Full-line Array Patents (Class 347/13)
  • Patent number: 6139126
    Abstract: An information recording apparatus has a large plurality of heat energy generating elements corresponding to a like plurality of ejection ports for ejecting ink. The heat energy generating elements cause a change in the state of the ink by heating the ink in response to a drive signal, thereby ejecting ink droplets from corresponding ejection ports. A selection signal sequentially selects from among plural groups of plural heat energy generating element and an information storing device stores recording information, portions of which correspond respectively to selected groups of the heat energy generating elements. A drive circuit supplies drive signals to the selected groups of heat energy generating elements, the drive signals for each group being supplied in accordance with the corresponding stored portion of the recording information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1993
    Date of Patent: October 31, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naoki Ayata, Yoshiaki Shirato, Yasushi Takatori, Mitsuaki Seki
  • Patent number: 6120122
    Abstract: An inkjet recording apparatus includes K ejection electrodes and K gate electrodes corresponding to the K ejection electrodes, respectively, which are located at a distance from the K ejection electrodes. The K gate electrodes are divided into M blocks each having N gate electrodes electrically connected in common. A first voltage pulse is applied to a selected one of N groups each formed by electrically connecting an i.sup.th (1.ltoreq.i.ltoreq.N) ejection electrode for each block to each other and a second voltage pulse is applied to a selected one of the M blocks. A voltage difference is generated between a group and a block which are selected from the N groups and the M blocks depending on an input signal, wherein the voltage difference is equal to or greater than a minimum voltage difference which causes ejection of an ejection electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 18, 1997
    Date of Patent: September 19, 2000
    Assignee: NEC Corporation
    Inventors: Hitoshi Takemoto, Tadashi Mizoguchi, Junichi Suetsugu, Hitoshi Minemoto, Kazuo Shima, Yoshihiro Hagiwara, Toru Yakushiji
  • Patent number: 6108101
    Abstract: A printing method is provided for use with a printer which reads and then outputs to a printer head a fixed number of bits at a time so as to permit the printer to use a printer head having a number of nozzles which is different than the fixed number of bits. According to this technique, bit data corresponding to an image band to be printed is obtained, the band including multiple pixel arrays, the pixels in each pixel array being arranged in a manner similar to the nozzles in a printer head. In a first loading step, bit data for m pixels of an i-th pixel array are loaded into a register in the printer head, m being a predetermined integer, and i being an arbitrary integer. In a second loading step, bit data for n pixels of an (i+1)-th pixel array are loaded into the register in the printer head, n being a predetermined integer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 22, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Peter L. Cheng, Tetsuya Kawanabe, Hiroyuki Ueda
  • Patent number: 6102510
    Abstract: A recording head system for an ink jet recording apparatus having a full-line recording head. The recording head is divided into a variable number of blocks. The recording ratio of each block (that is, the ratio of the number of ink ejecting elements to be driven in a block in accordance with recording data to the total number of the ink ejecting elements in the block) is compared with a reference recording ratio. When the recording ratio is greater than the reference recording ratio, the interval between the drive timing of a block and that of the next block is lengthened, or vise versa. This is performed by controlling the enable timing of each block by D-flip-flops, AND gates and delay circuits. Unevenness of recorded images resulting from the fluctuation in periodic ink pressure can be ameliorated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 31, 1992
    Date of Patent: August 15, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masaya Kikuta, Akira Katayama, Hideaki Kishida, Kimiyuki Hayasaki
  • Patent number: 6062666
    Abstract: An ink jet recording method and ink jet recording apparatus used for recording in the method. The ink jet recording apparatus has an ink jet head which is provided with a plurality of elemental substrates having a plurality of discharge energy generating elements arranged in a line. The substrates are arranged in the direction of the line. The method includes selecting blocks of discharge energy generating elements to be ready for driving one after another continuously and causing the position to start the driving cycle for the discharge energy generating elements to be at a center portion of each of the elemental substrates away from respective seamed portions between the elemental substrates.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 16, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kouichi Omata, Yutaka Koizumi, Toshio Kashino, Seiichiro Karita, Haruhiko Terai, Hiroki Tajima, Masaru Iketani
  • Patent number: 6056385
    Abstract: An ink jet recording head has an energy generating device line constituted by electrically connecting N (N>1) energy generating devices in series. The energy generating devices are disposed to correspond to a plurality of discharge ports for discharging ink and generate discharging energy. The energy generating device line is operated by using substantially N+1 electrodes. The method of operating an ink-jet recording head comprises the steps of: successively selecting the energy generating devices of the energy generating device line; applying voltages of different levels to the two terminals of the selected energy generating device having received an image signal instructing the selected energy generating device to discharge the ink; and applying voltages of the same level to the two ends of the energy generating device which corresponds to the discharge ports which are not to discharge the ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 30, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 2, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuyuki Tamura
