The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Dec. 11, 2001
Filed:
Jan. 07, 2000
Stephen A. Smith, Ridgefield, WA (US);
William S. Osborne, Camas, WA (US);
Hewlett-Packard Company, Palo Alto, CA (US);
Abstract
A method of reducing a time required for an inkjet printer to print a page minimizes unused pen nozzles during printmode transitions. An image to be printed is typically partitioned into different image regions based on a content of each region, such as text, graphics, or photographic images, each characterized by a different printmode. The image is represented in terms of rows of dots, each dot printed by a pen nozzle as a print carriage sweeps across an output medium. The data representing the dots that are printed in a single sweep is termed a swath. According to the method, a swath contains data from more than one image region, thus reducing the number of swaths required to print an image.