Abstract: In a developing device comprising a developing member for transferring toner onto an electrostatic latent image for visualization, and a developer supplying member for magnetically attracting two-component developer on the peripheral surface for conveyance, and supplying two-component developer or toner to the developing member, the developer will be sufficiently agitated on the developer supplying member, and toner density and amount of toner charge in the two-component developer will be controlled with simple structure. A part of two-component developer, to which toner has been supplied on the developer supplying member, is caused to flow back on the upstream side in the conveying direction within a range in which the attracting force of magnetic poles of the internal member which the developer supplying member has acts.

Abstract: A single revolution clutch with an auto-home feature. This feature, added to the single revolution clutch, provides a mechanical home position stop. It utilizes the motion of the case to accomplish this. Whenever the clutch is energized, the case is pulled in, or the 1 mm gap is closed. The control ring has an additional single home detent on the opposite side to the one or more detents normally found on the single revolution clutch. The case has a tab feature, which can be punched out of the case itself, or can be tacked on as an additional piece of metal or plastic. This tab feature, seen as an "L" shape from the side, will move with the case. When the case is energized and closes its 1 mm gap, the normal detents on both the control ring and the case, spin free of each other. However, the "L" tab now moves closer to the single home tab on the other side of the control ring, and locks the control ring within one revolution of rotation or less.

Abstract: A multicolor ink set includes a black ink including at least a water-insoluble coloring material in which a carboxylic acid structure or a carboxylate salt structure is exposed to the surface, water, and a water-soluble organic solvent, and having a surface tension at 20.degree. C. of from 30 to 60 mN/m, and a color ink including at least one or more water-soluble coloring material selected from cyan, magenta and yellow, water, and a water-soluble organic solvent, having a surface tension at 20.degree. C. of from 20 to 50 mN/m and lower than that of the black ink, and 50% by weight or more of the water-soluble coloring material has a solubility in water at 20.degree. C. of 10% by weight or less.

Abstract: A microcapsule toner comprising an outer shell and a core containing a fixable component, wherein the fixable component has a micro phase separation structure composed of a liquid continuous phase and a disperse phase containing a resin and having a glass transition temperature of not higher than 20.degree. C., and said fixable component contains a block and/or graft copolymer comprising two or more monomer components, at least one of the monomer components being compatible with said disperse phase with the other monomer component or components being compatible with said continuous phase. On pressure application, the toner is instantaneously fixed to provide a fixed toner image which does not fall off or is not destroyed by outer force. The fixable component forms a stable micro phase separation structure which satisfies both fluidity before fixing and hardness after fixing and retains fixability during long-term preservation.

Abstract: A tuned damping element is attached to an idler operating on timing belts of belt drive systems, in order to reduce the noise generated by these systems while simultaneously providing tension to the belts and providing the support and resiliency required for noise abated idler operation.

Abstract: A compensating layer for an active matrix liquid crystal display where the compensating layer has optical axis oriented according to the orientation of the liquid crystal cell directors at a particular state. The compensating layer results in a very large usable viewing volume without sacrificing display efficiency when compared to other wide angle viewing techniques.

Abstract: The present invention is a method and apparatus for utilizing the characteristics of a pallet, or tray, used to supply workpieces to an automated, flexible assembly station or workcell. Once the characteristics are described and stored in memory, they may be used to uniquely identify workpieces which are determined to be defective during the automatic assembly operations. The defect information may then be stored in a cell controller which controls one or more workcells for later recall, in order to determine what, if any, further processing should be conducted on the defective workpieces and to prevent further processing thereof.

Abstract: A photoconductive imaging member comprised of a supporting substrate, a hole blocking layer thereover, a photogenerating layer and a charge transport layer, and wherein the hole blocking layer is comprised of a polymetallosiloxane.

Abstract: An apparatus and method identify at least one attribute of an article for use in accurately reproducing the article. The apparatus includes at least one detector having an array of cells. At least one cell, in the detector array, the sensor cell, is provided with an extra colored coating or is painted with an extra color. When the article is scanned by the detector, the at least one sensor cell will read a different color value from the other cells due to the extra coating applied to it. The color that the at least one sensor cell would have output without the extra coating is interpolated from the detection results of the neighboring cells. This color and the color actually detected by the at least one sensor cell are then input to a controller which determines the at least one attribute of the scanned article using a model, such as a neural network, an expert system, a fuzzy logic model, and the like. The controller performs appropriate processing based on the at least one determined attribute.

Abstract: An optical recording medium comprising: a substrate having pre-groove for forcing and tracking servo operation; and a recording film formed on the substrate, the recording film having optical properties being changed by applying at least one of a light beam a heating onto a portion of the recording film.

Abstract: An image data modification technique addresses certain image defects characteristic of still images derived from original video sources, such as television or videotape. Color bleeding, caused by an inability of chrominance signals to change from pixel to pixel as quickly as luminance signals, is addressed by processing the chrominance signal to have slopes closer to a change in the luminance signal for the same small area of the image. The technique can be employed on the image data for a single frame of video image, and does not require information from previous or subsequent frames.

