JP2006188010A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer which enables position adjustment of a recording medium even when a register mark used for adjustment of a printing position is not present in the recording medium which is to be subjected to the printing position adjustment. <P>SOLUTION: The printer comprises each transfer unit, a first recording unit which prints both a mark with a specific width size and an image of the first color with components of a specific color to the transferred recording medium, a recording unit of each color which prints images of each color, a control unit which controls printing positions of the mark and each image, and position detecting means 32, 33 and 34 arranged at the downstream side more than the first recording unit. The position detecting means have light emitting elements 32a, 33a and 34a which emit a complementary color light L of the mark 11p towards the recording medium, and light receiving elements 32b, 33b and 34b arranged at a position where the complementary color light L reflected by the recording medium 2 enters. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer that prints a plurality of colored images such as color photographic images, and in particular, a plurality of recording units that print various color inks are provided along the conveyance direction of a recording medium. The present invention relates to a printer suitably used for a tandem printer or the like.

  Conventionally, a tandem printer having a plurality of color ink ribbons has been used as one means for printing a color image or the like on a recording medium such as recording paper.

  As an example, the tandem printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) 101 includes a plurality of recording units 111, 112, 113, having ink ribbons 111a, 112a, 113a, 114a, as shown in FIG. 114 and transport units 121, 122, 123, and 124 that transport the recording medium 102. The ink ribbons 111a, 112a, 113a, 114a provided in the recording units 111, 112, 113, 114 are, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), yellow (Y) or Any one color of black (K) is applied on the surface to form a belt shape. The recording units 111, 112, 113, and 114 thermally transfer the ink ribbons 111a, 112a, 113a, and 114a having any one of the colors described above and the inks of the ink ribbons 111a, 112a, 113a, and 114a. Thermal heads 111b, 112b, 113b, 114b are provided. The printer 101 is provided with the ink ribbons 111 a, 112 a, 113 a, and 114 a arranged in the recording units 111, 112, 113, and 114 with different colors. The plurality of recording units 111, 112, 113, 114 are sequentially arranged along the conveyance direction of the recording medium 102, and are passed through the ink ribbons 111 a, 112 a, 113 a, 114 a mounted inside. It is disposed at a position where it abuts on the recording medium 102. The recording units 111, 112, 113, 114 are referred to as a first recording unit 111, a second recording unit 112, a third recording unit 113, a fourth recording unit 114 from the most upstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording medium 102. To do.

  Each of the recording units 111, 112, 113, 114 is transported to the positions facing the thermal heads 111b, 112b, 113b, 114b via the ink ribbons 111a, 112a, 113a, 114a and the recording medium 102, respectively. Platen rollers 121b, 122b, 123b, and 124b included in the units 121, 122, 123, and 124 are provided. Further, on the downstream side with respect to the conveying direction, cylindrical feed rollers 121a, 122a, 123a, and 124a are arranged to face each other.

  In the printer 101 formed as described above, when the recording start position of the recording medium 102 reaches a position facing the first recording unit 111, the thermal head 111b provided in the first recording unit 111 presses the platen roller 121b. To do. Specifically, the thermal head 111b provided in the first recording unit 111 is headed down to the first platen roller 121b side facing the first recording unit 111, or the first platen roller 121b is moved to the first recording unit 111 side. Let me up. Then, the first recording unit 111 and the first platen roller 121b are brought into pressure contact with each other via the recording medium 102 and the ink ribbon 111a, so that, for example, Y (yellow) is applied to the recording medium 102 by the first recording unit 111. ) Ink is transferred.

  Subsequently, when the recording start position reaches a position facing the second recording unit 112, the thermal head 112 b included in the second recording unit 112 is headed down, or a second platen roller facing the second recording unit 112. 122b is raised. Then, the second recording unit 112 and the second platen roller 122b are brought into pressure contact with each other via the recording medium 102 and the ink ribbon 112a, so that the second recording unit 112 causes M (magenta) from above Y ink. The ink is transferred.

