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US 6,719,389 B2Granted
Ink jet printing
AssigneeSpectra, Inc.
InventorsPaul A. Hoisington, Marc A. Torrey
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
During a print cycle, fire pulses of different profiles are delivered to ink-jets of a print head. Selected ones of the ink-jets are enabled in coordination with the occurrence of selected ones of the fire pulses to control a characteristic of drops that are jetted by the respective ink-jets.
Claims28
A method comprising
- generating drops during successive print cycles,
- determining a drop characteristic for a plurality of jets as a function of fire pulse profile, during a print cycle, delivering a series of fire pulses of different profiles to jets of a print head, and
- enhancing drop uniformity among the plurality of jets by enabling selected ones of the jets in coordination with the occurrence of selected ones of the series of fire pulses during a print cycle to control at least one characteristic of drops that are jetted by the respective jets.
Apparatus comprising
- a print head having jets, and
- a controller coupled to the print head and configured to (a) delivering, during a print cycle, a series of fire pulses of different profiles to jets of a print head, and (b) based on the variation in a drop characteristic as a function of pulse profile for a plurality of jets, enhancing drop uniformity among the plurality of jets by enabling selected ones of the jets in coordination with the occurrence of selected ones of the series of fire pulses during a print cycle to control at least one characteristic of drops that are jetted by the respective jets.
A method comprising
- positioning a substrate at successive locations relative to a print head having jets for printing in a corresponding succession of print cycles,
- during each print cycle, delivering fire pulses of a series of different profiles to jets of a print head, and
- enhancing drop uniformity among the plurality of jets by enabling selected ones of the jets in coordination with the occurrence of selected ones of the series of fire pulses during a print cycle to control at least one characteristic of drops that are jetted by the respective jets.
A method comprising
- associating values of a characteristic of drops jetted by an jet in a print head with different profiles of fire pulses that yielded the drops for a plurality of jets, and
- enhancing drop uniformity among said jets by controlling respective jets to jet drops having desired values by selecting from different profiles of a series of fire pulses during a print cycle.
A method of controlling drop characteristics at individual ink-jets, comprising
- during a print cycle, delivering a series of fire pulses of different profiles to ink-jets of a printhead, said different profiles being associated with different ink drop characteristics jetted by said ink-jets,
- selecting, separately for each ink-jet, from said fire pulses according to desired drop characteristic at said each jet, and
- enabling selected ones of the ink-jets in coordination with the occurrence of the selected fire pulses to control the ink drop characteristic that is jetted by the respective ink-jets during the print cycle.
Apparatus comprising
- a printhead having ink-jets, and
- a controller coupled to the printhead and configured to (a) deliver a series of fire pulses of different profiles to multiple ink-jets of a printhead during a print cycle, said different profiles being associated with different ink drop characteristics jetted by said ink-jets, (b) selecting, separately for each ink-jet, a set of said fire pulses from said series corresponding to said desired drop characteristics for each said ink jet, and (c) enabling selected ones of the ink-jets in coordination with the occurrence of the selected one or more of the fire pulses in the set to control the ink drop characteristic jetted by the respective ink-jets during the print cycle.
A method of controlling drop characteristics at individual jets, comprising
- during a print cycle, delivering a series of fire pulses of different profiles to jets of a printhead, said different profiles being associated with different drop characteristics jetted by said jets,
- selecting, separately for each jet, from said fire pulses according to desired drop characteristic at said each jet, and
- enabling selected ones of the jets in coordination with the occurrence of the selected fire pulses to control the drop characteristic that is jetted by the respective jets during the print cycle.
Apparatus comprising
- a printhead having jets, and
- a controller coupled to the printhead and configured to (a) deliver a series of fire pulses of different profiles to multiple jets of a printhead during a print cycle, said different profiles being associated with different ink drop characteristics jetted by said jets, (b) selecting, separately for each jet, a set of said fire pulses from said series corresponding to said desired drop characteristics for each said jet, and (c) enabling selected ones of the jets in coordination with the occurrence of the selected one or more of the fire pulses in the set to control the drop characteristic jetted by the respective jets during the print cycle.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.