JP2003136771A - Sublimation type color printer and unmanned machine for selling print - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sublimation type color printer capable of printing a plurality of printing lengths without replacing an ink ribbon. SOLUTION: The sublimation type color printer has a plurality of printing units and a selecting means for selecting any one of the plurality of printing units to carry out printing. The plurality of printing units carry out printing by heating the ink ribbons 11 and 21 interposed between an object to be printed 1 and thermal heads 5, 15 while passing the object through between the thermal heads 5, 15 and platen rollers 7, 17, and adhering ink by a predetermined pattern to the object from the ink ribbons. In the ink ribbon used at each printing unit, a plurality of regions in each of which ink of a plurality of colors is applied by a printing length different among printing units are arranged sequentially in a longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sublimation type color printer and an unmanned print vending machine using the sublimation type color printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the widespread use of digital cameras, the demand for sublimation printers is increasing. The print size output from the sublimation printer is L size, 2L size,
There are postcard sizes, etc. The 2L size is used for group photographs and the like.

The sublimation type printer is a printer which controls a large number of minute heating elements constituting a thermal head individually to generate heat and heats a predetermined position of an ink ribbon to sublimate the ink for printing.

Taking a sublimation type color printer which realizes color printing with an ink ribbon of three colors as an example, in one ink ribbon, three primary color inks of C (cyan), M (magenta) and Y (yellow) are used. However, three areas, each of which is applied by the length actually printed on the printing paper (hereinafter, simply referred to as “printing length”), are provided side by side in the length direction of the ink ribbon. In another ink ribbon, inks of three primary colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) are added as a margin with the print length and a predetermined length that is not actually printed on the printing paper. The three areas, each of which has a total length of the above-mentioned lengths, are sequentially arranged in the length direction of the ink ribbon. Then, color printing is performed by sequentially sublimating the inks of the three primary colors in each of the ink ribbons.

[0005]

The printing length of the sublimation type color printer is limited to the printing length of each color on the ink ribbon. For conventional sublimation color printers,
Since only one ink ribbon could be attached, the printing length was limited to the printing length of one type of attached ink ribbon or less. In order to print a length longer than the printing length of the installed ink ribbon, the ink ribbon had to be replaced. However, for example, if a sublimation color printer is built into an unmanned print vending machine, the ink ribbon cannot be replaced each time it is sold, so the printing length is less than the printing length of one type of installed ink ribbon. Was limited to. Even when printing is performed with a length shorter than the printing length of the attached ink ribbon, there is a problem that the portion not used for printing the ink ribbon is wasted.

The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. It is possible to print a plurality of print lengths without replacing the ink ribbon, and a part of the ink ribbon may be wasted. A sublimation type color printer and an unmanned printing vending machine using the sublimation type color printer are provided.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, an ink ribbon interposed between a print object and the thermal head is passed through the thermal head while the print object is passed between the thermal head and the platen roller. The printing is executed by heating the ink ribbon to apply ink in a predetermined pattern from the ink ribbon to the printing object. A plurality of printing units and a selection of executing printing by selecting one of the plurality of printing units A sublimation type color printer having means, wherein the ink ribbons in each printing unit have a plurality of areas each of which is coated with a plurality of colors of ink of different printing lengths between the printing units.
The sublimation color printer is characterized in that the ink ribbons are sequentially arranged in the length direction. Claim 2
In the invention described in 1), the ink ribbon interposed between the print head and the thermal head is heated by the thermal head while the print head is passed between the thermal head and the platen roller, and the ink ribbon is transferred to the print target in a predetermined manner. A sublimation type color printer having a plurality of printing units that perform printing by depositing ink in a pattern of, and a selection unit that selects any one of the plurality of printing units and performs printing. The ink ribbons in each printing unit are provided with a plurality of inks of a plurality of colors, each of which has a plurality of printing areas which are different from each other in printing length and a predetermined margin which is not printed. The sublimation color printer is characterized in that the ribbons are sequentially arranged in the length direction of the ribbon.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, two printing units are provided, and the printing length of the ink ribbon in one printing unit is twice the printing length of the ink ribbon in the other printing unit. The sublimation type color printer according to claim 1 or 2, wherein

A fourth aspect of the present invention is an unmanned print vending machine using the sublimation printer according to any one of the first to third aspects.

[0010]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of a sublimation type color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. The printing paper 1 is wound in a roll shape and pulled out by the feed roller 3 to generate the first thermal head 5
And the first platen roller 7 which can be moved toward and away from the first thermal head 5 relatively.
The feed roller 3'provided in the path of the printing paper 1 is
The printing paper 1 is sent to the downstream side or the upstream side.

Rollers 9 are provided on the downstream side and the upstream side of the first thermal head 5, respectively, and a first ink ribbon 11 wound between two rollers 9 is provided together with the printing paper 1 with the first ink ribbon 11. Between the thermal head 5 and the first platen roller 7. In this way, the first thermal head 5, the first platen roller 7, the two rollers 9, and the first ink ribbon 11 form a first printing unit.

A second printing unit is arranged downstream of the first printing unit. The second printing unit includes a second thermal head 15, a second platen roller 17, two rollers 19, and a second ink ribbon 21.

Downstream of the second printing unit described above,
A cutter 25 for cutting the printing paper 1 guided by the guide plate 23 is provided. A collection box 27 is provided below the cutter 25, and the printing paper 1 cut by the cutter 25 is collected.

Next, the first ink ribbon 11 and the second ink ribbon 11
The configuration of the ink ribbon 21 will be described. Ink of three primary colors of C (cyan), M (magenta), and Y (yellow) is applied to the tape-shaped base materials of the first ink ribbon 11 and the second ink ribbon 21 respectively for the printing length. The three regions thus formed are sequentially arranged in the length direction of the ink ribbon. Color printing is performed by sequentially sublimating the inks of the three primary colors.

The printing length of the second ink ribbon 21 is twice the printing length of the first ink ribbon 11. Specifically, the width (hereinafter simply referred to as “print width”) and the print length of the first ink ribbon 11 that are actually printed on the printing paper are 127 mm and 89 mm (1
27 mm × 89 mm), and the second ink ribbon 21
The print width and print length are 127 mm and 1 respectively.
It is set to 78 mm (127 mm × 178 mm). Therefore, the first printing unit including the first ink ribbon 11 performs L size printing, and the second printing unit including the second ink ribbon 21 performs 2L size printing.

For printing, the first printing unit or the second printing unit
Either one of the printing units is used. Therefore, a selection unit (not shown) selects either the first printing unit or the second printing unit to execute printing. The selecting means is, for example, a changeover switch provided in the sublimation type color printer.

Next, the operation of the sublimation type color printer in this embodiment will be described. When the selecting means selects the first printing unit, the first thermal head 5 and the first platen roller 7 in the first printing unit are selected.
Are brought close to each other, and the second thermal head 15 and the second platen roller 17 in the second printing unit are separated from each other. Then, the printing paper 1 is fed to the feed roller 3 '.
Sent downstream by the first in the first printing unit
When passing between the thermal head 5 and the first platen roller 7, a large number of minute heating elements constituting the first thermal head 5 are individually controlled to generate heat, 3 inks of 3 primary colors applied
A given location in one of the areas is heated. As a result, the ink of one of the three primary colors is sublimated and transferred to the printing paper 1.

When the ink of one of the three primary colors has been transferred to the printing paper 1 by the printing length, the first thermal head 5 and the first platen roller 7 in the first printing unit are separated from each other. Then, the print sheet 1 is returned to the print start position by the feed roller 3 '. Then, the operation of transferring the ink of one color to the printing paper 1 is performed again, and the ink of the next color is transferred to the printing paper 1. The operation of transferring one color ink to the printing paper 1 is repeated three times, and when all the three primary color inks are transferred to the printing paper 1, the color printing is completed.

