JP3370741B2 - Thermal transfer recording device - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus for performing color printing output, and more specifically, it controls the ink sheet conveying speed in accordance with the magnification of input image data, or has a fixed size. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus that controls the conveyance speed of an ink sheet so that the ink sheet can be shared even when recording in a panoramic size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 13 is an explanatory view showing a schematic structure of a conventional typical thermal transfer recording apparatus.
Is a capstan roller type thermal transfer recording device, FIG.
(B) is a platen drum type thermal transfer recording apparatus.
In the figure, 101 is an ink sheet formed by a film roll having an ink layer, 102 is an ink sheet supply roller for supplying the ink sheet 101 stored in a roll, and 103 is a roll formed by winding the used ink sheet 101. The ink sheet take-up roller 104 is housed in a circular shape, 104 is an image receiving paper to be recorded, and 105 is a platen roller having a highly smooth surface for supporting the ink sheet 101 and the image receiving paper 104 from below.

Reference numeral 106 indicates that the ink sheet 101 and the image receiving sheet 104 on the platen roller 105 are energized while applying pressure when recording, and when recording is not performed,
It is a thermal head that is supported so as to release the pressure and has a large number of recording electrodes arranged. Reference numeral 1301 in FIG. 13A is a capstan roller that reciprocates by sandwiching the image receiving paper, and reference numeral 131 in FIG.
Reference numeral 02 denotes a platen drum which clamps the front end of the image receiving paper 104 with a clamp claw 1303 and winds it around the surface once.

Next, the operation will be described. By receiving the print signal, one sheet of the image receiving paper 104 is fed and conveyed in the platen roller 105 (platen drum 1302) direction. The conveyed image receiving paper 104 is the platen roller 1
The upper surface of the platen roller 105 (platen drum 1302) is wound around the surface of the platen 05 (platen drum 1302) and is pressed and overlapped with the ink sheet 101 by the descending thermal head 106.

In this state, the thermal head 106 is energized according to the image data, and the recording element portion generates heat, whereby the ink of the ink sheet 101 is sublimated and transferred, and the recording for each line is executed. After that, the ink sheet 101 and the image receiving paper 104 are reciprocally moved on the platen roller 105 (platen drum 1302), so that each color of yellow, magenta, and cyan is received.
The image is transferred onto the sheet 04, the image is transferred, and the image receiving paper 104 is discharged to the outside of the machine.

Further, in the above description, the O.V. D. Regarding the (print density) characteristic, the larger the n value, the more the O.I. D. On the basis of the theory that the value becomes low, when printing larger than the input image, decrease the n value (ink sheet 10
A high density image is obtained (by increasing the transport speed of 1). Also,
On the contrary, if the n value is increased (ink sheet 1
If the transport speed of 01 is slowed down, the image will have low density,
The consumption of the ink sheet 101 can be saved.

However, even in the thermal transfer recording method, which is currently called a multiple-time recording method aiming to reduce the running cost by effectively using the ink sheet 101, the ink layer can be used many times and is smaller than the recording screen. A method has been proposed in which a recording process is performed using a certain amount of ink sheet 101. When the conveyance speed ratio n ≦ 20 between the image receiving paper 104 and the ink sheet 101 by the relative speed method,
O. D. It is known that the value is almost constant. The value of n ≦ 20 is considered to be a value satisfying the specifications without any practical problems in the thermal transfer recording apparatus.

Further, as a reference technical document related to the present invention, there is a "printing device" disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 1-123761. This controls the rotation direction by the rotation direction control signal transmitted from the printing mode control unit.
When the printing mode control unit controls the pulse generation circuit, it outputs a continuous pulse signal and controls the rotation speed based on two signal frequencies obtained by dividing the continuous pulse signal.

Thermal transfer recording in which print processing is selectively performed using both the image receiving paper of a fixed size and the image receiving paper of a panoramic size (the width is the same as the fixed size and the length is about twice the size) A device has been proposed. In this case, when switching from standard size printing to panoramic size image receiving paper, the ink sheet cassette was always replaced with a panorama size dedicated ink sheet cassette.

[0010]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, when the transfer speed ratio n ≦ 20 between the image receiving paper and the ink sheet, n. D. The merit that the value does not change is not effectively used. For example, when enlarging and printing, the ink sheet is consumed more than at the same size, so the ink sheet must be prepared longer for that amount, or the enlarging ink sheet must be replaced. However, there is a problem in that the work efficiency is low due to the troublesome replacement operation. On the other hand, when printing is performed in a reduced size, the amount of ink sheet that is conveyed without printing is increased as compared with the case of printing at the same size. Therefore, it takes time other than the actual printing time, resulting in a decrease in printing efficiency. There was a point.

Further, in the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus capable of printing on both standard size and panoramic size image receiving paper, it is necessary to replace the standard size ink sheet cassette with the panoramic size ink sheet cassette. There is a problem that the replacement operation is troublesome and the work efficiency is poor.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and it is possible to obtain a stable image at a low cost at the same time at the same magnification at the time of enlargement, and at the time of reduction, waste of time due to wasteful conveyance of an ink sheet. The first purpose is to reduce the printing efficiency and improve the printing efficiency.

When printing on a standard size and a panoramic size (the width is the same as the standard size and the length is about twice),
A second object is to enable printing of a panoramic size with a standard size ink sheet, eliminating the need for ink sheet replacement work, and improving work efficiency.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a thermal transfer recording apparatus for carrying out a transfer process by carrying an ink sheet at a speed slower than the carrying speed of an image receiving paper. Provided is a thermal transfer recording apparatus having a control means for automatically controlling the conveyance speed of an ink sheet in accordance with the same magnification or the magnification change of input image data when the image is printed on the image receiving paper with the same magnification or a magnification change. It is a thing.

Further, the control means relatively calculates the transport speed of the ink sheet in accordance with the scaling factor when the transport speed of the ink sheet when printing at the same size is 1, and enlarges the print speed. The control is performed so that the conveyance speed of the ink sheet is slowed when the image is printed, and the conveyance speed of the ink sheet is increased when the image is reduced and printed.

A size detector for detecting the size of the image receiving paper is also used.
The size detecting means further comprises:
Or the size of the receiving paper specified by the operator.
Input image data based on the size and the input image data.
The present invention provides a thermal transfer recording apparatus for determining the equal magnification or the magnification change ratio of .

Further, in a thermal transfer recording apparatus for carrying out a transfer process by carrying an ink sheet at a speed slower than the carrying speed of an image receiving paper, the input image data has the same width as the standard size and the length n times the size. The present invention provides a thermal transfer recording apparatus having a control means for controlling the carrying speed of a standard size ink sheet to 1 / n of the carrying speed of an image receiving paper when printing on the image receiving paper.

[0018]

In the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, when the input image data is printed on the image receiving paper at the same magnification or a variable magnification, the conveyance speed of the ink sheet is automatically adjusted according to the equal magnification or the magnification change of the input image data. Control so that it changes dynamically.

Further, when the transport speed of the ink sheet when printing at the same size is 1, the transport speed of the ink sheet is relatively calculated according to the scaling factor, and when the print is enlarged. The conveyance speed of the ink sheet is slowed down, and the control is performed so that the conveyance speed of the ink sheet is increased when the image is printed in a reduced size.

The size detected by the size detecting means
Or the size of the receiving paper specified by the operator and
Based on the input image data, the same size as the input image data
Alternatively, the scaling factor is determined .

Further, when the input image data is printed on an image receiving paper whose width is the same as the standard size and whose length is n times the size,
The transport speed of the standard size ink sheet is controlled to 1 / n of the transport speed of the image receiving paper.

[0022]

【Example】

[Embodiment 1] An embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to a first embodiment. In the figure, 101 is an ink sheet formed by a film-like roll having an ink layer, and 102 is a roll. An ink sheet supply roller that supplies a certain ink sheet 101, 103 an ink sheet take-up roller that winds the used ink sheet 101 and stores it in a roll, 104 is an image receiving paper to be recorded, and 105 is the ink sheet 101 and the image receiving A platen roller having a highly smooth surface that supports the paper 104 from below, 106 energizes the ink sheet 101 and the image receiving paper 104 on the platen roller 105 while applying a predetermined pressure during recording,
This is a thermal head in which a large number of recording electrodes are arranged so that the pressure is released during non-recording.

