Patent Grant
7290949
The present invention relates generally to methods and apparatus for printing, and more specifically, to methods and apparatus for setting the correct print gap, and automatically adjusting the print gap, for forms of varying thickness.
In a line-impact, dot-matrix printer (LIDM printer), the distance between the impact hammers and the platen has an effect on the print quality. Since this type of printer can type on paper forms of various thicknesses, it is often necessary to adjust the distance between the impact hammers and the platen for optimum printing performance. If the distance is too large, the impact hammers do not strike the ink ribbon with enough force to transfer the ink from the ribbon to the paper. If the distance is too small, there will likely be smudging on the paper due to the hammers pressing the ribbon against the paper even when the hammers are retracted.
In conventional LIDM type printers, the distance between the platen and the impact hammers is adjusted manually. Adjustment typically begins by setting a large distance and then reducing the distance until ribbon smudging appears on the paper. The distance is then increased slightly until the smudging disappears. Arriving at the optimal distance requires some experience on the part of the user, and the process must be repeated each time a new supply of paper is loaded into the printer.
Much time would be saved if the adjustment of the distance between the platen and the impact hammers could be done automatically, without the user manually moving either the platen or impact hammers. Additionally, consistent printer performance would inevitably result as well. The problem is developing an automatic approach for determining and setting the optimal print gap distance.
In one aspect, a method of setting a “print gap” of a printer includes rotating an “eccentric” platen to set the print gap distance based upon a measured thickness of a “printing medium.” The print gap is the distance between the surface of the platen and the impact hammers. An eccentric platen is one that defines an outer surface whose distance from the center of rotation varies based on the angular position of the platen. Therefore, when the platen is rotated, the print gap distance is made to vary. A printing medium is any material that may be imprinted by the printer, such as paper, forms, and the like. In the method according to the invention, there may be various ways of measuring printing medium thickness. Some embodiments may measure the thickness directly, other embodiments may not measure the thickness directly, but may take a measure of a printing medium that is proportional to the thickness. For example, one method of determining a measure of thickness includes applying a known force against the printing medium. Once the printing medium thickness is determined by direct measurement or through a related measurement, the printer may access a table or data structure, wherein the optimal print gap is a function of the thickness of the printing medium. When the optimal print gap is determined, the eccentric platen may be commanded to move to set the correct print gap.
An automatic print gap adjustment feature can provide for other enhancements to the printer. Printing media, such as forms, often come in thicknesses that vary down the length of the page. Unfortunately, a print gap that may work well on a thick portion of the form may result in light print on the thin portion of the form. Conversely, a print gap that prints well on the thin portion of the form can result in smudging of ink on the thick portion of the form. If the thickness of the printing medium could be measured at locations where the relative thin and thick portions occur, the printer could automatically adjust the print gap when a thin or a thick portion of the printing medium is being printed. The determination of the thicknesses of a printing medium at more than one location is referred to herein as “profiling” the printing medium. Once the profile of a single printing medium is stored in the memory of a printer, the print gap distance can be automatically set to print a plurality of similar printing media with similar thickness profiles. To profile a form, a representative form is initially moved through the platen gap from top to bottom. At every ⅙″ location down the form, for example, the print gap is determined and stored in memory. The location and corresponding print gap information is later used to adjust the print gap while printing to accommodate the varying thicknesses of similar forms and maintain high print quality over the entire form from top to bottom or side to side.
In one embodiment of measuring the printing medium for thickness, a force is applied to the printing medium by a driver. To this end, an eccentric platen is rotated by the driver to decrease the print gap, eventually abutting against the printing medium which in turn abuts against the ribbon and impact hammers. At some point, the driver will be unable to rotate the platen. This position, known as the crush point, is reached when the form is compressed against the ribbon and impact hammers. The crush point can be detected through the use of a rotary position sensor, such as a potentiometer. This sensor is monitored to detect when the motor speed drops. The platen position indicated by the sensor is then recorded as the crush point for the particular form. Software running on the printer's computer system uses the crush point to determine the platen position that results in the optimal print gap.
