CN1914047A - Identification card printer ribbon cartridge - Google Patents

Abstract

A ribbon cartridge (130) includes a cartridge housing (300), a supply spool (122), a take-up spool (124), and a supply of ribbon. The cartridge housing includes a supply spool enclosure (302), a take-up spool enclosure (304), a pair of ribbon guides (340) and (342), and a gap between the ribbon guides and the supply and take-up spool enclosures. The supply spool is contained in the supply spool enclosure, and the take-up spool is contained in the take-up spool enclosure. The ribbon (120) extends from the supply spool, over the ribbon guides and the gap, and to the take-up spool. Another aspect of the ribbon cartridge includes a cartridge housing (300) and a cleaner roller (444). The cartridge housing includes front and rear walls (316) and (330). The cleaner roller is rotatably supported between the front and rear walls.

Description

ID card printer ribbon box

technical field

The invention relates to an ID card printer ribbon box.

Background technique

Identity cards are widely used to carry information typically associated with the card holder. ID card printing systems are used to form ID cards by printing images containing textual and graphic information onto card substrates, such as plastic cards.

Many ID card printing systems, such as those made by Fargo Electronics of Eden Prairie, Minnesota, are thermal-based printing systems. Such systems print an image onto a card substrate by using a thermal printhead and a thermal print ribbon held tightly between the printhead and the card substrate. Thermal printing tape or dye-sublimation tape is usually divided along its length into different color frames or panels. The frame or panel sequence or repeats in groups consisting of a yellow panel followed by a magenta panel followed by a cyan panel. In addition, black resin frames or panels can be set in the order of colored panels, if desired. The thermal printhead includes a plurality of resistive heating elements that are selectively energized to independently heat panels of the thermal print ribbon and cause printing material to be transferred from selected panels to the card substrate and form the desired Image.

The thermal ribbon can be supported in a ribbon cassette to simplify loading of the ribbon in the printer. Ribbon cassettes generally include a supply spool on which a first end of the ribbon is wound and a take-up spool on which a second end of the ribbon is wound. The middle section of the ribbon extends between the supply and take-up spools. The printer controls the supply of ribbon over the printhead from the supply spool to the take-up spool.

There is a continuing need for improvements to ribbon cassettes for use in ID card printers, including forming ribbon cassettes to allow ID card printers to be formed more compactly, providing roller cleaning features, and other desirable features.

Contents of the invention

The present invention generally relates to ribbon cassettes for use in ID card printers. These aspects of the invention allow printers utilizing the ribbon cassette of the invention to be more compactly formed and provide roller cleaning features. Ribbon cassettes typically include a cassette housing, supply spool, take-up spool, and ribbon source. The cassette housing includes a supply spool housing, a take-up spool housing, a pair of ribbon guides, and a gap between the ribbon guides and the supply and take-up spool housings. The supply spool is housed within the supply spool housing, and the take-up spool is housed within the take-up spool housing. Ribbon extends from the supply spool to the take-up spool over the ribbon guide and the gap.

Another aspect of the ribbon cassette of the present invention includes a cassette housing and a cleaner roll. The box housing includes a front wall and a rear wall. A cleaner roll is rotatably supported between the front and rear walls.

These and other features of the present invention will become apparent after consideration of the drawings and corresponding detailed description.

Description of drawings

1 is a perspective view of an ID card printer according to various embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of a printer according to various embodiments of the invention;

3 is a schematic diagram of an ID card printer, with selected elements shown in cross-section, in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 4 is a perspective exploded view of an ID card printer and ribbon cassette according to various embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the printer of claim 4 taken along line 5-5;

6 and 7 are exploded and assembled views of the bushing and sidewall of an ID card printer according to various embodiments of the present invention;

8 and 9 are top and side schematic views, respectively, of a printhead, thermal ribbon, and ribbon sensor, according to various embodiments of the present invention;

10 is a front plan view of an ID card printer with an open front cover in accordance with various embodiments of the present invention;

Figures 11 and 12 are schematic diagrams illustrating misalignment and alignment, respectively, between the active printing elements of the printhead and the ID card;

Figure 13 is an exploded perspective view of a ribbon cassette according to various embodiments of the present invention;

Figure 14 is a perspective view of a cartridge housing according to various embodiments of the invention;

Figure 15 is a cross-sectional view of the cartridge housing of Figure 14 taken along line 15-15;

Figure 16 is a rear perspective view of an exploded ribbon cassette with a cleaner roller in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention;

Figure 17 is a rear perspective view of a ribbon cassette and implement according to various embodiments of the present invention;

18 and 19 are exploded and assembled views, respectively, of a ribbon spool and supply circuit according to various embodiments of the invention;

20 is a flowchart of a method of operating an ID card manufacturing device with a ribbon source according to various embodiments of the invention;

Fig. 21 is a schematic diagram of an ID card printer according to the prior art.

Detailed ways

An ID card printer 100 in which the ribbon cartridge of the present invention may be used is shown in FIG. 1 . As explained in more detail below, the ribbon cassette operates with the reverse printhead of the printer 100 with its resistive heating element or printing element facing upward. This configuration allows the printer 100 to be formed more compactly than conventional ID card printers, which utilize a vertically oriented print head with the printing elements facing downward, as shown in FIG. 21 . In such a conventional ID card printer 600 , an ID card 602 is fed along a print path 604 below a print element 606 of a printhead 608 . Thermal print ribbon 611 is fed between printing element 606 and an upper surface 612 of card 602 on which an image is to be printed by printhead 608 . A card source 614 may be provided on a card input 616 from which a bottom card 614 is fed along the print path 602 from a card 620 . A card hopper 622 may be positioned opposite the card input 616 to collect processed cards 602 . Due to the relatively flat print path 604 , the base 624 of the card hopper 622 must be positioned just below the print path to collect the cards 620 . Due to the orientation of the printhead 608 above the print path 604 and the location of the card hopper 622 below the print path 604, such a conventional ID card printer 600 must be formed relatively tall compared to the printer 100 of the present invention.

