Abstract: A method for assigning unique printer resolutions or signatures, i.e., a unique number of dots per inch, to a class, or models of printers or lines of postage meters. The number of dots per inch or resolution may be specified within a image on a document or within a postal indicia and later checked to determine if the image on document or the postal indicia has the correct resolution. The foregoing would be able to detect an image or postal indicia that was scanned into a computer and printed with a printer that did not have the number of dots per inch specified in the image or postal indicia.

Abstract: The time required to perform servicing operations may be substantially reduced by application of different criteria on different pens of a printing mechanism. The servicing operation routines for each of the pens may be individually established according to their characterizations which are based upon the ink drops to be fired from each of the pens. The timing of the servicing operations for the selected pens may be predicated upon a selected printmode to thereby substantially comply with a user's expectations of throughput and print quality. In addition, the nozzles of each of the printheads may be grouped according to their condition or health. Those nozzles having a condition that falls below a predetermined threshold value may undergo drop detections more frequently than other nozzles. In this respect, the throughput and the print quality of a printing operation may be adjusted according to user preferences.

Abstract: A droplet generator is provided that is particularly adapted for generating micro droplets of ink on demand in an inkjet printhead having a plurality of nozzles. The droplet generator includes a droplet separator formed from the combination of a droplet assistor and a droplet initiator. The droplet assistor is coupled to ink in each of the nozzles and functions to lower the amount of energy necessary for an ink droplet to form and separate from an ink meniscus extending across the nozzle outlet. The droplet assistor may be, for example, a heater or surfactant supply mechanism for lowering the surface tension of the ink meniscus. Alternatively, the droplet assistor may be a mechanical oscillator such as a piezoelectric transducer that generates oscillations in the ink sufficient to periodically form convex ink meniscus across the nozzle outlets, but insufficient to cause ink droplets to separate from the outlets.

Abstract: An image recording liquid obtained by changing a mixing proportion of a plurality of recording liquids based on an image signal is transferred as a continuous flow to an image receiving medium to form an image thereon. To the image receiving medium, the image recording liquid is transferred in an image forming width, and a dummy liquid for forming substantially no image is transferred to the outside of the image forming width. Both edges of the image recording area are prevented from being raised or thickened on the image receiving medium or from spreading over in the width direction. The image density is prevented from increasing or decreasing on the edge of the image, the stream line of the image recording liquid can be prevented from being distorted, and the image quality can be enhanced. In another mode, the dummy liquid continues to a fore end and/or a rear end of the image forming area and is transferred to the image receiving medium.

Abstract: This printer prints images while accurately positioning image data on printing paper. Printing paper P is guided by guides 29a and 29b and is fed in the course of sub-scanning such that the two side edges thereof are above the left slot 26a and right slot 26b of a platen 26. A carriage 31 equipped with a photoreflector 33 is brought to the position shown by a broken line. The photoreflector 33 is used to detect the presence of printing paper P in the connection 26d between the left slot 26a and downstream slot 26r. The feeding during sub-scanning is stopped and some of the nozzles above the downstream slot 26r start printing images in the upper-edge portion Pf (lower edge in FIG. 1) of the printing paper P when the front edge of the printing paper P is detected by the photoreflector 33.

Abstract: The leading edge of a sheet of print media is detected as the media is advanced through the printer. In response to the detection of the media, a reference signal is generated with the encoder strip that is used to control the position of the carriage assembly. When no media is present in the printer the leading edge detector physically interrupts the drive path that the media follows through the printer. When media is advanced into the detector, the detector is deflected by the advancing media and strikes the encoder strip to generate a reference signal. The printer controller correlates the reference signal with the presence of the media leading edge to begin a counting sequence that correlates the location on the media where printing begins.

Abstract: A printer system for and corresponding method of determining an arrangement of status objects forming a status tree structure used to represent hardware components contained within a printer and the status tree structure stored within a print engine of the printer. A change in operational condition of one of the hardware components are detected with a sensor. A state of a status object corresponding to the one of the hardware components is changed to have an active state. A name of the status object having the changed state is transmitted from the print engine to a controller. The status object having the changed state is queried for a root path of the status object with the controller.

Abstract: Disclose is a reliable recording head free from any operation error. M×N recording elements are divided into N blocks each having M recording elements, and are driven for every M recording elements N times. M×N driving circuits energize and drive the M×N recording elements. A selection circuit outputs N block selection signals for selecting the N blocks to be divisionally driven. An input circuit inputs recording data corresponding to the M recording elements. An output circuit outputs a driving signal to the driving circuits in accordance with the recording data input from the input circuit and the block selection signals. The selection circuit outputs the N block selection signals on the basis of L (L<N) control signals.

Abstract: An ink consumption detection unit 60 includes the contact tape 84, whose one end is secured to the tank case 62 side and the other end to the flexible ink bag 68 side, and the contact electrode member 88 secured to the ink bag 68 side and placed in contact with the contact tape 84. As the ink in the ink bag 68 is consumed, the contact electrode member 88 is moved. When the contact electrode member 88 comes into contact with a plurality of contact electrodes 84EA, 84EB, 84EC representing ink consumptions in stages, the ink consumption detection unit 60 successively issues detection signals representing the ink consumptions.

Abstract: The single heads (40) mounted on a single print carriage of an ink jet printer comprise a column (50) of phototransistors (51-i), built directly into the chip of each head in the same process steps as used for the circuits for selecting and driving the actuating resistors; an illuminating device (43) on board the printer focuses a light spot (70) on the column (50) of phototransistors (51-i) which, scanned in sequence, provide the electronic controller of the printer a video output (57); from the output (57), processing and computing means produce a measurement of the vertical and horizontal misalignment of each head (40), a measurement used subsequently to automatically compensate this misalignment.

