Array Patents (Class 347/12)
  • Publication number: 20120120139
    Abstract: When ink is depleted, slow printing is performed, and the print data of one nozzle row is created. If ink is depleted in a first ink cartridge, the print data is set to the nozzle row D, and ink is ejected from the nozzle row D connected to the second ink cartridge in which ink is not depleted, thereby performing the printing. Meanwhile, if ink is depleted in the second ink cartridge, the print data is set to the nozzle row C, and ink is ejected from the nozzle row D connected to the first ink cartridge in which ink is not depleted, thereby performing the printing.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 15, 2011
    Publication date: May 17, 2012
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Takumi Chiba
  • Patent number: 8173223
    Abstract: A method for discharging a liquid material includes performing a scan by moving a discharge target having a film formation area and a plurality of nozzles forming a nozzle row, and discharging a liquid material containing a functional material from the nozzles onto the film formation area by selectively applying one of drive waveforms generated using time division to an energy generation element in synchronization with the scan. The method includes applying a first drive waveform to a first nozzle and a second drive waveform having a different discharge timing to a second nozzle with the second nozzle being adjacent to the first nozzle, and setting the combination of the first and second drive waveforms so that the number of the energy generation elements to which the first drive waveform is applied is the same as the number of the energy generation elements to which the second waveform is applied.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yoichi Miyasaka
  • Patent number: 8172352
    Abstract: A printing apparatus is provided with a line-type ink jet head having a plurality of blocks on each of which a set of ink ejection elements are arranged. A drive signal generating unit is configured to generate a drive voltage signal including a prepulse to be applied to the set of the ink ejection elements for each block, based on data indicating a number of times of ejecting ink to each pixel; and a first storage unit is configured to store a drive signal adjustment value to adjust a set of a voltage value of the drive voltage signal and a width of the prepulse for each block. The drive signal generating unit generates the drive voltage signal for each block, based on the drive signal adjustment value for each block read out from the first storage unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 8, 2012
    Assignee: Riso Kagaku Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiyuki Okada, Asayo Nishimura
  • Patent number: 8164791
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes: a recording head having plural recording elements; a characteristics information acquisition device; a correction calculation device which corrects image data using recording point positional deviation information within acquired characteristics information, and generates image data suppressing a non-uniformity streak in an output image; a nearest recording point specifying device specifying, when image density is outside an output image density range, a second recording element concerning a recording position nearest to a recording position of a first recording element corresponding to first image data outside the output image density range; a sum density calculation device calculating sum density of the first image data and second image data; an image data modification device which preserves the calculated slim density; and a drive control device controlling driving of the recording head in accordance with the corrected image data and modified image data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: April 24, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Sasayama
  • Publication number: 20120081433
    Abstract: A liquid droplet jetting apparatus includes a liquid droplet jetting head which has a liquid droplet jetting surface provided with a plurality of nozzles opening thereon in order to jet liquid droplets of a liquid; a cap member which has a size to cover the openings of the nozzles of the liquid droplet jetting head and which is formed with a suction port; a moving mechanism which moves the cap member to make contact/separation with respect to the liquid droplet jetting surface; a purge mechanism which is connected to the suction port of the cap member and which performs purge to discharge the liquid from the nozzles in a state in which the cap member is brought in contact with the liquid droplet jetting surface; and a controller which controls the liquid droplet jetting head, the moving mechanism, and the purge mechanism.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 23, 2011
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Inventor: Katsunori NISHIDA
  • Publication number: 20120081434
    Abstract: Each of a plurality of unit ejection portions includes a pressure chamber filled with liquid, nozzles which communicate with the pressure chamber, and a piezoelectric vibrator that varies the pressure within the pressure chamber, and ejects ink from each nozzle according to the fluctuation of the pressure within the pressure chamber. A control unit controls the presence or the absence of the minute vibrations to be applied to the pressure chamber at the print period, and causes the respective unit ejection portions to execute the flushing operation so that an ejection quantity of ink by the flushing operation of the unit ejection portion, to which the minute vibrations is applied at the print period, exceeds the ejection quantity of ink by the flushing operation of the unit ejection portion to which the minute vibrations are not applied at the print period.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 29, 2011
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shunya Fukuda
  • Publication number: 20120081432
    Abstract: A stationary pagewidth inkjet printhead has one or more nozzle rows extending along a longitudinal axis of the printhead. Each nozzle is configurable to fire a droplet of ink at a plurality of predetermined different dot positions along the longitudinal axis, and each nozzle has an associated primary dot position. The printhead is configured to compensate for a dead nozzle by printing from a selected functioning nozzle positioned in a same nozzle row as the dead nozzle. The selected functioning nozzle is configured to fire some ink droplets at the primary dot position associated with the dead nozzle and to fire some ink droplets at its own primary dot position.
