Creating Plural Tones Patents (Class 347/15)
  • Patent number: 10474135
    Abstract: A 3D printing method adapted for a 3D printer is provided. The 3D printer includes a tank filled with a liquid-state forming material, a platform, a curing module and a control module. At least one of the tank and the platform as well as the curing module are electrically connected to the control module to be controlled by the same, and a 3D object is formed on the platform. The 3D printing method includes analyzing a model of the 3D object to obtain a layered information; the control module correspondingly distributes the layered information at a plurality of forming positions at the bottom of the tank. A forming layer is cured by the curing module and located at a forming position, and then the platform and the tank rotate relatively to move the forming layer to another forming position, and another forming layer is formed at the another forming position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 3, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 12, 2019
    Assignees: XYZprinting, Inc., Kinpo Electronics, Inc.
    Inventors: Tsai-Yi Lin, Chien-Te Lee, Chen-Fu Huang, An-Hsiu Lee
  • Patent number: 10442211
    Abstract: A printing system is disclosed. The printing system includes a printer to print image data to a medium. The printer includes a first pass channel including a first set of pel forming elements to print a first component of the image data and a second pass channel including a second set of pel forming elements to print a second component of the image data, wherein the first component of the image data and the second component of the image data occupy a same region on the print medium. The printing system also includes a print controller to perform uniformity compensation based on a combined compensation of the first pass channel and the second pass channel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 21, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 15, 2019
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Mikel Stanich, Nikita Gurudath, Larry Ernst, William E. Manchester
  • Patent number: 10440231
    Abstract: A system includes a memory to store at least one Halftone Area Neugebauer Separation (HANS) look-up table (LUT) that represents a predetermined drop weight for N colorant channels of a printer. The HANS LUT provides a given Neugebauer Primary area coverage in response to a device color input value. Measurement data stored in the memory represents measured drop weight values for the N colorant channels of the printer. A processor executes instructions stored in the memory. The instructions are to compute a calibration element for the HANS LUT that describes a drop-weight deviation with respect to the HANS LUT based on the measured drop weight values. The instructions are to apply the calibration element to at least a portion of the HANS LUT to generate a calibrated LUT.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 21, 2016
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Peter Morovic, Jan Morovic
  • Patent number: 10427401
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a printhead having a nozzle to eject liquid and an actuator associated with the nozzle. A controller is provided to activate a recovery sequence including heating the printhead without firing drops in a first phase, activating the actuator to fire 1000 drops or more from the nozzle in a second phase after the first phase, and heating the printhead and applying pressure to expel liquid from the nozzle in a third phase after the second phase.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 23, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
    Inventors: Ana Cristina Garcia Alvarez, Yit Hong Tor
  • Patent number: 10427416
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a head and a controller. The controller discriminates first and second regions on a recording medium based on received image data, sets a boundary region that includes a boundary of the first and second regions, sets a first discharge speed for a discharge speed of droplets from the head to be landed to a first main region included in the first region, sets a second discharge speed slower than the first discharge speed for a discharge speed of droplets from the head to be landed to a second main region included in the second region, and sets a discharge speed between the first discharge speed and the second discharge speed for a discharge speed of droplets form the head to be landed to the boundary region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 2018
    Date of Patent: October 1, 2019
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventor: Shuhei Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10377149
    Abstract: A method of printing a print media comprises printing an image onto a surface of a print media, and applying a protective coating over the surface of the print media using an analog printing process, wherein the protective coating comprises a plurality of micro openings.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 28, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 13, 2019
    Assignee: HP SCITEX LTD.
