Patent US5567066A successfully refreshed from Google Patents.
US5567066A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Nonimpact printer with read and write systems for monitoring ribbon usage
Assignee: Individual
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Filing: 1994-05-02
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Granted: 1996-10-22
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Expires: 2014-05-02
Abstract
Abstract A nonimpact printer minimizes ribbon wastage by recording on each ribbon its usage history and then using that history to control subsequent ribbon movement in the same or a different printer. The usage history is printed onto the ribbon itself, and is thus portable along with the ribbon cassette. Sequence numbers that identify particular panels and portions thereof are similarly written onto the ribbon for greater convenience in ribbon control.
Inventors
- 👤 Suresh C. Paranjpe
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 20:12
CPC Classifications
B; B41; B41J; B41J17/00; B41J17/36; B41J2/00; B41J2/315; B41J2/32; B41J2/325; B41J3/00; B41J3/54; B41J35/00; B41J35/16; B41J35/18; B41J35/22; B41J2202/00; B41J2202/30; B41J2202/33
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 16
Claim 1
Independent Claim
198 words
A method of reducing wasted ribbon in a non-impact printing system, the method comprising the steps of: loading an elongate ribbon into the printing system, the ribbon comprising a series of panels of transfer material disposed on one side of a medium; printing image data in the printing system by using the transfer material at particular locations along the ribbon to transfer an image to a substrate; determining an actual area of the ribbon used in said printing step; the actual area of the ribbon used comprising an area from less than a full width of the ribbon up to a full width of the ribbon in a transverse direction; responsive to said printing step and said determining step, marking the ribbon adjacent said particular locations with usage marks to indicate the actual area of the ribbon used in said printing step; subsequently reading the usage marks along the ribbon to identify to the printing system which areas of the ribbon remain unused and therefore available for subsequent printing, including unused areas laterally adjacent to used areas of the ribbon; and using the identified unused areas of the ribbon in a subsequent printing step, thereby minimizing wasted ribbon.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
198 words
A method of reducing wasted ribbon in a non-impact printing system, the method comprising the steps of: loading an elongate ribbon into the printing system, the ribbon comprising a series of panels of transfer material disposed on one side of a medium; printing image data in the printing system by using the transfer material at particular locations along the ribbon to transfer an image to a substrate; determining an actual area of the ribbon used in said printing step; the actual area of the ribbon used comprising an area from less than a full width of the ribbon up to a full width of the ribbon in a transverse direction; responsive to said printing step and said determining step, marking the ribbon adjacent said particular locations with usage marks to indicate the actual area of the ribbon used in said printing step; subsequently reading the usage marks along the ribbon to identify to the printing system which areas of the ribbon remain unused and therefore available for subsequent printing, including unused areas laterally adjacent to used areas of the ribbon; and using the identified unused areas of the ribbon in a subsequent printing step, thereby minimizing wasted ribbon.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
52 words
A method according to claim 1 further comprising defining a series of marking fields at selected locations along the length of the ribbon; and wherein said marking step includes marking the ribbon within each of the marking fields so as to indicate an area of the ribbon in which printing has occurred.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method according to claim 1 wherein said marking step includes applying energy to the ribbon in a form of one of heat, light or a magnetic field.
Claim 5
Independent Claim
223 words
A method of reducing wasted ribbon in a non-impact printing system, the method comprising the steps of: loading an elongate ribbon into the printing system, the ribbon comprising transfer material disposed on one side of a medium; providing a memory within the printing system for storing ribbon usage data; printing image data in the printing system by using the transfer material in a series of locations along the ribbon to transfer an image to a substrate; for each location along the ribbon in which transfer material was used in said printing step, determining an actual area of the ribbon used in said printing step; the actual area of the ribbon used comprising an area from less than a full width of the ribbon up to a full width of the ribbon in a transverse direction; responsive to said printing and determining steps, forming and storing usage data in the memory that identifies the actual areas of the ribbon used in printing; subsequently reading the usage data to identify to the printing system which areas of the ribbon remain unused and therefore available for subsequent printing, the identified unused areas including areas of the ribbon laterally adjacent the areas indicated as having been used in printing; and using the identified unused areas of the ribbon in a subsequent printing step, thereby minimizing wasted ribbon.
Claim 6
Independent Claim
223 words
A method of reducing wasted ribbon in a non-impact printing system, the method comprising the steps of: loading an elongate ribbon into the printing system, the ribbon comprising transfer material disposed on one side of a medium; providing a memory within the printing system for storing ribbon usage data; printing image data in the printing system by using the transfer material in a series of locations along the ribbon to transfer an image to a substrate; for each location along the ribbon in which transfer material was used in said printing step, determining an actual area of the ribbon used in said printing step; the actual area of the ribbon used comprising an area from less than a full width of the ribbon up to a full width of the ribbon in a transverse direction; responsive to said printing and determining steps, forming and storing usage data in the memory that identifies the actual areas of the ribbon used in printing; subsequently reading the usage data to identify to the printing system which areas of the ribbon remain unused and therefore available for subsequent printing, the identified unused areas including areas of the ribbon laterally adjacent the areas indicated as having been used in printing; and using the identified unused areas of the ribbon in a subsequent printing step, thereby minimizing wasted ribbon.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
48 words
A method according to claim 4 further comprising logically dividing the ribbon into left-hand and right-hand areas; and wherein said determining step includes determining for each of said series of locations along the ribbon whether or not each of the left-hand areas of the ribbon has been used.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
31 words
A method according to claim 4 wherein said determining the actual used area of the ribbon includes logically dividing the ribbon into a selected number of transverse portions of arbitrary width.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
190 words
A method of reducing wasted ribbon in a non-impact printing system, the method comprising the steps of: loading an elongate ribbon into the printing system, the ribbon comprising transfer material disposed on one side of a medium and having a predetermined width; printing image data in the printing system using the transfer material at a selected longitudinal location on the ribbon to transfer an image to a substrate, the transferred image having a width less than the width of the ribbon; for the selected longitudinal location, recording ribbon usage data that indicates which transverse portions of the ribbon are used in said printing step, thereby determining an actual area of the ribbon used in the printing step; the actual area of the ribbon used comprising an area from less than a full width of the ribbon up to a full width of the ribbon in a transverse direction; subsequently reading the ribbon usage data so that the printing system can identify unused portions of the ribbon at the said longitudinal location; and then using the identified unused portions of the ribbon in a subsequent printing step, thereby minimizing wasted ribbon.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
190 words
A method of reducing wasted ribbon in a non-impact printing system, the method comprising the steps of: loading an elongate ribbon into the printing system, the ribbon comprising transfer material disposed on one side of a medium and having a predetermined width; printing image data in the printing system using the transfer material at a selected longitudinal location on the ribbon to transfer an image to a substrate, the transferred image having a width less than the width of the ribbon; for the selected longitudinal location, recording ribbon usage data that indicates which transverse portions of the ribbon are used in said printing step, thereby determining an actual area of the ribbon used in the printing step; the actual area of the ribbon used comprising an area from less than a full width of the ribbon up to a full width of the ribbon in a transverse direction; subsequently reading the ribbon usage data so that the printing system can identify unused portions of the ribbon at the said longitudinal location; and then using the identified unused portions of the ribbon in a subsequent printing step, thereby minimizing wasted ribbon.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
47 words
A method according to claim 7 wherein said recording step includes marking the ribbon adjacent said longitudinal location with usage marks to indicate which transverse portions of the ribbon were used in said printing step; and said reading step includes reading the usage marks on the ribbon.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
51 words
A method according to claim 7 further comprising providing a memory and wherein said recording step includes storing ribbon usage data in the memory that indicates which transverse portions of the ribbon are used in said printing step; and said reading step includes reading the ribbon usage data from the memory.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
22 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the ribbon is disposed within a cassette and the memory is disposed within the cassette.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
27 words
A method according to claim 10 wherein the memory means includes means for retaining the ribbon usage data even while the cassette is removed from the printer.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
15 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein the memory means comprises a nonvolatile memory chip.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
24 words
A method according to claim 9 wherein said recording step includes storing sequence numbers corresponding to each of the longitudinal locations along the ribbon.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
JPS61235181A
Cited
US4630069A
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US4797016A
Cited
JPS63257674A
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JPH023364A
Cited
JPH05155124A
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USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1999-10-22 | 2000-04-22 | 2000-10-22 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2003-10-22 | 2004-04-22 | 2004-10-22 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2007-10-22 | 2008-04-22 | 2008-10-22 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |