US6425652B2
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Bidirectional printing that takes account of mechanical vibrations of print head
Assignee: Seiko Epson Corp
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Filing: 2001-02-20
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Granted: 2002-07-30
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Expires: 2021-02-20
Abstract
Abstract The recording technique of the present invention is applied to a printer that has a print head, which causes a partial area of main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation, and carries out bi-directional printing, which causes the print head to create dots on a printing medium in both forward and backward passes of the main scan. The recording technique records dots in such a manner that forward pass dots created in the forward pass of the main scan and backward pass dots created in the backward pass of the main scan are present at substantially equal rates in at least specific areas close to both ends of the main scan. This arrangement of the present invention desirably improves the printing quality in the case of bi-directional printing.
Inventors
- 👤 Koichi Otsuki
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 13:48
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J19/00; B41J19/18; B41J19/20; B41J19/202; B41J19/14; B41J19/142; B41J19/145
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
144 words
A print control apparatus that generates print data, which is to be supplied to a printer unit that actually creates dots on a printing medium to implement printing, said printer unit including: a print head that causes specific partial areas of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation; and a head driving unit that drives said print head in both forward and backward passes of the main scan, thereby creating forward pass dots in the forward passes and backward pass dots in the backward passes; and said print control apparatus comprising: a print data generating unit configured to generate the print data having control data that controls actuation of said print head such that a number of the forward pass dots and a number of the backward pass dots are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
144 words
A print control apparatus that generates print data, which is to be supplied to a printer unit that actually creates dots on a printing medium to implement printing, said printer unit including: a print head that causes specific partial areas of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation; and a head driving unit that drives said print head in both forward and backward passes of the main scan, thereby creating forward pass dots in the forward passes and backward pass dots in the backward passes; and said print control apparatus comprising: a print data generating unit configured to generate the print data having control data that controls actuation of said print head such that a number of the forward pass dots and a number of the backward pass dots are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
27 words
A print control apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said print head has mechanical vibrations during the main scan, which cause the lower positional accuracy.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
56 words
A print control apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the specific areas are close to both ends of the main scan, and the print data causes the forward pass dots and the backward pass dots to be arranged mutually adjacent to each other on an identical raster line in at least the specific areas.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
51 words
A print control apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the specific areas are close to both ends of the main scan, and the print data causes the forward pass dots and the backward pass dots to be arranged alternately in a sub-scanning direction in at least the specific areas.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
70 words
A print control apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , wherein said print head has nozzles pitch of not less than 3 raster lines in a sub-scanning direction, said printer unit further comprises a sub-scan unit that carries out sub-scan of said print head by a predetermined feeding amount, and the print data comprises control data that controls actuation of said print head and regulates the feeding amount of sub-scan.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
59 words
A print control apparatus in accordance with claim 1 , said print control apparatus comprising: a print mode setting unit configured to set a print mode; and a print mode control unit configured to control the print data generating unit to generate the print data in accordance with the predetermined print mode set by the print mode setting unit.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
22 words
A print control apparatus in accordance with claim 6 , wherein the predetermined print mode is used to print a natural image.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
145 words
A printing system comprising a printer unit and a print control apparatus, said printer unit including a print head, which causes specific partial areas close to both ends of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation, and carrying out bi-directional printing, which causes said print head to create dots on a printing medium in both forward and backward passes of the main scan, said print control apparatus generating print data that is to be supplied to said printer unit, the print data having control data that controls actuation of said print head such that a number of forward pass dots created in the forward pass of the main scan and a number of backward pass dots created in the backward pass of the main scan are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas of the lower positional accuracy.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
145 words
A printing system comprising a printer unit and a print control apparatus, said printer unit including a print head, which causes specific partial areas close to both ends of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation, and carrying out bi-directional printing, which causes said print head to create dots on a printing medium in both forward and backward passes of the main scan, said print control apparatus generating print data that is to be supplied to said printer unit, the print data having control data that controls actuation of said print head such that a number of forward pass dots created in the forward pass of the main scan and a number of backward pass dots created in the backward pass of the main scan are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas of the lower positional accuracy.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
37 words
A printing system in accordance with claim 8 , wherein said print head creates the dots on said printing medium such that a dot percentage is not greater than a predetermined level corresponding to a printing resolution.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
20 words
A printing system in accordance with claim 9 , wherein said print head creates the dots with a pigment ink.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of creating dots on a printing medium to print an image, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a printer unit that includes: a print head that causes specific partial areas close to both ends of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation; and a head driving unit that drives said print head in both forward and backward passes of the main scan; and (b) controlling actuation of said print head such that a number of forward pass dots created in the forward pass of the main scan and a number of backward pass dots created in the backward pass of the main scan are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas of the lower positional accuracy.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
127 words
A method of creating dots on a printing medium to print an image, said method comprising the steps of: (a) providing a printer unit that includes: a print head that causes specific partial areas close to both ends of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation; and a head driving unit that drives said print head in both forward and backward passes of the main scan; and (b) controlling actuation of said print head such that a number of forward pass dots created in the forward pass of the main scan and a number of backward pass dots created in the backward pass of the main scan are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas of the lower positional accuracy.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
147 words
A recording medium in which a computer program is recorded in a computer readable manner, said computer program functioning to control a printer unit that comprises a print head, which causes specific partial areas close to both ends of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation, and carries out bi-directional printing, which causes said print head to create dots on a printing medium in both forward and backward passes of the main scan, said computer program causing a computer to attain the function of: generating control data that controls actuation of said print head such that a number of forward pass dots created in the forward pass of the main scan and a number of backward pass dots created in the backward pass of the main scan are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas of the lower positional accuracy.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
147 words
A recording medium in which a computer program is recorded in a computer readable manner, said computer program functioning to control a printer unit that comprises a print head, which causes specific partial areas close to both ends of a main scan to have a lower positional accuracy of dot creation, and carries out bi-directional printing, which causes said print head to create dots on a printing medium in both forward and backward passes of the main scan, said computer program causing a computer to attain the function of: generating control data that controls actuation of said print head such that a number of forward pass dots created in the forward pass of the main scan and a number of backward pass dots created in the backward pass of the main scan are substantially equal in at least the specific partial areas of the lower positional accuracy.
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2005-07-29 | 2006-01-28 | 2006-07-30 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2009-07-29 | 2010-01-28 | 2010-07-30 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2013-07-29 | 2014-01-28 | 2014-07-30 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |