Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Soyoung Park

Yoichi Ito

Mikio Ohashi

Fumitaka Kikkawa

Yoshinori Uchino

Tomomi Katoh

Akiyoshi Tanaka

Kuniyori Takano

Yuji Tanaka

Takafumi Sasaki

Honriku Jo

Mitsuya Matsubara

Noriyuki Sai

Satoshi Endoh

Kazuyoshi Matsumoto

Hiroshi Noda

Kazuki Suzuki

Kunihiro Yamanaka

Yuta Moriwaki

Naoki Saitoh

Shozo Sakura

Tadayasu Enomoto

Shinichi Kakuda

Hiroyuki Miyata

Yasukazu Ono

Naoki Saito

According to an embodiment, a three-dimensional fabricating apparatus includes a supply unit, a flattening unit, a discharge unit, and a controller. The supply unit is configured to supply powder. The flattening unit is configured to flatten a surface of the supplied powder and form a powder layer. The discharge unit is configured to discharge a first fabrication liquid solidifying the powder and a second fabrication liquid not solidifying the powder onto a surface of the powder layer. The controller is configured to cause the discharge unit to discharge the first fabrication liquid and the second fabrication liquid in accordance with a discharge pattern in which the second fabrication liquid is discharged to a region adjacent to at least some of a plurality of regions in which the first fabrication liquid is discharged.

Three-dimensional fabricating apparatus and three-dimensional fabricating method

A three-dimensional fabrication apparatus includes a fabrication chamber, a liquid discharge device, a vibration applicator, and a controller. In the fabrication chamber, powder is layered to form a powder layer, the powder of the powder layer is bonded together in a desired shape to form a layered fabrication object, and another layered fabrication object is laminated on the layered fabrication object. The liquid discharge device discharges a fabrication liquid onto the powder in the fabrication chamber. The vibration applicator applies vibration to the powder layer onto which the fabrication liquid is discharged from the liquid discharge device. The controller controls and drives the vibration applicator to apply vibration to the powder layer when the liquid discharge device discharges the fabrication liquid onto the powder layer to form the layered fabrication object.

Method and apparatus for fabricating three-dimensional object

A three-dimensional fabricating apparatus includes a fabrication chamber, a flattening member, a surplus powder chamber, and an impact applicator. The fabrication chamber stacks powder in layers and a layered fabrication object in which the powder is bonded together. The flattening member relatively moves with respect to the fabrication chamber to fill the fabrication chamber with the powder. The surplus powder chamber is disposed outside the fabrication chamber, to receive a surplus of the powder having not been filled in the fabrication chamber. The impact applicator is movable with the flattening member to contact and impact on the surplus powder chamber.

Apparatus and method of fabricating three-dimensional object

An apparatus for fabricating a three-dimensional object includes a fabrication stage and a flattener. A fabrication layer in which powder particles are bound together is formed layer-by-layer on the fabrication stage. The flattener relatively moves in a moving direction along a stage surface of the fabrication stage and flattens a surface of powder on the fabrication stage to form a powder layer. The fabrication stage and the flattener are arranged to be relatively movable in a height direction. In formation of the powder layer on the fabrication layer formed on the fabrication stage, the apparatus performs an operation to increase a distance between the flattener and the fabrication stage in the height direction when the flattener moves to a position near an edge of the fabrication layer in the moving direction.

Apparatus for fabricating three-dimensional object

A three-dimensional fabrication apparatus includes a fabrication chamber, a supply chamber, a flattening unit, and a powder collector. The powder collector is disposed forward from the flattening unit in a transfer direction of the flattening unit. The powder collector is movable with movement of the flattening unit. The powder collector includes a body container, a collection port, and a discharge port. When the flattening unit transfers and supplies powder, the powder collector collects a portion of the powder from the collection port and contains the portion of the powder in the body container. When the flattening unit returns to the supply chamber, the powder collector discharges and supplies the powder from the body container to the supply chamber through the discharge port.

An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a recording head, a maintenance unit, a cover, and a controller. The recording head has a nozzle face and nozzles in the nozzle face to eject droplets of liquid. The maintenance unit has a cap to protect the nozzle face of the recording head. The cover opens an interior of the apparatus body to an outside of the apparatus body. The controller performs a normal control to cap the nozzle face of the recording head with the cap on opening of the cover and a special control to expose the nozzle face of the recording head to an area opened by the cover on receipt of an external instruction.

