EP1001362A1 - A printer system - Google Patents

Abstract

A portable printer is provided which provides active cooperation between a computerand the portable printer unit. A number of different features are introduced into theprinting unit which allow greater responsiveness from the computer responsive toactions taken at the printer unit.

Description

• The present invention relates to a printing system and to a printer unit for use in sucha system.
• In the state of the art, a number of printers arranged to be manually placed on animage receiving medium are known. The printing means of the printer or the entireprinter is operable to scan over the image receiving medium in the printing operation.Thus, the medium is not fed through the printer - as in most office sheet printers, butthe printer is placed upon the medium.
• Such a printer is known from EP 564297-A. The printer has an ink jet print headwhich is scanning in two orthogonal directions over the image receiving medium, ontowhich the printer is placed manually. The printer is connected to a computer andcapable e.g. of printing addresses onto envelopes, but can also be used separatelyfrom the computer for printing data downloaded from the computer to the printer.
• Another ink jet printer to be placed on a printing medium is disclosed in US 5634730A. This printer is provided with a keyboard for data inputting, but can also printimages downloaded from a computer. The print head scans over the image receivingmedium along a special path, e.g. helically or like a pendulum. It can print datadownloaded from a computer or one of a set of predetermined words such as "PAID"etc.
• DE 3142937-A refers to a so-called hand stamp which is placed manually on theimage receiving medium. It can print data downloaded from an accounting machine,or images consisting of user-selected fixed phrases. The hand stamp has a thermalprint head and an ink ribbon for printing.
• The printers known in the prior art are thus capable of printing an image onto animage receiving medium, and make use of a scanning print head. Printing isperformed in two steps: the first one is alignment of the printer on the image receiving medium such that the image can be printed in the desired position and the secondstep is printing. However, although the printers can communicate with a computerto receive data to be printed, that is the limit of their interaction. There is no otheractive cooperation between the printer unit and a computer.
• It is one aim of the present invention to provide a printing system in which there ismore active cooperation between a computer and the printer unit.
• According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a printing systemcomprising:
• a printing unit;
• a base station configured to receive the printing unit when not in use andhaving means for detecting movement of the printing unit from the base station;
• a computer connected to the base station and configured to execute a printingapplication for generation of printing data for the printing unit,
   wherein said printing application is initiated by the computer when movementof the printing unit from the base station is detected.
• Another aim of the invention is to provide a printer unit for use in a printing systemwhich has a wider range of user interface functions.
• According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a printing systemcomprising:
• a printing unit; and
• a computer connectable to the printing device and configured to execute aprinting application for generation of printing data for transmission to said printingdevice for printing;
   wherein the printing system includes a memory which holds a plurality ofdefault printing data options each having associated therewith a time activation periodand means for determining the time at which the printing application is initiated,wherein the printing application includes a default output sequence for generating oneof said default printing data options in accordance with the detected time of initiation of the printing application.
• This allows a user profile to be recognised so that the printing system is responsiveto a user's requirements. The memory may be in the computer or within the printingunit.
• A further aspect of the present invention provides a printer adapted forcommunication with a host computer, the printer comprising:
• communication means for receiving printing data to be printed from the hostcomputer while a communication link exists between the printer and the hostcomputer, said printing data defining a sequence of images to be printed;
• a data path for conveying data received at the communication means to aprinting mechanism for printing said data;
• a user input means for instigating a print command; and
• a controller connected to the printing mechanism and operable to allow theprinting mechanism to print successive images in the sequence, each successiveimage being printed responsive to the user instigated print command.
• This feature can be used with the printer connected to the computer and for receivingsuccessive images therefrom, or at a location remote from the host computer whenthe communication link is broken. In that case, the printer can have a store forholding the printing data.
• In addition, this aspect of the invention provides a method of printing a series ofimages comprising:
