Patents by Inventor Mark S. Hickman
Mark S. Hickman has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).
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Patent number: 7108344Abstract: A printmode for an inkjet printer including a plurality of print nozzles and an edge guide projecting into a printzone into which at least one of the plurality of print nozzles may be transported for deposition of a fluid onto a print media, the printmode including a printmask defining a print disable zone corresponding to a pre-selected area of the printzone that includes an area of the edge guide that projects into the printzone.Type: GrantFiled: November 3, 2003Date of Patent: September 19, 2006Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Devleopment Company, L.P.Inventors: Robert M. Yraceburu, Mark S. Hickman, Steve O. Rasmussen
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Patent number: 7014295Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for producing efficient ink drop overlap filled with a pseudo hexagonal grid pattern. In general, the present invention can include an inkjet printhead assembly that incorporates a preprogrammed correction scheme or schemes [1-n] (herein correction scheme will refer to all applications), for correcting systematic ink drop placement errors of the inkjet printhead. The printing system of the present invention uses a unique ink dot pattern, called a pseudo-hexagonal close pack system. The present invention optimizes the addressable grid for dot placement, pseudo hexagonal close pack system, with an efficient geometry for packing circles to fill an area, similar to the hexagonal close pack system. However, the present invention in creating dots on a non-symmetric grid is supported by available software and is not computationally complex.Type: GrantFiled: November 15, 2003Date of Patent: March 21, 2006Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Mark S. Hickman, Wayne M. Richard, Jorge Castano, John A. Underwood, Xavier Bruch
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Publication number: 20040095421Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for producing efficient ink drop overlap filled with a pseudo hexagonal grid pattern. In general, the present invention can include an inkjet printhead assembly that incorporates a preprogrammed correction scheme or schemes [1-n] (herein correction scheme will refer to all applications), for correcting systematic ink drop placement errors of the inkjet printhead. The printing system of the present invention uses a unique ink dot pattern, called a pseudo-hexagonal close pack system. The present invention optimizes the addressable grid for dot placement, pseudo hexagonal close pack system, with an efficient geometry for packing circles to fill an area, similar to the hexagonal close pack system. However, the present invention in creating dots on a non-symmetric grid is supported by available software and is not computationally complex.Type: ApplicationFiled: November 15, 2003Publication date: May 20, 2004Inventors: Mark S. Hickman, Wayne M. Richard, Jorge Castano, John A. Underwood, Xavier Brunch
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Publication number: 20040061730Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for using lower data rates and less memory, for high nozzles per inch printheads. The printing system of the present invention includes a printhead assembly and an ink supply for printing ink on print media. The printhead assembly includes a printhead body, ink channels, a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, a nozzle member and a barrier layer located between the wafer and nozzle member. The nozzle member has plural nozzles coupled to respective ink channels and is secured at a predefined location to the printhead body with a suitable adhesive layer. The printhead has a controller which can be firmware, software or any suitable processor that can control the ejection of ink from the plural nozzles.Type: ApplicationFiled: October 1, 2003Publication date: April 1, 2004Inventors: Ronald A. Askeland, Mark S. Hickman
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Patent number: 6659589Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for producing efficient ink drop overlap filled with a pseudo hexagonal grid pattern. In general, the present invention can include an inkjet printhead assembly that incorporates a preprogrammed correction scheme or schemes [1-n] (herein correction scheme will refer to all applications), for correcting systematic ink drop placement errors of the inkjet printhead. The printing system of the present invention uses a unique ink dot pattern, called a pseudo-hexagonal close pack system. The present invention optimizes the addressable grid for dot placement, pseudo hexagonal close pack system, with an efficient geometry for packing circles to fill an area, similar to the hexagonal close pack system. However, the present invention in creating dots on a non-symmetric grid is supported by available software and is not computationally complex.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 2001Date of Patent: December 9, 2003Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Mark S. Hickman, Wayne M. Richard, Jorge Castano, John A. Underwood, Xavier Bruch
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Patent number: 6655770Abstract: An ink jet printer (101) print head having multiple, redundant ink energizing elements arranged into clusters or groups (812), each of which attempts to expel ink onto media in a predetermined sequence. The effects of an ink energizing element failure are mitigated by using redundant elements, each of which fires in response to the same data.Type: GrantFiled: May 2, 2001Date of Patent: December 2, 2003Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Daryl E. Anderson, Mark S. Hickman, Michael J. Barbour, George H. Corrigan
