Abstract: An air flow is generated in a space adjacent to the toner control member 3, when an image is not being formed, and also a cleaning electric field for moving the toner away from the toner control member 3 is generated in the same space. For instance, a slit 2a is formed in an outer peripheral section of a cylindrical and rotatable counter electrode member 2, and an air flow generating source 10 such as a fan is connected to the counter electrode member 2. A convex cleaning electrode 11 is formed around the slit 2a of the counter electrode member 2, and a voltage for forming a cleaning electric field is applied from the power supply source for cleaning 8 to this cleaning electrode 11.

Abstract: A method of forming a powder image on a recording medium and an apparatus therefor are disclosed. The apparatus includes a toner carrier for carrying powdery toner in a layer or layers thereon, a counter electrode, and a flight control member having independent or continuous extremely small holes and a plurality of control electrodes for controlling the passage of toner through the holes. A voltage is applied to the control electrodes in accordance with an image signal in order to cause the toner to fly from the toner carrier toward the counter electrode via the holes. The toner deposits on the recording medium intervening between the flight control member and the counter electrode, forming an image on the recording medium.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a power circuit for a condenser microphone capable of automatically switching both internal power source and external power source without carrying out the switching operation of a switch. A positive side output line comprises a power switch for turning off the positive side output line to selectively connecting it to a ground side output line; a first diode connected with an input direction from the external power source being a forward direction between the power switch and an output terminal of the positive side output line; and a capacitor connected parallel with said power switch and said first diode so as to bypass them, a series circuit comprising the internal power source, a second diode and a load resistor with a direction from the ground side output line to the positive side output line being a forward direction being connected between a connection point of the power switch and the first diode and the ground side output line.

Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a cleaning member for collecting toner left on an image carrier after image transfer, and then redepositing it on the carrier, so that a developing unit can collect the redeposited toner to reuse it. Even when the frictional charging ability of the cleaning member falls due to aging or varying environment, the charge of the toner left on the image carrier is regulated to preselected polarity before the toner reaches the cleaning member, thereby enhancing a toner collecting efficiency and a toner redepositing efficiency. The charge of the toner redeposited on the image carrier and moved away from the cleaning member is regulated to preselected polarity while being increased, thereby reducing a load to act on the developing unit. The toner is redeposited on the image carrier efficiently without regard to the polarity of the toner collected by the cleaning member.

Abstract: A character output device comprises a storage section for storing typeface property data consisting of quantitative and qualitative information of the specific parts of specific characters that are commonly possessed by a plural number of fonts, a distance calculating section for calculating a distance between typeface property of a font the use of which is requested and any of other fonts than the use requested font, and a font selector section for selecting, on the basis of the calculation result, a font of which the typeface property is closest to the typeface property of the use requested font. In the character output device, when a font with the same typeface as that of the use requested font is not retained in the character output device, a control section and a character development processor section cooperatively substitute the typeface of the retained font selected by the font selector section for the typeface of the use requested font to perform a character processing.

Abstract: A light interference-type film thickness measuring mechanism 24 measures a film thickness by irradiating a light emitted from a light transmission portion on to the bottom surface of a wafer W held by a wafer holding head 8 and receives the reflected light and. A cleaning mechanism 26 includes a cleaning fluid tank 27 a top surface of which is opened and arranged in the vicinity of the bottom surface of the wafer; a light transmission portion 50 formed at the bottom portion 48 of the tank 27; a wafer cleaning nozzle 40 spraying the cleaning fluid on the measuring points at the bottom surface of the wafer; a light transmission portion cleaning nozzle 44 spraying the cleaning fluid on the light transmission portion 50 and cleaning fluid supply means for supplying cleaning fluid to these nozzles.

Abstract: In an image forming apparatus, during the course of recording, a cleaning roller is rotated together with an image carrier. The roller frictionally charges toner left on the image carrier after image transfer to the same polarity. A cleaning member electrostatically collects the charged toner. At the same time, a voltage is applied to the cleaning member by a voltage applying device in order to cause it to attract the charged toner, thereby cleaning the image carrier. Hence, even when the toner remaining on image carrier is charged partly to the positive polarity and partly to the negative polarity, the toner can be entirely transferred to the cleaning member by a simple construction.

