Incremental printing of symbolic information – Thermal marking apparatus or processes – Having an intermediate medium for transferring ink
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-24
2001-08-21
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Thermal marking apparatus or processes
Having an intermediate medium for transferring ink
C347S215000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06278473
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a facsimile device which includes the means specified hereinafter, namely paper-supply holding means which serve for holding at least one paper sheet, sheet withdrawal means which serve for withdrawing only one paper sheet at a time from the paper-supply holding means and which include a rotationally drivable sheet withdrawal roller, a thermo-transfer foil which can be fed from a supply roll to a drivable take-up roll, thermal printing means with the aid of which ink particles can be transferred from the thermo-transfer foil to a paper sheet withdrawn from the paper-supply holding means in order to form a printed image, during which the thermo-transfer foil and the paper sheet can be driven synchronously, drive means which serve for synchronously driving the thermo-transfer foil and a paper sheet withdrawn from the paper-supply holding means and which include a rotationally drivable drive roller, at least one motor for driving the drive roller and for driving the sheet withdrawal roller, a first drive transmission via which the drive roller can be driven by a motor, a second drive transmission via which the sheet withdrawal roller can be driven via a motor, and control means for the at least one motor, by which control means driving of a motor shaft of a motor in a first direction of rotation, for synchronously driving a paper sheet and the thermo-transfer foil, can be activated.
Such a facsimile device of the type defined in the opening paragraph is commercially available from the Applicant in the form of a facsimile apparatus under the type designation PPF 30 and is consequently known.
In this known apparatus the drive roller drives the thermo-transfer foil during the phase of operation in which a paper sheet is withdrawn from the paper-supply holding means and the subsequent transport of this paper sheet to the drive roller, although the thermo-transfer foil is not used for printing in this phase of operation of the known apparatus, which means that the thermo-transfer foil is driven unnecessarily in this phase of operation of the apparatus, which leads to an unnecessary foil consumption. As such a thermo-transfer foil is comparatively expensive such an unnecessary foil consumption represents an undesirable loss, which is to be avoided.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to preclude or at least substantially mitigate the afore-mentioned problem and to provide an improved facsimile device of the type defined in the opening paragraph, in which an unnecessary foil consumption is prevented at least largely.
According to the invention, in order to achieve the afore-mentioned object in a facsimile device of the type defined in the opening paragraph, there have been provided additional means with the aid of which driving of the thermo-transfer foil by means of the drive roller can be inhibited in the absence of a paper sheet at the drive roller. Owing to the measures in accordance with the invention it is achieved by simple-to-realize additional means that an unnecessary foil consumption of a thermo-transfer foil used in a facsimile device in accordance with the invention can be avoided since the measures in accordance with the invention guarantee that, in the phase of operation of the facsimile device in accordance with the invention in which a paper sheet is withdrawn from the paper supply holding means and is being transferred to the drive roller, driving of the facsimile device by means of the drive roller can be inhibited at least for the greater part and, advantageously, also wholly.
In a facsimile device in accordance with the invention, in which there has been provided only one motor for driving the drive roller and the sheet withdrawal roller, and in which there has been provided a freewheel device of the type commonly called a lost motion mechanism in the second drive transmission before the sheet withdrawal roller, which freewheel device forms a drive transmission for each of its two directions of rotation and in the case of a reversal of the d direction of rotation the does not a transmit a driving torque for a given freewheel interval and does not again form a drive transmission until after expire of this freewheel interval—as is known per se from the known facsimile apparatus having the type designation PPF 30—it has proved to be very advantageous if, in addition, if the device has one motor only for driving the drive roller and the sheet withdrawal roller, the first drive transmission includes a lost motion mechanism, the second drive transmission includes a unidirectional drive device for driving only in the first direction of transmission, and the motor is driven in a second direction for a period of time less than that corresponding to movement through the full interval of the lost motion mechanism. Thus, it is achieved that the additional means only include the further lost motion mechanism; and the unidirectional device, as a result of which an unnecessary foil consumption can be avoided with minimal and, consequently, low-cost means.
In a facsimile device in accordance with the invention having the characteristic features defined above, the one motor shaft can be driven in the second direction of rotation during such a driving interval that the further freewheel device is also driven for a slightly longer time than the further freewheel interval. However, driving for a shorter time has; proved to be particularly advantageous because this prevents the thermo-transfer foil from being driven in a direction opposite to its normal transport direction.
The afore-mentioned aspects as well as further aspects of the invention will be apparent from the embodiment described hereinafter by way of example and will be elucidated with reference to this embodiment.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5451996 (1995-09-01), Awai et al.
patent: 6022015 (2000-02-01), Matsumoto
patent: 6082912 (2000-07-01), Shimuzu et al.
Feggins K.
Le N.
U.S. Philips Corporation
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