Patent Application
20100278544
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system and method for ensuring that only a correct toner is used for printing a document.
2. Description of Related Art
Some specialty documents need to be printed with specialty toners. However, specialty toners are expensive. There is a tendency to use the specialty toner even when the specialty toners are not required just because they are in the printer. The swapping of toners can lead to conventional toners being accidentally used to print a specialty document and specialty toners being used to print a regular document. Specialty documents printed with a conventional toner are problematic: They are visually identical to documents printed with a specialty toner. A user may not detect that a specialty document was printed with the wrong type of toner.
If the error is not detected, the specialty document will be improperly processed. For example, if the specialty document is a check and magnetic ink character recognition (“MICR”) toner is not used, the check will be returned. An improperly printed check will prevent funds from being properly transferred and call into question the credit-worthiness of the entity issuing the checks.
Conventional toner cartridge identification systems typically only determine whether a toner cartridge is compatible with a printer. The conventional toner cartridge identification systems do not identify whether the toner cartridge contains the specific toner type required for a particular document, of which there may be many, each with a specific toner requirement. Thus, even when the toner cartridge identification system determines that the cartridge is compatible with the printer, the identification system will not prevent the printing of a document on that printer using the incorrect toner type.
There is an unresolved need for a system and method for ensuring that a correct toner out of many available toners is used for printing a document, requiring a specific toner out of many available toners.
The present invention ensures that only the correct toner is used to print a document. A printer receives data about the specific toner type required to print the document. The printer receives toner type identification from a toner cartridge inserted into the printer. The specific toner type required is compared with the available toner type in the cartridge. If the available toner type in the cartridge matches the specific toner type, the document is printed. If there is no match, the printer displays an error message and does not print the document.
The exact nature of this invention, as well as the objects and advantages thereof, will become readily apparent from consideration of the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the figures thereof and wherein:
As seen in
Referring now to
At S205, if a specific toner is required, at S207, the toner type available is determined. At S209, the system compares the toner type available with the specific toner type required. At S211, the system determines whether the toner type available matches the specific toner type.
At S213, if the toner type available does not match the specific toner type required at S211, the system displays an error message indicating that the wrong toner type is used. Steps S207, S209, and S211 are repeated until the toner type available matches the specific toner type required. At S215, if the toner type available matches the specific toner type required at S211, the system prints the document.
Advantageously, by only printing the document when the correct toner type is in the printer, incorrectly printed documents are entirely avoided.
As seen in
If a specific toner type is required, the processor 15 determines the toner type in the toner cartridge 5. To determine the toner type in the toner cartridge 5, a radio-frequency identification (“RFID”) tag 23 in toner cartridge 5 transmits toner identification data to an RFID reader 17. The RFID tag 23 can be mounted anywhere on the toner cartridge 5. The RFID tag 23 can be, for example, a passive RFID tag or an active RFID tag. The RFID reader 17 transmits the toner identification data to the processor 15.
The toner identification data can be, for example, a serial number unique to the toner type. For example, a conventional toner type may have a first serial number. A MICR toner type may have a second different serial number. A security toner type may have a third different serial number. Thus, based on the toner identification data, the processor 15 can distinguish between many different types of toner types and determine which toner type is available in the toner cartridge 5.
If the available toner type does not match the specific toner type required, the processor 15 displays an error message on a display 19 indicating that a wrong toner type is in the printer. The error message may also indicate the specific toner type required and the currently available toner in the cartridge 5. If the available toner type matches the specific toner type required, the processor 15 transmits instructions to the print engine 21 to print the document.
In another embodiment disclosed in
The magnetic material 29 is moved into printing with the coil module 27 when the toner cartridge 5 is inserted into the printer 1. The frequency data generated by the frequency generator 25 is altered when the magnetic material 29 is in the proximity of the coil module 27. The frequency data generated by the frequency generator 25 depends on the surface area of the magnetic material 29 and the location of the magnetic material 29 in relation to the coil module 27.
Each toner type will have a corresponding unique frequency signature. For example, a conventional toner type may have a first frequency signature. A MICR toner type may have a second different frequency signature. A security toner type may have a third different frequency signature. Thus, based on the frequency data, the processor 15 can distinguish between many different toner types and determine which toner type is available to the printer 1.
