Abstract: A tandem electrophotographic image forming apparatus includes plural toner image forming units and a fixing unit. The plural toner image forming units are disposed in a conveyance direction of a printing medium. Each of the toner image forming units includes a photoreceptor on which a toner image is formed and a transfer member to which a transfer voltage is applied to cause the toner image to be transferred from the photoreceptor onto the printing medium. The fixing unit is disposed on a downstream side of the toner image forming units in the conveyance direction of the printing medium and heats and fixes, to the printing medium, the toner images that have been transferred onto the printing medium. The transfer voltages applied to the transfer members are made smaller the closer to the fixing unit.

Abstract: There is provided: a semiconductor film formed on a base material, containing a group 13 element, nitrogen, and oxygen in an amount of about 15 atomic % or more; a manufacturing method thereof; a light receiving element using the semiconductor film; an electrophotographic photoreceptor; a process cartridge; and an image forming device.

Abstract: A method of forming a xerographic image having at least one portion with a gloss different from a gloss of another portion of the xerographic image includes xerographically forming a toner image on a surface of a substrate and forming a finish over the toner image at the at least one portion, the finish being made of a differential gloss finish coating material that has a gloss different from that of the toner image. The differential gloss finish coating material is preferably an emulsion aggregation toner that is substantially free of pigments that adversely affect the transparency of the toner following fusing, the toner having gloss tunability through control of the amount of crosslinked portions included in the toner.

Abstract: Provides a system for detecting an intersection between more than one panoramic video sequence and detecting the orientation of the sequences forming the intersection. Video images and corresponding location data are received. If required, the images and location data is processed to ensure the images contain location data. An intersection between two paths is then derived from the video images by deriving a rough intersection between two images, determining a neighborhood for the two images, and dividing each image in the neighborhood into strips. An identifying value is derived from each strip to create a row of strip values which are then converted to the frequency domain. A distance measure is taken between strips in the frequency domain, and the intersection is determined from the images having the smallest distance measure between them.

Abstract: A toner composition including a binder, a colorant, and a surface additive package including a surface treated silica, a surface treated titania, and magnesium stearate.

Abstract: A magenta toner for developing electrostatic images provided which contains a binder resin and a colorant, wherein the colorant includes a mixed crystal of two or more colorants and when a solid patch is fixed on art paper complying with the ISO standard by using this toner, a resulting fixed image color satisfies at least one of the following formulae (b*)<0.85 (a*)?67.92; and (b*)>?7.94(a*)+591.85. The color difference ?E between the color of the fixed image and the color characterized by L*: 46.6, a*: 75.1 and b*: ?4.4 is preferably less than 6. The colorant is preferably a mixed crystal of a quinacridone colorant and a monoazo colorant. Moreover, the invention provides a method for producing the magenta toner, a developer containing the magenta toner, and an image-forming method using the magenta toner.

Abstract: An assembly suited to the lathing of cylindrical workpieces, such as photoreceptor blanks, includes a first drive system which rotates an associated workpiece about an axis of rotation. A machining tool machines a circumference of the workpiece to generate a strip of material. A cutting apparatus cuts the strip of material into sections. The cutting apparatus includes first and second rotatably mounted members which define a nip therebetween. A first of the rotatable members carries a cutting member on a peripheral surface thereof. A second drive system rotates the first and second rotatable members. The second drive system may be adjustable whereby a circumferential speed of the rotatable members can be matched to a circumferential speed of the workpiece. A transverse speed of the cutting apparatus may be matched to that of the machining tool.

Abstract: Methods and systems for document image decoding incorporating a Stack algorithm improve document image decoding. The application of the Stack algorithm is iterated to improved decoding. A provisional weight is determined for a partial path to reduce template matching. In addition, semantically equivalent hypotheses are identified to reduce redundant hypotheses.

Abstract: Various structures or components can include plated surfaces or other parts. For example, an article can include a base and a plated part with a limit artifact that results from plating adjacent a non-plateable surface; the limit artifact can be disposed away from the base. Exemplary limit artifacts include lack of protrusions, smooth upper surfaces, and curved surfaces, where a curved surface can transition between a smooth upper surface and an irregular side surface. Exemplary plated structures can be tube-shaped or cup-shaped, with an opening at a top end and, around the opening, a lip with a limit artifact. Wall-like structures can similarly have limit artifacts at their top end. If plating on a mold's side surface, the non-plateable surface can be the lower surface of an overhanging polymer disk or structure positioned on the mold. Plated tubes and wall-like structures can be employed in microfluidic structures.

Abstract: A method for identifying and correcting for spatial variation within scanning bars includes performing diagnostic scans of at least one sheet, in which a sheet(s) is scanned in various orientations and translations, with each of the orientations identified. The diagnostic scans are registered with one of the individual diagnostic scans to produce registered scans. The registered scans are averaged to create a master scan corresponding to the sheet, such that the master scan is indicative of the spatial variation within the sheet.

