Eastman-kodak Company

Sanwal P Sarraf

Andrew Frederick Kurtz

Chih-Li Chuang

Douglas Robert Robello

Jay S Schildkraut

Joseph F Revelli, Jr

David J Williams

Thomas L Penner

Seung H Baek

John R Debesis

Daniel D Haas

Alan C Nutt

David A Roberts

Robert I Morrison

Eric J Lim

David D Kessler

Charles D DeBoer

Kurt Michael Sanger

Thomas A Mackin

Bradley Stephen Jadrich

Scott A Brownstein

Hugh S Gilmour

John M Kresock

Sharon W Weber

James C Owens

Michael James Barry

Chris P Brophy

Kevin Hsu

Linda I Ficcaglia

An ink-jet printer capable of providing a large number of gray levels delivers ink for each pixel through several nozzles for each color, with each nozzle corresponding to a bit of the pixel's image data word. The nozzle corresponding to the least significant bit of the image data word has a capacity to deliver an amount of ink just sufficient to produce 1/256 of the maximum desired density on the media. The second nozzle, corresponding to the next least significant bit of the image data word, has a capacity to deliver twice as much ink as the first nozzle. The third nozzle delivers twice as much ink as the second nozzle (and four times as much as the first nozzle), and so on. The last nozzle delivers 128 times as much ink as the first nozzle. Control of each nozzle is time-sequenced to print each pixel of the image as the printhead scans over the media. The ink is delivered to the image pixel according to the value of the image data word.

Printer capable of producing continuous tone prints from multi-bit data

A laser thermal system that uses a dye donor produces a desired relationship of exposure to density by modifying the input current waveform supplied to the exposure source. The modification is a combination of amplitude modulation and pulse width modulation in an imagewise fashion. The efficiency and the speed of image formation is increased by bringing the dye donor temperature near the threshold of dye transfer using a segment of the total current waveform for a very short duration.

Combined pulse-width and amplitude modulation of exposing laser beam for

A beamsplitter/staggerer (24) for multi-beam laser printers is disclosed. The multi-beam laser printer is comprised of the beamsplitter/staggerer (24), a spatial light modulator (16) having at least two rows of staggered modulator pixel elements (19), and an illumination system comprised of a laser array (10) and an optical system (13) which provides a narrow line of laser light. The beamsplitter/staggerer is adapted to split the narrow line of laser light into at least two parallel lines of light, and to split each of the parallel lines of light into regions, such that substantially all of the light from the illumination system falls onto each of the modulator pixel elements (19) in each of the rows. In one embodiment, the beamsplitter/staggerer comprises a pattern of reflecting areas (26) and transmitting areas (27) wherein a shape of the regions defined by the beamsplitter/staggerer matches a shape of the modulator pixel elements (19).

Beamsplitter/staggerer for multi-beam laser printers

A multiple-source array for use in thermal printing uses source interleaving to avoid overlapping of the dye-transfer tracks upon the donor material in a single pass. This prevents the formation of artifacts in the image because of thermal interaction among either the sources or printing spots. This also permits the thermal array to be oriented predominantly perpendicular to the first-scan direction so that any arcuate shape of the array causes minimal spacing variations of the scan lines and minimizes spacing variations in focus for laser-thermal printing or document source separation for resistive-head thermal printing. Interleaving also allows multiple printheads to be used even when they have different printing characteristics. The array includes independently addressable printing element data channels and a data distributor allowing interleaving to be accomplished in the printhead. The printhead also includes pixel replication circuitry that allows pixel replication in both the fast and slow scan directions.

Interleaving thermal printing with discontiguous dye-transfer tracks on

An imaging apparatus for a laser thermal printer (1) provides 100% fill at a media plane (60). The imaging apparatus (10) comprises a laser array (12), and focuses it on a modulator lenslet array (30). The illumination optics (13) combines light from each diode laser (14) in modulator lenslet array (30) and focuses light onto modulator sites (42) on the modulator array (40), with less than 100% fill. A printing lens (50) focuses an image of the modulator lenslet array onto a media plane (60) at essentially 100% fill.

Laser printer with low fill modulator array and high pixel fill at a

A laser imager autofocus apparatus, adapted to receive media with an image surface to be scanned, includes a laser and laser optics for producing a beam of light focused at an image plane. A photodiode is associated with the laser and adapted to produce a signal characteristic of the amount of light from the laser that is reflected from the image surface of received media onto the photodiode. Focus of the laser beam on the image surface is adjusted in response to the characteristic signal to maintain close association of the image surface of received media and the image plane of the laser and laser optics. The focus adjusting means may move one or more of the laser, the laser optics, or the image surface of received media. The laser source may be an array of plural laser sources in a line, and the plural laser sources may tilt relative to the image surface of received media.

Autofocus mechanism for laser imager

A color laser printing apparatus that incorporates the use of fiber optics and a flexible beam-combining device to combine two or more lasers having different wavelengths that correspond to the photosensitivities of the image-receiving media. Use of fiber optics on a flexible beam-combining device allows high flexibility in the placement of components associated with a color laser printing apparatus and making the system easier to align. Because the components of the system no longer require placement in close proximity to one another, certain aspects of the system can be made more compact and any adverse effects of heat generation of the components, such as the lasers, can be greatly reduced.

Using optical fiber multiplexer to combine light beams in a laser printer

An optical system for illuminating a multi-element spatial light modulator from a multi-emitter laser array such that each element of the modulator sees light from all emitters targets the light onto the two or more rows of elements, without putting light into the gap between the rows, and without putting light in the spaces between the elements. The element illumination may match a complex shape of the elements. A beamsplitter/staggerer is adapted to split the line of laser light into plural parallel lines of light, and to split the parallel lines of light into regions such that substantially all of the light from the illumination system falls onto the elements of the rows without impinging between the rows of elements or between the elements in the rows.

Beamsplitter for laser multi-beam printers and recorders

An apparatus and method are provided for forming a laser-induced thermal dye transfer image. A slide for brings a dye donor and dye receiver into dye transferring proximity, and a laser emits a beam of light toward the donor to image-wise transfer dye to the receiver. The slide, along with the donor therein, is tilted to eliminate intensity noise in the laser caused by light reflecting from the slide and donor back to the laser. By tilting the slide, specular reflections from the dye donor do not intercept optical path and do not propagate along the optical path.

Apparatus and method for eliminating feedback noise in laser thermal

Laser color printers include multiple laser sources formed of either diode lasers or laser diode arrays emitting light beams of different wavelengths, and an optical arrangement. The optical arrangement independently processes each of the light beams to provide a separate predetermined sized collimated light beam, and then focuses and scans the light beams over a printing media that prints separate colors for each different wavelength of light. Where different sized collimated light beams are required to match a printing media, a separate zoom lens is used is used in the optical arrangement to independently reshape each of two orthogonal cross-sectional directions of a separate one of the light beams before being properly sized at the output thereof. Where only one of the two orthogonal cross-sectional directions of the light beams has to be reshaped, the light beams are collimated and combined and pass through a beam shaper which reshapes that cross-sectional direction of the light beams before the light beams are focused and scanned over the printing media. Where laser diode arrays are used to generate separate wavelength light beams, each of the light beams from the lasers of an array are formed and focused into a linear array of spots on the printing media.

Digital printers using multiple lasers or laser arrays with different

A light modulator for use with a laser or laser diode array such that the light from the laser is imaged on a light modulator having a row of light modulating elements, either of the reflectance or transmittance type. The light modulator is imaged onto a light-sensitive material and the image is scanned line by line on the light-sensitive material. Control circuitry is provided to control the relative movement between the light modulator and the light-sensitive material that may be either in planar form or wrapped out the circumference of cylindrical drum.

Light modulator with a laser or laser array for exposing image data

Apparatus and method for digitally printing a finely detailed image using pulse width modulation (PWM) with improved productivity over the prior art. Many images, or portions of images, generated by printers utilizing PWM do not require that any of the pixels be exposed for the maximum time possible, but that a maximum exposure can be determined for a selected portion of the image, whether it is for a line, for a paragraph, or for a selected color, that can then be used to speed up the printing of that portion of the image. Thus, a less than full density exposure can be set as the maximum, and the scanning speed increased accordingly to shorten the overall time required for printing that portion of the image.

Apparatus and method for increasing the productivity of a thermal

A laser printing system includes plurality of N channel where each channels includes a laser diode forming a laser light beam which is shaped by a beam shaper to correct for divergence differences between the lasers of the N channels. The plurality of N output laser light beams from the plurality of N beam shapers are circular in cross-section, and are combined at a stop aperture in a stop plane with a predetermined angular separation. Various techniques are disclosed for combining the plurality of N output laser light beams. An optical system relays the combined plurality of N angularly separated output laser light beams at the stop plane to a light sensitive print medium to form a spot for each laser light beam. The spots are then scanned across the print medium to print a desired image. The optical system transforms the predetermined angular separations of the plurality of N laser light beams at the stop aperture into second predetermined angular separations at a rear stop image plane of the optical system. The second predetermined angular separations are less than the first predetermined angular separations by a magnification factor of the optical system.

Printing system for printing an image with lasers emitting diverging

A holder for a thermal print medium is disclosed. The holder is adapted to be used in a thermal printer in which a donor element in a thermal print medium transfers dye to a receiver element upon receipt of a sufficient amount of thermal energy. The printer includes a plurality of diode lasers which can be individually modulated to supply energy to selected dots on the medium in accordance with an information signal. The print head of the printer includes a fiber optic array having a plurality of optical fibers coupled to the diode lasers. The holder for the thermal print medium includes a rotatable vacuum drum, and the fiber optic array is movable relative to the drum. The vacuum drum includes separate vacuum supplies for the donor sheet and for the receiver sheet so that the sheets can be independently handled.

Growing community of inventors

Webster, NY, United States of America

Sanwal P Sarraf