Method and apparatus for controlling a thermal color printer
US4399749A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Jul 30, 1982 |
| Grant date | Aug 23, 1983 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Jul 30, 2002 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/508
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A method and apparatus for controlling a printer of the type having plural print heads for printing indicia of different colors by transferring a color dye from a dye medium to a record medium. Each print head is supplied with an energizing signal for a time duration that determines the relative intensity of an indicium printed thereby. Image signals which represent the intensities of the indicia to be printed by corresponding print heads are compared, in a predetermined sequence, to a reference signal whose level changes with time. As each image signal is compared an energizing signal is produced for a duration that is determined by the value of that image signal with respect to the level of the reference signal. The durations of the energizing signals are varied as a function of the print characteristics of the dye medium from which the indicia are printed. Non-linearities in the relationship between the intensity of a color indicium printed from the dye medium and the duration of the energizing signal thus are compensated.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.