• establishing a communication link between a printer and a host computer;
• transferring printing data defining said images from the host computer to theprinter;
• breaking the communication link and moving the printer unit to a locationremote from the host computer; and
• at the remote location, printing successively each image in the sequenceresponsive to a user instigated print command at the printer unit at said remote location.
• According to an alternative aspect of the present invention, there is provided amethod of printing a series of images comprising:
• establishing a communication link between a printer and a host computer, theprinter including user input means for instigating a print command; and
• successively transferring printing data defining each image in the sequencefrom the host computer to the printer and printing said each image responsive to auser instigated print command.
• Another aspect of the invention provides a printing system comprising:
• a printing unit including user input means for instigating a print command;
• a base station configured to receive the printing unit when not in use;
• a computer connected to the base station and configured to execute a printingapplication for generation of printing data for the printing unit, the computercomprising a keyboard; and
   wherein execution of the printing application is interrupted by operation of anykey on the keyboard of the computer or the user input means on the printing unit.
• One key of the keyboard may be defined as a "hot key" which remains active as theapplication is running such that when the hot key is depressed, a particular functionis initiated.
  For a better understanding of the present invention and to show how the same maybe carried into effect, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings inwhich:
• Figure 1 is a plan view showing a printer, a base station and a computer;
• Figure 2 is a view of the printing mechanism of the printer;
• Figure 3 is a view of a printer in use;
• Figure 4 is a flow diagram of the software printing application;
• Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating time related activation default options;and
• Figure 6 illustrates a sequence of images to be printed.
• Figure 1 shows a printing system consisting of acomputer 10, a computer controlleddisplay 12, which is in the described embodiment of the invention a CRT, akeyboard14 linked to thecomputer 10 by means of acable 16, anothercable 18, connectingthecomputer 10 with abase station 20, which is connected to aprinter 24 by meansof acable 22. Thus, theprinter 24 is linked to the computer via thecables 18,22 andthebase station 20.
• As known in the prior art, thecomputer 10 comprises a processor on which asoftware is running, comprising an operating system, a printer driver to enableprinting with theprinter 24 from the operating system and a software application bywhich data can be created, selected and formatted on the PC, for defining imagepatterns to be printed by theprinter 24. The software application can be activatedin a number of ways:
• selected by the user at start-up or from the desktop: the user places thesoftware application in the start-up directory or creates an icon on the desktop;
• from within another application: the user invokes the software application froma button (displayed on the display 12) in the toolbar of another software applicationor from its own floating toolbar.
• from thehandheld printer 24 itself: if the application is not running, the userpresses aprint button 34 on thehandheld printer 24, which will automatically invokethe software application in the first instance.
• According to an embodiment of the invention, however, the software application isactivated on thecomputer 10 for controlling theprinter 24 by lifting theprinter 24 offthebase station 20. Aswitch 32 is provided in thebase station 24 sensing thepresence or absence of theprinter 24 by means of apin 30. When theprinter 24 isplaced upon the base station, thepin 30 is depressed, and theswitch 32 is closed. In the case that theprinter 24 is removed from thebase station 20, thepin 30 whichis biased in the vertical direction moves upwardly and theswitch 32 opens. Theswitch is connected via some electronic circuits to thecomputer 18 and activates thesoftware application for printing. Conversely, when theprinter 24 is returned to thebase station, the state of the switch is detected to automatically return the computerto the main application which it was executing when the printer was removed. Thisfunctionality is described in more detail later with reference to Figure 4.
• That is, a default printing application on the computer changes to the present printingapplication when it is "activated" by one of the techniques mentioned. When it is"deactivated", the default printing application is returned to an original printingapplication.
