JP2000043388A - Ribbon cassette replacement control method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To replace a ribbon cassette quickly and efficiently by moving a ribbon cassette held on the front side of a ribbon cassette to be replaced tempo rally to a cassette holder and then moving the ribbon cassette to the front side of the ribbon cassette and loading to a carriage. SOLUTION: When a ribbon cassette containing an ink ribbon 7 of same color and medium as an ink ribbon 7 to be replaced is present and the ribbon cassette 8 replaced based on record information, a CPU 35 refers loading ribbon cassette information at the ribbon cassette information storing section 36 on each cassette holder side, ribbon cassette use history information in management information and ribbon end information. A ribbon cassette 8 containing an ink ribbon 7 of same color and medium, having history of being used in the past and not yet entered into ribbon end state is retrieved. Finally, the carriage 2 is stopped and the ribbon cassette 8 is loaded to the carriage 2.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a ribbon cassette exchange control method, and more particularly, to a ribbon cassette exchange control method suitable for moving a ribbon cassette held at the back of a cassette holder to a carriage and mounting the same. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, printers such as thermal transfer printers are widely used as output devices of computers, word processors and the like because of high recording quality, low noise, low cost, and ease of maintenance.

In such a general thermal transfer printer, a carriage reciprocally movable along a platen is provided, a thermal head is mounted on the carriage, and an ink ribbon of a desired color is accommodated in the carriage. The detached ribbon cassette is detachably mounted. Then, the carriage is reciprocated along the platen, and while the ink ribbon of the ribbon cassette is being wound, the thermal head is driven based on image information, so that the carriage is transported between the platen and the thermal head. The desired image is recorded on the recording paper.

In such a thermal transfer printer, a full-color image is recorded by using, for example, a ribbon cassette containing four color ink ribbons of yellow, magenta, cyan and black. I have.

In such a case, conventionally, the user exchanges the ribbon cassette of each color every time recording of each color is performed. However, the exchange operation is extremely complicated, and a mistake of the color is made. For this reason, full-color images cannot be recorded quickly, easily, and reliably.

Further, even when printing is performed using ink ribbons of the same color, the ribbon cassette must be replaced each time the ink ribbon is used, which is a troublesome operation.

[0007] Therefore, a ribbon cassette of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black is held in parallel in a frame of the printer, or a plurality of ribbon cassettes of the same color are held, and this ribbon cassette is used as recording information. A ribbon cassette can be exchanged by selectively mounting it on a carriage in accordance with the color cassette. Accordingly, the ribbon cassette of each color is automatically exchanged, and a full-color image or a monochromatic image can be exchanged. A color image can be recorded quickly and reliably.

The ribbon cassette replacement control method in such a four-cassette printer uses an identification mark such as a bar code indicating the color and type of an ink ribbon formed on the ribbon cassette in advance by a scanner or the like. The ribbon cassette and the cassette holder holding the ribbon cassette are grasped in association with each other as chain information, and a desired ribbon cassette is searched based on the recording information while referring to the chain information, and is mounted on the carriage. I was The ribbon cassette on which recording has been completed is always returned to the original cassette holder.

On the other hand, in recent years, the types of inks have become diversified, such as metallic inks, glossy raster inks, and overprint inks.

In view of such a point, the present inventor has proposed a two-stage holding type seven cassette type printer in order to hold more types of ribbon cassettes. This seven-cassette-type printer holds a ribbon cassette in two stages, a back side and a near side of a cassette holder.
When mounting the ribbon cassette held on the back side of the holder on the carriage, the ribbon cassette on the front side is once mounted on the carriage, moved to another cassette holder, and then moved to the front side of the holder. Is mounted on the carriage to perform recording.

[0011]

However, in the above-described seven-cassette type printer, when the conventional ribbon cassette exchange control method is executed, there is no concept of a two-stage holding type cassette holder, so that the chain is not used. The exchange control of the ribbon cassette held on the back side of the holder cannot be efficiently performed based on the information.

In the above-described seven cassette type printer,
While the speed of the back feed operation of the recording paper is improved to about twice that of the conventional one, the ribbon cassette exchange operation by the conventional ribbon cassette exchange control method is extremely slow.
For this reason, a situation occurs in which the ribbon cassette exchange operation is not completed even after the recording paper back feed operation is completed, and as a result, the recording speed cannot be improved. In particular,
When a short recording paper such as a postcard or a recording pattern with a small number of recording lines is used, the difference between the two operations becomes remarkable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and in order to mount a ribbon cassette held on the back side of a cassette holder on a carriage, another ribbon cassette on the front side of the ribbon cassette is mounted. It is an object of the present invention to provide a ribbon cassette exchange control method that can prevent the ribbon cassette from being inadvertently moved onto a ribbon cassette to be used in the future, and can exchange the ribbon cassette efficiently and quickly.

[0014]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a ribbon cassette exchange control method, wherein at least holder information regarding whether or not a ribbon cassette is held is stored in advance. When the exchanged ribbon cassette is held on the back side of the cassette holder, a cassette holder that does not hold the ribbon cassette on either the near side or the back side of the holder is searched based on the holder information, The ribbon cassette held in front of the replacement requested ribbon cassette is temporarily moved to the cassette holder, and the replacement requested ribbon cassette is moved to the front side of the holder and then mounted on the carriage. On the point. By adopting such a method, another ribbon cassette on the front side of the ribbon cassette requested to be replaced can be temporarily moved to an empty cassette holder which does not hold the ribbon cassette, and is expected to be used in the future. It is possible to prevent the ribbon cassette from being carelessly held on the ribbon cassette, and to efficiently and quickly replace the ribbon cassette.

A feature of the ribbon cassette replacement control method according to a second aspect is that at least information relating to the recording order and use history of the ink ribbon is stored in advance, and a result of a cassette holder search based on the holder information is obtained. If there is no cassette holder that does not hold the ribbon cassette on either the near side or the back side of the holder,
Based on each information of the ink ribbon, a cassette holder holding a ribbon cassette used in the past or a cassette holder holding a ribbon cassette not to be used in the future is searched only on the front side of the holder. The ribbon cassette held on the front side of the ribbon cassette requested to be exchanged is once moved, and the ribbon cassette requested for replacement is moved to the front side of the holder before being mounted on the carriage. . And
By adopting such a method, even if another ribbon cassette on the front side of the ribbon cassette requested to be replaced is temporarily moved, even if there is no empty cassette holder holding the ribbon cassette, it is not possible to use the ribbon cassette in the future. Inadvertent movement of the ribbon cassette over the ribbon cassette to be used can be prevented, and the ribbon cassette can be exchanged efficiently and quickly.

[0016]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIGS. 1 to 4 show an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus for performing a ribbon cassette exchange control method according to the present invention. A flat platen 1 has a recording surface on a printer frame (not shown). The carriage 2 is disposed above the platen 1 so as to reciprocate along the guide shaft 3 in parallel with the platen 1. The carriage 2 has a driving belt 4 wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown).
The carriage 2 is reciprocated along the guide shaft 3 by driving the drive belt 4 via the pulley by a drive device (not shown) such as a stepping motor. It is made to let.

A thermal head 5 in which a plurality of heating elements (not shown) for selectively generating heat based on desired recording information are arranged on the carriage 2 is opposed to the platen 1 and has a platen. The carriage 2 has a take-up ribbon core 6a and a delivery ribbon core 6b on which a predetermined color ink ribbon 7 is wound and accommodated. A take-up bobbin 9a which is engaged with the ribbon cores 6a and 6b, respectively, and drives the take-up of the ink ribbon 7 of the ribbon cassette 8, and a delivery bobbin 9b which delivers the ink ribbon 7 are rotatably arranged.

Further, in the present embodiment, a carrier 10 on which the ribbon cassette 8 is detachably mounted is vertically contacted with the upper surface of the carriage 2 by a drive mechanism (not shown). It is disposed so as to be detachable and movable in the left-right direction (the moving direction of the carriage 2). On both sides of the carrier 10, a fixed carrier arm 11 and a movable carrier arm 12 swingable in the left-right direction are respectively provided upright. Are the holding claws 13, 1 respectively.
3 are formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a holding cover 14 facing the carriage 2 is provided on the printer frame so as to be openable and closable. And are formed to have substantially the same length.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, at a predetermined position on the surface of the holding cover 14 facing the carriage 2, a plurality of (in this embodiment, four Are arranged in parallel, and in the present embodiment, two ribbon cassettes 8 can be stacked and held on one cassette holder plate 15. ing. In the vicinity of one side of each cassette holder plate 15 of the holding cover 14, a fixed holding arm 16 having a length substantially equal to the thickness of the stacked ribbon cassette 8 is provided.
Each of the fixed holding arms 16 has a holding claw 17 which is bent toward the cassette holder plate 15 so as to be engaged with a side edge of the ribbon cassette 8. Have been. The fixed holding arm 16 is formed with a stopper groove 18 extending in the longitudinal direction from the base end of the fixed holding arm, and a side face of the cassette holder plate 15 on the fixed holding arm 16 side. ,
An engagement pin 19 that is engaged with the stopper groove 18 protrudes. The position of the upper end of the stopper groove 18 is such that the engaging pin 19 of the cassette holder plate 15 is engaged with the upper end of the stopper groove 18 and the upper surface of the cassette holder plate 15 Whether the gap with the inside of the claw 17 is almost the same as the thickness dimension of one ribbon cassette 8,
Alternatively, it is formed to be slightly smaller.
This is because the upper surface of the cassette holder plate 15 and the holding claw 1
7 is formed to be larger than the thickness dimension of one ribbon cassette 8, the cassette holder plate 15 and the holding claws 17 of the fixing holding arm 16 form the ribbon cassette 8.
Is no longer possible. Moreover, if the upper surface of the cassette holder plate 15 can be moved to the vicinity of the inside of the holding claw 17, the cassette holder plate 15 needs to be urged by a large urging force, and the cassette holder plate 15 is pushed down when the ribbon cassette 8 is replaced. In this case, a large force is required, and the ribbon cassette 8 is always engaged with the holding claws 17 with a strong force, and the durability of the case of the ribbon cassette 8 and the holding claws 17 is reduced. That's why.