Further, 107 is an image receiving paper cassette for accommodating a plurality of image receiving papers 104, 108 is a size detecting sensor for detecting the size of the image receiving paper 104 set in the image receiving paper cassette 107, and 109 is for detecting the size detecting sensor 108. The size display unit correspondingly displays the size of the image receiving paper 104.

Further, in this thermal transfer recording apparatus, the transport speed of the ink sheet 101 is 1 / n of the transport speed of the image receiving paper 104.
(N> 1), the ink sheet 101 and the image receiving paper 104
While sliding on the platen roller 105, the recording process is executed with the ink sheet 101 having an area corresponding to 1 / n of the recording screen. That is, the speed Vp at which the image receiving paper 104 is conveyed by the platen roller 105
And the speed Vi at which the ink sheet 101 is conveyed by other driving means, Vp> Vi (Vi is 1 / n of Vp)
Have a relationship.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the control system of the thermal transfer recording apparatus. In the figure, 201 is a memory unit that stores image data, 202 is an image processing unit that corrects image data, 203 is a system control unit that configures a microcomputer system with a CPU installed, and 204 is a system control unit. The printer outputs image data processed by the image processing unit 202.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system in more detail. In the figure, the image processing unit 202
Is an input unit 301 for inputting image data from the memory unit 201, and a scaling processing unit 302 for performing scaling processing.
And a filter unit 303 for executing various image processes by a digital filter, and a control register 304 for controlling image data. The control register 304 is mutually connected to the system control unit 203. Further, 305 is a CPU provided in the system control unit 203, 306 is a paper feeding unit, and output data of the size detection sensor 108 of the paper feeding unit 306 is input to the CPU 305.

Next, the operation will be described. The scaling processing is executed by the scaling processing unit 302 in the image processing unit 202, and the execution result is stored in the control register 30.
CPU 30 in the system control unit 203 via
Output to 5. The CPU 305 executes the calculation of the n value and the calculation of the conveyance speed of the ink sheet 101 (ink motor drive motor rotation speed) corresponding to the scaling.

When the size of the image receiving paper 104 is input from the operation unit (not shown), the information is input to the CPU 305 in the system control unit 203, and the CPU 305 stores it in the memory unit 201. The size of n and the transport speed of the ink sheet 101 (ink motor drive motor rotation speed) are calculated based on the image data amount.

On the other hand, in the case of automatically detecting the size of the image receiving paper 104, the size detection sensor 108 reads the size mark attached to the image receiving paper cassette 107 and outputs the detection data to the CPU 305. , Calculation of the transport speed of the ink sheet 101 is executed.

Further, the conveyance speed of the ink sheet 101 is
Actually, it is determined by the rotation speed of a motor (not shown) that drives the ink sheet 101. That is, the necessary data regarding the transport speed of the ink sheet 101 is the scaling factor in the sub-scanning direction (transport direction). If the scaling factor when the equal magnification is 1 is a, the ink sheet 101 is driven. The number of rotations of the motor is 1 / a at the same magnification.

FIG. 4 is a flow chart showing the operation of data processing in this thermal transfer recording apparatus. First, it is determined whether or not the size of the image receiving paper 104 is designated by an external input means such as an operation unit (S401). At this time, the image receiving paper 1
If it is determined that the size of 04 is not specified, the automatic size detection process of the image receiving paper 104 is executed (S402).
That is, the size detection sensor 108 reads the size mark attached to the image receiving paper cassette 107. on the other hand,
When it is determined in step S401 that the size of the image receiving paper 104 is designated, the size designation is executed. Then, after inputting one of the above sizes, the image data is input (S403).

Next, based on the input size of the image receiving paper 104 and image data, the main scanning direction (printing line)
The scaling factor of is calculated (S404), and the scaling factor a in the sub-scanning direction (conveyance direction) is further calculated (S405). Then, the reciprocal a'of the scaling factor a is calculated from the scaling factor a (S4
06), it is determined whether or not this reciprocal a'is 1 (S
407). In this step S407, the reciprocal a '=
If it is determined to be 1, the rotation speed of the motor that drives the ink sheet 101 is controlled to the standard rotation speed (S4).
08).

