Printer system for providing pre-heat signal to printhead
View Patent ↗A printer system for providing a pre-heat signal to a printhead. The system includes a printhead having a plurality of nozzles and a print engine controller for generating drive signals in accordance with print data defining a print job for the printhead. The system is configured for selectively providing nozzles actuators with a pre-heat signal derived from a combination of signals. One of the signals in the combination is the drive signal from the print engine controller.
1. A printer system for providing a pre-heat signal to a printhead, said system comprising:
a printhead comprising a plurality of nozzles, each nozzle having an associated actuator for ejecting ink and associated drive circuitry for operating the actuator; and
a print engine controller for generating drive signals in accordance with print data defining a print job for the printhead; and
wherein the system is configured for selectively providing each of the actuators with a pre-heat signal based on a combination of signals, said combination-including a resistivity signal indicating a resistivity of each actuator and the drive signal from the print engine controller.
2. The printer system according to claim 1 wherein the printhead has a temperature sensor for sensing the temperature of the ink at one or more of the nozzles, and one of the signals in the combination of signals is output from the temperature sensor.
3. The printer system according to claim 2 wherein the printhead has one of the temperature sensors for each of the nozzles respectively.
4. The printer system according to claim 1 wherein the print engine controller is configured to monitor the time period since one or more of the nozzles last ejected ink.
5. The printer system according to claim 4 wherein one of the signals in the combination of signals relates to the time period since one or more of the nozzles last ejected ink.
6. The printer system according to claim 1 wherein the printhead has a thermal actuator for each of the nozzles respectively.
7. The printer system according to claim 6 wherein the drive signal has a series of clock pulses, each clock pulse having sufficient energy for one of the actuators to eject ink from the corresponding nozzle.
8. The printer system according to claim 7 wherein the pre-heat signal has a series of heat pulses, each heat pulse having insufficient energy for one of the actuators to eject ink from a corresponding nozzle.