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Mobile Phone Patent Abstract
A hand held mobile phone device with integral internal print apparatus
and print media supply includes a mobile telephone unit for transmitting
and receiving signals. The device further includes an internal print
media storage unit and processing circuitry for processing the received
and transmitted signals into signal information that is capable
of being printed. A printhead and ink distribution unit assembly
is attached to the processing means for printing out the signal
information onto the print media. The device also includes a print
media feed mechanism to feed the print media from the storage means
to the printhead for printing of the signal information thereon.
Mobile Phone Patent Claims
We claim:
1. A hand held mobile phone device with integral internal print
apparatus and print media supply, said device comprising:
a mobile telephone unit for transmitting and receiving signals;
an internal print media storage unit;
proecessing means for processing said received and transmitted
signals into signal information that is capable of being printed;
a printhead and ink distribution unit assembly attached to said
processing means for printing out said signal information onto said
print media; and
print media feed means to feed said print media from said storage
means to said printhead for printing of said signal information
thereon.
2. A device according to claim 1 wherein said print media storage
unit is configured to store paper or card sheets.
3. A device as claimed in claim 2 wherein said storage unit is
configured to store paper or car sheets that are similar in size
to an average business card.
4. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printhead comprises
a single printhead unit of approximately the width of said print
media and which is the product of integrated circuit fabrication
techniques.
5. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said print media storage
unit is detachable from said device.
6. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printhead and ink
distribution assembly is separately detachable from said apparatus
and said print media storage unit.
7. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printer assembly
includes a full colour printhead and the ink distribution unit assembly
includes a series of ink supply reservoirs to supply separate colours
to each of said colours of said printhead.
8. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printhead is an
ink jet printhead.
9. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said printhead includes
at least one printhead chip that is the product of a micro electromechanical
systems fabrication technique.
10. A device as claimed in claim 8 wherein said printhead comprises
an array of ink ejection nozzle arrangements wherein liquid is ejected
from nozzle chambers by means of activation of a corresponding thermal
bend actuator attached to each of the nozzle arrangements.
11. A device as claimed in claim 10 wherein said actuator is a
thermal bend actuator.
12. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said ink distribution
unit connected with said printhead includes a series of attached
ink supply reservoirs and a first of said reservoirs is substantially
larger then the others.
13. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said printhead and ink
distribution unit assembly and said media storage unit form a snap
fit connection with said mobile telephone unit.
14. A device as claimed in claim 1 including a camera facility.
15. A device as claimed in claim 1 including a scanning facility.
16. A device as claimed in claim 1 wherein said media storage unit
is configured to store a paper print roll.
17. A device as claimed in claim 16 wherein said media storage
unit includes a cartridge which s configured to house said paper
print roll and an ink supply.
18. A device as claimed in claim 17 wherein said printer assembly
includes a full colour printhead and the cartridge includes a series
of ink supply reservoirs to supply separate colours to each of said
colours of said printhead.
19. A device as claimed in claim 16 wherein said printhead comprises
a single printhead unit of the width of said print roll and which
is the product of semi-conductor fabrication techniques.
Mobile Phone Patent Description
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to printing systems and more particularly,
to a hand held mobile phone having an integral internal printer
with print media supply.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide a mobile phone
system having a fully integral internal compact printer and print
media supply.
In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there
is provided a hand held mobile phone device with integral internal
print apparatus and print media supply, said device comprising:
a mobile telephone unit for transmitting and receiving signals;
an internal print media storage unit;
processing means for processing said received and transmitted signals
into a printable form;
a printhead and ink distribution unit assembly attached to said
processing means for printing out said processed signals onto said
print media; and
print media feed means to feed said print media from said storage
means to said printhead for printing of said processed signal information
thereon.
In a first preferred form the print media comprises paper or card
sheets. The cards are preferably substantially the size of an average
business card. Desirably the printhead and the card storage unit
form a snap fit with the mobile telephone unit.
In a second preferred form the print media is in the form of a
paper print roll and more preferably the print roll is provided
in a cartridge that also includes an integral ink supply.
The printhead can comprise a single unit of the width of the paper
or cards and may be formed via semiconductor fabrication techniques.
The card storage unit can be detachable from the apparatus. The
printhead or printhead and ink distribution unit assembly can be
separately detachable from the phone apparatus and the print media
storage unit.
The printhead can comprise a full colour printhead attached via
an ink distribution unit to a series of ink supply reservoirs to
supply separate colours to each of the colours of the printhead.
