Patent US5644683A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5644683A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Print mode and system to alleviate wait-banding
Assignee: Hewlett Packard Development Co LP
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Filing: 1995-03-03
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Granted: 1997-07-01
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Expires: 2015-03-03
Abstract
Abstract An improved print mode and system for alleviating wait-banding is disclosed. When printing multiple passes over the same swath, such as when printing secondary colors in a color image, a hue shift can occur if the time between when the two passes are deposited are laid down is not regulated. This is true because the secondary color that results depends on how dry the ink from the first pass is when the second pass is deposited. These variations in color result in undesirable horizontal bands, a problem referred to as "wait-banding." Typical ink-jet printers compose in page sectors, but print in scans or passes. The time that it takes to compose the page sectors varies from sector to sector. These variations can cause differences in the time intervals between when overlapping passes will be printed, thus resulting in wait-banding. The disclosed method creates a running average for the passes based on past experience with when passes were made. This running average is used to space out the passes within a page sector so that the passes are more uniformly distributed in time, thus alleviating wait-banding.
Inventors
- 👤 Eric P. Ross
- 👤 Thieu X. Dang
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 17:06
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J5/00; B41J5/30; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/21; B41J2/2132; G; G06; G06K; G06K15/00; G06K15/02; G06K15/10; G06K15/102; G06K15/105; G06K2215/00; G06K2215/0082; G06K2215/0094
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of printing with a scanning ink-jet printhead, the method comprising: providing image data; composing page sectors of said image data, said page sectors being composed at a variable times; printing a series of passes according to said image data, the timing of said passes being dependent on said variable times; storing information regarding actual delays between when previous passes were printed; determining an average time delay between said passes based on past experience with actual delays between when previous passes were printed; and printing subsequent passes according to said image data, the timing of said subsequent passes being based on said average time delay.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
106 words
A method of printing with a scanning ink-jet printhead, the method comprising: providing image data; composing page sectors of said image data, said page sectors being composed at a variable times; printing a series of passes according to said image data, the timing of said passes being dependent on said variable times; storing information regarding actual delays between when previous passes were printed; determining an average time delay between said passes based on past experience with actual delays between when previous passes were printed; and printing subsequent passes according to said image data, the timing of said subsequent passes being based on said average time delay.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
25 words
A method according to claim 1, wherein said average time delay is determined based on the difference between said average and said actual time delays.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
37 words
A method according to claim 2, wherein said difference between said average and said actual time delays is weighted by a gain factor that determines how fast the average time delay converges on the actual time delay.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 3, wherein said gain factor is between 0 and 1.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 3, further comprising providing a gain factor G up for when said error term is positive and a separate gain factor G down for when said error term is negative.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 5, wherein G up is greater than G down .
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 5, wherein G down is greater that G up .
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
162 words
A printing system, comprising: a host computing device in which is stored image data; a printer driver communicatively linked to said host computing device; a printer controller communicatively linked to said printer driver; and a printer mechanism, including: a medium advance mechanism communicatively linked to said controller, a carriage scanning mechanism communicatively linked to said controller, a printhead mounted to said carriage scanning mechanism and communicatively linked to said controller, wherein said controller composes page sector information of said data at variable times; and wherein said controller actuates said printer mechanism to print passes according to said page sector information at variable times, and including means for storing information regarding when previous passes were printed, said controller being programmed to determine an average time T ave for printing the next pass based on a past time T actual of when a previous pass was printed, said time T actual being dependent on said variable times for when page sector information was ready.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
162 words
A printing system, comprising: a host computing device in which is stored image data; a printer driver communicatively linked to said host computing device; a printer controller communicatively linked to said printer driver; and a printer mechanism, including: a medium advance mechanism communicatively linked to said controller, a carriage scanning mechanism communicatively linked to said controller, a printhead mounted to said carriage scanning mechanism and communicatively linked to said controller, wherein said controller composes page sector information of said data at variable times; and wherein said controller actuates said printer mechanism to print passes according to said page sector information at variable times, and including means for storing information regarding when previous passes were printed, said controller being programmed to determine an average time T ave for printing the next pass based on a past time T actual of when a previous pass was printed, said time T actual being dependent on said variable times for when page sector information was ready.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method according to claim 8, wherein a new T ave is determined based on an error term involving the difference between the most recent T ave and T actual .
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 9, wherein said error term is weighted by a gain factor G that determines how fast T ave converges on T actual .
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
16 words
A method according to claim 10, wherein said gain factor G is between 0 and 1.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
35 words
A method according to claim 11, further comprising providing a gain factor G up for when said error term is positive and a separate gain factor G down for when said error term is negative.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein G up is greater than G down .
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 12, wherein G down is greater than G up .
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
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| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2000-06-30 | 2000-12-30 | 2001-07-01 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-06-30 | 2004-12-30 | 2005-07-01 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-06-30 | 2008-12-30 | 2009-07-01 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |