Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masahiro Hiranuma

Kenji Morita

Nobuyuki Satoh

Mamoru Yorimoto

Daisaku Horikawa

Masaya Kawarada

Suguru Yokozawa

Masayuki Fujii

Yuichi Sakurada

Tomohiro Sasa

An imaging device including a light source; a two-dimensional image sensor that receives reflected light from a subject containing specular light of the light source and outputs an image of the subject; a light transmission member disposed in an optical path of light emitted from the light source to the subject; and a light shielding unit that, when a position on the subject at which light from the light source is regularly reflected and enters the two-dimensional image sensor is defined as a first specular position, whereas a position on the light transmission member at which light from the light source is regularly reflected and enters the two-dimensional image sensor is defined as a second specular position, shields the light directed from the light source toward the second specular position without shielding the light directed from the light source toward the first specular position.

Imaging device, medium type determining device, and image forming apparatus

An image capturing device includes: a two-dimensional image sensor that captures an image of a predetermined image capture area including a subject; a light source that illuminates the image capture area; and a light blocking member that blocks light traveling from the light source toward a specular reflection position, the specular reflection position being a position that is in the image capture area and where, if light travels from the light source, the light would be specularly reflected to the two-dimensional sensor. The light blocking member is arranged outside the image capture area.

Image capturing device, color measurement apparatus, and image forming apparatus

A nozzle testing device includes: a two-dimensional image sensor to capture an image of a pattern formed on a recording object by discharging ink from a nozzle row while moving the nozzle row and the recording object relative to each other in a direction orthogonal to the nozzle row; a light source unit provided such that regularly reflected light by the pattern forms a regular reflection area in the image of the pattern captured by the two-dimensional image sensor; and a detection unit to analyze the image to detect discharge failure of the nozzles. The regular reflection area is formed in the image such that a dimension in a direction corresponding to the direction of relative movement between the nozzle row and the recording object is greater than a dimension in a direction orthogonal to the direction corresponding to the direction of relative movement in the image.

Nozzle testing device and image forming apparatus

An imaging device includes: a housing having an opening in a surface thereof facing a subject; a light source that irradiates the subject with light; a two-dimensional image sensor that captures, from inside of the housing through the opening; an image of the subject illuminated by the light source; an optical member that is disposed between the two-dimensional image sensor and the opening and that transmits light reflected off the subject; and a contamination inspection member that is disposed between the opening and the optical member and that causes inspection light for inspecting contamination on the optical member to be incident upon the two-dimensional image sensor via the optical member.

Imaging device, image forming apparatus, and contamination inspection method

An imaging device includes a plurality of light-receiving units configured to perform photoelectric conversion for different colors, respectively, each light light-receiving unit including a plurality of pixels; a plurality of output units provided for the light-receiving units, each output unit sequentially converting charges of the respective pixels produced by the photoelectric conversion into voltages and sequentially outputting the voltages; a switching unit configured to switch between signal paths so as to alternate output of the voltage between the output units in accordance with a switching signal input from an external device; and an electric-potential applying unit configured to apply an offset potential to the voltages output by the output units until a predetermined time has elapsed since switching between the signal paths by the switching unit.

Imaging device for an image reading apparatus, and image reading method

A photoelectric transducer being capable of image reading in any one of a color reading mode and a monochrome reading mode includes a color reading sensor, a monochrome reading sensor, and an unnecessary-charge draining unit. The unnecessary-charge draining unit () drains unnecessary charges accumulated in the monochrome reading sensor or the color reading sensor therefrom at switching from the color reading mode to the monochrome reading mode or from the monochrome reading mode to the color reading mode.

Photoelectric transducer, image reading device having a control unit with a reset pulse switching from a color reading mode to a monochrome reading mode

An image reading apparatus includes a clamp-ratio controlling unit configured to change at least one of a clamp period and a line period for each read operation mode, wherein the clamp-ratio setting unit provides a control so that a clamp ratio that is a ratio between the clamp period and the line period is constant through all read operation modes. The clamp period is a period for performing clamp processing for setting a black level to a constant, which is an absolute black reference of an analog image signal output according to a quantity of light at a time of receiving reflected light from a document, and the line period is a read period of one line in the sub scanning direction.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Masahiro Hiranuma