Long Medium Hole Layout for Precise Remaining-Length Indication
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing long media for printing patterns and characters lack precise indication of remaining length, leading to inaccurate determination of the amount of medium required for printing, resulting in potential waste of ink, medium, and time.
Innovation Solution
A long medium design with first and second side edges featuring reference holes, conveyance holes, and index holes at varying pitches to provide detailed indication of remaining length, allowing accurate determination of the medium's amount.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the pitch between reference holes is increased or the number of holes serving as scales is increased to indicate remaining amount in more detail, then measurement precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The long medium is divided into multiple sections with different pitch values. The first section has a first pitch between reference holes, while the second section has a second pitch that is smaller than the first pitch. This segmentation allows different resolution levels for remaining amount indication in different usage phases, improving measurement precision without uniformly increasing complexity throughout the entire medium.
Solution Approach 2:
The pitch between reference holes and conveyance holes is made dynamic rather than uniform. By varying the pitch in different sections (first pitch in first section, second pitch in second section), the system adapts the measurement resolution to the remaining amount, providing finer granularity when needed while maintaining simplicity when the remaining amount is large.
2Measurement precision
If the number of holes serving as scales between reference holes is increased to double the resolution, then measurement precision is improved, but ease of operation deteriorates due to reading difficulty
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniformly increasing the number of holes throughout, the patent segments the medium into sections with different pitch characteristics. The first section uses a larger pitch suitable for coarse measurement, while the second section uses a smaller pitch for fine measurement. This allows high precision without overwhelming the user with excessive holes in every section.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the long medium are assigned different local qualities in terms of hole pitch. The first section has a first pitch appropriate for its measurement needs, while the second section has a second pitch optimized for its specific purpose. This local optimization provides precise measurement where needed without compromising readability elsewhere.
Data Source
AI summary
A long medium has a start end, a final end, a first side edge connecting the start end and the final end, and a second side edge connecting the start end and the final end. The long medium includes first reference holes formed at a first pitch along the first side edge, N pieces of first conveyance holes formed along the first side edge at a second pitch smaller than the first pitch, and formed between adjacent first reference holes, in which N is a positive integer, first index holes formed along the first side edge at a third pitch smaller than the first pitch and respectively positioned in first index hole forming areas each set between the adjacent first reference holes, and second reference holes formed at the first pitch along the second side edge.