Drawing control method, laser irradiating apparatus, drawing control program, and recording medium having recorded therewith

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9446601-B2
Application number	US-201414527101-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Oct 29, 2014
Priority date	Oct 19, 2009
Publication date	Sep 20, 2016
Grant date	Sep 20, 2016

Abstract

Drawing control methods, laser irradiating apparatuses, drawing control programs, and recording mediums having recorded therewith are provided that make it possible to efficiently carry out drawing with high quality. The drawing control method controls, by a computer, a drawing device which draws what is to be drawn onto multiple unit regions on a surface of a medium. The computer executes a drawing order determining step which determines a drawing order of a line segment included in the what is to be drawn such that multiple continuing line segments over mutually neighboring multiple unit regions are drawn continuously.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A drawing apparatus which applies energy to a surface of a medium by irradiating a laser beam onto a position of the medium while moving the irradiated position in a drawing direction, to draw a line segment on the surface of the medium, comprising:
a laser which irradiates the laser beam;
a laser beam driver that drives the laser beam to move the irradiated position in the drawing direction;
a controller which controls the laser beam driver and an irradiation of the laser beam,
wherein the controller controls the laser beam driver to drive the laser beam to move the irradiating position in the drawing direction, and
wherein the controller determines a start point of the line segment to be drawn in the drawing direction, and controls the irradiation of the laser beam to begin to apply energy of a drawing output level to the medium starting from a point located backward by a predetermined distance, relative to the drawing direction, from the start point of the line segment to be drawn, and continues to apply the energy having the drawing output level to the medium over a length of the line segment to be drawn, the predetermined distance being such that color is developed in the line segment, by the irradiation of the laser beam to apply energy to the medium, at the start point.

2. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the laser beam driver comprises a direction control mirror and a direction control motor which drives the direction control mirror to change a direction of the laser beam.

3. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the controller controls the laser beam driver to drive the laser beam to move the irradiating position in plural drawing directions for different line segments, whereby the line segments make up a predetermined two-dimensional code unit region.

4. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said predetermined distance is a function of the width of the line segment.

5. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said predetermined distance is a function of an output value of the drawing apparatus.

6. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said predetermined distance is a function of a thermal characteristic of the medium onto which the line segments is to be drawn.

7. The drawing apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said predetermined distance is a function of a temperature of the medium at the time of drawing.

8. A drawing apparatus which applies energy to a surface of a medium by irradiating a laser beam onto a position of the medium while moving the irradiated position in an a drawing direction, to draw a line segment on the surface of the medium, comprising:
a laser which irradiates the laser beam;
a laser beam driver that drives the laser beam to move the irradiated position in the drawing direction;
a controller including means for controlling the laser beam driver to drive the laser beam to move the irradiating position in the drawing direction, and means for controlling the irradiation of the laser beam to begin to apply energy of a drawing output level to the medium starting from a point located backward by a predetermined distance, relative to the drawing direction, from a start point of the line segment to be drawn, and to continue to apply the energy having the drawing output level to the medium over a length of the line segment to be drawn, the predetermined distance being such that color is developed in the line segment, by the irradiation of the laser beam to apply energy to the medium, at the start point.

Assignees

• Oda Miyuki
• Ricoh Co Ltd

Inventors

• Oda Miyuki

Classifications

• B41J2002/4756

  Erasing by radiation · CPC title

• B41J2/442

  using lasers · CPC title

• B41M5/284

  Organic thermochromic compounds · CPC title

• B41M5/282

  using thermochromic compounds · CPC title

• B41M5/28

  using thermochromic compounds or layers containing liquid crystals, microcapsules, bleachable dyes or heat- decomposable compounds, e.g. gas- liberating {(B41M5/38271 takes precedence)} · CPC title