Seiko Epson Corporation

Other

Mitsukazu Kurose

Yujiro Nomura

Kiyoshi Tsujino

Ken Ikuma

Osamu Tomioka

Shoji Akashita

Kunihiro Hanaoka

Masahiro Fujii

Osamu Nakamura

Takaaki Akiyama

Masahiro Kamijo

Shuji Matsuo

Masahiro Minowa

Koji Yanagisawa

Koichi Ishii

Takeharu Toguchi

Provided is an exposure head, including: an array substrate having a plurality of organic EL elements arranged in an array on one face; and a plurality of circuit chips having a circuit for driving the organic EL element, and in which the forming face of the circuit is serially arranged along the extending direction of the array substrate so as to face one face of the array substrate; wherein the plurality of circuit chips are mutually serially connected by providing a pair of wiring groups for each mutual boundary location of the circuit chips on one face of the array substrate and outside the arrangement area of the organic EL element, bump-bonding one of the adjacent circuit chips to one end of the pair of wiring groups, and bump-bonding the other adjacent circuit chip to the other end of the pair of wiring groups.

Exposure head

Provided is an exposure head controller that controls, via pulse width modulation control, the emission quantity of each light emitting element in an exposure head having a light emitting element array formed by arranging a plurality of light emitting elements in a main scanning direction and a sub scanning direction orthogonal thereto, comprising: a data retention unit that retains dot gathering control data showing whether to emit each light emitting element at the starting point side, terminal point side or in the middle of an emission period corresponding to a 1 pixel pitch in the sub scanning direction, or to divide and emit each light emitting element at the starting point side and terminal point side, emission time data showing the emission time of each light emitting element, and skew data showing the skew quantity of each light emitting element; a dot gathering operation circuit provided to each light emitting element and which operates the time in which the light emitting element is to be retained in a non-emission state from the starting point of the emission based on the dot gathering control data input from the data retention unit; a delay time measurement circuit that acquires the skew data from the data retention unit and acquires the non-emission time data showing the retention time in the non-emission state from the dot gathering operation circuit, adding these to seek the delay time to be set before starting the emission of the light emitting element, measuring the delay time, and outputting a prescribed signal after the lapse of the delay time; and an emission instruction circuit that outputs to a light emitting element drive circuit an emission instruction signal for instructing the emission of the light emitting element from the point in time the emission time data is acquired from the data retention unit and a prescribed signal is output from the delay time measurement circuit up to the elapse of the emission time indicated by the emission time data.

Exposure head controller, exposure head and image formation device

Image data are inputted from a data processing means () into storage means () so that light emitting elements on one line () of a light emitting element (yellow) line head () are actuated according to signal outputted from a shift resistor () so as to expose pixels on an image carrier. At a point of time when the pixels reach a position corresponding to the light emitting elements in a next line () by moving the image carrier in a direction of arrow X, the image data are transmitted to a shift resistor () and then outputted to the line () so as to expose the pixels again. The image data are transmitted among the shift resistors sequentially by moving the image carrier, thereby achieving the multiple exposure of the same pixels.

Image forming apparatus and image forming method

When image processing is performed, the present invention increases the speed of processing for an individual scanning line constituting an image, and improves the throughput while suppressing the required memory area. The present invention is an image processor for performing image processing in parallel using a plurality of processors, wherein when an individual scanning line is divided into a plurality of partial areas, at least one of the plurality of processors is allocated to each of the partial areas for at lest one scanning line constituting an image, and image processing is performed in parallel. As a memory area for storing the image processing result, the image processor comprises memory areas for the number of scanning lines, which is less than the number of the plurality of processors.

Image processing system and method, printing system

Provided is an exposure head controller that controls, via pulse width modulation control, the emission quantity of each light emitting element in an exposure head having a light emitting element array formed by arranging a plurality of light emitting elements in a main scanning direction and a sub scanning direction orthogonal thereto, comprising: a data retention unit that retains dot gathering control data showing whether to emit each light emitting element at the starting point side, terminal point side or in the middle of an emission period corresponding to a 1 pixel pitch in the sub scanning direction, or to divide and emit each light emitting element at the starting point side and terminal point side, emission time data showing the emission time of each light emitting element, and skew data showing the skew quantity of each light emitting element a dot gathering operation circuit provided to each light emitting element and which operates the time in which the light emitting element is to be retained in a non-emission state from the starting point of the emission based on the dot gathering control data input from the data retention unit; a delay time measurement circuit that acquires the skew data from the data retention unit and acquires the non-emission time data showing the retention time in the non-emission state from the dot gathering operation circuit, adding these to seek the delay time to be set before starting the emission of the light emitting element, measuring the delay time, and outputting a prescribed signal after the lapse of the delay time; and an emission instruction circuit that outputs to a light emitting element drive circuit an emission instruction signal for instructing the emission of the light emitting element from the point in time the emission time data is acquired from the data retention unit and a prescribed signal is output from the delay time measurement circuit up to the elapse of the emission time indicated by the emission time data.

Image data is inputted from a data processing deviceinto storage meansformed on a light-emitting element (yellow) line headso that light emitting elements in one lineexpose pixels on an image carrier in response to output signal from a shift resistor. As the image carrier is moved in the direction of X to bring said pixels to reach the position corresponding to light emitting elements in the next line, the image data is transmitted to a shift resistorso that the shift resistoroutputs the image data to light emitting elements in the line, whereby the pixels are exposed to light again. The movement of the image carrier and the transmission of the image data to the respective shift resistors are sequentially conducted, thereby conducting multiple exposure of each same pixel.

Optical head and image forming apparatus employing the same

An optical head that forms latent images on a photosensitive material by a multiple-exposure method is driven at higher speed. This optical head comprises a plurality of light emitting elements arranged in a specific direction, a storage unit for receiving and storing data corresponding to one pixel, a shift register having a plurality of registers respectively corresponding to the plurality of light emitting elements, the shift register receiving the data stored in the storage unit and successively shifting the data of each register, and an element drive circuit for lighting the corresponding light emitting elements on the basis of the data in each register of the shift register, wherein the plurality of light emitting elements arranged in the specific direction are successively lighted, and one pixel is subjected to multiple exposure.

Optical head

Image formation device and image formation method

Provided is a signal processing apparatus including upper, intermediate and lower layer processing sections. The lower layer processing section includes a first storage unit having a first memory capacity of a limited size for transfer data. The intermediate layer processing section includes a second storage unit having a second memory capacity larger than the limited size. The upper layer processing section transmits the transfer data of a size, larger than the first memory capacity and not larger than the second memory capacity, to the intermediate layer processing section. The intermediate layer processing section receives the transfer data, divides the data into plural divided data each having a size not larger than the limited size, and transmits the data to the lower layer processing section. Being untransmitted divided data, the intermediate layer processing section transmits this data to the lower layer processing section without transmitting any response signal.

Signal processing apparatus with three layer processing sections, and signal processing system with said two signal processing apparatuses

A packet communication apparatus is provided for transmitting a packet with a label for distinguishing each packet to each destination apparatus, and receiving a response packet with the same label transmitted from each destination apparatus. A plurality of application units respectively provide a plurality of functions which are independent of each other, and each application unit requests for issuing a label in accordance with start of a process of the function, and returns the issued label upon completion of the same process of the function. One common memory is provided in common for a plurality of application units, and stores a plurality of labels added to a header of each packet to distinguish a plurality of packets whose destination apparatus is identical. Further, a label manager allows and inhibits use of respective labels stored in the common memory, and issues the labels stored in the common memory in accordance with a request for issuing the labels so that labels attached to all packets transmitted to the same destination apparatus are different from each other by inhibiting use of the labels which has been already allowed for a sequence of communication until completion of the sequence of communication.

Packet communication apparatus provided with manager means for managing packet labels

A communication apparatus is provided for communicating with further communication apparatuses which are connected with the communication apparatus, and for allowing one of a plurality of function units to execute a predetermined process in accordance with a request signal from a further apparatus. In the case where one of the further communication apparatuses is permitted to communicate with the communication apparatus, when a request signal of start of communication is sent from another one of the further communication apparatuses different from the one of the further communication apparatuses which has been already permitted to communicate with the communication apparatus, a manager unit returns response information including the designation information stored in the memory to another one of the further communication apparatuses so as to permit another one of the further communication apparatuses to communicate with. the communication apparatus, and then, allocates to another one of the further communication apparatuses virtual alternate designation information, which is different from the virtual alternate designation information allocated to the one of the further communication apparatuses which has been already permitted to communicate with the communication apparatus.

Communication apparatus with means for allocating alternate designation information to each function unit, and communication system with said two communication apparatuses

A hand held printer for printing on a print paper when the printer is manually moved over the surface of the paper is provided, including a print mechanism supported within the housing to print inputted characters and drawings on the print paper upon manual manipulation of the housing. A thermal head is movably supported within the housing. A movement measurement unit indicates movement of the printer. A drive roller drives a ribbon take up roller and movement measurement unit. A clutch allows the drive roller to function only in a printing direction. A spring biases the drive roller towards an operating position, the drive roller moving to the print surface independently of the thermal head when the drive roller is biased by the spring.

Print head and roller biasing mechanism for a hand held thermal printer

A hand held printer for printing on a print paper when the printer is manually moved over the surface of the paper is provided. A single manually manipulatable housing supports an input for imputting characters and drawings to be printed and a display for displaying the inputted characters and drawings. A print mechanism supported within the housing prints the inputted characters and drawings on the print paper upon manual manipulation of the housing. A thermal head is supported within the housing. A thermal transfer ribbon traces a path through the printer. A slide guide which is slidable relative to the print surface supports a slide means. The slide means guides the thermal transfer ribbon to come in contact with the print surface.

Ribbon guiding mechanism

An IC chip socket for receiving an IC bare chip carrier includes a guide member for guiding the periphery of the IC chip carrier. The guide member supports a plurality of connector pins having one end projecting within the guide member and another end projecting without the guide member. The connector pins electrically connect the electrodes of the chip carrier to the electronic circuit substrate. The respective ends of the connector pins projecting within the guide member are brought into contact with the electrodes of the IC chip carrier. The ends of the connector pins which project without the guide member are connectable with the electrodes mounted on the surface of the electronic circuit substrate.

Growing community of inventors

Nagano-ken, Japan

Mitsukazu Kurose