JP3422621B2 - Thermal transfer recording method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [0001] [0001] The present invention relates to an ink film.
The ink is generated by the selective heating of the heating element of the thermal head.
Thermal transfer recording method to transfer and record on paperTo the lawEngagement, special
High-quality records comparable to silver halide photographs using special paper
Thermal transfer recording methods that can be performedOf the lawAbout improvements
is there. [0002] 2. Description of the Related ArtUsed for thermal transfer recording methodheat
Transfer printers generally support paper in front of the platen
In addition, multiple heating elements are formed on the carriage.
These thermal heads are equipped with
The desired ink is applied to the substrate between
An ink ribbon as an example of a film and the paper
Hold the thermal head together with the carriage on the platen.
Paying out the ink ribbon while reciprocating along
The heating element of the thermal head is based on the recorded information.
And selectively apply energetic current to generate heat
Partially transfers the ink on the ink ribbon to the paper
To record desired characters and other images on paper.
ing. Such a thermal transfer printer has high recording quality,
For reasons such as low noise, low cost, and ease of maintenance
Output devices such as computers and word processors
It has been heavily used. [0003] Such a thermal transfer printer is different from the conventional one.
Heat-meltable to substrates such as plastic films
Ink ribbon coated with ink (hot-melt ink ribbon
Is well known to record on paper using
However, in addition to this, an ink in which a thermosublimable ink is applied to a substrate
Record on paper using ribbon (thermal sublimation ink ribbon)
What is done is also known. [0004] Of these, using a hot-melt ink ribbon
Thermal transfer printer that records on paper
Is a wide variety of types such as plain paper, cardboard, and postcards.
It can be recorded on paper and is easy to use.
You. Then, using this hot-melt ink ribbon, gradation recording is performed.
To perform recording, the density gradation of one dot cannot be
The method was used. On the other hand, a thermal sublimation ink ribbon is used.
Transfer printer (hereinafter referred to as thermal sublimation type
In this case, the heat applied to the thermal head
By controlling the energy, the sublimation amount of the heat sublimable ink
To control the amount of ink transferred to the ink paper.
The density of the recorded image on the paper
By using special paper with surface treatment as paper
High-quality full-color recorded images comparable to silver halide photography
It can be. Therefore, thermal sublimation pudding
Have recently become widely used as high-quality video printers and the like.
Is being used. Incidentally, the heat-meltable ink ribbon and the heat-sublimable ink ribbon are used.
Also have a thermal transfer printer that can share both ribbons
Have been developed. By the way, a pudding capable of full-color recording
Three colors, yellow, magenta, and cyan.
Ink or a combination of these three colors with black ink
Expresses full color by combining 4 colors of ink with
The high density black recorded image is yellow, magenta
Express just by superimposing the three colors of cyan and cyan ink
If you try to get black-like black,
Color printers use four colors of ink
General. On the other hand, high density gray
And black are not enough
If you want to get high density gray or black
I started to get recorded images by overlaying four color inks
Was. [0008] In general, in a thermal sublimation type printer,
When obtaining a high-density recorded image by using
More energy is applied to the heating element than a hot-melt printer
It's getting worse. [0009] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The above-mentioned thermal sublimation type pre-heater
Print with two or less colors of ink
Large amount of energy is applied to the heating element of the thermal head
Recording may not have any adverse effect on the paper.
High quality recording can be performed, but high density
The same amount of energy to obtain a gray recorded image
To three colors, yellow, magenta, and cyan, or
Black is added to these three colors of yellow, magenta and cyan
When recording with four colors of ink, thermal deformation occurs on the paper,
A so-called matting phenomenon such as wrinkles and irregularities
It turned out that the quality could not be recorded. This is on paper
The energy per recording of one color ink is accumulated for two or more colors.
The thermal head when applying the last ink.
Total energy with energy applied to paper from heating elements
Is considered to be because the threshold exceeds the thermal deformation threshold of the paper.
You. [0010] The present invention has been made in view of the above points.
So to form a high density gray or black image
When recording using thermal sublimation ink ribbon of 4 colors
Good quality without affecting the paper.
