PRINTED MEDIA PRODUCTION

Abstract: The invention relates to a digital printer (706) for printing on separate pages of media (604), the printer including: a support frame; a printhead (602, 603) mounted on the support frame; and, a page binding means (605) for binding the pages of the printed media.

Description: PRINTED MEDIA PRODUCTION FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to printed media production and in particular documents produced by digital printers CO-PENDING APPLICATIONS Various methods, systems and apparatus relating to the present invention are disclosed in the following co- pending applications filed by the applicant or assignee of the present invention simultaneously with the present application PCT/AUOO/00518. PCT/AU00/00519. PCT/AU00/00520. PCT/AU00/00521. PCT/AU00/00522. PCT/AU00/00523. PCT/AU00/00524. PCT/AUOO/00525. PCT/AU00/00526. PCT/AU00/00527, PCT/AU00/00528. PCT/AU00/00529. PCT/AUOO/00530. PCT/AUOO/00531. PCT/AUOO/00532, PCT/AUOO/00533. PCT/AUOO/00534. PCT/AUOO/00535. PCT/AUOO/00536. PCT/AU00/00537. PCT/AUOO/00538. PCT/AUOO/00539. PCT/AU00/00540. PCT/AU00/00541. PCT/AUOO/00542. PCT/AUOO/00543. PCT/AU00/00544. PCT/AU00/00545. PCT/AUOO/00547. PCT/AU00/00546. PCT/AU00/00556. PCT/AU00/00557. PCT/AUOO/00558. PCT/AUOO/00559. PCT/AU00/00560, PCT/AU00/00561. PCT/AU00/00562. PCT/AUOO/00563. PCT/AUOO/00564. PCT/AUOO/00565, PCT/AUOO/00566, PCT/AU00/00567, PCT/AU00/00568. PCT/AU00/00569, PCT/AU00/00570, PCT/AU00/00571. PCT/AUOO/00572. PCT/AU00/00573. PCT/AU00/00574, PCT/AUOO/00575, PCT/AU00/00576. PCT/AU00/00577. PCT/AU00/00578, PCT/AU00/00579. PCT/AU00/00581. PCT/AU00/00580. PCT/AU00/00582. PCT/AUOO/00587. PCT/AUOO/00588. PCT/AUOO/00589. PCT/AU00/00583. PCT/AU00/00593. PCT/AU00/00590. PCT/AU00/00591. PCT/AU00/00592, PCT/AU00/00584. PCT/AUOO/00585. PCT/AUOO/00586. PCT/AU00/00594. PCT/AU00/00595. PCT/AU00/00596. PCT/AU00/00597. PCT/AU00/00598, PCT/AU00/00516. PCT/AU00/00517. PCT/AU00/0051 1. PCT/AU00/00501 , PCT/AU00/00502. PCT/AUOO/00503. PCT/AUOO/00504. PCT/AUOO/00505. PCT/AUOO/00506. PCT/AU00/00507. PCT/AU00/00508. PCT/AU00/00509, PCT/AUOO/00510. PCT/AU00/00512. PCT/AUOO/00513. PCT/AUOO/00514. PCT/AU00/00515 The disclosures of these co-pending applications are incorporated herein by cross-reference. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION With the advent of the Internet has come the opportunity for the print media industry to publish "on-line" rather than producing and distributing traditional paper based publications On-line publishing has a number of advantages From the consumer ' s point of view, information is available on demand, information can be navigated via hypertext links. information can be searched, and information can be automatically personalised From the publisher ' s point of view, the costs of printing and physical distribution are eliminated and the publication becomes more attractiv e to advertisers as it can be targeted to specific demographics and linked to product sites On-line publication also has disadvantages Computer screens are inferior to paper At the same quality as a magazine page, a SVG A computer screen displav s only about a fifth as much information Both CRT's (Cathode Ray Tubes) and LCD ' s (Liquid Crystal Displays) have brightness and contrast problems, particularly, when ambient light is strong Ink on paper, being reflective rather than emissive is both bright and shaφ in ambient light Accordingly, people have a natural preference to read newspapers, magazines, catalogues, brochures and other publications in a bound paper based format - l a - Know n digital printers, and in particular digital inkiet printers, do not make am prov ision for binding together the pages of printed media Such an arrangement w ould conv enienth prov ide for bound document production in the small office/home office ( SOHO ) env ironment. This w ould also permit some of the existing draw backs of on-line publication to be addressed SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to prov ide an alternative form of printed media production from digital printers used in a domestic or commercial environment. Accordingly . the present inv ention provides a digital printer for printing on separate pages of media, the printer including a support trame. a pπnthead mounted on the support frame; and. a page binding means for binding the pages of the printed media - 2 - a page bmdmg means for bmdmg the pages of the pnnted media Preferably the bmdmg means adhering the pages together with glue, howev er it will be appreciated that other forms of