Abstract: An ink jet type printing apparatus in which an ink supply needle is located near one side in a direction perpendicular to the reciprocated directions of a carriage, a circuit board is mounted on a wall of an ink cartridge in the vicinity of the side on which an ink supply port is formed and plural contacts for connecting to external control means are formed on the exposed surface of the circuit board.

Abstract: A carriage (recording head portion) which an ink cartridge including a non-volatile memory is to be mounted has a memory access controlling portion for controlling accesses to a non-volatile memory, thereby reducing the number of connection lines between the carriage (recording head portion) and a printer main body controlling portion. The apparatus main body controlling portion and the memory access controlling portion transmit and receive data therebetween by serial data communication. The memory access controlling portion reads out various information (the amount of remaining ink, use start year and month, and the like) stored in each non-volatile memory and then stores the readout information in a RAM in the memory access controlling portion. The apparatus main body controlling portion issues an access request command for the RAM to read information out from the RAM and update the readout information. When a printer is powered off, the apparatus main body controlling portion issues a write back command.

Abstract: A recording device capable of accurately detecting the presence and absence of ink particles ejected from plural ejecting outlets aligned in a lateral direction of a head thereof. In the recording device, the sensing field of an infrared sensor is directed toward flying ink particles but directed toward landed particles. Whereby the thermal energy from the landing ink particles remarkably increases a thermal energy applied to infrared sensor.

Abstract: A liquid jetting apparatus of the invention includes a head having a nozzle, and a recovering unit that can recover a suitable viscosity of liquid in the nozzle from an increased viscosity thereof. A pressure-generating unit can change a pressure of liquid in the nozzle in order to jet a drop of the liquid from the nozzle, based on jetting data. An obtaining unit can obtain minimum-volume information of the drop of the liquid to be jetted from the nozzle by the pressure-generating unit. A controller can control the recovering unit, based on the minimum-volume information obtained by the obtaining unit.

Abstract: There are provided a printing method and an ink jet printer which are capable of attaining the energy saving and reduced installation space as well as implementing high speed printing, and a tape cartridge for use with the ink jet printer. Printing is sequentially carried out on a printing tape having a printing area whose width is sufficiently larger than a length of nozzle arrays of an ink jet head, along the width of the printing tape by the nozzle arrays extending in the direction of the width of the printing tape. The printing tape is fed such that it is reciprocatingly moved, and at the same time the ink jet head facing the printing tape is intermittently moved in a direction orthogonal to the direction of feed of the printing tape, thereby printing on the printing tape by the ink jet head.

Abstract: A method for determining vertical misalignment between first and second print heads involves printing a test pattern of first and second alternating slanted blocks extending horizontally. The first slanted blocks are printed by the first print head and the second slanted blocks are printed by the second print head. A known edge angle of the first and second slanted blocks is substantially the same. A sensor is moved across the test pattern for evaluating misalignment.

Abstract: A control circuit for driving a print head of a printing apparatus is disclosed. The print head has a plurality of heating elements and a plurality of ink chambers. Each ink chamber stores ink and has a nozzle. The control circuit includes a thermometer for measuring a temperature of the ink chambers, and a processor for generating a heating signal according to printing data transmitted from the printing apparatus to drive heating elements to heat ink chambers corresponding to nozzles which will jet ink. The processor also generates a pre-heating signal to drive the heating elements according to the temperature measured by the thermometer. When necessary, the processor will generate the pre-heating signal in addition to generating the heating signal so as to provide additional energy to drive the heating elements corresponding to the nozzles which will jet ink.

Abstract: A driving waveform generating device and method comprises the steps of retaining data on absolute coordinate values in a waveform data storage unit 1 as data at a plurality of points in a plurality of driving waveforms a-f at a predetermined temperature, reading the data on the plurality of point in a desired driving waveform e from a waveform data read unit 3A on the basis of gradation data, correcting the difference between the environmental temperature during the printing operation and the aforesaid predetermined temperature in a temperature compensation unit 3B, converting data on the corrected absolute coordinate value to data on the relative coordinate value in a waveform data conversion unit 3C, interpolating the point-to-point value by means of a waveform data interpolation unit 5, subjecting the interpolated the data on the driving waveform to analog conversion by means of a D/A conversion unit 7, amplifying the analog signal in a signal amplifier unit 9, and outputting the amplified signal.

Abstract: The recording apparatus and the recording method of the invention are provided with a recording head for ejecting ink onto a recording medium, a scanning section for moving the recording head in a predetermined direction to scan the recording medium and a correction section for controlling an ejection timing of the ink according to a discrepancy information on the recording medium to correct landing positions of the ink droplet on the recording medium. The discrepancy information on the recording medium represents a deviation of a paper-nozzle distance from a reference value. The paper-nozzle distance represents a distance from a nozzle portion of the recording head to the opposing recording medium. The recording apparatus and the recording method of the invention can correct the droplet landing position on the surface of the paper in the scan direction and produce an image with little dot position deviation.

Abstract: In order to enable high speed printing with maintaining reliability of ink ejection, an auxiliary hole is provided in an upper wall forming a liquid passage. An opening area of the auxiliary hole is set to be greater than or equal to three times of an opening area of an ejection opening, and a minimum distance between the auxiliary hole and the ejection opening is set to be greater than or equal to three times of a height of the liquid passage.