JP4947411B2 - Printer - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a sublimation type printing apparatus is known in which an ink ribbon coated with ink is superposed on a printing surface of a transfer medium and heated by a thermal head to sublimate the ink and transfer it to the transfer medium. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In this sublimation printing apparatus, the print density (gradation) changes according to the amount of heat applied from the thermal head to the ink ribbon, and the print density increases as the amount of heat increases. .
JP 2004-34658 A

  By the way, in the printing apparatus according to an example of the above-described prior art, a relatively strong external force may act on the ink ribbon in the printing process, and the rear end of the ink ribbon that has a relatively large thermal deterioration due to the heating of the thermal head. There is a possibility that the ink ribbon may break at the portion.

  For example, in a sublimation type printing apparatus, a transfer medium and an ink ribbon that are superposed in close contact with each other at a heating position of a thermal head are separated from a printing position where the thermal head and the platen roller sandwich the printing plate after the printing is completed. The ink ribbon is peeled from the transfer medium by the peeling plate. For this reason, if the end of the print area is set near the end of the transfer medium, the end of the transfer medium is printed before the end of the print area reaches the peeling plate. When the thermal head comes out of position and contacts the platen roller only through the ink ribbon, an excessive load acts on the ink ribbon, and the ink ribbon is broken at a position where thermal degradation is relatively large. There is.

To solve this problem, for example, the transfer medium is provided with a surplus portion that does not contribute to printing by shifting the end of the print area from the vicinity of the end of the transfer medium to the center, and the end of the print area. Is known to prevent the thermal head from contacting the platen roller only through the ink ribbon by setting the surplus portion to be present at the printing position until the ink reaches the peeling plate. .
However, in this case, due to the surplus portion of the transfer medium, there is a problem that the cost required for printing increases, the space required for storing the transfer medium increases, and the printing apparatus becomes large. .

Further, for example, when printing is completed, the thermal head is brought into contact with the platen roller only through the ink ribbon by releasing the pressure contact state of the thermal head against the platen roller and separating the thermal head from the platen roller. Methods to prevent are known.
However, in this case, since the tension acting on the ink ribbon is excessively reduced, the conveyance of the ink ribbon and the peeling operation on the peeling plate become unstable, and there is a possibility that wrinkles may occur on the ink ribbon, for example. Further, for such a problem, for example, in a printing apparatus according to an example of the above-described prior art, during conveyance other than at the time of transfer, an appropriate tension is applied to the ink ribbon while the heat roller of the transfer unit and A method for conveying an ink ribbon without contacting a backup roller or the like is known. However, when a special mechanism for changing the tension applied to the ink ribbon according to the transfer operation and the transport operation is provided, there arises a problem that the configuration and control of the printing apparatus become complicated.

  SUMMARY An advantage of some aspects of the invention is that it provides a printer capable of appropriately suppressing breakage of an ink ribbon.

In order to solve the above-described problems and achieve the object, a printer according to a first aspect of the present invention includes a thermal head and a platen roller that sandwich print paper and an ink ribbon that are superimposed on each other from both sides in the thickness direction. A printer that transfers the ink of the ink ribbon to the print paper by heating the ink ribbon with the thermal head, wherein a gradation state of a rear end portion of the print image data to be printed on the print paper is changed. Detection means for detecting (for example, gradation state determination unit 55 in the embodiment) and determination means for determining whether the gradation state is a predetermined gradation state (for example, gradation state in the embodiment) and also functions as the determination unit 55), said by the determination means, thermal degradation degree predetermined gradation is the ink ribbon of the rear end portion of the image data for the print When it is determined that the gradation is higher than the predetermined gradation, the ink head is moved up by the thermal head when printing of the image data for printing is finished, so that the ink ribbon by the thermal head and the platen roller is moved. Control means (for example, the thermal head movement control unit 56 in the embodiment) for controlling the movement operation of the thermal head so as to release the clamping state .

  According to the printer configured as described above, the thermal head moving operation (for example, head-up operation) is controlled according to the determination result of whether or not the gradation state of the rear end portion of the print image data is the predetermined gradation state. Therefore, the contact state between the ink ribbon and the thermal head can be controlled according to the degree of thermal deterioration caused by the amount of heat applied to the ink ribbon, and the ink ribbon acts on the ink ribbon via the thermal head. It is possible to suppress breakage of the ink ribbon due to the mechanical load.

Furthermore, in the printer of the invention according to claim 2, the determination means determines whether or not a gradation of a rear end portion of the print image data is equal to or higher than a predetermined gradation, and the control means the by determining means, when the gradation of the rear end portion of the printing image data is thermal degradation of the ink ribbon is determined to be equal to or greater than the predetermined gray state to be less than a predetermined degree, the printed image The head up movement of the thermal head is started after the data printing is finished and after the ink ribbon is peeled off from the print paper.