On the contrary, when it is determined in step S407 that the reciprocal a '= 1 is not satisfied, a'>
It is determined whether it is 1 (S409). At this time,
If it is determined that a ′> 1, the ink sheet 10
The rotation speed of the motor that drives 1 is faster than the standard rotation speed (S410). On the contrary, the above step S40
When it is determined in 9 that a '> 1 is not satisfied, the rotation speed of the motor that drives the ink sheet 101 is controlled to be slower than the standard rotation speed (S411). Then, after executing any one of the steps S408, 410, 411, the reciprocal a '= 1 is returned (S412), the process returns to the starting step S in this process, and the same process is repeated.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the effect of the present embodiment in the relation between the n value and the printing density (OD). As is clear from this graph, it can be seen that the printing density is stable under the condition of n ≦ 20.

Further, the effects of this embodiment will be collectively described. First, in a thermal transfer recording apparatus that executes a transfer process of an ink sheet 101 at a speed slower than a conveying speed of an image receiving paper 104, when an input image is printed by performing equal-magnification or magnification-magnification processing, the magnification is changed according to a magnification ratio. Ink sheet 101
Since the feeding speed of the image changes, it is possible to obtain a stable image in the same time as when the image is magnified even when the image is enlarged. On the other hand, since unnecessary conveyance of the ink sheet 101 is not necessary at the time of reduction, a stable image can be obtained at an efficient speed.

[0036] Second, when at the same magnification was 1 the conveying speed of the ink sheet 101 in the case of marked copy comprises means for relatively calculating the conveyance speed of the ink sheet 101 in accordance with the magnification, Since the speed of the ink sheet 101 is slowed when the image is enlarged and printed, and the conveyance speed of the ink sheet 101 is increased when the image is reduced and printed, it is used even if the size to be printed is changed. The amount of the ink sheet 101 does not change. Therefore, the length of the ink sheet 101 is minimized, and the supply cost can be reduced.

Thirdly, the magnification is automatically changed according to the size of the image receiving paper 104 and the amount of image data, and the conveyance speed of the ink sheet 101 is controlled, so that the first and second
By making effective use of the contents of, the printing mistake can be prevented. Further, even if devices for inputting image data are diversified, the image data is temporarily stored and the image processing is executed, so that the degree of freedom of the processing is increased.

[Embodiment 2] FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a schematic configuration of a video printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. This video printer mainly comprises a recording portion, an image receiving paper feeding portion, and a driving portion. It is composed of a unit (not shown) and a control unit. In the figure, the recording unit is a thermal head 601 in which a large number of recording electrodes are arranged corresponding to the recording density.
, An ink cassette 602 for accommodating wound ink sheets arranged in the order of yellow, magenta, and cyan; and a platen roller 603 having a highly smooth surface on which an image receiving paper is wound for forward and reverse rotation. It is composed of a grid roller 604 and the like that conveys the image receiving paper after processing.

Further, the image receiving paper supply section includes a fixed size image receiving paper cassette 605 for storing a fixed size image receiving paper,
Panorama size (width is the same as standard size, length is about 2
Double size) panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 and standard size image receiving paper cassette 605
Of the panorama size image receiving paper cassette 606, and the bottom plate of the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605 is pressed from the bottom surface by the paper feeding roller A607. The paper feed pressure lever A 609 that urges the paper feed pressure to be the (paper feed pressure) and the paper feed roller 608 of the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 are urged to the predetermined pressure (the paper feed pressure). And a paper pressure lever B610.

Further, a standard size image receiving paper cassette 605
Image receiving paper end detection sensor 611 that detects the presence or absence of image receiving paper, image receiving paper end detection sensor 612 that detects the presence or absence of image receiving paper in panorama size image receiving paper cassette 606, and whether the fixed size image receiving paper cassette 605 is set A cassette detection sensor 613, a cassette detection sensor 614 that detects whether or not the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 is set, and an image receiving paper leading edge detection that detects the leading edge of the image receiving paper and outputs a detection signal that is the start point of counting the drive pulse. It is composed of a sensor 615 and the like. In addition, 61
Reference numeral 6 denotes an image receiving paper conveyance path for conveying the image receiving paper after the recording processing, 61
An image receiving paper tray 7 receives the image receiving paper.

