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US 11,110,704 B2Granted
Selectively firing a fluid circulation element
AssigneeHewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.
InventorsGuan-Kwee Goh, Matthew A Shepherd, Mark Mackenzie
Life of this patent
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Abstract
According to an example, a printing apparatus may include two drop ejecting elements, a fluid circulating element, and a logic device. The logic device may determine whether one or both of a first drop ejecting element and a second drop ejecting element have been fired within a predetermined period of time prior to a current time. In response to the determination, the logic device may selectively transmit an output signal that is to cause the fluid circulating element to be selectively fired, in which the fluid circulating element is positioned to circulate fluid adjacent to both the first drop ejecting element and the second drop ejecting element.
Claims12
A printing apparatus comprising:
- a fluid ejection device including:
- first and second drop ejecting elements positioned inside fluid chambers,
- a fluid circulating element positioned inside the fluid chambers, wherein the fluid circulating element is to be fired to circulate a fluid inside the fluid chambers,
- a first pump generator to cause the fluid circulating element to be fired based on operations of the first drop ejecting element, and
- a second pump generator to cause the fluid circulating element to be fired based on operations of the second drop ejecting element, and
- a logic device connected to the fluid ejection device, wherein the logic device is to:
- in response to a determination that the first drop ejecting element has not been fired for a predetermined period of time, output a first instruction to instruct the first pump generator to fire the fluid circulating element, and
- in response to a determination that the second drop ejecting element has not been fired for the predetermined period of time, output a second instruction to instruct the second pump generator to fire the fluid circulating element,
- wherein the logic device is further to determine whether each of the first and second drop ejecting elements has been fired within the predetermined period of time in response to a determination that one of the first and second drop ejecting elements is to be imminently fired.
6 more elements
A method, comprising:
- determining, by a logic device connected to a fluid ejection device, that a first drop ejecting element and a second drop ejecting element in fluid chambers of the fluid ejection device have not been fired within a predetermined time period based on information received from monitoring signals sent to the first drop ejecting element and the second drop ejecting element;
- in response to the determination that the first drop ejecting element has not been fired within the predetermined time period, outputting, by the logic device, a first instruction to instruct a first pump generator of the fluid ejection device to generate a first pump waveform signal to cause a fluid circulating element in the fluid chambers to be fired to circulate a fluid in the fluid chambers of the fluid ejection device;
- in response to the determination that the second drop ejecting element has not been fired within the predetermined time period, outputting, by the logic device, a second instruction to instruct a second pump generator in the fluid ejection device to generate a second pump waveform signal to cause the fluid circulating element to be fired to circulate the fluid in the fluid chambers of the fluid ejection device;
- and
- following the determination that the first drop ejecting element and the second drop ejecting element have not been fired within the predetermined time period, outputting, by the logic device, the first instruction to instruct the first pump generator to generate the first pump waveform signal to cause the fluid circulating element to be fired immediately prior to the first drop ejecting element being fired.
2 more elements
A non-transitory computer readable storage medium comprising machine readable instructions that when executed by a processor of a logic device, cause the processor of the logic device to:
- determine that a first drop ejecting element and a second drop ejecting element in fluid chambers of a fluid ejection device have not been fired within a predetermined time period based on information received from monitoring signals sent to the first drop ejecting element and the second drop ejecting element;
- in response to the determination that the first drop ejecting element has not been fired within the predetermined time period, output a first instruction to instruct a first pump generator located in the fluid ejection device to generate a first pump waveform signal to cause a fluid circulating element in the fluid chambers to be fired to circulate a fluid in the fluid chambers of the fluid ejection device;
- in response to the determination that the second drop ejecting element has not been fired within the predetermined time period, output a second instruction to instruct a second pump generator in the fluid ejection device to generate a second pump waveform signal to cause the fluid circulating element to be fired to circulate the fluid in the fluid chambers of the fluid ejection device;
- determine whether one of the first drop ejecting element and the second drop ejecting element was fired within the predetermined time period;
- and
- based on a determination that one of the first drop ejecting element and the second drop ejecting element was fired within the predetermined time period, prevent the first pump waveform signal and the second pump waveform signal from being transmitted to the fluid circulating element.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.