Of Ejector Patents (Class 347/9)
  • Patent number: 8950837
    Abstract: A sealing sheet is configured to restrain at least one of leakage of liquid in and out. The sealing sheet includes: a film member which is impermeable to the liquid and configured to cover a region that needs to be sealed; and electrical wires which are arranged on the film member. An electrical signal corresponding to change in electrical resistance due to contact with the liquid is obtainable from the electrical wires.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Yasuhiko Maeda
  • Patent number: 8950842
    Abstract: In a high print resolution, high image quality mode and a low print resolution, high speed mode, image processes are made in common between them to the extent possible, and the same gradation characteristics and image densities can be obtained between them. For this purpose, for the high image quality mode, a dot arrangement pattern is prepared for a pixel region having gradation data of K levels, which determines the presence or absence of print dots at K-1 areas, and in which the printing of 1 dot is permitted at all of the K-l areas. On the other hand, for the high speed mode, a dot arrangement pattern which determines the presence or absence of print dots at a number of areas less than K-1 is prepared, and in which the sum of the number of dots permitted to be printed at the pixel region is K-1.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hiroshi Kawafuji, Yasunori Fujimoto
  • Patent number: 8950840
    Abstract: An inkjet printer is provided that includes a control device configured to determine ink discharge moments to sequentially discharge ink droplets from a specific one of nozzles, in such a manner that a time interval between any two successive ones of the ink discharge moments is longer than a predetermined time period required for an operation to be executed by an inkjet head when forming a single dot, based on gap variation information related to a variation, in a scanning direction, of a gap between an ink discharge surface and a recording sheet held in a wave shape.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 10, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Akihiro Sakakibara
  • Patent number: 8944551
    Abstract: A liquid discharge apparatus includes first and second discharge sections, first and second connection paths and a voltage generation section. Each of the first and second discharge sections has a nozzle configured and arranged to discharge a liquid, a pressure chamber in communication with the nozzle, and a piezoelectric element. The first connection path selection section is arranged so as to correspond to the first discharge section and configured to selectively supply a plurality of voltages to the first discharge section. The second connection path selection section is arranged so as to correspond to the second discharge section and configured to selectively supply a plurality of voltages to the second discharge section. The voltage generation section is configured to generate and supply the voltages shared by the first connection path selection section and the second connection path selection section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Shuji Otsuka, Tadashi Kiyuna, Toshifumi Asanuma
  • Patent number: 8944548
    Abstract: A printing system includes a linehead that jets ink onto a moving print media to print a test block and an integrated imaging system positioned downstream of the linehead with respect to a media transport direction. The integrated imaging system includes an opening in a housing for receiving light reflected from a moving print media. A folded optical assembly in the housing receives the reflected light and transmits the light a distance. One or more image sensors, having known color filter arrays, within the housing each receive the light and capture one or more images of the printed test block. An image processing device is connected to the integrated imaging system for receiving pixel data from the one or more image sensors and configured to determine a color of the ink and a density of the printed test block using the pixel data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Eastman Kodak Company
    Inventors: Samuel Chen, Mark C. Rzadca, Eric K. Zeise, John T. Keech, Michael J. Piatt
  • Patent number: 8944549
    Abstract: Nozzle layouts for printheads are described. In an example, a printhead includes a first set of drop ejectors having orifices with circular bores, and a second set of drop ejectors having orifices with non-circular bores. A processor receives printing data representing an image to be printed to media, and provides firing data to the printhead for activating the drop ejectors. The firing data selects the drop ejectors with the circular bores to print graphic elements of the image and selecting the drop ejectors with the non-circular bores to print textual elements or line elements of the image.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 24, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Dustin W. Blair, Lawrence H. White, Sean P. McClelland
  • Patent number: 8944553
