Patent application number | Description | Published |
20090058911 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a print head, an endless belt, a pressure roller, and a controller. The print head is configured to eject droplets of ink from multiple nozzles onto a recording sheet. The endless belt is stretched around at least first and second rollers, and is configured to convey the recording sheet placed on an outer surface thereof. The pressure roller is configured to exert pressure against the outer surface of the endless belt. The controller is configured to move the endless belt into a correcting position where the pressure roller meets a given portion of the endless belt. The given portion of the endless belt is previously retained in contact with the first roller and develops deformation due to the previous retention. The pressure exerted by the pressure roller corrects the deformation while the endless belt is in the correcting position. | 03-05-2009 |
20100026758 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS EMPLOYING CARRIAGE WITH IMAGE FORMING UNIT MOUNTED THEREON - An image forming apparatus includes a carriage, an image forming unit, a storage unit, a vibration absorber, and a controller. The carriage reciprocally moves in a main scan direction. The image forming unit is mounted on the carriage. The storage unit stores a speed profile of the carriage. The vibration absorber has controllable vibration reduction characteristics to reduce vibration. The controller controls the vibration reduction characteristics of the vibration absorber in accordance with the speed profile. | 02-04-2010 |
20100061745 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including a carriage including image forming units, the carriage driven reciprocally in a main scanning direction; a conveyance unit to convey a sheet of recording media to a position where the image forming units perform image formation; a first detector provided to the carriage, the first detector including a light emitting part and a light receiving part to periodically detect a surface of the sheet; a calculation unit to calculate a relative amount of movement between the sheet and the image forming units by comparing patterns periodically detected by the first detector; and a control unit to control a timing to perform image formation by the image forming units and an amount of conveyance of the sheet conveyed by the conveyance unit based on a result calculated by the calculation unit. | 03-11-2010 |
20100067938 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS WITH RECIPROCALLY MOVABLE CARRIAGE - An image forming apparatus includes a reciprocally movable carriage, an image forming unit, a first drive source, a vibration suppressor, and a vibration-suppression controller. The reciprocally movable carriage moves in a main scan direction. The image forming unit is mounted on the carriage. The first drive source moves the carriage. The vibration suppressor suppresses vibration caused by movement of the carriage, and includes a vibration suppression member having a mass smaller than a mass of the carriage and a second drive source independent of the first drive source to move the vibration suppression member. The vibration-suppression controller drives the second drive source to cause the vibration suppressor to perform vibration suppression operation during at least one of an acceleration period and a deceleration period of the carriage, and stops movement of the vibration suppression member during a constant-speed period of the carriage. | 03-18-2010 |
20100159362 | METHOD OF PRODUCING SEPARATOR PLATE FOR FUEL CELL AND FUEL CELL UTILIZING THE SAME - A pattern of a reaction gas flow passage in a separator plate of a fuel cell is formed by screen printing with high accuracy. The invention relates to a method of producing a separator plate for fuel cell, the method including forming a partition wall | 06-24-2010 |
20100207990 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a housing, a carriage, and a damping mechanism. The carriage includes an image forming mechanism and moves back and forth in a main scan direction. The damping mechanism generates an impact to suppress vibration caused by movement of the carriage. The damping mechanism suppresses vibration during at least one of acceleration and deceleration of the carriage, and is inactive during movement of the carriage at a constant speed. The damping mechanism suppresses vibration when acceleration of the carriage equals or exceeds a predetermined threshold acceleration. The damping mechanism includes a suppression member and a mass member that strikes the suppression member. The suppression member is at least one of a shock absorber and an elastic member. Shock absorbing characteristics of the shock absorber and elasticity of the elastic member are variable. | 08-19-2010 |
20110109692 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS CAPABLE OF COLLECTING INK MIST - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head that discharges an electrically substantially neutral droplet of ink onto a recording medium; a transport unit that transports the recording medium such that a recording surface of the recording medium is substantially orthogonal with respect to an ink discharge direction of the recording head; and an electric field generating unit that generates an electric field when the recording head discharges the droplet of ink. The electric field is substantially parallel to the ink discharge direction in terms of intensity. | 05-12-2011 |
20110141181 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS CAPABLE OF EFFECTIVELY DAMPING VIBRATION - An image forming apparatus includes a sheet amount detector to detect an amount of sheets accommodated in the sheet feeding tray, an ejected sheet amount detector to detect an amount of sheets ejected onto the sheet ejection tray, and a vibration damper to damp vibration of the image forming apparatus caused by movement of the carriage. A controller is provided to control the vibration damper to damp vibration of the image forming apparatus in accordance with respective amounts of sheets and ejected sheets detected by the sheet amount detector and the ejected sheet amount detector in prescribed acceleration and deceleration regions of the carriage. | 06-16-2011 |
