Abstract: A thermally actuated fluidic optical switching circuit that includes a heater substructure having heater resistors and thermally conductive regions associated with the heater resistors and configured to tailor the thermal characteristics of the heater substructure.

Abstract: An ink jet printhead having a first plurality of ink drop generators disposed along a first edge of an ink feed slot, and a second plurality of ink drop generators disposed along a second edge of the ink feed slot that is opposite the first edge. The ink drop generators are arranged in a plurality of groups called primitives, and each primitive includes a first subgroup of ink drop generators disposed along the first edge and a second subgroup of ink drop generators along second edge, whereby the first subgroup of each primitive includes a subset of the first plurality of ink drop generators and whereby the second subgroup of each primitive includes a subset of the second plurality of ink drop generators. In this manner each primitive is bifurcated across said ink feed slot.

Abstract: A thermal ink jet printhead that includes a thin film substrate including a plurality of thin film layers, a plurality of ink firing heater resistors defined in the plurality of thin film layers, a patterned tantalum layer disposed on said plurality of thin film layers, a barrier adhesion layer disposed on the patterned tantalum layer, an ink barrier layer disposed over the barrier adhesion layer, and respective ink chambers formed in the ink barrier layer over respective thin film resistors, each chamber formed by a chamber opening in barrier layer, the barrier adhesion layer more particularly comprises a tantalum nitride layer or a deposited tantalum, carbon, fluorine, and oxygen containing layer that is formed pursuant to exposure of the patterned tantalum layer to a plasma that includes a fluorinated hydrocarbon such as carbon tetrafluoride (CF4), fluoroform (CHF3), hexafluoroethane (C2F6), difluoromethane (CH2F2), pentafluoroethane (C2HF5), tetraf luoroethane (C2H2F4), or octafluorobutene (C4F8).

Abstract: An ink jet printhead having first and second arrays of ink drop generators adjacent edges of a printhead substrate, third and fourth arrays of ink drop generators inboard of the first and second ink drop generator arrays, a first ink feed slot adjacent the first ink drop generator array which receives ink only from the first ink feed slot, a second ink feed slot adjacent the second ink drop generator array which receives ink only from the second ink feed slot, and a third ink feed slot between the third and fourth ink drop generator arrays which receive ink from the third ink feed slot. Circuit regions are provided in the printhead substrate between the first ink feed slot and the third ink drop generator array, and between the second ink feed slot and the fourth ink drop generator array.

Abstract: A rack slide assembly for supporting a computer enclosure in a rack system having apertured column flanges. The rack slide assembly includes a slide mechanism having an outer channel and an inner channel that are translatable relative to each other along a longitudinal axis of the slide mechanism. A first mounting bracket having a mounting flange is affixed to the outer channel with the mounting flange adjacent a first end of the outer channel, while a second mounting bracket is slidably attached to the outer channel with the mounting flange adjacent a second end of the outer channel. The second mounting bracket is movable relative to the outer channel along the longitudinal axis of the slide mechanism. Rack mounting pins are disposed on the mounting flanges, and a locking mechanism is provided for selectively positionally locking the second mounting bracket relative to the outer channel.

Abstract: A printing system that includes a transparency film detector having a light source for illuminating a sheet of input media and a detector for detecting whether a portion of the light provided by the light source propagated by internal reflection within the volume of the illuminated input media sheet is detected.

Abstract: A thermal ink jet printhead that includes a thin film substrate including a plurality of thin film layers, a plurality of ink firing heater resistors defined in the plurality of thin film layers, a patterned tantalum carbide layer disposed on the plurality of thin film layers, an ink barrier layer disposed over the tantalum carbide layer, and respective ink chambers formed in the ink barrier layer over respective thin film resistors, each chamber formed by a chamber opening in barrier layer. The tantalum carbide layer forms an oxidation and wear resistance layer and/or a barrier adhesion layer.

Abstract: An ink jet printer that includes a movable print carriage for reciprocatingly scanning along a carriage scan axis, a printhead having a plurality of ink jet nozzles and supported by the movable print carriage, a print media moving mechanism for moving print media along a media axis through a print zone, and a vibration inducing piezoelectric element for causing relative vibration between the printhead and the print media such that locations along a media axis of dots printed by the ink jet nozzles are minutely randomly varied to reduce otherwise visible banding caused by poor paper advance or misdirected nozzles.

