Abstract: A reliable print head with improved reliability is less likely to be damaged by possible cavitation in ink inside a bubbling chamber. A plurality of ink supply paths through which the ink is supplied to the bubbling chamber are connected to the bubbling chamber. Communication positions where the plurality of ink supply paths communicate with the energy acting chamber are formed such that distances from a heater formation surface of the communication positions are different from each other along a direction orthogonal to the heater formation surface.

Abstract: The invention relates to a reservoir assembly for a pagewidth printhead cartridge. The cartridge has a fluid distribution molding with priming inlets in fluid communication with fluid channels for supplying printing fluid to a plurality of printhead integrated circuits. The assembly includes a reservoir compartment arranged in fluid communication with the fluid channels via a fluid outlet. The compartment includes porous absorbent material located inside the compartment to absorb printing fluid delivered via the priming inlets. A port is arranged in a side wall of the compartment for receiving a needle from a syringe to prime the reservoir compartment with printing fluid.

Abstract: An increase in energy applied to a heating element can be prevented and the service life of a printhead can be prolonged even when the temperature of the printing element having a negative temperature coefficient rises and the resistance of the heating element decreases. A printhead having heating elements connected to a common power supply comprises a switching element series-connected to and controlling driving of the heating element at a voltage applied to a control terminal; a constant voltage source; a wiring resistance generated at a connection wiring line serial-connected to the heating element; and a voltage control circuit which controls to make the potential difference between both ends of the wiring resistance equal to the voltage of the constant voltage source when driving the heating element. A current flowing through the heating element is made constant without any influence of the temperature.

Abstract: A printhead IC is provided having an ejection nozzle, drive circuitry for generating drive signals for driving the ejection nozzle, and a temperature sensor connected to the drive circuitry. The drive circuitry adjusts the drive signals in response to output of the temperature sensor so as to generate the drive signals as print signals and de-clog signals. The de-clog signals have a longer duration than the print signals.

Abstract: Apparatus designed to cancel at least one postage or franking mark on a surface of a mailpiece moving on edge in a belt conveyor, said apparatus comprising: a conveyor portion with a plurality of small superposed belts and a plurality of superposed print heads; and control means for controlling the print heads in such a manner as to cause a print head to print one or more cancellation marks over the franking mark(s) detected on the mailpiece. Each print head is suitable for operating selectively with a plurality of superposed inkjets so as to print only a portion (¾, ½, ¼) of said cancellation mark or a scaled-down version thereof over the franking mark when said franking mark is positioned in such a manner as to be off-center between two belts.

Abstract: A liquid jet apparatus according to the present invention is a liquid jet apparatus including a plurality of nozzles, an actuator provided for each nozzle and connected to the respective nozzle, a drive waveform signal generation unit that generates a drive pulse, and a drive unit that applies the drive pulse to the actuator, wherein the drive unit includes a transistor pair, wherein the transistor pair: has two transistors connected to each other in a push-pull manner, and power-amplifies the drive pulse. The drive unit also includes a low-pass filter disposed between the transistor pair and the actuator.

Abstract: A printer is provided having a pagewidth printhead and a casing having a channel in which the pagewidth printhead is removably clamped so as to constrain movement of the printhead relative to the casing across the longitudinal direction of the channel and to allow movement of the printhead along the longitudinal direction of the channel.

Abstract: A printer is provided having a carrier, a printhead having a plurality of nozzles, at least one of the nozzles being rotationally displaced relative to the carrier, and a controller for determining and communicating print data to the nozzles. The controller is configured to determine the rotational displacement, determine a correction factor for compensating for a printing error caused by the determined rotational displacement, and alter the print data based on the correction factor to at least partially compensate for the rotational displacement. The correction factor is at least partially based on a thickness of media being printed on.

Abstract: A print engine controller for a pagewidth printhead includes contone and bi-level decompression circuitry for decompressing a contone layer of compressed page data and a bi-level layer of compressed page data, respectively; halftoner and compositor circuitry for halftoning the decompressed contone layer to associated bi-level versions and compositing the decompressed bi-level layer over the halftoned contone layers; printhead interface circuitry for receiving the halftoned and composited data, and to generate therefrom print data suitable for printing by the printhead; and line loader and formatter circuitry for receiving dot data from the halftoner and compositor circuitry, loading dot data for a given print line into buffer storages, and formatting the dots of the given print line into an order required by the printhead interface circuitry. The line loader and formatter circuitry loads the dot data into a combination of on integrated circuit and external storage buffers.

Abstract: A nozzle device for an inkjet printhead includes a substrate assembly defining an ink supply; a chamber-defining layer defining a nozzle chamber in fluid communication with a nozzle opening and the ink supply; an actuating arm coupled to the substrate assembly and terminating in a paddle separating the ink supply and nozzle chamber, the actuating arm configured to pivot during actuation to cause ink within the nozzle chamber to be ejected out through the nozzle opening; and a movement sensor configured to determine the degree or rate of pivotal movement of the actuating arm. The actuating arm further includes a bridge between the paddle and the thermal bend portion which supports a portion of the chamber-defining layer.

Abstract: A method is provided of controlling a printhead having nozzles which discharge ink by application of a firing pulse to respective actuators. The actuators are connected in groups to a power source which applies the firing pulses. In the method firing pulses are applied to each group of the actuators in turn to discharge ink from the nozzles in each group. The firing pulses are applied to the subsequent groups so that the fired nozzles are physically separated in the printhead as far as possible from the nozzles fired in the immediately prior group and the immediately subsequent group.