  In this way, the head is sequentially lowered from the upstream recording unit in the conveyance direction of the recording medium 102, or the upstream platen roller is sequentially raised to transfer the ink to the recording medium 102 to be printed. A desired color image was printed by applying a plurality of inks on the recording medium 102 (see Patent Document 1).

  In order to perform the above-described series of operations accurately, the print start positions of the images of the respective colors to be printed must be the same in any recording unit 111, 112, 113, 114. In order to match the print start positions of images printed by the recording units 111, 112, 113, and 114, generally, the number of steps of the motors disposed in the transport units 121, 122, 123, and 124 is recorded. The control unit 150 controls the medium transport amount. However, in this method, when the conveyance amount of the recording medium 102 is shifted during the conveyance due to the deflection of the recording medium 102, the print start position of the image varies depending on the recording units 111, 112, 113, and 114. was there.

  Therefore, conventionally, a registration mark 104 for alignment is attached to the recording medium 102 in advance, and each recording medium 102 to which the registration mark 104 is attached is detected by a CCD camera 103 or the like that detects the registration mark 104. The print start position of the image printed by the recording units 111, 112, 113, and 114 has been adjusted (see Patent Document 2).

JP 2000-263864 A JP 2002-86876 A

  However, if the registration mark 104 for positioning is not printed on the recording medium 102 to be printed, it is naturally impossible to detect the position information of the recording medium 102, and thus the printing position cannot be adjusted. There was a problem that there was.

  Further, even when the registration mark 104 for positioning is printed on the recording medium 102 to be printed, in order to accurately detect the intersecting portion of the cross-shaped registration mark 104 formed by extremely thin lines, The position detection means such as the CCD camera 103 that detects the cross-shaped registration marks 104 is required to have extremely high position detection accuracy, and accordingly, the manufacturing cost of the printer 101 having the position detection function increases. There was a problem.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and the object of the present invention is even when the recording medium for adjusting the printing position does not have a registration mark used for adjusting the printing position. Another object is to provide a printer capable of adjusting the position of the recording medium.

  Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of accurately adjusting a print position using a position detection means that is less expensive than the conventional one when adjusting the print position on the recording medium. Is to provide.

  In order to achieve the above-described object, a printer according to the present invention includes a transport unit that transports a recording medium, and a first color image and a mark having a component of a specific color printed on the transported recording medium. One recording unit and one or more recording units arranged downstream of the first recording unit, each color recording unit printing an image of each color having a color component other than the first color image A printing position of the mark, a printing position of the image of the first color, a control unit for controlling the printing position of the image of each color, and a position disposed on the downstream side of the first recording unit Detecting means. Here, the recording units of each color mean three recording units excluding the first recording unit when the color of the ink ribbon provided in the printer is four colors of YMCK.

  As a first feature of the present invention, the position detecting means is arranged at a position where a light emitting element that emits complementary color light of the mark toward the recording medium and the complementary color light reflected by the recording medium are incident. It is characterized by having a light receiving element provided.

  As a second feature of the printer of the present invention, in the printer having the first feature, the position detecting means is arranged one by one on either the upstream side or the downstream side of the recording unit for each color. It is characterized by being.

  Since the printer of the present invention is formed as described above, the position adjustment can be performed regardless of the presence or absence of the register mark used for adjusting the printing position of the recording medium. In addition, when adjusting the print position of the recording medium, it is possible to accurately adjust the print position using a position detection unit that is less expensive than the conventional one.

  Further, the printer of the present invention has the second feature, so that the print start position of each color image can be matched with the print start position of the first color image.