Reference numeral 618 is a cooling fan motor provided to prevent an excessive temperature rise in the apparatus, and 620 is a control unit which mounts a microcomputer system and executes various controls of the entire apparatus.

Next, the operation will be described. The standard size and panoramic size image receiving papers are dedicated cassettes corresponding to the respective sizes, that is, the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605 stores the standard size image receiving paper, and the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 receives the panoramic size image receiving paper. Paper is stored. When a print signal is received in this state, the paper feed roller A607 or the paper feed roller B608
Feeds one sheet of image receiving paper stored in the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605 or the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 and conveys it in the direction of the platen roller 603.

The conveyed image receiving paper is fed to the platen roller 6
It is wound around the surface of No. 03 , and the thermal head 601 descends on the upper surface of the platen roller 603 to press and overlap the ink sheet. In this state, the thermal head 601 is energized in accordance with the image data, so that the recording element portion generates heat, whereby the ink of the ink sheet is sublimated and transferred, and recording is performed line by line.

After that, the ink sheet and the image receiving paper are reciprocally moved on the platen roller 603, so that the colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are overlaid. The image receiving paper on which the image is transferred in this way is fed by the grid roller 6
The sheet is sent to the image receiving sheet tray 617 via the image receiving sheet conveying path 616 .

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the image on the CRT screen and the image to be printed. The standard size prints the entire area on the CRT screen. On the other hand, the panorama size is cut by printing a full size in the horizontal direction and a half size in the vertical direction. In this case, the area to be cut out as the panorama size can be moved in the vertical direction on the CRT screen.

FIG. 8 is a flow chart showing the operation at the time of printing a standard size. This process is started by pressing the print button, and first, it is determined whether or not the panorama mode is set (S801). At this time, when it is determined that the panorama mode is set, a panorama mode process (see FIG. 9) different from this process is executed. On the other hand, if it is determined in step S801 that the image is not in the panorama mode, it is further determined whether the image receiving paper cassette detection sensor 613 of the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605 is turned on (S802). That is, it is confirmed that the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605 is loaded in the apparatus.

At this time, the standard size image receiving paper cassette 60
If it is determined that 5 is not loaded, ERROR
END “No cassette” is displayed (S803). On the other hand, when it is determined in step S802 that the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605 is loaded , it is further determined whether the image receiving paper end detection sensor 611 is turned on (S804). That is, it is determined whether or not the image receiving paper is set in the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605. At this time, the standard size image receiving paper cassette 6
If it is determined that the image receiving paper is not set in 05, ERROREND "No image receiving paper" is displayed (S8).
05).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S804 that the image receiving paper is set in the standard size image receiving paper cassette 605, the paper feeding pressure lever A609 is turned on to the pressure side (S806), and the paper is fed. The image receiving paper of a standard size is conveyed to the platen roller 603 side by the paper roller A607 (S807). Next, the image receiving sheet is conveyed, and it is determined whether or not the image receiving sheet leading edge detection sensor 615 is turned on by the leading edge of the image receiving sheet (S808), and the image receiving sheet reaches the position of the image receiving sheet leading edge detection sensor 615. Make sure that. In step S808, the image receiving paper front end detection sensor 615
If it is determined that the switch is turned on, the conveyance of the image receiving paper is stopped at that time (S809), and the paper feeding pressure lever A60
9 is turned off (S810), and the paper feed pressure is released.

After that, the image receiving paper is attached to the image receiving paper front end detection sensor.
Return while judging whether 615 is ON
Transported and returned when it is determined that it is not turned on
The conveyance is stopped, and the image receiving paper setting is completed (S811, S
812). Then, while repeating the reciprocating conveyance of the image receiving paper on the platen roller 603, first, the yellow standard size print processing is executed (S813), and the magenta standard size print processing is executed on it (S814).
Further, a cyan standard size print process is executed thereon (S815), three colors are overprinted, and the image-receiving paper on which the recording process has been carried out is received by the grid roller 604 through the image-receiving paper conveying path 616 and the image-receiving paper tray. The sheet is discharged onto the sheet 617 (S816), and this processing ends.