    Type: Application
    Filed: October 1, 2010
    Publication date: April 5, 2012
    Inventors: Gregory John McAvoy, Emma Rose Kerr, Rónán Pádraig Seán O'Reilly, Vincent Patrick Lawlor, Misty Bagnat
  • Patent number: 8136912
    Abstract: An inspective ejection method using inspective injection data, including unit ejection data and non-ejection data, for causing fluid to be ejected from nozzle orifices of a fluid ejection apparatus. The unit ejection data is used for individually inspecting each of a group of continuous nozzle orifices of a predetermined number M, less than total number Q. The non-ejection data having a length of at least Q?M is continuously added to a leading or trailing side in a unit ejection data reading direction. A transfer start address is selected in the area of the inspective ejection data at an interval of M, while avoiding duplication of the transfer start address. The inspective ejection data is transferred to an ejection driving unit, starting from the selected transfer start address. The selecting transferring steps are repeated a whole number of times that is Q/M or greater, while changing the transfer start address.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Kenichi Nakano
  • Patent number: 8136911
    Abstract: A patterning apparatus for performing highly accurate patterning to substrates continuously transferred is provided. Furthermore, a method for manufacturing an organic electroluminescence element wherein such patterning apparatus is employed, an organic electroluminescence element and an organic electroluminescence display device obtained by using such manufacturing method are provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 4, 2006
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
    Inventors: Yousuke Takashima, Nobuhiko Takashima, Masaaki Murayama
  • Patent number: 8136913
    Abstract: A system evaluates image quality in an image generating system in the presence of digital image noise and/or missing jets. The system includes a test pattern generator configured to generate a test pattern on an image substrate, an image capture device configured to generate a digital image of the generated test pattern on the image substrate, an image evaluator configured to process the digital image and generate a solution for an over-determined matrix of equations formed from differential distance measurements obtained with reference to a jet in the digital image by minimizing the root-mean-square (RMS) of residual errors corresponding to the matrix, and a controller configured to generate a correction parameter from the generated solution and to apply the correction parameter to the jet used for the used for the differential distance measurements.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Andrew S. Yeh, Cary Eric Sjolander
  • Patent number: 8136903
    Abstract: In an ink jet printing apparatus including a plurality of nozzle arrays, if a print position displacement between the nozzle arrays is adjusted, it is possible to perform high-speed printing at the time of performing a printing operation using only a single nozzle array. Specially at the time of changing a printing state of using a first nozzle array and a second nozzle array into a printing state of using the first nozzle array only, a conveying amount of the printing medium is changed in accordance with the displacement of the printing medium.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 20, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Syunichi Kunihiro
  • Patent number: 8132879
    Abstract: An object of this invention is to decrease the amount of ink mist while keeping the image quality high in inkjet printing. To achieve this object, printing is performed by time-divisionally driving, for each block, a plurality of nozzles for discharging ink. In preliminary discharge, the nozzles are so driven as to set the driving time interval between neighboring nozzles to the first time interval. In printing, the nozzles are so driven as to set the driving time interval between neighboring nozzles to the second time interval longer than the first time interval.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 21, 2010
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yusuke Imahashi, Takashi Inoue
  • Patent number: 8132878
    Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus, an ink jet printing method, and a data generating apparatus are provided in which an image performance such as an abrasion resistance can be improved and a printing head can have a longer life by ejecting processing liquid at an appropriate time. The processing liquid is ejected, to a predetermined area on a printing medium in which the formation of a image by ink is completed, from a printing head in two or more scannings in five scannings of the printing heads.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 12, 2008
    Date of Patent: March 13, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Rie Takekoshi, Takao Ogata, Takumi Kaneko, Noboru Kunimine
  • Publication number: 20120056923
    Abstract: Embodiments of methods and apparatus for micro-printing films are disclosed. According to various embodiments, the printing apparatus includes printheads with ink-jets for dispensing droplets of ink formed from a carrier liquid and a print material. The printheads also include thermal-jets for depositing the print material onto a substrate from the droplets of ink dispensed by ink-jets. The droplets of ink dispensed by ink-jets flow into micro-structures on the thermal-jets and the thermal-jets are heated to evaporate the carrier liquid and to vaporize and direct the print material onto a substrate. The printing apparatus further includes a control unit that is configured to automatically adjust an output from one or more printheads based on one or more measured quantities.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 26, 2011
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Applicant: KATEEVA, INC.