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Patent number: 6648440Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for using lower data rates and less memory, for high nozzles per inch printheads. The printing system of the present invention includes a printhead assembly and an ink supply for printing ink on print media. The printhead assembly includes a printhead body, ink channels, a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, a nozzle member and a barrier layer located between the wafer and nozzle member. The nozzle member has plural nozzles coupled to respective ink channels and is secured at a predefined location to the printhead body with a suitable adhesive layer. The printhead has a controller which can be firmware, software or any suitable processor that can control the ejection of ink from the plural nozzles.Type: GrantFiled: June 27, 2001Date of Patent: November 18, 2003Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.Inventors: Ronald A. Askeland, Mark S. Hickman
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Publication number: 20030016268Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for producing efficient ink drop overlap filled with a pseudo hexagonal grid pattern. In general, the present invention can include an inkjet printhead assembly that incorporates a preprogrammed correction scheme or schemes [1-n] (herein correction scheme will refer to all applications), for correcting systematic ink drop placement errors of the inkjet printhead. The printing system of the present invention uses a unique ink dot pattern, called a pseudo-hexagonal close pack system. The present invention optimizes the addressable grid for dot placement, pseudo hexagonal close pack system, with an efficient geometry for packing circles to fill an area, similar to the hexagonal close pack system. However, the present invention in creating dots on a non-symmetric grid is supported by available software and is not computationally complex.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 20, 2001Publication date: January 23, 2003Inventors: Mark S. Hickman, Wayne M. Richard, Jorge Castano, John A. Underwood, Xavier Bruch
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Publication number: 20030001915Abstract: The present invention is embodied in a system and method for using lower data rates and less memory, for high nozzles per inch printheads. The printing system of the present invention includes a printhead assembly and an ink supply for printing ink on print media. The printhead assembly includes a printhead body, ink channels, a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer, a nozzle member and a barrier layer located between the wafer and nozzle member. The nozzle member has plural nozzles coupled to respective ink channels and is secured at a predefined location to the printhead body with a suitable adhesive layer. The printhead has a controller which can be firmware, software or any suitable processor that can control the ejection of ink from the plural nozzles.Type: ApplicationFiled: June 27, 2001Publication date: January 2, 2003Inventors: Ronald A. Askeland, Mark S. Hickman
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Publication number: 20020163549Abstract: An ink jet printer (101) print head having multiple, redundant ink energizing elements arranged into clusters or groups (812), each of which attempts to expel ink onto media in a predetermined sequence. The effects of an ink energizing element failure are mitigated by using redundant elements, each of which fires in response to the same data.Type: ApplicationFiled: May 2, 2001Publication date: November 7, 2002Inventors: Daryl E. Anderson, Mark S. Hickman, Michael J. Barbour, George H. Corrigan
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Patent number: 6457806Abstract: Micro-stepping a print media transport in an ink-jet hard copy apparatus such that the steps are smaller than the nozzle spacing of the drop generators on a printhead when using multiple printheads per colorant provides a resulting higher resolution pixel placement grid and allows choosing which nozzle to fire on which printing pass in order to optimize drop-to-drop alignment between the like colorant printheads.Type: GrantFiled: July 19, 2001Date of Patent: October 1, 2002Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventor: Mark S. Hickman
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Patent number: 6336701Abstract: Micro-stepping a print media transport in an ink-jet hard copy apparatus such that the steps are smaller than the nozzle spacing of the drop generators on a printhead when using multiple printheads per colorant provides a resulting higher resolution pixel placement grid and allows choosing which nozzle to fire on which printing pass in order to optimize drop-to-drop alignment between the like colorant printheads.Type: GrantFiled: December 22, 1999Date of Patent: January 8, 2002Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventor: Mark S. Hickman
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Publication number: 20020001013Abstract: A color ink jet printer including a print carriage movable along a carriage scan axis and a plurality of color producing ink jet printheads supported by the print carriage and offset relative to each other so that their nozzle arrays are non-overlapping along the media scan axis, such that the nozzle arrays of the ink jet printheads traverse non-overlapping regions as the carriage is scanned along the carriage scan axis.Type: ApplicationFiled: April 21, 1998Publication date: January 3, 2002Applicant: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventors: BRENT W. RICHTSMEIER, ALPHA DOAN, MARK S. HICKMAN