  • Patent number: 6048058
    Abstract: An ink jet head includes a plurality of ejection orifices for ejecting ink; a common liquid chamber for storing temporarily the ink to be supplied to each of the ejection orifices; a plurality of ink passages, being separated by liquid passage walls, and each of which connects one of the ejection orifices to the common liquid chamber; and a plurality of energy generating elements provided one for one in each of the ink passages for generating energy to eject the ink from each of the ejection orifices; wherein the ejection orifices are grouped into a plurality of control blocks comprising a predetermined number of the ejection orifices in sequence so that the energy generating elements are driven by the block; and wherein walls are provided in the common liquid chamber, at the dividing lines between the control blocks, for impeding the ink movement in the liquid chamber, between the adjacent blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 15, 1997
    Date of Patent: April 11, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masami Kasamoto, Hiroshi Sugitani, Yasuroh Kashima, Kazuaki Masuda, Tsuyoshi Orikasa, Hiroyuki Ishinaga, Makiko Kimura, Seiichiro Karita, Jun Kawai, Teruo Arashima, Yuji Kamiyama
  • Patent number: 6036297
    Abstract: Disclosed are a method and apparatus for correcting a full-line printhead, which has a high printing quality, at a high yield, as well as a printhead corrected by this apparatus and a printer using this printhead. Monitoring units are provided to monitor an offset in connections of heater boards connected by a board arraying unit, a variation in the diameters, grooves and shapes of nozzles formed by a top-board machining unit which machines the top board, an offset in bonding between a base plate and the top board performed by a top-board bonding unit, a variation in the resistance value of each printing element measured by an electrical-characteristic measuring unit, and an unevenness of pixels printed by each of the printing elements inspected by a print inspection unit. Correction data is generated upon taking into account the degree of influence which these factors exert upon the printhead, and the correction data is written in an EEPROM provided within the printhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 19, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 14, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Kimiyuki Hayasaki
  • Patent number: 6033051
    Abstract: An ink-jet printing apparatus is capable of restricting recovering operation for a printing head into necessary minimum times for preventing defect to be caused upon printing, limit waste ink amount and avoid possibility of damaging the printing head. Thus, the apparatus divides nozzles having nozzle number of 1 to 512 into 8 nozzle blocks. With respect to each nozzle block, number of ink ejection data in the corresponding image data is integrated. When the integrated value becomes greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the recovering operation is taken place for the printing head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: March 7, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Mineo Kaneko
  • Patent number: 6027203
    Abstract: A page wide printhead for an ink-jet printer includes a plurality of ink-jet nozzles exceeding the number of nozzles used to print across the widest sheet of material to be printed by the printer. The excess nozzles permit the mounting tolerances for printheads to be relaxed so that only selected ones of the nozzles of mounted printheads are within a print site for printing the widest sheet of material to be printed. By selecting those nozzles within the maximum print site for operation of the printer, the sheet wide printheads are effectively mounted with a much higher precision than the relaxed tolerances permit so that ink-jet printers having sheet wide printheads can be economically manufactured. The identification of the nozzles within the maximum print site is performed by printing marks, preferably vertical lines, on a sheet of material and comparing the printed marks to an indicia representing the nominal location for a given picture element (pel).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2000
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventor: Michael Clark Campbell
  • Patent number: 6025929
    Abstract: Inputted image data is subjected to image processing by the matching unit 513, luminance-density conversion unit 514, input correction unit 515, masking unit 516, head shading (HS) processing unit 517, tone reproduction curve (TRC) processing unit 518 and binarize processing unit 519. The selecting unit 133 controls at least the on/off of the process operation of the HS processing unit 517 and a binarization method of the binarize processing unit 519, in accordance with an image process condition set by the setting unit 14. On account of the above, when an image is printed, it is possible to easily set image quality and processing speed that is suitable for the usage of an output image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 16, 1997
    Date of Patent: February 15, 2000
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Nobuyuki Nakajima, Satoru Yamada
  • Patent number: 5988785
    Abstract: A recording apparatus for recording by using a recording head having a plurality of recording elements comprises a generation circuit for generating an enable signal for enabling the drive of the recording elements, and a supply circuit for sequentially supplying the generated enable signals to recording element groups each including one or a plurality of adjacent recording elements. The supply circuit supplies the enable signals to the adjacent recording element groups in partially overlapped manner whereby the enable signals partially overlap.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 16, 1994
    Date of Patent: November 23, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akira Katayama
  • Patent number: 5971518
