Patents by Inventor Ralph A. Petersen

Ralph A. Petersen 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).

  • Patent number: 8625159
    Abstract: A method for detecting errors in individual color separation images of a multi-color printing machine, in particular an electrophotographic printing machine, comprising a plurality of printing units, is described. Using this method, first a plurality of first register lines is printed with a first printing unit, and a plurality of second register lines is printed with a second printing unit in such a manner that each of the first register lines, together with one of said second register lines, is positioned inside a respective registration frame. Then the plurality of the first and second register lines in the respective registration frame are detected with a register sensor, and an output signal of the register sensor relating to the respective second register line is compared with an intensity threshold value in order to determine whether the second register lines can be recognized.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 7, 2014
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Jan D. Boness, Ingo K. Dreher, Heiko Hunold, Ralf Jachmann, Ralph Petersen, Frank Pierel, Stefan Schrader, Matthias Wecker, Tim D'Avis
  • Patent number: 8245638
    Abstract: Color separations of a printing image are aligned on a printing material perpendicular to the transport direction of the printing material. A front edge and a rear edge of a register mark are detected. Their distances and, at least in some regions, their widths along the traveled distance of the transport belt between the detection of the front edge and of the rear edge of the register mark are determined. Misalignments of the imaging devices used for the color separations are determined and corrected using these distances and widths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2005
    Date of Patent: August 21, 2012
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventor: Ralph Petersen
  • Patent number: 8238808
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of ensuring a correct lateral registration setting, in a digital multi-color electrographic sheet-printing machine, which the sheets adhere to a support, preferably a transport belt, are transported past printing units.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 7, 2012
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Jan D. Boness, Ingo K. Dreher, Stefan Schrader, Nikolai Neefe, Ralph Petersen, Bernhard G. Steuernagel, Matthias Prinz, Karlheinz Peter, Norbert Freyer
  • Publication number: 20110063643
    Abstract: A method for detecting errors in individual color separation images of a multi-color printing machine, in particular an electrophotographic printing machine, comprising a plurality of printing units, is described. Using this method, first a plurality of first register lines is printed with a first printing unit, and a plurality of second register lines is printed with a second printing unit in such a manner that each of the first register lines, together with one of said second register lines, is positioned inside a respective registration frame. Then the plurality of the first and second register lines in the respective registration frame are detected with a register sensor, and an output signal of the register sensor relating to the respective second register line is compared with an intensity threshold value in order to determine whether the second register lines can be recognized.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Publication date: March 17, 2011
    Inventors: Jan D. Boness, Ingo K. Dreher, Heiko Hunold, Ralf jachmann, Ralph Petersen, Frank Pierel, Schrader Stefan, Matthias Wecker, Tim D'Avis
  • Patent number: 7812735
    Abstract: In a method for automatically identifying a conveyor belt in a printer as being one of a plurality of belt types, the conveyor belt is moved along a circulatory path. A start and an end of a longitudinal marking on the moving conveyor belt are detected. A distance of travel of the moving conveyor belt between the detecting of the start and the end is sensed to provide a sensed marking length. The sensed marking length is allocated to a nearest of a plurality of nominal marking lengths. Each nominal marking length is associated with a respective one of said belt types. The belt type is associated with or defined by a set of one or more printer control parameters.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Date of Patent: October 12, 2010
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Dirk Kahl, Ralph Petersen, Frank Pierel, Soenke Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20090196662
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method of ensuring a correct lateral registration setting, in a digital multi-color electrographic sheet-printing machine, which the sheets adhere to a support, preferably a transport belt, are transported past printing units.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 10, 2007
    Publication date: August 6, 2009
    Applicant: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
    Inventors: Jan D. Boness, Ingo K. Dreher, Stefan Schrader, Nikolal Neefe, Ralph Petersen, Bernhard G. Steuernaget, Matthias Prinz, Karlheinz Peter, Norbert Freyer
  • Patent number: 7517370