20120008014 | IMAGING APPARATUS, METHOD FOR CONTROLLING IMAGING APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR CONTROLLING IMAGING APPARATUS - An imaging apparatus includes: an operation unit operated by a user; a setting unit that sets a function for image shooting through an operation of the operating unit; a guidance information storage unit that stores guidance information including at least either of a description about the function that can be set and an operational method for setting the function; a display unit that display the guidance information; a cumulative shot-frame counter that counts a cumulative number of shot frames, as a cumulative value of the number of image frames that have been shot; a proficiency level determining unit that determines the user's level of proficiency to be higher as the cumulative number of shot frames is large; and a display switching unit that switches between display and non-display settings of the guidance information on the display unit depending on determined level of proficiency. | 01-12-2012 |
20120056932 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS, METHOD OF SUCTIONING LIQUID FROM NOZZLES OF RECORDING HEAD AND COMPUTER READABLE INFORMATION RECORDING MEDIUM - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head configured to have a nozzle face on which nozzles that discharge liquid droplets are formed; a cap configured to cap the nozzle face of the recording head; a discharge path configured to be connected to the cap; a suction pump configured to be provided in the discharge path and be made of a tube pump; and an atmosphere opening part configured to open an airtight space, created when the nozzle face is capped by the cap, to the atmosphere. The atmosphere opening part is configured to communicate with the inside of the cap at a position higher than a surface of liquid discharged into the cap, and a check valve configured to prevent a flow of the liquid toward the cap from the suction pump is provided in the discharge path. | 03-08-2012 |
20120056933 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including: a recording head having a nozzle surface in which nozzles to eject liquid droplets in a horizontal direction or a direction slanted from the horizontal direction are formed, the nozzle surface being disposed in a vertical direction or a direction slanted from the vertical direction; a head tank to supply liquid to the recording head; a suction cap to cap the nozzle surface of the recording head; a suction member connected to the suction cap to suck out liquid from the nozzles by the suction cap; a valve member to open or close a sealed space formed by capping the nozzle surface with the suction cap to atmosphere; a liquid supplier to supply the liquid to the head tank and return the liquid from the head tank; and a control unit to control servicing of the recording head. | 03-08-2012 |
20120062648 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including: a carriage movable in a main scanning direction and including a recording head having a nozzle surface in which nozzles to eject liquid droplets in a horizontal direction are formed, the nozzle surface being disposed in a vertical direction; a guide shaft to guide the carriage in the main scanning direction; and a bearing provided to the carriage and having two sloped sides slidably contacting an outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft. In a plane perpendicular to an axis of the guide shaft, the two sloped sides are disposed such that a line passing through both the axis of the guide shaft and an intersection of two tangent lines from contact portions in which the two sloped sides contact the outer circumferential surface of the guide shaft diagonally intersects a line extending along a plane of the nozzle surface. | 03-15-2012 |
20120081487 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including a conveyance unit to intermittently convey a recording medium in a conveyance direction, a carriage movable in a main scanning direction and including a recording head, a conveyance path having a curved portion provided downstream from an imaging range of the recording head, a first discharge member provided downstream from the imaging range to discharge the recording medium, and a second discharge member provided downstream from the first discharge member and having a nip to sandwich the recording medium to discharge the recording medium. A length of the conveyance path extending from a downstream edge of the imaging range to the nip is longer than a maximum length of the recording medium usable in the image forming apparatus to prevent a leading edge of the recording medium from being sandwiched by the second discharge member when the carriage performs last scanning movement. | 04-05-2012 |
20120113180 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a conveyance belt, a reverse passage, and a charger. The belt is looped around at least two rollers to adhere a recording medium thereto by electrostatic force and convey the medium. The belt defines a normal conveyance area in which the medium is conveyed in a first direction with the medium facing the head. The reverse passage sends the medium back again to a portion of the belt upstream from the head in the first direction. The reverse passage includes an opposite conveyance area of the belt in which the medium is conveyed in a second direction and a bypass passage to guide the medium separated from the opposite conveyance area toward the normal conveyance area. The charger is disposed between the bypass passage and an outer surface of the belt to charge the outer surface of the belt. | 05-10-2012 |
20120113204 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a conveyance belt, a charger, a reverse passage, and an auxiliary conveyance roller. The belt is looped around at least two rollers to adhere a recording medium thereto by electrostatic force and convey the medium. The belt defines a normal conveyance area in which the medium is conveyed in a first direction. The reverse passage delivers the medium turned around in an area downstream from the belt in the first direction and sends the medium back again to a portion of the belt upstream from the head in the first direction. The reverse passage includes an opposite conveyance area of the belt in which the medium is conveyed in a second direction opposite the first direction. The auxiliary conveyance roller is disposed at least one of an entry part and an exit part of the opposite conveyance area. | 05-10-2012 |