Thermal transfer recording method that can perform recordingThe lawTo provide
It is the purpose. [0011] The above-mentioned object is achieved.
Therefore, the feature of the thermal transfer recording method of the present invention is that
When forming a gray or black image by overlaying ink,
DepartureEnergy applied to the thermal elementvariableControl and,black
Lastly, record with ink, Yellow, magenta,
The applied energy when printing with each of the cyan inks
Nergies are set equal to each other, and the yellow and magenta
Energy when printing with black and cyan inks
If the size of the
RecordPerform recording with black inkEnergy applied whenSpecialty
On paperTo eliminate the matte that occurredAt the set point
You. [0012] The thermal transfer recording method of the present inventionThe law is,this
By adopting such a configuration, the four-color heat sublimation ink
To create a high density gray or black image
OccasionallySpecial paperToFinal mattingNot to cause
And good quality recording can be performed. [0014] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG.According to the present invention
Used for thermal transfer recording methodThermal transfer preform of the present embodiment
1 is a flat plate at a desired position on a frame (not shown).
Platen 2 is arranged so that its recording surface is almost vertical
A guide plate is provided below the front side of the platen 2.
A shaft 3 is disposed parallel to the platen 2. So
The guide shaft 3 has a key divided vertically.
Carriage 4 is attached.
The lower carriage 4a attached to the drive shaft 3 is
On the other side, a ribbon cassette 5 described later is attached.
The upper part can be moved up and down with respect to the lower carriage 4a.
The carriage 4b is provided. This carriage 4 is
An appropriate drive mechanism wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown)
Drive 6 by a suitable driving means such as a stepping motor.
(Not shown) reciprocates along the guide shaft 3
It is made to move. The carriage 4 is opposed to the platen 2.
And can be freely moved to and away from the platen 2.
To record on paper (not shown) on platen 2
A round head 7 is provided. This paper is heat sublimable
Exclusive paper with surface treatment to stably fix ink
It has been. The thermal head 7 is provided with a host.
Computer, image reader, or keyboard
Input by an appropriate input device (not shown) such as
Arrangement that selectively generates heat based on the desired recording information
A plurality of heating elements (not shown) are provided. The carriage 4 will be described in more detail.
To be clear, the carriage 4 is attached to the guide shaft 3.
A substantially parallel plate-shaped upper surface of the lower carriage 4a
As shown in FIG. 3, the upper carriage 4b
A pair of parallel clans provided at the left and right ends of the
So that it comes into contact with and separates from the lower carriage 4a by the locking mechanism 8.
And is configured to be freely movable in parallel. Each parallel class
The link mechanism 8 includes a pair of links 9 that cross each other in an X shape.
a, 9b and the links 9a, 9b
The difference position is pivoted by a pin 10a and the links 9a, 9b
The ends of are marked by pins 10b, 10c, 10d and 10e.
Left and right of lower carriage 4a and upper carriage 4b, respectively
Slidably into a long hole (not shown) formed at the upper end of the side
Locked. The lower carriage 4a has a rotary clamp.
A rank mechanism 11 is provided.
The parallel carriage operation of the upper carriage 4b is not performed by the structure 11.
It is supposed to be. This rotary crank mechanism 11
A rotation supported by the lower carriage 4a so as to be rotatable.
The rotating plate 12 and the pin 13a are located at eccentric positions of the rotating plate 12.
And a connecting link 14 which is more pivotally attached to the connecting link.
14 is pivotally connected to the upper carriage 4b by the pin 13b.
It is configured. The rotating plate 12 is a motor
Is driven to rotate by appropriate driving means (not shown) such as
It has become so. Returning to FIG. 1, the left side of the upper carriage 4b
On the right side, the tips are gently curved inwardly and
A plate-shaped engagement portion 15a having a projection formed at the end
The interval between the arms 15 is approximately equal to the width of the ribbon cassette 5.
It is installed upright. And the upper carriage 4b
A pair of rotatable parts at a certain distance from each other
The bobbin 16 is disposed so as to project upward.
The bobbin 16 moves the ink ribbon 17 to a predetermined direction.
It is possible to run in the direction. This pair of bobbins 16
One is a winding bobbin 16a for winding the ink ribbon 17,
And the other is a delivery bobbin 1 for delivering the ink ribbon 17.
6b. Also, on the platen 2 of the carriage 4
On the other hand, on the edge on the far side,
An optical sensor 18 for detecting the type of the ink ribbon is provided.
Have been. The optical sensor 18a is connected to the thermal transfer printer 1
Operation of thermal transfer printer 1 arranged at desired position
Is connected to a control unit 25 that controls such operations.
The control unit 25 is provided by a memory, CPU, etc. (not shown).
And at least with the movement of the carriage 4
Based on the output signal from the optical sensor 18a, the ribbon cassette
The ribbon cassette 5 and the slot 5
Type of crib ribbon 17 and carry for home position
Moving distance of the carriage 4, opening and closing state of the canopy 19 described later,
Distance between a pair of adjacent or spaced ribbon cassettes 5
And the like can be determined or detected. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the carriage
4 and a frame (not shown) at appropriate intervals.
As shown by a double-headed arrow A in FIG.
A substantially plate-shaped canopy 19 is provided. This
When the canopy 19 is closed, the paper feed mechanism (shown in FIG.
Function as a paper presser on the exit side of
Movement of the carriage 4 so as to face the carriage 4
The length is almost the same as the area. In parallel with the carriage 4 of the canopy 19
Holds the ribbon cassette 5 at a predetermined position on the lower surface facing the ribbon cassette 5
A plurality of cassette holders (not shown)
To record a color image using each cassette holder.
Ribbon 17 made of thermal sublimation ink of four colors for use
a, 17b, 17c, 17d
5a, 5b, 5c and 5d move in the moving direction of the carriage 4.
They are arranged in a line. Of these, Revo
The cassette 5a is made of yellow sublimable ink.
The ink ribbon 17a has magenta in the ribbon cassette 5b.
The ink ribbon 17b made of the heat sublimable ink is
The Bon cassette 5c is made of cyan sublimable ink.
The ink ribbon 17c and the ribbon cassette 5d
The ink ribbon 17d made of black sublimable ink is
Each is stored. Each of the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5b, 5
c and 5d are canopy as shown by double-headed arrow B in FIG.
19 is selectively delivered between the upper carriage 4b and the upper carriage 4b.
It has become. Each of the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5 of the present embodiment
b, 5c and 5d are related to the type of the ink ribbon 17
Are all formed in the same shape and dimensions.
The pair of lower parts are placed in the case body 20 having a substantially rectangular planar shape.
A pair of reels 21 and 21 rotatably supported;
A pair of ribbon feed rollers (not shown)
And several facing the rotatably supported ribbon path
Guide rollers and the like are provided. And said 1
Ink ribbon 17 is wound between a pair of reels 21 and 21
The middle part of the ribbon path of the ink ribbon 17 is guided to the outside.
Has been issued. The pair of reels 21 and 21
When mounted on the carriage 4b, one of them is used for recording.
Take-up reel for winding the ink ribbon 17
The other is a delivery reel for delivering the ink ribbon.
You. The inner peripheral surface of each reel 21 has a plurality of key grooves.
Are formed in a spline shape at intervals in the circumferential direction.
The inner peripheral surface of one of the reels 21 is
6a is a take-up hole 21a with which the other reel is engaged.
The inner peripheral surface of the feeding bobbin 16b is engaged with the feeding bobbin 16b.
It is an outlet 21b. In addition, key of ribbon cassette 5
Surface facing platen 2 while mounted on cartridge 4
Is formed with a recess 22 facing the thermal head 7.
In the recess 22, an intermediate portion of the ink ribbon 17 is formed.
Is derived. Further, a concave portion 22 of the ribbon cassette 5 is formed.
Each ribbon cassette is located on the rear surface extending parallel to the
5. Determine the type of ink ribbon 17 stored in 5
Identification mark 23 is provided. Form of this implementation
Status mark 23 depends on the type of ink ribbon 17.
Reflective seal having a different number of striped non-reflective portions 24a
24. Then, this identification mark 23 is
4 is detected by an optical sensor 18a provided in
Is output to the control unit 25 of the printer.
Of the identification mark 23 in each ribbon cassette 5
It is stored in the ribbon cassette 5 by counting the number.
To determine the type of ink ribbon 17
I have. That is, the ribbon camera shown at the left end in FIG.
The set 5a includes a reflection system having three non-reflection portions 24a.
24A is arranged as the identification mark 23,
In the descending order, four non-reflective portions 24 are provided in the ribbon cassette 5b.
a is disposed as the identification mark 23.
The ribbon cassette 5c has two non-reflective
The reflection seal 24C having the portion 24a is
And one ribbon cassette 5d.
The reflection seal 24D having the non-reflection portion 24a is an identification mark.
23. And the ribbon cassette 5
Is the reference position for detecting the identification mark 23.
Is located at the right end in the drawing of the identification mark 23.
The distance L to the right end face of the non-reflective portion 24a
It is the same in the identification mark 23 and this distance
L to identify the type of ink ribbon 17
The non-reflection part 24a is formed. And serve it
Key with the optical sensor 18a detecting the identification mark 23
Carriage 4 can be stopped, and the carriage 4 stops.
In the stopped state, it is placed in the cassette holder of the canopy 19.
The transferred ribbon cassette 5 is transferred to the upper carriage 4b.
It is supposed to be. As shown in FIG. 4, the control unit 25
AM 25a and ROM 25b.
Image information for recording is used for the AM 25a.
Color separation into four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black
Is stored as recording data for each color.
You. And the ribbon used when performing the actual recording
For the color of the ink ribbon 17 stored in the cassette 5,
The recording data of the corresponding color is sent from the RAM 25a to the control unit 25.
The control unit 25 outputs a plurality of
Selectively drive any of the heating elements according to the recording data
It is supposed to. By the way, a normal color image is a heat image of two colors or less.
This is done by superimposing sublimable ink,
Yellow and maze to obtain a high-density gray image.
Three colors, yellow and magenta
And sublimation inks of four colors that add black to three colors of cyan and cyan.
Superposition must be performed. Also, as mentioned above,
In a thermal sublimation printer, two or less colors of ink are stacked
When performing recording, a large amount of energy is
Even if recording is performed by applying a voltage to the heating element, there is no
Good quality recording without any impact
But the same amount of energy is applied to three colors or four
When recording with color ink, thermal deformation occurs on the paper,
Good matte phenomena such as wrinkles and irregularities
Cannot record quality. Therefore, in the present embodiment,
The voltage is applied to the heating element of the thermal head 7 by the control unit 25.
Energy is controlled according to the image density
You. [0030] 【table】The above table shows the heating elements when recording each color at 16 gradations.
Shows the relationship between the energy applied to the child and the matting phenomenon
AndsideThe axis records yellow, magenta, and cyan.
The energy applied to the heating element whenVerticalThe axis is
Indicates the energy applied to the heating element when performing black recording
I have. The applied energy increases as the numerical value increases.
Gis are getting bigger. In addition, the mark of the intersection of the vertical and horizontal axes
Indicates the position where no matting phenomenon occurs, and x indicates the matte appearance.
The positions where elephants occur are shown. According to this table, the ink of three colors or less is overlaid.
When forming an image by combining, that is, applying black
When the energy is 0, yellow, magenta, and cyan
When the amount of applied energy when recording is more than 11
Matting phenomenon occurs. However, the four color in
Even if an image is formed by overlapping
When the applied energy for black recording is 2 or more and 10 or less
Matting phenomenon does not occur if there is, yellow, magenta
The energy applied when recording each color of cyan and cyan is 1
If 0 or less, the applied energy when performing black recording is
Even at the maximum of 15, no matting phenomenon occurs. The reason for this is as follows.
