Thermal Printer Sensor for Indirect Image Inspection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thermal printing inspection methods require external cameras and image detection systems, are sensitive to color contrasts, and necessitate adjustments during printing operations, making them inefficient and prone to errors, especially in applications like pharmaceutical tracking and packaging.
Innovation Solution
An apparatus with a sensor device that records the pattern on the carrier film after printing, generating a signal for indirect image inspection, allowing for real-time defect detection and simplifying the inspection process by comparing the recorded pattern with the desired image within the printing apparatus itself, eliminating the need for external systems and reducing sensitivity to background colors.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If external cameras and image detection systems are used for printing inspection, then printing quality can be monitored, but the device complexity increases and the system becomes more sensitive to color contrasts
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the inspection function from external cameras and integrates it directly into the thermal printing apparatus. The sensor device is positioned within the printing apparatus to directly detect the printed image on the medium, eliminating the need for separate external inspection systems and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The thermal printing apparatus is designed to perform both printing and inspection functions using integrated components. The same heating elements used for printing also enable the sensor to detect the printed image, allowing one device to serve multiple purposes and reducing the need for separate inspection equipment.
2Measurement precision
If external image detection systems are used, then printing inspection is possible, but the system requires additional components arranged outside the printing apparatus
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the inspection function with the printing function by integrating the sensor device directly into the thermal printing apparatus. The sensor and heating elements are positioned to work together within the same device, combining what were previously separate printing and inspection systems into a single integrated unit.
3Measurement precision
If image detection is performed outside the printing apparatus, then printing inspection can occur, but the image signal must be transmitted between systems and adjustments are needed during printing operations
Solution Approach 1:
By integrating the sensor device within the printing apparatus, the patent eliminates the need for signal transmission between separate systems. The sensor directly detects images on the printing medium within the same apparatus, and the control unit processes the signals locally, simplifying operation and eliminating the need for external signal routing and synchronization adjustments.
4Measurement precision
If conventional image detection systems are used, then printing inspection is possible, but the systems are sensitive to color contrasts and require readjustment during printing operations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces conventional optical image detection systems with a sensor device that detects thermal or physical properties of the printed image. This substitution makes the inspection system less sensitive to color contrasts and background colors, as the sensor detects the presence or absence of ink through thermal or physical characteristics rather than optical color properties.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables compact, cost-effective, and stable inspection within the printing apparatus, allowing for immediate detection of defects and mechanical damage, reducing the complexity of the inspection process and ensuring consistent contrast conditions, thereby improving printing quality and efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
a carrier film coated with coloring agents is brought up to the medium to be printed and is heated by means of a thermal printhead. This thermal printhead has a multiplicity of heating elements
Implementation Method 2
The detachment of the coloring agent is brought about in thermal transfer printing by the coloring agent being melted
Implementation Method 3
the carrier film itself after the printing operation is better suited than the printed medium for a printed image inspection. This is so because, in thermal printing, the coloring agent disappears precisely at those points of the carrier film at which it has been transferred to the printable medium
Data Source
AI summary
The invention relates to an apparatus for thermal printing or embossing, comprising a film conveying section for a carrier film coated with a coloring agent, a print support for a printable medium and a printhead for selectively heating the carrier film in accordance with a predetermined printed image, so that the coloring agent is transferred from the carrier film to the printable medium in accordance with the predetermined printed image. The apparatus is characterized in that it further comprises a sensor device set up for recording a remaining pattern of the coloring agent on the carrier film after the heating of the carrier film and set up for generating a sensor signal on the basis of the recorded pattern. The invention additionally relates to a corresponding process for printed image inspection in thermal printing or embossing and to a computer program with program code for carrying out the process when the computer program is performed in a computer.