This invention relates to a printer with one or more media incising devices attached thereto.
Printed and incised media such as perforated media, scored media, cut media, and embossed media is widely used. For example, many creditors' statements include printed customer-related financial information and a perforated section containing printed customer identification information. The debtor usually detaches the perforated section from the statement and includes it when mailing payment to the creditor. Also, many checks are printed on perforated stock so they can be easily printed in a printer and then detached at the perforations after printing. Examples of common scored media include letters, which are folded to place in envelopes, brochures, and the like. Scoring heavy media is necessary to obtain a neat and clean fold. Similarly, embossed media, wherein all or a portion of the media is raised above the remaining portion of the media, is also quite popular. Examples of embossed media include invitations, business cards, and the like.
Usually, the processes of printing, cutting, embossing, perforating and scoring media are accomplished in different steps using different equipment. For example, check stock is usually manufactured by first printing the check on the media using a printer. Then, perforations are added to each check using a perforating machine. These processes are usually performed by a check manufacturer who then delivers a stack of sequentially numbered blank checks to an ordering customer. The customer uses each check by placing them one a time into a printer and printing specific financial information, such as the payee and amount, in appropriately identified spaces on the check.
Similarly, the process of embossing business cards, invitations, and the like usually requires printing information on the media using a printer, then embossing predefined places on that media using an embossing machine.
Brochure media and cover stock is either pre-scored before printing or scored after printing but before folding.
Small and economical printers are widely known and used. One particularly economical yet sophisticated printer is commonly known as an ink-jet printer. Ink-jet printers produce images and text on a page by firing drops of ink from the printheads of one or more ink cartridges secured to a carriage, while the carriage moves back and forth across the page. Examples of ink-jet printers include plotters, facsimile machines, and typical computer-attached ink-jet printers. The page on which a printer prints may be any sheet of media, such as paper, Mylar, foils, transparencies, card stock, check stock, and the like.
The ink supply of an ink-jet printer is limited. Thus, many cartridges are designed to be detachably secured and replaceable. A user simply replaces the old, empty ink cartridge with a new, full ink cartridge. In these so-called cartridge-type printers, the cartridges can be manufactured as a unit that includes a printhead and an ink reservoir (referred to as an “ink/printhead cartridge” herein). Thus, these types of ink/printhead cartridges are seated in a carriage that travels back and forth across the page during printing operation. Alternatively, the printhead can be secured to the carriage with the ink reservoir either attached at a separate location on the carriage and detachably secured to the printhead or positioned off the carriage with an ink tube extending to the printhead.
The ink head and carriage are in communication with a computer system that controls the movement of the carriage and the activation of the printhead to allow the printer to produce desired images and text on the media. The control system for these types of printers has become so precise, ink-jet printers can now reproduce extremely high print quality and even high-resolution photographs onto the media. The computer system usually includes a user interface, such as a word processing program or photograph display program, to assist user input of the desired image layout on the media.
A contributing factor in this improved precision is the ability to actuate very small actuators in the printhead. These printing actuators and related control systems can now be mass-produced inexpensively, leading to the affordable cost of the printer. Accordingly, complex and high quality printing, which previously could only have been performed by a printing company with large and expensive printing equipment, can now be performed by individuals and small businesses using only their personal computer and attached personal printer.
In contrast, despite the improvements in print quality and cost reductions of printers, there has been no similar improvement in media cutting, scoring, perforating, and embossing devices. This equipment has remained relatively bulky and expensive. Accordingly, such equipment is primarily limited to stationery and business form manufacturing companies. Few, if any, small and home businesses, invest in their own incising equipment. As a result, most individuals and businesses must order pre-incised media such as checks, business cards, and the like from these limited sources. Such pre-ordering needlessly increases the time and expense of using incised media.
Accordingly, despite the available improvements offered by today's printers, there remains a need for an affordable printer that also allows media incising such as scoring, embossing, perforating, cutting and the like. In addition to other benefits that will become apparent in the following disclosure, the present invention fulfills these needs.
The present invention is a printer with a media incising device operably secured thereto and a related method for using the printer. The media incising device is in communication with a printer controller that commands the media incising device to engage the media thereby incising it.
