The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
May. 17, 2011
Filed:
Nov. 24, 2008
Applicants:
Hirotaka Hayashi, Nagoya, JP;
Kazumasa Ito, Tajimi, JP;
Inventors:
Hirotaka Hayashi, Nagoya, JP;
Kazumasa Ito, Tajimi, JP;
Assignee:
Ricoh Elemex Corporation, Nagoya-shi, JP;
Attorney:
Primary Examiner:
Int. Cl.
CPC ...
B41J 29/393 (2006.01);
U.S. Cl.
CPC ...
Abstract
A liquid-discharge-failure detecting apparatus includes a light-emitting element and a light-receiving element. The light-emitting element emits a laser beam in a direction that intersects with a direction in which a droplet of liquid is discharged. The beam is elliptical in cross section. The light-receiving element receives a scattered light generated by scattering of the laser beam by the droplet. The light-receiving element is externally adjacent to a circumference of the beam at a position where a beam diameter of the beam is small.