Abstract: A printing system. The system may include an ink dispenser, a switch to generate an initial position signal, a movement sensor to generate movement signals and a circuit that causes the dispenser to dispense ink in accordance with the image data, the initial position signal and the movement signal. The system may also include a connector, a power source, a microcontroller, a memory and an ink-curing component. Image data is then transferred to a surface by sweeping the printing system across the surface as the printing system tracks the status of each pixel.

Abstract: A motor control method and apparatus for stopping an object moved by a motor accurately at a predefined target position, shortening the time period required in stop control, in which the motor is driven at a first (high) speed up to a distance from the target position adequate for stop control and then is sequentially braked to a predetermined speed lower than the first speed, driven at a second (low) speed up to a distance from the target position equal to the stopping distance, and braked to a stop. The method and apparatus are used in a time recorder. An impact printing apparatus is also disclosed with printing pin actuation timing correction dependent upon scanning speed or platen shape, striking duration timing dependent upon scanning rate, or printing pin actuation timing dependent upon stored shift amounts.

Abstract: A printhead alignment sensor for an ink jet printer includes at least two terminals defining a gap therebetween. An electrical measuring device detects a change in an electrical parameter between two of the terminals when ink is in the gap between the at least two terminals.

Abstract: Provided is a recording head substrate on which are mounted energy generating elements that contribute to the formation of images by a recording head, and on which both light-receiving elements and light-emitting elements, or at least, light-receiving elements are mounted. In addition, provided is a recording head substrate on which are mounted energy generating elements that contribute to the formation of images by a recording head, and on which are mounted a plurality of head position detecting elements for detecting the position of the recording head.

Abstract: A printer is provided, which comprises a printer body 20 including a paper sheet feeding unit for setting paper sheets therein for printing and a paper sheet discharging unit, and a printer controller 10 of the printer body 20. When setting again paper sheets after printing on one surface in the paper sheet feeding unit for printing on the other surface, the printer body 20 is adapted to print, under control of an instruction from the printer controller 10, a first symbol indicating that the paper sheets should be set in the paper sheet feeding unit with the upper, lower, left or right part of the printed surface directed in the paper sheet feed-out direction and also with the printed surface up or down.

Abstract: A method for synchronizing the print start position for a printer carriage on an inkjet printer that includes the steps of: (a) providing an encoder signal indicative of a position of an inkjet printer carriage relative to a substrate being printed upon or a printer platen, where the encoder signal is an alternating voltage signal with an encoder signal frequency; (b) filtering and dividing the encoder signal to provide a fire pulse signal, where the fire pulse signal is an alternating voltage signal with a fire pulse signal frequency that is a multiple of the encoder signal frequency; (c) detecting a rising edge of the encoder signal preceeding a predetermined print start position of the printer carriage; (d) upon detection of the rising edge of the encoder signal in step (c), detecting a next falling edge of the fire pulse signal; (e) upon detection of the next falling edge of the fire pulse signal in step (d), detecting a count of the next rising edges of the fire pulse signal; and (f) assigning a synchron

Abstract: A printer comprising a perforator is provided, both printing and perforating functions being controllable in response to a single operator program. The single operator program can be a pre-existing word-processing program modified by addition of software provided together with the printer and perforator unit, a unique word processing program integrally including the perforator control functionality, or another type of program for interacting with a printer, such as a graphics program.

Abstract: A printer has a print head for forming a pixel, and a driving system for moving the print head from a first location to a second location. The print head forms the pixel according to a firing signal. The movement of the print head is controlled by a control signal sent to the driving system. The method involves building a list of desired pixel locations, building a calibrated list of firing signal offsets, sending the control signal to trigger movement of the print head, and sending a firing signal to the print head to form a pixel at a predetermined location. The firing signal offsets correspond to the desired pixel locations, and are adjusted to compensate for the driving system. The timing of the firing signal is determined by the timing of the control signal and by a firing signal offset in the calibrated list of firing signal offsets. The firing signal offset adjusts the firing time so that the predetermined location of the pixel is effectively on a corresponding desired pixel location.

