Preferred embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying figures.
As shown in
The print media processing apparatus 1 can also read both sides of a card C that is inserted from a card insertion slot 20 as the card C is conveyed through a second paper transportation path P2 that is also rendered in the printer case 1a. The print media processing apparatus 1 also has a roll paper compartment 30a (see
A validation slip insertion slot 40 is rendered above the straight portion on the downstream side of the paper transportation path P1 as shown in
The print media processing apparatus 1 in this embodiment of the invention is thus a multifunction hybrid printer that has an image scanner function, a magnetic ink character reader function, and printing functions for printing on checks S, roll paper, and validation slips.
As shown in
The reading devices are disposed in this middle transportation path M. As shown in
As shown in
The transportation means disposed in the paper transportation path P1 for conveying the checks S includes paper transportation rollers 6 on the upstream side of the middle transportation path M, middle transportation rollers 16 disposed in the middle transportation path M, second transportation rollers 7 located on the downstream side of the middle transportation path M, and discharge rollers 8 before the paper exit 4.
The paper transportation rollers 6 include a drive roller 6a on one side of the paper transportation path P1 and a pressure roller 6b disposed on the other side of the paper transportation path P1 opposite the drive roller 6a.
The second transportation rollers 7 include a drive roller 7a on one side of the paper transportation path P1 and a pressure roller 7b disposed on the other side of the paper transportation path P1 opposite the drive roller 7a.
As shown in
A check S fed into the paper transportation path P1 by the ASF 3 is conveyed through the middle transportation path M by the paper transportation rollers 6, the middle transportation rollers 16, and the second transportation rollers 7, and is then discharged in the direction of arrow B from the paper exit 4 by the discharge rollers 8.
If the width (height) of a check S is shorter than a predetermined amount, the upper pressure roller 16b and the drive roller 17 in the middle transportation roller 16 assembly are used to convey the check S. If the width (height) of the check S is greater than or equal to this predetermined amount, the bottom pressure roller 16a, the upper pressure roller 16b, and the drive roller 17 of the middle transportation roller 16 assembly convey the check S.
As shown in
The card reversing path 21 is demarcated by straight guides 21a and 21b disposed extending in line from the left side of the middle transportation path M as shown in
A first image scanner 11 and a second image scanner 12 for scanning slips and cards are disposed on the middle transportation path M at offset positions along the transportation direction as shown in
A magnetic ink character reading device (MICR) 13 for reading magnetic ink characters is disposed below the drive roller 17. The MICR 13 is a sensor for reading magnetic ink characters printed on the face of the check S. The MICR 13 reads the surface of the check S pressed against the surface of the MICR 13 by a pressure lever disposed opposite the MICR 13 on the other side of the middle transportation path M. In this embodiment of the invention, the MICR 13 is disposed for reading the magnetic ink character recording area containing the checking account number and other information printed in magnetic ink.
As shown in
The print media processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment of the invention can switch the printing mode between a so-called stationary paper mode and a stationary print head mode. In the stationary paper mode the check or other print medium is held stationary while the print head 19 prints by moving horizontally over the print medium. In the stationary print head mode, the print head 19 remains stationary and prints while the print medium is moved passed the print head 19. If the ink nozzle array of the print head is longer than the length of one line, the stationary print head mode enables completing printing with a single transportation operation without stopping the print medium.
The paper detectors disposed in the paper transportation path P1 are described next. As shown in
The ASF detector 9 is disposed near the discharge side end of the ASF 3 to detect a check S delivered from the ASF 3.
The TOF detector 10 is disposed between the ASF 3 and first image scanner 11 for detecting media delivered to the first image scanner 11.
The validation slip detector 26 is disposed in the straight portion on the downstream side of the second transportation rollers 7, and detects if a validation slip is inserted from the validation slip insertion slot 40 and if a check S is conveyed from the middle transportation path M.
The discharge detector 28 is disposed near the paper exit 4 and detects each check S discharged from the paper exit 4.