[0050] Figure 9 is a flowchart showing a first operation example at the time of the panoramic size indicia shooting at step S801 shown in FIG. 8, is intended to be performed when it is determined that the panorama mode . First, the image receiving paper cassette detection sensor 6 of the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606
It is determined whether 14 is turned on (S901).
That is, it is confirmed that the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 is loaded in the apparatus. At this time, if it is determined that it is not loaded, ERROR END “no cassette”
Is displayed (S902).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S901 that the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 is loaded in the main body, the image receiving paper end detection sensor 6 is further added.
It is determined whether 12 is turned on (S903).
That is, it is determined whether or not the image receiving paper is set in the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606. At this time,
If it is determined that the image receiving paper is not set in the panorama size image receiving paper cassette 606, ERROR EN
D "No image receiving paper" is displayed (S904).

On the other hand, when it is determined in step S903 that the image receiving paper is set in the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606, the paper feeding pressure lever B610 is turned on to the pressure side (S905), The panoramic image receiving paper is conveyed to the platen roller 603 side by the paper roller B 608 (S906). Next, the image receiving paper is conveyed and the leading edge of the image receiving paper is turned on by the image receiving paper leading edge detection sensor 615.
It is determined whether or not the image has been received (S907), and it is confirmed that the image receiving paper has reached the position of the image receiving paper leading edge detection sensor 615. If it is determined in step S907 that the image-receiving-paper leading edge detection sensor 615 is turned on, the conveyance of the image-receiving paper is stopped at that time (S908), and the paper feeding pressure lever B610 is turned off (S909). ), Release the paper feed pressure.

After that, the image receiving paper is attached to the image receiving paper front end detection sensor.
Return while judging whether 615 is ON
Transported and returned when it is determined that it is not turned on
The conveyance is stopped and the image receiving paper is set (S910, S
911). Then, the printing is executed based on the printing method shown in FIG. 10 while repeating the reciprocating conveyance of the image receiving paper on the platen roller 603.

That is, first, a half-pane print process of yellow panorama size is executed (S912), and a half-pane print process of magenta panorama size is executed on it (S912).
913), and further, a cyan panoramic size half-side print process is executed (S914). Then, after the three colors are overlaid on one side, the conveyance of the image receiving paper is stopped and the thermal head 601 is raised (separated), and then only the ink sheet is conveyed and set in a state in which yellow can be printed. After that, while repeating the reciprocating conveyance of the image receiving paper on the platen roller 603, the half-side print processing of the yellow panorama size is executed (S915), and the print processing of the magenta panorama size is executed thereon (S916). Cyan panorama size print processing is executed (S917), and the recorded image receiving paper is discharged by the grid roller 604 onto the image receiving paper tray 617 via the image receiving paper conveying path 616 (S918). Terminate the process.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a second operation example at the time of printing a panorama size, which is executed when it is determined in step S801 in FIG. 8 that the panorama mode is set. First, the image receiving paper cassette detection sensor 614 of the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606.
It is determined whether or not is turned on (S1101). That is, it is confirmed that the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606 is loaded in the apparatus. At this time, if it is determined that the printer is not loaded, ERROR END "no cassette" is displayed (S1102). On the other hand, the above step S110
At 1, the panoramic size image receiving sheet cassette 606 when it is determined to have been loaded in the body further receiving paper et
It is determined whether or not the band detection sensor 612 is turned on (S1103). That is, it is determined whether or not the image receiving paper is set in the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606. At this time, the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 60
When it is determined that the image receiving paper is not set in 6, the ERROR END "no image receiving paper" is displayed (S
1104).

On the other hand, if it is determined in step S1103 that the image receiving paper is set in the panoramic size image receiving paper cassette 606, the paper feeding pressure lever B610
Is turned on to the pressure side (S1105), and the paper feed roller B60
The panorama size image receiving paper is applied to the platen roller 60.
It is conveyed to the 3rd side (S1106). Next, the image receiving paper is conveyed, and it is determined whether or not the front end of the image receiving paper is turned on by the image receiving paper front edge detection sensor 615 (S1107), and the image receiving paper reaches the position of the image receiving paper front edge detection sensor 615. Make sure that. If it is determined in step S1107 that the image receiving paper leading edge detection sensor 615 is ON,
At that time, the conveyance of the image receiving paper is stopped (S1108), the paper feeding pressure lever B610 is turned off (S1109), and the paper feeding pressure is released.

