TWO-SIDED THERMAL PRINT SWITCH

Abstract

In one embodiment, a two- or dual-sided thermal print switch is provided to direct printing of received print data on one or both sides of thermal media such as a receipt, document, or label. In a further embodiment, a dual-sided thermal print switch is provided to select custom or predefined data for printing on one or both sides of thermal media with or without received print data. Dual-sided print switch operation may be defined using commands implemented with, for example, setup configuration settings in hardware or software, escape sequences, real-time printer commands, and the like.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 shows a schematic of a dual-sided imaging direct thermal printer useable for dual-sided printing of thermal media such as transaction receipts or tickets.

FIG. 2A shows a two-sided receipt with transaction detail printed on the front side.

FIG. 2B shows the receipt of FIG. 2A with supplemental information printed on the reverse side, such as variable stored information selected on the basis of the transaction detail.

FIG. 3A shows a two-sided receipt with a portion of the associated transaction detail printed on the front side of the receipt.

FIG. 3B shows the reverse side of the receipt of FIG. 3A on which the remaining portion of the associated transaction data is printed.

FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of an exemplary dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer for retail Point of Sale (POS) application.

FIG. 5 schematically shows a partial centerline cross-sectional view of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 schematically shows a partial gear plane cross-sectional view of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 4.

FIG. 7 schematically shows a partial centerline cross-sectional view of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 4, with a cover in an open position.

FIG. 8 schematically shows a partial centerline cross-sectional view of a variation of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 schematically shows a partial gear plane cross-sectional view of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 8.

FIG. 10 schematically shows a partial centerline cross-sectional view of a variation of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 4.

FIG. 11 schematically shows a partial gear plane cross-sectional view of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 schematically shows a partial centerline cross-sectional view of a further variation of the dual-sided direct thermal receipt printer of FIG. 4.

FIG. 13 schematically shows a further variation in a dual-sided direct thermal printer print head and platen orientation, and media feed path.

FIG. 14 schematically shows a further variation in a dual-sided direct thermal printer print head and platen orientation, and media feed path.

Claims

1. A dual-sided direct thermal printer comprising: a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path;a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, opposite the first side;a communication module adapted to receive print data; anda printing function switch,wherein the printing function switch is configured to control printing of the received print data by the first and the second thermal print heads.

2. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising: a first platen;a second platen;a first arm; anda second arm,wherein the first thermal print head and the first platen are coupled to the first arm, and the second thermal print head and the second platen are coupled to the second arm.

3. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 2, further comprising: a pivot,wherein the first arm is pivotable about the pivot with respect to the second arm.

4. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to process the received print data prior to printing by the first and second thermal print heads.

5. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function switch is configured to allow printing of the received print data by only one of the first and the second thermal print heads.

6. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising: a buffer adapted to store the received print data,wherein the printing function switch is configured to control printing of the buffered print data by the first and the second thermal print heads.

7. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the printing function switch is configured to select a first portion of the buffered print data for printing on a first side of print media by the first thermal print head, and a second portion of the buffered print data for printing on a second side of the print media by the second thermal print head.

8. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 7, wherein the first and the second portions of the buffered print data comprise substantially one half of the buffered print data each.

9. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 7, wherein a length of the first side of the print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than a length of the second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by a length substantially equivalent to a spacing between the first and the second thermal print heads.

10. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 7, wherein the first and second portions of the buffered print data are selected such that a portion of the first side of the print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than a portion of the second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by an amount substantially equivalent to the portion of the second side of the print media between the first and the second thermal print heads.

11. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the buffer comprises a first buffer portion adapted to store a first portion of the received print data and a second buffer portion adapted to store a second portion of the received print data.

12. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 11, wherein the received print data comprises one or more transaction entries, and wherein the printing function switch is further configured to store alternating transaction entries in the first and the second buffer portions, respectively.

13. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 12, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to select the first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head.

14. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 13, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to select the first portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head and the second portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head.

15. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function switch is configured to initiate printing of the received print data by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads upon receipt of a knife command.

16. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the printing function switch is configured to initiate printing of the buffered print data by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads when the buffer becomes full.

17. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the printing function switch is configured to initiate printing of print data received after the buffer becomes full by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads.

18. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to control orientation of the received print data for printing by the first and the second thermal print heads.

19. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 18, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to designate a first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head in a first orientation and a second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head in a second orientation different from the first orientation.

20. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 19, wherein the second orientation is inverted with respect to the first orientation.

21. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to designate a first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head when print media is moving in a first direction, and a second portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head when the print media is moving in a second direction, opposite the first direction.

22. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to initiate printing of a first portion of the received print data by the first thermal print head in advance of initiating printing of a second portion of the received print data by the second thermal print head.

23. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 22, wherein the first and the second thermal print heads are spatially separated along the media feed path.

24. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 23, wherein the printing function switch initiates printing of the second portion of the received print data by the second thermal print head after print media has traversed the spatial separation.

25. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising: a memory adapted to store custom print data,wherein the printing function switch is further configured to control printing of the custom print data by the first and the second thermal print heads.

26. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 25, wherein the printing function switch is configured to select the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the custom print data for printing by the second thermal print head.

27. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 25, wherein the custom print data comprises one or more custom print data macros.

28. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 27, wherein the custom print data macros each comprise one of a logo, coupon, rebate, contest, cartoon, condition of sale, advertisement, security feature, disclaimer, and warranty data macro.

29. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 27, wherein the memory comprises one or more memory portions, each memory portion adapted to store one of the custom print data macros.

30. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 29, wherein the printing function switch is configured to select at least one of the custom print data macros for printing by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads.

31. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 30, wherein the printing function switch randomly selects the at least one of the custom print data macros for printing.

32. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 30, wherein the printing function switch selects the at least one of the custom print data macros for printing based on the received print data.

33. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 32, wherein the received print data comprises transaction detail data.

34. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 33, wherein the transaction detail data comprises one or more of product identity data, product cost data, total cost data, purchaser identity data, payment means data, transaction number data, date data and time data.

35. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the communication module is further adapted to receive print commands for controlling printing of the received print data by the printing function switch.

36. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 35, wherein the print commands comprise one or more escape sequences.

37. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to optimize distribution of the received print data among the first and the second thermal print heads to minimize thermal media use.

38. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 25, wherein the printing function switch is further configured to optimize distribution of the received print data and the custom print data among the first and the second thermal print heads to minimize thermal media use.

39. A method of direct thermal printing, the method comprising: receiving print data by a two-sided direct thermal printer, the two-sided direct thermal printer comprising a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path, a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, and a printing function switch; andidentifying a first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head, and a second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head by the printing function switch.

40. The method of claim 39, wherein the two-sided direct thermal printer further comprises: a first platen;a second platen;a first arm; anda second arm,wherein the first thermal print head and the first platen are coupled to the first arm, and the second thermal print head and the second platen are coupled to the second arm.

41. The method of claim 40, wherein the two-sided direct thermal printer further comprises: a pivot,wherein the first arm is pivotable about the pivot with respect to the second arm.

42. The method of claim 39, further comprising: processing the first and the second portions of the received print data for printing by the first and second thermal print heads.

43. The method of claim 39, further comprising: identifying all of the received print data for printing by only one of the first and the second thermal print heads by the printing function switch.

44. The method of claim 39, wherein the two-sided direct thermal printer further comprises a buffer, the method further comprising: storing the received print data in the buffer.

45. The method of claim 44, further comprising: identifying a first portion of the buffered print data for printing by the first thermal print head, and a second portion of the buffered print data for printing by the second thermal print head by the printing function switch.

46. The method of claim 45, wherein the printing function switch identifies substantially one half of the buffered print for printing by the first thermal print head and the remaining buffered print data for printing by the second thermal print head.