When the applied energy is 2 or more and 10 or less, the three colors
Even if matting occurs due to ink superposition,
By heating during black recording superimposed after
Causes a smoothing effect on the paper surface.
Is due. In addition, each of yellow, magenta and cyan
If the applied energy for color recording is 10 or less,
In this case, the energy applied to the last black recording
The total energy plus the accumulated energy up to the matting phenomenon
Is lower than the energy that causes Therefore, in this embodiment, four colors are used.
In black recording when forming an image by superposition
In the first recording mode 26a, the applied energy is
It is set to be small 2 and maximum 10. Next, the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described.
The operation of the state will be described. Host computer and image not shown
Control of the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present embodiment from a reader or the like
The image information input to the unit 25 includes yellow,
Color separation into four colors of magenta, cyan and black
The recorded data is stored in the RAM 25a. Soshi
Thus, the actual recording is performed on the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5b, 5c,
Using 5d, yellow, magenta, cyan and
It is performed in the order of black ink. The chromatic color is yellow,
Any one of the three magenta and cyan inks
Alternatively, it is formed by adding a density gradation to a combination of two colors.
The achromatic colors are three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan.
It is formed by adding density gradation to the ink combination,
Among them, particularly high density gray and black are yellow and magenta.
And black ink added to the three color inks of cyan and cyan.
It is. Therefore, the yellow color first performed first
The recording of ink is explained below.
Ribbon cassette 5a containing ink ribbon 17a
Is detected by a command from the control unit 25.
1 to the right in FIG.
Once moved, the carriage 4 is disposed.
The optical sensor 18a detects the identification mark 23 on the ribbon cassette 5.
This is performed by detecting And the optical sensor 18
a indicates the arrangement and pitch of the non-reflective portions 24a.
The unique detection signal of each identification mark 23 by the
The control unit 25 sends the ribbon cassette corresponding to the command.
Judge whether it is the identification mark 23 of the unit 5a, and
In the case of the corresponding identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5a,
Stops the movement of the carriage 4 and moves the carriage 4 corresponding to the command.
If it is not the identification mark 23 of the cassette 5a,
Detection mark 23 of ribbon cassette 5a corresponding to
The movement of the carriage 4 is continued until the operation is completed. Then, the corresponding ribbon cassette 5a is
The carriage 4 is stopped at the position facing the
The upper carriage 4 is driven by driving the structure 8 and the rotary crank mechanism 11.
b, and is held by the cassette holder of the canopy 19.
The yellow thermal sublimation ink ribbon 17a is stored
Transfer the ribbon cassette 5 a to the upper carriage 4. So
Then, again, each parallel crank mechanism 8 and the rotary crank mechanism
11 to drive the upper carriage 4b to the lower carriage 4a.
After descending so as to make contact, the ribbon cassette 5
a is recorded using yellow, but this yellow
When recording images, recording is performed according to the density of the recorded image.
The control unit 25 performs control so that the
Depending on the applied energy of up to 15
Yellow recording is performed. When the yellow recording is completed,
Cassette holder holding the supplied ribbon cassette 5a.
The carriage 4 is stopped at a position facing the rudder.
Then, the upper carriage 4b is moved up again in the same manner as described above.
Ascending, the yellow mounted on the upper carriage 4b
Transfer the ink ribbon cassette 5a to the cassette holder
You. Next, the optical sensor 18a provides the next recording.
The identification mark 23 of the magenta ribbon cassette 5b.
And load the ribbon cassette 5b on the carriage 4.
Then, recording of magenta using the ribbon cassette 5b is performed.
However, even in this magenta recording, the recorded image
The control unit 25 performs control so that recording according to the density is performed.
Perform any of the up to 15 in Table 1
Magenta recording by the applied energy of
Become. When the recording of magenta is completed,
And any one of up to 15 in Table 1
Cyan recording is performed by the applied energy. In this manner, yellow, magenta,
The recording using the thermal sublimation ink of each color
Depending on the density of the image, one of up to 15 in Table 1
This is performed by using any of the applied energy. After the recording of these three colors is completed,
The recording data using black ink is read from the RAM 25a of the control unit 25.