    Inventors: Alex Veis, Ran Vilk, Tamir Daya
  • Patent number: 10369812
    Abstract: A computer 10 generates image data of a density image to be printed on a print medium M including an expansion layer M1 that expands by heating. First density image data for printing on one surface FS of the print medium M to expand the expansion layer M1 is prepared first. The first density image data is then converted so that the density of a part of a target region having the same density included in a first density image P1 represented by the first density image data is higher than the density of the other part of the target region, to generate third density image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 7, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 6, 2019
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Katsunori Suzuki, Hitomi Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 10328687
    Abstract: A printer dryer device includes a first drying unit, wherein the first drying unit includes a first plurality of energy-emitting elements to dry a printing substance on a printing medium, wherein the first plurality of energy-emitting elements are electrically connected in series in the first drying unit. The printer dryer device further includes a second drying unit, wherein the second drying unit includes a second plurality of energy-emitting elements to dry the printing substance on the printing medium, wherein the second drying unit is arranged downstream from the first drying unit in a medium transport direction of the printing medium, and wherein the second plurality of energy-emitting elements are electrically connected in series in the second drying unit. At least one energy-emitting element among the second plurality of energy-emitting elements is not electrically connected in series to an energy-emitting element among the first plurality of energy-emitting elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 31, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 25, 2019
    Assignee: HP SCITEX LTD.
    Inventors: Semion Birger, Alex Veis
  • Patent number: 10286679
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes six or more inkjet heads, a carriage that is a head holder to hold a plurality of inkjet heads, a main scanning driver, and a sub-scanning driver. The carriage dividedly holds a plurality of inkjet heads in a plurality of arrays including at least a first array in which a plurality of inkjet heads are disposed side by side in a main scanning direction, and a second array in which a plurality of inkjet heads are disposed side by side in the main scanning direction while being dislocated in a sub-scanning direction with respect to the first array. Merely not more than two inkjet heads in the first array ejects an ink droplet, and merely not more than two inkjet heads in the second array ejects an ink droplet with respect to a position of each pixel in a single time of a main scanning operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Masaru Ohnishi
  • Patent number: 10286656
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting apparatus includes a nozzle row in which nozzles which discharge a liquid are provided to line up, drive elements for discharging the liquid from the nozzles, and a control unit which drives the drive elements, in which the control unit selects the nozzles which are necessary from the nozzle row based on recording data and causes the liquid to be discharged from the nozzles which are selected at a predetermined timing, and in which a nozzle group is configured by consecutive nozzles which are adjacent to each other among the nozzles which are selected at each timing and a discharge timing of the liquid to be discharged from the nozzles of end portions of the nozzle group is caused to deviate with respect to the discharge timing of the liquid to be discharged from the nozzles other than those of the end portions.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2018
    Date of Patent: May 14, 2019
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Akira Miyagishi
  • Patent number: 10272676
    Abstract: A liquid ejecting device includes: a piezoelectric element that is deformed by applying at least one drive waveform among a plurality of drive waveforms to the piezoelectric element, the plurality of drive waveforms including a first drive waveform and a second drive waveform; a cavity that is filled with a liquid and is increased or decreased in internal pressure due to deformation of the piezoelectric element; a nozzle that communicates with the cavity, and ejects the liquid as a liquid droplet; and a selection section that selects at least one drive waveform from the plurality of drive waveforms, the liquid droplet including a first liquid droplet ejected when the first drive waveform has been selected, and a second liquid droplet ejected when the second drive waveform has been selected, an ejection volume of the first liquid droplet being almost equal to an ejection volume of the second liquid droplet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 30, 2019
    Assignees: Seiko Epson Corporation, SCREEN Holdings Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Yamagata, Toshiki Usui, Naoki Yonekubo, Kiyoomi Mitsuki
  • Patent number: 10245832
    Abstract: Printheads and printers are described herein. In one example, a printhead includes a number of drop generators disposed in a first array and a second array. The drop generators in both the first array and the second array are spaced one dot pitch apart perpendicular to the motion of a print medium, and alternate between a high drop weight (HDW) drop generator and a low drop weight (LDW) drop generator. Each drop generator in the first array is in a line of the motion of the print medium with a corresponding drop generator in the second array, wherein each HDW drop generator in the first array is in line with an LDW drop generator in the second array, and each LDW drop generator in the first array is in line with an HDW drop generator in the second array.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 2, 2019
    Assignee: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
    Inventors: Lawrence H White, Arun K Agarwal, Ron Burns
  • Patent number: 10205849
    Abstract: A processing apparatus is provided. The processing apparatus includes a controller to process information as part of a Halftone Area Neugebauer Separation printing process to use at least one opaque ink as a process colorant in combination with at least one further process colorant.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Jan Morovic, Peter Morovic, Juan Manuel Garcia Reyero Vinas, Ronald Albert Askeland, Andreas Muller, Michel Georges Encrenaz
  • Patent number: 10203920
    Abstract: An image forming system of an aspect of the present invention includes: a first image forming portion; a second image forming portion connected in series to the first image forming portion; and an assignment determining portion that determines an assignment of image formation of print data to the first image forming portion and the second image forming portion in accordance with contents of the print data. The first image forming portion forms a first image on the continuous sheet on the basis of the assignment determined by the assignment determining portion, and the second image forming portion forms a second image on a region which is different from a region where the first image is formed on the continuous sheet and which overlaps a non-printable region that is a region where the first image forming portion cannot print, on the basis of the assignment determined by the assignment determining portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 13, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 12, 2019
    Assignee: KONICA MINOLTA, INC.
