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WO1996034763A1 - Imprimante a jet d'encre a tetes d'impression a plusieurs couleurs - Google Patents

Imprimante a jet d'encre a tetes d'impression a plusieurs couleurs Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO1996034763A1
WO1996034763A1 PCT/US1996/006168 US9606168W WO9634763A1 WO 1996034763 A1 WO1996034763 A1 WO 1996034763A1 US 9606168 W US9606168 W US 9606168W WO 9634763 A1 WO9634763 A1 WO 9634763A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
printer
inkjet
color
cartridges
colors
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Ceased
Application number
PCT/US1996/006168
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Richard A. Murray
Dan J. Dull
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Encad Inc
Original Assignee
Encad Inc
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Encad Inc filed Critical Encad Inc
Priority to AU56726/96A priority Critical patent/AU5672696A/en
Publication of WO1996034763A1 publication Critical patent/WO1996034763A1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Ceased legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
    • B41J2/04541—Specific driving circuit
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
    • B41J2/04543—Block driving
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
    • B41J2/04546—Multiplexing
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/015—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process
    • B41J2/04—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand
    • B41J2/045—Ink jet characterised by the jet generation process generating single droplets or particles on demand by pressure, e.g. electromechanical transducers
    • B41J2/04501—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits
    • B41J2/0458—Control methods or devices therefor, e.g. driver circuits, control circuits controlling heads based on heating elements forming bubbles
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/005—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by bringing liquid or particles selectively into contact with a printing material
    • B41J2/01—Ink jet
    • B41J2/21—Ink jet for multi-colour printing
    • B41J2/2107—Ink jet for multi-colour printing characterised by the ink properties
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J25/00—Actions or mechanisms not otherwise provided for
    • B41J25/34—Bodily-changeable print heads or carriages

Definitions

  • the invention relates to inkjet printers.
  • the invention relates to increasing the number of print colors available in an inkjet printer.
  • Color inkjet printers of the prior art utilize four basic colored inks to form all of the necessary color variations required in printing.
  • the four basic colors are cyan, yellow, magenta and black and the printing process which utilize these four colors is called the CMYK process, where C is for cyan, Y is for yellow, M is for magenta and K is for black.
  • the CMYK colors are not actually blended together to form the desired color, instead, very small drops of ink of different colors are deposited next to each other on the page.
  • color ink jet printers are generally able to reproduce a sufficient number of colors using the CMYK process which are satisfactory to the general population.
  • Color ink jet printers are often used for graphics arts applications.
  • flesh tone colors are often used in graphic arts when a picture of a person is being reproduced.
  • Flesh tone colors are not easily created using the CMYK color method, because more subtle shading and colors are required to produce flesh tones than can be produced using cyan, magenta, yellow and black.
  • Another example of colors that are used in graphic arts applications are fluorescent colors and metallic colors. Neither fluorescent colors, nor metallic colors, can be formed using the CMYK process. Other specialized colors can not be easily formed by mixing these four CMYK colors.
  • a corporate color is a color, such as IBM Blue or Coca-Cola Red, that is designed to be distinctive and unique to the corporation.
  • These unique corporate colors are generally formed at the molecular level and are made up by bending a variety of tints, hues and shades of colors in order to achieve a unique color. Due to the complexity involved in forming a unique corporate color, such colors are not easily duplicated using the four basic colors of the CMYK process.
  • the present invention is an inkjet printer which increases the number of print colors available from the basic four CMYK colors.
  • the inkjet printer includes five colors, the four basic CMYK colors and a fifth added or specialized color.
  • the inkjet printer includes six colors, the four basic CMYK colors and two added specialized colors.
  • the specialized color is a user-specified custom color such as a corporate color.
  • a corporate color is a color, such as IBM Blue or Coca-Cola Red, that is designed to be distinctive and unique to the corporation.
  • a corporate color is typically used for logos and other designs which the user wishes to be formed of their unique and distinctive color.
  • the specialized color that is added by the user is a color or colors which are useful in producing flesh tones. These flesh tone colors are desirable for graphic arts applications which typically involve reproducing pictures of people.
  • the added color is orange.
  • the added color is green.
  • both green and orange are added to the traditional CMYK colors. The green and orange colors can be juxtaposed with the traditional CMYK colors and are capable of producing truer flesh tone colors.
  • the specialized color is a metallic or fluorescent color.
  • Metallic and fluorescent colors are also colors which are desirable for graphic arts applications and which are not readily achievable using the CMYK color process.
  • a significant feature of the inkjet printer of the present invention is that additional ink colors are made available without reducing the overall print speed and print quality of the inkjet printer. Additionally, the preferred embodiment of the inkjet printer of the present invention is a low cost, easy to manufacture printer with increased color capabilities over the printers of the prior art and without adding any substantial complexity to the printer which provides several significant advantages.
  • Figure 1 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer which includes five different print colors.
  • Figure 2 is a top plan view of an inkjet printer carriage which is adapted to operate with five inkjet cartridges.
  • Figure 3 is a perspective view of an inkjet printer carriage which is adapted to operate with five inkjet cartridges.
  • Figure 4 is an exploded perspective view of a traditional four stall printer carriage in cooperation with an added carriage stall to accommodate a fifth inkjet cartridge.
  • Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a five stall printer carriage in cooperation with an added carriage stall to accommodate a sixth inkjet cartridge.
  • Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the data flow circuitry which translates the data from the main printer electronics to data for each inkjet cartridge.
  • Figure 7 is a schematic diagram of the inkjet control circuitry of Figure 6.
  • Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the inkjet data control circuitry for inkjet cartridge head if].
  • the multi-color inkjet printer of the present invention is advantageously implemented without greatly increasing the complexity of the printer while adding additional color capabilities beyond the traditional CMYK process colors.
  • the multi-color ink jet printer of the present invention enables the creation of certain specialized colors without affecting the printing speed or the print quality of the inkjet printer.
  • a printer carriage assembly 10 is supported on the top face of a printer housing 12, which is a part of a typical printer device.
  • the housing 12 is supported by a stand (not shown) and encloses various electrical and mechanical components related to the operation of the printer/plotter device, but not directly pertinent to the present invention.
  • the assignee of the present application sells a thermal ink jet printer device under the trade name of NovaJet III.
  • An operations manual of the NovaJet III printer entitled "Nova Jet III User's Guide" (ENCAD Part No. 202409) is hereby incorporated by reference.