  That is, the printer of the present invention has an effect of improving the printing quality because images of all colors are printed at desired positions.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the printer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Here, FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the printer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of position detection means used in the printer of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is position detection means used in the printer of this embodiment. 4 is a conceptual diagram of the operation of the position detecting means used in the printer of this embodiment, FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram of the position detecting means according to the printer of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is the printer of the present invention. FIG. 7 to FIG. 9 are schematic views showing the positional relationship between the position detecting means, the mark and the image (a), the comparator input signal (b), and the comparator output signal (c). FIGS. The front view (a) and the top view (b) showing the method are shown.

  First, each member provided in the printer of this embodiment will be described.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 1, the printer 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention includes recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14 that print based on each color component included in image data, and a transport unit 21 that transports a recording medium 2. , 22, 23, 24, position detecting means 32, 33, 34 for detecting the alignment mark 11m, and a control unit 50 for controlling printing of each recording unit.

  Each recording unit 11, 12, 13, 14 disposed in the printer 1 of the present embodiment records each ink ribbon 11a, 12a, 13a, 14a to which ink of a specific color is applied and the ink. Each of the thermal heads 11b, 12b, 13b, and 14b that thermally transfer to the medium 2 is formed. Each of the recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14 is arranged in order along the conveyance direction FD of the recording medium 2, and each of the four recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14 is YMCK ( Each of the ink ribbons 11a, 12a, 13a, which is any one color of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) and applied with a color different from the color of the ink of each of the other recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14. 14a. In the present embodiment, the ink color of each ink ribbon 11 a, 12 a, 13 a, 14 a disposed in each recording unit 11, 12, 13, 14 is upstream with respect to the conveyance direction FD of the recording medium 2. They are arranged in the order of Y, M, C, K from the left side (left side in FIG. 1). In the following, the names of these recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14 are named in order from the upstream side with respect to the conveyance direction FD of the recording medium 2, in order from the first recording unit 11, the second recording unit 12, and the third recording unit 13. The fourth recording unit 14 is assumed. Further, the image printed by the first recording unit 11 is set as the first color image 11p, and the second color image 12p, the third color image 13p, and the fourth color image are similarly applied to the second recording unit 12 and thereafter. 14p. The order of colors applied to the ink ribbons 11a, 12a, 13a, and 14a disposed in the recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14 is not limited to the order of Y, M, C, and K. good.

  Each transport unit 21, 22, 23, 24 arranged adjacent to each of the recording units 11, 12, 13, 14 includes at least a platen roller 21b, 22b, 23b, 24b, a feed roller 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a.

  The platen rollers 21b, 22b, 23b, and 24b are disposed below the thermal heads 11b, 12b, 13b, and 14b disposed in the adjacent recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14, respectively. The platen rollers 21b, 22b, 23b, and 24b are formed in a cylindrical shape or a columnar shape.

  A plurality of feed rollers 21a, 22a, 23a, and 24a are arranged on the downstream side of the recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14 with respect to the transport direction FD, and the feed rollers 21a, 22a, 23a, and 24a The shape is formed in a cylindrical shape or a columnar shape. A plurality of these feed rollers 21 a, 22 a, 23 a, 24 a are arranged in the printer 1 of this embodiment, and the plurality of feed rollers 21 a, 22 a, 23 a, 24 a are sandwiched from the front and back of the recording medium 2. Are disposed so as to have a positional relationship that allows them to be conveyed.

  The platen rollers 21b, 22b, 23b, 24b and the feed rollers 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a described above are arranged so that their central axes are perpendicular to the conveyance direction FD of the recording medium 2, It is attached so that it can rotate around the central axis of the. Further, the feed rollers 21a, 22a, 23a, and 24a described above have motors (not shown) for rotating the feed rollers 21a, 22a, 23a, and 24a.