A general description of the ID card printer 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention will first be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 . 2 is a schematic diagram of printer 100 and FIG. 3 is a simplified front view of printer 100 with selected elements depicted in cross-section. Generally, the printer 100 includes a card input unit 102 , a card transport unit 104 , a print head 106 , and a card output unit 108 . Card 110 is received on card input 102 via card transport 104 . The card transport section 104 independently feeds the cards 110 along the print path 112 . The print path 112 is preferably substantially flat between the card input 102 and the card output 108 to generally avoid bending the rigid or semi-rigid card substrate 110 , which could damage the card 110 .

The card transport section 104 includes a card feed roller 114 that is driven by a motor 116 through a gear and pulley arrangement. It should be understood that separate motors may be used at different stages of card transport through the printer 100 . For example, one motor 116 may be used to drive the feed of cards 110 through the input 102 and another motor 116 may be used to feed the cards 110 through the printer 100 thereafter. Card feed rollers 114 drive cards 110 along print path 112 . Card support plates or rails (not shown) may also be used to provide support for the card 110 through the card transport 104 along the print path 112 during transport.

Printhead 106 is positioned below print path 112 and includes upward facing printing elements 118 . A source of thermal print ribbon 120 extends between supply spool 112 and take-up spool 124 over printing element 118 across gap 126 in which printhead 106 is positioned. The supply spool 122 and take-up spool 124 are preferably positioned adjacent to opposite sides of the printhead 106 and below the print path 112 . As will be described in more detail below, the print ribbon 120 may be housed in a removable ribbon cassette 130 , which is shown in partial cross-section in FIG. 3 .

During a printing operation, cards 110 are fed through card transport 104 between print ribbon 120 and roller 132 . Pressure is applied to the print ribbon 120 and the bottom-facing printing surface 134 of the card 110 by the roller 132 and the printhead 106 . The printing element 118 is optionally supplied with energy 76 to heat the portion of the print ribbon 120 that it contacts, thereby causing the transfer of printing material or dye from the print ribbon 120 to the surface 134 of the card 110 to form the desired image thereon . The printed card 110 may then be ejected through the card output 108 .

The printer 100 includes a controller 140 configured to control the operation of the printer 100, including one or more motors 116 driving the card feed rollers 114 of the card transport 104 in response to print jobs provided by a card manufacturing application 144, a Alternatively a plurality of motors 142 controls the feeding of the print ribbon 120 between the feed and take-up rollers 122 , 124 , optional energization of the printing elements 118 of the printhead 106 and other elements of the printer 100 . It should be understood that the motors 116 and 142 of FIG. 2 provide a simplified illustration of the means by which the card transport 104 and supply and take-up rollers 122, 124 are driven. Fewer or additional motors can be used as desired. Additionally, the motors 116, 142 may be operable to drive various elements other than those depicted in FIG. 2 . For example, motor 142 may be configured to drive take-up roller 124 instead of supply roller 122 .

Card manufacturing application 144 may run on computer 146 or be housed in printer memory 148 for execution by controller 140 . A print job typically includes card processing instructions, such as print instructions, data write instructions, data read instructions, and other card processing instructions, according to conventional methods.

Additional commands and input signals may be provided to controller 140 from input 150 (FIG. 2), which may be input control 152 in the form of buttons 154 or 156 (FIG. 1) or other input devices. Controller 140 may provide information to a user on display 158 of control panel 156 .

Firmware 160 for printer 100 is preferably stored in memory 148 of printer 100 , such as flash memory, and executed by controller 140 to operate printer 100 . Firmware 160 may be periodically upgraded with revised versions. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the encrypted firmware upgrade is downloaded into the memory 148 of the printer 100, such as by the computer 146 . The loader program 162 stored in the memory 148 of the printer 100 , such as flash memory, is configured to decrypt the encrypted firmware upgrade and load the decrypted firmware upgrade into the memory 148 of the printer 100 to complete the upgrade of the firmware 160 .

Individual cards 110 may be provided to card input 102 in a stack 164 of cards 110, which is received in a card hopper 166, an embodiment of which is depicted in FIGS. 3-5. 4 is a perspective view of the printer 100 including the card hopper 166, and FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the card hopper 166 generally along line 5-5 of FIG. The cards 110 of the card stack 164 are oriented with the surface 134 on which the image will be printed facing downward. Unlike conventional printers that have stacked cards with the printing surface facing upwards, the orientation of the cards 110 of the card stack 164 of the present invention helps prevent dust from accumulating on the printing surface 134 . This produces a cleaner printing surface 134, which improves the quality of images that can be printed thereon. Additional dust protection for card stack 164 may be provided by cover 168, open as shown in FIG.

The card stack 164 is supported by a base member 170 of a card hopper 166 connected to a bar 172 via an arm 174 . Arm 174 includes a cylindrical portion 176 through which rod 172 extends. Cylindrical portion 176 is configured to slide along rod 172 to allow base member 170 to move up and down relative to card input 102 .

A biasing mechanism 173 , described as a coil spring, applies an upward force to card stack 164 . The biasing mechanism 178 is directed toward the top card 180 of the card stack 164 on the card input 102 relative to the card feed roller 182 of the card transport 104 , as shown in FIG. 3 . The top card 180 may then be fed through the card transport 104 from the card input 102 and along the print path 112 .

Additional biasing mechanisms may be provided to ensure proper contact with the card feed roller 182 of the card transport 104 . For example, the base member 170 may include a leaf spring 184 or other suitable spring or biasing mechanism, which may be configured to apply additional force to the front 186 of the card stack 164 . This causes the front 186 of the card stack 164 to lift slightly from the base member 170 , which is assisted by the card transport 104 to feed the top cards 180 through the card input 102 .