Abstract: An encoding system is described for a media handling system including an endless belt. The encoding system includes encoding indicia associated with the endless belt. A first encoder transducer is responsive to the encoding indicia to provide a first encoder signal. A second encoder transducer is responsive to the encoding indicia to provide a second encoder signal, the second encoder transducer spatially separated from the first encoder transducer. An encoder processor is responsive to the first encoder signal and the second encoder signal to determine position data regarding the endless belt. Interruption of indicia due to a belt seam is accommodated by transferring belt position calculation from one transducer to the other as the seam passes between the two transducers. The processor is adapted to compensate for variations in the encoder indicia pitch caused by belt temperature differentials.

Abstract: An inkjet printing system for printing on a print medium having a top-of-form (TOF) indicator includes a printhead assembly, a top-of-form (TOF) detector adapted to detect the TOF indicator, a positional sensor adapted to sense a relative position of the print medium to the printhead assembly, and a controller associated with the printhead assembly, the TOF detector, and the positional sensor. The printhead assembly includes a first printhead subarray and a second printhead subarray offset from the first printhead subarray such that the controller is configured to initiate operation of the first printhead subarray after the TOF detector detects the TOF indicator and initiate operation of the second printhead subarray at a predetermined interval after the TOF detector detects the TOF indicator. As such, the predetermined interval is related to the relative position of the print medium.

Abstract: A printer has a print path, a code strip disposed in parallel along the print path, a sensor for sensing the code strip, a driving system for moving the sensor along the code strip, a timer, a memory and a position signal generator. The code strip has embedded position information, which the sensor reads. The sensor generates a first or a second code signal depending upon the position of the sensor on the code strip. The timer generates clock signals at a rate that corresponds to an expected rate of change of the first and second signals from the sensor when the driving system moves the sensor along the code strip. The memory is used to hold the locations of defective areas on the code strip. The position signal generator uses the sensor to generate a position signal when the sensor is not reading within any of the defective areas on the code strip, and uses the clock signals from the timer to generate the position signal when the sensor is moving within any of the defective areas on the code strip.

Abstract: A printed image alignment apparatus in a printer that prints a defined portion on a media, the apparatus being an alignment control in connection to the printing device of the printer and which selectively adjusts the alignment of the printed portion on the printed media, and the alignment control being on the exterior surface of the printer. The alignment control is preferably one or more pushbuttons on the exterior surface of the printer that adjust the horizontal and/or vertical alignment of the printed portion on the printed media. The apparatus further preferably includes a reset of default alignment values, and a slow print mode wherein the printing of the media is slowed such that the alignment control selectively adjusts the alignment of the printed portion between printing on individual media and which is reset to regular print speed after a predetermined duration of alignment control inactivity.

Abstract: A drive control mechanism for a scanning head which travels along a scan surface and carries out image reading or image writing. The drive control mechanism includes a driving starting position changing device which changes a driving starting position of the scanning head either outside an image reading range or outside an image writing range, under a predetermined condition. Accordingly, phases of vibration periods are shifted and unevenness in density is less visible.

Abstract: A print timing signal is generated which has 1/n the previous cycle of the encoder output. The print processing based on this print timing signal allows the actual print processing to extend into the next encoder cycle when the encoder cycle varies due to carriage speed variations and other causes, and corrects the print start trigger of the next cycle and the print timing cycle on the basis of a time difference by which the actual print processing extends into the next encoder cycle. When performing printing with high resolution in particular, this printing apparatus generates precise print timings, thereby improving the print position accuracy of the print head and performing high quality printing.

Abstract: A datum arrangement on the replaceable semi-permanent compact print cartridge includes three x-datums, one y-datum and two z-datums to assure proper seating of the print cartridge in the carriage as well as proper electric and fluidic interconnections.

Abstract: A compact ink jet printer having a small amplitude width in the horizontal direction of an ink carriage includes: a shaft provided rotatably about a predetermined axis; a strut fixed to the shaft so as to move along an arc about the axis with rotation of the shaft; an ink carriage having a plurality of ink heads provided at a predetermined direction from the shaft of the strut; and a control device controlling forwarding of a recording sheet, rotational motion of the shaft, and ink jetting from the plurality of ink heads.

