JP2018079649A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve such the problem that, in a printer using a roll sheet, a printed matter that is a picture finished and discharged from the printer is not a little curled, and suppress curl existing in printing paper without using a de-curling mechanism.SOLUTION: In printing paper 8 on which a printer 100 forms an image, a plurality of flat sheets 8N having a flat shape continues in a longitudinal direction of the printing paper 8, is folded back by the flat sheet 8N and includes a cut-off part 6 to cut-off the printing paper 8 based on detection result of a sensor SN1 for detecting a fold-back part 8v.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal transfer type printer that performs printing using a thermal head.

  In recent thermal transfer printers, roll paper is often used as print paper. A thermal transfer type printer is an apparatus that forms an image on a print sheet by transferring ink on an ink sheet onto the print sheet using a thermal head.

  The reason why roll paper is used is because of the following advantages. The merit is that it is possible to generate photographs of various sizes by providing a printer with a cutter in addition to easy feeding and conveyance of print paper.

  However, in a printer that uses roll paper, printed matter that is a completed photograph that is discharged from the printer is curled. Therefore, there is a demerit that the appearance quality of the photograph is impaired.

  Therefore, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a technique for reducing the degree of curling (hereinafter also referred to as “Related Art A”). Hereinafter, the mechanism for reducing the degree of curling is also referred to as a “decal mechanism”. The printers of Patent Documents 1 and 2 include a decurling mechanism.

JP 2000-108434 A JP 2007-077685 A

  The roll paper as the print paper used by the conventional printer having the related art A is configured by winding the paper in a roll shape. Therefore, for example, even when the decurling mechanism of Related Technology A is used for roll paper that has been stored for a long period of time, there is a problem that curling often remains on the print paper.

  The present invention has been made to solve such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of suppressing the presence of curling on print paper without using a decurling mechanism. To do.

  In order to achieve the above object, a printer according to one embodiment of the present invention is a thermal transfer printer having a function of forming an image on a long print sheet. The printing paper is configured such that a plurality of flat planar papers, on which the image is to be formed, are continuous in the longitudinal direction of the printing paper and folded for each of the flat papers. Is a transport unit for transporting the print paper, and a portion where two adjacent flat papers are folded among the plurality of flat papers when the print paper is transported by the transport unit A sensor having a function of detecting a folded portion, and a cutting unit for cutting the print paper based on a detection result by the sensor.

  According to the present invention, the printing paper on which the printer forms an image has a plurality of flat planar papers, which are the object of the image formation, continuous in the longitudinal direction of the printing paper, and for each flat paper. Wrapped and configured.

  Thereby, it is possible to suppress the presence of curl on the print paper, without using a decurling mechanism, as compared to the conventional configuration using roll paper.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a print configuration for performing printing in the printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the printing paper in which the several places were cut | disconnected. It is a figure for demonstrating the process of the modification 1 of Embodiment 1 of this invention. It is a figure for demonstrating the structure of the printing paper which concerns on the modification 3 of Embodiment 1 of this invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a characteristic functional configuration of a printer. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer as a comparative example. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating a state in which a printer as a comparative example cuts print paper.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following drawings, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals. The names and functions of the components having the same reference numerals are the same. Therefore, a detailed description of some of the components having the same reference numerals may be omitted.

  Note that the dimensions, materials, shapes, and relative arrangements of the components exemplified in the embodiments may be appropriately changed depending on the configuration of the apparatus to which the present invention is applied, various conditions, and the like. Moreover, the dimension of each component in each figure may differ from an actual dimension.

<Embodiment 1>
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a print configuration for performing printing in the printer 100 according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, configurations other than the print configuration of the printer 100 (a power supply unit, an image processing unit, a drive unit, a control unit, a structure support unit, a display unit, etc.) are not shown.

  In FIG. 1, the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction are orthogonal to each other. Each of the X direction, the Y direction, and the Z direction shown in the following figures is also orthogonal to each other. Hereinafter, a direction including the X direction and the direction opposite to the X direction (−X direction) is also referred to as “X axis direction”. In the following, the direction including the Y direction and the direction opposite to the Y direction (−Y direction) is also referred to as “Y-axis direction”. Hereinafter, a direction including the Z direction and a direction opposite to the Z direction (−Z direction) is also referred to as a “Z-axis direction”.

