Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Masaya Kawarada

Nobuyuki Satoh

Kenji Morita

Daisaku Horikawa

Mamoru Yorimoto

Suguru Yokozawa

Yuichi Sakurada

Tomohiro Sasa

Masahiro Hiranuma

Kohta Aoyagi

Masayuki Fujii

Hiroshi Matsumoto

Masato Kobayashi

Kahei Nakamura

Yasuhisa Katoh

Kenta Sasaki

A sheet feeding device includes a conveyance rotator, a separation rotator, a torque applier, a torque control circuit, and a torque transmission switcher. The conveyance rotator conveys a sheet in a sheet feeding direction. The separation rotator sandwiches the sheet together with the conveyance rotator. The torque applier applies a reverse torque to the separation rotator in a sheet reversing direction to reverse the sheet. The torque control circuit controls the reverse torque applied to the separation rotator to be equal to or less than a given value. The torque transmission switcher switches, between a transmission state and a non-transmission state, a state of a torque transmission path between the torque applier and the separation rotator. The transmission state is a state in which the reverse torque is transmitted. The non-transmission state is a state in which the reverse torque is not transmitted.

Sheet feeding device, image forming apparatus, and control method

A sheet material cutting device includes a cutting blade and a guard member. The cutting blade is displaceably disposed and cuts a web-shaped sheet material. The guard member faces the sheet material and has a slit through which the cutting blade passes when the cutting blade is displaced to a cutting position.

Sheet material cutting device, coating device, and printing apparatus

A printing apparatus includes a coater, a first discharger, a first dryer, a second discharger, and a second dryer. The coater applies a coating liquid to both faces of a sheet material. The first discharger discharges a first liquid to one face of the sheet material with the coating liquid applied to both faces of the sheet material. The first dryer dries the sheet material to which the first liquid discharged from the first discharger is applied. The second discharger discharges a second liquid to the other face of the sheet material that has passed through the first dryer. The second dryer dries the sheet material to which the second liquid discharged by the second discharger is applied.

Printing apparatus

A dryer includes a heater in a conveyance area in which an object is conveyed, the heater configured to heat the object on which a liquid is applied, a heated portion in an outer area outside the conveyance area, the heated portion connected to the heater, a partition wall partitioning the conveyance area and the outer area, an air supply unit in the conveyance area, the air supply unit configured to feed air to the object conveyed in the conveyance area, and a duct in the outer area, the duct connected to the air supply unit and configured to take in air around the heated portion.

Dryer and printer

An imaging device includes an imaging unit to obtain a captured image of a test pattern and a reference mark to locate the test pattern and at least one processor. The test pattern includes a pair of first marks and a second mark. The processor includes a position detector configured to detect the reference mark in the captured image and locate the pair of first marks and the second mark in the captured image, and a ratio calculator configured to calculate one of a first ratio between a distance between the pair of first marks in the captured image and a deviation of the second mark in the captured image, and a second ratio between the distance between the pair of first marks in the captured image and a distance from one of the pair of first marks to the second mark in the captured image.

Imaging device, image forming apparatus, and method for detecting deviation of landing position

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming device; an imaging device; and at least one processor including a pattern forming unit to cause a recording head to form a pair of first marks, with first and second nozzles disposed at a first distance from each other in a direction of conveyance of a recording medium, while the recording head moves in a first direction and cause the recording head to form a second mark while the recording head moves in a second direction, a position detector to detect positions of the first and second marks in a captured image, a ratio calculator to calculate a ratio between a distance between the first marks in the captured image and a deviation of the second mark in the captured image, and distance calculator to calculate a distance of the deviation based on the first distance and the ratio.

Image forming apparatus and method for calculating actual distance of deviation

An image forming apparatus includes a conveyor to convey a recording medium; an image forming device including a recording head to form a test pattern including a first mark and a pair of second marks; an imaging device; and a processor. The processor includes a pattern forming unit to cause the image forming device to form one of the first and second marks and form the other after the conveyor conveys the recording medium by a predetermined conveyance amount, a position detector to detect positions of the first and second marks in the captured image, a ratio calculator to calculate a ratio between a distance between the second marks and deviation of the first mark in the captured image, and a distance calculator to calculate an actual distance of the deviation based on a theoretical distance between the second marks and the ratio.

Image forming apparatus, method for calculating actual distance of deviation, and computer program product storing same

An image capturing apparatus includes: a casing having an opening; a light source arranged inside the casing; a sensor arranged inside the casing and configured to capture, through the opening, an image of an object present outside the casing while the light source is on; and a distance calculator to calculate a distance between the casing and the object, based on an image that has been captured by the sensor and contains, within an image region of the object defined by the opening, a high-luminance region and low-luminance regions located more outside than the high-luminance region.

Image capturing apparatus, image forming apparatus, distance measuring method, and computer-readable recording medium

A distance measuring device includes: an imaging unit that captures a test pattern image including a pair of first markers and a second marker that is formed under a condition different from a condition applied to the first markers; a position detecting unit that detects a position of each of the pair of first markers and the second marker in a captured image captured by the imaging unit; a ratio calculating unit that calculates a ratio of a distance between the pair of the first markers in the captured image and an actual distance between the pair of the first markers; and an actual distance calculating unit that calculates an actual distance between one of the first markers as the pair and the second marker by multiplying a distance between the one of the first markers as the pair and the second marker in the captured image by the ratio.

Distance measuring device, image forming apparatus, and distance measuring method

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

An imaging device includes: a sensor unit that is arranged at a predetermined position inside a casing, and that images a subject outside the casing through an opening portion, with a part of an imaging region, while imaging a reference chart with another part of the imaging region; and a light absorption member that is arranged in an optical path of light from a illumination light source toward a specular-reflection position from which specular-reflection light of the illumination light source is entered to the sensor unit, in the imaging range. The light absorption member has at least a first surface on which light from the illumination light source toward the specular-reflection position is irradiated, and a second surface that faces to the first surface, and reflected light that has been reflected on the first surface and then on the second surface is further directed toward the first surface.

Imaging device, colorimetry device, 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.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Masaya Kawarada