the invention mclude binding means for bmdmg pages together with string or staples In some forms of the invention that bind rectangular pages of media using glue, the bmdmg means is adapted to apply glue along one of the long sides of each page except the first or last page m a bound set of the pages Of these forms, some the binding means may be adapted to apply glue to a page while the pnnthead is printing the page In others, the bmdmg means is adapted to apply glue to a page after the pnnthead has p mted the page In a further preferred form, the pnnthead is adapted to print the full width of the page simultaneously In one particularly preferred form, the printer is a color digital Inkjet pnnter It will be appreciated that the present mvention will allow the production of prmted matenal m the traditionally appealing form of a bound document rather than separate pages With the aid of modern printers and computer network technology, the invention has many applications m on-lme publication of newspapers, magazmes, brochures and so on The present mvention will be descnbed with particular reference to the Netpage™ system An overview of this system is set out below It has been developed to allow a large number of distnbuted users to mteract with networked ml ormation via pnnted matter and optical sensors thereby to obtain mteractive pnnted matter on demand from high-speed networked color printers For this purpose, the Applicant has developed a range of netpage printers Of these, the wallpnnter is designed to be wall mounted m the area where the user would normally first consume the morning news such as in the kitchen or beside the breakfast table In light of this, it is expected that the wallpnnter w ll be one of the most widely used of the netpage printers and therefore it will be descnbed in detail below to illustrate one specific embodiment of the mvention However, it will be appreciated that this is merely one example of the mvention, which may be embodied m many other forms BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Figure 1 shows a front three-quarter view of the wallpnnter, Figure 2 shows a section through the length of the wallpnnter. Figure 2a is an enlarged portion of Figure 2 showing a section of the duplexed print engines, Figure 3 shows a simple exploded view of the wallpnnter, Figure 4 shows an exploded view of the ink cartndge, Figure 5 shows three-quarter views of the ink cartndge, Figure 6 shows a three-quarter view of a smgle ink bladder, Figures 7a and 7b show lateral and longitudinal sections of the ink cartndge, Figure 8 shows a front three-quarter view of the open media tray, Figure 9 shows the ink, air and adhesive supply hoses to the pnnt engines, Figure 10 shows a front three-quarter view of the electncal system of the pnnter, Figure 11 shows a rear three-quarter view of the electncal system Figure 12 shows a front three-quarter view of the wallpnnter with the lower front cover removed, Figure 13 shows a section through the bmder assembly , Figure 14 shows a rear three-quarter view of the open glue wheel assembly, Figure 15 shows a section through the bmdmg assembly and the exit hatch, Figure 16 shows a three-dimensional view of an interface module, Figure 7 shows an exploded view of an mterface module, Figure 18 shows a top three-quarter view of the media tray, and - 3 - Figure 19 show s a section through the top part of the pnnter DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS Note Memjet™ is the trade mark of Silverbrook Research Ptv Ltd. Australia In the prefened embodiment, the mvention is configured to work with the netpage system, an overview of which follo The system is descnbed m this specification to reduce the need for external reference when attempting to understand the context which the preferred embodiments and aspects of the present mvention operate In its preferred form, the netpage system relies on the production of, and human interaction with, netpages These are pages of text, graphics and images pnnted on ordinary paper, but which work like mteractive Web pages Information is encoded on each page usmg ink, which is substantially invisible to the unaided human eye The ink, however, and thereby the encoded information, can be sensed by an optically imaging pen (the netpage pen) and transmitted to the netpage system In the prefeπed form, active buttons and hyperlinks on each page can be clicked with the netpage pen to request information from the network or to signal preferences to a network server In one embodiment, text written by hand on