  Hereinafter, a plane including the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is also referred to as an “XY plane”. Hereinafter, a plane including the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction is also referred to as an “XZ plane”. Hereinafter, a plane including the Y-axis direction and the Z-axis direction is also referred to as a “YZ plane”.

  The printer 100 is a thermal transfer type printer (thermal printer). The printer 100 is configured such that a print paper 8 and an ink sheet 9 described later can be attached to and detached from the printer 100.

  FIG. 1 shows a state in which a printing paper 8 and an ink sheet 9 described later are mounted on the printer 100. The shape of the ink sheet 9 is long. An end of one side of the ink sheet 9 is wound around a bobbin (not shown) to form an ink sheet roll 9a. Further, the other end portion of the ink sheet 9 is wound around another bobbin (not shown) to form an ink sheet roll 9b.

  The printer 100 has a function of forming an image on the print paper 8. The printer 100 has a function of performing a printing process for forming an image on the print paper 8.

  The print paper 8 is a continuous paper. The shape of the print paper 8 is long. The print paper 8 includes a plurality of flat planar papers 8N that are targets for image formation. The print paper 8 is configured such that a plurality of plane papers 8N are arranged in the longitudinal direction of the print paper 8. Specifically, the print paper 8 is configured such that a plurality of plane papers 8N are continuous in the longitudinal direction of the print paper 8, and are folded back for each plane paper 8N.

  FIG. 1 shows that a paper overlap portion 8Z is constituted by a part of the print paper 8. The sheet overlapping portion 8Z is configured by overlapping a plurality of plane sheets 8N in the Z direction.

  Hereinafter, a portion where two adjacent plane papers 8N are folded among a plurality of plane papers 8N included in the print paper 8 is also referred to as a “folded portion 8v”. The folded portion 8v of the present embodiment is a portion where a part of the print paper 8 is bent.

  In the printer 100 of FIG. 1, the amount of bending of the folded portion 8v varies depending on the position of the folded portion 8v. For example, when the folded portion 8v exists in the sheet overlapping portion 8Z, the bending amount of the folded portion 8v is maximized. In addition, for example, when the folded portion 8v exists between the later-described cutting portion 6 and the later-described sensor SN1 in the Y-axis direction, the bending amount of the folded portion 8v is minimized.

  The printing configuration of the printer 100 includes a transport unit 5, a thermal head 2, a platen roller 3, a cutting unit 6, a discharge roller 7, and a sensor SN1.

  The transport unit 5 has a function of transporting the print paper 8 under the control of a paper transport unit 25 described later. The conveyance unit 5 includes a grip roller 5a and a pinch roller 5b. The grip roller 5a rotates according to the control of a drive unit (motor or the like) (not shown). Hereinafter, the direction in which the print paper 8 is conveyed by the conveyance unit 5 is also referred to as “conveyance direction Dr1”. In FIG. 1, the transport direction Dr1 is a direction along the YZ plane. In FIG. 1, the extending direction (X-axis direction) of the folded portion 8v is a direction perpendicular to the transport direction Dr1.

  The thermal head 2 generates heat for transferring an image onto the print paper 8. The platen roller 3 has a function of pressing the print paper 8 and the ink sheet 9 to the thermal head 2.

  The cutting unit 6 is a cutter having a function of cutting the print paper 8 under the control of the control unit 23 described later. The cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 along a direction parallel to the extending direction of the folded portion 8v.

  After the image transfer process is performed, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 so that the size of the print paper 8 becomes a predetermined size. Thereby, a printed matter which is a part of the print paper 8 is formed. The printed matter is a part of the print paper 8 on which an image is formed.

  The discharge roller 7 is a roller for discharging the printed material from the printer 100.

  Although details will be described later, the sensor SN1 has a function of detecting the folded portion 8v. Sensor SN1 is a sensor using light, for example. For example, the sensor SN1 constantly emits light. Hereinafter, the light emitted from the sensor SN1 is also referred to as “detection light”. The sensor SN1 emits detection light, for example, in the Z direction in FIG. When the folded portion 8v touches the detection light, the sensor SN1 detects the folded portion 8v by detecting the amount of the detection light reflected by the folded portion 8v.

  Thereby, for example, the sensor SN1 detects the folded portion 8v when the printing paper 8 is being conveyed by the conveyance unit 5. When the sensor SN1 detects the folded portion 8v, the sensor SN1 transmits detection information indicating that the folded portion 8v has been detected to the control unit 23 described later. Thereby, the control part 23 recognizes that the return | turnback part 8v was detected by receiving detection information.

  The sensor SN1 may be a sensor other than a sensor using light.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printer 100 according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention. In FIG. 2, the main structure regarding this invention is shown, and the structure which is not directly related to this invention is not shown.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the printer 100 further includes a memory 21, an image processing unit 22, a control unit 23, a printing unit 24, and a paper transport unit 25. The control unit 23 controls a plurality of components (for example, the image processing unit 22, the printing unit 24, the paper transport unit 25, the cutting unit 6 and the like) included in the printer 100. Since the memory 21 and the image processing unit 22 are provided in a general thermal transfer printer, detailed description thereof is omitted.

  The print unit 24 includes the above-described print configuration. The paper transport unit 25 has a function of controlling the transport unit 5 according to the control of the control unit 23.

  Next, the print paper 8 (hereinafter, also referred to as “cut paper”) obtained by cutting a plurality of portions of the print paper 8 by the cutting unit 6 will be described. FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining a cut sheet. FIG. 3 shows a front end portion of the print paper 8 in the cut paper and a portion near the front end portion in the cut paper.

  Hereinafter, the surface of the print paper 8 on which an image is to be formed is also referred to as a “print screen”. Each of the plurality of flat papers 8N included in the print paper 8 has a stamp screen. That is, the print paper 8 has a plurality of mark screens.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the cut paper (print paper 8) includes a leading edge margin portion 8c, a printed material 8d, a trailing edge margin portion 8e, and an unprinted portion 8f.

  One sheet of flat paper 8N includes a leading edge margin portion 8c, a printed material 8d, and a portion of the trailing edge margin portion 8e that is below the folded portion 8v. Further, another flat paper 8N adjacent to the single flat paper 8N includes a portion of the rear end blank portion 8e above the folded portion 8v and an unprinted portion 8f.

  The leading edge margin portion 8 c is a margin portion provided at the leading edge portion of the print paper 8. The printed material 8d is a part of the printing paper 8 on which an image is formed. The printed material 8d is, for example, a photograph. The trailing edge margin portion 8e is a margin portion of the print paper 8 where no image is formed. A folded portion 8v exists in the rear margin portion 8e.

  In FIG. 3, the extending direction of the folded portion 8v is the X-axis direction. Note that the folded portion 8v is not provided on the marking screen of each plane paper 8N included in the print paper 8.

  The unprinted portion 8f is a part of the print paper 8 on which no image is formed.

  Next, print control processing performed by the printer 100 will be described. The print control process includes a print process. Hereinafter, the printing process performed by the printer 100 is also referred to as “printing process P”.

  Referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, in the print control process, first, the data conversion process and the transport process are performed almost simultaneously. In the data conversion process, the printer 100 receives image data transmitted from an external device such as a PC (Personal Computer). The printer 100 temporarily stores the received image data in the memory 21. Next, the image processing unit 22 converts the image data stored in the memory 21 into print data.

  Hereinafter, among the plurality of plane papers 8N, the plane paper 8N to be printed is also referred to as “target plane paper”. In the following, the leading edge of the print paper 8 is also referred to as “paper edge”. The paper edge is, for example, the left edge of the print paper 8 shown in FIG.

  In the transport process, based on the detection result of the folded portion 8v by the sensor SN1, the transport unit 5 transports the leading end portion (target plane paper) of the print paper 8 to the print start position. The print start position is a position at which printing is started on the print paper 8. The conveyance of the print paper 8 is performed, for example, when the grip roller 5a of the conveyance unit 5 is rotated by the operation of a stepping motor (not shown).

  In the transport process of the present embodiment, when the sensor SN1 detects the folded portion 8v existing at the end of the target plane paper, the control unit 23 causes the transport unit 5 to transport the target plane paper to the print start position. The transport unit 5 is controlled via the paper transport unit 25.

  Next, when the platen roller 3 moves, the print paper 8 and the ink sheet 9 are sandwiched between the platen roller 3 and the thermal head 2.