    Inventor: Masatsugu Kouguchi
  • Patent number: 10194057
    Abstract: A method for limiting the amount of ink discharged in a photocurable inkjet printing apparatus includes a conversion step of converting, an input grayscale value to the amount of ink; and a limit value setting step of setting, a limit value of the amount of ink discharged, for each of a secondary color not including a K color component, a tertiary color not including a K color component, and a color including a K color component. In the limit value setting step, the limit value for the tertiary color not including a K color component is set to a smaller value than the limit value for the secondary color not including a K color component, and the limit value for the color including a K color component is set to a smaller value than the limit value for the secondary color not including a K color component.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: Screen Holdings Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Shigenori Arizono, Ryoko Sakurai, Kohei Ueda, Koji Matsuo
  • Patent number: 10189269
    Abstract: A recording apparatus discharges both high-permeability black ink and low-permeability black ink to a boundary between a color area and a black area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: January 29, 2019
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Ayumi Yasuda, Junichi Saito, Noboru Kunimine, Takumi Kaneko, Rie Takekoshi, Takayuki Ushiyama, Tatsuo Shimmoto, Keita Ishimi
  • Patent number: 10183496
    Abstract: Printing methods and systems are described herein. In one example, a method includes rasterizing a document to create color rasters and linearizing the color rasters to create high drop weight (HDW) planes and low drop weight (LDW) planes. HDW and LDW halftone planes are created from the HDW and LDW planes. The HDW and LDW halftone planes are masked to create HDW and LDW printhead maps, and the HDW and LDW printhead maps are merged into print data. The print data is sent to a number of printheads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 22, 2019
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Lawrence H White, Arun K Agarwal, Ron Burns
  • Patent number: 10179470
    Abstract: An inkjet recording method for printing an inkjet recording medium comprising an ink-receiving layer containing inorganic pigment, starch and copolymer latex on a surface of a base with inkjet ink as aqueous pigment ink, a content of the inorganic pigment being 10 g/m2 or more to 35 g/m2 or less in the ink-receiving layer, and a content of calcium carbonate being from 80% by weight or more to 100% by weight or less, the inkjet ink containing one or more selected from self dispersed pigment and pigment containing water-insoluble polymer particles, from 10% by weight or more to 48% by weight or less of a water-soluble organic solvent A having a boiling point of 230° C. or less, from 0% by weight or more to 5.0% by weight or less of a water-soluble organic solvent B having a boiling point of 280° C. or more, from 42% by weight or more to 70% by weight or less of water.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2015
    Date of Patent: January 15, 2019
    Assignees: Nippon Paper Industries Co., Ltd., Kao Corporation
    Inventors: Koji Kutsuwa, Masaaki Nakano, Yasufumi Ueda, Teruyuki Fukuda, Kaname Mitsuyoshi, Takayuki Suzuki
  • Patent number: 10160205
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a piezoelectric element, an extraction processing portion, and a drive control portion. The piezoelectric element is provided in correspondence with a nozzle, and upon input of a first drive signal, causes ink to be ejected from the nozzle. The extraction processing portion, when a print process is executed, extracts a non-ejection period during which a non-ejection state continues for more than a reference time period, from an execution period of the print process based on image data printed in the print process, wherein ink is not ejected from the nozzle in the non-ejection state. The drive control portion inputs a second drive signal for causing the piezoelectric element to stir the ink in the nozzle, to the piezoelectric element during a partial period of the non-ejection period extracted by the extraction processing portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: KYOCERA Document Solutions Inc.
