Seiko Epson Corporation

Osamu Ishibashi

Ken Yoshizuka

Kazuhiro Ichikawa

Keiichi Taguchi

Akira Maruyama

Kazuhiro Nishida

Hiroshi Tanaka

Masahiro Owa

Makoto Fujino

Toshio Kumagai

Chiyoaki Iijima

Yoshinori Miyazawa

Tatsuya Ito

Michinari Tsukahara

Makoto Matsuzaki

Hiroto Nakamura

Makoto Fuse

Masakazu Shinozuka

Takashi Saegusa

Fumie Uehara

Yoshiyuki Koike

Yasushi Maruyama

Yoshie Hosono

Koichi Okuhara

A projector includes an alternately-current-driven light source and a liquid crystal light valve that modulates light output from the light source. The light source and the liquid crystal light valve are driven under a condition that a current drive signal of the light source and a vertical synchronizing signal of the liquid crystal light valve are synchronized, and a synchronization timing of the current drive signal and the vertical synchronizing signal is changed to a different synchronization timing based on accumulated operating time at intervals of each time or a plural times of activation or with the same synchronization timing.

Projector with variable synchronization timing

In addition to reflective light modulation devices, reflective polarization plates, a color combining optical device, and support bodies, a projector is provided with connection members fixed to the color combining optical device and for supporting the support bodies. Support positions of the support body by the connection members are disposed on the opposite side to the disposition position of the reflective light modulation device with respect to a plane including a polarization split surface of the reflective polarization plate.

Projector having connection member fixed to color combining optical device

A projector having a first lens array with a plurality of first lenses in a plane substantially orthogonal to an optical axis of the light beam from a light source that divides the light beam into a plurality of partial light beams, a second lens array having a plurality of second lenses corresponding to the plurality of first lenses, and a polarization converter that is disposed on a light beam emitting-side of the first lens array. A focal position in a first direction of the first lens is set in the vicinity of the second lens array in the optical direction of the light beam irradiated from the first lens. A focal position in the second direction of the first lens is set in the vicinity of the polarization converter in the optical direction of the light beam irradiated from the first lens.

Projector

A projector includes an integrator illumination optical system. The integrator illumination optical system includes: a first lens array having a plurality of first small lenses, a second lens having a plurality of second small lenses, and a polarization converter including: polarization separating layers. The second small lenses of the second lens array are each arranged with its convex surface oriented to the light-irradiation side. A light shield section is provided on a portion on an incident-side surface of the polarization converter, the portion excluding a light-incident surface corresponding to the polarization separating layers. An extending portion is formed on one of the second lens array and the polarization converter in a manner extending toward the other one of the second lens array and the polarization converter, the second lens array and the polarization converter bonded and fixed to each other by bonding and fixing the extending portion to the other one.

To provide a projector capable of increasing F number of an illumination system without enlarging the size of the illumination system or the like. A combining lensoperating in cooperation with a superimposing lensis provided only in a first section between a first dichroic mirrorand a red light reflection mirroras a bending mirror on a first optical path OPextending from the superimposing lensto a first liquid crystal display panel. Thus, the F number of an illumination systemassociated with blue light can be controlled with high degree of freedom, and the number of lenses constituting a color separation and light guide systemand the illumination systemdoes not increase. Moreover, the incident angle of illumination light does not become large around the first liquid crystal display panel, and thus the telecentric characteristics of the illumination systemassociated with blue light can be secured.

An object of the present invention is to simplify management of the amount of recording agent used by multiple users, by allocating a recording agent cartridge to a user in advance. In a printing device of the present invention, a primary user and a secondary user are set as active user information for each of multiple recording agent cartridges in a printing device connected to a network. When a print job with user identification information is received via the network, the printing device specifies a cartridge of which the primary user is the user who sent the job, based on the user identification information and the active user information, and determines whether the residual amount in the specified cartridge is sufficient (S). When the residual amount is not sufficient, the procedure specifies another cartridge for which the user is set as the secondary user, based on the user identification information and the active user information, and set the specified cartridge as a active cartridge to be used for printing (S).

