1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to ink-jet printing and, more specifically to a method and apparatus for dynamic print mode adjustment.
2. Description of Related Art
The art of ink-jet technology is relatively well developed. Commercial products such as computer printers, graphics plotters, copiers, and facsimile machines employ ink-jet technology for producing hard copy. The basics of this technology are disclosed, for example, in various articles in the Hewlett-Packard Journal, Vol. 36, No. 5 (May 1985), Vol. 39, No. 4 (August 1988), Vol. 39, No. 5 (October 1988), Vol. 43, No. 4 (August 1992) Vol. 43, No. 6 (December 1992) and Vol. 45, No.1 (February 1994) editions. Ink-jet devices are also described by W. J. Lloyd and H. T. Taub in Output Hardcopy [sic] Devices, chapter 13 (Ed. R. C. Durbeck and S. Sherr, Academic Press, San Diego, 1988).
A housing 103 encloses the electrical and mechanical operating mechanisms of the printer 101. Operation is administrated by an electronic controller (usually a microprocessor or application specific integrated circuit (“ASIC”) controlled printed circuit board) 102 connected by appropriate cabling to a computer (not shown). It is well known to program and execute imaging, printing, print media handling, control functions and logic with firmware or software instructions for conventional or general purpose microprocessors or with ASIC's. Cut-sheet print media 105, loaded by the end-user onto an input tray 120, is fed by a suitable paper-path transport mechanism (not shown) to an internal printing station, or “print zone,” 107 where graphical images or alphanumeric text are rendered onto adjacently positioned paper. A carriage 109, mounted on a slider 111, scans the print zone 107 (stationary paper wide ink-jet writing instruments are also known in the art and may be employed with the present invention). An encoder 113 subsystem is provided for keeping track of the position of the carriage 109 at any given time. A set of individual ink-jet pens, or print cartridges, 115X are mounted in the carriage 109. Reusable printhead systems are fluidically coupled by tubing 119 to replaceable or refillable ink reservoirs 117X (generally, in a full color system, inks for the subtractive primary colors, cyan (X=C), yellow (X=Y), magenta (M) and true black (X=K) are provided; ink fixer (X=F) solutions are also sometimes provided). Once a printed page is completed, the print medium is ejected onto an output tray 121. As indicated by the labeled arrows, the scanning axis is referred to as the “x-axis,” the paper transport path as the “y-axis,” and the printhead firing direction as the “z-axis.”
In essence, the ink-jet printing process involves digitized dot-matrix manipulation of drops of ink ejected from a pen onto an adjacent sheet of paper. One or more ink-jet type writing instruments includes a “printhead,” consisting generally of drop generator mechanisms and a number of columns of ink drop firing nozzles. Each column, or color-defined, selected subset of nozzles (referred to in the art as a “primitive”), selectively fires ink droplets (typically each being only a few picoliters in liquid volume) that are used to create a predetermined print matrix of dots on the adjacently positioned paper as the pen is scanned across the media. A given nozzle of the printhead is used to address a given matrix column print position on the paper (referred to as a picture element, or “pixel”). Horizontal positions, matrix pixel rows, on the paper are addressed by repeatedly firing a given nozzle at matrix row print positions as the pen is scanned. Thus, a single sweep scan of the pen across the paper can print a swath of tens of thousands of dots. The paper is stepped to permit a series of contiguous swaths. Complex digital dot matrix manipulation is used to form alphanumeric characters, graphical images, and even photographic reproductions from the ink drops. Stationary, page-wide, ink-jet printheads are also contemplated and are adaptable to the present invention.
The computerized printing processes employed with dot matrix manipulation are often referred to simply as “print modes.” Print modes and resultant printer operations are generally chosen and fixed for any given setting of print media selection and print quality (e.g., an end-user computer application selection of “special media” and “photo quality,” or the like as would be known in the art). Assignee's pending patent application, U.S. Ser. No. 09/181951, by J. M. Brenner et al., discloses changes to printer behavior based on what the user has done.
