Spectrometry device and image forming apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9739662-B2
Application number	US-201615079421-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Mar 24, 2016
Priority date	Mar 27, 2015
Publication date	Aug 22, 2017
Grant date	Aug 22, 2017

Abstract

A printer includes a spectroscope including a light source, an integrator optical system that irradiates a predetermined area of irradiation of a medium with illumination light from the light source, a spectroscopy device on which light from a measurement target is incident and in which a wavelength-selective interference filter is disposed, and a light receiver that receives light emitted from the spectroscopy device. The integrator optical system irradiates with the illumination light the area of irradiation that includes a reference area of measurement and is larger than the reference area of measurement by at least an allowable amount of change in the distance between the medium and the spectroscope or more, the reference area of measurement in which the distance between the medium and the spectroscope is equal to a reference distance.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A spectrometry device comprising:
a spectroscope including
a light source that emits light,
an integrator optical system that irradiates a predetermined irradiation area of a measurement target with the light from the light source, the light reflecting off of the measurement target so as to generate reflection light,
a spectroscopy element on which the reflection light from the measurement target is incident, the reflection light having a reflection light optical axis, the spectroscopy element spectroscopically analyzing the reflection light so as to generate spectroscopic light,
a light receiver that receives the spectroscopic light from the spectroscopy element, and
a light pencil diameter changer that receives the light from the light source which has passed through the integrator optical system and that is configured to change a diameter of the light, the light pencil diameter changer being located off of the reflection light optical axis,

wherein the predetermined irradiation area includes a measurement reference area,
the predetermined irradiation area is larger than the measurement reference area by at least a dimension corresponding to an allowable change amount in a distance between the measurement target and the spectroscope,
the measurement reference area is an actual measurement area in which spectrometry using the spectroscope is performed when the distance between the measurement target and the spectroscope is a reference distance, and
wherein the light pencil diameter changer is configured to change the diameter of the light according to the distance between the measurement target and the spectroscope.

2. The spectrometry device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the integrator optical system includes a fly's eye lens.

3. The spectrometry device according to claim 1 ,
wherein the spectroscopy element is a wavelength-selective Fabry-Pérot etalon element.

4. An image forming apparatus comprising:
the spectrometry device according to claim 1 ; and
an image forming unit that forms an image on an image formation target.

5. An image forming apparatus comprising:
the spectrometry device according to claim 2 ; and
an image forming unit that forms an image on an image formation target.

6. An image forming apparatus comprising:
the spectrometry device according to claim 3 ; and
an image forming unit that forms an image on an image formation target.

Assignees

• Seiko Epson Corp

Inventors

• Kanai Masashi

Classifications

• B41J29/38

  Drives, motors, controls or automatic cut-off devices for the entire printing mechanism · CPC title

• H04N1/00002

  Diagnosis, testing or measuring; Detecting, analysing or monitoring not otherwise provided for (error detection, error correction or monitoring in digital computers or digital computer components G06F11/00) · CPC title

• B41J29/393

  Devices for controlling or analysing the entire machine {; Controlling or analysing mechanical parameters involving printing of test patterns} · CPC title

• G01J3/26 Primary

  using multiple reflection, e.g. Fabry-Perot interferometer, variable interference filters · CPC title

• G01J3/0208

  using focussing or collimating elements, e.g. lenses or mirrors; performing aberration correction · CPC title