    Inventors: Eliyahu Vronsky, Valerie Gassend, Dariusz Golda, Hyeun-Su Kim
  • Publication number: 20120056924
    Abstract: A fluid ejecting apparatus includes a nozzle row in which a plurality of nozzles that eject fluid onto a medium are arranged, a first movement unit that displaces a relative position between the medium and the nozzle row, and a control unit that forms a plurality of dot-lines by repeating a fluid ejection operation in which fluid is ejected so as to form a dot-line, such that a maximum time between when one of the adjacent dot-lines in the plurality of dot-lines is formed to when the other of the adjacent dot-lines is formed is reduced.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 6, 2011
    Publication date: March 8, 2012
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Takeshi YOSHIDA, Masahiko YOSHIDA, Michiaki TOKUNAGA, Tatsuya NAKANO
  • Patent number: 8128187
    Abstract: A recording head includes plural nozzle groups and a second nozzle. Each of the nozzle groups includes plural nozzles that respectively form dots, which make up an image, on a recording medium by discharging droplets. The nozzles are arranged in a straight line that is inclined with respect to a main scan direction at a predetermined angle. The plural nozzle groups are arranged in a sub scan direction such that intervals in the sub scan direction between nozzles adjacent in the sub scan direction are substantially identical and positions in the sub scan direction of nozzles belonging to the respective nozzle groups are substantially aligned. The second nozzle is disposed at a substantially central portion in the main scan direction between adjacent nozzles of nozzle groups adjacent in the sub scan direction so as not to overlap with any other nozzle in the main scan direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 6, 2012
    Assignee: Fujifilm Corporation
    Inventor: Masaaki Konno
  • Patent number: 8123320
    Abstract: An array-type image forming apparatus and a method for compensating an image using the same include an image density determination unit to determine the image density of each line on a page, a storage unit stores one or more threshold values and a control unit compensates the image density by comparing the determined image density of each line and the threshold value. When the image density reaches the threshold value, the control unit modifies the amount of heat supplied to a print head, thus modifying the amount of ink applied to subsequent lines on the page, in order to provide compensation for the image density.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Jin-tae Chung
  • Patent number: 8123321
    Abstract: An image forming apparatus includes a defect position detecting section to detect a defect position at which no recording material is outputted; a defect position specifying section to specify a defect recording element, which resides at the defect position, and a kind of recording material to be outputted by the defect recording element; a mixture ratio determining section to determine a mixture ratio of plural recording materials, so as to make the mixture ratio of a specific recording material to be outputted by plural recording elements residing in a peripheral area of the defect position and including the defect recording element, decrease to a value lower than a normal mixture ratio, while using the normal mixture ratio for other recording elements residing in other areas.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Konica Minolta Holdings, Inc.
