JP2000085191A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a low cost and small printer using a band type recording medium wound in a roll. SOLUTION: A step motor 18 is rotated in accordance with a reference driving signal of pulses of N0/see prior to an actual printing operation. When an output of a time detecting means 16 is T seconds with respect to n mark periods, a microcomputer 17 obtains a driving signal of pulses of N1/sec for printing on the basis of an equation of 'N1=(N0×T)/(n×L)×p/t' with the proviso that L represents a distance between marks, p represents a distance of printing dot pitch and t represents a cycle of printing line.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly, to a transfer control of a band-shaped recording medium wound around a roll.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Thermal transfer type printers, especially sublimation type thermal transfer printers, have excellent image characteristics such as gradation characteristics and resolution and are most often used as electrophotographic output devices. In a thermal transfer printer, a single leaf image receiving paper is sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen together with a band-shaped ink film, the platen is rotated and the image receiving paper is sent. Transfer to obtain the desired image. This transfer process is performed by accurately controlling reciprocation of the image receiving paper so as not to cause misregistration for each of the yellow, magenta, and cyan colors.

[0003]

In order to perform such accurate reciprocating control, a considerably large holding portion is required before and after the printing portion of the image receiving paper. There was a problem in obtaining such a styled print. Furthermore, in order to ensure sufficient registration accuracy by frictionally feeding the image receiving paper with the platen roller, a high-precision precision feeding mechanism, ink film tension control mechanism, etc. are required, and fine adjustment and inspection in the manufacturing and assembly process However, many man-hours are required, and there are many factors that complicate, increase the size, and increase the cost of the printer.

[0004]

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is directed to “a band-shaped recording medium marked at regular intervals is wound. In a printer that prints on a recording medium with a fixed recording head while sending the band-shaped recording medium from the recording medium roll, a step motor that rotationally drives a drive shaft of the recording medium roll, and a detection signal that detects the mark and detects the mark , A time detecting means for detecting a time between the detection signals, and a calculating means for generating a drive signal for the step motor from an output of the time detecting means, wherein N per second prior to the printing operation. ₀ a pulse reference drive signal rotated the step motor, when the output of said time detecting means for that time the n mark distance was T seconds, the operational unit per second for printing . Printer driving signals _one pulse, characterized in that obtained by the following equation _{N 1 = (N 0 × T} ) / (n × L) × p / t But L: distance between marks p: printing dot pitch distance t: Print line cycle "

According to a second aspect of the present invention, the recording medium is fixed by a recording head fixed while feeding the recording medium from a recording medium roll on which a recording medium with a mark is attached at a constant interval. Printers that print on
A stepping motor that rotationally drives the drive shaft of the recording medium roll, a detection unit that detects the mark and outputs a detection signal, a time detection unit that detects a time between the detection signals, and an output of the time detection unit. calculating means for generating a driving signal of the step motor, and a storage means for storing a calculation result of the calculating means, upon the first sheet of printing per second N ₀
The step motor is rotated by the pulse-based drive signal. At this time, when the output of the time detecting means is T seconds with respect to the n mark intervals, the calculating means outputs the second and subsequent prints. printer and to store the driving signals per second N ₁ pulses in the storage unit determined by the following equation for. N ₁ = (N ₀ × T) / (n × L) × p / t, where L: distance between marks, p: distance between print dots, and t: cycle of print lines.

[0006]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a roll in which a belt-shaped recording medium 2 is wound inside. The recording medium 2 includes an image receiving paper 2a and a support sheet 2b made of a thin film as shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, and the image receiving paper 2a is removably attached on the support sheet 2b at predetermined intervals. I have. Reference numeral 3 denotes a take-up reel that winds the support sheet 2b. The belt-shaped recording medium 2 is sharply bent by the small-diameter roller 4, and the reaction force due to the bending rigidity of the image receiving paper 2a exceeds the bonding strength with the support sheet 2b, so that the image receiving paper 2a is peeled off from the support sheet 2b. Among 3, the paper is sent in the direction A and discharged as a single leaf.

Reference numerals 7 and 8 denote a supply roll for the ink film 6 and a take-up roll for the used ink film 6, respectively. Reference numeral 9 denotes a thermal head, reference numeral 10 denotes a rubber platen roller, and a heating element 9 of the thermal head.
The recording medium 2 and the ink film 6 are sandwiched between the recording medium 2 and the platen roller 10, and the heating element 9a is selectively heated to transfer the ink of the ink film 6 to the image receiving paper 2a. FIG.
As shown by the middle and frame 11, the transfer by the thermal head 9 to the image receiving paper 2a is performed slightly wider, and the peeled image receiving paper 2a becomes a print without a border.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing the configuration of the cassette 12 containing the band-shaped recording medium 2 and the ink film 6.
The cassette 12 is provided with an opening 12a for the thermal head 9 to enter, an opening 12b for the platen 10 to enter, and an opening 12c for discharging the image receiving paper 2a. The shaft of each roll can be connected to a corresponding drive shaft of the printer through an opening (not shown) on the side surface of the cassette in order to wind the winding of the recording medium 2 and the ink film 6 or transmit the brake control torque to the rolls. This cassette 12
Is set in the printer, the ink film 6 and the recording medium 2 necessary for thermal transfer printing can be set at once.

