HK1089133B - A printing apparatus using consumable and operating method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Printing apparatus using consumables and method of operating the same

Technical Field

The invention relates to validation of consumables in a thermal printer.

Background

Thermal printers are widely known and typically include a printing apparatus including a thermally activated print head for printing an image on an image receiving tape. Typically, the image receiving tape has an upper layer for receiving an image and a removable liner layer or backing layer adhered to the upper layer by a layer of adhesive, so that after the image has been printed, the liner layer or backing layer can be removed and the image receiving tape can be applied in the form of a label. Such thermal printers include a cutter for cutting a length of image receiving tape after the image has been printed. Such thermal printers operate using consumables in the form of image receiving tape or other image receiving substrates such as heat shrink tubing, magnetic, hot-stamped (iron-on) labels, plastic tape, and the like.

In addition, the printer may employ an ink ribbon cassette which provides an ink ribbon at the print head in overlapping relation with the image receiving tape.

The term "consumable" as used herein means any suitable form of providing an image receiving tape or image transfer substrate. Many forms of such consumables are known in the art and include a cassette comprising a housing in which a supply of image receiving tape is placed. Such cassettes are typically usable only once and once the image receiving tape is exhausted, the cassette (including the housing) is thrown away.

Another type of consumable is a holder which includes a spool on which the image receiving tape is wound. The reel may or may not be driven and typically comprises a plastic element.

Another type of consumable is a roll of tape without a permanent holder, e.g. the tape is wound on a paper core. This is called "supplies" (supposities).

As described above, in a thermal printer, an image is typically formed by activating a thermal print head toward an ink ribbon cassette to transfer ink from the ink ribbon onto an image receiving tape at a print zone. So-called direct thermal tapes, on which an image is directly formed, without being inserted into an ink ribbon cassette, may also be used. The term "consumable" also includes ink ribbons or other thermal transfer materials.

However, in all of these cases, there is a common problem of confirmation of the consumable itself used in the tape printer. Consumables are prone to counterfeiting, i.e. unauthorized manufacturers are able to counterfeit existing consumables used in printing devices. These consumables are of a lower quality than legally manufactured consumables and create technical problems when used in a printer. For example, the belt becomes wrinkled or slippery, or does not properly carry the image. But they can also carry dust or dirt into the printer.

The object of the invention is to ensure that only legally manufactured consumables can be used in a printing device. Reference is made to US5,821,975 (Francotyp-posalia AG & Co.) which relates to a franking machine using ink ribbon cassettes. The ink ribbon cartridge carries an authorization code that is monitored by the printer. Only valid authorization codes can be accepted for use in the printer to prevent counterfeiting. This patent also discloses a way of monitoring the use of the ink ribbon.

However, this solution does not prevent counterfeiting of the ink ribbon cassette including the authorization code itself. Therefore, this disclosed solution does not completely solve the above-mentioned problems.

Disclosure of Invention

According to the present invention there is provided in combination a consumable comprising at least one of an image receiving substrate and a thermal transfer material and carrying a first identifier and a second identifier, the identifiers being indicative of the source of the consumable, and a printing apparatus comprising: a printing mechanism for printing an image on an image receiving substrate; a reading mechanism for reading the identifier; and a processor configured to display information related to the source of the consumable.

According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a printing apparatus using a consumable associated with an identifier, the apparatus comprising: a printing mechanism for printing an image on an image receiving substrate; a reading mechanism for reading the identifier; a storage mechanism for storing a list of any previously used identifiers associated with the consumable; and a processor configured to compare the identifier read by the reading mechanism with any previously used identifier columns and to generate an invalid indication if there is a match.

The consumable may be an image receiving substrate or a thermal transfer material.

According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a consumable providing at least one of an image receiving substrate and a thermal transfer material and carrying an identifier indicating the source of the consumable.

According to another aspect of the present invention there is provided in combination a printing apparatus and a consumable, the consumable being associated with an identifier, wherein the printing apparatus comprises: a printing mechanism for printing an image on the image receiving tape; a reading mechanism for reading the identifier; a storage mechanism for storing a list of any previously used identifiers associated with the consumable; and a processor configured to compare the identifier read by the reading mechanism with any previously used identifier columns and to generate an invalid indication if there is a match.