According to one embodiment of the invention, the base member 170 can be temporarily latched in the loaded position (FIG. 4) by pressing down on the lever 187, relative to the bottom 188 (FIG. 5) of the card hopper 166. The base is lowered and the lever 187 is connected to the base 170 and the arm 174 . A suitable latch mechanism temporarily retains the base 170 in the loaded position. When the cover 186 ( FIG. 4 ) is closed due to the execution of a latch mechanism such as a latch 189 of the cover 186 , the latch mechanism preferably automatically releases the base member 170 from the loaded position. The biasing mechanism 178 then moves the base member to the card feed position, as shown in FIG. 5 .

As previously mentioned, the card transport section 104 preferably includes a plurality of feed or drive rollers 114 configured to transport the top card 180 along the print path 112 . The supply roller 114 generally includes a shaft 190 that extends through a larger diameter card holder 192 and is supported through the side walls of the printer 100, as shown in FIG. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the card feed roller 114 is mounted to a side wall 194 of the printer 100 by a twist lock bushing 196, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 5 . A perspective exploded view of bushing 196 removed from sidewall 194 is provided in FIG. 6 , and a perspective view of bushing 196 coupled to sidewall 194 is provided in FIG. 7 . The side wall 194 includes a larger opening 198 through which the shaft 190 of the supply roller 114 of the card transport 104 can pass. According to one embodiment of the invention, the card holder 192 can extend through an opening 198 in the side wall 194 . This feature simplifies assembly of the printer 100 by allowing the card feed rollers 114 to be positioned through a single side wall 194 rather than having to extend the ends of each shaft 190 from within the printer's interior through the printer's side wall.

Once the supply roller 114 is positioned with the shaft 190 extending through the opening 198 of the side wall 194 , the end 200 of the shaft 190 is received through the central bore 202 of the bushing 196 . Bushing 196 is then secured to side wall 194 to complete seating of end 200 of supply roller 114 to side wall 194 .

According to one embodiment of the invention, bushing 196 includes tabs 204 extending from cylindrical portion 206 . Preferably two of the at least three tabs 204 are configured to be received in the slots 208, 210 adjacent the opening 198 in the side wall 194, while the third tab 204 is allowed to drop into the side wall 194 inside the opening 198. According to one embodiment of the invention, the tabs 204 are of different sizes and/or shapes so that each can be inserted into only one of the corresponding slots 208, 210 to ensure proper seating of the bushing 196 during installation. orientation. Once tab 204 is inserted into bushings 208 and 210 , shoulder 212 of bushing 196 engages outer surface 214 of sidewall 194 and prevents further insertion into cylindrical portion 206 through sidewall 194 . Bushing 196 can be locked in position on sidewall 194 by twisting or rotating bushing 196 about an axis concentric with central bore 202 , which causes sidewall 194 to be clamped between shoulder 212 and tab 204 .

The bushing 196 may also include an arm 216 including a protrusion 218 that is received by an aperture 220 in the sidewall 194 when the bushing 196 is properly oriented toward the sidewall 194 . In addition to providing alignment features, arms 216 and protrusions 218 also operate to further lock bushing 196 in a desired position against sidewall 194 .

As previously mentioned, thermal print ribbon 120 is typically divided into different color frames or panels along its length. The frame or panel sequence or repeats in groups consisting of a yellow panel followed by a magenta panel followed by a cyan panel. In addition, black resin frames or panels can be set in the order of colored panels, if desired. Printhead 106 optionally prints image lines from the panel of ribbon 120 onto surface 134 of card 110 to form a color image on card 110 in a conventional manner on card 110 under the control of controller 140 .

One embodiment of the printer 100 includes a ribbon sensor 222, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, positioned adjacent to the print ribbon 120 and configured to detect the ribbon panel. The ribbon sensor 222 is preferably positioned adjacent to the printhead 106 in the gap 126 and includes a transmitter 224 and a receiver 226 positioned on the opposite side of the print ribbon 120, as shown in Figure 3 and at the top of Figures 8 and 9, respectively. and shown in the side schematic. According to one embodiment of the present invention, elements of ribbon sensor 222, such as emitter 224, are positioned on printhead 106, as shown in FIG. Optionally, receiver 226 may be positioned on printhead 106 . This positioning of the ribbon sensor 222 proximate to the printhead 106 assists in providing precise positioning of the various panels of the ribbon 120 relative to the printhead 106, which allows efficient use of the ribbon 120.

Emitter 224 preferably includes a light emitting diode (LED). The light generated by the LEDs passing through the print ribbon 120 is detected by the receiver 126 . A signal from receiver 126 in response to the detected light is indicative of the color of the panel through which the light passed. The signal is provided to controller 140 as indicated by line 228 in FIG. 2 . Controller 140 controls the supply of print ribbon 120 through control of bidirectional motor 142 in response to signal 228 to align the desired panel with printhead 106 . According to one embodiment of the invention, the LEDs of the emitter 224 emit blue light having a wavelength of approximately 470 nm, which has been shown to provide the widest dispersion of signals from the receiver 226 between panels of different color bands 120 to Perform precise panel inspection.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, the printer 100 includes a plurality of ribbon sensors 222, such as sensors 222A and 222B shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 . Sensor 222A may include transmitter 224A and receiver 226A, and sensor 222B may include transmitter 224B and receiver 226B, operating as described above. Alternatively, sensor 222B may include only receiver 226B (i.e., without emitter 224B shown in phantom), which is positioned proximate to emitter 224A so that it can utilize emitted light from emitter 222A to provide the required panel inspection.