  Each of the transport units 21, 22, 23, and 24 in the present embodiment described above is disposed adjacent to the downstream side of each of the recording units 11, 12, 13, and 14, and therefore, in the following, each of the transport units. The names 21, 22, 23, and 24 are named in order from the upstream side in the transport direction FD of the recording medium 2, from the first transport unit 21, the second transport unit 22, the third transport unit 23, and the fourth transport unit 24. And

  As shown in FIG. 1, the position detection means 32, 33, and 34 are attached adjacent to the downstream side of the second to fourth recording units 12, 13, and 14. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the position detection means 32, 33, and 34 are formed to include light emitting elements 32a, 33a, and 34a and light receiving elements 32b, 33b, and 34b. As the light emitting elements 32a, 33a, and 34a, LEDs (light emitting diodes) that emit complementary colors of colors applied by the first recording unit 11 (in the present embodiment, blue is the complementary color of Y (yellow)). Used. In addition, as the light receiving elements 32b, 33b, 34b, general-purpose phototransistors conventionally used are used.

  The position detecting means 32, 33, 34 having the light emitting elements 32a, 33a, 34a and the light receiving elements 32b, 33b, 34b described above are for alignment below the position detecting means 32, 33, 34 as shown in FIG. The mark 11m (see FIGS. 7 to 9) is disposed at a position to be conveyed. Further, in the position detection means 32, 33, 34, the distance from the recording medium 2 to the position detection means 32, 33, 34 is set according to the detection function of the position detection means 32, 33, 34 to be used. . For example, in the present embodiment, the distance d from the recording medium 2 to the position detection means 32, 33, 34 is set to about 8 mm.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the electronic circuit formed to connect the position detection means 32 to the control unit 50 receives light based on a threshold value TH that is a reference signal preset by a reference voltage rf. It has a comparator 32c that determines the magnitude relationship of the input signal AO obtained from the element 32b. As shown in FIG. 5, the input terminal formed in the comparator 32c is connected to the light receiving element 32b and the reference voltage rf. The output terminal formed in the comparator 32c is connected to the control unit 50 in order to transmit the output signal DO obtained from the comparator 32c. The electronic circuit is not particularly limited as long as it is a means for determining the magnitude relationship of the input signal AO with respect to the threshold value TH, and may be formed using an A / D converter or the like instead of the comparator 32c. . Further, the electronic circuit from the position detection means 33 to the control unit 50 and the electronic circuit from the position detection means 34 to the control unit 50 are formed in the same manner as the electronic circuit shown in FIG. In the following, the names of the position detection means 32, 33, 34 are made to correspond to the names of the recording units 12, 13, 14, respectively, so that the second position detection means 32, the third position detection means 33, the fourth position detection means. 34.

Each recording unit 11, 12, 13, 14, each conveyance unit 21, 22, 23, 24, and the control unit 50 connected to each position detection means 32, 33, 34 record recording information relating to printing. Means (not shown) and a control circuit (not shown) for controlling the printing position based on the information recorded in the recording means. This recording means
(A) Print start position of mark 11m,
(B) Print end position of mark 11m,
(C) Print start position of the first color image 11p (D2) A carry amount from when the second position detecting unit 32 detects the mark 11m until the second recording unit 12 starts printing the second color image ,
(D3) the transport amount from when the third position detecting unit 33 detects the mark 11m to when the third recording unit 13 starts printing the third color image, and (D4) the fourth position detecting unit 34 marks Print information relating to the transport amount from when 11 m is detected until the fourth recording unit 14 starts printing the fourth color image is recorded in advance. The print information is measured in advance using a prototype of the printer 1 of the present embodiment, and is recorded in the recording unit based on the measurement result. Each transport amount D2, D3, D4 is (printing start position C ′ of each image from the distance to the mark detection position) − (from each position detecting means 32, 33, 34 to each recording unit 12, 13, 14). Distance). The reason why the transport amounts D2, D3, and D4 are individually set is that an error in the arrangement positions of the position detection units 32, 33, and 34 is taken into consideration. Further, this recording means can record the detection start position of (A ′) mark 11m and the detection end position of (B ′) mark 11m detected by each position detection means 32, 33, 34. ing.

  The length of the alignment mark 11m printed by the first recording unit 11 in the transport direction FD and the length from the print end position B of the mark 11m to the print start position C of the first color image 11p. The length of the non-printing area in the transport direction FD is such that the position detectors 32, 33, and 34 ensure the print start position A of the mark 11m, the print end position B of the mark 11m, and the print start position C of the first color image 11p. Is set in advance in accordance with the detection function of the position detection means 32, 33, 34 so that the length can be recognized, and these settings are recorded in the recording means.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 6, 7, 8, and 9.

  In the printer 1 of this embodiment, each of the transport units 21, 22, 23, and 24 transports a recording medium 2 such as a recording sheet in a transport direction FD (FIGS. 1, 7, 8, and 8) that is a direction from the upstream side to the downstream side. In FIG. 9, the sheet is conveyed from the left side to the right side).

  The first recording unit 11 that has received a command for printing from the control unit 50 firstly, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, Y (yellow) which is the color applied to the ink ribbon 11a. The mark 11m for printing alignment is printed by thermally transferring. When the recording medium is transported by the transport amount from the preset mark printing end position B to the first color image printing start position C, the first recording unit 11 moves to the recording medium 2. The first color image 11p is printed.

  The mark 11m printed by the first recording unit 11 has a length in the transport direction FD that can be detected by each of the position detection means 32, 33, 34 (from the printing start position A of the mark 11m to the printing end of the mark 11m). (Length to position B).

  Further, when the recording unit 11 prints the first color image 11p, Y is not printed over a certain interval in the region from the printing end position B of the mark 11m to the printing start position C of the first color image 11p. A non-printing area NP is formed. The non-printing area NP is a length in the transport direction FD necessary for each position detecting means 32, 33, 34 to clearly distinguish the printing end position B of the mark 11m from the printing start position C of the first color image 11p. It is provided with a thickness. The length of the non-printing area NP in the transport direction FD (length from B to C) is to transport the printed mark 11m in order to prevent the position detection means 32, 33, 34 from detecting it erroneously. The length is equal to or longer than the length of the direction FD (length from A to B).

  The print start position A of the mark 11m, the print end position B of the mark 11m, and the print start position C of the first color image 11p described above are determined by information recorded in advance in the recording means of the control unit 50. It will be.

  When the mark 11m printed on the recording medium 2 is conveyed below the second position detecting means 32 on the downstream side of the second recording unit 12, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The complementary color light (blue light in this embodiment) L emitted from the light emitting element 32a of the second position detecting means 32 is absorbed by the Y (yellow) mark 11m printed on the recording medium 2. When the complementary color light L is absorbed, the complementary color light is not reflected by the recording medium 2, so the light receiving element 32 b does not receive the complementary color light L.

  If the complementary color light L is not received from the light receiving element 32b, the input signal AO measured from the light receiving element 32b is lower than the threshold value TH as shown in FIG. . That is, the position where the light receiving element 32 b does not receive the complementary color light L is detected as a position (detection position) where the mark 11 m printed on the recording medium 2 is conveyed below the second position detection means 32. The detection position of the mark 11m includes various standards such as a detection start position of the mark 11m, a detection end position of the mark 11m, a detection start position of the mark 11m, and a detection intermediate position of the mark 11m obtained from the detection end position of the mark 11m. In this embodiment, the reference position of the detection start position of the mark 11m is set as the detection end position of the mark 11m.

  After the mark 11m passes below the second position detection means 32 on the downstream side of the second recording unit 12, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the complementary color light L is emitted from the light receiving element 32b. Received light. Then, since the input signal AO measured from the light receiving element 32b rises above the threshold value TH as shown in FIG. 6, the inverted and compared output signal DO falls. That is, the position where the light receiving element 32 b receives the complementary color light L is detected as a position where the mark 11 m printed on the recording medium 2 does not exist below the second position detecting means 32.