a netpage is automatically recognized via the pen, allowing forms to be filled in In other embodiments, signatures recorded on a netpage are automatically venfied, allowing e-commerce transactions to be securely authorized The netpage pen works in con)unctιon with a netpage pnnter. an Internet-connected pnntmg appliance for home, office or mobile use The pen is wireless and communicates securely with the netpage pnnter via a short-range radio link The netpage pnnter delivers, penodically or on demand, personalized newspapers, magazmes, catalogs, brochures and other publications, all pnnted at high quality as mteractive netpages Unlike a personal computer, the netpage pnnter is an appliance which can be, for example, wall-mounted adjacent an area where the morning news is first consumed, such as m a user's kitchen, near a breakfast table, or at the household's point of departure for the day It also comes in tabletop, desktop, portable and miniature versions Netpages prmted at their pomt of consumption combine the ease-ol-use of paper with the timeliness and interactivity of an interactive medium The netpage system is made considerably more convement because of the functional supenontv of the netpage pnnters At the heart of these pnnters are high-speed microelectromechanical system (MEMS) based Inkjet (Mem)et™) pnntheads descnbed in vanous co-pendmg and co-filed applications from the list above In the preferred form of this technology, relatively high-speed and high-quality pnntmg is made more affordable to consumers In its preferred form, a netpage publication has the physical charactenstics of a traditional newsmagazme, such as a set of letter-size glossy pages pnnted in full color on both sides, bound together for easy navigation and comfortable handling A netpage pnnter pnnts pages of photographic-quality images and magazine quality text at a rate of over 30 double sided sheets per minute (that is, more than 60 pages per mmute) Thev come in a vanety of forms, including wall- mounted versions, tabletop versions, portable versions, and pocket versions Given the nature of the netpage system, it is envisaged that one of the most commerciallv relevant lorms of netpage pnnter will be the wall mounted version referred to as wallpnnter For convenience, the present invention will be descnbed m detail with reference to this specific version shown in the accompanying drawings The vertically -mounted netpage wallpnnter 600 is shown fully assembled m Figures 1 and 2 As best shown m Figures 2, 2a and 19, it pnnts Netpages on A4 sized media using duplexed 814" Meπ et™ pnnt engines 602 and 603 It uses a straight paper path with the paper 604 passing through duplexed pnnt engmes 602 and 603 which pnnt both sides of a sheet simultaneously, m full color and with full bleed A multi-DSP raster image processor (RIP) rastenzes pages to mtemal memory, and a pair of custom pnnt engine controllers expand, dither and pnnt page images to the duplexed - 4 - pnntheads in real time An integral bmdmg assembly 605 applies a strip of glue along one edge of each pnnted sheet, allowing it to adhere to the previous sheet when pressed agamst it This creates a final bound document 618 which can range m thickness from one sheet to several hundred sheets The binding assembly will be considered m close detail below with particular reference to Figures 13. 14 and 15 Referring to Figures 1 to 9, the wallpnnter 600 consists of a mam chassis 606. which accommodates all major components and assemblies As best shown m Figure 8, it has a pivoting media tray 607 on the front upper portion, which is covered by a front molding 608 and handle moldmg 609 The front molding 608, handle moldmg 609 and lower front moldmg 610 can vary in color, texture and finish to make the product more appealmg to consumers Thev simply clip onto the front of the wallpnnter 600 Figures 10 and 11 show the wallpnnter electncal system m isolation A flexible pnnted circuit board (flex PCB) 61 1 runs from the media tray 607 to the mam PCB 612 It includes four different color LEDs 613, 614, 615 and 616 and a push button 617 The LEDs show through the front molding and indicate "on" 613. "ink out" 614, "paper out" 615, and "error" 616 The push button 617 elicits pnnted "help in the lorm of usage instructions, pnnter and consumable status information and a directorv ol resources on the netpage network Pnnted, bound documents 618 exit through the base of the wallpnnter 600 into a clear, plastic, removable collection tray 619 This is discussed m greater detail below with specific