JP6137592B2 - Printer head control device, printer device, and head cleaning method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printer head control device, a printer device, and a head cleaning method.

As a full-color sublimation printer, a technique disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.
The full-color sublimation printer disclosed in Patent Document 1 uses ink ribbons 50 arranged in the order of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and overprint (OP) as shown in FIG. Print processing.

Here, the operation from “yellow printing to magenta printing” using the ink ribbon 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following drawings, reference numeral 51 indicates a thermal head, reference numeral 52 indicates a platen roller, and reference numeral P indicates a sheet.
First, as shown in FIG. 10, the thermal head 51 is lowered, and the front end portion of the paper P and the Y (yellow) front end portion of the ink ribbon 50 are aligned between the thermal head 51 and the platen roller 52. Position it in the
Thereafter, yellow printing is performed on the paper P by driving the platen roller 52 as shown in FIG.

Thereafter, the thermal head 51 is raised as shown in FIG. 12 to take up the slack of the ink ribbon 50, and then the paper P is moved backward as shown in FIG. Between the front end of the paper P and the front end of the ink ribbon 50M (magenta).
Thereafter, the thermal head 51 is lowered as shown in FIG. 14, and then the platen roller 52 is driven as shown in FIG. 15 to perform magenta printing on the paper P.

  The above operation is “from yellow printing to magenta printing”, but the same processing is performed for cyan and overprinting thereafter.

JP 2007-144893 A

By the way, the ink ribbon 50 used in the above-described full-color sublimation printer is coated with a back agent that improves the lubricity with the thermal head 51 on the back surface. There is a problem that the peeled back agent accumulates in the thermal head 51. Here, the back agent reservoir is indicated by the symbol H.
On the other hand, as shown in FIGS. 9 to 15, when the thermal head 51 is raised to return the paper P, the back agent reservoir H accumulated in the thermal head 51 has a property of sticking to the ink ribbon 50. . For this reason, it is possible to prevent the back agent reservoir H from sticking to the ink ribbon 50 and accumulating in the thermal head 51 by raising the thermal head 51 during the paper returning operation.
However, depending on the case, the back agent reservoir H may remain on the thermal head 51, which causes printing defects such as scratches and voids (white spots). In order to prevent such a problem, auto cleaning may be performed. However, if cleaning is performed frequently, there is a problem that the efficiency of the printing process is deteriorated.

  The current machine has a structure that does not take into consideration that a large amount of the back agent reservoir H of the ink ribbon 50 is accumulated in the thermal head 51 when a large number of sheets are printed continuously. As a result, the back agent reservoir H accumulated in the thermal head 51 falls on the thermal head 51, the ink ribbon 50, and the paper P in the apparatus due to its own weight and some impact, thereby causing scratches, voids, and printing defects. There is.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer head control device and a printer that can execute efficient print processing and ensure good print quality. An apparatus and a head cleaning method are provided.

  The present invention includes a head driving unit that sandwiches an ink ribbon and a paper between a platen roller, supplies thermal energy to the ink ribbon, and supplies a driving current to a thermal head that prints on the paper. An elevating unit for elevating and lowering the platen roller; and a drive control unit for executing an increase for cleaning the thermal head based on an integrated value of the amount of thermal energy supplied from the thermal head to the ink ribbon. It is characterized by that.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to clearly determine the timing of auto-cleaning, and as a result, it is possible to perform an efficient printing process and to ensure good print quality.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printer head control device according to the present invention. It is a schematic block diagram which shows the printer head control apparatus applied to the printer apparatus different from FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a printing process by the printer device shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing process subsequent to FIG. 3. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process following FIG. FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing process subsequent to FIG. 5. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process following FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing control contents of a printer head control apparatus according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the ink ribbon used for the conventional printer apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process by the conventional printer apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process following FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing process following FIG. 11. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process following FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process following FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows the printing process following FIG.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of a printer head control device according to the invention and a printer device including the printer head control device will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a printer head control apparatus 1, which includes a head drive unit 10, an elevating unit 11, and a drive control unit 12 as main components, a platen roller 2, an ink ribbon 3, a thermal unit. It controls the drive of the printer mechanism unit constituted by the head 4.
Here, the head driving unit 10 sandwiches the ink ribbon 3 and the paper P between the platen roller 2, supplies thermal energy to the ink ribbon 3, and supplies a driving current to the thermal head 4 that prints on the paper P. Supply.
The elevating unit 11 elevates and lowers the thermal head 4 with respect to the platen roller 2. Further, the drive control unit 12 executes a cleaning rise of the thermal head 4 based on an integrated value of a thermal energy amount (described later) supplied from the thermal head 4 to the ink ribbon 3.

