JP2000289277A - Method for restricting reuse of ink ribbon and printer having function for restricting reuse of the ribbon - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To maintain print image quality by restricting reuse of a used ink ribbon by making a discrimination between a virgin ink ribbon and a used ink ribbon. SOLUTION: An optical quantity of a light passing through an ink ribbon and the change of the optical quantity due to the use of the ink ribbon is detected, then it is judged whether the ink ribbon is a virgin one or a used one, thereby restricting the reuse of the used ink ribbon. This printer having a function of restricting the reuse of the ink ribbon comprises an ink ribbon cartridge rotatably containing a pair of spool shafts 14, 15 that an ink ribbon 13 is wound around, a printing means to which the ink ribbon cartridge 13 is to be loaded, a detecting means for detecting the optical quantity of the light passing through the ink ribbon or the change of the optical quantity due to the use of the ink ribbon and a ribbon reuse restricting means that restricts the reuse of the used ink ribbon by judging whether the ink ribbon is a used one or a virgin one based on the condition of the optical quantity of the pass- through light.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method for restricting the reuse of an ink ribbon and a printer having a function for restricting the reuse of an ink ribbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, in the field of amusement, for example, video printers for printing images taken on the spot on postcards or sticker-shaped photographic paper have become widespread.

As such a video printer, for example, a sublimation-type thermal transfer system is widely adopted. For example, an ink ribbon prepared in three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan is used, and a thermal head is used to print on photographic paper. On the other hand, printing is performed by thermally transferring the inks of the respective colors.

Further, for example, the above-mentioned ink ribbon is formed of a long pet sheet in a ribbon shape having a width corresponding to a specified vertical or horizontal size of photographic paper, and a supply spool shaft around which the ink ribbon of the pet sheet is wound. And a take-up spool shaft on which an ink ribbon used for printing is taken up, and is itself in the form of an ink ribbon cartridge detachable from a printer. Such an ink ribbon cartridge can print on, for example, about 200 photographic papers.

[0005]

However, the user of the video printer described in the prior art has a problem in that in a structure in which the ink ribbon is wound around a spool shaft, the printable sheet portion of the ink ribbon is entirely wound around the spool. In some cases, the ink ribbon wound around the shaft and used up to the end may be rewound on the supply spool shaft again and reused. In the case of such reuse, it is natural that the ink ribbon from the portion of the ink that has been used once will be used. There is a problem that it is more deteriorated.

In most of the above-described video printers, a dedicated photographic paper is recommended in order to guarantee a good print quality and an appropriate paper feeding operation. When reusing photographic paper, photographic paper other than the recommended photographic paper is often used. In this case, the above-described print quality cannot be further guaranteed, and the use of photographic paper other than the recommended one allows the thermal head to transfer the ink to the photographic paper, for example, so that the sheet of the photographic paper and the ink ribbon are peeled off. For example, there is a problem that an operation trouble easily occurs.

[0007] Accordingly, there is a problem that must be solved in order to prevent the user from reusing the ink ribbon and to maintain the printing quality and to avoid trouble in the operation of the printer.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method for restricting the use of an ink ribbon according to the present invention is to provide a heat-sensitive transfer layer in which a dye in a layer is melted or sublimated by heat on a substrate film. An ink ribbon to be formed, wherein the amount of light transmitted through the ink ribbon surface or its change is detected to determine whether the ink ribbon is a used ink ribbon or an unused ink ribbon, and the reuse of the ink ribbon is limited based on the determination. That is what we did.

Further, the detection of the amount of transmitted light is performed by using all of the wavelengths of the three primary colors, or a combination of one or two colors.

In a printer having a function of restricting the reuse of an ink ribbon, an ink ribbon cartridge in which a pair of spool shafts around which the ink ribbon is wound is housed in a rotatable state, and the ink ribbon cartridge is loaded and printed. Printing means, detecting means for detecting the amount of light transmission of the ink ribbon surface or a change thereof, and determining whether the used ink ribbon is an unused ink ribbon based on the detection state of the amount of light transmission, and Means for restricting reuse of the used ink ribbon.