  When the mark 11m is detected by the second position detection means 32, each of the transport units 21, 22, 23, 24 transports the recording medium 2 upstream by a preset transport amount D2.

  When the recording medium 2 is transported by the transport amount D2 after the mark 11m is detected, the print start position C ′ of the second color image 12p arrives below the second recording unit 12. Then, as shown in FIGS. 9A and 9B, the second recording unit 12 has the second color formed by M (magenta) from the printing start position C ′ of the image 12p of the second color. Printing of the image 12p is started.

  That is, after the mark 11m is detected by the complementary color light L and the printing of the second color image 12p is started based on the detection result, the printing start position C ′ of the second color image 12p is the first color. This always coincides with the print start position C of the image 11p.

  The third color image 13p and the fourth color image 14p are also printed in the same manner as the second color image 12p described above, so that there is no deviation from the print area of the first color image 11p. Printing can be performed in accordance with the first color image 11p.

  That is, the printer 1 of the present embodiment completely matches the print start positions C or C ′ of the first color image 11p, the second color image 12p, the third color image 13p, and the fourth color image 13p. Therefore, it is possible to print a high-quality image with no printing position shift.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above etc., A various change is possible as needed. For example, in the present embodiment, the mark 11m printed on the recording medium 2 is printed in front of the first color image 11p, but corresponds to the arrangement positions of the position detection means 32, 33, and 34. By changing from the downstream side to the upstream side of each recording unit 12, 13, 14 except for the first recording unit 11, the position of the mark 11m to be printed is formed and detected behind the first color image 11p. It becomes possible.

1 is a front view showing an example of an embodiment of a printer of the present invention. The perspective view of the position detection means used for the printer of this embodiment The top view of the position detection means used for this embodiment printer Operational conceptual diagram of position detecting means used in the printer of this embodiment Electronic circuit diagram used for position detection means of the printer of the present invention FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing a positional relationship between a position detecting unit, a mark and an image (a), a comparator input signal (b), and a comparator output signal (c) according to the printer of the present invention; First front view (a) and plan view (b) showing the printing position adjustment method of the present invention Second Front View (a) and Plan View (b) Representing the Printing Position Adjustment Method of the Present Invention Third front view (a) and plan view (b) showing the printing position adjusting method of the present invention Front view showing an example of a conventional printer

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer 2 Recording medium 11, 12, 13, 14 Recording unit
11a, 12a, 13a, 14a Ink ribbon
11b, 12b, 13b, 14b Thermal head
11m (for alignment) mark 11p, 12p, 13p, 14p Each color image 21, 22, 23, 24 Transport unit 21a, 22a, 23a, 24a Feed roller 21b, 22b, 23b, 24b Platen roller 32, 33, 34 Position Detection means 32a, 33a, 34a Light emitting element 32b, 33b, 34b Light receiving element 50 Control unit FD Transport direction A Mark printing start position B Mark printing end position C First color image printing start position A 'Mark detection start Position B 'Mark detection end position C' Second color image printing start position D2 From the position where the second position detection means detects the mark to the second recording unit starts printing the second color image Carrying amount L Complementary color light

Claims (2)

A transport unit for transporting the recording medium;
A first recording unit for printing a mark having a component of a specific color and an image of a first color on the conveyed recording medium;
One or two or more downstream from the first recording unit, each color recording unit for printing an image of each color having a color component other than the first color image;
A control unit for controlling the printing position of the mark, the printing position of the image of the first color, and the printing position of the image of each color;
A printer comprising position detection means disposed downstream of the first recording unit,
The position detecting means includes a light emitting element that emits complementary color light of the mark toward the recording medium, and a light receiving element that is disposed at a position where the complementary color light reflected by the recording medium is incident. A printer characterized by being.   2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein one position detection unit is disposed on either the upstream side or the downstream side of each color recording unit.

Images