According to the printer configured as described above, when the thermal deterioration of the ink ribbon becomes a predetermined level or more due to the gradation of the trailing edge of the print image data becoming a predetermined gradation or more, the print image data By moving the thermal head when printing is completed, that is, while the thermal head is in contact with the platen roller via the printing paper and the ink ribbon, for example, the thermal head contacts the platen roller only through the ink ribbon. It is possible to prevent an excessive mechanical load from acting on the ink ribbon via the thermal head.
In addition, when the thermal degradation of the ink ribbon is less than a predetermined level as the gradation of the trailing edge of the print image data becomes less than a predetermined gradation, after the printing of the print image data is finished, After the ink ribbon is peeled from the print paper, the thermal head is moved, and the ink ribbon is not clamped by the thermal head and the platen roller. It is possible to prevent wrinkles from occurring.

According to the printer of the first aspect of the invention, the contact state between the ink ribbon and the thermal head can be controlled according to the degree of thermal degradation caused by the amount of heat applied to the ink ribbon. It is possible to suppress breakage of the ink ribbon due to a mechanical load acting on the ink ribbon via the head.
Furthermore, according to the printer of the second aspect, when the gradation of the trailing edge of the print image data becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined gradation, the thermal deterioration of the ink ribbon becomes equal to or higher than the predetermined level. This prevents the thermal head from contacting the platen roller only through the ink ribbon and causing an excessive mechanical load to act on the ink ribbon via the thermal head.
Also, if the thermal degradation of the ink ribbon becomes less than a predetermined level due to the gradation of the trailing edge of the print image data being less than a predetermined gradation, the ink ribbon transport and peeling operation is unstable. Thus, the occurrence of defects such as wrinkles can be prevented.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a printer of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
A printer 1 according to this embodiment is, for example, a thermal transfer type sublimation printer, and as shown in FIG. 1, a paper reel 3 on which a print paper 2 is wound in a roll shape, and a conveyance path of the print paper 2 And a paper cutter 5 for cutting the print paper 2 printed by the printer mechanism 4.

For example, as shown in FIG. 2, the printer mechanism 4 includes a thermal head 11, a platen roller 12 disposed opposite to the thermal head 11, an ink ribbon 13, and a peeling plate (peeling member) 14.
Between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12, a print paper 2 fed from the paper reel 3 and an ink ribbon 13 superimposed on the printing surface of the print paper 2 are sandwiched.
In the thermal head 11, a plurality of heating resistors 11a corresponding to each dot at the time of printing are arranged in a matrix, and each heating resistor 11a generates heat so as to form an appropriate pattern. Ink ribbon 13 between 11 and platen roller 12 is heated at a predetermined printing position.

For example, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink ribbon 13 has the yellow ink Y, the magenta ink M, the cyan ink C, and the laminate material L on the surface that is one surface of the base film, sequentially and repeatedly along the traveling direction of the ink ribbon 13. It has been applied. Here, a reflective marking 13 a is provided between the regions on the base film, and the ink ribbon 13 is positioned by detecting the marking 13 a by the sensor 16.
When the sensor 16 is a color sensor, the ink ribbon 13 can be positioned based on the color of each ink region, and the marking 13a on the ink ribbon 13 can be omitted. The yellow ink Y, magenta ink M, and cyan ink C are formed of, for example, dye-based sublimation ink.

In addition, a back coat agent that reduces the friction coefficient when heated is applied to the back surface, which is the other surface of the base film of the ink ribbon 13.
The ink ribbon 13 is applied to each of the applied inks when the heating resistor 11a of the thermal head 11 is heated by the heating resistor 11a of the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 while being sandwiched with the print paper 2. Y, M, C or the laminate material L is sublimated or melted and adheres to the printing surface of the printing paper 2.

The ink ribbon 13 is wound around a ribbon take-up roller 21 and a ribbon rewind roller 22. Then, the ink ribbon 13 is sent out (rewinded) every time the inks Y, M, and C are transferred so that the inks Y, M, and C of different colors are sequentially stacked on the printing surface of the printing paper 2. ) The operation and the rewinding operation are performed by an ink ribbon winding motor 21a that rotates the ribbon winding roller 21 and an ink ribbon winding motor 22a that rotates the ribbon winding roller 22.
That is, in the feeding (winding) operation of the ink ribbon 13, the ink ribbon 13 is fed from the ribbon rewinding roller 22, and then is moved between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 via the ribbon transport rollers 23 and 24. As a result, the ribbon is taken up by the ribbon take-up roller 21 via the ribbon transport roller 25.
In the rewinding operation of the ink ribbon 13, the ink ribbon 13 is fed from the ribbon take-up roller 21, then passes between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 via the ribbon transport roller 25, and the ribbon transport roller. The ribbon is rewound by the ribbon rewinding roller 22 through 23 and 24.

