Sub-row firing method for single-pass monochrome printing at high speeds

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11772376-B2
Application number	US-202117467909-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 7, 2021
Priority date	Sep 9, 2020
Publication date	Oct 3, 2023
Grant date	Oct 3, 2023

Abstract

A method of printing an image from a printhead module having a plurality of horizontal ink planes M supplied with a same ink. Each ink plane has a nozzle row and the nozzles rows of all ink planes have vertically aligned nozzles. The method includes the steps of: defining contiguous span groups along each nozzle row, each span group containing N nozzles; allocating dot data for each image line of the image to a predetermined number of nozzles P in each span group of each nozzle row; sending the dot data to the printhead module and firing nozzles sequentially from the ink planes to print the image line. Only one nozzle from each span group in a same nozzle row is fired simultaneously, N is an integer multiple of M, and P is N divided by M.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A method of printing an image from a printhead module having a plurality of horizontal ink planes M supplied with a same ink, each ink plane having at least one nozzle row, the nozzles rows of all ink planes having vertically aligned nozzles, the method comprising the steps of:
defining contiguous span groups along each nozzle row, each span group containing N nozzles;
allocating dot data for each image line of the image to a predetermined number of nozzles P in each span group of each nozzle row;
sending the dot data to the printhead module and firing nozzles, based on the dot data, sequentially from each of the M ink planes to print the image line of the image such that all ink planes contribute dots to the printed image line,

wherein:
only one nozzle from each span group in a same nozzle row is fired simultaneously;
N is an integer multiple of M; and
P is N divided by M.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein each ink plane comprises a pair of nozzle rows.

3. The method of claim 2 , wherein the pair of nozzle rows are offset for printing even and odd dots.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein said method is repeated for printing all image lines of the image.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein span groups of different nozzle rows having different firing nozzles.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the firing nozzles in the span groups of consecutively fired nozzle rows are horizontally shifted by S nozzles.

7. The method of claim 6 , wherein S is 1.

8. The method of claim 1 , wherein 1/M th of the image line is printable by each ink plane.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dot data comprises a ‘1’ for an enabled firing nozzle and a ‘0’ for a non-enabled non-firing nozzle.

10. The method of claim 1 , wherein all aligned nozzle rows in the M ink planes are fired, based on the dot data, within one row-time, and wherein one row-time is less than or equal to a time period for firing all nozzles in the printhead module divided by the number of nozzle rows.

11. The method of claim 1 , wherein one or more steps of said method are repeated to print all image lines of the image.

12. The method of claim 1 , wherein the dot data is allocated to a given nozzle row based on a print speed and a position of print media during the sequential firing of nozzles from each of the M ink planes.

13. The method of claim 1 , wherein corresponding span groups in different nozzle rows are vertically aligned.

Assignees

• Memjet Technology Ltd

Inventors

• Hogan Julie Catherine
• Palliser Ronan
• Sheahan John
• Brown Brian
• Forbes Caitriona
• Lehane Pat

Classifications

• B41J2/04505 Primary

  aiming at correcting alignment · CPC title

• B41J2/04541

  Specific driving circuit · CPC title

• B41J2/04573 Primary

  Timing; Delays · CPC title

• B41J2/04586

  controlling heads of a type not covered by groups B41J2/04575 - B41J2/04585, or of an undefined type · CPC title

• B41J2/2135 Primary

  Alignment of dots · CPC title