reference to Figure 15 The wallpnnter 600 is powered by an internal 110 V/220V power supply 620 and has a metal mounting plate 621 that is secured to a wall or stable vertical surface by four screws Plunged keyhole slot details 622 m the metal plate 621 allow for four spigots mounted on the rear of the pnnter to hook onto the plate As best shown m Figures 2 and 19, the wallpnnter 600 is prevented from bemg lifted off by a screw, which locates the chassis moldmg 606 to the plate 621 at one position behmd the media tray 607 Refernng to Figures 16 and 17, the side of the wallpnnter 600 includes a module bay 624 which accommodates a network interface module 625 which allows the pnnter to be connected to the netpage network and to a local computer or network The interface module 625 can be selected and installed m the factory or m the field to provide the interfaces required by the user The modules may have common connector options, such as IEEE 1394 (Firewire) connection standard Centronics printer port connection or a combmed USB2 649 and Ethernet 650 connection This allows the consumer to connect the wallpnnter 600 to a computer or use it as a network pnnter Figure 17 shows the exploded assembly of the module 625 The interface module PCB 651 , (with gold contact edge stnps) plugs directly into the mam wallpnnter PCB 612 via an edge connector 654 The different connector configurations are accommodated m the module design by use of a tool insert 652 Finger recesses 653 on either side of the module 625 allow for easy manual insertion or removal Turning to Figure 19, the main PCB 612 is attached to the rear of the chassis 606 The board 612 interlaces through the chassis molding 606 to the interface module 625 The PCB 612 also cames the necessary penpheral electronics to the Men et™ pnntheads 705 This mcludes a main CPU with two 32MB DRAMs. flash memory, IEEE 1394 interface chip, six motor controllers, vanous sensor connectors, interface module PCB edge connector, power management, internal/external data connectors and a QA chip Figure 8 shows the front hatch access to the paper 604 and the ink cartridge 627 Refernng to Figure 18, paper 604 is placed into a hinged top trav 607 and pressed down onto a sprung platen 666 The trav 607 is mounted to the chassis 606 via lunges 700 Each hinge has a base, a hmge lever and a hinge side Pivots on the base and paper/media tray 607 engage the lever and side such that the paper/media trav 607 rotates m a manner that avoids kinking the supply hoses 646 - 5 - The paper 604 is positioned under edge guides 667 before being closed and is automaticalh registered to one side of the tray 607 by action of a metal spring part 668 An ink cartndge 627 connects mto a pivoting ink connector molding 628 via a senes of self-sealing connectors 629 The connectors 629 transmit ink air and glue to their separate locations The ink connector moldmg 628 contains a sensor, which detects a QA chip on the ink cartndge and venfies identification pnor to pπnting When the front hatch is sensed closed, a release mechamsm allows the sprung platen 666 to push the paper 604 agamst a motorized media pick-up roller assembly 626 Figure 4, shows the complete assembly of the replaceable ink cartndge 627 It has bladders or chambers for storing fixative 644, adhesive 630, and cyan 631 , magenta 632, yellow 633, black 634 and infrared 635 inks The cartndge 627 also contains a micro air filter 636 in a base molding 637 As shown in Figure 9, the micro air filter 636 mterfaces with an air pump 638 mside the pnnter via a hose 639 This provides filtered air to the pnntheads 705 to prevent ingress of micro particles mto the Memjet™ pnntheads 705 which may clog the nozzles By incorporating the air filter 636 withm the cartndge 627, the operational lite of the filter is effectively linked to the life of the cartndge This ensures that the filter is replaced together with the cartndge rather than relying on the user to clean or replace the filter at the required intervals Furthermore, the adhesive and infrared ink are replenished together with the visible inks and air filter thereby reducmg how frequently the pnnter operation is interrupted because ol the depletion of a consumable matenal The cartndge 627 has a thin wall casmg 640 The ink bladders 631 to 635 and fixitive bladder 644 are suspended within the casmg by a pm 645 which hooks the cartndge together The single glue bladder 630 is accommodated in the base moldmg 637 This is a fully recyclable product with a capacity for pnntmg and gluing 3000 pages (1500 