    Inventors: Toshihiko Tanaka, Toshiaki Mutsuo
  • Patent number: 10160227
    Abstract: In an example implementation, a method of dual and single drop weight printing includes operating a printing system in a hybrid drop weight print mode to enable ejecting black ink from high drop weight nozzles and low drop weight nozzles, and ejecting color ink from high drop weight nozzles but not from low drop weight nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 30, 2015
    Date of Patent: December 25, 2018
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: George C. Ross, Ron Burns
  • Patent number: 10150301
    Abstract: A controller of an inkjet printer: calculates second density correction values for respective nozzles arranged in a predetermined direction to print a second line of an image data, by using gray-level values of pixels in the second line of the image data corresponding to the respective nozzles and first density correction values for the respective nozzles to print a first line of the image data printed immediately prior to the second line; and corrects the gray-level values of the pixels in the second line of the image data corresponding to the respective nozzles, by using the calculated second density correction values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: RISO KAGAKU CORPORATION
    Inventor: Hironori Inagawa
  • Patent number: 10150286
    Abstract: A liquid discharging unit includes a first color nozzle group that includes nozzle arrays each in which nozzle holes for discharging liquids of process colors are arranged in a sub scanning direction perpendicular to a main scanning direction; a second color nozzle group that is provided on upstream side in the sub scanning direction with respect to the first color nozzle group and includes nozzle arrays each in which nozzle holes for discharging liquids of process colors are arranged in the sub scanning direction; and at least one auxiliary nozzle group that is provided between the first color nozzle group and the second color nozzle group and includes nozzle arrays each in which holes for discharging liquids of colors different from the process colors are arranged in the sub scanning direction, wherein the nozzle groups are respectively arranged to be shifted from each other in the main scanning direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 6, 2016
    Date of Patent: December 11, 2018
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryo Tashiro, Kenichiroh Hashimoto, Takayuki Ito, Kimito Abe
  • Patent number: 10127481
    Abstract: With respect to an area quantized by using an area of part in a quantization pattern and also without using an area of the other part in the quantization pattern in quantized data, a mask pattern part corresponding to the area of the part among mask pattern parts constituted by dividing a mask pattern is applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 24, 2016
    Date of Patent: November 13, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hidehiko Kanda, Yutaka Kano, Eiji Komamiya, Takeshi Yazawa, Ayako Ohta
  • Patent number: 10101951
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus includes an input unit that inputs image data. A receiving unit receives an instruction on a mode for saving color material to be consumed by printing the image data. A processing unit performs processing for increasing a width of a line constituting a white character included in image data in a case when the receiving unit receives the instruction on the mode for saving a color material to be consumed by printing.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2015
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Asako Sugahara
  • Patent number: 10099474
    Abstract: In a method to check a fixative print head for nozzle failures, a reference mark is printed by the nozzles of a colored ink print head and a test mark is printed via overprinting of the colored ink by the nozzles of the colored ink print head and of a fixative by the nozzles of the fixative print head onto a printing substrate web. The test mark and the reference mark are compared with one another. If the reference mark and the test mark correspond to one another (e.g., at least in part), this indicates that nozzles of the fixative print head are operating incorrectly. If operating incorrectly, the nozzles have, for example, failed entirely or eject the fixative at too great an angular deviation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 16, 2018
    Assignee: Océ Holding B.V.