• Thebase station 20 is connected to thecomputer 10 by means of thecable 18,which can be a parallel or a USB cable. Electric power is supplied to thebase station20 by a separate mains transformer, but could also be supplied from the computervia thecable 18, preferably when thecable 18 is a USB cable. Thecable 18 can behard-wired to thebase station 20, or connected to a socket of the base station, whichis preferably provided at the rear thereof. When theprinter 24 is not in use, thehandheld printer will be placed in thebase station 20. Thebase station 20 willensure that the ink jet print head of theprinter 24 is protected when not in use by acapping device that will be automatically triggered whenever the printer is insertedinto thebase station 20. Thebase station 20 will also cause the print head of theprinter 24 to eject ink into a reservoir and mechanically clean the surface of the printhead. These measures are necessary to maintain optimum print quality.
• Theumbilical cable 22 connects thebase station 20 to the hand heldprinter 24,providing both power and data. A LED on the printer will indicate that power is on.Theprinter 24 is removed from thebase station 24 and positioned on the surface tobe printed. The length of thecable 22 limits the distance of travel from the basestation.
• In another embodiment of the invention, the printer is arranged to be disconnectedfrom the base station by unplugging theumbilical cable 22 and moved to anotherlocation wherein printing of the contents of on-board memory, i.e. downloaded imagedata, can be effected. The user will employ scroll buttons on the printer to select therequired print data, which appear in a small LCD. Once a selection has been made,pressing theprint button 34 will activate printing. Having selected the data to printusing the software application (or the scroll buttons on the printer), the user willactivate printing from theprint button 34 on the hand heldprinter 24 itself.
• According to a further alternative, data for printing can be sent to the printer using RFor IR technology. The scroll buttons may be used to select data which may be storedon the "smart card" or which resides in the computer.
• Print alignment is achieved visually through atransparent window 36 in the printcasing. Thiswindow 36 can also be opened for inserting an ink cartridge into theprinter 24 before use. The cartridge is then clamped in a carriage of theprinter 24.Thewindow 36 must be closed before printing; thus there is a switch provided in thehousing of the printer for detecting whether the window is closed or not. When thewindow 36 is not closed, the switch disables printing. Changing a cartridge isachieved by lifting a retaining lever and extracting the cartridge in use and replacingthis with a new or different colour cartridge in the way described above. If theremoved cartridge still contains ink and is to be reused it must be capped to avoidthe ink drying out.
• Alternatively a Think jet type head from Hewlett Packard may be used which utilisesa different type of ink which does not dry out in the print head.
• Theprinter 24 contains a print mechanism with the ink jet print head having a numberof print nozzles, and an ink supply. The print head is moved by means of motordriven scanning means within the housing in two (generally orthogonal) directionssuch that a rectangular area can be imprinted through an aperture of theprinter 24at the bottom of its housing. Thus, theprinter 24 is placed manually on an image receiving medium and - when theprint button 34 is depressed - the print head scansover the medium and imprints it by spitting ink droplets onto it.
• Figure 1 shows the presence of a "Smart Card"reader 28 in thebase station 20.Smart cards 26, i.e. memory cards, may be used for storing data or images or as asubstitute for additional RAM in the base station.
• In another embodiment, a printer is provided which can only be used as a stand-alonedevice, i.e. in cooperation with a base station. The functionality of the printeris then as follows: the user removes the printer from the base station. A single button36 (see Figure 2) will switch the printer on and off, and a LED on the printer willindicate that power is on. A ROM card containing the selected image data is insertedinto the printer. The ROM card is printed with images of its content and thesequence of images provided on the ROM card is indicated numerically on a displayof the printer. Thus, the user will select the desired image using scroll buttons toscroll forward or backwards through the numbered content. The user will activateprinting from thebutton 36 on the handheld printer itself.
• The print mechanism of the printer will now be described with reference to Figure 2.Theprinter 24 has a housing, the underside of which can be abutted against thesurface of the image receiving medium to be printed. Aprint face 11 is defined bythe scanning range of an ink jetprint head cartridge 126 which can be replaced usingthe cartridge release mechanism described above. The ink jetprint head cartridge126 is mounted for movement along awrite axis 128 by virtue of a cooperatingleadscrew 130 andnut 132. The movement is controlled by astepper motor 134. Theposition of the writingaxis 128 can be altered by an indexing axis lead screw andbush 136 controlled by afurther stepper motor 138.Reference numeral 140designates a stability bar which extends parallel to thewrite axis 128, the ink jetprinthead cartridge 126 being mounted between thewrite axis 128 and thestability bar140.Reference numeral 142 designates an indexing axis stability bar and bush.
