Abstract: The width of a spacer which defines a gap between a development roller and an FPC is set to the width of a toner layer which is carried on the development roller or narrower. This prevents an edge portion of the spacer from getting deformed. In addition, as the spacer is made of a material whose work function is approximately the same as the work function of toner, it is possible to suppress disturbance of a surface potential of the toner layer. Further, for the purpose of maintaining the uniformity of the toner layer, it is desirable to restrict the amount of the toner on the development roller to a predetermined value or smaller.

Abstract: This present invention is to provide a driving circuit and method for an inkjet printhead. The driving circuit includes a group of group-driving lines, a group of column-driving lines and a group of row-driving lines. The printhead includes a plurality of driving groups which are driven by driving signals inputted in sequence via the corresponding group-driving lines. Each driving group includes a plurality of actuator and control switches which are driven by driving signals inputted via the corresponding column-driving line and row-driving line. Each control switch is just driven when the corresponding group-driving line, column-driving line and row-driving line input driving signals at the same time. Then, the driven control switch conducts the electric current to the corresponding actuator so as to jet out the ink in the ink chamber.

Abstract: A capping system for a printhead comprises a frame including first and second surfaces, said second surface inclined with respect to said first surface, and a sealing member adapted for movement on said frame between a nominal position and a sealing position in contact with the printhead, said sealing member including a first support member adapted for rotational movement with respect to said first surface of the frame, and a second support member adapted for translational movement with respect to said second surface.

Abstract: An ink jet printhead includes a substrate. A plurality of nozzle arrangements are arranged on the substrate. Each nozzle arrangement has side walls and a roof wall that define a nozzle chamber and an inlet in fluid communication with the nozzle chamber. An actuator is provided that includes an ink ejection mechanism. The actuator is operable to activate the ink ejection mechanism so that the ink ejection mechanism is displaceable between a quiescent condition and an operative condition such that ink is ejected from the nozzle chamber while the ink ejection mechanism is so displaced. The ink ejection mechanism is configured so that the ink ejection mechanism serves to obstruct a flow path from the nozzle chamber and into the inlet at at least one position between and including the quiescent and operative conditions.

Abstract: To provide an ink jet head and an ink jet recording apparatus in which it is possible to reliably prevent ink bubbles from staying in the ink sump and the interior of the head chip and in which it is relatively easy to remove the bubbles. The ink jet head includes: a plurality of grooves arranged side by side so as to communicate with nozzle openings; an ink chamber for supplying ink to each of the grooves; an ink sump provided so as to communicate with the ink chamber; and ink storage unit (50) communicating with the ink sump through ink supply passages, in which there is provided an air duct (100) establishing communication between a region in the ink sump which is substantially free from interference with an ink flow from the ink supply passages (33) to the ink chamber and in which bubbles easily gather and an air region of the ink storage unit (50). Therefore, the bubbles in the ink can be surely removed.

Abstract: An ink jet recording head includes a liquid discharge head unit having discharge ports and ink flow paths; a liquid container holder unit capable of holding liquid containers and having supply paths for supplying liquid to the liquid discharge head units; and a buffer chamber for allowing gas to exist in the liquid supply paths, the buffer chamber being formed by coupling the liquid discharge head to the liquid supply holder unit. The ink jet recording head enables the buffer chamber allowing to gas to exist to be sufficiently cleaned, and requires no additional process for the formation of the buffer chamber thereof. Furthermore, the ink jet recording head can inhibit ink oscillations in flow paths during ink discharge to keep a stable discharging state, thereby acquiring a high-quality image at all times.

Abstract: A print engine/controller (10) to drive an ink drop print head has an interface (22) at which to receive compressed page data, decoders (28, 88) to decode respective types of image planes in the received compressed page data, and a half-toner/compositor to (29) composite image plane data, the half-toner/compositor including a dot merger unit (58) taking bits from the respective planes as inputs and a color mask register (61) holding masking bits in number equal to the number of image planes, respective input bits to the dot merger unit being ANDed with respective color mask register bits and the resultant bits Ored together to form an output bit in a channel for which there is an ink at the print head. The respective planes to the dot merger unit may include three contone color planes and a high resolution spot plane, and the color mask register is loaded with bits that are selected to place the high resolution spot plane into any one of the respective color channels at the print head.

