Facsimile and static presentation processing – Facsimile – Picture signal generator
Reexamination Certificate
1997-09-18
2001-06-26
Lee, Cheukfan (Department: 2722)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Facsimile
Picture signal generator
C358S296000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06252683
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a video printer to make full color thermal transfer printing.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In recent years, efforts are being made to realize small size and low cost video printers while pursuing printing of high picture quality and high definition images on special printing paper.
Referring now to drawings, an example of the above described conventional video printers is explained in the following.
FIG. 3
is a side cross sectional view of a conventional video printing apparatus. In
FIG. 3
, the apparatus has a housing
14
. A thermal head
1
, a platen
2
, and an ink sheet
3
constitute a recording unit. A pickup roller
8
which is rotatably arranged, a separating roller
7
which is also rotatably arranged, a reverse roller
16
which can be pressed to the separating roller
7
and can rotate in a reverse direction constitute a paper feed mechanism for sheet form printing paper
12
. A printing paper cassette
311
stores the printing paper sheets
12
and can freely slide on a cassette guide
318
of the apparatus housing
14
, and can be detached from the apparatus housing
14
. The mechanism to transport printing paper sheets once they are fed comprises a lifting member
13
which presses the printing paper sheets to the pickup roller
8
, a printing paper pressure plate
10
provided on the printing paper cassette
311
which pushes up the printing paper sheets
12
by means of the lifting member
13
while carrying the printing paper sheets
12
, a switching guide
6
to switch over between paper feed and paper ejection, guiding members
15
to guide the printing paper sheets
12
, a pinch roller
4
and a capstan roller
5
which drive the printing paper sheets
12
after they have been fed.
The paper ejection unit to eject the printing paper sheets
12
comprises a paper ejecting roller
20
and paper ejecting pinch roller
21
. A conventional video printer additionally comprises an ejected-paper tray
309
to store the printing paper sheets
12
after they have been ejected, an ejected-paper tray cover
23
to keep dust off the ejected-paper tray
309
, and a first paper detecting unit
17
and a second paper detecting unit
19
to detect the printing paper sheets
12
, the first and second printing paper detecting units
17
and
19
consisting of, for instance, photosensors. A control unit
328
to control the video printer comprises electrical circuits and is located underneath the cassette guide
318
.
Operation of the above described conventional video printer is explained in the following.
First, in
FIG. 3
, the printing paper cassette
311
storing a plurality of printing paper sheets
12
is loaded along the cassette guide
318
of the apparatus housing
14
. When feeding the printing paper sheets, the lifting member
13
goes up and pushes up the printing paper pressure plate
10
thereby pressing the printing paper sheets
12
on the printing paper pressure plate
10
toward the pickup roller
8
and the first paper detecting unit
17
detects the existence of the printing paper sheets
12
; if no printing paper sheet is detected the paper feed action is stopped and “No-Paper” indication is made on an indicator (not shown in the drawing) of the video printer. When a printing paper sheet is detected, the pickup roller
8
rotates and transports a plurality of the printing paper sheets
12
.
Now, as the reverse roller
16
which has been detached from the separating roller
7
starts to rotate in the direction opposite to that of the paper feed while pressing the separating roller
7
, thereby allowing only one sheet of the printing paper sheets
12
to be transported with the remaining sheets blocked. Guided by the guiding members
15
and the switching guide
6
, the transported sheet of the printing papers
12
is forwarded to the second paper detecting unit
19
, where the front end of the paper is detected, and the paper feed action is completed after the paper has passed the capstan roller
5
and the pinch roller
4
. Subsequently, the printing paper sheet
12
is transported by the pressure and rotation of the capstan roller
5
and the pinch roller
4
and thermal transfer printing is made at the printing unit comprising the thermal head
1
, the platen
2
, and the ink sheet
3
.
Upon detection of the trailing edge of the printing paper sheet
12
by the second paper detecting unit
19
, the switching guide
6
turns downward to switch the transport route over toward the paper ejecting unit. After printing by the printing unit is completed, the printed paper sheet is driven by the paper ejecting roller
20
and the paper ejecting pinch roller
21
, and ejected to the ejected-paper tray
309
and stored in lamination.
However, in the above described construction, in loading the printing paper cassette with a stack of printing paper sheets into the apparatus housing, high precision guiding members and a loading mechanism (not shown in the drawing) are required to load and securely fit it at a predetermined position, thereby resulting in an increased overall height of the apparatus. To prevent the possibility of improper loading, a printing paper cassette detecting switch (not shown in the drawing) to prevent any damage of the lifting member
13
or its linking mechanical components is also required. Additionally, a cassette locking mechanism (not shown in the drawing) is required to prevent the printing paper cassette from being removed during the printing operation. Thus, the conventional printer had problems of requiring a large number of components, complicated construction and an increased cost. It also required two printing paper detecting units
17
and
19
in between the printing paper cassette and the printing paper transport unit, again causing problems of increased number of components, complicated structure, and increased cost.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A video printer is constructed such that the printing paper sheets are fed from the lower front portion of the apparatus housing toward the inside of the apparatus and are ejected on the upper front part of the apparatus housing, and comprises a paper feed tray fixed inside the apparatus housing to load the printing paper sheets at a predetermined position, a paper feeding unit to feed the printing paper sheets into the inside of the apparatus, a printing paper transport unit to transport the printing paper sheets after they are fed by the paper feeding unit, a switching unit provided between the paper feeding unit and the paper transport unit to switch over the transport route of the printing paper sheets, at least one paper detecting unit provided between the switching unit and the paper transport unit to detect the printing paper sheets, a printing unit for thermal transfer printing on the printing paper sheets, a paper ejecting unit to eject the printing paper sheets after being printed by means of the printing unit, and an ejected-paper tray to store the printed paper sheets ejected by the paper ejecting unit, and having a paper feed tray positioned on a slant with the front side at a higher position than the rear side so that the printing paper sheets go down on a slant in the direction of paper feeding.
REFERENCES:
patent: 4915370 (1990-04-01), Himej et al.
patent: 5025326 (1991-06-01), Shimmyo
patent: 5172903 (1992-12-01), Haneda et al.
patent: 5222722 (1993-06-01), Kamano
patent: 5273271 (1993-12-01), Intemann
patent: 5287164 (1994-02-01), Watanabe et al.
patent: 5354044 (1994-10-01), Firl et al.
patent: 5379997 (1995-01-01), Ohta
patent: 5441251 (1995-08-01), Ohta
patent: 5586757 (1996-12-01), Nakamatsu et al.
patent: 5764384 (1998-06-01), Wilcox et al.
patent: 5956152 (1999-09-01), Yamada et al.
Hokamura Tetsuya
Kawamura Takayuki
Koike Takashi
Nakagawa Masami
Lee Cheukfan
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Ratner & Prestia
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