Sony Corporation

Konishiroku Photo Industry Co., Ltd.

Konica Corporation

Mitsui Minings & Melting Co., Ltd.

Tokyo Juki Industrial Co., Ltd.

Hiroshi Tokunaga

Shinichi Horii

Noriyoshi Tarumi

Masahiko Matsunawa

Shigeyoshi Hirashima

Yuji Yakura

Makoto Ando

Atsushi Nakamura

Shota Nishi

Haruo Iwahashi

Kenji Suzuki

Masato Nakamura

Yuichiro Ikemoto

Toru Tanikawa

Shinji Kayaba

Takaaki Murakami

Shigeru Inowa

Ryubun Seimiya

Tooru Tanikawa

Akira Shirakura

Seiichiro Hiratsuka

Yukio Okamoto

Takashi Hasebe

Koji Washio

Minoru Wada

Tadao Kishimoto

Kunio Takano

Masaki Kishimoto

Tomoaki Kinoshita

Hideki Matsuzaka

Yasuo Yukita

Norio Kawatani

Kazumasa Osoniwa

Akira Umekawa

Masahisa Hosoi

Yoshikazu Tatehana

Masakazu Fukuchi

Kiyoshi Kimura

Makoto Tomono

Kazuyasu Takenaka

Toshio Fukuda

Toshimi Fukuoka

Takumi Namekawa

Hiromitsu Takeda

Yoshio Yamazaki

Kunihisa Yoshino

Tetsuya Niitsuma

Kazuo Yasuda

Norikazu Iwasaki

Koichi Kawasumi

Toshiki Kagami

Kimio Nishizawa

Masanori Nukushina

Toshihiro Takesue

Jun-ichi Hamada

Akihito Miyazaki

Osamu Tachikawa

Shinobu Soma

Takaaki Yamanaka

Naoki Aoki

Shoto Nishi

Tatsufumi Kusuda

Kumiko Izawa

Yuichirou Ikemoto

Takashi Mori

Hisashi Andoh

Yoshihiro Nishio

Katusyuki Ogura

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium is disclosed. The image forming apparatus includes a print head () having an ink emitting surface () in which there are formed a plural number of ink emitting openings (). An ink is emitted from the ink emitting openings () for forming an image on a recording medium. The image forming apparatus also includes an emission controller () for controlling the ink emission from the ink emitting openings () formed in the ink emitting surface (). The emission controller () is responsive to an input image signal to control the quantity of preliminary ink emission from one or more of the ink emitting openings () or to select one or more of the ink emitting openings (). In this manner, the quantity of the preliminary ink emission from the ink emitting openings () is controlled, or one or more of the ink emitting openings () is selected, responsive to the image signal, to diminish the wasteful ink emission and to clean the ink emitting openings () or the vicinity without damaging the ink emitting surface ().

Image forming apparatus and controlling method therefor

A first electronic component having two alignment holes perforated at predetermined positions thereof so as to be spaced away from each other by a predetermined interval is held with a receiving table, and also a second electronic component having two alignment marks formed at predetermined positions thereon so as to have an interval therebetween in agreement with that between the two alignment holes is held with a position-adjusting mechanism. In a state in which the alignment marks of the second electronic component are introduced in the corresponding alignment holes of the first electronic component, the mark-recognition apparatus captures the alignment marks and the alignment holes in the same fields of view thereof and measures the positions of the two components, and the position-adjusting mechanism adjusts the position of the second electronic component such that the alignment marks of the second electronic component lie at predetermined positions in the alignment holes of the first electronic component.

Electronic-component alignment method

A connection apparatus is disclosed which includes a connection source and a connection destination. The connection source includes information about a predetermined connection destination; and a connecting element for making a connection request to the predetermined connection destination based on the information about the connection destination and, given a permission, for automatically connecting to the connection destination. The predetermined connection destination includes a receiving element for receiving the connection request from the connection source, a judging element which, upon interpreting the connection request, judges whether the connection source is a predetermined connection source or not, and a permission granting element which, if the judging element judges the connection source to be a predetermined connection source, then grants connection permission to the connection source.

Connection apparatus, connecting method, and storage medium for storing computer-readable program having connecting functions

A printer performs a printing operation by driving a cartridge to discharge ink. The ink in the printer is billed according to the amount of actual use of ink. In a service center, the head ID is first input. Then, the head ID is verified against the user ID. The amount of the use of ink is checked. Then, the billing amount for the actual use of ink is determined. The user is requested to pay for the cost.

Accounting apparatus, accounting method, and computer-readable program storage medium for storing program having accounting function

Connection apparatus for connecting a source over a network to a predetermined destination, connecting method, and storage medium for storing computer-readable program having connecting functions

A first electronic component having two alignment holes perforated at predetermined positions thereof at a predetermined interval is held with a receiving table, and also a second electronic component having two alignment marks formed at predetermined positions thereon at an interval therebetween in agreement with that between the two alignment holes is held with a position-adjusting mechanism. In a state in which the alignment marks of the second electronic component are introduced in the corresponding alignment holes of the first electronic component, the mark-recognition apparatus captures the alignment marks and the alignment holes in the same fields of view thereof and measures the positions of the two components, and the position-adjusting mechanism adjusts the position of the second electronic component such that the alignment marks of the second electronic component lie at predetermined positions in the alignment holes of the first electronic component.