    Inventors: Ulrich Stoeckle, Philippe Koerner
  • Patent number: 10071550
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes an ejecting unit configured to eject a first ink for image forming and a substantially colorless second ink onto a recording surface of a recording medium, and a control unit configured to control ejecting operations of the first ink and the second ink. The second ink is permeation ink configured to permeate the first ink into the recording medium from the recording surface to an opposite surface of the recording medium. The control unit controls the ejecting unit to perform a plurality of ejecting operations of the first ink with respect to one ejecting operation of the second ink. An ejecting amount of the first ink ejected when the ejecting unit ejects both of the first ink and the second ink is greater than an ejecting amount of the first ink ejected when the ejecting unit ejects only the first ink without ejecting the second ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Toru Fujita
  • Patent number: 10072190
    Abstract: An adhesive tape is provided comprising a duct tape having an adhesive surface and a non-adhesive surface, a white ink printed on the non-adhesive surface of the duct tape, and a colored ink printed on top of the printed white ink. The white ink and the colored ink are digitally printed and UV curable. A self-wound roll of adhesive duct tape having digitally printed ink on the non-adhesive surface of the duct tape is also provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 11, 2018
    Assignee: Shurtape Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Daniel Eric Festa, Sr., Windy Kathal, Ameet Santosh Kulkarni, David Adam Worley
  • Patent number: 10065429
    Abstract: Test patterns are printed by ink jet means for jetting ink containing a color material and transparent liquid jet means for jetting transparent liquid. In the test patterns, ink and transparent liquid are applied to different regions on the same medium and ink application regions and transparent liquid application regions are arranged adjacent to each other. A device for determining the amount of transparent liquid to be jetted includes information acquisition means for acquiring information representing the amount of medium deformation of a medium on which the test patterns are printed, and information processing means for determining the amount of transparent liquid to be jetted by the transparent liquid jet means for jetting the transparent liquid, from the information representing the amount of medium deformation acquired by the information acquisition means.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Jun Yamanobe
  • Patent number: 10065431
    Abstract: A system for forming a structure on a print medium 1 includes: a print unit (print device) 10 for printing an electromagnetic wave-heat conversion layer for converting electromagnetic waves into heat, on a medium including an expansion layer that expands by heating; an expansion unit (expansion device) 20 aligned laterally with the print unit 10, for expanding the expansion layer by irradiating the medium with electromagnetic waves; and a top plate 30 covering the print unit 10 and the expansion unit 20 from above.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: September 4, 2018
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Youichi Ushigome, Satoshi Kurosawa, Junichi Ono
  • Patent number: 10059094
    Abstract: The recording method includes ejecting a first ink for image forming and a substantially colorless second ink onto a recording surface of a recording medium at an ejecting unit, and controlling ejecting operations of the first ink and the second ink in the ejecting unit. The second ink is permeation ink configured to permeate the first ink into the recording medium from the recording surface to an opposite surface of the recording medium, and the opposite surface is opposite the recording surface. The controlling includes performing a plurality of ejecting operations of the first ink with respect to one ejecting operation of the second ink, so that at least a part of a landing position of the second ink and a landing position of the first ink overlap on the recording medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Toru Fujita
  • Patent number: 10059120
    Abstract: In S200 after the first halftone, a scanning path is determined. In S205, a printing region to undergo multipass printing is fragmented. In S210, a printing time gap between the first printing time and the second printing time is calculated in the printing position. In S215, the position of the scanning path is associated with information on a color conversion table corresponding to the time gap. In the subsequent second color conversion, the color conversion table for use in color conversion is switched to the color conversion table corresponding to the time gap by using information on the pre-specified position of the scanning path and information on the color conversion table.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 2, 2017
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yasutoshi Takeuchi
  • Patent number: 10040090
    Abstract: A microfluidic fluid delivery device and method. The device includes a reservoir and a transport member. The device includes a microfluidic delivery member including a microfluidic die configured to release a fluid composition from the device. The microfluidic delivery member includes an adapter configured to receive an end portion of the transport member, wherein a capillary passage is formed between the adapter and the transport member. The capillary passage has a largest effective pore size that is smaller than the average effective pore size of the transport member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 9, 2016