The printhead can comprise an array of ink ejection nozzle arrangements
wherein liquid can be ejected by means of activation of a corresponding
thermal bend actuator attached to each of the nozzle arrangements.
The printhead preferably can include a series of attached ink supply
reservoirs with a first reservoir being substantially larger then
the others. The printhead and ink distribution unit and/or the print
roll cartridge preferably can include an authentication chip which
ensures use of only approved consumables and which can also be used
to set a predetermined amount of usage of each item.
The hand held mobile phone can be of any kind and utilising any
communications system so long as the transmitted signals can be
processed into a printable form. Examples of suitable phone types
and/or communications systems include GSM, CDMA, PHS, satellite
phone systems, and third generation (3G) internet connected mobile
phone systems including GPRS and WCDMA.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Notwithstanding any other forms which may fall within the scope
of the present invention, preferred forms of the invention will
now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the
accompanying drawings in which:
FIG. 1 is a front view of a first preferred embodiment;
FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of the rear of the first
embodiment;
FIG. 3 is a further exploded perspective view, partly in section,
of the first embodiment showing more detail of the internal structures;
FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional rear and side views of the first embodiment
respectively;
FIG. 6 is a sectional perspective view of the print apparatus of
the first embodiment;
FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram showing the electrical interconnections
for the first embodiment;
FIG. 8 is a front view of a second preferred embodiment utilising
a paper and ink cartridge and having a scanning facility;
FIG. 9 is a right hand side view of the second embodiment printer
phone shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 10 is a rear view of the second embodiment printer phone shown
in FIGS. 8 and 9;
FIG. 11 is a left hand side view of the printer phone shown in
FIG. 8;
FIG. 12 is a top plan view of the printer phone shown in FIG. 8;
FIG. 13 is an inverted plan view of the printer phone shown in
FIG. 8;
FIG. 14 is an inverted plan view as shown in FIG. 13 illustrated
with the print roll hatch in the open position;
FIG. 15 is a perspective view of the printer phone of FIG. 8 illustrating
insertion/removal of the print roll via the print roll hatch; and
FIG. 16 is a schematic block diagram showing the electrical interconnections
for the second embodiment.
DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED AND OTHER EMBODIMENTS
In both embodiments, there is provided a mobile phone having an
internal detachable printer which includes a separately detachable
printhead and ink distribution unit assembly and further a preferably
separately detachable paper or other print media supply. The mobile
phone printer of at least the first preferred embodiment is of a
standard size thereby conferring a high level of convenience during
operation. The primary differences between the two embodiments relate
to form of the print media and the location of the ink supply.
Turning initially to FIG. 1, there is illustrated the first preferred
embodiment printer phone 1 which looks like a conventional mobile
phone including an earpiece 2, microphone 3, aerial 4, a series
of push buttons 5 and a preferably colour LCD screen 6 for the display
of information.
In FIG. 2, the back portions of the first embodiment phone 1 is
shown with the battery cover 8 removed so as to reveal a print media
stock container 9 from which business card sized cards or sheets
10 are used on which to print images on by a printer unit 12. The
print out onto the card can be processed signal information downloaded
via the mobile phone 1 such as e-mail or other facilities.
The mobile phone can optionally be equipped with a camera device
13 which can comprise, for example, a CMOS sensor designed to sense
and store images on demand so that the mobile phone 1 can effectively
act as a camera device for the printing out of images or their capture
and forwarding across a mobile network.
In FIG. 3, there is illustrated an exploded perspective view, partly
in section, of the first mobile phone device 1 showing more detail
of the printer assembly 12 including the printhead assembly 16 and
feed means 17. The paper stock container 9 includes a series of
cards 10 which are resiliently compressed by means of leaf springs
14. As shown in the other figures, the print media feed means 17
are provided in the form of pinch rollers 18 which are driven by
motor 19 via gear train 20 and which is used to drive individual
cards 10 to and past the printhead 16. The printhead may form part
of an optionally replaceable printhead and ink distribution unit
assembly 21 including an ink distribution unit 22 and can be substantially
the same as that disclosed in Australian Provisional Patent No.
PP6534 entitled "Micromechanical Device and Method (IJ46A)"
filed Oct. 16, 1998 the contents of which are hereby incorporated
by cross-reference.
The ink distribution unit 22 of this first embodiment includes
a series of ink supply reservoirs 23 to 26 which are provided for
full colour printing. The reservoir 23 is substantially larger than
the reservoirs 22 to 26 and can be utilized to store black ink.