FIG. 6 is a view of the band-shaped recording medium 2 viewed from the back side (the support sheet 2b side). Marks 13, 13 are provided on the back surface of the support sheet 2b at regular intervals in the longitudinal direction.
Is printed. Alternatively, the support sheet 2b may be made of an opaque material, and the holes 14, 14 may be provided at regular intervals.

The marks 13 or the through holes 14 are provided at intervals relatively synchronized with the image receiving paper 2a shown by the broken line in FIG. 6, but it is not always necessary. It is a necessary and sufficient condition that they are provided at regular intervals. With this mark, the speed of the image receiving paper 2a is controlled to be constant so that accurate printing is performed. This control method will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the control for feeding the band-shaped recording medium 2 from the roll 1.

In FIG. 7, reference numeral 15 denotes an optical sensor for detecting the mark 13 (or the through hole 14 in FIG. 6) provided on the band-shaped recording medium 2. A timer 16 receives the output of the sensor 15, measures the time between marks, and outputs it to the microcomputer 17.

The microcomputer 17 drives the stepping motor 18 in the forward direction by a predetermined reference driving signal (pulse number per second N ₀ ) prior to actual printing to send out the band-shaped recording medium 2 and not shown. A DC motor (not shown) connected to a take-up reel 3 (see FIG. 5) of the cassette 12 is rotated via a slip clutch to take up the belt-shaped recording medium 2 without slack. In this case,
The ink film 6 and the thermal head 9 are separated from the belt-shaped recording medium 2.

At this time, the sensor 15 passes n + 1
Each time the mark 13 is detected, a detection signal is output to the timer 16 and the microcomputer 17 each time. The timer 16 accumulates the time during this period, and outputs to the microcomputer 17 the time T (second) required for the transfer of the n mark intervals. The microcomputer 17 calculates per second pulse number N ₁ of the driving signal for the printing in accordance with the following equation. N ₁ = (N ₀ × T) / (n × L) × p / t where N ₀ : number of pulses per second of the reference drive signal N ₁ : number of pulses per second of the drive signal for printing L: distance between marks ( mm) p: printing dot pitch distance (mm) t: printing line cycle (seconds)

Here, the printing dot pitch distance (p) is the dot pitch in the sub-scanning direction given by the design specification, and the printing line cycle is the line feed cycle in the sub-scanning direction given by the design specification. .

The above equation is derived from the following relationship. That is, the product (N ₁ × t) of the number of pulses per second (N ₁ ) of the driving signal for printing and one print line period (t).
And the print dot pitch distance (p) (N ₁ × t / p)
Is the product (N ₀ × T) of the reference drive signal (N ₀ ) and the time (T) required to transfer n mark intervals, the number of mark intervals (n), and the distance between marks (L). It is equal to the ratio with the product (n × L) ((N ₀ × T) / (n × L))

When the microcomputer 17 determines the number of pulses N ₁ per second of the driving signal for printing in this way, the microcomputer 17 stores the number of pulses N ₁ per second in a memory and detects n + 1 marks. While the stepping motor 18 and a DC motor (not shown) are rotated in the reverse direction to rewind the band-shaped recording medium 2 to the initial position, the ink film 6 is placed between the heating element 9a of the thermal head 9 and the platen roller 10. And the band-shaped recording medium 2,
Again, the stepping motor 18 is driven in the forward direction at the number of pulses N ₁ per second.
, And a DC motor (not shown) is driven to rotate in the forward direction to start the actual printing of the first sheet.

The number of pulses per second N ₂ of the drive signal used for printing the second sheet is the same as the number of pulses per second N ₁ of the drive signal used for printing the first sheet. You can ask for it. The same applies to the third and subsequent sheets.

Further, for every second pulse number N ₂ of the drive signal used for the second sheet of printing may be every second pulse number N ₁ of the first sheet of the drive signals as used to correct in the following manner. That is, the length of the band-shaped recording medium used for one printing is u (mm), the thickness of the band-shaped recording medium is a (mm),
Assuming that the initial winding diameter of the roll 1 is D (mm), it can be obtained by N ₂ = N ₁ × (D / (D− (2au / (πD)))). For the third and subsequent sheets,
It can be corrected by applying the same concept.

In the printer according to the embodiment of the present invention described above, the rotation of the roll 1 for supplying the band-shaped recording medium is controlled by the pulse for driving the stepping motor 18, and the rotation of the support sheet 2b of the recording medium 2 is controlled. Although a configuration in which winding is performed by a DC motor (not shown) has been described, in principle, on the contrary, rotation of the roll 1 for supplying a band-shaped recording medium is performed by a DC motor via a sliding clutch, and the cassette is rotated. The rotation of the 12 take-up reels 3 may be performed by a step motor.

