Digital Camera Patent Abstract
An insertable thermal printer cartridge for insertion into a digital
camera or the like includes a housing for receiving a plurality
of receivers each of which is adapted to receive colorant, and a
donor supply roll for supplying a donor having colorant to a colorant
transfer area and a donor take-up spool for receiving donor after
colorant has been transferred. The receivers and the donor are respectively
moved to the colorant transfer area where colorant is transferred
from the donor to the receiver, and the housing including identifying
contacts which, after the insertable thermal printer cartridge has
been inserted into the device, which provide an electrical connection
to identify the type of receiver and donor in the inserted insertable
thermal printer cartridge and further defining a cavity for mounting
at least one battery which is adapted to provide power for moving
the donor and receivers and for supplying power for colorant transfer
at the colorant transfer area. Digital Camera Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An insertable thermal printer cartridge for insertion into a
digital camera or the like, comprising:
a) a housing for receiving a plurality of receivers each of which
is adapted to receive colorant;
b) a donor supply roll for supplying a donor having colorant to
a colorant transfer area and a donor take-up spool for receiving
donor after colorant has been transferred;
c) means for serially moving the receivers and the donor from the
donor supply roll to the colorant transfer area where colorant is
transferred from the donor to the receiver; and
d) the housing including identifying contacts which, after the
insertable thermal printer cartridge has been inserted into the
camera, which provide an electrical connection to identify the type
of receiver and donor in the inserted insertable thermal printer
cartridge and further defining a cavity for mounting at least one
battery which is adapted to provide power for the moving means and
for supplying power for colorant transfer at the colorant transfer
area.
2. In a digital camera having a thermal printer and such camera
being adapted to receive a thermal printer insertable cartridge,
the thermal printer including a printhead for transferring heat
at a colorant transfer area and means for activating the printhead
to cause colorant to transfer from a donor to a receiver at the
colorant transfer area, the insertable thermal printer cartridge
comprising:
a) a housing for receiving a plurality of receivers, each of which
is adapted to receive colorant;
b) a donor supply roll to supply a donor having colorant to a colorant
transfer area and a donor take-up spool for receiving donor after
colorant has been transferred;
c) means for serially moving the receivers to and the donor from
the donor from the donor supply roll to the colorant transfer area
where colorant is transferred from the donor to the receiver;
e) the housing including identifying contacts which, after the
insertable insertable thermal printer cartridge has been inserted
into the camera, which provide an electrical connection to identify
the type of receiver and donor in the inserted insertable thermal
printer cartridge, the housing defining a cavity for mounting at
least one battery which is adapted to provide power for the moving
means and for supplying power to the thermal printer for activating
the printhead for colorant transfer at the colorant transfer area.
3. The invention of claim 2 wherein the camera includes image capturing
processing electronics and insertable thermal printer cartridge
interface and printer actuator electronics adapted to be electrically
connected to a battery in the insertable thermal printer cartridge.
4. The invention of claim 2 wherein the digital camera includes
another battery for operating the image capture and processing electronics.
5. The insertable thermal printer cartridge of claim 2 further
including a removable seal covering the identifying contacts.
Digital Camera Patent Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to insertable thermal printer cartridges
which can be useable in digital cameras which further include thermal
printers.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
Heretofore, images of high quality have been produced by thermal
printers. In a typical thermal printer, an image is formed in three
passes. First a dye donor having colorant such as yellow is placed
in dye transfer relationship with a receiver and then the dye donor
is heated in a pattern corresponding to the yellow portion of an
image to be completed. Thereafter, cyan and magenta portions of
the image are formed in a similar fashion. The completed color image
on the receiver is continuous tone and in many cases can rival photographic
quality.
In one type of thermal printer which prints color images, a donor
contains a repeating series of spaced frames of different colorants
such as heat transferable dyes. The donor is disposed between a
receiver, such as coated paper, and a print head formed of, for
example, a plurality of individual heating resistors. When a particular
heating resistor is energized, it produces heat and causes dye from
the donor to transfer to the receiver. The density or darkness of
the printed color dye is a function of the energy delivered from
the heating element to the donor.
Thermal dye transfer printers offer the advantage of true "continuous
tone" dye density transfer. This result is obtained by varying
the energy applied to each heating element, yielding a variable
dye density image pixel in the receiver.
