Digital Camera Patent Abstract
A digital camera including a printer for printing images onto a
receiver having preformed authenticating information, includes a
structure for capturing and digitizing an image of a scene; and
for storing the captured digitized scene image. The printer includes
a print station adapted to print the captured digitized scene image
in relation to the preformed authenticating information on the receiver;
and receives the receiver and for advancing the receiver past the
print station. Circuitry responds to the captured digitized scene
image for causing the receiver to be advanced past the print station
and for providing signals to the printer in response to the captured
digitized scene image for causing the printer to print an image
on the receiver in relation to the preformed authenticating information.
Digital Camera Patent Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A digital camera including a printer for printing images onto
a receiver in a cartridge having preformed authenticating information,
comprising: (a) means for capturing and digitizing an image of a
scene; (b) means for storing the captured digitized scene image;
(c) the printer including: (i) a print station adapted to receive
the cartridge, the cartridge having contacts which provide information
indicating the presence of preformed authentication information
and its position on the receiver, the print station being adapted
to print the captured digitized scene image in relation to the preformed
authenticating information on the receiver; and (ii) means for receiving
the receiver and for advancing the receiver past the print station;
and (d) logic and control means responsive to the captured digitized
scene image and the cartridge contacts, for causing the advancing
means to advance the receiver past the print station and for providing
signals to the printer in response to the captured digitized scene
image for causing the printer to print an image on the receiver
in relation to the preformed authenticating information.
2. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein a plurality of images
of the captured digitized scene image are formed on the receiver.
3. The digital camera of claim 1 wherein the receiver includes
an image receiving structure to which a series of user viewable
images of the captured digitized image scene are formed such as
postal stamps, the image receiving structure further comprising:
(e) a support having first and second surfaces including preformed
authenticating information; (f) a barrier layer formed on the first
surface of the support; and (g) a colorant receiving layer formed
on the barrier layer to which a series of images can be transferred.
4. A digital camera including a printer for printing images onto
a receiver in a cartridge having preformed authenticating information
on peelable stickers, comprising: (a) means for capturing and digitizing
an image of a scene; (b) means for storing the captured digitized
scene image; (c) the printer including: (i) a print station adapted
to receive the cartridge, the cartridge having contacts which provide
information indicating the presence of preformed authentication
information and its position on the receiver, the print station
being adapted to print the captured digitized scene image in relation
to the preformed authenticating information on the receiver; and
(ii) means for receiving the receiver and for advancing the receiver
past the print station; and (d) logic and control means including
means responsive to the cartridge contacts for determining if the
receiver has preformed authenticating information and the location
of such information and means responsive to the captured digitized
scene image and the location of the preformed authentication information
for causing the advancing means to advance the receiver past the
print station and for providing signals to the printer in response
to the captured digitized scene image for causing the printer to
print an image on one or more peelable stickers on the receiver
in relation to the preformed authenticating information on one or
more peelable stickers on the receiver.
Digital Camera Patent Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to digital cameras which include printers
for printing images of a scene on receivers having preformed authenticating
information.
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 color 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 colored images, a donor
contains a repeating series of spaced frames of different colored
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.
Thermally printed images are used in a number of different applications.
In one of those applications, so-called "sticker prints"
are made on a receiver and arranged so that they can be peeled off
and individually pasted onto another surface. However, these stickers
are not used in situations which require that they be "authentic".
By use of the term "authentic" is meant that the image
can indicate to a viewer or a reader with a high degree of certainty
that the image has not been counterfeited.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an efficient
way to capture images of a scene and print such images on a receiver
having preformed authenticating information.
It is a further object of the present invention to use a digital
camera having a printer for printing images of a scene onto a receiver
having preformed authenticating information.
These objects are achieved in a digital camera including a printer
for printing images onto a receiver having preformed authenticating
information, comprising: (a) means for capturing and digitizing
an image of a scene; (b) means for storing the captured digitized
scene image; (c) the printer including: (i) a print station adapted
to print the captured digitized scene image in relation to the preformed
authenticating information on the receiver; and (ii) means for receiving
the receiver and for advancing the receiver past the print station;
and (d) logic and control means responsive to the captured digitized
scene image for causing the advancing means to advance past the
print station and for providing signals to the printer in response
to the captured digitized scene image for causing the printer to
print an image on the receiver in relation to the preformed authenticating
information.