    Abstract: The invention is directed to a method of printing on a print medium using an ink jet printer. The ink jet printer includes a printhead assembly having a plurality of ink emitting nozzles. Ink is jetted onto the print medium from the printhead assembly during a first mode of operation using a first available set of the nozzles. Ink is jetted onto the print medium from the printhead assembly during a second mode of operation using a second available set of the nozzles, dependent upon a physical operating parameter of the ink jet printer. The second available set of nozzles has a smaller number of the nozzles than the first available set of nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 1997
    Date of Patent: October 26, 1999
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: John Philip Bolash, Stephen Kelly Cunnagin, Thomas Jon Eade, Scott Michael Heydinger, Timothy John Rademacher
  • Patent number: 5969730
    Abstract: A printer includes a full-line type printhead which can correct variations in the ink discharge amounts from the respective nozzles, and density unevenness of a printed image due to variations in the operations of many driving circuits in the printhead and changes in the internal temperature or a temperature gradient of the printhead, and can obtain a high-quality printed image without density unevenness in consideration of the print conditions and changes in operation environmental temperature. A pre-heating operation is performed by selecting an optimal pre-pulse signal for each nozzle of the printhead on the basis of information stored in an EEPROM of the printhead and pre-pulse selection data associated with each nozzle of the printhead. A heat signal is also generated to obtain a main pulse suitable for each IC of a printhead corresponding to an ink of each color. In addition, the internal temperature of the printhead or printing density information from the printhead is monitored.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 1995
    Date of Patent: October 19, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Aptex Inc.
    Inventors: Shigeru Inose, Fumio Miyahara, Hideaki Kishida, Yasuhiro Hamada
  • Patent number: 5929879
    Abstract: An ink jet head for effecting recording by selectively ejecting ink onto a recording material, includes an array of ejection outlets; a plurality of ink flow paths each having an ejection energy generating element for ejecting the ink, the ink flow paths being in fluid communication with ejection outlets; a common liquid chamber for supplying the ink to the a plurality of ink flow paths; wherein the plurality of the ejection energy generating elements are grouped into blocks of a predetermined number of ejection energy generating elements, and actuation timing for the ejection energy generating elements is deviated for each blocks; wherein the ejection outlets have different opening angles for respective blocks in a direction of reducing deviation of recording positions between respective blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 27, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Seiichiro Karita, Hiroshi Sugitani, Yasuroh Kashima
  • Patent number: 5926201
    Abstract: A driver chip for use in an LED or other multi-element recording printhead includes a plurality of current driver channels. Data for determining recording durations for each of the current driver channels is provided on a data bus. A token bit is shifted through a shift register in association with image data to be latched by registers corresponding to a specific driver channel. The driver chip is operational in different recording resolution modes so that it may be connected to recording arrays of different resolutions. When operational in other than its highest or higher resolution, a by-pass signal is generated causing the token bit to by-pass certain stages of the shift register.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 28, 1995
    Date of Patent: July 20, 1999
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Paul John Fleming, Michael William Mattern, Carl Michael Petruzelli
  • Patent number: 5909229
    Abstract: There is provided an ink jet recording apparatus such as a bubble jet recording apparatus, comprising: an ink jet recording head in which a plurality of groups each consisting of a plurality of emission ports which are simultaneously driven are continuously arranged; a detector to detect an edge of an input image; and a second driver for sequentially changing the driving order of the groups or sequentially driving the groups which are not neighboring in accordance with the result of the edge detection by the detector. The recording head causes a volume change by an action of a heat energy which is generated from a recording element such as an electrothermal converting element or a thermal resistor element by supplying a pulse-shaped current thereto, thereby emitting an ink droplet from each opening. The recording apparatus uses a plurality of recording elements which are divided into a plurality of blocks and are driven at different timings for every block.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 31, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 1, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Haruhiko Moriguchi, Nobuyuki Watanabe, Hisashi Fukushima
  • Patent number: 5907666
    Abstract: A host computer offsets data for each color to be recorded in a sub-scanning direction in accordance with the quantities of offset of recording elements for a plurality of colors in a sub-scanning direction relative to recording elements for any one of the plurality of colors and transfers the offset data to be recorded to a recording apparatus so that a system is disclosed for improving efficiency in using a memory in a case where a recording head is used which has the plurality of recording elements for recording the plurality of colors, the recording elements being offset in a predetermined direction.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: May 25, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kentaro Yano, Naoji Otsuka, Kiichiro Takahashi, Osamu Iwasaki, Daigoro Kanematsu
  • Patent number: 5903289
