Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.

Fuji Kagakushi Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Toshiharu Inui

Haruhiko Moriguchi

Takashi Ohmori

Masami Kurata

Fujio Moriguchi

Masayuki Hisatake

Akio Noguchi

Takashi Omori

Yoshiki Kikuchi

Hiroyuki Saitoh

Svay Leng

Hisao Nakajima

Norihiko Koizumi

Tomio Murayama

Hitoshi Funato

Yoshikazu Shimazaki

Tadao Seto

Noriyoshi Ishikawa

Haruhiko Takahashi

Yasuo Katou

Leng Svay

Yoshihiro Ishida

Yasuo Katoh

Hiromitsu Matsuba

A copying machine records an image on a recording sheet through the use of an ink donor sheet with thermally transferable ink. The copying machine includes a platen of glass for supporting an original to be copied, a scanner unit movable reciprocally relative to the platen for reading a series of lines on the original and for generating an image signal for each line, a thermal head having a heating region for selectively generating thermal pulses in response to the image signal from the scanner unit, an ink donor sheet supply assembly for supplying the thermal head with an ink donor sheet coated with thermally transferable ink which can be fluidized or sublimable upon being heated, a recording sheet supply assembly for supplying a recording sheet in the vicinity of the thermal head, a contacting assembly for bringing the supplied recording sheet into intimate contact with a heating region of the thermal head with the ink donor sheet interposed between the thermal head and the recording sheet, and a recording sheet discharging assembly for discharging the recording sheet peeled off the ink donor sheet after the image has been recorded on the recording sheet.

Copying machine

In a half-tone recording method and apparatus, half-tone expressing units, each consisting of several recording picture elements, express gradations of density in a document. The recording picture elements in the units are assigned various half-tone levels with the half tone level of at least one of the recording picture elements both increasing and decreasing as the gradation of the half-tone expressing unit increases.

Tone reproduction method and apparatus

A heat storage correction apparatus and method determines the degree of solidity of a picture data to be recorded and increases the quantity of energy supplied to data elements recording substantially solid portions of the picture elements.

Heat storage correction apparatus

Each picture element is made to correspond to a plurality of dots and the ratios of printing energy corresponding to respective dots in each picture element are determined to correspond to respective tones. The heat accumulation state of a heat generating member corresponding to a picture element to be printed is detected from the tones of picture elements about the picture element to be printed for controlling the printing energy supplied to the heat generating members corresponding to respective dots of the picture image to be printed in accordance with the printing energy ratio and the detected state. With this method it is possible to provide a half tone print having uniform high quality regardless of the tone of a previous line and tones of surrounding picture elements.

Method and apparatus for thermal half-tone printing

A printing method is shown in which printing quality is improved when superimposed thermal-transfer recording is performed. According to the present invention, at least one of a plurality of thermal-transfer media is made of a material of different thermal characteristics from the remaining media. Different thermal-transfer media thermal characteristics are obtained by changing the thickness, melting point or viscosity of the thermal-transfer ink on the thermal transfer media, or by changing the thickness, quality of material or density of the base material of the thermal-transfer media.

Printing method

A copier capable of producing both color images and monochrome images is disclosed, which comprises a platen for mounting thereon a manuscript, a scanner unit adapted to reciprocate relative to the platen and generate image signals divided in three primary colors by reading the manuscript for each line or for each set of a plurality of lines, four thermal heads for receiving image signals and, in response thereto, selectively actuating heat generation elements, means for supplying the thermal heads with ink donor films of four colors including black, and means for effecting thermal transfer printing on record paper.

Color copier

An image reproducing apparatus wherein a halftone of an image is reproduced by repeating a picture element pattern composed of a plurality of dots as a unit and each dot display density of which is gradually controlled. The repetition of the same picture element patterns is avoided to improve tone reproducing performance. The image display unit includes a means for determining a disposition of dots composing a specific picture element pattern, i.e., display density of each dot in response to tone density of the original image, a means for comparing the disposition of dots of the specific picture element pattern determined by said means with a dot disposition or dispositions of one or plural surrounding picture element pattern or patterns, and a means for changing the dot disposition of said specific picture element pattern in the case when it is identical with dot dispositions of a predetermined number or more of surrounding picture element patterns.

Image display unit capable of tone reproduction

A thermal head drive circuit for use with a thermal head comprising multiple heat generating elements for data recording comprising a heat accumulation calculating unit (36) for calculating the heat residual from prior recording steps and a pulse width calculating unit (38) for calculating the pulse widths of voltage to be applied to an element dependent on the calculated residual heat and the pulse width of the prior recording step.

Thermal head drive circuit

A thermal head drive circuit is provided in which the thermal energy applied during printing is corrected due to the black-white ratio, the thermal head's heat accumulation and the heat history data. The circuit includes a heat accumulation state operator, a pulse width calculator, a pulse width memory and a pulse width determining circuit. The circuit also includes a fundamental pulse width determining circuit and an auxiliary pulse width determining circuit for determining the additional pulse width to be applied with the output from the fundamental pulse width determining circuit.

Thermal recording apparatus

A copying machine includes an optical sensor of the line scanning type for converting an image into electrical signals, a thermal recording head controlled in accordance with the image signals, and a heat-sensitive paper web on which the image is formed by heat generated from the thermal recording head. The platen moves with respect to the read unit and the read unit will read in both forward and reverse directions of the platen, and the magnification value can be varied. The total width of energized heating elements and the movement length and speed of the platen may be controlled in accordance with the size of the original. The total number of heating elements energized at any one time is limited, and the machine includes input and output terminals for sending image information externally and for receiving and recording image information other than directly from the read unit.

Reproducing machine

Electric energy to be applied to each heating element of the thermal head is controlled by taking into account the energy applied to the heating element one scan period before as well as the effect of heat accumulated in heating elements surrounding the heating element, and then the energy thus controlled is recorrected taking into consideration the temperature change in a thermal head base plate or the change in printing time between lines.

Compensation for heat accumulation in a thermal head

In a thermal printing utilizing a heat sensitive printing paper or an ink donor film, sticking of a heat sensitive color developing layer on the printing paper or a substrate film of the ink donor film to a thermal head is prevented by supplying a predetermined amount of electric energy to heat generating elements of the thermal head during time intervals between successive printing heat generations in the heat generating elements. For this purpose, warming pulses generated from a warming pulse generating circuit are applied during the time intervals to the heat generating elements for warming the same.

Thermal printing method and apparatus

A method and device for driving a thermal head taking into consideration not only picture data already recorded and picture data on the line containing the aimed data currently being recorded, but also picture data intended to be recorded.

Thermal head drive device

A thermo-sensitive recording apparatus individually controls the energization level of each of a plurality of heater elements formed on a substrate and constituting a thermal print head. In generating each energization level, the present and previous status of an individual heater element and selected neighboring elements are taken into consideration. Other factors combined in a selectively weighted manner include the latent heat of the individual heater element and its neighboring heater elements, the resistance of the heater element, the percentage of heater elements to be activated during the printing of a line, and the temperature of the substrate.

Thermo-sensitive recording apparatus

A thermal head for use in thermal printing is operated according to a method in which the data of one line are recorded divisionally, with recording operations for the first and second halves of a line being carried out alternatingly and repeatedly.

Growing community of inventors

Kanagawa, Japan

Toshiharu Inui