As a writing system degrades over its product life, whether from age or use, print quality can also degenerate. Based on product life, a fixed, predetermined, print mode is chosen during development of a product for each media/print quality setting available to the end user. Usually each print mode is set based on a worst case operational scenario (maximum mechanical tolerance variations, pen variations, media variations, and the like parameters as would be known to those skilled in the art). By using a worst case scenario, print quality does not fall below an acceptable predetermined level based on empirical product development data. One-pass per print swath, bidirectional printing, is the fastest scanning type print mode. However, it is very sensitive to missing or misdirected nozzles, paper skew, and the like. A common solution is to use slower print modes to improve print quality (e.g., multi-pass swath printing and the like). Thus, throughput is slower than competing products such as laser printers.
Some exemplary print defects and customary causes are:
A variety of means for recognizing such print defects are known in the art. For example, Lesniak in U.S. Pat. No. 5,387,976 discloses a METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR MEASURING DROP-VOLUME IN INK-JET PRINTERS, issued Feb. 7, 1995; optical sensing techniques and the use of test patterns have long be used, such as a MONITORING AND CONTROLLING QUALITY OF PEN MARKINGS ON PLOTTING MEDIA, U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,797 filed by Boeller et al. on Apr. 4, 1990 (each assigned to the common assignee herein and incorporated herein by reference).
An ink-jet printer including the present invention would employ one or more of such defect detection subsystems in order to obtain real-time information regarding current printing conditions. While familiarity with such means is helpful, it is not essential to an understanding of the present invention.
Generally, however, a printer is capable of much higher performance assuming optimum operational conditions. Thus, some of this degradation may be compensated if the writing system can self-determine the actual cause of the degradation. Therefore, there is a need for print mode control based upon real-time feedback regarding status of various components within the ink-jet writing system.
In its basic aspects, the present invention provides a method for determining a print quality capability indicator of an ink-jet hard copy apparatus based on current actual operational conditions of the apparatus. The method includes the steps of: storing a w plurality of predetermined ink-jet printing operation attributes related to output print quality; monitoring a plurality of ink-jet printing operating characteristics in real time, wherein said operating characteristics are correlated to said attributes; correlatively comparing said operating characteristics to said attributes; based on said step of correlatively comparing, deriving a comparison function for each of the operating characteristics; and assigning a valuation, parameter based on the comparison function for each of the operating characteristics such that said valuation parameter is the print quality capability indicator representative of current actual operational conditions.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a computerized method for selecting a print mode for an ink-jet hard copy apparatus, including the steps of: storing a set of data indicative of ink-jet printing Operational Attributes related to output print quality; monitoring print quality related ink-jet printing characteristics during printing operations; comparing each of said characteristics to selected Operational Attributes and deriving a comparison value for each of said characteristics indicative of current operational functionality of the apparatus; calculating a value function representative of expected print quality during a next subsequent printing operation as a function of all derived comparison values for each of said characteristics; comparing said value function to a correlated preselected print quality value indicative of a predetermined print quality output; and selecting the print mode for the next subsequent printing operation based on said comparing said value function to said correlated preselected print quality value indicative of a predetermined print quality output.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a method for selecting a print mode for an ink-jet hard copy apparatus having a plurality of user selected print modes for rendering a plurality of print quality levels, including the steps of: A) storing a set of ink-jet printing Operational Attributes; B) monitoring print quality related ink-jet printing characteristics during printing operations; C) comparing said characteristics to said Operational Attributes for deriving a comparison value representative of expected print quality during a next subsequent printing operation; D) assigning a currently available print mode to said predetermined value; E) comparing said currently available print mode to a user currently selected print mode; and F) over-riding said currently selected print mode by selecting said currently available print mode when said currently selected print mode is insufficient to render an expected print quality level from the currently selected print mode of the plurality of user selected print modes.
In another basic aspect, the present invention provides a system for dynamic print mode selection in an ink-jet hard copy apparatus having a plurality of end-user selectable print quality levels, including: sensor means for real-time monitoring of print quality related ink-jet printing characteristics; coupled to said sensor means, memory means for storing data output from said sensor means and for containing predetermined print mode operational instructions related to print quality; and processing means for encoding the data output from said sensor means as a value representative of current operational print quality availability and for comparing current operational print quality availability to desired print quality based on a currently selected one of the end-user selectable print quality levels and for overriding the current end-user selectable print quality level for the next printing operation and substituting a print mode representative of achieving the current end-user selectable print quality level from said predetermined print quality related ink-jet printing characteristics print quality related ink-jet printing characteristics mode operational instructions when said current operational print quality availability is not adequate to meet the print quality level of the current end-user selectable print quality level.