In the vicinity of the other side of each cassette holder plate 15 of the holding cover 14, a movable holding arm 2 is provided.
0 is swingably mounted around the base end,
These movable holding arms 20 are urged to always swing toward the cassette holder plate 15 by the urging force of an urging spring (not shown).

The ribbon cover 8 is located at a position of the holding cover 14 corresponding to each cassette holder plate 15.
Two holding guides 21 and 21 are provided upright so as to correspond to the respective ribbon cores 6a and 6b. Two through holes 22 are provided at positions of the cassette holder plate 15 corresponding to the respective holding guides 21. Are drilled respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the through hole 22 of the through hole 22 located on the movable holding arm 20 side is formed in a concave shape so as to extend in the circumferential direction of the through hole 22. A locking surface 23 is formed on the upper side.

The holding guide 21 located on the movable holding arm 20 side of the holding guide 21 is integrally formed with a holding arm 24 extending upward.
The movable holding arm 2 is attached to the tip of the holding arm 24.
An engagement claw 25 bent to the 0 side is formed. Further, a step 26 is formed at the base end of the holding arm 24 so as to be displaced so as to slightly project outward in the radial direction with respect to the holding guide 21. 26 engages with the locking surface 23 of the through hole 22 of the cassette holder plate 15 to restrict upward movement of the cassette holder plate 15.

As shown in FIGS. 8 to 10, of the holding guides 21, among the holding guides 21, the holding guide 21 located on the fixed holding arm 16 side has the tip edge on the movable holding arm 20 side upward. The extended portion 27 is integrally formed with the holding guide 21 and the extended portion 27.
On the side surface on the side of the movable holding arm 20, a rib 2 extending in the vertical direction and formed on the inner peripheral surface of the take-up ribbon core 6a is provided.
A first rib 29 to be engaged with the projection 8 is formed so as to protrude. Further, a second rib 30 protruding from the side surface of the fixed holding arm 16 of the holding guide 21 and extending in the vertical direction and engaging with the rib 28 formed on the inner peripheral surface of the take-up ribbon core 6a is formed. ing.

Further, biasing springs 31, 31 for constantly biasing the cassette holder plate 15 upward are provided around each of the holding guides 21. In a normal state, the cassette holder plate 15 is provided with the stepped portion 26 of the holding arm 24 on the locking surface 23 of the through hole 22 of the cassette holder plate 15 by the urging force of the urging spring 31.
Are engaged and the engaging pin 19 is held in a state of being engaged with the upper end portion of the stopper groove 18, and when a downward pressing force is applied to the cassette holder plate 15,
Cassette holder plate 1 against the urging force of urging spring 31
5 is moved along each of the holding guides 21.

Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, on the rear surface of the ribbon cassette 8, the type of the ink ribbon 7 accommodated in each ribbon cassette 8 is determined. For this purpose, a different identification mark 32 is formed for each type of ink ribbon 7, and a sensor support 33 is provided upright at an edge of the carriage 2 on the far side with respect to the platen 1. This sensor support 33
Two optical sensors 34 as detection devices for detecting the identification marks 32 of each of the ribbon cassettes 8 are provided at positions corresponding to the rear surfaces of the ribbon cassettes 8 held in two stages on the holding cover 14. 34 are provided.

On the other hand, in this embodiment, a CPU 35 is provided as control means for controlling the exchange of the ribbon cassette 8 mounted on the carriage 2. As shown in FIG. 11, the CPU 35 has a first cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage section 36a for storing information of the ribbon cassette 8 held on each cassette holder plate, and a second cassette holder side ribbon cassette information. The storage section 36b, the third cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage section 36c, the fourth cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage section 36d, and the carriage side ribbon cassette information for storing information on the ribbon cassette 8 mounted on the carriage 2. The storage unit 37 is connected to a ribbon cassette history information storage unit 38 for storing information such as recording order information from the host computer and usage history of the ribbon cassette 8.

Further, information of the identification mark detected by the optical sensors 34 and 34 of the sensor support 33 is transmitted to the CPU 35, and this information is stored in the ribbon cassette information storage section 36 on each cassette holder side. It has become.

The cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage section 36 stores management information, mounting ribbon cassette information, and holder information on the front side and the back side of each cassette holder plate 15. The carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage unit 37 stores management information, mounting ribbon cassette information, and mounting holder number information. Further, the ribbon cassette history information storage section 38 stores plane information, management information and plane pointer storage information of each cassette holder plate 15.

Among these information, the management information includes the ribbon end information set when the completion of the ink ribbon 7 is detected or when the ribbon cassette 8 is changed, and the same color and same medium ink ribbon 7 The same ribbon plural mounting information set when there are a plurality of accommodated ribbon cassettes 8, the ribbon cassette use history information set when the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the carriage 2 and recording is performed, The verification history information set when the ribbon end of the cassette 8 is checked matches the type of the installed ribbon cassette 8 and the ribbon group which is a set of the ink ribbons 7 necessary for various predetermined recordings. And the ribbon group information in which the corresponding group number is set.

The ribbon group information can be set to an arbitrary pattern. In this embodiment, the ink pattern of “cyan, magenta, yellow, and black” corresponding to OHP paper, PPC, and IRON recording, and the dot diameter “Cyan, magenta, yellow, black, and overprint 4” ink patterns corresponding to gradation printing, “Cyan, magenta, yellow, and overprint 4” ink patterns corresponding to PPC 1200 dpi printing, and sublimation printing “Cyan, magenta, yellow and overprint 1/2” ink patterns, “red, blue and black” ink patterns corresponding to LABECA / FREE recording, and “gold, silver, red and blue” corresponding to metallic recording ”Ink pattern and raster metallic The “gold, silver, red, and green” ink pattern corresponding to print recording, the “melted black” ink pattern corresponding to PPC recording, and the unset initial state are stored in the ribbon group storage unit 39. Have been.

The mounted ribbon cassette information indicates that the ink ribbon 7 has been set when the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted.
Is set, and if not set, it is physically determined that the ribbon cassette 8 is not mounted. Regarding the type of the ink ribbon 7,
The determination is made by reading the identification mark with the optical sensors 34, 34.

It is to be noted that the attached ribbon cassette information is obtained when the ribbon cassette 8 is moved from the cassette holder plate 15 to the carriage 2, when the ribbon cassette 8 is moved to another cassette holder plate 15, or from the back side of the cassette holder plate 15. When it is moved to the near side, it moves together with the management information in accordance with the movement, and is stored in the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage section 37 or each cassette holder-side ribbon cassette information storage section 36.

The holder information stored in each cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36 is based on physical information as to whether the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the cassette holder plate 15 or not. 15, the ribbon cassette 8 is not mounted on both the front side and the back side, the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted only on the front side, or the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on both the front side and the rear side. Information about the

This holder information is referred to when determining which cassette holder plate 15 to return the ribbon cassette 8 mounted on the carriage 2 to.

The mounting holder number information stored in the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage section 37 indicates that when the ribbon cassette 8 has been moved from one of the cassette holder plates 15 to the carriage 2 and mounting has been completed. This is the information in which the original cassette holder number held up to this point is set. This is because when the ribbon cassette 8 is returned from the carriage 2, the ribbon cassette 8 is returned to the original cassette holder plate 15 in principle.
, The cassette holder number is stored when the cassette holder is moved. Therefore, if the user manually removes and attaches the ribbon cassette 8, the cassette holder number is not set, and information as an undefined state is set.

Further, the plane information stored in the ribbon cassette history information storage section 38 includes used ribbon cassette identification mark information and ribbon cassette usage history information. Of these, the used ribbon cassette identification mark information is When the identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 used for recording within one page is notified from the host computer in the recording order, these identification marks are set. Further, the ribbon cassette use history information is set to a “carriage mounted” state when the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the carriage 2 and recording is performed.