    Inventor: Toshiyuki Mizutani
  • Patent number: 8124190
    Abstract: A method for discharging a liquid material includes performing a scan by moving a discharge target having a film formation area and a plurality of nozzles forming a nozzle row with respect to each other, and discharging a liquid material as droplets from the nozzles onto the film formation area by selectively applying one of drive waveforms generated using time division to an energy generation element of each of the nozzles in synchronization with the scan. The discharging of the liquid material includes applying a first drive waveform to a first nozzle of the nozzle row and a second drive waveform having a different discharge timing from the first drive waveform to a second nozzle of the nozzle row with the second nozzle being adjacent to the first nozzle, and changing a combination of the first and second drive waveforms selected from the drive waveforms at least once.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yoichi Miyasaka
  • Patent number: 8123319
    Abstract: The first plurality of nozzles and the second plurality of nozzles in a fluid ejection system are arranged in a plurality of nozzle pairs, each nozzle pair of the plurality of nozzle pairs including a first nozzle from the first plurality of nozzles and an associated second nozzle from the second plurality of nozzles, the first nozzle and associated second nozzle of each nozzle pair spaced apart in a second direction perpendicular to a first direction, the first direction being the direction of movement of a print media, by greater than zero and less than the pixel pitch p and spaced apart in the first direction. A controller is configured to cause the first nozzle and the second nozzle of each nozzle pair to deposit droplets at the same pixel in a line of pixels.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 9, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventors: Paul A. Hoisington, Steven H. Barss
  • Patent number: 8123324
    Abstract: A method for setting up a condition for a drive signal in a liquid ejection head that includes a plurality of linearly-arranged nozzles and driving elements provided for each of the nozzles, includes: calculating an ejection rate for each nozzle relating to a supply of the drive signal under a predetermined condition by using a moving average; classifying the plurality of nozzles into a plurality of groups based on the ejection rate calculated by using the moving average of each nozzle; calculating a proper condition for the drive signal corresponding to each group based on a statistical value of the ejection rate relating to the group; and selecting one proper condition among proper conditions corresponding to the groups so as to set the selected proper condition for each nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 5, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 28, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Sadaharu Komori, Takeshi Ito, Kei Hiruma, Satoru Katagami, Takahiro Imai, Toru Igarashi
  • Publication number: 20120044290
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus may include a recording unit, an ink receiver, and a control unit. The recording unit records an image on a sheet by causing a recording head including a plurality of nozzle arrays to reciprocate along a surface of the sheet in a direction in which the plurality of nozzle arrays is arranged. The ink receiver receives ink ejected outside the sheet in preliminary ejection from the recording head. Depending on a recording region on the sheet and which of the plurality of nozzle arrays is or are to be used for recording, the control unit determines a reversing position at which the recording head is reversed in direction of the reciprocation such that all of the plurality of nozzle arrays pass over the ink receiver in a single scan included in the reciprocation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 28, 2011
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Akiyoshi Sahara, Yasufumi Ogasawara, Takeaki Nakano
  • Publication number: 20120044291
    Abstract: The present invention provides a printing apparatus and a printing method according to which, even when misalignment in mounted print heads or a print medium conveying error has occurred, a high quality image can be printed by performing one-pass printing or multi-pass printing of a time division driving method. In a case wherein a plurality of nozzles are divided into a plurality of blocks to perform time division driving method, the driving order for the plurality of nozzles in the print head is changed in accordance with a displacement of a plurality of nozzles employed to print on the same raster.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 12, 2011
    Publication date: February 23, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Daigoro Kanematsu, Yoshinori Nakajima
  • Patent number: 8118385
    Abstract: A method and apparatus for aligning the printing of dots generated by at least one array of printing elements in an printing apparatus, wherein the method includes the steps of printing a calibration test pattern, scanning the printed calibration test pattern, determining at least one calibration value based on the scanned calibration test pattern, positioning an alignment adjustment tool relative to the array of printing elements of which the alignment needs to be adjusted and, based on the calculated calibration value, automatically adjusting the alignment of the array of printing elements using the alignment adjustment tool.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 19, 2006
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: Agfa Graphics NV
    Inventors: Werner Van de Wynckel, Verhoest Bart
  • Patent number: 8118386
    Abstract: A liquid body discharge device includes: a head; and a plurality of nozzles provided to the head. In the device, a liquid body is discharged from the plurality of nozzles to a liquid body discharged region of a substrate by moving one of the substrate and the head, and the nozzles are aligned in a first alignment direction and a second alignment direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 21, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Kenji Kojima
