Multiple inkjet cartridge alignment for bidirectional printing by scanning a reference pattern

Abstract

Abstract A system for correcting for a time of flight delay of a drop of ink from an inkjet printhead includes a first mechanism (152) for scanning the printhead (102) along a first axis at a first velocity. A control circuit (300), responsive to inkjet timing signals, causes the printhead (102) to eject ink onto a media (30) to create a test pattern (40) thereon as the printhead (102) is scanned along the first axis. A sensor (200) optically senses the test pattern (40) and provides a time of flight dependent phase signal in response thereto. This signal is processed to provide time of flight delay corrected inkjet timing signals for the first velocity in response to the phase signal. In a particular implementation, the processor (170) is adapted to add an additional delay to the corrected timing signals to correct for curvature. <IMAGE>

Inventors

• 👤 Robert W. Beauchamp
• 👤 Paul R. Sorenson
• 👤 Keith E. Cobbs

Bibliographic Details