Patent US7837290B2 successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US7837290B2
Active / In Force
US
⏱️ 1.7 years remaining
Continuous web printing system alignment method
Assignee: Xerox Corp
•
Filing: 2008-07-18
•
Granted: 2010-11-23
•
Expires: 2028-07-18
Abstract
Abstract A method of aligning a printhead is described herein. The method includes accelerating a media along a process path, controlling a first printhead to form a first mark upon the accelerating media, detecting the first mark on the accelerating media, comparing a first mark detection data with first printhead desired alignment data, determining a first correction based upon the comparison of the first mark detection data, and modifying an alignment of the first printhead based upon the determined first correction.
Inventors
- 👤 Howard Mizes
- 👤 R. Enrique Viturro
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-10-24 14:15
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J3/00; B41J3/54; B41J3/543; B41J2/00; B41J2/005; B41J2/01; B41J2/21; B41J2/2132; B41J2/2146; B41J29/00; B41J29/38; B41J29/393; B41J2/135; B41J2/14; B41J2002/14362; B41J2202/00; B41J2202/01; B41J2202/20; B41J2202/21; G; G03; G03G; G03G2215/00; G03G2215/01; G03G2215/0151; G03G2215/0158
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 23
Claim 1
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of aligning a printhead comprising: accelerating a media along a process path; controlling a first printhead to form a first mark upon the accelerating media; detecting the first mark on the accelerating media; comparing a first mark detection data with first printhead desired alignment data; determining a first correction based upon the comparison of the first mark detection data; and modifying an alignment of the first printhead based upon the determined first correction.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
75 words
A method of aligning a printhead comprising: accelerating a media along a process path; controlling a first printhead to form a first mark upon the accelerating media; detecting the first mark on the accelerating media; comparing a first mark detection data with first printhead desired alignment data; determining a first correction based upon the comparison of the first mark detection data; and modifying an alignment of the first printhead based upon the determined first correction.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein determination of a first correction comprises: determining a cross-process correction for the first printhead; and determining a roll correction for the first printhead.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
72 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: controlling a second printhead to form a second mark upon the accelerating media; detecting the second mark on the accelerating media; comparing second mark detection data with data associated with the first printhead desired alignment data; determining a second correction based upon the comparison of the second mark detection data; and modifying an alignment of the second printhead based upon the determined second correction.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
24 words
The method of claim 3 , further comprising: modifying the alignment of the second printhead based upon the modified alignment of the first printhead.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
23 words
The method of claim 3 , wherein controlling of the first printhead is performed substantially simultaneously with the controlling of the second printhead.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
66 words
The method of claim 1 , further comprising: controlling a second printhead to form a second mark upon the accelerating media; detecting the second mark on the accelerating media; comparing second mark detection data with second printhead desired alignment data; determining a second correction based upon the comparison of the second mark; and modifying an alignment of the second printhead based upon the determined second correction.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
42 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the control of the first printhead comprises: determining a speed of the accelerating media; comparing the determined speed to a normal operating speed; and jetting a nozzle of the first printhead using the speed comparison.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
54 words
The method of claim 1 , wherein the control of the first printhead comprises: selecting a subset of nozzles from a set of nozzles in the first printhead; and jetting each of the selected subset of nozzles to form a respective dash in the process direction for each of the selected subset of nozzles.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
19 words
The method of claim 8 , further comprising: associating a detected pattern of dashes with the first print head.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
131 words
A printing system comprising: a process path defined by a plurality of rollers; at least one printhead positioned adjacent to the process path; a linear array sensor positioned along the process path; a memory in which command instructions are stored; and a processor configured to execute the command instructions to accelerate a media along the process path, control the at least one printhead to form a first mark upon the accelerating media, obtain data from the linear array sensor indicative of detection of the first mark, compare the obtained data with data related to the desired alignment of the at least one printhead, determine a first correction based upon the comparison of the first mark, and modify the alignment of the at least one printhead based upon the determined first correction.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
131 words