Printing device with multiple recording agent cartridges and corresponding print management method

The present invention provides a printing device whereby a recording agent cartridge that pertains to recording agent cartridge-related information can easily be identified. The printing device of the present invention stores cartridge identification information including user information on each user allocated to one of the multiple recording agent cartridges. When a print job with user identification information is received via the network (S), the printing device identifies a recording agent cartridge corresponding to a user of the print job and sets the identified recording agent cartridge to an active recording agent cartridge for executing the print job (S), based on the user identification information received with the print job and the user information. The printing device executes the print job and outputs output information with respect to a specified recording agent cartridge selected among the multiple recording agent cartridges, together with a specific piece of the cartridge identification information regarding the specified recording agent cartridge, which is selected out of the cartridge identification information stored in said cartridge identification information storage module (S).

Printing device and print management method

A status information receiver is communicatively connected to at least one printing device via a network, and adapted to receive status information transmitted from the printing device. The status information is indicative of an operation state of the printing device. An error information detector is adapted to detect whether error information is included in the status information. The error information is indicative of an error occurred in the printing device. A repair information generator is adapted to generate repair information based on the error information. The repair information is indicative of an item in the printing device to be repaired.

Remote monitoring system and remote monitoring method

A color laser printercompares a pervious printer, which a toner cartridgehas been attached to immediately before attachment to the current printer, with the current printer. In the case where the previous printer is different from the current printer, the color laser printerobtains setting information on the previous printer, which is stored in a storage elementof the toner cartridgeand applies the obtained setting information for the current printer. The various settings in the previous printer are thus turned over to the current printer, when the toner cartridgeis detached from the previous printer and is attached to the current printer. This arrangement ensures smooth printing operations without requiring any troublesome settings to use the current printer.

Printer, printer setting method and corresponding program, and cartridge

Prior to the execution of a printing operation, a print preparatory operation is conducted only on a priority developer cartridge out of the plurality of monochromatic developer cartridges mounted to the developing unit thereby bringing the cartridge into a printable state. Therefore, the print preparatory operation is completed when the print preparatory operation on one (equivalent to a 'priority cartridge' of the invention) of the developer cartridges mounted to the developing unit is terminated. Hence, the apparatus may be placed in the printable state in a short time so that the print preparatory operation is prevented from compelling a user to wait needlessly long and that waiting time of a user may be shortened.

Image forming apparatus and an image forming method using a plurality of monochromatic developer cartridges

A color laser printer of the invention identifies each object image to be printed as a color image or a monochromatic image. When the object image to be printed is identified as a color image, the control procedure of the invention rotates a developer unit with multiple color toner cartridges to sequentially move positions of the respective color toner cartridges to a development position and forms respective color toner images on a photoreceptor. When the object image to be printed is identified as a monochromatic image, on the other hand, the control procedure fixes a specific toner cartridge filled with black toner to the development position and forms a black toner image on the photoreceptor. A counter counts up consecutive monochromatic printing operations. After a preset number of the consecutive monochromatic printing operations in the fixed state of the developer unit, the developer unit is rotated to return and fix the specific toner cartridge filled with black toner to the development position for monochromatic printing.

Printing device and printing method

Prior to execution of a printing operation and in parallel with a warm-up operation of the apparatus, a print preparatory operation is conducted only on selected cartridges of cartridges mounted to a developing unit, thereby bringing the cartridge into a printable state. Therefore, even if the residual amount of toner in one of the selected cartridges runs short, the printing operation is allowed to continue by switching this cartridge to the next selected cartridge.

Image forming apparatus and an image forming method

Toner cartridgesC,M,Y, andK have storage elementsC,M,Y, andK mounted thereon to transmit information carried on electromagnetic wave in a predetermined frequency band. An information receiver transmitter unitis located in a neighborhood of an end of a developer unitwith the toner cartridgesC,M,Y, andK attached thereto to transmit information carried on the electromagnetic wave in the predetermined frequency band to and from a color laser printer. While the developer unitis rotated to develop each color component image with a supply of toner from the corresponding one of the toner cartridgesC,M,Y, andK, the information receiver transmitter unitis controlled to write a cumulative toner consumption and a cumulative number of printed sheets into the corresponding one of the storage elementsC,M,Y, andK.

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Nagano-ken, Japan

Osamu Ishibashi