Abstract:
A method of processing a digital image comprising: using a digital camera, capturing the image utilising an adjustable focusing technique; storing the focusing settings within a memory of the digital camera; utilising the focusing settings as an indicator of the position of structures within the image; processing the image within a processor of the camera utilising the said focus settings to produce a manipulated image having effects specific to said focus settings; and printing out the image using a printer inbuilt to the camera body.

Description:
[0001]    This is a Continuation of Ser. No.09/112,750 filed Jul. 10, 1998 
     
    
     
       FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
         [0002]    The present invention relates to an image processing method and apparatus and, in particular, discloses a process for utilising autofocus information in a digital image camera.  
         BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
         [0003]    Recently, digital cameras have become increasingly popular. These cameras normally operate by means of imaging a desired image utilizing a charge coupled device (CCD) array and storing the imaged scene on an electronic storage medium for later down loading onto a computer system for subsequent manipulation and printing out. Normally, when utilizing a computer system to print out an image, sophisticated software may be available to manipulate the image in accordance with requirements.  
           [0004]    Unfortunately such systems require significant post processing of a captured image and normally present the image in an orientation in which is was taken, relying on the post processing process to perform any necessary or required modifications of the captured image.  
         SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
         [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for enhanced processing of images captured by a digital camera utilising autofocus settings.  
           [0006]    In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of generating a manipulated output image by means of a digital camera, the method comprising the steps of:  
           [0007]    capturing a focused image using an automatic focusing technique generating focus settings;  
           [0008]    generating a manipulated output image by applying a digital image manipulating process to the focused image, the digital image manipulating process utilizing the focus settings.  
           [0009]    Preferably the focus settings include a current position of a zoom motor of the digital camera.  
           [0010]    In a preferred embodiment the digital image manipulating process includes a step of locating an object within the focused image utilizing the focus settings.  
           [0011]    The method may include the step of printing out the manipulated image by means of a printing mechanism incorporated into the digital camera.  
           [0012]    It is preferred that the digital image manipulating process selectively applies techniques to the focused image on the basis of the focus settings.  
       
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0013]    Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope of the present invention, preferred forms of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:  
         [0014]    [0014]FIG. 1 illustrates the method of the preferred embodiment; and  
         [0015]    [0015]FIG. 2 illustrates a block diagram of the ARTCAM type camera. 
     
    
     DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0016]    The preferred embodiment is preferably implemented through suitable programming of a hand held camera device such as that described in the concurrently filed application, Applicant&#39;s reference ART01, U.S. Ser. No. 09/113,060 entitled “A Digital Camera with Image Processing Capability” filed concurrently herewith by the present applicant the content of which is hereby specifically incorporated by cross reference and the details of which, and other related applications are set out in the tables below. FIG. 2 shows a block diagram thereof.  
         [0017]    The aforementioned patent specification discloses a camera system, hereinafter known as an “Artcam” type camera, wherein sensed images can be directly printed out by an Artcam portable camera unit such as illustrated in FIG. 2. Further, the aforementioned specification discloses means and methods for performing various manipulations on images captured by the camera sensing device  30  leading to the production of various effects in any output image  40 . The manipulations are disclosed to be highly flexible in nature and can be implemented through the insertion into the Artcam of cards having encoded thereon various instructions for the manipulation of images, the cards  9  hereinafter being known as Artcards. The Artcam further has significant onboard processing power by an Artcam Central Processor unit (ACP)  32  which is interconnected to a memory device  34  for the storage of important data and images.  
         [0018]    In the preferred embodiment, autofocus is achieved by processing of a CCD data stream to ensure maximum contrast. Techniques for determining a focus position based on a CCD data stream are known. For example, reference is made to “The Encyclopedia of Photography” editors Leslie Stroebel and Richard Zakia, published 1993 by Butterworth-Heinemann and “Applied Photographic Optics” by London &amp; Boston, Focal Press, 1988. These techniques primarily rely on measurements of contrast between adjacent pixels over portions of an input image. The image is initally processed by the ACP in order to determine a correct autofocus setting.  
         [0019]    This autofocus information is then utilized by the ACP  32  in certain modes, for example, when attempting to locate faces within the image, as a guide to the likely size of any face within the image, thereby simplifying the face location process.  
         [0020]    Turning now to FIG. 1, there is illustrated an example of the method utilized to determine likely image characteristics for examination by a face detection algorithm  10 .  
         [0021]    Various images eg.  2 ,  3  and  4  are imaged by the camera device  28 . As a by product of the operation of the auto-focusing the details of the focusing settings of the autofocus unit  5  are stored by the ACP  32 . Additionally, a current position of the zoom motor  38  is also utilized as zoom setting  6 . Both of these settings are determined by the ACP  32 . Subsequently, the ACP  32  applies analysis techniques in heuristic system  8  to the detected values before producing an output  29  having a magnitude corresponding to the likely depth location of objects of interest  21 ,  31  or  41  within the image  2 ,  3  or  4  respectively.  
         [0022]    Next, the depth value is utilised in a face detection algorithm  10  running on the ACP  31  in addition to the inputted sensed image  11  so as to locate objects within the image. A close output  29  corresponding to a range value  9  indicates a high probability of a portrait image, a medium range indicates a high probability of a group photograph and a further range indicates a higher probability of a landscape image. This probability information can be utilized as an aid for the face detection algorithm and also can be utilised for selecting between various parameters when producing “painting” effects within the image or painting the image with clip arts or the like, with different techniques or clip arts being applied depending on the distance to an object.  
         [0023]    It would be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous variations and/or modifications may be made to the present invention as shown in the specific embodiment without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiment is, therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative and not restrictive.  
         [0024]    The present invention is further best utilized in the Artcam device, the details of which are set out in the following paragraphs although it is not restricted thereto.  
         [0025]    Ink Jet Technologies  
         [0026]    The embodiments of the invention use an ink jet printer type device. Of course many different devices could be used. However presently popular ink jet printing technologies are unlikely to be suitable.  
         [0027]    The most significant problem with thermal inkjet is power consumption. This is approximately 100 times that required for high speed, and stems from the energy-inefficient means of drop ejection. This involves the rapid boiling of water to produce a vapor bubble which expels the ink. Water has a very high heat capacity, and must be superheated in thermal inkjet applications. This leads to an efficiency of around 0.02%, from electricity input to drop momentum (and increased surface area) out.  
         [0028]    The most significant problem with piezoelectric inkjet is size and cost. Piezoelectric crystals have a very small deflection at reasonable drive voltages, and therefore require a large area for each nozzle. Also, each piezoelectric actuator must be connected to its drive circuit on a separate substrate. This is not a significant problem at the current limit of around 300 nozzles per print head, but is a major impediment to the fabrication of pagewidth print heads with 19,200 nozzles.  
         [0029]    Ideally, the inkjet technologies used meet the stringent requirements of in-camera digital color printing and other high quality, high speed, low cost printing applications. To meet the requirements of digital photography, new inkjet technologies have been created. The target features include:  
         [0030]    low power (less than 10 Watts)  
         [0031]    high resolution capability (1,600 dpi or more)  
         [0032]    photographic quality output  
         [0033]    low manufacturing cost  
         [0034]    small size (pagewidth times minimum cross section)  
         [0035]    high speed (&lt;2 seconds per page).  
         [0036]    All of these features can be met or exceeded by the inkjet systems described below with differing levels of difficulty. Fortyfive different inkjet technologies have been developed by the Assignee to give a wide range of choices for high volume manufacture. These technologies form part of separate applications assigned to the present Assignee as set out in the table below.  
         [0037]    The inkjet designs shown here are suitable for a wide range of digital printing systems, from battery powered one-time use digital cameras, through to desktop and network printers, and through to commercial printing systems  
         [0038]    For ease of manufacture using standard process equipment, the print head is designed to be a monolithic 0.5micron CMOS chip with MEMS post processing. For color photographic applications, the print head is 100 mm long, with a width which depends upon the inkjet type. The smallest print head designed is IJ38, which is 0.35 mm wide, giving a chip area of 35 square mm. The print heads each contain 19,200 nozzles plus data and control circuitry.  
         [0039]    Ink is supplied to the back of the print head by injection molded plastic ink channels. The molding requires 50 micron features, which can be created using a lithographically micromachined insert in a standard injection molding tool. Ink flows through holes etched through the wafer to the nozzle chambers fabricated on the front surface of the wafer. The print head is connected to the camera circuitry by tape automated bonding.  