  The peeling plate 14 is provided in front of the printing position of the thermal head 11 in the feeding direction of the ink ribbon 13 and between the printing position in the traveling path and the ribbon transport roller 25, and overlaps the printing paper 2 at the printing position. The formed ink ribbon 13 is peeled off. The peeling plate 14 is formed, for example, by bending a thin stainless steel plate or the like, and the curved surface is a contact surface 14 </ b> A that contacts the back surface of the ink ribbon 13.

  A transport roller 31 is provided along the transport direction of the print paper 2 between the print reel and the paper reel 3 that is rotationally driven by the paper transport motor 3a. A conveyance roller 32 is provided between the printing position and the paper cutter 5 along the conveyance direction of the print paper 2.

  As shown in FIG. 4, for example, the control device 40 of the printer 1 sends an image to be printed from a main control unit 41 and an external control device (for example, a host computer) E to YMC (yellow (Y), magenta). (M), cyan (C)) and other image data received and temporarily stored, a print control unit 43 that controls printing of image data transmitted from the external control device E, and thermal An energization pulse generator 44 for energizing the heating resistor 11a of the head 11 with an energization pulse pattern corresponding to the gradation (that is, density), and a motor drive control unit 45 for driving and controlling the motors 21a, 22a, and 3a. And is configured.

  The print control unit 43 includes, for example, a print image data generation unit 51, an ink ribbon winding / rewinding processing unit 52, a roll paper drive processing unit 53, a thermal head heating control unit 54, and a gradation state determination unit 55. And a thermal head movement control unit 56.

For example, the print image data generation unit 51 converts the image data stored in the image buffer 42 into print image data corresponding to the inks Y, M, and C of the ink ribbon 13.
The ink ribbon winding / rewinding processing unit 52 controls the feeding (winding) operation and the rewinding operation of the ink ribbon 13 so that the relative position of the ink ribbon 13 with respect to the printing position becomes an appropriate position. .
The roll paper drive processing unit 53 controls the delivery of the print paper 2 from the paper reel 3 and also controls the cutting of the print paper 2 by the paper cutter 5.

  The thermal head heating control unit 54 is a gradation of the density of each color (for example, yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C)) constituting the print image data generated by the print image data generation unit 51. In response to this, a control command for controlling the amount of heat output from the thermal head 11 is generated and output to the thermal head 11.

The gradation state determination unit 55 determines whether or not the gradation state of the rear end portion of the print image data generated by the print image data generation unit 51 is a predetermined gradation state.
For example, the gradation state determination unit 55 determines whether or not the average gradation value in an area for 20 lines from the rear end of the print image data is equal to or greater than a predetermined gradation (for example, 220 gradations). To do.

The thermal head movement control unit 56 controls the movement operation of the thermal head 11 according to the determination result of the gradation state determination unit 55.
For example, the thermal head movement control unit 56 determines that the average gradation value in an area for 20 lines from the rear end of the print image data is equal to or greater than a predetermined gradation (for example, 220 gradations). Performs the head-up operation of the thermal head 11 when printing of the printing image data is completed. On the other hand, when it is determined that the average gradation value in the area corresponding to 20 lines from the rear end of the print image data is less than the predetermined gradation, after the printing of the print image data is finished, the peeling plate 14 Thus, the head-up operation of the thermal head 11 is executed after the time point when the ink ribbon 13 is peeled from the print paper 2.

  The printer 1 according to the present embodiment has the above-described configuration. Next, the operation of the printer 1 will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  First, the printer 1 converts the image data stored in the image buffer 42 into print image data corresponding to the inks Y, M, and C of the ink ribbon 13, and 20 lines from the rear end of the print image data. It is determined whether the average gradation value in the region is equal to or higher than a predetermined gradation (for example, 220 gradation).

Then, the printer 1 sequentially feeds the print paper 2 from the paper reel 3 along the transport path by the transport roller 31. Then, the leading end of the print sheet 2 in the conveyance direction is introduced into a printing position between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12.
Then, the ink ribbon 13 and the print paper 2 are sandwiched between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 at a predetermined pressure so that the print paper 2 and the ink ribbon 13 are sandwiched from both sides in the thickness direction of the print paper 2. Is sent in the transport direction.
At this time, by heating an appropriate heating resistor 11 a provided on the thermal head 11, the yellow ink Y of the ink ribbon 13 is sublimated to adhere the yellow ink Y to the print surface of the print paper 2, and the print paper 2 A yellow image is printed. The back coating agent applied to the back surface of the ink ribbon 13 prevents the ink ribbon 13 from being thermally fused to the heating resistor 11a when heated by the thermal head 11.