  The printer head control device 1 shown in FIG. 1 uses the ink ribbon 50 arranged in the order of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and overprint (OP) shown in FIGS. The present invention is also applied to the printer apparatus (see FIGS. 9 to 15), but in this example, it is applied to the printer apparatus 100 shown in FIG.

The printer apparatus 100 of this example shown in FIG. 2 has a thermal head 4 composed of a plurality of head portions 5 to 8 along the feeding path of the paper P, and the ink ribbon 3 of each color is provided on these head portions 5 to 8. The printer mechanism unit 20 is supplied.
The ink ribbon 3 includes Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and overprint (OP) ink ribbons (indicated by symbols Y, M, C, and OP). 3 is supplied to each of the head portions 5 to 8.
As shown in FIG. 2, the printer mechanism controller 20 of the printer apparatus 100 is provided with the printer head controller 1 including the head drive unit 10, the elevating unit 11, and the drive control unit 12 described above. Is done.

  Next, the operation of the printer mechanism unit 20 of the printer apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.

  First, as shown in FIG. 3, when the first sheet P1 is supplied, the head unit 5 is lowered and yellow printing is performed on the first sheet P1 by the yellow ink ribbon 3 (Y).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the head unit 6 is lowered, and magenta printing is performed on the first sheet P1 on which yellow printing has been performed by the magenta ink ribbon 3 (M).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the head unit 7 is lowered, and magenta printing is performed on the first sheet P1 on which magenta printing has been performed by the cyan ink ribbon 3 (C). At the same time, yellow printing is performed on the second sheet P2 by the yellow ink ribbon 3 (Y).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the head unit 8 is lowered, and overprint printing is performed on the first sheet P1 on which cyan printing has been performed by the overprinting ink ribbon 3 (OP). At the same time, yellow printing is performed on the third sheet P3 by the yellow ink ribbon 3 (Y), and magenta printing is performed on the second sheet P2 by the magenta ink ribbon 3 (M).

After that, as shown in FIG. 7, when overprint printing of the first sheet P1 is completed, yellow printing is performed on the fourth sheet P4 by the yellow ink ribbon 3 (Y). At the same time, magenta ink ribbon 3 (M) performs magenta printing on the third sheet P3, and cyan ink ribbon 3 (C) performs cyan printing on the second sheet P2.
By repeating the steps as described above, it is possible to perform continuous and high-speed printing on a large number of sheets of paper P without causing the paper P to run backward and without raising the thermal head 4.

By the way, in the printer apparatus 100 of this example in which a plurality of head portions 5 to 8 are arranged in a line along the feeding path of the paper P as shown in FIGS. The thermal head 4 is not raised or lowered.
For this reason, in the printer apparatus 100, when a large number of sheets are continuously printed, a large amount of the back agent reservoir H is generated on the thermal head 4 and a printing defect may occur. In order to prevent this, the printer head control apparatus 1, the following control flow step (SP) shown in FIG. 8 is executed.
In the following control flow, temperature measurement is performed in the printer apparatus 100. This temperature measurement is performed by the apparatus temperature sensor 30 and the thermal head temperature sensor 31. The in-device temperature sensor 30 is disposed in the printer mechanism unit 20 of the printer apparatus 100 and measures the air temperature in the printer mechanism unit 20. The thermal head temperature sensor 31 is disposed in each of the head portions 5 to 8 of the thermal head 4 (only the head portion 5 is shown in FIG. 2), and directly measures the temperature of each head portion 5 to 8. .

(Step 1)
When printing is started, first, it is confirmed whether or not the “thermal head up operation execution flag” is ON. If YES, the process proceeds to step 2, and if NO, the process proceeds to step 10. The “thermal head up operation execution flag” is turned ON when the integrated value of the amount of heat energy supplied from the thermal head 4 to the ink ribbon 2 exceeds a predetermined set value (at the time of the previous printing). (ON in step 14). Details will be described later in steps 13 to 14 below.

(Step 2)
Based on the current measured temperatures of the in-device temperature sensor 30 and the thermal head temperature sensor 31, it is determined whether or not these temperatures exceed a predetermined threshold value. If YES, the process proceeds to step 3. If NO, the process proceeds to step 3. Proceed to 4.
In addition, the determination based on these temperatures may use the measured temperature of either the apparatus internal temperature sensor 30 or the thermal head temperature sensor 31, or may use both measured temperatures. The threshold is individually set for the measured values of the sensors 30 and 31, and if any one of the measured values exceeds the threshold, a determination of YES is made.
The threshold value set here is a temperature at which the back agent reservoir H melts and easily sticks to the ink ribbon 3, and is a reference temperature for determining that the back agent reservoir H can be removed only by raising the thermal head 4. It is. If the measured temperature is less than this threshold value, it is determined that the back agent reservoir H is solidified and accumulated in the thermal head 4 and that it is necessary to auto-clean the thermal head 4 including dummy printing.

