Abstract: A stationary device for transporting charged toner. The device is constructed from alternate conductive and insulative layers, with all layers having a central hole to form a tube when laminated. The conductive layers, numbered modulo n, are connected to a number n of phased clocks so that appropriately charged toner will proceed down the length of the tube.

Abstract: A method of improving automatic document feed of media printed with phase change inks coats the surface of the phase change inks on the media with fine particles. The particles may include PMMA, glass bead, silica particles, crushed glass particles, kaolin clay, micronized PE and PTFE, calcium carbonate powder, hard inks or toner powder. The particles may be applied to the surface of a transfix drum by oil transfer or electrostatically prior to jetting the phase change ink, or in the case of hard inks may be jetted onto the surface of the transfix drum (offset) with the phase change ink or onto the print media (direct) after application of the phase change ink in an overprint printing process. Also the particles may be applied by a pair of finishing rollers after the media has been printed with the phase change inks, either in a direct or offset print process, the finishing roller on the print side being coated with the fine particles.

Abstract: An improved replaceable liquid application system for applying a liquid intermediate transfer surface to a support surface in a printer is provided. The liquid application system is contained in a removable cassette and utilizes a liquid impregnated arcuate surface that engages the support surface by rolling contact. The liquid impregnated arcuate surface and a reclamation assembly are contained in a removable cartridge in the cassette. A cartridge life status assembly determines when the useful life of the cartridge has been exhausted. Push tabs on the cartridge and finger wells on the cassette allow for easy and convenient removal of a used cartridge and insertion of a replacement cartridge.

Abstract: A computer system for automatically ordering consumables for a printer or a similar machine where the inventory is monitored by comparing the amount of material delivered, for example, by scanning the incoming cartons, against the amount used, for example, by the machine automatically sending to the computer counts of the various units consumed. The computer is equipped with a set of rules for automatically reordering new supplies. In an alternative case, the rules would request a concession, in terms of price or some other parameter such as quantity, from one or more vendors before ordering.

Abstract: A quadrifilar antenna for use in satellite communications comprises four conductive elements arranged to define two separate helical pairs, one slightly differing in electrical length than the other, defined by a cylinder of constant radius supported by itself or by a cylindrical non-conductive substrate. The two separate helical pairs are connected to each other in such a way as to constitute the impedance matching, electrical phasing, coupling and power distribution for the antenna. In place of a conventional balun, the antenna is fed at a tap point on one of the conductive elements determined by an impedance matching network which connects the antenna to a transmission line. The matching network can be built with distributed or lumped electrical elements and can be incorporated into the design of the antenna.

Abstract: A run length codeword system which has a set of codewords, each codeword being one byte. The first codeword of a run is divided into a 4-bit code part and 4 bits of printing hints. The code part specifies the source of the data, and the format of the remaining bytes in the run. The remaining one or two codewords specify the number of remaining data bytes in the run, or color values.

Abstract: An apparatus and method provide on-demand drop volume modulation by utilizing a single transducer driving waveform to drive an ink jet. The driving waveform includes at least a first portion and a second portion that each excites a different modal resonance of ink in an ink jet orifice to produce ink drops having different volumes. A control signal is applied to the driving waveform to actuate the selected portion of the waveform to eject the desired ink drop volume for a given pixel. The control signal also cancels the non-selected portion(s) of the waveform to avoid extraneous excitation of the transducer.

Abstract: A method of determining whether a page to be printed on a color printer will actually be entirely printed in one colorant, usually black, and if so, automatically omitting whatever processing steps are unnecessary as a result. Determining if the page is monochrome can be done either by (1) including a signal in the PDL or by a signal from the user or by (2) inspecting each element of the page to determine if all elements are specified to be printed in the same one colorant. If either is true, then various color operations such as trapping, color conversion to any other color, and color correction for non-selected colors can be automatically omitted.

Abstract: A media guiding apparatus and related method for reliably directing a media sheet from a media tray to a transport nip are provided. In one embodiment the media guiding apparatus includes at least one guide member that extends from a first guide surface adjacent to the transport nip to the sheet separator in the media tray. The guide member cooperates with a second guide surface to create a substantially uninterrupted media path between the sheet separator and the transport nip. The guide member is also extendible as the sheet separator moves relative to the first and second guide surfaces within the media tray. In another embodiment, the media guiding apparatus comprises a fan that creates a positive air pressure that urges the sheet against a guide surface as the sheet advances toward the transport nip.

Abstract: In a xerographic printer, the use of traveling wave toner transport devices to deliver toner from the individual single color toner sumps to an intermediate traveling wave belt by utilizing traveling wave roll-type devices, and the traveling wave belt to carry the combination of toners to the photoreceptor. The toner could be composed of two or more toner color particles which are used as a custom color. The traveling wave transport belt mixes the two or more colors while transporting them, so that pre-mixing a custom color, and delivering it separately to the photoreceptor, is not necessary, thus enabling the use of an ordinary CMYK color printer to be used to print custom colors.

Abstract: An acoustic inkjet print head with a plurality of transducers for generating acoustic waves utilizes an individual control circuit for each transducer. The transducers are responsive to their respective control circuit to oscillate at a resonance frequency, which is defined by the respective transducer, its control circuit and the glass substrate.

Abstract: A method of operating a printing system that can print any of several different colors onto a point on a sheet of printer media. The method includes using a halftoning screen with a matrix of assorted threshold values, along with image data having a matrix of image data elements. For each data element and each color, a density value is determined to establish the amount of each color needed to produce the color associated with the original data element. Then a calculation determines which of the colors will be printed to the particular location. In a selected sequence of colors, density values of the colors are added one by one to generate a density sum that increases until it exceeds the threshold value. The last color added, which caused the sum to exceed the threshold, is then printed to the media sheet at a corresponding point.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing an automated process for fabricating a micro-solar assembly (66) consist of using printed circuit board manufacturing and etching techniques to provide first (8) and opposing (10) charge pathways. Printed circuit board techniques and its connection methodologies when applied to the fabrication of a micro-solar assembly (66) allows the solar chip (54) and diode (42) to be picked, placed and electrically and structurally bonded mechanically onto a printed circuit board (2), then covered with a polymer sealant (12) sprayed for impact resistance and electrical insulation, and additionally covered with a plastic lens cover (18) to focus light and facilitate automated insertion.

Abstract: An information handling system includes a cache memory architecture which includes a means for performing a direct lookup by identifying the double word in the cache using the congruence class ID field, a set ID field and a double word ID field of the request address, and sending the double word to the CPU, and if the tag of the identified double word does not match the tag of the request address, sending a cancel signal to the CPU, and the double word with a matched tag in the congruence class, and if no match occurs, reloading the line l1 into the improved cache from a lower level cache or from main memory. The line in the set identified by the set ID field replaces the least recently used line in the congruence class and its place is taken by the missing line.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for providing additional charging power by means of natural and man made surrounding light sources to a communication device comprises a generally square frame member defining a front and second side, the first side of the frame member having embedded a plurality of photo-voltaic cells and the second side housing an adhesive for attachment to the second side of the communication device. The photo-voltaic cells are interconnected to each other and attached to an electrically thin ribbon wire which protrudes through the second side of the frame member. At the end of the ribbon wire is an applicator for attaching the ribbon wire into a battery plug socket located within the communication device's battery compartment. The first side of the frame member also houses a light emitting diode (LED) electrically connected between the plurality of photo-voltaic cells and the ribbon wire to indicate if auxiliary photoelectric charge is being provided to the communication devices battery.

Abstract: A quadrifilar helix antenna for use in satellite communications comprises four conductive elements arranged to define two separate helically twisted loops, one slightly differing in electrical length than the other, to define a cylinder of constant radius supported by itself or by a cylindrical non-conductive substrate. The two separate helically twisted loops are connected to each other in such a way as to constitute the impedance matching, electrical phasing, coupling and power distribution for the antenna. In place of a conventional balun, the antenna is fed at a tap point on one of the conductive elements determined by an impedance matching network which connects the antenna to a transmission line. The matching network can be built with distributed or lumped electrical elements and can be incorporated into the design of the antenna.

Abstract: A desktop computer power controller uses the keyboard controller of the computer to time the duration of keyboard or other input device inactivity and to assert a power control signal when the duration exceeds a predetermined threshold value. A power control unit coupled to the keyboard controller interrupts power to a peripheral device such as a video monitor when the duration of inactivity exceeds the threshold value. In an alternative embodiment, the power control unit switches the peripheral device into a low-power mode when the duration of inactivity exceeds the threshold value. Once in low-power mode, the keyboard controller switches the device back to normal mode upon detecting resumed activity on the keyboard or other input device.

Abstract: A system and method for debugging a development computing system is disclosed. The BIOS in the development system includes a debug engine. Interrupt-handling macros in BIOS include an entry macro to direct debug output codes (e.g., port 80 and beep codes) to the debug engine. A near entry macro is added to BIOS-segment macros (e.g., F000 segment) which provides the offset of the debug engine. A far entry macro is added to non-BIOS-segment macros which provides the segment and offset of the debug engine. The debug engine sends the output codes to a remote host computer via a communication channel (e.g., a bi-directional parallel port) on the development system. The debug engine also saves the contents of various registers on the development system to the host computer. Thus, the invention can be used in a stackelss environment. Debug commands (e.g., memory dump, set break address) can be issued from the host computer to the development system via the communications channel.

Abstract: An FM-CW radar transceiver comprising an oscillator connected to an input of a power divider having first and second terminal outputs. The first terminal output of the power divider is connected to an input of a first diode and a first shorted stub. The second terminal output of the power divider is connected to an input of a phase shifter with the output of the phase shifter connected to an input of a second diode and a second shorted stub. The outputs of the first and second diodes are each connected to inputs of first and second intermediate frequency (IF) filters and then through first and second IF blocking structures terminating at a common antenna port. An open stub is connected to the common antenna port with the outputs of the first and second IF filters each connected to an IF port or channel. In use, the FM-CW transceiver operates as a frequency multiplier for transmitting, and simultaneously as a subharmonically pumped "I/Q" mixer for reception.