Eastman-kodak Company

Manh Tang

David Andrew Johnson

Thomas P Szumla

Keith Aaron Hadley

David S Madziarz

Douglas W Couwenhoven

Kin K Lum

James E Pickering

Andrea S Rivers

Daniel C Maslanka

Jeffrey S Gerstenberger

Vlade Josif Kordovich

Edward A Hauschild

A method of producing ink drops () in a printing apparatus () sends print-nonprint data from a controller () to at least one inkjet nozzle (). The print-nonprint data includes data on a current ink drop and data on at least one previous ink drop. A set of waveforms () is provided to the at least one nozzle and a waveform based on the print-nonprint data is selected. The selected waveform is supplied to an ink droplet formation device associated with the at least one nozzle and an ink drop is produced from the at least one nozzle.

Producing ink drops in a printing apparatus

An image processor () supporting very high-speed printing. The image processor () preferably has two separate connections to a source () of the image being printed, e.g., a printer control bus () and an image data bus (). The image processor () preferably accepts images from the image source () in commonly known graphics file formats, such as the well-known 24-bit, uncompressed TIFF file format. The image processor () is a multiprocessor implementation. Preferably, one processor () coordinates or 'orchestrates' control of the printing system and handshaking with the image source via the printer control bus () and the other processor () functions as a raster image processor (RIP) processor () and accepts and stores images into the printer environment from the image source () via the image data bus (). The RIP processor () preferably performs color separation on the image into color planes and transmits each color plane to a separate processing path from that point on in the imaging chain. Each color plane preferably has a separate imaging path out from a shared image data bus (). This separate path for each color plane preferably includes a band manager (), a print engine or nozzle controller (), and a print head ().

Image processor for high-speed printing applications

A method for generating an electrical signal with a plurality of pulses used to operate a continuous inkjet printer having plurality of nozzles, including the steps of generating a data table with a plurality of segment values, each segment value designating one of a high pulse and a low pulse of the electrical signal, and designating the pulse width of the designated pulse, reading a segment value from the data table, and generating at least one of a high pulse and a low pulse, the generated pulse and pulse width of the generated pulse being designated by the read segment value. In addition, a control circuit for implementing the method includes a memory device adapted to store a data table with a plurality of segment values, a counter for sequentially counting based on a segment value from the data table, and a synchronization device.

Method and apparatus for controlling heaters in a continuous ink jet print head

A method for timing a deflection correcting electrical pulse relative to operational pulses of an asymmetric thermal droplet deflector of a continuous ink jet printer having nozzles, including the steps of generating a line image data with image data values corresponding to the nozzles, the image data values being indicative of desired pixel graytone levels for the nozzles, comparing the image data values to reference values, generating a serial bit stream in the form of a serially arranged bits based on the comparison of the image data values to the reference values, and producing an actuation value that times the deflection correcting electrical pulse in the serial bit stream when the image data value is equal to the reference value being compared to. The deflection correcting electrical pulse is timed to the actuation value in the serial bit stream.

Method of controlling heaters in a continuous ink jet print head having segmented heaters to prevent terminal ink drop misdirection

An inkjet printhead assembly ( ) for an inkjet printer having a printhead ( ) with a plurality of nozzles ( ) and data path and control electronics circuitry ( ) operably coupled with the printhead ( ) for providing image data that control the flow of ink through the nozzles ( ). The nozzles ( ) are arranged in sections with actuators ( ) predisposed about each nozzle ( ), for causing the nozzles ( ) to print. Interconnections ( ) between the data path and control electronics circuitry ( ) and printhead ( ) include DATA, CLOCK, LATCH and ENABLE lines which are used to operate the printhead ( ) and, in turn, the nozzles ( ) via shift register stages ( ). The actuators ( ) are supported by the shift register stages ( ) into which data is shifted from register stage to register stage for loading data that enables the actuators ( ). The shift registers stages ( ) for all actuators ( ) are located to one side of the print head ( ) to facilitate cleaning of the nozzles ( ).

Printhead assembly with shift register stages facilitating cleaning of printhead nozzles

A method for depositing an OLED emissive layer, includes: providing an OLED substrate having at least one discernible feature; providing a beam of light which is transversely and angularly movable; providing an unpattemed donor element including emissive material and having an energy absorbing layer, arranged so that when the donor element is properly positioned relative to the OLED substrate, the beam of light can be absorbed by the energy-absorbing layer to heat the emissive material and cause its transfer; detecting the location of the discernible feature on the OLED substrate relative to the position of the beam to determine the position and orientation of the OLED substrate relative to the beam; angularly moving the beam and then moving the beam in a raster fashion, in accordance with the detected position and orientation of the OLED substrate, and changing the timing of actuation of the light beam as it is moved to different transverse positions.

Depositing an emissive layer for use in an organic light-emitting display device (OLED)

An inkjet printhead assembly ( ) for an inkjet printer having a printhead ( ) with a plurality of nozzles ( ) and data path and control electronics circuitry ( ) operably coupled with the printhead ( ) for providing image data that control the flow of ink through the nozzles ( ). The nozzles ( ) are arranged in sections with at least two heater elements, an upper heater ( ) and a lower heater ( ), predisposed about each nozzle ( ), the heater elements configured to actuate a nozzle ( ) for printing. The data path and control electronics circuitry ( ) comprises a plurality of shift registers ( ) configured to drive the nozzles, causing them to deliver ink in the direction of a receiver media, such as paper. Interconnections ( ) between the data path and control electronics circuitry ( ) and printhead ( ) include DATA, CLOCK, LATCH and ENABLE lines which are used to operate the printhead ( ) and, in turn, the nozzles ( ) via the shift register stages ( ). The number of interconnections are minimized by interleaving data to the shift registers between upper and lower heater elements of the printhead ( ) or by interleaving the data on the DATA line to the shift register stages ( ) for the upper and lower heater elements.

Printhead assembly with minimized interconnections to an inkjet printhead

A method of calibrating optical sensors for a thermal printer (10) is disclosed. A thermal printer for printing color images which uses a dye donor web having a repeating series of spaced frames of yellow, magenta and cyan colored heat transferable dyes, apparatus for identifying the different color frames of each series uses a source of second light and a source of first light. The apparatus responds to the intensity of second and first source light which passes through a dye donor frame to identify that dye donor frame. A CPU adjusts a digital potentiometer attached to a photodetector to determine a series of values for a first dye donor frame. The procedure is repeated for a second series of values for a second dye donor frame. An absolute value of the different potentiometer values for the two dye donor frames is determined, and the CPU adjusts the potentiometer setting to the maximum value determined. In another embodiment, a midpoint value is determined for the color sensor, and upper and lower threshold values are determined. In yet another embodiment, similar calculations are obtained for a second photodetector and a second potentiometer.

Autocalibration of optical sensors

A thermal printer has converging paths for dye-donor web and receiver medium. The paths abut before proceeding past the thermal head. A transport system moves the dye-donor web and the receiver medium (i) in a forward direction along their respective paths past a thermal head, whereat heat from the thermal head causes an area of the laminate material coating between leading and trailing edges to transfer from the dye-donor web to the receiver medium and (ii) in a reverse direction along their respective paths such that the area of the laminate material which is transferred to the receiver medium breaks cleanly at said trailing edge from a non-laminated area of the laminate material that remains on the aye-donor web as the web support separates from the receiver medium.

Lamination of a protective layer over an image produced by a thermal

A thermal printer includes a web transport for positioning a dye donor web along a path; a sensor along the path and spaced from the print line for detecting the arrival of a leading edge of a dye frame, and a control for the web transport. The control is adapted to reposition the dye donor web along the path so that the leading edge of the dye frame is in substantial alignment with the print line before printing the dye frame begins. The web transport moves the dye donor web in both forward and reverse directions past the print line, and the sensor detects the leading edge of a frame while the donor web moves in a forward direction. The control stops the web and reverses it to thereby rewind the dye donor web until the edge of the dye frame is in substantial alignment with the print line. The control adjusts the amount of repositioning of the dye donor web that is effected as a function of the detected leading edge's location along dye donor web.

Growing community of inventors

Penfield, NY, United States of America

Manh Tang