Xerox Corporation

Eastman-kodak Company

Frederick Allen Donahue

Gary Alan Kneezel

Eric Alan Merz

Thomas N Taylor

David G Anderson

Brian Gray Price

Anthony E Audi

William M Lindenfelser

Donald J Drake

Roger Guy Markham

Brian S Hilton

Arthur M Gooray

R Winfield Trafton

Jack Beery

Roger G Teumer

Richard H Tuhro

David Scott Uerz

Leonard M Carreira

Donald M Stevens

Richard E Butts

Paul J Rowe

W Keith Gilliland

Robert A Panos

John F Moreland

Ronald E Shaul

Donald V Brumbaugh

Ronald C Macera

Kurt L Jacobs

Hugh L Fuller

Dinesh S Shah

A method of printing on a recording medium using a printhead having a printhead face that includes an array of marking elements, the method includes advancing the recording medium along a medium advance direction toward a printing region; detecting with a sensor whether a portion of the recording medium is positioned such that it would be in a collision path with the printhead face if the recording medium is advanced into the printing region; and advancing the recording medium into the printing region for printing if it is detected that the recording medium would not be in a collision path with the printhead face.

Detecting potential collision damage to printhead

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 controlling in a printer the maintenance of an inkjet printhead supplied with fluid from a plurality of fluid sources, the method includes the steps of (a) monitoring the usage of the plurality of fluid sources; (b) identifying a preferred fluid source for use in a maintenance operation based on the monitored usage of the plurality of fluid sources; and (c) performing the maintenance operation using a first quantity of fluid from the preferred fluid source.

Controllable maintenance operations for efficient ink use

The present invention relates to a method that enables image quality of a printed image to be maintained by reducing unintended variations in drop volume, through the adjustment of ink drop ejecting conditions depending on the amount of ink remaining in an ink tank chamber or reservoir, and/or the ink demand for printing an image. The method of printing of the present invention comprises: providing a printhead in fluid communication with an ink chamber or reservoir; detecting at least one parameter related to an amount of negative pressure provided to the printhead; and adjusting an ink drop ejecting condition of the printhead as a function of the parameter so that an amount of variation in size of ejected ink drop is reduced.

Drop volume compensation for ink supply variation

Method and system for detecting the presence and determining characteristics of objects such as ink cartridges in printing systems. The system includes a signal transceiver capable of transmitting signals using a photo emitter and capable of receiving signals sent from the objects using a photo detector, and a monitoring system coupled to the signal transceiver for processing received signals to determine characteristics of the objects. Further, the photo emitter is at least partially covered by a first optical polarizer and the objects include a reflective surface that is at least partially covered by a second optical polarizer. When signals are transmitted from the signal transceiver to the objects, the second optical polarizer allows the signals to reach the reflective surface and reflect back towards the signal transceiver if the orientations of the first and second optical polarizers are substantially the same.

System and method for identifying objects

In the system of this application, a liquid crystal temperature sensor is applied to the exterior of the print head cartridge of a printing system to give an optical indication of the temperature at the print head that is readable by an optical scanner.

Liquid crystal sensing of thermal ink jet head temperature

An ink jet printer that includes a printhead for ejecting ink droplets, an ink container for supplying ink to the printhead, and an ink level sensor for measuring the level of ink in the ink container, includes an ink level sensor activator. The ink level sensor activator causes the ink level sensor to measure the level of ink in the ink container after the printhead has ejected a predetermined quantity of ink. The ink level sensor activator records the quantity of ink ejected by the printhead onto the print medium by measuring to the number of droplets of ink ejected, and/or by determining the number of pixels in an image to be printed for which ink is to be ejected. If the quantity of ink ejected has a predetermined threshold, the ink level sensor measures the quantity of ink in the ink container.

Ink level sensing for ink printer

A printer control apparatus and an algorithm for determining the peak instantaneous speed of a substrate through a thermal ink jet printer and a printer apparatus are disclosed herein. The printer includes a dryer module, a print head module, and a controller. The method includes determining the tolerable peak instantaneous speeds of the substrate through the print head and dryer modules, which by their sequential nature, operate out of phase from one another. The lower of the two speeds is then selected as the optimum instantaneous speed of the substrate through the printer. A controller in the printer carries out methods disclosed herein.