Electronic-component alignment method and apparatus therefor

On a liquid discharge head including an ink discharge surface () having rows of ink discharge holes () each for discharging different colors of ink, a cleaning roller () formed of a cylindrical elastic material touching the ink discharge surface () is moved relative to the ink discharge surface (). This movement causes the pressure inside the ink discharge holes () to change and, as a result, the ink () inside the ink discharge holes () is absorbed. In this way, a ink discharge head, a method for cleaning thereof, and a ink discharge apparatus that do not damage the ink discharge surface () with the ink discharge holes () and that have improved effectiveness of cleaning the vicinity of the ink discharge holes () are provided.

Liquid discharge head, cleaning method thereof, and liquid discharge apparatus

A print head is provided with at least ink-pressurizing cells, heating elements, and ink-ejection nozzles. In addition, the print head includes substrate members which form side surfaces and one end surface of the ink-pressurizing cells, and which are provided with the heating elements; a nozzle-formed member which forms the other end surface of the ink-pressurizing cells, and in which the ink-ejection nozzles, which individually correspond to the ink-pressurizing cells, are formed; and a head frame which supports the nozzle-formed member.

Print head, manufacturing method therefor, and printer

A method of manufacturing a piezoelectric actuator, formed of multiple concave parts which are provided on one surface. First, a first sheet is formed of pliant piezoelectric materials and a second sheet is formed of pliant predetermined materials, forming an upper electrode layer formed of conduction materials on one surface of said first sheet, and forming a lower electrode layer formed of conduction materials on the other surface of said first sheet or one surface of said second sheet, wherein piezoelectric material is used as said material of the second sheet and electrode layer for polarization formed of conduction material is formed on the other surface side of said second sheet. Next, the first and second sheets are piled and densified. The first sheet is polarized in a direction of a thickness of the first sheet. In a fourth step, the upper electrode layer is patterned in order to form multiple electrodes corresponding respectively to each pressure chamber of the pressure chamber forming unit, wherein by placing a voltage between the upper electrode layer and the electrode layer for polarization, the first sheet is polarized in the direction of its thickness.

Method of manufacturing an ink-jet printhead

An image formation apparatus comprises a cleaning member cylindrically formed of a material having elasticity, a moving mechanism for moving both the peripheral face of the cleaning member and the ink discharge face of the print head relative one to another, with both in contact one with another, and a driving control unit for controlling the driving of the moving mechanism. Each time a predetermined number of sheets of the recording medium have images formed thereupon, or each time a predetermined amount of time elapses, following starting of the operations for forming images, the image formation operations are temporarily interrupted, and the moving mechanism is driven under the control of the driving control unit, and the peripheral face of the cleaning member is moved over the surface of the ink discharge face while in contact therewith, thereby suctioning the ink within the ink discharge orifices.

Image formation apparatus and control method thereof

An image forming apparatus for forming an image on a recording medium includes a print head having ink-discharge surfaces having the ink-discharge openings therein; a cylindrical cleaning roller composed of an elastic material; moving means for moving the cleaning roller and the print head relative to each other while keeping the circumferential surface of the cleaning roller in contact with the ink-discharge surfaces; drive control means for controlling the moving means; a head cap for protecting the ink-discharge surfaces; cap opening/closing means for opening and closing the head cap. When the head cap is opened by the cap opening/closing means, by driving the moving means with control of the drive control means so as to move the cleaning roller relative to the print head while keeping the circumferential surface of the cleaning roller in contact with the ink-discharge surfaces, ink in the ink-discharge openings is sucked.

Image forming apparatus and its control method

Of the first sheet formed of piezoelectric materials and the second sheet formed of prescribed materials, the upper electrode layer formed of conduction materials is formed on one surface of the first sheet and the lower electrode layer formed of conduction materials is formed on the other surface of said first sheet or on one surface of the second sheet. And the first and the second sheets are piled and densified having the lower electrode layer between, and a piezoelectric actuator will be manufactured by patterning the upper electrode layer or the lower electrode layer in order to form multiple electrodes corresponding respectively to each pressure chamber of the pressure chamber forming unit.

Piezoelectric actuator and its manufacturing method and ink-jet printhead

Disclosed herein is a printer having a printer body and a consumable related to printing means, such as an ink cartridge and an ink ribbon, wherein the consumable can be very easily replaced and the electrical connection between the consumable and the printer body can be easily effected. In a printer ( ) having a printer body ( ) and an ink cartridge (consumable related to printing means) ( ) replaceably mounted in the printer body, an ink cartridge tray (consumable tray) ( ) for detachably storing the ink cartridge is movably provided in the printer body. A connector ( ) provided on the ink cartridge is connected to a connector ( ) provided in the printer body when the ink cartridge tray is inserted into the printer body.

Printer

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Hiroshi Tokunaga