EP0354815B1 - Druckverfahren - Google Patents

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Publication number
EP0354815B1
EP0354815B1 EP19890308206 EP89308206A EP0354815B1 EP 0354815 B1 EP0354815 B1 EP 0354815B1 EP 19890308206 EP19890308206 EP 19890308206 EP 89308206 A EP89308206 A EP 89308206A EP 0354815 B1 EP0354815 B1 EP 0354815B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
printer
substrate
ribbon
thermal transfer
printing unit
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19890308206
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0354815A3 (en
EP0354815A2 (de
Inventor
Robert Martin Pettigrew
Alan John Harry
Paul Robert Nailor
Fred Adelmann
Peter Franzen
Juergen Schoon
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Meto International GmbH
Original Assignee
Esselte Meto International GmbH
Esselte Meto International Produktions GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from GB8819180A external-priority patent/GB2223455A/en
Priority claimed from GB888829670A external-priority patent/GB8829670D0/en
Application filed by Esselte Meto International GmbH, Esselte Meto International Produktions GmbH filed Critical Esselte Meto International GmbH
Priority to AT8989308206T priority Critical patent/ATE104601T1/de
Publication of EP0354815A2 publication Critical patent/EP0354815A2/de
Publication of EP0354815A3 publication Critical patent/EP0354815A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0354815B1 publication Critical patent/EP0354815B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J3/00—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed
    • B41J3/36—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed for portability, i.e. hand-held printers or laptop printers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J23/00—Power drives for actions or mechanisms
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J33/00—Apparatus or arrangements for feeding ink ribbons or like character-size impression-transfer material
    • B41J33/14—Ribbon-feed devices or mechanisms
    • B41J33/54—Ribbon-feed devices or mechanisms for ensuring maximum life of the ribbon
    • B41J33/58—Ribbon fed angularly

Definitions

  • This invention relates to print systems and, more particularly but not exclusively, is concerned with systems for printing bar codes.
  • Bar codes are now widely used for ready identification and tracking of products, samples and documents. For example, they are finding increasing uses in medical, pharmaceutical and research centres as well as in retail areas. Bar codes are now widely used at goods-in and check-out locations associated, for example, with retail trading. They facilitate the use of fully automatic in-and-out systems and, in some instances, do away with the need for price labels on the products. Many supermarkets stock 25,000 to 30,000 items for sale, however, and do not have sufficient shelf space to allocate all of these items to a particular position; as a result, even if there is a bar code on such products, there is still a need for price marking. Nevertheless, the use of a bar code scanning system to identify the goods may reduce labour requirements significantly and thus produce considerable savings.
  • a retail outlet In order to apply price labels to items already carrying a bar code, and to add a bar code to those products which are not coded at source, it is common for a retail outlet to use one or more label printers. These may be hand-held, portable or fixed in position. Typically, three stationary printers may be used by up to ten people. Strips of labels will be printed and taken to the product and either applied by hand or with a dispenser. Some retailers consider that it is more economical for each operative to have his own hand-held bar code label printer.
  • a national bar code has been allocated to a given product, this will normally be used by the retailer if no manufacturer's bar code is present. For products where no such national bar code has been allocated, it is up to the retailer to decide on his own bar code number. Typically, this number might be based on the numbering system used by the retailer before the introduction of bar code scanning to his store. In practice, the person generating bar codes with a printer will have with him source material which indicates the nature of the bar code for each product where a label is required.
  • bar codes are useful in patient identification, specimen collection and distribution, pharmaceuticals distribution, document tracking, and management applications such as accounting, time recording/allocating, supplies management, and tracking of personnel and documents.
  • Hand-held labelling machines typically comprise a housing which is supported by a handle. Such a machine may include a label supply roll within said housing; a printing unit; and a keyboard for inputting data.
  • a label supply roll within said housing
  • a printing unit for inputting data.
  • an operative will input the bar code number via the keyboard, and then activate a label feed mechanism and the printing unit to apply the requested bar code to one of the labels on the supply roll.
  • the label feed mechanism moves the supply roll so that the printed label is accessible for application to the appropriate goods item.
  • thermographic print head This may print directly onto a label forming part of a roll of such labels, or it may print via a thermal transfer ribbon onto a label. Where a thermal transfer ribbon is used, this moves through the printing station of the bar code printer simultaneously with strip fed out from the roll of labels. As a result, the thermal transfer ribbon is a bulky item which needs to be accommodated in or close to the bar code printer, generally packaged as a cassette, and furthermore a considerable quantity of ink contained in the transfer ribbon is wasted.
  • a further difficulty associated with conventional bar code thermal printers is their electrical requirements, in particular the need for high peak currents which tend to reduce the operating life of the print head.
  • the present invention seeks to obviate or ameliorate these problems by providing modifications to the standard printing technologies and power supply systems.
  • U.S. 4,712,113 discloses a thermal printing apparatus provided with a stepping motor adapted to provide ribbon slack during the printing cycle.
  • GB 2 175 253 discloses a thermal printer with a returnable carriage bearing an ink ribbon cassette adapted so as to be able to print in both directions of carriage travel.
  • GB 2 192 591 discloses an ink ribbon cartridge adapted to ensure that any misalignment of the cartridge on the printer does not affect the alignment of the ribbon with the printhead.
  • a printer which comprises a housing; a printing unit; means for feeding to said printing unit a substrate onto which indicia are to be printed; means for feeding a thermal transfer ribbon to said printing unit; means for providing electrical power to operate the printer; and separate drive means for the substrate and the thermal transfer ribbon permitting independent movement of said substrate and said thermal transfer ribbon within said printing unit, characterised in that said separate drive means are arranged to move said ribbon and said substrate while printing takes place and to rewind said ribbon by a predetermined amount for re-use after a preselected number of printing steps have been effected.
  • a printer in accordance with this invention may be constructed and arranged for use as a stationary (fixed) printer; as a portable printer; or as a hand-held printer.
  • thermal transfer ribbon Since the substrate and the thermal transfer ribbon are able to travel independently of one another within the printing unit, the need for synchronism in movement between substrate and thermal transfer ribbon is obviated. Thus more efficient use of thermal transfer ribbon can be achieved, e.g. by facilitating the use of multistrike thermal tape.