Method and apparatus for optimizing substrate speed in a printer device

A variable throughput active-passive dryer assembly is provided for handling and controllably drying wet sheets printed in a liquid ink printer. The variable throughput active-passive dryer assembly includes a rotatable cylindrical member including a support shaft and an exterior surface defining a path of movement therefor; a driving device for rotatably or indexably driving the exterior surface of the rotatable cylindrical member about the path of movement; a number of wet sheet holding and releasing slots formed in the rotatable cylindrical member from the exterior surface towards a center thereof for retaining and passively allowing wet sheets to dry; an active drying component associated with each wet sheet holding and releasing slot for actively drying a wet sheets within each such slot; and a programmable controller connected to, and controlling operation of, the driving device, and of the active drying component, thereby enabling variable throughput handling and active, as well as passive, drying of wet printed sheets without ink offset and image smearing problems.

Liquid ink printer including a variable throughput active-passive wet sheet dryer assembly

A method of replenishing fluid used in an marking device maintenance station of an ink marking device includes obtaining condensate from ambient air through a condensation process and channeling the condensate to a reservoir in communication with the marking device maintenance station.

Ink marking device maintenance fluid replenishment system and method

A liquid ink printer in which liquid ink is deposited on a recording medium in swaths in response to image data received thereby including a power supply, having a maximum power rating determined as a function of a number of passes per swath necessary to compete a swath having maximum ink coverage. The printer includes a print power regulation circuit, including a regulation circuit input, for receiving the image data, and a regulation circuit output, for transmitting image data in a number of passes per swath, the number of passes per swath being determined as a function of the maximum power rating, and a liquid ink printhead, coupled to the power supply and to the print power regulation circuit, for ejecting the liquid ink according to the transmitted image data. A printer driver, which can include the print power regulation circuit, determines the amount of ink coverage to complete a received swath of information and in response thereto determines the number of passes necessary to complete the printing of the swath. The power rating of the controlled according to the number of passes per swath and provides for an optimized power supply.

Multiple pass ink jet printer with optimized power supply

A sheet transport system has an encoder roller in direct contact with the sheet media and driven by the sheet media to detect and compensate for any registration error particularly at lead and trail edges during transport of the sheet media as media enters and exits transport nips. The invention is well suited for use in controlling and monitoring paper movement in incremental advance and print systems, such as ink jet printers. A biasing member ensures that the sheet media and encoder roller are in intimate contact. Preferably, a material with a high coefficient of friction is provided on an outer periphery of the encoder roller to assist in mating of the roller with the sheet media.

Paper driven rotary encoder that compensates for nip-to-nip handoff error

An ink jet printer of the type having at least one customer replaceable ink cartridge with an ink monitoring system detects whether or not the ink in the cartridge contains qualified ink or not and adjusts the normal printing mode to a non-normal printing when non-qualified ink is detected, thereby providing the customer the option to print with non-qualified ink with minimized effect on the printer or print quality.

Printer having print mode for non-qualified marking material

A liquid ink printer, depositing liquid ink to form an image, on a recording medium, including a printing dimension defining a maximum print area to receive the liquid ink, moving along a recording medium path. The printer includes a printbar, including a plurality of nozzles, aligned substantially perpendicular to the recording medium path, to deposit a swath of ink on the recording medium during movement of the recording medium along the recording medium path, a recording medium transport, disposed adjacent the plurality of nozzles, to move the recording medium along the recording medium path, and an encoder system, spaced from the recording medium transport, to determine the position of the recording medium transport with respect to the array of nozzles. The printbar includes a mounting substrate to mount a plurality of printhead dies including the nozzles and an optical reader of the encoder system. The nozzles and optical reader are aligned and the encoder system accurately determines the position of a belt of the recording medium transport with respect to the nozzles.

Growing community of inventors

Walworth, NY, United States of America

Frederick Allen Donahue