    Abstract: Systems and methods are provided for generating flush lines that do not interfere with control marks for post-processing equipment. The system includes a print controller able to receive a print job and to insert printable control marks into the print job to direct the actions of post-processing equipment. The system also includes an ink flushing controller that can detect horizontal locations of the control marks along the width of the print job. Responsive to detecting the locations of the control marks, the ink flushing controller can generate flush lines for the print job that have altered optical densities at the horizontal locations.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 22, 2013
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Casey E. Walker, Scott Johnson, Sean K. Fitzsimons, Stuart J. Boland, William Edward Manchester
  • Patent number: 8944550
    Abstract: A recent inkjet printing apparatus includes a large-capacitance capacitor to stabilize a heater power supply. The presence of this capacitor requires a long time to drop the heater voltage at the time of power shutdown or the like. For this reason, an unwanted heater current may flow during the drop. To solve this problem, in this embodiment, a high voltage logic circuit is provided near a printing element, and a terminal is provided so that a signal can directly be input to this circuit. Heater driving control is performed via the terminal. This makes it possible to reliably control the heater regardless of the logic power supply state even if the logic voltage abruptly drops at the time of power shutdown or the like.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2014
    Date of Patent: February 3, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Ryo Kasai, Nobuyuki Hirayama, Makoto Takagi
  • Publication number: 20150029250
    Abstract: Determining an issue in an inkjet nozzle may include activating a drive bubble formation mechanism in an ink chamber to eject an ink droplet through the inkjet nozzle and measuring the drive bubble in the ink chamber after the drive bubble formation mechanism is activated.
    Type: Application
    Filed: April 19, 2012
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Applicant: HEWLETT-PACKARD DEVELOPMENT COMPANY, L.P.
    Inventors: Andrew L. Van Brocklin, Adam L . Ghozeil, Mark Hunter, Scott A. Linn
  • Publication number: 20150029247
    Abstract: A method of generating print data for an inkjet printhead having a plurality of ink planes. The method includes the steps of: receiving image data for a print job in a printer controller; retrieving keep-wet pattern data for each ink plane of the printhead, the retrieved keep-wet pattern data being determined using one or more input parameters; generating first print data for each ink plane in the printer controller based on the received image data; merging the first print data with the keep-wet pattern data to provide second print data for each ink plane; and sending the second print data from the printer controller to the printhead, thereby causing the printhead to print an image together with a keep-wet pattern. The keep-wet pattern is defined by a plurality of dots printed at a frequency sufficient to maintain hydration of each nozzle in the printhead.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Julie Hogan, Angus North, Philip Palma, John Sheahan, Brian Brown, David Keeshan, Rodney Hardy, Peter Allworth, Colin Pickup, Caitriona Forbes, Kieran Roughan, William Jacob
  • Publication number: 20150032528
    Abstract: A process and apparatus for sublimating printed images onto two or more products substantially simultaneously are disclosed. Software components are configured to receive input of a desired number of products to sublimate, and then determine a spatial arrangement of the printed images on transfer media to sublimate the desired number of products substantially simultaneously. The apparatus is configured to print the images onto the media according to the spatial arrangement, then position the media onto a substrate. The products are automatically placed on the media proximate to their corresponding printed images. The apparatus manipulates the media to substantially surround the products and places at least one image onto each side of each product to be sublimated. One or more heating platens engage the media to sublimate the images. The heating platens are configured, using a control, to sublimate multiple products substantially simultaneously in a single thermal cycle.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2013
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Gary Edward Will, Mark Leslie Tarter, Bryan Keith Solace, James Francis Huss
  • Publication number: 20150029248
    Abstract: A method of printing from a fixed inkjet printhead having a plurality of ink planes. The method includes the steps of: feeding a print medium past the printhead in a media feed direction, the media feed direction defining relative upstream and downstream sides of the printhead; printing an image onto the print medium, the image being defined by image data; and printing a keep-wet pattern onto the print medium from each ink plane of the printhead, the keep-wet pattern being defined by a plurality of dots printed at a frequency sufficient to maintain hydration of each nozzle in the printhead. A first keep-wet pattern from a first ink plane is printed at a higher frequency than a second keep-wet pattern from a second ink plane, the first ink plane being furthest upstream in the printhead.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 10, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Angus North, Philip Palma, Brian Brown, Duncan McRae, Jognandan Prashar, Mile Jurevic, Sam Mallinson, Geordie McBain, Chia-An Lin, Sam Myers, Jeff Tsang, Benjamin Powell
