Abstract: A printing machine of the type in which liquid ink is deposited on a recording medium for printing gray scale images. The printing machine includes a printhead having ink ejecting nozzles of different sizes. Nozzles of the same size are arranged in groups and groups of nozzles are offset from one another. Ink drops of one group are deposited at locations corresponding to the points of a grid and ink drops of another group are deposited at locations corresponding to points not on the grid. Gray scale printing is achieved by the variation in drop size produced by different groups of nozzles as well as offsetting nozzles of one or more groups of nozzles from a reference group of nozzles printing on the points of a grid.

Abstract: Font-independent spotting of user-defined keywords in a scanned image. Word identification is based on features of the entire word without the need for segmentation or OCR, and without the need to recognize non-keywords. Font-independent character models are created using hidden Markov models (HMMS) and arbitrary keyword models are built from the character HMM components. Word or text line bounding boxes are extracted from the image, a set of features based on the word shape, (and preferably also the word internal structure) within each bounding box is extracted, this set of features is applied to a network that includes one or more keyword HMMs, and a determination is made. The identification of word bounding boxes for potential keywords includes the steps of reducing the image (say by 2.times.) and subjecting the reduced image to vertical and horizontal morphological closing operations.

Abstract: A method for enhancing hydrogenation of oxide-encapsulated materials includes forming an injection layer having a low reflectivity of monatomic hydrogen on an oxide-encapsulated material, and hydrogenating the material with an atomic hydrogen source such as a hydrogen plasma. The method results in a significant decrease in hydrogenation time required to passivate the oxide-encapsulated materials.

Abstract: A system for transporting a sheet of material including an actuator, a position sensing system, and a tactile sensor system. The actuator imparts a known force to a sheet, moving it through to the position sensing system, which measures the sheet velocity at various points. Afterward, the sheet moves through the tactile sensor system, which determines the coefficient of friction of the sheet. Given these quantities, a controller can determine the mass of the sheet, which can be used alter the performance of the sheet transport system.

Abstract: An item of data, such as data defining an image of a document, and identifying image data are stored in memory. The identifying image data define a human-produced identifying image for the item of data. In response to query image data defining a human-produced query image similar to the identifying image, the query image data and the identifying image data are used to access the item of data. The identifying image and query image can be produced making marks by hand, by controlling a machine to make marks, or by interactively using a machine to produce data defining an image. The identifying image can be in a field on a form requesting a store operation, and the form can be part of an image set that includes images of a document that the identifying image identifies. Similarly, the query image can be in a field on an access form requesting an access operation.

Abstract: An ink for ink jet recording process, comprising water, a coloring material and a water-soluble organic solvent, wherein the ink further comprises a compound having a plurality of hydroxyl groups and at least one group selected from the group consisting of alkyl, haloalkyl, alkenyl, alkinyl, cycloalkyl and aromatic groups each having from 5 to 18 carbon atoms.

Abstract: An image protecting conditioning roll for conditioning developed images in a liquid immersion development reproduction machine. The image protecting conditioning roll includes a rigid, conductive and porous core; an absorbent intermediate layer formed over the rigid core; and an inelastic image protecting top, outer layer formed over the absorbent intermediate layer, for contacting and protecting an image being conditioned, by preventing undesirable image offset and image smearing.

Abstract: A shaft assembly having desirably stable dimensions for forming a precise sheet drive nip in a sheet handling machine such as a reproduction machine. The shaft assembly includes a shaft member having an outer surface, and a sheet drive-effecting member formed on the outer surface of their shaft member. The sheet drive-effecting member consists essentially of a first dimensionally stable molded material and has desired external dimensions. Importantly, the drive-effecting member has a thermoplastic elastomeric (TPE) material layer formed over the desired external dimensions for forming the precise sheet drive nip. The TPE material consists essentially of a thermoplastic vulcanizate (TPV) including a vulcanized rubber phase and a plastic material phase.

Abstract: A free radical polymerization process for the preparation of a polymer comprising heating a mixture of a free radical initiator, a stable free radical agent, a metal catalyst, or a metal stable free radical complex catalyst, and at least one polymerizable monomer; cooling said mixture; and optionally isolating said polymer.

Abstract: The invention describes a temperature sensing system which provides a digital signal representative of the temperature of an ink jet printhead during a predetermined time period. In one embodiment, a temperature controlled oscillator is formed on the printhead, the oscillator including a resistor whose resistance varies proportional to printhead temperature variations. An analog signal from the resistor representative of printhead temperature is converted by the oscillator into a digital output signal whose frequency varies with variations in the resistor and, therefore, with the printhead temperature. The oscillator outputs are counted in an electrical counter over a sampling period. The accumulated count is converted into a digital code representing the printhead temperature.

Abstract: The present invention is a super-scalar method and apparatus for the generation of halftone dot patterns in an image processing system. The super-scalar design employs at least one block of memory for the storage of at least one predetermined halftone dot pattern across a plurality of unique locations therein, and a sequencer for producing an index into said memory as a function of the position of the pixel along a scan line and the halftone dot characteristics. Also included is addressing circuitry for memory access control, to combine the index produced by said sequencer and a pixel value for the pixel to produce a memory address, the memory address being thereby employed to access one of said locations in memory and to cause said memory to output a signal representative of a portion of the halftone dot pattern stored at the unique addressed location.

