JP3049914B2 - Display method of ink ribbon cassette usage in 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 printer using an ink ribbon cassette, such as a thermal transfer printer, and, when the ink ribbon cassette is replaced halfway and then reused, the used number of printable sheets is accurately displayed. The present invention relates to a method of displaying the used amount of an ink ribbon cassette in a printer capable of performing the operation.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a thermal transfer printer of a sublimation type or the like, an ink ribbon cassette is used as a supply source of ink for transfer. The ink ribbon cassette is configured such that a long ink ribbon configured so that a plurality of prints can be made by applying ink divided for each print is wound around a supply spool and a take-up spool and stored in a case. Become.

[0003] Various types of such ink ribbons are prepared, such as one for color, one for monochrome, one for sensitivity of sublimation dye, one for standard, and one for plain paper.
The user uses them properly according to the purpose or the like. For this reason, during use, the ink ribbon cassette is often replaced with another type of ink ribbon cassette.

On the other hand, on the printer side, the printing conditions of the system controller must be changed according to the type of the ink ribbon. A method of detecting the type of the ink ribbon by detecting with an optical sensor has been adopted. This similar technology,
It is disclosed in JP-A-63-254085.

[0005]

By the way, a user wants to know how many sheets of the ink ribbon cassette can be printed in operation and operation. However, in the above-described thermal transfer printer using the conventional ink ribbon cassette, if the ink ribbon cassette is replaced during use, even if the remaining amount of the ink ribbon or the used amount is displayed, the used amount of the separate ink ribbon cassette is reduced. There is a problem that the information is accumulated and then becomes an incorrect display.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon cassette which is replaced during use, and when the ink ribbon cassette is reused, the remaining amount of the ink ribbon or the used amount of the used ink ribbon. An object of the present invention is to provide a method of displaying the used amount of an ink ribbon cassette in a printer capable of accurately and automatically displaying the amount.

[0007]

To achieve the above object, according to an aspect of, in the amount display method of the ink ribbon cassette in the printer of the present invention, the ink ribbon type and print
An identification display having identification information indicating the possible number of sheets, and an unused
Unused discriminator indicating that it is an ink ribbon cassette
Using the ink ribbon cassette and a click, or not a, that the ink ribbon cassette unused is mounted, the
Unused discrimination marks are detected and detected, and when the unused ink ribbon is started to be used, the identification display is discriminated.
In addition to storing the identification information of the type of the ink ribbon that is being identified and displayed , the number of printable sheets that are being identified and displayed is stored as the remaining number of sheets, and the remaining number of sheets is printed each time one print is completed. -1 to display the remaining sheets number that the update and updates the memory, then, in that the ink ribbon cassette which is midway exchanged is mounted again, the unused determination
The unused performing discrimination of the identification and determination of the mark
Detecting a non-detection of the discrimination mark by a match with the stored ink ribbon species identification <br/> specific information, characterized by performing successively the display and update the remaining sheets number stored for the ink ribbon cassette And Or indicate the type of ink ribbon
Identification with identification information and unused ink ribbon
It has an unused discrimination mark indicating that it is a cassette.
First, use unused ink ribbon cassette.
The fact that the ribbon cassette has been loaded
The unused ink ribbon.
When starting to use, the identification display is determined and the identification table
While storing the identification information of the type of ink ribbon shown,
Reset the memory of the used number of the ink ribbon, and
The used number is incremented by one each time one print is completed.
To update the memory and display the updated used number.
Next, the ink ribbon cassette which has been replaced halfway is shown.
Is re-attached, the discrimination of the unused discrimination mark and the
The discrimination of the identification display is performed to check whether the unused discrimination mark is correct.
Matching of the detection with the stored identification information of the ink ribbon type
And use the ink ribbon cassette as described above.
The feature of continuously updating and displaying the memory of the number of used sheets
And

[0008]

According to the method of displaying the used amount of the ink ribbon cassette in the printer of the present invention, the ink attached to the printer is
Check whether the ribbon cassette is unused or has been replaced
Identify and detect unused marks on the ink ribbon
The ink ribbon identification information stored at the beginning of use of the unused ink ribbon cassette and the ink ribbon of the ink ribbon cassette installed during use are utilized by utilizing the identification function of the identification display of the ink ribbon cassette used to change the printing conditions. By comparing the identification information and continuously updating and displaying the remaining number of used ink ribbons or the number of used ink ribbons for the matched ink ribbon cassette, the remaining amount or used amount of the currently used ink ribbon cassette is always displayed. It is possible to grasp automatically and accurately.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a thermal transfer printer to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a system control unit for controlling the respective parts of the printer in order and comprehensively; A mechanical control unit for controlling a mechanical unit of the printer to perform printing and print stop; a CPU for discriminating ink ribbon identification information such as dye sensitivity, an ink ribbon type, and the number of printable sheets, and displaying a remaining amount;
Is a memory connected to the CPU 3 for storing the remaining number of ink ribbons and the like, 5 is a display unit used to display the remaining number of ink ribbons and the like, 6 is a ribbon code label attached to the ink ribbon cassette, and 7 is a ribbon. The code reading sensor 8 is an ink ribbon cueing sensor. As the display unit 5, a monitor display, an LED (light emitting diode), an LCD (liquid crystal display) or the like is used.

On the ribbon code label 6, ink ribbon identification information such as the sensitivity of the dye, the type of ink ribbon, and the number of printable sheets is displayed in a coded form. The information is read out and input to the CPU 3 via the mechanical control unit 2 → the system control unit 1. On the other hand, the cueing sensor 8 is normally used to perform cueing of the ink ribbon, but in the present embodiment, as will be described later, discrimination information of an unused ink ribbon cassette and count information of the number of prints are similarly transmitted to the mechanical control unit. 2 →
It is input to the CPU 3 via the system control unit 1.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are views showing an example of the structure of the ribbon cord. (A) shows the bit arrangement of the ribbon code, and (b) shows an example of reading the ribbon code by the sensor. In FIG. 2A, (1) to
(12) indicates a bit position, the bit S of (1) is a start bit, the two bits a and b of (2) and (3) are identification bits of four sensitivity types, and (4) to (6). The three bits c, d, and e are eight kinds of ink ribbon types (for example, for standard (standard size) color, standard monochrome, wide (panoramic size) color, standard color with receiving layer (R), laminate layer (L) Identification bits for standard color, standard monochrome with laminate layer, standard wide with laminate layer, color + black with receptor layer / laminate layer (YMCK)), (7), (8) 2 Bits f and g are identification bits for the number of printable sheets, and bit P of (9) is (2) to
Parity bits of data up to (8), (10) to (1)
2) is an extension bit.

FIG. 2 (b) is a diagram showing a sensitivity type of 4, an ink ribbon type for a standard monochrome with a laminate layer (protective layer), and a ribbon code in the case of 100 windings using one optical reflection sensor. The example which reads in time series is shown. Each bit of the ribbon code label 6 is divided into two parts (t, t) in the time direction, and is composed of a white part (signal 0) that is reflected and a black part (signal 1) that is not reflected as follows. Hereinafter, when represented by a combination of signals, bit S is (1,
1), with data bits and parity bits (even numbers in (b)), bit presence “1” is (0, 1), and no bit “0” is (0, 0).

FIGS. 3 (a), 3 (b) and 3 (c) are views showing an example of the configuration of a means for determining an unused ink ribbon cassette.
As described above, the ribbon cue sensor 8 provided in the mechanical part of the printer is used. FIG. 3A shows a part of the mechanical section, in which 11 is an ink ribbon, 12 is a supply spool, 13 is a take-up spool, 14 is a platen, 15 is a head, and 16 is print paper. FIG.
(B) is a color ink ribbon 11 used in this embodiment.
FIG. 3C shows an example of determination.

In the ink ribbon cassette, a long ink ribbon 11 is wound around a supply spool 12, the leading end of which is wound around a take-up spool 13, and each spool is separated and rotatably housed in a case. In the ink ribbon cassette, the ink ribbon 11 is configured to be exposed between the spools. When the ink ribbon 11 is mounted on the mechanical unit of the printer, the ink ribbon 11 is attached to the platen 14 and the head 1.
5, the printing paper 16 is supplied between the platen 14 and the ink ribbon 11. This ink ribbon 1
1 is a 2-bit cue mark (head mark 1) for positioning each color (yellow Y, magenta M, cyan C).
1a, the next color mark 11b) is attached, and the cueing sensor 8 for reading the mark is constituted by arranging two optical reflection sensors 8a and 8b in parallel in the traveling direction of the ink ribbon, for example. .

In the present embodiment, the cueing marks 11a, 11a are placed in front of the foremost cueing mark 11a of the ink ribbon 11.
An unused discrimination mark 11c having a code different from b is attached using a reflective seal or the like. For example, FIG.
This is performed as shown in FIG. That is, the leading mark 11a
Is next color mark 11b when sensor 8a is on and sensor 8b is on
When the sensor 8a is on and the sensor 8b is off, the unused ribbon is indicated by the sensor 8a off and the sensor 8b on.

Next, an example of the structure of the reading means of the ink ribbon identification information will be described. FIGS. 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a first example and a second example of a reading unit of the ink ribbon identification information. (A) is an end view of an ink ribbon cassette,
(B) is a top view of the ink ribbon cassette in which a part has been broken while being attached to the printer.

First, the first example is a configuration example in which the ribbon code label of FIG. 2 is used. In the first example, FIG.
(B) The ribbon code label 6 is attached to a rotatable or fixed ring on the spool shaft on the supply spool 12 side of the ink ribbon cassette 10 of the ink ribbon cassette 10, and the ribbon code reading sensor 7 of the optical reflection sensor is rotated while rotating. , The presence or absence of reflection is read in time to determine the ink ribbon identification information. The ribbon code label 6 may be directly attached on the spool shaft, or a ring may be provided with irregularities instead of the ribbon code label. As a means for rotating the supply spool 12 or the ring, in the case of a ribbon cord on the supply spool 12, a method utilizing rotation during printing can be considered. As a rotating means of only the ring, as shown in FIG.
For example, a method of transmitting the rotation from the motor 18 to rotate the ring by using the head 7 or a method of rotating the ring by using the up / down of the head 15 (not shown in FIG. 3) can be considered.

Next, in a second example, the ink ribbon cassette 10
On the end face of the case 10a, a ribbon code label 6 'having an arrangement indicating "0" / "1" of bit information by reflection / non-reflection.
Is attached to the printer 20 and read by a ribbon code reading sensor 7 'composed of the same number of optical reflection sensors as the number of bits of the ribbon code when attached to the printer 20 side.

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing a third example of the ink ribbon identification information reading means. (A) shows an end view of the ink ribbon cassette, and (b) shows a relationship between the ink ribbon cassette and a ribbon code reading sensor. In this configuration example, the presence / absence of a hole in a part of the case 10a of the ink ribbon cassette 10 is indicated by the bit information “1” /
Hole 1 indicates the ribbon code corresponding to "0"
0b is arranged. The printer number of bits of the ribbon code (in the illustrated example 7 bits) and the same number of switches SW ₁ ~
A ribbon code reading sensor 7 made of SW ₈ is arranged, and when the ink ribbon cassette 10 is mounted, the switch is turned off at the place where the hole 10b exists, and turned on at the place where there is no hole 10b. The ink ribbon identification information such as the type and the number of printable sheets is read.

A method for displaying the remaining amount of the ink ribbon according to the present embodiment in the above configuration will be described. FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of this embodiment.

First, an unused ink ribbon cassette (A) is mounted on the printer. On the printer side, the ink ribbon identification information is read by the ribbon code reading sensor 7 and the presence / absence of an unused discrimination mark is read by the cue sensor 8 and input to the CPU 3.

In the case of an unused ink ribbon cassette, the CPU 3 stores the ink ribbon identification information and the number of printable sheets in the information in the table 4a of the memory 4 in association with the remaining number of sheets. This remaining number is displayed on the display unit 5 via the system control unit 1. Hereafter, 1
Each time printing is completed, the system control unit 1
And updates the remaining number of sheets in the table 4a for the ink ribbon cassette (A) by -1 and displays the result on the display unit 5.

Next, it is assumed that the ink ribbon cassette (A) has been replaced in the middle of use and then remounted. In this case, first, the ink ribbon information and the unused discrimination information are input to the CPU 3 in the same procedure as described above.

In the CPU 3, this time, the result of the unused determination is
It will be determined that it is not unused, that is, it is being used. In this case, the CPU 3 identifies the ink ribbon cassette (A) by comparing the ink ribbon information with the ink ribbon identification information in the table 4a.
The remaining number of ink ribbon cassettes (A) is displayed on the display unit 5. Thereafter, when printing is performed, the remaining number of sheets in the table 4a of the ink ribbon cassette (A) is updated by -1 and displayed each time printing of one sheet is completed in the same manner as described above.

If the above procedure is performed similarly for newly used ink ribbon cassettes (B, C, D, and E), even if any of the ink ribbon cassettes is replaced halfway, if any of the ink ribbon cassettes is to be reused, the ink ribbon cassettes are re-used. The correct remaining number of sheets is always displayed for the set, and the use situation can be correctly grasped.

In the above embodiment, the CPU 3 has been described as a component different from the system control unit 1. However, when the system control unit 1 is constituted by a CPU, the CPU 3 is included in the CPU. It may be configured to include the same function. In the embodiment, the remaining number of ink ribbons is stored and displayed. However, the number of used ink ribbons can be stored. When an unused ink ribbon cassette is detected, the storage of the used number of ink ribbons is reset (cleared to zero). Then, even if the storage is similarly updated for each print and displayed, the usage state can be correctly grasped. As described above, the present invention can be variously applied according to the gist and can take various embodiments.

[0028]

As described above, there are various types of ink ribbon cassettes such as a standard color ribbon, a monochrome ribbon, a ribbon with a receiving layer for plain paper, and a ribbon with a laminate layer (protective layer). The ink ribbon cassette of the type described above is frequently replaced.In the past, when the replaced ink ribbon cassette is used again, it becomes difficult to know how many remaining printable sheets are left. Use usage metrics to get accurate usage information,
It is possible to notify the user automatically, which is very convenient.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a thermal transfer printer to which an embodiment of the present invention is applied.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are diagrams showing a configuration example of a ribbon code.

FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C are diagrams illustrating an example of a configuration of a determination unit for an unused ink ribbon cassette; FIGS.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a first example and a second example of an ink ribbon identification information reading unit;

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration example of a rotation mechanism used as a first example of the reading unit;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are diagrams showing a third example of an ink ribbon identification information reading unit;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the procedure of the present embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... System control part, 2 ... Mechanical control part, 3 ... CPU, 4 ... Memory, 5 ... Display part, 6 ... Ribbon code label, 7 ... Ribbon code reading sensor, 8 ...
Cueing sensor, 10: ink ribbon cassette, 11: ink ribbon, 12: supply spool, 13: take-up spool, 20: printer.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 35/36 B41J 17/36

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. Ink ribbonShows species and number of prints
Have identification informationIdentificationWhen, Unused indicating that it is an unused ink ribbon cassette
Identification mark Using an ink ribbon cassette with,  First, an unused ink ribbon cardThe set has been attached
Is detected by determining the unused mark.
When starting to use an unused ink ribbonOf said identification
Performing the determination and displaying the identificationink ribbonSpeciesIdentification information
And the identificationdisplayAvailable number of prints
Is stored as the number of remainingAnd Next, the remaining number is decremented by one every time one print is completed.
TheUpdate the memory and update the remaining number of sheetsNumberdisplay
Next, the ink ribbon cassette that has been replaced halfway is remounted.
That it was worn,Discrimination of the unused discrimination mark andSaid insight
Determine the different displayNon-detection of the unused discrimination mark and
The memorized ink ribbonSpeciesBy matching with identification information
Detects the remaining number of sheets for the ink ribbon cassette.number
ofA feature that continuously updates and displays the memory.
How to use the ink ribbon cassette on the linter
Law. 2. It has identification information indicating an ink ribbon type.
Identification, Unused indicating that it is an unused ink ribbon cassette
Using an ink ribbon cassette having a discrimination mark, First, make sure that an unused ink ribbon cassette is
Is detected by determining the unused mark.
When starting to use an unused ink ribbon,
The discrimination information is used to identify the type of the ink ribbon being displayed.
And a record of the number of used ink ribbons.
Reset the memory Next, each time one print is completed, the used number is incremented by one.
To update the memory and
Display, Next, the ink ribbon cassette that has been replaced halfway is remounted.
The wearing of the unused identification mark and the identification
By performing separate display discrimination and detecting the unused discrimination mark
By matching with the stored identification information of the ink ribbon type,
Detects and uses the used
Updates and displays numbers continuously Characterized by
How to use the ink ribbon cassette in the printer
Law.