  • Separate drive means are used for the substrate (e.g. a roll of labels) and for the thermal transfer ribbon.
  • the two drive means may act simultaneously or sequentially.
  • the drive means for the substrate may or may not also act to move the thermal transfer ribbon; in other words, it is permissible (and may in some embodiments be advantageous) for the thermal transfer ribbon to be subject to the action of its own drive means and in addition to the action of the drive means for the substrate.
  • the thermal transfer ribbon and the substrate move in synchronism until the thermal transfer ribbon is used up, after which the ribbon is rewound and used again in its original orientation.
  • the pressure between the print head and the ribbon may need to be released; in some ribbons, however, slippage between ribbon and substrate allows rewinding without the need for such pressure release.
  • the thermal transfer ribbon can be partially rewound after each individual printing operation has been completed.
  • the thermal transfer tape may be rewound to its starting position after each of the labels has been printed. This may lead to deterioration of print quality in a large run of identical labels, since the same areas of the thermal transfer ribbon will be used repeatedly, thus leading to a progressively fainter image.
  • the rewind mechanism can be arranged to rewind the thermal transfer ribbon by a predetermined amount of its forward travel after a preselected number of printing steps have been completed.
  • the rewind will occur after each individual label from a roll or strip of usually identical labels has been printed.
  • a degree of rewind equivalent to about 90% of the forward travel is presently considered advantageous because this effectively increases the operating life of a given length of thermal transfer ribbon by a factor of 10 (compared to single strike tape) - without introducing any noticeable deterioration in print quality.
  • the degree of rewind should be chosen so that adequate print quality is obtained throughout a printing operation.
  • the thermal transfer tape is arranged to travel in a direction which is the same as, or 180° with respect to, that of the substrate onto which indicia are to be printed. In some embodiments of the invention, however, this co-linearity of direction of travel is dispensed with. In other words, the travel direction of the thermal transfer tape may be oblique with respect to the travel direction of the substrate. This is possible where the tape is able to slide across the face of the substrate, or where the printing menchanism permits there to be a minute gap between substrate and tape during actual printing, or where it is possible to provide a mechanism to move the tape slightly apart from the substrate between momentary contacts at which print transfer occurs.
  • Such mechanisms will generally require a small contact pressure to be repeatedly applied, released and then re-applied between the tape and the substrate. This may be achieved, for example, by piezolectric action. It is therefore advantageous to use a system which permits the existence of a small gap regardless of whether or not print transfer is occurring.
  • One such system is the sublimation printing process; this will be referred to again hereinafter.
  • the printer also to include means for measuring displacement of the substrate as it travels through the printing unit.
  • a digital displacement measuring means or encoder it is particularly useful for a digital displacement measuring means or encoder to be used and for the gearing between substrate and for such a digital encoder to be arranged so that pulses from the encoder occur in synchronism with the pulses of electrical power applied to the print head.
  • the timing of the printing signals is simplified because they are exactly correlated with the digital encoder signals.
  • the encoder is preferably driven by the surface of the substrate (rather than from the centre of the label roll which will vary in speed as the radius of the roll changes).
  • the displacement measuring means may be in the form of an acceleration sensor.
  • the sensor may be arranged to sense acceleration of the paper roll from which the paper substrate is supplied to the print head.
  • the thermal transfer ribbon for a particular intended use, e.g. for use with labels.
  • the area of the ribbon which carries ink can be matched to the area of the strip carrying labels.
  • the ribbon can be produced with more than one ink colour, so that different regions of substrate, e.g. of each label, are printed in different colours.
  • the extent of rewind at any given point relative to the advance of the substrate may allow selection of different colours present in bands across the width of the tape or ribbon.
  • Synchronism of movement between thermal transfer ribbon and the substrate can also be avoided if instead of conventional thermal transfer printing, the system is designed to operate by the sublimation thermal transfer print technique.
  • the solid ink on the ribbon is converted directly to a vapour by sublimation.
  • the power to the print head can be varied, resulting in different amounts of ink subliming and re-condensing on the substrate as a function of the temperature generated in the print head. In this way, it is possible to generate grey levels by varying the amount of ink transferred. This is impossible with conventional melt thermal transfer printing.