         [0040]    Cross-Referenced Applications  
         [0041]    The following table is a guide to cross-referenced patent applications filed concurrently herewith and discussed hereinafter with the reference being utilized in subsequent tables when referring to a particular case:  
                                       Docket No.   Reference   Title                   IJ01US   IJ01   Radiant Plunger Ink Jet Printer       IJ02US   IJ02   Electrostatic Ink Jet Printer       IJ03US   IJ03   Planar Thermoelastic Bend Actuator Ink Jet       IJ04US   IJ04   Stacked Electrostatic Ink Jet Printer       IJ05US   IJ05   Reverse Spring Lever Ink Jet Printer       IJ06US   IJ06   Paddle Type Ink Jet Printer       IJ07US   IJ07   Permanent Magnet Electromagnetic Ink Jet Printer       IJ08US   IJ08   Planar Swing Grill Electromagnetic Ink Jet Printer       IJ09US   IJ09   Pump Action Refill Ink Jet Printer       IJ10US   IJ10   Pulsed Magnetic Field Ink Jet Printer       IJ11US   IJ11   Two Plate Reverse Firing Electromagnetic Ink Jet Printer       IJ12US   IJ12   Linear Stepper Actuator Ink Jet Printer       IJ13US   IJ13   Gear Driven Shutter Ink Jet Printer       IJ14US   IJ14   Tapered Magnetic Pole Electromagnetic Ink Jet Printer       IJ15US   IJ15   Linear Spring Electromagnetic Grill Ink Jet Printer       IJ16US   IJ16   Lorenz Diaphragm Electromagnetic Ink Jet Printer       IJ17US   IJ17   PTFE Surface Shooting Shuttered Oscillating Pressure Ink Jet Printer       IJ18US   IJ18   Buckle Grip Oscillating Pressure Ink Jet Printer       IJ19US   IJ19   Shutter Based Ink Jet Printer       IJ20US   IJ20   Curling Calyx Thermoelastic Ink Jet Printer       IJ21US   IJ21   Thermal Actuated Ink Jet Printer       IJ22US   IJ22   Iris Motion Ink Jet Printer       IJ23US   IJ23   Direct Firing Thermal Bend Actuator Ink Jet Printer       IJ24US   IJ24   Conductive PTFE Ben Activator Vented Ink Jet Printer       IJ25US   IJ25   Magnetostrictive Ink Jet Printer       IJ26US   IJ26   Shape Memory Alloy Ink Jet Printer       IJ27US   IJ27   Buckle Plate Ink Jet Printer       IJ28US   IJ28   Thermal Elastic Rotary Impeller Ink Jet Printer       IJ29US   IJ29   Thermoelastic Bend Actuator Ink Jet Printer       IJ30US   IJ30   Thermoelastic Bend Actuator Using PTFE and Corrugated Copper Ink Jet Printer       IJ31US   IJ31   Bend Actuator Direct Ink Supply Ink Jet Printer       IJ32US   IJ32   A High Young&#39;s Modulus Thermoelastic Ink Jet Printer       IJ33US   IJ33   Thermally actuated slotted chamber wall ink jet printer       IJ34US   IJ34   Ink Jet Printer having a thermal actuator comprising an external coiled spring       IJ35US   IJ35   Trough Container Ink Jet Printer       IJ36US   IJ36   Dual Chamber Single Vertical Actuator Ink Jet       IJ37US   IJ37   Dual Nozzle Single Horizontal Fulcrum Actuator Ink Jet       IJ38US   IJ38   Dual Nozzle Single Horizontal Actuator Ink Jet       IJ39US   IJ39   A single bend actuator cupped paddle ink jet printing device       IJ40US   IJ40   A thermally actuated ink jet printer having a series of thermal actuator units       IJ41US   IJ41   A thermally actuated ink jet printer including a tapered heater element       IJ42US   IJ42   Radial Back-Curling Thermoelastic Ink Jet       IJ43US   IJ43   Inverted Radial Back-Curling Thermoelastic Ink Jet       IJ44US   IJ44   Surface bend actuator vented ink supply ink jet printer       IJ45US   IJ45   Coil Acutuated Magnetic Plate Ink Jet Printer                  
 
         [0042]    Tables of Drop-on-Demand Inkjets  
         [0043]    Eleven important characteristics of the fundamental operation of individual inkjet nozzles have been identified. These characteristics are largely orthogonal, and so can be elucidated as an eleven dimensional matrix. Most of the eleven axes of this matrix include entries developed by the present assignee.  
         [0044]    The following tables form the axes of an eleven dimensional table of inkjet types.  
         [0045]    Actuator mechanism (18 types)  
         [0046]    Basic operation mode (7 types)  
         [0047]    Auxiliary mechanism (8 types)  
         [0048]    Actuator amplification or modification method (17 types)  
         [0049]    Actuator motion (19 types)  
         [0050]    Nozzle refill method (4 types)  
         [0051]    Method of restricting back-flow through inlet (10 types)  
         [0052]    Nozzle clearing method (9 types)  
         [0053]    Nozzle plate construction (9 types)  
         [0054]    Drop ejection direction (5 types)  
         [0055]    Ink type (7 types)  
         [0056]    The complete eleven dimensional table represented by these axes contains 36.9 billion possible configurations of inkjet nozzle. While not all of the possible combinations result in a viable inkjet technology, many million configurations are viable. It is clearly impractical to elucidate all of the possible configurations. Instead, certain inkjet types have been investigated in detail. These are designated IJ01 to IJ45 above.  
         [0057]    Other inkjet configurations can readily be derived from these fortyfive examples by substituting alternative configurations along one or more of the 11 axes. Most of the IJ01 to IJ45 examples can be made into inkjet print heads with characteristics superior to any currently available inkjet technology.  
         [0058]    Where there are prior art examples known to the inventor, one or more of these examples are listed in the examples column of the tables below. The IJ01 to IJ45 series are also listed in the examples column. In some cases, a print technology may be listed more than once in a table, where it shares characteristics with more than one entry.  
         [0059]    Suitable applications include: Home printers, Office network printers, Short run digital printers, Commercial print systems, Fabric printers, Pocket printers, Internet WWW printers, Video printers, Medical imaging, Wide format printers, Notebook PC printers, Fax machines, Industrial printing systems, Photocopiers, Photographic minilabs etc.  
         [0060]    The information associated with the aforementioned 11 dimensional matrix are set out in the following tables.  
                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                               Description   Advantages   Disadvantages   Examples                                    ACTUATOR MECHANISM (APPLIED ONLY TO SELECTED INK DROPS)            Actuator                       Mechanism       Thermal bubble   An electrothermal heater heats the ink to   Large force generated   High power   Canon Bubblejet 1979 Endo           above boiling point, transferring   Simple construction   Ink carrier limited to water   et al GB patent           significant heat to the aqueous ink. A   No moving parts   Low efficiency   2,007,162           bubble nucleates and quickly forms,   Fast operation   High temperatures required   Xerox heater-in-pit           expelling the ink.   Small chip area required for actuator   High mechanical stress   1990 Hawkins et al USP           The efficiency of the process is low, with       Unusual materials required   4,899,181           typically less than 0.05% of the electrical       Large drive transistors   Hewlett-Packard TIJ           energy being transformed into kinetic energy of the       Cavitation causes actuator failure   1982 Vaught et al USP           the drop.       Kogation reduces bubble formation   4,490,728                   Large print heads are difficult to fabricate       Piezoelectric   A piezoelectric crystal such as lead   Low power consumption   Very large area required for actuator   Kyser et al USP           lanthanum zirconate (PZT) is electrically   Many ink types can be used   Difficult to integrate with electronics   3,946,398           activated, and either expands, shears, or   Fast operation   High voltage drive transistors required   Zoltan USP 3,683,212           bends to apply pressure to the ink,   High efficiency   Full pagewidth print heads impractical due   1973 Stemme USP           ejecting drops.       to actuator size   3,747,120                   Requires electrical poling in high field strengths   Epson Stylus                   during manufacture   Tektronix                       IJ04       Electro-strictive   An electric field is used to activate   Low power consumption   Low maximum strain (approx. 0.01%)   Seiko Epson, Usui et all JP           electrostriction in relaxor materials such   Many ink types can be used   Large area required for actuator due to low   253401/96           as lead lanthanum zirconate titanate   Low thermal expansion   strain   IJ04           (PLZT) or lead magnesium niobate   Electric field strength required (approx.   Response speed is marginal (˜10 μs)           (PMN).   3.5 V/μm) can be   High voltage drive transistors required               generated without difficulty   Full pagewidth print heads impractical due               Does not require electrical   to actuator size               poling       Ferroelectric   An electric field is used to induce a phase   Low power consumption   Difficult to integrate with electronics   IJ04           transition between the antiferroelectric   Many ink types can be used   Unusual materials such as PLZSnT are           (AFE) and ferroelectric (FE) phase.   Fast operation (&lt;1 μs)   required           Perovskite materials such as tin modified   Relatively high longitudinal   Actuators require a large area           lead lanthanum zirconate titanate   strain           (PLZSnT) exhibit large strains of up to   High efficiency           1% associated with the AFE to FE phase   Electric field strength of           transition.   around 3 V/μm can be readily               provided       Electrostatic   Conductive plates are separated by a compressible   Low power consumption   Difficult to operate electrostatic devices in   IJ02, IJ04       plates   or fluid dielectric (usually   Many ink types can be used   an aqueous environment           air). Upon application of a voltage, the   Fast operation   The electrostatic actuator will normally           plates attract each other and displace ink,       need to be separated from the ink           causing drop ejection. The conductive       Very large area required to achieve high           plates may be in a comb or honeycomb       forces           structure, or stacked to increase the surface area and       High voltage drive transistors may be           and therefore the force.       required                   Full pagewidth print heads are not                   competitive due to actuator size       Electrostatic   A strong electric field is applied to the   Low current consumption   High voltage required   1989 Saito et al, USP       pull on ink   ink, whereupon electrostatic attraction   Low temperature   May be damaged by sparks due to air   4,799,068           accelerates the ink towards the print       breakdown   1989 Miura et al, USP           medium.       Required field strength increases as the drop size   4,810,954                   decreases   Tone-jet                   High voltage drive transistors required                   Electrostatic field attracts dust       Permanent   An electromagnet directly attracts a   Low power consumption   Complex fabrication   IJ07, IJ10       magnet electromagnetic   permanent magnet, displacing ink and   Many ink types can be used   Permanent magnetic material such as Neodymium           causing drop ejection. Rare earth   Fast operation   Iron Boron (NdFeB) required.           magnets with a field strength around l   High efficiency   High local currents required           Tesla can be used. Examples are:   Easy extension from single   Copper metalization should be used for           Samarium Cobalt (SaCo) and magnetic   nozzles to pagewidth print   long electromigration lifetime and low           materials in the neodymium iron boron   heads   resistivity           family (NdFeB, NdDyFeBNb,       Pigmented inks are usually infeasible           NdDyFeB, etc)       Operating temperature limited to the Curie                   temperature (around 540 K)       Soft magnetic   A solenoid induced a magnetic field in a   Low power consumption   Complex fabrication   IJ01, IJ05, IJ08, IJ10       core electromagnetic   soft magnetic core or yoke fabricated   Many ink types can be used   Materials not usually present in a CMOS   IJ12, IJ14, IJ15, IJ17           from a ferrous material such as   Fast operation   fab such as NiFe, CoNiFe, or CoFe are           electroplated iron alloys such as CoNiFe   High efficiency   required           [1], CoFe, or NiFe alloys. Typically, the   Easy extension from single   High local currents required           soft magnetic material is in two parts,   nozzles to pagewidth print   Copper metalization should be used for           which are normally held apart by a   heads   long electromigration lifetime and low           spring. When the solenoid is actuated, the       resistivity           two parts attract, displacing the ink.       Electroplating is required                   High saturation flux density is required                   (2.0-2.1 T is achievable with CoNiFe [1])       Magnetic   The Lorenz force acting on a current   Low power consumption   Force acts as a twisting motion   IJ06, IJ11, IJ13, IJ16       Lorenz force   carrying wire in a magnetic field is   Many ink types can be used   Typically, only a quarter of the solenoid           utilized.   Fast operation   length provides force in a useful direction           This allows the magnetic field to be   High efficiency   High local currents required           supplied externally to the print head, for   Easy extension from single   Copper metalization should be used for           example with rare earth permanent   nozzles to pagewidth print   long electromigration lifetime and low           magnets.   heads   resistivity           Only the current carrying wire need be       Pigmented inks are usually infeasible           fabricated on the print-head, simplifying           materials requirements.       Magnetostriction   The actuator uses the giant   Many ink types can be used   Force acts as a twisting motion   Fischenbeck, USP           magnetostrictive effect of materials such   Fast operation   Unusual materials such as Terfenol-D are   4,032,929           as Terfenol-D (an alloy of terbium,   Easy extension from single   required   IJ25           dysprosium and iron developed at the   nozzles to pagewidth print   High local currents required           Naval Ordnance Laboratory, hence Ter-   heads   Copper metalization should be used for           Fe-NOL). For best efficiency, the   High force is available   long electromigration lifetime and low           actuator should be pre-stressed to approx.       resistivity           8 MPa.       Pre-stressing may be required       Surface tension   Ink under positive pressure is held in a   Low power consumption   Requires supplementary force to effect drop   Silverbrook, EP 0771       reduction   nozzle by surface tension. The surface   Simple construction   separation   658 A2 and related patent           tension of the ink is reduced below the   No unusual materials required   Requires special ink surfactants   applications           bubble threshold, causing the ink to   in fabrication   Speed may be limited by surfactant           egress from the nozzle.   High efficiency   properties               Easy extension from single               nozzles to pagewidth print               heads       Viscosity   The ink viscosity is locally reduced to   Simple construction   Requires supplementary force to effect drop   Silverbrook, EP 0771       reduction   select which drops are to be ejected. A   No unusual materials required   separation   658 A2 and related           viscosity reduction can be achieved   in fabrication   Requires special ink viscosity properties   patent applications           electrothermally with most inks, but   Easy extension from single   High speed is difficult to achieve           special inks can be engineered for a   nozzles to pagewidth print   Requires oscillating ink pressure           100:1 viscosity reduction.   heads   A high temperature difference (typically 80                   degrees) is required       Acoustic   An acoustic wave is generated and   Can operate without a nozzle   Complex drive circuitry   1993 Hadimioglu et al, EUP           focussed upon the drop ejection region.   plate   Complex fabrication   550,192                   Low efficiency   1993 Elrod et al, EUP                   Poor control of drop position   572,220                   Poor control of drop volume       Thermoelastic   An actuator which relies upon   Low power consumption   Efficient aqueous operation requires a   IJ03, IJ09, IJ17, IJ18       bend actuator   differential thermal expansion upon Joule   Many ink types can be used   thermal insulator on the hot side   IJ19, IJ20, IJ21, IJ22           heating is used.   Simple planar fabrication   Corrosion prevention can be difficult   IJ23, IJ24, IJ27, IJ28               Small chip area required for   Pigmented inks may be infeasible, as   IJ29, IJ30, IJ31, IJ32               each actuator   pigment particles may jam the bend   IJ33, IJ34, IJ35, IJ36               Fast operation   actuator   IJ37, IJ38 ,IJ39, IJ40               High efficiency       IJ41               CMOS compatible voltages               and currents               Standard MEMS processes can               be used               Easy extension from single               nozzles to pagewidth print               heads       High CTE   A material with a very high coefficient of   High force can be generated   Requires special material (e.g. PTFE)   IJ09, IJ17, IJ18, IJ20       thermoelastic   thermal expansion (CTE) such as   PTFE is a candidate for low   Requires a PTFE deposition process, which   IJ21, IJ22, IJ23, IJ24       actuator   polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) is used.   dielectric constant insulation in   is not yet standard in ULSI fabs   IJ27, IJ28, IJ29, IJ30           As high CTE materials are usually non-   ULSI   PTFE deposition cannot be followed with   IJ31, IJ42, IJ43, IJ44           conductive, a heater fabricated from a   Very low power consumption   high temperature (above 350° C.) processing           conductive material is incorporated. A 50 μm   Many ink types can be used   Pigmented inks may be infeasible, as           long PTFE bend actuator with   Simple planar fabrication   pigment particles may jam the bend           polysilicon heater and 15 mW power   Small chip area required for   actuator           input can provide 180 μN force and 10 μm   each actuator           deflection. Actuator motions include:   Fast operation           1) Bend   High efficiency           2) Push   CMOS compatible voltages           3) Buckle   and currents           4) Rotate   Easy extension from single               nozzles to pagewidth print               heads       Conductive   A polymer with a high coefficient of   High force can be generated   Requires special materials development   IJ24       polymer   thermal expansion (such as PTFE) is   Very low power consumption   (High CTE conductive polymer)       thermoelastic   doped with conducting substances to   Many ink types can be used   Requires a PTFE deposition process, which       actuator   increase its conductivity to about 3 orders   Simple planar fabrication   is not yet standard in ULSI fabs           of magnitude below that of copper. The   Small chip area required for   PTFE deposition cannot be followed with           conducting polymer expands when   each actuator   high temperature (above 350° C.) processing           resistively heated.   Fast operation   Evaporation and CVD deposition           Examples of conducting dopants include:   High efficiency   techniques cannot be used           1) Carbon nanotubes   CMOS compatible voltages   Pigmented inks may be infeasible, as           2) Metal fibers   and currents   pigment particles may jam the bend           3) Conductive polymers such as doped   Easy extension from single   actuator           polythiophene   nozzles to pagewidth print           4) Carbon granules   heads       Shape memory   A shape memory alloy such as TiNi (also   High force is available   Fatigue limits maximum number of cycles   IJ26       alloy   known as Nitinol —Nickel Titanium alloy   (stresses of hundreds of MPa)   Low strain (1%) is required to extend           developed at the Naval Ordnance   Large strain is available (more   fatigue resistance           Laboratory) is thermally switched   than 3%)   Cycle rate limited by heat removal           between its weak martensitic state and its   High corrosion resistance   Requires unusual materials (TiNi)           high stiffness austenic state. The shape of   Simple construction   The latent heat of transformation must be           the actuator in its martensitic state is   Easy extension from single   provided           deformed relative to the austenic shape.   nozzles to pagewidth print   High current operation           The shape change causes ejection of a   heads   Requires pre-stressing to distort the           drop.   Low voltage operation   martensitic state       Linear Magnetic   Linear magnetic actuators include the   Linear Magnetic actuators can   Requires unusual semiconductor materials   IJ12       Actuator   Linear Induction Actuator (LIA), Linear   be constructed with high thrust,   such as soft magnetic alloys (e.g. CoNiFe           Permanent Magnet Synchronous   long travel, and high efficiency   [1])           Actuator (LPMSA), Linear Reluctance   using planar semiconductor   Some varieties also require permanent           Synchronous Actuator (LRSA), Linear   fabrication techniques   magnetic materials such as Neodymium           Switched Reluctance Actuator (LSRA),   Long actuator travel is   iron boron (NdFeB)           and the Linear Stepper Actuator (LSA).   available   Requires complex multi-phase drive               Medium force is available   circuitry               Low voltage operation   High current operation            BASIC OPERATION MODE            Operational                       mode       Actuator directly   This is the simplest mode of operation:   Simple operation   Drop repetition rate is usually limited to   Thermal inkjet       pushes ink   the actuator directly supplies sufficient   No external fields required   less than 10 KHz. However, this is not   Piezoelectric inkjet           kinetic energy to expel the drop. The   Satellite drops can be avoided   fundamental to the method, but is related to   IJ01, IJ02, IJ03, IJ04           drop must have a sufficient velocity to overcome   if drop velocity is less than 4 m/s   the refill method normally used   IJ05, IJ06, IJ07, IJ09           the surface tension.   Can be efficient, depending   All of the drop kinetic energy must be   IJ11, IJ12, IJ14, IJ16               upon the actuator used   provided by the actuator   IJ20, IJ22, IJ23, IJ24                   Satellite drops usually form if drop velocity   IJ25, IJ26, IJ27, IJ28                   is greater than 4.5 m/s   IJ29, IJ30, IJ31, IJ32                       IJ33, IJ34, IJ35, IJ36                       IJ37, IJ38, IJ39, IJ40                       IJ41, IJ42, IJ43, IJ44       Proximity   The drops to be printed are selected by some manner   Very simple print head   Requires close proximity between the print   Silverbrook, EP 0771           (e.g. thermally induced   fabrication can be used   head and the print media or transfer roller   658 A2 and related           surface tension reduction of pressurized   The drop selection means does   May require two print heads printing   patent applications           ink). Selected drops are separated from   not need to provide the energy   alternate rows of the image           the ink in the nozzle by contact with the   required to separate the drop   Monolithic color print heads are difficult           print medium or a transfer roller.   from the nozzle       Electrostatic   The drops to be printed are selected by   Very simple print head   Requires very high electrostatic field   Silverbrook, EP 0771       pull on Ink   some manner (e.g. thermally induced   fabrication can be used   Electrostatic field for small nozzle sizes is   658 A2 and related           surface tension reduction of pressurized   The drop selection means does   above air breakdown   patent applications           ink). Selected drops are separated from   not need to provide the energy   Electrostatic field may attract dust   Tone-Jet           the ink in the nozzle by a strong electric   required to separate the drop           field.   