A dye donor web loading apparatus for a thermal printer

0001This invention relates generally to thermal printers, and, more particularly, to an apparatus to ensure correct loading of a dye donor web wound upon a spool in a thermal printer.

<u>Background of the Invention</u>

0002It is desirable to have a thermal printer in which it is easy to accurately load the dye donor ribbon. It is desirable to make the printer as easy to use as practical while being cost effective in the manufacturing process. Some thermal printers, such as described in U.S. patent 4,949,097 have a disposable dye donor cartridge or cassette mounted in the printer to hold the dye donor supply and take-up spools and offer convenience of use because it is relatively easy to insert and remove the cartridge. This is especially true in instances where the cartridge is keyed to be insertable with only one orientation. While cartridges offer convenience, they are expensive and discarded after one use. Unfortunately, attempts to make cartridges reusable to conserve resources have failed because it is difficult to rewind dye donor in a cartridge at the point of use.

0003To eliminate the problems associated with cartridges, some printers have configurations that mount the donor spools in the print engine without the benefit of a cartridge, while other printers mount the spool in the printer door, again without cartridges. Where spools are used without cartridges, there are also problems that arise. Space is always a consideration and there is not always sufficient room for all hands to manipulate the spools, regardless of whether the spools are full or empty. A spool can be mispositioned on the drive elements and therefore completely inoperative, or may cause annoying printing errors.

0004In patent publication No. JP-A-03 169 578 there is described a printer capable of preventing a roil-form ink film from being set to a take-up part by mistake by a method wherein the dimension or shape of a first core for taking up an ink film use for printing is made different from that of a second core of the roll-form ink film. In a specific embodiment described, the supply and take-up cores are of different internal diameter and the printer has counterpart supply and take-up supporting parts properly dimensioned for receiving respectively the supply and take-up cores of respective internal diameters.

0005Failure to correctly orient the supply and take-up spools creates a situation wherein the printer will not function properly, if at all. Correct loading requires having the supply and take-up spools in their proper places.

0006While a careful and skillful operator can study the spools and the spool receiving mechanism and achieve correct insertion of the supply and take-up spools, doing so is burdensome, even for a skilled operator. An operator does not want to read lengthy or complicated instructions or observe burdensome or annoying practices just to ready a machine for use, and typically has more than one machine to operate and desires convenience so that having to refer to manuals or read instructions is quite a burden. An operator wants to simply drop the donor web into place, especially where doing so is an occasional and unscheduled chore. These needs are met by the invention as defined in claim 1.

0007Figure 1 is diagrammatic longitudinal sectional view of a preferred embodiment of a thermal printer with the cover open exposing dye donor web loading guide supports in accordance with the present invention.

0008Figure 2 is a somewhat enlarged, diagrammatic view of a spool being inserted into the receptacles of Figure 1 with some parts shown in section and some parts cut away.

0009Figure 3 is side view of a receptacle similar to the view shown in Figure 2, but illustrating the guide support in the locked position.

0010Figure 4 is a left side view of the guide receptacle illustrated in Figure 3.

0011Figure 5 is a diagrammatic view illustrating the alignment of supply and take-up spools.

0012Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view similar to Figure 5, but illustrating a preferred embodiment wherein the length of the supply spool is different from the take-up spool for correct loading.

0013Referring to Figures 1 - 2, a loading apparatus 10 for loading a dye donor web 12 into a thermal printer is illustrated. The printer has a base portion 14 and a door or cover portion 16 that is hingedly connected to the base portion 14 and movable between a closed position and an open position. At the closed position, the door 16 abuts the base 14, and, at the open position, the door 16 is swung away from the base 14 forming an angle greater than about 90 degrees. The door 16 swings an arc greater than 90 degrees in moving from the closed position to the open position to thereby provide easy access for inserting a new dye donor web and removing an expended dye donor web.

0014The dye donor web loading apparatus 10 includes a first guiding support mechanism or receptacle 18 attached to the door 16 and movable between a locked position and an unlocked position. The receptacle 18 has a slot 20 therein that is dimensioned to receive an end portion 22 of a dye donor web spool 24. The slot 20 has a tapered portion 26 for guiding an end portion 22 of the spool 24. Preferably, the end portion 22 of the spool 24 is also slightly tapered. The dye donor web loading apparatus 10 also includes a first means 28 for biasing the first receptacle 18 toward the locked position. The first means 28 preferably includes a coiled spring 30 in contact with the first member 18 for biasing the first member 18 towards the locked position.

0015Referring to Figures 1 - 4, the loading apparatus 10 includes a bracket 32 pivotally connected to the first receptacle 18 and fastened to the door 16 of the thermal printer. The bracket 32 engages the first receptacle 18 to thereby limit travel of the receptacle 18 towards the locked position.

