Two-dimensional absolute position sensor and projection control for a handheld printer

摘要

A handheld portable printer includes members and a handle that are joined together to form a generally O-shaped device. The members provide a rigid and strong structure and an area for housing a projector to project an image on the print surface of the image to be printed. The bottom member houses a pair of absolute position sensors spaced apart and aligned upon the longitudinal axis on the bottom of the handheld portable printer. A controller is associated with the absolute position sensors to produce precise position information. The controller uses the precise position information to control the projection of the image to be printed and the printing of pixels by the print head. In one embodiment, the print head is controlled such that each pixel is printed at least twice. The present invention also includes a number of novel methods including: a method for printing an image with a handheld printer, a method for projecting an image to be printed, and a method for registering a location of a printer and portions of a printed image.