  • Publication number: 20150029245
    Abstract: A printing element substrate, comprising a printing unit including a printing element and a transistor, a logic circuit unit configured to be supplied with a first power supply voltage and receive print data, a unit configured to be supplied with a second power supply voltage and output a signal from the logic circuit unit to a control terminal of the transistor, a voltage generation unit configured to be supplied with a third power supply voltage and generate the second power supply voltage using the third power supply voltage, and a controlling unit configured to control supply of the third power supply voltage to the voltage generation unit, wherein when the first power supply voltage is not supplied to the logic circuit unit, the controlling unit does not supply the third power supply voltage to the voltage generation unit.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Tatsuhito Goden, Masanobu Ohmura
  • Publication number: 20150029246
    Abstract: A printing element substrate, comprising a printing element, a MOS transistor having a drain terminal, a source terminal and a back gate terminal, the drain terminal being connected to a first power supply node for receiving a first voltage, and a source terminal and a back gate terminal being connected to the printing element, and a unit including a second power supply node different from the first power supply node, and configured to supply a second voltage to a gate terminal of the MOS transistor, wherein, when the first voltage is not supplied to the first power supply node, the unit controls a potential of at least one of the gate terminal and the drain terminal so that a potential difference between the gate terminal and the drain terminal becomes lower than the second voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 30, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Wataru Endo, Makoto Takagi, Masanobu Ohmura
  • Publication number: 20150030821
    Abstract: A method of surface marking an article, especially a building product, is provided. One described method includes the steps of laser marking a first graphic design element on a surface of an article and ink-jet printing a second graphic design element in registry with the first graphic design element on the surface of the article to create a high quality overall graphic design. Also provided are articles made according to this method, and systems for carrying out the method.
    Type: Application
    Filed: August 5, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Darryl J. COSTIN, Sr., Darryl J. COSTIN, JR., Scott FELLIN, Chase CARTER
  • Publication number: 20150029249
    Abstract: A control method for a liquid ejecting system provided with a liquid ejecting apparatus including a liquid ejecting portion for ejecting a liquid and an inputting apparatus including a data inputting portion through which data can be inputted includes a specific data detecting process that detects whether or not input data inputted to the data inputting portion is specific data which is other than liquid ejection data for causing a liquid corresponding to an image to be formed on an ejection target medium to be ejected from the liquid ejecting portion and which is determined in advance as data for prompting an ejection inspection; and a nozzle inspecting process that, in the case where the specific data is detected in the specific data detecting process, causes a nozzle inspecting portion to perform the ejection inspection.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 25, 2014
    Publication date: January 29, 2015
    Inventors: Takeo SEINO, Nobutada MIZUSAWA
  • Patent number: 8939531
    Abstract: A fluid ejection assembly includes a fluid slot, a recirculation channel, and a drop ejection element within the recirculation channel. A pump element is configured to pump fluid to and from the fluid slot through the recirculation channel. A first addressable drive circuit associated with the drop ejection element and a second addressable drive circuit associated with the pump element are capable of driving the drop ejection element and the pump element simultaneously.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 28, 2010
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventors: Alexander Govyadinov, Jason Oak
  • Patent number: 8939529