Sensors 222A and 222B are preferably positioned to allow detection of transition position 230 between individual panels 232 and 234 of ribbon 120 . For example, sensors 222A and 222B are preferably positioned so that when sensor 222A detects panel 232 of one color, sensor 222B detects panel 234 of the other color, which knows that transition position 230 is exactly between sensors 222A and 222B. If desired, the controller 140 may feed the ribbon 120 in a forward direction or a rearward direction to detect the position of the transition position 230 using the sensors 222A, 222B. Once the location of the transition position 230 is determined, the controller 140 can align the printhead 106 relative to the particular ribbon 120 panel as desired. This allows the printer 100 to utilize the entire ribbon panel, which reduces waste and extends the life of the ribbon 120 . This is especially useful when the printer 100 is powered on and the faceplate of the ribbon 120 is positioned relative to the printhead 106 as desired.

The printer 100 also includes a card sensor 240 positioned adjacent to the print path 112 as shown in FIG. 2 . Card sensor 240 is configured to detect the supply of cards 110 along print path 112 by card transport 104 . Card sensor 240 includes an output signal represented by arrow 242 which is provided to controller 140 . Controller 140 uses signal 242 to position card 110 relative to printhead 106 and other elements of printer 100 using card transport 104 as desired.

The printer 100 also includes inner and/or outer expansion modules 244 and 246, respectively, as schematically shown in FIG. 3 . The inner expansion module 244 is positioned to be positioned in line with the print path 112 between the printhead 106 and the card output 108 or between the printhead 106 and the card input 102 . Inner expansion module 244 may be housed in expansion module table 248 of housing 250 of printer 100 , which is shown in top front view in FIG. 10 .

The external expansion module 246 is preferably connected to an end 252 of the printer 100 adjacent the card output 108 . The external expansion module 246 includes a card receiver 254 in card hand-off alignment with the card output 108 .

Each expansion module 244 , 246 generally includes a card processing element 256 , as shown in external expansion module 246 of FIG. 3 . Card processing element 256 provides additional card processing functionality to printer 100 . Card processing element 256 may be, for example: a data encoder configured to write data to a memory chip embedded in card 110; a tape reader configured to write data Reading from the magnetic tape of the card 110; a magnetic tape recorder configured to write data on the magnetic tape of the card 110; a card flipper configured to flip the card 110 to allow processing of both sides of the card 110 A card laminator configured to apply an upper lamination material to the surface of the card 110, or other card processing element. The card processing element 256 may be controlled by the controller 140 or by the controller of a separate expansion module.

The printer 100 also includes an output hopper 260 at the end 252, as shown in FIG. A removable cover 261 may substantially enclose the output hopper 260, as shown in FIG. 10 . The output card hopper 260 is generally disposed below the card output 108 and is configured to collect the cards 110 ejected therefrom. An advantage of the present invention is that the collection of cards 110 in the output hopper 260 is in a first-in first-out sequential fashion. In other words, each card 110 is preferably collected in the output hopper 260 and the image is printed on the printing surface 134 by the downwardly facing printhead 106 . As a result, when the stack 262 is removed from the output hopper 260 and turned over, the bottom card 264 in the stack 262 of cards 110 (being the first card 110 processed by the printer 100) will have the print surface 134 facing upwards. Stack the top card of 262. As a result, the cards 110 in the stack 262 are presented to the user in a first-in, first-out order. This is preferred over conventional conventional card printers, such as the printer 600 shown in FIG. On the bottom of the card 626 stack of the card hopper 622, the surface to be printed 612 faces upward. As a result, the last-in-last-out card stack 626 must be reorganized to place the cards 602 in a first-in, first-out order, with the printing surface 612 of the first card 602 being processed facing upward.

A print job provided by application 144 typically includes print image data that provides instructions for controlling printhead 106 by controller 140 to print an image on surface 134 of card 110 . The instructions determine which printing elements 118 of the printhead 106 are active during printing. In order to properly print an image on the surface 134 of the card 110 , the active printing elements of the printhead 106 that will be energized to print the image must extend across the width of the card 110 . If this is not the case, the image being printed will generally not be properly aligned with the surface 134 of the card 110 . Furthermore, it would not be possible to provide edge-to-edge printing of the image on the surface 134 of the card 110 .

Typically, each printer 100 must be tested at the factory to ensure that the printing elements 118 and cards 110 are properly aligned during printing operations. If they are not aligned, a mechanical adjustment of the position of the printhead 106 relative to the card 110 is usually required. This may include moving the position of the printhead 106 , or adjusting the card transport 104 to change the position of the card 110 on the printhead 106 .

The present invention provides a method of aligning the printing elements 118 of the printhead 106 with the card 110 without requiring mechanical adjustments to the printer 100, as shown in FIG. Instead, an offset value 270 is determined and stored in memory 148 (eg, flash memory) of printer 100 , as shown in FIG. 2 . The offset value 270 provides an adjustment for the printing elements 118 of the printhead 106 to be set active so as to be energized to print an image onto the surface 134 of the card 110 during a printing operation. 11 is a simplified top view 134 (shown in phantom) of printing element 118 of printhead 106 relative to card 110 . Initially active printing elements 118 are represented by shaded boxes 272 , while non-shaded boxes 274 represent inactive printing elements 118 . Thus, FIG. 11 illustrates a misalignment between active printing element 272 and approximately four printing elements 118 . Thus, an offset value 270 of negative four would set the example in FIG. shown in . Accordingly, the offset value 270 adjusts the printing element 118 used by the printhead 106 to process the print job so that the active printing element 118 is properly aligned with the card 110 to ensure edge-to-edge printing capability and Proper alignment of the image to be printed and the card 110.

During a print operation, a print job is received from the card processing application 144 from which print image data is generated, which specifies the active print element 272 . Next, an offset value 270 is received from the printer 100 . Offset value 270 is then used to represent the modified set of active printing elements 118 , such as element 272 shown in FIG. 12 . Finally, the modified set of active printing elements 118 is used to process the print job, resulting in the printing of the image represented by the print job being aligned with the print due to proper alignment between the active printing elements 118 of the printhead 106 and the card 110. The surface 134 of the card 110 is properly aligned.

According to further embodiments of the present invention, the original active print element 118 indicated by the print image data generated from the print job, such as element 272 shown in FIG. 11 , is initially not modified. Next, the offset value 270 is received from the printer 100 immediately before the print job is processed by the application 144 with the printer 100 . Finally, the print image data is regenerated to indicate the modified set of active printing elements 118 (elements 270 of FIG. 12 ) of printhead 106 offset from the original set of active printing elements by offset value 270 .

As previously mentioned, the print ribbon 120 may be housed in a removable ribbon cassette 130 ( FIG. 4 ), which contains supply and take-up spools 122 , 124 . The ribbon cassette 130 is received in a cassette receptacle 280 of the printer housing 250 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 10 . Cartridge receptacle 280 is preferably accessed through front surface 282 of housing 250 to provide front loading of cartridge 130 in printer 100 . A front cover 284 of the housing 250 may cover the cartridge receptacle 280, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4 .

13-17 provide different views of the ribbon cassette 130 . Ribbon cassette 130 includes a cassette housing 300 that is preferably formed from a single piece of semi-flexible plastic. The housing 300 generally includes a supply spool housing 302 that houses the supply spool 122 and a take-up spool housing 304 that houses the take-up spool 124 . The supply and take-up spool housings 302, 304 each include inner side walls 306, 308, respectively, joined together by a front panel 310, as shown in FIG. As shown in Figure 14, the openings 312, 314 of the front walls 316 and 318 of the supply and take-up spool housings 302, 304 accommodate the fronts 320 of the spool cores 322, 324 of the supply and take-up spools 122, 124, respectively, as shown in FIG. 13, 17 shown. Similarly, the openings 326, 328 and the rear walls 330, 332 of the supply and take-up spool housings 302, 304 accommodate the rear portions 334 of the cores 322, 324 of the supply and take-up spools 122, 124, respectively, as shown in FIGS. Show.

Front core support walls 336, 338 are provided in the supply and take-up spool housings 302, 304 to provide support to the fronts 320 of the cores 322, 324 of the supply and take-up spools 122, 124, respectively, as shown in FIGS. 14, 15. shown. The print ribbon 120 is wound on the cores 322, 324 of the supply and take-up spools 122, 124 between the front and rear ribbon guides 340, 342. The ribbon guides 340 , 342 also limit axial movement of the cores 322 , 324 of the supply and take-up spools 122 , 124 between the rear walls 330 , 332 and the front core support walls 336 , 338 of the cassette housing 300 .

One problem encountered with prior art ribbon cassettes is that they require fine adjustment to avoid accidental unwinding of the print ribbon. The ribbon cassette 130 of the present invention avoids this problem by providing spool rotation inhibitors 344, 346, as shown in FIGS. , while the ribbon cassette 130 is not seated in the cassette receiver 280 of the printer 100 .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the spool rotation inhibitors 344, 346 extend between the front core support walls 336 and 338 of the spool housings 302, 304 and the front walls 316, 318 by tightening from the supply box of the box housing 300, respectively. . Tabs 348 , 350 are positioned to engage the front 320 of the spool cores 322 , 324 and provide frictional resistance to the supply and take-up spools 122 , 124 . Ridges 352 may be formed on tabs 348, 350 to provide the desired rotational resistance. When the ribbon cassette 130 is installed in the cassette receptacle 280, the rotational resistance of the supply and take-up spools 122, 124 provided by the rotation inhibitors 344, 346 is passed by the motor 142 which drives the supply and take-up spools 122, 124 in rotation. to overcome. Additionally, the housing 300 includes finger retainers 353 to allow the ribbon cassette 130 to be seated into the cassette receptacle without the ribbon cassette touching the ribbon 120 .

The supply and take-up spool housings 302 , 304 of the cassette housing 300 are preferably shaped such that the ribbon cassette 130 can only be received by a properly oriented cassette receiver 280 . As such, the cartridge receiver 280 preferably includes a first cavity portion 354 configured to receive the supply spool housing 302 and a second cavity portion 356 configured to receive the take-up spool housing 304 . The first and second cavity portions 354, 356 also preferably substantially conform to the outer shape of the supply and take-up spool housings 302, 304, which is shown in the cross-sectional view of the ribbon cassette 130 in FIG.

During installation of ribbon cassette 130 and cassette receiver 280, first and second drive shafts 360, 362 (FIGS. 3, 4) are received in rear openings 364, 364, 366, as shown in Figure 16. Once the ribbon cassette 130 is seated in the cassette receptacle 80, the drive shafts 360, 362 provide support for the supply and take-up spools 122, 124 and align them in the desired position.

The drive shafts 360, 362 are driven by the motor 142 under the control of the controller 140 to rotate the feed and take-up spools 122, 124 as needed, thereby controlling the position of the ribbon 120 and its faceplate relative to the printhead 106, and providing Tension in the ribbon 120. The drive shafts 360 , 362 each preferably include received between corresponding longitudinal ridges 367 of the supply and take-up spool cores 322 , 324 , as shown in FIG. 16 . The base 369 interdigitates with the base 367 to prevent slippage between the shafts 360 , 362 and the supply and take-up spools 122 , 124 .

The cassette receiver 280 also includes at least one cassette receiving guide 368 configured to receive a corresponding cassette loading guide 370 of the ribbon cassette 130 to provide vertical support to the front 372 of the ribbon cassette 130, as shown in FIG. . According to an embodiment of the present invention, cartridge receiving guide 368 includes a channel 373 and cartridge loading guide 370 includes a protrusion 374 extending from supply spool housing 302 of cartridge housing 300 ( FIG. 3 ). During loading of the ribbon cassette 130 in the cassette receptacle 280 , the protrusion 374 slides within the channel 373 and provides support for the front portion 372 of the ribbon cassette 130 . Other types of cartridge receiving guides 368 and cartridge loading guides 370 may also be used.

Gap 126 (FIG. 3) is defined by inner side walls 306, 308 and ribbon guides 380, 382 (FIGS. 13, 16) disposed between and over the supply and take-up spools 122, 124 described above. The distance between the ribbon guides 380 , 382 is preferably less than about 0.75 inches, but at least wide enough to accommodate the printhead 106 . Printhead 106 is covered by front cover 384 ( FIG. 4 ) and is received in gap 126 when ribbon cassette 130 is seated into cassette receptacle 280 ( FIG. 3 ).

In order to provide for easy installation of the cartridge in the cartridge receptacle 280 for removal of the ribbon cartridge 130, the printhead 106 is preferably movable in a vertical direction, as shown in FIG. This vertical movement of the printhead 106 is provided in part by the printhead being slidably mounted within the printer 100 . Preferably, the printhead 106 includes a fully downward position 400 represented by a dotted outline. In the fully down position 400, the printhead 106 is lowered below the ribbon guides 380, 382 to prevent interference between the printhead 106 and the print ribbon 120, which is between the ribbon cassette 130 and the cassette receiver 280. Extends over the ribbon guides 380, 382 during installation. Once the ribbon cassette 130 is seated in the cassette receptacle 280 (FIGS. 3, 10), the printhead 106 can be raised from a fully down position 400 to an idle position 402 represented by a dotted outline, as shown in FIG. Show. Prior to printing to the surface 134 of the card 110, the printhead 106 is moved to a printing position 404, which is shown by the implementation in FIG. When in the printing position 404, the print head 106 is raised relative to the rest position 402 such that the printing element 118 and the printing ribbon 120 overlapping the printing element 118 are raised to a position adjacent to the printing path 112 to allow printing to on the surface of the card 110 .

Raising and lowering of the printhead 106 between the fully down position 400 and the printing position 404 is provided by a cam mechanism 410 as shown schematically in FIG. 2 . The cam mechanism 410 is driven by a motor 412 under the control of the controller 140 . The cam mechanism 410 can adopt various structures. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the cam mechanism 410 includes first and second cam members 414, 416, as shown in FIG. The first cam member 414 is rotatably driven by the motor 412 (FIG. 2). Second cam member 416 is connected to printhead 106 at end 418 and engages first cam member 414 at end 420 . Rotation of first cam member 414 by motor 412 causes second cam member 416 to pivot about axis 422 , which in turn raises or lowers printhead 106 depending on the direction of rotation of first cam member 414 .

As schematically shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , the print head position sensor 424 can detect the position of the print head 106 and provide the position information to the controller 140 . Controller 140 uses the position information to position printhead 106 as desired through control of motor 412 that drives first cam member 414 .

A printhead biasing mechanism 426 , described as a spring, may be provided to prevent the printhead 106 from being raised from the fully down position 400 . Additionally, as shown in FIG. 3 , the base 428 of the printer housing 250 includes an opening 430 through which adjustments to the cam mechanism 410 can be made and the printhead 106 can be removed.

One embodiment of the printer 100 includes a card cleaner roller 440 positioned immediately below the print path 112 between the printhead 106 and the card input 102 , as shown in FIG. 3 . The printer card cleaner roller 440 preferably operates as the feed roller 114 of the card transport 104 and includes a debris collection surface 442 . The debris collection surface 442 engages the printing surface 134 of the card 110 as the card is fed along the printing path 112 and removes dust and other debris from the surface 134 prior to printing thereon by the printhead 106 . The printer card cleaner roller 440 may be cleaned periodically by a user of the printer 100 .

One embodiment of the card cartridge 130 includes a cleaner roller 444, shown in FIGS. , which eliminates the need to clean, remove or replace the card cleaner roller 440. The cleaner roll 444 of the ribbon cassette 130 includes a debris collection surface 446 that is preferably more viscous than the debris collection surface 442 of the card cleaner roll 440 . According to one embodiment of the invention, the debris collection surface 446 of the cleaner roll 444 may comprise double-sided tape or adhesive applied to a removable liner mounted to the core 448 . The debris collection surface 446 can be periodically refreshed, or the cleaner roller 444 of the ribbon cassette 130 can be periodically replaced with another card cleaner roller 444 as needed.

The cleaner roll 444 includes front and rear ends 450 , 452 that extend through apertures 454 , 456 in the front and rear walls 316 and 330 of the supply spool housing 302 of the cassette housing 300 , respectively. The cleaner roll can be easily inserted and removed from the cartridge housing 300 by simply bending the cartridge housing slightly.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the cartridge housing 300 includes a removable cover 460 that covers the top of the supply spool housing 302 and prevents the ribbon 320 from contacting the debris collection surface 446 of the cleaner roll 444, As shown in Figures 4, 15 and 16. The cover 460 preferably includes tabs 462, each having a protrusion 464 configured to be received within a corresponding aperture 466 in the front and rear walls 316, 330 of the supply spool housing 302, as shown in FIGS. Show.