Abstract: A wafer polishing apparatus increases the polishing uniformity by adjusting an abutting pressure of a retainer ting to an optimum value. A wafer holding head 32 of this apparatus has a head body 34, a carrier 46 provided within the head body 34, a retainer ring 50 arranged on the outer periphery of the carrier 46, a diaphragm 44 for pressing the carrier 46, a ring-shaped tube 54 which is made of an elastic material and mounted between the head body 34 and the retainer ring 50, and a second pressure regulating mechanism 60 for regulating a pressure of a fluid filled within the tube 54.

Abstract: An optical scanning apparatus includes: a light source for emitting a laser light ray; a cylinder lens for converting the laser light ray into a first convergent light ray that converges only in a sub-scanning direction and remains unchanged in a main scanning direction; a deflection unit for deflecting the first convergent light ray from the cylinder lens; a focusing unit for converting the deflected light ray into a second convergent light ray that converges in the main scanning direction, and for focusing the second convergent light ray on a scanned surface as a light spot; an aperture unit, arranged between the light source and the deflection unit, for blocking an outer peripheral portion of the laser light ray and for restricting a width of the laser light ray in the sub-scanning direction to a first width of an aperture of the aperture unit; and an adjusting unit for adjusting the first width of the aperture of the aperture unit so as to eliminate a deviation of the diameter of the light spot on the sca

Abstract: In an optical scanner, a light beam deflected by an optical deflector is reflected on a reflective image forming element and is converged as a light spot onto a scanned face through an elongated lens to perform an optical scanning operation. The reflective image forming element is formed by a plastic material and has a function for approximately converging the deflected light beam onto the scanned face with respect to a main scan-corresponding direction. The reflective image forming element also has a function for approximately moving the light spot at an equal speed. The elongated lens is formed by plastic and has a function for converging the deflected light beam onto the scanned face with respect to a cross scan-corresponding direction in cooperation with the reflective image forming element. The elongated lens also has negative refracting power with respect to the main scan-corresponding direction.

Abstract: A truing apparatus for a wafer polishing pad is provided which is capable of obtaining a sufficient truing effect while keeping the polishing amount of a polishing pad to a maximum. The truing apparatus includes a truing grinding wheel having an abrasive grain layer having ultra-abrasive grains electrodeposited thereon, a support arm for rotatably supporting the truing grinding wheel by bringing the polishing surface of an electrodeposition abrasive grain layer into abutment with the polishing pad, a grinding wheel rotary motor for rotating the grinding wheel, a self-aligning bearing disposed between a grinding wheel support plate and a grinding wheel rotation shaft, and pure water supply means for supplying pure water from the inside of the truing grinding wheel.

Abstract: A safety indicating device having a flexible indicator body and a power source unit. The indicator body has a transparent protective sheet which is disposed on the back side of a front sheet having a plurality of windows and on which projections corresponding to the windows are formed, and a flexible substrate which is disposed on the back side of the transparent protective sheet and on which LEDs are fixedly arranged in a manner corresponding to the projections. The transparent protective sheet and the flexible substrate are stacked and adhered to each other. A waterproof lining sheet is closely adhered to the back of the flexible substrate.

Abstract: An optical scanner having a deflecting device for reflecting and deflecting a laser beam issued from a light source device with a reflective surface thereof, and image forming optics for focusing the deflected laser beam onto a target surface to form a beam spot. A first aperture is interposed between the light source device and the deflecting device for correcting the diameter of the beam spot to be formed on the target surface. A second aperture is located on an optical axis between the first aperture and the target surface for intercepting, at least in a direction corresponding to subscanning, part of the light diffracted by the first aperture which lies outwardly of the first minimums.

Abstract: An optical scanning system includes a light source, a coupling lens, a polygon mirror, an f.theta. lens, and a barrel toroidal lens. The barrel toroidal lens includes a barrel toroidal surface in which the radius of curvature thereof measured in the sub-scanning direction decreases with an increased distance from the optical axis of the barrel toroidal lens in a direction parallel to the main scanning direction.