  Next, the printing process P is performed. In the printing process P, the thermal head 2 heats the ink sheet 9 and the print paper 8 with a heat generation amount corresponding to the print data described above. As a result, the dye contained in the ink sheet 9 is sublimated, and the dye is transferred to the print paper 8. Specifically, the dye is transferred to the marking screen of the target plane paper. Thereby, an image is formed on the marking screen of the target plane paper.

  Note that, when a full-color image is formed on a printing screen, the printing process P is repeatedly performed a plurality of times. When the printing process P is repeatedly performed, the transport unit 5 controls the print paper 8 with the print paper 8 (target plane paper) sandwiched between the grip roller 5a and the pinch roller 5b according to the control of the paper transport unit 25. 8 is conveyed in the forward direction or the reverse direction depending on the situation.

  The forward direction is a direction away from the paper discharge roller 7. The reverse direction is a direction approaching the paper discharge roller 7. By performing the printing process P a plurality of times, a color image is formed on the printing screen of the target plane paper. The target plane paper on which the color image is formed on the stamp screen is the printed matter 8d.

  After the printing process P is performed a plurality of times, the print paper 8 (printed material 8d) is conveyed in the direction of the paper discharge roller 7 (forward direction) by the rotation of the grip roller 5a. After the front end portion of the print paper 8 passes through the cutter 6, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 so that the above-described front end margin portion 8 c is separated from the print paper 8 according to the control of the control unit 23.

  Next, after the printed material 8d of the print paper 8 is conveyed by a predetermined distance in the discharge direction, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 so that the printed material 8d is separated from the print paper 8. Then, the printed matter 8 d is discharged to the outside of the printer 100 by the discharge roller 7.

  After the printed product 8d is discharged to the outside of the printer 100, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 so that the trailing edge blank portion 8e including the folded portion 8v is separated from the print paper 8. That is, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 so that the folded portion 8v is cut off from the print paper 8. Thus, the print control process ends.

  In the print control process according to the present embodiment, as described above, after the sensor SN1 detects the folded portion 8v existing at the end of the target plane paper, the print process P is performed a plurality of times, and the cutting unit 6 performs printing. The paper 8 is cut. That is, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 based on the detection result by the sensor SN1.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the printing paper 8 on which the printer 100 forms an image has a plurality of flat planar papers 8N to be formed with the image, and the length of the printing paper 8 is long. Continuing in the direction and being folded for each plane paper 8N.

  Accordingly, it is possible to suppress the presence of curl on the printing paper, rather than using a conventional printer that uses roll paper as the printing paper, without using a decurling mechanism.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, it is possible to obtain a high-quality printed matter without curling without using a decurling mechanism for removing curl.

  Further, in the present embodiment, by using the print paper 8 composed of a plurality of plane papers, it is possible to provide a printer with higher space utilization efficiency than a printer using roll paper. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since the driving unit for driving the roll paper is unnecessary, the printer 100 can be constructed at low cost.

  Further, in the present embodiment, a folded portion 8v exists in the trailing edge margin portion 8e of the print paper 8. For this reason, the printed material 8d (photo) discharged from the printer 100 has no folded portion. Further, the folded portion 8v does not exist at the front end portion of the print paper 8 existing inside the printer 100.

  Here, the printer 100 according to the present embodiment is compared with a printer using roll paper (hereinafter also referred to as “printer 100J”). The printer 100J is a printer as a comparative example with respect to the printer 100.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a configuration of a printer 100J as a comparative example. The printer 100J uses the print paper 18. The print paper 18 is roll paper. The print paper 18 is configured by winding a long paper in a roll shape. The printer 100J can rotate the print paper 18 in the winding direction (clockwise direction) or the discharging direction (counterclockwise direction) using a driving source (not shown).

  The printer 100J includes a decurling mechanism 11. The decurling mechanism 11 is a mechanism for reducing the degree of curling of the print paper 18. The decurling mechanism 11 applies an appropriate force to the print paper 18 in an appropriate direction so that the degree of curling of the print paper 18 is reduced.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a state where the printer 100J as a comparative example cuts the print paper 18. In FIG. For the sake of explanation, FIG. 8 shows a folded portion 8v that does not actually exist on the print paper 18.

  The printer 100J performs a cutting process N. In the cutting process N, the cutting unit 6 of the printer 100J cuts the blank portion 18c from the print paper 18 and then cuts the printed matter 18d (photograph) from the print paper 18.

