Camera with microfluidic printer

Abstract

An electronic camera responsive to a digital image stored in such camera, and having a multimode microfluidic printer for printing images of different resolutions onto receivers corresponding to the stored digital image. The camera focuses an image of a subject at an image plane and includes an area image sensor disposed at the image plane for receiving the image subject and producing a digital image representing the subject. The camera further includes electronic storage coupled to the area image sensor for storing the digitized image of the subject, and the microfluidic printer includes a plurality of colorant reservoirs including several reservoirs for containing different colorants and a plurality of colorant delivery chambers and a selectable mode control switch responsive to a selected mode of operation including different pixel spacing and colored images and the stored digital image for causing colorants to be delivered from colorant reservoirs to selected colorant delivery chambers in the correct amount. The transfer of the colorants in the chambers are then delivered to the receiver.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.