Printing image slices in parallel by print engines
US8958114B2 · kind B2 · utility
Assignee
Inventor
Key dates
| Filing date | Apr 28, 2003 |
| Grant date | Feb 17, 2015 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Dec 9, 2030 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC H)Electricity
- CPC primaryH04N1/4052
- WIPO fieldAudio-visual technology
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A page-wide array inkjet printer allocates the processing tasks for individual printheads within the array to separate halftoning processors. Each halftoning processor processes the information relating to a strip of the image, with the boundaries between strips running parallel to the print medium advance direction. In a preferred embodiment, the pixels within each strip are processed using a forward error diffusion algorithm operating along columns of pixels parallel to the strip boundaries. The resulting halftone data is supplied from each halftoning processor to one or more uniquely associated printing component controllers, and these controllers generate print instructions for printing components (e.g. inkjet printheads) connected to the printing component controllers via a dedicated communications channel.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.