JP2523427B2 - Color cassette interchangeable printer - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color printer in which a plurality of color ribbon cassettes having different ribbon colors can be loaded in a cassette holder.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A conventional color ribbon cassette exchange type thermal printer performs color printing by using a ribbon cassette containing color ribbons of standard colors such as RGB and YMC. However, a color printer that is characterized by printing so-called special colors that cannot be represented by a combination of printing standard colors such as gold, silver, and fluorescent colors is equipped with color ribbon cassettes of as many colors as possible. There is a need.

At present, in the field of color printers, a method of exchanging ribbons for each color is not often found.
In the world of pen plotters, many pen holders have been arranged, the holder number has been specified, and various colors have been used for that purpose. And in the world of pen plotters, there was a color inkjet type for creating graphs and tables.
The drawback is that we cannot have so many ink bottles for ink jets in terms of technology and cost, and the same is true in the field of printers. Also, other types of printers are RGB and YM
Even when the standard color such as C is printed, the color is expressed on a large number of pixels, which is a gradation, and it is impossible to express a subtle change in the color completely in detail.

On the other hand, a color printer using a spot color
There is an important application in terms of color quality, and for this reason, it is conceivable that a color printer will adopt the same method as a plotter having many pen holders.

However, when the plotter system is adopted for the color printer, the operator can specify the pen holder on the host computer if it is a plotter.
If the operator's drawing uses a lot of black, you can put black from 1 to 3 of the pen holder and install different colors for the rest, but in the case of a color printer, the color information is stored in the host. Since it is not sent from the computer,
At this time, if the printer 1 decides that the holder 1 is black, 2 is red, and 3 is blue, black will always become the ribbon end and the printer will stop, resulting in wasted time for the operator many times. Becomes

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a color printer which can be loaded with a color ribbon cassette irrespective of the storage position in the cassette holder.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, in which a ribbon cassette is provided with a color marking code and a cassette holder is provided with a detecting means for the color marking code. is there.

[0008]

Since the color of the color ribbon accommodated in the ribbon cassette is detected by the color marking code detecting means provided in the cassette holder, the ribbon cassette is accommodated in the ribbon cassette regardless of the position of the cassette holder. The color of the color ribbon is detected, and the ribbon cassette required for printing is selected and controlled. Further, it is possible to detect when the ribbon cassette is inserted into the cassette holder in reverse.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 shows an example of a ribbon cassette 11 used in a color printer according to the present invention, and 12 is a recess for a color marking code.

In the case of the embodiment, since the color is displayed by 4 bits, four recesses 12 are provided at equal intervals. N
Needless to say, N recesses are provided when the color is displayed by bits.

As shown in FIG. 2, the marking piece 1 is made of an adhesive tape or a metal piece or the like as the marking means so as to close the recess 12 as the mounting portion of the marking means.
3 is bonded, while four lever switches 15, 16, 17, 18 for each ribbon cassette are provided in the cassette holder 14 as shown in FIGS.
The color of the ribbon accommodated in the ribbon cassette 11 is identified by the F signal.

FIG. 4 shows a color code. In white, when the marking piece 13 is provided on the concave portion and the lever switch is responsive (operation), in the shaded area, the marking piece 13 is not provided and the lever switch is unresponsive. Is shown.

The colors of the color ribbons stored in the ribbon cassette 11 due to the reaction or non-reaction of the lever switches 15 to 18 and the case where the ribbon is loaded in the cassette holder 14 in the opposite direction to the case where there is no cassette are displayed.

For example, OH is black when the cassette 11 is inserted in the cassette holder 14 in the opposite direction. 2H
Indicates the color of the ribbon stored in the cassette 11, such as yellow, and the FH can display 15 different states such as when the cassette 11 is not in the holder 14.

When a large number of colors are used as in the case of using many spot colors, it is possible to achieve color expression using many colors by increasing the number of bits.

Any means may be used for the above marking means as long as the signals resulting from the marking detection are the same. In the embodiment of the present invention shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the method of detecting the recess 12 provided in the color cassette by the lever switches 15 to 18 arranged in parallel is adopted, but many color ribbons are used in the cassette holder of the printer. When the cassette can be loaded, a large number of color ribbon cassettes with high frequency are stacked and a small number of color ribbon cassettes are stacked with a small amount to enable printing for a very long time.

Further, by making this marking (marking piece 13 in the embodiment) removable from the cassette,
There is no need to have an extra cassette case.

Actually, even if the shaded portion of the marking, that is, the masked portion is removable, the same effect is obtained. Therefore, masking varies depending on the sensor that detects the marking, but an adhesive tape, a metal piece magnet tape, a filling piece, or the like is used.

When the color is detected by the above detection method, if the marking is detected when the color is completely loaded in the cassette holder mechanism, this signal is used as the index signal of the motor for loading the color ribbon cassette. Can be used. This timing chart is shown in FIG. According to the above method, it is not necessary to use the state index sensor.

[0020]

According to the present invention, it is not necessary to specify the loading position of the color ribbon cassette to be mounted on the cassette holder as in the conventional case, so that the operator can handle it easily. Further, it becomes possible to detect the loading in the reverse direction and detect an empty portion, that is, a place where the ribbon cassette is not loaded.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ribbon cassette used in an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the ribbon cassette shown in FIG. 1 in use.

FIG. 3 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing the arrangement of the cassette holder and the print head of the embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a marking code by a 4-bit binary number.

FIG. 5 is a timing chart of a motor excitation signal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 11 Ribbon Cassette 12 Recess 13 Marking Piece 14 Cassette Holder 15-18 Lever Switch 19 Print Head 20 Cassette Guide Bar

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁶ Identification code Office reference number FI technical display location B41J 35/36 B41J 35/36

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A color cassette interchangeable printer in which a plurality of ribbon cassettes can be loaded in a cassette holder, and a marking means mounting portion for mounting a marking means for forming a code by an N-bit binary number on an outer peripheral portion of the ribbon cassette. A means for detecting the marking is provided on the cassette holder, and if all the N bits in the information obtained by the detecting means are 0000 ..., the ribbon cassette is determined to be reverse-loaded, and at least other than that. If one or more 0's are detected, it is determined that there is a ribbon cassette, and if all N bits are 1111 ..., it is determined that there is no ribbon cassette. A color cassette interchangeable printer having a means for discriminating colors. 2. A means for detecting marking on a ribbon cassette, wherein the detecting means detects the marking on the color cassette only when the cassette holder mechanism is completely loaded with the ribbon cassette. 2. The color cassette exchange type according to claim 1, wherein the position of the detecting means is determined, and when the ribbon cassette is loaded in the cassette holder, the detection signal by the detecting means is used as the index signal of the motor for the color ribbon cassette. Printer. 3. An N-bit binary marking means on a color cassette is coded by appropriately attaching removable markings to N parallel concave portions provided in advance on the outer peripheral portion of the cassette. Yes, the means for detecting the marking on the cassette holder is N
2. The presence / absence of marking of the concave portion on the outer peripheral portion of the cassette is detected by a plurality of contact switches arranged in parallel.
3. The color cassette interchangeable printer according to any one of 1 to 2.