Eastman-kodak Company

Enrg, Inc.

James S Newkirk

R Winfield Trafton

Scott C Robinson

Rodney L Miller

John R Debesis

Douglas W Couwenhoven

David R Gotham

Robert C Bryant

Steven A Billow

Richard A Colleluori

Jeffrey P Serbicki

Timothy A Peter

Wesley H Bacon

Kenneth L Baker

Jason C Van Blargan

Kenneth D Stack

Donald J Hodge

Robert A Wiederhold

Susan M Lubecki

An electrolysis cell is controlled for operation under varying electrical power supply conditions. A flow of feed stock to the cell includes an electrolysis reactant at a controlled concentration. A varying amount of electrical power is supplied to the cell to produce an electrolysis reaction that generates a first reaction product at a first side of the cell and a second reaction product at a second side of the cell. The reactant concentration is adjusted as the electrical power varies to substantially maintain the cell at its thermal neutral voltage during cell operation. The cell may be used in an electrolysis system powered by a renewable energy source with varying power output (e.g., wind, solar, etc.).

Operation of an electrolysis cell

A method of selecting inkjet nozzle banks for assembly into an inkjet printhead. The printhead when assembled includes at least two nozzle banks and is operative for printing one particular color ink or other liquid and each nozzlebank includes plural nozzles. The printhead is operational in a printer to print raster rows so that at least one raster row is printed using ink drops deposited at respective different pixel locations on the raster row by respective different nozzles on each of the at least two nozzle banks. The method includes (a) characterizing a drop size parameter for predetermined nozzles of each of the nozzle banks; (b) identifying for each of plural raster rows the respective different nozzles on each of the at least two nozzle banks that would be used to print the respective raster row; (c) identifying a size characteristic associated with each of the plural raster rows using a predetermined computer algorithm without printing the raster rows; and (d) determining in accordance with a criterion and data derived from size characteristic identified in step (c) whether or not the at least two nozzle banks are an acceptable match.

Method of selecting inkjet nozzle banks for assembly into an inkjet printhead

An ink cartridge incorporating a memory chip includes a housing having a top wall, a bottom wall and plural side walls defining the exterior of the cartridge for enclosing a supply of ink. The bottom wall having an aperture formed therein to provide an opening through the exterior surface of the bottom wall. A pocket-like structure is formed within the bottom wall and/or on an inside surface of the bottom wall. A substrate including a memory chip is received in the pocket-like structure, the substrate including at least one electrical contact that faces the aperture so as to be accessible by a contact member external to the cartridge when the cartridge is mounted in a printer's cartridge receiving receptacle.

Ink cartridge with memory chip and method of assembling

An ink jet printer apparatus and method includes a print head having at least one nozzle. In response to a signal related to media type that is to be recorded upon, gray level image data relating to at least three different drop volumes including no ink drop are recorded at different pixel locations to form dots of different dot size or dot density on the recording medium. In recording image data of the same multitone image data value on different media, drop volumes deposited on one medium by the nozzle are different than drop volumes deposited on another medium by that nozzle. In some embodiments or printing modes image data is also recorded by depositing a variable size dot on a reference raster location and a supplementary dot at an adjacent pixel location on a shifted raster.

Method and apparatus of optimizing discrete drop volumes for multidrop capable inkjet printers

An ink cartridge for an inkjet printer includes a housing for supporting an ink supply in a cavity within the cartridge housing and a color or ink type discrimination structure connected to the cartridge housing, the color discrimination structure being when assembled a generally cylindrical structure having a keyway formed therein wherein the color or ink type discrimination structure may be oriented through rotation about the central axis of the cylindrical structure in one of plural allowable orientations when the cartridge housing is assembled or after assembly to define a color or ink type of ink in the cartridge. Thus, the same structure or parts may be used in different cartridges containing ink of different colors but yet provide color discrimination.

