Abstract: A fuser component useful in electrostatographic machines, having a substrate, and thereover a silicone rubber layer having the crosslinked product of at least one platinum catalyzed addition curable vinyl terminated polyorganosiloxane, aluminum oxide fillers, iron oxide fillers, a crosslinking agent, and having an optional outer fluoroelastomer layer.

Abstract: A process for producing a charging member by grit blasting a charging member substrate, plasma spraying a single component outer coating consisting essentially of titanium dioxide powder directly to the grit blasted stainless steel substrate, and the outer coating has a resistivity of from about 10−10 to about 10−3 ohms-cm.

Abstract: An ink set for ink jet recording including plural color inks including a black ink, the ink set including water, a water-soluble organic solvent and colorants. At least one of the color inks having a hue other than black is a specified color ink containing a compound for coagulating a colorant contained in the black ink, at least one of other color inks has a function for improving coagulability between the colorant contained in the black ink and the compound contained in the specified color ink, and the drying time of the black ink on a plain paper sheet is less than 5 seconds.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink set for ink jet recording comprising: an ink which contains: water; a colorant; a water-soluble organic solvent; polyvalent metal ions; and compound (A) which is intrinsically capable of substantially inactivating the polyvalent metal ions, and a liquid composition is of a pH in which the polyvalent metal ions in the ink can be substantially activated. The pH of the ink is within a range in which compound (A) keeps the polyvalent metal ions substantially in an inactive state. The invention also provides an ink jet recording method which uses such an ink set.

Abstract: A sheet feeding device includes an elastic support member, a following movable member disposed so as to contact an uppermost sheet of a stack of sheets stacked on a sheet tray and can follow and move in accordance with the change in the stacking amount of the sheets, a restraining mechanism that restrains the elastic support member in accordance with the stacking amount of the sheets so that the position of the uppermost sheet is held at a substantial constant, and a release mechanism that interlocks with the movement of the following movable member to release the restrained state. The restraining mechanism includes an engagement member that moves together with the elastic support member and a restraining member that restrains the movement of the engagement member. The restraining member moves along a straight locus at least near an engaging portion to engage with and disengage from the engagement member.

Abstract: The present invention provides a connector-integrated type polymer optical waveguide, comprising: an optical waveguide including a film substrate for clad, an optical waveguide core provided on the film substrate, and a clad layer formed on side faces and a top face of the core; a pair of connector sleeves formed at positions at which the connector sleeves sandwich the optical waveguide core at least in one end portion of the polymer optical waveguide; and a rigid member for connector formation, wherein the film substrate for clad and the connector sleeves are fixed to the rigid member for connector formation in such a state that the center of the optical waveguide core and the center for connector sleeves are substantially on the same plane. The present invention also provides a method for producing the above-mentioned connector-integrated type polymer optical waveguide and a mold to be used for the method.

Abstract: A sheet registration system in an arcuate sheet path of a compact printer with a sheet feeding system in which the lead edge of the sheet is partially arcuately buckled against a transversely extending registration gate in said sheet path (such as stalled or slower speed sheet feed roller nips, or retractable fingers) in which there is a transversely variable arcuate control baffle system in said sheet path upstream of the registration gate for accommodating skewed sheets in the sheet path and thereby providing improved alignment of the lead edge of the skewed sheets with the transversely extending registration gate. The illustrated transversely variable arcuate control baffle system is provided by a variably positionable split baffle system providing for a larger arcuate buckle for one side of a skewed sheet than the other side of the skewed sheet. This may be in proportion to a sensed initial skew of the sheet.

Abstract: A method for improvement of the consistency of color and brightness across boundaries of multicamera and/or multidisplayed overlapping or near overlapping composite images, reduction of objectionable artifacts at overlapping image seams of composite images, adjustment of color and brightness/intensity on either side of overlapping image seams, application of color correction across a composite image, reduction of color and intensity mismatches of composite images, gradual change of color across image seams of a composite image, including altering color outside of overlap regions is provided so that the seams are less discernible and to avoid sharp color changes across a composite or mosaic image are reduced or avoided.

Abstract: A plurality of cells are set apart by a spacer member between a display plate and a rear face plate. Black particles with positive static charge and white particles with negative static charge are dispersed in a dispersion fluid, which is enclosed in the cells. A red colored layer and electrodes 7a, 7b and 7c are formed at the rear face plate. When a voltage of +50 V is applied to the electrode 7a, 0 V to 7b and −50 V to 7c, the black particles move to the electrode 7c, the white particles move to the electrode 7a, and red can be viewed. When a voltage of +50 V is applied to the electrode 7a, 0 V to 7b and +50 V to 7c, the white particles move to the electrode 7a, the black particles move to the electrode 7b, and black can be viewed. When a voltage of −50 V is applied to the electrode 7a, 0 V to 7b and −50 V to 7c, the black particles move to the electrode 7c, the white particles move to the electrode 7b, and white can be viewed.

Abstract: A module for an optical wavelength division multiplexing communication includes semiconductor lasers emitting lights of wavelengths, a support member on which the semiconductor lasers are mounted, an optical fiber to which the lights emitted from the semiconductor lasers are incident, and a component that positions the optical fiber with respect to the support member and fixes the optical fiber thereto.

Abstract: An image forming system which performs communication among a plurality of devices comprises a communication control device, which is communicably connected to each of an image forming device, a computer, and a print control device, is arranged, and communication among these devices is performed through the communication control device. Therefore, commands transmitted from these devices are received by the communication control device. In the communication control device, when a command transmitted from any one of these devices is received, a transmission destination is automatically selected from the devices except a transmission source of the received command based on relation information, so that the command is transmitted to the device of the selected transmission destination.