Abstract: A flame-retardant resin composition comprising a biodegradable resin and flame-retardant particles having a volume average particle diameter in the range of 1 nm to 500 nm dispersed in the biodegradable resin, wherein the flame-retardant particles contain a metal hydrate and have a coating layer containing an organic compound or a polysilicone, and a flame-retardant resin-molded article comprising a biodegradable resin and flame-retardant particles having a volume average particle diameter of 1 nm to 500 nm dispersed in the biodegradable resin, wherein the flame-retardant particles comprise a metal hydrate, and the flame-retardant resin-molded article has a flame retardancy of HB or higher according to the UL-94 test.

Abstract: An image processing apparatus including an image processing unit structured to include one or more image processing modules and one or more buffer modules each having a buffer for storing image data, the respective modules being connected in a pipe line mode or a directed acyclic graph mode. Each of the buffer modules including a write unit that when image data to be written is input from the module at the proceeding stage, switches a write method depending on whether or not the input image data is compressed and writes the image data to the buffer; and a read unit that when image data is requested from the module at the following stage, switches an output method depending on whether or not the read image data is compressed, reads the image data from the buffer, and outputs the image data to the module at the following stage.

Abstract: The presently disclosed embodiments relate in general to electrophotographic imaging members, such as layered photoreceptor structures, and processes for making and using the same. More particularly, the embodiments pertain to a photoreceptor undercoat layer that includes styrene acrylic copolymers and aminoplast resins to improve image quality.

Abstract: Toner particles are prepared by a process comprising providing an extrusion apparatus; adding resin particles and additive particles to a supply means in the extrusion apparatus; adding the resin particles and the additive particles to a blending chamber in the extrusion apparatus, which blending chamber is maintained at a temperature of from about 50° C. to about 120° C.; blending the resin particles and the additive particles to form a mixture; extruding the resin particles to form extruded material; injecting liquid substances, which have a lower boiling point than the melt temperature of the resin particles, into the blending chamber during extrusion without the application of a vacuum to remove the liquid substances prior to extrusion; and grinding the extruded material to form toner particles.

Abstract: A medium evaluation method for evaluating a commodity information provision medium that commodity consumers expect to use as an acquisition unit of commodity information provided by a commodity provider at each step of a purchase process wherein: expectation information is associated with kinds of commodity information provision media that commodity consumers expect to use at each step of the purchase process, and access information is used to access the consumers from whom the expectation information is acquired, the method includes: in response to specifying a certain commodity information provision medium at a certain step of the purchase process in the expectation information, specifying access information of a consumer who expects to use the specified commodity information provision medium at the specified step of the purchase process from the access information.

Abstract: The present invention provides an image processing device. The image processing device includes an image processing section constructed by individual modules being connected in a pipeline form or a directed acyclic graph form, such that a buffer module is connected at least one of a preceding stage and a following stage of individual image processing modules. In the image processing device, the individual image processing modules are realized by corresponding programs being executed in parallel by a program executing resource provided at the image processing device. The image processing device further has a priority level controlling component which carries out initial setting of execution priority levels of the programs of the individual image processing modules, and changing of the execution priority levels in accordance with extents of progress of image processing.

Abstract: An electronic board system includes an electronic board having a screen for displaying information of interest to a work group or community, an input device for receiving information from users in a group or community to be displayed on the electronic board, a memory for storing information received from the input device and a processor for selecting which information stored in the memory to display on the screen, where and how to display the selected information on the screen and displaying the selected information on the screen. The processor selects which information to display in accordance with a predetermined relationship based on a group-based recommendation criteria and user interest. A plurality of sensors disposed behind the screen detect user interest in information displayed on the screen near the sensor. User interest may also be determined by monitoring user requests for copies of information displayed on the screen.

Abstract: A product identification method and associated system may include providing an identification element that corresponds to a consumable product, the identification element at least one of being portable by a user and being readable by a scanner; and at least one of marking information related to the consumable product on the identification element and storing information related to the consumable product in the identification element. Also, a product identification device may include an identification element, and information related to consumable product which is at least one of marked on the identification element and stored in the identification element.

Abstract: An out-of-plane micro-structure which can be used for on-chip integration of high-Q inductors and transformers places the magnetic field direction parallel to the substrate plane without requiring high aspect ratio processing. The photolithographically patterned coil structure includes an elastic member having an intrinsic stress profile. The intrinsic stress profile biases a free portion away from the substrate forming a loop winding. An anchor portion remains fixed to the substrate. The free portion end becomes a second anchor portion which may be connected to the substrate via soldering or plating. A series of individual coil structures can be joined via their anchor portions to form inductors and transformers.

Abstract: A color image processing apparatus includes a first unit that predicts a bleeding occurrence level from input image data, a second unit that replaces pixels in a given area including boundaries between black ink and any of color inks with another pixels in accordance with the bleeding occurrence level, and a third unit that controls switching of multiple printing modes for each main scan in accordance with the bleeding occurrence level.