The foregoing aspects and many of the attendant advantages of this invention will become more readily appreciated as the same become better understood by reference to the following detailed description, when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
A method for setting the print gap distance by rotational change of an eccentric platen is described. A stepper motor can be used to rotate the eccentric platen. The stepper motor may have a rotary potentiometer or similar sensor attached to the motor shaft. The sensor may be used to verify that the platen has arrived at the commanded position. An eccentric platen, a stepper motor, and a sensor may be used to determine printing medium thickness before setting the print gap. Thickness is determined by applying a force against the printing medium with the eccentric platen, and recording the position of the platen. If the position of the platen is known, and the print gap distance is known as a function of the platen position, and the optimal print gap distance is known for a given paper thickness, the appropriate print gap distance may be set automatically. The optimal print gap may vary based on a number of factors, such as printer type, printing medium type, and the thickness of the printing medium. Print gap distance and printing medium thickness may not be measured directly for feedback in control, but may be assumed from other inputs of a more readily controllable and measurable input variable, such as the motor electrical step, for example. In the description of this invention, a particular stepper motor with a specific configuration is described, however, it is to be understood that the invention is not to be limited to the specifics of the stepper motor.
Referring to
As will be discussed below, there are various methods for determining the paper thickness. Any one of the methods for determining the paper thickness may be used that includes applying a force against the paper or measuring the thickness directly. However, some methods of determining the paper thickness may have disadvantages. The method chosen for determining the paper thickness generally will depend on the equipment available and the configuration of the printer system.
Generally, the optimal print gap for any given paper will vary with printer, and may even vary between individual printers of the same model type. A curve defining the optimal print gap can be created, such that the print gap of a given printer is a function of the paper thickness. Because paper is compressible, the “crush point” of the paper may be measured as opposed to an actual “thickness.” Crush point is defined as the point at which a given motor will stall because the motor has insufficient torque to compress the paper further. Crush point is proportional to paper thickness, and a measure of the crush point may be used rather than an actual paper thickness.
Different approaches to determining thickness are possible with a stepper motor. One approach is referred to herein as “overstepping” the motor. A second approach takes advantage of a sensor to indicate the motor position at each step. Overstepping the motor includes stepping through all motor steps to drive the platen into the paper followed by reversing direction and stepping through all motor steps to a reference starting position while counting the steps needed to reach the reference starting position. The reference position may be known to be reached if indicated by a limit switch. Overstepping applies an unknown force when compressing the paper because one cannot determine how far the motor rotor lags in relation to the electrical step.
In an alternate approach, a sensor may be used to indicate the motor position and the platen position. In this approach, the limit of platen travel both to and away from the paper can be detected using the sensor to determine when the motor has stopped, either because the platen cannot compress the paper further or the platen has reached the reference starting position. A mechanical limiter, such as a stop pin, may be used to limit the platen travel at the reference position. The events of the platen contacting the stop pin or the paper are both seen by the sensor as the motor rotor not moving as far as commanded. By knowing the rotation direction, either event can be determined. The actual event of contact will also look different between these two conditions. When the platen contacts the stop pin, rotation of the motor rotor will be stopped abruptly. In the case of the platen contacting paper, rotation of the rotor will be gradually retarded until the torque of the motor is unable to compress the paper any further. At this point, the rotor will stop moving. Unlike the variable force applied during paper thickness detection with overstepping, a motor that includes a sensor enables applying the same compressive force to all paper types. Once the platen comes in contact with the paper, the motor will begin to lag the commanded step position. As the platen continues its compression, the paper will resist compressing further, causing the motor to lag even more. The torque of the motor will be at a maximum when the rotor lags the commanded step position by 90 degrees. This condition can be detected by comparing the changing sensor readings to expected values. When the readings indicate that maximum torque has been reached, further step commands are ceased and the platen position is recorded. By using the sensor to halt paper compression when the lead angle reaches 90 degrees, the force applied will be the same for all paper types. This approach also keeps the rotor in synchronization with the electrical step position, unlike the ambiguity inherent in overstepping. Once the platen reaches maximum compression against the paper, the platen does not need to move back to the limit in the opposite direction before going to the optimum print gap position. This makes the approach using a sensor for arriving at the optimal print gap much quicker than the approach without a sensor.
