Incremental printing of symbolic information – Ink jet – Controller
Reexamination Certificate
2001-03-28
2003-12-16
Vo, Anh T.N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Ink jet
Controller
C347S101000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06663211
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a printing device like an ink jet printer for ejecting ink onto roll paper for printing. More specifically, this invention relates to a printing device for detecting type of roll paper loaded, the presence or absence of the roll paper, the leading end of the roll paper, and a preferable roll paper to be used in a printing device.
PRIOR ART
Nowadays, it has become possible for everybody to easily perform image printings thanks to the progress of computers and printing devices. Among the characteristic examples of printing devices is known an electrophotographic copier which causes a toner to adhere onto an electrostatic potential image formed on the paper roll and transcript the toner image onto the printing paper, a printing device which is called an ink jet printer of the aforementioned ink jet type or a printing device which is called a thermal transfer printer of a thermal transfer type which is adapted to melt the ink on the ink ribbon by means of a heated thermal head or cause the heat sensitive paper to be colored.
While color printing in general is required to have a good color tone quality and wheatherproofness, a wide application of printing media varing from paper, cloth, film or the like is seen and in order to maintain a printing quality in an excellent condition, the printing conditions are in general subjected to review on the basis of the type or property of a printing medium.
While it is possible to discriminate types of paper used through its factors such as surface roughness, light transparency and rigidity, but it is not practical to mount detection mechanism for that purpose upon printing device, because one detection device is necessary for anything of said paper factors, thus increasing considerably the cost of printing device. When detecting type of paper using the factor of light transparency, only three states of paper, i.e. transparent, translucent and opaque, which limits adaptation to more and more various types of paper. As described above, direct detection of paper type has been difficult in technical and economical view points.
In general, users of printing device have input the type of paper used into printing device by any means. One of these means has been setting of the type of paper on the operating panel of printing device by user. More recently, the information about type of paper to be used is often transferred into printing device from personal computer together with printing data. In the last case, user selects his desired type of paper from Paper Menu printed on a software called Printer Driver containing types of paper such as common paper, coat paper, film for a overhead projector (OHP), back print film, burnished paper and the like.
In addition, it is essential to set printing paper sheets neatly on the printing device. If not, it is not only impossible to maintain the printing quality but also likely to lead to the trouble in which the printing head can rub the printing face of the paper sheet or perform the printing action without the printing paper sheet being fed onto the platen with the result that the paper sheet is stained or the printing head and the platen are damaged to lead to the trouble of the printing device.
Therefore, it is required in general to refrain from performing a printing operation when the printing paper is not set properly or has run out.
In the case of a printing device which uses a long roll paper which necessitates a paper cut mechanism for cutting off the roll paper, it is often observed that an immediate start of the subsequent printing operation after the paper cutting operation to create an extra margin on the leading end of the paper sheet, which must be thrown away. This is not only a waste of paper but also another cutting operation must be done after the subsequent cutting of the roll paper, causing a duplication of work.
In such conventional method of using the roll paper, the roll paper payed out from the paper roll is fed in an opposite direction to the regular feed direction to reduce a margin space in the leading end of the paper as much as possible.
On the other hand, while there are several cases where one can easily discriminate paper used by means of appearance thereof and touch feeling thereon, there are so many papers which have resembling appearance and feeling. Therefore, users erroneously set different types of papers such as common paper and coat paper, both of which have same color at a glance, though they have quite different colors when reviewed carefully.
In case where the printing device is constructed such that it performs the printing operation by switching the printing conditions in accordance with the type of printing paper to be used, printing can be done on a condition other than suited for the paper if the operator makes an erroneous setting concerning the type of printing paper with the result that the printing quality desired by the operator cannot be obtained. Further, if the operator uses a printing device of the ink jet type which for example can perform a printing operation in not prescribed ink quantity for some type of printing paper. In this way, if setting is done on the basis of a wrong type of paper, extra ink used can adhere to some portions of the printing device to such an extent as thus staining the printing device or the printing paper.
Detecting devices used in a conventional printing device are known as a lever type, an optical type, etc.
In said lever type printing paper detect mechanism, the lever position varies depending upon the presence or absence of the printing paper and said varied lever position is detected as ON/Off signals of the switch. On the other hand, an optical type paper detection mechanism includes a reflection type in which a light irradiated by the light emitting portion onto the paper to be reflected thereby is detected by the light receiving portion and a transmission type in which a light transmitted is detected by a light receiving portion positioned opposite the light emitting portion.
In said optical paper detection mechanism of reflection type permits the variation of the intensity of reflection of the light irradiated by the light emitting portion on the basis of the presence or absence of the printing paper to be converted into the variation of the electrical output for detection. On the other hand, the optical paper detection mechanism of transmission type converts into the variation of electrical output the variation of intensity of light determined depending on whether or not to interrupt the light irradiated by the light emitting portion on the basis of the presence or absence of the printing paper.
In the conventional printing paper detect mechanism, it is possible to detect the presence or absence of the printing paper regardless of the light transmitting property whether transparent or opaque if the mechanism is of a lever type. However, such mechanism has a problem that it is necessary to bring the lever in contact with the platen by way of the printing paper in order to detect the presence or absence of the printing paper at the printing portion, causing the lever to contact the platen directly if there is no printing paper thereat with the result that the platen can be damaged. Therefore, an optical paper detect mechanism of reflection type is used in general as a paper detection mechanism.
Such optical paper detection mechanism of reflection type has another problem that it is impossible as is to detect the presence or absence of the printing paper if the paper is a light transmitting transparent sheet such as OHP paper. Then, a light reflecting opaque portion is formed at an end portion (said end portion taken in a direction perpendicular to the paper feed) of the transparent sheet so that said opaque portion reflects the light to be detected. However, such method also has a problem that the opaque portion at the end of the printing paper makes it impossible to effectively use the entire surface of the printing paper and makes the opaque portion too cons
Quinn Charles N.
Vo Anh T.N.
LandOfFree
Printing device and roll paper does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.
If you have personal experience with Printing device and roll paper, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and Printing device and roll paper will most certainly appreciate the feedback.
Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3172890