Eastman-kodak Company

Brian Gray Price

Gary Alan Kneezel

Lori J Shaw-Klein

Andrew Clarke

David R Scott

Frederick Allen Donahue

Kwok L Yip

Douglas E Bugner

Christopher Newell Delametter

Steven J Dietl

David Erdtmann

James E Pickering

Kwok-Leung Yip

Joseph W Hoff

A method of controlling a maintenance operation of an inkjet printhead in an inkjet printer, the method includes providing at least one parameter of the maintenance operation as a function of humidity condition; receiving data corresponding to a current outdoor humidity condition; determining a humidity condition corresponding to the current outdoor humidity condition; and controlling the maintenance operation, wherein the at least one parameter is determined in accordance with the determined humidity condition.

Weather based humidity adjustment of printhead maintenance

A method of controlling a maintenance operation of an inkjet printhead in an inkjet printer, the method includes providing at least one parameter of the maintenance operation as a function of humidity condition; providing a table of average humidity conditions for a geographic locale in which the printer is located; providing a current date; determining a humidity condition corresponding to the current date; and controlling the maintenance operation, wherein the at least one parameter is determined in accordance with the determined humidity condition.

Geographically based humidity adjustment of printhead maintenance

A method of adaptively controlling motion of a carriage in a carriage printer within a user's environment, the method includes controlling a motor to move a carriage of a carriage printer within a user's environment according to a first motor control profile; acquiring data relative to a motion of the carriage printer as the carriage is moved according to the first motor control profile; analyzing the acquired data relative to the motion of the carriage printer corresponding to the carriage being moved according to the first motor control profile; and controlling the motor to move the carriage of the carriage printer according to a second motor control profile.

Adaptive motion control for carriage printer

A carriage printer includes a printhead; a print region; a carriage configured to move the printhead back and forth across the print region; a motor for moving the carriage; a housing; a motion detector for detecting motion of the carriage printer; and a controller configured to control the motor, the controller including a motor control profile that is adaptable based upon the detected motion of the printer housing.

Carriage printer with adaptive motion control

A method of reducing air in an ink passageway in an inkjet printer by pressurizing a thermally actuated degassing unit that includes an air chamber, venting air through a check valve configured to allow air to vent from the air chamber to ambient when the pressure in the air chamber exceeds ambient air pressure by a predetermined amount The pressurizing is performed by heating an element inside the air chamber. A power supply is connected to the heating element, and power is applied to the heating element during a first time interval to increase the pressure in the air chamber above ambient pressure. Gas is vented from the check valve which allows the heating element to cool during a second time interval to reduce the pressure in the air chamber below ambient pressure. Gas is then drawn from the ink passageway through the membrane into the air chamber.

Method of thermal degassing in an inkjet printer

An inkjet printhead having a drop ejector array, an ink passageway for providing ink to the drop ejector array, and a thermally actuated degassing unit. The degassing unit itself includes a body enclosing an air chamber, a check valve configured to allow air to vent from the air chamber to ambient when the pressure in the air chamber exceeds ambient air pressure by a predetermined amount. The thermal degassing unit includes a thermally-induced pressure build-up time to increase the pressure in the air chamber. The air chamber is allowed to cool which causes internal pressure to drop below ambient and draws gas out of the ink.

Thermal degassing device for inkjet printer

An ink tank including a reservoir for holding ink, the reservoir including a flexible wall for adjusting an internal volume of the reservoir; a biasing element for applying a force to the flexible wall that tends to increase the internal volume of the reservoir; an ink supply port for delivering ink from the reservoir to a printhead; and a breather element, at least a portion of which is disposed inside the reservoir, including a capillary material in contact with ink in the reservoir, wherein the breather element is configured to allow air to enter the reservoir in response to an internal pressure of the reservoir being less than atmospheric pressure outside the ink tank by an amount that is related to a property of the biasing element and a capillary pressure of the breather element.

Biased wall ink tank with capillary breather

An inkjet printhead including a drop generator includes: a substrate including a surface; a chamber disposed on the surface of the substrate, the chamber including: an inlet having a first edge and a second edge, the second edge being separated from the first edge by an inlet width along an inlet width direction; and a chamber center, wherein the first edge and the second edge of the inlet are disposed on a same side of the chamber center relative to the inlet width direction.

Inkjet chamber and inlets for circulating flow

The present invention relates to an ink tank for an ink jet printer. The invention further relates to a method of manufacturing the ink tank, as well as well as a method of refilling the ink tank. The ink tank includes an ink tank body and an ink tank lid bonded to the ink tank body at a bond joint. The ink tank lid comprises an opening that leads to a holding area that is adapted to contain a capillary media therein. The holding area comprises a wall that forms a boundary between the capillary media and an enclosure defined by the ink tank body and the ink tank lid. The opening is sized to permit an insertion and removal of the capillary media to and from the holding area when the ink tank lid is bonded to the ink tank body at the bond joint.

Ink tank for inkjet printer

Ink tank for inkjet printers

A valve includes a stem, a cap, and a deformable lip. The stem includes a first sealing portion and has a longitudinal axis. The cap is connected to the stem and includes a passageway. The deformable lip extends from a periphery of the cap and includes a second sealing portion. The stem is displaceable relative to the deformable lip along the longitudinal axis of the stem to open the first sealing portion and close the second sealing portion to allow fluid to move through the passageway in the cap.

Dual seating quick connect valve

A method for filling an ink tank to one of several selectable ink fill volumes, by providing an ink tank including an ink reservoir having a maximum fill volume V and selecting an ink fill volume Vto store in the ink reservoir. One subsequently determines a quantity of pellets to add to the ink reservoir, wherein the total pellet volume V&#x3e;(V&#x2212;V&#x2212;2) cubic centimeters. Upon adding the determined quantity of pellets to the ink reservoir, the ink reservoir is sealed with a lid. Whereupon, ink, in the amount V, is added to the ink reservoir.

Selectable fill volume for ink reservoir

A method for increasing the diameter of an ink jet ink dot resulting from the application of an ink jet ink drop applied to the surface of an ink jet recording medium having a support having thereon an image-receiving layer, the image-receiving layer containing: a) from about 20 to about 65% by volume of particles; b) from about 25 to about 70% by volume of a polymeric binder; and c) up to about 10% by volume of a cross-linking agent; the method comprising applying the ink jet ink drop on the surface of the image-receiving layer whereby the diameter of the ink jet ink dot is increased relative to that which would have been obtained if the image-receiving layer had greater than about 65% by volume of particles.

Method for increasing the diameter of an ink jet ink dot

An ink jet recording element having a support having thereon an image-receiving layer, the image-receiving layer containing: a) from about 20 to about 65% by volume of particles; b) from about 25 to about 70% by volume of a polymeric binder; and c) up to about 10% by volume of a cross-linking agent.

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Pittsford, NY, United States of America

Brian Gray Price