A card detector 25 for detecting cards C is disposed in the paper transportation path P2. The card detector 25 is located near the card insertion slot 20 for detecting cards C inserted from the card insertion slot 20.
The internal arrangement of a print media processing system 50 according to another aspect of at least one embodiment of the invention is described next with reference to
The print media processing system 50 includes a host computer 110 and a print media processing apparatus 1 that is communicably connected to the host computer 110.
The host computer 110 has a control unit 111 and controls general operation of the print media processing system 50. In this aspect of the invention, the control unit 111 interprets magnetic ink character data and image data sent from the print media processing apparatus 1 and determines whether the MICR 13 and image scanners 11 and 12 are operating normally. The control unit 111 generates a command based on the result of this determination and outputs the command to the print media processing apparatus 1.
As shown in
The communication interface 109 is the communication control unit for communicating with the host computer 110, and may be rendered using a USB interface or a serial interface, for example. The communication interface 109 passes commands and data sent from the host computer 110 to RAM 102, and passes status signals (signals indicating the state of the print media processing apparatus 1) generated by the CPU 101, the magnetic ink character data, and image data to the host computer 110.
The CPU 101 is the control center of the print media processing apparatus 1 and controls overall operation of the print media processing apparatus 1 by running firmware stored in flash ROM 103 in response to commands from the host computer 110.
The RAM 102 is volatile memory provided as temporary storage for the print media processing apparatus 1, and functions as a data buffer for CPU 101 operations, a receive buffer for temporarily storing commands and print data sent from the host computer 110, an image data buffer for temporarily storing image data captured by the image scanners 11 and 12 and magnetic ink character data read by the MICR 13, and a print buffer (output buffer) for storing the converted image data for printing.
The flash ROM 103 is rewritable non-volatile memory provided as a data storage area for the print media processing apparatus 1, and primarily stores the firmware run by the CPU 101 and settings for the print media processing apparatus 1. As noted above, the CPU 101 controls the print media processing apparatus 1 by running the firmware stored in this flash ROM 103 using the settings (parameters) stored in the same flash ROM 103.
The internal processes of the print media processing apparatus 1 are described next with reference to
The print data temporarily stored in the output buffer 55 is converted in a data conversion process run by the print data conversion unit 57 to dot pattern data conforming to the nozzle array of the print head 19, and is stored to the output buffer 55.
The static data storage area 56 stores common static data that is printed on more than one check S, and when the print data conversion process converts the static data portion of the print data, the converted static data portion is copied to the static data storage area 56. The print data conversion process is further described below.
The print control unit 105 drives the print head 19 based on the dot pattern data stored in the output buffer 55, and prints an endorsement on the back of a check S by printing an image on the check S.
A main control unit 63 reads the control command data temporarily stored in the control command buffer 54 to control the scanning of checks S by means of the image scanners 11 and 12, reading magnetic ink characters by means of the MICR 13, conveying the checks S, and control media detection by means of the paper detectors disposed in the transportation path by means of the image reading control unit 108, the MICR control unit 104, the transportation control unit 106, and the paper detector control unit 107.
Data captured by the image reading control unit 108 and the MICR control unit 104 is sequentially transferred through a transmission unit 64 to the host computer 110, and the control unit 111 of the host computer 110 determines if the data was read correctly.
The MICR control unit 104 is a driver for controlling driving the MICR 13. More specifically, the MICR control unit 104 generates a reading sampling pulse that is output to the MICR 13 in response to commands from the CPU 101, and sends a digital signal representing the magnetic ink characters read by the MICR 13 to the RAM 102. The magnetic ink character data printed on the check S is thus stored in RAM 102. The magnetic ink character data is then sequentially output to the host computer 110 (see
The print control unit 105 is a driver for controlling driving of the print mechanism 15 including the carriage 14 and the print head 19. More specifically, the print control unit 105 drives the carriage 14 and print head 19 simultaneously according to the print data to discharge ink from the print head 19 onto the check S, roll paper, or validation slip and print images or text on the print medium.
