Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi Denki K.k.

Mitsushita Denki Kabushiki Kaisha

Masaru Ohnishi

Keiki Yamada

Niro Watanabe

Yuji Nakatsu

Narihiro Matoba

Masayuki Tanaka

Yukio Kodama

Yoshifumi Imanaka

Kenji Nomura

Satoru Yamasaki

Sadatoshi Murakami

Masaaki Tanioka

Hiroaki Furuta

Eisaku Tomita

Sayoko Hirata

Masayuki Saito

Yoshiaki Odai

Masashi Tamura

Kenichiro Oka

Kazuhiro Samejima

Kenzo Takahashi

Keiichi Koike

Masatoshi Katoh

Etsuo Hatabe

Hideaki Kusakawa

Yoshihiro Hino

Koichi Tomura

Kazuhiro Sameshima

Takashi Hiroishi

Ryoji Arima

Kumiko Nakajima

Hiromi Morimoto

A line buffer device temporarily stores a predetermined area of original image data which are divided into small blocks, each having a small area, so as to encode the image data for each block into data having a fixed length by a compression processor. The line buffer device is composed of a first-stage line buffer group and a second-stage line buffer group. The number of line buffers in the first-stage line buffer group is smaller by one than the number of lines constituting one block and the number of line buffers in the second-stage line buffer group is the same as the number of lines constituting one block. Encoding processing time is shortened and the circuit structure is simplified.

Image data compression-expansion circuit

A plurality of heads with a plurality types of ink each having a different density for the same color filled therein and ejecting the ink are provided, and also a control means for controlling volume of ink drops ejected for each dot is provided. When forming a pixel, a head is selected by the control means with volume of ink drops ejected from each head controlled, and two or more types of ink are ejected at one position with varied dot diameter for representation of density gradations.

Ink jet printer

A forward/backward printing thermal printer which brings a printing paper onto a printing member and performs a printing action in order to form an image. The printer comprises a thermal head which transfers the image onto the paper according to an image signal, a platen roller which moves the paper back and forth when it rotates, and a pair of which press the paper on the platen roller and cause it to move back and forth with the roller. When the paper moves and is no longer held on one side by a, the paper pressing means on the side where the paper has been released is moved on the outer circumference of the platen roller by a fan-shaped gear rotated by a drive gear so as to again grip the edge of the paper which is carried to the position of the other. In this way, the effective printing range on the paper is enlarged without any error in the paper's position or color due to the transport mechanism. The printer can also be made compact.

Reversible thermal printer for printing in both directions on a page

A reversible thermal recording medium having a core material capable of being change in state by heat and a recording layer including capsules containing this core material. A repeatability corresponding to the limit of possible repeated recording/erasing effected by a physical or chemical change in the material constituting the recording can be obtained. A deterioration in image quality caused by transfer of a part of the recording layer to the heating unit can be prevented and repeat characteristics can be improved, thereby limiting the running cost.

Reversible thermal recording medium

Reversible thermal recording medium and method of producing the same

Reversible thermal recording medium and method of producing same

Recording and erasing system for themoreversible recording medium

In a thermal recording apparatus, a thermal head heats an ink sheet to transfer ink to a recording medium such as paper. Even when recording on a low-smoothness plain paper, an image free of voids can be obtained. The apparatus is equipped with a mechanism for generating an electric field between the ink sheet and the recording medium. Due to this electric field, the ink particles liquified by the thermal head fly and are transferred to the recording medium.

Electric field assisted thermal recording apparatus

In a rewritable recording apparatus using a recording medium 1 having a recording layer which exhibits a color developing property when a first kind of heat energy is applied thereto and a tone reducing property when a second kind of heat energy is applied thereto, a recording-energisation control section 34 supplies an image recording signal corresponding to a desired display image to a heating device 3 to cause it to generate heat with the first kind of heat energy. This heating device 3 imparts the first kind of heat energy to the recording medium 1, whereby a desired display image is recorded on the recording medium 1. An erasure control section 35 supplies an image erasing signal corresponding to a desired erasing range to the heating device 3 so as to cause it to generate heat with the second kind of heat energy. This heating device 3 imparts the second kind of heat energy to the recording medium 1, whereby the image recorded on the recording medium 1 is erased.

Method of and apparatus for rewritable recording and erasing and

A rewritable recording/display apparatus using a rewritable recording medium in which color development reaction occurs by thermal energy at a predetermined temperature, and in which a color extinguishing reaction occurs by thermal energy at a temperature lower than the color development temperature, and which is capable of repeatingly performing recording and erasing of images. The apparatus also has a color developing heating device for recording an image on the rewritable recording medium by heating the rewritable recording medium, and an erasing heating device for erasing the image after the image has been recorded. Thus, the apparatus is designed so as to have a recording section simplified and reduced in size, and to reduce the maintenance and running cost. A method of erasing a rewritable record enables images to be erased completely or suitably in terms of practice and enables formation of high-quality image after erasing of the previous image.

Rewritable recording display apparatus and method of erasing record

Growing community of inventors

Kamakura, Japan

Masaru Ohnishi