Patents Examined by Brian J. Goldberg
  • Patent number: 7240981
    Abstract: A fluid ejection device includes a first set of N memory elements each storing a fire enable value, each of the N memory elements configured to be updated. The fluid ejection device further includes N fluid ejecting elements, each fluid ejecting element corresponding to a different one of the N memory elements and configured to receive the fire enable value from the corresponding memory element, wherein the fluid ejecting element is enabled to eject a fluid when the fire enable value is an enabling value.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 27, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: John Wade, George C. Lysy, Tom Dragnes
  • Patent number: 7240991
    Abstract: An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer includes a substratum and a cover attached to the substratum and having an aperture provided therein. A printhead is attached to the substratum and provided at least partially within the aperture. At least one connector extends from the printhead into the aperture, and an adhesive material covers at least a portion of the at least one connector. At least one barrier is provided for preventing the adhesive material from flowing to locations away from the at least one connector.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Dale D. Timm, Hai Quang Tran, Joseph E. Scheffelin, Larry E. Schnebly, Paul Schweitzer, Jim Fischer
  • Patent number: 7240997
    Abstract: A fluid ejection device comprises a first metal layer and a second metallayer. The first metal layer comprises an address path portion and a nonaddress path portion. The second metal layer, which overlies the first metal layer, comprises a first portion which comprises a power conducting portion. The power conducting portion is routed only over the non-address path portion of the first metal layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2004
    Date of Patent: July 10, 2007
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Kevin Bruce, Joseph M. Torgerson, Trudy Benjamin, Michael D. Miller
  • Patent number: 7222926
    Abstract: A droplet jetting apparatus of the present invention includes: a head unit having droplet jetting heads; a head unit support 61 for supporting the head unit; an X-axis direction moving mechanism 6 for moving the head unit support 61; and a head driving control section 130 for controlling driving of the droplet jetting heads. The head driving control section 130 is provided on the head unit support 61 so that the head driving control section 130 is moved with respect to the main body together with the head unit. Thus, it is possible to provide a droplet jetting apparatus capable of suppressing generation of noise in drawing pattern data transmission, and carrying out accurate driving of the droplet jetting heads; an electro-optical apparatus manufactured using such droplet jetting apparatus; a method of manufacturing an electro-optical apparatus using such droplet jetting apparatus; and an electronic device comprising such electro-optical apparatus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 18, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Kenji Kojima
  • Patent number: 7222938
    Abstract: A printhead assembly is provided comprising at least one printhead module comprising at least two printhead integrated circuits, each of which has nozzles formed therein for delivering printing fluid onto the surface of print media, a support member supporting the printhead integrated circuits and having at least one longitudinally extending channel for carrying the printing fluid, and an electrical connector for connecting electrical signals to the printhead integrated circuits. The assembly further comprises a casing removably mounting the printhead module and drive electronics for controlling the printing operation of the printhead integrated circuits via the electrical connector, and at least one connector arrangement mounted to at least one end of the casing, carrying at least one power terminal for power supply, at least one data terminal for data input, and at least one fluid delivery port for fluid supply.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 29, 2007
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Norman Micheal Berry, Garry Raymond Jackson, Akira Nakazawa
  • Patent number: 7219980
    Abstract: A printhead assembly is provided comprising at least one printhead module comprising at least two printhead integrated circuits, each of which has nozzles formed therein for delivering printing fluid onto the surface of print media, and a support member supporting and carrying the printing fluid for the at least two printhead integrated circuits, and a casing comprising a support frame for supporting the at least one printhead module and a cover portion which is removably attached to the support frame.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2007
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Norman Micheal Berry, Garry Raymond Jackson, Akira Nakazawa
  • Patent number: 7216947
    Abstract: The image forming apparatus comprises: a recording head which ejects droplets of a liquid onto a recording medium; a droplet ejection control device which controls a droplet ejection timing of the recording head; and a conveyance device which relatively moves the recording medium and the recording head in a relative conveyance direction, wherein when the recording head performs ejection of a first droplet to form a first dot on the recording medium and then performs ejection of a second droplet to form a second dot overlapping with the first dot on the recording medium, the droplet ejection control device controls the droplet ejection timing of the recording head by taking a droplet diameter change time until a diameter of the first droplet deposited on a surface of the recording medium reaches D1b satisfying the following inequality as a droplet ejection time interval between the ejection of the first droplet and the ejection of the second droplet: D1b<2×Pt?D2a, where Pt is an interval between the first d
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 15, 2007
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Naoki Kusunoki
  • Patent number: 7210753
