection apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the valve unit includes a casing having a through hole, the operated portion having a pressing body passed through the through hole in such a manner that the pressing body is capable of contacting the valve body,
wherein the casing has a second valve seat in which an opening of the atmospheric air passage is defined, the second valve seat being opposed to a substantial center of the valve body,
wherein the valve body includes a thick valve portion projecting from the substantial center toward the pressing body, and a film-like portion that is arranged around the valve portion and has a thickness smaller than the thickness of the valve portion, the second valve seat and the pressing body being capable of contacting the valve portion, and
wherein the casing has a first valve seat in which an opening of the passage extending between the maintenance portion and the negative pressure source is defined, the first valve seat being opposed to the second valve seat with the valve body located between the first valve seat and the second valve seat, the valve body being capable of contacting the first valve seat at the portion of the valve body corresponding to the valve portion.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A method of providing data to a recipient while safeguarding the recipient from maintaining a copy of the data, comprising:
accessing a remote receiving computer that runs a remote virtual machine portion under control of an external device, and independently from an operating system of the remote receiving computer;
streaming the data to the remote virtual machine portion of the receiving computer;
using the remote virtual machine to display and interact with the data, such that a user of the remote receiving computer can interact with the data, but cannot use the remote receiving computer to store the data on a persistent memory device.
2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing producing the image reconstructs an image from which the stream was created.
3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing producing the image further comprises producing the image inside a buffer of the remote receiving computer.
4. The method of claim 1 further comprising a user utilizing a matrix transformation to modify the image.
5. The method of claim 1 further comprising using a matrix transformation to manipulate the image.
6. The method of claim 5 wherein the matrix transformation is applied interactively.
7. The method of claim 1 wherein the stream comprises only the single image.
8. The method of claim 1 wherein the image comprises a medical diagnostic image.
9. The method of claim 8 wherein the image is selected from the list consisting of an MRI image, a Cat Scan image, a PET image, and an X-Ray.
10. The method of claim 1, further comprising encrypting the data, streaming the encrypted image to the remote virtual machine portion of the receiving computer, and using the remote virtual machine to decrypt the encrypted image, using the remote virtual machine to display and interact with the decrypted data.
11. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises a video.
12. The method of claim 1, wherein the data comprises a file.