As described above, by detecting the amount of light transmission on the ink ribbon surface and restricting the reuse of the ink ribbon, it is possible to maintain the use form of the ink ribbon as originally designed.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, an embodiment of a method for restricting reuse of an ink ribbon and a printer having a function for restricting the reuse of an ink ribbon according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, an ink ribbon cartridge 11 containing an ink ribbon is formed of a cartridge housing 12, and ink cartridges as print media are provided on both sides of the cartridge housing 12. A pair of spool shafts around which the ribbon 13 is wound, that is, a ribbon supply spool shaft 14 and a ribbon take-up spool shaft 15
And are mounted rotatably. The cartridge housing 12 is formed of a hard plastic such as high impact polystyrene.

The spool shafts 14 and 15 have shaft body portions 16a and 16b having a width of the ink ribbon 13 at the center.
And front flanges 1 at both ends of the shaft body portions 16a and 16b.
7a, 17b and rear flanges 18a, 18b, and drive shaft portions 19a, 1
9b is formed so as to protrude, and driven shaft portions 20a and 20b are formed so as to protrude according to the outer surfaces of the rear flanges 18a and 18b. The ink ribbon 13 is wound around the shaft body portions 16a and 16b.

The drive shaft portions 19a and 19b of the spool shafts 14 and 15 are supported by drive-side bearing portions 21a and 21b of the cartridge housing 12 and driven shaft portions 20a and 21b.
a and 20b are bearings on the driven side bearing portions 22a and 22b. The spool shafts 14 and 15 are also formed of a hard plastic such as high impact polystyrene.

Double bearings 21a, 21b and 22a, 22b
As shown in FIG. 2, the upper part is opened when the cartridge housing 12 is turned upside down, and the width of this opened part is equal to the drive shaft parts 19a and 19a of the spool shafts 14 and 15.
9b and the driven shaft portions 20a, 20b are formed slightly narrower than the outer shapes. Accordingly, in order to mount both spool shafts 14 and 15 on the cartridge housing 12, the cartridge housing 1
2 is turned upside down, the two spool shafts 14, 1
5 drive shaft portions 19a, 19b and driven shaft portions 20a, 20
b are the corresponding bearing portions 21a, 21b and 22a, respectively.
When it is pushed into 22b, the open portion is forcibly pushed open and fitted into it, and becomes a bearing state.

A pair of reference holes 23a and 23b are provided on the inner wall surface of the rear surface of the cartridge housing 12,
When the ink ribbon cartridge 11 is loaded in the printer, the reference holes 23a and 23b are engaged with reference pins on the printer to perform positioning.

Further, a code ring 24 having the type of ink ribbon printed on a driven shaft portion 20b is rotatably supported on the ribbon take-up spool shaft 15.

The ink ribbon 13 is provided with three primary color regions of yellow, magenta, and cyan prints continuously, and a part of the ink ribbon 13 is formed in the center of the cartridge housing 12. It is exposed from the opening 25, and the printing operation is performed in the opening 25. In the ink ribbon 13, an unused ink ribbon is wound around the ribbon supply spool shaft 14, and the feeding operation is performed such that the used ink ribbon is wound around the ribbon take-up spool shaft 15.

As shown in FIG. 3, the ink ribbon 13 is coated with three colors of yellow ink 26 having a predetermined area, magenta ink 27 and cyan ink 28 having the same area as the yellow ink 26. Yes,
One screen is formed by these three colors, and a unit used for one print is called a screen, and one continuous color or the like is called a patch.

To distinguish patches on the screen, a special mark is provided. A screen head sensor mark 29 indicating the start of the screen and patch sensor marks 30 and 30 indicating the middle of the patch. It has a structure provided.

