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EP0100776A1 Expired / Lapsed EP ⏱️ 0.0 years remaining

Method for adaptively using a print ribbon in an impact printer

Assignee: International Business Machines Corp
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Filing: 1982-08-10
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2002-08-10
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Abstract

Abstract Rather than transporting the entire multi-colour print ribbon (18) in an impact printer back and forth until the reaching of a lower quality threshold requires replacement, this method provides for the use of only a subsection of limited length of the ribbon to be used until the lower quality threshold of any one of the colour tracks (21-24) of this subsection is reached, and then advancing to a fresh subsection. The quality status of the current subsection may be monitored by counting the number of impacts on each individual colour track and comparing that number with a predetermined, stored value, or by shining light through the ribbon and optically comparing the passing light with a preset value. The method is flexible enough to permit manual advance of the ribbon (18) to a fresh subsection in case a printing job requires highest possible quality.

Inventors

  • 👤 William J. Butera
  • 👤 Peter Dr. Stucki

Bibliographic Details

Application Number —
Jurisdiction EP
Data Source google_patents
Last Synchronized 2026-11-09 14:00
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J31/00; B41J31/14; B41J31/16; B41J33/00; B41J33/14; B41J33/36

Claims Analysis

Total Claims: 4
Claim 1
Independent Claim 120 words
Method for adaptively using a print ribbon be it in single-colour or multi-colour impact printers, characterized by transporting, during printing operation, in forward and reverse directions, one subsection of predetermined length (AL) of the ribbon (18), continuously monitoring the condition of the colour(s) (21...24) in said one subsection, until the condition of said colour or of any one of the colours (21...24) in said one subsection has reached a predetermined lower tolerance level, and then advancing the ribbon (18) so as now to expose at the printing station the subsequent, fresh subsection of the ribbon (18), regardless of the condition of the possibly remaining colours in said one subsection, for repeating the procedure until the entire ribbon is used up.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim 120 words
Method for adaptively using a print ribbon be it in single-colour or multi-colour impact printers, characterized by transporting, during printing operation, in forward and reverse directions, one subsection of predetermined length (AL) of the ribbon (18), continuously monitoring the condition of the colour(s) (21...24) in said one subsection, until the condition of said colour or of any one of the colours (21...24) in said one subsection has reached a predetermined lower tolerance level, and then advancing the ribbon (18) so as now to expose at the printing station the subsequent, fresh subsection of the ribbon (18), regardless of the condition of the possibly remaining colours in said one subsection, for repeating the procedure until the entire ribbon is used up.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim 70 words
Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the condition of the colour track(s) is monitored by counting the number of printing impacts exercised on the colour track(s) in said exposed subsection, comparing the current count with a predetermined count representative of the exhaustion of the particular colour, and signalling the reaching of said predetermined count for advancing the ribbon (18) to expose its subsequent subsection at the printing station.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim 104 words
Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the condition of the colour track(s) is monitored by shining light (26) through said track(s) (21...24), passing the resultant light through a filter (28...31) associated with the colour track(s)(21...24) and adapted to filter out every colour except that of its associated track (21...24), supplying the light output from said filter(s)(28...31) to individual photo-sensitive elements (32...35) for determining the intensity of the light passing said filter(s)(28...31), feeding the output signals of said photo-sensitive elements (32...35) into associated integrators (36...39), and comparing the output from said integrators with predetermined thresholds special to each one of the colours used.

References Cited (Backward Citations)

US3346090A Cited
EP0053266A1 Cited

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