Minolta Camera Kabushiki Kaisha

Minolta Company, Ltd.

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.

Konica Minolta, Inc.

Minolta Camera Co., Ltd.

Tomohiko Masuda

Ken Matsubara

Hirohisa Kitano

Itaru Saito

Kenichi Wada

Tsukasa Yagi

Kouichi Shingaki

Yuji Kamoda

Atsushi Fujita

Koji Wakamiya

Kohichi Shingaki

Isao Doi

Itaru Saitoh

Yosuke Shimizu

Shigeo Uetake

Junya Hirayama

Yuji Enoguchi

Masanori Murakami

Yasuhiro Ohno

Etsuaki Urano

Keisuke Inoue

Haruo Iwahashi

Masazumi Morishita

Hiroshisa Kitano

Hirchisa Kitano

Tatsuya Kanazawa

Yasuyuki Hiromoto

A fixing device includes: a non-contact heating portion that includes at least one non-contact heating unit which heats a toner image on a sheet; and a pressurizing and heating unit that is provided downstream in a sheet transport direction with respect to the non-contact heating portion and that pressurizes and heats the toner image. A time from a first point of time when the toner image reaches a toner melting temperature by heating of the non-contact heating portion to a second point of time when the toner image enters the pressurizing and heating unit is set equal to or more than a predetermined time. The predetermined time is a time when a ratio between the weight of the toner in the toner image before the entrance and the sum of the weight of the toner and the weight of the carrier liquid is equal to or more than 70%.

Fixing device

A conveying device includes a cylindrical first roller, a cylindrical second roller that has a surface hardness higher than a surface hardness of the first roller, and a belt placed in a state surrounding either the first roller or the second roller. the conveying device moves an object to be conveyed by bringing the first roller and the second roller in pressure contact with each other via the belt and making the object pass through a nip portion formed of the belt and the first roller or the second roller facing the belt. A length in a lengthwise direction of an outer peripheral portion of the first roller is shorter than a length in a lengthwise direction of an outer peripheral portion of the second roller.

Fixing device, carrying device and image forming apparatus

A fixing device includes a magnetic flux generating section having a coil which generates a magnetic flux when applying current, a fixing roller having a heat generating layer having a thickness of 100 &#x3bc;m or less formed along an outer peripheral surface of the fixing roller for generating heat through electromagnetic induction by the magnetic flux, a capacitor connected in series to the coil to constitute a series resonant circuit, and high frequency power supply circuits for applying voltage having a certain drive frequency to the series resonant circuit so as to make the fixing roller generate heat through the magnetic flux generating section. An image is fixed onto a sheet, which is transported in a state of being in pressure-contact with the outer peripheral surface of the fixing roller, by heat from the heat generating layer of the fixing roller.

While light of R, G and B is switched from one to another and directed to a plurality of light shutter elements made of PLZT, a voltage is applied in accordance with image data between individual electrodes for the respective light shutter elements and a common electrode for all the light shutter elements. While a half-wave voltage Vr for light of R is applied to the individual electrodes, the voltage applied to the common electrode is altered to 0V, Vr-Vg and Vr-Vb in synchronization with switch of the three primary colors so that half-wave voltages for the respective colors can be applied to the light shutter elements.

Light shutter device and a driving method thereof

A light shutter device including a group of light shutter elements and formed on a light shutter chip made of PLZT has a construction in which an electrode gap is set wider in a element in which an electric field acts more strongly to equalize half wavelength voltages of elements almost to the same level since electric fields acting on the elements are different in strength from each other even under a prescribed voltage applied between a common electrode and each of individual electrodes . An electrode gap of an element having a weaker electric field is comparatively set narrower, whereas an electrode gap of an element having a stronger electric field is set comparatively wider. Moreover, a shape of electrodes of each element are altered so as to make half wavelength voltages of elements almost equal.

Light shutter device

In a light shutter device in which multiple light shutter elements are located on a substrate made of PLZT, and the ON/OFF control of light is carried out by having an electrical field operate on each light shutter element from a pair of electrodes, the cross-talk phenomenon occurs among adjacent elements on the PLZT substrate, i.e., the elements ( ), ( ) and ( ). In order to effectively prevent such cross-talk, driving is carried out such that an electrical field does not operate on such elements simultaneously as a practical matter. In other words, the one line cycle is divided into periods (a) and (b), and the element ( ) is turned ON during the period (a) while the other elements ( ) and ( ) are turned ON during the period (b). Through this operation, a light shutter device in which each element has a stable amount of pass-through light may be obtained.

Disclosed is a method for measuring light quantities emitted from an array of light shutter elements aligned in a main scan direction. The method measures the light quantities by scanning and sensing a recording paper on which an image is formed by the light shutter elements. The scan direction is orthogonal to a direction in the image corresponding to the main scan direction of the array.