from the nozzle       Magnetic pull on   The drops to be printed are selected by   Very simple print head   Requires magnetic ink   Silverbrook, EP 0771       ink   some manner (e.g. thermally induced   fabrication can be used   Ink colors other than black are difficult   658 A2 and related           surface tension reduction of pressurized   The drop selection means does   Requires very high magnetic fields   patent applications           ink). Selected drops are separated from   not need to provide the energy           the ink in the nozzle by a strong magnetic   required to separate the drop           field acting on the magnetic ink.   from the nozzle       Shutter   The actuator moves a shutter to block ink   High speed (&gt;50 KHz)   Moving parts are required   IJ13, IJ17, IJ21           flow to the nozzle. The ink pressure is   operation can be achieved due   Requires ink pressure modulator           pulsed at a multiple of the drop ejection   to reduced refill time   Friction and wear must be considered           frequency.   Drop timing can be very   Stiction is possible               accurate               The actuator energy can be               very low       Shuttered grill   The actuator moves a shutter to block ink   Actuators with small travel can   Moving parts are required   IJ08, IJ15, IJ18, IJ19           flow through a grill to the nozzle. The   be used   Requires ink pressure modulator           shutter movement need only be equal to   Actuators with small force can   Friction and wear must be considered           the width of the grill holes.   be used   Stiction is possible               High speed (&gt;50 KHz)               operation can be achieved       Pulsed magnetic   A pulsed magnetic field attracts an ‘ink   Extremely low energy   Requires an external pulsed magnetic field   IJ10       pull on Ink   pusher’ at the drop ejection frequency.   operation is possible   Requires special materials for both the       pusher   An actuator controls a catch, which   No heat dissipation problems   actuator and the ink pusher           prevents the ink pusher from moving       Complex construction           when a drop is not to be ejected.            AUXILIARY MECHANISM (APPLIED TO ALL NOZZLES)            Auxiliary                       Mechanism       None   The actuator directly fires the ink drop, and there is   Simplicity of construction   Drop ejection energy must be supplied by   Most inkjets, including           no external field or other mechanism required.   Simplicity of operation   individual nozzle actuator   piezoelectric and               Small physical size       thermal bubble.                       IJ01-IJ07, IJ09, IJ11                       IJ12, IJ14, IJ20, IJ22                       IJ23-IJ45       Oscillating Ink   The ink pressure oscillates, providing   Oscillating ink pressure can   Requires external ink pressure oscillator   Silverbrook, EP 0771       pressure   much of the drop ejection energy. The   provide a refill pulse, allowing   Ink pressure phase and amplitude must be   658 A2 and related       (Including   actuator selects which drops are to be   higher operating speed   carefully controlled   patent applications       acoustic   fired by selectively blocking or enabling   The actuators may operate with   Acoustic reflections in the ink chamber   IJ08, IJ13, IJ15, IJ17       stimulation)   nozzles. The ink pressure oscillation may   much lower energy   must be designed for   IJ18, IJ19, IJ21           be achieved by vibrating the print head,   Acoustic lenses can be used to           or preferably by an actuator in the ink   focus the sound on the nozzles           supply.       Media proximity   The print head is placed in close   Low power   Precision assembly required   Silverbrook, EP 0771           proximity to the print medium. Selected   High accuracy   Paper fibers may cause problems   658 A2 and related           drops protrude from the print head   Simple print head construction   Cannot print on rough substrates   patent applications           further than unselected drops, and contact           the print medium. The drop soaks into           the medium fast enough to cause drop           separation.       Transfer roller   Drops are printed to a transfer roller   High accuracy   Bulky   Silverbrook, EP 0771           instead of straight to the print medium. A   Wide range of print substrates   Expensive   658 A2 and related           transfer roller can also be used for   can be used   Complex construction   patent applications           proximity drop separation.   Ink can be dried on the transfer       Tektronix hot melt               roller       piezoelectric inkjet                       Any of the IJ series       Electrostatic   An electric field is used to accelerate   Low power   Field strength required for separation of   Silverbrook, EP 0771           selected drops towards the print medium.   Simple print head construction   small drops is near or above air breakdown   658 A2 and related                       patent applications                       Tone-Jet       Direct magnetic   A magnetic field is used to accelerate   Low power   Requires magnetic ink   Silverbrook, EP 0771       field   selected drops of magnetic ink towards   Simple print head construction   Requires strong magnetic field   658 A2 and related           the print medium.           patent applications       Cross magnetic   The print head is placed in a constant   Does not require magnetic   Requires external magnet   IJ06, IJ16       field   magnetic field. The Lorenz force in a   materials to be integrated in the   Current densities may be high, resulting in           current carrying wire is used to move the   print head manufacturing   electromigration problems           actuator.   process       Pulsed magnetic   A pulsed magnetic field is used to   Very low power operation is   Complex print head construction   IJ10       field   cyclically attract a paddle, which pushes   possible   Magnetic materials required in print head           on the ink. A small actuator moves a   Small print head size           catch, which selectively prevents the           paddle from moving.            ACTUATOR AMPLIFICATION OR MODIFICATION METHOD            Actuator                       amplification       None   No actuator mechanical amplification is   Operational simplicity   Many actuator mechanisms have   Thermal Bubble Inkjet           used. The actuator directly drives the       insufficient travel, or insufficient force, to   IJ01, IJ02, IJ06, IJ07           drop ejection process.       efficiently drive the drop ejection process   IJ16, IJ25, IJ26       Differential   An actuator material expands more on   Provides greater travel in a   High stresses are involved   Piezoelectric       expansion bend   one side than on the other. The expansion   reduced print head area   Care must be taken that the materials do not   IJ03, IJ09, IJ17-IJ24       actuator   may be thermal, piezoelectric,   The bend actuator converts a   delaminate   IJ27, IJ29-IJ39, IJ42,           magnetostrictive, or other mechanism.   high force low travel actuator   Residual bend resulting from high   IJ43, IJ44               mechanism to high travel,   temperature or high stress during formation               lower force mechanism.       Transient bend   A trilayer bend actuator where the two   Very good temperature   High stresses are involved   IJ40, IJ41       actuator   outside layers are identical. This cancels   stability   Care must be taken that the materials do not           bend due to ambient temperature and   High speed, as a new drop can   delaminate           residual stress. The actuator only   be fired before heat dissipates           responds to transient heating of one side   Cancels residual stress of           or the other.   formation       Actuator stack   A series of thin actuators are stacked. This can be   Increased travel   Increased fabrication complexity   Some piezoelectric ink           appropriate where actuators   Reduced drive voltage   Increased possibility of short circuits due to   jets           require high electric field strength, such       pinholes   IJ04           as electrostatic and piezoelectric           actuators.       Multiple   Multiple smaller actuators are used simultaneously   Increases the force available   Actuator forces may not add linearly,   IJ12, IJ13, IJ18, IJ20       actuators   to move the ink. Each   from an actuator   reducing efficiency   IJ22, IJ28, IJ42, IJ43           actuator need provide only a portion of   Multiple actuators can be           the force required.   positioned to control ink flow               accurately       Linear Spring   A linear spring is used to transform a   Matches low travel actuator   Requires print head area for the spring   IJ15           motion with small travel and high force   with higher travel requirements           into a longer travel, lower force motion.   Non-contact method of motion               transformation       Reverse spring   The actuator loads a spring. When the   Better coupling to the ink   Fabrication complexity   IJ05, IJ11           actuator is turned off, the spring releases.       High stress in the spring           This can reverse the force/distance curve           of the actuator to make it compatible           with the force/time requirements of the           drop ejection.       Colled actuator   A bend actuator is coiled to provide   Increases travel   Generally restricted to planar   IJ17, IJ21, IJ34, IJ35           greater travel in a reduced chip area.   Reduces chip area   implementations due to extreme fabrication               Planar implementations are   difficulty in other orientations.               relatively easy to fabricate.       Flexure bend   A bend actuator has a small region near   Simple means of increasing   Care must be taken not to exceed the elastic   IJ10, IJ19, IJ33       actuator   the fixture point, which flexes much   travel of a bend actuator   limit in the flexure area           more readily than the remainder of the       Stress distribution is very uneven           actuator. The actuator flexing is       Difficult to accurately model with finite           effectively converted from an even       element analysis           coiling to an angular bend, resulting in           greater travel of the actuator tip.       Gears   Gears can be used to increase travel at   Low force, low travel actuators   Moving parts are required   IJ13           the expense of duration. Circular gears,   can be used   Several actuator cycles are required           rack and pinion, ratchets, and other   Can be fabricated using   More complex drive electronics           gearing methods can be used.   standard surface MEMS   Complex construction               processes   Friction, friction, and wear are possible       Catch   The actuator controls a small catch. The   Very low actuator energy   Complex construction   IJ10           catch either enables or disables   Very small actuator size   Requires external force           movement of an ink pusher that is       Unsuitable for pigmented inks           controlled in a bulk manner.       Buckle plate   A buckle plate can be used to change a   Very fast movement   Must stay within elastic limits of the   S. Hirata et al, “An Ink-           slow actuator into a fast motion. It can   achievable   materials for long device life   jet Head ... ”, Proc.           also convert a high force, low travel       High stresses involved   IEEE MEMS, Feb.           actuator into a high travel, medium force       Generally high power requirement   1996, pp 418-423.           motion.           IJ18, IJ27       Tapered   A tapered magnetic pole can increase   Linearizes the magnetic   Complex construction   IJ14       magnetic pole   travel at the expense of force.   force/distance curve       Lever   A lever and fulcrum is used to transform   Matches low travel actuator   High stress around the fulcrum   IJ32, IJ36, IJ37           a motion with small travel and high force   with higher travel requirements           into a motion with longer travel and   Fulcrum area has no linear           lower force. The lever can also reverse   movement, and can be used for           the direction of travel,   a fluid seal       Rotary Impeller   The actuator is connected to a rotary   High mechanical advantage   Complex construction   IJ28           impeller. A small angular deflection of   The ratio of force to travel of   Unsuitable for pigmented inks           the actuator results in a rotation of the   the actuator can be matched to           impeller vanes, which push the ink   the nozzle requirements by           against stationary vanes and out of the   varying the number of impeller           nozzle.   vanes       Acoustic lens   A refractive or diffractive (e.g. zone   No moving parts   Large area required   1993 Hadimioglu et al,           plate) acoustic lens is used to concentrate       Only relevant for acoustic ink jets   EUP 550,192           sound waves.           1993 Elrod et al, EUP                       572,220       Sharp   A sharp point is used to concentrate an   Simple construction   Difficult to fabricate using standard VLSI   Tone-jet       conductive   electrostatic field.       processes for a surface ejecting ink-jet       point           Only relevant for electrostatic ink jets            ACTUATOR MOTION            Actuator motion                       Volume   The volume of the actuator changes,   Simple construction in the case   High energy is typically required to achieve   Hewlett-Packard       expansion   pushing the ink in all directions.   of thermal ink jet   volume expansion. This leads to thermal   Thermal Inkjet                   stress, cavitation, and kogation in thermal   Canon Bubblejet                   ink jet implementations       Linear, normal   The actuator moves in a direction normal   Efficient coupling to ink drops   High fabrication complexity may be   IJ01, IJ02, IJ04, IJ07       to chip surface   to the print head surface. The nozzle is   ejected normal to the surface   required to achieve perpendicular motion   IJ11, IJ14           typically in the line of movement.       Linear, parallel   The actuator moves parallel to the print   Suitable for planar fabrication   Fabrication complexity   IJ12, IJ13, IJ15, IJ33,       to chip surface   head surface. Drop ejection may still be       Friction   IJ34, IJ35, IJ36           normal to the surface.       Stiction       Membrane push   An actuator with a high force but small   The effective area of the   Fabrication complexity   1982 Howkins USP           area is used to push a stiff membrane that   actuator becomes the   Actuator size   4,459,601           is in contact with the ink.   membrane area   Difficulty of integration in a VLSI process       Rotary   The actuator causes the rotation of some   Rotary levers may be used to   Device complexity   IJ05, IJ08, IJ13, IJ28           element, such a grill or impeller   increase travel   May have friction at a pivot point               Small chip area requirements       Bend   The actuator bends when energized. This   A very small change in   Requires the actuator to be made from at   1970 Kyser et al USP           may be due to expansion, piezoelectric expansion,   a large motion.   thermal difference across the actuator   1973 Stemme USP           magnetostriction, or other form of           3,747,120           relative dimensional change.           IJ03, IJ09, IJ10, IJ19                       IJ23, IJ24, IJ25, IJ29                       IJ30, IJ31, IJ33, IJ34                       IJ35       Swivel   The actuator swivels around a central   Allows operation where the net   Inefficient coupling to the ink motion   IJ06           pivot. This motion is suitable where there   linear force on the paddle is           are opposite forces applied to opposite   zero           sides of the paddle, e.g. Lorenz force.   Small chip area requirements       Straighten   The actuator is normally bent, and   Can be used with shape   Requires careful balance of stresses to   IJ26, IJ32           straightens when energized.   memory alloys where the   ensure that the quiescent bend is accurate               austenic phase is planar       Double bend   The actuator bends in one direction when   One actuator can be used to   Difficult to make the drops ejected by both   IJ36, IJ37, IJ38           one element is energized, and bends the   power two nozzles.   bend directions identical.           other way when another element is   Reduced chip size.   A small efficiency loss compared to           energized.   Not sensitive to ambient   equivalent single bend actuators.               temperature       Shear   Energizing the actuator causes a shear   Can increase the effective   Not readily applicable to other actuator   1985 Fishbeck USP           motion in the actuator material.   travel of piezoelectric actuators   mechanisms   4,584,590       Radial   The actuator squeezes an ink reservoir,   Relatively easy to fabricate   High force required   1970 Zoltan USP       constriction   forcing ink from a constricted nozzle.   single nozzles from glass   Inefficient   3,683,212               tubing as macroscopic   Difficult to integrate with VLSI processes               structures       Coll/uncoil   A coiled actuator uncoils or coils more   Easy to fabricate as a planar   Difficult to fabricate for non-planar devices   IJ17, IJ21, IJ34, IJ35           tightly. The motion of the free end of the   VLSI process   Poor out-of-plane stiffness           actuator ejects the ink.   Small area required, therefore               low cost       Bow   The actuator bows (or buckles) in the   Can increase the speed of   Maximum travel is constrained   IJ16, IJ18, IJ27           middle when energized.   travel   High force required               Mechanically rigid       Push-Pull   Two actuators control a shutter. One   The structure is pinned at both   Not readily suitable for inkjets which   IJ18           actuator pulls the shutter, and the other   ends, so has a high out-of-   directly push the ink           pushes it.   plane rigidity       Curl inwards   A set of actuators curl inwards to reduce   Good fluid flow to the region   Design complexity   IJ20, IJ42           the volume of ink that they enclose.   behind the actuator increases               efficiency       Curl outwards   A set of actuators curl outwards,   Relatively simple construction   Relatively large chip area   IJ43           pressurizing ink in a chamber           surrounding the actuators, and expelling           ink from a nozzle in the chamber.       Iris   Multiple vanes enclose a volume of ink.   High efficiency   High fabrication complexity   IJ22           These simultaneously rotate, reducing the   Small chip area   Not suitable for pigmented inks           volume between the vanes.       Acoustic   The actuator vibrates at a high frequency.   The actuator can be physically   Large area required for efficient operation   1993 Hadimioglu et al,       vibration       distant from the ink   at useful frequencies   EUP 550,192                   Acoustic coupling and crosstalk   1993 Elrod et al, EUP                   Complex drive circuitry   572,220                   Poor control of drop volume and position       None   In various ink jet designs the actuator   No moving parts   Various other tradeoffs are required to   Silverbrook, EP 0771           does not move.       eliminate moving parts   658 A2 and related                       patent applications                       Tone-jet            NOZZLE REFILL METHOD            Nozzle refill                       method       Surface tension   After the actuator is energized, it   Fabrication simplicity   Low speed   Thermal inkjet           typically returns rapidly to its normal   Operational simplicity   Surface tension force relatively small   Piezoelectric inkjet           position. This rapid return sucks in air       compared to actuator force   IJ01-IJ07, IJ10-IJ14           through the nozzle opening. The ink       Long refill time usually dominates the total   IJ16, IJ20, IJ22-IJ45           surface tension at the nozzle then exerts a       repetition rate           small force restoring the meniscus to a           minimum area.       Shuttered   Ink to the nozzle chamber is provided at   High speed   Requires common ink pressure oscillator   IJ08, IJ13, IJ15, IJ17       oscillating ink   a pressure that oscillates at twice the drop   Low actuator energy, as the   May not be suitable for pigmented inks   IJ18, IJ19, IJ21       pressure   ejection frequency. When a drop is to be   actuator need only open or           ejected, the shutter is opened for 3 half   close the shutter, instead of           cycles: drop ejection, actuator return, and refill.   ejecting the ink drop       Refill actuator   After the main actuator has ejected a   High speed, as the nozzle is   Requires two independent actuators per   IJ09           drop a second (refill) actuator is   actively refilled   nozzle           energized. The refill actuator pushes ink           into the nozzle chamber. The refill actuator returns           slowly, to prevent its           return from emptying the chamber again.       Positive ink   The ink is held a slight positive pressure.   High refill rate, therefore a   Surface spill must be prevented   Silverbrook, EP 0771       pressure   After the ink drop is ejected, the nozzle   high drop repetition rate is   Highly hydrophobic print head surfaces are   658 A2 and related           chamber fills quickly as surface tension   possible   required   patent applications           and ink pressure both operate to refill the           Alternative for:           nozzle.           IJ01-IJ07, IJ10-IJ14                       IJ16, IJ20, IJ22-IJ45            METHOD OF RESTRICTING BACK-FLOW THROUGH INLET            Inlet back-flow                       restriction       method       Long inlet   The ink inlet channel to the nozzle   Design simplicity   Restricts refill rate   Thermal inkjet       channel   chamber is made long and relatively   Operational simplicity   May result in a relatively large chip area   Piezoelectric inkjet           narrow, relying on viscous drag to reduce   Reduces crosstalk   Only partially effective   IJ42, IJ43           inlet back-flow.       Positive ink   The ink is under a positive pressure, so   Drop selection and separation   Requires a method (such as a nozzle rim or   Silverbrook, EP 0771       pressure   that in the quiescent state some of the ink   forces can be reduced   effective hydrophobizing, or both) to   658 A2 and related           drop already protrudes from the nozzle.   Fast refill time   prevent flooding of the ejection surface of   patent applications           This reduces the pressure in the nozzle       the print head.   Possible operation of           chamber which is required to eject a           the following:           certain volume of ink. The reduction in           IJ01-IJ07, IJ09-IJ12           chamber pressure results in a reduction in           IJ14, IJ16, IJ20, IJ22,           ink pushed out through the inlet.           IJ23-IJ34, IJ36-IJ41                       IJ44       Baffle   One or more baffles are placed in the   The refill rate is not as   Design complexity   HP Thermal Ink Jet           inlet ink flow. When the actuator is   restricted as the long inlet   May increase fabrication complexity (e.g.   Tektronix piezoelectric           energized, the rapid ink movement   method.   Tektronix hot melt Piezoelectric print   ink jet           creates eddies which restrict the flow   Reduces crosstalk   heads).           through the inlet. The slower refill           process is unrestricted, and does not           result in eddies.       Flexible flap   In this method recently disclosed by   Significantly reduces back-   Not applicable to most inkjet configurations   Canon       restricts inlet   Canon, the expanding actuator (bubble)   flow for edge-shooter thermal   Increased fabrication complexity           pushes on a flexible flap that restricts the   ink jet devices   Inelastic deformation of polymer flap           inlet.       results in creep over extended use       Inlet filter   A filter is located between the ink inlet   Additional advantage of ink   Restricts refill rate   IJ04, IJ12, IJ24, IJ27           and the nozzle chamber. The filter has a   filtration   May result in complex construction   IJ29, IJ30           multitude of small holes or slots,   Ink filter may be fabricated           restricting ink flow. The filter also   with no additional process           removes particles which may block the   steps           nozzle.       Small inlet   The ink inlet channel to the nozzle   Design simplicity   Restricts refill rate   IJ02, IJ37, IJ44       compared to   chamber has a substantially smaller cross       May result in a relatively large chip area       nozzle   section than that of the nozzle, resulting       Only partially effective           in easier ink egress out of the nozzle than           out of the inlet.       