    Abstract: An image forming device which includes a first nozzle group, a second nozzle group, and are arranged by being deviated from the first nozzle group to one side in a predetermined direction, a light irradiation unit which is extended at least in the predetermined direction, a control unit which repeats an ejection operation in which the photo-curable ink is ejected from the nozzle while moving the nozzle group and the light irradiation unit in a direction intersecting the predetermined direction, and a transport operation of the medium in a state where a non-ejection region where the ink is not ejected is provided between the first nozzle group and the second nozzle group in a predetermined direction, and overlappingly forms a main image using the first photo-curable ink, and a background image using the second photo-curable ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 26, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Yoshitaka Shimada
  • Patent number: 8939528
    Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus includes: a conveyance device which conveys paper; an inkjet head which ejecting droplets of colored ink onto the paper conveyed by the conveyance device so as to form an image on the paper; a transparent liquid deposition device which deposits a transparent liquid onto a blank background portion of the paper conveyed by the conveyance device; a transparent liquid deposition volume determination device which determines a deposition volume of the transparent liquid to be deposited onto the paper, according to printing information that is required for printing the image on the paper; and a transparent liquid deposition control device which controls the transparent liquid deposition device in such a manner that the transparent liquid with the deposition volume determined by the transparent liquid deposition volume determination device is deposited onto the blank background portion of the paper.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 11, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: FUJIFILM Corporation
    Inventor: Jun Yamanobe
  • Patent number: 8939536
    Abstract: A printhead in a printer is configured to eject a colored ink and a clear ink. The printhead is aligned with other printheads in the printer to register the clear ink ejected by the printhead with colored ink ejected by the other printheads by ejecting the colored ink from the printhead and analyzing image data of the colored ink.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventor: Mark A. Smith
  • Patent number: 8939533
    Abstract: A liquid ejection device includes a drive waveform generator generating a drive waveform signal; a modulator performing pulse modulation on a signal from the drive waveform generator to provide a modulated signal; a digital power amplifier performing power amplification on the modulated signal to provide an amplified digital signal; a lowpass filter smoothing the amplified digital signal to provide a drive signal of an actuator; a compensator advancing the phase of the drive signal to provide a negative feedback signal; and a subtractor providing a differential signal between the drive waveform signal and the negative feedback signal as an input signal to the modulator. The liquid ejection device can be used as a liquid ejection surgical instrument.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 16, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Atsushi Oshima, Kunio Tabata, Shinichi Miyazaki, Hiroyuki Yoshino, Noritaka Ide
  • Patent number: 8939530
    Abstract: A system includes a first memory to store pixel data, a first processing stage to process the pixel data in a nozzle axis major order to provide pre-aligned nozzle data, a second memory to store the pre-aligned nozzle data, a second processing stage to process the pre-aligned nozzle data in a print sweep axis major order to provide post-aligned nozzle data, a third memory to store the post-aligned nozzle data, and a third processing stage to process the post-aligned nozzle data in the nozzle axis major order to provide processed nozzle data.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 23, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 27, 2015
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
    Inventor: Guan-Kwee Goh
  • Publication number: 20150022573
    Abstract: An image recording apparatus includes a plurality of recording heads arranged in a staggered configuration in a width direction. Adjacent ones of the recording heads have respective adjacent nozzles for ejecting ink droplets onto positions adjacent to each other in the width direction on a recording medium. For recording an image, a correction area rate less than a dot area rate of an input mage in a recording position of each of the adjacent nozzles is calculated from the dot area rate. Then, ink droplets are ejected from each of the adjacent nozzles in accordance with the correction area rate. As a result, the amounts of ink droplets ejected from the adjacent nozzles are limited. For a recording process using a head unit including the recording heads arranged in a staggered configuration, this suppresses the occurrence of unevenness in density due to an undesirable flow or bleeding of ink at the boundary between recording regions of the recording heads.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 2, 2014
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: Kuniharu OKUDA, Keiji Hatano
  • Publication number: 20150022575
