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US 2003/0081978 A1Published application
Method and apparatus for printer cartridge identification
AssigneeBrady Worldwide, Inc.
InventorsRichard L. Carriere, Peter G. Ross, Kevin L. Wilken
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A cartridge identification system for identifying a characteristic of a cartridge inserted in a printer. The cartridge identification system comprises an identification circuit which is triggered by an electrical connection between a printed circuit board coupled to the cartridge and a plurality of spring contacts in a cartridge receptacle in the printer. An electrical logic signal is read by an internal processing unit, which determines a characteristic of the cartridge based on the logic signal.
Claims29
A cartridge-based printer comprising:
- a cartridge receptacle including a sidewall dimensioned to receive a cartridge containing a labeling media;
- a plurality of electrical contacts extending into the cartridge receptacle from the sidewall, wherein insertion of the cartridge into the cartridge receptacle causes at least one of the plurality of electrical contacts to be electrically connected to another of the plurality of electrical contacts, producing an electrical logic signal;
- and
- a processing unit, the processing unit being electrically coupled to at least one of the plurality of electrical contacts in the sidewall of the cartridge receptacle and being programmed to receive the electrical logic signal and to determine whether a cartridge has been positioned in the cartridge receptacle.
1 more element
A cartridge containing a labeling media for insertion in a printer, the cartridge comprising:
- a cartridge housing including a plurality of walls, at least a portion of each of the walls being shaped in an arc to define a semi-circular labeling media container;
- a plurality of electrical contacts coupled to one of the plurality of walls, the plurality of electrical contacts being positioned on the wall to provide an electrical connection to a second plurality of electrical contacts in the printer, the electrical connection between the plurality of electrical contacts and the second plurality of contacts providing an electrical logic signal to the printer for identifying a characteristic of the cartridge.
A cartridge-based printing system comprising:
- a printer including:
- a housing;
- a printed circuit board coupled to the housing, the printed circuit board including a processing unit;
- a cartridge receptacle coupled to the housing, the cartridge receptacle including a sidewall dimensioned to receive a cartridge containing a labeling media, the sidewall including a plurality of slots;
- a plurality of spring electrical contacts electrically coupled to the printed circuit board and extending into the cartridge receptacle from the slots of the sidewall;
- a cartridge comprising
- a cartridge housing including a plurality of walls defining a semi-circular labeling media container;
- a conductive material coupled to one of the plurality of walls, the conductive material comprising a plurality of conductive electrical contacts being positioned on the cartridge to align with and to provide an electrical connection to the first plurality of contacts in the printer, and the second plurality of electrical contacts being configured to provide an identification of the cartridge;
- wherein insertion of the cartridge into the cartridge receptacle of the printer causes at least some of the spring electrical contacts to contact the conductive material thereby producing an electrical logic signal which is processed by the processing unit to identify a characteristic of the cartridge.
6 more elements
A method for identifying a cartridge inserted in a cartridge-based printer, the method comprising:
- forming a plurality of elastically deformable spring contacts from a selected length of spring wire;
- soldering the spring contacts to a printed circuit board including a processing unit;
- installing the printed circuit board in the printer such that the spring contacts extend axially into the cartridge receptacle;
- coupling a conductive material including a plurality of contacts for identifying a characteristic of a labeling media in the cartridge to a wall of the cartridge, the conductive material being positioned to provide an electrical connection to the spring contacts when the cartridge is inserted in the cartridge receptacle;
- inserting the cartridge into the cartridge receptacle;
- reading an electrical logic signal from at least one of the spring contacts;
- determining a characteristic of a labeling media in the cartridge based on the electrical logic signal.
4 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.