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Apparatus and method for controlling a thermal printer apparatus

  • US 4,621,271 A
  • Filed: 09/23/1985
  • Issued: 11/04/1986
  • Est. Priority Date: 09/23/1985
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. In a thermal printer apparatus including a print head having a number of thermal pixels, one for each image pixel, formed into a plurality of groups of thermal pixels, the thermal pixels of each group being simultaneously addressable in parallel and having N different possible temperature levels, the improvement comprising:

  • a. a storage device having a plurality of stages, one for each thermal pixel;

    b. means for sequentially storing N digital signals in the stages of the storage device, in which the state of each stage corresponds to whether or not a corresponding thermal pixel is to be energized;

    c. means for sequentially addressing the groups of thermal pixels each time a digital signal is stored in the storage device with each group of thermal pixels being addressed N times; and

    d. means for selectively energizing each thermal pixel each time it is addressed depending upon the state of its corresponding stage until each thermal pixel is at one of N possible temperatures.

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