Hitachi, Ltd.

Hitachi Video Engineering, Incorporated

Thomson Licensing

Japan Servo Co.,ltd.

Hitachi Video and Information Systems, Inc.

Toshihiko Gotoh

Kentaro Hamma

Hiroshi Shimizu

Naohiro Ozawa

Yasunori Kobori

Mikio Shiraishi

Kentaro Hanma

Seiji Okunomiya

Takeshi Nomura

Hiroyuki Kimura

Tetsuo Nakano

Masahiko Fujita

Koichi Tomatsuri

Koutarou Tanno

Akira Shimizu

Hideki Tanaka

Satoshi Yoshida

Takashi Yoshida

Isao Shimizu

Tsutomu Nakamura

Masashi Yoshida

Fumio Takeda

Yoshiharu Chikazawa

Yasuhiro Matsuda

Takahiko Yoshida

Youichi Narui

Hiroshi Hagino

Junichi Shoji

Katsumi Watanabe

Seizi Okunomiya

Yoshiaki Mochimaru

Kohtarou Tanno

Osamu Hattori

Naohiro Ozaga

Horoshi Shimizu

The present invention relates to a variable iris using charged opaque particles, and to a method for operating such a variable iris. According to the invention, the variable iris has a first transparent substrate and a second transparent substrate, which are separated by one or more ribs to form a cell confining charged opaque particles, the first transparent substrate being provided with at least a first electrode and a second electrode both being adapted to be connected to a voltage source for acting on the charged opaque particles, and at least a third electrode adapted to be connected to the voltage source for acting on the charged opaque particles, the voltages applied to the first electrode, the second electrode, and the third electrode being controllable to have the same or opposite signs. The variable iris further has a pulse driver for applying voltage pulses to the electrodes.

Variable iris using charged opaque particles

A video printer for printing a plurality of kinds of images having different image formats, consisting of an image memory for storing image data of one image portion of an input image signal, an image data processing unit for converting image data from the image memory into image printing data, an image printing unit for executing an image printing based on image printing data from the image data processing unit, an input image format decision unit for deciding an image format of an image signal inputted to the image memory, an image format decision unit for deciding an image printing format determined by either an image printing sheet or an ink sheet set to the image printer, an operating portion for inputting an instruction of an operator, and a system controller for controlling the image memory or the image data processing unit so that the image signal inputted to the image memory is printed to match the image printing format, based on an input signal decision signal from the input image format decision unit, an image printing decision signal from the image printing format decision unit and an instruction signal from the operating portion.

Video printer for printing plurality of kinds of images of different

An apparatus for holding a thermal transfer printing ink-sheet in a cartridge case and for indicating a characteristic of the ink-sheet, comprises an ink-sheet including an ink which is transferred from the ink-sheet by a heat energy, a shaft on which the ink-sheet is wound and which is mounted detachably and in a rotatable manner on the cartridge case, and an indicating member which is discrete in relation to the cartridge case, indicates the characteristic of the ink-sheet, is rotatable in relation to the shaft, and is connected to the shaft so that an integral combination of the indicating member and the shaft is kept on a replacement of the ink-sheet, and the indicating member and the shaft are separated simultaneously from the cartridge case on the replacement of the ink-sheet.

Means for holding thermal transfer printing ink-sheet in cartridge

A thermal transfer printer which can use both an ink sheet provided with a positioning mark to indicate the top position of a set of three color ink patches necessary for producing one image, and an ink sheet provided with no such positioning mark, without the need of switching an operation mode. The thermal transfer printer has an optical sensor which can equally detect a color change between 3rd and 1st color patches on the ink sheet provided with no positioning mark and a color change between a positioning mark and a 1st color patch on the ink sheet provided with the positioning mark. There is also disclosed an ink sheet cassette for use in the thermal transfer printer, the ink sheet cassette accommodating the ink sheet in which a positioning mark is coated with the same color(s) of ink as those for printing and information about the color sequence of the ink coated patches for printing is also recorded in the coated pattern of the positioning mark.

Thermal transfer printer and ink sheet cassette for use in same

A video printer is disclosed. An input video signal is converted into a digital signal and stored in a memory. The write/read operation and memory addresses of the memory are controlled by a memory control unit. The signal read out of the memory is converted into print data, and an image is printed by a printer. The print data and the printing operation are controlled by a print control unit, and at least a part of the memory areas of the memory is controlled in the write operation by an area control unit.

Video printer with separately stored digital signals printed in separate

A thermal transfer printing apparatus includes a reading device for reading a code registered section provided on an ink sheet cassette, and a color discrimination device, a part of which is provided on a thermal head. The apparatus acts to heat an ink sheet superposed on a print paper by means of the thermal head to print an image on the print paper. The ink sheet cassette includes a pair of ink shafts on which both ends of a continuous ink sheet having a continuous film or paper with inks applied thereon are wound, and a cassette case in which the ink shafts are received, at least one of the ink shafts being adapted to be drivingly connected in the axial direction to a torque supply shaft inserted from the outside of the cassette case so that driving torque is supplied from the torque supply shaft to the ink shaft. The code registered section is composed of a first pattern portion of alternating white and black patterns and a second pattern portion in which information connecting the ink sheet is coded and recorded in line with the first pattern portion. The code registered section is provided on one of the ink shafts in the cassette case.