Image forming apparatus configured to include nozzle face capping control

An image forming apparatus includes a recording head, a receiving face member, and a cleaner. The recording head discharges droplets. The receiving face member includes a receiving face to receive dummy discharge droplets discharged from the recording head and not contributing to image formation. With rotation of the receiving face member, the receiving face movable between a facing position at which the receiving face faces the recording head and a retracted position at which the receiving face does not face the recording head. The cleaner cleans the receiving face of the receiving face member.

Image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit to form an image on a medium; a reciprocally moving carriage on which to mount the image forming unit; a carriage position detector to detect a position of the carriage; a conveyance unit to convey the medium; a conveyance path of the medium; a regulator to regulate a distance between the medium and the image forming unit and movable in a moving direction of the carriage; a regulator detector, mounted on the carriage, to detect the regulator; a drive unit to move the regulator; and a controller that controls a position of the regulator based on a reading from the carriage position when the regulator detector detects the regulator.

An ink ejecting printer includes a recording head disposed with a prescribed clearance between the recording head and a recording medium having a predetermined length in a main scanning direction and ejects ink droplets onto the recording medium, a partitioning member longer than the recording head that has a predetermined width and can be moved between a position facing the recording head and a retracted position, a supporting member that supports the partitioning member movable between the position facing the recording head and the retracted position, a biasing unit that biases the supporting member toward the partitioning member is at the retracted position, a moving unit that moves the supporting member toward the partitioning member is at the position facing the recording head against the biasing unit, and a drive controller that moves the partitioning member to the position facing the recording head and performs dummy ejection at predetermined times.

Ink ejecting printer, ink ejecting printing system, ink ejecting printer control method, and ink ejecting printer control program

An image forming apparatus including an image forming unit, a conveyor, and a string-shaped regulation member. The image forming unit forms an image on a recording medium. The conveyor is disposed opposing the image forming unit to convey the recording medium along a conveyance passage. The string-shaped regulation member is disposed between the image forming unit and the conveyance passage to regulate a distance between the recording medium and the image forming unit within a certain range.

An image forming apparatus includes a recording head having a nozzle surface including plural nozzles configured to eject liquid droplets, a suction cap configured to seal the nozzle surface of the recording head, a cap holder configured to displaceably hold the suction cap via an elastic member and retractably disposed corresponding to the recording head, and a wiping member configured to wipe the nozzle surface of the recording head in a direction from an upper side to a lower side. The cap holder is provided with a guide part configured to come into contact with an upper end surface of the recording head to frictionally move on the upper end surface of the recording head, and the guide part is disposed on an upper side of the recording head.

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming part including a recording head to form an image on a recording medium, a conveyance mechanism disposed opposite the image forming part to convey the recording medium, and a cover closably openable relative to a body of the image forming apparatus and disposed opposite the conveyance mechanism with the image forming part interposed therebetween. The recording head is detachably attachable to the cover and is configured to move away from the conveyance mechanism when the cover is opened.

The present invention provides a cap member for a liquid discharge head. The cap member is configured to seal a discharge surface of the liquid discharge head and includes a lower receiving portion; a liquid-absorbing member disposed opposite the discharge surface of the head and including a nozzle-facing surface and a bottom portion; and a suction hole, provided at a bottom of the cap member, through which ink is discharged. In the thus-configured cap member, the bottom portion of the liquid-absorbing member is disposed apart from the lower receiving portion and from the suction hole disposed at the bottom of the cap member, and has a surface slanted toward the suction hole.

Cap member of liquid discharge head, liquid discharge device, and image forming apparatus including liquid discharge device

An image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit forming an image on a recording medium; and a feeding unit feeding the recording medium in first and second directions opposite to each other relative to the image forming unit. Further when the recording medium is supplied from a first or second side of the feeding unit, while the feeding unit feeds the recording medium in the first or second feeding direction, the image forming unit forms an image on the recording medium, and the feeding unit further feeds the recording medium to the second or first side, respectively, of the feeding unit.

Image forming apparatus configured for bi-directional feeding of medium

An image forming apparatus including a recording head having a nozzle surface on which multiple nozzles to eject droplets are arranged in a line; a suction device; and a cap to cover the nozzle surface of the recording head. The cap includes a suction hole to connect a space formed by the cap and the nozzle surface with the suction device; an air hole to connect the space with air; and an absorbent located inside the cap. The top surface of the absorbent is retracted from the contact portion of the cap to be contacted with the nozzle surface so that when the nozzle surface is capped with the cap, a flow passage is secured between the air hole to the suction hole without obstructed by the absorbent.

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Kanagawa, Japan

Soyoung Park