It is estimated that the ink supply will be sufficient for printing
of approximately 2000 pages at 15% coverage of black or 200 photos
of 50% coverage of CMYK. A more detailed view of the printer assembly
12 is illustrated in FIG. 5 with an expanded technical description
being disclosed in the aforementioned provisional patent specification.
The mobile phone system can be operated electronically under the
control of a series of one or more application specific integrated
circuits (ASICS) which incorporate the usual mobile phone capabilities
in addition to camera and image processing capabilities. A sample
block diagram indicating the electrical interconnections for this
first embodiment is shown in FIG. 7. A suitable adaptation of the
system as outlined in PCT Patent Application PCT/AU98/00544 filed
by the present application can be utilized in the design of the
ASIC. Other alternative system designs can be incorporated in accordance
with the knowledge of those skilled in this particular field.
Other features/components of the phone device, the function of
which will be readily apparent, are identified in the accompanying
illustrations by the following reference numerals.
Reference Numeral Feature/component 30 loud speaker 31 camera lens
array 32 NiMh Battery 33 Printhead cover molding 34 Paper exit wheels
35 Printhead capping mechanism 36 Telephone PCB with buttons 37
SIM card 38 SlM card ejector 39 Battery contacts
Turing next to FIGS. 8 to 15, there is shown a second embodiment
printer phone according to the invention. Wherever possible like
reference numerals will be used to denote corresponding features.
The major differences between the two embodiments are that instead
of having a card dispenser and printhead with integral ink supply,
this second embodiment utilises a replaceable combined paper and
ink print roll cartridge. The cartridge can be substantially the
same as that described in the applicant's earlier applications U.S.
Ser. No. 09/113,073 "Digital Camera System with Integral Print
Roll"; U.S. Ser. No. 09/113,053 "Print Media Roll and
Ink Replaceable Cartridge"; U.S. Ser. No. 09/112,744 "Anisotropic
Rigidity to Reduce Curl in Rolled Media"; U.S. Ser. No. 09/112,823
"Miniature Color Printer using Ink and Paper Cartridges";
and U.S. Ser. No. 09/112,783 "Ink and Media Cartridge with
Axial Ink Chambers" the contents all of which are incorporated
herein by cross reference.
Another difference resides in the optional inclusion of a scanning
facility, which whilst descirbed with reference to the second embodiment,
could also be included in the first embodiment, although it is envisaged
that in practice this facility is better suited for use with print
media in the form of a print roll. Further, the additional space
required to accommodate the scanning facility is less of a problem
with the second embodiment which by design cannot be as compact
as the first embodiment. More details of these different features
are described below.
In the second embodiment, the phone casing 50 is configured to
receive the paper and ink print roll cartridge 51 via a cartridge
hatch 52 formed in the base of the phone. Also provided in the base
of the phone are the usual DC in and USB connectors 53 and 54.
In this particular embodiment, the camera device 13 is located
on the rear of the phone and is operable via a camera take button
56. The printer phone may also include a scanning head (not shown)
in the form of a linear CMOS image sensor which is located within
the right hand side of the casing adjacent an image scan path defined
by a scanning image slot 57 having an entry 58 in the front of the
phone and an exit 59 at the rear of the phone.
As can be best seen in FIG. 15, the paper and ink print roll cartridge
51 is of similar shape to a conventional 35 mm camera film cartridge,
having a paper exit 61 which when installed aligns with a corresponding
printer exit slot 62 formed in the front left hand side of the phone
casing 50. However, the cartridge 51 is substantially longer, as
it preferably contains sufficient print media and ink for 36 images,
each 100 mm.times.150 mm, the customary size of a photographic print.
The printhead and ink distribution unit assembly 21 is located behind
the portion of the base molding identified at 65.
The second embodiment printer phone 1 can also be operated under
the control of a series of one or more ASIC chips which incorporate
the usual mobile phone capabilities in addition to camera and scanner
image processing capabilities. Again, a suitable adaptation of the
system as outlined in PCT Patent Application PCT/AU98/00544 filed
by the present application can be utilised in the design of the
ASIC chip.
In use, the operation of this second embodiment is very similar
to that of the first with the exception of the additional scanner
facility. Replacement of the paper and ink supply is achieved by
simply opening the cartridge hatch 52, removing the old cartridge
and inserting a new one. The cartridge includes pierecable ink outlets
which engage nozzles on the ink distribution assembly connected
with the printhead.
It will be appreciated by a person skilled in the art that numerous
variations and/or modifications may be made to the present invention
as shown in the specific embodiment without departing from the spirit
or scope of the invention as broadly described. The present embodiment
is, therefore, to be considered in all respects to be illustrative
and not restrictive.
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