When the data is output to the control unit 25,
Since the image is an image, the control unit 25 converts the black image
Yellow, magenta, and so on like forming
Heating elements during printing with cyan inks
If the applied energy exceeds 11 respectively,
Black recording with a maximum of 10 applied energies in
Control so that Perform recording using this black ink
In the previous state, yellow, magenta, and cyan
Energy applied to the heating element during recording with color ink
Because lugi had a high density of over 11, matte paper
Of black ink, but the black ink
The unevenness of the paper is smoothed by the laminating effect of heat
Thus, the matting phenomenon can be eliminated. In addition, black and
To form a gray achromatic image, it is usually yellow
-, Magenta, and cyan inks
The applied energy to the heating elements is usually equal to each other.
ing. On the other hand, as described above, recording of three colors is completed.
Then, the black ink is used from the RAM 25a of the control unit 25.
When the recording data is output to the control unit 25,
Recording with yellow, magenta, and cyan inks
The energy applied to the heating element at the time of
In the case below, the energy applied during black recording
Even if you do, there is no risk of matting phenomenon on the paper,
It is possible to record black with a maximum of 15 applied energies.
However, when dark black is superimposed, the desired density
Can not be formed, so apply it when recording black.
The energy is also set to 10 or less. In addition, this dark gray
To form an image, the black ink
You don't need to. As described above, the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment
According to the report, high-density
Or when forming a black image,
Of thermal head 7 during black recording
Heat is applied to the element when the energy applied to the element is recorded in other three colors.
Yellow,
Heating element when printing with inks of each color of zeta and cyan
The matting phenomenon occurs due to the energy applied to the
When recording black, even if the paper has irregularities
The unevenness of the paper due to the laminating effect of heating the paper
Good quality recording can be performed by smoothing. The present invention is limited to the above embodiment.
Not be changed and can be changed as needed
You. For example, in the embodiment described above, four colors
High-density gray or
Recording of black thermal sublimation ink when forming a black image
The energy applied to the heating element only when performing was set to 10.
Is the desired applied energy of the lowest 2 to 10
In the table above, it can be said that
They are also clear. [0045] As described above, according to the present invention, heat
When four full-color recordings are performed using sublimable ink
To form an image by overlapping four color inks
In any case,Special paperGood without adversely affecting
It has the effect of being able to record quality
Can be.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer used in a thermal transfer recording method according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a main part of the thermal transfer printer according to the embodiment of FIG. 3; FIG. 4 is a schematic side view of a carriage of the thermal transfer printer according to the embodiment of FIG. 1; [Description of Signs] 1 Thermal transfer printer 4 Carriage 4a Lower carriage 4b Upper carriage 5 (5a, 5b, 5c, 5d) Ribbon cassette 7 Thermal head 17 (17a, 17b, 17c, 17d) Ink ribbon 18 Optical sensor 19 Canopy 23 Identification Mark 24 (24A, 24B, 24C, 24D) Reflective seal 24a Non-reflective part 25 Control part 25a RAM 25b ROM

   ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of front page    (72) Inventor Kazuhiro Uemura               1-7 Yukiya Otsukacho, Ota-ku, Tokyo Al               Within Pus Electric Co., Ltd.                (56) References JP-A-3-1822367 (JP, A)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] An energy film is selectively applied to a plurality of heating elements of a thermal head using an ink film composed of a thermal sublimation ink of four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black. thermal sublimation ink transferred to special paper for thermal sublimation printing have line color image recording, by applying energy prior
A thermal transfer recording method in which matting occurs on the special-purpose paper , wherein when forming a gray or black image by superimposing the four color thermosublimable inks, the energy applied to the heating element is variably controlled. The recording with the black ink is performed last, and each of the yellow, magenta, and cyan is performed .
Energy applied when recording with these inks
Equally set, the yellow, magenta, and cyan
The energy applied when printing with the mark is
In the case where the size is such as to cause printing, the energy applied when printing with the black ink is applied to the special paper .
A thermal transfer recording method which is set so as to eliminate matting .