• The printer also includes anelectronic controller 100 having a microprocessor for controlling movement of thestepper motor 34 and generating signals for controllingthe print head and having a buffer memory for storing data. The microprocessor iscapable of converting data from a computer to which the device is connected into aformat suitable for driving the print head. The buffer memory can store informationin a variety of formats to enable the printer to work with a variety of computerequipment.
• If a Think jet print head is used, a DC motor and encoder may be used in place ofa stepper motor.
• In Figure 3, aprinter 24 positioned on animage receiving medium 40 is shown readyfor use. That is, it has been removed from thebase station 20 and placed on themedium 40 to be printed. In doing so, the application software is automaticallyinitiated to allow printing data to be selected and configured by a user using thecomputer 12 andkeyboard 14.
• Some aspects of the application software will now be described with reference toFigures 4 to 6. In addition to the automatic initiation of the application, the applicationallows for a number of default print options depending on a user profile as will nowbe described. Figure 4 is a flow chart of the printing application. Assume thecomputer is executing a main application (step S0) and theprinter 24 stands readyfor use on thebase station 20. At step S1, the state of the switch is monitored by theapplication software to determine whether or not theprinter unit 24 is on thebasestation 20. When theprinter unit 24 is removed from thebase station 20, at step S2the printing application is initiated by the computer. At step S3, the printingapplication determines whether or not default options are set. If no default optionsare set, a number of print options are displayed on the PC display at step S4 fromwhich a user may select his required option at step S5. Alternatively, a user maysimply use the printing application initiated at step S2 to create, select and formatprinting data using thekeyboard 14 and thedisplay 12 as with any existing printingapplication. However, the provision of default options simplifies use of the printingsystem for a user, in particular a user who has predictable requirements.
• If default options are found to be set at step S3, the application software selects oneof the default options based on the time of use, as indicated at step S6. This isdescribed in more detail later. At step S7, print data is generated in accordanceeither with the user selected option at step S5 or the default option selected by theapplication software at S6. Then, at step S8 the printing data is transmitted to theprinter 24 ready for printing.
• Step S1 is periodically implemented to check the status of theprinter 24. If it isdetermined to have been returned to the base station, the computer automaticallyreturns to the main application, step S0.
• Figure 5 is a block diagram illustrating elements of the system to implement defaultoptions with time related activation periods. Adefault control block 50 selects froma plurality of default options held in amemory 52. The selected option is used by adefault output sequence 54 to generate default printing data for theprinter unit 24.Default control block 50 can be responsive to aninternal clock 56 ordiary function58 of the computer system so that a default options is selected in accordance withthe time of day or day of the week. Alternatively, the default options may be suppliedto thedisplay 12 where a user selects a particular option, for example using useractivated icons.
• For example, for options with a time related activation period, a user could set thedefault output to be "RECEIVED" when theinternal clock 56 of the computer indicatesthe time between 9am and 11am, and from 11.01am and 5.30pm the default outputcould be an address format.
• During printing, the system may be interrupted at any stage by pressing any key onthekeyboard 14 or any button on theprinter unit 24 itself, in particular theprintcommand button 34.
• One of the advantages of the system described herein is that the printer unit may beused at locations remote from the computer. In particular, this is the case where thecable 22 which normally connected theprinter unit 24 to thebase station 20 can bedetached. It may be the case that it is desired to print sequential information at anumber of different remote locations, for example so as to print on a number ofdifferent products. Figure 6 illustrates a sequence of images denoted I1,I2,I3 eachof which carry acommon part 60 of information and a sequentially varyingpart 62,that is thenumbers 1, 2, 3. The system described herein allows the whole sequenceof images to be transmitted to the printer unit during operation of the applicationsoftware (step S8 in Figure 4). Subsequently, each image in the sequence can beindividually printed responsive to operation of theprint command button 34 on theprinter unit 24. After an image in the sequence has been printed, the controller in theprinter automatically selects the next image for printing on the next print command.This technique is useful for example in printing sequential numbers as illustrated inFigure 6, barcodes or a sequence of database information.
• Figure 3 illustrates the printer in use to print a sequence of images. The first image,I1, has been printed by theprinter 24. Theprinter 24 has been lifted up andrelocated in a different position. On actuation of theprint command button 34, thenext image, I2, in the sequence will be printed at the new printer location.