Abstract: Disclosed are a printing apparatus and a method of controlling printing through which highly precise printing can be performed without inviting an increase in production cost or in the size of the apparatus. In accordance with the control method, a printing starting position is decided based upon input print data whenever a printing medium undergoes one printing scan by a printhead. Whether or not the printing starting position decided falls within a predetermined range is discriminated. If it has been discriminated that the printing starting position falls within the predetermined range, the scanning starting position of the printhead scanned by the carriage is set to a position spaced a predetermined first distance away from one end of a range within which printing can be performed on the printing medium.

Abstract: A printer having a plurality of recording heads each capable of recording with a recording width is connected to a host apparatus. The host apparatus develops an image to generate recording data corresponding to the plurality of recording heads and transmits the recording data to the printer. During the development of the image, the host computer obtains leftmost and rightmost end values for the recording data and transmits them to the printer. The printer determines a scan range of the plurality of recording heads based on the leftmost and rightmost end values, and performs printing the transmitted recording data.

Abstract: A device in a postage meter that uses dot or drop printing to enhance security. Security is achieved by counting the number of signal pulses that are used to produce ink drops or ink dots that are required to produce the entire document or specific regions of the document. The aforementioned may be accomplished by adding a smart module to digital print head modules. The smart module would capture driver pulses from the print head module and interpret the pulses associated with regions of the image. Thus, the smart module would take data from the printer controller that is used to cut off printing when the ink is consumed and relate “set” values to the drops produced during the production of the document or portions of the document, thereby linking the document to the actual volume of ink produced.

Abstract: There is disclosed a method and an apparatus of printing an image in a rectangular recording area on a recording material by a printing head as the recording material is advanced in a sub scan direction perpendicular to a main scan direction of the printing head. The printing head has a wider main scanning range than a width of the recording area. On side edge of the advancing recording medium is detected at two points to determine positions in the main scan direction of the two side edge points. Based on the positions of the side edge points, an inclination of the recording medium to the sub scan direction as well as positions of four corner points of the recording area in the main and sub scan direction relative to a center point of the main scanning range are determined.

Abstract: A control circuit generates two sorts of printing timing signals on the basis of the position of the printing mechanism module detected by a detector, and sends the generated signals to respective drive circuits. Herein, the printing mechanism module is configured of two printing element assemblies each of which includes a plurality of printing elements, and both of which are mechanically coupled. The two drive circuits taking charge of the two printing element assemblies send printing input signals to the respective printing elements which are to be driven according to the two sorts of printing timing signals received by the drive circuits. The relative positions between the print dots of the two printing element assemblies can be adjusted for each direction of printing on a sheet by changing the difference between the times of the two sorts of printing timing signals.

Abstract: In monochrome printing mode, a first correction value is set for correcting printing positional deviation between ink droplets printed during forward and reverse main scanning passes. In color printing mode, a second correction value is set for correcting printing positional deviation between ink droplets printed during forward and reverse main scanning passes. An adjustment value is determined for reducing printing positional deviation during forward and reverse main scanning passes. For this, in monochrome printing mode the first correction value is used as an adjustment value, and in color printing mode at least a second correction value is used to determine an adjustment value. Following this, the adjustment value is used to adjust printing positions during forward and reverse main scanning passes.

Abstract: A recording apparatus is capable of making the scanning range of a carriage narrower without expanding the left and right recording blanks of a recording material, and further, making the apparatus smaller without lowering the quality of recorded images, as well as enhancing the throughput thereof. To provide such apparatus, it is arranged to control the traveling speeds of a recording head in recording areas, and then, to determine the traveling speeds thereof in accordance with the distance between the stop position and the position to start recording, the distance between the position to terminate recording and the stop position, as well as with the contents to be recorded on a given line, among others.

Abstract: A printer using a power reduction logic based upon reducing the speed of printing when the dot utilization calculation exceeds a particular power level for that printer. There is also provided a method for printing information at a given power supply capacity level, comprising the steps of: examining the a group of rows of dots to be printed; calculating the maximum dot utilization value for the group; selecting a print speed based on the maximum dot utilization value; printing the first row of the group of rows; and repeating above steps until the information is printed.

