# US 10,118,403 B2 · Droplet ejecting apparatus, image forming apparatus, and non-transitory computer readable medium storing program

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- Number: US 10,118,403 B2
- Document ID: US10118403B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 15/729,698
- Filed: 2017-10-11
- Published: 2018-04-19
- Granted: 2018-11-06
- Earliest claimed: 2016-10-19
- Assignees: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
- Applicants: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Kotaro Maeda; Shinji Seto
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US10118403B2

## CPC

- B41J 2/2139: {Compensation for malfunctioning nozzles creating dot place or dot size errors (generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers B41J2/045)}
- B41J 2/0451: {for detecting failure, e.g. clogging, malfunctioning actuator}
- B41J 2/04526: {controlling trajectory}
- B41J 2/04581: {controlling heads based on piezoelectric elements}
- B41J 2/04588: {using a specific waveform}
- B41J 2/14233: {of film type, deformed by bending and disposed on a diaphragm}
- B41J 2/2146: {for line print heads}
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

## Abstract

A droplet ejecting apparatus includes: an ejecting section having a plurality of nozzles arranged along an intersecting direction with a transport direction of a recording medium. Each nozzle ejects a main droplet and a sub-droplet smaller than the main droplet consecutively. Each nozzle can change a deflection amount in an ejecting direction of the main droplet along the intersecting direction. A control section performs, in a case where a defective nozzle exists in the nozzles, a control of deflecting the ejecting directions of the main droplets ejected from a nozzle positioned within a predetermined distance from the defective nozzle toward a landing position of a main droplet that should have ejected from the defective nozzle.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A droplet ejecting apparatus comprising:
an ejecting section having a plurality of nozzles arranged along an intersecting direction with a transport direction of a recording medium, each of the nozzles being configured to consecutively eject a main droplet and a sub-droplet which is smaller than the main droplet, and each of the nozzles being configured to change a deflection amount in an ejecting direction of the main droplet along the intersecting direction; and
a control section that performs, in a case where a defective nozzle exists in the nozzles, a control of deflecting the ejecting directions of the main droplets ejected from a nozzle positioned within a predetermined distance from the defective nozzle toward a landing position of a main droplet that should have ejected from the defective nozzle, and that perform a control of the nozzle positioned within the predetermined distance to consecutively eject the main droplet and the sub-droplet.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the nozzle positioned within the predetermined distance is a nozzle adjacent to the defective nozzle.

### Claim 3 (depends on 1)

The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the control section makes a nozzle of which the ejecting direction of the main droplet is deflected different in each pixel along the transport direction in a case of performing the control.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the control section performs a control of deflecting the ejecting directions of the main droplets ejected from all nozzles except for the defective nozzle toward a landing position of a main droplet that should have ejected from the defective nozzle, and performs a control of the nozzles to consecutively eject the main droplet and the sub-droplet.

### Claim 5 (depends on 1)

The droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1,
wherein the control section calculates a driving frequency of the nozzle from image information and a transport speed of the recording medium, and controls an ejection voltage such that an ejecting speed of the main droplet at the driving frequency is equal to or higher than an ejecting speed of the sub-droplet.

### Claim 6 (depends on 1)

An image forming apparatus comprising:
a transport section that transports a recording medium; and
the droplet ejecting apparatus according to claim 1 that ejects a droplet to the recording medium transported by the transport section.

### Claim 7

A non-transitory computer readable medium storing a program causing a computer to function as a control section of a droplet ejecting apparatus comprising:
an ejecting section having a plurality of nozzles arranged along an intersecting direction with a transport direction of a recording medium, each of the nozzles being configured to consecutively eject a main droplet and a sub-droplet which is smaller than the main droplet, and each of the nozzles being configured to change a deflection amount in an ejecting direction of the main droplet along the intersecting direction; and
the control section that performs, in a case where a defective nozzle exists in the nozzles, a control of deflecting the ejecting directions of the main droplets ejected from a nozzle positioned within a predetermined distance from the defective nozzle toward a landing position of a main droplet that should have ejected from the defective nozzle, and that perform a control of the nozzle positioned within the predetermined distance to consecutively eject the main droplet and the sub-droplet.