20120133707 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - Disclosed is an image forming apparatus including a recording head; a cap member capping the nozzle surface of the recording head and including a release port and a suction port; a suction unit in communication with the suction port; a switch unit opening and closing the release port to the air and capable of adjusting the opening amount of the release port to at least a first opening amount and a second opening amount larger than the first opening amount; and a control unit that controls the suction unit and the switch unit so that the release port is opened to the first opening amount to have a predetermined amount of air flow into the cap member after the cap member is suctioned by the suction unit, and the release port is then opened to the second opening amount. | 05-31-2012 |
20120147112 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including an image forming device to form an ink image on a recording sheet, a discharger to discharge the sheet bearing the ink image in a face-down manner, and a stacker to stack the discharged sheet thereon. The stacker includes a first surface to deform a rear end portion of the sheet, and a second surface which has a surface to press a front end portion of the sheet and is slanting so as to rise in the sheet discharging direction. The first and second surfaces are arranged such that the first surface or an extended surface thereof intersects at an angle with the second surface or an extended surface thereof to form an intersection line and such that when the front edge of the recording sheet reaches the second surface, the rear edge of the recording sheet has not yet been discharged by the discharger. | 06-14-2012 |
20120155916 | OPENING AND CLOSING MECHANISM AND IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING THE OPENING AND CLOSING MECHANISM - An opening and closing mechanism includes a movable member removably mounted relative to a main body of an apparatus, an opening and closing member having a cover portion, protrusions, and pivot shafts, and shaft position adjusters to change positions of the pivot shafts while the cover portion pivots between a closed position and an open position. The opening and closing member is arranged so that, on an imaginary plane perpendicular to a central axis of each pivot shaft on which each pivot shaft and the movable member are projected, a projected portion of each pivot shaft is positioned to interfere with a projected portion of the movable member when the cover portion is placed at the closed position, and the cover portion is positioned so as not to interfere with a trajectory of movement of the movable member while the cover portion pivots toward the open position. | 06-21-2012 |
20120187624 | CONVEYANCE DEVICE AND IMAGE FORMING DEVICE - A sheet conveyance device includes a support unit that supports a sheet; plural suction ports placed on the support unit; a suction unit that suctions the sheet toward the support unit, the suction unit being connected to the plural suction ports; plural valve systems, each valve system being placed between the corresponding suction port and the suction unit, each valve system being openable and closeable; plural valve interlocked suction ports that are to be covered by the sheet when the sheet is conveyed, the plural valve interlocked suction ports being arranged separately from the plural suction ports; and plural opening and closing units that open and close the plural valve systems, each opening and closing unit being placed between one of the valve interlocked suction ports and one of the valve systems. | 07-26-2012 |
20120306966 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DISCHARGING RECORDING LIQUID - An image forming apparatus includes a recording head oriented upward so as to eject a recording liquid upward. The recording head includes an ejection face, an ejection port, and a waste-liquid port. The ejection port is disposed at the ejection face to eject the recording liquid. The waste-liquid port is disposed separately from the ejection port at the ejection face. The waste-liquid passage is connected to the waste-liquid port and has an opening connected to an outside of the recording head. A residual of the recording liquid on the ejection face is discharged to the outside of the recording head via the waste-liquid port and the waste-liquid passage. | 12-06-2012 |
20130020753 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS HAVING CLUTCH ASSEMBLY - An image forming apparatus includes a conveyance device to convey a sheet, an image forming device disposed opposing the conveyance device, a switchback device downstream from the conveyance device to switch hack the sheet after image formation a first face of the sheet on an opposing surface of the conveyance device, a refeeding device to refeed the sheet switched back, a reverse path to guide the sheet to a non-opposing, surface of the conveyance device, reverse the sheet, and guide the sheet to the opposing surface again, a single driving source to drive the conveyance device and the switchback device, a driving assembly to transmit driving force of the driving source to the conveyance device, a clutch assembly disposed at a position other than the driving assembly to switch rotation of the switchback device between forward rotation and reverse rotation, and an activation device to activate the clutch assembly. | 01-24-2013 |
20130063621 | IMAGING DEVICE - An imaging device includes an imaging section configured to receive a light beam from a subject, and output an image signal, an image processor configured to produce image data based on the image signals input from the imaging section, a recording section configured to record the image data from the image processor as moving image data, an operation section configured to designate start and stop of recording of the moving image data, an attention point moving image designation section configured to designate an attention point moving image as a set of moving images which are stored by being clipped from a moving image, an attention point moving image time designation section configured to designate a clipping time of the attention point moving image, and a controller configured to control the recording section such that the attention point moving image for the clipping time is recorded in the recording section. | 03-14-2013 |