sheets) Refernng to Figures 2, 2a, 10, 11 and 19, the motorized media pick-up roller assembly 626 pushes the top sheet directly from the media tray 607 past a paper sensor (not shown) on the first pnnt engine 602 mto the duplexed Memjet™ pnnthead assembly Two Memjet™ pnnt engmes 602 and 603 are mounted m an opposing m-hne sequential configuration along the straight paper path The paper 604 is drawn into the first pnnt engine 602 by integral, powered pick-up rollers 626 The position and size of the paper 604 is sensed and full bleed pnntmg commences Fixative is pnnted simultaneously to aid drying m the shortest possible time As best shown m Figure 2a, the Memjet™ pnnt engines 602 and 603 include a rotary cappmg, blotting and platen device 669 The capping device seals the Memjet™ 1 pnntheads 705 when not m use It uncaps and rotates to produce an integral blotter, which is used for absorbmg ink fired from the pnntheads 705 during routine pnnter startup maintenance It simultaneously moves an internal cappmg device inside the Memjet™ 1 pnnthead 705 that allows air to flow mto the protective nozzle shield area The third rotation ol the device moves a platen surface mto place which supports one side of the sheet 604 during pnntmg The paper exits the first Memjet™ 1 pnnt engine 602 through a set of po ered exit spike wheels (aligned along the straight paper path), which act agamst a rubbenzed roller These spike wheels contact the 'wet pnnted surface and continue to feed the sheet 604 mto the second Memjet™ 1 pnnt engine 603 This second pnnt engme 603 is mounted the opposite wav up to the first in order to pnnt the underside of the sheet 604 As shown in Figures 2, 2a, 9, 13 and 14, the paper 604 passes from the duplexed pnnt engmes 602 and 603 mto the binder assembly 605 The pnnted page passes between a powered spike wheel axle 670 with a fibrous support roller and another movable axle with spike wheels and a momentary action glue wheel 673 The movable axle/glue assembly 673 is mounted to a metal support bracket and it is transported forward to interface with the powered axle 670 - 6 - bv action ol a camshaft 642 A separate motor powers 675 this camshaft Both motors 676 are controlled by the Memiet™ 1 pnntheads The glue wheel assembly 673 consists of a partially hollow axle 679 with a rotating couplmg 680 for the glue supply hose 641 from the ink cartndge 627 This axle 679 connects to a glue wheel 681 , which absorbs adhesive by capillarv action through radial holes A molded housmg surrounds the glue wheel 681. with an opening at the front Pivoting side moldings 683 and sprung outer doors 684 are attached to the metal support bracket and hmge out sideways when the rest of the assembly 673 is thrust forward This action exposes the glue wheel 681 through the front of the molded housing Tension springs 685 close the assembly and effectively cap the glue wheel 681 during penods of inactivity As the sheet 604 passes into the glue wheel assembly 673, adhesive is applied to one vertical edge on the front side (apart from the first sheet of a document) as it is transported down mto the binding assembly 605 It will be appreciated that this arrangement applies adhesive to each page dunng pnntmg so that the paper movement through the pnnter is not interrupted or stopped at a separate glmng station This mcreases the pnnter speed, however, it requires that the pages move through the pnnter m " portrait" configuration (that is, m a direction parallel to the long edges) This m turn requires the paper tray, binding station and collection station to be m portrait configuration This may make the overall length of the pnnter too great to conveniently fit mto areas having limited space In these situations, the media tray, binding station and collection station can be arranged m "landscape" onentation (short sides parallel to paper movement) to shorten the length of the pnnter However, the glumg assembly must still be able to apply glue along the long side of the pages In this version of wallpnnter (not shown), the adhesive is applied to the longitudinal edge of each page with a reciprocatmg glue stnp The "portrait" binder assembly 605 is best shown in Figure 13 It has a metal support chassis 686, a sprung molded bmdmg platen 687 that runs on four traverser rods, a molded angled platen 689 which supports the document 618 after the sheet 604 has been moved across, and an exit hatch 690 with support bracket 691 The pnnted page 604 is fed in until it rests on the exit hatch 690 The bmdmg platen 687 is propelled forward at high speed