According to a further aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of operating a printing apparatus adapted to receive a consumable, the method comprising: an identifier is read from the consumable, the identifier is compared to a list of any previously used identifiers associated with the empty consumable, and if there is a match, a no-valid indication is generated.

The invalid indication may take the form of an internal control signal that causes the printer to stop operating and/or generates a displayed error message.

Preferably, the identifier is provided on an RF ID tag on the consumable and the reading mechanism comprises an RF coil.

The consumable may take the form of a cartridge, holder or supply itself (e.g. a roll of tape). It is particularly advantageous that the RF tag is associated with the supply itself and that the RF tag can easily be operated within the supply itself. That is, the mark may not necessarily be part of the cassette housing or holder.

Preferably, the storage mechanism maintains a table having a plurality of identifier fields associated with each state field. The processor may be configured to store an identifier read from the consumable that has not been used previously in the table, and to update the status field according to usage of the consumable. When a consumable is empty, its identifier may be moved into a blacklist to ensure that subsequent consumables using the identifier cannot be used in the printing apparatus.

Drawings

For a better understanding of the present invention, and how the same may be carried into effect, reference will now be made to the following drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a mechanical configuration of a printing apparatus;

FIG. 2 is a side view of a mechanical configuration of a printing device;

FIG. 3 is a front view of a mechanical configuration of a printing device;

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mechanical configuration of the printing apparatus along line AA in FIG. 1;

FIGS. 4a and 4b are perspective views of the tape holder from different angles, FIG. 4c is a perspective view of the tape holder received in a receiving portion of the printing apparatus, and FIG. 4d is a perspective view of the receiving portion of the printing apparatus without the tape holder mounted thereto;

FIG. 5 is a schematic block diagram of a control component of the printing apparatus;

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a memory structure;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of a tag reader;

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of an RF tag;

FIG. 9 is a flow chart of a verification method;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of an ink ribbon cartridge;

FIG. 11 is a plan view of the printing apparatus showing an optical sensor.

Detailed Description

The mechanical configuration of the printing apparatus will be explained with reference to fig. 1 to 4. The label substrate comprises a tape 2 on which tape 2 an image can be printed by a printing device into which the substrate is inserted. The tape 2 is accommodated on a tape holder 6, the details of which are shown more clearly in figures 4, 4a and 4 b. The tape holder 6 comprises side walls 60 and an internal spool 62 on which a roll of tape 2 is wound. The inner reel 62 may rotate in the tape holder 6 when the tape 2 is unwound. A spring clip 64 is attached to the flange on the tape holder and presses against the spool 62. The spring clip 64 prevents over-deployment of the strap. An annular rib 58 is provided on each side of the tape holder 6, which is received in a first receiving portion 66 of the printing apparatus.

The first receiving portion 66 is shown in figure 4d as having side supports 86, 88 each having an inwardly facing recessed portion 67 which is designed to receive a respective rib 58 of the tape holder 6. The first receiving portion 66 is adjustable to accommodate holders of different widths as described below. The supports 86 and 88 of the first receiving portion 66 are connected to the toothed arms 80 and 82. The teeth of toothed arms 80 and 82 mesh with opposite edges of gear teeth 84. In this manner, the movement of one of the supports 86 or 88 is mirrored by the movement of the other support, so that each support is always equidistant from the centerline A (shown in FIG. 1). This ensures that the tape is always fed centrally to the print head regardless of the width of the tape. The supports can be separated by the user to insert a holder and then the spring 74 (shown in figure 1) pulls the supports together to grip the sides of the tape holder 6.

As shown in fig. 4c, the receiving portion 66 is provided with a gear train driven by the motor 10 (shown in fig. 1) which drives the inner spool 62 of the tape holder to rewind the tape so that the holder can be removed from the device.

The printing apparatus comprises a gear train 12 driven by a motor 10 which drives a feed roller 14 which moves tape from the tape holder 6 towards the print zone 3 of the printing apparatus. At this print zone, the print head 16 is biased by a spring 20 towards the platen roller 18. The spring 20 is held in the print head mounting module 19.