Abstract: A liquid jet apparatus of the invention includes a drive waveform generator that generates a drive waveform signal, a modulator that pulse-modulates the drive waveform signal so as to produce a modulated signal, a digital power amplification circuit that amplifies the power of the modulated signal so as to produce an amplified digital signal, and a low pass filter that smoothes the amplified digital signal so as to produce a drive signal. The digital power amplification circuit includes multiple stages of digital power amplifiers each including a pair of switching elements that are push-pull-connected. The amplified digital signal is a multi-value signal that reaches a larger number of steps of electric potentials than the number of digital power amplifiers.

Abstract: Ejection of a clear-ink nozzle is inspected with ease. When forming an ejection-test pattern for a clear ink, for example, the clear ink is ejected toward a medium from a clear-ink nozzle to form the ejection-test pattern, and a color ink is ejected toward a region in which the clear ink is to adhere from at least two color-ink nozzles to form the ejection-test pattern.

Abstract: An ink level sensing device and associated method. The ink level sensing device includes a near infrared illumination source that emits near infrared light, and a container configured to accommodate a supply of ink containing light absorption material. The device further includes a protruding chamber adjacent to the container. The protruding chamber is configured to accommodate a portion of the supply of ink accommodated by the container. The device also includes a sensor that is configured to receive a signal based on an amount of the light that passes through the protruding chamber. The method includes emitting a light from a near infrared illumination source and directing the light toward a protruding chamber of the ink supply. The method further includes sensing an amount of the light that passes through the protruding chamber in the ink supply.

Abstract: Even if an error occurred in a result of the detection by an optical detecting mechanism for optically detecting whether or not a remaining amount of ink in an ink tank is equal to or less than a predetermined amount, a correct situation of the remaining ink amount in the ink tank can be detected. A detecting method has a first discriminating step of discriminating whether or not a remaining ink amount in the ink tank is equal to or less than a predetermined amount by using an optical sensor and a second discriminating step of discriminating whether or not the remaining ink amount in the ink tank is equal to or less than the predetermined amount on the basis of information regarding an amount of ink consumed in the ink tank. If the absence of ink is determined in either the first or second discriminating step, information showing the absence of ink is notified.

Abstract: An inkjet printer assembly includes a cartridge having an integrated pagewidth printhead integrated circuit (IC); a cradle for receiving the cartridge; an air compressor for providing compressed air to the cartridge, the air compressor including a fan housing, an air filter, and an impeller, the fan housing having an air outlet adapted to mate with an air inlet port of the cartridge; a motor having a transmission assembly provided with a direct drive coupling from a spindle of the motor to the impeller of the air compressor; and a controller for determining a performance characteristic of the cartridge and to control an operation the printhead IC in response to the determined performance characteristic of the cartridge.

Abstract: A method of calculating a correction value includes: forming a test pattern by ejecting a liquid by a liquid ejecting apparatus, which has a first nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles ejecting the liquid to a medium are arranged in a predetermined direction and a second nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles ejecting the liquid to the medium are arranged in the predetermined direction, the second nozzle row being disposed so that an end portion on one side thereof in the predetermined direction overlaps with an end portion on the other side of the first nozzle row in the predetermined direction, to an area of the medium corresponding to certain pixel data on the basis of the certain pixel data from first nozzles belonging to the end portion on the other side of the first nozzle row and second nozzles belonging to the end portion on the one side of the second nozzle row; acquiring a read-out gray scale value by allowing a scanner to read-out the test pattern; and calculating a correction value used t

Abstract: A recording apparatus for effecting recording by scanningly moving a recording head, wherein the apparatus is provided with a group of a plurality of arrays each including a plurality of nozzles, wherein the group is responsive to one-color recording data, includes selecting means for selecting a block of a predetermined number of the nozzles in the nozzle array in synchronism with cyclic signals; driving means for driving the nozzles in the block selected by the selecting means; managing means for managing information of the block selected by the selecting means, for each group of the nozzle arrays; generating means for generating, for each nozzle array, driving data including information indicative of a block to be selected by the selecting means and block data corresponding to the block, on the basis of the information of the block managed by the managing means; and transfer means for transferring the driving data generated by the generating means to the recording head.

Abstract: A custom color printhead module comprises a mixing reservoir having a first opening and a second opening each configured to receive a first colored ink and a second colored ink and to mix the ink in the reservoir to form a custom colored ink. A first and a second reservoir supply valve are connected to the first and second opening, respectively, to open and close the first and second openings to enable and disable a flow of a first colored ink and a second colored ink into the mixing reservoir. A printhead is connected to the mixing reservoir to receive the custom colored ink from the mixing reservoir. A housing is configured to support the mixing reservoir and the printhead and configured for connection and removal from an imaging device.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet recording method including: performing image recording on a recording medium to obtain an ink adhesion quantity of 15 g/m2 or less of an ink containing at least a colorant, the recording medium having at least one coating layer on at least one surface of a substrate including cellulose pulp; and dry-to-touch drying the recorded image and bringing a heat source into direct contact with the recording medium for image fixing, wherein the recording medium is formed such that a transfer quantity of pure water into the recording medium in a contact interval of 100 ms that is measured with a dynamic scanning liquid absorptometer is 1 mL/m2 or more to 30 mL/m2 or less and a transfer quantity of pure water into the recording medium in a contact interval of 400 ms is 2 mL/m2 or more to 35 mL/m2 or less.