  • the printer of the present invention is advantageously very similar to the NovaJet III, with the exception of the modifications, as described in more detail below.
  • a pair of slidable roll holders 14 is mounted to a rear side 16 of the housing 12.
  • a roll of continuous print media (not shown) can be mounted on the roll holders 14 to enable a continuous supply of paper to be provided to the printer/plotter carriage assembly 10. Otherwise, individual sheets of paper may be fed into the rear side 16 of the housing as needed.
  • a portion of a top side 17 of the housing 12 forms a platen 18 upon which the printing/plotting is performed by select deposition of ink droplets on to the paper.
  • the paper is guided from the rear side 16 of the housing 10 under a support structure 20 and across the platen 18 by a plurality of drive rollers 19 which are spaced along the platen 18.
  • the support structure 20 is mounted to the top side 17 of the housing 12 with sufficient clearance between the platen 18 and the support structure 20 along a central portion of the platen 18 to enable a sheet of paper which is to be printed on to pass between the platen 18 and the support structure 20.
  • the support structure 20 supports a print carriage 22 above the platen 18.
  • the support structure 20 comprises a guide rod 24 and a coded strip support member 26 positioned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the housing 12.
  • the print carriage 22 supports a plurality of printer cartridge holders also referred to as cartridge receiving channels 34 each with a respective printer cartridge 40a, 40b, 40c, 40d and 40e removably mounted therein.
  • the print cartridges are preferably fifty-six nozzle 20440X series print cartridges available from ENCAD, Inc. of San Diego, California. In the preferred embodiment, the print carriage 22 includes five printer cartridge holders 34.
  • the print carriage 22 includes two split sleeves 36 which partially surrounds and slidably engage the guide rod 24 to support the print carriage 22 for linear movement of the carriage 22 along the guide rod 24 as shown by the bi-directional arrow in Figure 1.
  • a motor (not shown) and drive belt mechanism 40 are used to drive the print carriage 22 along the guide rod 24.
  • the operation of the print carriage 22 and the printer cartridges 40a-40e is controlled by the main printer electronics or print engine 30 which is contained in the printer housing 12.
  • the main printer electronics 30 is connected to the circuitry on the print carriage 22 by a trailing cable 66.
  • the moveable print carriage 22 supports five inkjet cartridges 40a-40e.
  • the print carriage 22 is a single piece molded part made from a polycarbonate material reinforced with 10% glass and 10% carbon fiber using a traditional injection molding process.
  • the print carriage 22 is formed such that the five printer cartridge holders 34 are staggered to enable the five inkjet cartridges 40a-40e to be mounted within a small space.
  • the preferred embodiment of the print carriage 22 is a staggered five stall design which enables the control and operation of five inkjet cartridges 40a-40e.
  • An alternative embodiment of the invention is shown in Figure 4.
  • a four stall inkjet printer carriage 42 similar to the prior art CMYK printer is illustrated in combination with an additional inkjet carriage adapter 44a which provides an additional receiving channel 34a or stall to accommodate a fifth inkjet cartridge (not shown).
  • the four stall printer carriage 42 advantageously includes two mounting pins 46a, 48a and a mounting hole 50a on one end 54 of the four stall printer carriage 42.
  • the mounting pins 46a, 48a are molded as part of the four stall printer carriage 42 when the printer carriage 42 is manufactured.
  • the additional inkjet carriage adapter 44a includes three corresponding mounting holes 56a-60a, two holes 56a and 58a are aligned with the mounting pins 46a and 48a on the four stall printer carriage 42.
  • a third hole 60a is aligned with the mounting hole 50a on the print carriage 42.
  • the inkjet carriage adapter 44a includes an access hole 63a in-line with the third hole 60a which enables a screw to access the third hole 50a.
  • a single screw assembly 62a is placed thorough the access hole 63a and the third hole 60a on the inkjet carriage adapter 44a and then through the mounting hole 50a on the print carriage 42 to permanently attach the adapter 44a to the printer carriage 42.
  • Figure 5 illustrates another embodiment of five stall printer carriage 22 in cooperation with an additional inkjet carriage adapter 44b which provides an additional receiving channel 34b to accommodate a sixth inkjet cartridge (not shown).
  • the five stall inkjet adapter 44b is similar to the four stall inkjet adapter 44a except that the stagger of the added sixth receiving channels 34b of the five stall adapter 44b is more offset than the stagger of the fifth receiving channel 34a in order to enable proper staggered alignment of the added fifth and sixth print heads.
  • the five stall printer carriage 42 advantageously includes two mounting pins 46b, 48b and a mounting hole 50b on one end 61 of the five stall printer carriage 22.
  • the mounting pins 46b, 48b are molded as part of the five stall printer carriage 22 when the printer carriage 22 is manufactured.
  • the inkjet carriage adapter 44b includes three corresponding mounting holes 56b-60b. Two holes 56b and 58b are aligned with the mounting pins 46b and 48b on the five stall printer carriage 22. The third hole 60b is aligned with the mounting hole 50b on the print carriage 22. Additionally, the five inkjet carriage adapter 44b includes an access hole 63b in-line with the third hole 60b which enables a screw to access the third hole 50b.
  • a single screw assembly 62b is placed thorough the access hole 63b and the third hole 60b on the inkjet carriage adapter 44b and then through the mounting hole 50b on the print carriage 22 to permanently attach the five stall adapter 44b to the five stall printer carriage 22.
