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AssigneeFargo Electronics, Inc.
InventorsGary M. Klinefelter, Martin A. Pribula, Leonid S. Gershenovich, Stacy W. Lukaskawcez
Estimating the term…
In a method of forming an identification card printer a sheet feed printer is provided having a printhead and a sheet feed mechanism that is driven by a sheet feed drive to feed paper sheets to the printhead for printing. Next, the sheet feed mechanism is replaced with a card transport mechanism that is used to feed cards from a card supply to the printhead for printing. The card transport mechanism is then linked to the sheet feed drive through a feed drive link. Finally, a master controller for controlling the operation of the card transport mechanism is installed. Additional aspects of the present invention relate to an identification card printer formed in accordance with the above-described method.
An identification card printer converted from a paper sheet feed printer having a printhead, a sheet feed mechanism driven by a sheet feed drive, and a printer controller configured to control the sheet feed mechanism and the printhead to process paper sheets, the identification card printer comprising:
A method of forming an identification card printer comprising steps of:
A method of converting a sheet feed printer into an identification card printer, the sheet feed printer originally having a printhead, a sheet feed mechanism for feeding paper sheets to the printhead for printing, a sheet feed drive for driving the sheet feeder, and a printer controller for controlling the operations of the printhead, the method comprising steps of:
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.
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Sheet holders, retainers , movable guides, or stationary guides: for the sheet feeding section
Sheet holders, retainers , movable guides, or stationary guides: specially adapted for small cards, envelopes, or the like , e.g. credit cards,…
Typewriters
Term end not estimated
The present invention relates to identification card printers. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method of converting a paper sheet feed printer into an identification card printer by adapting the sheet feeding components of the sheet feed printer to feed and process cards.
Ink jet printers have been found to do a satisfactory job of printing on identification cards, and low cost ink jet paper sheet feed printers are available. These ink jet printers are generally provided with paper sheet feed mechanisms that typically feed individual paper sheets such as 8½×11″ or A4 size to a printhead for printing. The sheet feed mechanism is specifically adapted to feed these thin, flexible and wide paper sheets. The printhead and the driving components of the sheet feed mechanism are relatively low cost, very accurate, and easily controlled.
Identification card printers have also been advanced for printing on rigid or semi-rigid cards. Identification card printers include their own printheads as well as a card transport mechanism that is specifically adapted to feed the cards to the printhead for processing.
FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a sheet feed printer in accordance with the prior art.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating a method of converting a sheet feed printer to an identification card printer in accordance with an embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of an identification card printer formed by converting an existing sheet feed printer in accordance with embodiments of the invention.
The present invention relates to a method of converting a sheet feed paper printer to an identification card printer that is formed by such a conversion. A typical sheet feed paper printer, in accordance with the prior art, is shown schematically in FIG. 1. Printer 10 generally includes a printer controller 12, a printhead 14, a sheet feed mechanism 16 driven by a sheet feed drive 18, and a sheet sensor 20. One example of such a sheet feed printer 10 is the Hewlett Packard Model No. 940 Ink Jet Printer.
Printer controller 12 receives a print job generated by applications running on computer 22 through a suitable connection 24. Printer controller 12 controls the operations of printer 10 including the operation of sheet feed mechanism 16 and printhead 14 to process the print job. Printhead 14 can be an ink jet printhead having color and black ink supplies, a thermal printhead in combination with a thermal print ribbon, or other suitable print mechanism.
Printhead 14 is adapted to print onto a surface of a paper sheet 26 that is presented in a print position. Printhead 14 can also include a positioning mechanism for moving printhead 14 back and forth along a line that is transverse to sheet 26 in accordance with known methods. Printhead 14 generally prints multiple image lines on the sheet 26 to form the desired image as sheet 26 is moved along print path 28 by sheet feed mechanism 16.