It is a feature of the present invention that a digital camera
which is equipped with a printer can be used to print images on
a receiver having preformed authenticating information in an efficient
and cost effective manner.
An advantage of the present invention is that it effectively authenticates
images preventing counterfeiting, misuse or fraud.
A feature of the present invention is that preformed authenticating
information is formed in the receiver prior to forming a series
of images. The preformed authenticating information is formed which
authenticate images and this preformed authenticating information
can be in the form of a bar code, an official seal, alphanumeric
data or encoded digitized information.
It is an important feature of the present invention that preformed
authenticating information is formed which provide preformed authenticating
information in the support of an image receiving structure of the
receiver. This preformed authenticating information can either be
viewable under ambient lighting conditions which can include holograms
or not viewable under such conditions. In the latter case, the preformed
authenticating information can be formed of fluorescent materials
which fluoresce under certain lighting conditions. A further feature
of the invention is that the preformed authenticating information
can be in the form of silver impregnated threads or magnetic strip
material or in an encoded form that requires a device such as a
bar code reader to scan the images and decode the preformed authenticating
information. The preformed authenticating information can form water
marks.
Another feature of the invention is that the preformed authenticating
information can be embossed.
Another feature of the present invention is that it facilitates
the design of images to be authenticated such as postage stamps,
travelers checks, checks and other types of official documents.
A still further feature is that the images and authenticating information
can be formed on stickers which can be peeled apart from the receiver
and used for a number of purposes such as a postage stamps.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a front view of a digital camera having a thermal printer
for printing captured digitized scene images onto receivers with
preformed authenticating information;
FIG. 2 is a side view of the digital camera of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a system block diagram of the digital camera with the
thermal printer;
FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective of the thermal printer of the
digital camera and an insertable thermal printer cartridge being
inserted into the thermal printer of the digital camera;
FIG. 5 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. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines D--D of the printer
of FIG. 1 showing in cross section an insertable thermal printer
cartridge inserted into the thermal printer of the digital camera;
FIG. 7 is an exploded cross-sectional view showing various layers
of a receiver with preformed authenticating information;
FIG. 8 is an exploded view of an embodiment of a receiver with
preformed authenticating information; and
FIG. 9 shows a plurality of peelable stickers having images formed
from the captured digitized scene image and preformed authenticating
information which authenticate such captured digitized scene images
in the receiver of FIG. 7.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
The overall structure of the present invention will briefly be
reviewed with respect to FIGS. 1, 2 and 7. 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 an example of which is the PTMTL1101A manufactured by
the ALPS Electric Company LTD. Insertable thermal printer cartridge
10 includes colorant donor element 21 and receivers 30 which can
include at least a colorant receiving layer 60 with preformed authenticating
information 70. Although a thermal printer 13 is shown it will be
understood that other types of included printers, such as ink jet
printers can also be used in accordance with the present invention.
FIG. 1 shows a front view of the digital camera 11 including a
lens 48 for focussing light from a subject onto an image sensor
40 (see FIG. 3) upon depression of a shutter button 8. The digital
camera 11 further includes the thermal printer 13 for producing
hardcopy images of the captured digitized scene image onto receivers
30. The insertable thermal printer cartridge 10 is inserted into
thermal printer 13 by opening insertable thermal printer cartridge
bay door 29 shown here in its closed position.
Turning to FIG. 2, the digital camera 11 is shown from a side view
with included thermal printer 13 again in a general fashion. FIG.
2 shows the arrangement of FIG. 1 as a side 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 10a of thermal printer 13. In this
position, a liquid crystal display (LCD) window 47 is shown and
is used during operation of digital camera 11 for reviewing captured
digitized scene images stored in memory 51 (See FIG. 3).
FIG. 3 shows a system block diagram of the digital camera 11 with
the thermal printer 13. Light reflecting from subject S is collected
and focussed onto the image sensor 40 by lens 48 upon depression
of the shutter button 8. The timing control of the image sensor
40 is accomplished by a single chip image processor 45 which for
example can be commercially available chip DCAM-103 manufactured
by LSI Logic Corporation. The single chip image processor 45 includes
embedded general purpose input/output circuitry (I/O) for reading
and reacting to user manipulated camera mode control switches (not
shown) and the shutter button 8. The single chip image processor
45 also controls various other parameters and data flow within the
image capture section of the digital camera 11. For example, the
conversion of signals from image sensor 40 to digital form is accomplished
with a conventional A/D converter 72 under the control of the single
chip image processor 45. Single chip image processor 45 also manages
the interface to the memory 51 shown generally as a block. It will
be understood that memory 51 can be a read only memory (ROM), dynamic
random access memory (DRAM), or a conventional compact flash card
removable memory as described by the above referred to chip DCAM-103
and Architecture Specification available from LSI Logic Corporation.
