Patents by Inventor William R. Letendre

William R. Letendre has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 9511598
    Abstract: An apparatus includes an inkjet assembly having inkjet nozzles through each of which ink flows at a nominal flow rate as it is ejected from the nozzle onto a substrate. Ink is held under a nominal negative pressure associated with a characteristic of a meniscus of the ink in the nozzle when ejection of ink from the nozzle is not occurring. The apparatus includes recirculation flow paths, each flow path having a nozzle end at which it opens into one of the nozzles and another location spaced from the nozzle end that is to be subjected to a recirculation pressure lower than the nominal negative pressure so that ink is recirculated from the nozzle through the flow path at a recirculation flow rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2016
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert L Wells, Jr., Bailey Smith, Marlene McDonald, William R. Letendre, Matthew Aubrey, John Kelly, Darrell Herrick, Robert A. Hasenbein
  • Publication number: 20160052292
    Abstract: An apparatus includes an inkjet assembly having inkjet nozzles through each of which ink flows at a nominal flow rate as it is ejected from the nozzle onto a substrate. Ink is held under a nominal negative pressure associated with a characteristic of a meniscus of the ink in the nozzle when ejection of ink from the nozzle is not occurring. The apparatus includes recirculation flow paths, each flow path having a nozzle end at which it opens into one of the nozzles and another location spaced from the nozzle end that is to be subjected to a recirculation pressure lower than the nominal negative pressure so that ink is recirculated from the nozzle through the flow path at a recirculation flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 28, 2015
    Publication date: February 25, 2016
    Inventors: Robert L. Wells, JR., Bailey Smith, Marlene McDonald, William R. Letendre, Matthew Aubrey, John Kelly, Darrell Herrick, Robert A. Hasenbein
  • Patent number: 8752946
    Abstract: An apparatus includes an inkjet assembly having inkjet nozzles through each of which ink flows at a nominal flow rate as it is ejected from the nozzle onto a substrate. Ink is held under a nominal negative pressure associated with a characteristic of a meniscus of the ink in the nozzle when ejection of ink from the nozzle is not occurring. The apparatus includes recirculation flow paths, each flow path having a nozzle end at which it opens into one of the nozzles and another location spaced from the nozzle end that is to be subjected to a recirculation pressure lower than the nominal negative pressure so that ink is recirculated from the nozzle through the flow path at a recirculation flow rate.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Date of Patent: June 17, 2014
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert L. Wells, Jr., Bailey Smith, Marlene McDonald, William R. Letendre, Matthew Aubrey, John Kelly, Darrell Herrick, Robert A. Hasenbein
  • Patent number: 8579397
    Abstract: Among other things, for ink jetting, a system includes a printhead including at least 25 jets and an imaging device to capture image information for all of the jets simultaneously, the captured image information being useful in analyzing a performance of each of the jets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2013
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Dimatix, Inc.
    Inventors: Steven H. Barss, William R. Letendre, Jr., Paul A. Hoisington
  • Publication number: 20130229473
    Abstract: An apparatus includes an inkjet assembly having inkjet nozzles through each of which ink flows at a nominal flow rate as it is ejected from the nozzle onto a substrate. Ink is held under a nominal negative pressure associated with a characteristic of a meniscus of the ink in the nozzle when ejection of ink from the nozzle is not occurring. The apparatus includes recirculation flow paths, each flow path having a nozzle end at which it opens into one of the nozzles and another location spaced from the nozzle end that is to be subjected to a recirculation pressure lower than the nominal negative pressure so that ink is recirculated from the nozzle through the flow path at a recirculation flow rate.
    Type: Application
    Filed: March 5, 2013
    Publication date: September 5, 2013
    Applicant: FUJIFILM DIMATIX, INC.