The print width of each color of the first ink ribbon 11 in the first print unit × print length is 127 mm × 8.
Since it is 9 mm, printing is performed on a 127 mm × 89 mm area of the printing paper 1, that is, an L size area.

When the selecting means selects the second printing unit, the first thermal head 5 and the first platen roller 7 in the first printing unit are separated from each other,
The second thermal head 15 and the second platen roller 17 in the printing unit are brought close to each other, and printing is executed by the second printing unit.

The print width of each color of the second ink ribbon 21 in the second print unit × the print length is 127 mm × 1.
Since it is 78 mm, it is 127 mm x 178 mm for printing paper 1.
Is printed, that is, in the 2L size area.

Therefore, according to the sublimation type color printer of this embodiment, it is possible to print with two different printing lengths without replacing the ink ribbons, and a part of the ink ribbons is not wasted.

The printing paper 1 printed by the first printing unit or the second printing unit is sent to the downstream side by the feed roller 3'and cut by the cutter 25.

When the above-mentioned sublimation type color printer is built in an unmanned print vending machine, printing of two different printing lengths is possible without replacing the ink ribbons, so the print of the size requested by the customer is sold unattended. be able to. In other words, it is possible to create postcards with photos, large-format group photos, etc., which were conventionally created by hand, in the size requested by the customer and unattended. Also, when using this unmanned print vending machine for amusement purposes, for example, photos with a large number of people are printed at a large price with a high price, photos with a small number of people are priced. You can set it cheaply and print it in a small size.

The sublimation type color printer in the above embodiment is provided with two printing units and is capable of printing with two types of printing lengths.
The number of printing units is not limited to two, and three or more printing units can be provided.
Further, although the ink ribbon in the above-described embodiment is provided with the three regions to which the inks of the three primary colors are respectively applied, it is also possible to provide regions for four or more colors. Further, it goes without saying that the print width and print length are not limited to the above numerical values. Naturally, the ratio of the printing lengths among the plurality of printing units is not limited to the above numerical values.

[0026]

According to the present invention, a plurality of printing lengths can be printed without replacing the ink ribbons, and a part of the ink ribbons is not wasted.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a sublimation type color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Printing paper (printed material) 3, 3'feed roller 5 First thermal head (thermal head) 7 First platen roller (platen roller) 9, 19 Laura 11 First Ink Ribbon (Ink Ribbon) 15 Second thermal head (thermal head) 17 Second Platen Roller (Platen Roller) 21 Second Ink Ribbon (Ink Ribbon) 23 Information board 25 cutters 27 Collection Box

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A thermal head is used to heat an ink ribbon interposed between a printing material and the thermal head while the printing material is being passed between the thermal head and the platen roller, and a predetermined amount of the ink ribbon is applied to the printing material. Perform printing by depositing ink in a pattern,
A sublimation type color printer having a plurality of printing units and a selection unit that selects any one of the plurality of printing units to perform printing, wherein an ink ribbon of each printing unit has a plurality of colors of ink. A sublimation color printer, wherein a plurality of areas, each of which has a different printing length between the printing units, is sequentially arranged in the ink ribbon length direction. 2. An ink ribbon interposed between the print head and the thermal head is heated by the thermal head while passing the print head between the thermal head and the platen roller, and a predetermined amount of the ink ribbon is applied to the print target. Perform printing by depositing ink in a pattern,
A sublimation type color printer having a plurality of printing units and a selection unit that selects any one of the plurality of printing units to perform printing, wherein an ink ribbon of each printing unit has a plurality of colors of ink. , Printing lengths different from each other between printing units,
A sublimation color printer characterized in that a plurality of areas, which are applied together with a predetermined margin that is not printed, are sequentially arranged in the length direction of the ink ribbon. 3. A printing unit comprising two printing units, wherein the printing length of the ink ribbon in one printing unit is twice the printing length of the ink ribbon in the other printing unit. Item 3. A sublimation color printer according to item 1 or 2. 4. An unmanned print vending machine using the sublimation printer according to claim 1.