Patent ID: 6057864
Filing Date: 2000-05-02
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
An image producing apparatus responsive to a stored image file for printing a plurality of microfluidic pixels on a display such as a receiver medium, comprising:a) a plurality of ink delivery chambers;b) a plurality of microfluidic pumps, each associated with a particular ink delivery chamber of said plurality of ink delivery chambers;c) a look-up-table for converting code values corresponding to each pixel of the image file to ink volumes to be pumped into the ink delivery chambers by selected microfluidic pumps;d) first computing means for computing the ink volumes of ink to be pumped into each ink delivery chamber from the code values of the corresponding pixels of the image file;e) second computing means responsive to the computed ink volumes for producing pump parameters including pump rate and pump time to compensate for variabilities in the amount of ink delivered by each ink delivery chamber when different pixels are produced; andf) means responsive to the pump parameters for causing the microfluidic pumps to deliver the correct amount of ink into each ink delivery chamber which is compensated for variabilities in each delivery chamber.