The management information stored in the ribbon cassette history information storage section 38 includes a setting module that sets the used ribbon cassette identification mark information when receiving the recording order information from the host computer and setting the used ribbon cassette identification mark information. Host notification is set ".

The plane pointer storage information sets the plane information management pointer to plus one when the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the carriage 2 and recording is performed.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.

First, before performing predetermined recording, the ribbon cassettes 8 are mounted on the respective cassette holder plates 15 of the holding cover 14.

This is because the ribbon cassette 8 is sent out to the cassette holder plate 15 and the ribbon core 6b is extended.
7, the movable holding arm 20 is inserted while rocking the movable holding arm 20 against the urging force so that the side surface of the ribbon cassette 8 does not contact the holding claw 17 of the fixed holding arm 16. When the ribbon cassette 8 is placed on the upper surface of the cassette holder plate 15, the movable holding arm 20 presses the side surface of the ribbon cassette 8 by the urging force, and the upper end edge of the other side of the ribbon cassette 8 is fixed. The holding claw 17 of the holding arm 16 is engaged with the holding claw 17 of the holding arm 24, and the engaging claw 25 of the holding arm 16 is engaged with the peripheral edge of the delivery ribbon core 6 b of the ribbon cassette 8, as shown in FIG. The eye ribbon cassette 8 is held.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 6, the cassette holder plate 1 on which the first ribbon cassette 8 is mounted is mounted.
The second ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on 5 in the same manner as described above. As a result, the already mounted ribbon cassette 8 is pushed downward, so that the cassette holder plate 15 is moved down along the holding guide 21 by the urging force of the urging spring 31, and the upper ribbon cassette 8 The upper edge is engaged with the holding claw 17 of the fixed holding arm 16, and the engaging claw 25 of the holding arm 24 is engaged with the peripheral edge of the delivery ribbon core 6 b of the ribbon cassette 8, so that the ribbon cassette 8 It is held in columns.

Further, there are n cassette holder plates 15,
Assuming that two ribbon cassettes 8 can be mounted on each cassette holder plate 15, 2n-1 ribbon cassettes 8 are mounted. In the present embodiment, since there are four cassette holder plates 15, , And seven ribbon cassettes 8. That is, when the ribbon cassette 8 held on the back side is used, the ribbon cassette 8 held on the front side is temporarily retracted.
An evacuation portion to which one ribbon cassette 8 can be attached is provided. In the present embodiment, two ribbon cassettes 8 are mounted on one cassette holder plate 15. For example, when three ribbon cassettes 8 are mounted, two ribbon cassettes 8 are mounted. It is sufficient to provide a retractable portion that can perform the operation. Further, when four or more ribbon cassettes 8 are mounted, a retractable portion corresponding to the number thereof may be provided.

Next, when recording is performed, for example, a color necessary for recording an image is set based on image information input from a host computer, an image reader, or the like (not shown), and ink of the set color is set. The ribbon cassette 8 containing the ribbon 7 is detected. For this reason, in this embodiment, before starting the recording, it is detected in advance which ribbon cassette 8 containing the type and color of the ink ribbon 7 is held in which cassette holder plate 15, and as the mounted ribbon cassette information. The information is stored in the cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36.

That is, while the carriage 2 is moving, the optical sensor 34 detects the identification mark 32 of the ribbon cassette 8 held on the holding cover 14 and transmits the same to the CPU 35. The CPU 35 stores this detection result as mounting ribbon cassette information in each cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36 corresponding to each cassette holder plate 15. At the same time, holder information such as whether the ribbon cassette 8 is held only on the front side of each cassette holder plate 15 or on both the front side and the back side of the cassette holder plate 15 is also provided as holder information. The information is stored in the ribbon cassette information storage unit 36.
Further, when all the identification marks of each ribbon cassette 8 are detected, if any of the ink patterns of the ribbon group stored in the ribbon group storage unit 39 is applicable, the ink pattern is used as the ribbon group information. The information is stored in the cassette holder plate 15. If there are a plurality of ribbon cassettes 8 accommodating ink ribbons 7 of the same color and the same medium, the fact is stored in each cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36 as the same ink ribbon plural existence information.

In this embodiment, since the sensor support 33 is provided with the two optical sensors 34, 34, the identification marks 32 of the ribbon cassette 8 held on the holding cover 14 in two stages. Can be detected by one scan.

Next, the operation of mounting the selected ribbon cassette 8 on the carriage 2 from the cassette holder plate 15 will be described. First, as shown in FIG. Move to a position and stop at that position. Then, the carrier 10 is separated from the carriage 2 and brought close to a position where the tip of the movable carrier arm 12 comes into contact with the upper end edge of the ribbon cassette 8, and then, as shown in FIG. Along the left and right direction. Accordingly, the movable carrier arm 12 is swung to move the fixed carrier arm 11 to a position beyond the other surface of the ribbon cassette 8. In this state, as shown in FIG. 14 or FIG. 19, the carrier 10 is further separated and brought closer to the ribbon cassette 8, and the fixed carrier arm 1
1 and the holding claws 13 of the movable carrier arm 12 are positioned at the lower edge of the ribbon cassette 8. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 15 or FIG. 20, the carrier 10 is moved in the left-right direction, so that the holding claws 1 of the movable carrier arm 12 are moved.
3 and the holding claws 13 of the fixed carrier arm 11 are engaged with both edges of the lower surface of the ribbon cassette 8, and the ribbon cassette 8
Hold. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 16 or 21, the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the carriage 2 by returning the carrier 10.

When the operation of mounting the ribbon cassette 8 on the carriage 2 is completed, the CPU 35 sets the ribbon cassette information storage unit 3 on the cassette holder side of the original cassette holder plate 15 on which the ribbon cassette 8 was held.
Then, the management information and the attached ribbon cassette information stored in 6 are moved to and stored in the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage unit 37. Further, the holder number of the cassette holder plate 15 is stored in the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage unit 3.
7 is stored as mounting cassette holder number information.

The carriage 2 is reciprocated and the winding bobbin 9 is driven to rotate to wind the ink ribbon 7 while the thermal head 5 is driven based on the image information, whereby the platen 1 and the thermal head 5 are driven. Recording of a desired color is performed on the recording paper conveyed between the head 5.

When the recording is performed in this manner, the ribbon cassette use history information of the management information stored in the carriage side ribbon cassette information storage unit 37 is set to a use state.

When the recording with the ink ribbon 7 of this color is completed, the carriage 2 is stopped at a position facing the original cassette holder plate 15 in which the used ribbon cassette 8 was held in principle.

Then, the carrier 10 is separated from the carriage 2 from the state shown in FIG. 16 or FIG.
After the ribbon cassette 8 is brought close to the upper surface of the cassette holder plate 15 as shown in FIG. 5 or FIG. 20, the carrier 10 is moved in the left-right direction as shown in FIG. 14 or FIG. Thereby, the holding claw 1 of the fixed carrier arm 11
3 is removed from the lower edge of the ribbon cassette 8,
The holding claw 13 of the movable carrier arm 12 is also removed from the lower edge of the ribbon cassette 8, and the ribbon cassette 8 is held by the cassette holder plate 15. FIG. 13 or FIG.
The carrier 10 is returned to the carriage 2 by returning the carrier 10 to the left and right directions as shown in FIG.

The above operation is sequentially performed on the ribbon cassette 8 containing the ink ribbon 7 of a desired color, so that a desired color recording is performed.

In this case, when the ribbon cassette 8 accommodating the ink ribbon 7 of a required color is held at the lower stage (back side) of the cassette holder plate 15, the carrier 1
By the operation 0, the ribbon cassette 8 held at the upper stage (front side) is retracted to the temporary retreat portion, and the ribbon cassette 8 at the back side is taken out.

When the ink ribbon 7 mounted on the carriage 2 is completed during recording, the CPU 35
Sets the ribbon end information in the management information of the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage unit 37, automatically replaces the same ribbon cassette 8 with another cassette holder plate 15 if it is present, and gives the user ribbon end if it is not. Notify status.

Next, a ribbon cassette exchange control method according to this embodiment will be described.

First, a description will be given of a ribbon cassette replacement control method in a case where there are a plurality of ribbon cassettes 8 accommodating the ink ribbon 7 of the same color and the same medium as the ink ribbon 7 requested to be replaced based on the recording information.

In such a case, the CPU 35 refers to the attached ribbon cassette information of each cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36, the ribbon cassette use history information and the ribbon end information in the management information, and refers to the same color same medium. Cassette 8 containing the ink ribbon 7
Then, a search is made for a ribbon cassette 8 having a history of use in the past and not yet in the ribbon end state. Then, the carriage 2 is stopped before the cassette holder plate 15 for holding the ribbon cassette 8, and the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the carriage 2 from the cassette holder plate 15 by the carrier 10.

More specifically, referring to FIGS. 22 and 25, when there are a plurality of ink ribbons 7 of black ink for hot melt recording, the ribbon cassette 8 taken out from the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a Is returned in the ribbon end state, and the unused ribbon cassette 8 is currently held at the back side of the cassette holder plate 15a and at the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c and the cassette holder plate 15d, respectively. A ribbon cassette 8 in a ribbon end state is held on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a and the cassette holder plate 15b and on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15c, and the ribbon which has already been used on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15b. Cassette 8
Are held, and nothing is held on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15d.

