| 摘要 |
<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To shorten a detection time of a nozzle defect, and to detect which nozzle has the defect. <P>SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes a droplet ejection head having a plurality of nozzles, a light-emitting unit which emits laser light from light-emitting elements so as to intersect the direction of a droplet discharged from each nozzle, a light-receiving unit which receives the scattered light generated when the droplet is irradiated with the laser light and outputs a detection signal according to the light intensity of the scattered light, and a droplet discharge detection means for detecting the droplet discharge state of each nozzle based on the detection signal of the light-receiving unit. The light-emitting unit emits the laser light so as to increase or decrease the intensity gradually according to a distance from the light-emitting unit, the droplet discharge detection means selects a plurality of nozzles having different distances from the light-emitting unit to the nozzles as nozzles to be detected, so that a difference appears in the detection signal by the droplet discharge state, and detects the droplet discharge state on the basis of the scattered light when the droplets are discharged simultaneously from the nozzles to be detected. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2012,JPO&INPIT |