Thermal transfer printing apparatus and ink paper cassette

A thermal transfer printer which can use both an ink sheet provided with a positioning mark to indicate the top position of a set of three color ink patches necessary for producing one image, and an ink sheet provided with no such positioning mark, without the need of switching the operation mode. The thermal transfer printer has an optical sensor which can equally detect color change between 3rd and 1st color patches for the ink sheet provided with no positioning mark and color change between a positioning mark and 1st color patch for the ink sheet provided with the positioning mark. There is also disclosed an ink sheet cassette for use in the thermal transfer printer, the ink sheet cassette accommodating the ink sheet in which a positioning mark is coated with the same color(s) of ink as those for printing and information about the color sequence of the ink coated patches for printing is also recorded in the coated pattern of the positioning mark.

Thermal transfer printer capable of using and detecting a plurality of

A video printer comprises a main memory unit for storing data of a first picture, a sub-memory for storing data for an overlay region to be overlaid on the first picture and also indicative of a second picture to be displayed in the overlay region, a memory data processing unit for generating a synthesized picture by selectively controlling the picture data for the overlay region on the basis of the data stored in the sub-memory, a system control circuit for controlling the data storage in the main memory unit, the data storage in the sub-memory circuit and operation of the memory data processing circuit, and a print circuit for producing a hard copy on the basis of the output of the memory data processing circuit.

Video printer having data are stored in main and sub memories are read

A thermal transfer printer including a thermal head for generating heat in accordance with a desired print pattern, a platen having a surface for supporting an ink-sheet and paper, the ink-sheet and paper being pressed by the thermal head on the platen surface so that ink from the ink-sheet is transferred to the paper, a paper supply for storing and supplying paper, an ink-sheet supply and drive for storing and supplying an ink-sheet, the ink-sheet supply and drive driving the ink-sheet to move in accordance with the movement of the paper, a paper drive arranged between the platen and the paper supply, the paper drive driving the paper by the required length according to the position of the paper relative to the position of the platen, and a paper tension device for applying suitable tension to the paper at least between the platen and the paper drive so that the length by which the paper drive drives the paper is identical with the length by which the paper moves on the platen. Since the length by which the paper moves on the platen corresponds only to the length by which the paper drive drives the paper, the length by which the paper moves on the platen can be correctly controlled through the paper drive.

Thermal transfer printer

A thermal transfer printer includes a mark disposed on an ink spool of an ink film cassette, reading device for reading the rotation of the ink spool by use of the mark, a calculation device for calculating the used quantity of ink film by use of the rotation data of the spool, and a display portion for displaying the remaining quantity of ink film obtained by the calculation device.

An ink paper cassette has ink paper, a supply shaft for supplying the ink paper, a take-up shaft for winding the ink paper, a front connecting portion for rotatably supporting first ends of the supply and the take-up shafts and a rear connecting portion for rotatably supporting second ends of the supply and the take-up shafts. The ink paper cassette is to be loaded into a printer. The printer performs thermal prints of characters and/or pictorial images onto a transfer paper with the ink paper loaded in the ink paper cassette. The front connecting portion has a depth so greater than that of the rear connecting portion that the front connecting portion is brought into abutment with a front face of a printer mechanism, whereby preventing the ink paper cassette from being loaded into the printer.

Thermal transfer recording apparatus with ink paper cassette

An inked sheet cassette suitable for use in printer such as a multi-color thermal transfer-type printer. The cassette has a cassette case encasing an inked sheet constituted by a thin web-like film or paper sheet with at least one type of ink applied thereto, and a pair of reels disposed in the cassette case and constituting a supply reel and a take-up reel on which are wound the respective ends of the inked sheet. The cassette has a window provided at least in one of a portion of said cassette case adjacent to the supply reel and portion adjacent to said take-up reel so as to enable the user to visually check the diameter of the roll of the inked sheet on the reel adjacent to said window. Disclosed also is a printer suitable for use in combination with this cassette.

Inked sheet cassette and thermal transfer-type recording apparatus

In a combination of a thermal transfer recording apparatus and an ink sheet cassette therefor, a take-up shaft of the ink sheet cassette has an outer diameter smaller than that of a supply shaft. A new ink sheet wound about the supply shaft to a location close to an inner wall surface of a supply shaft housing section of a cassette case is changed to a used ink sheet wrinkled due to heating by a thermal head. The used ink sheet having an increased thickness due to the wrinkles is taken up in the form of a roll about the take-up shaft. The roll of the used ink sheet entirely wound about the take-up shaft has such an outer diameter as to be out of contact with an inner wall surface of a take-up shaft housing section to thereby prevent contact of the take-up shaft with an inner wall surface of the cassette case due to an increase in the diameter of the roll of the used ink sheet wound about the take-up shaft.

Thermal transfer recording apparatus and ink sheet cassette therefor

A thermal recording head includes heating elements which are provided in one array on the front surface of a base plate, and a radiating plate which is fixed to the rear surface of the base plate. The radiating plate has a thickness 1 satisfying 1.gtoreq.2d where d denotes the diameters of mounting holes formed in the radiating plate, some of the mounting holes are disposed at predetermined intervals at positions substantially corresponding to the heating element array, and the spacing 1.sub.2 between the base plate and the bottom of each of the mounting holes satisfies 1.sub.2 .gtoreq.d.

Thermal recording head

A thermal-transfer recording method and an apparatus used for this method in which ink on an ink tape is heat-transferred in the form of a mirror image of a desired image to an intermediate recording sheet having a base film and an ink absorbing adhesive layer formed on the base film, and in which the intermediate recording sheet to which the mirror image has been heat-transferred is bonded to a desired recording medium at the surface of the ink absorbing adhesive layer.

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Tokyo, Japan

Toshihiko Gotoh