A printer 20 having a carriage with a media incising device 22a-c attached thereto is shown in
A. General Printer Assembly
While it is apparent that the printer components may vary from model to model, the typical inkjet printer 10, shown in
In the print zone 34, the media 28 receives ink from a printhead 32. Each printhead 32 has a bottom surface comprising an orifice plate with a plurality of nozzles formed therethrough in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. The illustrated printheads 32 are thermal inkjet printheads, although other types of printheads may be used, such as piezoelectric printheads. The printheads 32 typically include a plurality of resistors that are associated with the nozzles. Upon energizing a selected resistor, a bubble of gas is formed ejecting a droplet of ink from the nozzle and onto a sheet of print media 28 in the print zone 34 under the nozzle.
The printheads 32 are transported by the carriage 30, which may be driven by a drive belt/pulley and motor arrangement (not shown) along a guide rod 40. The guide rod 40 defines a scanning direction or scanning axis 42 along which the printheads 32 traverse over the print zone 34. The printheads 32 selectively deposit one or more ink droplets on the media 28 located in the print zone 34 in accordance with instructions received via a conductor strip from a printer controller (not shown), such as a microprocessor, which may be located within the chassis 24. The printer controller may also receive an instruction signal from a host device, which is typically a computer, such as a personal computer. The printhead carriage motor and the paper handling system drive motor operate in response to the printer controller, which may operate in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. The printer controller may also operate in response to user inputs provided through a keypad 44. A monitor coupled to the host computer may be used to display visual information to an operator, such as the printer status or a particular program being run on the computer. Personal computers, their input devices, such as a keyboard and/or a mouse device, and monitors are all well known to those skilled in the art.
In particular, the print media 28 is fed from the feed tray 36 through a print medium feed mechanism (not shown). The print media 28 is then advanced by rollers (not shown) in a direction perpendicular to a guide rod 40, while the print carriage 30 containing printheads 32 is moved back and forth on guide rod 40. Preferably, and shown in
B. Mechanical Incising Devices
As shown in
For purposes of simplifying this discussion, the terms “incise” and “incising” media 28 collectively refer to physically altering the media 28 without necessarily applying ink to the media 28. Accordingly, unless specifically noted otherwise in this disclosure, the terms “incise” and “incising” include, but are not limited to, perforating the media, cutting the media, placing one or more score lines, which are also known as fold lines, on the media, and/or embossing the media such that a defined portion of it is permanently raised or lowered with respect to a base surface of the media.
Those skilled in the art can appreciate that the desired physical effect (perforating, cutting, score line creating, embossing, etc.) can be achieved by selecting an appropriate media engaging portion 48 for the incising device 22 to achieve the desired incising effect on the media 28. For example, to cut the media 28, the media engaging portion 48 can include a sharp blade 50 (
1. Retractable Incising Disks
Referring to
Each disk 52, 54 has an engaged position 60 (
Preferably, an electromechanical actuator 64a, 64b in communication with the print controller operably engages the disks 52, 54, respectively, to move the disks 52, 54 between their engaged and non-engaged positions. For example, as shown in
It can be appreciated that a score line can be placed in the media 28 by using the sharp cutting disk 52 to protrude only slightly through the media as shown in FIG. 3A. Preferably, simply by controlling the level of penetration that the cutting disk protrudes through the media, the same cutting disk 52 can be used either to completely cut through the media or to create a score line in the media. More preferably, the cutting disk has two engaged positions, a cutting engaged position (not shown) in which the sharp outer diameter completely penetrates through the media, and a score line engaged position in which the sharp outer diameter penetrates only the upper portion of the media as shown in FIG. 3A.
A cut resistant material (not shown) may be positioned on the chassis 24 in the print zone 34 below the media 28 to prevent inadvertent and premature wear of the chassis 24 in this area caused by contact with the incising device 22a.
More preferably, the disks 52, 54 are received within in a case 70 (shown in broken lines in FIG. 2). The case 70 includes slots 72a, 72b through which the disks 52, 54, respectively, protrude in their engaged position. The disks 52, 54 retract into the case 70 in their non-engaged position 62, thereby preventing inadvertent injuries associated with inadvertent contact with one of the disks 52, 54.
2. Detachable Incising Cartridge
Referring to
The frame 84 includes electrical connectors that operably engage mating connectors on the carriage 30, thereby allowing incising elements therein to be in electrical communication with the printer controller. Each incising head 82a-d includes an actuated incising member that operably engages the media 28 to achieve the desired incising effect.
a. Rotating Incising Disk
Referring to
More preferably, the head 82a is also rotatably secured to the frame 84 such that the position of the scoring disk 86 can turn about the longitudinal centerline 92 of the head 82a. For example and as shown in
With appropriately timed rotation of the head 82a, raising and lowering the head 82a provided by the vertical actuator 90, movement of the carriage 30 along its scanning axis 42, and the movement of the media 28 along its media path 102, it can be appreciated that scoring disk 86 can provide any desired horizontal, vertical, angular, and circular scoring on the media 28. Preferably, the printer controller includes control logic for actuating these elements in the appropriate sequence to accomplish the desired scoring effect.
b. Retractable Incising Pins
Referring to
Each pin 100 has an engaged position wherein it extends from the head 82b to operably engage the media 28, and a non-engaged position 62 (shown in
More preferably, the incising head 82b containing the plurality of pins 110 is also pivotally secured to the frame 84 such that the head 82b can turn about a substantially vertical axis 118. For example and as shown in
With appropriately timed pivoting of the head 82b, raising and lowering specific pins 110 on the head 82b, movement of the carriage 30 along its scanning axis 42, and the movement of the media 28 along its media path 102, it can be appreciated that the incising head 82b can provide any desired horizontal, vertical, angular, and circular scoring on the media 28 including perforation lines, complex aperture shapes, and the like. Moreover, the plurality of blunt headed pins also allows complex embossing patterns to be imprinted into the media. Preferably, the printer control includes control logic for actuating these elements in the appropriate sequence to accomplish these and other desired scoring effects.
Where a plurality of print cartridges are also provided on the carriage 30, the printer 20 can simultaneously print on the media 28 and incise the media as the carriage 30 travels along its scanning axis 42, thereby saving time.
c. Shaped Incising Blades
Referring to
Each blade 124a-f is individually actuatable to operably engage the media 28 when the respective pin 110 associated with that blade i124a-f is commanded to its engaged position. Preferably, the blades 124a-f are biased to a neutral, non-engaged position, wherein the blades 124a-f are retracted within the head 82c.
More preferably, the head 82c containing the plurality of blades 124a-f is also pivotally secured to the frame 84 such that the head 82c can turn about a substantially vertical axis 118. For example, a head rotation actuator 96 in communication with the printer controller pivots the head 82c between a first position 120 (
With appropriately timed pivoting of the head 82c, raising and lowering of specific blades 124a-f, movement of the carriage 30 along its scanning axis 42, and the movement of the media 28 along its media path 102, it can be appreciated that incising head 82c can provide any desired horizontal, vertical, angular, and circular incising on the media including perforation lines, complex aperture shapes, and the like. Preferably, the printer control includes control logic for actuating these elements in the appropriate sequence to accomplish these and other desired incising effects.
d. Rotating Incising Bit
Referring to
The bit 130 includes a pointed tip 136 and an appropriate cutting surface 138. A motor 140 in communication with the printer controller rotates the bit 130 at a sufficient speed to incise the media 28 as needed. Alternatively, the tip 136 of the bit 136 is blunt and the engaged position 60 includes a score line position wherein the blunt tip of the bit 130 compresses, but does not pierce the media 28. Accordingly, the incising head 82d can cut or create a perforated line along the media by piercing the media and moving the cutting surface 138 of the bit 130 along a defined path or the incising head 82d can place a score line in the media 28 by placing the bit 130 in the score line position and moving the bit along the media 28 in a defined path. A guard 142 extends from the head 82d to protect inadvertent impact of the bit 130.
