Electrophotography – Document handling – Copy
Reexamination Certificate
1999-11-19
2001-06-19
Grimley, Arthur T. (Department: 2852)
Electrophotography
Document handling
Copy
C399S077000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06249666
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
This invention relates to devices for producing images in media (e.g., printers, copiers, facsimile machines, etc.) and paper handling devices. More particularly, the invention relates to print path identifiers for identifying print medium paths in such devices.
BACKGROUND
Printer technology is continually advancing, resulting in commercially available printers with increasing speed, print quality, features, etc. A wide range of printers are commercially available, ranging from relatively inexpensive “desktop” models with few features to more expensive “printing press” models with many features and expandable options.
One problem facing many modem printers, especially the larger models, is controlling the transfer or flow of paper through the printer. The print medium is physically transferred through one or more devices in the printer. This physical path of the paper through the printer is typically referred to as the “print path” or “print medium path”. Many printers either include or can be expanded to include additional features by adding input and/or output devices to the printer. For example, an additional input device may physically stamp each page being printed, or an additional output device may sort and/or fold pages after printing. As additional input and/or output devices are added to the printer, the number of print paths available in the printer increases. For example, a printer with an output device to fold pages would typically have at least two print paths, one in which the pages are fed through the output device (either folding or not folding the page), and another in which the pages are not fed through the output device.
A controller(s) within the printer communicates with the various devices in the printer to feed the pages through the proper print paths. One way to perform such communication is to “baby-sit” the print medium as it traverses a print path. The controller communicates with each of the individual devices in that print path one at a time, providing each with information regarding what, if anything, the device should do with the print medium (i.e., either pass the print medium through to another device or output the print medium directly). Such “one to one” communication, however, is burdensome on the controller and is made even more so with each new device that is added to the printer.
The invention described below addresses these and other problems, using print path identifiers to identify print paths in a printer.
SUMMARY
In a printer, a print medium is fed through the printer along a print path that can include one or more devices and a print engine. A plurality of path identifiers are used to identify the different print paths through the printer.
According to one aspect of the invention, a path identifier defines a print path from its input to its output from the printer, including the print engine as well as possibly one or more input or output devices. Upon receipt of a print request, a paper handling controller determines the path identifier corresponding to the print path that the print medium for that print request will take (which can be dependent on the print request itself). The paper handling controller then communicates the necessary information via the path identifier for that print path to all of the devices in the printer, thereby informing all of the devices in a single communication with a single path identifier of the print path being used for the print request.
According to another aspect of the invention, print path identifiers are separated into input paths and output paths. An input path identifier defines a print path from an input device to the print engine, while an output path identifier defines a print path from the print engine to an output device. Upon receipt of a print request, a paper handling controller determines the path identifier(s) corresponding to the print path that the print medium for that print request will take. The paper handling controller then communicates the input path identifier to the input devices in the printer and the output path identifier to the output devices in the printer.
According to another aspect of the invention, print path identifiers are established dynamically during printer initialization (e.g., after “power on” or a printer “reset”). During initialization, the paper handling controller identifies all of the different input and/or output devices that are part of the printer. Each of the possible paths through the printer are then identified and print path identifiers assigned to each of the possible paths. A message is then sent to each of the devices informing the device of each of the print path identifiers that start at the device, end at the device, or pass through the device.
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Becerra Jimenez Carlos F.
Leyva Ricardo Osuna
Newell, Jr. Lawrence Bert
Stringham Gary G.
Grimley Arthur T.
Hewlett--Packard Company
Ngo Huang
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