In this case, finally, the cassette holder plate 1
Ribbon cassette 8 in use held at the back of 5b
First, as shown in FIG. 22, the ribbon cassette 8 in the ribbon end state is returned from the carriage 2 to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a, as shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 23, the ribbon cassette 8 in the ribbon end state held in front of the cassette holder plate 15b is moved to the carriage 2, and immediately returned to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d as shown in FIG. I do. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 25, the in-use ribbon cassette 8 moved from the back side to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c is moved to the carriage 2, and the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is completed.

According to such a ribbon cassette exchange control method, even when there are a plurality of ribbon cassettes 8 of the same color and the same medium, the ribbon cassette 8 in use can always be taken out and the ribbons can be sequentially removed without waste. A cassette 8 can be used.

If a plurality of ribbon cassettes 8 accommodating a plurality of ink ribbons 7 of the same color and the same medium,
If the ribbon cassettes 8 have a history of no use in the past, the cassette holder plate 15 on which these ribbon cassettes 8 are mounted is preferentially selected from the ones with the smaller holder numbers and mounted on the carriage 2. I do.

This will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS. 26 to 29. In the case where there are a plurality of ink ribbons 7 of black ink for hot melt recording, the ribbon taken out from the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a Cassette 8
Is returned to the original cassette holder plate 15a, and the cassette holder plate 15a of the cassette holder plate 15c, the cassette holder plate 15c and the cassette holder plate 15d. , A ribbon cassette 8 in a ribbon end state is held on the front side, and an unused ribbon cassette 8 is held on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15b and the cassette holder plate 15c.
On the back side of the camera, nothing is held.

In this case, finally, the cassette holder plate 1
In order to replace the ribbon cassette 8 of the cassette holder plate 15 which is unused and has a small holder number and is held at the back side of the carriage 5b, first, as shown in FIG. The cassette 8 is returned to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a, and as shown in FIG. 27, the ribbon cassette 8 on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15b is moved to the carriage 2, and as shown in FIG.
It is immediately returned to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 29, the unused ribbon cassette 8 moved from the back side to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c is moved to the carriage 2 to complete the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8, and thereafter, recording is performed. Then, the ribbon cassette use history information in the mounted ribbon cassette information stored in the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage unit 37 is set to the in-use state.

According to such a ribbon cassette exchange control method, even if there are a plurality of ribbon cassettes 8 of the same color and the same medium and there is no ribbon cassette 8 having a use history already, it is necessary to sequentially form the same. The ribbon cassette 8 can be selected and set to the use state, and the subsequent mounting and use of the ribbon cassette 8 can be performed without waste.

Next, a ribbon cassette exchange control method according to the present embodiment when the exchange-requested ribbon cassette 8 is present behind the cassette holder plate 15 will be described with reference to FIG. In the flowchart of the exchange control of FIG. 30, for convenience of explanation, only the step numbers are shown, and the description corresponding to each step number will be sequentially performed.

In this ribbon cassette exchange control method, first, the host computer notifies the ribbon cassettes 8 of the identification marks of the ribbon cassette 8 to be used for recording within one page in the recording order based on the recording information. The setting information is set as the used ribbon cassette identification mark information in the history information storage unit 38, and the setting module in the management information is set to “the host notification is present”.

When recording is performed with the ribbon cassette 8 mounted on the carriage 2 in accordance with the instruction from the host computer, the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the carriage 2 in the used ribbon cassette identification mark information of the ribbon cassette history information storage section 38. The identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 is written.

In addition, the ribbon cassette use history information is set to “carriage mounted”, and the plane information management pointer is set to +1 before writing and setting to the plane pointer storage information.

The CPU 35 can know both information of the "ribbon cassette 8 used in the past" and the "ribbon cassette 8 to be used in the future" by referring to these information.

Then, as shown in FIG.
When receiving the ribbon cassette replacement request in step 1, the reference 35 refers to the attached ribbon cassette information and the management information stored in each cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36, and identifies the identification mark requested to be replaced. A search is made for a ribbon cassette 8 which matches, for which the ribbon end state has not been set, and which already has a history of in use. Then, proceeding to step 2, if it is determined that the corresponding ribbon cassette 8 is present on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15, proceeding to step 3, if the corresponding ribbon cassette 8 is located on the near side of the holder. If it is determined that the ribbon cassette 8 is present, the process proceeds to NO and the exchange control of the rear side ribbon cassette 8 of the present embodiment is not performed.
Attach to

Next, in step 3, referring to the holder information in the ribbon cassette information storage section 36 on each cassette holder side, "the cassette holder plate 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 does not exist on either the front side or the back side of the holder" Is determined, and if a corresponding holder number exists, the process proceeds to step 4 in the direction of YES; otherwise, the process proceeds to step 5 in the direction of NO.
Proceed to

When the process proceeds to step 4, that is,
When there is a “cassette holder plate 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 does not exist on both the front side and the rear side of the holder”, the cassette holder plate 15 exists on the front side of the ribbon cassette 8 requested to be replaced by the cassette holder plate 15. The ribbon cassette 8 is moved once, and the process proceeds to step 8.

When there are a plurality of corresponding holder numbers, the leftmost holder number is preferentially searched for and selected.

On the other hand, when the process proceeds to step 5, ie, when there is no “cassette holder plate 15 having no ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the back side of the holder”, “the front side of the holder” Only the cassette holder plate 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 exists is searched. This cassette holder plate 15 always mounts at most seven ribbon cassettes 8 among the four cassette holder plates 15 in the upper and lower two stages, so that there is always one. Then, proceeding to step 7, it is determined whether there are a plurality of "cassette holder plates 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 is present only on the front side of the holder", and if there are a plurality, the direction is YES. 7, and if only one exists, the process proceeds to step 4 in the direction of NO.

If the process proceeds to step 7, that is, if there are a plurality of "cassette holder plates 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 exists only on the front side of the holder",
With reference to the used ribbon cassette identification mark information and the ribbon cassette usage history information stored in the ribbon cassette history information storage unit 38, "the cassette holder plate 1 which matches the identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 used in the past"
5 "or" a cassette holder plate 15 which matches the identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 which will not be used in the future "
Is preferentially searched and selected, and the process proceeds to step 4.

If there are a plurality of holder numbers corresponding to these conditions, the leftmost cassette holder plate 15
Is preferentially selected.

Next, when the process proceeds from step 6 or step 7 to step 4, that is, when there is no “cassette holder plate 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 does not exist on both the front side and the back side of the holder”. hand,
When there is only one “cassette holder plate 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 is present only on the front side of the holder”, or when there is a plurality of “cassette holder plates 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 used in the past” Or the cassette holder plate 15 "which holds the ribbon cassette 8 which will not be used in the future,
Then, the ribbon cassette 8 existing on the front side of the ribbon cassette 8 for which the replacement is requested is moved to the position of, and the process proceeds to step S8.

When the process proceeds to step 8, the ribbon cassette 8 requested to be replaced has been moved to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15, and is mounted on the carriage 2 to complete the replacement of the ribbon cassette.

FIGS. 31 to 35 show a method of controlling the exchange of the ribbon cassette 8 located on the back side of such a holder.
More specifically, referring to the following, the host computer has specified to record in the order of `` molten metallic gold, molten metallic silver, molten metallic red, molten metallic blue, molten black '', and The mounting state of the cassette holder plate 15 is as follows: molten metallic gold on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a, no mounting on the back side,
Raster gold on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15b, no mounting on the back side, molten metallic blue on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c, molten metallic red on the back side, molten metallic silver on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d, back side Is provided with a molten black.

Then, as shown in FIG. 31, the molten metallic silver on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d is moved to the carriage 2 to complete the recording, and the molten metallic red is to be used next. is there. In this case, since the molten metallic red ribbon cassette 8 exists on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15c, the molten metallic blue ribbon cassette 8 on the near side must be moved to another cassette holder plate 15 first. Must.

First, as shown in FIG. 32, the molten metallic silver ribbon cassette 8 mounted on the carriage 2 is not returned to the molten black cassette holder plate 15d to be used in the future, but is already returned. It is returned to the near side of the recorded (used) and leftmost molten metallic gold. Next, as shown in FIG. 33, the molten metallic blue ribbon cassette 8 is temporarily moved to the carriage 2 from the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c, and as shown in FIG. 1
The molten metallic red is moved to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c by moving to the front side of the raster gold 5b. Then, as shown in FIG. 35, the molten metallic red ribbon cassette 8 is moved and mounted on the carriage 2 from the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c, and the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is completed.