In this embodiment of the invention the control unit 111 of the host computer 110 determines if the corresponding image areas (the area containing the payee, date, and amount information) of the check S were correctly read by the MICR 13 and the image scanners 11 and 12, and controls the printing operation accordingly.
The transportation control unit 106 is a driver for controlling conveying checks S, cards C, roll paper, and validation slips. To convey a check S, the transportation control unit 106 drives a stepping motor (not shown in the figure) to drive the ASF 3 and transportation rollers 6, 7, 8 and 16 to carry the check S through the paper transportation path P1. To convey a card C, the transportation control unit 106 drives the same stepping motor to drive the middle transportation rollers 16 and reversing transportation rollers 22 to carry the card C through the paper transportation path P2.
The paper detector control unit 107 is a detector driver for driving the ASF detector 9, the TOF detector 10, the validation slip detector 26, the discharge detector 28, and the card detector 25. More specifically, the paper detector control unit 107 produces the media detection sampling pulses that are output to the detectors 9, 10, 25, 26, and 28.
The image reading control unit 108 is an image scanner driver for controlling the first image scanner 11 and the second image scanner 12. More specifically, the image reading control unit 108 outputs a scanning trigger signal to the image scanners 11 and 12, A/D converts and buffers the electric signals output by the photodetectors of the image scanners 11 and 12 line by line, and sends the buffered digital signals for one line to the RAM 102. A two-dimensional image of the check S or card C is thus gradually assembled in RAM 102. The resulting image data is then sent to the host computer 110, and the control unit 111 determines if the image data was correctly read.
The control unit 111 of the host computer 110 includes a communication unit 112 and a driver 113. The read commands (read instructions), start print data conversion commands (print data conversion command), and stop print data conversion commands generated by the driver 113 are output through the communication unit 112 to the print media processing apparatus 1. The read data that is captured in response to a read command and is returned by the transmission unit 64 of the print media processing apparatus 1 is also received by the communication unit 112.
The process whereby the print media processing system 50 according to this embodiment of the invention prints a check S is described next with reference to
The host computer 110 first sends the print data used for printing a check to the print media processing apparatus 1 (step S1). The print media processing apparatus 1 then temporarily stores the print data received in the receive buffer 52 in the output buffer 55 in the RAM 102 (step S2). The print data conversion unit 57 then reads and converts the print data from the output buffer 55 to print image data (step S3) and writes the print image data to the output buffer 55 (step S4). The converted image data is stored in the output buffer 55. This sequence results in the image data used for printing being prepared in the print media processing apparatus 1 for printing.
When an appropriate command is received from the host computer 110 (step S5), the image reading control unit 108 executes the image scanning process using the image scanners 11 and 12 to scan and image the check S. The MICR control unit 104 also executes the MICR process to drive the MICR 13 and read the magnetic ink characters printed in the magnetic ink character area of the check S (step S6). The read information is sequentially converted to digital signals, and the recognition result from the MICR 13 is output as the magnetic ink character data together with the image data to the host computer 110 through the communication interface 109 (step S7).
If a print command is included in the commands sent from the host computer 110 in step S5, the print control unit 105 reads the print image data previously stored in the output buffer 55 after the reading process (step S8) and prints the check S (step S9). When printing ends, the transportation control unit 106 discharges the check S from the paper exit 4 (step S10).
If the host computer 110 sends the print command after the read image and MICR data is sent to the host computer 110, the print media processing apparatus 1 waits to receive the print command before reading the print image data previously stored in the output buffer of the RAM 102 (step S8) and printing by means of the print mechanism 15 (step S9). Printing can be completed more quickly in this case if the printing mode is changed from the stationary paper mode (serial printing) to the stationary print head mode (line printing), and printing proceeds simultaneously with imaging and reading. The printed check is then discharged by suitably controlling the transportation control unit 106 and paper detector control unit 107 (step S10), and the printing job is completed.