A motor with a sensor also allows the position of the platen to be constantly monitored. The sensor may be used to detect if the platen has been moved off its commanded step position by an obstruction in the system. The sensor may also be used to detect when the platen fails to reach a commanded position. Once this has been detected, the sensor reading can be used to generate a corrective positioning command.
Referring to
In one embodiment, the platen sensor 310 is an angle sensing potentiometer with an effective rotational angle of 333.3 degrees. A representative sensor 310 can have an output voltage that increases or decreases depending upon the angular position of the platen 318. A representative sensor 310 may be connected across five volts and the center tab connected to a microprocessor analog-to-digital input. This analog-to-digital input has a 10-bit resolution. For every four half-steps of the stepper motor 308, the sensor 310 reading should change by approximately 11 counts. This is based on the following equation (Eq. 1):
1023 counts÷333.3°×0.9°÷half-step=2.76 counts per half-step (Eq. 1)
Software programmed in the printer's computer memory and executed by a processor limits the rotation of the platen 318 to 255 half-steps. Since each half-step equals 0.9 degrees, this equates to 229.5 degrees of platen 318 rotation. The limits of the platen's 318 travel may be referred to as “fully open” and “fully closed.” “Fully open” is considered half-step 255, while “fully closed” is considered half-step zero (0). In this application, the stepper motor 308 is described moving in half-step increments. However, this is merely to illustrate one embodiment, and should not be construed to limit the invention.
Stepper motor 308 may come in many variations. Stepper motors, in general, may convert digital pulses into an angular rotation. The amount of angular rotation is proportional to the number of pulses. The speed of angular rotation is generally proportional to the frequency of the pulses. The resolution, i.e., the number of steps, and the amount of angular rotation associated with a single step or half-step of a stepper motor 308 is generally dependent on the number of rotor pole pairs, the number of motor phases, and the drive mode (either full or half-step). Stepper motors with more or less than any of the variables described above can be used. Furthermore, stepper motor 308 is merely one example of a driver that can drive the platen 318. It is possible to use other driver devices that may not be stepper motors to drive platen 318.
Referring to
Referring to
X2+2XH cos Θ+(H cos Θ)2+(−H sin Θ)2−R2=0 (Eq. 2)
wherein,
X is the distance from the center of rotation 2704 to the outer surface 2708 along the X axis, i.e., aligned with the hammers 2702;
H is the distance from the center of rotation 2704 to the center 2710 of the circle 2706; and
R is the radius of the circle 2706.
In one embodiment, the arcuate surface 326 of the platen 318 is a sector of a circle, however other embodiments of the surface 326 could be other continuous curves. The equation defining the curve, therefore, should not be limited to Equation 2. The equation defining the surface 326 would change based on the actual curve of the platen surface that is selected or available.
Returning to
Referring now to
To set up for and enable automatically setting a print gap with the eccentric platen 318, stepper motor 308, and sensor 310, a number of relationships are determined beforehand. For paper thickness or crush point detection and optimal print gap setting, calibration procedures are performed in advance. A sensor 310 calibration procedure includes recording the sensor 310 reading for each of the half-step motor positions. When this procedure is run, the platen 318 is first driven to the fully open position (
A second calibration procedure correlates the print gap distance to motor half-steps. When this procedure is run, the stepper motor 308 may be moved to half-step 54, for example. At this time, the print gap is adjusted to be 13 mils (0.013 inches). The print gap of 13 mils is chosen such that the printer is able to detect and print on the widest range of forms. This may be accomplished by using a shim and turning the adjust screws on the platen 318 adjust plates 306. Once this calibration procedure has been completed, the print gap for every half-step position is known. A database or “look-up” table of print gap distance 332 versus motor half-step can be produced. This second calibration procedure may be run during final printer assembly or whenever the platen 318 or hammer bank 302 is replaced. It is to be understood that the stepper motor step of “54,” set to correspond to a print gap of 13 mils, is merely for illustration purposes and is not intended to limit the invention.
Referring now to
Referring now to
Referring to
The control table may have a corresponding sensor value, the number of “back-off” steps, and the number of “adjust” steps for each value of IDX. Each value of IDX in the control table corresponds to the motor steps 0 through 255, and each value of IDX is paired with the sensor value obtained through the sensor calibration procedure, the back-off value, and the adjust value. The sensor value of the control table is used to compare with the actual sensor 310 reading to verify that the motor 308 rotor has reached the commanded position. Because the platen 318 may be directly coupled to the rotor, the platen 318 position may be assumed from the motor step. The back-off value is a value that when added to the crush point value, defines the optimal print gap for the currently loaded paper in terms of motor steps. The crush point is determined via method 1100, and the optimal print gap is predetermined, for example, from
In
Returning to
In block 1108, the platen 318 is commanded to move 65 steps towards the fully closed position. In block 1108, the variable IDX may be set equal to the IDX value in block 1104 minus 65 steps. In
Referring to
In block 1112, the platen 318 is commanded to move in large increments of eight half-steps towards fully closed. The variable IDX is set equal to the IDX value in stage 2, block 1108, minus eight half-steps after each motor 308 command.
In
Referring to
In
Referring to
In
Referring to
In
From stage 6B, block 1126, the method 1100 may enter stage 7A, block 1128. Stage 7 is composed of three stages that, combined, are for determining, with higher precision, when the platen 318 has made contact with the paper 316. Because of stage 7, the motor 308 may be controlled to consistently apply the same compression force to all paper being measured, irrespective of thickness. To this end, method 1100 may determine when the lead angle reaches 90 degrees, i.e., maximum torque, for example. This motor condition may be determined by summing the differences between successive sensor 310 readings, and when the sum of a plurality of differences is less than a predetermined threshold, it may be assumed that the motor 308 has reached the point of maximum torque, i.e., the crush point, at which point the platen 318 position may be recorded and used for obtaining the corresponding print gap. This series of commands and computations results in applying a similar force to every paper that is measured, regardless of thickness.
Alternatively, the threshold does not need to correspond with the motor 308 point of maximum torque. A compression force that is low enough such that the ink smudging on the paper is minimized may be used.
In block 1128, the stepper motor 308 is commanded to move the platen 318 toward fully closed in four half-step increments. The variable IDX is set to the previous IDX value minus one after every iteration. A difference value is determined by subtracting the current sensor 310 reading after the command from the previous sensor 310 reading before the command and storing the value as a difference value after every command. A counter is incremented by one. As long as the counter value is less than four, the method 1100 continues to command the stepper motor 308 to drive the platen 318 toward fully closed in half-step increments. When the counter reaches four, the method 1100 may enter stage 7B, block 1130. In block 1130, a sum of the four differences is obtained. From block 1130, the method 1100 may enter decision block 1132. In decision block 1132, a determination is made whether the sum is greater than a threshold value. If the determination in decision block 1132 is FALSE, the method 1100 may enter stage 8, block 1140 (
In
Referring to
Referring to
At stage 9A, block 1142, the method 1100 commands the stepper motor 308 to move the platen 318 one half-step toward the fully open position. A counter is initiated and is incremented by one for every command. The method 1100 stays in stage 9A, block 1142, as long as the counter is less than four. When the counter has counted to four, the method 1100 enters stage 9B, block 1144. At block 1144, the method 1100 commands the stepper motor 308 to move the platen 318 towards the fully open position to the corresponding back-off position for the determined crush point from the control table. The variable IDX is set to the previous IDX value plus the back-off position from the control table. From stage 9B, block 1144, the method 1100 enters decision block 1146. At decision block 1146, the method 1100 determines whether the printer is ready to begin printing by determining whether there is available data to print. If the determination in decision block 1146 is TRUE, the method 1100 enters decision block 1150. If the determination in decision block 1146 is FALSE, the method 1100 enters stage 10, block 1148.
