US5594838A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Programmable hand held labeler
Assignee: Avery Dennison Retail Information Services LLC
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Filing: 1995-06-08
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Granted: 1997-01-14
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Expires: 2015-06-08
Abstract
Abstract A hand held labeler is programmable to operate in accordance with a sequence of commands forming an application program that is downloaded to the labeler and stored in a random access memory. Each command is associated with a command routine selected from a set of command routines that is stored in a read only memory. The commands of the application program and associated command routines are executed by a microprocessor of the labeler to perform flexible data collection, data manipulation and label printing operations.
Inventors
- 👤 Amy S. Christopher
- 👤 Donald A. Morrison
- 👤 Mark W. Roth
- 👤 Rex D. Watkins
- 👤 Dale E. Lamprecht, Jr.
- 👤 James E. Globig
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-09 15:23
CPC Classifications
B; B65; B65C; B65C11/00; B65C11/02; B65C11/0289; G; G06; G06K; G06K1/00; G06K1/12; G06K1/121; B65C2210/00; B65C2210/0002; B65C2210/0013; B65C2210/0018
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 14
Claim 1
Independent Claim
205 words
A method of operating a portable label printer having a processor, a first memory storing fixed information, a second memory storing variable information, input means for entering information to said label printer including a bar code scanner, a print head and at least one motor for advancing a label past the print head for printing thereon comprising: storing in said first memory a plurality of output command routines including a print head and motor control routine to control said print head and at least one motor to perform a print operation, a communication routine for controlling communications with a remote host computer and a data collection routine to control an operation of said scanner for collecting data; receiving from a remote host computer a sequence of commands forming an application program, a plurality of said commands in said application program selecting an associated command routine stored in said first memory for execution by said processor; and storing said received sequence of commands in said second memory wherein the order in which the selected routines are executed is determined by the order of the associated commands in the application program and the order of execution of the stored routines is changeable without changing the stored routines.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
205 words
A method of operating a portable label printer having a processor, a first memory storing fixed information, a second memory storing variable information, input means for entering information to said label printer including a bar code scanner, a print head and at least one motor for advancing a label past the print head for printing thereon comprising: storing in said first memory a plurality of output command routines including a print head and motor control routine to control said print head and at least one motor to perform a print operation, a communication routine for controlling communications with a remote host computer and a data collection routine to control an operation of said scanner for collecting data; receiving from a remote host computer a sequence of commands forming an application program, a plurality of said commands in said application program selecting an associated command routine stored in said first memory for execution by said processor; and storing said received sequence of commands in said second memory wherein the order in which the selected routines are executed is determined by the order of the associated commands in the application program and the order of execution of the stored routines is changeable without changing the stored routines.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
50 words
A method of operating a printer as recited in claim 1 further including the steps of receiving from a remote location information defining each of a plurality of work buffers to be built in said second memory, said information including information representing the size of each of said work buffer.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
42 words
A method of operating a printer as recited in claim 1 further including the step of executing said selected command routines stored in said first memory in accordance with said sequence of commands forming said application program stored in said second memory.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
69 words
A method of operating a printer as recited in claim 3 wherein said executing step includes the steps of: receiving data from said input means; comparing said received data to data stored in said second memory to determine whether data associated with said received data is stored in said memory; and requesting said associated data from a remote location if said associated data is not stored in said memory.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
32 words
A method of operating a printer as recited in claim 4 further including the step of controlling said print driver to print the information representing said received data and said associated data.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
67 words
A method of operating a printer as recited in claim 3 wherein said executing step includes the steps of: receiving a look up file from a remote location; storing said look up file in a work buffer of said second memory; receiving data from said input means; modifying said look up file with said received data; and transmitting said modified look up file to said remote location.
Claim 8
Independent Claim
185 words
A method of operating a portable label printer having at least one processor, a plurality of programmable memories for snoring information, a keyboard, a bar code scanner, a print head, at least one motor for advancing a label past the print head and a device for communicating with a remote host computer comprising: storing a print and motor control routine to control the motor to advance a label and to control the print head to print on the label while the label is advancing; storing a data collection routine to control the operation of the scanner; storing a communication routine to control communications with the remote host computer; receiving from a remote host computer an application program having a sequence of commands, a plurality of said commands selecting an associated stored routine for execution; and storing the application program in at least one of said programmable memories wherein the order in which the selected routines are executed is determined by the order of the associated commands in the application program, the order of execution of the stored routines being changeable without changing the stored routines.
Claim 9
Independent Claim
185 words
A method of operating a portable label printer having at least one processor, a plurality of programmable memories for snoring information, a keyboard, a bar code scanner, a print head, at least one motor for advancing a label past the print head and a device for communicating with a remote host computer comprising: storing a print and motor control routine to control the motor to advance a label and to control the print head to print on the label while the label is advancing; storing a data collection routine to control the operation of the scanner; storing a communication routine to control communications with the remote host computer; receiving from a remote host computer an application program having a sequence of commands, a plurality of said commands selecting an associated stored routine for execution; and storing the application program in at least one of said programmable memories wherein the order in which the selected routines are executed is determined by the order of the associated commands in the application program, the order of execution of the stored routines being changeable without changing the stored routines.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
28 words
A method of operating a portable label printer as recited in claim 7 wherein said print and motor control routine is stored in one of said programmable memories.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
26 words
A method of operating a portable label printer as recited in claim 8 wherein said data collection routine is stored in one of said programmable memories.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
54 words
A method of operating a portable label printer as recited in claim 7 including the step of receiving a look up table from a remote host computer to associate data received from at least two different input sources including said scanner, keyboard and/or communication device for printing together and/or uploading to said host computer.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
227 words
A method of operating a portable label printer having at least one processor, a plurality of programmable memories for storing information, a keyboard, a bar code scanner, a print head, at least one motor for advancing a label past the print head and a device for communicating with a remote host computer comprising: storing a print and motor control routine to control the motor to advance a label and to control the print head to print on the label while the label is advancing; storing a data collection routine to control the operation of the scanner; storing a communication routine to control communications with the remote host computer; storing an application program having a sequence of commands, a plurality of said commands selecting an associated stored routine for execution wherein the order in which the selected routines are executed is determined by the order of the associated commands in the application program, the application program being stored in a programmable memory to allow the order of execution of stored routines selected by the application program to be varied with a different application program without changing the stored routines; and receiving a look up table from said remote host computer to associate data from at least two input sources including said keyboard, scanner and/or communication device for printing together on a label and/or uploading to said host computer.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
227 words
A method of operating a portable label printer having at least one processor, a plurality of programmable memories for storing information, a keyboard, a bar code scanner, a print head, at least one motor for advancing a label past the print head and a device for communicating with a remote host computer comprising: storing a print and motor control routine to control the motor to advance a label and to control the print head to print on the label while the label is advancing; storing a data collection routine to control the operation of the scanner; storing a communication routine to control communications with the remote host computer; storing an application program having a sequence of commands, a plurality of said commands selecting an associated stored routine for execution wherein the order in which the selected routines are executed is determined by the order of the associated commands in the application program, the application program being stored in a programmable memory to allow the order of execution of stored routines selected by the application program to be varied with a different application program without changing the stored routines; and receiving a look up table from said remote host computer to associate data from at least two input sources including said keyboard, scanner and/or communication device for printing together on a label and/or uploading to said host computer.
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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) | 2000-01-14 | 2000-07-15 | 2001-01-14 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 2004-01-14 | 2004-07-15 | 2005-01-14 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 2008-01-14 | 2008-07-15 | 2009-01-14 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |