Minolta Company, Ltd.

Keyaki Yogome

Takaji Kurita

Hiroshi Mizuno

Masahiko Matsuura

Hidetoshi Miyamoto

Akihito Ikegawa

Masaharu Kanazawa

Toshimitsu Fujiwara

Denji Nota

Kenji Otokawa

An initial resin substrate is formed by laminating resin layers, and one surface of the initial substrate is heated and pressed by a molding die to mold a projected and dented surface such that substantially no deformation occurs on the resin layer providing a surface opposed to the one surface of the initial substrate. A reversible image display medium is produced by a method comprising the steps of accommodating a dry developer into the concavities and fixing a second substrate to the first substrate using an adhesive. Alternatively a reversible image display medium may be produced by, e.g., a method comprising the steps of providing a first substrate having one surface including concavities, spreading the dry developer over the one surface, removing the excess developer while accommodating the developer into the concavities, and fixing a second substrate to the one surface, or alternatively forming a cell sheet having the cells and accommodating a dry developer therein by use of supersonic oscillation, magnetic force or vacuum suction force.

Method for producing resin-molded substrate and method for producing reversible image display medium

Disclosed is a reversible image display medium which can be repeatedly used and can display high quality images, in which cells between the two substrates accommodate a dry developer containing at least two kinds of frictionally chargeable dry developing particles having different chargeable polarities and different optical reflection densities; images are displayed by forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image to be formed on one of the two substrates to drive the developing particles in an electrostatic field based on the electrostatic latent image; a developer-facing surface of one of the substrates has a surface resistivity of at least 1&#xd7;10ohm/square; a developer-facing surface of the opposite substrate has a surface resistivity from 1&#xd7;10ohm/square to 1&#xd7;10ohm/square; a developer-facing surface of one of the substrates has a surface average median roughness Ra of 0.2 &#x3bc;m to 0.5 &#x3bc;m; and an external surface of the substrate on image observation side has a surface average median roughness Ra of 0.2 &#x3bc;m to 0.7 &#x3bc;m.

Reversible image display medium

An image forming apparatus including first and second image forming portions, and a device for detecting a type of an image display medium, image formation by the first image forming portion being allowed when the medium type is a normal image display medium (PP), and image formation by the second image forming portion being allowed when the medium type is a reversible image display medium (TP). Another image forming apparatus including first and second image forming portions, and an image formation element setting switching device, image forming elements being set in a standard mode to a standard state for forming an image on a medium for the standard mode, and being switched in a non-standard mode to a non-standard state for forming an image on a medium for the non-standard mode.

Image forming apparatus capable of forming images on rewritable and reversible display media

The invention provides an image display medium comprising: a first transparent substrate disposed on an observation side; a second substrate disposed on a further side from the observation side than the first substrate; and a display layer formed between the first substrate and the second substrate and containing a plurality of developer particles; the first substrate including a color filter having at least one group of a plurality of light-transmitting filter films of different colors. The invention also provides an image recording apparatus including a recording head for recording an image on the medium and a positioning device for positioning the filter films of the color filter and the recording head. The invention further provides an image recording method comprising the steps of positioning the filter films of the medium and the recording head, and recording an image by the recording head on the medium having the filter films positioned.

Image display medium and image recording apparatus

A method of displaying information about an image forming apparatus comprising a first image forming portion for forming an image on a normal image display medium and a second image forming portion for forming an image on a reversible image display medium and capable of forming an image on the normal image display medium through the first image forming portion and of forming an image on the reversible image display medium through the second image forming portion, wherein the information about the image forming apparatus (information about the state of a predetermined item in the image forming apparatus) and (or) information about a setting state for image formation in the image forming apparatus) is displayed on a display device in the image forming apparatus and (or) a display device in an image information input apparatus transmitting image data to the image forming apparatus depending on the information, and an image forming apparatus capable of executing the method.