As shown in FIG. 4, the structure of the ink ribbon 13 having such a structure is such that a pet film base (base film) 31 having a thickness of, for example, 4.5 μm, an ink primer layer 32 having a thickness of about 1 μm, and a Ink layer 33, about 1
μm thick back coat primer layer 34 and about 2
A μm thick back coat layer 35 is applied. In the ink ribbon 13 having such a structure, the dye in the layer is melted or sublimated by the heat on the base film (pet film base 31) to form a thermal transfer layer.

Next, a video printer in which the above-described ink ribbon cartridge is loaded will be described with reference to FIG.

The video printer 41 has a structure in which a box-shaped printer main body 42 and printing means, detection means and ribbon reuse restriction means are provided therein.

A power switch 43, a display panel 44, a cartridge loading slot 45 into which the ink ribbon cartridge 11 is loaded, a print operation button 46, a print paper storage tray 47, and a print outlet 48 are provided on the front of the printer body 42. Have been. Further, a lid plate 49 for opening and closing the front part is attached to the printer main body 42 so as to be openable and closable.

The cartridge loading port 45 is formed in a cavity corresponding to the outer shape of the ink ribbon cartridge 11, and the ink ribbon cartridge 11 is loaded therein with almost no gap. A pair of reference pins 50a and 50b are provided inside the cartridge loading slot 45, and when the ink ribbon cartridge 11 is loaded,
0a and 50b are provided with reference holes 23a and 23 of the cartridge 11 respectively.
The engagement of b (see FIG. 2) allows accurate positioning of the cartridge 11.

Further, on the back side of the cartridge loading port 45,
A pair of drive shafts (not shown) is arranged, and the cartridge 11
When the drive shaft is loaded, the drive shaft portions 19a and 19b (see FIG. 1) of both spool shafts 14 and 15 are engaged with the drive shaft, and the drive shafts are rotated integrally.

The drive shaft is rotated by a drive motor, and the feed operation of the ink ribbon 13 is performed by rotating both spool shafts 14 and 15 integrally with the drive shaft.

As described above, the ink ribbon cartridge 11
The inside of the printer body 42 which can be loaded with
As shown in FIG. 6, printing means is provided. The printing means includes a thermal head 51 for printing a recorded image such as a video image, a sensor mark reading sensor 52 for reading the sensor marks 29 and 30 (see FIG. 3) of the ink ribbon 13, and a platen for sending and guiding a printing paper 53. 54 are provided. The sensor mark reading sensor 52 is disposed between the thermal head 51 and the ribbon take-up spool shaft 15, and the sensor 5
When the number 2 is detected, it is recognized that it is the top of the screen of the ink ribbon 13, and the printing operation is started.

When the printing operation is started, the opening 25 of the ink ribbon cartridge 11 (FIG.
(See FIG. 5), the ink is transferred from the ink ribbon 13 exposed to the printing paper 53 to the printing paper 53, and the printing operation of the image is performed.
Taken out of On the other hand, the ink ribbon 13 is
The used ink ribbon 13 is taken up on a ribbon take-up spool shaft 15 in accordance with the printing operation on the print cartridge 3.

After printing one patch, when the sensor mark reading sensor 52 senses the patch sensor mark 30 (see FIG. 3), it recognizes that it is the head of the patch and starts the next printing operation. The printing of one screen is completed by printing this operation repeatedly as determined.

The printing means having such a configuration is provided with a so-called detecting means for measuring the amount of transmitted light on the surface of the ink ribbon and a means for restricting the reuse of the ribbon.