Ink cartridge with color discrimination structure

An ink jet printer apparatus and method of printing wherein image data representing a predetermined number of gray levels of pixels to be printed are accommodated in an inkjet printer for recording on a receiver medium. The printer has the capability of producing fewer numbers of gray levels at respective pixel positions than the data requires. The inkjet printer prints an increased number of the gray levels by applying multitone printing to pixels locations on a reference raster and provides supplementary ink drops to respective adjacent pixel locations on a shifted raster.

Method and apparatus for increasing number of available printing gradations on an ink jet printer

An ink jet print head includes an array of nozzles, each nozzle being capable of selectively producing when actuated at least two ink drop sizes including a larger ink drop size and a smaller ink drop size. In response to a pixel density signal of maximum density value at a respective pixel location, a nozzle prints a drop of the larger ink drop size at the respective pixel location on a reference raster and the same or a different nozzle prints a drop of a smaller drop size at a pixel location adjacent to the respective pixel location on a shifted raster to provide for full coverage with improved dry time capability of the printed ink drops.

Ink jet printer with improved dry time

An ink cartridge for an ink jet printer includes alignment features in the form of recesses formed on front and back side walls of the cartridge surface near the bottom thereof. An ink cartridge receiver assembly includes a plurality of receptacles for receiving a corresponding plurality of ink cartridges containing ink of different.colors. The receptacles are defined by identical spacer walls and the spacer walls include locating structures which cooperate with the alignment features on the cartridge to properly align the cartridge as it is inserted into the receptacle. The cartridges have identically curved surfaces that interface with complementary curved spacer walls.

Ink cartridge with alignment features and method of inserting cartridge into a printer receptacle

A laser print head structure includes a laser diode array (14) coupled to a heat sink (10). A cylindrical lens element (20) is aligned with the laser diode array and bonded to the heat sink. A binary optical element (22) is then aligned with the cylindrical lens element and attached to the heat sink through the use of flexures (24). The use of the flexures permits the binary optical element to 'float' in the plane of the laser diode array, thereby maintaining alignment even when the thermal expansion characteristics of the binary optical element are different from the thermal expansion characteristics of the heat sink. Anti-wicking slots (18) are provided in the heat sink at locations between the bonding points of the cylindrical lens element and the laser diode array. The anti-wicking slots, through capillary action, prevent excess adhesive from wicking along the cylindrical lens element and onto the facets of the lasers in the laser diode array. In addition, the flexures are provided with holes (28) to permit light to pass through the flexures to a light curable resin which is used to bond the flexures to the heat sink.

Optical print head with flexure mounted optical device

A method for fabricating a holeless hologon disk includes the steps of relatively positioning a disk assembly and a drive shaft assembly in closely spaced relation with the planar surface of the disk normal to the drive shaft's rotational axis. Adhesive is applied between the assemblies and allowed to fix while the relative assembly positions are maintained. In one construction fabricated by such method, the disk assembly comprises a flanged coupling attached to a planar glass disk with compliant adhesive.

Laser scanner employing a holeless hologon disk and fabrication method

A fuser member has a composite layer including (1) a first layer of a first material which is an elastomer; (2) a second layer of a second material which is preferably a fluoroelastomer which is impervious to fuser oil absorbed by said first material; and (3) a layer intermediate to and continuous with the first and second layers in which the proportion of the first material to the second material gradually varies from substantially only the first material to substantially only the second material. Methods of making the fuser member by a spray technique and of using the fuser member to fuse toner images to a receiver are also disclosed.

Fuser member

A fuser member has a composite layer including (1) a first layer of a first material which is an elastomer; (2) a second layer of a second material comprising elastomeric fluoropolymer which is a crosslinked polymer having repeating units of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkyl perfluorovinylether; and (3) a layer intermediate to and continuous with the first and second layers in which the proportion of the first material to the second material gradually varies from substantially only the first material to substantially only the second material. Methods of making the fuser member by a spray technique and of using the fuser member to fuse toner images to a receiver are also disclosed.

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LeRoy, NY, United States of America

James S Newkirk