Thermal printers, as known in the computer printing art, have replaceable
donor insertable thermal printer cartridges. These insertable thermal
printer cartridges are capable of containing large volumes of donor
necessary for printing many receivers which can be sheets of 81/2
by 11 inch coated paper. These insertable thermal printer cartridges,
or their derivatives, are not suitable for inclusion in a digital
camera as they are far too large. Additionally, the amount of donor
per printed image is a variable depending upon the image to be printed
and the size of the image to be printed with respect to the size
of the receiver. Therefore, desktop printers teach the separation
of the insertable thermal printer cartridges containing receivers
from the insertable thermal printer cartridges containing donor
material. In a digital camera, such a system has many inherent and
undesirable limitations. First and most obvious is the complexity
of having to load both a donor insertable thermal printer cartridge
in one location and also a supply of receivers. Furthermore, cameras
don't typically have interface and software means to input a user's
change in receivers. Additionally, undesirable prints can be created
by the wrong combination of donor and receiver placing an unnecessary
burden on the user. An example of a portable thermal wax transfer
printer not included within a digital camera that exhibits this
problem is the Model GV-HT1 portable printer manufactured by JVC
which requires a user to load an insertable donor cartridge as well
as a separate supply of receivers.
Recently, ALPS Electric Co. has produced a very small thermal printer
mechanism for integration into a digital camera. This printer, model
PTML1101A has a mating insertable thermal printer cartridge that
contains both donor in the form of a roll as well as small receivers
positioned in the insertable thermal printer cartridge to receive
dye from the donor by way of resistive heating elements in the printer.
Resistive heating elements are very inefficient means for supplying
the colorant sublimation energy and therefore place an unusually
large burden on the power supply of the digital camera.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an insertable
insertable thermal printer cartridge which permits a thermal printer
within a digital camera to more effectively produce color images.
These objects are achieved by an insertable thermal printer cartridge
for insertion into a digital camera or the like, comprising:
a) a housing for receiving a plurality of receivers each of which
is adapted to receive colorant;
b) a donor supply roll for supplying a donor having colorant to
a colorant transfer area and a donor take-up spool for receiving
donor after colorant has been transferred;
c) means for serially moving the receivers and the donor from the
donor supply roll to the colorant transfer area where colorant is
transferred from the donor to the receiver; and
d) the housing including identifying contacts which, after the
insertable thermal printer cartridge has been inserted into the
device, which provide an electrical connection to identify the type
of receiver and donor in the inserted insertable thermal printer
cartridge and further defining a cavity for mounting at least one
battery which is adapted to provide power for the moving means and
for supplying power for colorant transfer at the colorant transfer
area.
ADVANTAGES
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a single
insertable thermal printer cartridge with all the replaceable elements
necessary for creating a print by a thermal printer included in
a digital camera.
It is a further advantage to insure that the apparatus accepting
the insertable thermal printer cartridge is not burdened by the
power consumption of the printing operation as this is provided
by at least one battery within the insertable thermal printer cartridge
itself. The energy for the capture portion of the digital camera
is powered by a separate battery contained within the digital camera.
A feature of the invention is that the use of conductive identifying
contacts can be sensed by the electronics in the digital camera
to provide an indication to the user of the type of insertable thermal
printer cartridge being inserted. Information such as the exact
color gamut of dyes and the number of receiver sheets can also be
provided to the digital camera by these conductive identifying contacts.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective of an insertable thermal printer cartridge
with receiver drive sprocket and identifying contacts for use with
a digital camera having a thermal printer;
FIG. 2 is, a sectional view of the insertable thermal printer cartridge
of FIG. 1 taken along lines A--A showing the relative position of
the donor supply roll, donor take-up spool and receiver supply roll;
FIG. 3 is sectional view of the insertable thermal printer cartridge
within the thermal printer taken along lines B--B showing donor
supply roll, donor take-up spool, receiver supply roll, batteries,
and identifying contacts;
FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the electronic interconnection of
the insertable thermal printer cartridge to the thermal printer
and the capture and imaging processing electronics;
FIG. 5 is a front view of a digital camera having a thermal printer
for receiving the insertable, thermal printer cartridge of FIG.