After that, the image receiving paper is attached to the image receiving paper front end detection sensor.
Return while judging whether 615 is ON
Transported and returned when it is determined that it is not turned on
The conveyance is stopped and the setting of the image receiving paper is completed (S1110,
S1111). Then, while repeating the reciprocating conveyance of the image receiving paper on the platen roller 603, based on the printing method shown in FIG. The printing process to the panorama size by the ink sheet is executed.

That is, first, a yellow panorama size print process is executed (S1112), and then a magenta panorama size print process is executed (S111).
3) Further, a cyan panorama size print process is executed on it (S1114). Then, after the three colors are overlaid on the entire surface , the image-receiving paper on which the recording processing has been performed is discharged by the grid roller 604 onto the image-receiving paper tray 617 via the image-receiving paper conveying path 616 (S1115), This process is terminated.

[0059]

As described above, according to the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, when the input image data is printed on the image receiving paper with the same magnification or with the magnification changed, it is changed according to the magnification of the input image data. The ink sheet conveyance speed is automatically changed to stabilize the image during enlargement printing and shorten the print time. Furthermore, since unnecessary ink sheet conveyance during reduction printing is eliminated, the magnification is the same. It is possible to obtain a stable image in the same time as the time, reduce time consumption due to wasteful conveyance of the ink sheet at the time of reduction, and improve printing efficiency.

Further, according to the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink sheet of the standard size and the panoramic size is printed by printing the conveyance speed of the ink sheet of the standard size as 1/2 of the conveyance speed of the image receiving paper. Since it is common to eliminate the need for ink sheet replacement for each size, it is possible to print a panoramic size with a standard size ink sheet, eliminating the need for ink sheet replacement work and improving work efficiency.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration (Example 1) of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system (Example 1) of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a detailed configuration of a control system shown in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing a data processing operation of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a graph showing the effect of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention in the relation between n value and printing density (OD).

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration (Example 2) of a video printer as a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a CRT in a video printer according to the present invention.
It is explanatory drawing which shows the relationship between the image on a screen and the image printed.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing an operation at the time of printing a standard size by the video printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart showing a first operation example at the time of printing a panorama size by the video printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing method according to the first operation.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing a second operation example at the time of printing a panorama size by the video printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing method according to the second operation.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of a conventional thermal transfer recording device.

[Explanation of symbols]

101 ink sheet 104 image receiving paper 202 image processing unit 203 system control unit 302 scaling unit 305 CPU 620 control unit

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 17/06 B41J 17/12

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. In a thermal transfer recording apparatus that executes a transfer process by transporting an ink sheet at a speed slower than the transport speed of image receiving paper, when input image data is printed on the image receiving paper at equal or variable magnification, A thermal transfer recording apparatus comprising a control means for automatically controlling a conveyance speed of an ink sheet in accordance with an equal magnification or a variable magnification of input image data. 2. The control means relatively calculates the ink sheet transportation speed in accordance with the scaling factor, when the ink sheet transportation speed for printing at the same size is 1, and enlarges the printing speed. 2. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer speed of the ink sheet is controlled to be slow when the image is printed, and the transfer speed of the ink sheet is controlled to be increased when the image is printed in a reduced size. 3. A size detecting hand for detecting the size of the image receiving paper.
A step is further provided, which is detected by the size detecting means.
Alternatively, the size of the receiving paper specified by the operator
Based on the input image data and the input image data, etc.
2. The method for determining a magnification or a scaling factor according to claim 1.
Or the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to 2 . 4. In a thermal transfer recording apparatus which executes a transfer process by carrying an ink sheet at a speed slower than the carrying speed of an image receiving paper, the input image data has the same width as a standard size and a length n times larger. When printing on the receiving paper,
A thermal transfer recording apparatus comprising: a control unit that controls the transport speed of a standard size ink sheet to 1 / n of the transport speed of image receiving paper.