| Lexmark International, Inc. Patent applications |
| Patent application number | Title | Published |
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| 20110094102 | Micro-Fluid Ejection Devices, Methods for Making Micro-Fluid Ejection Heads, And Micro-Fluid Ejection Head Having High Resistance Thin Film Heaters - Micro-fluid ejection devices, methods for making micro-fluid ejection heads, and micro-fluid ejection heads, including a micro-fluid ejection head. One such micro-fluid ejection head has relatively high resistance thin film heaters adjacent to a substrate. The thin film material comprises silicon, metal, and carbon (SiMC wherein M is a metal). Each thin film heater has a sheet resistance ranging from about 100 to about 600 ohms per square and a thickness ranging from about 100 to about 800 Angstroms. | 04-28-2011 |
| 20100195133 | LICENSING METHOD FOR USE WITH AN IMAGING DEVICE - A licensing method includes the steps of establishing a licensing vendor; providing an imaging device that uses an imaging media in forming printed images on print media, the imaging media including an initial supply amount of an imaging substance; associating a usage license with at least one of the imaging device and the imaging media, the usage license defining a first usage threshold at which a consumer is prompted to acquire a new license; and providing a license monitoring mechanism communicatively coupled with the imaging device, the license monitoring mechanism performing the steps of tracking an amount of usage of the imaging media by the imaging device; determining whether the amount of usage of the imaging media by the imaging device has reached a usage threshold; and upon reaching the usage threshold, then prompting the consumer to acquire the new license from the licensing vendor. | 08-05-2010 |
| 20100086325 | Architecture for an Image-Forming Device - An image forming device includes a body having a top, a bottom, a front and a back. In one embodiment, a plurality of horizontally-aligned imaging units, each comprising a photoconductive member, transfer toner images to an intermediate transfer mechanism located below the plurality of imaging units. A pick mechanism may pick media sheets from a media input tray and feeds the media towards the front of the body. For duplex printing, the media sheets may travel along a duplex path that extends along the front of the body. In one embodiment, an access door at the front of the body pivots between a closed position and an open position. In the open position, a user may gain access to both media paths. | 04-08-2010 |
| 20100072938 | Encoder Eccentricity Correction for Motion Control Systems - Correction of rotary encoder eccentricity in an image forming device having a motor controller using period and position pulse train feedback signals. A motor includes an encoder disc rotating with the motor and at least two encoder sensors disposed at different circumferential positions about the encoder disc. A controller may use a high speed clock to calculate a corrected speed count based on speed counts determined from the number of clock cycles that elapse per cycle of pulse trains from the encoders. The controller may also calculate a corrected position count based at least partly on one or more position counts determined from the number of clock cycles that elapse between periodic sampling points and transitions of encoder pulse trains. The corrected position count may also be calculated based on a position count and one or more speed counts. | 03-25-2010 |
| 20090279155 | Multiharmonic Galvonometric Scanning Device - A scanning apparatus for a printer or similar instrument. A multiharmonic oscillator is used to provide a composite motion of a laser beam or other light beam to scan an imaging surface. The multiharmonic oscillator may have multiple sections each having a different resonant frequency. One section includes a reflector that intercepts the light beam, and drive electronics move the reflector so the light beam scans the imaging surface. Linear and complex non-linear motions of the light beam may be achieved. Microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) technology may be used to fabricate the oscillator. | 11-12-2009 |
| 20090269707 | Thick Film Layers and Methods Relating Thereto - Thick film layers for a micro-fluid ejection head, micro-fluid ejection heads, and methods for making micro-fluid ejection head and thick film layers. One such thick film layer is derived from a difunctional epoxy component having a weight average molecular weight ranging from about 2500 to about 4000 Daltons, a photoacid generator, an aryl ketone solvent, and an adhesion enhancing component. One such thick film layer has a cross-link density upon curing that increases the dimensional stability of the thick film layer sufficient to provide flow features therein having substantially vertical walls. | 10-29-2009 |
| 20090196519 | System and Method for Dynamically Shifting Error Diffusion Data - Error diffusion is performed using a Floyd-Steinberg-like approach. A integer-representation of a running error is compressed by storing only its most significant bits and returning any remainder to the error diffusion processor. The running error is shifted to the right until only the desired number of significant bits remain, and this compressed error is stored. Any portion of the original running error that is lost due to the shifting is treated as a remainder and is returned to the error diffusion processor for use in calculating an adjusted current pixel value. The amount of the shift is retained in compressed form to keep track of the number of shifts needed to form a truncated running error from the compressed running error. | 08-06-2009 |
| 20090174137 | Exit Shaft Dampening Device to Improve Print Quality - The present invention includes a damping device for a media feed mechanism for a peripheral device having a media feedpath having a feed shaft and a downstream exit shaft. In one form a damping hub is mounted on said exit shaft, a resilient biasing member extending between the damping hub and the feed shaft to create a damping force on the damping hub. In another embodiment damping is provided by a brake structure engaging said damping hub. In yet another embodiment, a brake structure is pivotably mounted. | 07-09-2009 |
| 20090166944 | Duplex Architecture For An Imaging Apparatus - An imaging apparatus including an image transfer device, a first motor, a redrive section and a duplexing section. The first motor is drivingly connected to the image transfer device. The reversible redrive section is downstream from the image transfer device, and the reversible redrive section includes a second motor. The duplexing section includes a third motor. The duplexing section is positioned to receive media from the redrive section. The first motor, the second motor and the third motor are each independently controlled. | 07-02-2009 |
