Kyocera Document Solutions Inc.

Daichi Kawano

Takashi Inoue

Satoshi Morimoto

Tatsuya Nakagawa

Keisuke Maeyama

Minori Yamamoto

Daisuke Eto

Takahisa Nakaue

Riku Minamoto

Koichi Hayashi

Sadanori Nakae

A liquid ejection apparatus includes a nozzle, a pressure chamber, a piezoelectric element, a count processing portion, and a detection processing portion. The nozzle ejects a liquid. The pressure chamber communicates with the nozzle and contains the liquid. The piezoelectric element changes a pressure in the pressure chamber in response to an input of a drive signal. The count processing portion counts a number of times that an electric signal output from the piezoelectric element and corresponding to vibration generated in the pressure chamber in response to the input of the drive signal to the piezoelectric element exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The detection processing portion detects a viscosity of the liquid contained in the pressure chamber, based on a count result of the count processing portion.

Liquid ejection apparatus and liquid viscosity detection method capable of detecting viscosity of liquid

A signal generation device includes a first signal generation portion and a second signal generation portion. The first signal generation portion, based on a reference signal that includes a plurality of rectangular single-wave signals, generates an original common signal in which the rise times of the two or more of the single-wave signals are extended so that they are different from each other, and the fall timing of one or more of the single-wave signals is shifted. The second signal generating portion generates a drive signal to be input to a piezoelectric element by extracting a rising edge of any one of the single-wave signals, the rise time of which is extended, from the original common signal amplified by the amplifying portion, maintaining a signal level changed by extracting the rising edge of the single-wave signal, and extracting a falling edge of a single-wave signal after the single-wave signal.

Signal generation device, liquid ejection device, and signal generation method capable of suppressing extension of liquid ejection interval

A liquid ejection apparatus includes a nozzle, a pressure chamber, a piezoelectric element, an output processing portion, and a determination processing portion. The nozzle ejects a liquid. The pressure chamber communicates with the nozzle and contains the liquid. The piezoelectric element changes a pressure in the pressure chamber in response to an input of a drive signal. The output processing portion causes the piezoelectric element to output a first electric signal corresponding to vibration generated in the pressure chamber in response to the input of the drive signal to the piezoelectric element. The determination processing portion determines whether or not the pressure chamber is in a filled state in which the pressure chamber is filled with the liquid, based on a frequency of the first electric signal output by the output processing portion.

Liquid ejection apparatus and determination method capable of determining whether or not liquid filling of pressure chamber has been completed

A liquid ejection apparatus includes a nozzle, a pressure chamber, a piezoelectric element, an acquisition processing portion, and a restriction processing portion. The nozzle ejects a liquid. The pressure chamber communicates with the nozzle and contains the liquid. The piezoelectric element changes a pressure in the pressure chamber in response to an input of a drive signal. When image formation processing for ejecting the liquid from the nozzle is executed based on image data, the acquisition processing portion acquires a length of a non-ejection period in which the liquid is not ejected from the nozzle, the non-ejection period being included in an execution period of the image formation processing. When the length of the non-ejection period acquired by the acquisition processing portion is less than a predetermined first threshold value, the restriction processing portion restricts abnormality detection processing for detecting an abnormality of the nozzle using the piezoelectric element.

Liquid ejection apparatus and abnormality detection method capable of detecting abnormality of nozzle

An inkjet recording apparatus includes a conveyance portion, a recording head, a detection portion, and a control portion. The recording head is disposed opposite the conveyance portion, and includes a plurality of nozzles which eject ink to the recording medium conveyed by the conveyance portion. The detection portion detects the thickness of the recording medium. The control portion controls the ink ejection speed from the recording head based on the thickness of the recording medium detected by the detection portion.

Inkjet recording apparatus

An ink-jet recording apparatus includes a recording head, an ink reservoir portion, an ink amount sensor, a dot counter, and a control portion. The ink reservoir portion stores ink to he ted to the recording head. The ink amount sensor senses the amount of ink in the ink reservoir portion. The dot counter for measures in a cumulative manner the number of dots in the ink ejected from the recording head. The control portion changes the amount of ink ejected from the recording head based on the difference between a calculated value of the amount of consumed ink as calculated based on the cumulative number of dots measured by the dot counter and a measured value of the amount of consumed ink as determined based on the amount of ink in the ink reservoir portion as sensed by the ink amount sensor.

Ink-jet recording apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a housing in which a developing device is disposed, a cover member attached to the housing, a developer storage container to be detachably attached to the developing device, and a sensor unit. The developer storage container includes a container body having a storage space for storing a developer and a developer discharge port, and a moving wall configured to move in the container body. The sensor unit is arranged at a detection position where a detection sensor faces a specific area located above the developer discharge port on an outer peripheral surface of the container body when the cover member is in a closing posture, and arranged at a detection disable position where the detection sensor is distant from the specific area when the cover member is in an opening posture.

Image forming apparatus with sensor to detect developer in storage container and to detect position of cover for covering internal space where storage container is disposed

A developer container includes a container main body having an internal space and a developer discharge port; a movable wall moving in the internal space toward the developer discharge port; a detection surface which is a part of an inner peripheral surface that divides a storage space of a developer in the container main body and which becomes a detection region of a first detection sensor which detects the developer in the storage space; and a rotating body arranged in the storage space and capable of rotating around a rotary shaft along the first direction. The rotating body is mounted with a cleaning member which cleans the detection surface, a stirring member which stirs a developer in the storage space, and a detection target member to be a detection target of a second detection sensor which detects presence of the container main body.

Developer container and image forming apparatus including the same

An image forming apparatus includes a developer container having a movable wall therein, a determination unit, a movable wall driving unit, and a movable wall driving controller. The determination unit outputs first determination information when a number of outputs of a signal indicating that a detection sensor has detected a developer is less than a threshold value, and outputs second determination information when the number of outputs thereof is equal to or greater than the threshold value. The movable wall driving unit includes a first driving motor for moving the movable wall and a first driving circuit for controlling driving thereof. The movable wall driving controller includes a signal controller. The signal controller transmits a drive permission signal for the first driving motor when the first determination information is output, and transmits a drive non-permission signal for the first driving motor when the second determination information is output.

Image forming apparatus

An optical scanning device includes a light emitter, a scanner, a first detector and a determiner. The light emitter outputs a beam. The scanner scans within a given area determined in advance with the beam output from the light emitter. The first detector is arranged on an optical path of the beam in the given area and detects the light quantity of the beam. The determiner determines light quantity shortage of the light beam if the light quantity detected by the first detector is below a first threshold set in advance and above a second threshold indicating a light quantity smaller than the first threshold and determines an abnormality in a scanning operation by the scanner or an abnormality of the light emitter if the light quantity detected by the first detector is below the second threshold.

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Osaka, Japan

Daichi Kawano