Captured digitized scene images maybe stored in DRAM or Compact
Flash removable media shown as memory 51. The single chip image
processor 45 furthermore displays captured digital images on LCD
window 47 as it contains an embedded LCD controller.
Continuing with FIG. 3, a central processing unit (CPU) 55 is shown
connected to the single chip image processor 45. CPU 55 is a conventional
multipurpose microprocessor nominally used to manage the functions
of thermal printer 13. CPU 55 reads an I/O bus 53 to react to a
user choosing to print a captured digitized scene image shown on
LCD window 47 via camera mode control switches (not shown). Programming
of CPU 55 causes a flow of data to a printer controller IC 49 an
example of which can be commercially available chip PTCTS1008A manufactured
by the ALPS Electric Corporation. Printer controller IC 49 modulates
the current flow to individual resistive heating elements (not shown)
of a thermal head 37 to supply energy to transfer colorant from
colorant donor element 21 to receiver 30 in a manner well understood
in the art. Identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20 of insertable thermal
printer cartridge 10 are interrogated by CPU 55 through the connection
of I/O bus 53 to identifying probe pairs 42, 44, and 46 which are
in intimate contact with identifying contacts 18, 19, and 20. For
a more complete discussion of the functionality of identifying contacts
18, 19, and 20, please refer to the discussion of FIG. 5. As will
subsequently be described, the printer control IC 49 causes the
advancement of the receiver 30 and the colorant donor element 21
past a print station 35 and for providing signals to the thermal
head 37 in response to the captured digitized scene image for causing
the thermal printer 13 to print an image on the receiver 30 in relation
to the preformed authenticating information 70. The structure necessary
to accomplish these functions will be described in relation to FIGS.
4-6.
Turning now to FIG. 4, 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 10a of thermal
printer 13. Receivers 30 are shown relative to pressure roller 39,
colorant donor element 21 (not visible), and thermal head 37. Receiver
30, while receiving colorant transferred from colorant donor element
21 via thermal head 37, must leave the thermal printer 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 to
be transferred can be the commonly used cyan, yellow, magenta and
black (CYMK) colorant scheme.
In operation, 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 receiving the insertable thermal printer cartridge
10 containing receivers 30 on receiver supply spool 25. Identifying
contacts 18, 19, and 20 provide feature identification to the CPU
55 for controlling the operation of the thermal printer 13 as shown
in FIG. 3. Receivers 30 on receiver supply spool 25 are caused to
be advanced by the CPU 55 through printer control IC 49 which actuates
the receiver drive sprocket 17 (See FIG. 5). The receiver drive
sprocket 17 is coupled to the receiver supply spool 25. In a similar
fashion, colorant donor element 21 is caused to be moved from the
donor supply roll 23 onto the donor take-up spool 24 by the CPU
55 (via printer control IC 49) actuating the donor drive shaft 80,
shown in FIG. 6, which is mechanically coupled to the donor take-up
spool 24. It will be understood that a drive motor (not shown) is
actually driven by signals from the printer control IC 49. The receiver
drive sprocket 17 is driven by a gear 84 controlled by a motor 86
operated by a signal from the printer control IC 49 (see FIG. 3).
This arrangement in the thermal printer 13 continuously advances
the receiver 30 and colorant donor element 21 relative to the heating
elements (not shown) of the thermal head 37 at the print station
35. As will be clear to those skilled in the art, the motors used
in the present invention can be continuous DC motors. Programming
of CPU 55 is responsible for the mechanical positioning of the receivers
30 and colorant donor elements 21 at the print station 35. Furthermore,
it formats the printing of the captured digitized scene image relative
to areas of receiver 30 that don't contain preformed authenticating
information as evident from FIG. 9. CPU 55 formats the captured
digitized scene image based on information gathered from interrogation
of identifying contacts 18, 19 and 20 as described in Table 1 below.
It will also be understood that receivers 30 are temporarily connected
along the length of receivers 30 by orthogonal lines of perforations
41 (see FIG. 5) permitting the color print to be conveniently detached
from unused receivers 30 within insertable thermal printer cartridge
10.
