Seiko Epson Corporation

Toshihiro Hayashi

Munehide Kanaya

Koichi Otsuki

Kazumichi Shimada

Satoshi Fujioka

Yoshihiko Matsuzawa

A printing apparatus as an example of an electronic device includes an indicator lamp that emits light in a predetermined color when an abnormality occurs. The indicator lamp includes a light source, and a light reflecting member on which light emitted from the light source is incident and that reflects the incident light. The light reflecting member includes a reflecting surface at which light is reflected. The reflecting surface includes a plurality of individual reflecting surfaces formed in a surface shape of at least a part of a conical surface having an axis forming a predetermined angle with respect to a traveling direction of incident light. The plurality of individual reflecting surfaces are arranged side by side in a first direction intersecting the traveling direction of the incident light.

Electronic device, light reflecting member, and indicator lamp

A stacking apparatus is provided with a stacking member that stacks a sheet as a recording medium that is discharged from a recording apparatus such that the sheet hangs on the stacking member, a guiding part that guides the sheet down to a point lower than a top of the stacking member, and an urging unit that controls movement of the sheet.

Stacking apparatus, recording apparatus and stacking method

A plurality of transmission gates provided in mask circuits each having another transmission gate which connects/disconnects an original signal generating circuit to/from a corresponding piezoelectric element (electrode), and a plurality of voltage waveform detecting circuits respectively connected to the electrodes of the respective piezoelectric elements via the former transmission gates are provided exclusively for the respective piezoelectric elements. In detecting an ejection failure of each nozzle, the original signal generating circuit generates a test drive signal enough to prevent each nozzle from ejecting ink to switch all the latter transmission gates on for a certain time, and then switch them off, and switch all the former transmission gates on, so that an ejection failure of the corresponding nozzle is determined based on the vibration period of a voltage waveform detected by the voltage waveform detecting circuit for each piezoelectric element.

Nozzle state detecting apparatus and image forming apparatus

A recording system for performing a recording operation on a target includes a plurality of recording heads, a plurality of controllers that are arranged respectively for the plurality of recording heads, a data distributor that distributes second data to each of the controllers, and a data generator that generates third data to be output to the plurality of recording heads in response to the second data. The second data results from dividing, by the number of recording heads, a first data to be supplied. The controller further includes a transfer unit that transfers the third data to be output to the recording head corresponding to another controller to the other controller and a verification unit that verifies that a recording start condition has been established.

Recording system having a plurality of controllers arranged respectively for a plurality of recording heads

A droplet-ejection detecting device for detecting ejection of droplets from a plurality of nozzle orifices, includes: a beam scanning mechanism which scans a plurality of droplet ejection lines along which droplets ejected from the nozzle orifices fly, by emitting a beam to intersect the droplet ejection lines, thereby subjecting the droplets to irradiation with the beam; a light receiving unit which receives light obtained as a result of the irradiation; and an ejection determining mechanism which determines safe ejections of the droplets from the nozzle orifices based on a received-light signal output from the light receiving unit.

Droplet-ejection detecting device and recording apparatus

While performing main scanning in which a head having a plurality of nozzles that eject ink is moved in prescribed forward and reverse main scanning directions relative to a print medium, print images are printed on the print medium by forming dots in each pixel aligned in the main scanning direction in accordance with print data. The dot formation position misalignment amount for each nozzle is corrected using image pixel value data indicating the existence of image pixels comprising images and adjustment pixel value data indicating the existence of adjustment pixels in which dots are not formed.

Dot formation position misalignment adjustment performed using pixel-level information indicating dot non-formation

The technique is provided that reduces degraded quality in printed results due to nozzles employed to record dots on each pixel in combination with the order in which these dots are recorded on pixels. A plurality of nozzles on a print head are grouped, in order from the nozzles that first reach a point over the print medium, into a first nozzle group, a second nozzle group, and a third nozzle group. During main scanning, certain pixels in main scan lines positioned facing the nozzles of the first nozzle group are targeted for dot recording. All pixels contained in main scan lines positioned facing the nozzles of the second nozzle group are targeted for dot recording. Those pixels among the pixels contained in main scan lines positioned facing the nozzles of the third nozzle group, and that have not previously had dots recorded thereon by the first nozzle group in a previous main scan, are targeted for dot recording. The number of pixels Nrecorded by the first nozzle group and the number of pixels Nrecorded by the third nozzle group in the course of a single main scan is adjusted to a suitable ratio.

Printing strategy for considering variable dot size dependent on peripheral pixel dot recording status

DOT formation position misalignment adjustment performed using pixel-level information indicating dot non-formation

In an n-th primary scanning (forward trip) the rasters by white circle dots are formed. After this primary scanning, printing paper is conveyed toward a secondary-scanning-direction downstream side by the secondary scanning distance which is the same as the interval d between dots, and in the (n&plus;1)-th primary scanning (backward trip) after the conveyance, the rasters by black circle dots are formed. Subsequently, the printing paper is conveyed toward the secondary-scanning-direction downstream side by a secondary scanning distance of (2N&minus;1)&middot;d, and in the (n&plus;2)-th primary scanning (forward trip) after the conveyance and the (n&plus;3)-th primary scanning (forward trip) after the conveyance by a secondary scanning distance d, white circle and black circle dots are formed, respectively. Thus, an image is printed in units of two adjacent rasters formed by the same nozzles.

Recording method and recording apparatus

Before transmitting print data, a print controller transmits to a printer information on a thickness of a printing medium corresponding to a sort of printing medium which is selected on a select screen by an operator in a state that the medium thickness information is contained in control data for the print data. In the printer, a timing correction section corrects a timing of ejecting an ink drop onto a printing medium in the forward and reverse scans executed by the recording head in accordance with the control data containing the medium thickness information. Accordingly, stress imposed on the operator when the printer prints on various types of printing media in a bi-directional printing mode can be reduced.

Printer, printing system, recording medium for storing print control programs, and printing method

A host computer converts an entered gray scale image into a raster image expressing multiple tonal ranges, using an intermediate spot pattern determined in advance. Here, the intermediate spot pattern is a spot pattern composed of pixels which can take only binary value densities with information indicating tonal ranges embedded in the manner of arrangement of the pixels in the spot pattern. Therefore, this raster image logically expresses a large number of tonal ranges which cannot be actually expressed with pixels in binary value densities. A printer receives this raster image from the host computer and converts the intermediate spot pattern in this raster image into an output spot pattern which can assume tertiary values or more in density, thereby printing out a half-tone image actually expressing multiple tonal ranges.

Growing community of inventors

Matsumoto, Japan

Toshihiro Hayashi