    Abstract: A head drive controller resets a counter which counts a clock signal in synchronism with a timing signal in synchronism with a discharge pulse signal, and raises the drive pulse-width signal which drives the nozzles of each color of the recording head 1. The controller makes the driving pulse-width signal fall in accordance with the result of comparators. The recording head which discharges a plurality of colors of ink records image data read from an image memory in a predetermined order. Accordingly, a compact printer capable of a color printing can provided at the low cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 19, 1994
    Date of Patent: May 11, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yoshiaki Takayanagi
  • Patent number: 5873661
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a recording head. The recording head is provided with a recording device string made up of a plurality of recording elements. The recording device string is arranged at a specified angle in relation to the direction perpendicular to the direction in which the recording head moves. A plurality of recording elements is divided into a plurality of blocks and sequentially driven in units of blocks at a specified interval. When recording is performed from a position other than an end of the recording device string, the drive sequence of the blocks is changed. The block including the recording element corresponding to a recording start position is first driven and recording data is read with the effective use of a signal line in a data bus.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 19, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 23, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Takayuki Murata, Hiroshi Fukui, Shinichi Omo, Akira Kuronuma, Masahiko Umezawa
  • Patent number: 5867200
    Abstract: A print head of this invention has a plurality of heater boards, and each heater board has a plurality of heating resistors, driver circuits corresponding to the heating resistors, one shiftregister for inputting serial data, a data latch circuit for latching print data input from the shift register, a pre-heat data latch circuit for latching selection data of selecting one or several of pre-heat signals input from the shift register, and a pre-heat selection circuit for selecting one or a plurality of pre-heat signals in accordance with the selection data latched in the pre-heat data latch circuit. In a print operation, one or several of the plurality of input pre-heat signals are selected to pre-heat the heating resistors, and when a main heat signal is input thereafter, the heating resistors are driven in accordance with the print data latched by the data latch circuit, thus performing the print operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 1995
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroki Tajima, Yutaka Koizumi, Toshio Kashino, Seiichiro Karita, Haruhiko Terai, Kouichi Omata, Masaru Iketani
  • Patent number: 5867183
    Abstract: An ink jet printing apparatus includes a printhead controller including a printhead driver circuit having a set of ink jet nozzle control outputs and a printhead select circuit having a plurality of printhead select outputs. A plurality of printheads are provided, wherein each printhead includes a plurality of ink jet nozzles, a plurality of individually controllable ink jet nozzle firing circuits, and a printhead enable circuit, wherein the printhead enable circuit is electrically coupled between the plurality of individually controllable ink jet nozzle firing circuits and the set of ink jet nozzle control outputs, and wherein the printhead enable circuit is electrically coupled to one of the plurality of printhead select outputs and enables the electrical conduction of the plurality of controllable ink jet nozzle firing circuits upon receipt of a printhead select signal from one of the printhead select outputs of the printhead select circuits.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 1996
    Date of Patent: February 2, 1999
    Assignee: Lexmark International, Inc.
    Inventors: Robert Wilson Cornell, George Keith Parish, Lawrence Russell Steward, David Steven Waldrop
  • Patent number: 5825375
    Abstract: A system for ink jet printing of messages on articles being fed forward one after another in a predetermined path. A terminal includes a keyboard for entering message data representative of the messages. A controller interconnected with the terminal processes the message data received from the terminal and stores the message data for the messages. The controller has an output port for providing serial output data in a bit map format representative of the messages. A plurality of ink jet printheads are serially connected and positioned adjacent the path of the articles to print the messages on the articles in response to the serial output data. A single cable connects the output port of the controller to the first printhead for providing the output data to the first printhead. A separate cable interconnects each printhead to its next succeeding printhead for serially providing the data to the remaining printheads so that the printheads are connected in a daisy chain configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 1996
    Date of Patent: October 20, 1998
    Assignee: Diagraph Corporation
    Inventors: Jimmy L. Droit, Ronald J. Johnsen, Mark V. Reinders, Mark K. Virkus
  • Patent number: 5798779
    Abstract: An ultrasonic printing method by which recording of a high resolution can be achieved. In the ultrasonic printing method, some or all of a plurality of ultrasonic oscillators are selectively driven in such phases that a difference in phase at a predetermined point between a reference ultrasonic wave from one of the selected ultrasonic oscillators and another ultrasonic wave from any other one of the selected ultrasonic oscillators is equal to or less than one-fourth a wavelength of the ultrasonic waves in a transmission medium for the ultrasonic waves from the selected ultrasonic waves to the predetermined point. The ultrasonic printing method can be applied to various printing apparatus for which recording of a high resolution is required.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 14, 1995