A printing system comprising: a process path defined by a plurality of rollers; at least one printhead positioned adjacent to the process path; a linear array sensor positioned along the process path; a memory in which command instructions are stored; and a processor configured to execute the command instructions to accelerate a media along the process path, control the at least one printhead to form a first mark upon the accelerating media, obtain data from the linear array sensor indicative of detection of the first mark, compare the obtained data with data related to the desired alignment of the at least one printhead, determine a first correction based upon the comparison of the first mark, and modify the alignment of the at least one printhead based upon the determined first correction.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
66 words
The system of claim 10 , further comprising: a speed sensor associated with one of the plurality of rollers for detecting the rotational speed of the one of the plurality of rollers, wherein the processor is further configured to execute the command instructions to control the at least one printhead to form a first mark upon the accelerating media based upon data from the speed sensor.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
42 words
The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the command instructions to jet each of a selected subset of nozzles from a set of nozzles in the at least one printhead to form the first mark.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
51 words
The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one printhead comprises: a first printhead positioned at a first location along the process path; and a second printhead positioned at a second location along the process path, the second location positioned upstream of the first location along the process path.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
63 words
The system of claim 12 , wherein the at least one printhead comprises: a first printhead positioned at a first location along a cross-process axis of the process path; and a second printhead positioned at a second location along the cross-process axis of the process path, the second location at a position with respect to the cross-process axis adjacent to the first location.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
40 words
The system of claim 10 , wherein the processor is further configured to execute the command instructions to determine a cross-process correction of the at least one printhead, and to determine a roll correction of the at least one printhead.
Claim 18
Independent Claim
95 words
A method of aligning a continuous web printer comprising: determining a speed of a media accelerating along a process path; comparing the speed of the accelerating media to a first threshold speed; printing a first test pattern on the accelerating media with a first printhead based upon the comparison to the first threshold speed; detecting the first test pattern; extracting first roll and position data for the first printhead using the detected first test pattern; and adjusting a roll and a position of the first printhead based upon the extracted first roll and position data.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
95 words
A method of aligning a continuous web printer comprising: determining a speed of a media accelerating along a process path; comparing the speed of the accelerating media to a first threshold speed; printing a first test pattern on the accelerating media with a first printhead based upon the comparison to the first threshold speed; detecting the first test pattern; extracting first roll and position data for the first printhead using the detected first test pattern; and adjusting a roll and a position of the first printhead based upon the extracted first roll and position data.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
92 words
The method of claim 16 , further comprising: comparing the speed of the accelerating media with a second threshold speed, the second threshold speed greater than the first threshold speed; printing a second test pattern on the accelerating media with the first printhead based upon the comparison to the second threshold speed; detecting the second test pattern; extracting second roll and position data for the first printhead using the detected second test pattern; and adjusting the roll and position of the first printhead based upon the extracted second roll and position data.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
70 words
The method of claim 16 , further comprising: printing a third test pattern on the media with a second printhead based upon the comparison to the first threshold speed; detecting the third test pattern; extracting third roll and position data for the second printhead using the detected third test pattern; and adjusting a roll and a position of the second printhead based upon the extracted third roll and position data.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
34 words
The method of claim 18 , wherein adjusting the roll and position of the second printhead further comprises adjusting the position of the second printhead based upon the adjusted position of the first printhead.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
30 words
The method of claim 19 , wherein printing a first test pattern comprises: jetting a nozzle of the first printhead for a duration of time based upon the determined speed.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
US2686453A
Cited
US4322044A
Cited
US4675696A
Cited
US5250956A
Cited
US5458062A
Cited
US5729817A
Cited
US6633740B2
Cited
US20020023558A1
Cited
US7056048B2
Cited
US20070229562A1
Cited
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 2013-11-22 | 2014-05-24 | 2014-11-23 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2017-11-22 | 2018-05-24 | 2018-11-23 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2021-11-22 | 2022-05-24 | 2022-11-23 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |