Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Jeol Ltd.

Kokusai Denshin Denwa Co., Ltd.

Mitsuru Yamada

Mamoru Yorimoto

Toshiaki Takahashi

Kazuyuki Uchida

Yutaka Fukuchi

Motohiro Nakamura

Yuji Arai

Satoshi Hada

Atsushi Yamada

Hidehiko Fujiwara

Tsutomu Negishi

Mitsuru Sato

Toshiaki Tanaka

Masashi Kimijima

Kunihiko Uchida

Kouichi Suefuji

Arai Yuji

Takayasu Yoshihara

A method of axially aligning a charged particle beam implemented by a charged particle beam system equipped with an astigmatic correction lens including a first pair of coils and a second pair of coils. The method starts with obtaining first to sixth sets of image data while varying currents flowing through the first to fourth coils according to first to sixth sets of conditions. Then, the values of the currents through the first to fourth coils for correcting the position of the axis of the beam are calculated based on the first to sixth sets of image data.

Method of axial alignment of charged particle beam and charged particle beam system

A method of axially aligning a charged particle beam involves an image data acquisition step and a calculation step. The image data acquisition step consists of obtaining first to third sets of image data by scanning a shielding member placed in the path of the beam with the beam while varying conditions of the excitation currents through first and second alignment coils, respectively. The calculation step consists of calculating the values of the excitation currents through the first and second alignment coils, respectively, for axial alignment of the beam, based on the obtained first to third sets of image data.

Charged particle beam system and method of axial alignment of charged particle beam

A method of making axial alignment of a charged particle beam starts with obtaining at least first through sixth image data while controlling the focal position of the beam on a sample in the direction of incidence, the excitation current in a first alignment coil, and the excitation current in a second alignment coil. Then, values of the excitation currents in the first and second alignment coils for the axial alignment of the beam are calculated from the at least first through sixth image data.

Method of making axial alignment of charged particle beam and charged particle beam system

An image forming apparatus includes a sheet feed cassette for storing a sheet. The sheet feed cassette includes a protective sheet which is provided on a portion of the sheet feed cassette that contacts the sheet so as to prevent adhesive material from sticking thereto. The image forming apparatus further includes a sheet conveyance path that transports a sheet, and a protective sheet provided on a portion of the sheet conveyance path that contacts the sheet so as to prevent an adhesive material from sticking thereto.

Image forming apparatus including a sheet feed cassette capable of effectively transporting a sheet recording medium

A sheet feeding device comprises a sheet feeding roller, having a first circumferential section and a second circumferential section, configured to rotate in a direction from the first circumferential section to the second circumferential section; and a pressure plate provided apart from the sheet feeding roller and configured to mount thereon a recording sheet stack having recording sheets ranging from a maximum number to a minimum number. The first circumferential section includes a first contact point for contacting, when the sheet feeding roller is rotated, a leading top edge of the recording sheet stack having the maximum number of recording sheets; and a second contact point for contacting, when the sheet feeding roller is rotated, a leading top edge of the recording sheet stack having the minimum number of recording sheets.

Device for feeding a recording medium at a controlled distance and image forming apparatus having such device

A drive device includes a first shaft, a second shaft disposed at a position deviated from a shaft line of the first shaft, a drive source that drives the first shaft to rotate, and a drive force transmitting unit connecting the first shaft to the second shaft via the drive force transmitting unit to transmit a drive force of the drive source from the first shaft to the second shaft. The drive force transmitting unit includes a reverse preventing mechanism that prevents the first shaft from being rotated in a reverse direction. The reverse preventing mechanism includes a one-way clutch, and the drive force transmitting unit further includes a reduction mechanism that reduces a rotational speed of the one-way clutch to be lower than a rotational speed of the first shaft.

Drive device, sheet conveying device, and image forming apparatus including drive force transmitting unit including reverse preventing mechanism for preventing shaft from being reversed

A sheet feeding device includes a cassette configured to accommodate recording media, and a recording media feeding member configured to feed out the recording media accommodated in the cassette. The cassette includes a tray main body part including a stacking plate configured to have the recording media stacked thereon, and a recording media conveying guide part configured to detachably connect to the tray main body part. The recording media conveying guide part includes a raising member configured to raise the stacking plate toward the recording media feeding member, and a raising and lowering member connected to the raising member and configured to raise and lower the stacking plate.