More preferably, the bit 130 is mounted off center from the longitudinal centerline 92 of the head 82d, and the head 82d is also rotatably secured to the frame 84 such that the position of the bit 130 can turn about the longitudinal centerline 92 of the head 82d. For example and as shown in
With appropriately timed rotation of the head 82d, raising and lower the bit 130, movement of the carriage 30 along its scanning axis 42, and the movement of the media 28 along its media path 102, it can be appreciated that the incising bit 1130 can provide any desired horizontal, vertical, angular, and circular incising on the media. Preferably, the printer control includes control logic for actuating these elements in the appropriate sequence to accomplish these and other desired incising effects.
Moreover, where at least one print cartridge is also provided on the carriage 30, the printer 20 can simultaneously print on the media 28 and incise the media 28 as the carriage 30 travels along its scanning axis 42, thereby saving time, and not requiring the user to use two different devices to accomplish both tasks.
C. Fluid Ejector Incising Device
Referring to
The incising frame 84 includes electrical connectors that operably engage mating connectors on the carriage 30, thereby allowing incising elements therein to be in electrical communication with the printer controller.
The cartridge 80 also includes an incising fluid reservoir 152 containing the incising fluid 150 therein. The incising fluid reservoir 152 is in fluid communication with a fluid ejecting incising head 82e. The fluid ejecting incising head 82e, which is in communication with the printer controller, ejects incising fluid 150 therethrough on command of the printer controller.
Similar to an ink jet printer print head, the fluid ejecting incising head 82e preferably has a bottom surface comprising an orifice plate with a plurality of nozzles formed therethrough in a manner well known to those skilled in the art. The illustrated fluid ejecting incising head 82e is more commonly used as a thermal inkjet printhead, although other types of incising head may be used, such as piezoelectric printheads. The fluid ejecting incising head 82e typically includes a plurality of resistors that are associated with the nozzles 154. Upon energizing a selected resistor, a bubble of gas is formed ejecting a droplet of incising fluid 150 from the nozzle 154 and onto the media 28 in the print zone 34 under the nozzle 154.
The incising fluid 150 is formulated to interact with the media 28 such that the media 28 is at least temporarily weakened where the incising fluid 150 is applied. Similar to using the printer to apply a line of ink on the media, the incising fluid 150 may be placed in a line on the media 28, thereby forming a score line or the like on the media. For example, as shown in
Also, where at least one other cartridge on the carriage is a printer cartridge, the printer can simultaneously print on the media 28 and incise the media 28 as the carriage 30 travels along its scanning axis 42.
Preferably, the incising fluid 150 is clear, not visible when applied to the media 28, and dries relatively quickly after the media 28 is scored along a created score line. More preferably and as best shown in
Acceptable ranges of surface tension can be determined for a particular media 28 and incising fluid 150 combination by determining an angle theta 158. Angle theta 158 is defined as the angle between the media surface 160 and a line 162 tangent to the fluid-media interface point of the drop of incising fluid 150 as shown in FIG. 17. Referring to
Where the media 28 is a sheet of regular bond paper, desirable surface tension for the incising media is preferably near 30 dines per centimeter. If the surface tension is substantially higher than 30 dines per centimeter, penetration of the incising fluid 150 is hindered by the cosine of theta approaching zero. Also, if the surface tension is substantially lower than 30 dines per centimeter, the product of cosine of theta times the surface tension is generally too low to provide sufficient penetration of the incising fluid 150. One known liquid having desirable properties for use as an incising fluid on paper is copying fixer, which is commonly used in printers, copiers, and the like. Preferably, a sufficient amount of incising fluid 150 is applied to the media to saturate through the media at the applied locations. Of course, the desirable surface tension of the incising fluid will vary depending on the particular media and incising fluid selected.
D. Alternative Embodiments
Having here described embodiments of the present invention, it is anticipated that other modifications may be made thereto within the scope of the invention by individuals skilled in the art. For example, a variety of different media engaging portions 48 can be operably secured to the incising head 82a-d. Similarly, a plurality of different incising devices and related actuators can be combined onto one carriage or even into one cartridge. In one embodiment, the same portions of the media may be both printed upon and incised. In another embodiment, different portions of the media may be printed upon and incised. Thus, although several different embodiments of the present invention have been described, it will be appreciated that the spirit and scope of the invention is not limited to those embodiments, but extend to the various modifications and equivalents as defined in the appended claims.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20040085422 A1 | May 2004 | US |