Abstract: A paper feeding device for automatic drafting machine in which paper is fed in a predetermined direction by drive rollers and pressure rollers that are in resilient contact with the drive rollers. A writing implement is shiftably disposed in a right angle direction to the feeding direction of the paper, and the writing implement abuts on the paper. A predetermined pattern is drawn on the paper by mutual operations of the transfer of the writing implement and the transfer of the paper in the feeding direction. Underlay rollers are disposed in parallel to the transfer path immediately below the transfer path of the writing implement. The direction of drive and rotation of the underlay rollers is identical with that of the drive rollers, and a circumferential speed of the surfaces of the underlay rollers is set slightly higher than a circumferential speed of the drive rollers.

Abstract: An improved vacuum system for a system for accurately tracing on an electron sensitive film with an electron beam which passes through three (3) adjacent vacuum stages and where each stage has a predetermined vacuum level is disclosed herein. The vacuum system is a high performance, fully automatic, three (3) stage, differentially pumped system. Two (2) stages of the system each use a diffusion pump as a first pump means. The diffusion pump of the second stage is backed by a single direct drive mechanical pump and also acts as the backing pump for the diffusion pump of the first stage. The third stage uses a single direct drive mechanical pump for vacuum pumping its chamber.

Abstract: A multi-format laser printer is disclosed which uses a constantly rotating polygon to line scan an intensity modulated beam of laser light across an image zone. Optical means, which include a cylindrical mirror are provided for causing first and second beam spot sizes to be in focus at the image zone. The first beam spot size is selected to be in focus for a first range of line scan lengths and the second beam spot size is selected to be in focus for at least one predetermined line scan length not in such range. The line scan length in the first range is adjusted by changing the periodicity of modulation of the laser beam. The velocity of the photosensitive member is adjusted to change the length of the output image in the page scan direction.

Abstract: A laser printer is disclosed which uses a rotating polygon and a cylindrical mirror disposed between the polygon and an image zone. The cylindrical mirror corrects for pyramidal errors in an output image formed on a moving photosensitive member disposed at the image zone by making the operative polygon facet and the image zone optically conjugate in the page scan direction. To change the length of the image in the line scan direction at the image zone, the distance between the polygon and image zone is varied. This is accomplished by moving the cylindrical mirror or by positioning a different cylindrical mirror at a new optical path position. The velocity of the photosensitive member is adjusted to change the length of the output image in the page scan direction. The tilt angle of the cylindrical mirror moved to the new optical path position is changed or the cylindrical mirror is removed from the path and a different cylindrical mirror is inserted at a new optical path position.

Abstract: The electro-optical correlator performs pattern-recognition by forming the columnar dot product of an input image with a reference image at video through-put rates. The correlator incorporates an analog-to-digital converter for digitizing the input-image data, a plurality of serially arranged delays having a delay time equivalent to one input-image data line, each delay for receiving in turn the digitized input data and for producing a parallel output signal, and a vertical column of photodiodes for receiving the respective multiple parallel delayed signals and for converting same to an optical output. The optical output is fed through a lens, reference image mask, and lens unit and is focused on a plurality of photodiodes that are connected to a time-delay-and-integrate (TDI) array. The data from the time- delay-and-integrate array are clocked through an analog-to- digital converter which produces the final system output. The time delay and integrate array may be a charge-coupled device (CCD).

Abstract: A surface acoustic wave-convolver arrangement having transducers whose fingers are curved such that they correspond to a respective wave front of a wave issuing from the integration electrode.

Abstract: A laser beam recorder has a scanner for scanning a laser beam and a photosensitive drum to which the laser beam is irradiated. The rotations of the scanner and the drum are essentially simultaneously started and stopped. If a predetermined rotation speed of the scanner is not reached at an end of a predetermined pre-rotation period of the drum, the pre-rotation period of the drum is extended until the predetermined rotation speed of the scanner is reached.

Abstract: An automatic drafting machine in which the paper is disposed on drive rollers and the paper is sandwiched by the drive rollers and pressure rollers in resilient contact with the drive rollers, and a writing implement is shiftably disposed in a right angle direction to the feeding direction of the paper along the horizontal surface of the paper, and guides for mounting the paper are disposed on both sides of the track along which the writing implement shifts, and an air blowing opening for supplying downward air pressure on the paper is disposed in the vicinity of the outer end portions of the guides in the feeding direction of the paper.

Abstract: A device for switching a scanning beam diameter, incorporated into a picture image scanning and recording device, which switches the diameter of the scanning beam in response to the density of number of scanning lines. The beam from a scanning light generator is branched at least into two optical paths and the diameter of at least one of the branched beams is magnified by a beam expander. The branched optical paths are unified again into a single path and, in order to pass the beam through one desired optical path a shutter device is provided.

Abstract: Ink jet apparatus utilizing hot melt ink, having a reservoir system which contains the ink and maintains it in its melted phase when the apparatus is in use, and a tilt valve positioned above the reservoir, the valve having respective normally opened and closed positions, and providing both an air vent to the reservoir and a fill port for draining melted ink into the reservoir when in its normally opened position. Tilt valve may be placed into its closed position either by tilting the reservoir beyond a predetermined angle, or by automatic tilting of the valve actuator when the ink jet priming system is activated.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for laser marking of an article in which a pulsed, linearly polarized laser beam is passed through a stencil-type mask and imaged onto an article to be marked.In order to increase the overall transmission and hence the efficiency of the process, at least part of the laser beam energy which is reflected from the opaque parts of the mask is collected and redirected to the mask. The apparatus includes means for separating by beam polarization that portion of the laser radiation reflected by the opaque parts of the stencil and means for reflecting said portion of the radiation back to the stencil.

Abstract: An apparatus for driving a liquid jet head comprises: a piezoelectric element which mechanically deforms responsive to an electric signal; a pressure chamber whose volume varies due to the deformation of such element; a discharge port communicated with such chamber; 1st and 2nd charging circuits to charge such element at the same polarity; a discharging circuit to discharge such element; and a control unit for making the 1st charging circuit operative prior to the operation of the 2nd charging circuit. A charge time constant of the 1st charging circuit is set to be sufficiently long that no droplet is emitted. A charge time constant of the 2nd charging circuit is set to be shorter to emit a droplet from the discharge port. The surface tension of the meniscus and the contractive force due to the contraction of the pressure chamber act multiplicatively, so that it is possible to record a droplet of a small dot diameter.

Abstract: An electro-optic line printer comprises a recording medium, a multigate line modulator for printing picture elements or pixels in spatially predetermined positions along a printing axis and an LED side-facet source characterized by having high output intensity and a uniform far field emission and optical means to collimate the far field emission in the tangential direction and focus the near field in the sagittal direction onto the modulator. The optical means comprises a first lens system to collect the light emitted from the LED source in both the tangential and sagittal directions and a second toric lens to collimate the light into a sheetlike beam in the tangential direction and to focus the light in the sagittal direction to a line image at the modulator. Imaging means is optically aligned between the modulator and the recording medium for imaging the modulator onto the recording medium.

Abstract: A series of solid state ink members extends in an elongated array above a heated ink reservoir for a phase change ink jet apparatus. The members then advance along a path extending through the elongated array to a discharge location at one end of the path whereupon the members are dropped into the reservoir for melting. By threadedly engaging the members in pellet form with a rotatable drive, or threadedly engaging a drive member by the threaded drive shaft, the members may be suitably pushed along the path. In the alternative, the hot melt ink may take a granular form and be advanced by a rotatable, auger-like surface.

Abstract: A multi-format laser printer is disclosed which includes a rotating polygon having mirror facets that line scan a beam of gaussian laser light across a photosensitive member. The printer includes first and second beam shaping optical systems. Each optical system is effective when inserted into the beam path for forming a different length line scan on a photosensitive member to produce different sized prints. Each optical system includes a cylindrical mirror to provide for pyramidal error correction and optical elements preceding the polygon to anamorphically shape the beam.

Abstract: An optical writing device includes a substrate, an array of pixel electrodes, each of which is provided with a luminescent material, a filament electrode disposed in parallel with the array, an enclosure member for enclosing the pixel and filament electrodes and the array, and driver I.C. chips mounted on the substrate. Such a structure may be made extremely compact in size with low cost.

Abstract: An information recording medium wherein the recording layer consists of a thin film of a SbSe compound containing 58-85 atomic % Sb, with the balance Se. This material has been found to facilitate transformation from the crystalline state to the amorphous state or from the amorphous state to the crystalline state by means of laser ray irradiation, thereby rendering recording and erasing of information more practical.

Abstract: An optical matrix-vector multiplier for multiplying an m-row n-column matrix by an n-component vector to form an m-component vector (FIG. 1). In the specific case of a 3.times.3 matrix (FIGS. 4a and 4b), the multiplier comprises three light-emitting devices (21,22,23), for example LEDs, each emitting at a different wavelength (.lambda..sub.1, .lambda..sub.2, .lambda..sub.3), an acousto-optic modulator (29) driven by each x value in turn, and three integrating photodetectors (32, 33, 34) each receptive to a respective one of the different wavelengths. A single collimating lens (30) serves to apply light, emitted by each of the LEDs in turn in response to respective matrix components, to the modulator (29). The LEDs may be connected by respective optical fibers (24, 25, 26) to a fiber coupler (28) and thence via a common optical fiber (27) to the lens (30), or coupled by a dispersive element (35--FIG. 5) to the lens (30).

Abstract: A demand ink jet employs removable cartridges of hot melt ink. When the temperature of the ink within the cartridge is raised, the ink melts and drains from the cartridge into the supply system. Each of the cartridges may include ink of a different color so as to permit multi-color printing.

Abstract: A recorder having a tray for receiving a stack of folded fanfold recording paper that has been recorded, wherein the tray includes an assisting member disposed substantially centrally on a paper supporting surface of the tray in a transverse direction of the recording paper. The assisting member assists the recording paper in being folded by raising a transverse central portion of the stack of the folded fanfold recording paper to a prescribed height. Guides are provided on the paper supporting surface of the tray and spaced at an interval substantially equal to the width of the recording paper for initially positioning the recording paper on the paper supporting surface. At least one of the assisting member and the paper supporting surface is inclined for increasing the height of the stacked recording paper at the front side thereof in a direction normal to the width of the recording paper.