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US 5,564,841 AGranted
System and method for dynamic adjustment of bar code printer parameters
AssigneeIntermec Corporation
InventorsPixie A. Austin, Duane M. Fox
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A system and method for dynamically adjusting operating parameters of a printer using bar code images to achieve optimal print quality. A reader operates in conjunction with a bar code printer and scans the output images printed by the printer. A verifier analyzes the scanned image to determine the quality of the output image. The system adjusts printer operating parameters, such as print speed, print head pressure, and burn duration to optimize the quality of the output image for a selected quality grade of output image. Adjustments are made in a closed-loop fashion without the need for user intervention.
Claims24
A system for printing on a selected print medium, the system comprising:
- a housing having a print medium path therein along which the selected print medium travels;
- a printer within said housing and positioned along said print medium path to generate an output image on the selected print medium according to alterable printer operating parameters including a burn time operating parameter and a print speed operating parameter;
- a stationary scan engine positioned along said print medium path to detect at least a portion of said output image on the selected medium after being generated by said printer, said scan engine producing a digital representation of said detected portion of said output image;
- a verifier within said housing to decode said digital representation produced by said scan engine and to determine therefrom a quality characteristic of said detected portion of said output image based on said decoded digital representation;
- and
- a circuit automatically analyzing said quality characteristic and determining from a first aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet an acceptable quality level, said circuit automatically adjusting said burn time operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level, said circuit further automatically analyzing said quality characteristic and determining from a second aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level, said circuit automatically adjusting said print speed operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level.
3 more elements
A system for printing on a selected print medium, the system comprising:
- a housing having a print medium path therein along which the selected print medium travels;
- a printer within said housing and positioned along said print medium path to generate an output image on the selected print medium using alterable printer operating parameters including a burn time operating parameter and a print speed operating parameter;
- a stationary scan engine positioned along said print medium path to capture a two-dimensional image of said output image on the selected medium after generated by said printer, said reader producing a digital representation of said captured image;
- a verifier within said housing to decode said digital representation produced by said reader and to determine therefrom a quality characteristic of said detected portion based on said decoded digital representation;
- and
- a circuit to automatically analyze said quality characteristic and determine from a first aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet an acceptable quality level, said circuit automatically adjusting said burn time operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level, said circuit further automatically analyzing said quality characteristic and determining from a second aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level, said circuit automatically adjusting said print speed operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level.
3 more elements
A system for printing on a selected print medium, the system comprising:
- a printer to generate an output image on the selected print medium using alterable printer operating parameters including a burn time operating parameter and a print speed operating parameter;
- a stationary reader to detect at least a portion of said output image on the selected medium after generated by said printer, said reader producing a digital representation of said detected portion;
- a verifier to decode said digital representation produced by said reader and to determine therefrom a quality characteristic of said detected portion based on said decoded digital representation;
- and
- a circuit to automatically analyze said quality characteristic and determine from a first aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet an acceptable quality level, said circuit automatically adjusting said burn time operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level, said circuit further automatically analyzing said quality characteristic and determining from a second aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level, said circuit automatically adjusting said print speed operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level.
2 more elements
A method using a primer and a reader for printing on a selected print medium, the method comprising the steps of:
- generating an output image on the selected print medium using alterable printer operating parameters including a burn time operating parameter and a print speed operating parameter;
- detecting at least a portion of said output image on the selected medium after being generated by the printer using a stationary scan engine;
- producing a digital representation of said detected portion of said output image;
- decoding said digital representation produced to determine therefrom a quality characteristic of said detected portion of said output image based on said decoded digital representation;
- automatically adjusting said quality characteristic to determine from a first aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet an acceptable quality level;
- automatically adjusting said burn time operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said burn time operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level;
- automatically analyzing said quality characteristic and determining from a second aspect of said quality characteristic whether an adjustment to said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level;
- and
- automatically adjusting said print speed operating parameter for printing any unprinted portion of said output image and for printing thereafter if determined that adjustment of said print speed operating parameter will cause said quality characteristic to meet said acceptable quality level.
6 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.