Alignment system for multiple color ink jet printheads and associated printhead with built-in optical position detector
US6371591B1 · kind B1 · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Mar 8, 2000 |
| Grant date | Apr 16, 2002 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Mar 8, 2020 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N2201/04744
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
The individual monochromatic printheads mounted simultaneously on the scanning carriage of an ink jet printer are provided with an opto-electronic position detector of the four-quadrant type, which is integrated directly in the chip of each head by means of the same MOS technology used for the circuits for selection and driving of the emission resistors; an illumination device fixed onto the printer focuses a light spot on the position detector which thus provides the electronic control unit of the printer with a measurement of both the vertical and horizontal misalignment of each head, a measurement which is subsequently used in order to compensate automatically for the misalignment thereof.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.