Texas Instruments Corporation

Agfa Gevaert Nv

Gretag Imaging Ag

William E Nelson

Larry J Hornbeck

Dirk K Broddin

Vadlamannati Venkateswar

Larry D Mitcham

Charles H Anderson

Robert F Janssens

Frank A Deschuytere

James St Clair

Vadlammanti Venkateswar

Jeffrey Brian Sampsell

Serge M Tavernier

Venkat V Easwar

James M Florence

Beat Frick

John B Allen

Paul M Urbanus

Robert M Boysel

James Thomas Carlo

Curt R Raschke

Gene D Lee

Werner F Heirbaut

Jean-Pierre J Slabbaert

Albert Barge Smanio Coit

A new non-contacting, edge-coupled micromechanical device and method, requiring no contact between the mirror or underlying yoke and landing pads on the substrate. Elimination of physical contact eliminates the problem of &ldquo;sticking&rdquo; mirrors found in conventional devices, and simplifies the manufacturing process by reducing the requirements for passivation coatings and hermetic packages. A capture electrode is provided at an appropriate elevation above the surface of the device so as to be in close proximity with the edge of the mirror or yoke when it rotates to the desired angle. The capture electrode and mirror assembly are biased to establish a very high electrostatic attraction between the two which stops the mirror. The mirror can be critically damped to prevent oscillations of the mirrors by tailoring at least one of the voltages applied to the mirror and capture electrode.

Micromechanical device and method for non-contacting edge-coupled operation

A method of modeling and enhancing the print quality of digital printing, including both electrophographic printing and photofinishing. Pixels are printed with a device such as a DMD, whose pixels provide a steep-sided intensity versus displacement curve of each light spot on the image plane. Holes placed in the pixel can be used to place a dip in the top of the curve, a feature especially useful for electrophotographic printing. The effect of this hole on the image plane can also be flattened, a feature than may be especially useful for photofinishing. The steep-sided intensity curve facilitates the ability to model and predict pixel size.

High resolution digital printing with spatial light modulator

A digital photograph printer comprising a transport mechanism, a modulated light source (1206), and an exposure controller (1302). The transport mechanism for advancing a photosensitive medium (1202) through an exposure region (1200) such that said photosensitive medium advances one row of pixel locations each row period. The modulated light source (1206) is operable to selectively provide a beam of light to an array of individually modulated regions (1300, 1306, 1310) in an exposure region (1200). As the photosensitive medium (1202) moves through the exposure region (1200) the individually modulated regions in the exposure region (1200) have the opportunity to expose each pixel locations in the exposure region (1200) once each row period. The exposure controller (1302) operable to control the modulated light source (1206) based on image data provided to modulated light source. The image data comprises optical density data for each pixel in an image to be formed on the photosensitive medium for each of at least three primary colors. The controller selectively exposes the photosensitive medium at a number of exposure opportunities, each selective exposure performed for a period no greater than 50% of the row time, and the duration of at least two of the exposure periods having a non-binary relationship.

Photofinishing utilizing modulated light source array

A method for printing or exposing photosensitive media is disclosed herein. The method uses standard spatial light modulators with standard addressing circuitry. The data is written to the device for the first row, the photosensitive media is exposed to the light reflected from the device, and the device is turned off. The data from the first row is then written to the second line of the device, and new data is loaded into the first line of the device. The media is again exposed. This is repeated until the entire region of the drum is completely exposed. The device can be repositioned to cover a different region of the drum and the process would be repeated.

Non-systolic time delay and integration printing

A method is described to control the maximum density and the pixel profile of microdots produced by a binary or multilevel electrophotographic device. In various embodiments, from the maximum development potential. The working point of the device is established by imposing a relation between charge level, discharge level and saturation voltage level of the photosensitive element. This allows to achieve consistent output densities, irrespective of the environmental parameters, such as relative humidity and temperature.

Process control of electrophotographic device

In classic optical rendering systems, the spot, illuminating a microdot on the photosensitive medium, is designed to overlap with neighboring microdots, typically having an overlap of 1.7 times the pitch of the microdots, for a luminous intensity of 1/e.sup.2 the highest intensity. A 'sharp' photosensitive medium, such as a photographic film used in graphical applications, generates a binary circle, obtainable by thresholding. The area of such a circle is too large, which results in higher dot gain. Many systems, such as electrographic systems, do not behave as a 'sharp' medium. If intermediate energy levels are used, in order to obtain continuous tone or multiple density levels, thresholding behavior may be avoided by appropriate choice of energy levels. Such a different sensitometry results in specific requirements for the energy distribution for each microdot. A square shaped uniform energy distribution within the space allotted to each microdot, allows for multiple density levels, without severe sensitometric requirements.

Uniform exposure of photosensitive medium by square intensity profiles

A color electrophotographic printer (100) having a vertical photoreceptor belt (111) and a horizontal transfer belt (120) at the top of the printer. The result is a 'T-shape' belt-to-belt toner transfer configuration with a top-side paper path. Color developer cartridges (117) are vertically stacked along one side of the photoreceptor belt (111) and an oversized black developer cartridge (116) is placed on the other side.

Electrophotographic color printer with belt-to-belt toner transfer and

Higher quality printing is difficult in implementation in spatial light modulator printers. The two major problems are accomplishing gray scale within the line time constraints, and eliminating staircasing artifacts within the images printed (81). It can be improved by using an alternate way of resetting cells on the spatial light modulator when data is being loaded onto the cells, timing delay (86), horizontal offset (84), and differently sized pixels (80, 82).

Method for printing control in the process direction

Method for printing using horizontal offset

Method of reducing print artifacts

A device for patterning an imaging member (46) is provided. The device comprises a light source (24) which emits light rays (26). Light rays (26) pass through a collimator lens (28) to collimate the light rays (30). The light then strikes a spatial light modulator (32) which is controlled by a computer (40) to reflect the light (42). The light passes through an imaging lens (44) to magnify the pattern for striking imaging member (46). Imaging member (46) is thus patterned by changing modulator (32) by computer (40).

Method and apparatus for patterning an imaging member

System and method for enhanced printing

Method for high resolution printing

A digital accelerometer manufactured from arrays 11a-11e of micro-mechanical sensing elements 12. The sensing elements 12 of different arrays 11a-11e are designed for detecting acceleration in a particular rotational or translational direction, such that their response to acceleration in other directions is minimized. Further, the sensing elements 12 have size and proof mass parameters that may be adjusted to vary their frequency response and sensitivity to amplitude of acceleration. Arrays 11a-11e of sensing elements 12 provide detection of a range of frequency levels and amplitudes at each frequency. At an appropriate frequency and amplitude of an applied acceleration, a sensing element 12 moves to contact an electrode 126, producing an electrical signal, which may be stored as a data bit. The sensing elements, when used in combination with memory 15 and processing devices 16, results in an intelligent accelerometer whose fabrication techniques are compatible with those used for the digital processing devices.

Method of measuring the amplitude and frequency of an acceleration

A device (40) for patterning an imaging member (46) is provided. The device (40) comprises a light source (42) which emits light rays (44). Light rays (44) pass through a collimator (45) to collimate the light rays (48). The light then strikes a spatial light modulator (50) which is controlled by a computer (52) to reflect the light (54). The light passes through an imaging member (56) to demagnify the pattern for striking imaging member (46). Imaging member (46) is thus patterned by changing modulator (50) by computer (52).

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Dallas, TX, United States of America

William E Nelson