Classifications

• • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
  • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
  • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
  • B41J3/00—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed
  • B41J3/407—Typewriters or selective printing or marking mechanisms characterised by the purpose for which they are constructed for marking on special material
  • B41J3/4071—Printing on disk-shaped media, e.g. CDs

Definitions

• the present invention relates generally to apparatus for printing on objects such as various magnetic or digital recording media, and more particularly an apparatus for printing text and / or images on one side of a compact disc such as a CD-ROM or versatile digital disc.
• a compact disc such as a CD-ROM or versatile digital disc.
• CD-ROMs CD-ROMs
• CD-R readable
• CD-RW recordable
• DVD versatile digital discs
• This data varies from disc to disc, and it is often necessary to be able to identify the disc based on the information recorded on it.
• the discs generally bear a label on the central part of at least one of the two faces, on which it is possible to write manually or mechanically to identify it.
• the process of printing by screen printing is often carried out using suitable industrial machines.
• such techniques are not suitable for printing in limited series and, a fortiori, for occasional printing, especially when the user wants to print personalized and differentiated information on each disc.
• Various systems are known for printing information on the surface of compact discs.
• patent FR 2,844,744 describes a system intended to ensure both the sorting and the engraving of a series of discs as well as the printing of information on one of their faces by ensuring the transport of each disc between the various locations of blanks of discs, printing and recording of information on the disc, the passage from one station to the other being ensured by a carriage for transporting the disc.
• Systems of this type are relatively complex and are intended for processing relatively large numbers of discs.
• a device for recording data on a compact disc and printing information on the surface of the disc is described in application WO 03.102944.
• This device comprises a unit for recording or copying the disc and a printing unit on one side of the disc, these two units being mounted on the same axis perpendicular to a disc carriage combined with an arm used for handling the disk.
• Patent EP 1,057,651 describes a simple and economical printer comprising an object holder adaptable to several forms of objects.
• US Patent 6,302,601 relates to a printer of the thermal transfer type suitable for printing on compact discs comprising a removable support.
• Other devices intended for occasional use have been proposed from printers, for example inkjet type printers, relatively simple and inexpensive, modified and adapted to receive discs in place of sheets of paper.
• the compact disc printing apparatus belongs to this category, and then makes it possible to have a printer capable of printing various information in a punctual and personalized manner on the surface of a compact disc, thanks to an inexpensive additional device adapting the operation of the standard type printer so as to be able to print on one side of a support such as a compact disc.
• the printing apparatus of the present invention comprises a standard standard printer base, for example of the inkjet type, intended for printing on sheets of paper, comprising at least one motor for driving the head printing and support of the object to be printed, and supplemented by an additional motor and a mechanical device for tilting the drive of the support by one or the other motor.
• conventional printers have two separate motors for moving the print head and for advancing the paper receiving the print.
• the apparatus for printing information on the surface of an object such as a compact disc is of the type comprising at least one movable print head and an object carriage and at least a main drive motor, and it is distinguished in that it comprises an additional motor driving the carriage for part of its movement, and a mechanical switch making it possible to switch alternately the carriage drive by the main motor and by the additional engine.
• the invention also relates to a method for printing information on the surface of an object such as a compact disc, by means of an apparatus of the type comprising at least one movable print head and an object carriage and at least a main drive motor, according to which method the object to be printed is placed on the carriage, the carriage is advanced by means of an additional motor to a position for starting printing, the carriage is advanced by the main motor during printing, and the carriage is returned to its initial position by the additional motor, after removing the printed disc.
• the control of the additional motor is preferably programmed to extend the movement of the carriage to a position allowing the removal of the printed disc.
• the carriage is held in its end-of-travel position corresponding to the removal of the printed disc until a new print order is given, causing the carriage to return to the starting position.
• the printed disc can be removed after returning the carriage to the starting position.
• the recording medium printing apparatus of the present invention is designed so as to use a standard printer base by supplementing it with an appropriate device and taking care to modify as little as possible its original operating mode.
• the program and the electronic components which control the movements of the print head and of the support of the object to be printed, in general a sheet of paper are not modified either in their design or in their operating mode, and that the additional device inserted in the device does not interfere with their operation, so that printing on the surface of the recording medium, such as a compact disc, is done exactly like printing on a sheet of paper in the same unmodified printer.
• the recording medium on one side of which texts or graphics are to be printed consists of a carriage capable of moving in both directions on an axis substantially perpendicular to the 'axis of movement of the print head, unlike the printing medium of a conventional printer which moves between two positions, always in the same direction.
• this support generally consists of rollers and slides which guide the movement of the sheet of paper from a loading tray to a receiving tray after printing.
• the movement of the compact disc carriage must be able to be controlled alternately by the control of the printer and by controlling the additional device, and the carriage is then driven either by the printer motor or by that of the additional device, depending on the position of the mechanical switch.
• the movement of the carriage is controlled so that it returns to its starting position after each printing of a compact disc so as to be ready for printing of the next compact disc.
• the movement of the carriage is only linked to the printing cycle during part of its own cycle.
• the printer printhead moves substantially perpendicular to the axis of movement of the carriage, under the control of the electronics and printer control software, in order to print the desired information on the surface of the compact disc, as in the case of conventional printing on a sheet of paper.
• the motor of the additional device thanks to the mechanical switch, again drives the movement of the carriage.
• This end of the printing cycle can advantageously be detected by a sensor, for example a photoelectric cell, locating the corresponding position of the carriage.
• the mechanical switch is preferably constituted by a gear system capable of pivoting between two positions to be driven alternately by the pinions of one or the other of the two motors.
• the mechanical switch comprises a gear with a straight mount comprising a toothed wheel on the drive axis of the compact disc carriage, cooperating with an intermediate pinion mounted on an arm pivoting along the axis of the wheel toothed.
• the pivoting of the arm around its axis brings the pinion intermediate in contact with alternately one and the other of the two driving pinions.
• the movement of the mechanical switch is controlled by an actuator, and a spring is placed between one actuator and the switch, so as to compensate for the angular variation thus created.
• the intermediate pinion is put in place and the two pinions mesh normally.
• the connection between the actuator and the switch is fixed, but the axis of the intermediate pinion is slidably mounted in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the pivoting arm, against the action of '' a spring which pushes it against the motor pinion.
• the device according to the present invention also has the advantage of not disturbing the cleaning mode of the printheads, necessary for maintaining the quality of the printing on compact discs, or on paper if necessary.
• the cleaning of the printheads can be done by means of a pump, which can be actuated by the same motor as that which drives the paper or the compact disc carriage.
• the device according to the invention makes it possible not to disturb the cleaning process of the print heads by the pump actuated by the printer motor outside the printing cycle, thanks to the mechanical switch which makes it possible to isolate the motor. of the printer after printing, and to drive the compact disc trolley by means of the additional motor.
• the apparatus of the invention comprises a movement sensor of the main motor, connected to a control circuit allowing the rotation of the additional motor when the sensor has detected that the main motor is stopped.
• the printer of the invention has the advantage of being able to be used in manual mode or integrated in a robotic device. In the case of manual operation, the user loads each disc directly and resumes it after printing. In a robotic mode, the printer is integrated into a system comprising, in known manner, devices making it possible to load and remove the disks automatically.
• FIG. 1 schematically shows the operation of a device according to the invention, combined with a system for feeding paper and controlling the print head of a conventional inkjet printer.
• the motor (MI) is the printer motor which drives the carriage (C).
• the operation of the motor (MI) is controlled by the Control circuit I.
• a mechanical switch (A) is placed between the motor (MI) and the compact disc carriage (C) so that the movement of the carriage (C) is driven by the motor (MI) when the switch (A) is flipped to the corresponding gear position.
• the additional motor (M II) can also drive the carriage (C) via the mechanical switch ( J A) when the latter is in the appropriate position.
• the operation of the additional motor (M II) is controlled by the Control circuit (II).
• the switching of the mechanical switch (A) is controlled by the Control circuit (II) according to the parameters coming from the motion sensor (B), according to simple logic.
• the motion sensor (B) is of the usual type, which detects whether the motor (MI) is rotating or whether it is stopped.
• the printer motor (MI) can also operate the pump (P) used to clean the printer's printheads.
• Figure 2 shows the relative positions of the two motors (MI) and (M II) and the mechanical switch (A).
• the motor (I) of the printer drives the axis (1) via the belt (2) and the wheel (3).
• the axis (1) carries the pinion (4) whose rotation drives the intermediate pinion (5) mounted on the pivoting arm (6) of the mechanical switch (A).
• the angular rotational movement of the switch (C) is controlled by an actuator (7) by a mechanism shown in more detail in Figure 3.
• FIG. 3 shows the mechanical switch (A) in the tilted position towards the additional motor (M II), the intermediate pinion (5) meshing with the motor pinion (8).
• the actuator (7) acts on the head of the axle (9) carrying the intermediate pinion (5) by means of a spring (10) with a flexible double leaf on either side of the axle (9) .

Landscapes

• Ink Jet (AREA)
• Dot-Matrix Printers And Others (AREA)
• Accessory Devices And Overall Control Thereof (AREA)
• Massaging Devices (AREA)
• Automatic Disk Changers (AREA)
• Manufacturing Optical Record Carriers (AREA)
• Power Steering Mechanism (AREA)
• Common Mechanisms (AREA)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Publications (2)

Family

ID=34945291

Family Applications (1)

Country Status (8)

Families Citing this family (1)

Family Cites Families (5)

• 2004
  • 2004-05-05 FR FR0404825A patent/FR2869830B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2005
  • 2005-05-04 CA CA002563880A patent/CA2563880A1/fr not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-05-04 WO PCT/FR2005/001131 patent/WO2005120842A1/fr active Application Filing
  • 2005-05-04 EP EP05769929A patent/EP1742802B1/de not_active Not-in-force
  • 2005-05-04 AT AT05769929T patent/ATE435752T1/de not_active IP Right Cessation
  • 2005-05-04 US US11/579,620 patent/US20070200876A1/en not_active Abandoned
  • 2005-05-04 DE DE602005015309T patent/DE602005015309D1/de not_active Expired - Fee Related
  • 2005-05-04 JP JP2007512267A patent/JP2007536688A/ja active Pending

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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