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1998
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Hirofumi Nakayasu, Yoshihiko Kaiju, Kotaro Kameya, Takaki Shimura, Atsuo Iida, Toshifumi Tanida
  • Patent number: 5798772
    Abstract: There is provided a driving method for an ink jet head comprising one or more discharge ports for discharging the ink, a substrate incorporating one or more heat generating elements for generating the heat energy, each of which is provided correspondent to each discharge port, and a support plate or casing on which the substrate is mounted. The method is characterized in that when recording an image with the ink jet head in which the heat energy for discharging the ink in accordance with an image signal is generated in the heat generating elements, and the thermal resistance value passing through said support plate or casing is lower than that not passing through the support plate or casing among the thermal resistance between the substrate and externally of the apparatus (E.sub.max -E)/(V.sub.max -V) is controlled to be always substantially constant whenever E.noteq.E.sub.max, providing that the thermal energy generated in the substrate is E.sub.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 19, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 25, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Masayoshi Tachihara, Yasuyuki Tamura
  • Patent number: 5760796
    Abstract: A liquid injection recording head includes an integrated drive circuit a recording current energization time for electrothermal conversion elements. The setting circuit has a counter. The recording current energization time data can be set in the counter in the setting circuit in synchronism with a signal obtained by frequency-dividing a recording data transfer clock or with this clock signal supplied to a circuit arranged in the integrated drive circuit to align recording data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 9, 1994
    Date of Patent: June 2, 1998
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kimiyuki Hayasaki, Hideaki Kishida, Akira Katayama
  • Patent number: 5742305
    Abstract: An inkjet page-wide-array "PWA" printer element includes memory resident on its printbar. The printbar memory offloads an otherwise excessive PWA printhead data throughput requirement enabling print speed to approach nozzle speed. Instead of transferring dot data from printer memory directly to printhead nozzle circuitry, dot data is first transferred from printer memory to printbar memory. Dot data then is transferred from printbar memory to the nozzle circuitry. Printbar memory is organized as a plurality of memory planes (i.e., 2 or more). Each plane stores dot data for one or more dot lines. For a 20 kHz nozzle speed, 600 dpi resolution, and an 11 inch printhead, dot data is transferred from printer memory to the printbar memory's first plane at a rate less than 140 MHz. Dot data then is transferred from the first plane to the second plane in one parallel transfer. For a two-plane embodiment dot data then is output from the second plane to respective nozzles to sustain printing at nozzle speed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 1995
    Date of Patent: April 21, 1998
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard
    Inventor: David E. Hackleman
  • Patent number: 5671002
    Abstract: In an LED head operated on a time sharing basis, a multiplexer switches resistances for determining LED currents on LED arrays and assigns appropriate resistance to each array. The multiplexer is operated by block select signals of a block select circuit for time sharing operation, where the number of resistances corresponds to the number of blocks. The multiplexer capacity may also be less than the number of blocks, where the number of resistances less than the number of blocks and the same resistances correspond to more than one block. Output dispersions between arrays are adjusted by appropriate assignment of the resistances. sharing operation. Capacity of the multiplexer correspond to the number of blocks required for time. Gray scale printing is achieved by switching the current determining resistances in accordance with shading degree of image with the multiplexer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 27, 1996
    Date of Patent: September 23, 1997
    Assignee: Kyocera Corporation
    Inventor: Shunji Murano
  • Patent number: 5619234
    Abstract: An ink-jet recording apparatus which includes a recording medium for carrying an electrostatic image, an ink-ejecting section opposing the recording medium and located in non-contact state with respect to the recording medium medium, and having an ink holding section for holding ink and an opening section for ejecting ink, at least one counter electrode located in the ink-ejecting section to be immersed in ink. The ink is ejected by virtue of an electric field between the electrostatic image formed on the recording medium and the counter electrode.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 15, 1994
    Date of Patent: April 8, 1997
    Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
    Inventors: Hitoshi Nagato, Tsutomu Saito, Shuzo Hirahara, Tetuo Okuyama, Satoshi Takayama, Sakae Tamura, Shunsuke Hattori, Hideki Nukada
  • Patent number: 5612723
    Abstract: There is provided an ultrasonic printer in which convergent ultrasounds are radiated to emit an ink near a convergent point of the convergent ultrasounds in the form of an ink droplet and deposit the ink droplet on a recording medium such as a paper sheet, thereby performing a recording on the recording medium with multiple ink dots, with higher resolution. The ultrasonic printer has a plurality of ultrasonic transducers which transmit phase-controlled ultrasonic waves to form an convergent ultrasonic acoustic beam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 18, 1997
    Assignee: Fujitsu Limited
    Inventors: Takaki Shimura, Atsuo Iida, Yoshihiko Kaiju, Hirofumi Nakayasu, Masao Hiyane
  • Patent number: 5608431
