Eastman-kodak Company

Other

Nexpress Solutions, Inc.

Eric Karl Zeise

Yee S Ng

Hieu T Pham

Pin S Tschang

Kenneth D Kieffer

Michael Joseph Piatt

Hwai-Tzuu Tai

Michael Wilfred Mosehauer

Chung-Hui Kuo

Samuel Chen

John T Keech

Mark C Rzadca

Michael D Stoudt

Thomas A LeBlanc

Jerome G Spitzner, Deceased

Muhammed Aslam

Eric C Stelter

James Stephen Honan

Thomas Allen Henderson

John R Thompson

Kevin M O'Connor

Lawrence E Contois

Stacy M Munechika

Jan Dirk Boness

Cumar Sreekumar

George N Tsilibes

Stephen J Farnand

Holger Runkowske

Di Lai

David Q McDowell

Charles E Ayers

A printed electrical device is formed using a flexographic printing system. A flexographic printing plate having a pattern of raised features includes an active region having a plurality of parallel traces separated by a trace spacing of between 5-40 microns that are used to form active micro-traces that provide an electrical function, and an inactive region adjacent to the active region having one or more protective features that are used to form electrically-inactive features. The protective features are separated from an outermost trace of the plurality of traces by a gap distance of between 60% and 250% of the trace spacing. The flexographic printing plate is used to transfer ink from an anilox roller to a substrate to provide a printed pattern corresponding to the pattern of raised features on the flexographic printing plate.

Printing an electrical device using flexographic plate with protective features

A method for performing an operation on an article, the article including a plurality of fiducial marks and a set of features. A digital imaging system is used to capture a digital image of the article, which is analyzed to determine spatial relationships between positions of the features and positions of the fiducial marks. The article is positioned in proximity to an instrument and a fiducial sensing system including a plurality of fiducial sensors is used to determine positions of the fiducial marks. Predicted positions of the features are determined responsive to the determined spatial relationships and the determined fiducial mark positions. The position of the instrument or the article is adjusted responsive to the predicted positions of the features, and the instrument is used to perform an operation on the article.

Vision-guided alignment method

A system is used to perform an operation on an article, the article including a plurality of fiducial marks and a set of features. A digital imaging system captures a digital image of the article, which is analyzed to determine spatial relationships between positions of the features and positions of the fiducial marks. The article is positioned in proximity to an instrument and a fiducial sensing system including a plurality of fiducial sensors is used to determine positions of the fiducial marks. Predicted positions of the features are determined responsive to the determined spatial relationships and the determined fiducial mark positions. The position of the instrument or the article is adjusted responsive to the predicted positions of the features, and the instrument is used to perform an operation on the article.

Vision-guided alignment system

A method for electrically testing devices fabricated on successive frames of a web of substrate, each frame including a plurality of fiducial marks. A digital imaging system is used to capture a digital image of a frame, which is analyzed to determine spatial relationships between positions of a set of test pads and positions of the fiducial marks. The frame is advanced to an electrical test fixture which includes a set of test probes adapted to make electrical contact with the test pads. A fiducial sensing system including a plurality of fiducial sensors is used to determine positions of the fiducial marks. The position of the electrical test fixture is adjusted responsive to the determined spatial relationships and the determined fiducial mark positions so that the test probes are aligned with corresponding test pads, and an electrical test of the device is performed.

Electrical test method with vision-guided alignment

An electrical testing system is adapted to perform electrical tests on devices fabricated on successive frames of a web of substrate, each frame including a plurality of fiducial marks. A digital imaging system captures a digital image of a frame, which is analyzed to determine spatial relationships between positions of a set of test pads and positions of the fiducial marks. The frame is advanced to an electrical test fixture which includes a set of test probes adapted to make electrical contact with the test pads. A fiducial sensing system including a plurality of fiducial sensors determines positions of the fiducial marks. The position of the electrical test fixture is adjusted responsive to the determined spatial relationships and the determined fiducial mark positions so that the test probes are aligned with corresponding test pads, and an electrical test of the device is performed.

Electrical test system with vision-guided alignment

A method for printing a plurality of image planes on a substrate, the method includes providing a plurality of print head for depositing material on the substrate as the substrate moves along a transport path; providing a first sensor in a predetermined position along a transport path relative to predetermined positions of the plurality of print heads; providing an indication of position of the substrate along the transport path; providing a plurality of cue marks at predetermined positions or intervals on the substrate which are detected by the first sensor; and determining placement of an image plane printed by at least one of the plurality of print heads upstream of the first sensor based on the detection of position of the cue marks on the substrate by the first sensor.

Method for printing image planes on substrate

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.

Printhead color density correction in printing systems

A method for color density correction in a printing system that includes a linehead, with one or more printheads, that jets ink onto a moving print media and an integrated imaging system that captures images of content printed on the moving print media is provided. One or more pixel data values and a measured density value trace for a printed test block are produced by scanning the test block and averaging pixel data in a print media transport direction. A color and a density of the ink in the printed test block are determined using the pixel data values. The measured density value trace is compared with a respective reference density value. It is determined whether there is a difference between the measured density value trace and a reference density value is determined. If there is a difference, ink laydown for the printhead is adjusted based on the difference.

One or more printers or printing systems are connected to a scanning device. Each printer includes one or more color modules that are used during a printing operation. A printer prints a target for each color module or color channel. The printed targets are then scanned by the scanning device. The printed targets may be rotated to any angle and then scanned by the scanning device. The scanned raster data is processed by a controller to detect non-uniformities in at least one density image and to generate one or more correction profiles for the printer. When an image is to be printed, one or more controllers receive the image data and use the one or more correction profiles to correct or compensate for the non-uniformities during the exposure process.

Adaptive exposure printing and printing system

A color image control system and method are provided for improving the image control of printing systems, including digital front-end processors, color printers and post-finishing system. This automatic image control system, including measurement and calibration, by registering the captured reproduced document with the extracted virtual device document and automatically locating a plurality of regions in which to measure captured color values, using colorimetric measurements of an aim reproduction of the document at these same region positions, and finally relating the captured color values, the colorimetric color values, and the virtual device color values to create the an accurate color mapping. One embodiment of this method combines a global regression polynomial with local mapping refinement.

Image control system and method

Image quality assessment test charts and objective image quality measurement systems may be used to evaluate the printer sub-system health before artifacts become objectionable to human observers. Diagnostic images may be printed to allow measurement of a number of system performance attributes, such as: density, banding, streak, granularity, mottle, color, gloss, gloss uniformity, edge gradient, raggedness, sharpness, background, registration, line width, and satellite measurements. By comparing these measurements to historical values or ideal values of the same measurements, preventive maintenance suggestions may be generated to avoid both unnecessary maintenance and objectionable print quality.

Image quality attributes tracking and preventive maintenance prediction

An on-line gloss/density meter for an electrostatographic reproduction apparatus in which pigmented marking particle images are fixed to receiver members respectively by application of heat and/or pressure as such receiver members travel along a transport path through a fuser assembly. The on-line gloss/density meter includes at least one light emitter and at least one light collector, respectively mounted in operative association with the transport path so that light from the emitter, reflected from a receiver member, and is detected and a signal corresponding to such reflected light is produced. A guide element is associated with the transport path and directs a receiver member into a predetermined specified location relative to the beam of light. A logic and control unit, responsive to signals from the light collector, precisely controls operating parameters for the electrostatographic reproduction apparatus.

Gloss/density measurement device with feedback to control gloss and density of images produced by an electrographic reproduction apparatus

A copier or a printer includes a controller with a rendering algorithm that groups sets of adjacent pixels into sets of adjacent cells where each cell corresponds to a halftone dot of an image. The algorithm operates in conjunction with a gray scale printhead In sending data to the printhead, the controller parses a scanned image and set the exposure for each pixel in accordance with a growth and density program. The algorithm selectively grows halftone dots from zero size to a desired size equal to or less than a maximum size. It repeats this step for the rest of the pixels until the cell is at its desired size and at an initial density. If a higher density is desired, the algorithm selectively adjusts the fully grown cells by sequentially increasing the level of exposure of each pixel in the cell. The image is developed with developer including a hard magnetic carrier and toner.

Apparatus and method for gray level printing

A copier/printer system includes an image scanner for scanning a document and providing, after a compression step, digital image scanning signals, P.sub.1, that may be communicated to a computer system for display and editing or alternatively communicated to a grey level printer having a magnetic tape memory. The computer system may be used to display the scanned image for editing by an operator and is coupled to the printer so that the edited image signals, P.sub.2, which may be the scanned signals and a common page description language to modify its usage, may be printed by the printer. The edited image signals, P.sub.2, may be sent to the printer over a suitable network. The printer includes image processing electronics for transforming the edited data, P.sub.2, into device independent data signals, P.sub.3. Such signals may be received by printers of the same type; i.e., those employing similar process and halftone algorithms. The signals, P.sub.3, are then converted by a look-up table in the printer to device dependent signals, P.sub.4, for printing by the printer. The signals, P.sub.3, are stored in memory which may be recirculated for making multiple copies. The memory medium storing the P.sub.3 signals may be transported or otherwise communicated to other printers of the same type for reproducing the data since the data is in common data signal or device independent form. The memory medium storing the P.sub.3 signals may also store the P.sub.1 and/or P.sub.2 signals for re-editing purposes using the computer and display.

Non-impact copier/printer system communicating rosterized, printer

A non-impact dot printer such as an LED printer, records grey levels of each dot by pulse width modulating the exposure on-time for each LED. The on-time of each LED for each exposure is controlled by comparing a count, representing an exposure time, with a second time changing count. The time changing count changes in accordance with clock periods of varying periodicity that are determined in accordance with human perception response criteria. This allows for the need for fewer data bits to define grey scale and exposure correction information reducing the number of data lines otherwise required.

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Pittsford, NY, United States of America

Eric Karl Zeise