    Abstract: A printhead system to reduce peak energy usage may include a printhead including a plurality of primitives including nozzles. A printhead control module may control the printhead to increase printed pixel resolution and to reduce peak pixel fill density for print media. The printhead control module may further control the printhead such that all the nozzles with a same address generally disposed in a column do not fire at the same time.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 31, 2012
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: Garrett E. Clark, Chris Bakker, Eric T. Martin, Vincent Gerard Heesen, Mark H. Mackenzie
  • Publication number: 20150022574
    Abstract: An inkjet printing apparatus which performs printing by performing scanning using a print head has a problem in that quality of an image of a ruled line is degraded when ink is not ejected for a certain period of time. To address this problem, control is performed such that power for driving the print head for unit regions including pixels having a ruled-line attribute becomes higher than power for driving the print head for unit regions which do not include the pixels having the ruled-line attribute. By this, a high-quality ruled-line image may be printed.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 15, 2014
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: Hiroaki Shirakawa, Kazuo Suzuki, Mitsutoshi Nagamura, Yuhei Oikawa, Yosuke Ishii
  • Publication number: 20150022571
    Abstract: An inkjet printer and method therefore including a detector to monitor a quantity of release agent applied to a spreader drum. The inkjet printer includes a drum maintenance unit which applies the release agent to the spreader drum with a metering device, such as a metering blade, and determines a flow rate of unused or excess release agent returned to a release agent sump. The determined flow rate of release agent provides a determination of the quantity of release agent applied to the spreader drum. Upon the determination that too little release agent has been applied, at least one function of the inkjet printer is disabled to stop the flow of release agent and to facilitate maintenance if necessary.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 16, 2013
    Publication date: January 22, 2015
    Inventors: James Michael Chappell, Jason Matthew LeFevre, Paul J. McConville
  • Patent number: 8936335
    Abstract: There is provided a flush box in an area other than a recording area in an end portion of a range in which a recording head can be driven in a main scanning direction. A control circuit performs control such that it is determined whether or not a flag is turned on for flushing operation in step S3; in a case where the flag is turned on, in step S4, it is determined whether final path is already finished or is about to be finished; when it is determined that the recording head is on the final path, in step S5, it is determined whether or not the stop position is on the side of the flush box. Then, maintenance operation is started in step S6 and paper feeding operation is executed in step S7 only when the stop position is on the side of the flush box. In addition, only the paper feeding operation is executed in step S7 when the stop position is on a side opposite to the side of the flush box.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 12, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shunya Fukuda
  • Patent number: 8936334
    Abstract: A printing method where ink is discharged by a nozzle row, which has a plurality of nozzles, being relatively moved in a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction with regard to a print medium, and printing of a print image is performed to be formed of an independent region where raster lines, which are dot rows lined up in the main scanning direction, are completed in one main scanning and an overlapping region where the raster lines are completed in a plurality of main scannings, the printing method comprising: allocating whether each of the dots of the overlapping region is formed in either a preceding main scanning or a following main scanning in the plurality of main scannings; and performing the preceding main scanning and the following main scanning in an order which corresponds to the result of the allocating.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 20, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tomonaga Hasegawa, Kazuyoshi Tanase
  • Publication number: 20150015627
    Abstract: A drive circuit for repetitively energising a printhead (10) to eject drops of ink and a method of operating the drive circuit are described. The printhead h multiple nozzle channels each having a respective capacitance. The drive circuit includes a first switching element (S1) connected to couple a drive connection of the printhead to a first connection of a power supply (V1) via a first inductor (L1) to provide a charge path for current to charge the capacitance of at least one nozzle channel to a desired operating voltage. The drive circuit further includes a second switching element (S2) connected to couple a drive connection of the printhead to a second connection of the power supply (V1) via a second inductor (L2) to provide a discharge path for current to discharge the capacitance of said at least one nozzle channel to a desired inter-pulse voltage.
