1. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a first group of large nozzles which eject large droplets of the liquid for a color;
a second group of small nozzles which eject small droplets of the liquid for the color, the small droplets having volume smaller than the large droplets;
a dot data creation device which creates dot data according to input image data;
a dot data correction device which corrects the dot data if there is an abnormal nozzle in
one of the first and second groups, in such a manner that a corrective nozzle is selected from the other of the first and second groups, and droplet ejection performed by the corrective nozzle substitutes for droplet ejection that is originally to be performed by the abnormal nozzle; and
a driving device which drives the large and small nozzles to eject the large and small droplets according to the corrected dot data,
wherein the dot data correction device corrects the dot data if the abnormal nozzle belongs to the second group, in such a manner that a total amount of the liquid ejected by the corrective nozzle is greater than a total amount of the liquid that was originally to be ejected by the abnormal nozzle.
2. An image forming apparatus, comprising:
a first group of large nozzles which eject large droplets of liquid for a color;
a second group of small nozzles which eject small droplets of the liquid for color, the small droplets having volume smaller that the large droplets;
a dot data creation device which creates dot data according to input image data;
a dot data correction device which corrects the dot data if there is an abnormal nozzle in one of the first and second groups, in such a manner that a corrective nozzle is selected from the other of the first and second groups, and droplet ejection performed by the corrective nozzle substitutes for droplet ejection that is originally to be performed by the abnormal nozzle; and
a driving device which drives the large and small nozzles to eject the large and small droplets according to the corrected dot data,
wherein the dot data correction device corrects the dot data if the abnormal nozzle belongs to the first group, in such a manner that a total amount of the liquid ejected by the corrective nozzle is less than a total amount of the liquid that was originally to be ejected by the abnormal nozzle.
3. An image forming method for an image forming apparatus having a first group of large nozzles and a second group of small nozzles, the large nozzles ejecting large droplets of liquid for a color, the small nozzles ejecting small droplets of the liquid for the color, the small droplets having volume smaller that the large droplets, the method comprising the steps of:
creating dot data according to input image data;
finding an abnormal nozzle in the large and small nozzles;
correcting the dot data if the abnormal nozzle is found in one of the first and second groups, in such a manner that a corrective nozzle is selected from the other of the first and second groups, and droplet ejection performed by the corrective nozzle substitutes for droplet ejection that is originally to be performed by the abnormal nozzle; and
driving the large and small nozzles to eject the large and small droplets according to the corrected dot data,
wherein in the correcting step, if the abnormal nozzle belongs to the second group, the dot data is corrected in such a manner that a total amount of the liquid ejected by the corrective nozzle is greater than a total amount of the liquid that is originally to be ejected by the abnormal nozzle.
4. An image forming method for an image forming apparatus having a first group of large nozzles and a second group of small nozzles, the large nozzles ejecting large droplets of liquid for a color, the small nozzles ejecting small droplets of the liquid for the color, the small droplets having volume smaller than the large droplets, the method comprising the steps of:
creating dot data according to input image data;
finding an abnormal nozzle in the large and small nozzles;
correcting the dot data if the abnormal nozzle is found in one of the first and second groups, in such a manner that a corrective nozzle is selected from the other of the first and second groups, and droplet ejection performed by the corrective nozzle substitutes for droplet ejection that is originally to be performed by the abnormal nozzle; and
driving the large and small nozzles to eject the large and small droplets according to the corrected dot data,
wherein in the correcting step, if the abnormal nozzle belongs to the first group, the dot data is corrected in such a manner that a total amount of the liquid ejected by the corrective nozzle is less than a total amount of the liquid that is originally to be ejected by the abnormal nozzle.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A conductive paste comprising:
conductive powder;
glass powder; and
an organic vehicle,
wherein the glass powder comprises about 10% to 31% of B2O3, about 65% to 86% of SiO2, and more than about 0.5% to less than about 5% of M2O on a weight basis, where M represents an alkali metal element.
2. The conductive paste according to claim 1, wherein the conductive powder contains spherical particles with an average particle size of about 0.5 to 1.0 \u03bcm and flat particles having an average particle size of about 1.5 to 5.0 \u03bcm and an aspect ratio of about 5:1 to 70:1, the aspect ratio being the ratio of the maximum diameter to the average thickness, and wherein the ratio of the amount of the spherical particles to that of the flat particles ranges from about 1:4 to 4:1 on a weight basis.
3. The conductive paste according to claim 2, wherein conductive powder contains at least one member selected from the group consisting of Ag, Pd, Ag\u2014Pd alloy and Au.
4. The conductive past of claim 3, wherein the amount of conductive powder is about 66% to 78%, the amount of glass powder is about 2% to 8%, and the amount of vehicles is about 18% to 30%.
5. The conductive paste according to claim 1, wherein conductive powder contains at least one member selected from the group consisting of Ag, Pd, Ag\u2014Pd alloy and Au.
6. The conductive paste of claim 1, wherein the amount of conductive powder is about 66% to 78%, the amount of glass powder is about 2% to 8%, and the amount of vehicles is about 18% to 30%.
7. A ceramic electronic component comprising:
a ceramic element; and
an external conductor on the component element,
wherein the external conductor comprises a glass component comprising about 10% to 31% of B2O3, about 65% to 86% of SiO2, and more than about 0.5% to less than about 5% of M2O on a weight basis, where M represents an alkali metal element.
8. The ceramic element according to claim 7, wherein the external conductor contains at least one member selected from the group consisting of Ag, Pd, Ag\u2014Pd alloy and Au.
9. The ceramic element according to claim 8, further comprising an internal conductor in the ceramic element and electrically connected to the external conductor.
10. The ceramic element according to claim 9, wherein the internal conductor comprises at least one of Ag and Pd.
11. The ceramic element according to claim 10, further comprising a metal coating on the external conductor.
12. The ceramic element according to claim 11, wherein the metal coating comprises Ni, Cu, Sn or solder.
13. The ceramic element according to claim 12, wherein the metal coating comprises a Ni coating on the external conductor and a Sn coating on the Ni coating.
14. The ceramic element according to claim 13, wherein the external conductor contains spherical particles with an average particle size of about 0.5 to 1.0 \u03bcm and flat particles having an average particle size of about 1.5 to 5.0 \u03bcm and an aspect ratio of about 5:1 to 70:1, the aspect ratio being the ratio of the maximum diameter to the average thickness, and wherein the ratio of the amount of the spherical particles to that of the flat particles ranges from about 1:4 to 4:1 on a weight basis.
15. The ceramic element according to claim 7, wherein the external conductor contains spherical particles with an average particle size of about 0.5 to 1.0 \u03bcm and flat particles having an average particle size of about 1.5 to 5.0 \u03bcm and an aspect ratio of about 5:1 to 70:1, the aspect ratio being the ratio of the maximum diameter to the average thickness, and wherein the ratio of the amount of the spherical particles to that of the flat particles ranges from about 1:4 to 4:1 on a weight basis.
16. The ceramic element according to claim 7, further comprising an internal conductor in the ceramic element and electrically connected to the external conductor.
17. The ceramic element according to claim 16, wherein the internal conductor comprises at least one of Ag and Pd.
18. The ceramic element according to claim 7, further comprising a metal coating on the external conductor.
19. The ceramic element according to claim 18, wherein the metal coating comprises Ni, Cu, Sn or solder.
20. The ceramic element according to claim 19, wherein the metal coating comprises a Ni coating on the external conductor and a Sn coating on the Ni coating.