In
Referring to
In
Referring to
Having described an embodiment of a method for determining the paper thickness and print gap with a printer assembly having a stepper motor 308, eccentric platen 318, and motor rotor sensor 310, an embodiment of an alternate method 2600 for determining the paper thickness using an eccentric platen 318 and stepper motor 308 without a position feedback sensor, like sensor 310, is illustrated in
Referring to
In block 2606, the stepper motor 308 may be stepped to step zero (0), so as to drive the platen 318 against the paper 316. From block 2606, the method 2600 may enter block 2608. In block 2608, the stepper motor 308 direction is reversed, and the stepper motor 308 is stepped to move the platen 318 in selected increments towards the full open position. A running sum of steps may be kept in block 2608. From block 2608, the method 2600 may enter decision block 2610. In decision block 2610, a determination is made whether the platen 318 is at the full open position. If the determination in decision block 2610 is FALSE, the method 2600 may re-enter block 2608 to continue driving the stepper motor 308 and moving the platen 318 toward the full open position. If the determination in decision block 2610 is TRUE, the method 2600 may enter block 2612. In block 2612, the number of stepper motor 308 steps needed for the platen 318 to reach the full open position is recorded. Without a sensor 310 to detect when the stepper motor 308 has stalled against the paper 316, stepper motor 308 is commanded through all the steps to finish at step zero (0) in block 2606. When the platen 318 inevitably contacts the paper 316, the stepper motor 308 rotor will begin to lag the commanded step position. Once the rotor lags the commanded position by 180 degrees electrically, for example, the torque generated by the motor will go to zero. At this point, additional step commands will not compress the paper any further. Not having a sensor to feedback whether the stepper motor 308 rotor is actually moving, there is no way of determining at what step the stepper motor 308 has stalled when encountering the paper 316. It is assumed that the stepper motor 308 will have stalled by encountering the paper 316 at some step between the fully open position and step zero (0). With the stepper motor 308 at step zero (0), the stepper motor 308 direction is reversed, and the stepper motor 308 is stepped until the reference position at the opposite limit to the paper is detected, such as by a limit switch. The number of steps is tracked during this command, block 2608. The number of steps should be less than the total steps capable by stepper motor 308 because the paper 316 and ribbon 314 would have stalled the stepper motor 308 before the stepper motor 308 traveled the full range of steps towards step zero (0). From block 2612, the method 2600 enters block 2614.
In block 2614, the method 2600 obtains the paper 316 thickness by subtracting the number of steps recorded in block 2612 from the total number of possible steps. The result will be a measure of the paper 316 thickness. However, the thickness may be the thickness at the crush point (at stepper motor maximum torque), or the thickness may be the thickness at the position when the platen 318 makes initial contact. Alternatively, the thickness may be any point in between the two extremes. In contrast to the previous embodiment that could apply a consistent compression force by providing motor rotor position feedback, the lack of feedback on the motor rotor position prevents applying a consistent compression force, or the maximum compression point consistently. From block 2614, the method 2600 may enter block 2616.
In block 2616, assuming that a correlation has been prepared that plots a measure of the thickness as a motor step versus the print gap 332, also expressed as a motor step, the print gap 332 can be expressed as a target stepper motor step. From block 2616, the method 2600 may enter block 2618. If so desired and ready to begin printing, the motor 308 may drive the platen 318 to the appropriate print gap 332, expressed as a motor step, in block 2618. From block 2618, the method 2600 enters block 2620. In block 2620, the method 2600 has completed one iteration.
The process just described of overstepping the motor 308 when a sensor 310 is not provided involves commanding many individual stepper motor 308 steps. While this is a viable method, overstepping the motor 308 has some disadvantages. When the platen 318 begins to compress the paper 316, the rotation of the stepper motor 308 rotor will be retarded. Once the rotor position lags the commanded step position by more than 180 degrees, the stepper motor 308 will spin backwards. In the case of half-stepping, this will occur at lag distances greater than four half-steps. If another half-step is commanded, the rotor will be pulled backwards by three half-steps to align with the currently energized stator pole. At this point, the rotor and electrical step position will again be synchronized, but at a loss of one full electrical cycle, or eight half-steps. This process will repeat until no more steps are commanded. Depending upon the angle between the last commanded step (step 0) and the rotor in block 2606, the platen 318 could be just touching the paper 316, compressing the paper 316 at maximum torque, backed off the paper 316, or anywhere in-between. Since the thickness of the paper 316 is determined by counting the number of steps it takes to go from this position to the fully open position, the thickness is only known to a plus or a minus 4 half-step accuracy.