    Type: Application
    Filed: November 23, 2012
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Applicant: Inca Digital Printers Limited
    Inventor: Hamilton Buchanan Cleare
  • Publication number: 20150015625
    Abstract: In a predetermined mask pattern, recording permitted pixels are disposed such that the average of the numbers of the recording permitted pixels in a unit in a first area is smaller than the number of the recording permitted pixels in a unit in a second area that is located toward an end side as compared to the first area in a direction corresponding to an array direction of nozzles.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventors: Takayuki Ushiyama, Yoshitomo Marumoto
  • Publication number: 20150015624
    Abstract: A main scan pass which relatively moves a recording head and a recording medium in a main scan direction and forms dots on the recording medium, and a sub-scan which relatively moves the recording medium and the recording head in a sub-scan direction that intersects with the main scan direction, are performed, and thereby multi-pass recording which completes forming of the dots on a main scan line by N (2 or more) main scan passes is performed. A dot rate represents a rate of pixels in which dot recording is performed in each main scan pass and is set so as to be changed gradually and periodically over sections in the main scan direction. The number of values of the dot rates different from each other in the plurality of sections lined up in the main scan direction is set so as to be equal to or greater than 3.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 9, 2014
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventor: Tomohiro YUDA
  • Publication number: 20150015626
    Abstract: Multi-pass recording is executed for each of n types of super cell regions that are each defined as a region that contains pixel positions in which recording of dots is performed in various types of main scan passes of n types of main scan passes. The n types of super cell regions (i) include a boundary portion that is not parallel to either a main scanning direction or a sub-scanning direction in at least a portion of a boundary of the individual super cell regions, and (ii) are arranged such that the boundary of the n types of super cell regions appears periodically repeating along both the main scanning direction and the sub-scanning direction.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 11, 2014
    Publication date: January 15, 2015
    Inventors: Naoki KAYAHARA, Tomohiro YUDA
  • Patent number: 8931871
    Abstract: Disclosed is a driving device of a liquid-jet head having a piezoelectric device arranged for each of nozzles and having mutually facing electrodes. The driving device includes switching devices connected in parallel to each other, one of the electrodes being connected to first ends of the switching devices for selectively ON/OFF controlling the switching devices while the other electrode is connected to a reference potential, a driving signal source to generate a driving signal connected to second ends of the switching devices, and a control unit to switch the driving signal to ON or OFF control the switching devices. At least one of the switching devices has electrically conducting properties for not ejecting a liquid drop from the nozzle with a driving signal being applied to the switching device in an ON-controlled status, and the switching devices are all ON-controlled for causing the nozzles to eject liquid drops.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventor: Masami Iwama
  • Patent number: 8931875
    Abstract: There is provided an inkjet printing apparatus which can output a stable image without density unevenness by performing appropriate drive control to print elements based upon an appropriate representative temperature of a chip whatever image data is printed on a print medium. For this purpose, detection temperatures of a plurality of temperature sensors are lined up in high temperature order, and coefficients by which the respective detection temperatures are multiplied, are determined to be associated with that order at the lining-up, determining a representative temperature by the weighted average method. The common drive pulse associated with to the individual chip based upon the representative temperature thus obtained, to be applied thereto. Thereby even if temperature variations of print elements on the chip exist, it is possible to appropriately control the entire chip in temperature.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 14, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Kei Kosaka, Minoru Teshigawara, Atsushi Sakamoto, Takeshi Murase, Yoshiyuki Honda
  • Patent number: 8931870
    Abstract: According to one example there is provided a method of printing an image on a substrate using a printing system having a printhead. The method comprises forming, using ink from the printing system, a spittoon on the substrate, printing the image on the substrate, and whilst printing the image, ejecting ink from a printhead into the formed spittoon during a printhead maintenance operation.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Hewlett-Packard Industrial Printing Ltd.
    Inventors: Liad Weissman, Ran Vilk
  • Patent number: 8931876
    Abstract: The storage apparatus includes a controller which performs a communication process with respect to a host apparatus; a storage unit in which data from the host apparatus are written; and a storage controller which performs access control with respect to the storage unit. The controller receives a command packet and a data packet from the host apparatus. In the case where the write enable bit of the data packet is set to be in a writing permitted state, the controller performs the update commanding of the address information and the write commanding of the data of the data packet. In the case where the write enable bit is set to be in a writing non-permitted state, the controller performs the update commanding of the address information and does not perform the write commanding of the data of the data packet.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 13, 2011
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Shuichi Nakano