Abstract: An ink container that includes a collapsible ink reservoir having first a side and a second side that are opposing, a first spiral conductive coil attached to the first side, a second spiral conductive coil attached to the second side, stiffeners disposed over the first and second coils, and a pressure vessel for pressurizing the outside of the ink reservoir.

Abstract: A thermal ink jet printhead that includes an adhesion interface between a silicon carbide layer of a thin film substrate and a polymer ink barrier layer in the vicinity of ink chambers formed in the polymer ink barrier layer, and an adhesion interface between a silicon carbide layer disposed on the ink barrier layer and an orifice plate. An intervening adhesion promoter can be located between the silicon carbide layer of the thin film substrate and the polymer ink barrier layer, and between the silicon carbide layer disposed on the ink barrier layer and the orifice plate.

Abstract: A printing system including an ink container having a memory and an ink level sensing circuit, a print cartridge having a memory, and a printer controller. Remaining ink level in the ink container is estimated pursuant to ink drop usage information provided by the ink container memory and ink level sense information provided by the ink level sensing circuit.

Abstract: An ink jet printhead structure having a silicon carbide layer, an ink barrier layer disposed on the silicon carbide layer and respective ink chambers formed in the ink barrier layer over respective thin film resistors and adjacent the silicon carbide passivation layer, each chamber formed by a chamber opening in the ink barrier layer and a portion of the silicon carbide layer such that a silicon carbide surface fully extends across an area enclosed by the chamber opening, whereby a silicon carbide surface fully extends across the ink chamber. The ink chambers are more particularly configured to emit ink drops in the range of about 2 to 4 picoliters.

Abstract: An ink delivery system for providing pressurized ink to an ink jet printing system. The ink delivery system includes a collapsible ink reservoir containing ink, a pressure volume for applying pressure to the collapsible ink reservoir, a gas inlet into the pressure volume, a one-way valve for allowing gas flow into the pressure volume, a pressure source for providing pressurizing gas to the gas inlet, and a relief valve for limiting the pressure of the pressurizing gas.

Abstract: An ink jet hardcopy facsimile apparatus having an automatic document feeder, a scanning station and print station, wherein a facsimile status marking indicative of facsimile condition is printed on the non-scanned side of a document after the document is scanned.

Abstract: A method for operating an ink jet printer that includes the steps of performing a printer turn-on printhead service on a printhead cartridge of the printer; resetting a page counter, an uncapped condition time counter, and an ink drop counter, wherein the page counter counts the number of pages printed, the uncapped condition time counter counts the amount of time that the printhead cartridge is in the uncapped condition, and the ink drop counter counts the number of ink drops emitted by the printhead cartridge; printing a plurality of pages of print media; after a page is printed performing a post-prime printhead service if the printhead cartridge was primed during the printing of the page; and after a page is printed performing a print time printhead service if the printhead cartridge was not primed during the printing of the page and if (a) the ink jet printer has printed at least a predetermined number of pages since the page count counter was reset, (b) the printhead cartridge has been uncapped for at le

Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for depleting raster data to provide for faster printing and also to allow printing of the depleted raster data, with a printed dot size that is larger that would otherwise be utilized with the undepleted raster data, on a pixel grid having the resolution of the undepleted raster data. Also disclosed is a technique for up scaling raster data at a particular resolution (e.g., 300 dpi) is scaled in such a manner that the upscaled raster data includes only printed pixels that correspond one-to-one with the printed pixels of the original data and wherein the relative locations of the printed pixels of the original data are maintained in the up scaled raster data. Further disclosed is a technique for printing a pixel array having a particular resolution with a print element array having print elements disposed for printing at a lesser resolution.

Abstract: A color ink jet printer including a print carriage movable along a carriage scan axis, a plurality of non-black color printing ink jet printheads supported by the print carriage and offset relative to each other so that their nozzle arrays are non-overlapping along the media scan axis, and a black printing ink jet printhead having a nozzle array that overlaps along the media axis with one of the nozzle arrays of the non-black color printing ink jet printheads, whereby as the carriage is scanned along the carriage scan axis the nozzle arrays of the non-black color printing ink jet printheads traverse non-overlapping print regions and the nozzle array of the black printing printhead traverses a print region that overlaps one of the non-overlapping print regions traversed by the nozzle arrays of the non-black color printing ink jet printheads.