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Publication number: 20010050699Abstract: Micro-stepping a print media transport in an ink-jet hard copy apparatus such that the steps are smaller than the nozzle spacing of the drop generators on a printhead when using multiple printheads per colorant provides a resulting higher resolution pixel placement grid and allows choosing which nozzle to fire on which printing pass in order to optimize drop-to-drop alignment between the like colorant printheads.Type: ApplicationFiled: July 19, 2001Publication date: December 13, 2001Inventor: Mark S. Hickman
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Patent number: 6309062Abstract: In accordance with the invention, an ink-jet printing system and fluid supply configuration are disclosed that utilize the advantages of reactive fluids while allowing for maximum flexibility in the design and architecture of the ink-jet printing system. The ink-jet-printing apparatus includes a printhead portion having at least one integral printhead portion, the printhead portion having at least two ejector portions; and at least one reservoir portion associated with the printhead portion, the reservoir portion having at least two reservoir chambers, each reservoir chamber for providing fluid to one of the at least two ejector portions, one of the chambers including a reactant fluid and the other chamber including at least one ink non-reactive with the reactant fluid.Type: GrantFiled: October 29, 1998Date of Patent: October 30, 2001Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventors: Mark S. Hickman, Ronald A. Askeland
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Patent number: 6299287Abstract: Non-black ink jet printheads are arranged in a printer carriage such that the printhead nozzle arrays are non-overlapping in the carriage swath direction. A fixer printhead is positioned such that the print medium is first advanced past the fixer printhead prior to reaching any of the other printheads. The printheads are selectively driven during each direction of a bi-directional carriage movement, and the print medium is incrementally advanced before each change in carriage movement direction. The order of laying down droplets of different colors is the same during the movement in each direction, thereby eliminating bi-directional hue shifting print artifacts.Type: GrantFiled: January 7, 2000Date of Patent: October 9, 2001Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventors: Kenneth R Williams, Mark S Hickman, Steve O Rasmussen
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Patent number: 6257693Abstract: A method of automatically optimizing the controllable parameters related to producing printed material on a hardcopy output device is provided, along with a hardcopy output device configured for implementing this method. Users require different types of printed objects to have different characteristics. Specifically, business graphics need to be sharp and vivid, photographic images should look realistic, and text must be black, crisp and clear. By extracting, analyzing and conditioning data generated during a printing stream, the various regions of text, graphics and photographic images on a sheet are distinguished, characterized, and printed. The resulting hardcopy output has a custom balancing of color which is pleasing to the human eye for each type of image printed, and which has print characteristics tailored for the specific elements on the page.Type: GrantFiled: April 10, 1997Date of Patent: July 10, 2001Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventors: Steven O. Miller, William J. Allen, David M. Wetchler, Mark S. Hickman
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Patent number: 6244688Abstract: A multi-swath, ink-jet pen carriage and pen arrangement provides optimization for redundant colorant pens. Packing of electrical and fluidic interconnects enables an increased printing throughput with increased color combinations in an apparatus that minimizes product size for a given number of pens in the apparatus.Type: GrantFiled: July 20, 1999Date of Patent: June 12, 2001Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventor: Mark S. Hickman
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Patent number: 6154240Abstract: A method and apparatus for determining media size and width and position by detection on a vacuum platen. Detection is provided by using electrical signals from vacuum ports arranged in an X-Y array in the platen. The electrical signals are capable of interfacing with digital circuitry. The X-Y array of vacuum ports with associated detectors permit the determination of media size, shape, and position with reference to the platen, allowing printing to be contained within the media.Type: GrantFiled: April 19, 1999Date of Patent: November 28, 2000Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventor: Mark S. Hickman
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Patent number: 6154232Abstract: Inkjet pens are combined in a printer so that the swaths printed by individual pens are combined into a resultant, wide swath that increases printer throughput. The print medium is carried on a drum and advanced through the printer. In a preferred embodiment, sets of two pens, each set having the same color of ink, are carried near the drum with the two pens arranged such that the swath of one pen is adjacent to the swath of the other pen in a direction that is parallel to the drum axis. Also provided is a carriage assembly for carrying the pens in the just mentioned arrangement for combining the swath widths of the individual pens. The components of the carriage assembly are such that two pens of the same color ink are precisely positioned relative to each other, thereby to meet a very close tolerance requirement for arranging two pens of the same color.Type: GrantFiled: January 19, 1999Date of Patent: November 28, 2000Assignee: Hewlett-Packard CompanyInventors: Mark S Hickman, Steve O Rasmussen, Kenneth R Williams