Sony Corporation

Shigemichi Honda

Kiyotaka Dochi

Kiyosuke Suzuki

Osamu Majima

Sadao Maeyama

Akio Hitachi

A transferable dye medium for use in a thermal printer is made by applying a layer of dye material to a base layer; softening the applied layer of dyed material, as by heating same, and then calendering the softened, dye-coated base layer.

Method for making a transferrable dye medium

An electrostatic printing apparatus of the ion-flow type for printing an image on record paper in response to an information signal includes a corona generator for generating ions; a back electrode over which the paper travels for producing a bias potential to cause the generated ions to flow from the corona generator toward the back electrode onto the recording paper; a control electrode interposed between the corona generator and the back electrode for controlling the flow of ions therebetween and including a plurality of apertures through which the ions are adapted to flow; and a control signal generator for supplying a control signal to the control electrode to cause the latter to control the amount of ion flow through each aperture, in response to the level of the information signal, to a first amount corresponding to an area on the paper which is black, a second amount corresponding to an area on the paper which is white, or at least one other amount corresponding to at least one area on the paper which is gray, with different shadings available. In one embodiment, the control signal generator supplies the control signal to the control electrode to cause the latter to control the area of ion flow through each aperture and, in another embodiment, the control signal generator supplies the control signal to the control electrode to cause the latter to control the time within which ions flow through each aperture.

Electrostatic printing apparatus

Apparatus for thermally printing images, such as color images, on a print medium. The medium is moved repeatedly from a reference position through a printing region, as by rotating the medium on a platen. Thermal print elements are disposed at the print region and are selectively energizable to cause images, such as color images, to be printed. A movable web of thermally transferable material has a run interposed between the print medium and the thermal elements at the print region. In one embodiment, the web is provided with successive frames of respectively different colors of thermally transferable material arranged in repeated sequence. Energizing signals are supplied to the thermal elements representative of the image to be printed; and an image is printed in a color corresponding to the color frame then disposed at the printing region. Successive passes of the print medium are made in order to print images of the remaining colors in the sequence of frames on the web.

Growing community of inventors

Tokyo, Japan

Shigemichi Honda