Seiko Epson Corporation

Kabushiki Kaisha Suwa Seikosha

Shin-etsu Polymer Co., Ltd.

Kenji Aoki

Haruo Nakamura

Teiji Miura

Mitsuo Nagata

Katsumori Takei

Yoshikazu Matsushita

Yoshiaki Shiraishi

Masayuki Ikeda

Hiroshi Niki

Shigeru Sawada

Hiroyuki Aizawa

Mitsuaki Maruyama

Shinji Hotta

Yasuhiro Gyoutoku

Mitsutoshi Hiraya

Mitsuhiro Goto

Kouichi Higashimura

A silicone rubber composition having such selective adhesiveness that shows high adhesion to an organic material than to a molding die is bonded to a sheet of the organic material and is vulcanized and cured in the mold. Thus, an elastomer keypad of double-layer structure is produced in which an organic material layer, which can be easily subjected to coating, bonding with an adhesive or pressure-sensitive adhesive, or the like, has been united and bonded as a surface layer to the rubber. Keytops are bonded to the elastomer keypad to produce a covering member for push-button switches. A polyurethane elastomer sheet is preferably used as the organic material.

Push button switch cover member

A liquid crystal optical device including a plurality of optical shutters is provided. The optical device includes a first glass substrate having N common electrodes disposed thereon and a second glass substrate having N signal electrodes disposed thereon, the glass substrates spaced apart and opposed to each other so that the electrodes are crossed. A liquid crystal material including a nematic liquid cyrstal having dielectric anisotropy which becomes 0 at a crossing frequency (fC) of 100 KHz or below at atmospheric temperatures including an optically active material encapsulated between the glass substrates. Polarizing plates are disposed on the outside of the liquid crystal panel and the device is driven in a N time-sharing mode by applying the driving signals to the common electrode and the signal electrodes. The optical device is particularly well suited for use in an optical printer in view of the rapid response times.

Liquid crystal optical device

A high-speed responsive liquid crystal optical device with improved light transmissivity is provided. The device includes a liquid crystal panel including an optically active liquid crystal material having dielectric anisotropy which becomes zero at a crossing frequency ('fc') of 100 KHz or below. The dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal is positive at frequencies lower than fc ('fl') and negative at frequencies higher than fc ('fh'). Crossed polarizers are disposed on each side of the liquid crystal panel. A liquid crystal driving circuit selectively applies a signal of a frequency fh to open the device and a signal of a frequency fl to close the device. The optical device is particularly well suited for use as a light valve in a printer device. Response time within 1 m sec. permits a printing speed of 10 prints of A4 size to be produced per minute with a resolving power of about 10 dots per 1 m/m. This amounts to a printing speed of approximately 500 lines in one second with each line being written into m sec. or less. The optically active nematic liquid crystal is a composition comprising an optically inactive nematic liquid crystal and an optically active liquid crystal material added thereto.

Dual frequency, optically active liquid crystal cell

The optical printing apparatus comprises a fluorescent lamp light source and a means for concentrating light from the light source onto a liquid crystal panel. The liquid crystal panel includes a plurality of light valves disposed in rows. A driver is disposed on the outside of the shield plate for selectively opening and closing the light valves. Rows of self-focusing fiber lenses receive light from the light valves and direct the light onto a photosensitive drum for use in printing.

Liquid crystal optical printing apparatus

A high-speed responsive liquid crystal optical device with improved light transmissivity is provided. The device includes a liquid crystal panel including an optically active liquid crystal material having dielectric anisotropy which becomes zero at a crossing frequency ('fc') of 100 KHz or below. The dielectric anisotropy of the liquid crystal is positive at frequencies lower than fc ('fl') and negative at frequencies higher than fc ('fh'). Crossed polarizers are disposed on each side of the liquid crystal panel. A liquid crystal driving circuit selectively applies a signal of a frequency fh to open the device and a signal of a frequency fl to close the device. The optical device is particularly well suited for use as a light valve in a printer device. Response time within 1 m sec. permits a printing speed of 10 prints of A4 size to be produced per minute with a resolving power of about 10 dots per 1 m/m. This amounts to a printing speed of approximately 500 lines in one second with each line being written into m sec. or less. The optically active nematic liquid crystal is a composition comprising a optically inactive nematic liquid crystal and an optically active liquid crystal material added thereto.

