Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Hironobu Arimoto

Atsushi Ito

Hiroshi Ito

Satoshi Yamanaka

Akiko Fujiuchi

Taku Matsuzawa

Kazuhisa Hemmi

Jun Someya

Yoshiaki Okuno

Kazuya Makabe

Kosaku Yamagata

Hisatoshi Kishi

Toshio Matsumoto

Yukio Sato

Hiroyuki Kawano

Tomokazu Ogomi

Daisuke Fukui

Tatsuki Okamoto

Takafumi Endo

Toru Aramaki

Akira Ota

Sadaaki Yoshioka

Toshiyuki Sawabe

Toru Shiraki

Atsuhiro Sono

Minoru Miyaji

Koki Takasaki

Noriyuki Tomita

Takashi Maekawa

Toshio Sano

Hiroshi Ieki

An image reading device can easily increase or improve the depth of field. The image reading device includes a lens array () including lenses () arrayed in a main scanning direction, a sensor array () including sensor elements () arrayed in the main scanning direction to receive light converged by the lenses (), and an overlap preventer located between the lens array () and the sensor array () to prevent an overlap of images formed by the lenses (). The overlap preventer includes a slit assembly () including at least one specific-light blocker or optically transparent columns ().

Image reading device

An image reading device includes a lens array including lenses arranged in a main scanning direction and forming an erect unmagnified optical system to converge light from a reading target, a holder holding the lens array, a light receiver to receive the light converged by the lenses, and slit units. Each slit unit includes three or more light shielding plates each separating an optical path of one lens from an optical path of another lens between the lens array and the light receiver, and side plates disposed on two sides of the light shielding plates in a direction intersecting the main scanning direction and connecting two adjacent light shielding plates. The slit units are arranged in the main scanning direction, and each two adjacent slit units are arranged with a space therebetween for one optical path of one lens.

The present disclosure relates to an image reading device having a highly-accurate structure that enables an easy increase in depth of field, that is, improvement in the depth of the field, without need for a change in basic characteristics of lenses. An overlap preventer () disposed between a lens array () and a sensor element array () to prevent overlap of images formed by lenses () is included. A slit section () that is the overlap preventer () includes multiple slit plates () arranged in a main scanning direction and extending in a sub-scanning direction to partition off a space, and the slit plates () are fixed to fixing plates ().

Image reading device having an overlap preventer with slit plates

A light guide includes a first exit portion emitting first exiting light, a second exit portion emitting second exiting light in a different direction than the first exiting light, and a reflecting portion reflecting light entering the light guide to each of the first and second exit portions. The first and second exit portions respectively have first and second curved surfaces each having a convex cross section perpendicular to the long axis direction. The second exit portion is connected to the first exit portion in the direction perpendicular to the long axis direction. The reflecting portion is provided, in a plane facing the first exit portion and the second exit portion, at a position shifted in the direction perpendicular to the long axis direction from a position where a normal to the plane passes through a connection portion between the first and second exit portions.

Light guide, light source device, and image reading device

A magnetic sensor device includes magnetic detection elements arrayed along a line intersecting the relative movement direction of a medium, and a magnet applying a bias magnetic field to the magnetic detection elements with a line of magnetic force in the constant direction. The magnetic sensor device detects a magnetic field change when a medium with a magnetic pattern passes through the bias magnetic field as an electric signal through the magnetic detection elements and reads the magnetic pattern of the medium. A plurality of reading switches is connected to the respective magnetic detection elements and an output line common to the magnetic detection elements. The magnetic sensor device includes a shift register closing the reading switches sequentially one by one to transfer the outputs from the magnetic detection elements sequentially one by one to the output line.

Magnetic sensor device

An image reading apparatus includes: a light source emitting a plurality of colors; a light receiver including a plurality of pixels which receive lights of respective colors; an analog-to-digital converter which analog-to-digital converts analog signals obtained by the light receiver to obtain digital photoelectric conversion outputs, respectively; a color determining portion which receives output signals, determines whether output signals for respective colors from the same pixel are within predetermined ranges, respectively, and outputs, as dropout data, pixel position information of the pixel, the outputs signals from which are within the predetermined ranges, respectively; an image monochromating circuit which receives output signals and obtains monochrome data; a data substituting portion which receives the monochrome data, substitutes the monochrome data corresponding to the pixel position information from the color determining portion with a level at which the pixel is determined as a white level in a binarizing process.