via a looped system of wheels 692 and a sprung steel cable 693 that attaches to a powered cable winder shaft 694 As the cable winder shaft 694 is rotated, the cable loop 693 shortens and transports the bmdmg platen 687 forward This powered shaft 694 has a slip clutch mechamsm and provides the necessary speed to push the sheet 604 forward onto the rear of a previous sheet, glue/bmd it then return under the action of return springs 699 to the home position to accept the next pnnted sheet A smgle operating cycle of the reciprocating platen takes less than 2 seconds The bmdmg assembly 605 bmds pages one by one mto a bound document, thereby producmg bound documents without significantly adding to the time taken to pnnt the separate pages of the document Furthermore it applies the adhesive directly pnor to pressmg it agamst the previous page This is more effective than applymg adhesive to the rear of each page and sequentially pressmg each page to the subsequent page because any mterruption m the pnntmg process such as replenishing the paper supply may allow the adhesive applied to the last adhered page to detenorate and become less effective The cable 693 is sprung to allow lor positive pressure to be applied to the previous sheet to aid bindmg Furthermore, the angled platen 689 is shallower at the top than at the base in order to support the document 618 m an over axis configuration A sensor (not shown) operativelv connected to the control of the stepper motor, may be used to determine the position of the last page bound to the document to allow the platen to accurately adhere the next page to it A paper tapper 643 knocks the sheet 604 to one side of the binder 605 as it is transported across to the angled platen 689 The mam PCB 612 controls motors 695, 696 and 697 for the cable winder shaft 694. the tapper 643 and the - 7 - exit hatch 690 respectiveh When a document 618 is bound and finished the powered exit hatch 690 opens A tamper sensor (not shown) is provided to detect document iams or other interferences acting to prevent the exit hatch 690 from closmg The tapper 643 also tap aligns the pnnted document 618 dunng ejection out of the binder 605 mto the collection tray 619 Plastic foils 698 on the lower front molding 610 work together with the hatch 690 to direct the finished document 618 to the back of the collection tray 619 and feed any further documents mto the tray without hitting existing ones A plurality the flexible foils may be provided, each having different lengths to accommodate documents havmg different page sizes The collection trav 619 is molded in clear plastic and pulls out of its socket under a certain loading Access for removing documents is provided on three sides The invention has been descnbed herem with reterence to the specific examples only Skilled workers m this field will readily recognise many vanations and modifications, which do not depart from the spint and scope of the broad inventive concept

Claims: - 8 - CLAIMS 1 A digital pnnter for pnntmg on separate pages of media, the pnnter mcludmg a support frame a pnnthead mounted on the support frame, and, a page bmdmg means for bmdmg the pages of the prmted media A digital pnnter accordmg to claim 1 wherein the binding means adheres the pages together with glue 3 A digital pnnter according to claim 2 wherein the pages of media are rectangular and the binding means is adapted to app glue along one of the long sides of each page 4 A digital pnnter accordmg to claim 2, wherein the pages of media are rectangular and the bmdmg means is adapted to apply glue along one of the long sides of each page except the first or last page m a bound set of the pages 5 A digital pnnter accordmg to claim 4, wherein the bmdmg means is adapted to apply glue to a page while the pnnthead is pnntmg the page 6 A digital pnnter according to claim 4, wherein the binding means is adapted to apply glue to a page after the pnnthead has pnnted the page 7 A digital pnnter accordmg to claim 1, wherein the bmdmg means bmds the pages together with string or staples 8 A pnnter according to claim 1 , wherein the pnnthead is adapted to pnnt the full width of the pag simultaneously

Inventors: KING TOBIN ALLEN, KING, TOBIN, ALLEN
Applicants: KING TOBIN ALLEN, SILVERBROOK KIA, SILVERBROOK RES PTY LTD, KING, TOBIN, ALLEN, SILVERBROOK RESEARCH PTY LTD, SILVERBROOK, KIA
Application year: 2000
Main classification: B41J29
IPC codes: B41J2, B41J3, B41J5, B41J13, B41J21, B41J29, B42C9, B42C19, B65H29, B65H37, G06F3, G06F17, G06K9, G06K17, G06K19, H04M1, H04N1, H04N5