Lexmark International, Inc.

Stephen Kelly Cunnagin

Scott Michael Heydinger

Christopher Alan Adkins

Timothy Lowell Strunk

Timothy P Craig

Michael Shayne Wilson

Timothy John Rademacher

Mahesan Chelvayohan

Thomas Jon Eade

David Kyle Murray

Eric Todd Debusschere

William Michael Connors

David Golman King

John Philip Bolash

Patrick Laurence Kroger

David Allen Crutchfield

Walter Kevin Cousins

Stephen Edward Stewart

David Nolan Mattingly

Charles Aaron Judge

John Andrew Schmelz

Methods for licensing functionality after an initial transaction are provided. One such method is directed to licensing after an initial transaction of a customer obtaining a supply item including the step of prompting the customer to acquire a usage license for the supply item.

Method of licensing functionality after initial transaction

An imaging apparatus includes a controller and a media detection device mechanically engaged with a stack of print media. The media detection device has a movable indicator having a surface with distinct reflectance characteristics. A reflectance sensor is communicatively coupled to the controller. The reflectance sensor reads a reflectance of the surface and outputs a signal to the controller indicative of at least one characteristic of the print media.

Print media detection in an imaging apparatus

An auto-document feeder re-ingestion stop includes an auto-document feeder having a lower input tray and an upper output tray, the upper output tray having a length which is shorter than the length of input tray so that exiting or exited media depends onto the input tray, a flexible stopper depending from the upper output tray and inhibiting the exited media from being re-ingested by paper-to-paper friction during feeding of media in the input tray.

Media re-ingestion stopper

An imaging apparatus includes a controller and a media detection device mechanically engaged with a print media. The media detection device has a movable indicator having a surface with distinct reflectance characteristics. A reflectance sensor is communicatively coupled to the controller. The reflectance sensor reads a reflectance of the surface and outputs a signal to the controller indicative of at least one characteristic of the print media.

An improved signal converter is provided to interface between an IEEE 1284 (parallel) bus or device and an IEEE 1394 (serial) bus or device. The converter in its preferred embodiment is designed for use with printers, in which the printer communicates with the converter through either the converter's 1284 port or its 1394 port. In one system, the converter acts as a &ldquo;1284-to-1394 converter&rdquo; to interface between a printer (on the 1394 port) and a host computer (on the 1284 port). In a second system, the converter acts as a &ldquo;peer-to-peer 1394-to-1284 converter&rdquo; to interface between a printer (on the 1284 port) and some type of 1394 compliant device (on the 1394 port), such as a digital camera. The converter includes a Link layer that is embedded within an ASIC, which preferably includes a microcontroller or a logic state machine, to facilitate asynchronous data transfer. The ASIC acts as an interpreter between the 1284 bus and the microcontroller interface of the Link layer, and is responsible for mode negotiation and mode operation as defined in the IEEE 1284 standard. In the 1284-to-1394 converter mode of operation, the converter provides a 1284 controller in a &ldquo;slave&rdquo; mode, thereby allowing the 1394 side of the microcontroller to act as the controlling &ldquo;master&rdquo; of the converter system. In the peer-to-peer 1394-to-1284 converter mode of operation, the converter provides a 1284 controller which operates as a &ldquo;master&rdquo; for the printer's slave controller, thereby initiating and controlling the flow of data on the 1284 interface. Since the converter is the master of the 1284 interface, it is also responsible for reading the alerts from the printer, once the printer is &ldquo;armed&rdquo; to provide such alerts.

Method and apparatus for converting IEEE 1284 signals to or from IEEE 1394 signals

A method of providing a number approximating a total number of ink drops fired by an imaging device, including the steps of incrementing a COUNT variable associated with a color of ink if an ink drop of that color is fired by a printhead in the imaging device, evaluating the value of the COUNT variable and incrementing a TOTAL INK CONSUMED variable associated with the color, dependent upon the evaluating step.

Storage of total ink drop fired count in an imaging device

A method for determining a printhead misalignment of a printer. One step includes printing a printhead alignment test pattern including spaced-apart images at least partially aligned substantially along a printhead scan axis. A sensor is moved along the printhead scan axis at a known speed over the plurality of images. Sampled data points are obtained from the sensor at a known sampling rate. Another step includes determining the locations along the printhead scan axis of the edges of the images using the sampled data points, the known speed of the sensor, and the known sampling rate. An additional step includes calculating the printhead misalignment from the determined locations of the edges of the images.

Method for determining printhead misalignment of a printer

The invention is directed to an image forming apparatus including a print engine operable in at least two modes, and an access control system connected to and controlling the print engine. The access control system includes an access control key for allowing selective and discriminate switching of the print engine from one of the at least two modes to an other of the at least two modes, such as from an economy mode to a high quality mode, or vice versa.

Image forming apparatus with controlled access

Apparatus and method controls and varies a spacing between multiple print elements, such as ink jet print orifices, in a printing system. A signal representing at least one of an advance speed of a print medium in a feed direction in the printing system and an approximate drying time of an ink after being applied to the print medium is supplied to a controller. A device, responsive to the controller, varies the spacing between at least two print elements on the basis of at least one of the advance speed of the print medium and the approximate drying time of the ink.

Apparatus and method for varying print element spacing in a printing system

The invention is directed to a method of printing on a print medium using an ink jet printer. The ink jet printer includes a printhead assembly having a plurality of ink emitting nozzles. Ink is jetted onto the print medium from the printhead assembly during a first mode of operation using a first available set of the nozzles. Ink is jetted onto the print medium from the printhead assembly during a second mode of operation using a second available set of the nozzles, dependent upon a physical operating parameter of the ink jet printer. The second available set of nozzles has a smaller number of the nozzles than the first available set of nozzles.

Method of printing with an ink jet printer to inhibit the formation of a

A printing system and method is provided that compacts bitmap print data by determining, per each swath of a page to be printed, the beginning and ending points of each 'area' containing pels that will actually be printed within the swath, the locations of the starting and ending slices of each of these areas, and determining 'voids' containing a sufficient minimum number of consecutive blank slices within the swath. A void is identified when a number of consecutive blank slices exceeds a predetermined threshold value. The printhead of the printing system will be turned off at the beginning of the void, and then turned back on as it approaches the end of the void, which would correspond to the beginning of the next area to be printed.

Method and apparatus for compacting swath data for printers

The invention is directed to a method of manufacturing a printhead in an ink jet printer for jetting an ink onto a print medium. An advance speed of the print medium in a feed direction in the ink jet printer is determined. An approximate drying time of the ink after being jetted onto the print medium from the printhead is also determined. At least two rows of ink emitting orifices are formed in the printhead, with each row of orifices extending substantially across a width of the print medium. Each row of orifices is spaced apart from an adjacent row of orifices in the feed direction a distance which is dependent upon the advance speed of the print medium and the drying time of the ink.

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Lexington, KY, United States of America

Stephen Kelly Cunnagin