    Abstract: A method of making a battery plate includes mixing particles of tetrabasic lead sulfate with leady oxide to form a paste material. The particles have an average spherical particle diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers. The method also includes providing at least a portion of the paste material on a battery grid curing the battery grid and paste material at a temperature of less than approximately 48 degrees Celsius to produce a battery plate having a cured paste thereon.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 21, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 14, 2009
    Assignee: Johnson Controls Technology Company
    Inventors: Ralph A. Petersen, Ross A. Henning
  • Publication number: 20080115679
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method for aligning color separations of a printing image on a printing material (2), i.e., perpendicular to the transport direction (3) of said printing material (2). Method for aligning color separations on a printing material in a direction (8) transverse to the transport direction (3) of the printing material (2), said method being at least more independent of potential irregularities of the transport speed of the printing material. This is achieved in that a front edge (11,12) and a rear edge (10,13) of a register mark (4-7) are detected by a sensor, and that, their distances and that; at least in some regions, the width (14,15) of the register mark (4-7), along the traveled distance of the transport belt between the detection of the front edge (11,12) and of the rear edge (10,13) of the register mark (4-7), is determined.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 26, 2005
    Publication date: May 22, 2008
    Applicant: EASTMAN KODAK COMPANY
    Inventor: Ralph Petersen
  • Publication number: 20080087868
    Abstract: A method of making a battery plate includes mixing particles of tetrabasic lead sulfate with leady oxide to form a paste material. The particles having an average spherical particle diameter of less than approximately 2.5 micrometers. The method also includes providing at least a portion of the paste material on a battery grid curing the battery grid and paste material at a temperature of less than approximately 48 degrees Celsius to produce a battery plate having a cured paste thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 9, 2007
    Publication date: April 17, 2008
    Inventors: Ralph Petersen, Ross Henning
  • Publication number: 20080061998
    Abstract: In a method for automatically identifying a conveyor belt in a printer as being one of a plurality of belt types, the conveyor belt is moved along a circulatory path. A start and an end of a longitudinal marking on the moving conveyor belt are detected. A distance of travel of the moving conveyor belt between the detecting of the start and the end is sensed to provide a sensed marking length. The sensed marking length is allocated to a nearest of a plurality of nominal marking lengths. Each nominal marking length is associated with a respective one of said belt types. The belt type is associated with or defined by a set of one or more printer control parameters.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 12, 2007
    Publication date: March 13, 2008
    Inventors: Dirk Kahl, Ralph Petersen, Frank Pierel, Soenke Schmidt
  • Publication number: 20070269592
    Abstract: A method of making a battery plate includes mixing particles of tetrabasic lead sulfate with leady oxide to form a paste material. The particles have an average spherical particle diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers. The method also includes providing at least a portion of the paste material on a battery grid curing the battery grid and paste material at a temperature of less than approximately 48 degrees Celsius to produce a battery plate having a cured paste thereon.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 21, 2004
    Publication date: November 22, 2007
    Inventors: Ralph Petersen, Ross Henning
  • Patent number: 7032519
    Abstract: Controlling a sensor mechanism for a printing machine, in which the sensor mechanism in a printing machine detects, in an initial operational mode, at least one mark and the detection of the mark initiates a second operational mode in which the optical density and the color of the mark are detected by the sensor mechanism.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2004
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2006
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Wolfgang Eberhard Luxem, Ralph Petersen
  • Patent number: 6934041
    Abstract: The invention relates to a method and apparatus for minimizing the influence of register differences in multicolor printing, in particular in digital printing processes, register values (1) in the transport direction (2), which are different transversely with respect to this direction being set to a value between the extremes (3, 3?). The invention is intended to carry out a development such that the influence of register differences on the image quality can be minimized reliably and to a great extent. This is achieved by a number of individual values of the register values (1) being measured and an average value (4, 4?) being determined from these and brought into alignment with the average value (4, 4?) from at least one further color printing unit (5, 5?, 5?, 5??).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 16, 2001
    Date of Patent: August 23, 2005
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Christopher Liston, Patrick Metzler, Karlheinz Walter Peter, Ralph Petersen, Ingo Klaus Dreher
  • Publication number: 20050011385