1;
FIGS. 6a and 6b are side views of the digital camera of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines D--D of the printer
of FIG. 5 showing in cross section an insertable thermal printer
cartridge inserted into the thermal printer of the digital camera;
and
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of the insertable thermal
printer cartridge being inserted into the thermal printer of the
digital camera.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The overall structure of the present invention will briefly be
reviewed with respect to FIGS. 5 and 6. The present invention uses
an insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 which is inserted into
a digital camera 11. The digital camera 11 includes a thermal printer
13. Further features of the digital camera 11 and thermal printer
13 will be discussed later.
Turning now to FIG. 1, a perspective of an insertable thermal printer
cartridge 10 is shown with a section of a receiver 30 extending
from an insertable thermal printer cartridge housing 9. The insertable
thermal printer cartridge housing 9 is provided with a removable
cartridge seal 16 which protects identifying contacts 18, 19, and
20, receiver drive sprocket 17, and batteries 34 prior to use of
the insertable thermal printer cartridge 10. In this manner, features
of the insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 such as identifying
contacts 18, 19, and 20 are protected from damage. Similarly, batteries
34 are protected from accidental discharge while the receiver drive
sprocket 17 is prevented from unintentionally advancing receivers
30. Cartridge seal 16 can be of a Mylar sheet held in position until
use by a conventional, low tack adhesive 22 as cartridge seal 16
is used only as protective seal. The cartridge seal 16 is removed
prior to inserting the insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 into
insertable thermal printer cartridge bay 10a provided in the digital
camera 11 (see FIG. 8). It will be understood that the cartridge
seal 16 can contain human readable data printed on the outer surface
(not shown) indicative of the date of manufacture, expiration date,
printer compatibility, etc. Alignment features are assembled in
the housing 9 and shown as a donor take-up spool 24 and the receiver
drive sprocket 17 which are used in the positioning of insertable
thermal printer cartridge 10 into thermal printer 13.
Identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20 can be formed by the application
of an encoded and patterned metallized tape. Each identifying contact
18, 19, and 20 may be metallized or not forming a conductive or
non-conductive area. These identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20 provide
information of features of the inserted insertable thermal printer
cartridge 10 to the thermal printer 13 in the digital camera 11.
These identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20 provide information in
a manner similar to the DX encodement of 35 mm film cassettes. For
example, see commonly assigned U.S. Pat. No. 4,982,209 to Pearson.
The identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20 are used by the thermal
printer 13 of the digital camera 11 to sense the data represented
by the encoded conductive pattern. Such data can represent the manufactured
configuration of the insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 with
respect to the preloaded receivers 30 such as white opaque receivers
or transparent receivers, donor supply batch number, and quantity
of receivers 30 as shown in Table 1 below.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Insertable thermal
printer Identifying Identifying Identifying cartridge Details Contact
20 Contact 19 Contact 18 ______________________________________
Opaque Receivers/Batch 1234 L L L (24) Opaque Receivers/Batch 1234
L L H (36) Opaque Sticker L H L Receivers/Batch 1234 (24) Opaque
Sticker L H H Receivers/Batch 1234 (36) Transparent Receivers/Batch
H L L 1234 (24) Transparent Receivers/Batch H L H 1234 (36) Transparent
Sticker H H L Receivers/Batch 1234 (24) Transparent Sticker H H
H Receivers/Batch 1234 (36) ______________________________________
L = Low Level Voltage, H = High Level Voltage
Logic levels shown in Table 1 describe the identification of the
contents of insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 with respect
to the type and quantity of receivers 30. The amount of donor 21
provided during manufacture of a donor supply roll 23 and is determined
in accordance with the number of receivers to be printed. The identification
is accomplished by identifying probe pairs 52, 54, and 56 (see FIG.
4) contacting identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20 respectively,
for the purpose of determining the conductivity of each identifying
contact 18, 19, and 20. Identifying probe pairs 52, 54, and 56 are
electrically controlled by circuitry (not shown) within the insertable
thermal printer cartridge interface and printer actuator electronics
block 46. Typically, a small current will flow across the discrete
elements of identifying probe pairs 52, 54, and 56 causing a Low
Level Voltage to be sensed by insertable thermal printer cartridge
interface and printer actuator electronics block 46 if the identifying
contact was conductive. If current does not flow across the probe
pairs, the identifying contact was not conductive and a High Level
Voltage is sensed by insertable thermal printer cartridge interface
and printer actuator electronics block 46. The identification information
is used by the insertable thermal printer cartridge interface and
printer actuator electronics block 46 to produce a superior resultant
printed image.
