Hewlett-packard Company

Hewlett-packard Development Company, L.p.

William D Meyer

Todd R Medin

Brent W Richtsmeier

Peter C Morris

Mark S Hickman

Dale R Davis

Craig S Huston

Bruce E Mortland

Said Zamani-Kord

Bruce E Mueller

Kenneth J Knight

Jeffrey A Sunamoto

Mark G Wisnosky

Matthew Grant Lopez

Paul D Bliley

William S Eaton

Todd L Russell

Christopher Karl Schroeder

Richard A Becker

Daniel Polanco

An example system comprising a pressure sensor array, a proximity sensor comprising circuitry to sense an object approaching the pressure sensor array based on a change in a resonance frequency of the proximity sensor, and a controller to receive from the proximity sensor the sensed change in the resonance frequency and designate the pressure sensor array as active responsive to the sensed resonance frequency being below a threshold or inactive responsive to the sensed resonance frequency being above the threshold, wherein a data transmission rate of the active pressure sensor array is greater than a data transmission rate of the inactive pressure sensor array.

Object detection to activiate pressure sensors

A scanning mechanism of one embodiment of the invention is disclosed that includes light-emitting units, an integrating detector, and pulse-width modulated (PWM) drivers. Each light-emitting unit can emit colored light corresponding to a color of a color space. The integrating detector can detect the colored light emitted by the light-emitting units as reflected off a surface by integrating the colored light detected over a period of time. Each PWM driver can turn on a corresponding light-emitting unit at a duty cycle.

Pulse-width modulated drivers for light-emitting units of scanning mechanism

A print medium is encoded with information bearing indicia. A transparent layer or substrate which receives the printed information during printing has a first surface, a second surface and a leading edge. A strip of tape is applied to the first surface. A machine readable information bearing indicia is applied to at least one surface of the tape strip. The indicia is formed by a pattern of fluorescent material which upon excitation by radiation of a given spectral excitation range emits radiation in a fluorescent spectral range. The tape reflects radiation in the given excitation spectral range and in the fluorescent spectral range. One type of indicia is a bar code pattern, although other types can also be employed.

Tape indicia on clear film media

Methods of printing a desired color image on a printing medium by construction from individual ink drops deposited in pixel arrays includes passing a multiple-nozzle ink-discharging pen or an odd number of staggered pen cartridges across the medium multiple times, each pass creating a portion of a respective segment of the image, and periodically advancing the medium so that portions of successively different segments are created by the pen(s). During each pass, the &ldquo;portion-creating&rdquo; function includes discharging from the pen(s) an odd submultiple of the full density of ink desired in the segment of the desired image that is being created, so that printing full density in each segment requires an odd number of passes. The medium is advanced by an odd submultiple of the height of the segment being created in each pass and is preferably advanced after each pass of the pen(s). The portion-creating includes creation by the pen(s) of a multiplicity of spaced-apart diagonal lines. Preferably in each passing step after a first one, the diagonal lines are created in positions such as to at least partially fill in unprinted spaces between previously created diagonal lines. Preferably the diagonal lines are all at a substantially common angle (ideally forty-five degrees) to a pen-scanning direction.

Odd number of passes, odd number of advances, and separated-diagonal-line masking, in liquid-ink printers

A transparent medium for printers and plotters having optical edge and media sensors has one or more reflective strips applied to the non-image side to trip the sensors. The reflective strips can include a narrow strip along one lateral edge to locate the edge, and a wider strip along the other lateral edge to locate the edge and trip the media sensor. The strips are applied by a pressure-sensitive adhesive, and are removed after the printing operations on the medium. The reflective strips can be formed of the same transparent base as the medium, with fillers added to provide sufficient opacity to trip the optical sensors.

Image forming method using transparent printer media with reflective

A method of printing a desired color image on a printing medium by construction from individual ink drops deposited in pixel arrays includes passing a multiple-nozzle ink-discharging pen across the medium multiple times, each pass creating a portion of a respective segment of the image, and periodically advancing the medium so that the pen creates portions of successively different segments. During each pass, the 'portion-creating' function includes discharging from the pen an odd submultiple of the full density of ink desired in the segment of the desired image that is being created, so that printing full density in each segment requires an odd number of passes, preferably three. The medium is advanced by an odd submultiple of the height of the segment being created in each pass and is preferably advanced after each pass of the pen. For the preferred three passes, the odd submultiple of the height of the segment is preferably one-third. The portion-creating includes creation by the pen of a multiplicity of spaced-apart diagonal lines. Preferably in each passing step after a first one, the diagonal lines are created in positions such as to at least partially fill in unprinted spaces between previously created diagonal lines. Preferably the diagonal lines are all at a substantially common angle (ideally forty-five degrees) to a pen-scanning direction.

Odd number of passes, odd number of advances, and

An ink-jet printer having a dual drying system. A print heater is disposed at the print zone for heating a portion of the print medium during printing operations to dry ink ejected onto the medium. The printer has means for drying the print medium at a drying location before the medium reaches the print zone to prevent uneven shrinkage of a cellulose-based print medium due to heating the medium at the print zone. The print heater can be controlled to provide a higher temperature at the print zone than the drying means provides at the drying location. The printer provides the capability of independent control of said drying means and said print heater. A method is described for detecting a transparent medium being advanced to a print zone of an ink-jet printer capable of supporting printing operations on a transparent medium as well as an opaque medium, including: providing a sheet of transparent print medium having an opaque strip extending along a leading edge thereof, wherein a reflectivity of the strip is substantially higher than a reflectivity of the transparent print medium; advancing an opaque or transparent print medium along a medium path toward the print zone; and determining whether a print medium being advanced to the print zone is an opaque type or a transparent type by sensing the presence of the opaque strip on said transparent medium.

Ink-jet printer having dual drying system

Transparent printer media with reflective strips for media sensing

A color ink-jet printer having a heating blower system for evaporating ink carriers from the print medium after ink-jet printing. A preheat drive roller engages the medium and draws it to a print zone. The drive roller is heated and preheats the medium before it reaches the print zone. At the print zone, a print heater heats the underside of the medium via radiant and convective heat transfer through an opening pattern formed in a print zone heater screen. The amount of heat energy is variable, depending on the type of the print medium. A crossflow fan at the exit side of the print zone direct an airflow at the print zone in order to cause turbulence at the medium surface being printed and further accelerate evaporation of the ink carriers from the medium. An exhaust fan and duct system exhausts air and ink carrier vapor away from the print zone and out of the printer housing.

Ink-jet printer with print heater having variable heat energy for

A multiple printhead cartridge color thermal ink jet printer having apparatus for measuring the offsets between the multiple printhead cartridges each of which includes a nozzle array of one or more columns of nozzles, each column being parallel to the media axis of the printer. The cartridges are individually operated, stationarily and while scanning, to fire drops at an aperture plate interposed between an optical drop detector and the nozzle arrays of the printhead cartridges. The detection of drops passing through the aperture plate and the non-detection of drops blocked by the aperture plate provide information which is utilized in conjunction with the nature of the operation of the cartridges that produced the detected drops to determine the positions of the nozzle arrays of the cartridges relative to each other. The optical drop detector includes optical light benders that advantageously positions the optical detection zones of the optical detector closer to the aperture plate, which allows higher drop fire rates to be utilized for offset determination.

Growing community of inventors

Ramona, CA, United States of America

William D Meyer