  • the additional inkjet carriage adapter 44 can be added to any size print carriage to add additional receiving channels 34 to add additional inkjet cartridges.
  • Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of the data flow circuitry 64 on the printer carriage 22 which translates the data from the main printer electronics 30 (Figure 1) to data for each of five print cartridges 40a-40e ( Figure 1).
  • the image data is converted to print data and control signals by the main printer electronics (print engine) 30 in the printer housing 12 using a process similar to that used in the NovaJet III printer.
  • the print data and control signals are sent from the main printer electronics 30 to the printer carriage 22 via a trailing cable 66.
  • Data lines (HA0-HA3) 68 transfer the print data and some of the print control signals in a serial fashion. Additional print control signals are each send along their own data lines.
  • the shifting or clocking signal (SHIFT) on the line 70 synchronizes the data sent to the inkjet cartridges 40 to the data sent from the main printer electronics.
  • the head strobe signal (HSTB), an active low signal, on the line 72 initiates the firing of the jets on the inkjet printer cartridge 40.
  • the data flow circuitry 64 routes the data and control signals which are received at the printer carriage 22 to each of the inkjet cartridge heads #1-5.
  • the data flow circuitry 64 receives the control signals in serial from the main printer electronics and translates them into control signals for each of the inkjet cartridge heads 40 using the inkjet control circuitry 74 which is described in more detail below in association with Figure 7. data
  • a typical inkjet cartridge 40 is divided into four quadrants of control.
  • Each of the four quadrants of the inkjet cartridge 40 therefore receives its own print control signal to control the firing of the jets in that particular quadrant of the inkjet cartridge 40.
  • a five cartridge inkjet printer constructed in accordance with this invention, will receive twenty print control signals, one for each quadrant of the five cartridges 40.
  • the inkjet control circuitry 74 preferably includes a plurality of cascaded sets of four flip-flops.
  • the ink jet control circuitry 76 includes five stages 76-84 of four flip-flops per stage. The control signals on the lines HA0-HA3 68 are clocked into the first stage of four flip-flops 76 via the clock signal SHIFT on the line 70.
  • the data from the first stage 76 of flip-flops is clocked into the second stage 78 of flip-flops and new control signals on the lines HA0-HA3 are clocked in the first stage 76 of flip-flops.
  • This process continues along all five stages 76-84 of the flip-flop cascade, with the new control signals pushing the old control signals into the next stage of flip-flops, until the control signals reach the fifth and final stage 80 of flip-flops.
  • the next set of control signals pushes the control signals out of the fifth stage 80 and those control signals are lost.
  • the control signals are also available on the output of each stage of the flip-flops.
  • the outputs of each set of flip-flops are each ANDed together with the head strobe signal HSTB on the line 72 which when active indicates that the data at the outputs of the flip-flop are valid.
  • the outputs of each of the flip-flips of the stages 76-84 are sent to one input of a two-input NAND gates 85.
  • the head strobe signal HSTB is sent to a second inverted input of the two-input NAND gates 85.
  • the outputs of each stage of the flip-flop are valid and forms the select signals SEL0-SEL19 on the lines 86 for each of the quadrants of the inkjet cartridges 40.
  • the select signals SEL0-SEL19 on the lines 86 are immediately sent to each of the inkjet cartridge heads 1-5 with four of the select lines going to each of the heads 1-5 to control the operation of the jet nozzles in each of the four quadrants of the head.
  • the inkjet data control circuitry 88 for inkjet cartridge head #1 is shown.
  • the inkjet control circuitry 88 for each head is typically identical, therefore the inkjet data circuitry 88 for inkjet cartridge head #1 is considered exemplary for the circuitry for the other cartridge heads #2-#5.
  • the inkjet control circuitry 88 for head #1 is connected to the data flow circuitry 64 of Figure 6 via the connector 90, as illustrated on Figures 6 and 8.
  • the inkjet control circuitry 88 includes a jet drive circuit 92 for each of the four quadrants of the inkjet cartridge head 40.
  • the jet data for the nozzles in the each of the quadrants are sent over the lines HA0-HA3 68.
  • the HA0-HA3 lines 68 are also demultiplexed in the jet drive circuitry 92 to select one of the jets in a quadrant.
  • One of the SELO- SEL19 signals on the lines 86 enables the demultiplexer in each quadrant.
  • the outputs of the demultiplexer are used as data signals for each of the nozzles in the inkjet cartridge as known to those of skill in the art.
  • the jet data signal is boosted to the level required to fire the nozzles of the inkjet cartridge 40 by drivers in the jet drive circuitry 92.
  • the HSTB signal on the line 72 is initiated. The initiation of the HSTB signal on the line 72 indicates that the jet data is ready and that the control signals for each quadrant of the inkjet cartridges are valid, thus creating the select signals SEL0-SEL19 86 of Figures 6-7. Four of these valid select signals are transferred to each of the cartridge heads 40.
  • the nozzles which are indicated by the jet data as printing in the selected quadrant of the inkjet cartridge, as controlled by the select signals SEL3-SEL0, are activated and the ink is deposited on the print media.
  • the quadrant control signals and the jet data can be transmitted very quickly in this serial fashion.
  • the serial data can be rapidly translated into parallel data for use by the inkjet cartridge heads.