It should be obvious to one skilled in the art that additional
identifying contacts can be used within the scope of the invention
as well as other combinations of receivers 30 and donor 21 which
are likely to be desired by users of the apparatus.
Turning now to FIG. 2 which is a cross-section of the insertable
thermal printer cartridge 10, there is a receiver supply spool 25
upon which is loaded receivers 30 for receiving colorants from donor
21 during the ad operation of thermal printer 13 (see FIG. 7). Donor
supply roll 23 is shown loaded with donor 21 which is also connected
to donor take-up spool 24. To reach the donor take-up spool 24,
the donor 21 must pass out of insertable thermal printer cartridge
housing 9 by leaving through an insertable thermal printer cartridge
egress slot 31. Donor 21 is then moved to a colorant transfer area
35 before re-entering the insertable thermal printer cartridge housing
9 through an insertable thermal printer cartridge ingress slot 33.
This arrangement is pre-assembled into the insertable thermal printer
cartridge housing 9 during the manufacturing of the insertable thermal
printer cartridge 10. In a similar fashion, receivers 30 also leave
insertable thermal printer cartridge housing 9 through insertable
thermal printer cartridge egress slot 31 and enter the colorant
transfer area 35 in relative proximity to donor 21.
FIG. 3 is a cross sectional view taken along lines B--B of FIG.
1 which depicts the arrangement of the receiver supply spool 25,
donor supply roll 23, donor take-up spool 24, batteries 34, and
cartridge battery contacts 26. The receiver supply spool 25 defines
a cavity 27 in which batteries 34 are provided. Battery contacts
26a on batteries 34 are accessable through openings in the insertable
thermal printer cartridge housing 9 for electrical connection to
printer actuator and drive electronics block 46 (see FIG. 4). Cartridge
battery contacts 26 are formed within the thermal printer 13 on
opposite sides of insertable thermal printer cartridge bay 10a.
One such cartridge battery contact 26 is formed in the back wall
of insertable thermal printer cartridge bay 10a. An insertable thermal
printer cartridge bay door 29 is shown in an open position to reveal
the other cartridge battery contact 26 that is formed on the insertable
thermal printer cartridge bay door 29.
The insertable thermal printer cartridge bay door 29 pivots axially
around a hinge 28 (see FIG. 8) to move from a closed operational
position where the cartridge battery contacts 26 engage battery
contacts 26a, to an open position for insertion of the insertable
thermal printer cartridge 10 into the insertable thermal printer
cartridge bay 29 of thermal printer 13. In the preferred embodiment,
the batteries 34 can be lithium batteries such as the 3-Volt KCR2
batteries sold by the Eastman Kodak Company.
A receiver drive mechanism 58 and a donor drive shaft 60 are also
shown as features of the thermal printer 13. As the insertable thermal
printer cartridge 10 is inserted into the thermal printer 13, the
receiver drive mechanism 58 of thermal printer 13 mechanically couples
with the receiver drive sprocket 17 of insertable thermal printer
cartridge 10. In a similar fashion, the donor drive shaft 60 of
thermal printer 13 mechanically couples with the donor take-up spool
24 of insertable thermal printer cartridge 10.
Turning now to FIG. 4, an image capture and processing electronics
block 44 is shown which is included in the digital camera 11. The
image capture and processing electronics block 44 will be understood
to include all the necessary elements to acquire and store images
electronically via an image sensor (not shown) as is found in well
known digital camera apparatus such as the DC-260 digital camera
manufactured by the Eastman Kodak Company.
The insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 is shown inserted into
digital camera 11 in the direction of arrow 10b. Battery contacts
26a are exposed through openings on each side of insertable thermal
printer cartridge 10 making an electrical connection between the
insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 and the power supply voltages
denoted as +Vcb and -Vcb which are provided by a digital camera
battery 50 to supply electrical power to the thermal printer 13
of the digital camera 11 and the insertable thermal printer cartridge
interface and printer actuator electronics block 46. In such a manner,
the user is always assured that the necessary power to print an
image is available each time an insertable thermal printer cartridge
10 is loaded. The cartridge battery contacts 26 are not shown in
actual physical relationship to each other. Rather, they are shown
in a general sense for simplicity. Image data, addressing data,
and control data necessary for the printing operation travel between
the image capture and processing electronics block 44 and the insertable
thermal printer cartridge interface and printer actuator electronics
block 46 along a data bus 64.