Abstract: A pixel circuit construction for image sensing includes a photosensor, an amplifier, a selector switch and, and a reset switch. The amplifier may be a single polycrystalline silicon (channel) transistor for high gain. The selector switch may also be a single polycrystalline silicon (channel) transistor for high conductivity. The reset switch may a single amorphous crystalline silicon (channel) transistor for low leakage current. The photosensor and amplifier may be connected to a shared bias line or may be connected to separate bias and drive lines, respectively. The selector and reset switches may be connected to a shared data line or may be connected to separate data and reset lines, respectively. Laser crystallization and rehydrogenation techniques are well suited to obtaining devices described herein.

Abstract: An interlock/latch system for a machine cover, particularly for an electrophotographic printing machine. A cover latch is provided with a latching mechanism and a set of electrical contacts which are mechanically closed when the cover is closed and the latch engaged. A sensor such as a Hall-Effect sensor is mounted in close proximity to the latch. A magnet in the cover actuates the Hall-Effect sensor when the cover is closed and latched sending a signal to the machine controller. The machine controller prohibits operation of the machine until the signal is received.

Abstract: In a sheet feeding and separating system for feeding sheets downstream from a stack of sheets in a sheet stacking tray, with an sheet retard system having a sheet kickback, a sheet kickback control system comprising a high friction surface member, such as an EPDM elastomer, mounted in the sheet stacking tray extending vertically above the sheet stack supporting surface and sloping downwardly at a small angle in the downstream direction. This raised and sloping high friction surface member is positioned upstream of the sheet feeding and separating system to underlie the upstream end of the stack of sheets in the sheet stacking tray and to frictionally engage and retard upstream kickback movement of the bottom sheet of the stack of sheets by the sheet retard system.

Abstract: An image forming system adopting a dual-component inversion developing system for forming on an image carrier a toner patch image used for detecting an image concentration and controlling an image forming condition such as toner concentration based on the concentration of the toner patch image. The image forming system includes a charge unit for uniformly charging a surface of the image carrier, a developing magnet roll supplied with a developing bias, and a patch forming unit for selecting voltage application conditions to the charge unit and the developing magnet roll so as to reverse the bias potential relationship between the developing magnet roll and a charge potential of the image carrier and forming a first toner patch image at a contrast potential between the charge potential of the image carrier and the bias potential.

Abstract: A fixing device having a peeling sheet capable of performing stable peeling without causing any damage to the image, the sheet or the fixing roller. The fixing device includes: a fixing roller having an elastic layer formed on its surface; a compression roller in contact with the fixing roller in a nip portion; and a plastic peeling sheet provided downstream of the nip portion, the peeling sheet having an end edge which comes into contact with the surface of the fixing roller to peel the sheet which has passed through the nip portion away from the surface of the fixing roller.

Abstract: An electrophotographic imaging member including a supporting substrate; an optional charge blocking layer; an optional adhesive layer; a charge generating layer and at least two charge transport layers, each charge transport layer including a charge transporting polymer (a) including a backbone containing charge transporting moieties in the backbone, the moieties having a chemical structure different from the chemical structure of charge transporting moieties in the charge transport polymer of any charge transport layer lying closer to the charge generating layer, and (b) having a higher ionization potential than the charge transport polymer in any charge transport layer lying closer to the charge generating layer. This imaging member may be employed in an electrophotographic imaging process, particularly in high sensitivity infrared photoreceptors which are compatible with liquid ink development processes.

Abstract: Xerographic printing system using a Raster Output Scanning (ROS) system incorporating a two wavelength (.lambda.) laser diode source for the ROS and a charge retentive member in the form of a belt or drum structure which is responsive to the two wavelengths. The printing system utilizes a CAD development system in addition to two DAD developments during the second pass for enabling the addition of a gamut broadening color resulting in process color imaging with an enhanced gamut.

Abstract: The photo-semiconducting electrode of the present invention comprises a semiconducting substrate, a chemically adsorbed film formed thereon composed of at least one compound selected from the compounds represented by the formulas: formulas (I) R.sup.1 M.sup.1 Y.sub.1.sub.3, (II) R.sup.1 R.sup.2 M.sup.1 Y.sup.1.sub.2, (III) R.sup.1 R.sup.2 R.sup.3 M.sup.1 Y.sup.1 and (IV) R.sup.1 --SH, respectively, and a dye which is fixed to the surface of the chemically adsorbed film and has a functional group capable of reacting with a halogen atom. Because of this, the photo-semiconductor electrode of the present invention is capable of efficiently absorbing solar light and performing energy conversion and superior in photoelectric conversion efficiency, stability and durability. In addition, it can be easily produced.

Abstract: A multi-agent control system controls a transport assembly for moving objects. The transport assembly is formed using sensors and actuators that are proximately coupled in physical space. The multi-agent control system includes a learning mechanism which takes advantage of the proximate coupling between the sensors and actuators. The learning mechanism improves system performance by making iterative changes to an interaction matrix that represents the organizational structure of the multi-agent control system. In operation, the learning mechanism makes iterative changes to several of the elements a.sub.ij, of the interaction matrix at one time, around a randomly chosen location (i,j) in the matrix. Changes to the interaction matrix continue to be made so long as the changes result in improved performance of the transport assembly.