Thermal turn on energy test for an inkjet printer
Patent 5526027 Issued on June 11, 1996. Estimated Expiration Date: 
March 17, 2015. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.
March 17, 2015. Estimated Expiration Date is calculated based on simple USPTO term provisions. It does not account for terminal disclaimers, term adjustments, failure to pay maintenance fees, or other factors which might affect the term of a patent.Patent ReferencesDetermining the operating energy of a thermal ink jet printhead using an onboard thermal sense resistor Patent #: 5418558 InventorsApplicationNo. 406237 filed on 03/17/1995US Classes:347/14, Responsive to condition347/19, Measuring and testing (e.g., diagnostics)347/57, Drive signal application347/60PreheatExaminersPrimary: Fuller, Benjamin R.Assistant: Hallacher, Craig A. International ClassB41J 002/05AbstractA method for operating a thermal ink jet printer including a printhead having ink firing heater resistors responsive to pulses provided to the printhead. Warming voltage pulses are applied to the printhead to warm the printhead to a temperature that is at least as high as a temperature that would be produced pursuant to ink firing pulses of a predetermined voltage, a predetermined pulse width, and a predetermined pulse frequency. A continuous series of ink firing pulses are then applied to the printhead, starting with a pulse energy substantially equal to the predetermined reference pulse energy and a pulse frequency equal to the predetermined pulse frequency, and then incrementally decreasing the pulse energy of the ink firing pulses. The temperature of the printhead is repeatedly sampled while the ink firing pulses are applied to the ink firing resistors to produce a set of temperature samples respectively associated with the decreasing pulse energies. A thermal turn on energy is determined from the temperature samples, and the printhead is operated at a pulse energy that is greater than the thermal turn on energy and in a range that provides a desired print quality while avoiding premature failure of the heater resistors. | |
