1. An inkjet printer comprising:
a frame;
a plurality of color separation modules mounted within the frame, each color separation module of the plurality of color separation modules including an image receiving member and a printhead module configured to eject ink drops onto the image receiving member to form an ink image on the image receiving member;
a media transport system configured to move a print medium past the plurality of color separation modules;
a plurality of fixing members, each fixing member being positioned adjacent to one of the image receiving members to form a plurality of nips into which the media transport system delivers the print medium, the nips being configured to transfix the ink image from each of the image receiving members onto the print medium;
a first sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a position of the print medium prior to the print medium entering the plurality of nips, and
a controller operatively connected to each of the color separation modules, the media transport system, and the first sensor, the controller being configured to:
detect the position of the print medium with reference to the signal generated by the first sensor; and
operate the plurality of color separation modules to synchronize entry of the ink image on each image receiving member with entry of the print medium into each nip with reference to the detected position of the print medium to generate a full-color ink image on the print medium.
2. The inkjet printer of claim 1 wherein the plurality of color separation modules includes a cyan color separation module, a magenta color separation module, a yellow color separation module, and a black color separation module.
3. The inkjet printer of claim 2 further comprising:
at least one other color separation module configured to eject ink drops having a color different than the cyan, magenta, yellow, and black colors ejected by the plurality of color separation modules.
4. The inkjet printer of claim 1, the controller being further configured to:
adjust a speed of the image receiving member in each imaging module to synchronize entry of the ink image on the image receiving member into the nip formed with the image receiving member with entry of the print medium into the nip formed with the image receiving member.
5. The inkjet printer of claim 1, the controller being further configured to:
adjust a timing of the printhead module of each color separation module to synchronize entry of the print medium and the ink image formed on the image receiving member into the nip formed with the image receiving member.
6. The inkjet printer of claim 1 further comprising:
a second sensor configured to generate a signal indicative of a skew of the print medium prior to the print medium entering the plurality of nips.
7. The inkjet printer of claim 6, the controller being further configured to:
detect the skew of the print medium with reference to the signal generated by the second sensor; and
rotate the ink image formed on each of the image receiving members with reference to the detected skew of the print medium.
8. The inkjet printer of claim 1 wherein each nip of the plurality of nips provides a minimum peak pressure between the image receiving member and the fixing member to transfix the ink drops from the image receiving member to the print medium with acceptable simplex dropout and pixel picking.
9. The inkjet printer of claim 8 wherein the minimum peak pressure within each nip is approximately 6.5 MPa.
10. The inkjet printer of claim 8 wherein the minimum peak pressure within each nip in the plurality of nips except a final nip is approximately 3.8 MPa, and the minimum peak pressure within the final nip is approximately 6.5 MPa.
11. The inkjet printer of claim 1 wherein each printhead module includes a first printhead and a second printhead, the first and second printheads being configured to eject ink drops having a same color to build a single separation image in a single pass.
12. The inkjet printer of claim 1 wherein each printhead module includes at least one printhead that is configured to eject ink drops having a same color and is movable in the cross-process direction to build a single separation image in multiple passes.
13. The inkjet printer of claim 1 wherein the media transport system includes an escort belt configured to move the print medium through the plurality of nips.
14. A method of printing images in an inkjet printer comprising:
operating each color separation module in a plurality of color separation modules to form an ink image on an image receiving member in each color separation module;
forming a nip with each image receiving module as a print medium approaches the image receiving member of each imaging module; and
transfixing the ink image on each image receiving member on the print medium in each nip to produce a composite ink image on the print medium after the print medium has passed by all of the imaging modules in the plurality of color separation modules.
15. The method of claim 14, the operation of the color separation modules further comprising:
forming in each color separation module an ink image having a color that is different than a color of the ink images formed by the other color separation modules.
16. The method of claim 15 wherein a first color separation module forms a cyan ink image, a second color separation module forms a magenta ink image, a third color separation module forms a yellow ink image, and a fourth color separation module forms a black ink image.
17. The method of claim 14 further comprising:
adjusting a velocity of at least one image receiving member to synchronize entry of the print medium and the ink image formed on the at least one image receiving member into the nip formed with the at least one image receiving member.
18. The method of claim 14 further comprising:
adjusting a timing of at least one printhead module to synchronize entry of the print medium and the ink image formed on at least one image receiving member into the nip formed with the at least one image receiving member.
The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.
1. A thermoelectric device comprising:
a thermoelectric semiconductor base formed with polycrystal material comprising nanocrystal grains in a single phase, and having a thickness in a range of 10 nm to 2 mm; and
a phonon scattering film disposed on one surface of the thermoelectric semiconductor base, and having a thickness in a range of 10 nm to 100 mm,
wherein the thermoelectric semiconductor base comprises a plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers that are laminated, and the phonon scattering film is disposed between adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor base layers; and
wherein the plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers is made of a same material.
