Abstract: An apparatus and method to protect an inkjet printer head including a head controller of a printer body and a head chip to drive a heater by using a serial interface, the apparatus including: a clock monitoring unit to monitor a serial clock signal that is used as a reference clock signal supplied to the head chip to control the head chip, and if the serial clock signal is abnormal, to output a signal indicating that the serial clock signal is abnormal; and a heater driving limiting unit to limit energy applied to the heater by using the signal, which is output by the clock monitoring unit, to indicate that the serial clock signal is abnormal.

Abstract: An optical modulator apparatus and linearization method are disclosed. The optical modulator may include a buffer layer disposed proximate the electro-optical material substrate. The optical modulator may also include physically asymmetric waveguide elements, which may have physically asymmetric waveguide arms or physically asymmetric hot electrodes. The waveguide arms may include first and second waveguide arms having different dimensions, and the hot electrodes may include first and second hot electrodes having different dimensions. Modulator linearization may be achieved by the above-described modulator structure. Modulator linearization may also be achieved by asymmetric external driving of electric fields applied to the waveguide elements, where the waveguide or electrode dimensions may or may not be symmetric.

Abstract: An ink supply device including an ink cartridge for storing an ink; a mounting portion which includes an opening from which the ink cartridge is removable in a direction; an elastic member which urges the ink cartridge accommodated in the mounting portion to the direction; and a lock member. The lock member includes a lock arm including an operating lever provided at a first end thereof, and a lock portion provided at a second end thereof; a supporting mechanism which movably supports the lock arm between a first posture in which the lock portion is disengaged from the engaged portion and a second posture in which the lock portion is engaged with the engaged portion to regulate a movement of the ink cartridge to the direction; and a stopper which is provided in the lock arm and contacts the ink cartridge when the lock arm takes the first posture.

Abstract: Development of Integrated Optical Circuits depends greatly on progress in coupling light to and between chip devices. Exemplary disclosed embodiments provide a system and method of fabricating couplers for optical chips that may allow for access to devices on the entire chip surface. Cantilever couplers comprising optical waveguides are deflected out-of-plane creating access to remote portions of devices. An exemplary system and method may provide waveguides with tunable angles of deflection creating greater flexibility in optical coupling options.

Abstract: A holey fiber includes a core portion located at a center of the holey fiber, and a cladding portion located around the core portion, the cladding portion having holes formed in layers around the core portion. The holes are arranged so as to form a triangular lattice while d/? is within a range of 0.33 to 0.43, ? is within a range of 10.5 micrometers to 15 micrometers when a hole diameter is d in micrometer and a lattice constant of the triangular lattice is ? in micrometer, and in a wavelength of 1550 nanometer, an effective core-area is equal to or greater than 130 ?m2, a bending loss in a case of bending the holey fiber at a bend diameter of 20 millimeters is equal to or less than 200 dB/m, and the holey fiber demonstrates a single-mode operation.

Abstract: A resin composition is provided, which satisfies both an uncured layer flexibility requirement and a patterning resolution requirement for production of an optical waveguide by a roll-to-roll process. An optical waveguide produced by using the resin composition is also provided. The resin composition comprises: (A) an aromatic multifunctional epoxy polymer having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 500 to 5000; (B) an aromatic multifunctional epoxy polymer having a weight average molecular weight (Mw) of 10000 to 50000; (C) at least one of monofunctional, difunctional and trifunctional liquid aromatic epoxy monomers; and (D) a photoacid generator; wherein the components (A), (B) and (C) are present in proportions of 80 to 90 parts by weight, 5 to 15 parts by weight, and 1 to 10 parts by weight, respectively, based on a total of 100 parts by weight of the components (A), (B) and (C).