    Abstract: A driving integrated circuit for a recording head, is carried on the recording head on which a plurality of recording elements are mounted. The recording elements are selectively driven in accordance with an input recording data signal and a control signal. At least a portion of transmission paths of the input recording data signal and the control signal has bidirectivity.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 4, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideaki Kishida, Akira Katayama
  • Patent number: 5606349
    Abstract: A system for ink jet printing of messages on articles being fed forward one after another in a predetermined path. A terminal includes a keyboard for entering message data representative of the messages. A controller interconnected with the terminal processes the message data received from the terminal and stores the message data for the messages. The controller has an output port for providing serial output data in a bit map format representative of the messages. A plurality of ink jet printheads are serially connected and positioned adjacent the path of the articles to print the messages on the articles in response to the serial output data. A single cable connects the output port of the controller to the first printhead for providing the output data to the first printhead. A separate cable interconnects each printhead to its next succeeding printhead for serially providing the data to the remaining printheads so that the printheads are connected in a daisy chain configuration.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 25, 1997
    Assignee: Diagraph Corporation
    Inventors: Jimmy L. Droit, Ronald J. Johnsen, Mark V. Reinders, Mark K. Virkus
  • Patent number: 5604519
    Abstract: Described is an ink delivery system for an array of nozzle orifices in a print cartridge comprising an ink reservoir; a substrate having a plurality of individual ink firing chambers with an ink firing element in each chamber; an ink channel connecting said reservoir with said ink firing chambers, said channel including a primary channel connected at a first end with said reservoir and at a second end to a secondary channel; a separate inlet passage for each firing chamber connecting said secondary channel with said firing chamber for allowing high frequency refill of the firing chamber; a group of said firing chambers in adjacent relationship forming a primitive in which only one firing chamber in said primitive is activated at a time; first circuit means on said substrate connected to said firing elements; and second circuit means on said cartridge connected to said first circuit means, for transmitting firing signals to said ink firing elements at a frequency greater than 9 kHz.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 6, 1994
    Date of Patent: February 18, 1997
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Company
    Inventors: Brian J. Keefe, May F. Ho, Kenneth J. Courian, Steven W. Steinfield, Winthrop D. Childers, Ellen R. Tappon, Kenneth E. Trueba, Terri I. Chapman, William R. Knight, Jules G. Moritz
  • Patent number: 5598190
    Abstract: Received image data is recorded on a recording material (e.g., thermosensitive paper) by using a full-line recording head on which thermosensitive plural recording elements (e.g., heating elements) corresponding to a maximum recording width are arrayed. At this time, in a stand-by condition, recording elements in the portions corresponding to the appropriate recording material size are preliminarily heated at predetermined time intervals. In a receiving mode, recording elements in the portions corresponding to the appropriate recording size of received image data are preliminarily heated prior to recording received data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 1993
    Date of Patent: January 28, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takehiro Yoshida
  • Patent number: 5594478
    Abstract: An ink jet recording apparatus includes a recording head with a number of ink ejection orifices for ejecting ink. The number of ink ejection orifices are grouped into N blocks which can be driven simultaneously, are arranged in an eject orifice array and perform recording by divisionally driving the N blocks. A recording medium and the recording head are moved relative to each other by a conveying length obtained by equally dividing an ejection orifice array of the recording head into n parts. The recording apparatus masks a signal to be recorded such that 1/n dots, where n<N, of all dots to be formed on an area of the recording medium having a width equal to the conveying length may be formed by one scan of the recording head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 14, 1997
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Miyuki Matsubara, Hiromitsu Hirabayashi, Shigeyasu Nagoshi, Atsushi Arai, Yuji Akiyama, Takayuki Murata, Hitoshi Sugimoto, Kiichiro Takahashi
  • Patent number: 5587730
    Abstract: A thermal ink jet printer having redundant printing capability includes a primary printhead for printing ink drops of a first color and a secondary printhead for printing ink drops of the first color and/or other colors. The secondary printhead selectively prints according to either a first mode or a second mode. In the first mode, the secondary printhead supplements the primary printhead such that both printheads print ink drops of the first color. In the second mode, if the primary printhead fails, the secondary printhead prints ink drops of the first color in place of the primary printhead.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 30, 1994
    Date of Patent: December 24, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Robert S. Karz
  • Patent number: 5519416
    Abstract: A recording apparatus includes a plurality of recording elements a plurality of drive ICs, in which a plurality of drive signal lines containing a signal line for an image data signal and a signal line for a transfer clock which transfers the image data signal are connected in cascade. Each drive IC supplies a recording current selectively to the recording elements in correspondence to the image data signal. A transfer clock control circuit, which is located at an input part of the transfer clock in the recording apparatus, controls a duty of the transfer clock supplied to the drive ICs so that a duty ratio of the transfer clock at the final stage of the plurality of drive ICs is enough to transfer the image data signal.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 22, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 21, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kimiyuki Hayasaki, Masaya Kikuta, Akira Katayama, Hideaki Kishida