  • the control electronics of the inkjet printer of the present invention can advantageously transmit data to five or six inkjet cartridges without causing a noticeable decrease in the printing speed over the four cartridge inkjet printers of the prior art.
  • the serial transmission of the inkjet control signals enables the addition of additional inkjet cartridges without degrading the speed of the overall printing process.
  • the addition of the supplemental inkjet cartridges enables the addition of other ink colors to the traditional CMYK print colors typically used in multi-color print applications.
  • the additional color may be a user-specified custom color such as a corporate color.
  • a corporate color is a color, such as IBM Blue or Coca-Cola Red, that is designed to be distinctive and unique to the corporation.
  • a corporate color is typically used for logos and other designs which the user wishes to be formed of their unique and distinctive color.
  • the additional color that is added by the user is a color or colors which are useful in producing flesh tones. These flesh tone colors are desirable for graphic arts applications which typically involve reproducing pictures of people.
  • the added color is orange.
  • the added color is green.
  • both green and orange are added to the traditional CMYK colors. The green and orange colors can be juxtaposed with the traditional CMYK colors and are capable of producing truer flesh tone colors.
  • the added color is a metallic or fluorescent color.
  • Metallic and fluorescent colors are also colors which are desirable for graphic arts applications and which are not readily achievable using the CMYK color process.
  • the additional receiving channel can be used to hold an inkjet cartridge containing an additional quantity of one of the CMYK colors which is frequently used in printing.
  • the printer can be equipped with one cyan, one yellow, one black and two magenta cartridges.
  • the printer is equipped with one primary magenta cartridge and one backup magenta cartridge.
  • the backup magenta cartridge is used as a reserve tank of ink when the primary cartridge runs out of ink.
  • the printer only uses prints with either the primary or the backup print cartridge at one time.
  • the print engine 30 keeps track of how many drops of ink the primary cartridge has printed. When the count approaches a predetermined limit, the print engine determines that the primary cartridge is close to empty. On the next printing pass, the print engine halts printing with the primary cartridge and switches to the backup cartridge and continues printing without interruption.
  • This backup cartridge can be advantageously used for print jobs having a large quantity of one color of ink while using a typical quantity of the remaining colors of ink to enable the printer to continuously print without requiring continual cartridge changes of the frequently used color.
  • the printer carriage 22 is modified to accept seven inkjet cartridges.
  • the seven cartridge embodiment four of the cartridges are used for the traditional CMYK colors and the other three are used for the traditional RGB colors where R is for red, G is for green and B is for blue or violet.
  • the gamut of colors that can be produced by combining the CMYK and RGB colors is greatly increased over those colors producible only by either the CMYK colors or the RGB colors alone.
  • the present invention provides a significant improvement over the prior art without substantially increasing the complexity of the printer apparatus and/or adversely affecting its printing speed.
  • an alternative system conceived by the inventor for overcoming this problem of the prior art was to improve the custom and flesh tone colors by reducing the drop size of the ink.
  • By decreasing the size of the ink drops which are placed proximal to each other an improved color resolution can be formed which will provide a truer color "blend" at closer ranges for these difficult to produce colors.
  • Another disadvantage of this option is that decreasing the drop size of the ink slows down the speed of the printer. Since the drop size is fixed, it is not possible to reduce the drop size of the ink for certain color applications while increasing the drop size for general printing purposes.
  • this alternative system and method lacks a way to provide specialized color applications for a basic inkjet printer without reducing the printing speed.
  • this alternative system and method would not enable the addition of fluorescent colors at any ink drop size, as fluorescent colors are not readily reproducible using the CMYK process colors.
  • the present invention adds room for additional color(s) beyond the traditional CMYK colors in the printing process without reducing the speed of the printing process and without causing a reduction in print quality over the four color CMYK printers of the prior art. Additionally, the preferred embodiment of the inkjet printer of the present invention does not add any substantial complexity to the printer while provides several significant advantages over a typical four color inkjet printer of the prior art.
  • the printer of the present invention is implemented in a manner which enables the printer to be manufactured at a low cost.
  • the mounting of the additional print head(s) to the print carriage can be formed as a single molded part which also keeps the manufacturing cost of the printer low.
  • the additional print head(s) can be added onto a traditional four stall inkjet carriage utilizing a simplified mounting procedure which does not increases the costs by a significant amount and enables the addition of additional color features to the inkjet printer.
  • the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms without departing from its spirit or essential characteristics.
  • the described embodiments are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive.
  • the scope of the invention is, therefore, indicated by the appended claims rather than the foregoing description. All changes which come within the meaning and range of equivalency of the claims are to be embraced within their scope.

