摘要:
An ink-cooled thermal ink jet printhead has an efficient heat exchanger located on the back side of the printhead that eliminates the need for heat sinks. All ink flowing to the firing chamber goes through the heat exchanger. The geometry of the heat exchanger is chosen so that almost all the residual heat absorbed by the printhead substrate is transferred to the ink as it flows to the firing chamber. Additionally, the pressure drop of the ink flowing through the heat exchanger is low enough so that it does not significantly reduce the refill rate of the firing chambers. The heat exchanger can have one or more active heat exchanger sides. The heat exchanger has little thermal mass itself and significantly reduces the thermal mass of printhead by eliminating the need for a heat sink. This reduces the warm-up time of the printhead to a fraction of a second.
摘要:
An ultrasound probe includes an ultrasound emitter and a turbine. In one embodiment, the ultrasound emitter is a reflective surface which reflects ultrasound signals generated by a transmitter. The reflective surface reflects the ultrasound signals so that reflected ultrasound signals exit the ultrasound probe. The turbine is connected to the reflecting means. Fluid flowing through the turbine causes the turbine to rotate the reflecting means so that the reflected ultrasound signals sweep an area surrounding the ultrasound probe.
摘要:
Pulses of ultrasound are focused in the patient's body to create an interrogation volume where a characteristic of blood flow is to be measured. The bandwidth of the back-scattered Doppler return signal is measured. In order to measure flow velocity independent of direction, the interrogation volume is generated substantially as a sphere in which the range dimension is set equal to the lateral dimensions (azimuth and elevation) of the interrogation signal. The Doppler bandwidth is then scaled to provide a direction-independent measurement of flow velocity. In order to determine the direction of flow, the interrogation volume is generated substantially as an ellipsoid. The long axis of the ellipsoidal interrogation volume is then rotated until the measured Doppler bandwidth is at a minimum, which is reached when the long axis is aligned with the flow direction. The interrogation volume is preferably rotated and translated using differential phasing of the ultrasonic signals from different transducer elements in a two-dimensional array.
摘要:
This disclosure presents methods for controlling the temperature of a thermal ink jet and thermal printhead so that the quality of black and white printing, gray-scale printing, and color printing is improved. The methods control the average residual power of the columns of resistors so that the average residual power of an addressed column has a prescribed relationship to the average residual power of an unaddressed column. This is achieved by altering the magnitude of the drive voltages that drive the unaddressed resistors of the printhead matrix or by using nonprinting pulses. Methods for measuring the efficiency of the printhead are also presented.
摘要:
This disclosure presents methods for controlling the temperature of a thermal ink jet and thermal printhead so that the quality of black and white printing, gray-scale printing, and color printing is improved. The methods control the average residual power of the columns of resistors so that the average residual power of an addressed column has a prescribed relationship to the average residual powder of an unaddressed column. This is achieved by altering the magnitude of the drive voltage that drive the unaddressed resistors of the printhead matrix or by using nonprinting pulses. Methods for measuring the efficiency of the printhead are also presented.
摘要:
A Self Calibrating Color Printer. The present invention enables color printers to accurately reproduce color images despite variations in ink, paper or the printing system. The calibrated printer includes a movable optical sensor assembly which first calibrates itself by measuring an included known color gamut located within the movement range of the sensor assembly. Once calibrated, the sensor assembly measures a color print test pattern newly printed by a movable color print head of the printer. An analog-to-digital converter transforms electrical signals from the sensor assembly to sensor values in digital form, enabling a printer control processor to process the measured data, thereby producing two look-up tables stored in memory: first, a color correction look-up table which adjusts image color values to account for the ink/paper variations, and second, an error diffusion look-up table which spreads color value errors at a given pixel to its neighbors. Once the printer control processor creates these two look-up tables and, the printer is able to process image data, and control the print head via its associated print head electronics to faithfully reproduce the image onto paper. The moveable sensor and associated gamut and print test pattern of the present invention provide an accurate, inexpensive and durable apparatus for calibrating any digital color printer. The Self Calibrating Color Printer disclosed and claimed in this patent applications provides an advanced, accurate and relatively inexpensive instrument for true reproduction of detailed color images.
摘要:
This document discloses a method and apparatus for real-time control of the temperature of thermal ink jet printheads and thermal printheads through the use of nonprinting pulses. A closed-loop system produces nonprinting pulses in response to a difference between a reference temperature signal and a printhead temperature signal produced by a temperature sensor on the printhead so that the printhead operates at a constant elevated temperature. The reference temperature signal can specify an operating temperature anywhere between 10.degree. C. and 100.degree. C. above room temperature. The closed-loop system can have multiple loops with different response times so that complex nonlinear responses to changes in the printhead temperature can be obtained. The open-loop system transmits nonprinting pulses to the printhead for each printing interval that the printer does not eject a drop. Also, this document discloses a method for measuring the energy transfer characteristics of a printhead. This method is used to determine how much energy open-loop nonprinting pulses should transmit within one printing interval to the printhead to prevent fluctuations in the temperature of the printhead caused by variations in the printer output.
摘要:
A technique for controlling print quality in an inkjet printer by delivering synchronized heating, non-printing pulses and printing pulses to the ink firing resistors during print firing operations such as during the printing of a swath. A temperature of the printhead substrate is measured and compared against a reference temperature during printing operations. If the measured temperature is below the reference temperature, then the printhead substrate is heated during the printing operations to bring the substrate up to the reference temperature. The heating is done by delivering synchronized heating non-printing pulses and printing pulses to the ink firing resistors during selected print firing periods, wherein either the heating pulses or the printing pulses, but not both, occur during a selected print firing period. The heating pulses are logically OR-ed with the printing pulses to achieve the synchronization.
摘要:
The volume of drops ejected from thermal ink jet printheads varies with the temperature of the printhead. The variation in drop volume degrades print quality by causing variations in the darkness in black and white text, the contrast of gray scale images, and variations in the chroma, hue, and lightness of color images. The present invention reduces the range of drop volume variation by reducing the range of printhead temperature variation during the print cycle by keeping the printhead temperature above a reference temperature. When the printhead temperature falls below the reference temperature during a print cycle the printhead is heated with nonprinting pulses.
摘要:
Piezoelectric elements in a transducer array are individually excited and used to sense the back-scattered signal from fluid flowing within an interrogation volume. The array is preferably a 2-D phased array with a pitch no greater than one-half the acoustic wavelength of the interrogation signal. By activating the transducer elements as a pattern of concentric rings as viewed from a point of interrogation, and by suitable phasing and range-gating of an interrogation signal, a substantially spherical interrogation volume (SIV) is created. The return signal from the SIV provides an isotropic indication of the speed of flow of the fluid. The focussing distance along an interrogation axis can be changed by changing either the size of the aperture created by the pattern of activated elements or their relative phasing. The interrogation direction can be angled off-axis by activating the transducer elements in a pattern of concentric ellipses. The interrogation axis itself may also be moved off-center by translating the pattern of activated elements. By deforming the activation pattern of the transducer elements from concentric rings to concentric ellipses, the long axes of ellipsoidal interrogation volumes (EIV) can be rotated. The back-scattered signals from these rotated ellipsoidal interrogation volumes indicate the direction of fluid flow.