Abstract: A head cap may comprise a cap body comprising a circular projection which is configured to surround a liquid droplet ejection area formed on an ejection surface of a liquid droplet ejection head by contacting with the ejection surface, and a bottom plate portion which is configured to define a depressed portion in cooperation with the circular projection and to which the circular projection is connected. The head cap may also comprise a holder which is configured to hold the bottom plate portion. The head cap may further comprise a fixing member which is configured to fix the cap body to the holder by being fitted to the holder via the bottom plate portion and disposed on a bottom surface of the depressed portion. The fixing member and the holder may clamp the bottom plate portion in the direction intersecting the direction of projection of the circular oroiection.

Abstract: The head-slider is configured to receive an air-stream produced by rotation of a magnetic-recording disk and is configured to fly in proximity with a recording surface of the magnetic-recording disk. The head-slider includes a trailing edge on an outflow side of the air-stream, and a disk-facing surface that is configured to face the recording surface of the magnetic-recording disk. A low-surface-energy film is disposed on a portion of a trailing-edge side of the head-slider that is in contact with a boundary between the trailing edge and the disk-facing surface. The low-surface-energy film has a lower surface energy than other portions of the trailing-edge side where the low-surface-energy film is not disposed.

Abstract: A method for measuring change of clearance between a head and a disk. The method includes reading a preliminarily written data string for clearance measurement on a disk to obtain a first measured value corresponding to a clearance, and writing a new data string for deterioration check onto the disk and reading the data string for deterioration check to obtain a second measured value corresponding to the clearance. The method also includes determining a deterioration of the data string for clearance measurement from a difference between the first measured value and the second measured value, measuring a clearance change using the data string for clearance measurement by a normal operation if the determination is that the data string for clearance measurement has not deteriorated, and measuring a clearance change by an operation different from the normal operation if the determination is that the data string for clearance measurement has deteriorated.

Abstract: A disk drive including a sensor element that senses contact between a head slider and a disk, a head integrated circuit (IC) comprising an amplification circuit section that amplifies a signal of the head slider, a controller IC comprising a controller that accesses a register of the head IC for controlling the head IC, and an identification section, within the head IC, that determines a contact frequency of the contact by the sensor element by using a timing control signal of the controller IC.

Abstract: A head-slider. The head-slider includes a slider and a magnetic-recording head formed on the slider. The magnetic-recording head includes a main pole, a return pole to which a recording magnetic field from the main pole returns, a sensor element, a shield provided between the sensor element and the main pole, and a heater element for adjusting a shape of a flying surface of the magnetic-recording head. The magnetic-recording head further includes a first recess provided at a tip end face of at least one element selected from the group consisting of the return pole and the shield, and a second recess provided on an exposed flying surface and corresponding to the first recess.

Abstract: If any of a plurality of conditions is satisfied, an image forming apparatus having a plurality of image forming units that form images on an intermediate transfer member in a superimposed manner detects, using a pattern detection sensor, the amount of color misregistration of the images formed by the plurality of image forming units on the intermediate transfer member and corrects the color misregistration of the images formed by the plurality of image forming units in accordance with the amount of color misregistration that is smaller than a color misregistration correction tolerance, which varies depending on the plurality of conditions, and that has been detected by the pattern detection sensor.

Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus has an inkjet head with an ejection surface. The ejection surface has a first end, and a second end opposite the first end. The ejection surface also has a first and second control portion, and a contact portion located between the first control portion and the second control portion. Additionally, a number of ejection ports are formed through the ejection surface. The inkjet recording apparatus also includes a wiper and a wiper moving mechanism. The wiper moving mechanism moves the wiper between the first end and the second end. When the wiper is located over the contact portion, the wiper contacts the ejection surface, and when the wiper is located over the first or second control portions, the wiper is located away from the ink ejection surface.

Abstract: A magnetic-recording head with a first thermal fly-height control (TFC) element and an embedded contact sensor element (ECSE) configurable as a second TFC element. The magnetic-recording head includes a write element, a read element, a first heater element, and an ECSE. The write element is configured for writing data to a magnetic-recording disk. The read element is configured for reading data from the magnetic-recording disk. The first heater element is configured as a first TFC element to coarsely adjust a fly-height of the magnetic-recording head with respect to the magnetic recording disk. The ECSE is configured to detect a contact with the magnetic-recording disk, and to function as a second heater element that is configured as a second TFC element to finely adjust the fly-height. The first heater element is configured with a first stroke-length larger than a second stroke-length of the second heater element for adjusting the fly-height.

Abstract: A disk drive. The disk drive includes a disk, a head-slider, a moving mechanism, and a controller. The head-slider includes a read/write element, a first heater element, a contact pad, and a second heater element. The read/write element includes a read element configured to read user data from the disk, and a write element configured to write user data to the disk. The moving mechanism is configured to support and to move the head-slider. The controller is configured to control the second heater element to control contact between the contact pad and the disk, and is configured to control clearance between the read/write element and the disk by using the first heater element with the contact pad in contact with the disk.

Abstract: A belt feeding apparatus includes an endless belt and a supporting member for rotatably supporting the belt. The belt feeding apparatus further includes a setting member for setting, when the belt is deviated from a widthwisely normal zone, an inclination angle of the supporting member to a return angle to return the belt toward the normal zone. The setting member also sets, when a predetermined time elapses from the belt returning to the normal zone, the inclination angle of the supporting member to a balance angle to keep the belt in the zone.