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  • Ink Jet (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention se rapporte à une imprimante à jet d'encre qui permet d'augmenter le nombre de couleurs d'impression disponibles parmi les quatre couleurs de base CMJN (Cyan, Magenta, Jaune, Noir) sans que son coût soit considérablement accru. L'imprimante à jet d'encre peut comprendre cinq couleurs: les quatre couleurs de base CMJN et une cinquième couleur spécifique. Ce type d'imprimante peut également comprendre six ou sept couleurs, les quatre couleurs de base, plus deux ou trois couleurs supplémentaires. La couleur spécifique peut être une couleur déterminée par l'utilisateur, telle qu'une couleur unique à une société, du type bleu IBM ou rouge Coca Cola. Les couleurs spécifiques peuvent être également des couleurs utilisées pour obtenir des tons chair, telles que l'orange ou le vert. Dans le mode de réalisation à sept couleurs, il est possible d'utiliser à la fois les couleurs du procédé CMJN et les couleurs du procédé RVB, ce qui permet d'accroître la gamme des options de couleurs disponibles. Il est avantageux d'ajouter ces couleurs supplémentaires à une imprimante à jet d'encre CMJN traditionnelle sans que cela réduise sa vitesse ou sa qualité et sans que cela la rende plus complexe.
PCT/US1996/006168 1995-05-03 1996-05-02 Imprimante a jet d'encre a tetes d'impression a plusieurs couleurs Ceased WO1996034763A1 (fr)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AU56726/96A AU5672696A (en) 1995-05-03 1996-05-02 Inkjet printer with multiple color print heads