Inlet shutter   A secondary actuator controls the   Increases speed of the ink-jet   Requires separate refill actuator and drive   IJ09           position of a shutter, closing off the ink   print head operation   circuit           inlet when the main actuator is energized.       The inlet is   The method avoids the problem of inlet   Back-flow problem is   Requires careful design to minimize the   IJ01, IJ03, IJ05, IJ06       located behind   back-flow by arranging the ink-pushing   eliminated   negative pressure behind the paddle   IJ07, IJ10, IJ11, IJ14       the ink-pushing   surface of the actuator between the inlet           IJ16, IJ22, IJ23, IJ25       surface   and the nozzle.           IJ28, IJ31, IJ32, IJ33                       IJ34, IJ35, IJ36, IJ39                       IJ40, IJ41       Part of the   The actuator and a wall of the ink   Significant reductions in back-   Small increase in fabrication complexity   IJ07, IJ20, IJ26, IJ38       actuator moves   chamber are arranged so that the motion   flow can be achieved       to shut off the   of the actuator closes off the inlet.   Compact designs possible       inlet       Nozzle actuator   In some configurations of ink jet, there is   Ink back-flow problem is   None related to ink back-flow on actuation   Silverbrook, EP 0771       does not result   no expansion or movement of an actuator   eliminated       658 A2 and related       in ink back-flow   which may cause ink back-flow through           patent applications           the inlet.           Valve-jet                       Tone-jet                       IJ08, IJ13, IJ15, IJ17                       IJ18, IJ19, IJ21            NOZZLE CLEARING METHOD            Nozzle Clearing                       method       Normal nozzle   All of the nozzles are fired periodically,   No added complexity on the   May not be sufficient to displace dried ink   Most ink jet systems       firing   before the ink has a chance to dry. When   print head       IJ01-IJ07, IJ09-IJ12           not in use the nozzles are sealed (capped)           IJ14, IJ16, IJ20, IJ22           against air.           IJ23-IJ34, IJ36-IJ45           The nozzle firing is usually performed           during a special clearing cycle, after first           moving the print head to a cleaning           station.       Extra power to   In systems which heat the ink, but do not   Can be highly effective if the   Requires higher drive voltage for clearing   Silverbrook, EP 0771       ink heater   boil it under normal situations, nozzle   heater is adjacent to the nozzle   May require larger drive transistors   658 A2 and related           clearing can be achieved by over-           patent applications           powering the heater and boiling ink at the           nozzle.       Rapid   The actuator is fired in rapid succession.   Does not require extra drive   Effectiveness depends substantially upon   May be used with:       succession of   In some configurations, this may cause   circuits on the print head   the configuration of the inkjet nozzle   IJ01-IJ07, IJ09-IJ11       actuator pulses   heat build-up at the nozzle which boils   Can be readily controlled and       IJ14, IJ16, IJ20, IJ22           the ink, clearing the nozzle. In other   initiated by digital logic       IJ23-IJ25, IJ27-IJ34           situations, it may cause sufficient           IJ36-IJ45           vibrations to dislodge clogged nozzles.       Extra power to   Where an actuator is not normally driven   A simple solution where   Not suitable where there is a hard limit to   May be used with:       ink pushing   to the limit of its motion, nozzle clearing   applicable   actuator movement   IJ03, IJ09, IJ16, IJ20       actuator   may be assisted by providing an           IJ23, IJ24, IJ25, IJ27           enhanced drive signal to the actuator.           IJ29, IJ30, IJ31, IJ32                       IJ39, IJ40, IJ41, IJ42                       IJ43, IJ44, IJ45       Acoustic   An ultrasonic wave is applied to the ink   A high nozzle clearing   High implementation cost if system does   IJ08, IJ13, IJ15, IJ17       resonance   chamber. This wave is of an appropriate   capability can be achieved   not already include an acoustic actuator   IJ18, IJ19, IJ21           amplitude and frequency to cause   May be implemented at very           sufficient force at the nozzle to clear   low cost in systems which           blockages. This is easiest to achieve if   already include acoustic           the ultrasonic wave is at a resonant   actuators           frequency of the ink cavity.       Nozzle clearing   A microfabricated plate is pushed against   Can clear severely clogged   Accurate mechanical alignment is required   Silverbrook, EP 0771       plate   the nozzles. The plate has a post for   nozzles   Moving parts are required   658 A2 and related           every nozzle. The array of posts       There is risk of damage to the nozzles   patent applications                   Accurate fabrication is required       Ink pressure   The pressure of the ink is temporarily   May be effective where other   Requires pressure pump or other pressure   May be used with all IJ       pulse   increased so that ink streams from all of   methods cannot be used   actuator   series ink jets           the nozzles. This may be used in       Expensive           conjunction with actuator energizing.       Wasteful of ink       Print head wiper   A flexible ‘blade’ is wiped across the   Effective for planar print head   Difficult to use if print head surface is non-   Many ink jet systems           print head surface. The blade is usually   surfaces   planar or very fragile           fabricated from a flexible polymer, e.g.   Low cost   Requires mechanical parts           rubber or synthetic elastomer.       Blade can wear out in high volume print                   systems       Separate ink   A separate heater is provided at the   Can be effective where other   Fabrication complexity   Can be used with many       boiling heater   nozzle although the normal drop e-ection   nozzle clearing methods cannot       IJ series ink jets           mechanism does not require it. The   be used           heaters do not require individual drive   Can be implemented at no           circuits, as many nozzles can be cleared   additional cost in some inkjet           simultaneously, and no imaging is   configurations           required.            NOZZLE PLATE CONSTRUCTION            Nozzle plate                       construction       Electroformed   A nozzle plate is separately fabricated   Fabrication simplicity   High temperatures and pressures are   Hewlett Packard       nickel   from electroformed nickel, and bonded to       required to bond nozzle plate   Thermal Inkjet           the print head chip.       Minimum thickness constraints                   Differential thermal expansion       Laser ablated or   Individual nozzle holes are ablated by an   No masks required   Each hole must be individually formed   Canon Bubblejet       drilled polymer   intense UV laser in a nozzle plate, which   Can be quite fast   Special equipment required   1988 Sercel et al., SPIE,           is typically a polymer such as polyimide   Some control over nozzle   Slow where there are many thousands of   Vol. 998 Excimer Beam           or polysulphone   profile is possible   nozzles per print head   Applications, pp. 76-83               Equipment required is   May produce thin burrs at exit holes   1993 Watanabe et al.,               relatively low cost       USP 5,208,604       Silicon micromachined   A separate nozzle plate is micromachined   High accuracy is attainable   Two part construction   K. Bean, IEEE           from single crystal silicon, and bonded to       High cost   Transactions on           the print head wafer.       Requires precision alignment   Electron Devices, Vol.                   Nozzles may be clogged by adhesive   ED-25, No. 10, 1978,                       pp 1185-1195                       Xerox 1990 Hawkins et                       al., USP 4,899,181       Glass capillaries   Fine glass capillaries are drawn from   No expensive equipment   Very small nozzle sizes are difficult to form   1970 Zoltan USP           glass tubing. This method has been used   required   Not suited for mass production   3,683,212           for making individual nozzles, but is   Simple to make single nozzles           difficult to use for bulk manufacturing of           print heads with thousands of nozzles.       Monolithic,   The nozzle plate is deposited as a layer   High accuracy (&lt;1 μm)   Requires sacrificial layer under the nozzle   Silverbrook, EP 0771       surface micromachined   using standard VLSI deposition   Monolithic   plate to form the nozzle chamber   658 A2 and related       using   techniques. Nozzles are etched in the   Low cost   Surface may be fragile to the touch   patent applications       VLSI   nozzle plate using VLSI lithography and   Existing processes can be used       IJ01, IJ02, IJ04, IJ11       lithographic   etching.           IJ12, IJ17, IJ18, IJ20       processes               IJ22, IJ24, IJ27, IJ28                       IJ29, IJ30, IJ31, IJ32                       IJ33, IJ34, IJ36, IJ37                       IJ38, IJ39, IJ40, IJ41                       IJ42, IJ43, IJ44       Monolithic,   The nozzle plate is a buried etch stop in   High accuracy (&lt;1 μm)   Requires long etch times   IJ03, IJ05, IJ06, IJ07       etched through   the wafer. Nozzle chambers are etched in   Monolithic   Requires a support wafer   IJ08, IJ09, IJ10, IJ13       substrate   the front of the wafer, and the wafer is   Low cost       IJ14, IJ15, IJ16, IJ19           thinned from the back side. Nozzles are   No differential expansion       IJ21, IJ23, IJ25, IJ26           then etched in the etch stop layer.       No nozzle plate   Various methods have been tried to   No nozzles to become clogged   Difficult to control drop position accurately   Ricoh 1995 Sekiya et al           eliminate the nozzles entirely, to prevent       Crosstalk problems   USP 5,412,413           nozzle clogging. These include thermal           1993 Hadimioglu et al           bubble mechanisms and acoustic lens           EUP 550,192           mechanisms           1993 Elrod et al EUP                       572,220       Trough   Each drop ejector has a trough through   Reduced manufacturing   Drop firing direction is sensitive to   IJ35           which a paddle moves. There is no   complexity   wicking.           nozzle plate.   Monolithic       Nozzle slit   The elimination of nozzle holes and   No nozzles to become clogged   Difficult to control drop position accurately   1989 Saito et al USP       instead of   replacement by a slit encompassing many       Crosstalk problems   4,799,068       individual   actuator positions reduces nozzle       nozzles   clogging, but increases crosstalk due to           ink surface waves            DROP EJECTION DIRECTION            Ejection                       direction       Edge   Ink flow is along the surface of the chip,   Simple construction   Nozzles limited to edge   Canon Bubblejet 1979       (‘edge shooter’)   and ink drops are ejected from the chip   No silicon etching required   High resolution is difficult   Endo et al GB patent           edge.   Good heat sinking via substrate   Fast color printing requires one print head   2,007,162               Mechanically strong   per color   Xerox heater-in-pit               Ease of chip handing       1990 Hawkins et al USP                       4,899,181                       Tone-jet       Surface   Ink flow is along the surface of the chip,   No bulk silicon etching   Maximum ink flow is severely restricted   Hewlett-Packard TIJ       (‘roof shooter’)   and ink drops are ejected from the chip   required       1982 Vaught et al USP           surface, normal to the plane of the chip.   Silicon can make an effective       4,490,728               heat sink       IJ02, IJ11, IJ12, IJ20               Mechanical strength       IJ22       Through chip,   Ink flow is through the chip, and ink   High ink flow   Requires bulk silicon etching   Silverbrook, EP 0771       forward   drops are ejected from the front surface   Suitable for pagewidth print       658 A2 and related       (‘up shooter’)   of the chip.   High nozzle packing density       patent applications               therefore low manufacturing       IJ04, IJ17, IJ18, IJ24               cost       IJ27-IJ45       Through chip,   Ink flow is through the chip, and ink   High ink flow   Requires wafer thinning   IJ01, IJ03, IJ05, IJ06       reverse   drops are ejected from the rear surface of   Suitable for pagewidth print   Requires special handling during   IJ07, IJ08, IJ09, IJ10       (‘down shooter’)   the chip.   