    Abstract: A method of determining and applying a protective ink amount to be printed in addition to a plurality of colored ink amounts to make colored pixels in an image including determining the protective ink amount such that the sum of the protective ink amount and the colored ink amounts is greater than or equal to a minimum ink amount necessary to provide adequate durability for the image, and applying using an inkjet printer the colored ink amounts and the protective ink amount to make the colored image pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 2004
    Date of Patent: May 1, 2007
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Douglas W. Couwenhoven, James A. Reczek, Steven A. Billow, David S. Uerz
  • Patent number: 7207651
    Abstract: An acoustic inkjet printing apparatus focusing acoustic waves generated by transducers and ejecting droplets of a printing liquid from a surface thereof by means of a sound pressure of the acoustic wave, the acoustic inkjet printing apparatus comprising: a printing liquid containing chamber containing the printing liquid; a piezoelectric element including a main transducer and at least one sub transducer located on at least one side of the main transducer, and generating the acoustic wave by receiving a signal; and an acoustic focusing member focusing the acoustic wave generated by the piezoelectric element near the surface of the printing liquid, thereby ejecting the droplets of the printing liquid, the acoustic inkjet printing apparatus being capable of switching between a first ejection mode in which the droplets are ejected in a first direction perpendicular to a liquid surface in the printing liquid containing chamber and a second ejection mode in which the droplets are ejected at an angle to the first d
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventor: Isao Amemiya
  • Patent number: 7207645
    Abstract: Techniques are disclosed for performing color correction in a color printer. An RGB test image is printed to produce a printed calibration image. Colors in the printed calibration image are measured and compared to expected color values. A color corrector generates a printer lookup table (LUT) based on this comparison. The LUT may be generated based on models of the printer's print engine and previous LUTs. The color corrections are applied to subsequent print jobs to improve the quality of color output. Color measurement and correction may be performed using a closed-loop system contained within the printer that includes a color measurement device (such as a scanner) and a computer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 6, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Inventors: Brian D. Busch, Daniel P. Bybell, William J. Donovan, Felix J. Lin, Suhail S. Saquib, Jay E. Thornton
  • Patent number: 7207653
    Abstract: An ink-jet head unit including an ink-jet head having ejection-energy generating elements for generating energies for ejecting an ink from nozzles, and a row of terminals for energizing the ejection-energy generating elements, a flexible wiring board having a wiring pattern jointed in an end portion thereof to the terminals of the ink-jet head, the flexible wiring board extending in a direction perpendicular to a direction of extension of the row of terminals, and including an inclined portion extending from the end portion obliquely upwardly and outwardly of the ink-jet head, and a rigid member having a higher degree of rigidity than the flexible wiring board and disposed on the flexible wiring board in contact with at least the end portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2007
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Atsushi Ito
  • Patent number: 7204571
    Abstract: A system for maintaining alignment between a print head (18) and a transfer surface (34) of a drum assembly (38) includes a first contacting member (78, 80) carried by the print head. A first receiving member (82, 84) is carried by the drum assembly. A drive mechanism (20) translates the print head relative to the transfer surface. During translation of the print head relative to the transfer surface, the first contacting member maintains a sliding contact with the first receiving member.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 17, 2007
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: David P. Platt, Michael E. Jones
  • Patent number: 7201469
    Abstract: A printhead assembly is provided comprising at least one printhead module comprising a unitary arrangement of a support member, at least two printhead integrated circuits, each of which has nozzles formed therein for delivering printing fluid onto the surface of print media, at least one fluid distribution member mounting the printhead integrated circuits to the support member, and an electrical connector for connecting electrical signals to the printhead integrated circuits, and a casing in which the printhead module is removably mounted. The support member has at least one longitudinally extending channel for carrying the printing fluid for the printhead integrated circuits and includes a plurality of apertures extending through a wall of the support member arranged so as to direct the printing fluid from the channel to associated nozzles in all of the printhead integrated circuits by way of respective ones of the fluid distribution members.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Norman Micheal Berry, Garry Raymond Jackson, Akira Nakazawa
  • Patent number: 7201467
    Abstract: An ink reservoir adaptor for use in a printing device, comprising a reservoir supporting element movable relative to the adaptor between first and second positions, the supporting element being arranged in the first position to receive a reservoir such that an interface associated with the reservoir is located in a predetermined position relative to the supporting element, the supporting element being further arranged, when moved to the second position, to bring the interface to a predetermined position relative to the adaptor.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 10, 2007
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Francesc Ros, Marc Jansa, Macia Sole
  • Patent number: 7198355