Another problem with overstepping is that overstepping does not apply a uniform force to the paper 316. When the platen 318 contacts the paper 316, the force applied will rise as the angle between the commanded step and rotor position increase. It will peak at an angle of 90 degrees and then decline to zero once the angle reaches 180 degrees. Past 180 degrees, the platen 318 will move away from the paper 316 with successive step commands, starting the process over. This will create a jack-hammering effect on the paper 316 with a duration that is proportional to the paper 316 thickness. Each time the compression force peaks, the impact hammers 304 will be driven deeper into the paper 316. This will result in thicker paper being compressed further than thin paper.
Another problem with overstepping is the amount of time it takes to detect the thickness of the paper 316. The detection of paper thickness requires the platen 318 to cycle from fully open, to step zero (0), and back to fully open. The optimal print gap 332 cannot be set until this whole process is complete. With thick paper, only a few steps need to be commanded to bring the platen 318 from the fully open position to contact with the paper 316. Nevertheless, the total number of steps that define the full range of platen 318 travel must be generated regardless of this fact, which results in time wasted jack-hammering the platen 318 into the paper 316.
As described above, it becomes possible to take a measure of a printing medium thickness, such as paper 316, and setting a print gap 332 based on a measure of the paper thickness using an eccentric platen 318 and stepper motor 308. The measure of the paper 316 thickness is determined by applying a force to the paper 316 with the eccentric platen 316. In one embodiment described, it is possible to add a sensor 310 that indicates the position of the stepper motor 308 and platen 318. This embodiment may apply a consistent force to the paper 316 regardless of paper thickness, which efficiently renders detection when the platen 318 has encountered the paper 316. In another embodiment, the sensor 310 may be omitted. However, a way of detecting when the platen 318 has reached the full open position becomes necessary. This second embodiment has the aforementioned disadvantages, such as not being able to apply a consistent force to the paper 316 and the need to cycle through all possible motor steps, making this second embodiment less efficient than the first. While two examples have been provided, it should be understood that the invention should not be limited to any one particular embodiment. For example, a third embodiment is possible, whereby a direct measure of the paper 316 thickness is possible with a sensor dedicated to obtaining the thickness by a direct measurement of the paper 316. A fourth embodiment may be envisioned where the paper 316 thickness is provided, for example, on the packaging of the paper 316. The printer operator may then enter the paper 316 thickness via an interface into the printer's computer system, which then calculates the appropriate print gap. This fourth embodiment may obviate the need to determine the paper 316 thickness with the printer. With all the embodiments of determining paper 316 thickness, if the paper 316 thickness is known, it is possible to set the appropriate print gap 332 with an eccentric platen 318.
Furthermore, the stepper motor 308 is one example of a driver to move the eccentric platen 316. Drivers other than stepper motors may be used. It may also be possible to directly measure the motor torque to determine when the measure of the paper 316 thickness should be recorded. Accordingly, the invention should not be construed to be limited to any one particular driver.
In a further aspect, with the ability to determine the printing medium thickness, it becomes possible to implement other printer features that may take advantage of the thickness measuring procedure. In another aspect of the invention, the determination of the print gap based on a single measure of thickness can be used multiple times on a single, representative printing medium for multiple measurements of the thickness at several locations, and setting different print gaps at each location. For example, forms that include adhesive labels are thicker in some parts of the form and require a different print gap as compared with the remainder of the form. Different print gaps are needed at different locations on the form.