As shown in FIG. 6, the detecting means starts between the thermal head 51 and the ribbon supply spool shaft 14, and starts a cyan screen which forms one screen when detected by the sensor mark reading sensor 52. At the position, a transmission density sensor 57 including a light emitting unit 55 and a light receiving unit 56 provided so as to sandwich the ink ribbon 13 is provided. The signal obtained by the transmission density sensor 57 is compared with a predetermined level set by a detection unit (not shown) to detect the density of the light transmission amount on the ink ribbon surface. In order to detect the density of the light transmission amount on the ink ribbon surface, the light emitting unit 55 and the light receiving unit 56 may be configured to perform all of the wavelengths of the three primary colors, or one color or a combination of two colors. That is, the wavelength of red light is 600 nm to 700 nm, the wavelength of green light is 500 nm to 570 nm, and the wavelength of blue light is 45 nm.
0 nm to 500 nm.

The ribbon reuse restriction means determines whether the used ink ribbon is a used ink ribbon or an unused ink ribbon based on the detection state of the light transmission density of the ink ribbon surface detected by the detection means. It restricts use. First, the ink ribbon 13 is wound up, and the light transmission density of the ink ribbon surface is detected by the transmission density sensor 57 of the detecting means. In this detection method, detection is performed using a preset threshold value (specified level). That is, in the case of an unused ink ribbon, FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), both spool shafts 14, 15
Patch 58 of the ink ribbon 13 wound around
The patch a or the second patch 58b should be uniform because it is not used. The density of the ink ribbon 13 passing through the transmission density sensor 57 is substantially uniform and the transmission amount is small. Therefore,
As shown in FIG. 7 (C), the transmission density has a somewhat constant value 60a which is higher than a predetermined level 59 set in advance. In this manner, if the light transmission density of the ink ribbon surface is equal to or higher than the specified density, it can be determined that the ink ribbon is an unused ink ribbon. In the case of FIG. 7C, the transmission level is not less than the prescribed level 59, so that it can be determined that there is no change in the transmission density.

In the case of a used ink ribbon, FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), both spool shafts 14, 15
Patch 61 of the ink ribbon 13 wound around
(a) In the second patch 61b, the density of the ink ribbon 13 passing through the transmission density sensor 57 is not uniform, and has a value 61c, 61d that is changed to the light transmission amount (in the embodiment,
The moon and house-shaped ink layers are melted and thermally transferred). Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8 (C), since the ink layer in the portion of the used patch is eliminated, the light transmittance of the ink ribbon surface is improved accordingly. Therefore, the transmission density is a value 6 which goes up and down with the predetermined level 59 set therebetween.
0b. In this way, when the transmission density of the ink ribbon surface moves up and down across the specified level 59, it can be determined that the ink ribbon is a used ink ribbon. FIG.
In the case (C), since the ink ribbon moves up and down across the specified level 59, it can be determined that the light transmission density on the ink ribbon surface is equal to or lower than the specified density or the transmission density changes.

Next, the printing operation of the printer provided with such detection means and ink ribbon reuse restriction means will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. 9 with reference to FIG. First, when the print operation button 46 (see FIG. 5) for starting / printing is pressed, the winding operation of the ink ribbon 13 starts (steps ST10 and ST11).

When the winding operation is started, the transmission density sensor 57 detects the amount of light transmission on the ink ribbon surface, and the light transmission density on the ink ribbon surface is equal to or higher than the specified density (specified level 5).
9 or more), it is determined that the ink ribbon is an unused ink ribbon, and when the light transmission density of the ink ribbon surface is equal to or lower than a specified density or the transmission density changes, it is determined that the ink ribbon is a used ink ribbon (step ST12).

If it is an unused ink ribbon, the process waits until the sensor mark reading sensor 52 detects the ink ribbon 13 (step ST13), and if it is a used ink ribbon, a paper discharging operation is started (step ST15). ,
ST18).

If an unused ink ribbon is used,
When the sensor mark 29 (see FIG. 3) is detected, the printer starts a printing operation. Here, the used or unused state of the ink ribbon 13 is determined (step ST14,
ST15).

When printing is completed, it is detected whether or not the cyan patch constituting one screen has been completed. When cyan is printed, the paper discharge operation is started and printing is completed (steps ST16, ST17, ST18, ST19). ).