Image reading apparatus

Interpolation data for a missing pixel are obtained () after a correction () for variations in the characteristics of the imaging devices ((),()). The correction for variations in characteristics includes, for example, a black level correction () and a sensitivity correction (). The interpolation includes, for example, interpolation calculations ((),()) such that a mean value of a plurality of pixels including the missing pixel and a mean value of a plurality of pixels not including the missing pixel become equal and an interpolation calculation (()) that takes the mean of the pixels to the right and left of the missing pixel, the calculation with the least error being selected (). Thus missing pixels in highly periodic images can be properly interpolated, and interpolation can be performed with high precision even when there are variations in the sensitivity characteristics of the individual imaging devices constituting the contact image sensor.

Image scanner and signal processing method

A line illumination device includes: a frame; a rod-shaped light-guiding member housed in the frame; a flexible substrate; and a light source that is provided on the flexible substrate and emits light to the light-guiding member. The flexible substrate is bent so that the light source is disposed at an end of the light-guiding member and that the flexible substrate is housed in the frame. Power is supplied to the light source through a wiring provided on the flexible substrate so that the light source emits light and the light-guiding member emits light in line-shape.

Line illumination device and image input apparatus using the same

An image sensor unit has an electric discharge light emitting lamp for producing an illumination beam. The lamp includes a first electrode and a second electrode facing each other and defining a discharge space between them along the longitudinal axis of the lamp. A first light emitting layer and a second light emitting layer are provided in the discharge space so as to face each other and to cover the first and second electrodes, respectively. A dielectric material is inserted between the first electrode and the first light emitting layer, and between the second electrode and the second light emitting layer. At least one of the first and second light emitting layers is arranged so as to define an uncovered region, in which at least one of the dielectric material, the first electrode, and the second electrode is exposed to the discharge space.

Image sensor unit

There is provided such a shape of a light-guiding body that can guide light emitted from a LED while reflecting such light under conditions which satisfy total reflection as much as possible within the light-guiding body, to thereby improve the light intensity on the surface of a document in the shorter axial direction (i.e., the sub-scanning direction), and also, the light-guiding body has such an optimized shape of a light-incoming face that makes it possible to control the angle of light fluxes in the longer axial direction (i.e., the main scanning direction) to thereby illuminate the surface of the document with light having an uniform intensity distribution. Further, a reflecting member is provided at a position opposite the light outgoing face of the light-guiding body so as to improve the efficiency of illuminating an objective image-reading region on the surface of the document.

Image-reading apparatus

A method for driving a display panel, in which a false gaseous discharge of a display cell is prevented via an initialization sequence containing a reset pulse and an initialization pulse. Stable initialization is achieved by applying the initialization pulse to the common electrode after the reset pulse. The initialization pulse rises up in one step. Alternatively, the initialization pulse is a complex pulse having second-step pulse that rises up within 1 &#x3bc;s after the rise of its first-step pulse. A stabilization sequence can be inserted between the initialization sequence and a discharge maintenance sequence.

Method for driving display panel

A display panel includes a resin lens layer. The display panel consists of a front paneland a back panelwhich are hermetically sealed together. The display panel also includes a plurality of display cells and is filled with a gas. A visible-light transparent resin is coated over the front surface of the front panel. The resin layer is raise-molded with a molding toolwhile being solidified. Through this molding process, a resin lens layerwith plural lenses is formed on the front surface of the front panel. The resin lens layerformed on the front surface of the front panelcan improve the brightness of the display cells.

Display panel and method of fabricating the same

A common electrode and an individual electrode are provided in plural pairs on a first transparent substrate, and recesses are formed in a second substrate in positions corresponding to the pairs of electrodes to define discharge cells of display cells. The display cells of a display panel can be individually driven on the cell-by-cell basis and the planar panel has a reduced thickness. A driving circuit for changing luminance in accordance with the number of pulses applied to the individual electrode within a unit time to make gradation display is provided, and gradation control is achieved by performing switching control for each of the individual electrodes provided independently of one another in one-to-one relation to the display cells. A voltage pulse is applied to the individual electrode to reverse the polarity of wall charges accumulated on a dielectric layer, and a voltage pulse is then applied to the common electrode so that an electric field of the wall charges caused upon the reversal of the polarity is additionally applied. Thereby provided are a planar display panel which can set a large control margin in the display operation, ensure stable display, and present gradation display with high reliability and quality, as well as a manufacturing method, a controller, and a driving method for the planar display panel.

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Tokyo, Japan

Hironobu Arimoto