Abstract: A method of manufacturing a fluid ejection device having circular nozzles includes forming channels in a substrate, depositing a sacrificial material, such as photoresist, into channels to form a mold for the fluid channels and a fluid reservoir and then forming the remainder of the fluid ejection device above the sacrificial material on the substrate. Various novel fluid heater structures and an in situ fluid filter may be formed during the manufacturing process. The fluid ejection device can include a heater element located in the fluid chamber behind the nozzle opening. The geometry of the heating element can be planar. Alternatively, the heating element can be located inside the channel in either a half-cylindrical or fully-cylindrical configuration. The internal fluid pathways remain protected from contaminants by the sacrificial material. After all layers and manufacturing processes are complete, individual fluid ejection devices are diced and the sacrificial material is removed.

Abstract: A page width printhead assembly (1) for a digital inkjet printer has a support member that can be secured in the printer, and a printhead (2) that can be mounted to the support member. The support member has a core with at least one ink reservoir (6, 7, 8 and 9) enclosed within a laminated shell (4). The materials and structure of the shell (4) and the core (5) are selected and configured so that the co-efficient of thermal expansion of the support member as a whole is substantially equal to that of the printhead (2).

Abstract: An input bit sequence with predetermined bit periods T is converted into a corresponding light-emission waveform; and a beam with the thus-obtained light-emission waveform is applied onto a phase-change optical disk so as to record the input bit sequence thereon. The light-emission waveform comprises a heating pulse for heating the recording medium occurring for an interval tw and a cooling pulse for cooling the recording medium occurring for an interval tc, and the intervals tw and tc on the heating/cooling pulses satisfy the following requirement in case the heating/cooling pulses occur alternately with repetition: 1.5T≦tw+tc≦3T.

Abstract: The present invention provides a liquid discharge recording head comprising a substrate on which an energy generating element for generating liquid discharging energy is provided, and an orifice plate which is laminated with the substrate and in which a discharge port corresponding to the energy generating element is provided, and wherein a liquid droplet is discharged in a direction substantially perpendicular to surfaces of the substrate and the orifice plate, and further wherein a flow path is formed between the substrate and the orifice plate, a groove encircling the flow path is formed in the orifice plate, and edge portions of the orifice plate contacted with the groove are formed as saw-shaped portions having a number of minute indentations.

Abstract: An inkjet printhead chip includes a substrate that incorporates drive circuitry. A plurality of nozzle arrangements is positioned on the substrate. Each nozzle arrangement includes a nozzle chamber wall and a roof wall positioned on the substrate to define a nozzle chamber, the roof wall defining an ink ejection port in fluid communication with the nozzle chamber. An ink ejection member is positioned in the nozzle chamber and is displaceable towards and away from the ink ejection port to eject ink from the ink ejection port. An elongate actuator is fast, at one end, to the substrate to receive an electrical signal from the drive circuitry and fast, at an opposite end, with the ink ejection member. The actuator incorporates a heating circuit that is connected to the drive circuitry layer.

Abstract: A printing apparatus includes a printhead and an ink volume detecting circuit. The printhead contains a plurality of first heating elements for heating ink supplied to the printhead to generate bubbles in the ink and eject the ink through corresponding nozzles. The printhead also contains a second heating element for heating the ink supplied to the printhead, a resistance value of the second heating element being less than the resistance value of each first heating element, and the low resistance value of the second heating element causing the second heating element to burn out and create an open circuit if the volume of the ink is less than a predetermined level. The ink volume detecting circuit is connected to the second heating element for determining if the volume of the ink supplied to the printhead is less than the predetermined level based on a condition of the second heating element.

