Alignment of differently sized printheads in a printer
First Claim
1. A mixed resolution printer comprising:
- a frame for holding a medium for being printed upon in a print zone;
a carriage supported on said frame and movable across said print zone during a scan;
a first printhead mounted on said carriage and including a first array of nozzles for printing a swath of black ink, said first printhead having a first print resolution and a first width parallel to a direction of movement of said medium through said print zone, said first printhead having a top edge facing opposite said direction of movement of said medium and a bottom edge facing said direction of movement of said medium, said first array of nozzles being disposed between said top and bottom edges;
a second printhead mounted on said carriage parallel to said first printhead, said second printhead including a second array of nozzles for printing a swath of color ink, said second printhead having a second print resolution lower than said first print resolution and a second width shorter than said first width, said second printhead having a top edge facing opposite said direction of movement of said medium and a bottom edge facing said direction of movement of said medium, said second array of nozzles being disposed between said top and bottom edges,a third printhead mounted on said carriage and disposed between said first and second printheads, said third printhead being identical to said second printhead for printing a swath of a second color ink,wherein an edge of said second printhead and an edge of said third printhead are substantially aligned with an edge of said first printhead, such that a maximum print swath created by said first printhead at least partially overlaps a maximum print swath created by said second and third printheads during a single scan of said carriage across said medium.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
An inkjet printer is disclosed with mixed print resolution capabilities. The printed dots have a high resolution monochrome component such as black and lower resolution components such as cyan, magenta and yellow. For increased throughput, a higher resolution black printhead has a wider swath. Various alignments between the printheads and printed dots are disclosed. In one embodiment, the top edges of the smaller color printheads are aligned in a scanning carriage at or near the top of the wider black printhead. In other embodiments, the bottom edges of the smaller color printheads are aligned at or near the bottom of the wider black printhead. In another embodiment, the small color printheads are centered with the wider black printhead.
27 Citations
14 Claims
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1. A mixed resolution printer comprising:
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a frame for holding a medium for being printed upon in a print zone; a carriage supported on said frame and movable across said print zone during a scan; a first printhead mounted on said carriage and including a first array of nozzles for printing a swath of black ink, said first printhead having a first print resolution and a first width parallel to a direction of movement of said medium through said print zone, said first printhead having a top edge facing opposite said direction of movement of said medium and a bottom edge facing said direction of movement of said medium, said first array of nozzles being disposed between said top and bottom edges; a second printhead mounted on said carriage parallel to said first printhead, said second printhead including a second array of nozzles for printing a swath of color ink, said second printhead having a second print resolution lower than said first print resolution and a second width shorter than said first width, said second printhead having a top edge facing opposite said direction of movement of said medium and a bottom edge facing said direction of movement of said medium, said second array of nozzles being disposed between said top and bottom edges, a third printhead mounted on said carriage and disposed between said first and second printheads, said third printhead being identical to said second printhead for printing a swath of a second color ink, wherein an edge of said second printhead and an edge of said third printhead are substantially aligned with an edge of said first printhead, such that a maximum print swath created by said first printhead at least partially overlaps a maximum print swath created by said second and third printheads during a single scan of said carriage across said medium. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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9. A method performed by a color printer comprising the step of:
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scanning a carriage across a print zone of a medium to be printed upon, said carriage supporting a first printhead, a second printhead, a third printhead, and a fourth printhead in a side-by-side relationship for composite printing by said first printhead, said second printhead, said third printhead, and said fourth printhead on the medium in said print zone; and supplying energizing signals to said first printhead, said second printhead, said third printhead, and said fourth printhead as said carriage is scanning and said medium is held stationary so that said first printhead prints a maximum print swath having a top and a bottom and said second printhead, said third printhead, and said fourth printhead each print maximum print swaths, each maximum print swath having a top and a bottom, wherein said maximum print swath printed by said first printhead at least partially overlaps said maximum print swaths printed by said second printhead, said third printhead, and said fourth printhead during scanning of said carriage across said medium, said first printhead printing black ink and having a first print resolution, a first width parallel to a direction of movement of said medium through said print zone, a top edge facing opposite said direction of movement of said medium, and a bottom edge facing said direction of movement of said medium, said second printhead, said third printhead, and said fourth printhead printing color inks and having a second print resolution lower than said first print resolution, a second width shorter than said first width, a top edge facing opposite said direction of movement of said medium, and a bottom edge facing said direction of movement of said medium, wherein said step of supplying energizing signals causes said top or bottom of each of said maximum print swaths created by said second printhead, said third printhead, and said fourth printhead to be aligned with said top or bottom, respectively, of said maximum print swath created by said first printhead.
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Specification