FIG. 5 shows a front view of the digital camera 11 includes a lens
48 and an image sensor (not shown) both of which are controlled
by the image capture and processing electronics block 44 and furthermore
captures a digital image. The image capture and processing electronics
block 44 stores the captured image in a digital format and processes
such image for use by the thermal printer 13.
Turning to FIGS. 6A and 6B, the digital camera 11 is shown from
a side view with included thermal printer 13 again in a general
fashion. FIG. 6A shows the arrangement of FIG. 5 as side view with
insertable thermal printer cartridge bay door 29 in the closed operational
position where the cartridge battery contacts 26 engage battery
contacts 26a. FIG. 6B shows a similar view with insertable thermal
printer cartridge bay door 29 in an open position for insertion
of the insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 into the insertable
thermal printer cartridge bay 29 of thermal printer 13.
FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along lines D--D of FIG. 5 which
shows the insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 loaded into thermal
printer 13. In this figure, the receivers 30 are shown in proximate
position to donor 21 with respect to a thermal head 37 in the colorant
transfer area 35. In a manner well known in the art, receivers 30
are moved relative to the donor 21 for the purposes of receiving
colorant at predetermined positions through a plurality of conventional
heating elements (not shown) which are included in the thermal head
37. Pressure roller 39 of the thermal printer 13 works in cooperation
with the thermal head 37 to maintain proper contact and alignment
between donor 21 and receivers 30 to effectively create a color
print.
Turning now to FIG. 8, insertable thermal printer cartridge 10
is shown protruding from insertable thermal printer cartridge bay
10a with insertable thermal printer cartridge bay door 29 in an
open position for insertion of the insertable thermal printer cartridge
10 into the insertable thermal printer cartridge bay 29 of thermal
printer 13. Receivers 30 are shown relative to pressure roller 39,
donor 21 (not visible), and thermal head 37. Receiver 30, while
receiving colorant transferred from donor 21 via thermal head 37,
must leave the thermal printer 13 through a printer egress slot
43. In a manner well known in the art, receiver 30 moves in and
out of the printer egress slot 43 to accommodate a plurality of
printing operations wherein a single colorant is transferred from
donor 21 to receiver 30 in each operation. The colorants to be transferred
can be the commonly used CYMK colorant scheme.
In operation, the cartridge seal 16 is removed from the insertable
thermal printer cartridge 10. The insertable thermal printer cartridge
10 is inserted into the insertable thermal printer cartridge bay
10a which has features corresponding to the insertable thermal printer
cartridge housing 9 for mounting the insertable thermal printer
cartridge 10. Identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20 provide feature
information to the insertable thermal printer cartridge interface
and printer actuator electronics block 46 for controlling the operation
of the thermal printer 13 as shown in FIG. 4. Receivers 30 on receiver
supply spool 25 are caused to advanced by the insertable thermal
printer cartridge interface and printer actuator electronics block
46 which actuates the receiver drive mechanism 58 which is mechanically
coupled to the receiver drive sprocket 17 (see FIG. 1). In a similar
fashion, donor 21 is caused to be moved from the donor supply roll
23 onto the donor take-up spool 24 by the insertable thermal printer
cartridge interface and printer actuator electronics block 46 which
actuates the donor drive shaft 60 which is mechanically coupled
to the donor take-up spool 24. The receiver drive mechanism 58 and
donor drive shaft 60 each include driving mechanisms located in
the thermal printer 13 (not shown), which continuously advance the
receiver and donor relative to the heating elements of the thermal
head 37. As will be clear to those skilled in the art, the motors
in the mechanisms can be continuous DC motors.
It will be understood that receivers 30 are temporarily connected
along the length of receivers 30 by orthogonal lines of perforations
41 (see FIG. 1) permitting the color print to be conveniently detached
from unused receivers 30 within insertable thermal printer cartridge
10.
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