Scanning and printing a single check S is described above. The process for continuously scanning and printing a plurality of checks S is described with reference to
In addition to the conventional single scanning command, the print media processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment of the invention adds a continuous scanning command to the magnetic ink character reading process to continuously scan checks until there are no checks S left in the ASF 3. Continuously reading the checks S enables high speed check processing. The host computer 110 can also selectively use the single slip scanning command (emphasizing check processing reliability) and the continuous scanning command (emphasizing check processing speed) according to the conditions.
After receiving the print data setup command (step S26), interrupt parameter configuration command (step S27), and continuous scanning command (including the type of scanning operation) (step S28) from the host computer 110, the print media processing apparatus 1 executes the image scanning process and magnetic ink character reading process (step S21) and the printing process (step S22), and then returns the requested data from the scanned data to the host computer 110 (step S29). If there is still another check S to be processed and a cause for interrupting operation is not detected (step S23 returns Yes), the scanned slip is discharged while simultaneously feeding the next slip for processing (step S25), and the scanning process repeats. If processing does not continue (step S23 returns No), the slip is discharged (step S24) and a termination status signal is returned to the host computer (step S30).
This embodiment of the invention executes both the image scanning process and the magnetic ink character reading process when scanning one check S as shown in
When continuously processing media as shown in
Discharging one check and feeding the next check proceed as parallel operations in the print media processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment of the invention. However, whether to continue the continuous media processing operation or scan the next check when an error occurs can be determined in advance. Such errors may include detecting a double feed, being unable to detect a magnetic waveform, the number of unrecognizable characters exceeding the allowed limit in the magnetic signal interpreting process, or exceeding the noise threshold. If a cancel command is sent to the print media processing apparatus 1 while continuously processing checks as described above, the continuous processing operation can be interrupted. Processing any check S for which processing had already started at this time is completed before the operation is cancelled.
The print media processing apparatus according to this embodiment of the invention is thus arranged so that print data is supplied to the print media processing apparatus 1 from the host computer and the print data is converted for printing before printing starts. The print image data can therefore be read immediately from memory when printing starts, and the printing process can be accelerated.
The processes for continuously scanning and printing checks S described above are described in further detail next with reference to
As shown in
Communication between the host computer 110 and print media processing apparatus 1 is described next.
When the user selects continuous check S processing (which is done by selecting checks as the active sheet), a start print data conversion command is output through the communication unit 112 to the print media processing apparatus 1 (step S41, step S42). The endorsement print data to be printed is then sent, the print data conversion unit 57 converts the endorsement print data into the output buffer 55, and conversion ends when the stop print data conversion command is received (step S43, step S44).
The continuous scanning process and printing process can run as parallel operations by thus sending the endorsement print data from the host computer 110 and writing the converted print data to the output buffer 55 before executing the image scanning and MICR processes. Compared with the conventional method of individually sending the data read from each check S to the host computer 110, verifying if the data was read correctly, and then sending the print data to the print media processing apparatus 1 for the printing process, the invention enables faster processing because the same print data sent to the print media processing apparatus 1 at the beginning of operation is used to print an endorsement on a plurality of checks S regardless of the result of the scanning operation.
When the conversion of the endorsement print data is finished, the multiple checks S to be scanned are inserted to the ASF 3 in response to an insertion setup command from the host computer 110. When the ASF detector 9 then detects that a check S is inserted, an insertion ready command is returned, and the image scanning and magnetic ink character reading process starts when the read command is received (step S45, step S46, step S47). When the check S reaches the print head 19, the print control unit 105 starts printing the endorsement on the check S (step S48). The image reading control unit 108 and MICR control unit 104 sequentially output the read data to the host computer 110, and the host computer 110 interprets the read data (step S49). When all checks S in the ASF 3 have been scanned, the print media processing apparatus 1 sends a scanning termination command to the host computer 110 (step S50).
The process for converting the endorsement print data printed on the back of the checks S is described next with reference to
The endorsement print data conversion process starts when a start conversion command is received from the host computer 110 and ends when a stop conversion command is received (step S42 and step S44 in
In this example, the print data printed in the static data portion of the endorsement print data is “ABCDE BANK,” the value of a counter is the print data printed in the variable data portion, the counter reading is inserted after the “ABC” portion of the static data, and the remaining “DE BANK” portion of the static data is inserted after the variable data.