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US43329595A 1995-05-03 1995-05-03
US08/433,295 1995-05-03

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO1996034763A1 true WO1996034763A1 (fr) 1996-11-07

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Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/US1996/006168 Ceased WO1996034763A1 (fr) 1995-05-03 1996-05-02 Imprimante a jet d'encre a tetes d'impression a plusieurs couleurs

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AU (1) AU5672696A (fr)
WO (1) WO1996034763A1 (fr)

Cited By (7)

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GB2311494B (en) * 1996-03-28 1999-10-20 Hewlett Packard Co Carriage mounted printed circuit assembly
WO2002032676A3 (fr) * 2000-08-31 2002-06-20 James George Lowndes Impression numerique
EP1331100A3 (fr) * 2002-01-25 2003-09-03 Konica Corporation Imprimante à jet d'encre
US6637860B1 (en) 2002-05-13 2003-10-28 Creo Srl High throughput inkjet printer with provision for spot color printing
US8075122B2 (en) 2006-07-31 2011-12-13 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Inkjet ink set
CN104512120A (zh) * 2013-09-29 2015-04-15 北大方正集团有限公司 一种打印处理方法、装置及打印机
US11660896B2 (en) 2018-10-26 2023-05-30 De La Rue International Limited Apparatuses and methods for printing security documents

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US4829323A (en) * 1986-08-25 1989-05-09 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Color image recording apparatus
EP0500939A1 (fr) * 1990-06-12 1992-09-02 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Procede et tete d'impression pour impression par jet d'encre multicolore et procede de fabrication de ladite tete
EP0568175A2 (fr) * 1992-05-01 1993-11-03 Hewlett-Packard Company Têtes d'impression échelonnées dans une imprimante thermique multicolore à jet d'encre
EP0581297A2 (fr) * 1992-07-30 1994-02-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Tête d'enregistrement et appareil d'enregistrement l'utilisant
EP0640479A1 (fr) * 1993-08-31 1995-03-01 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Appareil pour fabriquer des produits imprimés par jet d'encre et produits imprimés par jet d'encre fabriqués par cet appareil

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US4829323A (en) * 1986-08-25 1989-05-09 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Color image recording apparatus
EP0500939A1 (fr) * 1990-06-12 1992-09-02 Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. Procede et tete d'impression pour impression par jet d'encre multicolore et procede de fabrication de ladite tete
EP0568175A2 (fr) * 1992-05-01 1993-11-03 Hewlett-Packard Company Têtes d'impression échelonnées dans une imprimante thermique multicolore à jet d'encre
EP0581297A2 (fr) * 1992-07-30 1994-02-02 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Tête d'enregistrement et appareil d'enregistrement l'utilisant
EP0640479A1 (fr) * 1993-08-31 1995-03-01 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Appareil pour fabriquer des produits imprimés par jet d'encre et produits imprimés par jet d'encre fabriqués par cet appareil

Cited By (13)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
GB2311494B (en) * 1996-03-28 1999-10-20 Hewlett Packard Co Carriage mounted printed circuit assembly
WO2002032676A3 (fr) * 2000-08-31 2002-06-20 James George Lowndes Impression numerique
US6902249B2 (en) 2002-01-25 2005-06-07 Konica Corporation Inkjet printer
EP1331100A3 (fr) * 2002-01-25 2003-09-03 Konica Corporation Imprimante à jet d'encre
US7237861B2 (en) 2002-01-25 2007-07-03 Konica Corporation Inkjet printer
US7004562B2 (en) 2002-05-13 2006-02-28 Creo Srl High throughput inkjet printer with provision for spot color printing
EP1362704A1 (fr) * 2002-05-13 2003-11-19 Creo SRL Systeme d'imprimer á jet d'encre avec rendement haut
US6637860B1 (en) 2002-05-13 2003-10-28 Creo Srl High throughput inkjet printer with provision for spot color printing
US8075122B2 (en) 2006-07-31 2011-12-13 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Inkjet ink set
CN104512120A (zh) * 2013-09-29 2015-04-15 北大方正集团有限公司 一种打印处理方法、装置及打印机
CN104512120B (zh) * 2013-09-29 2016-08-31 北大方正集团有限公司 一种打印处理方法、装置及打印机
US11660896B2 (en) 2018-10-26 2023-05-30 De La Rue International Limited Apparatuses and methods for printing security documents
US12017469B2 (en) 2018-10-26 2024-06-25 De La Rue International Limited Apparatuses and methods for printing security documents

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