2. The thermoelectric device of claim 1, wherein the plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers is configured such that a P-type semiconductor of the thermoelectric semiconductor base is laminated in a multilayered form and the phonon scattering film is disposed therebetween, or an N-type semiconductor of the thermoelectric semiconductor base is laminated in a multilayered form and the phonon scattering film is disposed therebetween.
3. The thermoelectric device of claim 2, wherein the thermoelectric semiconductor base is formed with any one of a BiTe group containing Sb, Se, B, Ga, Te, Bi, In, Ag, and Al2O3.
4. The thermoelectric device of claim 2, wherein the plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers comprises between 40 and 100 thermoelectric semiconductor base layers.
5. The thermoelectric device of claim 4, wherein the phonon scattering film is formed with any one of a BiTe group containing Sb, Se, B, Ga, Te, Bi, In, Ag, and Al2O3.
6. A thermoelectric module comprising:
a first substrate and a second substrate each including a metal electrode, and disposed to face each other; and
a plurality of thermoelectric devices disposed between the first substrate and the second substrate;
wherein each of the thermoelectric devices comprises: a thermoelectric semiconductor base formed with a polycrystal material comprising nanocrystal grains in a single phase, the thermoelectric semiconductor base having a thickness in a range of 10 nm to 2 mm; and a phonon scattering film disposed on one surface of the thermoelectric semiconductor base, and the phonon scattering film having a thickness in a range of 10 nm to 100 mm;
wherein the thermoelectric semiconductor base comprises a plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers, and the phonon scattering film is disposed between adjacent thermoelectric semiconductor base layers; and
wherein the plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers is configured such that a P-type semiconductor of the thermoelectric semiconductor base has multilayers, or an N-type semiconductor of the thermoelectric semiconductor base has multilayers.
7. The thermoelectric module of claim 6, wherein the thermoelectric module further comprises a first and second electrodes formed by patterning them on inner surfaces of the first and second substrates, respectively, and an anti-diffusion film inhibiting metal diffusion formed between the P-type semiconductor and the N-type semiconductor.
8. The thermoelectric module of claim 7, wherein each of the first and second substrates comprises an alumina substrate and each of the first and second electrodes is made of at least one of Cu, Ag, Ni, Al, Au, Cr, Ru, Re, Pb, Sn, In, Zn, and alloys of any thereof; and wherein the anti-diffusion film and the first and second electrodes are made of a same material.
9. The thermoelectric module of claim 8, wherein the anti-diffusion film is made of at least one of Cu, Ag, Ni, Al, Au, Cr, Ru, Re, Pb, Sn, In, Zn, and alloys of any thereof.
10. A manufacturing method of the thermoelectric device according to claim 1, comprising:
forming a phonon scattering film having a thickness in a range of 10 nm to 100 mm on one surface of a thermoelectric semiconductor base; and
forming the thermoelectric semiconductor base comprising a plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers in a lamination structure on the phonon scattering film in one direction, the thermoelectric semiconductor base layers having a same structure and material as a structure and material of the non scattering film.
11. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein the forming a thermoelectric semiconductor base is performed with any one of a two-step sintering, a pressurized sintering of a thermoelectric semiconductor material, a hot isostatic pressing (HIP) sintering, a spark plasma sintering (SPS), a microwave sintering, and an electrically assisted sintering.
12. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein the thermoelectric semiconductor base is formed with any one of a BiTe group containing Sb, Se, B, Ga, Te, Bi, In, Ag, and Al2O3.
13. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein the forming a phonon scattering film is performed with a coating or an evaporation process.
14. The manufacturing method of claim 10, wherein the phonon scattering film is formed with any one of a BiTe group containing Sb, Se, B, Ga, Te, Bi, In, Ag, and Al2O3.
15. A manufacturing method of a thermoelectric module, comprising:
forming a phonon scattering film having a thickness in a range of 10 nm to 100 mm on one surface of a thermoelectric semiconductor base;
forming the thermoelectric semiconductor base comprising a plurality of thermoelectric semiconductor base layers with a lamination structure on the phonon scattering film in one direction, the thermoelectric semiconductor base having a same structure as that of the phonon scattering film; and
alternately arranging a P-type thermoelectric semiconductor and an N-type thermoelectric semiconductor of the thermoelectric semiconductor base, the P-type and N-type thermoelectric semiconductors being configured such that the thermoelectric semiconductor base layers are laminated between a first substrate and a second substrate disposed to face each other.