High nozzle packing density   manufacture   IJ13, IJ14, IJ15, IJ16               therefore low manufacturing       IJ19, IJ21, IJ23, IJ25               cost       IJ26       Through   Ink flow is through the actuator, which is   Suitable for piezoelectric print   Pagewidth print heads require several   Epson Stylus       actuator   not fabricated as part of the same   heads   thousand connections to drive circuits   Tektronix hot melt           substrate as the drive transistors.       Cannot be manufactured in standard CMOS   piezoelectric ink jets                   fabs                   Complex assembly required            INK TYPE            Ink type                       Aqueous, dye   Water based ink which typically   Environmentally friendly   Slow drying   Most existing inkjets           contains: water, dye, surfactant,   No odor   Corrosive   All IJ series ink jets           humectant, and biocide.       Bleeds on paper   Silverbrook, EP 0771           Modern ink dyes have high water-       May strikethrough   658 A2 and related           fastness, light fastness       Cockles paper   patent applications       Aqueous,   Water based ink which typically   Environmentally friendly   Slow drying   IJ02, IJ04, IJ21, IJ26       pigment   contains: water, pigment, surfactant,   No odor   Corrosive   IJ27, IJ30           humectant, and biocide.   Reduced bleed   Pigment may clog nozzles   Silverbrook, EP 0771           Pigments have an advantage in reduced   Reduced wicking   Pigment may clog actuator mechanisms   658 A2 and related           bleed, wicking and strikethrough.   Reduced strikethrough   Cockles paper   patent applications                       Piezoelectric ink-jets                       Thermal ink jets (with                       significant restrictions)       Methyl Ethyl   MEK is a highly volatile solvent used for   Very fast drying   Odorous   All IJ series ink jets       Ketone (MEK)   industrial printing on difficult surfaces   Prints on various substrates   Flammable           such as aluminum cans.   such as metals and plastics       Alcohol   Alcohol based inks can be used where the   Fast drying   Slight odor   All IJ series ink jets       (ethanol, 2-   printer must operate at temperatures   Operates at sub-freezing   Flammable       butanol, and   below the freezing point of water. An   temperatures       others)   example of this is in-camera consumer   Reduced paper cockle           photographic printing.   Low cost       Phase change   The ink is solid at room temperature, and   No drying time-ink instantly   High viscosity   Tektronix hot melt       (hot melt)   is melted in the print head before jetting.   freezes on the print medium   Printed ink typically has a ‘waxy’ feel   piezoelectric ink jets           Hot melt inks are usually wax based,   Almost any print medium can   Printed pages may ‘block’   1989 Nowak USP           with a melting point around 80° C. After   be used   Ink temperature may be above the curie   4,820,346           jetting the ink freezes almost instantly   No paper cockle occurs   point of permanent magnets   All IJ series ink jets           upon contacting the print medium or a   No wicking occurs   Ink heaters consume power           transfer roller.   No bleed occurs   Long warm-up time               No strikethrough occurs       Oil   Oil based inks are extensively used in   High solubility medium for   High viscosity: this is a significant   All IJ series ink jets           offset printing. They have advantages in   some dyes   limitation for use in inkjets, which usually           improved characteristics on paper   Does not cockle paper   require a low viscosity. Some short chain           (especially no wicking or cockle). Oil   Does not wick through paper   and multi-branched oils have a sufficiently           soluble dies and pigments are required.       low viscosity.                   Slow drying       Microemulsion   A microemulsion is a stable, self forming emulsion   Stops ink bleed   Viscosity higher than water   All IJ series ink jets           of oil, water, and surfactant.   High dye solubility   Cost is slightly higher than water based ink           The characteristic drop size is less than   Water, oil, and amphiphilic   High surfactant concentration required (around 5%)           100 nm, and is determined by the   soluble dies can be used           preferred curvature of the surfactant.   Can stabilize pigment               suspensions                  
 
         [0061]    Ink Jet Printing  
         [0062]    A large number of new forms of ink jet printers have been developed to facilitate alternative ink jet technologies for the image processing and data distribution system. Various combinations of ink jet devices can be included in printer devices incorporated as part of the present invention. Australian Provisional Patent Applications relating to these ink jets which are specifically incorporated by cross reference. The serial numbers of respective corresponding U.S. patent applications are also provided for the sake of convenience.  
                                           Australian           U.S. Pat. No./       Provisional   Filing       patent application       Number   Date   Title   and Filing Date                   PO8066   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,227,652               Apparatus (IJ01)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8072   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,213,588               Apparatus (IJ02)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8040   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,213,589               Apparatus (IJ03)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8071   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,231,163               Apparatus (IJ04)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8047   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,247,795               Apparatus (IJ05)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8035   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,394,581               Apparatus (IJ06)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8044   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,244,691               Apparatus (IJ07)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8063   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,257,704               Apparatus (IJ08)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8057   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,416,168               Apparatus (IJ09)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8056   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,220,694               Apparatus (IJ10)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8069   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,257,705               Apparatus (IJ11)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8049   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,247,794               Apparatus (IJ12)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8036   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,234,610               Apparatus (IJ13)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8048   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,247,793               Apparatus (IJ14)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8070   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,264,306               Apparatus (IJ15)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8067   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,241,342               Apparatus (IJ16)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8001   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,247,792               Apparatus (IJ17)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8038   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,264,307               Apparatus (IJ18)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8033   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,254,220               Apparatus (IJ19)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8002   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,234,611               Apparatus (IJ20)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8068   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,302,528               Apparatus (IJ21)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8062   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,283,582               Apparatus (IJ22)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8034   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,239,821               Apparatus (IJ23)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8039   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,338,547               Apparatus (IJ24)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8041   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,247,796               Apparatus (IJ25)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8004   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   09/113,122               Apparatus (IJ26)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8037   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,390,603               Apparatus (IJ27)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8043   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,362,843               Apparatus (IJ28)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8042   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,293,653               Apparatus (IJ29)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8064   15-Jul-97   Image Creation Method and   6,312,107               Apparatus (IJ30)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9389   23-Sep-97   Image Creation Method and   6,227,653               Apparatus (IJ31)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9391   23-Sep-97   Image Creation Method and   6,234,609               Apparatus (IJ32)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0888   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,238,040               Apparatus (IJ33)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0891   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,188,415               Apparatus (IJ34)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0890   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,227,654               Apparatus (IJ35)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0873   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,209,989               Apparatus (IJ36)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0993   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,247,791               Apparatus (IJ37)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0890   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,336,710               Apparatus (IJ38)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP1398   19-Jan-98   An Image Creation Method   6,217,153               and Apparatus (IJ39)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP2592   25-Mar-98   An Image Creation Method   6,416,167               and Apparatus (IJ40)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP2593   25-Mar-98   Image Creation Method and   6,243,113               Apparatus (IJ41)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3991   9-Jun-98   Image Creation Method and   6,283,581               Apparatus (IJ42)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3987   9-Jun-98   Image Creation Method and   6,247,790               Apparatus (IJ43)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3985   9-Jun-98   Image Creation Method and   6,260,953               Apparatus (IJ44)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3983   9-Jun-98   Image Creation Method and   6,267,469               Apparatus (IJ45)   (Jul. 10, 1998)                  
 
         [0063]    Ink Jet Manufacturing  
         [0064]    Further, the present application may utilize advanced semiconductor fabrication techniques in the construction of large arrays of ink jet printers. Suitable manufacturing techniques are described in the following Australian provisional patent specifications incorporated here by cross-reference. The serial numbers of respective corresponding U.S. patent applications are also provided for the sake of convenience.  
