Media-tracking system using deformed reference marks

1. A system for tracking a position of a receiver medium as it travels along a media path, comprising:

a heat source located at a first position along the media path adapted to provide heat to the receiver medium in a localized area, the receiver medium being formed from a thermally deformable material, the provided heat being sufficient to permanently deform the localized area of the receiver medium to form a reference mark characterized by a physical deformation of the localized area of the receiver medium;

a light source that illuminates the receiver medium when it has traveled to a second position along the media path;

a sensor adapted to sense light from the light source that is transmitted through the receiver medium or reflected from the receiver medium thereby providing a sensed light level signal; and

a data processor adapted to analyze the sensed light level signal to determine a position of the receiver medium as the receiver medium passes through the second position along the media path by detecting a change in the sensed light level signal that is characteristic of the physical deformation of the localized area of the receiver medium associated with the reference mark.

2. The system of claim 1 wherein the physical deformation of the localized area of the receiver medium causes specular reflections from the surface of the receiver medium to be directed in different directions than would be characteristic of an undeformed receiver medium, and wherein the sensor is adapted to detect the reference mark by sensing a change in the specular reflections from the surface of the receiver medium.

3. The system of claim 1 wherein the physical deformation of the localized area of the receiver medium causes an amount of scattered light to be different than an amount that would be characteristic of an undeformed receiver medium, and wherein the sensor is adapted to detect the reference mark by sensing a change in the amount of scattered light.

4. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver medium is a photoelastic material in which the polarization state of light transmitted through or reflected from the photoelastic material changes depending on the internal stress in the photoelastic material, wherein the physical deformation of the localized area of the receiver medium alters the internal stresses in the localized area of the material thereby altering the polarization state of light transmitted through or reflected from the localized area of the material, and wherein the sensor is adapted to detect the reference mark by sensing a change in the polarization state of light transmitted through or reflected from the receiver medium, the change in polarization state being produced by the altered internal stresses in the localized area of the material.

5. The system of claim 1 wherein the heat source provides heat to the localized area of the receiver medium by bringing a resistive heater into contact with a surface of the localized area of the receiver medium.

6. The system of claim 5 wherein the media path includes a rotating roller around which the receiver medium is wrapped or over which the receiver medium travels, and wherein the resistive heater is incorporated into a surface of the rotating roller, and rotates together with the rotating roller.

7. The system of claim 1 wherein the heat source provides heat to the receiver medium by illuminating it with a laser beam.

8. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver medium moves along the media path in an in-track direction, and wherein the detected position of the reference mark is used to determine an in-track position of the receiver medium or a cross-track position of the receiver medium, the in-track position being a position in the in-track direction, and the cross-track position being a position in a cross-track direction that is perpendicular to the in-track direction.

9. The system of claim 1 wherein the heat source is used to form a plurality of reference marks at different predefined positions on the reference medium.

10. The system of claim 9 wherein the detected positions of the plurality of reference marks are used to determine an amount of skew of the reference medium, or a change in a size of the reference medium.

11. The system of claim 9 wherein the receiver medium moves along the media path in an in-track direction, and wherein at least two of the reference marks are formed at different cross-track positions on the reference medium, the cross-track positions being positions in a cross-track direction that is perpendicular to the in-track direction, the different cross-track positions being separated by predefined spacings.

12. The system of claim 9 wherein the receiver medium moves along the media path in an in-track direction, and wherein at least some of the reference marks are spaced apart at different in-track positions on the reference medium, the different in-track positions being separated by predefined spacings.

13. The system of claim 12 further including an encoding system that is used to determine a distance that the receiver medium has moved along the media path, and wherein the encoding system is used to determine the in-track position of the receiver medium intermediate to the detection of the reference marks.

14. The system of claim 13 wherein the encoding system determines the distance that the receiver medium has moved along the media path responsive to a detected roller position, a motor drive control signal, or a signal from an optical motion detection system.

15. The system of claim 1 wherein the receiver medium is a continuous web of receiver medium or the receiver medium is an individual sheet of receiver medium.

16. The system of claim 1 wherein the position of the reference mark is determined by computing a centroid of the sensed signal as a function of position.

17. The system of claim 1 wherein the position of the reference mark is determined by detecting a leading edge and a trailing edge of the reference mark and determining a midpoint between the leading edge and the trailing edge.

18. The system of claim 1 further including one or more additional sensors located at one or more additional positions along the media path adapted to sense the reference mark as the receiver medium passes through the one or more additional positions along the media path.

19. The system of claim 1 further including:

a printing system adapted to print image data onto the receiver medium; and

a control system that controls the printing system responsive to the detected position of the receiver medium in order to properly align the printed image data with the receiver medium.

20. The system of claim 1 further including:

a finishing system adapted to perform one or more media finishing operations on the receiver medium; and

a control system that controls the finishing system responsive to the detected position of the receiver medium in order to properly align the one or more media finishing operations with the receiver medium.

21. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor is a one-dimensional image sensor that forms a two-dimensional image of a portion of the receiver medium including the reference mark by capturing one-dimensional images at a series of times separated by predefined time intervals as the receiver medium is moved past the sensor.

22. The system of claim 1 wherein the sensor is a two-dimensional image sensor that captures a two-dimensional image of a portion of the receiver medium including the reference mark.

23. The system of claim 1 further including an encoding system that is used to determine a velocity of the receiver medium as it moves along the media path.