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2018
    Assignee: The Procter & Gamble Company
    Inventors: Dana Paul Gruenbacher, David S Hunt, Joseph Edward Scheffelin, Timothy James Hoekstra, Simon Dodd, Roberto Brioschi
  • Patent number: 10029486
    Abstract: A first pattern P1 is formed with a first material for converting electromagnetic wave energy into heat energy, on a first surface BS of a print medium M including an expansion layer M2 that expands by heating. A second pattern P2 for expanding the expansion layer M2 to complement expansion of the expansion layer M2 by the first pattern P1 is formed with a second material for converting electromagnetic wave energy into heat energy, on a second surface FS which is an opposite surface of the print medium M to the first surface BS and is closer to the expansion layer M2 than the first surface BS. The first material forming the first pattern P1 is irradiated with electromagnetic waves from the first surface BS. The second material forming the second pattern P2 is irradiated with electromagnetic waves from the second surface FS.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 24, 2018
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Kunio Fukuda
  • Patent number: 10022982
    Abstract: A recording device includes a recording unit, a scanning unit, and a recording control unit. The recording unit includes first and second recording parts each having multiple discharge orifice rows that each have multiple discharge orifices arrayed in a predetermined direction. The first recording part and the second recording part are separated from each other in an intersecting direction that intersects the predetermined direction. The scanning unit performs recording scanning by moving the recording unit. The recording control unit performs recording of a region on the recording medium including one edge of the recording medium by the first recording part alone, recording of another region including the other edge of the recording medium by the second recording part alone, and recording of a region in between the two regions using both recording parts.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 14, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Okinori Tsuchiya, Akitoshi Yamada, Junichi Nakagawa, Tatsuhiro Yamagata, Yuto Kajiwara, Takeru Sasaki
  • Patent number: 10021270
    Abstract: The dither mask generation method includes: a process of setting a nozzle relative ejection rate which is a control target of the nozzle ejection rate and stipulates a relative using ratio of the individual nozzles; a process of setting a nozzle pattern indicating correspondence relation between individual pixels of the dither mask and the nozzles in charge of recording at respective pixel positions; a process of setting an upper limit to the nozzle ejection rates of the individual nozzles for each raster in a main scanning direction, regarding at least some thresholds; and a process of setting the thresholds to the pixels of the dither mask based on the nozzle relative ejection rate, the nozzle pattern and a limitation by the upper limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 2016
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2018
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Kimito Katsuyama
  • Patent number: 9994016
    Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes an ejection head having a plurality of nozzle groups, each of the plurality of nozzle groups including one nozzle or two or more nozzles arranged adjacent to each other, and a controller configured to determine an ejection timing each of the plurality of nozzle groups such that a first deviation amount in the main scanning direction between an first image and an second image on an medium is smaller than a second deviation amount in a main scanning direction between an area to be printed by an first nozzle group included the plurality of nozzle groups and an area to be printed by an second nozzle group adjacent to the first nozzle group.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2016
    Date of Patent: June 12, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Kuwayama
  • Patent number: 9986127
    Abstract: An image processing apparatus for a printing apparatus. The image processing apparatus includes a recording position acquiring device for acquiring recording positions of a reference image printed by a reference print head and a target image printed by a target print head, a positional deviation amount calculating device for calculating a deviation amount due to a skew with respect to the recording positions of the reference image and the target image, and a positional deviation interpolation image converting device, when there is a remainder of the deviation amount and the predetermined intervals, for adding a weight based on the remainder, and adding a smaller weight than the weight to the reference image or the target image without a remainder and adjoining the reference image or the target image with the remainder, thereby converting the image into a width direction positional deviation interpolation image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 20, 2016
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2018
    Assignee: SCREEN HOLDINGS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Kazuki Fukui, Katsuyuki Hisaoka, Kunio Muraji
  • Patent number: 9950529
