Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Eiji Tachibana

Tohru Watanabe

Tadashi Okano

Yoshinori Uchino

Ryo Honda

Isamu Kubo

Tadayasu Enomoto

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a liquid discharge unit, a position detector, and circuitry. The liquid discharge unit has a liquid discharge port and discharges a liquid from the liquid discharge port toward an object. The position detector detects a position of the liquid discharge unit relative to the object. The circuitry calculates a movement trajectory of the liquid discharge unit based on the position of the liquid discharge unit detected by the position detector. Further, the circuitry performs a first operation of causing the liquid discharge unit to move along the movement trajectory without discharging the liquid and performs a second operation of causing the liquid discharge unit to move along the movement trajectory while discharging the liquid to the object after the first operation.

Liquid discharge apparatus and liquid discharge method

A liquid discharge apparatus includes an apparatus body, a holder, a stage, an exhaust fan, a suction port, and a partition. The holder holds a target object. The stage reciprocates while holding the holder that holds the target object. The exhaust fan generates an airflow. The suction port is disposed on a side portion of the holder to suck the airflow generated by the exhaust fan. The partition partitions an interior of the apparatus body into a space including the suction port and a space not including the suction port. The partition and the holder are arranged to form an airflow path toward the suction port between the partition and the holder.

Liquid discharge apparatus

A disclosed paper supply unit includes a paper supply cassette having a bottom plate for placing stacked recording media therein and a sending out part. When the paper supply cassette is loaded at a paper supply position, the sending out part faces the bottom plate, the bottom plate is lifted and the recording media come into contact with the sending out part. A support member is rotatably fitted to the paper supply cassette. An elastic member is fastened between the support member and the bottom plate. The support member has plural fastening parts for fastening the elastic member. The elastic force of the elastic member is changeable using the plural fastening parts.

Paper supply unit and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus including a sheet feed cassette to hold a stack of recording media, a cover detachably attachable to the sheet feed cassette to cover an opening of the sheet feed cassette through which the recording media are supplied, an image forming part to form images on the recording media, and a discharge tray having a top surface on which the recording media discharged from the image forming apparatus after image formation are stacked. The sheet feed cassette is disposed below the discharge tray and is contractibly extendable, protruding outwardly from the image forming apparatus to accommodate large-sized recording media in its extended state. The cover includes a displaceable discharge auxiliary member slidable against the cover so as to be flush with the top surface of the discharge tray and detachably attachable to the sheet feed cassette together with the cover.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes: a print head to form an image on a recording medium; a carriage, including the print head, which scans in a main scanning direction; a linear encoder scale with scale marks and elongated in the carriage moving direction to detect a position of the carriage; an encoder sensor disposed on a side wall of the carriage including a groove with an upper open concave-shaped cross-section if seen from the carriage moving direction and reads scale marks on the linear encoder scale by passing the linear encoder scale through the groove; and a through-hole forming member, disposed on the side wall of the carriage, configured to cover the encoder sensor, and forming a through-hole extending in the carriage moving direction which the linear encoder scale is passed through. The through-hole forming member is disposed openable with respect to the carriage.

An image forming apparatus includes a printing head having an ink nozzle configured to discharge ink droplets onto a recording medium in order to form an image on the recording medium in a recording operation; a carriage on which the printing head is mounted and being moved in a main-scan direction during the recording operation; a linear encoder sheet having a counter for detecting a position of the carriage; an encoder sensor mounted on the carriage and detecting the position of the carriage by optically reading the counter of the linear encoder sheet; an carriage unit enclosure in which at least the carriage, the linear encoder sheet, and the encoder sensor are disposed; and an internal pressure adjusting unit adjusting an internal pressure of the carriage unit enclosure to be other than a negative pressure.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Eiji Tachibana