# US 2008/0186349 A1 · Inkjet printer having wide array head and image forming method therefor

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- Number: US 2008/0186349 A1
- Document ID: US20080186349A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 11/850,957
- Filed: 2007-09-06
- Published: 2008-08-07
- Earliest claimed: 2007-02-06
- Assignees: Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Si-joong JANG
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20080186349A1

## CPC

- B41J 13/0027: {in the printing section of automatic paper handling systems}
- B41J 2/16585: {for paper-width or non-reciprocating print heads}
- B41J: TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS

## Abstract

An inkjet printer having a wide array head and an image forming method for use in the inkjet printer having the wide array head includes a nozzle group setting unit for grouping nozzles of the wide array head into N (N is an integer larger than 1) groups and grouping the N groups into K groups (K is an integer between 1 and N); a printing media sensing unit determining whether a rear edge of a current printing medium passes the nozzles of one of the K groups; and a printing media convey controller conveying a front edge of a next printing medium to the nozzles of the group K if the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the one of the K groups. Therefore, the nozzles of the wide array head are classified into groups, and the beginning and completion of the printing operation can be identified by the nozzle group unit, and thus, the printing can be performed at high speed.

## Claims

### Claim 1

An inkjet printer having a wide array head, the inkjet printer comprising:
a nozzle group setting unit for grouping nozzles of the wide array head into one to N (N is an integer larger than 1) groups;
a printing media sensing unit determining whether a rear edge of a current printing medium passes the nozzles in a group K (K is an integer between 1 and N); and
a printing media convey controller moving a front edge of a next printing medium to the nozzles of the group K if the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the group K.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The inkjet printer of claim 1, wherein the printing media sensing unit determines whether the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the group K using information about positions of the nozzles in the wide array head and information about distances between the nozzles.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The inkjet printer of claim 2, further comprising:
a memory storing the position information and the distance information of the nozzles in the wide array head.

### Claim 4 (depends on 1)

The inkjet printer of claim 1, further comprising:
a maintenance request sensing unit determining whether a maintenance operation of the nozzles in the group K is required when the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles in the group K; and
a maintenance unit performing a predetermined maintenance operation of the nozzles in the group K when it is determined that the maintenance operation is required,
wherein the printing media convey controller conveys the front edge of the next printing medium to the nozzles of the group K after performing the predetermined maintenance operation.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The inkjet printer of claim 4, wherein the maintenance request sensing unit compares the number of dots ejected from the nozzles of the group K with a threshold value to determine whether the maintenance operation is required.

### Claim 6 (depends on 4)

The inkjet printer of claim 4, wherein the maintenance unit performs a spitting operation and a wiping operation.

### Claim 7

An image forming method for use in an inkjet printer having a wide array head, the method comprising:
grouping nozzles in the wide array head into one to N groups (N is an integer larger than 1);
determining whether a rear edge of a current printing medium passes the nozzles in a group K (K is an integer between 1 and N);
conveying a front edge of a next printing medium to the nozzles of the group K if the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the group K.

### Claim 8 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, wherein whether the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the group K is determined using information about positions of the nozzles in the wide array head and information about distances between the nozzles.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The method of claim 8, wherein the position information and the distance information of the nozzles in the wide array head are stored in a memory.

### Claim 10 (depends on 7)

The method of claim 7, further comprising:
determining whether a maintenance operation of the nozzles in the group K is required when the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the group K;
performing a predetermined maintenance operation of the nozzles in the group K if it is determined that the maintenance operation is required;
conveying a front edge of a next printing medium to the nozzles of the group K after performing the maintenance operation.

### Claim 11 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the determining of the maintenance operation is performed by comparing the number of dots ejected from the nozzles of the group K with a threshold value.

### Claim 12 (depends on 10)

The method of claim 10, wherein the predetermined maintenance operation includes a spitting operation and a wiping operation.

### Claim 13

A computer readable recording medium having embodied thereon a computer program for executing an image forming method comprising:
grouping nozzles in a wide array head into one to N groups (N is an integer larger than 1);
determining whether a rear edge of a current printing medium passes the nozzles in a group K (K is an integer between 1 and N);
conveying a front edge of a next printing medium to the nozzles of the group K if the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the group K.

### Claim 14

An inkjet printer having a wide array head including a plurality of nozzles, the inkjet printer comprising:
a nozzle group setting unit for grouping the plurality of nozzles of the wide array head into groups;
a printing media sensing unit determining whether a rear edge of a current printing medium passes the nozzles of a first group; and
a printing media convey controller conveying a front edge of a next printing medium to the nozzles of the first group if the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the first group.

### Claim 15 (depends on 14)

The inkjet printer of claim 14, wherein the printing media sensing unit determines whether the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the first group using information about positions of the nozzles in the wide array head and information about distances between the nozzles.

### Claim 16 (depends on 15)

The inkjet printer of claim 15, further comprising:
a memory storing the position information and the distance information of the nozzles in the wide array head.

### Claim 17 (depends on 14)

The inkjet printer of claim 14, further comprising:
a maintenance request sensing unit determining whether a maintenance operation of the nozzles of the first group is required when the rear edge of the current printing medium passes the nozzles of the first group; and
a maintenance unit performing a predetermined maintenance operation of the nozzles of the first group when determined that the maintenance operation is required,
wherein the printing media convey controller conveys the front edge of the next printing medium to the nozzles of the first group after performing the predetermined maintenance operation.

### Claim 18 (depends on 17)

The inkjet printer of claim 17, wherein the maintenance request sensing unit compares the number of dots ejected from the nozzles of the first group with a threshold value to determine whether the maintenance operation is required.

### Claim 19 (depends on 17)

The inkjet printer of claim 17, wherein the maintenance unit performs a jetting operation and a wiping operation.

### Claim 20 (depends on 14)

The inkjet printer of claim 14, wherein a distance between the current printing medium and the next printing medium is smaller than a width of the wide array head.