Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Controller
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-30
2001-11-13
Barlow, John (Department: 2853)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Controller
C345S005000, C345S014000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06315377
ABSTRACT:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY
This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C §119 from an application entitled Device And Method For Protecting Recording Head In Ink Jet Recording Apparatus earlier filed in the Korean Industrial Property Office Nov. 29, 1997, and there duly assigned Serial No. 97-64714 by that Office.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus such an ink jet facsimile or an ink jet printer, and more particularly, to a device and method for reducing power consumption and protecting an ink jet recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
To record an image on a recording medium such as a recording sheet or a film, recording apparatuses of a wire dot type, a thermal transfer type and an ink jet type use an unique recording head. In these recording apparatuses, an ink jet recording apparatus records an image by ejecting ink onto a recording medium. An ink jet recording head used in the ink jet recording apparatus includes a plurality of nozzles each having a fine ejection hole for ejecting ink. Ink within the nozzles is heated by a heating element installed correspondingly at each nozzle and then expanded. The ink which has expanded is ejected to the exterior of the nozzles and fixed onto a recording medium. The ink jet recording apparatus selectively drives the nozzles of the recording head to record an image.
Typically the ink jet recording apparatus uses a driving voltage of 11.75V applied to a head driver and the recording head. Since the driving voltage of 11.75V continues to be supplied to the head driver and the recording head, power is consumed even at an idle state. Furthermore, if a user exchanges the recording head without turning off the ink jet recording apparatus, the recording head may be damaged due to the driving voltage of 11.75V and an electric short between recording head ports.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,115 to Hiroaki Kitazawa entitled Image Recording Method And Apparatus describes an ink jet printer having an image recording method and apparatus for performing stable image recording with a minimum power consumption according to a recording operation wherein ink is discharged onto a recording medium, the recording operation comprising: a power generation step of generating a power on the basis of image data, an accumulating step of accumulating the power generated in the power generation step, a heating step of supplying the accumulated power by the accumulating step to a heater to heat said heater according to the image data, and a discharging step of discharging said ink from a recording head onto said recording medium on the basis of a thermal energy from the heater heated in the heating step.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a recording head protecting device and method which can reduce power consumption by cutting off a voltage supplied to an ink jet recording head when there is no print data at a print mode in an ink jet recording apparatus.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a recording head protecting device and method which can protect an ink jet recording head by cutting off a voltage supplied to the recording head while a user exchanges the recording head without turning off a power source in an ink jet recording apparatus.
According to one aspect of the present invention, a device for protecting a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus includes: a power supply for generating a head driving voltage from an alternative current (AC) input power source; a central processing unit for receiving a print command from a personal computer or a facsimile, generating a head driving signal, generating a power-off control signal when there is no print command, or when no print data is detected even though there is a print command, and generating a power-on control signal when there is a print command and when print data is detected; a driving voltage controller for switching on or off the head driving voltage supplied from the power supply by the power-on or power-off control signal supplied from the central processing unit; and a head driver for receiving the head driving voltage from the driving voltage controller and heating nozzles contained in the recording head by the head driving signal generated from the central processing unit.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a method for protecting a recording head in an ink jet recording apparatus includes the steps of: checking whether a print command is received at an idle state in which a power source of the ink jet recording apparatus is turned on; and if no print command is detected, cutting off a head driving voltage for driving the recording head.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5526027 (1996-06-01), Wade et al.
patent: 5604597 (1997-02-01), Imai
patent: 5803623 (1998-09-01), Iwasaki
patent: 5835115 (1998-11-01), Kitazawa
patent: 5844813 (1998-12-01), Tateyama
Barlow John
Bushnell , Esq. Robert E.
Dudding Alfred
Samsung Electronics Co,. Ltd.
LandOfFree
Device and method for protecting a recording head and for... does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Device and method for protecting a recording head and for..., we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Device and method for protecting a recording head and for... will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-2600926