Following on with FIG. 5, a perspective of the 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 donor take-up spool 24 prior
to the 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, 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 only used as a protective seal. Cartridge
seal 16 is removed prior to inserting the insertable thermal printer
cartridge 10 into the insertable thermal printer cartridge bay 10a
provided in the digital camera 11 (See FIG. 4). It will be understood
that 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. These identifying contacts
18, 19 and 20 provide the information used for determining if the
receiver has preformed authenticating information and the position
of its placement. Each identifying contact 18, 19, and 20 may be
metalized or not forming a conductive or non-conductive area. These
identifying contact 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 contact 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 contact 18, 19, and
20 are used by the CPU 55 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
preformed authenticating information 70 of receivers 30 such as
postal amount, stamp style (placement of preformed authenticating
information 70) and quantity of receivers 30 as shown in Table 1
below. Table 1 is in reference to the situation where the digitized
capture scene images are applied to receivers having preformed authenticating
information to form postage stamps.
TABLE 1 Manufactured configuration of insertable thermal Identifying
Identifying Identifying printer cartridge 10 Contact 20 Contact
19 Contact 18 First Class Rate/Style 1/(10) L L L First Class Rate/Style
1/(20) L L H First Class Rate/Style 2/(10) L H L First Class Rate/Style
2/(20) L H R Post Card Rate/Style 1/(10) H L L Post Card Rate/Style
1/(20) H L H Post Card Rate/Style 2/(10) H H L Post Card Rate/Style
2/(20) H H H
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 colorant
donor element 21 provided during manufacture of a donor supply roll
23 is determined in accordance with the number of receivers to be
printed. The identification is accomplished by identifying probe
pairs 42, 44, and 46 (see FIG. 3) 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 42, 44, and 46 are controlled by CPU 55 from connection
to I/O bus 53. Typically, a small current will flow across the discrete
elements of identifying probe pairs 42, 44, and 46 causing a Low
Level Voltage to be sensed by CPU 55 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 CPU 55. The identification information is used by the
CPU 55 to produce a superior resultant printed image and properly
placed relative to the preformed authenticating information 70.
It will be well understood by 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 colorant donor
element 21 which are likely to be desired by users of the apparatus.
FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along lines D--D of FIG. 1 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 colorant donor element 21 with respect to the thermal
head 37 in the print station 35. In a manner well known in the art,
receivers 30 are moved relative to the colorant donor element 21
to align the image pixels delivered by the thermal head 37 relative
to the preformed authenticating information on the receiver 30.
The receiver 30 receives 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 colorant donor element 21 and
receivers 30 to effectively create a color print.
Now referring to FIG. 7, receiver 30 includes an image receiving
structure 50 which is formed on a support 56. The support 56 can
be formed of paper or plastic such as polyethylene terephthalate
or polyethylene napthalate. Alternatively, it can be in the form
of a web. In this embodiment an adhesive layer 54 is provided on
the back surface of the support 56. A peelable protective release
layer 59 is provided over the adhesive layer 54 until it is to be
used for securing the image receiving structure 50 to a surface.
This type of construction is particularly suitable when a series
of images 90 and the preformed authenticating information 70 which
can be peeled apart for use, e.g., postal stamps. The image receiving
structure 50 includes in sequence three layers, the support 56,
a barrier layer 58 and the colorant receiving layer 60. At the time
of manufacture of the colorant receiving layer 60 preformed authenticating
information 70 are formed on the colorant receiving layer 60 which
authenticate images to be formed. The preformed authenticating information
70 can be in the form of a bar code, an official seal, alphanumeric
data or encoded digitized information.
A plurality of dye donor resistive elements of thermal head 37
(not shown) which are in contact with the colorant donor element
21. When a dye donor resistive elements is energized it is heated
which causes dye to transfer from the colorant donor element 21
to the receiver 30 in a pattern to provide the colored image. This
process is repeated until an image 90 is formed on each of the image
receiving structures 50. During the final pass a protective layer
62 is then formed on the color receiving layer 60.
At the time of manufacture of the receiver 30, preformed authenticating
information 70 can also be formed on the support 56, as shown in
FIG. 8. The creation of the preformed authenticating information
70 is described in the above-mentioned commonly-assigned U.S. patent
application Ser. Nos. 09/103,019 and 09/165,066.