  • Patent number: 5504505
    Abstract: An ink jet recording head includes a plurality of heat generating elements for ejecting ink using thermal energy; a conductive line commonly connected to an end of each of the heat generating elements and to another end of adjacent heat generating element; a driving circuit for selectively providing positive or negative current to the common lines, the driving circuit actuates the heat generating elements by applying a high level potential and a low level potential to adjacent lines, respectively.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 2, 1991
    Date of Patent: April 2, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yasuyuki Tamura, Masafumi Wataya
  • Patent number: 5497174
    Abstract: An apparatus and method compensates for a voltage drop of electrical pulse signals selectively applied to a plurality of heater elements on a printhead of an ink jet printing device. A number of heater elements to be pulsed at a given time is determined and a time duration of each of the pulse signals is selected based on information including the determined number of heater elements to be pulsed. In another aspect, the position on the printhead of the heater elements to be pulsed is determined and the time duration of the pulse signals is selected further based on the determined position. By varying the time duration of the pulse signals applied to the heater elements, a voltage drop across the heater elements due to the number of heater elements simultaneously pulsed and/or the position of the heater elements on the printhead is compensated for, maintaining reliable jetting performance while minimizing the voltage by which operating printing voltage needs to exceed the threshold printing voltage.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1994
    Date of Patent: March 5, 1996
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Joseph F. Stephany, Juan J. Becerra, Thomas P. Courtney, Gary A. Kneezel, Richard V. LaDonna, Peter J. John, Thomas E. Watrobski, Joseph J. Wysocki
  • Patent number: 5486848
    Abstract: An information recording apparatus comprises a recording unit for recording on a recording medium and control means for controlling the recording unit to twice eject droplets to the same position on the recording medium so that the tone of the recording is emphasized. In another aspect of the disclosure, an image forming apparatus includes a storage unit for storing recording material, an image forming unit in which an image is formed without contacting the recording material and a discharge unit for discharging the recording material on which the image has been formed. A transporting mechanism transports the recording material from the storage unit, through the image forming unit to the discharge unit along a U-shaped transporting path.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 23, 1995
    Date of Patent: January 23, 1996
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Naoki Ayata, Yoshiaki Shirato, Yasushi Takatori, Mitsuaki Seki
  • Patent number: 5477243
    Abstract: An ink jet recording head has an energy generating device line constituted by electrically connecting N (N>1) energy generating devices in series. The energy generating devices are disposed to correspond to a plurality of discharge ports for discharging ink and generate discharging energy. The energy generating device line is operated by using substantially N+1 electrodes. The method of operating an ink jet recording head comprises the steps of: successively selecting the energy generating devices of the energy generating device line; applying voltages of different levels to the two terminals of the selected energy generating device having received an image signal instructing the selected energy generating device to discharge the ink; and applying voltages of the same level to the two ends of the energy generating device which corresponds to the discharge ports which are not to discharge the ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 15, 1993
    Date of Patent: December 19, 1995
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Yasuyuki Tamura
  • Patent number: 5451988
    Abstract: A recording apparatus uses a thermal head which includes a plurality of heat generating elements divided into blocks. Recording is controlled by sequentially selecting each block during a recording period and driving the heat generating elements in that block according to recording data. Preheating is controlled by simultaneously selecting all blocks during a preheat cycle and driving all of the heat generating elements according to preheat data. The energy used in preheating is insufficient to cause recording.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 18, 1994
    Date of Patent: September 19, 1995
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Takeshi Ono
  • Patent number: 5438346
    Abstract: A compatible thermal head includes multiple heat generating elements arranged in a row on a substrate, and multiple drive devices, selectively coupled to the heat generating elements, for driving a corresponding at least one of the heat generating elements. The quantity of drive devices is less than the quantity of heat generating elements. Also included in the thermal head are a strobe signal input device for receiving multiple external strobe signals as input, and a number-of-strobe-signals converting device, integral to the thermal head and coupled to the strobe signal input device, for converting the multiple external strobe signals received by the strobe signal input device into multiple internal strobe signals. The quantity of the internal strobe signals is greater than the quantity of the external strobe signals.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 3, 1993
    Date of Patent: August 1, 1995
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hisayoshi Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 5412406
    Abstract: A thermal head has a reduced power capacity and an electronic apparatus incorporates that thermal head. Printing data is stored in a shift register while ON-data for one line is latched relative to each block in a heating element array. A microcomputer checks the magnitude of the number of ON-data in each block. If the number of ON-data is equal to or less than a given value, the microcomputer outputs a strobe signal to that block so that the heating elements therein will be batch-driven. If the number of ON-data exceeds the given level, the microcomputer outputs two or more strobe signals to that block which in turn is further divided into two blocks. The two or more divided blocks are sequentially driven. In order to change the batch-printing range depending on the printing rate, the power capacity can be reduced to the minimum level within the necessary limit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 24, 1993
    Date of Patent: May 2, 1995
    Assignee: Rohm Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Hisayoshi Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 5402159
    Abstract: A head for a piezoelectric ink jet printer includes a plurality of ejector devices for ejecting ink droplets. Each ejector device has an ink channel body defining an ink channel. The head further includes a piezoelectric actuator secured to the ink channel for actuating the ejector devices. The actuator is made up of a plurality of piezoelectric ceramic layers, a plurality of internal positive electrode layers, and a plurality of internal negative electrode layers, which are laminated in such a manner that each piezoelectric ceramic layer is sandwitched between each internal positive electrode layer and each internal negative electrode layer. At least one of the internal positive electrode layers and the internal negative electrode layers are divided into a plurality of segments so as to be provided in association with respective ones of the plurality of ejector devices.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 20, 1992
    Date of Patent: March 28, 1995
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yoshikazu Takahashi, Masahiko Suzuki
  • Patent number: 5398053
    Abstract: A liquid jet recording apparatus comprises a line type recording head emitting toward a recording medium a recording liquid for recording and a serial type recording head movable in the arrangement direction of the line type recording head orifices. The serial type recording head compensates for any improperly recording orifices of the line type recording head.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 18, 1993
    Date of Patent: March 14, 1995
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Toshiaki Hirosawa, Makoto Takamiya, Haruhiko Takahashi, Hidejiro Kadowaki, Ken Tsuchii, Masafumi Wataya
  • Patent number: 5357268
    Abstract: An ink jet recorder includes a plurality of recording elements which are arranged corresponding to each of a plurality of ejection outlets for ejecting ink in accordance with driving signals, a plurality of ejection passages corresponding to the ejection outlets and connected to a common chamber, a plurality of driving blocks formed by dividing the recording elements by predetermined number of units in the arrangement order, control elements for each of the driving blocks and for controlling the recording elements associated with each driving block in a simultaneous driving manner, a selection unit for selecting the driving block to be driven in order that at least adjacent driving blocks are not driven in sequence, and a supply unit for supplying driving signals to the driving block selected by the said selecting unit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 24, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 18, 1994
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hideaki Kishida, Akira Katayama, Kimiyuki Hayasaki, Nobuyuki Watanabe, Jiro Moriyama, Toshiaki Hirosawa, Torachika Osada, Hidemi Kubota, Yutaka Koizumi, Mineo Kaneko
  • Patent number: 5353051
    Abstract: A recording apparatus performing image recording on a recording medium by driving a recording head having a plurality of recording elements. The recording apparatus has a storing device and a driving device. The storing device prestores a drive condition for each respective one of blocks which are formed by dividing the recording elements into a plurality of groups. The driving device simultaneously drives the recording elements in the same block according to the drive condition read from the recording device. In a preferred embodiment, the recording apparatus has recording portions each of which prerecords a pattern representing an index of energy to be fed to the electrothermal transducers of each respective one of the blocks, and a read device for reading out the index of energy from the recording portion via driver circuit.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 19, 1992
    Date of Patent: October 4, 1994
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Akira Katayama, Hideaki Kishida, Kimiyuki Hayasaki
  • Patent number: 4157244
    Abstract: A stream of hot primary gas rising from the gasification region in a slag bath generator passes through an after-gasification region and thence into a cooling region. The stream of hot gas is cooled in the cooling region by injecting purified and cooled primary gas through tangentially-arranged nozzles at an outlet velocity of between 1 and 8 meters per second. Below the tangentially-arranged nozzles, other gas-cooling nozzles inject cooled and purified primary gas into the hot gas stream upwardly at an angle within 10.degree.-60.degree. , preferably at 45.degree. and at an outlet velocity of between 10 and 160 meters per second. The upwardly-inclined gas injection nozzles are carried by the inner wall of an annular duct. The inner wall extends between a lining of cooling tubes surrounding the vertical gas flow space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 8, 1978
    Date of Patent: June 5, 1979
    Assignees: Dr. C. Otto & Comp. GmbH., Saarbergwerke A.C.
    Inventors: Paul Gernhardt, Wolfgang Grams, Wilhelm Danguillier, Siegfried Pohl