According to the ribbon cassette exchange control method in the case where the exchange-requested ribbon cassette 8 is present behind the cassette holder plate 15, the ribbon once on the front side of the exchange-requested ribbon cassette 8 is When the cassette 8 is moved to another cassette holder plate 15, the cassette holder plate 15 “which does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the near side or the back side of the holder” or the “ribbon cassette 8 used in the past” Alternatively, only the ribbon cassette 8 that is not to be used in the future searches the cassette holder plate 15 existing in front of the cassette holder plate 15 "and moves preferentially, so that the ribbon cassette 8 to be used in the future is carelessly prepared. It can be prevented from being moved to the back side of the cassette holder plate 15, and the ribbon cassette 8 can be exchanged efficiently and quickly. It is possible.

Next, when exchanging the ribbon cassette 8,
FIG. 3 shows a ribbon cassette replacement control method when a ribbon cassette 8 to be used in the future exists in a cassette holder plate 15 to be returned from the carriage 2.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 36 shows a flowchart relating to the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8. However, since the contents of each step become long, only the step numbers are shown for convenience of explanation, and the explanation will be made according to these step numbers. And

First, similarly to the above-described ribbon cassette exchange control method, when the identification marks of the ribbon cassettes 8 used for recording within one page are notified from the host computer in the recording order, these identification marks are replaced with the ribbon cassette history information. This is set as the used ribbon cassette identification mark information in the storage unit 38, and the setting module in the management information is set to “the host notification is present”.

When the ribbon cassette 8 is mounted on the carriage 2 for recording, the identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 is written in the used ribbon cassette identification mark information of the ribbon cassette history information storage section 38.

Further, the use history information of the ribbon cassette is set to be mounted on the carriage, and the plane information management pointer is set to +1 before writing to the plane pointer storage information.

The CPU 35 can know both information of the "ribbon cassette 8 used in the past" and the "ribbon cassette 8 to be used in the future" by referring to these information.

Then, as shown in FIG. 36, the CPU
When receiving the ribbon cassette replacement request in step 11, the reference 35 refers to the mounted ribbon cassette information and the management information stored in each cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36, and identifies the identification mark requested to be replaced. Match, the ribbon end state is not set,
And a ribbon cassette 8 having a history of the already used state.
Search for the cassette holder number. Next, step 12
To the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage unit 3
7, it is determined whether or not the cassette holder number matches the cassette holder number holding the ribbon cassette 8 to be mounted next time corresponding to the search. If they do not match, the process proceeds to step 13, which is the direction of NO.
Proceed to step 14, which is the direction of S.

If the process proceeds to step 13, that is, if both cassette holder numbers do not match, reference is made to the used ribbon cassette identification mark information in the ribbon cassette history information storage unit 38, and “use in the future”. The identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 ", and if not, the process proceeds to step 18.
The cassette holder number is preferentially selected, and the ribbon cassette 8 mounted on the carriage 2 is returned to the cassette holder plate 15. On the other hand, if they match, the process proceeds to step 14.

When the process proceeds to step 14, that is, in step 12 or step 13, the cassette holder number of the carriage-side ribbon cassette information storage section 37 and the ribbon cassette 8 to be mounted next or in the future will be described.
If the cassette holder numbers match, the holder information in the cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36 is referred to, and the ribbon holder 8 of the cassette holder plate 15 is held on both the front side and the back side. It is determined whether or not there is a cassette holder plate 15 which is not present. If there is, the cassette holder plate 15 is selected and the process proceeds to step 18, and if not, the process proceeds to step 15.

When the process proceeds to step 15, ie,
If there is no "cassette holder plate 15 that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the near side or the back side of the holder", "the ribbon cassette 8 is held only on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15". Cassette holder plate 15 "which is located. In the present embodiment, only a maximum of seven cassettes are mounted, so there is always one.

Then, the process proceeds to a step 16, wherein it is determined whether or not a plurality of corresponding cassette holder numbers exist, and if there is not a plurality, the corresponding cassette holder plate 15 is selected and the process proceeds to the step 18 in the NO direction. The process proceeds to step 17 which is the direction of YES when there are a plurality of the processes.

When the process proceeds to step 17, ie,
There is no "cassette holder plate 15 that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the back side of the holder", and "the cassette holder plate 15 is held only on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15". Cassette holder plate 1
If there are a plurality of “5”, reference is made to the used ribbon cassette identification mark information and the ribbon cassette usage history information stored in the ribbon cassette history information storage unit 38, and the “identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 used in the past” is referred to. And a cassette holder plate 15 that matches the identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 that is not scheduled to be used in the future.
Proceed to step 18. When there are a plurality of holder numbers corresponding to the above conditions, the leftmost holder number is preferentially selected.

When the process proceeds to step 18, the cassette holder plate 1 selected in each step is
5, the ribbon cassette 8 on the carriage 2 is returned to complete the exchange control.

Next, a method of controlling the exchange of the ribbon cassette 8 in the case where the ribbon cassette 8 to be mounted in the future is present in the cassette holder plate 15 to be returned will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described more specifically with reference to FIGS.

First, the first embodiment shown in FIGS. 37 to 39 will be described. The recording is performed from the host computer in the order of “molten metallic gold, molten metallic silver, molten metallic red, molten metallic blue, and molten black”. And each cassette holder plate 1
The mounting status of the cassette holder plate 15a is as follows.
b, molten metallic gold on the front side, no mounting on the back side, molten metallic blue on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c, molten black on the back side, molten metallic silver on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d, molten metallic on the back side It is assumed that the red ribbon cassettes 8 are respectively mounted.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 37, the molten metallic silver on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d is moved to the carriage 2 to be in a used state, and the molten metallic red is to be used next. is there. In this case, the molten metallic silver ribbon cassette 8 after the end of recording is returned to the cassette holder plate 15 that was originally held, in principle.
At d, there is a molten metallic red ribbon cassette 8 to be mounted next time, so it cannot be returned here. In addition, among the cassette holder plates 15, there is no cassette holder plate 15 “the ribbon cassette 8 is not present on either the near side or the back side”.
The ribbon cassette 8 of molten metallic gold, which is the "ribbon cassette 8 used in the past", is searched, and the cassette holder plate 15b holding the ribbon cassette 8 is selected, and the carriage 2 is attached to the cassette holder plate 15b as shown in FIG. To return the molten metallic silver ribbon cassette 8. Then, as shown in FIG. 39, the molten metallic red ribbon cassette 8 is moved to and mounted on the carriage 2 from the cassette holder plate 15d, and the ribbon cassette exchange control is completed.

Further, as shown in FIG. 40 to FIG.
In the description of the embodiment, the host computer specifies that recording is performed in the order of "molten metallic gold, molten metallic silver, molten metallic red, molten metallic blue, and molten black". As for the mounting state of the cassette holder plate 15a, there is no mounting on the front side and the back side of the cassette holder plate 15a,
, Molten cyan on the back side, molten metallic blue on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c, molten metallic silver on the back side, molten metallic gold on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d, and molten black on the back side. Are mounted respectively.

Now, as shown in FIG. 40, the molten metallic gold ribbon cassette 8 on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15d is moved to the carriage 2 to be in the used state. I plan to use it. In this case, the cassette holder plate 15 holding the used molten metallic gold ribbon cassette 8 is provided with:
Since there is a molten black ribbon cassette 8 to be mounted in the future, it cannot be returned here. next,
When the cassette holder plate 15 is searched for "the ribbon cassette 8 is not present on either the front side or the back side", the cassette holder plate 15a corresponds, and as shown in FIG. 2 Return the molten metallic gold. Next, since the molten metallic silver ribbon cassette 8 to be used next time is present on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15c, first, the molten metallic blue ribbon cassette 8 on the front side is replaced with the other cassette holder plate 15c. Have to go to. Therefore, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 2, the molten metallic blue is moved from the cassette holder plate 15c to the carriage 2. On the other hand, among the cassette holder plates 15, there is no cassette holder plate 15 “the ribbon cassette 8 does not exist on either the front side or the rear side”, and therefore, the cassette holder plate 15 a in which the “ribbon cassette 8 used in the past” exists. Is found, the molten metallic gold ribbon cassette 8 is present in the cassette holder plate 15a. Then, as shown in FIG. 43, the molten metallic blue ribbon cassette 8 is moved from the carriage 2 to the cassette holder plate 15a. Then, as shown in FIG. 44, the molten metallic silver ribbon cassette 8 moved to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15c is moved to and mounted on the carriage 2, and the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is completed.

As described above, according to the ribbon cassette 8 replacement control method when the ribbon cassette 8 to be mounted in the future is present on the cassette holder plate 15 to be returned from the carriage 2, When returning the cassette 8 to the cassette holder plate 15, “the cassette holder plate 15 that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the back side of the holder” or “the ribbon cassette 8 used in the past or used in the future” Only the unplanned ribbon cassette 8 searches for the cassette holder plate 15 located in front of the cassette holder plate 15 and moves preferentially, so that the ribbon cassette 8 to be used in the future will be used.
Can be prevented from being accidentally moved to the back side of the cassette holder plate 15, and the ribbon cassette 8 can be exchanged efficiently and quickly.