Abstract: A fiber optic connector assembly includes a connector and a carrier. The connector has a first mating end and a second end and an optical fiber terminated thereto. The fiber defines a first end adjacent the mating end and a second end protruding out of the second end of the fiber optic connector. A carrier having a connector end and an oppositely disposed cable end is engaged with the connector. An alignment structure is disposed on the carrier that includes a first end and a second end and a throughhole extending therebetween, the alignment structure including a cutaway portion extending perpendicularly to and communicating with the throughhole. The optical fiber terminated to the fiber optic connector is positioned within at least a portion of the throughhole with the second end of the optical fiber located within the cutaway portion.

Abstract: An image forming device includes a first device body, a second device body attached to the first device body, a photoconductive body provided in the first device body, an exposure unit provided to the second device body, the exposure unit having an exposure surface that exposes the photoconductive body and forms a latent image on the photoconductive body, the exposure unit being movable between an exposure position and an evacuation position, and a cleaning unit cleaning the exposure surface of the exposure unit. The cleaning unit includes a cleaning member cleaning the exposure surface, a supporting member supporting the cleaning member, and a guide member movably guiding the supporting member. The exposure unit is disposed such that the exposure surface is cleaned by the cleaning unit when the exposure unit is moved to the evacuation position.

Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus prints by ejecting ink on the basis of image data while scanning a printing head, in which ejection openings for ejecting the ink are arranged, over a printing medium in a direction different from a direction of the arrangement of the ejection openings. The inkjet printing apparatus includes a counting unit for counting the number of ink ejections in a predetermined area among a plurality of areas on the basis of image data for each of the plurality of areas, with the plurality of areas being obtained by dividing, in a main scanning direction, a region over which the printing head scans, and a correction unit for correcting the image data included in the plurality of areas on the basis of the number of ink ejections in each of the plurality of areas. In addition, a printing unit prints by driving the printing head on the basis of the corrected image data.

Abstract: An optical connector is provided to reliably hold a ferrule assembly in a housing to enable it stable optical connection. The optical connector is able to accomplish stable connection without any concern of displacement of an optical connecting end portion of the ferrule, even if the optical connector is subjected to repeated connecting and disconnecting operations. In the optical connector, a ferrule assemble having a polygonal prism-shaped flange is accommodated and held so as to elastically reciprocate in a housing of a cavity which has a polygonal engaging portion to receive and engage the flange of the ferrule assemble. A protrusion is formed at an end part of each engaging wall in the direction of inserting the ferrule assemble to rise toward an insertion opening for the ferrule assemble, and each protruding portion of the protrusion is provided to have each different rising height thereof.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a plurality of image sensors imaging a sheet to be conveyed, and a direct sensor unit performing the signal processing of the outputs of the image sensors to detect the movement of the sheet. Here, the plurality of image sensors are provided on the carriage at least at two positions with at least the recording element array diagonally put between the two positions. The plurality of image sensors can image the sheet at two positions separated in a main scan direction and a sub-scan direction.

Abstract: An optical waveguide feedthrough assembly passes at least one optical waveguide through a bulk head, a sensor wall, or other feedthrough member. The optical waveguide feedthrough assembly comprises a cane-based optical waveguide that forms a glass plug sealingly disposed in a feedthrough housing. For some embodiments, the optical waveguide includes a tapered surface biased against a seal seat formed in the housing. The feedthrough assembly can include an annular gold gasket member disposed between the tapered surface and the seal seat. The feedthrough assembly can further include a backup seal. The backup seal comprises an elastomeric annular member disposed between the glass plug and the housing. The backup seal may be energized by a fluid pressure in the housing. The feedthrough assembly is operable in high temperature and high pressure environments.

Abstract: Disclosed herein is a carrier for an optical fiber having a plurality of optical sensors located thereon. The carrier has a test section comprising a cavity and at least one geometric discontinuity, wherein in response to a pressure applied to the test section, a stress concentration is formed proximate to the geometric discontinuity, and wherein the optical sensor is adhered to at least a part of the geometric discontinuity. The cavity may be filled with a liquid or a gel. A temperature optical sensor may also be provided adjacent to the pressure optical sensor.