  Here, it is assumed that the cutting process N is performed in a state where the print paper 18 is assumed to have the same configuration as the print paper 8 of the present embodiment. In this case, the folded portion 8v remains at the leading end portion (unprinted portion 18e) of the print paper 18 existing in the printer 100J.

  Note that the print paper 18 present in the printer 100J is pulled back by the grip roller 5a. Based on the detection result of the sensor SN1J having the function of detecting the print paper 18, the print paper 18 moves to a preparation position for the next printing.

  If there is no next print command, the print paper 18 stands by on the spot. On the other hand, when there is a next print command, the printer 100J cues the ink sheet 9. Thereafter, the ink sheet 9 and the print paper 18 are pressure-bonded by the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 3, and the printer 100J continues the printing operation.

  As described above, if the folded portion 8v remains on the print paper 18, the accuracy of the sensor SN1J that detects the position of the print paper 18 is lowered. In this case, color misregistration, misregistration of the print position, etc. occur, and the print quality deteriorates.

  The print paper 18 is conveyed in a paper conveyance guide (not shown). For this reason, if there is a folded portion at the tip of the print paper 18, the print paper 18 is likely to be caught by the paper transport guide, and there is a high possibility that a transport failure will occur.

  On the other hand, in the printer 100 of this embodiment, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 so that the folded portion 8v is cut off from the print paper 8. For this reason, in the present embodiment, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of the conveyance failure as described above.

  The printer 100 according to the embodiment does not use roll paper (print paper 18). Therefore, the printer 100 can obtain a printed matter with almost no curling and high print quality without using the decurling mechanism 11 described above.

  Further, the printer 100 does not need a configuration for driving roll paper. Therefore, the manufacturing cost of the printer 100 can be reduced. In addition, since the printer 100 does not use roll paper, the thickness of the print paper 8 can be increased. As a result, the quality of printed matter (photographs) discharged from the printer 100 can be further improved.

  Further, in the printer 100J using roll paper, if the thickness of the print paper 18 is set to a predetermined value or more, the decurling effect by the decurling mechanism 11 cannot be expected. Therefore, the printer 100J cannot use the print paper 18 having a thickness greater than a predetermined value.

  On the other hand, the printer 100 uses a print sheet 8 composed of a plurality of plane sheets 8N. Therefore, the printer 100 can obtain a curled print (photograph) even when the printing process is performed using the print paper 8 having a thickness equal to or greater than a predetermined value. That is, even in the configuration of the printer 100 without the decurling mechanism, it is possible to obtain a high-quality printed matter without curling.

  Further, the feature that a printed matter with a thick paper and no curling can be created is an important feature when printing on a card or the like made of thick paper. Therefore, the present invention is useful not only for photographic use but also in a configuration for printing on a card or the like made of cardboard, for example.

  Note that a printer using roll paper having the above-described related art A includes a decurling mechanism. However, the winding curvature is small near the end of winding in the roll paper. Therefore, there is a problem that a large curl may remain on the printed matter (photo).

  As described above, a printer using roll paper uses a decurling mechanism in order to reduce the presence of curling in a printed matter (photograph) as much as possible. However, the conventional printer having the related art A has a problem that the curl cannot be completely removed.

  In some cases, curling measures are taken by increasing the diameter of the roll paper and increasing the curvature of curl of the print paper. However, when the diameter of the roll paper is large, there is a problem that the size of the printer itself increases.

  In addition, a printer using roll paper has a problem that a driving unit for driving the roll paper is necessary at the time of printing processing. If the driving means is not provided, printing defects such as feed unevenness and color misregistration occur when a load is applied to the printing paper during the printing process.

  Therefore, the printer 100 of the present embodiment is configured as described above. Therefore, the above problems can be solved by the printer 100 according to the present embodiment.

<Modification 1 of Embodiment 1>
In the first embodiment, one printed matter (photograph) is created from one plane paper 8N. In the first modification of the present embodiment, a plurality of printed materials are created from one plane paper 8N.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a process of the first modification of the first embodiment. The printed material 8d according to the present modification includes a printed material 8da and a printed material 8db. The size of the printed material 8da is, for example, the same as the size of the printed material 8db. Images are formed on each of the printed materials 8da and 8db.