Abstract: A disk drive. The disk drive includes a plurality of head-sliders, an actuator, a plurality of clearance adjustment sections, and a controller. Each head-slider includes a slider and a magnetic-recording head on the slider for accessing a disk for storing data. The plurality of head-sliders is secured to the actuator that is configured to move the plurality of head-sliders concurrently. Each clearance adjustment section corresponds to each head-slider of the plurality of head-sliders and adjusts a clearance of the corresponding head-slider. In addition, the controller is configured to position the actuator by servo control with a first head-slider selected from the plurality of head-sliders, to change a clearance of a second head-slider different from the first head-slider by controlling a clearance adjustment section of the second head-slider to bring the second head-slider into contact with a disk, and to detect the contact to measure the clearance of the second head-slider.

Abstract: A disk drive. The disk drive includes a disk configured to store data, a slider configured to fly in proximity to the disk, and a magnetic-recording head on the slider configured to access the disk. The disk drive also includes a moving mechanism configured to support and to move the head-slider, an adjustment portion configured to adjust clearance between the magnetic-recording head and the disk, and a controller configured to control the adjustment portion to control the clearance. The controller is configured to perform clearance control in a first mode in an operation selected from the group consisting of reading user data and writing user data according to a change in fly height of the slider after a load operation, and subsequently is configured to perform clearance control in a second mode in an operation selected from the group consisting of reading user data and writing user data.

Abstract: A disk drive including a sensor element that senses contact between a head slider and a disk, a head integrated circuit (IC) comprising an amplification circuit section that amplifies a signal of the head slider, a controller IC comprising a controller that accesses a register of the head IC for controlling the head IC, and an identification section, within the head IC, that determines a contact frequency of the contact by the sensor element by using a timing control signal of the controller IC.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus capable of shortening first copy time to thereby reduce wait time before execution of a print job and prolonging the service life of a scanner motor at the same time. An image forming apparatus that forms a latent image on a photosensitive drum in response to a copy start instruction signal. A scanner motor drives a rotating polygonal mirror that scans the photosensitive drum by reflecting light, for rotation. A counter counts the number of times of start of the motor. A control circuit causes the scanner motor to be started up before the signal is generated, if the count of the counter is less than a predetermined value, and to cause the scanner motor to be started up upon generation of the signal, if the count of the counter is not less than the predetermined value.

Abstract: A method for measuring a change of a clearance between a head and a disk. The method includes reading a preliminarily written data string for clearance measurement on a disk to obtain a first measured value corresponding to a clearance, and writing a new data string for deterioration check onto the disk and reading the data string for deterioration check to obtain a second measured value corresponding to the clearance. The method also includes determining a deterioration of the data string for clearance measurement from a difference between the first measured value and the second measured value, measuring a clearance change using the data string for clearance measurement by a normal operation if the determination is that the data string for clearance measurement has not deteriorated, and measuring a clearance change by an operation different operation if the determination is that the data string for clearance measurement has deteriorated.

Abstract: A disk drive. The disk drive includes a disk, a head-slider, a moving mechanism, and a controller. The head-slider includes a read/write element, a first heater element, a contact pad, and a second heater element. The read/write element includes a read element configured to read user data from the disk, and a write element configured to write user data to the disk. The moving mechanism is configured to support and to move the head-slider. The controller is configured to control the second heater element to control contact between the contact pad and the disk, and is configured to control clearance between the read/write element and the disk by using the first heater element with the contact pad in contact with the disk.

Abstract: Embodiments of the present invention precisely measure clearance variation by temperature change using a value in a RW channel. In an embodiment of the present invention, an HDD measures resolution by signals in a RW channel. The measured resolution shows variations depending on temperature according to two factors. One factor is the clearance variation depending on the temperature and the other is the variation in operational property of the RW channel depending on the temperature. The HDD compensates for the temperature variation of the resolution according to the two factors. The HDD uses two kinds of sensed temperature. One corresponds to the temperature inside an enclosure in which head sliders are provided and the other corresponds to the temperature of the chip in which the RW channel is implemented. Sensing the drive temperature and the channel temperature independently achieves precise compensation for the variation in the measured resolution caused by clearance variation and channel property.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus forms a toner image onto sheets at the first feeding interval on a photoconductor or intermediate transfer member and, if the temperature of a fixing unit falls outside a set temperature range, the sheet layout is changed to a feeding interval wider than the first feeding interval. Adjustment processing is performed based on the image forming condition so that the feeding interval is changed to a wider one in the feeding interval changing step during image formation and it is determined in the determination step to perform adjustment processing, toner patch images are formed in an area where no toner image is formed on the photoconductor or intermediate transfer member . The adjustment processing is performed based on reading toner patch images.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus that previously rotates a polygonal mirror drive motor before starting a job and forms a latent image by using an optical scanning unit including the polygonal mirror drive motor is provided. The image forming apparatus includes a control unit configured to perform control such that, in the determination of the presence or absence of each of color toners before a previous rotation is started, if it is determined that any one of the color toners is absent, only the polygonal mirror drive motor corresponding to a black toner is previously rotated.

Abstract: A belt feeding apparatus includes an endless belt; a supporting member for rotatably supporting said belt; and setting means for setting, when said belt is deviated from a widthwisely normal zone, an inclination angle of said supporting member to a returning angle to return said belt toward the normal zone, and for setting, when said belt is in the normal zone, the inclination angle of said supporting member to a balance angle.