  • Patent number: 8931884
    Abstract: A wide-format printing apparatus can suppress a posture variation of a carriage to improve landing accuracy of ink, and can reduce an HP (head to platen) distance to the minimum gap, thus achieving higher image quality and mass-production performance. The HP distance, the main rail and the sub rail are adjustable, and the curve amount of both rails is made to be in agreement with the curve amount of the platen. After that, the adjustment for minimizing the local deformation of both rails is performed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 19, 2013
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Etsushi Fukunaga, Kenji Shimamura
  • Patent number: 8931869
    Abstract: In a serial type of color inkjet printing apparatus having a plurality of nozzle arrays, overlapping areas are provided in the respective operating nozzle areas, but printing of a high-quality image can be achieved without color banding and gloss variations accompanying non-uniformity in the ink application process. To attain this, while the operating nozzle areas of the plurality of nozzle arrays partially overlap with each other, the overlapping area of the operating nozzle area of each nozzle array is set to be equal to an integral multiple of the amount of conveyance. In consequence, the ink application process for the entire image area is made uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 13, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 13, 2015
    Assignee: Canon Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Hiroshi Kawafuji
  • Publication number: 20150009252
    Abstract: A liquid drop ejection state detection device includes a plurality of nozzle sequences configured to have a plurality of nozzles, a light-emitting element configured to emit a light beam incident on a liquid drop from each nozzle of each nozzle sequence, a light-receiving element provided at a position outside a beam diameter of the light beam and configured to receive scattered light from the liquid drop and detect an ejection state of the liquid drop based on an amount of the scattered light, a light-emitting element movement part configured to move the light-emitting element in a direction intersecting with a light axis of the light beam, and an adjustment part configured to adjust an amount of light of the light beam emitted from the light-emitting element.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 27, 2014
    Publication date: January 8, 2015
    Applicant: Ricoh Company, Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Andoh, Hideharu Miki, Genichiro Kawamichi, Kohji Tokuyama, Shigeru Morinaga
  • Patent number: 8926038
    Abstract: A liquid ejection apparatus including: a head having an ejection face having ejection openings through which liquid is ejected, an ejection space being defined so as to face the ejection face; a sealing mechanism configured to selectively establish a sealing state for sealing the ejection space and an unsealing state; a humid-air supply mechanism configured to supply humid air into the ejection space in the sealing state; and a controller. The controller controls the humid-air supply mechanism to humidify the ejection space such that a humidity in the ejection space becomes equal to or higher than a predetermined humidity. The controller controls the head to perform a non-ejection flushing in at least one of a humidification period in which the humid-air supply mechanism humidifies the ejection space and a post-humidification period that extends for a first period from a completion of the humidification.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2012
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventor: Shuichi Tamaki
  • Patent number: 8928934
    Abstract: A printing device includes the following features. The first dot group in which dots are formed based on the first printing condition and the second dot group in which dots are formed based on a printing condition which is different from the first printing condition are formed together in a common region. In the common region, when the printing is performed in a plurality of conditions such that a difference of the dot pitch between a formation position of dots belonging to the first pixel group and a formation position of dots belonging to the second pixel group is 2/720 inch to 5/720 inch, the change in CIEL*a*b* of the printed image is within the preliminary determined range.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 7, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Toshiaki Kakutani
  • Patent number: 8926040
    Abstract: In a printing device, a print medium is transferred in a sub-scanning direction, a print head is reciprocately driven in a main scanning direction, a plurality of nozzles for ejecting same color ink in the sub-scanning direction are provided on the print head to form a nozzle array, pairs of nozzle arrays of a plurality of colors are arranged in the main scanning direction so as to be in a symmetrical sequence relative to the main scanning direction, and nozzle data for ejecting the ink at each nozzle in each nozzle array is created to perform printing. The printing device includes an inclination information acquisition part configured to obtain inclination information on an inclination of the nozzle array with respect to the sub-scanning direction, and a nozzle data allocation changing part configured to change the nozzle data to be allocated for each nozzle based on the inclination information.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 10, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Tetsuya Matsumura, Naoki Sudo
  • Patent number: 8926039
    Abstract: In a printing device, printing is performed by relatively moving a nozzle array for ejecting a liquid droplet with respect to a print medium, a resolution by a nozzle pitch of the nozzle array is lower than a target print resolution, and between liquid droplets ejected by a single nozzle array, liquid droplets are ejected from the same or another nozzle array to attain the target print resolution. Each of a plurality of nozzles in the single nozzle array is printable by changing an ejection density by applying a preset rate thinning when ejecting liquid droplets by relatively moving with respect to the print medium. The printing device is provided with a print control part configured to perform printing by dividing the single nozzle array into a plurality of nozzle blocks and determining the ejection density in every nozzle blocks.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 4, 2014
