Sony Corporation

Akio Hitachi

Akira Shirakura

Yasuji Yui

Tatsuru Sato

Kiyosuke Suzuki

Kiyotaka Dochi

Shigemichi Honda

In a printing apparatus, a relatively long film having a photosensitive surface composed of photosensitive microcapsules is withdrawn from a supply spool and selectively exposed to light to form a photographed film frame prior to being passed through a nip between urged-together press rollers and then wound onto a take-up spool, sheets of developing paper are delivered one at a time by a paper supply roller from a stack of the sheets for passage between the press rollers with each delivered sheet facing a respective exposed area of the film so as to be pressed together therewith, and a roller drive assembly including a first reversible motor operative in first and second directions in printing and rewinding modes, respectively, a first transmission including a first one-way clutch through which the first motor drives the paper supply roller means only when the first motor operates in the first direction in the printing mode, a second transmission including a second one-way clutch through which the supply spool is rotated in a direction to rewind the film only when the first motor operates in the second direction in the rewinding mode, and a second reversible motor operative in first and second directions for driving the press rollers in corresponding first and second directions in the printing and rewinding modes, respectively.

A printer for printing a certain image on a sheet of developing paper

In an apparatus for developing a picture on a sheet of developing paper from an exposed sheet of photo-sensitive material by pressing together the sheets of developing paper and photo-sensitive material, and in which such sheets in contact with each other are intermittently transported in a predetermined direction of sheet travel across a back-up surface, and a rotatable roller having its axis of rotation extending substantially at right angles to a longitudinal median of the back-up surface is transported relative to the back-up surface in directions parallel to the longitudinal median thereof while the roller is urged toward the back-up surface with the sheets of developing paper and photo-sensitive material therebetween so as to be pressed together at a relatively narrow stripe-like area defined by the rolling path of the peripheral surface of the roller; standby surfaces extend from the opposite ends of the back-up surface and are raised relative to the latter for defining shoulders therebetween by which the sheets are guided in being transported across the back-up surface, and the roller is situated on one of the standby surfaces during the transporting of the sheets and, when the sheets are at rest, the roller moves from one to the other of the standby surfaces and rolls smoothly across the contacting sheets therebetween.

Development of imaging sheets employing photosensitive microcapsules

An electrostatic printing apparatus of the ion-flow type for printing an image on record paper in response to an information signal includes a corona generator for generating ions; a back electrode over which the paper travels for producing a bias potential to cause the generated ions to flow from the corona generator toward the back electrode onto the recording paper; a control electrode interposed between the corona generator and the back electrode for controlling the flow of ions therebetween and including a plurality of apertures through which the ions are adapted to flow; and a control signal generator for supplying a control signal to the control electrode to cause the latter to control the amount of ion flow through each aperture, in response to the level of the information signal, to a first amount corresponding to an area on the paper which is black, a second amount corresponding to an area on the paper which is white, or at least one other amount corresponding to at least one area on the paper which is gray, with different shadings available. In one embodiment, the control signal generator supplies the control signal to the control electrode to cause the latter to control the area of ion flow through each aperture and, in another embodiment, the control signal generator supplies the control signal to the control electrode to cause the latter to control the time within which ions flow through each aperture.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Akio Hitachi