It should be noted that the method of controlling the exchange of the ribbon cassette 8 existing on the back side of the cassette holder plate 15 in the above-described embodiment or the ribbon in the case where the ribbon cassette 8 to be used in the future exists in the cassette holder plate 15 to be returned. In the cassette exchange control method, since the host computer notifies the ribbon cassette 8 used for recording one page and the order of the recording,
The "ribbon cassette 8 to be used in the future" can be known, and the used ribbon cassette 8 can be prevented from being returned on the ribbon cassette 8. However, if the notification about the recording order cannot be received from the host computer due to the influence of the printer driver standard, etc.,
Referring to the “attached ribbon cassette information” stored in each cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage unit 36 and the “ribbon group information” stored in the ribbon group storage unit 39, there is a ribbon group that matches both. For example, assuming that the ribbon cassettes are to be sequentially used in accordance with the ribbon group, the “ribbon cassette 8 not to be used in the future” is determined,
The cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 is preferentially searched.

If the "attached ribbon cassette information" stored in the ribbon holder information storage unit 36 of each cassette holder does not match the "ribbon group information" stored in the ribbon group storage unit 39, ,
Since the “ribbon cassette 8 not scheduled to be used in the future” cannot be determined, the cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 based on only the information on the “ribbon cassette 8 used in the past” is used.
Is preferentially searched and selected.

Here, the ribbon cassette exchange control is performed based on the information of both the “ribbon cassette 8 not scheduled to be used in the future” and the “ribbon cassette 8 used in the past”. The actual simulation is compared with the case where the ribbon cassette exchange control is performed based on only the information "."

In this comparative example, the actual recording order from the host computer is “molten cyan (C), molten magenta (M), molten yellow (Y), molten black (K) and molten finish (OP)”. Assume that the ribbon cassette 8 is currently mounted in such a manner that the molten cyan is located on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a, the molten black is located on the rear side, the molten yellow is located on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15b,
The front side of the cassette holder plate 15c is melt-finished, the rear side is not mounted, the sublimation cyan is front side of the cassette holder plate 15d, and the rear side is not mounted.

First, as shown in FIG. 45 to FIG. 57, the information of the recording order is received, or the “ribbon group information” is not received but the “ribbon group information” matches the recording order information. The case where the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is performed based on both the information of the “ribbon cassette 8 not used in the future” and the “ribbon cassette 8 used in the past” will be described.

In this case, first, as shown in FIGS. 45 and 46, the molten cyan ribbon cassette 8 is moved from the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a to the carriage 2 and mounted thereon, and the first color recording is performed. Next, as shown in FIG.
When returning the molten cyan ribbon cassette 8, the original cassette holder plate 15a is not returned because the molten K to be used in the future is present, and the cassette holder plate holding the sublimation cyan not to be used in the future is held. Return to the front of 15d.

Next, as shown in FIG. 48, the second color fused magenta ribbon cassette 8 is inserted into the cassette holder plate 1.
5b, the molten yellow ribbon cassette 8 on the near side must be moved to another cassette holder plate 15. Here, as shown in FIG. 49, the ribbon cassettes 8 used in the past and the ribbon cassettes 8 not to be used in the future are included in the cassette holder plate 15.
However, since there is no one existing only on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15, the molten yellow ribbon cassette 8 is moved to the leftmost cassette holder plate 15a among the ribbon cassettes 8 to be used in the future. . And
As shown in FIG. 50, the molten magenta ribbon cassette 8 moved to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15b is moved to and mounted on the carriage 2, and recording of the second color is performed.

Then, as shown in FIG. 51, this molten magenta ribbon cassette 8 is
b, and as shown in FIG. 52, the ribbon cassette 8 of the third color, that is, the melted yellow ribbon, is placed in the cassette holder plate 15a.
To the carriage 2 for mounting, and recording of the third color is performed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 53, the molten black ribbon cassette 8 of the fourth color is placed in the cassette holder plate 1.
5A, the molten yellow ribbon cassette 8 is not returned to the cassette holder plate 15a, but is returned to the cassette holder plate 15b holding the previously used molten magenta. Then, as shown in FIG. 54, the molten black ribbon cassette 8 is moved from the cassette holder plate 15a to the carriage 2 and mounted thereon, and recording of the fourth color is performed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 55, the cassette holder plate 15 of the molten black is
To the cassette holder plate 15 as shown in FIG.
From step c, the ribbon cassette 8 having the molten finish is moved to the carriage 2 and mounted thereon to perform the finishing process. Then, as shown in FIG. 57, the ribbon cassette 8 having the molten finish is returned to the cassette holder plate 15c, and the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is completed.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 58 to 74, the information of the recording order of the ribbon cassette 8 cannot be received from the host computer, and the "ribbon cassette 8 used in the past"
A case where the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is performed based on only the information will be described.

In this case, first, as shown in FIGS. 58 and 59, the first color of the molten cyan ribbon cassette 8 is moved from the cassette holder plate 15a to the carriage 2 and mounted thereon, and the first color is recorded. . Then, as shown in FIG. 60, the return destination of the ribbon cassette 8 of the molten cyan is originally wasteful if it is returned to the cassette holder plate 15d holding the sublimation cyan not planned to be used in the future. However, since the information has not been received and the ribbon cassette information used in the past does not yet exist, the ribbon cassette 8 of the molten cyan is returned to the original cassette holder plate 15a as it is.

Next, as shown in FIG. 61, the molten magenta ribbon cassette 8 of the second color is placed in the cassette holder plate 1.
5b, the molten yellow ribbon cassette 8 on the near side is once moved to another cassette holder plate 15. At this time, it should normally be moved to the sublimation cyan cassette holder plate 15 which is not scheduled to be used in the future, but since there is no information on such future use, as shown in FIG. The molten yellow ribbon cassette 8 is temporarily moved to the leftmost cassette holder plate 15c among the cassette holder plates 15 that have been used. Then, as shown in FIG. 63, the molten magenta ribbon cassette 8 moved to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15b is moved to and mounted on the carriage 2 to perform recording of the second color, and as shown in FIG. Since no ribbon cassette 8 is held in the original cassette holder plate 15b, it is returned as it is.

Next, as shown in FIG. 65, the molten yellow ribbon cassette 8 of the third color is inserted into the cassette holder plate 15.
The carriage is moved from c to the carriage 2 and mounted, and recording of the third color is performed. Then, as shown in FIG. 66, the molten yellow ribbon cassette 8 is returned to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15b holding the “previously used molten magenta” ribbon cassette 8.

Next, as shown in FIG. 67, the fourth molten black ribbon cassette 8 is placed in the cassette holder plate 1.
5a, the cassette holder plate 1
The molten cyan on the front side of 5a is temporarily moved to the carriage 2 and, as shown in FIG.
It is sufficient to move to 5d, but since it is not possible to determine whether or not there is a future use schedule, it moves to the cassette holder plate 15c on the left side. Then, as shown in FIG. 69, the molten black ribbon cassette 8 moved to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15a is moved to and mounted on the carriage 2, and recording of the fourth color is performed. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 70, the molten black ribbon cassette 8 is removed from the original cassette holder plate 15.
Return to a.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 71 and 72,
Since the melt-finished ribbon cassette 8 as the finishing process has been moved to the back side of the cassette holder plate 15c, the molten black ribbon cassette 8, which has been used in the past, is held in the ribbon cyan cassette 8 on the front side. By moving to the cassette holder plate 15a, the ribbon cassette 8 with the molten finish is moved to the near side. Then, as shown in FIG. 73, the ribbon cassette 8 having the molten finish is moved from the cassette holder plate 15c to the carriage 2 and mounted thereon, and a finishing process is performed. When the finishing process is completed, as shown in FIG. 74, the finishing ribbon cassette 8 is returned to the original cassette holder plate 15, and the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is completed.

As described above, when the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is performed based on the information of only the ribbon cassette 8 used in the past, the exchange of the ribbon cassette 8 has to be performed eight times. On the other hand, when the exchange control of the ribbon cassette 8 is performed based on both the information of the ribbon cassette 8 used in the past and the information of the ribbon cassette 8 which is not scheduled to be used in the future, the exchange of the ribbon cassette 8 is performed at 6 times.
The ribbon cassette 8 need not be replaced, and unnecessary replacement of the ribbon cassette 8 can be suppressed.

Next, a method of optimizing the position of the ribbon cassette when the power of the printer of this embodiment is turned on or when the identification mark is read at the time of the cover open recovery processing is described with reference to FIGS. 75 to 104. It will be explained while doing.

In the flowchart of FIG. 75, for the sake of convenience of description, each processing procedure is indicated only by a step number.
The description will proceed according to each step number.

The method for optimizing the position of the ribbon cassette according to the present embodiment is the same as that when the identification mark of the ribbon cassette 8 is newly read by the optical sensors 34 and 34 when the power of the printer is turned on. The ribbon cassette 8 that matches the “ribbon group” in the ribbon group storage unit 39 is searched with reference to the “attached ribbon cassette information” stored in the information storage unit 36, and the ribbon cassette to be used before the next recording starts. 8 is moved to the front side of the cassette holder plate 15 in advance to prepare for recording.

