A piezoelectric bending transducer is described which is suitable for installation in a valve channel. It is composed of at least one ceramic layer which is metalized on both sides and has piezoelectric properties and which is polarized such that on application of a voltage it undergoes a change in length, and of at least one rigid molding which is joined to the whole surface thereof and has approximately the same surface dimensions and which on application of a voltage does not undergo an elongation or undergoes an opposite elongation. The piezoceramic layer contains an unmetallized area which has a roughness R a of less the 0.5 μm and covers an orifice in the valve channel.

Piezoelectric bending transducer and the use thereof

A cantilever-mounted piezoelectric bender includes apparatus for forcing the bender to approach straightness when in a blocked position, e.g. when meeting a contact in an electrical relay. As a result, the potential energy recoverable from the bender is maximized without requiring additional piezoelectric material. A first preferred embodiment comprises a bender extension mounted on the free end of the bender. A normal load force is applied to the free end of the extension, rather than the free end of the bender, resulting in the application of a moment to the end of the bender which tends to straighten the bender when in a blocked position. A second preferred embodiment comprises a back-up plate disposed adjacent one surface of the bender. The degree to which the bender is straightened in a blocked position depends on the location of the point of tangency between the back-up plate and the extension.

Apparatus for increasing the recoverable energy of a piezoelectric bender

A print ribbon has a flexible substrate (200) and transferrable ink (202) located on a portion of one of the first and second surfaces of the flexible substrate includes machine-readable indicia (B1-B23) on one of the first and second surfaces. The machine-readable indicia (B1-B23) can include a code pattern, with at least a portion of the code pattern indicating a value of a control setting to be used by a controller of a printing system using the print ribbon so that printing operation is performed using the control setting without retrieving the control setting from a storage device. The code pattern also can include a first pattern portion that indicates at least one control setting to be used by a printing mechanism to print with the print ribbon and a second pattern portion that indicates instructions for modifying the at least one control setting during the printing process.

Encoded print ribbon and method of using

A color thermal printer is provided with a cooling fan for cooling a thermal head and a fan rotational speed controller for controlling the rotation speed of the cooling fan, a head temperature sensor for measuring a temperature of the thermal head and an environmental temperature sensor for measuring an environmental temperature around the thermal head. A controller predicts the head temperature in each recording position based on the printing rate (printing density) calculated from the image data, a measured temperature of the thermal head and a measured environmental temperature, and also predicts a delay time of a heat transmitting system and a measuring system based on a fluctuation of the printing rate. The controller controls an air amount of the cooling fan in each recording position based on the predicted temperature and the delay time.

Thermal printer and control method of controlling cooling fan

An image formation device changes the rotational rate of a polygon motor, i.e. the main-scanning rate, and selects one of pulse width conversion tables when an image formation is performed multiple times on a single sheet of transfer paper. The changing of the main-scanning rate is for preventing inconsistent sizes between a first recorded image and a second recorded image caused by shrinkage of transfer paper. The pulse width conversion tables allow the pulse widths to be modulated.

Image formation device

PURPOSE:To make driving operation stable by a method wherein when outside electrodes are fixed on the outside surface of a rectangular bimorph vibrator fixed one end of which as a cantilever and the other end left as a free end, the outside electrodes are not provided on the section reaching a point at a specified distance from the free end but a driving member is provided on the free end. CONSTITUTION:Electrodes 4 and 5 are respectively formed on the surface and backside of the first piezoelectric ceramics 3 to be the first piezoelectric element 6 likewise electrodes 8 and 9 are respectively formed on the surface and backside of the secod piezoelectric ceramics 7 to be the second piezoelectric element 10. Next the electrodes 5 and 9 sides of said elements 6 and 10 are sticked on a metal plate 11. One end of these piezoelectric elements 6, 10 and the metal plate 11 are held by a supporting member 13 like a cantilever and the other end 2b is left as a free end to fix a rotary head 1 of VTR. In such a constitution, the electrodes 5 and 9 are respectively provided on the overall length of the ceramics 3 and 7 but the electrodes 4 and 8 are not provided on the overall length but fixed on the section outside a point at a specified distance of 1/10- 2/3 of the exposed length L from the free end.

Bimorph piezoelectric driving device

PURPOSE:To properly set a printing condition to obtain a print with a desired quality even when an ink sheet coated with an ink or dye having different properties is used by a method wherein ink data is read from a recording medium provided in a cassette, and in accordance with the data a heating means for heating the ink sheet is controlled. CONSTITUTION:An ink cassette 104 is loaded on a printer, and recording paper 32 is set. An ink sheet 30 is fed by the rotation of a take-up reel 44 and a supply reel 46, and a bar code 52 reaches a position opposed to a bar code reader 48. At this time, the data in the bar code 52 is read by the bar code reader 48. In the bar code 52, the densities, hues, and melting points of inks respectively forming areas Y, M, C and other data representing the characteristics of the inks are recorded. By reading the data by the bar code reader 48 of the printer, the printer adjusts a voltage to be applied to a thermal head 28. In this manner, a print can be obtained with a constant quality regardless of a change in characteristics of inks.

Ink cassette and thermal transfer printer

PURPOSE:To prevent the generation of a pulling-out disabled state for an image receiving paper sheet by a separating roller, when the image receiving paper sheet is curled. CONSTITUTION:When a print button is turned ON, a system controller judges the curl quantity of an image receiving paper sheet 16 by sensors A and B. The system controller starts a loading motor 23 on the basis of the judged degree of curl. The revolution of the loading motor 23 moves a pushing-up lever 18 through a connecting lever 21 by a cam 22, and press-attaches the image receiving paper sheet 16 on a paper feeding roller 14 according to the curved state. Then, the paper feeding operation for separating and pulling out one sheet from among the image receiving paper sheets 6 is carried out.

Paper feeding device of printer

PURPOSE:To prevent a head from heating up and to reduce a print waiting time. CONSTITUTION:A thermister 25 is attached to a thermal head 15. A temperature signal of the thermal head 15 detected by the thermister 25 is transmitted to a differential amplifier 27 via a voltage conversion circuit 26 and the difference between the detected value and a specified temperature is outputted as temperature data. In accordance with the temperature data, a fan speed setting circuit 30 controls a rotation speed of a motor 32 via a motor driver 31. The higher the temperature becomes, the faster a cooling fan 20 rotates to blow greater amount of air to the thermal head 15. When the temperature data becomes lower than the specified temperature, the rotation of the cooling fan 20 is stopped.

Cooling fan-control device of thermal printer

PURPOSE:To shorten a stand-by time from lighting an ultraviolet lamp up to the maximum, illumination intensity. CONSTITUTION:After given POWER-ON instruction, a control section 16 detects the temperature of the tube wall of an ultraviolet lamp 10. If this is not within a temperature range of the tube wall for almost the maximum illumination intensity, the lamp 10 is lit and a reflecting plate 15 is kept in a closed condition. When it comes to the temperature of the tube wall for the maximum illumination intensity thereafter, the reflecting plate is open to put the ultraviolet lamp 10 into an efficiently usable condition. Upon POWER-OFF instruction, the reflecting plate 15 is closed to turn off a current flowing to the lamp 10.

Kamikubota Masafumi

Papers

Bimorph piezoelectric driving device

Ink cassette and thermal transfer printer

Paper feeding device of printer

Cooling fan-control device of thermal printer

Ultraviolet lamp device