  Further, along with heating by the heating resistor 11a, the ribbon winding roller 21 is rotated by rotating the ink ribbon winding motor 21a to wind the ink ribbon 13. At this time, the ink ribbon 13 superimposed on the printing paper 2 at the printing position is taken up by the ribbon take-up roller 21 while being peeled off from the printing paper 2 by the peeling plate 14.

When the printing of the image data for printing with the yellow ink Y on the ink ribbon 13 is completed, the energization to the heating resistor 11a of the thermal head 11 is stopped.
Here, when it is determined that the average gradation value in the area for 20 lines from the rear end of the print image data is equal to or higher than a predetermined gradation (for example, 220 gradation), the thermal head 11 A head-up operation is executed to release the sandwiched state of the print paper 2 and the ink ribbon 13 by the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the average gradation value in the area for 20 lines from the rear end of the print image data is less than a predetermined gradation (for example, 220 gradations), the head of the thermal head 11 The up operation is not executed, and the state in which the print paper 2 and the ink ribbon 13 are clamped by the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 is shifted to the clamp state of only the ink ribbon 13.

Then, the winding operation of the ink ribbon 13 and the conveying operation of the print paper 2 are continued until at least the peeling of the ink ribbon 13 from the print paper 2 is completed.
After the separation of the ink ribbon 13 from the print paper 2 is completed, the winding operation of the ink ribbon 13 and the conveyance operation of the print paper 2 are stopped. Here, the ink ribbon 13 is moved by the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12. If it is clamped, the head up operation of the thermal head 11 is executed to release this clamping state.

Then, the print paper 2 is returned backward in the transport direction by the amount of printing by the yellow ink Y of the ink ribbon 13, and the print paper 2 and the ink ribbon 13 are held between the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12 again at a predetermined pressure.
Thereafter, the magenta ink M, the cyan ink C, and the laminating agent L of the ink ribbon 13 are sequentially printed by the same process as the process for the yellow ink Y of the ink ribbon 13.

  Then, the printing paper 2 on which printing of each ink Y, M, C and printing of the laminating agent L by the printer mechanism 4 has been completed is conveyed by the conveying roller 32 to the paper cutter 5 along the conveying path. Are cut by the paper cutter 5.

As described above, according to the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the thermal deterioration of the ink ribbon 13 becomes a predetermined level or more as the gradation of the rear end portion of the print image data becomes a predetermined level or higher. In this case, when the printing of the print image data is completed, that is, the thermal head 11 is moved head-up while the thermal head 11 is in contact with the platen roller 12 via the print paper 2 and the ink ribbon 13. For example, it is possible to prevent the thermal head 11 from contacting the platen roller 12 only through the ink ribbon 13 and causing an excessive mechanical load to act on the ink ribbon 13 via the thermal head 11.
In addition, when the thermal deterioration of the ink ribbon 13 is less than a predetermined level due to the gradation of the rear end portion of the print image data being less than a predetermined gradation, after the printing of the print image data is completed. After the ink ribbon 13 is peeled off from the print paper 2, the ink ribbon 13 is released from being held by the thermal head 11 and the platen roller 12, so that, for example, the ink ribbon 13 is transported and peeled off. It is possible to prevent wrinkles from occurring.

1 is a side view of a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a side view which expands and shows the printer mechanism of the printer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a principal part top view of the ink ribbon which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a block diagram of the control apparatus of the printer which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printer 55 Gradation state determination unit (detection means, determination means)
56 Thermal Head Movement Control Unit (Control Unit)

Claims (2)

A thermal head and a platen roller that sandwich the print paper and the ink ribbon that are superimposed on each other from both sides in the thickness direction are provided, and the ink ribbon is heated by the thermal head, thereby transferring the ink of the ink ribbon to the print paper A printer that
Detecting means for detecting a gradation state of a rear end portion of the print image data to be printed on the print paper;
Determining means for determining whether or not the gradation state is equal to or higher than a predetermined gradation;
When the determination means determines that the gradation at the rear end of the print image data is equal to or higher than a predetermined gradation at which thermal degradation of the ink ribbon is equal to or higher than a predetermined level, printing of the print image data is performed. And a control means for controlling the movement operation of the thermal head so as to release the clamping state of the ink ribbon by the thermal head and the platen roller by moving the thermal head up when the operation is completed. Printer characterized by. The determination means determines whether the gradation of the rear end of the print image data is equal to or higher than a predetermined gradation;
Said control means, said by the determining means, when the gradation of the rear end portion of the image data for the printing thermal degradation of the ink ribbon is determined to be less than the predetermined gradation is less than a predetermined degree, the printed 2. The printer according to claim 1, wherein after the printing of the image data is completed, the head-up movement of the thermal head is started after the ink ribbon is peeled from the print paper.

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