Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Hiroshi Sawase

Kazuaki Kamihara

Kohki Asada

Ryusaku Hida

Masato Ogawa

Kenji Nozawa

Yoshihiro Takahashi

Genichiroh Kawamichi

Takahiro Yoshida

Daisuke Nakamura

Shun Saito

Yuta Moriwaki

Kazuhiro Shimojima

A heating device includes a conveyor configured to convey a sheet, the sheet having a first surface on which a liquid is applied and a second surface contacting the conveyor, a first heater facing the first surface opposite to the second surface of the sheet, the first heater configured to heat the sheet, and a second heater configured to heat the conveyor.

Heating device, dryer, liquid discharge apparatus, and printer

A heater includes an irradiator configured to irradiate a heating object including a liquid attachment region, onto which a liquid is applied, with an active energy ray, and circuitry configured to control an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to an edge portion in the liquid attachment region of the heating object to be larger than an output of the active energy ray emitted from the irradiator to a non-edge portion in the liquid attachment region excluding the edge portion.

Heater, liquid discharge apparatus, and printer

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a first liquid that generates heat in an absorption wavelength region of an active energy ray, a first discharger configured to discharge the first liquid, a second liquid that starts polymerization in the absorption wavelength region of the active energy ray, a second discharger configured to discharge the second liquid, and an irradiator configured to irradiate the first liquid and the second liquid with the active energy ray.

Liquid discharge apparatus, printer, and liquid discharge method

A sheet heater includes a first conveyance belt configured to convey a sheet on which a liquid has been discharged in a conveyance direction, a heating unit facing the first conveyance belt, the heating unit configured to heat the sheet conveyed by the first conveyance belt, and a second conveyance belt disposed upstream of the first conveyance belt in the conveyance direction, the second conveyance belt configured to convey the sheet to the first conveyance belt. A surface temperature of the second conveyance belt is lower than a surface temperature of the first conveyance belt when the first conveyance belt and the second conveyance belt convey the sheet.

Sheet heater, liquid discharge apparatus, and printer

A sheet conveyor includes a conveyance belt configured to rotate to convey a sheet on which a liquid has been applied in a conveyance direction, and a guide configured to guide the sheet to the conveyance belt, a position of the guide being variable in the conveyance direction.

Liquid discharge head, liquid discharge device, and liquid discharge apparatus

A sheet conveyor includes an endless conveyance belt configured to rotate to convey a sheet, a belt heater configured to heat the conveyance belt; and circuitry configured to control the conveyance belt to rotate. The conveyance belt has a belt joint joining both ends of a sheet member to form the conveyance belt, and the circuitry controls the conveyance belt to rotate to receive the sheet in an area of the conveyance belt other than the belt joint of the conveyance belt.

Sheet conveyor, sheet heater, liquid discharge apparatus, and printer

A heating device includes a heat irradiator configured to heat a sheet on which a liquid is applied and is conveyed in a conveyance direction, an ultraviolet irradiator on a downstream of the heat irradiator in the conveyance direction, the ultraviolet irradiator configured to heat a portion of the sheet, and a circuitry configured to control an output of the heat irradiator and an output of the ultraviolet irradiator based on a thickness of the sheet.

Heating device, liquid discharge apparatus, and printer

A heating device includes a conveyor configured to convey a sheet onto which a liquid is applied in a conveyance direction, an irradiator including a light emitter on an irradiation surface of the irradiator, the light emitter configured to emit light onto the sheet to heat the sheet with the light, a channel plate between the conveyor and the irradiation surface of the irradiator, an airflow generator configured to generate an airflow along the irradiation surface between the irradiation surface of the irradiator and the channel plate, and a suction device configured to suck and discharge the airflow in a direction from the irradiation surface of the irradiator toward the conveyor.

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a circulation channel in which liquid circulates, a liquid discharge head disposed on the circulation channel to discharge the liquid, a bypass channel to connect an upstream portion and a downstream portion of the liquid discharge head, a switch to switch the circulation channel between a first route in which the bypass channel is a part of the circulation channel and a second route in which the bypass channel is not a part of the circulation channel, a pressure generator to generate pressure to circulate the liquid in the circulation channel, a degassing device to degas the liquid in the circulation channel, and control circuitry to perform a degassing operation to degas the liquid by circulating the liquid in the circulation channel.

Liquid discharge apparatus

A liquid circulation apparatus includes a circulation channel through which a liquid is circulated via a liquid discharge head including a supply port and a discharge port. The circulation channel includes a first manifold communicating with the supply port of the liquid discharge head, a second manifold communicating with the discharge port of the liquid discharge head, a supply channel connecting the first manifold and the supply port of the liquid discharge head, and a discharge channel connecting the second manifold and the discharge port of the liquid discharge head. A fluid resistance from the first manifold to the supply port of the liquid discharge head via the supply channel is smaller than a fluid resistance from the second manifold to the discharge port of the liquid discharge head via the discharge channel.

Liquid circulation apparatus and liquid discharge apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a liquid discharge head, a temperature detector, a memory, and a controller. The temperature detector detects a temperature of the liquid discharge head. The memory stores the temperature of the liquid discharge head detected with the temperature detector. The controller controls a bubble purge operation to purge bubbles in the liquid discharge head. When a current temperature of the liquid discharge head acquired by the temperature detector is higher than a stored temperature stored in the memory and a deviation of the acquired current temperature and the stored temperature is equal to or more than a predefined threshold value, the controller executes control to execute the bubble purge operation, and when the current temperature acquired by the temperature detector is lower than the stored temperature, the controller executes control to update the stored temperature stored and retained in the memory with the acquired current temperature.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a head tank, a main tank, and a controller. The recording head includes nozzles to discharge liquid droplets. The head tank includes a liquid containing part to contain liquid supplied to the recording head. The main tank contains the liquid supplied to the head tank. The controller controls, after detection of an end state of the main tank, post-end printing using the liquid remaining in the head tank corresponding to the main tank in the end state. The controller permits the post-end printing when an amount of the liquid remaining in the head tank to which the liquid is supplied from the main tank in the end state is a predetermined threshold remaining amount or greater.

Image forming apparatus and non-transitory computer readable medium

An image forming apparatus includes a liquid ejection head, a cap, and a dummy discharge controller. The liquid ejection head has plural nozzle rows in a nozzle formed face thereof. Each of the plural nozzle rows includes multiple nozzles through which droplets are discharged. The cap caps the nozzle formed face of the liquid ejection head. The dummy discharge controller controls a dummy discharge operation to discharge dummy discharge droplets not contributing to image formation from the nozzles with the nozzle formed face opposed to the cap. The dummy discharge controller controls the liquid ejection head to discharge the dummy discharge droplets at different timings between adjacent nozzle rows of the plural nozzle rows in the dummy discharge operation.

An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a head tank, a main tank, a liquid feed device, and a controller. When the main tank is in an ink end state, the controller causes the feed device to feed the liquid in reverse from the head tank to the main tank. When air is unlikely to be mixed with the liquid or the liquid is unlikely to be bubbled in the head tank before installation of a new main tank, the controller causes the feed device to feed the liquid from the main tank to the head tank with an air release unit opened after the installation. When air is likely to be mixed with the liquid or the liquid is likely to be bubbled in the head tank before the installation, the controller causes the feed device to feed the liquid with the release unit closed after the installation.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Hiroshi Sawase