Abstract: A pressure generating element is associated with a pressure chamber communicated with a nozzle orifice. The pressure generating element is operable to generate pressure fluctuation in liquid contained in the pressure chamber to eject a liquid droplet from the nozzle orifice, when a drive signal is supplied thereto. An identifier is provided with ID information including a first deviation of an ejected liquid amount from a designed value when a drive signal at a first, regular drive frequency is supplied, and a second deviation of an ejected liquid amount from the designed value when a drive signal at a second, operable maximum drive frequency is supplied.

Abstract: The invention provides a flow path constituting member for an ink jet recording head, having a low stress and a chemical resistance and capable of forming a coated film enabling easy pattern formation for example by an ultraviolet irradiation, an ink jet recording head utilizing such material, and a method for producing an ink jet recording head. For the flow path constituting member of the ink jet recording head, there is employed an epoxy resin composition including an epoxy resin having at least two epoxy groups within a molecule and a specified structure, and a cationic polymerization initiator.

Abstract: A direct printing method and apparatus in which a computer generated image information is converted into a pattern of electrostatic fields, which selectively transport electrically charged toner particles from a particle source (3) toward a back electrode through a printhead structure including a plurality of appertures and control electrodes arranged in conjunction to the apertures whereby the charged toner particles are deposited in image configuration on an image receiving surface caused to move relative to the printhead structure. Control means is arranged to address an amount of charged toner particles corresponding to at least 35 charged toner particles per addressed dot at least for a part of the image location areas.

Abstract: The present invention relates to printer-control apparatus and method that achieve PF measurements at the time of printer power-on and also other occasions for precise control to a paper-feed motor for driving a paper-feed mechanism of a printer to be used in variety of environments even at a small paper-feeding amount in one paper-feeding action. The present invention also relates to a storage medium storing a computer program for executing the printer-control method. The printer-control apparatus and method according to the present invention generate and execute an operation for PF-measurements to measure a motor current in accordance with load on paper feeding while a paper-feed motor is running at a constant-speed driving in accordance with detection of several statuses in addition to printer power-on.

Abstract: The present invention provides an ink-jet printing head, and an ink-jet printing apparatus and method which enable not only larger-diameter nozzles but also smaller-diameter nozzles to be sufficiently recovered. In an ink-jet printing head according to the present invention, the number of smaller-diameter nozzles is larger than that of larger-diameter nozzles. Further, a plurality of ink channels include first ink channels in communication with the larger-diameter nozzles and second ink channels in communication with the smaller-diameter nozzles. The first ink channels and the second ink channels are mixed and arranged along an ink supply port so that a group of smaller-diameter nozzles composed of a plurality of the smaller-diameter nozzles is arranged between the lager-diameter nozzles.

Abstract: An image recording apparatus is provided which includes a test pattern reader for reading a test pattern image recorded by respective recording heads; an image recording position error detector for detecting, from the read test pattern, an error in image recording position for each recording element of each recording head relative to a predetermined image recording position; a correction data generator for producing correction data for correcting the error in image recording position for each recording element of each recording head in accordance with the detected recording position error; a correction unit for correcting an image signal to be recorded by each recording element of each recording head, on the basis of the produced correction data; and a controller for operating the test pattern reader, the image recording position error detector, and the correction unit at a particular time.

Abstract: A thermal bend actuator includes a wafer substrate. An elongate actuator arm is fixed to the substrate at a fixed end. The elongate actuator arm includes a heater layer of a conductive material and a dielectric, resiliently flexible layer. The heater layer defines a heater circuit which is connected to an electrical potential. A working member is fixed to an opposite free end of the actuator arm. Control logic circuitry is positioned on the substrate, between, and generally aligned with, the heater layer and the substrate. The control logic circuitry is interconnected between a data input means and the heater circuit and includes register circuitry connected to the data input means to generate an enabling signal. Firing circuitry is connected between the register circuitry and the heater circuit to close the heater circuit on receipt of the enabling signal so that said electrical potential generates a current in the heater circuit, resistively to heat the heater layer.