Sheet feeding device and image forming apparatus

An image forming apparatus includes a waste toner collecting unit, a moving device, a sheet conveying roller, a driving unit, and a drive force transmitting unit. The waste toner collecting unit receives waste toner. The moving device moves the waste toner in the waste toner collecting unit. The sheet conveying roller transports a transfer sheet. The driving unit drives the sheet conveying roller. The drive force transmitting unit interlinks the moving device to the sheet conveying roller, and transmits a drive force of the driving unit to the moving device via a shaft of the sheet conveying roller.

Image forming apparatus, waste toner tank, and a method of moving waste toner

A sheet cassette includes a tray main body part, and a tray expansion/contraction part supported by the tray main body part and configured to slide relative to the tray main body part to a cassette expanded position where the sheet cassette is in an expanded state and a cassette contracted position where the sheet cassette is in a contracted state. The tray expansion/contraction part includes a rear end regulation member configured to be moved in a direction in which recording media stacked in the sheet cassette are fed to regulate rear ends of the recording media and a sliding guide part configured to support the rear end regulation member to freely slide and forming a moving path of the rear end regulation member.

Sheet cassette, sheet feeding device and image forming apparatus

A sheet feeding device includes a cassette in which recording media are configured to be stacked. The cassette includes a rear end regulation member configured to be moved in a direction in which the recording media are fed to regulate rear ends of the recording media and a size detection device configured to swing with movement of the rear end regulation member. The sheet feeding device further includes a size determination device arranged within an area corresponding to a width of the cassette in the direction in which the recording media are fed. The size determination device is configured to determine a size of the recording media stacked in the cassette by detecting a position of the size detection device.

A method and system for authenticating between a user or client and a network access entity such as a server or another client using an IC card. The method includes a step of executing an initial authentication using the IC card when the user first communicates with the network access entity, a step of commonly holding authentication information in both the user and the network access entity if the initial authentication achieves success, and a step of executing a re-authentication using the commonly held authentication information without using the IC card when the user communicates again with the same network access entity within a predetermined period of time after the last authentication.

Authentication method and system using IC card

A device incorporated in image forming equipment for transporting a paper sheet fed from any one of a plurality of vertically spaced paper feeding sections along a vertically extending common transport path. The common transport path is defined by an endless dielectric belt whose volume resistivity is selected to be 10.sup.8 to 10.sup.13 .OMEGA..multidot.cm. The belt transports a paper sheet upward while attracting it electrostatically thereon. A charging section implemented with a corona discharger and a counter electrode that face each other with the intermediary of the belt is located at each position where a path extending out from a particular paper feeding section merges into the common transport path.

Paper transporting device for image forming equipment

Method and an apparatus for automatically moving the focal plane of the electron beam produced by a scanning electron microscope to the position of specimen surface. An auxiliary coreless coil of a low inductance is disposed close to the objective lens. The exciting current fed to the coil is varied to move the focal plane of the electron beam toward the optical axis. At each of discrete positions of the focal plane, a specimen is scanned with the electron beam. The resulting secondary electrons are detected by a detector. Individual output signals from the detector are compared to select the maximum signal. Then, only the objective lens is excited. The exciting current fed to the objective lens is modified to move the focal plane along the position closest to the specimen surface.

Method and apparatus for automatic focusing of scanning electron

The image data processing unit supplies the image data from the memory to the look-up table, and resupplies output data from the look-up table to the look-up table by feeding it back to the input side of the look-up table. When supplying the fed-back data to the look-up table, the data once subjected to image processing is again processed by carrying out image conversion on the basis of a differently configured look-up table, by switching over the content in the look-up table from the previous content on the basis of pre-stored information. The data subjected to the desired data conversion by the look-up table is supplied to the display unit via a DA converter.

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Tokyo, Japan

Mitsuru Yamada