Abstract: A hammer bank mounted on direct drive bearings reciprocally moves along a shaft. Springs provided at each end of the shaft supplies repulsive force to the hammer bank. When sheet feed operations for a plurality of carriage returns are performed, the hammer bank is stopped at a predetermined position away from the springs. When the reciprocal movement of the hammer bank is restarted, the hammer bank is first moved to a reverse position where the repulsive force of the spring is in the maximum. Then, the hammer bank is accelerated by utilizing the repulsive force of the spring and restarts the reciprocal movement.

Abstract: A method of printing in which, when an image is divided to be printed into a plurality of lines, the feeding amount of a printing medium is equalized in each line for eliminating a feeding error of the printing medium to print a high-quality image. The image to be printed in a top line of the printing medium is formed into a printable image by ink ejection ports located at an upstream side with respect to a printing medium feeding direction of a print head, and a width of the image printed in the top line is an adjusting width for unifying the width of image printed in other lines to a specified width according to the print head.

Abstract: Image quality is improved by correcting printing position deviation arising between forward and reverse passes in the main scanning direction during bidirectional printing. An adjustment value is prepared with respect to at least one type of specific target dots other than those dots having the highest density out of the plural types of dots. Printing positions during forward and reverse main scanning passes are adjusted with the adjustment value to reduce printing positional deviation between forward and reverse main scanning passes.

Abstract: An adjustment value for printing deviation between forward and reverse printing passes is set for each width of printing paper. The printing deviation is adjusted by, for example, varying, in the main scanning direction, the frequency of the drive clock signal applied to the print head. The drive clock signal frequency is individually set for each of a plurality of regions into which the main scanning range is divided.

Abstract: A recording apparatus comprises a recording head for forming an image on a recording medium, a carriage for holding the recording head, capable of scanning in a main scanning direction, and a carrying mechanism for carrying the recording medium in a sub-scanning direction, wherein even with shift of the position of the carriage before scanning, scanning of the carriage is carried out after the carriage is located at a start position, or wherein a difference of the start position of the carriage upon each scanning is arranged to be a distance equal to an integral multiple of one period of phase of motor.

Abstract: A serial printer apparatus comprises a print heat for printing on a medium according to a received character signal, a carrier on which the print head is provided and which runs the print head over an unprintable region and a printable region, and a control circuit for monitoring the running speed of the carrier and controlling the speed of the carrier by accelerating or decelerating the carrier while suppressing the amount of fluctuation of the speed at least in the printable region.

Abstract: A printing device comprises a print head for printing an image on a recording medium, a carriage mounted for movement along the recording medium and supporting thereon the print head, an encoder member having division lines, and a sensor supported by the carriage for movement therewith for reading the division lines of the encoder member and outputting pulse signals corresponding to reading of the division lines. A position calculating device calculates a position of the carriage in accordance with the pulse signals from the sensor. An error detection/correction device detects an error in reading the division lines of the encoder member by the sensor and outputs an error correction signal to the position calculating device. The position calculating device calculates a correct position of the carriage in accordance with the error correction signal from the error detection/correction device.

Abstract: In a dot line printer having a plurality of print hammers which are arranged to print a plurality of dot lines simultaneously when a hammer bank on which the print hammers are mounted performs one scan from one extreme to another, the dot lines originally assigned to the print hammers for printing are changed provided that a particular print hammer is driven an undue number of times when the originally assigned positions of the print hammers are maintained in the subsequent scans of the hammer bank.

Abstract: There are provided a method and apparatus for printing a print image on a print material by using a print head based on dot information of the print image by causing at least one of the print head and the print material to move to thereby effect relative motion between the print head and the print material at a relative speed dependent on a rotational speed of a DC motor as a drive source. Driving of the DC motor and the print head is controlled for printing of the print image. A distance from a predetermined length start position selected from a front end position, a print start position, and a print end position of the print material to a predetermined length end position at which the relative motion is to be terminated, is set to a predetermined length. Braking of the DC motor is controlled by varying a braking load on the DC motor in dependence on the relative speed and the predetermined length so as to terminate the relative motion at the predetermined length end position.