Abstract: A multi-channel electro-magnetic rotary joint has been invented in which one or more electro-magnetic signals can be transmitted simultaneously from a rotating collimator array and a stationary collimator array in air and in other fluids. A metamaterial de-rotating mechanism is positioned in the path between said rotating collimator array and said stationary collimator array, and arranged tier rotation relative to each collimator arrays at a rotary speed equal to one-hall the relative rotational rate between said rotating and stationary collimator arrays.

Abstract: Two arrays of ejection openings which eject relatively large amounts of ink are provided for each of different color inks and are disposed at symmetrical positions in the order of colors in a direction corresponding to a record scan. In addition, a single array of ejection openings which eject relatively small amounts of ink is disposed for at least one color ink. Since the symmetrical disposition in the color order of the ejection opening arrays which eject large amounts of ink prevents color unevenness from appearing even when the bidirectional recording is performed. Since the single array is formed of the ejection openings which eject small amount of ink, and which is used for highly precise recording, it is possible to avoid image deterioration due to the shift of dot formed positions, even when the recording head is mounted in an inclined manner attributable to the variation in manufacturing.

Abstract: A printing apparatus and ink discharge failure detection method capable of precisely detecting temperature information corresponding to each nozzle are provided. Temperatures of respective electrothermal transducers (heaters) are measured on the basis of outputs from a plurality of sensors corresponding to the respective heaters. The temperatures of the heaters at a predetermined timing during a printing operation are predicted on the basis of the temperature change profiles of the respective heaters that are generated by energizing the heaters. A plurality of thresholds corresponding to nozzle states are generated on the basis of the predicted temperatures and the driving conditions of an inkjet printhead, and it is controlled to execute temperature measurement at the predetermined timing. A temperature measured under the control is compared with the respective generated thresholds, and the nozzle state is identified on the basis of the comparison results.

Abstract: A cleaning apparatus, which cleans a print head of a printing apparatus in response to a start trigger for regular cleaning, includes a sound sensor that detects a sound of the operational environment of the printing apparatus, a determination unit that determines whether the operational environment is quiet or not based on a comparison result between detected sound of the sound sensor and a threshold value, and a controller that delays the start of the regular cleaning by holding the start trigger until the operational environment becomes quiet based on a determination result of the determination unit when the start trigger for the regular cleaning has occurred.

Abstract: A table made of a planar member has a suction groove for sucking and holding a recording medium on a surface thereof. A part of the sucking groove is perforated to form a suction hole. The suction hole is connected to a vacuum pump. The table includes three position determining pins that are in contact with two mutually orthogonal sides of a recording medium. The position determining pins are configured to ascend and descend by driving of an air cylinder between a descending position in which an upper end of the position determining pins is lower than a surface of the table and a position determining position in which the upper end of the position determining pins is higher than the surface of the recording medium mounted on the table. It is therefore made possible to provide an image recording apparatus capable of executing highly accurate image recording by preventing deformation of the recording medium.

Abstract: Bend resistant multimode optical fibers are disclosed herein. Multimode optical fibers disclosed herein comprise a core region and a cladding region surrounding and directly adjacent to the core region, the cladding region comprising a depressed-index annular portion comprising a depressed relative refractive index which is spaced from the core at least 0.5 microns and less than 4 microns.

Abstract: A liquid crystal display includes a substrate, a plurality of gate lines formed on the substrate, a plurality of data lines intersecting the plurality of gate lines, a plurality of thin film transistors connected to the plurality of gate lines and the plurality of data lines, and a plurality of pixel electrodes connected to the plurality of thin film transistors and arranged in a matrix, wherein each of the pixel electrodes includes a first side parallel to each gate line and a second side being shorter than the first side, the second side being formed next to the first side, wherein the plurality of pixel electrodes that are adjacent to each other in a column direction are connected to different data lines from each other.