    Abstract: There is provided an ink jet printer including a carriage, and an ink jet head. The ink jet head has two first nozzle groups to jet a first ink, two second nozzle groups to jet a second ink, and two third nozzle groups to jet the second ink. Each of the first, second and third nozzle groups includes a plurality of nozzles arrayed at a pitch P along a second direction. The second nozzle groups accord respectively with the first nozzle groups in terms of nozzle position in the second direction, the third nozzle groups are dislocated respectively from the second nozzle groups in terms of nozzle position in the second direction, and any two groups selected from the first and second nozzle groups are arranged respectively on two opposite sides of each of the third nozzle groups in the first direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 26, 2016
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2018
    Assignee: BROTHER KOGYO KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shohei Koide, Atsushi Ito
  • Patent number: 9936102
    Abstract: A method for color mapping is disclosed. A color mapping is generated based on an imaging model and a color model for an imaging device. The imaging model allows a set of perturbations to be modelled. A set of metamers is determined for one or more colors. For each metamer, at least the imaging model is used to estimate a color output with at least one modelled perturbation. The color outputs are used to select a metamer from the set to be used for the color mapping.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 25, 2014
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2018
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Jan Morovic, Peter Morovic, Juan Manuel Garcia Reyero Vinas, Marti Rius Rossell
  • Patent number: 9902162
    Abstract: In one example, a print bar includes multiple printhead dies molded into an elongated, monolithic body. The dies are arranged generally end to end along a length of the body and the body has a channel therein through which fluid may pass directly to the dies.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2018
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Chien-Hua Chen, Michael W. Cumbie, Silam J. Choy
  • Patent number: 9895894
    Abstract: After printing is performed by driving only some printing elements, the other printing elements are driven so that kogation is deposited on the surface of the other printing elements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 20, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Hiroshi Taira, Taku Yokozawa, Hiroaki Shirakawa, Mitsutoshi Nagamura, Yuhei Oikawa, Satoshi Azuma, Yosuke Ishii, Hiroaki Komatsu
  • Patent number: 9889645
    Abstract: In accordance with an embodiment, an inkjet head comprises an ejection section and a driving section. The ejection section ejects ink according to the operations of an actuator. In order to make the ejection section eject different amount of ink for different drops, the driving section applies voltage to the actuator of the ejection section such that the ejection section ejects ink continuously based on the printing data indicating the times the ejection section ejects ink and a position flag designating a drop frame number where ink starting to be ejected.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignees: KABUSHIKI KAISHA TOSHIBA, TOSHIBA TEC KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Mamoru Kimura, Noboru Nitta, Teruyuki Hiyoshi
  • Patent number: 9889675
    Abstract: A digital printing machine color control method includes printing test images onto substrates, measuring substrates using a measuring device, comparing actual color values on substrates and saved color setpoints of test images using a controller, calculating differences between color setpoints and actual color values on substrates using the controller, upon exceeding acceptable deviations between color setpoints and actual color values, modifying solid or halftone values by a factor using the controller, repeating printing test images using test image halftone values corrected by the factor and measuring new actual color values using the measuring device, comparing actual color values newly printed using corrected values and saved color setpoints of test images using the controller, calculating differences between newly printed actual color values and saved color setpoints of test images using the controller, and printing print jobs if differences between new actual color values and color setpoints are below
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 2017
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2018
    Assignee: Heidelberger Druckmaschinen AG
    Inventor: Nikolaus Pfeiffer
  • Patent number: 9884477
    Abstract: a manufacturing of a printing plate from a thermoplastic porous material comprises a thermal head with a plurality of heater elements, acquire print data of a print pattern including pixel data, with each item of pixel data corresponding to each area of the surface of the porous material partitioned into a lattice shape; identify, print pixel data that is part of the print pattern, and non-print pixel data that is not comprising the print pattern; apply a first heat quantity to a first area corresponding to the non-print pixel data by at least one first heater element, that makes contact with the first area; apply a second heat quantity that is smaller than the first heat quantity to a second area by the second heater element that makes contact with the second area identified by the print pixel data, the second area being where ink readily runs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hirotaka Yuno
  • Patent number: 9884481