    Abstract: Controlling a sensor mechanism for a printing machine, in which the sensor mechanism in a printing machine detects, in an initial operational mode, at least one mark and the detection of the mark initiates a second operational mode in which the optical density and the color of the mark are detected by the sensor mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2004
    Publication date: January 20, 2005
    Inventors: Wolfgang Luxem, Ralph Petersen
  • Patent number: 6682163
    Abstract: Detection of crosstrack aberrations of registration marks in order to prevent color errors during multicolor printing. The detection of crosstrack aberrations of registration marks is with a single sensor which detects each triangle as a registration mark per color selection, whereby the triangles are each assigned a color of the multicolor printing. Sensor values are detected and formed from these differential values.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2004
    Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLC
    Inventors: Patrick Metzler, Ralph Petersen
  • Patent number: 6532873
    Abstract: Setting registration, with detection of the entry of a printing substrate (2) into a printing machine (1) and calculation of the beginning of digital production of color separations (3, 3′, 3″, 3′″) to achieve an in-register position of the color separation prints (4, 4′, 4″, 4′″) on a printing substrate (2). This is achieved by the printing substrate (2) being detected before it enters the printing machine (1) and, following this detection, the relative positions of the color separations (3, 3′, 3″, 3′″) being calculated, and by precise detection of the leading edge (5) of the printing substrate (2) being performed as it enters the printing machine (1) and being made the basis for determining the starts of the production of the color separations (3, 3′, 3″, 3′″), their relative position having been precalculated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 2001
    Date of Patent: March 18, 2003
    Assignee: NexPress Solutions LLC
    Inventors: Heiko Hunold, Ralph Petersen, Patrick Metzler
  • Publication number: 20030002891
    Abstract: Detection of crosstrack aberrations of registration marks in order to prevent color errors during multicolor printing. The detection of crosstrack aberrations of registration marks is with a single sensor which detects each triangle as a registration mark per color selection, whereby the triangles are each assigned a color of the multicolor printing. Sensor values are detected and formed from these differential values.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 25, 2002
    Publication date: January 2, 2003
    Inventors: Patrick Metzler, Ralph Petersen
  • Patent number: 6493012
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for setting register on a multicolor printing machine (1) having color printing units (6, 6′, 6″, 6″) allocated to various printing inks and having image cylinders (2, 2′), equipment (3, 3′) for producing images, in particular electrostatic latent images, on the image cylinders (2, 2′, . . . ), a carrier (4) for printing substrates (15) and image transfer points (5, 5′, 5″, 5′″) for the transfer of the color separations (7, 7′, . . . ) from the color printing units (6, 6′, 6″, 6′″) to the printing substrates (15), an allocation of the image productions (11, 11′) on the image cylinders (2, 2′, . . . ) to the printing substrates (15) being carried out in order to achieve coincidence of register of the color separations (7, 7′, . . . ) in the print. This is achieved by a time-independent allocation of the positions of the image productions (11, 11′, . . .
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 17, 2001
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2002
    Assignee: Nexpress Solutions LLC
    Inventors: Donald Buch, Ingo Klaus Dreher, Heiko Hunold, Christopher Liston, Patrick Metzler, Michael Mordhorst, Stephan Walter Pareigis, Robert Peffer, Karlheinz Walter Peter, Ralph Petersen, Frank Pierel, John Robert Thompson, Günther Voss
  • Publication number: 20020130461
    Abstract: Detecting the presence of an object, preferably a leaf sheet-shaped or sheet-shaped object on a transport path, especially for preparation and/or control of a processing of the object, preferably for printing the object in a printing machine, especially a digital printer, where the object is transported on the transport path past a sensor device, preferably a photoelectric barrier, for detection and registration of the front edge of the object in the transport direction. After detecting the front edge of the object and/or its entrance into the measurement area, it is checked at least once to determine whether the object continues to be present in the measurement area of the sensor device.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 21, 2002
    Publication date: September 19, 2002
    Inventors: Ralph Petersen, Heiko Hunold, Patrick Metzler
  • Publication number: 20020026252
    Abstract: A computer system for vehicle battery selection based on vehicle operating conditions is disclosed. The computer system allows a user to obtain a prediction of vehicle battery service life when the user inputs a battery, a vehicle in which the battery will be installed and driving habits, and a geographic region in which the vehicle will be operated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 15, 2001
    Publication date: February 28, 2002
    Inventors: William J. Wruck, Ronald C. Miles, Ralph A. Petersen, Arlen P. Walker