Thermal transfer ribbon mechanism and recording method
First Claim
1. A recording apparatus comprising, in combnation:
- a track in which a document tobe recorded upon may travel;
a platen engageable with said document when said document is in recording position;
a movable recording head capable of moving in operative relation to said platen in a first recording direction and in a second return direction, for recording on said document;
a ribbon take-up spool, a ribbon supply spool, and an ink donor ribbon extending therebetween and extending across said recording head between said recording head and the document to be recorded upon;
stepping motor means for driving said ribbon take-up spool;
sensing means for sensing and measuring the movement of said ribbon for said supply spool to said take-up spool; and
control means coupled to said sensing means for controlling the operation of said stepping motor means and said recording head, and including means for reversing the movement of said take-up spool to provide a predetermined amount of slack in said ribbon during each printing operation, and also including means for determining the number of steps taken by said stepping motor means in a reverse direction by utilizing the number of steps taken by said stepping motor means in a plurality of movements of given distance of the ribbon measured by said sensing means during recording operations, said slack being provided to prevent smudging of the transferred ink on the document by the ribbon or breaking of the ribbon during the movement in recording direction by said recording head.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A thermal printing apparatus is disclosed in which ribbon advancing mechanism including a supply spool and a take-up spool operated by a stepping motor is disclosed. Mechanism is provided for reversing the direction in which the take-up spool is driven by a specified amount during the printing cycle, in order to provide ribbon slack, so as to avoid smudging of the transferred ink on the receiving document and possible ribbon breakage during printing. The circumference of the accumulated ribbon on the take-up spool at any given time is considered in determining the number of steps and the step rate of the stepping motor in the reverse direction which must be taken in order to produce the desired amount of ribbon slack and slack take-up.
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Citations
17 Claims
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1. A recording apparatus comprising, in combnation:
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a track in which a document tobe recorded upon may travel; a platen engageable with said document when said document is in recording position; a movable recording head capable of moving in operative relation to said platen in a first recording direction and in a second return direction, for recording on said document; a ribbon take-up spool, a ribbon supply spool, and an ink donor ribbon extending therebetween and extending across said recording head between said recording head and the document to be recorded upon; stepping motor means for driving said ribbon take-up spool; sensing means for sensing and measuring the movement of said ribbon for said supply spool to said take-up spool; and control means coupled to said sensing means for controlling the operation of said stepping motor means and said recording head, and including means for reversing the movement of said take-up spool to provide a predetermined amount of slack in said ribbon during each printing operation, and also including means for determining the number of steps taken by said stepping motor means in a reverse direction by utilizing the number of steps taken by said stepping motor means in a plurality of movements of given distance of the ribbon measured by said sensing means during recording operations, said slack being provided to prevent smudging of the transferred ink on the document by the ribbon or breaking of the ribbon during the movement in recording direction by said recording head. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13)
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14. A thermal printing apparatus comprising, in combination:
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a track in which a document to be recorded upon may travel; a platen engageable with said document when said document is in printing position; a movable thermal print head capable of moving in operative relation to said platen in a direction of movement perpendicular to the direction of movement of said document in said track to provide at least one line of indicia on said document, in a first printing direction, and in a second return direction, for printing on said document; a ribbon take-up spool, a ribbon supply spool, and a thermal transfer ribbon extending therebetween and extending across said thermal print head between said thermal print head and said document to be recorded upon; stepping motor means for driving said ribbon take-up spool; sensing means for sensing and measuring the movement of said ribbon from said supply spool to said take-up spool; and control means coupled to said sensing means for controlling the operation of said stepping motor means and said thermal print head, and including means for reversing the movement of said take-up spool to provide a predetermined amount of slack in said ribbon during each printing operation, and also including means for determining the number of steps taken by said stepping motor means in a reverse direction by utilizing the number of steps taken by said stepping motor means in a plurality of movements of given distance of the ribbon measured by said sensing means during recording operations, said slack being provided to prevent smudging of the document by the ribbon or breaking of the ribbon during the movement in printing direction by said thermal print head. - View Dependent Claims (15)
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16. A method of thermal recording employing a thermal transfer ribbon carrying ink material which is transferred to a document by thermal means, comprising the following steps:
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(a) advancing the ribbon a predetermined amount in a recording direction by a stepping motor during each recording operation to provide a fresh ribbon for the transferral of ink to a document to be recorded upon; (b) sensing and measuring the number of steps of the stepping motor required for movement of the ribbon a given distance in said recording direction; and (c) reversing the ribbon by a predetermined amount during each recording cycle by operation of the stepping motor in a reverse direction a number of steps determined by utilizing the number of steps taken by the stepping motor for movement of the ribbon a given distance in said recording direction, to provide ribbon slack for the prevention of document smudging and ribbon breakage. - View Dependent Claims (17)
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Specification