Turning now to FIG. 9 which shows the output of the thermal printer
13 which is a series of preformed authenticating information 70
and an image 90 on peelable stickers 92. These peelable stickers
92 can be used as postal stamps. The peelable stickers 92 correspond
to the image receiving structure 50 shown in FIG. 7. It is desirable
that the preformed authenticating information 70 on the receiver
30 be highly accurate so that they may not be counterfeited. As
is well known in the art, the receiver 30 in a web form can be run
through a gravure process. For that purpose, the preformed authenticating
information 70 are created in the receiver 30 when the receiver
30 is in a web form by using a gravure process. The preformed authenticating
information 70 are formed with a high level of detail so that they
are difficult to duplicate. The preformed authenticating information
70 have a high level of detail so that when an image 90 is formed
during the thermal printing process, the preformed authenticating
information 70 will be visible indicating to a viewer or reader
of the receiver 30 that the images are authentic. The gravure process
is capable of creating preformed authenticating information 70 of
very high resolution, well beyond the capabilities of most common
printers. The gravure process is an intaglio process. It uses a
depressed or sunken surface for the preformed authenticating information
70. The preformed authenticating information 70 include cells or
welds etched into a copper cylinder and the unetched surface of
the cylinder represents the non-printing areas. The cylinder rotates
in a bath of ink. Gravure printing is considered excellent for printing
highly detailed marks or pictures that create the preformed authenticating
information 70. High cylinder making expense usually limits gravure
for long runs. Different types of inks may be used for depositing
the preformed authenticating information 70 by the gravure process
on the receiver 30 which can be used in the thermal printer 13 of
FIG. 1.
The colorants used to form the preformed authenticating information
70 in the receiver 30 can be inks, dyes or pigments. Inks used in
gravure printing are generally solvent based having fluid properties
that allow them to fill the wells of the engraved cylinders or plates
without spreading outside of these wells, yet are drawn out when
contacted by the receiver 30 which is run in a web form through
the gravure process. The binder solvent used in the formulation
is such that the inks dry by evaporation and have good adhesion
to the receiver 30. These inks are well known in the art and are
described in detail in the Graphic Arts Manual, Arno Press, Musarts
Publishing Corp., New York, N.Y. 1980; specifically in the chapters
titled "Inks in Common Use", Theodore Lustig, Sun Chemicals
Corp. and Introduction to Printing Inks, Gary G. Winters, Inmont
Corporation.
The preformed authenticating information 70 can be formed of fluorescent
materials which fluoresce under certain lighting conditions. When
the colorants are inks or dyes of the type that fluoresce and are
invisible to the unaided eye as described in commonly assigned U.S.
Pat. Nos. 5,752,152; 5,772,250; 5,768,674; 5,864,742 and U.S. patent
application Ser. Nos. 08/598,785; 08/873,959; the disclosures of
which are incorporated by reference. The colorants can be for example
comprised of inks or dyes that can be seen using infrared light
with a wave length between 10-6 meters and 10-3 meters, or colorants
comprised of inks or dyes that can be seen using ultraviolet light
with a wave length between 10-8 meters and 10-7 meters. Alternatively,
the preformed authenticating information 70 can be formed from dye
from a material which disappears under non-ambient lighting conditions.
Various combinations of colorant preformed authenticating information
70 and embossed preformed authenticating information 70 with the
colorants formed of different materials will suggest themselves
to those skilled in the art.
The invention has been described in detail with particular reference
to certain preferred embodiments thereof, but it will be understood
that variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit
and scope of the invention.
PARTS LIST 8 shutter button 9 thermal printer cartridge housing
10 insertable thermal printer cartridge 10a thermal printer cartridge
bay 11 digital camera 13 thermal printer 16 cartridge seal 17 drive
sprocket 18 identifying contacts 19 identifying contacts 20 identifying
contacts 21 colorant donor element 22 adhesive 23 donor supply roll
24 take-up spool 25 receiver supply spool 29 cartridge bay door
30 receiver 35 print station 37 thermal head 39 pressure roller
40 image sensor 42 identifying probe 43 printer egress slot 44 identifying
probe 45 single chip image processor 46 identifying probe 47 LCD
window 48 lens 49 printer controller IC 50 image receiving structure
51 memory 53 I/O bus 54 adhesive layer 55 central processing unit
56 support 58 barrier layer 59 protective release layer 60 colorant
receiving layer 62 protective layer 70 preformed authenticating
information 72 A/D Converter 80 donor drive shaft 84 gear 86 motor
90 images 92 peelable stickers
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