| 20090112731 | Method of Licensing Functionality After Initial Transaction - Methods for licensing functionality after an initial transaction are provided. One such method is directed to licensing after an initial transaction of a customer obtaining a supply item including the step of prompting the customer to acquire a usage license for the supply item. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090110410 | METHODS FOR MOVING A MEDIA SHEET WITHIN AN IMAGE FORMING DEVICE - The present application is directed to methods for determining the location and movement of a media sheet within an image forming device. In one embodiment, the media sheet is positioned within an input area of the device. A pick roller is rotated to move the sheet from the input area and into a media path. An encoder roller may be positioned in contact with the sheet to detect the actual movement of the sheet from the input area. A controller may determine the expected amount of movement based on the movement of the pick roller and compare this amount with an actual amount of movement based on the movement of the encoder roller. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090109459 | Processing Print Jobs - Methods for processing print jobs include flagging, or not, to-be-printed objects having PDL-specified math or logic functions requiring hard processing operations, such as two or more inputs. The math or logic functions preferably reside in ink attributes of display list objects corresponding to the to-be-printed objects. To-be-printed pages of the print job become divided into bands. Bands with to-be-printed objects therein have band display lists constructed in the event the to-be-printed objects become flagged. On a band-by-band basis, if bands have band display lists flagged with hard processing operations, contone bands become constructed. The contone bands result from color information blending between overlapping pixels of to-be-printed objects or an object and a contone page. A contone page includes color information of the to-be-printed page in a first color space. To-be-printed objects are rendered in a second color space in device specific page(s) of memory. | 04-30-2009 |
| 20090097070 | EXTENSIBLE FRAMEWORK FOR PARSING VARYING FORMATS OF PRINT STREAM DATA - A method of parsing print stream data including the steps of intercepting a data file from at least a portion of the print stream data, reading at least a portion of the data file and determining if said data file is of a format having subset formats. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090097069 | EXTENSIBLE FRAMEWORK FOR PARSING VARYING FORMATS OF PRINT STREAM DATA - A method of parsing print stream data including the steps of intercepting a data file from at least a portion of the print stream data, reading at least a portion of the data file and determining if said data file is of a format having subset formats. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20090096824 | METHODS AND APPARATUS FOR CONTROL OF A SIGNAL IN A PRINTING APPARATUS - A printing apparatus is provided that precisely control the transition of an electrical signal that causes a printing substance to be deposited. In particular, in some embodiments, a circuit is configured to control the application of a firing pulse to a printing element, and the printing element is configured to control the application of a printing substance. The circuit in this embodiment is co figured to condition or control the transition of the firing pulse from the first state to the second state such that current through the printing element dissipates to zero over a period of tine that is neither too fast nor too slow. | 04-16-2009 |
| 20080319845 | PRINTING INCENTIVE AND OTHER INCENTIVE METHODS AND SYSTEMS - Embodiments of the invention provide printing incentive methods and systems. In one embodiment, a method of providing advertising content to a customer can be provided. The method can include receiving information associated with a customer. In addition, the method can include receiving information associated with at least one advertiser. Furthermore, the method can include associating at least one keyword with the at least one advertiser. Moreover, the method can include comparing the at least one keyword to a portion of information associated with the customer. Further, the method can include outputting advertising content to the customer based at least in part on the comparison. | 12-25-2008 |
| 20080276048 | Addressing and Command Protocols for Non-Volatile Memories Utilized in Recording Usage Counts - Electrical interfaces, addressing schemes, and command protocols allow for communications with memory modules in computing devices such as imaging and printing devices. Memory modules may be assigned an address through a set of discrete voltages. One, multiple, or all of the memory modules may be addressed with a single command, which may be an increment counter command, a write command, or a punch out bit field. The status of the memory modules may be determined by sampling a single signal that may be at a low, high, or intermediate voltage level. | 11-06-2008 |
| 20080268584 | ELECTRONIC DEVICES AND METHODS FOR FORMING THE SAME - Methods for forming electronic devices, such as those having a flexible substrate and printed material on the flexible substrate. In one embodiment, the method may include applying materials to a flexible substrate to form the electronic device. At least some of the materials applied to the flexible substrate may be applied using a printing apparatus. The substrate may be annealed when at least some of the materials are present on the flexible substrate. The resulting electronic device may have a high charge carrier mobility in the range from about 10 cm | 10-30-2008 |
| 20080259131 | LOW ENERGY, LONG LIFE MICRO-FLUID EJECTION DEVICE - Micro-fluid ejection heads and methods for extending the life of micro-fluid ejection heads. One such micro-fluid ejection head includes a substrate having a plurality of thermal ejection actuators. Each of the thermal ejection actuators has a resistive layer and a protective layer thereon. A flow feature member is adjacent the substrate and defines a fluid feed channel, a fluid chamber associated with at least one of the actuators and in flow communication with the fluid feed channel, and a nozzle. The nozzle is offset to a side of the chamber opposite the feed channel. A polymeric layer having a degradation temperature of less than about 400° C. overlaps a portion of the at least one actuator associated with the fluid chamber and positioned less than about five microns from at least an edge of the at least one actuator opposite the fluid feed channel. | 10-23-2008 |
| 20080247777 | Switching Device and System - A heating assembly for a printing device includes a heating device configured to be energized or deenergized. A switching device includes a bimetallic element efficiently thermally coupled to the heating device and configured to deenergize the heating device in a defined period of time in the event of an over temperature condition. | 10-09-2008 |
