The present invention relates to fluid dispensing devices and methods for printing on spinning circular media. More particularly, it concerns mechanisms for translating angular position and speed information of a rotating circular media discs.
In the art of dispensing fluidic ink objects as it applies to radial printing, there is a need to place ink objects accurately and precisely onto the spinning circular media to effectively use the mechanisms of radial printing. Radial printing, as taught by Bradshaw et al., generally includes the process of dispensing ink onto a media at a particular radius of the media and a particular angular position while the media is rotating.
Radial printing places ink on a circular media as it is rotating. To properly place the ink, the electronics governing the print process must have as one of it's inputs information relating to the instantaneous position of the disk with respect to the print engine emitting the ink. That information over a period of time translates to instantaneous angular velocity, which affects other aspects of radial printing such as pen firing frequency. Thus, in any radial printing system, a method must be employed to provide the electronics governing the printing process with the position information.
In view of the foregoing, mechanisms for accurately providing angular position while on a spinning CD are needed.
Accordingly, mechanisms for translating angular position and speed information of a rotating media, such as a compact disc (CD), undergoing the process of decoration or labeling (radial printing) for facilitating accurate and repeatable ink placement are provided. As the media's instantaneous angular velocity changes, and especially at higher rotation speeds, ink placement accuracy requires instantaneous angular position information of the rotating media. Thus, mechanisms for providing instantaneous angular position information regarding the rotating media to the electronics governing the radial print process are disclosed. In a preferred implementation, the radial printing mechanisms is integrated with a compact disk recording (CD-R) device.
In one embodiment, an apparatus for interfacing with a media recording device to thereby print onto a rotating media is disclosed. The recording device includes a rotation motor control mechanism for rotating the media and an interface system for allowing control of the rotation motor control mechanism. The apparatus includes an encoder for sensing a substantially instantaneous angular position of the rotating media. The encoder is independent from the recording device. The apparatus further includes a radial print system for receiving the angular position from the encoder, interfacing with the interface system of the recording device to thereby control the rotation motor control mechanism, and dispensing ink onto the rotating media based on the received angular position.
In one aspect, the angular position sensed by the encoder is not sent to the recording device. In another aspect, the angular position sensed by the encoder is not obtained from an encoder of the recording device. In a specific implementation, the encoder is formed from a grating having a readable pattern and positioned to rotate with the media and a sensor positioned to sense the pattern of the grating to thereby obtain an angular position of the rotating media. In a further implementation, the encoder employs an optical or magnetic sensing technology.
In another implementation, the rotation motor control mechanism of the recording device includes a media hub on which the media is placed and rotated thereon. In this embodiment, the grating of the encoder is positioned on a side of the hub which is opposite a side on which the media is placed and sensor of the encoder is positioned proximate to the grating of the encoder. In an alternative implementation, the grating of the encoder is positioned on an outside circumference of the hub, and the sensor of the encoder is positioned proximate to the grating of the encoder.
In another aspect, the rotation motor control mechanisms also includes a motor for rotating the media hub, and the motor has a motor housing which forms the media hub. In another embodiment, the rotation motor control mechanism of the recording device includes a media hub on which the media is placed and rotated thereon and a motor for rotating a shaft of the media hub. In this embodiment, the grating of the encoder is positioned on the shaft of the hub and the sensor of the encoder is positioned proximate to the grating of the encoder. In one aspect, the grating forms a grating wheel attached to the shaft of the media hub. In a further implementation, the motor is enclosed by a housing. In one aspect, the grating wheel and the sensor are contained within the motor housing. In another aspect, the grating wheel and the sensor are contained outside the motor housing. In another embodiment, the encoder is operable to produce a count that corresponds to a specific angular position of the rotating media. In a further aspect, the encoder is operable to reset the count that corresponds to a specific angular position of the rotating media when the sensor senses a zero mark of the grating.
In an alternative embodiment, the invention pertains to a method of interfacing with a media recording device to thereby print onto a rotating media. The recording device includes a rotation motor control mechanism for rotating the media and an interface system for allowing control of the rotation motor control mechanism. A substantially instantaneous angular position of the rotating media is sensed. The sensing is independent from the recording device. The interface system of the recording device is interfaced with to thereby control the rotation motor control mechanism, and ink is dispensed onto the rotating media based on the received angular position. In one aspect, the sensed angular position is not sent to the recording device. In another aspect, the sensed angular position is not obtained from an encoder of the recording device. In a specific implementation, a count that corresponds to a specific angular position of the rotating media is produced. In a further aspect, the count that corresponds to a specific angular position of the rotating media is reset each time the rotating media completes a full revolution.
These and other features and advantages of the present invention will be presented in more detail in the following specification of the invention and the accompanying figures which illustrate by way of example the principles of the invention.
The present invention is illustrated by way of example, and not by way of limitation, in the figures of the accompanying drawings and in which like reference numerals refer to similar elements.
a and 2b represent a first embodiment of the invention with a top-mounted encoder located on the bottom side of the CD disc hub.
a and 3b represent a second embodiment of the invention with a top-mounted encoder located on the cylindrical side of the CD disc hub.
a and 4b represent a third embodiment of the invention with a bottom-mounted encoder located on the rotation shaft extending from the bottom of the CD motor.
a and 5b represent a fourth embodiment of the invention with an encoder mounted on the rotation shaft inside of the bottom of the CD motor.
a and 6b represent a fifth embodiment of the invention with an encoder mounted horizontally located on the cylindrical outside of the slimline CD integrated disc hub and motor assembly.
a and 7b represent a sixth embodiment of the invention with an encoder mounted vertically to a flange attached to and extending horizontally from the cylindrical outside of the slimline CD integrated disc hub and motor assembly.