Configurable counter parameters include the initial count, the number of digits in the count, and the increment or decrement value. In this example the initial count is set to 00011, the number of digits is five, and the increment or decrement is +1. The format of the count can also be defined, and in this aspect of the invention can be set to be right justified with spaces added to the left of the count, zero fill with zeroes inserted to the left of the count, or left justified with spaces added to the right of the count. Zero fill is used in this example.
The “ABC” portion of the static data is first converted and written to the output buffer 55 when the start conversion command is received from the host computer 110 (see step S11 in
When the stop conversion command is then received from the host computer 110, converting the static data part of the endorsement data ends, and the converted static data is copied to the static data storage area 56 (see step S14, Yes; step S15 in
The second check S is advanced simultaneously with discharging of the first check S (the ASF detector 9 detects another slip and step S18 returns No), and the constant data copied to the static data storage area 56 in step S15 is copied back to the output buffer 55 (see step S19 in
The print data conversion process of the print media processing apparatus 1 according to this embodiment of the invention thus divides the endorsement print data into a static data portion that is printed on every check S, and a variable data portion that differs on each check. A different unique endorsement can therefore be printed on each check processed by the image scanners 11 and 12 and MICR 13. This enables printing a sequence number on each of the plural checks S processed in a continuous scanning operation triggered by a single read command. The variable data portion can also be aligned with the static data portion because the variable portion is always inserted to the same predetermined position regardless of the value of the counter.
The counter can also be freely controlled because the initial count and the increment or decrement can be specified as desired. If the read command is asserted multiple times, for example, the format of the count can be changed in each read command so that a non-repeating sequence number can be printed on all checks S processed in response to the multiple read commands.
The static data portion and the variable data portion will also not be printed in an overlapping manner because the number of digits in the count can be specified to reserve enough space to write that number of digits in the variable data portion. The printing format can therefore be controlled to afford a highly legible endorsement because the static data “DE BANK” following the count “00011” can also be printed starting from a constant predetermined position.
Furthermore, because a static data storage area 56 for storing only the static data part of the print data is provided in addition to the output buffer 55 for buffering the endorsement print data that is actually printed, only the print data that is actually printed on a single check S is temporarily stored in the output buffer 55 even if numerous checks S are processed by a single read command, and the invention can therefore be used in print media processing apparatuses having limited storage capacity.
A variation of the above print data conversion process is described next with reference to
The static data “ABC” is first written to the output buffer 55 when the start conversion command is received from the host computer 110 (step S31). The current conversion position (before converting the value from the counter) is then stored. More specifically, the size of one digit in the count is calculated from the current print settings (including the font, size, space to the right of an ANK character, rotation), and the position leaving a space equal to five digits is set as the position where the next converted print data is written (step S32). The remaining static data, “DE BANK,” is then converted and written from this position (step S33).
The static data is then written to the output buffer 55 for a plurality of checks, and the count “00011” to “00015” written to each check is overwritten to the reserved variable data block (see steps S34 and S35 in
When the stop conversion command is then received from the host computer 110, the print data conversion process ends (step S36 returns Yes), and the first check S passes the print head 19, the endorsement print data shown in
Steps S37 and S38 thereafter repeat until the ASF detector 9 no longer detects a check S in the ASF 3 (step S38 returns Yes), and the print data shown in
This aspect of this variation of the invention thus writes endorsement print data to the output buffer 55 for each of the plural checks S that are scanned by a single read command. A faster printing process is therefore possible because print data containing the variable data part that is actually printed is written to the output buffer 55 before printing starts. The invention can thus be advantageously used in print media processing apparatuses for which high speed printing is a priority, and when the number of checks S processed by a single read command is small.
The invention being thus described, it will be obvious that it may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the invention, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended to be included within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2006-111052 | Apr 2006 | JP | national |