An ink ribbon cassette 8 (shown in fig. 10) houses the ink ribbon 4 and is similarly mounted in a second receiving portion of the printing apparatus. Which is mounted on the shafts 22 and 28 of the printing device. The mounting module 19 can be moved by an actuator 21 to separate the printhead from the platen to enable the ink ribbon cassette 8 to be removed from the printer. Unused ink ribbon 26 is stored on a supply reel 24 mounted on the shaft 22. Used ink ribbon 32 is stored on a take-up spool 30 mounted on the shaft 28. The motor 34 drives a gear train 36. When the motor 34 is driven forward, the first set of gears 36c, 36d drive the shaft 28 to pull the ink ribbon 4 in a forward direction from the supply reel 24 to the take-up reel 30, and a slip clutch (not shown) disengages the shaft 22 so that the shaft is not driven, but is free to rotate. When the motor 34 is driven in reverse, the second set of gears 36a, 36b drive the shaft 22 to pull the ink ribbon 4 in the reverse direction from the take-up reel towards the supply reel, and a slip clutch (not shown) disengages the shaft 28 so that it is not driven, but is free to rotate.

The ink ribbon cassette 8 is located in the printing apparatus so that the ink ribbon 4 has a path extending through the print zone 3, in particular extending between the print head 16 and the platen 18 overlapping the tape 2. The platen 18 is driven by a platen motor 56 to drive the tape through the print zone.

The cutting device 40 is located downstream of the printing zone 3. The cutting means comprises a circular cutting blade or wheel 44 mounted on a cutter holder 54. The cutting blade 44 cuts the tape 2 towards the anvil 52. The cutter motor 42 drives the cutter wheel 44 across the width of the belt from a rest position. Once the cutting wheel 44 has traversed the full width of the tape, the cutter motor 42 is reversed and drives the cutter holder 54 back to its rest position. The cutter holder 54 is slidably mounted on two slides 46 which span the entire width of the belt 2. The cutter holder 54 is attached to the belt 48, which is supported by the two rollers 50. One of the rollers 50 is driven by the cutter motor 42 to move the cutter holder along the slider 46.

The mechanical operation of the printing apparatus will be explained below. During feeding of the tape, the tape feed motor 10 is activated to drive the tape 2 past the print head 16. Once the tape reaches the print zone, it is picked up by the platen 18, which is driven by a platen motor 56. At the same time, the ribbon motor 34 is activated to drive the ribbon at a constant speed with the tape. In a known manner, an image is transferred to the image receiving tape 2 by activating (heating) certain print head elements to transfer ink from the ink ribbon 4 to the substrate 2. As the tape 2 moves past the print head 16, images are printed on the columns on a column basis. Such printing techniques are known per se and will therefore not be described here.

When printing on the label is complete, the platen motor 56 and ink ribbon motor 34 continue to feed the tape and ink ribbon a predetermined distance until the end of the label reaches its desired cutting position. The tape may then be cut by the cutting device 40. Once the cut is complete, the tape 2 is reversed by the reverse platen motor 56, and the platen motor 56 drives the platen 18 to rotate in reverse until the tape 2 reaches the correct position for printing the next label. When the tape is reversed, the ink ribbon 4 is also returned at a constant speed by driving the ribbon motor 34 in reverse. This prevents the ink ribbon 4 from rubbing against the tape 2 and being damaged.

An optical sensor 76 shown in fig. 11 is mounted on the chassis of the printing apparatus and detects the presence of the tape 2. This prevents printing without tape in the printer.

Fig. 5 shows a schematic block diagram of a control section of the printing apparatus. The microprocessor 100 controls the operation of the printing apparatus and is connected to a read only memory ROM 102, an electrically erasable programmable read only memory EEPROM 114 and a random access memory RAM 104. The printing apparatus includes a keyboard 106 for inputting data (e.g., characters and symbols) and control instructions for printing, and a display 108 for displaying marks, control instructions, error information, and the like in the case of editing to the user. The microprocessor 100 controls the print head 16, tape drive motor 10, ink ribbon motor 34, cutter motor 42 and platen motor 56.