Liquid crystal cell with opaque mask for printing device

An image forming apparatus employing a face-down delivery system in which the plane of the recording medium at any position relative to any other position assumed by the recording medium beginning with a stacking tray and ending with a delivery tray does not exceed 90.degree.. The apparatus includes a detachable cartridge which includes a photosensitive member, a charging device and a cleaning device. In one preferred embodiment, register rollers and fixing rollers are positioned relative to each other such that a substantially zero angular deviation exists in the path traveled by the recording medium between these two pairs of rollers.

Electrophotographic type image forming apparatus

A liquid crystal optical device including a plurality of optical shutters is provided. The optical device includes a first glass substrate having N common electrodes disposed thereon and a second glass substrate having N signal electrodes disposed thereon, the glass substrates spaced apart and opposed to each other so that the electrodes are crossed. A liquid crystal material including a nematic liquid crystal having dielectric anisotropy which becomes 0 at a crossing frequency (fC) of 100 KHz or below at atmospheric temperatures including a optically active material encapsulated between the glass substrates. Polarizing plates are disposed on the outside of the liquid crystal panel and the device is driven in a N time-sharing mode by applying the driving signals to the common electrode and the signal electrodes. The optical device is particularly well suited for use in an optical printer in view of the rapid response times.

Diagonally offset, dielectric anisotropy inversion, liquid crystal,

The optical printing apparatus comprises a fluorescent lamp light source, a shield plate for blocking substantially all of the light emitted from the light source, a liquid crystal panel subject to irradiation with the light emitted from the light source and passing through a slit in the shield plate. The liquid crystal panel includes a plurality of light valves. A driver is disposed on the outside of the shield plate for selectively opening and closing the light valves. Fibers disposed below the liquid crystal panel and functionally equivalent to a self-focusing lens direct incident light, which has passed through the light valves, onto a photosensitive drum and printing is completed in the conventional manner. The light source, slit, liquid crystal panel and fibers are arranged in a line. The temperature and brightness of the light source are precisely controlled with feedback circuits and the liquid crystal panel is temperature controlled.

Liquid crystal optical printing apparatus with rod lens

An electrostatic printer for printing images on an electrostatic recording medium. The electrostatic printer includes an elongated electrode and a back electrode. The back electrode is spaced from the elongated electrode to define a gap therebetween. The gap, defined by the elongated electrode and the back electrode, is adapted to permit the passage of the electrostatic recording medium in a predetermined direction and is effectively reduced at a given point on the elongated electrode. The elongated electrode is displaceable relative to the back electrode so that the point on the elongated electrode which then defines the effectively reduced gap is displaced laterally of the direction of passage of the electrostatic recording medium in response to the displacement of the elongated electrode. A voltage is selectively applied between the elongated electrode and the back electrode for effecting printing on the electrostatic recording medium in registration with the point on the elongated electrode then defining the effectively reduced gap.

Electrostatic printer

An electro-photographic printer utilizing a liquid crystal material which operates as a light valve. The liquid crystal material is sandwiched between two base plates which include electrodes which define a plurality of micro-shutters. A light source illuminates one side of the liquid crystal material. A driving circuit selectively applies driving signals to the electrodes for selectively opening and closing the micro-shutters to allow light from the light source to pass therethrough. A photo-sensitive drum on the other side of the liquid crystal receives the light transmitted through the liquid crystal to form characters. The characters are transmitted to a recording paper. The liquid crystal material, which has an inverted dielectric anisotropy on opposite sides of the critical frequency, is selectively driven by selectively applying two different frequency signals to the liquid crystal.

Electro-photographic printer

An analog-to-digital tester having at least two distinct ranges of full scale sensitivity is provided. The tester includes signal conditioning means for receiving an analog measurand and digital display for displaying a value representative of the measurand. The signal conditioning means includes first and second attenuation levels differing by a multiple of at least 100 and circuit means for selecting the attenuation level corresponding to the magnitude of the measurand. The analog-to-digital converter circuit has full scale sensitivity over a first range and additionally full scale sensitivity over a second range ten times greater than the first range and includes range detecting means for detecting the magnitude of the measurand applied to the signal conditioning means and in response thereto selects the first or second full scale sensitivity range to thereby apply a digital value representative of the measurand to the digital display. Combinations of selected sensitivity and attenuation levels provide at least four ranges of measurand values for display. Measurands include AC voltage, DC voltage and resistance.

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Suwa, Japan

Kenji Aoki