IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO PRINTERS

• US 20200130387A1
• Filed: 05/02/2018
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 05/03/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Domino Uk Limited (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Domino Uk Limited (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Bridges, Richard Thomas Calhoun, Lee, Daniel John, Martin, Juergen
• Granted Patent: US 10,981,400 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 13/0009 control of the transport of the copy material
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/02 generating a continuous ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/03 by pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2002/022 Control methods or devices for continuous ink jet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 25/001 Mechanisms for bodily moving print heads or carriages parallel to the paper surface

Abstract

A printer (5) operable to print a message in strokes on a substrate (7) passing in a print direction (8) along a moving line (6), wherein the printer is operable (15) to receive an indication of an allowable increase in length in the print direction of a message due to an increase in length in the print direction of gaps between successive strokes printed by the printer, to receive (14) an indication (9) of a speed of movement in the print direction of a moving line, to determine from the indication of the speed of movement of the moving line whether an increase in length in the print direction of a message printed by the printer is greater than the allowable increase in length and, if so, to generate an alert,

Claims

1. A method of regulating the operation of a printer printing in strokes on a substrate passing along a moving line in a print direction, said method being characterised in that it includes a user of said printer defining an allowable amount of stretch in said print direction of a message to be printed by said printer.

2. A method as claimed in claim 1 wherein a speed sensing facility is provided giving an output representative of the speed of said moving line, said method comprising defining, in units corresponding to the output of said speed sensing facility, target gaps between strokes in said print direction;

defining an allowable stretch in said message; and

comparing the outputs of stroke printing events of said speed sensing facility with said target gaps.

3. A method as claimed in claim 2 wherein the output of said speed sensing facility is provided as encoder pulses and wherein said target gaps are defined in terms of pulses, said method comprising comparing the counts of encoder pulses of print stroke events with the counts representing said target gaps.

4. A method as claimed in claim 3 wherein said printer is provided with a print system into which a message to be printed is loaded, said method comprising programming said print system to determine said target count measures.

5. A method as claimed in claim 1 further including determining and storing a maximum difference between said allowable gaps and said actual gaps.

6. A method as claimed in claim 1 further including generating an alert in the event said allowable amount of stretch exceeds a defined limit.

7. A printer operable to print a message in strokes on a substrate passing in a print direction along a moving line, wherein the printer is operable to receive an indication of an allowable increase in length in the print direction of a message due to an increase in length in the print direction of gaps between successive strokes printed by the printer, to receive an indication of a speed of movement in the print direction of a moving line, to determine from the indication of the speed of movement of the moving line whether an increase in length in the print direction of a message printed by the printer is greater than the allowable increase in length and, if so, to generate an alert.

8. A printer operable to print in strokes on a substrate passing along a moving line, wherein said printer is configured to apply the method claimed in claim 7.

9. A printer as claimed in claim 7 comprising a continuous inkjet printer.