Some of the advantage of the present invention are:
it provides real-time, automatic adjustment of print mode, ensuring that a predetermined minimum print quality can be maintained;
it permits the use of higher performance print modes as primary operational parameters;
it is automatic, requiring no end-user intervention for implementation;
it provides more consistent print quality in each available printer operational setting; and
it permits the use as single pass, bidirectional swath printing as a primary print mode.
The foregoing summary and list of advantages is not intended by the inventors to be an inclusive list of all the aspects, objects, advantages and features of the present invention nor should any limitation on the scope of the invention be implied therefrom. This Summary is provided in accordance with the mandate of 37 C.F.R. 1.73 and M.P.E.P. 608.01(d) merely to apprize the public, and more especially those interested in the particular art to which the invention relates, of the nature of the invention in order to be of assistance in aiding ready understanding of the patent in future searches. Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent upon consideration of the following explanation and the accompanying drawings, in which like reference designations represent like features throughout the drawings.
The drawings referred to in this specification should be understood as not being drawn to scale except if specifically noted.
Reference is made now in detail to a specific embodiment of the present invention, which illustrates the best mode presently contemplated by the inventors for practicing the invention. Alternative embodiments are also briefly described as applicable.
The present invention provides a system for weighting and normalizing data to evaluate the potential print quality a hard copy apparatus is currently capable of producing. Various attributes are combined in such a way that threshold values can be created and various print modes attached to those threshold values. Dynamic print mode selection is then implemented.
Sensors, generally represented by element 201 in
At the beginning of a printing cycle, step 207, the end user generally uses the application software running on the computer or control panel selectors of the printer controller 102 (
In accordance with the present invention, the collected data 203 is used to develop, step 213, a weighting of current operating attributes of the printer system. This system of weighting and normalizing of the current Operational Attributes (see
Looking now again to
During printing, the sensor inputs and print quality related data 203 are converted in real time to a total weighted score 213. Assume for the present example that current printer operating conditions provided by sensor data are shown in
The “Total Weighted Score” 304 (“TWS”) is then defined as:
TWS=WS1−n÷n (Equation 1),
where “n”=number of Attributes, and
where the “Weighted Score” (“WS”) 303 is defined as:
WS=PSMAX−(SW% (PSMAX−PS)) (Equation 2),
where PS is the “performance score” 301 and SW % is the “subjective weighting” 302.
In general, various Attributes (see
It will be recognized by those skilled in the art that Operational Attributes may interact with each other and that the process should be designed to handle those known interactions. A particular set of selected attributes can cause the print quality to degrade even though all of the individual attributes have not passed their threshold values.
In summary, the present invention uses various real-time monitoring and resultant data inputs to change the print mode, dynamically during print cycles. Note that as a result of real-time monitoring and print mode adjustment, predetermined primary default print modes can be set a higher performance level. Various feedback subsystems provide real-time information critical to selecting specific print mode operational parameters, or attributes; The attributes allow the print mode to be fine tuned, dynamically, for each printer and pen combination over the life of the printer. Thresholds that signal a print mode change are defined.
The foregoing description of the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been presented for purposes of illustration and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the invention to the precise form or to exemplary embodiments disclosed. Obviously, many modifications and variations will be apparent to practitioners skilled in this art. Similarly, any process steps described might be interchangeable with other steps in order to achieve the same result. The embodiment was chosen and described in order to best explain the principles of the invention and its best mode practical application, thereby to enable others skilled in the art to understand the invention for various embodiments and with various modifications as are suited to the particular use or implementation contemplated. It is intended that the scope of the invention be defined by the claims appended hereto and their equivalents. Reference to an element in the singular is not intended to mean “one and only one” unless explicitly so stated, but rather means “one or more.” Moreover, no element, component, nor method step in the present disclosure is intended to be dedicated to the public regardless of whether the element, component, or method step is explicitly recited in the following claims. No claim element herein is to be construed under the provisions of 35 U.S.C. Sec. 112, sixth paragraph, unless the element is expressly recited using the phrase “means for . . . .”
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