IPC분류정보
| 국가/구분 |
United States(US) Patent
등록
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| 국제특허분류(IPC7판) |
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| 출원번호 |
US-0675649
(2007-02-16)
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| 등록번호 |
US-8721202
(2014-05-13)
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발명자
/ 주소 |
- Lyons, Dale
- Collins, Justin
- Maney, Charles Q.
- Suzuki, Akira
- Koyama, Sachio
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| 출원인 / 주소 |
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| 대리인 / 주소 |
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| 인용정보 |
피인용 횟수 :
0 인용 특허 :
113 |
초록
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In one embodiment, a two- or dual-sided thermal print switch is provided to direct printing of received print data on one or both sides of thermal media such as a receipt, document, or label. In a further embodiment, a dual-sided thermal print switch is provided to select custom or predefined data f
In one embodiment, a two- or dual-sided thermal print switch is provided to direct printing of received print data on one or both sides of thermal media such as a receipt, document, or label. In a further embodiment, a dual-sided thermal print switch is provided to select custom or predefined data for printing on one or both sides of thermal media with or without received print data. Dual-sided print switch operation may be defined using commands implemented with, for example, setup configuration settings in hardware or software, escape sequences, real-time printer commands, and the like.
대표청구항
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1. A dual-sided direct thermal printer comprising: a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path and arranged to thermally image a first side of a media item being fed along the media feed path;a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, opposite the first
1. A dual-sided direct thermal printer comprising: a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path and arranged to thermally image a first side of a media item being fed along the media feed path;a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, opposite the first side of the media feed path, and arranged to thermally image a second side of the media item, opposite the first side of the media item, which is being fed along the media feed path;an executable legacy one-sided printing application program which has been previously developed for use with only a single-sided direct thermal printer and for, when executed, activating a single-sided direct thermal printing function to control the first thermal print head on the first side of the media feed path to thermally image the first side of the media item being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the first side of the media item when it is desired to provide either single-sided printing of the media item or dual-sided printing of the media item; anda printing function controller for (i) activating a dual-sided direct thermal printing function to control the second thermal print head on the second side of the media feed path to thermally image the second side of the media item which is being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the second side of the media item when it is desired to provide dual-sided printing of the media item, and (ii) deactivating all dual-sided direct thermal printing functions when it desired to provide only single-sided printing of the media item. 2. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising: a first platen;a second platen;a first arm; anda second arm,wherein the first thermal print head and the first platen are coupled to the first arm, and the second thermal print head and the second platen are coupled to the second arm. 3. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 2, further comprising: a pivot,wherein the first arm is pivotable about the pivot with respect to the second arm. 4. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising a processor, wherein the processor is configured to process the received print data prior to printing by the first and second thermal print heads. 5. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function controller is configured to allow printing of the received print data by only one of the first and the second thermal print heads. 6. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising: a buffer adapted to store the received print data,wherein the printing function controller is configured to control printing of the buffered print data by the first and the second thermal print heads. 7. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the printing function controller is configured to select a first portion of the buffered print data for printing on a first side of print media by the first thermal print head, and a second portion of the buffered print data for printing on a second side of the print media by the second thermal print head. 8. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 7, wherein the first and the second portions of the buffered print data comprise substantially one half of the buffered print data each. 9. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the buffer comprises a first buffer portion adapted to store a first portion of the received print data and a second buffer portion adapted to store a second portion of the received print data. 10. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 9, wherein the received print data comprises one or more transaction entries, and wherein the printing function controller is further configured to store alternating transaction entries in the first and the second buffer portions, respectively. 11. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 10, wherein the printing function controller is further configured to select the first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the second portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head. 12. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 11, wherein the printing function controller is further configured to select the first portion of the received print data for printing by the second thermal print head and the second portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head. 13. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function controller is configured to initiate printing of the received print data by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads upon receipt of a knife command. 14. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the printing function controller is configured to initiate printing of the buffered print data by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads when the buffer becomes full. 15. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 6, wherein the printing function controller is configured to initiate printing of print data received after the buffer becomes full by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads. 16. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function controller is further configured to designate a first portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head when print media is moving in a first direction, and a second portion of the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head when the print media is moving in a second direction, opposite the first direction. 17. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, further comprising: a memory adapted to store custom print data,wherein the printing function controller is further configured to control printing of the custom print data by the first and the second thermal print heads. 18. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 17, wherein the printing function controller is configured to select the received print data for printing by the first thermal print head and the custom print data for printing by the second thermal print head. 19. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 17, wherein the custom print data comprises one or more custom print data macros. 20. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 19, wherein the custom print data macros each comprise one of a logo, coupon, rebate, contest, cartoon, condition of sale, advertisement, security feature, disclaimer, and warranty data macro. 21. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 19, wherein the memory comprises one or more memory portions, each memory portion adapted to store one of the custom print data macros. 22. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 21, wherein the printing function controller is configured to select at least one of the custom print data macros for printing by at least one of the first and the second thermal print heads. 23. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 22, wherein the printing function controller selects the at least one of the custom print data macros for printing based on the received print data. 24. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 23, wherein the received print data comprises transaction detail data. 25. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 24, wherein the transaction detail data comprises one or more of product identity data, product cost data, total cost data, purchaser identity data, payment means data, transaction number data, date data and time data. 26. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the communication module is further adapted to receive print commands for controlling printing of the received print data by the printing function controller. 27. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 26, wherein the print commands comprise one or more escape sequences. 28. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 1, wherein the printing function controller is further configured to optimize distribution of the received print data among the first and the second thermal print heads to minimize thermal media use. 29. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 17, wherein the printing function controller is further configured to optimize distribution of the received print data and the custom print data among the first and the second thermal print heads to minimize thermal media use. 30. A dual-sided direct thermal printer comprising: a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path and arranged to thermally image a first side of a media item being fed along the media feed path;a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, opposite the first side of the media feed path, and arranged to thermally image a second side of the media item, opposite the first side of the media item, which is being fed along the media feed path, wherein the first and the second thermal print heads are spatially separated by a length along the media feed path;an executable legacy one-sided printing application program which has been previously developed for use with only a single-sided direct thermal printer and for, when executed, activating a single-sided direct thermal printing function to control the first thermal print head on the first side of the media feed path to thermally image the first side of the media item being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the first side of the media item when it is desired to provide either single-sided printing of the media item or dual-sided printing of the media item; anda printing function controller for (i) receiving print data from the legacy one-sided printing application program, (ii) dividing and apportioning the print data between the first and second sides of the media item based upon the length of spatial separation between the first and second thermal print heads along the media feed path, (iii) activating a dual-sided direct thermal printing function to control the second thermal print head on the second side of the media feed path to thermally image the second side of the media item which is being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the second side of the media item when it is desired to provide dual-sided printing of the media item, and (iv) deactivating all dual-sided direct thermal printing functions when it desired to provide only single-sided printing of the media item. 31. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 30, further comprising: a buffer adapted to store the received print data, wherein the printing function controller is configured to control printing of the buffered print data by the first and the second thermal print heads. 32. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 31, wherein the printing function controller is configured to select a first portion of the buffered print data for printing on a first side of print media by the first thermal print head, and a second portion of the buffered print data for printing on a second side of the print media by the second thermal print head. 33. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 32, wherein the first and the second portions of the buffered print data comprise substantially one half of the buffered print data each. 34. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 32, wherein a length of the first side of the print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than a length of the second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by a length substantially equivalent to the length of spacing between the first and the second thermal print heads. 35. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 32, wherein the first and second portions of the buffered print data are selected such that a portion of the first side of the print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than a portion of the second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by an amount substantially equivalent to the portion of the second side of the print media between the first and the second thermal print heads. 36. A dual-sided direct thermal printer comprising: a first thermal print head on a first side of a media feed path and arranged to thermally image a first side of a media item being fed along the media feed path;a second thermal print head on a second side of the media feed path, opposite the first side of the media feed path, and arranged to thermally image a second side of the media item, opposite the first side of the media item, which is being fed along the media feed path, wherein the first and the second thermal print heads are spatially separated by a first length along the media feed path;a first rotating platen on the second side of the media feed path and opposite the first thermal print head;a second rotating platen on the first side of the media feed path and opposite the second thermal print head, wherein the first and the second rotating platens are spatially separated by a second length along the media feed path;an executable legacy one-sided printing application program which has been previously developed for use with only a single-sided direct thermal printer and for, when executed, activating a single-sided direct thermal printing function to control the first thermal print head on the first side of the media feed path to thermally image the first side of the media item being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the first side of the media item when it is desired to provide either single-sided printing of the media item or dual-sided printing of the media item; anda printing function controller for (i) receiving print data from the legacy one-sided printing application program, (ii) dividing and apportioning the print data between the first and second sides of the media item based upon the second length of spatial separation between the first and second rotating platens along the media feed path, (iii) activating a dual-sided direct thermal printing function to control the second thermal print head on the second side of the media feed path to thermally image the second side of the media item which is being fed along the media feed path and thereby to enable printing on the second side of the media item when it is desired to provide dual-sided printing of the media item, and (iv) deactivating all dual-sided direct thermal printing functions when it desired to provide only single-sided printing of the media item. 37. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 36, further comprising: a buffer adapted to store the received print data, wherein the printing function controller is configured to control printing of the buffered print data by the first and the second thermal print heads. 38. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 37, wherein the printing function controller is configured to select a first portion of the buffered print data for printing on a first side of print media by the first thermal print head, and a second portion of the buffered print data for printing on a second side of the print media by the second thermal print head. 39. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 38, wherein the first and the second portions of the buffered print data comprise substantially one half of the buffered print data each. 40. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 38, wherein a length of the first side of the print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than a length of the second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by a length substantially equivalent to the second length of spacing between the first and the second rotating platens. 41. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 38, wherein the first and second portions of the buffered print data are selected such that a portion of the first side of the print media to be occupied by the first portion of the buffered print data is greater than a portion of the second side of the print media to be occupied by the second portion of the buffered print data by an amount substantially equivalent to the portion of the second side of the print media between the first and the second rotating platens. 42. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 36, wherein the printing function controller is configured to divide and apportion the print data between the first and second sides of the media item based upon both the first length of spatial separation between the first and second thermal print heads along the media feed path and the second length of spatial separation between the first and second rotating platens along the media feed path. 43. The dual-sided direct thermal printer of claim 36, wherein the first length of spatial separation between the first and second thermal print heads along the media feed path and the second length of spatial separation between the first and second rotating platens along the media feed path are substantially equal in length.
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