    Abstract: A printing apparatus including a head unit 12, a main scan driver 14, and a controller 20 is provided. The head unit 12 includes a first-color nozzle and a second-color nozzle, and performs main scan operations in an outward direction and main scan operations in a homeward direction. During each main scan operation, the controller 20 selects some pixels, as first-color ejection object pixels for which ink drops of a first color should be ejected, from pixels included in an area of a medium 50 which is an object of the corresponding main scan operation, and selects at least some pixels other than the first-color ejection object pixels, as second-color ejection object pixels for which ink drops of a second color should be ejected, from the pixels included in the area of the medium which is the object of the corresponding main scan operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2015
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: MIMAKI ENGINEERING CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Eiichi Ohara
  • Patent number: 9888149
    Abstract: An image printing apparatus can print an image in which graininess is suppressed while using a color material of light blue. To achieve this, the color material of light blue satisfies the following condition. ?LB?(?LC??LB)>0 and ?LB?(?LM??LB)>0 Here, ?LC represents a difference in lightness between cyan ink and a blank area, ?LM represents a difference in lightness between magenta ink and the blank area, and ?LB represents a difference in lightness between light blue ink and the blank area. Further, the color material of light blue satisfies the following condition. hC+(h(C+M)?hC)/2?hB?hM?(hM?h(C+M))/2 Here, hC represents a hue of the cyan ink, hM represents a hue of the magenta ink, h(C+M) represents a hue of the image printed with the cyan ink and the magenta ink in the same amount, and hB represents a hue of the light blue ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 22, 2016
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2018
    Assignee: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Fumiko Suzuki, Mayuko Yamagata, Satoshi Seki, Hirokazu Tanaka, Gou Sasaki, Tsukasa Doi, Kiichiro Takahashi
  • Patent number: 9878560
    Abstract: An inkjet recording method of the present invention includes preparing an inkjet recording apparatus having an inkjet head that has N (N?4) nozzle arrays, so as to respectively discharge inks of at least four colors of cyan, magenta, yellow and black, having nozzles arranged in a first direction at a predetermined pitch P for discharging a curable ink which is cured by providing active energy, each of the nozzle arrays is arranged to be shifted in the first direction so as to have distances of more than 0 among each virtual line extending from each nozzle in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, in which the viscosity of any of the respective inks at 25° C. is 10 to 30 mPa·s.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 8, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 30, 2018
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Toshiyuki Makuta, Yasuhiko Kachi, Kazuo Sanada, Hirofumi Saita, Kazuaki Okamori
  • Patent number: 9868307
    Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a carriage unit, and carries out printing on a recording medium while transporting the recording medium. The carriage unit includes a first head that discharges an ink and a second head that discharges an ink of the same color, and the second head is disposed so as to be adjacent to the first head in an x axis direction, and to overlap with the first head in a y axis direction. In an outgoing path in the reciprocation of the carriage unit, a printing density of a first image, which the first head prints, gradually decreases toward an upstream side in a transport direction of the recording medium, and the first image includes a dot group, in which at least two dots formed using the ink from the first nozzles are linked to one another in the x axis direction. In addition, in a return path in the reciprocation of the carriage unit, the second nozzles print a second image, which supplements a decrease in the printing density of the first image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 16, 2018
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Masahisa Otake
  • Patent number: 9862214
    Abstract: Recording is performs that suppresses ink discharge position deviation between scans while suppressing graininess in a case of using multiple types of ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 2, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 9, 2018
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Fumiko Suzuki, Hirokazu Tanaka, Gou Sasaki, Tsukasa Doi, Satoshi Seki, Mayuko Yamagata, Kiichiro Takahashi
  • Patent number: 9855765
    Abstract: There is provided an ink-jet recording method including: formation of an achromatic color recording area in a recording medium by using an achromatic color-ink; formation of a chromatic color recording area in the recording medium by using at least one chromatic color-ink; and formation of a boundary area including a first achromatic color boundary area formed by the achromatic color-ink and the chromatic color-inks, and a second achromatic color boundary area formed by the chromatic color-inks, wherein the first achromatic color boundary area is located to be adjacent to the achromatic color recording area, and the second achromatic color boundary area is located to be adjacent to the chromatic color recording area; and the boundary area is formed to have a width of not more than 340 ?m, and the second achromatic color boundary area is formed to have a width of not more than 170 ?m.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2016
    Date of Patent: January 2, 2018
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kenta Hayashida