Photocopying – Projection printing and copying cameras – Identifying – composing – or selecting
Reexamination Certificate
2000-05-26
2002-02-05
Adams, Russell (Department: 2851)
Photocopying
Projection printing and copying cameras
Identifying, composing, or selecting
C355S046000, C355S054000, C503S201000, C347S171000, C347S174000, C347S177000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06344891
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printer usable with recording material of plural types. More particularly, the present invention relates to a printer in which images can be printed to recording material selected from plural types with image quality kept high.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
There is a printer known with a trade name of “Print Club”, which is an automatic portrait producing machine including a pick-up camera for picking up an object to obtain data of an object image or a portrait image.
In the printer, an image or portrait of a user or purchaser, being picked up, is printed to recording material. The recording material is a sticker, and may include preprinted additional images such as peripheral line images, background images, foreground images, character images and the like. The recording material has layers including a sticker sheet, an adhesive layer and release paper, from which the sticker sheet is peelable. Sticker regions are arranged in a matrix form. Each of the sticker regions has a shape of a rectangular quadrilateral, and is defined inside half cut lines, which separate the sticker sheet and adhesive layer, and under which the release paper is uncut. For each of the sticker regions, a thumbnail image is printed in the recording material. The sticker regions are peeled from the release paper, and can be stuck to a cardboard and other various objects desired by the user.
If thumbnail images arranged in a matrix form are printed in a position shifted from the sticker regions, there is failure in the printing due to lost portions of the images outside the sticker regions or excessive blank margins inside the sticker regions.
If an acceptable type of the recording material is not used in the printer, it is likely that there occurs breakage in the printer, or drop in the image quality due to differences in the size or thickness of the recording material. In the direct thermal recording, the recording material includes a base sheet, and three thermosensitive coloring layers of cyan, magenta and yellow. Coloring characteristics of the layers are changed according to a condition of preserving the recording material, to influence the quality of prints. In addition to the recording material of the direct thermal recording type, the drop in the image quality occurs other types including thermal development transfer recording material, a sublimation type of thermal transfer recording material, and the like. The preserving condition is changed also by changes in a distribution route. There is no known technique for ensuring the use of the recording material of a genuine type supplied by an exclusive distribution route.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the foregoing problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a printer usable with recording material of plural types, in which the recording material can be positioned exactly even for any of the plural types.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer usable with recording material of plural types, prevented from being loaded with the recording material that is different from the plural types and not genuine, to avoid drop in the image quality and breakage of the printer.
In order to achieve the above and other objects and advantages of this invention, a printing head records an image to a recording material. A feeder feeds one of the recording material and the printing head relatively to a remaining one thereof. A memory stores first position information adapted to image recording to a predetermined first type of the recording material. An input unit inputs type changing information representing a second type of the recording material at a time of image recording to the second type, to set second position information. A control unit causes the feeder to set the first and second types to the printing head according to respectively the first and second position information, and drives the printing head and the feeder in synchronism, the image being recorded in first and second printing regions suitable to respectively the first and second types.
The first and second position information is constituted by respectively first and second distances and associated with the first and second printing regions. Furthermore, a length measurer measures a feed length of the recording material with reference to the printing head. The control unit monitors the feed length while the feeder operates, and the first and second printing regions are set at the printing head respectively when the feed length comes up to the first and second distances.
The recording material includes a positioning indicia disposed in a predetermined position. Furthermore, an indicia sensor detects the positioning indicia in the recording material. The control unit monitors the feed length in response to detection of the positioning indicia by the indicia sensor.
The control unit writes the second position information to the memory in place of the first position information in response to the type changing information.
Furthermore, a lid covers the input unit. A lock mechanism keeps the lid closed to disable external operation to the input unit, the lock mechanism allowing the lid to open in response to unlocking operation, to enable the input unit to operate.
The input unit is externally operated to input the type changing information.
The memory is EEPROM. The second position information is the type changing information, or information obtained according to the type changing information and a predetermined calculation equation.
The input unit further inputs a predetermined special signal externally. The control unit allows setting of the second position information upon recognition of the special signal.
The feeder includes a stepping motor, supplied with drive pulses by the control unit, for rotating to feed the recording material. The length measurer includes a pulse counter for counting the drive pulses to obtain a pulse number representing the feed length.
In a preferred embodiment, the second type is predetermined. The memory further stores the second position information. The control unit selectively reads the first and second position information according to presence and absence of the type changing information.
The memory stores table data in which an address is type information of at least the first and second types, and which is constituted by at least the first and second position information. The type changing information is the type information of at least the second type.
In another preferred embodiment, the recording material includes discernment information of one recording material type. Furthermore, an information reader reads the discernment information from the recording material. The memory further stores type information of the first and second types. The control unit detects which of the first and second types the recording material is according to the type information and the discernment information. The input unit is operated if the recording material is the second type.
If the discernment information is different from the type information, the control unit inhibits the printing head from operating and/or generates an alarm signal.
The discernment information is a size of the positioning indicia in a feeding direction. The information reader is constituted by the indicia sensor and the length measurer.
In a further preferred embodiment, the discernment information is one of a shape of the positioning indicia, a size or pitch of the positioning indicia in a feeding direction, and a size of the positioning indicia as viewed crosswise to the feeding direction. The information reader includes the indicia sensor.
In another preferred embodiment, the memory further stores a predetermined tolerable condition predetermined to allow the printing head to operate by changing a recording material feeding condition for recording material different from the first and second types. If the recording material is different from the first and sec
Adams Russell
Fuji Photo Film Co. , Ltd.
Fuller Rodney E.
Sughrue & Mion, PLLC
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