Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Detail of medium positioning
Reexamination Certificate
1999-12-03
2003-10-14
Evans, Arthur G. (Department: 2622)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Detail of medium positioning
C358S001130
Reexamination Certificate
active
06633393
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer having a function for printing to both sides of cut-sheet forms and other print media. The invention further relates to a control method for controlling the printer and to a data medium for having a computer program to implement the control method.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a printer for handling a print medium, such as a personal check, having a predefined format with specific front and back sides to which different information must be appropriately printed. The invention further relates to a control method for controlling the printer and to a data storage medium for storing said control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Printers for printing to such specifically formatted printing forms as invoices, tickets, and personal or corporate checks are widely available and commonly used. Typical of such printers are point-of-sale (POS) printers for printing sales receipts as well as customer checks received for payment. A typical check processing method used in a POS system is described below.
A basic POS system comprises a host device and a printer connected to this host. The printer comprises a print head for check printing and a MICR (magnetic ink character recognition) head for reading magnetic ink characters preprinted to the check.
The characters and print quality of MICR text conforms to known standards such as E13B or CMC7. MICR text is also printed to a standardized location on the checks. When the MICR head passes over the MICR text, the text is detected and converted to an electrical signal. The waveform of the signal varies with each letter, thereby making it possible to interpret the signal to recognize and read the preprinted MICR text.
Check processing at the POS station includes printing the date, store name, and check amount on the check front, and printing a check endorsement and bank account number for the store on the back. For simplicity below, these operations are hereafter referred to as simply printing the front and back of the check.
FIG. 19
is a flow chart of a check processing method using a conventional printer comprised to read MICR text when the check is inserted for printing the back of the check.
When a store clerk receives a check for payment from a customer, the clerk operates the host to receive payment via check. This causes the host device to start check processing, and send a MICR text reading command to the printer. The printer thus receives and interprets this read command, and waits for a check to be inserted so that the read command can be executed (step S
1901
).
When the clerk inserts a check to the printer, the printer reads and recognizes the MICR text (step S
1902
), and sends the result to the host (step S
1903
). The host then determines whether the check is valid based on the information received from the printer. Check validation in this example can be simply accomplished by comparing the checking account number read from the check with a database of invalid account numbers.
If the check is determined to be valid, the host sends the information for printing for the back of the check to the printer. Note that this information is hereafter referred to as the endorsement information. When the printer receives the endorsement information (step S
1904
), it advances the check to the printing start position of the print head (step S
1905
), prints (step S
1906
), and then ejects the printed check (step S
1907
).
The clerk then turns the check over and reinserts to the printer. The printer again advances the check to the printing start position (step S
1908
). When the check is positioned, the host sends the information to be printed on the check front, referred to as the payment information below, to the printer. The printer thus receives the payment information (step S
1909
), prints (step S
1910
), and ejects the printed check (step S
1911
). The clerk then hands the printed check to the customer for verification and signing, and receives the check back from the customer to complete the transaction.
It will thus be obvious that a conventional printer of this type prints to both sides of a check or other standard form by printing data in the sequence received from the host, printing a first set of information to one side of the form, waiting for the operator to reverse and reinsert the form, and then printing a second set of information to the other side of the form.
Conventional printers of the type described above, however, are unable to determine whether the print data received from the host is to be printed to the front or to the back of the form. The printer therefore prints whatever data is received from the host to whichever side of the form is inserted for printing, regardless of whether the form is appropriately positioned for printing to the desired side. This means that if the form is incorrectly inserted and positioned, the printing process still executes. This results in inconvenience for both the operator and customer and unnecessarily wastes blank forms or checks
Furthermore, while some printers have the print head and the MICR head positioned on the same side of the form transportation path, other printers have these heads on opposite sides of the form transportation path. The host must therefore change the sequence in which data is sent to the printer based on whether these heads are on the same or opposite sides of the path. That is, the host must be set up or switch to send either the form front information, i.e., the payment information in the above example, or the form back information, i.e., the endorsement information in the above example, first, and this further complicates the printing process.
OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the aforementioned problems.
With consideration for the above-described problems, it is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a printer for correctly printing print data to a desired side of a print form.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a control method for this printer.
It is yet further object of the present invention to provide a medium for having a computer program implementing the control method.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the above objects, a printer connected to a host device for printing to a print medium based on print data and a print command received from the host device comprises according to the present invention: a print command interpreter for interpreting print commands from the host device and determining a print medium side indicated by a received print command for printing associated print data; an inserted side detection processor or detecting means for detecting which side of a print medium inserted to the printer is facing a particular direction; and a control unit for printing the print data when the print medium side detected by the print command interpreter and the print medium side detected by the inserted side detecting means are the same.
Printing to the wrong side of a print medium (form) can thus be prevented because printing occurs when the print medium side specified by the host and the side of the print medium inserted for printing are the same.
Further preferably, the control unit causes the inserted print medium to be ejected when the print medium side detected by the print command interpreter and the print medium side detected by the inserted side detecting means are not the same.
In this case the printer further preferably comprises a form insertion opening for inserting a print medium, and a form ejection opening for ejecting a print medium from the printer. Yet further preferably, the control unit causes the inserted print medium to be ejected from the form ejection opening after printing is completed when the print medium side detected by the print command interpreter and the print medium side detected by the inserted side detection processor or detecting means are the same, and causes the inserted print medium t
Evans Arthur G.
Seiko Epson Coprporation
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