Claims (14)

1. A printing system comprising:

   a printing unit;

   a base station configured to receive the printing unit when not in use andhaving means for detecting movement of the printing unit from the base station;

   a computer connected to the base station and configured to execute a printingapplication for generation of printing data for the printing unit,

      wherein said printing application is initiated by the computer when movementof the printing unit from the base station is detected.
2. A printing system according to claim 1, wherein the computer is configured toexecute a main application when the printing unit is received by the base station, andto return to execution of said main application when the printing unit has beenremoved from the base station to initiate the printing application, and is subsequentlyreturned to the base station.
3. A printing system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the printing applicationincludes a default output sequence for generating a default set of printing data froma plurality of default options.
4. A printing system according to claim 3, wherein at least some of said defaultoptions are associated with a respective time related activation period so that the timeat which the printing application is initiated controls the default option generated bythe default output sequence.
5. A printing system according to any preceding claim, wherein the computercomprises a keyboard.
6. A printing system according to any preceding claim, wherein the printing unitincludes user input means for instigating a print command.
7. A printing system according to claim 5 or 6, wherein execution of the printingapplication is interrupted by operation of any key on the keyboard of the computer orthe user input means on the printing unit.
8. A printing system according to claim 6, wherein the printing unit comprisesstorage means for holding printing data transmitted to it from the computer duringexecution of the printing application, and a controller connected to the storage meansand operable to allow the printing unit to print said data at a location remote from thecomputer responsive to the user instigated print command.
9. A printing system according to claim 8, wherein the printing data transmittedto the printing unit from the computer comprises a sequence of images, whereinprinting of each image in the sequence is printed successively responsive to the userinstigated print command.
10. A printer adapted for communication with a host computer, the printercomprising:

    communication means for receiving printing data to be printed from the hostcomputer while a communication link exists between the printer and the hostcomputer, said printing data defining a sequence of images to be printed;

    a data path for conveying data received at the communication means tostorage means for holding said data;

    a printing mechanism for printing said data;

    a user input means for instigating a print command; and

    a controller connected to the storage means and to the printing mechanismand operable to allow the printing mechanism to print successive images in thesequence at a location remote from the host computer when the communication linkis broken, each successive image being printed responsive to the user instigatedprint command.
11. A method of printing a series of images comprising:

    establishing a communication link between a printer and a host computer;

    transferring printing data defining said images from the host computer to theprinter;

    breaking the communication link and moving the printer unit to a locationremote from the host computer; and

    at the remote location, printing successively each image in the sequenceresponsive to a user instigated print command at the printer unit at said remotelocation.
12. A printing system comprising:

    a printing unit; and

    a computer connectable to the printing device and configured to execute aprinting application for generation of printing data for transmission to said printingdevice for printing;

       wherein the printing system includes a memory which holds a plurality ofdefault printing data options each having associated therewith a time activation periodand means for determining the time at which the printing application is initiated,wherein the printing application includes a default output sequence for generating oneof said default printing data options in accordance with the detected time of initiationof the printing application.
13. A method of printing a series of images comprising:

    establishing a communication link between a printer and a host computer, theprinter including user input means for instigating a print command; and

    successively transferring printing data defining each image in the sequencefrom the host computer to the printer and printing said each image responsive to auser instigated print command.
14. A printing system comprising:

    a printing unit including user input means for instigating a print command;

    a base station configured to receive the printing unit when not in use;

    a computer connected to the base station and configured to execute a printing application for generation of printing data for the printing unit, the computercomprising a keyboard; and

       wherein execution of the printing application is interrupted by operation of anykey on the keyboard of the computer or the user input means on the printing unit.

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