Printing will often need to be done on both the thin and thick parts of a form. In order to achieve consistently good print quality, the print gap needs to be larger for the thicker areas. Accordingly, a method can be implemented wherein the thickness of a representative form at several locations can be determined. This record of the thicknesses and the corresponding locations, and corresponding print gaps, is an example of a “profile” of the form. The profile of a representative form can be stored in computer memory, and this profile can be recalled whenever a similar form is being printed. The printer is provided with a print gap profile including the thicknesses and the corresponding locations for a specified form. A printer as described above, already capable of automatically selecting one print gap for a given thickness, could be used to automate location identification, as well as to automatically assign print gap settings to these locations. Different print gap locations may occur horizontally from top to bottom on the paper 316. The optimal print gap setting process described above for a form of a substantially uniform thickness can be conducted for a form at every ⅙″ vertical distance, for example. After the profile for a representative form has been completed, the form can be removed from the printer. Since the process of sampling form thickness may crush the form to the point where the hammer marks show, it is preferred that a profiling procedure be done on a sample representative form that can be discarded after the profile is made. Once the profile for a representative form has been generated and saved, that profile can then be applied any time in the future to print jobs that use a similar form. As printing on a new form progresses, the eccentric platen 318 will adjust the print gap 332 from location to location by referencing the profile previously determined for the sample representative form.
Form thickness sampling at various locations may be implemented by any one of the embodiments for taking the measure of thickness, already described above. For example, at various locations on the paper, the paper 316 thickness and optimal print gap is determined by driving the platen 318 toward fully closed and monitoring the movement with the sensor 310. For setting a print gap 332 for a uniformly thick paper 316 from top to bottom a single optimum print gap setting is computed. However, for profiling, many thickness measurements from one end to the other, i.e., from top to bottom, need to be taken.
One implementation of a method for automatically profiling the form thickness from top to bottom includes adjusting the print gap 332 to the widest allowable print gap 332 for printing. Then, moving the paper 316 forward an incremental distance, for example, one line height. Then, moving the ribbon 314 forward so that the ribbon 314 is moved enough to have a fresh ribbon 314 in front of the platen 318, which minimizes error. As long as the minimum gap distance is not reached, the print gap 332 is decreased by some small incremental distance and the sensor 310 reading is taken. When the minimum gap is found, the sensor 310 reading is saved that corresponds with the paper location. Once the entire form is scanned vertically from top to bottom, form thickness sampling is complete. A profile table of saved sensor 310 readings and paper 316 location data can be created that maps the thicknesses and locations for an entire form. The optimum print gap 332 can be assigned to each location based on the measure of the thickness. When a profile table has been established, printing may commence on forms similar to the one that has been used to generate the profile table. Whenever paper 316 is to be advanced during a print job, the profile table may be consulted first to determine what print gap should be applied at each location. If the current print gap setting already matches, printing will proceed; however, if the print gap 332 from the profile table does not match the current print gap 332, the print gap 332 will need to be changed. It is important to ensure that the print gap change be done prior to moving the paper 316 in order to avoid pinching if the print gap 332 moves from a thin location to a thicker location. For similar reasons, if the print gap 332 is to decrease, the print gap change should be done after moving the paper 316. When the print gap 332 needs to be changed, printing should pause while the platen 318 adjusts to the new position.
Referring now to
Method 2700 begins at start block 2702. From start block 2702, method 2700 enters block 2704. At block 2704, counter “N” is initialized to zero, and the location “Y” is initialized to the initial location. Y represents the location on the form being measured for thickness or crush point. N counts the number of thickness measurements for one form.
From block 2704, method 2700 enters block 2706. In block 2706, the form thickness at location Y is determined, which in the first instance may be the initial location Y0. From block 2706, the method 2700 enters block 2708. In block 2708, the counter is incremented by one, and the location at which the next form thickness will be determined may be calculated by adding a predefined distance L multiplied by the counter value to the initial location Y0. The distance L may be any resolution. In other words, N can be 2 or N can be the number of print lines, which corresponds to having a form thickness measurement for each line of print. Thus, for every subsequent location Y, Y is Y0 added to N multiplied by L. From block 2708, the method 2700 enters decision block 2710. In decision block 2710, a determination is made whether the counter is equal to the predetermined number of iterations, A, for determining the thickness of the form. If the determination in decision block 2710 is NO, the method 2700 returns to block 2706 to determine the form thickness at the new location. If the determination in decision block 2710 is YES, the method 2700 may enter block 2712, wherein the measuring of thicknesses at multiple locations of the form is completed. The data may be represented as a table (profile table) of values wherein one set of values represents the locations on the form, and a second set of values is the thickness of the form corresponding to each location. From block 2712, the method 2700 may enter block 2714.
In block 2714, the appropriate print gap 332 for each measurement of thickness may be assigned and correlated to each location. The optimal print gap at each location may be determined from a plot of the optimal print gap versus form thickness.
The information may be represented as a table as shown below in Table 2, wherein Y is the location on the form, t is the measure representative of thickness, and d is the print gap distance. Once print gap settings for every location on the form are determined, the table may be saved to the printer's computer memory and recalled when printing forms similar to the form that has been profiled. From block 2714, the method 2700 enters block 2716. In block 2716, the method 2700 has completed one profile for one form.
Thereafter, printing on similar forms as the one profiled will entail referencing a profile table, obtaining the printing location, and determining whether the print gap corresponds to the print gap from the table. If the answer is YES, printing may proceed. However, if the answer is NO, the printer obtains the new print gap, and the eccentric platen 318 is moved to set the correct print gap for the new location from the table, and printing may proceed. When the printer determines once again that a new location has been reached for which information is recorded, the process is repeated.
While the preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated and described, it will be appreciated that various changes can be made therein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3981235 | Thomas et al. | Sep 1976 | A |
| 4178106 | Mailer et al. | Dec 1979 | A |
| 4652153 | Kotsuzumi et al. | Mar 1987 | A |
| 4812059 | Masaki | Mar 1989 | A |
| 4881835 | Niikawa | Nov 1989 | A |
| 4917512 | Mimura et al. | Apr 1990 | A |
| 4929102 | Mizutani et al. | May 1990 | A |
| 5051008 | Honda et al. | Sep 1991 | A |
| 5118209 | Bennet et al. | Jun 1992 | A |
| 5137377 | Ito et al. | Aug 1992 | A |
| 5205658 | Iriguchi | Apr 1993 | A |
| 5257867 | Ito et al. | Nov 1993 | A |
| 5445458 | Uchiyama | Aug 1995 | A |
| 5468076 | Hirano et al. | Nov 1995 | A |
| 5474391 | Andou et al. | Dec 1995 | A |
| 5518324 | Campbell et al. | May 1996 | A |
| 5570959 | Moriwaki et al. | Nov 1996 | A |
| 5772339 | Yamaguchi | Jun 1998 | A |
| 6367909 | Lean | Apr 2002 | B1 |
| 6431771 | Nagai et al. | Aug 2002 | B2 |
| 6497466 | Writt | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6502058 | Nakamura et al. | Dec 2002 | B1 |
| 6616355 | Cleary et al. | Sep 2003 | B2 |
| 20010021330 | Kishida et al. | Sep 2001 | A1 |
| 20020015606 | Bradfield | Feb 2002 | A1 |
| 20040189726 | Youn et al. | Sep 2004 | A1 |
| 20050002713 | Silverbrook | Jan 2005 | A1 |
| 20050083369 | Silverbrook | Apr 2005 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 62208957 | Sep 1987 | JP |
| 63-7960 | Jan 1988 | JP |
| 2-1356 | Jan 1990 | JP |
| 02011358 | Jan 1990 | JP |
| 2-261684 | Oct 1990 | JP |
| 3-118175 | May 1991 | JP |
| 4023411 | Feb 1992 | JP |
| 4-97873 | Mar 1992 | JP |
| 4-197665 | Jul 1992 | JP |
| 4-216971 | Aug 1992 | JP |
| 5-201094 | Aug 1993 | JP |
| 05286152 | Nov 1993 | JP |
| 06155854 | Jun 1994 | JP |
| 06270480 | Sep 1994 | JP |
| 08011365 | Jan 1996 | JP |
| 8-156352 | Jun 1996 | JP |
| 9-71021 | Mar 1997 | JP |
| 411320836 | Nov 1999 | JP |
