Seiko Epson Corporation

Masashi Kamiyanagi

Osamu Shinkawa

Toru Matsuyama

Shuichi Nakano

Eiji Takagi

Masanori Koizumi

Shunya Komatsu

Toshiyuki Suzuki

Yuichi Nishihara

Yasuhiro Hosokawa

Noriaki Saito

Daichi Orihara

Naomi Kimura

Masahiko Yoshida

Hiroshi Sugita

Yasuyuki Kudo

Junpei Yoshida

Kazuhito Fujisawa

Ryota Furukawa

Kyohei Date

A liquid ejection head includes a first piezoelectric element that is supplied with a first drive signal, and a second piezoelectric element that is supplied with a second drive signal, wherein the first drive signal transitions from a first potential to a second potential in a first period, maintains the second potential during a second period, and transitions from the second potential to the first potential in a third period, wherein the second drive signal transitions from a third potential to a fourth potential in a fourth period, maintains the fourth potential during a fifth period, and transitions from the fourth potential to the third potential in a sixth period, wherein the first period and the fourth period overlap, wherein the third period and the sixth period overlap, wherein the second potential is higher than the first potential, and wherein the fourth potential is lower than the third potential.

Liquid ejection apparatus and capacitive load drive circuit

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes: an ejection section ejecting a liquid; a state detection section detecting a state of the ejection section; a determination section determining whether or not the ejection section has an abnormality; a recording section recording a determination result of the determination section; a temperature detection section detecting a temperature of the ejection section; and a maintenance section executing maintenance processing on the ejection section, in which when the recording section records abnormality information indicating the abnormality of the ejection section as the determination result by determining that the abnormality occurred in the ejection section by the determination section, and the temperature detection section detects a temperature that is out of an inspection temperature range in which the state detection section detects the state of the ejection section, the abnormality information recorded in the recording section is reset if the maintenance section executes the maintenance processing.

Liquid ejecting apparatus

A driving device includes a piezoelectric element, a driving electrode, a first switch that performs switching whether to electrically couple the first wire to the driving electrode, a detection circuit that detects, via a second wire, a vibration produced in the piezoelectric element, a second switch that performs switching whether to electrically couple the second wire to the driving electrode, and a determination circuit that determines a state of the piezoelectric element. The second switch remains off during a first period, remains on during a second period subsequent to the first period, remains off during a third period subsequent to the second period, and remains on during a fourth period subsequent to the third period. The determination circuit determines a state of the piezoelectric element, based on a detection result of the detection circuit in at least part of the fourth period.

Driving device and method for controlling driving device

A print head assembled to a liquid ejecting apparatus ejecting a liquid with respect to a medium includes an ejecting portion ejecting the liquid in response to a drive signal and an electrically erasable non-volatile memory, and the non-volatile memory stores history information changing in accordance with an operation state of the print head.

Print head and liquid ejecting apparatus

A print head drive circuit drives a print head including an ejecting portion ejecting a liquid in response to a drive signal propagating through a drive signal line and a storage portion storing ejecting portion-related information changing in accordance with use of the ejecting portion, in which processing of reading the ejecting portion-related information changing in accordance with the use from the storage portion is performed before the drive signal for ejecting the liquid from the ejecting portion is supplied to the print head.

Print head drive circuit and liquid ejecting apparatus

A head unit includes a plurality of ejection portions that include a first ejection portion and a second ejection portion, a determination portion that determines a liquid ejection state of the first ejection portion and determines a liquid ejection state of the second ejection portion, and a storage portion that includes a first storage region storing first determination information indicating a determination result for the first ejection portion from the determination portion, and a second storage region storing second determination information indicating a determination result for the second ejection portion from the determination portion.

Head unit

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes an electrode unit including a first electrode and a second electrode, a determination unit configured to individually determine whether or not a coupling failure of the electrode unit occurs and whether or not liquid exists in a liquid container, a first resistor being provided between the first electrode and the second electrode and having a first resistance value, and a second resistor having a second resistance value that varies depending on an amount of the liquid between the first electrode and the second electrode.

A print head drive circuit outputs an output signal from a terminal electrically coupled to a low voltage logic signal input terminal to which a low voltage logic signal is input and has a first mode in which the print head drive circuit controls a print head to execute reading processing of reading information stored in a memory and not to execute ejection control processing of controlling whether or not to supply a high voltage signal to an ejecting portion group by switching a switch group in accordance with the output signal and a second mode in which the print head drive circuit controls the print head not to execute the reading processing and to execute the ejection control processing in accordance with the output signal.