That is, as shown in FIG. 75, in step 21, it is determined whether or not the number of ribbon cassettes 8 held on the cassette holder plate 15 is six or less.
In the case of ES, that is, when the number of the ribbon cassettes 8 is six or less, the process proceeds to step 22;
If the number is the number, the process ends because the ribbon cassette position cannot be optimized.

Next, in step 22, in order to select the ribbon cassette 8 to be optimized, the ribbon group storage unit 39 refers to the attached ribbon cassette information based on the identification mark of each ribbon cassette 8 and stores it. It is determined whether there is a ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group that has been set. If YES, that is, if there is a ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group, the process proceeds to step 23; That is, when there is no ribbon group, the process ends without performing the optimization process. In addition, the ribbon cassette 8 of the same color and the same medium
When a plurality of are present, the ribbon cassette 8 in which the history information of “in use” is set is preferentially selected.

Next, in step 23, as shown in FIG. 76, it is determined whether or not a so-called empty cassette holder plate 15 "that neither the front side nor the rear side of the holder holds the ribbon cassette 8" is present. If not, the process proceeds to step 24 in the NO direction, and if there is, the process proceeds to step 28 in the YES direction.

Next, when the process proceeds to step 24, that is, when there is no “cassette holder plate 15 that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the back side of the holder”, FIG. As shown, "Does not match the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder (mismatch)
Cassette holder plate 1 holding ribbon cassette 8
5 "is present or not, and if so, YE
The process proceeds to step 25 which is the direction of S, and if not, the process proceeds to step 27 which is the direction of NO.

When the process proceeds to step 25, that is,
If there is a “cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder”, the “cassette holder plate 1
It is determined whether there is a plurality of 5 or not. If there is more than one, the process proceeds to step 33 which is the direction of YES, and if there is only one, the process proceeds to step 26 which is the direction of NO.

When the process proceeds to step 26, that is, "the cassette holder plate 15 which does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the rear side of the holder".
Is not present, and there is only one cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder.
As shown in FIGS. 78 to 81, “the cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder” is searched, and since there is always one, the ribbon group Is moved preferentially to the cassette holder plate 15 which holds the ribbon cassette 8 not matching the ribbon group only on the near side. In this manner, “the ribbon cassette 8 corresponding to the ribbon group is held in front of the holder,
By forming a cassette holder plate 15 for holding a ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group on the back side of the holder, an empty cassette holder that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the back side of the holder Board 1
5 ". After performing the process of step 26, the process proceeds to step 28.

Next, when the process proceeds to step 27, that is, according to the judgment in step 24, there is no "empty cassette holder plate 15 in which the ribbon cassette 8 is not held on either the front side or the back side of the holder". A cassette holder plate 1 that does not exist and holds a ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder.
82, the cassette holder plate 1 holding the ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder, as shown in FIGS.
5 ", and since there is always one, the ribbon cassette 8 matching the ribbon group has priority over the cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 matching the ribbon group only in front of the other holders. Move.

As described above, the “ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group on both the front side and the back side of the holder” is obtained.
Of the empty cassette holder plate 1 that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the near side or the back side of the holder.
5 ". After performing the processing in step 27, the process proceeds to step 28.

Next, when the process proceeds to step 28, that is, in step 23 of each cassette holder plate 15, "the empty cassette holder plate 15 which does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the back side of the holder" Is determined to exist, or when the empty cassette holder plate 15 is formed by the processing in step 26 or step 27, the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group is held on both the front and back sides of the holder. It is determined whether or not there is a cassette holder plate 15 ”. If the corresponding cassette holder plate 15 exists, the process proceeds to step 29, which is the direction of YES, and
If not, the process proceeds to step 30, which is the direction of NO.

Next, when the process proceeds to step 29, that is, when the “cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group” exists on both the front side and the back side of the holder, FIG. As shown in FIGS. 86 to 88, among the mismatched ribbon cassettes 8, “the ribbon cassette 8 held on the front side” is replaced with “the ribbon cassette 8 is not held on the front side or the back side of the holder”. It moves preferentially to the empty cassette holder plate 15 ", and proceeds to step 33.

Next, when the process proceeds to step 30, ie, when there is no cassette holder plate 15 that holds the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group on both the front side and the back side of the holder, "A cassette holder plate 1 that holds a ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group on the front side of the holder and holds the ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group on the back side of the holder.
5 "is present or not, and if so, YE
The process proceeds to step S which is the direction of S, and if not, proceeds to step 32 which is the direction of NO.

Next, when the process proceeds to step 31, that is, “the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group is held at the front side of the holder, and the ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group is held at the back side of the holder. When the cassette holder plate 15 "is present, as shown in FIGS. 89 to 92, the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group on the front side of the cassette holder plate 15 is placed on the" front and back sides of the holder ". In any case, the ribbon cassette 8 is moved to a vacant cassette holder plate 15 that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8, and the process proceeds to step 33.

On the other hand, if the process has proceeded to step 32, that is, "the cassette holding the ribbon cassette 8 which does not match the ribbon group at the front side of the holder and the ribbon cassette 8 which matches the ribbon group at the back side of the holder" When no holder plate 15 is present, as shown in FIGS. 93 to 96, the cassette holder plate holding the ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group on both the front side and the back side of the holder. 15 ”, and since there is always one, the“ ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group on the near side ”of the cassette holder plate 15 is replaced with the“ ribbon cassette 8 ”on both the near side and the back side of the holder. Empty cassette holder plate 1 that does not hold
5 ”, and proceeds to step 34. At this time, if there is no “empty cassette holder plate 15 that does not hold the ribbon cassette 8 on either the front side or the back side of the holder”, “the ribbon group that does not match the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder” It moves preferentially to the cassette holder plate 15 holding the cassette 8, and proceeds to step.

Next, when the process proceeds to step 33, that is, steps 25, 29 and 31
Are performed, for example, when the processing of step 29 has elapsed, as shown in FIGS.
Also, when the processing of step 31 has passed, FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 02 to 104, “the cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group on both the front side and the back side of the holder” is searched,
The “ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group on the front side” of the cassette holder plate 15 is preferentially replaced with the “cassette holder plate 15 that holds the ribbon group 8 that does not match the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder”. Move,
Proceed to step 34.

When the process proceeds to step 34,
By the processing of step 32 and step 33, “the ribbon cassette 8 that matches the ribbon group
After the cassette holder plate 15 that holds the ribbon cassette 8 that does not match the ribbon group is formed on the back side of the holder, the ribbon group is matched on both the near side and the back side of the holder. It is determined whether there is a cassette holder plate 15 holding the ribbon cassette 8 and a cassette holder plate 15 not holding the ribbon cassette 8 on both the front side and the back side of the holder. If so, the process returns to step 32, which is the direction of YES, to perform the process again. If not, the process proceeds to "end," which is the direction of NO, and the optimization process of the ribbon cassette position is completed.

Therefore, according to the ribbon cassette position optimizing method of this embodiment, the ribbon cassette 8 which is to be used next time before the start of recording is placed in each cassette holder plate 1.
5, the ribbon cassette 8 can be more efficiently and quickly replaced after the start of recording.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as needed.

[0142]

As described above, in the ribbon cassette replacement control method according to the first aspect of the present invention, when the ribbon cassette held on the back side of the holder is replaced, the ribbon cassette is requested to be replaced before the replacement requested. The other ribbon cassette on the side can be securely moved once to an empty cassette holder that does not hold the ribbon cassette, preventing it from being inadvertently held on the ribbon cassette to be used in the future, efficient and efficient. Quick ribbon cassette exchange can be performed.

Further, the ribbon cassette exchange control method according to the second aspect has the effects of the first aspect.
Even if there is no empty cassette holder that does not hold a ribbon cassette, you can search for a ribbon cassette that has been used in the past or a ribbon cassette that will not be used in the future. It is possible to prevent the ribbon cassette from moving, and to efficiently and quickly replace the ribbon cassette.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus that executes a ribbon cassette replacement control method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a holding cover part of the thermal transfer recording apparatus shown in FIG.