  • Patent number: 8113614
    Abstract: A recording apparatus for discharging ink from a recording head arraying a plurality of nozzles to execute recording of an image includes a drive unit configured to form a group with a defined number of nozzles so as to include an adjacent nozzle in a different block and to execute time-division driving of the block according to a driving order corresponding to a recording mode, and a recording control unit configured to execute scan recording to a recording medium in a first recording mode or a second recording mode. Each pass of scan recording in the second recording mode is executed using nozzles smaller in number than a number of nozzles used to execute each pass of scan recording in the first recording mode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2010
    Date of Patent: February 14, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masaki Nitta, Hiroaki Shirakawa, Yasunori Fujimoto, Taku Yokozawa
  • Patent number: 8109586
    Abstract: Embodiments of a fluid ejection device are disclosed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 4, 2007
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Trudy Benjamin
  • Patent number: 8109593
    Abstract: A substrate has M×N heater elements divided into N blocks and time divisionally driven in units of the block, and signal lines for supplying M bits of signals for selecting elements to be driven in each block. The signal lines are divided into two groups, each extending toward the center of a heater element array from a start point at either end side of the array in the array direction, and being used to select M/2 elements closest to the end side of the array. In each groups, the M/2 bit signal lines are arranged so that the number of the signal lines is decremented as the distance from the start point increases, and that the remaining signal lines are shifted toward the array. A temperature sensor for the substrate is provided in an empty area produced at a position corresponding to the center of the array by the shift.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 27, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryoji Oohashi, Yoshiyuki Imanaka, Koichi Omata, Takaaki Yamaguchi, Hideo Tamura, Kousuke Kubo
  • Patent number: 8109587
    Abstract: A capacitive load driving circuit including: a filter including an inductor to which an analog driving signal is input, and a capacitor with a fixed capacitance where one electrode is connected the inductor and other electrode grounded; a plurality of capacitive loads connected in parallel to the capacitor, and driven in accordance with the analog driving signal; a conversion section converting a load voltage to a digital signal; a signal processing section generating a predetermined signal for driving the capacitive load, deriving a signal that represents a magnitude of an electric current flowing to the capacitive load from the digital signal and a digital driving signal, subtracting the signal from the predetermined signal, and outputting the subtracted signal as the digital driving signal; and a switching section generating the analog driving signal by performing switching based on the digital driving signal, and outputting the analog driving signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 7, 2012
    Assignee: Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Sunao Ishizaki
  • Publication number: 20120019579
    Abstract: An apparatus includes: a main image nozzle group that forms a main image; a background image nozzle group which has nozzles of a number greater than the main image nozzle group for forming a background image of the main image, and has a first nozzle group situated to one side in a predetermined direction; and a second nozzle group situated to the other side in the predetermined direction, ejects fluid from the main image nozzle group to a first region on which the main image is formed on the medium to form dots, forms dots formed by ejecting fluid from the first nozzle group and dots formed by ejecting fluid from the second nozzle group, in a second region on which an image is formed using fluid forming the background image on the medium and the main image is not formed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2011
    Publication date: January 26, 2012
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hidenori Usuda, Mitsuaki Yoshizawa
  • Patent number: 8096637
    Abstract: A method of drawing on a workpiece by ejecting functional liquid thereon while relatively scanning the workpiece and an ejection head is provided. The method comprises the steps of: a first scanning for drawing in a plurality of first areas along a scanning direction; and a second scanning for drawing in a second area between the plurality of first areas drawn in by the first scanning.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Yoshiaki Murayama, Kenji Kojima
  • Patent number: 8096631
    Abstract: An image-forming apparatus is provided which prevents irregularity of an image density and improves the life of heating elements. In a half of recording heads (a group of recording heads 22K2, 22K4, 22K6 not adjacent to each other), off time T2 is shortened at a timing of PWM renewal 1; in the other recording heads (22K1, 22K3, 22K5, another group of the recording heads not adjacent to each other) the off time T2 is not changed at the timing of PWM renewal 1 but is shortened at the timing of PWM renewal 2. As the result, in the region corresponding to the timing from PWM renewal 1 to PWM renewal 2, the amount of the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles of the recording heads 22K2, 22K4, 22K6 is decreased to decrease slightly invisibly the image density formed by the ink droplets ejected from the nozzles 22K2, 22K4, 22K6.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Canon Finetech Inc.
    Inventor: Miho Kunimatsu
  • Patent number: 8096633
    Abstract: An object of the invention is to provide a liquid droplet ejecting apparatus capable of determining a type of droplet to be ejected through each nozzle at an arbitrary ejection timing, with consideration of not only an influence of droplet ejections at preceding and following ejection timings, but also crosstalk between a nozzle column and another nozzle column. A data generation circuit of the liquid droplet ejecting apparatus includes a first storage unit, a second storage unit, and a droplet type determination unit. The first storage unit stores therein information on a plurality of types of droplets. The second storage unit stores therein time-sequence information of a type of droplet which information associates each ejection timing of each nozzle with one of the types of droplets.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 2009
    Date of Patent: January 17, 2012
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshikazu Takahashi
  • Publication number: 20120001972
    Abstract: A printing apparatus prints by discharging inks from respective nozzle arrays, the printhead having a plurality of nozzle arrays including at least a first nozzle array, a second nozzle array, and a third nozzle array, and the first nozzle array and the second nozzle array being arrayed to be shifted in a nozzle arrayed direction. The printing apparatus controls the first and second nozzle arrays to discharge inks to form a plurality of first patterns. The printing apparatus controls the third nozzle array to discharge inks to form second patterns while changing a shift amount in a direction which intersects with the nozzle arrayed direction with respect to the plurality of first patterns. The printing apparatus calculates an adjustment value required to adjust relative printing positions between the first nozzle array and the third nozzle array in the intersecting direction using the first patterns and the second patterns.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 8, 2011
    Publication date: January 5, 2012
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shingo Nishioka, Akihiro Tomida, Yoshinori Nakajima, Naoki Uchida
  • Publication number: 20120001973
    Abstract: A printer includes a moving section that moves an upstream background color nozzles and an upstream color nozzles in either an outward direction or a returning direction from among intersecting directions that intersect the transporting direction, and moves a downstream background color nozzles and a downstream color nozzles in either the outward direction or the returning direction, and a controlling section that makes the upstream background color nozzles and the upstream color nozzles form a background image, and makes at least the downstream color nozzles form a color image, wherein when the background image is formed, regarding the movement of the upstream background color nozzles and the upstream color nozzles in either the outward direction or the returning direction, the upstream background color nozzles and the upstream color nozzles are made to eject the respective inks thereof to tone the background image.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 5, 2011
    Publication date: January 5, 2012
    Applicant: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tsuyoshi Sano
  • Patent number: 8087760
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head includes a passage unit and an actuator. A nozzle for ejecting liquid and a common liquid chamber are formed in the passage unit. An individual liquid passage formed in the passage unit includes a first passage a pressure chamber, a second passage, and a restricted passage. The first passage communicates between the nozzle and the pressure chamber. The second passage communicates between the pressure chamber and the restricted passage. The restricted passage is smaller than the second passage in the sectional area perpendicular to the flow of the liquid. The actuator can selectively take a first state in which the volume of the pressure chamber is V1 and a second state in which the volume of the pressure chamber is V2 larger than V1. The actuator changes from the first state into the second state and then returns to the first state to eject the liquid from the nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 13, 2007
    Date of Patent: January 3, 2012
    Assignees: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha, Kyocera Corporation
    Inventors: Manabu Hibi, Naoto Iwao, Shin Ishikura
  • Publication number: 20110316918
    Abstract: A liquid ejection head has a recording element including a set of ejection elements. Each of the ejection elements includes a pressure chamber, a supply flow channel connected to the pressure chamber, an ejection energy generating device arranged correspondingly to the pressure chamber, and an ejection port connected to the pressure chamber. The ejection elements constituting the same set have identical ejection operation characteristics. The ejection energy generating devices included in the ejection elements constituting the same set are connected to a common signal wire, and are configured to be applied with the same drive signal through the common signal wire to be simultaneously driven. In the ejection elements constituting the same set, when the ejection energy generating devices are simultaneously driven, liquids are ejected from the pressure chambers through the ejection ports and deposited to a same pixel on an image formation medium in an image formation operation.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 28, 2011
    Publication date: December 29, 2011
    Inventor: Kanji NAGASHIMA
  • Patent number: 8083320
    Abstract: Liquid ejecting apparatuses and image formed methods are provided. In an exemplary embodiment, a liquid ejecting apparatus is provided including a head unit, a movement mechanism, and a control section. The head unit has along a first direction a plurality of heads, in which a plurality of nozzles that eject a liquid onto a medium are lined up in the first direction, and the head unit forms a single raster line by ejecting the liquid while performing m number of movements relative to the medium in a second direction, which intersects the first direction. The movement mechanism causes the head unit to perform a plurality of movements relative to the medium alternately in the second direction and the first direction. The control section forms an image having a resolution that is n times a pitch of the nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 18, 2008
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Masahiko Yoshida, Takeshi Yoshida, Michiaki Tokunaga, Tatsuya Nakano
  • Patent number: 8083310
    Abstract: A liquid droplet ejecting apparatus includes an ejecting head configured to eject liquid droplets onto an ejected target element to form a of dots arranged at predetermined dot intervals in dot columns. The liquid droplet ejecting head has a flow passage unit including individual flow passages including a first individual flow passage and a second individual flow passage, at least one common liquid chamber in fluid communication with each individual flow passage; and a plurality of nozzles, including a first nozzle fluidly communicating with the first individual flow passage and a second nozzle fluidly communicating with the second flow passage. A control unit causes a liquid droplet to be ejected from the first nozzle, then moves the ejecting head less than the dot interval, then subsequently suspends the first nozzle from ejecting, and ejects a liquid droplet from the second nozzle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 27, 2011
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshikazu Takahashi, Shin Hasegawa
  • Publication number: 20110310150
    Abstract: A printing device performs band printing during two-way printing, wherein the band printing uses black pigment ink and dye ink. In this printing device, in an advancing printed area for which a print head moves in an advancing direction, pigment ink dots are formed first and dye ink dots are formed second. In a retreating printed area for which the print head moves in a retreating direction, dye ink dots are formed first and pigment ink dots are formed second.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 18, 2011
    Publication date: December 22, 2011
    Applicant: SEIKO EPSON CORPORATION
    Inventors: Naoki SUDO, Mai KUBOTA, Akito SATO
  • Patent number: 8079663
    Abstract: A printhead having at least first and second rows of print nozzles. Each nozzle has first circuitry of a first type arranged asymmetrically to second circuitry of a second type. The respective positions of the first and second circuitry of each nozzle of the first row are arranged mirrored with respect to the first and second circuitry of each nozzle of the second row.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 2010
    Date of Patent: December 20, 2011
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Mark Jackson Pulver, Michael John Webb, John Robert Sheahan, Simon Robert Walmsley
  • Publication number: 20110304664
    Abstract: An element substrate capable of independently confirming an electrical connection status with a logic power source without increasing costs due to increasing the number of terminals or the like. The element substrate includes a connection status output circuit that outputs a signal in response to a connection status of a logic power source input terminal, or a connection status of input terminals of each of a print signal, a clock signal, a drive signal, and a latch signal, and a connection status output terminal that outputs an output signal from the connection status output circuit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 18, 2011
    Publication date: December 15, 2011
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kousuke Kubo, Yoshiyuki Imanaka, Koichi Omata, Souta Takeuchi, Takaaki Yamaguchi
  • Patent number: 8075076
    Abstract: A signal processing apparatus has a first circuit board having a digital/analog converter, a second circuit board having an operational amplifier, a connector connecting the first circuit board and the second circuit board, a transmitter on the first circuit board, and a controller on the second circuit board. The digital/analog converter converts, to an analog signal, a digital signal as a reference of a voltage to be applied to a capacitive load and outputs the analog signal. The operational amplifier is connected to the capacitive load at an output terminal thereof via a switching element, and amplifies the voltage of the analog signal to output. The transmitter transmits a predetermined signal to the second circuit board via the connector. The controller prevents the voltage of the analog signal from being applied to the capacitive load when the predetermined signal is not received in the second circuit board.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 26, 2009
    Date of Patent: December 13, 2011
    Assignee: Fujifilm Coporation
    Inventor: Hiroyuki Ootsuka
  • Publication number: 20110298852
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes a recording head having three rows of nozzles which are three-phase driven and arranged in a staggered arrangement. The nozzles are arranged in the main scanning direction at an interval of L/3, where L is a pixel pitch, and each nozzle row is ejection-driven in the sequence from the last nozzle row to the forward nozzle row in the moving direction of the recording head. The recording head scans at a moving speed of 2×L×f, where f is an ejection frequency per nozzle row. After the completion of one scan, the recording medium is moved a distance of predetermined multiples of the pixel pitch in the sub-scanning direction, and in the next scan, ink is ejected onto the recording medium at pixel positions other than the pixel position on which the ink has landed in preceding scans.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 12, 2010
    Publication date: December 8, 2011
    Inventors: Hiroaki Arakawa, Takahiro Matsuzawa
  • Patent number: 8072622
    Abstract: A printer 1 has an I/F section 31 for receiving data from a PC 2, a parameter-deriving section 35b for deriving a control constant on the basis of print setting information included in the received data, and a printer section 11 which performs printing operation on the basis of the print setting information, the control constant, and print data included in the received data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2005
    Date of Patent: December 6, 2011
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Takuya Yasue, Shuichi Shima, Reiko Nomura
  • Patent number: 8068262
    Abstract: An imaging system for processing a media includes a media transport path, an imaging station, a displacement device that controllably displaces the media along the media transport path relative to the imaging station, and a controller assembly. The controller assembly includes a feedback filter, a feedforward filter, a low-pass filter and a memory that stores and time delayed releases control data. During operation, the displacement device is actuated in response to an actuation command generated by the controller assembly. The actuation command has a feedback component based on a filtering by the feedback filter of an error signal including information about the position error between a desired and an actual position of the media and a feedforward component based on a time delayed, low-pass filtered, frequency dependent filtering of the error signal by the feedforward filter. The feedforward filter is configured such that the closed-loop controlled characteristics of the displacement device are compensated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 12, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 29, 2011
    Assignee: OCE-Technologies B.V.