    Date of Patent: January 6, 2015
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventor: Tatsuo Furuta
  • Patent number: 8919949
    Abstract: A method for performing duplex printing with improved throughput has been developed. The method includes forming an image of a back side of a first duplex page and an image of a front side of a second duplex page on an image receiving member. Two recording media sheets are serially passed through a nip to transfer the image of the first duplex page back side to a bare side of a recording media sheet that also bears the image of the front side of the first duplex page on an obverse side and to transfer the image of the second duplex page to a bare side of a recording media sheet that has not been previously printed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 28, 2014
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Xerox Corporation
    Inventors: Daniel Clark Park, Brent E. Fleming, Michael E. Jones, Zhikui Ren
  • Patent number: 8919901
    Abstract: A top-down substrate printing device for thin film printing is disclosed. In one aspect the device comprises a stage fixing a substrate in a top-down manner, a plurality of nozzles each of which has one end portion positioned below the stage to face the stage and including printing fluid therein, a vertical position controller controlling a distance between the substrate and the nozzles, and a horizontal position controller controlling positions of the substrate and contacts of the nozzles.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 13, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Samsung Display Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Dong Hoon Lee, Jun Ha Park, Kazuhiro Haraguchi
  • Patent number: 8919916
    Abstract: A printer includes a printing unit that performs printing by causing at least one of respective colors of ink, clear ink and white ink to be ejected onto a transparent medium, and a controller that controls the printing unit, in which the controller performs control so as to form a design image by causing respective colors of ink to be ejected onto a transparent medium, and performs control so as to form a clear layer by causing clear ink to be ejected in a state overlapped on the design image, and performs controls so as to form a base layer by causing white ink to be ejected overlapped on the clear layer.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 20, 2013
    Date of Patent: December 30, 2014
    Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation
    Inventors: Hidenori Usuda, Takayoshi Kagata
  • Publication number: 20140375712
    Abstract: A control device of controlling a liquid droplet ejection head includes a head substrate; a head controller applying a drive voltage to the head substrate to control the ejection of liquid droplets; a relay substrate connecting the head substrate and the head controller; a main-body controller controlling the head controller; and a voltage conversion circuit disposed in the relay substrate. Further, the voltage conversion circuit converts a resistance value in accordance with a temperature of the head substrate into an output voltage, the relay substrate inputs the output voltage into the main-body controller, and the main-body controller detects the temperature based on the output voltage and determines the drive voltage based on the detected temperature.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Applicant: RICOH COMPANY, LTD.
    Inventor: Masami Iwama
  • Publication number: 20140375713
    Abstract: An inkjet printer is provided with an influence calculation portion and a device control portion. The influence calculation portion calculates an influence indicating a degree of an influence of generation of a satellite on a printing condition. The device control portion controls discharging timing of an inkjet head so that ink is discharged in order by each row of a plurality of nozzle rows for each pixel row on a sheet as a printing target, if the influence calculated by the influence calculation portion exceeds a predetermined threshold value.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 23, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Inventor: Asayo SHIMODA
  • Publication number: 20140375714
    Abstract: Images are printed up to the edges of a print medium while preventing ink droplets from depositing on the platen. Ink droplets are ejected without blank space up to the edges of the medium according to print data. The print medium is supported opposite a dot-recording head. Ink droplets are ejected to a first area lying outside of an upper edge of the print medium and to a second area lying outside of a lower edge of the print medium. A length of the second area in a sub-scanning direction is greater than a length of the first area in the sub-scanning direction. In device embodiments, control of such operations is provided by a controller.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 3, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Inventor: Koichi Otsuki
  • Publication number: 20140375711
    Abstract: A printing element substrate, comprising a plurality of units configured to print on a printing medium based on print data, each of the plurality of units, including a printing element configured to print on the printing medium, a first transistor configured to operate as a source follower upon receiving a voltage at a gate terminal of the first transistor, and supply a current to the printing element, and a second transistor configured to control supply of the current to the printing element in response to a control signal input to a gate terminal of the second transistor.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 29, 2014
    Publication date: December 25, 2014
    Applicant: CANON KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Kazunari Fujii, Masanobu Ohmura