47. The method of claim 45, further comprising: identifying the first and second portions of the buffered print data by the printing function switch such that a length of a first side of print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than a length of a second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by a length substantially equivalent to a spacing between the first and the second thermal print heads.

48. The method of claim 45, further comprising: identifying the first and second portions of the buffered print data by the printing function switch such that an imageable portion of the first side of print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than an imageable portion of the second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by an amount substantially equivalent to the imageable portion of the second side of the print media between the first and the second thermal print heads.

49. The method of claim 44, wherein the buffer comprises a first buffer portion and a second buffer portion, the method further comprising: storing a first portion of the received print data in the first buffer portion; andstoring a second portion of the received print data in the second buffer portion.

50. The method of claim 49, wherein the received print data comprises one or more transaction entries, the method further comprising: storing alternating transaction entries in the first and the second buffer portions, respectively.

51. The method of claim 49, further comprising: identifying the first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head.

52. The method of claim 51, further comprising: identifying the second portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the first portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head.

53. The method of claim 39, further comprising: initiating printing of the received print data by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads upon receipt of a knife command.

54. The method of claim 44, further comprising: initiating printing of the buffered print data by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads when the buffer becomes full.

55. The method of claim 44, further comprising: initiating printing of print data received after the buffer becomes full by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads.

56. The method of claim 39, further comprising: setting orientation of the received print data for printing by the first and the second thermal print heads.

57. The method of claim 56, further comprising: designating a first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head in a first orientation and a second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head in a second orientation different from the first orientation.

58. The method of claim 57, wherein the second orientation is inverted with respect to the first orientation.

59. The method of claim 39, further comprising: designating a first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head when print media is moving in a first direction, and a second portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head when the print media is moving in a second direction, opposite the first direction.

60. The method of claim 39, further comprising: initiating printing of a first portion of the received print data by the first thermal print head in advance of initiating printing of a second portion of the received print data by the second thermal print head.

61. The method of claim 60, wherein the first and second thermal print heads are spatially separated along the media feed path.

62. The method of claim 61, further comprising: initiating printing of the second portion of the received print data by the second thermal print head after print media has traversed the spatial separation.

63. The method of claim 39, wherein the two-sided direct thermal printer further comprises a memory adapted to store custom print data, the method further comprising: identifying a portion of the custom print data for printing by the printing function switch.

64. The method of claim 63, further comprising: selecting the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the custom print data for printing by the second thermal print head.

65. The method of claim 63, wherein the custom print data comprises one or more custom print data macros.

66. The method of claim 65, wherein the custom print data macros each comprise one of a logo, coupon, rebate, contest, cartoon, condition of sale, advertisement, security feature, disclaimer, and warranty data macro.

67. The method claim 65, wherein the memory comprises one or more memory portions, the method further comprising: storing each of the one or more custom print data macros in a separate memory portion.

68. The method of claim 67, further comprising: selecting at least one of the custom print data macros for printing by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads.

69. The method of claim 68, further comprising: randomly selecting the at least one of the custom print data macros for printing.

70. The method of claim 68, further comprising: selecting the at least one of the custom print data macros for printing on the basis of the received print data.

71. The method of claim 70, wherein the received print data comprises transaction detail data.

72. The method of claim 71, wherein the transaction detail data comprises one or more of product identity data, product cost data, total cost data, purchaser identity data, payment means data, transaction number data, date data and time data.

73. The method of claim 39, further comprising: receiving one or more print commands; andsetting an operating mode of the two-sided direct thermal printer based on the received print commands.

74. The method of claim 73, wherein the received print commands comprise one or more escape sequences.

75. The method of claim 73, wherein the set operating mode comprises one of a single sided mode, a double sided mode with single side command, a double sided mode with double side command, and a double sided mode with predefined data.

76. The method of claim 39, further comprising: identifying the first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head so as to minimize use of thermal media.

77. The method of claim 63, further comprising: identifying the first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head so as to minimize use of thermal media in light of the identified portion of the custom print data.