    Abstract: A printhead assembly is provided comprising at least one printhead module comprising at least two printhead integrated circuits, each of which has nozzles formed therein for delivering printing fluid onto the surface of print media, a support member supporting and carrying the printing fluid for the at least two printhead integrated circuits, and an electrical connector for connecting electrical signals to the at least two printhead integrated circuits. The assembly further comprises a plurality of longitudinally extending electrical conductors arranged to provide power from a power supply to the at least two printhead integrated circuits via the electrical connector, and a casing comprising a support frame on which the at least one printhead module and a mounting element are removably held, the mounting element having formed therein a plurality of recessed channels for receiving and removably mounting individual ones of the plurality of electrical conductors.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 3, 2007
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Norman Micheal Berry, Garry Raymond Jackson, Akira Nakazawa
  • Patent number: 7192109
    Abstract: The present invention provides an environmental protection ink cartridge control chip, wherein the control chip is structured to embody a CPU control circuit, a data bus and a plurality of memory chips. The control chip is installed on an ink cartridge, and transmits signals to a printer by means of the data bus. The memory chips separately provide functionality to monitor ink amount within the original ink cartridge, set ink amount return point of the ink cartridge and restore ink amount value after the ink cartridge has reached the return point. Hence, the control chip can provide for repeated usage of the ink cartridge until the control chip malfunctions, thereby achieving effectiveness of environmental protection.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 14, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Inventor: Alex Kuo-Shen Wang
  • Patent number: 7192112
    Abstract: Disclosed are a printing apparatus and printing method which suppress degradation of the image quality caused by discharge failure complement. In the printing apparatus, virtual data are generated for predetermined dots in a scanning direction on the basis of printing data of a plurality of dots in the scanning direction of an inkjet printhead that are printed by an ink discharge failure nozzle among a plurality of nozzles. The priorities of dots subjected to complementary printing among a plurality of dots within a predetermined adjacent area where the printing data and virtual data are printed are decided on the basis of the printing data and virtual data. A position subjected to complementary printing is decided on the basis of the priorities, printing data, and virtual data. Printing data and virtual data which actually cause ink discharge are so moved as to print at the position. Corrected printing data to be actually printed is generated on the basis of the moved data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 31, 2004
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideki Nakanishi, Kazuhisa Kuruma, Takayuki Murata, Yuichiro Suzuki, Hitoshi Nishikori, Masao Maeda
  • Patent number: 7182429
    Abstract: To provide a liquid discharger and a method to discharge liquid in which lowering of the precision of the assembly and the discharge accuracy of the high-viscosity liquid caused by thermal deformation, such as thermal expansion, is suppressed when the discharge heads of the inkjet apparatus are heated to accurately discharge the high-viscosity liquid, a liquid discharger having discharge heads to pressurize functional liquid contained in cavities communicating with nozzles and discharge the functional liquid from the nozzles, a mounting plate having openings to mount the discharge heads, a tank to contain the functional liquid discharged from discharge heads, and a liquid supply channel to supply the functional liquid from the tank to the discharge heads, the discharge heads mounted to the openings of the mounting plate at a same temperature as the temperature the functional liquid is discharged from the discharge heads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 20, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 27, 2007
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yuji Iwata
  • Patent number: 7175251
    Abstract: A hardcopy device such as an ink-jet printer comprises a printhead, a spittoon for receiving waste ink from the printheads, and a heater for quickly drying the ink waste products in the spittoon. A drum platen having a print media supporting area also has an elongate spittoon region extending across its circumferential surface, the contents of the spittoon region being arranged to be removed intermittently by an elongate scraper which, in one position of the drum, can be moved radially towards the drum to contact the spittoon region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2004
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Gonzalo Gaston, Antonio Monclus, Lluis Valles, Macia Sole
  • Patent number: 7175252
    Abstract: An example conventional method of avoiding a printing failure caused by residual bubbles in a print head involves counting from an initiation of a printing operation the accumulated number of print dots formed by the entire print head and, when the count value reaches a predetermined value, executing a recovery operation. Such a conventional method, however, requires the recovery operation to be performed frequently by selecting a threshold value for the worst condition. To solve this problem, the nozzles in the long print head are divided into a plurality of blocks, the accumulated number of print dots is counted for each block, the count value multiplied by a weighting value, which is determined according to the position of the block, is compared with a predetermined threshold, and, when at least one of the weighted count values exceeds the predetermined threshold, the recovery operation is executed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 26, 2003
    Date of Patent: February 13, 2007
    Assignee: Canon Finetech Inc.
    Inventor: Yoichi Sonobe