Image forming apparatus and method of displaying information about image forming apparatus

A method and apparatus capable of displaying a high-quality image using a reversible image display medium in which a cell(s) formed between two substrates accommodates at least two kinds of frictionally chargeable dry developing particles having different chargeable polarities and different optical reflection densities in image display, an electric field strength of, e.g., 0.3 V/&#x3bc;m to 3.0 V/&#x3bc;m is applied to the developer. An oscillating force (e.g. oscillating magnetic filed) is applicable and the oscillating force is substantially stopped during application of the electrostatic field. After completion of the electrostatic field, the surface of the medium on the image observation side may be charged to a potential holding the displayed image. Optionally, before image display, an alternating electric field may be applied to stir the developer for initialization of the medium.

Image displaying method and image forming apparatus utilizing a reversible image display medium having a high resolution image display

Image forming apparatus

A reversible image display medium accommodates a dry developer in each cell formed between two substrates. The developer contains at least two kinds of frictionally chargeable dry developing particles having different chargeable polarities and different optical reflection densities. An image display can be achieved by forming an electrostatic latent image on one of the substrates to drive the developing particles in an electric field based on the electrostatic latent image. The developing particles are set to an average charge quantity of 1.0 &mgr;C/g to 10 &mgr;C/g to achieve good image display. Optionally at least one kind of the developing particles are magnetic developing particles having a coercive force of 50 oersteds to 250 oersteds, and optionally having an optical reflection density of 1.0 or more. An amount of small-size developing particles and/or an addition of a third component may be adjusted and volume average particle size ratio of developing particles may be controlled.

A toner is formed on an image receiving sheet S. The image receiving sheet S has an irregular surface s &prime; provided with continuous groove-like concavities R for accommodating toner. The toner T is removably adhered to the concavities R of the image receiving sheet irregular surface s &prime; for forming the toner image. Ridges P extending along the continuous groove-like concavities R protect the toner T adhered to the concavities R. The toner image formation surface may be covered with a peelable protective sheet CF (CF&prime;). When the image receiving sheet S carrying the toner image is to be reused, the toner is separated and removed from the image receiving sheet, and the image receiving sheet and/or the toner after removal of the toner are reused.

Image forming method, image forming apparatus, toner removing device and image receiving sheet

An image forming apparatus including a first image forming portion for forming an image on a normal image display medium; a second image forming portion for forming an image on a reversible image display medium; and a medium type detecting device for detecting the type of the image display medium to be subjected to the image formation, wherein the image forming portion corresponding to the image display medium of the type detected by the medium type detecting device is allowed to perform the image formation when the medium type detecting device detects the image display medium of the same type as that selected by an operator, and inhibition of the image formation on the medium of the detected type, image formation on the image display medium of another type or discharge of the medium of the detected type without image formation is performed when the detected type is different from the selected type.

A reversible image display medium including two sheets; one or more developer accommodating cells formed between the two sheets, and each having a periphery surrounded by a partition wall; and dry developer contained in each of the cell(s), wherein the dry developer contains at least two kinds of frictionally chargeable dry developer particles having different chargeable polarities and different optical reflection densities. The image is displayed by forming a predetermined electrostatic field for each pixel in accordance with the image to be displayed and thereby moving the developer particles in a frictionally charged state. The image formed on the reversible image display medium can be erased, e.g., by an image erasing device.

Reversible image display medium and image display method

Image display method, image forming apparatus and reversible image display medium

A liquid developer set formed of a liquid developer used for developing an electrostatic latent image and containing a carrier liquid, a charge director and toner, a first liquid, which is obtained by removing a solid component from the liquid developer, having a charge director concentration C1 and a conductivity E1; a concentrated liquid developer containing the carrier liquid, the charge director and the toner in a higher concentration than the toner concentration of the liquid developer, a second liquid, which is obtained by removing a solid component from the concentrated liquid developer, having a charge director concentration C2 and a conductivity E2 substantially equal to the concentration C1 and the conductivity E1, respectively; and a diluent containing the carrier liquid and the charge director, and having a charge director concentration C3 and a conductivity E3 substantially equal to the concentration C1 and the conductivity E1, respectively. The concentrated liquid developer, the diluent and a method of manufacturing the diluent.

Growing community of inventors

Kyoto, Japan

Keyaki Yogome