A print head includes ejecting portions ejecting liquid by being supplied with a high voltage signal, a switch group switching between whether or not to supply the high voltage signal to the first ejecting portion group in accordance with a low voltage logic signal, a memory, a high voltage signal input terminal, and a low voltage logic signal input terminal, the print head having a first mode in which the print head executes reading processing of reading information stored in the memory and does not execute ejection control processing of controlling whether or not to supply the high voltage signal to the first ejecting portion group by switching the switch group in accordance with an input signal input from the low voltage logic signal input terminal and a second mode in which the print head does not execute the reading processing and executes the ejection control processing.

A liquid discharging apparatus has: a discharging section that discharges a liquid by being driven by a driving signal; a detecting section that detects vibration caused in the discharging section; and an inspecting section that inspects the discharging state of the liquid in the discharging section according to the result of detection by the detecting section. In a first period, the potential of the driving signal is changed from a first reference potential to another potential and back to the first reference potential. In a second period, the potential of the driving signal is changed from the first reference potential to a second reference potential. In a third period, the detecting section detects vibration caused in the discharging section. In a fourth period, the potential of the driving signal is changed from the second reference potential to another potential and back to the second reference potential.

Liquid discharging apparatus

A head unit comprising: a first line through which a driving signal is supplied; a first discharging section that has a first piezoelectric element having a first electrode, the first discharging section discharging liquid according to the displacement of the first piezoelectric element, the displacement being caused when the driving signal is supplied to the first electrode; a detection circuit that detects the potential of a second line; a first switch that makes a switchover as to whether to electrically couple the first electrode and first line together; a second switch that makes a switchover as to whether to electrically couple the first electrode and second line together; a third switch that makes a switchover as to whether to electrically couple the first line and second line together; and a first resistor provided in series with the third switch between the first line and the second line.

Head unit and liquid discharging apparatus

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a drive signal generation circuit generating a drive waveform signal, a liquid ejecting head including a vibration plate, a drive element displacing the vibration plate by being supplied with the drive waveform signal, a cavity that is filled with a liquid and of which an internal pressure changes by the displacement of the vibration plate, and a nozzle that communicates with the cavity and that ejects the liquid by the change in internal pressure of the cavity, and an ejecting malfunction detection circuit that detects, specifies a cause of the ejecting malfunction based on the residual vibration signal. The ejecting malfunction detection circuit includes a detection unit detecting the residual vibration signal, an obtaining unit obtaining information indicating an ejecting state of the liquid ejected from the nozzle, and a learning unit machine learning a relationship between the residual vibration signal and the ejecting state.

Liquid ejecting apparatus, print head, and liquid ejecting method

A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a generation unit that generates a driving signal, a discharge portion including a piezoelectric element that is driven by the driving signal, and a detection unit that detects residual vibration occurring in the discharge portion, in a detection period after a driving period during which the piezoelectric element is driven by the driving signal, in which the generation unit maintains a potential of the driving signal at a first potential in a first period, maintains the potential of the driving signal at a second potential in a second period, maintains the potential of the driving signal at a third potential in a third period, and maintains the potential of the driving signal at a detection potential in the detection period, the first potential is a potential between the second potential and the third potential, and the detection potential is a potential between the first potential and the second potential.

A liquid discharging apparatus includes a first discharge section that discharges a metallic ink, a second discharge section that discharges a pigment ink, a detection section that detects residual vibrations that occur in the first discharge section, and outputs a first detection signal, which shows a corresponding detection result, and detects residual vibrations that occur in the second discharge section, and outputs a second detection signal, which shows a corresponding detection result, and a determination section that executes a first determination, which determines whether or not the first detection signal satisfies first conditions, which should be satisfied in a case in which a discharge state of the first discharge section is normal, and executes a second determination, which determines whether or not the second detection signal satisfies second conditions, which should be satisfied in a case in which a discharge state of the second discharge section is normal.

Liquid discharging apparatus and discharge state determination method of liquid in liquid discharging apparatus

A liquid discharge apparatus includes a controller, a drive signal generation unit, a discharge unit, a residual vibration detection unit, and an amplification unit, in which the controller generates discharge control data for controlling discharge of liquid and controls an amplification rate of an amplification unit, the drive signal generation unit generates and outputs a drive signal including a plurality of waveforms driving the discharge unit, the discharge unit discharges the liquid by applying a waveform assigned by the discharge control data among the plurality of waveforms included in the drive signal, the residual vibration detection unit detects residual vibration of the discharge unit and outputs a residual vibration signal indicating the residual vibration, after the discharge unit is driven by the drive signal, and the amplification unit amplifies the residual vibration signal with the amplification rate controlled by the controller and outputs the amplified signal.

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Nagano, Japan

Masashi Kamiyanagi