    Inventors: Robert L. Wells, JR., Bailey Smith, Marlene McDonald, William R. Letendre, Matthew Aubrey, John Kelly, Darrell Herrick, Robert A. Hasenbein
  • Patent number: 8480196
    Abstract: Described herein is a method and apparatus for driving a drop ejection device to produce drops having straight trajectories. In one embodiment, a method for driving a drop ejection device having an actuator includes building a drop of a fluid with at least one drive pulse by applying a multi-pulse waveform having the at least one drive pulse and a straightening pulse to the actuator. Next, the method includes causing the drop ejection device to eject the drop with a straight trajectory in response to the pulses of the multi-pulse waveform. The straightening pulse is designed to ensure that the drop is ejected without a drop trajectory error.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2009
    Date of Patent: July 9, 2013
    Assignee: FujiFilm Dimatix, Inc.
    Inventors: William R. Letendre, Jr., Xi Wang, Robert Hasenbein, Marlene McDonald, Jaan Laaspere
  • Patent number: 8317284
    Abstract: Described herein is a method and apparatus for driving a droplet ejection device with multi-pulse waveforms. In one embodiment, a method for driving a droplet ejection device having an actuator includes applying a multi-pulse waveform having two or more drive pulses and a cancellation pulse to the actuator. The method further includes generating a pressure response wave in a pumping chamber in response to each pulse. The method further includes causing the droplet ejection device to eject a droplet of a fluid in response to the drive pulses of the multi-pulse waveform. The method further includes canceling the pressure response waves associated with the drive pulses with the pressure response wave associated with the cancellation pulse.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 17, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 27, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Dimatix, Inc.
    Inventors: William R. Letendre, Jr., Robert Hasenbein
  • Publication number: 20110096114
    Abstract: Described herein is a method and apparatus for driving a drop ejection device to produce drops having straight trajectories. In one embodiment, a method for driving a drop ejection device having an actuator includes building a drop of a fluid with at least one drive pulse by applying a multi-pulse waveform having the at least one drive pulse and a straightening pulse to the actuator. Next, the method includes causing the drop ejection device to eject the drop with a straight trajectory in response to the pulses of the multi-pulse waveform. The straightening pulse is designed to ensure that the drop is ejected without a drop trajectory error.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 23, 2009
    Publication date: April 28, 2011
    Inventors: William R. Letendre, JR., Xi Wang, Robert Hasenbein, Marlene McDonald, Jaan Laaspere
  • Publication number: 20100141709
    Abstract: A nozzle layer is described that has a semiconductor body having a first surface, a second surface opposing the first surface, and a nozzle formed through the body connecting the first and second surfaces, wherein the nozzle is configured to eject fluid through a nozzle outlet on the second surface, and the outlet having straight sides connected by curved corners.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 26, 2009
    Publication date: June 10, 2010
    Inventors: Gregory DeBrabander, Deane A. Gardner, Thomas G. Duby, Marlene McDonald, William R. Letendre, Christoph Menzel
  • Publication number: 20100060684
    Abstract: Among other things, for ink jetting, a system includes a printhead including at least 25 jets and an imaging device to capture image information for all of the jets simultaneously, the captured image information being useful in analyzing a performance of each of the jets.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2008
    Publication date: March 11, 2010
    Inventors: Steven H. Barss, William R. Letendre, JR., Paul A. Hoisington
  • Publication number: 20090289983
    Abstract: Described herein is a method and apparatus for driving a droplet ejection device with multi-pulse waveforms. In one embodiment, a method for driving a droplet ejection device having an actuator includes applying a multi-pulse waveform having two or more drive pulses and a cancellation pulse to the actuator. The method further includes generating a pressure response wave in a pumping chamber in response to each pulse. The method further includes causing the droplet ejection device to eject a droplet of a fluid in response to the drive pulses of the multi-pulse waveform. The method further includes canceling the pressure response waves associated with the drive pulses with the pressure response wave associated with the cancellation pulse.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 17, 2009
    Publication date: November 26, 2009
    Inventors: William R. Letendre, JR., Robert Hasenbein