    Inventors: Stefan A. C. J. Winteraeken, Franciscus J. W. M. Wolters
  • Patent number: 8057862
    Abstract: A method for jetting color ink includes determining an initial voltage value of a nozzle, wherein the initial voltage value corresponds to a predetermined jetting volume of the nozzle; determining a maximum adjusting voltage value of the nozzle, wherein the maximum adjusting voltage value may correspond to an allowable error value of the predetermined jetting volume; combining the initial voltage value with an adjusting voltage value to obtain a jetting voltage, wherein the adjusting voltage value may be randomly selected between zero to the maximum adjusting voltage value; and jetting the color ink from the nozzle according to the jetting voltage onto a sub-pixel in a pixel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: AU Optronics Corporation
    Inventors: Wen-Lung Chen, Shu-Chin Lee, Wei-Ya Wang
  • Patent number: 8057004
    Abstract: A printhead assembly is provided having a plurality of print nozzle integrated circuits, an electrical connector for connecting electrical signals to the print nozzle integrated circuits, and drive electronics having electrical contacts for electrical connection to the electrical connector, input contacts for receiving print data, and a plurality of controllers for processing the print data. Each controller is connected to a predetermined number of the print nozzle integrated circuits via the electrical contacts and being interconnected to the other controllers. The drive electronics are selected from a range of drive electronics, each having a different number of the interconnected controllers configured to each process the print data applicable to a selected number of the print nozzle integrated circuits such that the ratio of controllers to print nozzle integrated circuits can be varied to change the print speed of the printhead assembly.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 10, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: Silverbrook Research Pty Ltd
    Inventors: Kia Silverbrook, Norman Micheal Berry, Garry Raymond Jackson, Akira Nakazawa
  • Patent number: 8057002
    Abstract: Provided is an ink-jet head and an ink-jet type recording apparatus for improving an impact position accuracy of ink droplets by eliminating a discharge speed difference of ink droplets when an ink volume is changed gradually in a plurality of steps to perform gradation expression. Among discharge pulse signals to be applied a plurality of times for gradually changing and discharging the ink droplet volume, a signal waveform of a final drive pulse and a signal waveform of an initial drive pulse to be operated at least once before the final drive pulse, are varied from each other so as to establish a predetermined relation therebetween.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 10, 2008
    Date of Patent: November 15, 2011
    Assignee: SII Printek Inc.
    Inventors: Osamu Koseki, Yuki Yamamura
  • Patent number: 8052277
    Abstract: An inkjet image forming apparatus having an array type print head to stably deliver a printing medium through a printing zone. The inkjet image forming apparatus includes an array type print head including a nozzle part to discharge ink to a printing zone, a first rolling unit having a first nip portion to nip the printing medium, wherein the first nip portion is disposed before the printing zone to deliver the printing medium to the printing zone, and a second rolling unit having a second nip portion to nip the printing medium, wherein the second nip portion is disposed downstream of the first rolling unit in a delivery direction of the printing medium. A distance between the first nip portion and the second nip portion is less than or equal to 3 inches.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 28, 2009
    Date of Patent: November 8, 2011
    Assignee: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Young Choon Kim, Heon Soo Park, Chang Shin Park, Karp Sik Youn, Myung Song Jung