Recyclable printing device with tamper protection
View Patent ↗A recyclable device comprising a chassis supporting a pagewidth print head for printing an image, an ink supply means for supplying ink to the print head, and a supply of print media on to which said sensed image is printed. A casing surrounds and encases said chassis so that the ink supply means is unable to be accessed without destruction of the casing.
1. A recyclable device comprising a chassis supporting:
an image sensor for sensing an image;
a pagewidth print head for printing the sensed image;
an ink supply cartridge for supplying ink to the print head;
a supply of print media on to which said image is printed;
a cutting mechanism for cutting the print media so as to separate the printed images from the supply of print media;
a counter mechanism coupled to the cutting mechanism so as to decrease a counter upon each operation of the cutting mechanism thereby indicating a number of images printed by the print head;
a controller for controlling the device, the controller having high current drive transistors for driving a media transport motor for transporting the print media past the print head and a cutting motor for operating the cutting mechanism, the controller being configured to never operate the high current drive transistors and the image sensor simultaneously; and
a casing surrounding and encasing said chassis so that the ink supply cartridge is unable to be accessed without destruction of the casing, the casing having a slot through which the counter is viewable.
2. The device of claim 1 in which the casing comprises two shells, the shells being bonded together during one of a manufacturing process and a recycling process.
3. The device of claim 1 in which the casing is of a recyclable material.
4. The device of claim 1 wherein the ink supply cartridge defines a plurality of ink supply channels, each of which is in communication with the print head and each channel containing a different color ink, in use, for enabling full color printing to be effected.
5. The device of claim 4 in which the ink supply cartridge includes an inlet opening in communication with each channel via which said channel is refilled during recycling of the device.
6. The device of claim 4 in which each channel has a vent associated therewith, the vent being open during a refilling operation of the channel to allow egress of air from the channel and the vent being sealed by a seal after the refilling operation.
7. The device of claim 6 in which the seal is a replaceable seal to be removed during the refilling operation and replaced by a new seal after completion of the refilling operation.