EP0508784A1
Expired / Lapsed
EP
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Printer having a plurality of printing modes
Assignee: Brother Industries Ltd
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Filing: 1992-04-09
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Granted: —
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Expires: 2012-04-09
Abstract
Abstract The dot impact printer of the invention sets an optimum printing speed CPS based on various factors, such as kanji or alphanumeric characters, and to set an optimum brake pulse BP and an optimum energizing energy corresponding to the set optimum printing speed CPS. The printing mode is determined through a series of logic steps and optimum settings for the printing actions is selected according to the mode identified. Thus, in the invention, based on the print contents, a printing speed, an energizing period of time for the first dot DP1, an energizing period of time for the following dots DP2, a brake pulse width BP, a period of time (T c ) till the generation of brake pulses and delay time DT, are changed.
Inventors
- 👤 Michio c/o Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Ueda
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
EP
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 14:25
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J2/00; B41J2/485; B41J2/505; B41J2/5056; G; G06; G06K; G06K15/00; G06K15/02; G06K15/10; G06K2215/00; G06K2215/111
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 19
Claim 1
Independent Claim
55 words
Apparatus for setting a printing speed in a printer, comprising: means for identifying a desired speed; and means for setting an optimum printing speed and at least one second printing characteristic from a group consisting of optimum brake pulse width and optimum succeeding energizing pulse energy based on a type of printing to be done.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
43 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising means for determining whether a paper being printed on is one-part paper; means for determining whether the printing is to be done in one pass; and means for identifying the type of printing to be done.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
96 words
A printer comprising: a print head having a plurality of print wires; printing speed setting means for selectively setting a plurality of printing speeds of the print head; pulse width setting means for selectively setting a plurality of brake pulse widths and/or pulse width setting means for selectively setting a plurality of drive pulse widths for an energizing period of time in which power is supplied to the print head; and selecting means for selecting an optimum printing speed and an optimum brake pulse width and/or an optimum drive pulse width based on a printing mode.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
24 words
A printer according to claim 3 wherein the brake pulse widths are set in order to adjust a returning speed of the printing wires.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
23 words
A printer according to claim 3 or 4 wherein the drive pulse widths are set in order to print second and subsequent dots.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
113 words
A printer according to claim 3, 4 or 5, further comprising: first drive pulse width setting means for selectively setting a plurality of first drive pulse widths for an energizing period of time in which power is supplied to the print head in order to print a first dot; and second drive pulse width setting means for selectively setting a plurality of second drive pulse widths for an energizing period of time in which power is supplied to the print head in order to print a second and subsequent dots, wherein said selecting means further selects an optimum first drive pulse width and an optimum second drive pulse based on the printing mode.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
64 words
A printer according to any one of claims 3 to 6, further comprising: last dot printing time setting means for selectively setting a plurality of last dot printing times; and delay time setting means for selectively setting a plurality of delay times, wherein said selecting means further selects an optimum last dot printing time and an optimum delay time based on the printing mode.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
29 words
A printer according to any one of claims 3 to 7, further comprising means for determining whether a paper to be printed on is one-part paper or multi-part paper.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
58 words
Apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, or a printer according to any one of claims 3 to 8, wherein the type or mode of printing is at least one type or mode from a group of modes comprising at least three of: a kanji mode, an ANK mode, a multi-part paper mode and a two-pass printing mode.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
21 words
Apparatus or a printer according to claim 9, wherein said multi-part paper mode also includes image printing and character ornamentation printing.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
75 words
Apparatus or a printer according to claim 9 or 10, further comprising means for determining if printing is to be done in one pass and, when yes, setting the optimum printing speed and the second printing characteristic appropriate to the multi-part paper mode and when no, setting the optimum printing speed and the second printing characteristic appropriate to two-pass printing mode, operating when it is determined the paper being printed on is a multi-part paper.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
48 words
Apparatus according to any one of claims 1, 2, 9, 10 or 11 or a printer according to any one of claims 3 to 11, further comprising means for determining whether a line contains mixed modes and setting the optimum printing speed and the second printing characteristic appropriately.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
59 words
A method of setting a printing speed in a printer, comprising the steps of: identifying a desired speed; and setting an optimum printing speed and at least one second printing characteristic from a group consisting of an optimum brake pulse width and an optimum drive pulse width of a second and subsequent dots based on the type of printing.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
41 words
A method according to claim 13 further comprising the steps of: determining whether a paper being printed on is one-part paper; determining whether the printing is to be done in one pass; and identifying the type of printing to be done.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
43 words
A method according to claim 13 or 14, wherein the type of printing is at least one type from a group of modes comprising at least three of: a kanji mode, an ANK mode, a multi-part paper mode and a two-pass printing mode.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
19 words
A method according to claim 15, wherein said multi-part paper mode also includes image printing and character ornamentation printing.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method according to claim 14 and claim 15 or 16, wherein when it is determined that the printing is to be done in more than one pass, the setting an optimum printing speed step is done based upon the two-pass printing mode, and the step of identifying a type of printing is skipped.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
83 words
A method according to claim 14 and claim 15, 16 or 17, wherein when it is determined the paper being printed on is a multi-part paper, the method further comprises the steps of determining if printing is to be done in one pass, and if so, setting the optimum printing speed and the second printing characteristic appropriate to the multi-part paper mode and if not, setting the optimum printing speed and the second printing characteristic appropriate to a fourth mode comprising two-pass printing.
Claim 19
Independent Claim
35 words
A method according to any one of claims 13 to 18, further comprising the step of determining whether a line contains mixed modes and setting the optimum printing speed and the second printing characteristic appropriately.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
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