Abstract: A reference pattern is printed on one of the printing regions as the printing head moves in one direction, and a comparison pattern, which is to become a pattern identical to the reference pattern, is printed on the other of the printing regions as the printing head moves in both directions. A judging process is provided in which the comparison pattern is compared with the reference pattern so as to judge whether the two patterns are identical or not. The relative positional relation is determined to be proper if the two patters have been judged to be identical.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for operating stepping motors in a printer or copier senses temporarily changes in the moment of resistance caused by the introduction of the leading edge of the paper and overcomes this change in moment by changing the current amplitude to the motor windings. The currents are modified at a starting time, as determined by sensors.

Abstract: In an image formation apparatus receiving image data from a host computer and having an automatic paper-feed mode and a manual paper-feed mode, a method for the automatic correction of the printing margin in the manual paper-feed mode, includes the steps of: storing in a memory of the image formation apparatus a margin differential value corresponding to a difference between printing margins of each mode; selecting one among the automatic and manual modes and generating a signal indicative of the selected mode; and determining whether the generated signal corresponds to the manual paper-feed mode and then correcting the received image data according to the stored margin differential value. Thus, a margin differential existing between automatically fed paper and manually fed paper can be corrected automatically, without separate software manipulation by the user.

Abstract: The present invention aims to produce a label which has a size, margins and a character arrangement as a user desired, and aims to reduce a wasteful consumption of tape.In a tape printing device of the present invention, there is established an enlargement printing mode in which a large pseudo label, whose width is wider than the width of tape, can be obtained when the tape is divided into division portions in the longitudinal direction of the tape and when the division portions are arranged in the direction of the width of the tape. When printing in this mode, the tape printing device prints not only a character string but a marker which indicates the dividing positions in the longitudinal direction of the tape, with the intention of improving the quality of the pseudo label.

Abstract: The present invention realizes excellent controllability of print position even when a print head is driven at accelerating or decelerating speed while keeping advantages of fine and high resolution printing quality. A position information signal generator 9 in an ink-jet plotter comprises an interpolating circuit 12 which generates a first position information signal based on an A-phase output of A-phase and B-phase outputs from a sensor 5, an edge detector 13 which generates a second position information signal by multiplying the A-phase and B-phase outputs by four, a selector which selects the outputs from the interpolating circuit 12 and the edge detector 13, and a select control circuit 15 which switches the selector 14.

Abstract: A printer comprising a carriage making reciprocating movement and a printing head mounted thereon, the movement of the carriage comprising an outward section from a home position to the other position, a homeward section from the other position to the home position, and two reverse sections to change the direction of the movement, a printing being made on a printing paper by defining the outward and homeward sections as a printing area, in which, when printing includes a mark printing to print a mark on an edge of the printing paper, the mark printing is carried out by using one of the reverse sections.

Abstract: The printer of the present invention prevents loss of print data due to print operation malfunction after the completion of the initialization of print head 3 by detecting error conditions related to the motion of the print head during the initialization of the print head. In the initialization process of print head 3, print head 3 is moved until it is detected by reference position detector 16 located at the left edge of the print area of the printer; after completion of the initial-position detection for print head 3, print head 3 is moved over the entire print area to rightmost move position 37. By moving print head 3 as described above and by checking whether or not the print head has moved correctly, it is possible to detect any error conditions relating to the motion of print head 3.

Abstract: A device for accurately controlling the positions of a driving motor and a print head and enhancing print quality by sensing the position of the driving motor by occurring pulses from a timer at shorter intervals than predetermined step units and synchronously driving the print head with control of the driving motor, includes a synchronizing pulse generator for generating high speed synchronizing pulses for controlling the position of the driving motor and the print head, a position controller for synchronously controlling the position of the driving motor with divided generated pulses, a print head controller for synchronously controlling the position of the print head with the divided generated pulse, an interrupt controller for receiving interrupt signals generated in the position controller during the acceleration and deceleration of the driving motor and for generating interrupt in the priority order, and a CPU (central processing unit) for generating interrupts according to interrupt request signals, se

Abstract: The present invention relates to a label printing apparatus for printing image data onto a tape. The label printing apparatus has a memory for storing image data to be printed onto the tape, a print head for recording the image data dot wise onto the tape in subsequent printing cycles, a platen for conveying the recording medium relative to the print head and means for determining the number of dots to be activated in each printing cycle. In order to obtain high print quality, a speed adjuster is provided to control the speed of the platen in response to the number of image data stored in the memory and the number of dots to be activated in the present printing cycle. The present invention also relates to a method for controlling the platen and the print head to avoid misalignment of subsequent printing lines, when the platen must stop due to lack of data in the memory.