  • a printer which comprises a housing; a printing unit; means for feeding to said printing unit a substrate onto which indicia are to be printed; means for feeding a sublimation thermal transfer ribbon to said printing unit; means for providing electrical power to operate the printer; and separate drive means for the substrate and the thermal transfer ribbon permitting independent movement of said substrate and said thermal transfer ribbon within said printing unit, characterised in that said drive means are arranged to move said thermal transfer ribbon in a spiral path with respect to the direction of travel of said substrate while printing, and in that said printer includes an electricity generator as the, or as an auxiliary, source of power.
  • Sublimation thermal transfer is particularly valuable for producing near-photographic quality prints where a full range of colour tones can be obtained from a limited number of ink colours.
  • a very small gap between ribbon and substrate also allows the ribbon to travel at a slower speed than the substrate (e.g. a strip of labels), thereby increasing the efficiency of use of ink.
  • the ribbon is not constrained to travel in the same direction as the substrate.
  • a printer in accordance with the present invention may include a power source which is intended to function as the main source of electrical power or as an auxiliary source of electrical power.
  • the printer may include one or more solar cells which may, for example, be arranged to input electrical energy to a storage device within the printer.
  • a printer in accordance with the present invention includes a dynamo as the, or as an auxiliary, source of power.
  • the dynamo may be driven by manual movement of a trigger which serves to drive a mechanical winding mechanism to advance the substrate through the printing unit and/or out of the printer.
  • Alternative driving arrangements for the rotor of the dynamo are also available; for example, the rotor of the dynamo may be driven by a rotating winding mechanism, e.g. for a roll of labels, or by the label applicator roll, when applying a label.
  • the inertial effect caused by movement of the printer (when fabricated, for example, as a hand-held printer) may also be used to drive the dynamo.
  • thermographic print head for example a solid state thermographic print head, forming the active part of said printing unit.
  • the electrical power generated by the dynamo in a capacitor or other electrical energy storage means.
  • the power generated by the dynamo may be used to charge one or more rechargeable batteries which provide electrical power for the printer.
  • a printer in accordance with this invention includes means whereby it can function in, and switch automatically between, the direct print mode or the transfer print mode.
  • a sensor e.g. a microswitch may be incorporated in a location such that insertion or extraction of a transfer tape cassette actuates the microswitch so as to adjust the operational parameters of the printing unit as required.
  • Other sensors may be incorporated into the printer if desired, e.g. to monitor and/or adjust its operating parameters.
  • the power supply for use in a hand-held printer (such as a labelling machine suitable for printing bar codes onto labels from a rolled strip) comprises a dynamo indicated generally at 20.
  • the dynamo comprises a rotor 21 and a stator 22.
  • Rotor 21 is driven by a gear train 23 coupled to a manually-operated trigger 200 (see Fig. 3a) which also serves to advance the rolled strip of blank labels to the printing unit which includes a print head 27 of the printer. Squeezing the trigger 200 causes the wheels of gear train 23 to rotate which in turn causes rotor 21 to rotate thereby generating an electrical output in leads 24 and 25.
  • a power control circuit shown schematically at 26 which in turn is linked to the print head 27 of the printer through a capacitor 28 and a diode 29.
  • the power control circuit 26 serves to maintain capacitor 28 in fully charged condition, so that the power supply available to print head 27 remains substantially constant.
  • FIG. 3b there is shown a hand-held printer which is similar to that of Fig. 3a.
  • Both printers include a housing 201 comprising a handle portion 202 and a body portion 203.
  • a substrate 54 in the form of a strip of labels 56 is fed from a supply roll 57 into the printer.
  • the supply roll is housed within an extension 58 of body portion 201.
  • the strip 54 is fed to print head 27, and printed labels 56 issue from the printer via a slot 204.
  • the body portion 207 has mounted thereon two panels 205, 206 of solar cells whose output is linked to a storage battery 207.
  • Print head 50 is in contact with a sublimation thermal transfer ribbon 51 fed between spools 52 and 53.
  • a strip of labels 54 which are to be printed travels past print head 50 and ribbon 51 spaced from the latter by a small gap 55. Heat from the heating elements of the print head 50 causes ink in ribbon 51 to sublime and recondense across gap 55 onto labels in the strip 54.
  • the gap 55 removes the need for synchronicity between movement of strip 54 and tape 51.
  • the strip of labels 54 moves in one direction while the thermal transfer tape 51 moves obliquely thereto.
  • the angle theta is about 60°.
  • the line 60 marks the line at which transfer of print occurs from tape 51 to labels on the strip 54.
  • Such diagonal transfer tape movement permits the use of a narrower thermal transfer ribbon than is needed for co-linear movement, and can travel at a correspondingly higher speed.
  • Narrow ribbons are sometimes preferred since they permit easier guidance of the ribbon within a cassette.
  • Figure 6 illustrates an alternative arrangement in which the thermal transfer tape 51 follows a spiral course having two revolutions 61 and 62.
  • the label strip 54 thus passes through the interior volume generated by the revolutions 61 and 62 (this volume, in practice, will be markedly flattened or lamellar).

Landscapes

  • Impression-Transfer Materials And Handling Thereof (AREA)
  • Printers Characterized By Their Purpose (AREA)
  • Electronic Switches (AREA)
  • Labeling Devices (AREA)
  • Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)

Claims (17)

  1. Drucker, beinhaltend ein Gehäuse (201); eine Druckeinheit; eine Einrichtung, die in die Druckeinheit ein Substrat speist, das mit Kennzeichnungen zu bedrucken ist; eine Einrichtung, die ein Thermotransferbandes (51) in die Druckeinheit speist; eine Einrichtung, die elektrische Energie zum Betrieb des Druckers bereitstellt; sowie für das Substrat und das Thermotransferband getrennte Antriebseinrichtungen, die ein selbstständiges Bewegen des Substrats und des Thermotransferbandes in der Druckeinheit erlauben;
       dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die getrennt angeordneten Antriebseinrichtungen während des Druckens das Band (51) und das Substrat (54) bewegen und
       daß nach einer vorgewählten Zahl von Druckschritten das Band (51) für eine Wiederverwendung mit einem vorbestimmten Umfang zurückgespult wird.
  2. Drucker nach Anspruch 1, wobei die getrennt angeordneten Antriebseinrichtungen das Band (51) und das Substrat (54) synchron bis zum Bandende bewegen, wonach das Band zurückgespult und wiederverwendet wird.
  3. Drucker nach Anspruch 1 oder 2, wobei das Substrat (54) eine Etikettenrolle ist und die vorgewählte Zahl von Druckschritten dem Kennzeichendruck auf einem Etikett aus einem Streifen identischer Etiketten entspricht.
  4. Drucker nach Anspruch 1, 2 oder 3, wobei der vorbestimmte Umfang, mit dem das Band zurückgespult wird, 90 % des Bandvorschubs bei der vorgewählten Zahl von Schritten entspricht.
  5. Drucker nach irgendeinem vorhergehenden Anspruch, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Band (51) ein Sublimations-Thermotransferband ist.
  6. Drucker nach irgendeinem vorhergehenden Anspruch, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Drucker Meßeinrichtungen zum Messen des Versatzes des Thermotransferbandes (51) aufweist.
  7. Drucker nach Anspruch 6, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß die Einrichtung zum Messen des Versatzes des Substrats (54), wenn dieses durch die Druckeinheit läuft, eine elektronische Meßeinrichtung oder ein Codierwerk aufweist.
  8. Drucker nach Anspruch 7, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Drucker so angeordnet und eingerichtet ist, daß die Pulse vom Codierwerk synchron mit den elektrischen Betriebsimpulsen am Druckkopf (27) erfolgen.
  9. Drucker nach irgendeinem vorhergehenden Anspruch, wobei die Wegrichtung des Thermostreifens oder -bandes (51) unabhängig ist von der Wegrichtung des Substrats (54).
  10. Drucker nach Anspruch 9, wobei das Band (51) so angeordnet ist, daß es schräg zum Substrat (54) verläuft.
  11. Drucker nach Anspruch 10, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß das Band (51) so angeordnet ist, daß es sich hinsichtlich der Wegrichtung des Substrats (54) spiralförmig bewegt.
  12. Drucker, beinhaltend ein Gehäuse (201); eine Druckeinheit; eine Einrichtung, die ein Substrat (54), auf das die Kennzeichen zu drucken sind, in die Druckeinheit speist; eine Einrichtung, die ein Sublimations-Thermotransferband (51) in die Druckeinheit speist; eine Einrichtung, die elektrische Energie zum Betrieb des Druckers bereitstellt; und für das Substrat und das Thermotransband getrennte Antriebseinrichtungen, die ein selbstständiges Bewegen des Substrats (54) und des Thermotransferbandes (51) in der Druckeinheit erlauben; dadurch gekennzeichnet,
       daß die Antriebseinrichtungen so angeordnet sind, daß beim Drucken das Thermotransferband (51) hinsichtlich der Wegrichtung des Substrats (54) spiralförmig verläuft und
       daß der Drucker als Energie- oder Hilfsenergiequelle einen Stromgenerator aufweist.
  13. Drucker nach Anspruch 12, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Stromgenerator ein Dynamo (20) ist.
  14. Drucker nach Anspruch 13, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Dynamo (20) von einem sich drehenden Spulenmechanismus (21, 23) angetrieben wird.
  15. Drucker nach Anspruch 13, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß der Dynamo (20) von der Bewegung eines Hebels (200) angetrieben wird, der als mechanischer Spulenmechanismus dient, so daß das Substrat (54) durch die Druckeinheit bewegt und/oder aus dem Drucker ausgeworfen wird.
  16. Drucker nach Anspruch 12, dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß eine oder mehrere Solarzellen (205, 206) den Stromgenerator bilden.
  17. Drucker nach irgendeinem der vorhergehenden Ansprüche 12 bis 16, wobei Einrichtungen (28, 207) bereitgestellt sind, die die vom Stromgenerator gelieferte elektrische Energie speichern.
EP19890308206 1988-08-12 1989-08-11 Druckverfahren Expired - Lifetime EP0354815B1 (de)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
AT8989308206T ATE104601T1 (de) 1988-08-12 1989-08-11 Druckverfahren.

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB8819180 1988-08-12
GB8819180A GB2223455A (en) 1988-08-12 1988-08-12 Thermal printing
GB888829670A GB8829670D0 (en) 1988-12-20 1988-12-20 Improvements relating to printing systems
GB8829670 1988-12-20

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0354815A2 EP0354815A2 (de) 1990-02-14
EP0354815A3 EP0354815A3 (en) 1990-12-05
EP0354815B1 true EP0354815B1 (de) 1994-04-20

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Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19890308206 Expired - Lifetime EP0354815B1 (de) 1988-08-12 1989-08-11 Druckverfahren

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EP (1) EP0354815B1 (de)
JP (1) JP2721711B2 (de)
DE (1) DE68914747T2 (de)

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JPS63151474A (ja) * 1986-12-15 1988-06-24 Fujitsu Ltd 熱転写記録装置
JPS63302078A (ja) * 1987-06-02 1988-12-08 Seiko Epson Corp 紙送り装置
GB8725619D0 (en) * 1987-11-02 1987-12-09 Roneo Alcatel Ltd Feed for thermal printing ribbon

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH02153769A (ja) 1990-06-13
JP2721711B2 (ja) 1998-03-04
EP0354815A3 (en) 1990-12-05
DE68914747T2 (de) 1994-11-24
EP0354815A2 (de) 1990-02-14
DE68914747D1 (de) 1994-05-26

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