Abstract: A back board has a spacing member having elasticity larger than that of a spacing member formed on a display board, and the spacing member of the back board is joined with the spacing member formed on the display board. Cells are formed between the display board and the back board, and black particles and white particles which are moved by an applied electric field are sealed into the cells. Even when there is variance in heights of the spacing members on the display board and the back board, the spacing member on the back board side is elastically deformed so as to absorb the variance. As a result, the spacing member on the display board is brought into close contact with the spacing member on the back board with certainty, so that the particles sealed into the cells can be prevented from moving between the cells.

Abstract: A multifunction printed sheets interface system with plural sheet input areas for receiving printed sheets from plural printers, plural sheet outputs areas for plural outputs to different sheet processing systems, a sheet position sensing system, and a sheet transporting system providing selectable sheet translation from selected plural sheet input areas to selected plural sheet outputs areas so as to provide selectable sheet feeding from selected printers to selected sheet processing systems, and selectable sheet rotation of selected sheets and selectable sheet merging in a selected sheet sequence of sheets from plural printers. The sheet transporting system has a large planar area with a multiplicity of spaced apart independently operable variable sheet feeding direction and sheet velocity sheet transports, larger than the dimensions of any sheet to be fed thereon to allow simultaneous plural sheet variable transport thereon.

Abstract: An intelligent on-board monitoring system for replaceable module for a printing apparatus includes a memory element, an input for receiving information either from sensors on the replaceable module, or from the printing apparatus concerning printing operations performed, and a microprocessor connected to the memory for performing calculations upon data stored in the memory and upon the input information. The calculations produce results related to the performance of the replaceable module. These results can either be communicated to the printing apparatus, or used to control an adjustable operating parameter of the replaceable module itself, all without requiring computational resources of the printing apparatus itself.

Abstract: The technique for selecting at least a part of object on an electronic media includes, providing annotations on the object, grouping the annotation on the object, and selecting one or both of the object and the annotations based on the grouping of the annotations on the object. The techniques also provide the system that selects a part of object on a media, that includes an annotation grouping circuit that provides annotations on the object and groups the annotations on the object, and an object selection circuit that selects at least one of the object and the annotations based on the grouping of the annotation on the object.

Abstract: A system for automatically releasing selected plural sheet feeding nip sets spaced along a print media sheet feeding path of a printer, wherein the idler rollers are rotatably mounted on common idler shafts and a selectable partial rotation system driven by a single low cost motor is flexibly connected to those plural idler shafts to partially rotate eccentric lift cams on each idler shaft into the underlying surface as to lift the idler shaft and thereby move the idler rollers away from their normally mating sheet feed rollers to release all the sheet feeding nips, enabling sheet deskew, inversion, acceleration, deceleration, or sheet jam clearance in that selected area of the sheet feeding path.

Abstract: Ink jet recording method and apparatus is provided in which a color image is recorded by discharging, onto a recording medium, a black ink and at least one of a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink from a black-ink recording head that ejects the black ink onto the recording medium, and a color-ink recording head that ejects the at least one of a cyan ink, a magenta ink and a yellow ink onto the recording medium, wherein the black ink contains carbon black, water, a water-soluble organic solvent, and a water-soluble polymer having an anionic functional group, and has a drying time of 5 seconds or more on the recording medium, and at least one type of the color ink contains a color material, water, a water-soluble organic solvent, and a coagulating agent, and has a drying time of 5 seconds or less on the recording medium.

Abstract: A system for providing item recommendations includes a memory, a device, responsive to a user request, for recording an item on a hardcopy medium, and a processor, for storing ratings of items and for generating recommendations for new items based on recommendation criteria. In response to the user request, the processor stores an implicit rating for the requested item in the memory, determines whether, based on the implicit rating and the recommendation criteria, to generate an item recommendation, and if the criteria for generating a recommendation is met, generates a recommendation of a new item. The recommender system may further store a representation of the recorded item in the memory. Recommendations may be based on item to item similarities, item to user similarities or user to user similarities.

Abstract: Diminished intensity defects occur in electrostatic printing between image regions having grey levels, i.e., different electrostatic potential and toner densities. Such defects occur when higher density regions “steal” toner from lower density regions. The system and methods according to this invention compensate for these defects by modifying the input image data. The input image data in lighter regions that precede or occur near a light-to-dark transition to a dark region are raised above the input image values. Thus, when printed, the printed image intensity values in such regions are higher than the corresponding image intensity values. As a result, when the higher density regions steal the extra toner provided due to the raised values, the gray level of the printed image corresponds to the desired gray level. The magnitude of these defects is periodically measured with a calibration pattern to generate and/or update compensation factors used in the compensation process.

Abstract: A high-quality gray scale printing is attained by using an ink jet recording head having a simple and low-cost configuration and a general-purpose structure, and ink having common components. An ink jet recording head driving method to be disclosed comprises repeating a plurality of times a dot forming process for forming a plurality of dots on a recording medium, while an ink jet recording head is moved in a sub-scanning direction; the process comprising the steps of moving the ink jet recording head in a main scanning direction, generating a plurality of drive waveform signals according to a jet amount of ink droplets, selecting any one or none of the plurality of waveform signals for each of a plurality of nozzles according to gray scale information of printing data, and applying voltage to corresponding piezolectric actuators.