  In the present modification, the cutting unit 7 cuts at least one plane paper 8N among the plurality of plane papers 8N at the midway portion of the one plane paper 8N. That is, the cutting unit 7 cuts one or more portions of one plane paper 8N.

  In the present modification, for example, in the print control process of the first embodiment, after the leading edge margin portion 8c is cut off from the print paper 8, the cutting unit 6 prints the printed material 8da so as to be cut off from the print paper 8. The paper 8 is cut.

  Next, after the print paper 8 is conveyed by a predetermined distance in the discharge direction, the cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8 so that the printed product 8db is separated from the print paper 8.

  As described above, according to the first modification of the present embodiment, the number of cuts for one plane paper is increased. Thereby, two printed matter (photographs) can be created from one plane paper 8N.

  In the above example, two printed materials having the same size were created. However, it is also possible to create two types of printed matter (photos) having different sizes by changing the cutting position on one plane paper 8N.

  Further, by increasing the number of times of cutting, it is possible to create three or more printed materials from one plane paper 8N. Thus, by increasing the number of times of cutting, it is possible to change the size of the printed material or increase the number of printed materials obtained from one plane paper 8N.

  As described above, the printer 100 using continuous paper instead of roll paper can create a plurality of sizes of printed matter, and does not need to feed the printer 100 each time printing processing is performed. . Therefore, according to the printer 100, there are advantages of roll paper such as few paper jams due to paper feeding and few paper jams when transporting print paper, and there are no disadvantages of roll paper such as large curl.

<Modification 2 of Embodiment 1>
The folded portion 8v of the first embodiment is formed by simply folding the print paper 8. The folded portion 8v in the present modification is provided with a plurality of holes arranged along the extending direction (X-axis direction) of the folded portion. That is, the folded portion 8v is provided with a plurality of holes in a pattern like a perforation.

  As described above, according to the second modification of the present embodiment, the waist strength (ease of bending) of the folded portion of the print paper 8 is controlled by adjusting the number of holes provided in the folded portion 8v. can do. For this reason, it is possible to make it difficult for the printing paper 8 to be poorly conveyed when the above-described print control process is performed.

  Note that the configuration of Modification 2 may be applied to the configuration of Modification 1 of Embodiment 1.

<Modification 3 of Embodiment 1>
The configuration of the third modification of the present embodiment is a configuration in which two adjacent plane papers are connected by another member (hereinafter also referred to as “configuration Ct1A”). In the configuration Ct1A, the printer 100 uses the print paper 8A instead of the print paper 8. The print paper 8A is different from the print paper 8 in that a connecting member 8X described later is provided between two adjacent plane papers. That is, the print paper 8A includes the connecting member 8X. Since the other configuration and functions of the print paper 8A are the same as those of the print paper 8, detailed description will not be repeated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the configuration of a print paper 8A according to the third modification of the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 shows two adjacent flat sheets 8N included in the print sheet 8A for easy understanding of the configuration.

  Referring to FIG. 5, the connecting member 8 </ b> X is provided between the two plane papers 8 </ b> N so that the two adjacent plane papers 8 </ b> N are continuous. That is, the connecting member 8X is connected to two adjacent flat papers 8N. Thereby, the print paper 8A has the same function as the continuous paper. The connecting member 8X is provided with a folded portion 8v corresponding to a portion where two adjacent plane papers 8N are folded.

  That is, the print paper 8A is configured such that a plurality of plane papers 8N are continuous in the longitudinal direction of the print paper 8A and are folded back for each plane paper 8N.

  Note that the connecting member 8X is made of a material different from the material constituting each of the plane papers 8N. For example, the connecting member 8X is made of a material that is thinner and softer than the material of the flat paper 8N. The connecting member 8X may be made of the same material as that of each plane paper 8N.

  In the configuration Ct1A using the print paper 8A, the process for the print paper 8A is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment. For example, the transport unit 5 transports the print paper 8A. The extending direction (X-axis direction) of the folded portion 8v is a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the print paper 8A is conveyed. The cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8A based on the detection result by the sensor SN1.

  The cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8A along a direction parallel to the extending direction of the folded portion 8v. The cutting unit 6 cuts the print paper 8A so that the folded portion 8v is cut off from the print paper 8A.

  As described above, according to the third modification of the present embodiment, the same effect as in the first embodiment can be obtained even in the configuration using the print paper 8A.