0016The web loading apparatus 10 includes means 34 for detecting when the first guide receptacle 18 is in the locked position. The means 34 may include a microswitch 36 or other device to sense the position of the guide receptacle 18.

0017The dye donor web loading apparatus 10 includes a second receptacle 38 that is spaced from the first receptacle 18 and attached to the door 16. The second receptacle 38 is movable between a locked position and an unlocked and works in concert with first receptacle 18 to receive a dye donor web spool 24. As with the first receptacle 18, the second receptacle 38 is biased by a biasing means 40 toward the locked position.

0018Referring to Figures 1 - 5, just as the first and second receptacles 18, 38 form a pair of members and act in concert to load the web 12, so do third and fourth receptacles 42, 44. The third and fourth members 42, 44 are constructed in a similar manner to the first and second receptacles 18, 38 and include biasing means not shown. . The first pair of receptacles 18, 38 receives supply spool 24a while the second pair of receptacles 42, 44 receives the take-up spool 24b so that the dye donor web 12 can be wound from supply spool 24a onto the take-up spool 24b as the web 12 traverses a path through the printer to effect thermal printing.

0019Referring to Figure 5, the take-up spool 24b is illustrated with a color coded end portion to match a color coded receptacle 42 or other color keyed or coordinated part of the thermal printer. The color code provides an easy visual identification for the operator to ensure correct insertion of the take-up spool without the need to read any instructions. As illustrated, the take-up spool 24b is symmetrical so that end for end swapping is not a concern, but color coding helps distinguish between the supply and take-up spools for operator convenience. The donor supply spool 24a may also be color coded or color coordinated, or have other indicia.

0020Referring to Figure 6, swapping of the supply and take-up spools 24a', 24b' can be prevented by having one spool longer than the other spool.

0021Operation of the present invention is believed to be apparent from the foregoing description, but a few words will be added for emphasis. First, the door is opened past vertical to make the inside fully accessible. A new dye donor web is then installed by aligning one spool with the two slots that face each other in one guide assembly that face each other to receive the spool. The proper guide slots can be chosen by observing the indicia or color code, and noting the length of the spools . Where colors or indicia are used, these are matched. Where spool lengths are different, only one spool will fit each pair of receptacles. The aligned spool is pushed into the facing slots thereby causing the guide members to unlock and move against the biasing springs. As the spool is pushed farther, the guide members spring back locking the spool in position. The other spool is inserted into its guide members the same way. The tapered ends of the spools act as self-centering devices to aid the alignment. The tapered ends also aid in removal of a used spool which is removed by pulling it straight out of the slots. If desired, one receptacle may be pushed aside to assist removal, but pushing is not necessary.

0022It can now be appreciated that there has been described a dye donor web loading apparatus for a thermal printer to ensure correct loading of the supply and take-up spools. Loading is correct with respect to the supply and take-up spools being in the proper receptacles. The first and second receptacles 18, 38 are spaced from one another a different distance than the third and fourth receptacles 42, 44 to accommodate supply and take-up spools of different lengths. Having the supply spool 24a longer or shorter than the take-up spool 24b prevents incorrect insertion of the spools caused by swapping the spools. Having different lengths also allows the web 14 to be centered on one spool but not the other to prevent swapping and incorrect insertion in the thermal printer. The receptacles 18, 38, 42, 44 may be color coded along with the ends of the spools to give a visual indication of correct insertion orientation. The slots may have tapered portions to aid in inserting the spools.

0023While the invention has been described with particular reference to the preferred, embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements of the preferred embodiment without departing from the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation and material to a teaching of the invention without departing from the essential teachings of the present invention.

0024The present invention provides a cartridge free dye donor loading system that is simple to use and that prevents incorrect insertion of the spools. An operator cannot insert the spools incorrectly. It also provides simple access to the spools for easy insertion and removal.

0025It can now be appreciated that there has been presented a thermal printer with a mechanism for preventing incorrect loading of the donor web supply and take-up spools. The thermal printer has a dye donor supply spool with a body and first and second end portions extending from the body. First and second receptacles are positioned for matingly receiving the first and second end portions, respectively, of the dye donor supply spool. A dye donor take-up spool has a body and a first and second end portions extending from the body. Third and fourth receptacles are positioned for matingly receiving the first and second end portions, respectively, of the dye donor take-up spool. The supply spool is correctly loaded only when the first and second end portions of the supply spool matingly engage the first and second receptacles, respectively, and the take-up spool is correctly loaded only when the first and second end portions of the take-up spool matingly engage the third and fourth receptacles, respectively. Mechanical means are provided for preventing incorrect loading of the supply and take-up spools.

0026Other modifications and applications are possible, for example, while moveable guide supports are illustrated, the incorrect insertion features of the present invention works equally well with other spool receiving mechanisms.