Abstract: A computer-implemented method of highlighting text regions within a first scan line signal including image regions. Text/image segmentation begins by identifying a set of edges of a possible text region within the scan line signal. Next, without reference to a second scan line signal, it is determined whether the set of edges of the possible text region first form a text region. If the set of edges form a text region, then the average pel intensity value of the text region is calculated. Afterward, the intensity values of those pels within the text region whose values differ from the average are modified.

Abstract: An electrostatographic reproduction machine that includes an image bearing member means for forming a latent image having image areas and background areas; at least a development housing containing charged carrier beads, charged fragments of the charged carrier beads which undesirably cause image deletions, and charged toner particles for developing image areas to form a toner image; means for transferring the toner image to a sheet of paper, and means for fusing the toner image to the sheet of paper. Importantly the reproduction machine includes a method and control system for reducing halftone image deletions in future halftone images.

Abstract: Volume grafted elastomer surfaces and a method for providing a volume grafted elastomer surface on a supporting substrate which includes dissolving a fluoroelastomer in a solvent, adding a nucleophilic dehydrofluorinating agent, preferably an amino silane which acts as both a dehydrofluorinating agent and curing agent, a polymerization initiator and a polyorganosiloxane in amounts sufficient to effect formation of a volume graft elastomer, optionally adding an additional amount of amino silane as a curative in order to ensure complete curing of the volume grafted elastomer, and subsequently providing a layer of the homogeneous volume grafted elastomer solution to the supporting substrate are provided herein.

Abstract: A digital image forming apparatus is constructed to accurately detect period abnormality of a horizontal sync signal. In the apparatus, a sync signal generation portion outputs the horizontal sync signal by a received light signal from a light position detector. A sync signal abnormality monitor monitors whether a detected period of the sync signal is longer than a reference period, or it is normal. When the output signal of the sync signal is judged to be longer than the reference period, an abnormality detecting signal is supplied to a continuous turning-on portion. When the continuous turning-on portion receives the abnormality detecting signal, it issues an instruction to a synchronizing turning-on portion so that video data continues to be turned on, that is, turning-on signal is continuously outputted. Since a laser beam is continuously turned on by this instruction, the light position detector can certainly receive the laser beam.

Abstract: Simulated photographic-quality prints are created using non-photographic imaging such as xerography and ink jet. Reverse or wrong reading toner images are formed on a transparent substrate which is adhered to a coated backing substrate. The backing substrate is coated with a two layered adhesive composition where the first layer in contact with the substrate of the backing substrate is a polymeric material which serves as an adhesive and has a glass transition temperature of less than 55.degree. C. The second layer on the top of the adhesive layer is a blend of a hydrophilic polymer having a melting point greater than 50.degree. C. and a fluoro compound containing from 1 to about 25 fluorine atoms. The desired melting point of the fluoro compound is less than 100.degree. C. and preferably between about 50.degree. to about 100.degree. C. The fluoro compound in combination with the hydrophilic polymer serves as a toner wetting agent for providing an enhanced optical interface.

Abstract: A current regulator is disclosed which utilizes a well known driver chip. The driver chip has an input signal known as a brake signal "BRK" which typically is used to stop a standard DC motor. In this invention, the brake signal "BRK" is used to create a low resistance current path in order to sustain the current of the current regulator which is used in conjunction with a stepper motor.

Abstract: A method and system segments an original image to be scanned and reproduced by a digital copier utilizing a scannable window location carrier. To realize the segmentation, an original image is inserted between a transparent portion and a highly reflective portion of the scannable window location carrier. The scannable window location carrier has a standard sheet size. An edge of the transparent portion and an edge of the highly reflective portion are permanently bonded together, and the transparent portion and the highly reflective portion are of identical lengthwise and widthwise dimensions. The transparent portion is marked so as to create a boundary outlining an area of the original image that is to be segmented from another area of the original image. The original image is removed from between the transparent portion and highly reflective portion of the scannable window location carrier, and the scannable window location carrier is scanned.

Abstract: A billing system for use in a printing system which processes a job with one or more events occurring, relative to the job, as a result of processing the job, is provided. The billing system includes a configurable billing information file including a plurality of current incrementable billing meters with each current incrementable billing meter corresponding with a set of one or more attribute values, and an information set including event related information with the event related information indicating that a new incrementable billing meter is to be added to the plurality of current incrementable billing meters or that one of the plurality of current incrementable billing meters is to be deleted.

Abstract: A raster output scanner (ROS) with a liquid crystal window located at the output of the ROS for correcting the nonuniformity of a light beam generated by the ROS is disclosed. Since the photocells in the liquid crystal can be controlled individually, a variable attenuation to match the curve of the intensity of the light beam, generated by the ROS, can be applied to the light beam. When the light beam with a variable intensity passes through the liquid crystal window of this invention, each cell applies an attenuation to offset the variation in intensity of the light received by that cell. Therefore, the light beam emerging from the liquid crystal window will have a uniform intensity regardless of the variation of the intensity generated by the ROS.