Abstract: A printer control system including a pulse signal output unit for generating a pulse signal having periods including adjacent high and low levels in a number proportional to movement amount of a carriage; a period calculation unit detecting each rising and falling edge of the pulse signal and thereupon calculating a duration of a most recent period directly prior to a detected one of the rising and falling edges; a print period calculation unit uniformly dividing each received duration by a predetermined number corresponding to the print resolution of the printer to determine a print period for each received duration; and print timing determination unit determining a plurality of first print timings based on a first print period calculated by the print period calculation unit dividing duration of a period directly prior to one of a rising and falling edge of each successive pair of rising and falling edges, and determining a plurality of second print timings based on a first print period calculated by the pri

Abstract: Method for optimizing the print path of an articulated marking head during the application of a data string of segmented characters. The controlling program which implements the optimized marking head sequence provides for skipping unused line segments within a given data string, thus eliminating unnecessary marking head travel and lessening print cycle time.

Abstract: A printer has a carriage drive control arrangement. A first control portion is provided for controlling ink ejection of a print head. A second control portion is provided for controlling a feed motor for driving a platen. A carriage mounts thereon the print head and is provided movably along a paper on the platen. A carriage control circuit is provided for controlling a carriage drive motor. A photosensors are connected to the carriage control circuit. The photosensors produce and transmit pulse signals to the carriage control circuit where moving distance and moving velocity of the carriage are computed based on the pulse signals. A second control portion transmit data of interrupt command output conditions to the carriage control circuit, the conditions being preset moving distance and preset moving velocity. If the computed distance or velocity is coincident with the preset distance or velocity, an interrupt command signal is transmitted from the carriage control circuit to the second control portion.

Abstract: The present invention relates to the a method usable in the field of printing, and in particular to a method of characterizing a drum-based digital print engine so that each of a plurality of ink droplets propelled toward a common picture element location, or pixel, of a print media coupled to an exterior surface of a rotating drum member precisely reaches the same pixel location irregardless of slight variations in portions of the surface of the drum. In a preferred embodiment, a drum based printing system contains eight print heads mounted on an axially driven carriage assembly and arranged in two rows of four such that no two print heads prints upon a common print swath at any given time, and each row of print heads is further oriented rotationally around a portion of the circumference of the drum member.

Abstract: In an electronic apparatus with a printer, there is disclosed a technique such that a printing is performed at a printing speed according to a key operation of the user and, when the user wants to rapidly see the printing result such as an arithmetic operation result or the like irrespective of the key operation, it can be printed at a high speed.

Abstract: A printer for printing on a binder strip and having a platen for supporting the binder strip, a print head mechanism and a print head controller. An interface unit is provided which includes indicia formed on the housing of the unit indicative of the spine of a bound book. The indicia includes three regions that represent three zones of the spine, with the three regions each having as associated visual indicator and switch for enabling a user to select a spine zone. A user can enter text, using a keyboard, to be printed on spine zone when the visual indicator associated with the spine zone has been made active using the associated switch.

Abstract: A printing apparatus capable of printing by moving a carriage mounting a printing head to a recording paper detects a movement of the carriage for a predetermined distance by an encoder, clocks the time for the carriage to move in the distance, and obtains the moving speed of the carriage in accordance with the clocked time. Time intervals for printing by the printing head are determined by the carriage moving speed, and a printing is performed at a constant printing density in an acceleration/deceleration area in addition to the area where the carriage is moving at a constant speed.

Abstract: A recording apparatus includes: a carriage that relatively moves against a recording medium, on which a recording head for recording an image of input information on a recording region of the recording medium is mounted; and a driving device for driving the carriage. Furthermore, the recording apparatus includes: a control device for driving the carriage by the driving device in accordance with a driving process of: an acceleration step for accelerating the carriage by stepwise changing the carriage's velocity from a rest level to a predetermined level and a retaining step for keeping the carriage's velocity of the predetermined level as a predetermined velocity.