3 is a side view of the thermal transfer recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 in a normal state.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the thermal transfer recording apparatus shown in FIG.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a cross section of a part of a cassette holder plate portion of the thermal transfer recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1;

6 is a partially sectional front view showing a state where one ribbon cassette of the cassette holder plate portion of FIG. 5 is held;

FIG. 7 is a partially sectional front view showing a state in which two ribbon cassettes in the cassette holder plate portion of FIG. 5 are held;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the holding guide of FIG. 5;

FIG. 9 is a front view of the holding guide of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a side view of the holding guide of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram showing main components for performing ribbon cassette exchange control according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a slightly separated state of the carrier, showing a delivery operation of a single-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory view of the horizontal movement state of the carrier showing the transfer operation of the one-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory view of a state in which the carrier is close to the ribbon cassette, showing a delivery operation of a single-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of a state in which the carrier is moved left and right, showing a delivery operation of a single-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of a return state of the carrier, showing a delivery operation of a single-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is an explanatory diagram of a slightly separated state of the carrier showing the delivery operation of the two-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view of a state in which the carrier is moved left and right, showing a delivery operation of a two-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the carrier is close to the ribbon cassette, showing a transfer operation of the two-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view of the carrier left and right movement state showing the transfer operation of the two-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory view of the return state of the carrier showing the delivery operation of the two-stage ribbon cassette by the carrier of the present invention.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram of the ribbon cassette exchange control in the case where there is a ribbon cassette in use in the ribbon cassette exchange control method in the case where there are a plurality of ribbon cassettes accommodating ink ribbons of the same color and the same medium according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 23 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 24 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 25 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 22;

FIG. 26 is an explanatory diagram of the ribbon cassette exchange control in the case where there is no ribbon cassette in use in the ribbon cassette exchange control method in the case where there are a plurality of ribbon cassettes accommodating ink ribbons of the same color and the same medium according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 26;

FIG. 28 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 26;

FIG. 29 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 26;

FIG. 30 is a flowchart showing a ribbon cassette exchange control method for mounting the ribbon cassette held on the back side of the holder to the carriage according to the embodiment;

FIG. 31 is an explanatory diagram showing a replacement state of the ribbon cassette for mounting the ribbon cassette held on the back side of the holder of the embodiment to the carriage.

FIG. 32 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 31;

FIG. 33 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 31;

FIG. 34 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 31;

FIG. 35 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 31;

FIG. 36 is a flowchart illustrating a ribbon cassette replacement control method according to the present embodiment when a ribbon cassette to be used in the future is held on a cassette holder plate of a return destination.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory diagram showing a ribbon cassette exchange control state when a ribbon cassette to be used in the future is held on a cassette holder plate at a return destination according to the embodiment;

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 37;

FIG. 39 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 37;

FIG. 40 is an explanatory diagram showing another ribbon cassette replacement control state when a ribbon cassette to be used in the future is held on the cassette holder plate at the return destination according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 41 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 40;

FIG. 42 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 40;

FIG. 43 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 40;

FIG. 44 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 40;

FIG. 45 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the ribbon cassette exchange control is performed based on the information of both the ribbon cassette not used in the future and the ribbon cassette used in the past in the ribbon cassette exchange control method of the embodiment.

46 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45.

FIG. 47 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 48 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 49 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

50 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45.

FIG. 51 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 52 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 53 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 54 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 55 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 56 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 57 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 45;

FIG. 58 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in which the ribbon cassette exchange control is performed based only on the information of the ribbon cassette used in the past in the ribbon cassette exchange control method of the embodiment.

59 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 60 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 61 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 62 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

63 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 64 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 65 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 66 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 67 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 68 is an explanatory view showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

69 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 70 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 71 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

FIG. 72 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

73 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the middle of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58;

74 is an explanatory diagram showing the completion state of the ribbon cassette exchange control shown in FIG. 58.

FIG. 75 is a flowchart showing a ribbon cassette position optimizing method according to the embodiment;

76 is an explanatory diagram showing an example of a cassette holder plate that does not hold the ribbon cassette on either the near side or the back side of the holder in step 23 of FIG. 75.

FIG. 77: Steps 24 and 25 in FIG. 75
Explanatory view showing an example of a cassette holder plate that holds a ribbon cassette that does not match a ribbon group only on the front side of the holder in FIG.

78 searches for a cassette holder plate that holds a ribbon cassette that matches the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder in step 26 of FIG. 75, and places the ribbon cassette that does not match the ribbon group on the front side. Explanatory diagram showing a control state of preferentially moving to a cassette holder plate holding only

FIG. 79 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the process of step 26 shown in FIG. 78;

FIG. 80 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the course of the process of step 26 shown in FIG. 78;

FIG. 81 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the process of step 26 shown in FIG. 78;

82 searches for a cassette holder plate holding a ribbon cassette that matches the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder in step 27 of FIG. 75, and places the ribbon cassette that matches the ribbon group on the front side; Explanatory diagram showing a control state of preferentially moving to a cassette holder plate holding only

83 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the process of step 27 shown in FIG. 82;

84 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the course of the process of step 27 shown in FIG. 82;

FIG. 85 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the process of step 27 shown in FIG. 82

86 searches for a cassette holder plate holding a ribbon cassette that does not match the ribbon group on both the front side and the back side of the holder in step 28 of FIG. 75;
Explanatory view showing a control state in which the ribbon cassette on the front side is preferentially moved to a cassette holder plate that does not hold the ribbon cassette on either the front side or the back side of the holder.

87 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the course of the process of step 28 shown in FIG. 86;

FIG. 88 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the process of step 28 shown in FIG. 86.

89. A cassette holder plate that holds a ribbon cassette that does not match the ribbon group at the front side of the holder in step 30 in FIG. 75 and holds a ribbon cassette that matches the ribbon group at the back side of the holder. Explanatory diagram showing a control state in which a search is performed and a mismatched ribbon cassette on the front side is preferentially moved to a cassette holder plate that does not hold a ribbon cassette on either the front side or the back side of the holder.

90 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the process of step 30 shown in FIG. 89;

FIG. 91 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the process of step 30 shown in FIG. 89;

92 is an explanatory view showing a completed state of the process of step 30 shown in FIG. 89.

93 searches for a cassette holder plate holding a ribbon cassette that matches the ribbon group on both the near side and the far side of the holder in step 32 in FIG. 75;
Explanatory drawing showing a control state in which a matching ribbon cassette on the front side is preferentially moved to a cassette holder plate that does not hold a ribbon cassette on either the front side or the back side of the holder.

94 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the process of step 32 shown in FIG. 93;

FIG. 95 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the course of the process of step 32 shown in FIG. 93;

FIG. 96 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the process of step 32 shown in FIG. 93;

FIG. 97 searches for a cassette holder plate that holds a ribbon cassette that matches the ribbon group on both the near side and the back side of the holder when the processing that proceeds from step 29 to step 33 in FIG. 75 is performed. Explanatory diagram showing a control state in which a matching ribbon cassette on the front side is moved to a cassette holder plate holding a ribbon cassette not matching the ribbon group only on the front side of the holder.

98 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the course of the process of step 33 shown in FIG. 97;

FIG. 99 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the course of the process of step 33 shown in FIG. 97;

FIG. 100 is an explanatory diagram showing a state in the course of the process of step 33 shown in FIG. 97;

FIG. 101 is an explanatory view showing a completed state of the process of step 33 shown in FIG. 97;

FIG. 102 shows steps 31 to 33 of FIG. 75.
In the case where the process proceeds to the above, the cassette holder plate holding the ribbon cassette matching the ribbon group is searched on both the front side and the back side of the holder, and the matching ribbon cassette on the front side is searched for the holder. Explanatory diagram showing a control state of moving to a cassette holder plate holding a ribbon cassette that does not match a ribbon group only on the front side.

103 is an explanatory view showing a state in the course of the process of step 33 shown in FIG. 102;

104 is an explanatory diagram showing a completed state of the process of step 33 shown in FIG. 102.

[Explanation of symbols]

 REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 platen 2 carriage 5 thermal head 6 ribbon core 7 ink ribbon 8 ribbon cassette 10 carrier 11 fixed carrier arm 12 movable carrier arm 14 holding cover 15 cassette holder plate 16 fixed holding arm 20 movable holding arm 21 holding guide 29 first rib 30 first 2 rib 34 optical sensor 35 CPU 36 cassette holder side ribbon cassette information storage section 37 carriage side ribbon cassette information storage section 38 ribbon cassette history information storage section 39 ribbon group storage section

Claims (2)

[Claims] An ink ribbon contained in a ribbon cassette is selectively mounted on a carriage based on recording information from among ribbon cassettes held in a cassette holder capable of holding a plurality of ribbon cassettes. After performing recording, the ribbon cassette is returned to the cassette holder, and a ribbon cassette replacement control method of controlling the next ribbon cassette to be mounted on the carriage from the cassette holder is further provided. Holder information regarding whether or not the ribbon cassette is held is stored in advance, and when the ribbon cassette requested for replacement is held at the back of the cassette holder, the front and back sides of the holder are determined based on the holder information. Check the cassette holder that does not hold the ribbon cassette in any of the And temporarily moves the ribbon cassette held in the cassette holder in front of the requested ribbon cassette, moves the requested ribbon cassette in front of the holder, and then mounts the ribbon cassette on the carriage. A ribbon cassette replacement control method, characterized in that: 2. At least information on the recording order and use history of the ink ribbon is stored in advance, and as a result of searching for a cassette holder based on the holder information, the ribbon cassette is held on both the front side and the back side of the holder. If there is no cassette holder that has not been used, a cassette holder that holds a previously used ribbon cassette or a ribbon cassette that is not scheduled to be used in the future is located only on the front side of the holder based on each information of the ink ribbon. Search for the held cassette holder, temporarily move the ribbon cassette held in front of the requested ribbon cassette to the cassette holder, and move the requested ribbon cassette to the front of the holder. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the carriage is mounted on the carriage after the carriage is mounted.
3. The ribbon cassette exchange control method according to item 1.