                                           Australian           U.S. Pat. No./       Provisional           patent application       Number   Filing Date   Title   and Filing Date                   PO7935   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,224,780               Creation Apparatus (IJM01)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7936   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,235,212               Creation Apparatus (IJM02)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7937   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,280,643               Creation Apparatus (IJM03)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8061   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,284,147               Creation Apparatus (IJM04)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8054   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,214,244               Creation Apparatus (IJM05)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8065   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,071,750               Creation Apparatus (IJM06)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8055   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,267,905               Creation Apparatus (IJM07)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8053   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,251,298               Creation Apparatus (IJM08)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8078   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,258,285               Creation Apparatus (IJM09)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7933   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,225,138               Creation Apparatus (IJM10)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7950   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,241,904               Creation Apparatus (IJM11)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7949   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,299,786               Creation Apparatus (IJM12)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8060   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   09/113,124               Creation Apparatus (IJM13)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8059   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,231,773               Creation Apparatus (IJM14)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8073   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,190,931               Creation Apparatus (IJM15)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8076   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,248,249               Creation Apparatus (IJM16)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8075   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,290,862               Creation Apparatus (IJM17)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8079   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,241,906               Creation Apparatus (IJM18)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8050   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   09/113,116               Creation Apparatus (IJM19)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8052   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,241,905               Creation Apparatus (IJM20)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7948   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,451,216               Creation Apparatus (IJM21)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7951   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,231,772               Creation Apparatus (IJM22)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8074   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,274,056               Creation Apparatus (IJM23)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7941   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,290,861               Creation Apparatus (IJM24)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8077   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,248,248               Creation Apparatus (IJM25)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8058   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,306,671               Creation Apparatus (IJM26)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8051   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,331,258               Creation Apparatus (IJM27)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8045   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,110,754               Creation Apparatus (IJM28)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7952   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,294,101               Creation Apparatus (IJM29)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8046   15-Jul-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,416,679               Creation Apparatus (IJM30)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8503   11-Aug-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,264,849               Creation Apparatus (IJM30a)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9390   23-Sep-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,254,793               Creation Apparatus (IJM31)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9392   23-Sep-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,235,211               Creation Apparatus (IJM32)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0889   12-Dec-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,235,211               Creation Apparatus (IJM35)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0887   12-Dec-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,264,850               Creation Apparatus (IJM36)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0882   12-Dec-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,258,284               Creation Apparatus (IJM37)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0874   12-Dec-97   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,258,284               Creation Apparatus (IJM38)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP1396   19-Jan-98   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,228,668               Creation Apparatus (IJM39)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP2591   25-Mar-98   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,180,427               Creation Apparatus (IJM41)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3989   9-Jun-98   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,171,875               Creation Apparatus (IJM40)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3990   9-Jun-98   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,267,904               Creation Apparatus (IJM42)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3986   9-Jun-98   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,245,247               Creation Apparatus (IJM43)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3984   9-Jun-98   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,245,247               Creation Apparatus (IJM44)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP3982   9-Jun-98   A Method of Manufacture of an Image   6,231,148               Creation Apparatus (IJM45)   (Jul. 10, 1998)                  
 
         [0065]    Fluid Supply  
         [0066]    Further, the present application may utilize an ink delivery system to the ink jet head. Delivery systems relating to the supply of ink to a series of ink jet nozzles are described in the following Australian provisional patent specifications, the disclosure of which are hereby incorporated by cross-reference. The serial numbers of respective corresponding U.S. patent applications are also provided for the sake of convenience.  
                                                       U.S. Pat. No./                   patent       Australian           application       Provisional   Filing       and Filing       Number   Date   Title   Date                   PO8003   15-Jul-97   Supply Method and Apparatus   6,350,023               (F1)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8005   15-Jul-97   Supply Method and Apparatus   6,318,849               (F2)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9404   23-Sep-97   A Device and Method (F3)   09/113,101                   (Jul. 10, 1998)                  
 
         [0067]    MEMS Technology  
         [0068]    Further, the present application may utilize advanced semiconductor microelectromechanical techniques in the construction of large arrays of ink jet printers. Suitable microelectromechanical techniques are described in the following Australian provisional patent specifications incorporated here by cross-reference. The serial numbers of respective corresponding U.S. patent applications are also provided for the sake of convenience.  
                                           Australian           U.S. Pat. No./patent       Provisional   Filing       application and Filing       Number   Date   Title   Date                   PO7943   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS01)           PO8006   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS02)   6,087,638                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8007   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS03)   09/113,093                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8008   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS04)   6,340,222                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8010   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS05)   6,041,600                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8011   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS06)   6,299,300                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7947   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS07)   6,067,797                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7945   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS08)   09/113,081                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7944   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS09)   6,286,935                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7946   15-Jul-97   A device (MEMS10)   6,044,646                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9393   23-Sep-97   A Device and Method   09/113,065               (MEMS11)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0875   12-Dec-97   A Device (MEMS12)   09/113,078                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0894   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method   09/113,075               (MEMS13)   (Jul. 10, 1998)                  
 
         [0069]    IR Technologies  
         [0070]    Further, the present application may include the utilization of a disposable camera system such as those described in the following Australian provisional patent specifications incorporated here by cross-reference. The serial numbers of respective corresponding U.S. patent applications are also provided for the sake of convenience.  
                                                       U.S. Pat. No./                   patent       Australian           application       Provisional   Filing       and Filing       Number   Date   Title   Date                   PP0895   12-Dec-97   An Image Creation Method   6,231,148               and Apparatus (IR01)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0870   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR02)   09/113,106                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0869   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR04)   6,293,658                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0887   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   09/113,104               Apparatus (IR05)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0885   12-Dec-97   An Image Production System   6,238,033               (IR06)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0884   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,312,070               Apparatus (IR10)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0886   12-Dec-97   Image Creation Method and   6,238,111               Apparatus (IR12)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0871   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR13)   09/113,086                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0876   12-Dec-97   An Image Processing Method   09/113,094               and Apparatus (IR14)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0877   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR16)   6,378,970                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0878   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR17)   6,196,739                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0879   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR18)   09/112,774                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0883   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR19)   6,270,182                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0880   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR20)   6,152,619                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0881   12-Dec-97   A Device and Method (IR21)   09/113,092                   (Jul. 10, 1998)                  
 
         [0071]    DotCard Technologies  
         [0072]    Further, the present application may include the utilization of a data distribution system such as that described in the following Australian provisional patent specifications incorporated here by cross-reference. The serial numbers of respective corresponding U.S. patent applications are also provided for the sake of convenience.  
                                           Australian           U.S. Pat. No./patent       Provisional           application and       Number   Filing Date   Title   Filing Date                   PP2370   16-Mar-98   Data Processing   09/112,781               Method and   (Jul. 10, 1998)               Apparatus               (Dot01)       PP2371   16-Mar-98   Data Processing   09/113,052               Method and   (Jul. 10, 1998               Apparatus               (Dot02)                  
 
         [0073]    Artcam Technologies  
         [0074]    Further, the present application may include the utilization of camera and data processing techniques such as an Artcam type device as described in the following Australian provisional patent specifications incorporated here by cross-reference. The serial numbers of respective corresponding U.S. patent applications are also provided for the sake of convenience.  
                                           Australian           U.S. Pat. No./       Provisional           patent application       Number   Filing Date   Title   and Filing Date                   PO7991   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,060               (ART01)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7988   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,476,863               (ART02)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7993   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,073               (ART03)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9395   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,322,181               (ART04)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8017   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,747               (ART06)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8014   15-Jul-97   Media Device (ART07)   6,227,648                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8025   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,750               (ART08)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8032   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,746               (ART09)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7999   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,743               (ART10)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7998   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,742               (ART11)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8031   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,741               (ART12)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8030   15-Jul-97   Media Device (ART13)   6,196,541                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7997   15-Jul-97   Media Device (ART15)   6,195,150                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7979   15-Jul-97   Media Device (ART16)   6,362,868                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8015   15-Jul-97   Media Device (ART17)   09/112,738                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7978   15-Jul-97   Media Device (ART18)   09/113,067                   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7982   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,431,669               (ART19)   (Jul. 10, 1998       PO7989   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,362,869               (ART20)   (Jul. 10, 1998       PO8019   15-Jul-97   Media Processing Method and Apparatus   6,472,052               (ART21)   (Jul. 10, 1998       PO7980   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,356,715               (ART22)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8018   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,777               (ART24)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7938   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,224               (ART25)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8016   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,366,693               (ART26)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8024   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,329,990               (ART27)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7940   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,072               (ART28)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7939   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,785               (ART29)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8501   11-Aug-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,137,500               (ART30)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8500   11-Aug-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,796               (ART31)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7987   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,071               (ART32)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8022   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,398,328               (ART33)   (Jul. 10, 1998       PO8497   11-Aug-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,090               (ART34)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8020   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,431,704               (ART38)   (Jul. 10, 1998       PO8023   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,222               (ART39)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8504   11-Aug-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,786               (ART42)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8000   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,415,054               (ART43)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7977   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,782               (ART44)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7934   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,056               (ART45)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7990   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,059               (ART46)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8499   11-Aug-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,486,886               (ART47)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8502   11-Aug-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,381,361               (ART48)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7981   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,317,192               (ART50)   (Jul. 10, 1998       PO7986   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,057               (ART51)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO7983   15-Jul-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,054               (ART52)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8026   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,752               (ART53)   (Jul 10, 1998)       PO8027   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,759               (ART54)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO8028   15-Jul-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,757               (ART56)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9394   23-Sep-97   Image Processing Method and Apparatus   6,357,135               (ART57)   (Jul. 10, 1998       PO9396   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/113,107               (ART58)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9397   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,271,931               (ART59)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9398   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,353,772               (ART60)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9399   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,106,147               (ART61)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9400   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,790               (ART62)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9401   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,304,291               (ART63)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9402   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   09/112,788               (ART64)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9403   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,305,770               (ART65)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PO9405   23-Sep-97   Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,289,262               (ART66)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP0959   16-Dec-97   A Data Processing Method and Apparatus   6,315,200               (ART68)   (Jul. 10, 1998)       PP1397   19-Jan-98   A Media Device (ART69)   6,217,165                   (Jul. 10, 1998)