Optical quantity measuring method and optical quantity measuring apparatus using same

A light shutter device which has a plurality of light transmitting portions (light shutter elements) on a planar PLZT substrate. By applying voltages between a common electrode and individual electrodes to apply electric fields to the light shutter elements, the light shutter elements transmit and shut light individually. Suppose each of the individual electrodes faces the common electrode at a distance L and has a dimension W in a direction perpendicular to the direction of electric field, W/L>2. Suppose each of the individual electrodes has a dimension D in the direction of electric field, preferably D/L>0.5. Further, the individual electrodes are so placed that the distance between a side of one light shutter element which extends in a direction perpendicular to the direction of electric field and each of the individual electrodes which drive the other light shutter elements is not less than 5L.

A method for measuring the quantity of light emitted from an optical write head which drives an array of light shutter elements extending in a main scanning direction individually in accordance with image data. In order to measure the quantity of light outputted from each of the light shutter elements, a photosensor is moved in the main scanning direction at a constant speed while the light shutter elements are driven in such a way that adjacent elements are not driven at a time. While light shutter elements which are in odd numbers in the array are driven, the photosensor is moved forward to measure the quantities of light outputted therefrom, and while light shutter elements which are in even numbers in the array are driven, the photosensor is moved backward to measure the quantities of light outputted therefrom. The optical write head is employed in a printer together with a light-quantity measuring unit for the optical write head, so that light-quantity measurement and production of light-quantity correction data are possible at real time.

Method for measuring the quantity of light emergent from an optical tip array and image forming apparatus provided with an optical tip array

A liquid crystal panel displays an image, while a lens projects, as a virtual image, an image displayed by the liquid crystal panel. A control system controls either the liquid crystal panel or the lens so as to periodically effect a changing of the position of the virtual image, each changing occurring over a predetermined time period. The control can be accomplished by changing the position of the liquid crystal panel or of the lens along an optical axis at a speed of less than 0.1 mm/sec so as to avoid burdening the eye of the observer. The motion can be at a uniform speed through most of the range of the motion, while permitting a slowing down to a stop at each end of the range and then an acceleration to the uniform speed in the opposite direction. A rest period (i.e., a full stop for a period of time) can be provided at one or both ends of the motion range, either for each cycle of motion or after the occurrence of a plurality of such cycles. When used in a situation in which the size of the viewed image is of particular importance, the size of the display region can be changed so that the apparent image size remains constant with a change in the position of liquid crystal panel.

Image display having control system for periodically effecting a change of position of virtual image

Disclosed is an optical writing device having an array of a plurality of writing light shutter elements for an image forming purpose. The optical writing device also has at least one first monitoring light shutter element and at least one second monitoring light shutter element. During recording period, the first second monitoring light shutter element is frequently driven, and the second monitoring light shutter element is infrequently driven. After the recording period, the first and second monitoring light shutter elements are driven with varying voltage, and light amounts from the first and second monitoring light shutter elements are sensed by a sensor. Based on the output from the sensor, optimal drive voltage for the next recording period is set.

Optical writing device with controlled driving voltages

An optical shutter device wherein a light emitted from a light source is allowed to be incident to a polarization shutter chip through a fiber array and then the light is caused to pass through the chip by turning on a voltage to be applied to electrodes connected to transmittable portions corresponding to pixels, so that a receptor surface is lighted through an imaging lens array. Light which is incident to the polarization shutter chip at an angle .theta..sub.0 is reflected from electrode vertical surfaces, and then the light outgoes from the transmittable portions in the form of leakage light. However, the aperture angle of a lens unit of the imaging lens array is set smaller than the incident angle .theta..sub.0, and thus the light (which were incident) at the angle .theta..sub.0 (leakage light) is not focused on the receptor surface by the lens unit.

Optical shutter device

An optical shutter element drive mechanism for driving optical shutter elements that are electrically equivalent to condensers by charging and discharging the elements by a power source and switching elements. The optical shutter element drive mechanism includes a resistor through which a current for charging the optical shutter elements flows when the optical shutter elements are charged and through which a current for discharging the optical shutter elements flows when the optical shutter elements are discharged.

Optical shutter element drive mechanism

An optical writing device by which an image with desired tone can be obtained. The optical writing device includes a write head and a modulation unit. A time for scanning of one picture element is divided into some periods by the modulation unit. The modulation unit judges whether the picture element will be in an imaged region or in a blank region and whether the picture element must be provided with a supplementary exposure value. The picture element will be provided with an accumulated exposure value corresponding to a desired level of tone by being provided with the supplementary exposure value by order of the modulation unit.

Optical writing device

A light signal generating device wherein a line of light shutter elements made of PLZT are turned on and off individually in accordance with a driving signal corresponding to image data, and each turned-on light shutter element generates a light signal. The light shutter elements are impressed with a specified voltage by order of a composite signal made by combining a modulation signal modulated in accordance with the image data and a micro duration pulse signal.

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Otsu, Japan

Tomohiko Masuda