Abstract: A thermal printer for printing on a printing sheet. A print head with print elements opposes a platen and the printing sheet is located between the print head and platen. A head up-down mechanism for moving the print head toward and away from the platen has a biasing mechanism, a head release mechanism, and a change mechanism. The biasing mechanism includes an elastic member for urging the print head against the platen at least two levels of biasing force in the head down position. The head release mechanism selectively relieves the biasing force on the print head. The change mechanism effects selection between at least two levels of the biasing force produced from the force generated by the elastic member. The biasing force is related to the head movement speed or sheet movement speed. The energy applied to the print elements is based on the biasing force. A detection of the smoothness of the paper results in a variation in the biasing force on the print head.

Abstract: A print timing circuit for a printer has a reciprocating carriage and at least one printing element mounted on the carriage. The print timing circuit includes a carriage controller for reciprocating the carriage and an encoder for detecting the speed of movement of the carriage and generating an encoder signal representative of the speed of movement of the carriage. An oscillator produces a print timing signal to control operation of the printing element. A frequency divider and comparator divides the encoder signal by N, where N is an integer. It also divides the print timing signal by M, where M is an integer. Then, it compares the phase relationship of the divided signals and provides an adjustment signal representative of the phase relationship of the divided signals to the oscillator.

Abstract: A display panel having a pair of spaced apart flexible substrates and a display medium sandwiched therebetween. A multiple seal contains the display medium between the substrates and maintains the substrates in spaced separation. The multiple seal includes a first seal for strongly adhering to the substrates and a second seal for forming a low water permeability seal. A process for the production of a display panel having a pair of spaced apart flexible substrates and a display medium sandwiched therebetween. A first sealant which strongly adheres to the substrates is printed on the interior surface of one substrate. A second seal, which has low water permeability, is printed on the other substrate. A spacer is scattered on at least one of the substrates. The substrates are combined together and the sealants are cured to form a display panel.

Abstract: The invention relates to a system for driving a liquid crystal matrix display for use in a television wherein the signal applied to each pixel is inverted at a rate not greater than that necessary to scan a single pixel but greater than the rate necessary to cause crosstalk and in any event greater than the rate necessary to scan a line of pixels without inverting.