  Further, according to this modification, even when the flat paper 8N is a card made of thick paper, a continuous paper can be formed by stably folding the thick paper. Therefore, a high-quality printed material for a special purpose (for example, a hand) can be obtained.

  Thus, in recent printers using thermal heads, it is mainstream to use roll paper. In recent years, there has been a demand for higher quality and higher quality of the finished printed matter (photo). For this reason, eliminating curl is considered to contribute greatly to expanding the market share of printers.

  The configuration Ct1A may be applied to both or one of the first modification of the first embodiment and the second modification of the first embodiment. In this case, for example, the cutting unit 7 cuts at least one plane paper 8N among the plurality of plane papers 8N at the midway portion of the one plane paper 8N. The folded portion 8v is provided with a plurality of holes arranged along the extending direction (X-axis direction) of the folded portion 8v.

(Function block diagram)
FIG. 6 is a block diagram illustrating a characteristic functional configuration of the printer BL10. The printer BL10 corresponds to the printer 100 according to any one of the first embodiment, the first modification, the second modification, and the third modification. That is, FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing main functions related to the present invention among the functions of the printer BL10.

  The printer BL10 is a thermal transfer type printer having a function of forming an image on a long print sheet.

  The print paper is configured by a plurality of planar paper sheets, which are the object of image formation, being continuous in the longitudinal direction of the print paper and folded back for each of the paper sheets.

  The printer BL10 functionally includes a transport unit BL1, a sensor BL2, and a cutting unit BL3. The transport unit BL1 transports the print paper. The transport unit BL1 corresponds to the transport unit 5.

  The sensor BL2 has a function of detecting a folded portion that is a portion where two adjacent plane papers are folded among the plurality of plane papers when the print paper is being conveyed by the conveyance unit. . The sensor BL2 corresponds to the sensor SN1.

  The cutting unit BL3 cuts the print paper based on the detection result by the sensor. The cutting part BL3 corresponds to the cutting part 6.

(Other variations)
The printer according to the present invention has been described above based on the embodiment and the modified example of the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the embodiment and the modified example of the embodiment. Within the scope of the present invention, modifications that are conceivable by those skilled in the art to the embodiments and the modifications of the embodiments are also included in the present invention. That is, within the scope of the invention, the present invention can be freely combined with the embodiments and the modified examples of the embodiments, or can be appropriately modified and omitted with the modified examples of the embodiments and the embodiments. is there.

  Further, the printer 100 may not include all the components illustrated in the drawing. That is, the printer 100 may include only the minimum components that can realize the effects of the present invention.

  In addition, the present invention may be realized as a paper cutting method in which operations of characteristic components included in the printer 100 are used as steps.

  It should be noted that within the scope of the invention, the present invention can be freely combined with the embodiments and modifications of the embodiments, or can be appropriately modified and omitted with reference to the embodiments and modifications of the embodiments. is there.

  5, BL1 transport unit, 6, BL3 cutting unit, 8, 8A, 18 print paper, 8v folded portion, 100, 100J, BL10 printer, BL2, SN1, SN1J sensor.

Claims (7)

A thermal transfer type printer having a function of forming an image on a long print paper,
The print paper is configured such that a plurality of flat planar papers to be formed with the image are continuous in the longitudinal direction of the print paper and folded for each of the flat papers.
The printer is
A transport unit for transporting the print paper;
A sensor having a function of detecting a folded portion, which is a portion where two adjacent plane papers are folded, among the plurality of plane papers when the printing paper is being conveyed by the conveyance unit;
A cutting unit configured to cut the print paper based on a detection result of the sensor. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the cutting unit cuts the print paper such that the folded portion is separated from the print paper. The extending direction of the folded portion is a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the print paper is conveyed,
The printer according to claim 1, wherein the cutting unit cuts the print paper along a direction parallel to an extending direction of the folded portion. The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the cutting unit further cuts at least one plane paper among the plurality of plane sheets at an intermediate portion of the one plane paper. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the folded portion is provided with a plurality of holes arranged along an extending direction of the folded portion. The print paper includes a connecting member,
The printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the connecting member is provided between the two plane sheets so that the two adjacent plane sheets are continuous. The printer according to claim 6, wherein the connecting member is made of a material different from a material constituting each of the plane papers.

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