20130074716 | METHOD OF PRODUCING SEPARATOR PLATE FOR FUEL CELL AND FUEL CELL UTILIZING THE SAME - A pattern of a reaction gas flow passage in a separator plate of a fuel cell is formed by screen printing with high accuracy. The invention relates to a method of producing a separator plate for fuel cell, the method including forming a partition wall ( | 03-28-2013 |
20130187985 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS INCLUDING LIQUID EJECTION HEAD - An image forming apparatus includes a liquid ejection head, a head tank, a liquid storage container, a liquid feed device, a supply valve, an exhaust passage, a float valve, an air release valve, and a suction device. The exhaust passage is disposed in the head tank and communicated with an ambient air. The float valve is disposed in the head tank to close the exhaust passage in response to an amount of liquid in the head tank. The air release valve opens and closes the exhaust passage of the head tank. When the suction device exhausts air from the exhaust passage with the air release valve open, the liquid feed device is driven to pressurize and feed the liquid. | 07-25-2013 |
20130278809 | IMAGE CAPTURING DEVICE AND IMAGE CAPTURING METHOD - An image capturing device includes: an image capturing unit that captures a subject image through a lens and converts the subject image into an electric signal; an image displaying unit that displays an image; a designation accepting unit that is provided on a display surface of the image displaying unit and that accepts designation of a plurality of positions on the image displayed on the image displaying unit; a range-finding unit that performs range finding of a distance to a subject by using a plurality of two-dimensional image sensors; an area setting unit that sets a range-finding area obtained from a range finding result for a region that includes the plurality of positions designated through the designation accepting unit; a position determining unit that determines in-focus positions based on distances of the range-finding areas; and a continuous shooting unit that performs image capturing at the in-focus positions. | 10-24-2013 |
20140078231 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit forming an image on a recording medium; and a feeding unit feeding the recording medium in first and second directions opposite to each other relative to the image forming unit. Further when the recording medium is supplied from a first or second side of the feeding unit, while the feeding unit feeds the recording medium in the first or second feeding direction, the image forming unit forms an image on the recording medium, and the feeding unit further feeds the recording medium to the second or first side, respectively, of the feeding unit. | 03-20-2014 |
20140092153 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body; an openable and closable cover provided at the apparatus body; a conveyance unit to convey a recording medium upward and downward; a recording head to eject liquid droplets to the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance unit; and an opening authorization mechanism to authorize moving of the conveyance unit from a first open position to a second open position, the conveyance unit having a greater opening amount at the second open position than at the first open position, wherein the conveyance unit is disposed between the cover and the recording head, and configured to be openable to the first open position when the cover is in the open position, and openable to the second open position when the opening authorization mechanism authorizes the moving of the conveyance unit from the first open position to the second open position. | 04-03-2014 |
20140152852 | PREDETERMINED-AREA MANAGEMENT SYSTEM, COMMUNICATION METHOD, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT - A predetermined-area management system is configured to communicate with a communication terminal. The predetermined-area management system includes: a storage unit that stores image identification information for identifying image data and predetermined-area information for identifying a predetermined area in the image data in association with each other; a receiving unit that receives image identification information that is transmitted from the communication terminal; an extraction unit that searches the storage unit by using the image identification information received by the receiving unit so as to extract associated predetermined-area information; and a transmitting unit that transmits, to the communication terminal, the predetermined-area information extracted by the extraction unit. | 06-05-2014 |
20150054897 | IMAGE FORMING APPARATUS - An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit, a conveyor, and a string-shaped regulation member. The image forming unit forms an image on a recording medium. The conveyor is disposed opposing the image forming unit to convey the recording medium along a conveyance passage. The string-shaped regulation member is disposed between the image forming unit and the conveyance passage to regulate a distance between the recording medium and the image forming unit within a certain range. | 02-26-2015 |
20150062363 | IMAGE CAPTURING APPARATUS, IMAGE CAPTURE SYSTEM, IMAGE PROCESSING METHOD, INFORMATION PROCESSING APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER-READABLE STORAGE MEDIUM - An image capturing apparatus includes a tilt detection unit that detects a tilt in the vertical direction, conversion data used for transforming plane coordinates into spherical coordinates, a correction unit that corrects the conversion data according to the tilt, a plurality of image capturing units, a coordinate transformation unit that transforms plane coordinates of a plurality of pixels included in images captured by the image capturing units into spherical coordinates according to the conversion data corrected by the correction unit, and a combining unit that combines the images including the pixels transformed into spherical coordinates by the coordinate transformation unit. | 03-05-2015 |