The cleaner roller 444 is preferably activated into contact with the card cleaner roller 440 after the ribbon cassette 130 and cassette receiver 280 are installed. According to one embodiment of the invention, the rear end 452 of the cleaner roller 444 includes an opening 470 configured to receive a rod 472 of an actuator 474, as shown in FIG. 17 . Actuator 474 generally operates to hold cleaner roller 444 in contact with card cleaner roller 440 when ribbon cartridge 130 is installed into cartridge receiver 280 during operation of the printer, as shown in FIG. 3 . As shown in FIG. 3, the rod 272 of the actuator 474 and the dashed line representation of the cleaner roller 444 illustrate the receiving position for the actuator 474, wherein the rod 472 is positioned to pass through the opening 470 of the cleaner roller 444 in the ribbon cassette. 130 extends when received in cartridge receptacle 280 .

One embodiment of the implement 474 includes a ring 476 rotatably mounted about the rear side of the drive shaft 360 . The actuator 474 rotates about the drive shaft 360 from the receiving position to a card cleaning position in which the debris collection surface 446 of the cleaner roller 444 engages the debris collection surface 442 of the card cleaner roller 440, as shown in FIG. 3 .

Movement of the actuator 472 between the receiving and card cleaning positions is preferably triggered by the closing of the front cover 284 of the printer housing 250 . According to one embodiment of the present invention, this is accomplished by a protrusion 478 that is seated on the inner surface 480 of the front cover 284, as shown in FIG. 4 . Preferably, the actuator 474 is biased towards the receiving position. When cover 284 is fully closed, protrusion 478 extends through opening 482 of housing 250 and engages a suitable linkage structure that moves actuator 474 from the receiving position to the full card cleaning position to cause the roller cleaner roller 444 to The debris collection surface 446 engages the card cleaner roller 440 and rotates together during printing.

According to another embodiment of the present invention, a supply circuit 500 with a memory 402 is mounted on the ribbon cassette 130, as schematically shown in FIG. 2 . A suitable supply circuit is I-CODE1 manufactured by Philips. The memory 502 of the supply circuit 500 contains information related to the print ribbon 120 , such as a lot code identifying a plurality of ribbons 120 , a supply code identifying the supplier of the ribbon 120 or a ribbon cassette 130 , the color of the print ribbon 120 Ribbon type identification parameters, security codes that can be used to prevent unauthorized use of the ribbon cartridge 130, for optimizing printer architecture settings such as printer settings including printhead settings that affect image color and density, multiple pass through print ribbon 120 Completed prints, and/or multiple prints remaining or that may be printed by print ribbon 120 .

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the supply circuit 500 may be mounted to either the supply reel 122 or the take-up reel 124 as shown in FIGS. 18 and 19 . FIG. 18 is an exploded perspective view of the supply circuit 500 mounted to the supply reel 122 , and FIG. 19 is an assembled view of the supply line circuit 500 mounted to the supply reel 122 . According to one embodiment of the invention, the supply circuit 500 is formed as a ring 504 mounted to a rearward facing surface 506 of the rear belt guide 342 .

The printer 100 includes a supply circuit reader 510 as schematically shown in FIG. 2 . The controller 140 is configured to acquire or read supply information contained in the memory 502 of the supply circuit 500 using the supply circuit reader 510 . The provisioning information is preferably captured prior to provisioning of the card 110 via the card transport 104 . In addition, the controller 140 may write data into the memory 502 of the supply circuit 500 through the supply circuit reader 510 . Supply circuit reader 510 communicates with memory 502 using conventional techniques including radio frequency (RF) communication methods.

Communications between the controller 140 and the supply circuit 500 through the supply circuit reader 510 are preferably secured using different encryption methods to protect the supply information. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the provisioning information contained in the memory 502 of the provisioning circuit 500 is encrypted according to a first encryption method, the provisioning information contained in the memory 502 of the provisioning circuit 500 is in a form that can be decrypted by the controller 140 to encrypt. According to a further embodiment of the present invention, provisioning circuit reader 510 includes a processor configured to decrypt encrypted provisioning information and re-encrypt the provisioning information according to a second encryption method. The first encryption method is preferably different from the second encryption method. Finally, the re-encrypted provisioning information is communicated to the controller 140, which is configured to decrypt the re-encrypted provisioning information.

Further embodiments of the present invention relate to a method of operating the printer 100, which is shown in the flowchart of FIG. 20 . At step 520 of the method, a value is stored in the memory 502 of the supply circuit 500 . Preferably, the numerical value is an indication of the number of prints remaining or that can be printed by the print ribbon 120 . Thus, the value may correspond to the length of ribbon remaining or such as is still useful for printing. Next, at step 522 , the value contained in memory 502 is decremented in response to use of print ribbon 120 of printer 100 . Thus, as the print ribbon 120 is used to print an image onto the card 110, the value decreases to indicate the exhaustion of the print ribbon 120 that can be used, such that the value continues to represent the remaining print that can be used. The amount of ribbon 120. The reduction of this value is typically performed by the controller 140 through the feed circuit reader 510 . When the value reaches a predetermined endpoint, memory 502 is preferably invalidated, as indicated in step 524 . Typically, the terminal value will be set so that the print ribbon 120 can no longer be used by the printer 100 . Invalidation of memory 502 may be performed by controller 140 and prevent further writes to memory 502 . Finally, at step 526, the controller 140 prevents the printer 100 from using the ribbon 120 when it is determined that the memory 502 has been invalidated. Preferably, a check is made by the controller 140 to determine if the memory 502 has been invalidated prior to processing the card 110 with the printer 100 . In this way, the ribbon cartridge 130 will be given a limited life cycle over which it can be used with the printer 100 .

According to one embodiment of the above method of the present invention, the memory 502 of the supply circuit 500 is divided into a plurality of memory banks. Each bank is provided with a value representing the portion of the print that is still in the ribbon 120 . During use of the ribbon 120, the values stored in the memory banks are optionally decremented to indicate use of the print ribbon, and when the values in the respective memory banks reach predetermined final values, the controller 140 invalidates the memory bank of memory 502, indicating that the memory bank is unusable. Once the values in all memory banks of memory 502 reach a predetermined final value, controller 140 may be prevented from further use of print ribbon 120 by printer 100 .