The tape monitor 112 monitors the use of tape. In order to monitor the use of the tape in one instrument, the back side of the substrate tape may be provided with markings indicating the remaining amount of tape. For example, alternating black/white spaces (stripes perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the tape) may be provided, wherein the ratio of black to white or the absolute width of the spaces varies from the beginning to the end of the tape. This change may be a continuous change or a discontinuous change, in the latter case, for example, only every quarter of the tape changes to provide a rough indication of the amount of tape remaining. Another possibility is a line extending along a diagonal of the entire length of the strip, and thus at any point of the line at a different distance from the edge of the strip. In this case, the tape monitor may include a reader for reading the indicia. A suitable reading device is disclosed, for example, in our us patent application No.09/284236 and a suitable marker for use indication is disclosed in our us patent application No. 09/014059.

Another alternative is to provide end of strip detection, for example by silvering the end of the substrate strip 2, which silvering can be optically detected by the printing apparatus. Other tape end detection devices are known, such as using coded pulses from the feed motor shaft to detect whether the shaft has stopped rotating by reaching the end of the tape.

The usage of the ink ribbon in the ink ribbon cassette can be monitored in a known manner, for example as disclosed in US 5821975.

The cartridge reader 110 shown in fig. 7 is also provided in the printing apparatus. The purpose of the reader is to read identifiers from a tape holder and an ink ribbon cassette inserted into the printing apparatus. Each tape holder 6 and ink ribbon cassette 8 legitimately manufactured for use in a printing apparatus of the type described herein carries a unique identifier which uniquely identifies the particular tape holder or ink ribbon cassette and contents. In the illustrated embodiment, the identifier is carried by an RF tag 70 on the tape holder 6 and an RF tag 71 on the ink ribbon cassette 8, both of which can be read by the cassette reader 110 to read the unique identifier. The reader takes the form of an RFID data processing unit 202 that controls transceivers 204 and 206. The transceiver 204 communicates via an RF coil 212 with a coil 208 operating at the tag 70 mounted on the tape holder 6 by means of electromagnetic radio frequency waves. The transceiver 206 communicates with the coil 210 via an RF coil, the coil 210 operating at the tag 71 mounted on the ink ribbon cartridge 8. The communicated signal is encoded in a well-known manner by modulating an RF carrier wave. The RF tags 70, 71 are passive devices that receive power from the cartridge reader 110 when they are turned on.

The cartridge reader 110 is located in the printer so that it can read signals from the tags 70 and 71 even if they are not in the same position. RFID DPU 202 switches between transceivers 204, 206 based on the tag to be read.

Fig. 8 shows a schematic diagram of the RF tag 70. The RF tag 71 is designed to operate in a similar manner. An RF coil 208 is provided to receive control signals and power from the cartridge reader 110. The signal is received by digital circuitry 304 via analog circuitry 302, the digital circuitry 304 comprising a microprocessor. Digital circuitry 304 communicates with EEPROM 306, ROM 308, and RAM 310. The unique identifier 115 is stored in the EEPROM and can be programmed during manufacture.

The working portion of the EEPROM 103 is organized as shown in fig. 6 to implement the verification technique described below. That is, the EEPROM 103 has a structure in which each unique Identifier (ID) is associated with one specific state. The structure includes a column of ID fields 114 associated with the tape holder and ink ribbon cartridge, and a number of corresponding status fields 116. In addition, the EEPROM 103 holds a blacklist 118. The operation of the authentication technique performed in the processor follows the flow chart shown in fig. 9. When a tape holder or an ink ribbon cassette is inserted into the printing apparatus, the cassette reader 110 identifies the unique identifier 115 for the tape holder or the ink ribbon cassette from the RF ID tag 70 or 71 (step S1). It is first determined whether the unique identifier is a valid identifier by means of a verification process (step S2) performed in the microprocessor 100. If not, an invalid indication is generated, the microprocessor does not execute printing, and the user receives a warning message "ink cartridge invalid" on the display 108 (step S3).

If it is a valid identifier, a lookup is made against the identifier blacklist 118 (step S4), which is a list of identifiers of tape holders previously used in the printing apparatus. This prevents a third party from illegally manufacturing the tape holder and copying the identifier of the tape holder in order to be able to replace a legitimate tape holder that has been used. If the cartridge has been used and is exhausted, an invalid indication is generated and the microprocessor will not perform the printing operation. The display displays a warning message: "box empty-insert new box" (step S5).

If the tape holder is identified as having a valid identifier that is not on the blacklist, a record is found in the column of identifiers 115, or in the case of a new cartridge, the identifier 115 is stored in the ID field 114 and the status is "non-empty" (step S6). If the cartridge has been used previously in the printer, the stored status for the particular cartridge identifier is checked in step 7. If the status is "empty", a warning message "box empty-insert new box" is displayed and the identifier is moved into the blacklist. When the tape is consumed in the operation of the printing apparatus, either continuously or after each printing operation (step S12), the use of the tape is monitored (step S9), and the status field is updated (step S13) so as to indicate the remaining amount of tape. Step 10 is to generate a warning message when the tape is exhausted during the printing operation (step 11) and the identifier is cleared to the blacklist. After the print job is completed, the state of the ink cartridge is stored, and then the tape can be taken out. If the tape is subsequently reinserted, the process will again begin at S1, and the pre-stored state will be determined in step S6 and checked in step S7.

The RF ID tag may hold contact information for the supplier or distributor of the box. In addition to the unique identifier embedded at the factory or other manufacturing site, the distributor or supplier may include their phone number, website URL, etc. in the indicia. A combined message of the information about the tape amount or the label belonging to the remaining information about the distributor or supplier can thus be displayed, for example the following messages:

"you just leave the x tag, please reorder the tape at website y"

"please call your dealer, phone number z".

Preferably, the present invention employs a continuous strip consumable as described above, and a consumable in the form of a backsheet to which die cut labels are adhered.

Thus, the consumable may be manufactured by applying an identifier at an initial manufacturing location, such as a factory, and a second identifier at a second location, such as a distributor or supplier having contact information about the distributor and supplier.

Claims (15)

1. A method of operating a printing apparatus adapted to receive a consumable, the method comprising:

reading an identifier from the consumable, wherein: the method includes comparing the identifier to a list of any previously used identifiers associated with the consumable material, and

if the identifier matches the list of any previously used identifiers, an invalid indication is generated, wherein the invalid indication is an internal control signal that causes the printer to stop operating.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising the step of reading a second identifier from the consumable, the second identifier identifying a supplier of the consumable, and

information relating to the supplier of the consumable is displayed.

3. A printing apparatus using a consumable associated with an identifier, the apparatus comprising:

a printing mechanism for printing an image on an image receiving substrate;

a reading mechanism for reading the identifier;

a storage mechanism for storing a list of any previously used identifiers associated with the consumable; and

a processor configured to compare the identifier read by the reading mechanism with any previously used identifier columns and to generate an invalid indication if the identifier matches any of the previously used identifier columns, wherein the invalid indication is an internal control signal which deactivates the printer.

4. The printing apparatus of claim 3 wherein the reading mechanism comprises an RF coil.

5. A printing apparatus as claimed in claim 3 or 4, wherein the storage mechanism is configured to store a table comprising a plurality of identifier fields associated with respective status fields.

6. The printing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to register an identifier read by the reading mechanism that does not match a previously used identifier in one of the identifier fields.

7. A printing apparatus as claimed in claim 3, comprising a usage monitoring mechanism for monitoring usage of the consumable.

8. The printing apparatus of claim 5, wherein the processor is configured to update the status field to indicate a remaining amount of the consumable according to the usage monitored by the usage monitoring mechanism.

9. A printing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the consumable comprises an image receiving substrate.

10. The printing apparatus of claim 7, wherein the usage monitoring mechanism comprises a substrate end detection mechanism.

11. The printing apparatus of claim 3, wherein the consumable comprises a thermal transfer material.

12. In combination, a printing apparatus and a consumable, the consumable being associated with an identifier, wherein the printing apparatus comprises:

a printing mechanism for printing an image on the image receiving tape;

a reading mechanism for reading the identifier;

a storage mechanism for storing a list of any previously used identifiers associated with the consumable; and

a processor configured to compare the identifier read by the reading mechanism with any previously used list of identifiers and to generate an invalid indication if the identifier matches any previously used identifiers in the list, wherein the invalid indication is an internal control signal which deactivates the printer.

13. The combination of claim 12 in which the consumable comprises a cassette in which the image receiving tape is contained.

14. The combination of claim 12 in which the consumable comprises a spool on which the image receiving tape is wound.

15. The combination of claim 12, wherein the consumable comprises a thermal transfer material.