The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to a few preferred embodiments as illustrated in the accompanying drawings. In the following description, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It will be apparent, however, to one skilled in the art, that the present invention may be practiced without some or all of these specific details. In other instances, well known process steps and/or structures have not been described in detail in order to not unnecessarily obscure the present invention.
For the scope of this invention, the terms “CD” and “media” are intended to mean all varieties of optical recording media discs, such as CD-R, CD-RW, DVD-R, DVD+R, DVD-RAM, DVD-RW, DVD+RW and the like.
The angular position retrieval mechanisms described herein may be integrated within any suitable radial printer. Several embodiments of radial printers are further described in above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,295, entitled RADIAL PRINTING SYSTEM AND METHODS by George L. Bradshaw et al, issued Jul. 24, 2001, and co-pending U.S. patent application, having application Ser. No. 09/872,345, entitled LOW PROFILE CAM-ACTUATED TRACKING INK HEAD CARTRIDGE WITH INTEGRATED SERVICE-STATION, by Randy Q. Jones et al., filed Jun. 1, 2001. The angular position retrieval mechanisms may be combined with other angular position techniques further elaborated in co-pending U.S. Patent Application, having application Ser. No. 09/815,064, filed Mar. 21, 2001, entitled METHOD FOR PROVIDING ANGULAR POSITION INFORMATION FOR A RADIAL PRINTING SYSTEM, by Youngberg et al., and co-pending U.S. patent application, having application Ser. No. 09/872,345, entitled LOW PROFILE CAM-ACTUATED TRACKING INK HEAD CARTRIDGE WITH INTEGRATED SERVICE-STATION, by Randy Q. Jones et al., filed Jun. 1, 2001. These referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
Additional challenges exist with physical limitations and interactions of the devices employed, such as in an embodiment in which the radial printer is combined or otherwise integrated with an OEM CD-R recorder device, such as illustrated in Jones et al, referenced above and shown in
The CD-R or CD-RW device may either shares angular position information with the radial printer, or the radial printer device independently obtains angular position information through a separate angular position mechanism from the CD-R device's angular position mechanism, to ensure the accurate placement of ink objects onto the spinning circular media.
Relying upon the CD-R device to provide angular position information may require modifying the CD-R device or making special production runs for radial printing, which usually incurs additional costs during manufacturing. Conversely, using a separate angular position mechanism frees the radial printing design from these manufacturing burdens and the inherent design restraints of the CD-R device. For example, the native wobble signal from CD-R drives of 22 kHz at 1X CD speed results in a limit of the number of angular positions to about 7000 counts per revolution. To print radially at 600 DPI, approximately 10,000 count per revolutions are required to accurately print with minimal annular distortion. Thus, to radially print at 600 DPI or higher resolutions, there is a need to have accurate angular position information obtained for a radial printing device integrated within an OEM CD-R drive.
In one embodiment, the encoder 140 includes a sensor 280 and an accompanying grating 260, as represented as enlargements details in
The encoder's sensor 280 may alternatively be mounted outside of the motor 160 near the top or bottom of the shaft 132 attached to the rotating media 110. The encoder's grating 260 may be alternately mounted on the shaft 132, either above the media 110, below the media 110 (above or below the motor 160).
In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
b is an enlargement of an encoder of the first embodiment. The sensor 260 receives optical pulses from the grating 280, and interpolates them as counts. To radially print, the grating 280 in radial printer 100 must have sufficient primary resolution to effect printing, typically about 17 counts per dot per inch (DPI) printed at the outer circumference of a CD, or 20,480 counts for about 1200 DPI. A typical encoder that performs with this precision is the M-1000 product from MicroE Systems, Natick, Mass.
The encoder may include mechanisms for sensing and counting pulses from a grating and sensing a zero mark integrated within a single package of hardware and/or software or be individually packaged into separate hardware or software components. Additionally, the zero mark may form part of the grating or be positioned physically separate from the grating. The zero mark may be located in any suitable position that is coupled to the rotations of the media (e.g., on the hub or shaft). The encoder may include a single sensor for sensing both the grating pulses and the zero mark or contain two sensors for independently sensing the grating pulses and zero mark.
Other embodiments of the present invention show a variety of placement for the encoder's sensor and grating in and around the proximity of a CD motor.
In another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
In still another embodiment of the present invention shown in
In yet another embodiment of the present invention shown in
In another embodiment of the present invention as shown in
In still another embodiment of the present invention, as shown in
Other embodiments, using similar mechanisms for obtaining accurate angular position information for use in radial printing are similarly contemplated. While this invention has been described in terms of several preferred embodiments, there are alterations, permutations, and equivalents, which fall within the scope of this invention. It is therefore intended that the following appended claims be interpreted as including all such alterations, permutations, and equivalents as fall within the true spirit and scope of the present invention.
This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application, having application No. 60/285,487, filed Apr. 20, 2001, entitled POSITION INFORMATION METHODS FOR RADIAL PRINTING, by Carl E. Youngberg. This application also relates to U.S. Pat. No. 6,264,295, issued Jul. 24, 2001, entitled RADIAL PRINTING SYSTEM AND METHODS by George L. Bradshaw et al.; and also relates to co-pending U.S. Patent Application, having application Ser. No. 09/815,064, filed Mar. 21, 2001, entitled METHOD FOR PROVIDING ANGULAR POSITION INFORMATION FOR A RADIAL PRINTING SYSTEM, by Youngberg et al. These referenced applications are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety for all purposes.
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