While certain embodiments of the invention have been described, those of ordinary skill will appreciate that modifications and variations can be made to the invention without departing from the spirit and principles of the invention, the scope of which is defined in the appended claims.

Claims (30)

1. ribbon cartridge that uses in card printer comprises:

Box housing, described box housing comprise the gap between supply spool shell, take-up spool enclosures, a pair of ribbon guide and ribbon guide and supply, the take-up spool enclosures;

Be contained in the supply spool in the supply spool shell;

Be contained in the take-up spools in the take-up spool enclosures; And

The colour band source, it extends to take-up spools from supply spool on ribbon guide and gap.

2. ribbon cartridge according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described gap limits by the madial wall of supply, take-up spool enclosures, and wherein ribbon guide forms by the top surface of the exposure of madial wall.

3. ribbon cartridge according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described gap limits by the madial wall of supply, take-up spool enclosures, and can arrive from the bottom and the rear side of housing.

4. ribbon cartridge according to claim 1 is characterized in that, the card cleaner roller rotatably supports by the housing adjacent with the top surface of housing.

5. ribbon cartridge according to claim 4 is characterized in that, described card cleaner roller is supported on rear end adjacent with the rear wall of housing and the front end adjacent with the antetheca of housing.

6. ribbon cartridge according to claim 4 is characterized in that, described card cleaner roller comprises the garbage collection outer surface.

7. ribbon cartridge according to claim 1 is characterized in that, comprises rotational limit stop, and described rotational limit stop engages supply spool and rotational resistance to supply spool is provided.

8. ribbon cartridge according to claim 7 is characterized in that, described rotational limit stop comprises the tab members of extending from housing.

9. ribbon cartridge according to claim 1 is characterized in that, comprises rotational limit stop, and described rotational limit stop engages take-up spools and rotational resistance to take-up spools is provided.

10. ribbon cartridge according to claim 9 is characterized in that, described rotational limit stop comprises the tab members of extending from housing.

11. ribbon cartridge according to claim 1 is characterized in that, described supply has different outer shape with take-up spool enclosures.

12. ribbon cartridge according to claim 1 is characterized in that, comprises supply circuit, described supply circuit has the memory that comprises the supply information relevant with ribbon cartridge.

13. ribbon cartridge according to claim 12 is characterized in that, described supply circuit is installed to supply spool or take-up spools.

14. ribbon cartridge according to claim 12 is characterized in that, described supply information comprises batch sign indicating number, feeder sign indicating number, colour band type, safety code, printer arrangement setting, a plurality of printing of finishing or a plurality of remaining printing.

15. ribbon cartridge according to claim 12 is characterized in that, the memory of described supply circuit comprises memory bank, and described memory bank has the limit of the number of times that data can be written into.

16. ribbon cartridge according to claim 12 is characterized in that:

One of described supply and take-up spools comprise core and substantially from the vertically extending ribbon guide of described core; And

Described supply circuit is installed to ribbon guide and is comprised opening, and described core extends by described opening.

17. a ribbon cartridge that is used for card printer comprises:

The box housing, described box housing comprises antetheca and rear wall; And

Cleaner roller, described cleaner roller rotatably is supported between antetheca and the rear wall.

18. ribbon cartridge according to claim 17 is characterized in that, described cleaner roller comprises the garbage collection surface.

19. ribbon cartridge according to claim 17 is characterized in that, described cleaner roller is mounted adjacent the top side of housing.

20. ribbon cartridge according to claim 17 is characterized in that, described cleaner roller comprises front-end and back-end, and each is contained in described front-end and back-end in the hole of each front and back walls of housing.

21. ribbon cartridge according to claim 20 is characterized in that, described hole is shaped to allow cleaner roller to move between receiving position and cleaning position.

22. ribbon cartridge according to claim 17 is characterized in that:

Described housing comprises to be supplied with and take-up spool enclosures, and each comprises the madial wall that separates by the gap each other, and the plate that connects madial wall;

Be contained in the supply spool in the supply spool shell;

Be contained in the take-up spools in the take-up spool enclosures; And

Ink ribbon, described ink ribbon have first end that is wrapped on the supply spool, be wrapped on the take-up spools second end and supply with and take-up spools between and the mid portion that extends on the madial wall.

23. a ribbon cartridge that uses in card printer comprises:

Housing, described housing comprises spool enclosure, and described spool enclosure has madial wall, bottom, lateral wall and front and rear wall, and each front and rear wall comprises opening; And

Spool, described spool comprises core, described core has front portion of extending by the opening in the antetheca of spool enclosure and the rear portion of extending by the opening in the rear wall.

24. ribbon cartridge according to claim 23 is characterized in that, described spool enclosure comprises core support walls, and described core support walls is extended from the bottom of spool enclosure, and core support walls is positioned between the front and rear wall.

25. ribbon cartridge according to claim 23 is characterized in that, comprises the rotation limited part that engages with the spool core, the rotation limited part provides resistance to the rotation of spool.

26. ribbon cartridge according to claim 25 is characterized in that, described rotation limited part comprises the tab members of extending from spool enclosure.

27. ribbon cartridge according to claim 23 is characterized in that, comprises cleaner roller, described cleaner roller rotatably is supported between antetheca and the rear wall.

28. ribbon cartridge according to claim 27 is characterized in that, described cleaner roller is placed adjacent to the top side of housing.

29. ribbon cartridge according to claim 27 is characterized in that, described cleaner roller comprises front-end and back-end, and each is contained in described front-end and back-end in the hole of each antetheca of housing and rear wall.

30. ribbon cartridge according to claim 29 is characterized in that, described hole is shaped to allow cleaner roller to move between receiving position and cleaning position.

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