In this manner, by detecting the amount of light transmitted through the print surface, it is possible to easily discriminate between an unused ink ribbon and a used ink ribbon. By limiting, the state of use in the original design can be maintained.

[0042]

As is apparent from the above description, the printer having the ink ribbon reuse restriction method and the ink ribbon reuse restriction function of the present invention can determine whether the used ink ribbon is used depending on the light transmission density of the ink ribbon surface. By judging whether an ink ribbon is an unused ink ribbon and restricting the reuse of the used ink ribbon, it is possible to prevent unauthorized use of the ink ribbon and to avoid using it against the original design intention. effective.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view of a cartridge according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view of the cartridge as seen from the inside out.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing yellow, magenta, cyan, and marks constituting a screen of the ink ribbon.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a coating structure of the ink ribbon.

FIG. 5 is an overall perspective view of the video printer.

FIG. 6 is a schematic configuration diagram of printing means, detection means, and ribbon use restriction means of the printer.

FIG. 7A is an unused ink ribbon,
(B) is a side view, and (C) is a graph showing the amount of transmission density detected by the transmission density sensor.

FIG. 8A shows a used ink ribbon,
(B) is a side view, and (C) is a graph showing the amount of transmission density detected by the transmission density sensor.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing the operation of the ribbon reuse restriction means.

[Explanation of symbols]

11; ink ribbon cartridge, 12; cartridge housing, 13; ink ribbon, 14; ribbon supply spool shaft, 15; ribbon take-up spool shaft, 16a; shaft body, 16b; shaft body, 17a; front flange, 17b. Front flange, 18a; rear flange, 18b; rear flange,
19a; drive shaft portion, 19b; drive shaft portion, 20a; driven shaft portion, 20b; driven shaft portion, 21a; drive side bearing portion, 21
b: drive side bearing portion, 22a; driven side bearing portion, 22b; driven side bearing portion, 23a; reference hole, 23b; reference hole, 24;
Cord ring, 25; opening, 26; yellow ink,
27; magenta ink, 28; cyan ink, 29; screen top sensor mark, 30; patch sensor mark,
31; Pet film base (base film), 32;
Ink primer layer, 33; Ink layer, 34; Back coat primer layer, 35; Back coat layer, 41; Video printer, 42; Printer main body, 43; Power switch, 44; Display panel, 45;
6; print operation button, 47; print paper storage tray,
48; print outlet 49; lid plate 50a; reference pin 50b; reference pin 51; thermal head 52;
Sensor mark reading sensor, 53; photographic paper, 54; platen, 55; light emitting portion, 56; light receiving portion, 57; transmission density sensor, 58a; first patch (unused ink ribbon), 58b; Unused ink ribbon),
59; prescribed level, 60a; a certain value (unused ink ribbon), 60b; changed value (used ink ribbon), 61a; first patch (used ink ribbon), 61b; (used ink) ribbon)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink ribbon in which a dye in a layer is melted or sublimated by heat on a substrate film to form a heat-sensitive transfer layer, and the amount of light transmitted on the surface of the ink ribbon or its change is detected and used. A method for restricting reuse of an ink ribbon, comprising determining whether an ink ribbon is a used ink ribbon or an unused ink ribbon, and restricting reuse of the ink ribbon based on the determination. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the detection of the amount of transmitted light is performed at all wavelengths of the three primary colors or a combination of one or two colors. 3. An ink ribbon cartridge accommodating a pair of spool shafts around which an ink ribbon is wound in a rotatable state, printing means capable of loading the ink ribbon cartridge for printing, and an ink ribbon surface. Detecting means for detecting a light transmission amount or a change thereof; and a ribbon re-use device for judging a used ink ribbon or an unused ink ribbon based on the detection state of the light transmission amount and restricting reuse of the used ink ribbon. A printer having a function of restricting reuse of an ink ribbon, comprising a use restricting means.