In this case, the change in the diameter of the take-up reel 3 is practically negligible since the take-up reel 3 takes up the thin support sheet 2b, so that the change rate correction may be omitted. For example, the bobbin diameter of the take-up reel 3 is 20 m.
m, the thickness of the support sheet 2b is 0.15 mm, and the printing frame length is 120 mm, the rate of change is 0.19%, and the change in the frame length is 0.23 mm.

Further, in this case, without transferring the band-shaped recording medium by driving the step motor with driving signal of the reference in advance per N ₀ pulses so first sheet is caught in a bobbin having a predetermined diameter D _b, N ₁ is obtained as N ₁ = p / (t ・ π ・_Db・ μ). Here, μ is a deceleration rate of the winding bobbin driving mechanism. The configuration in which the take-up reel 3 is controlled as described above has an advantage that the prior measurement using the reference drive signal is unnecessary and the rate of change is so small as to be negligible.

Since the printer according to the above-described embodiment uses a belt-shaped recording medium, it does not require a single-sheet feeding device for receiving paper, and can omit a low-reliability friction single-sheet sorting mechanism and a single-sheet repelling claw mechanism. Costs are reduced and reliability is significantly improved. Since the recording medium is stored as a roll, the projection area of the printer can be reduced.

Further, by controlling the rotation of the roll around which the band-shaped recording medium is wound, the printing position control of the recording medium can be made extremely reliable. That is, according to the printer described here, the printing deviation in the feed direction and the width direction, which has conventionally been generated by the frictional feed control of the platen roller or the dedicated friction roller, is caused by the roll in which the recording medium is tightly wound. It does not occur because the rotation is controlled directly. For this reason,
Conventionally, the cost required for preventing the printing displacement can be significantly reduced, and the required space inside the printer can also be reduced.

[0024]

As described above, according to the printer of the present invention, the recording medium (image receiving paper) can be fed with high precision by controlling the rotation of the roll around which the belt-shaped recording medium is wound. This eliminates the need for a high-precision precision feed mechanism, a tension control mechanism for the ink film, and the like to secure sufficient registration accuracy by frictionally feeding the image receiving paper by the platen roller as in the past, and also to make fine adjustments in the manufacturing and assembly process. Inspection and the like can be simplified, and a low-cost and small-sized printer can be realized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an aspect in which an image receiving paper is peeled from a belt-shaped recording medium.

FIG. 3 is a side view illustrating a mode in which an image receiving paper is peeled from a belt-shaped recording medium.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a band-shaped recording medium viewed from an image receiving paper side.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of a cassette containing a band-shaped recording medium and an ink film.

FIG. 6 is a plan view of a band-shaped recording medium as viewed from a support sheet side.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view for explaining control for feeding a band-shaped recording medium from a roll.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 roll 2 band-shaped recording medium 2a image receiving paper 2b support sheet 3 take-up reel 4 roller 6 ink film 7 supply roll 8 take-up roll 9 thermal head 9a heating element 10 platen roller 11 frame 12 cassette 12a opening 12b opening 12c opening 13 mark 14 Through hole 15 Sensor 16 Timer 17 Microcomputer 18 Step motor

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Masaki Takahashi 3-12-12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Japan F-term (reference) 2C058 AB02 AB03 AC06 AC12 AE04 AF06 GB03 GB15 GB36 GB37 GB47 GC06 GE03

Claims (2)

[Claims] A printer that prints on a recording medium with a fixed recording head while feeding the recording medium from a recording medium roll wound with a recording medium with a mark attached at a constant interval. A step motor for rotating and driving the drive shaft of the recording medium roll, detecting means for detecting the mark and outputting a detection signal, time detecting means for detecting a time between the detection signals, and an output of the time detecting means comprising a calculating means for generating a drive signal of the stepper motor rotated the step motor drive signal criteria prior per n ₀ pulse on the printing operation, said time detected for this time the n mark spacing when the output means is a T seconds, the printer said calculation means, wherein the determination of the driving signals per second N ₁ pulses for printing by the following equation. N ₁ = (N ₀ × T) / (n × L) × p / t where L: distance between marks p: distance between print dots t: print line cycle 2. A printer which prints on a recording medium with a fixed recording head while feeding the recording medium from a recording medium roll on which a recording medium with a mark is attached at regular intervals. A step motor for rotating and driving the drive shaft of the recording medium roll, detecting means for detecting the mark and outputting a detection signal, time detecting means for detecting a time between the detection signals, and an output of the time detecting means comprising calculating means for generating a drive signal of the stepper motor, and storage means for storing a calculation result of the calculating means, upon the first sheet of printing, the step motor drive signal of the reference per second N ₀ pulses When the output of the time detecting means is T seconds for n mark intervals, the arithmetic means turns N ₁ per second for the second and subsequent prints.
A printer wherein a pulse drive signal is obtained by the following equation and stored in the storage means. N ₁ = (N ₀ × T) / (n × L) × p / t where L: distance between marks p: distance between print dots t: print line cycle