(Step 3)
A control signal is output to the elevating unit 11 to operate the thermal head 4 so as to rise from the platen roller 2, thereby removing the back agent reservoir H.

(Step 4)
An “auto cleaning flag” for executing the auto cleaning of the thermal head 4 is turned ON. The “auto cleaning flag” is a flag for executing auto cleaning in step 21 described later.

(Step 5)
The “thermal head up operation execution flag” is turned OFF, and the process proceeds to step 10.
Note that the “thermal head up operation execution flag” is set for printing in all of yellow, magenta, and cyan. However, since this printer apparatus 100 always starts printing from yellow, yellow printing processing is used to stop printing. It is necessary to determine whether to continue printing or to execute the thermal head up operation.

(Steps 10-11)
Next, the print data for one line to be printed is developed on the memory (step 10), and the total heat energy amount necessary for applying the head portions 5 to 8 of the thermal head 4 is calculated from the developed data for one line. (Step 11). Here, the developed data for one line is accompanied by gradation data indicating shading, and gradation data necessary for application is indicated by 0 to 255. The amount of heat energy in one line can be determined by the total number of gradation data in one line.

(Step 12)
Since the back agent reservoir H of the ink ribbon 3 cannot be formed by only one line, it is used for application from the start of printing to the current line based on the amount of thermal energy based on the print data calculated in step 11 and the history data from the start of printing. Count and integrate the amount of heat energy.

(Step 13)
It is determined whether or not the amount of heat energy integrated in step 12 has exceeded a preset reference threshold value. If YES, the process proceeds to step 14, and if NO, the process proceeds to step 15.
This reference threshold is the amount of thermal energy that needs to be removed because the back agent reservoir H remains in the thermal head 4.

(Step 14)
The “thermal head up operation execution flag” indicating that the amount of heat energy accumulated in step 12 exceeds a preset threshold value and the back agent reservoir H needs to be removed is turned ON. Here, the set flag is checked in step 1 when printing of the next page is started. When the flag is turned on, printing is stopped and the thermal head up operation is executed.

(Step 15)
The print data developed in step 10 is transferred to the thermal head 4, and the head units 5 to 8 of the thermal head 4 are driven and controlled by the head drive unit 10 to print the print data on the paper P.

(Step 16)
It is determined whether or not printing for one page of paper has been completed. If YES, the process proceeds to step 17, and if NO, the process proceeds to step 10.
If it is determined in step 13 that the amount of heat energy accumulated in step 12 exceeds a preset threshold value, the thermal head up operation should be performed immediately. However, if the thermal head up operation is performed during printing, the print result Therefore, it is necessary to continue the printing process until printing for one sheet is completed.

(Step 17)
It is determined whether or not printing for all pages has been completed. If YES, the process proceeds to step 18, and if NO, the process proceeds to step 1.

(Step 18)
If printing for all pages is completed, based on the current measured temperatures of the in-device temperature sensor 30 and the thermal head temperature sensor 31, it is determined whether or not these temperatures exceed a predetermined threshold. Then, the process proceeds to step 19, and if NO, the process proceeds to step 22. This step 18 has the same processing contents as step 2.

(Step 19)
It is confirmed whether or not the “auto cleaning flag” is ON. If NO, the process proceeds to step 20, and if YES, the process proceeds to step 21. The “auto cleaning flag” is a flag that is turned ON in step 4.

(Step 20)
A control signal is output to the elevating unit 11 to operate the thermal head 4 so as to rise from the platen roller 2, thereby removing the back agent reservoir H.

(Step 21)
After a control signal is output to the elevating unit 11 and the thermal head 4 is moved up from the platen roller 2, the thermal head 4 including the dummy printing is automatically cleaned. Remove.
Note that the dummy printing for removing the back agent is printing having a length of about 10 mm, which is enough to enter the dust box, and is performed by alternately performing the thermal head up operation. The auto cleaning is a process of repeatedly removing the back agent reservoir H that could not be removed by dummy printing several times.

(Step 22)
A control signal is output to the head driving unit 10 and the lifting unit 11 to perform auto cleaning of the thermal head 4 including dummy printing, thereby removing the back agent reservoir H. This step 22 has the same processing contents as step 21.

  As described above in detail, in the printer head control device 1 and the printer device 100 incorporating this printer head control device 1 shown in the present embodiment, the integrated value of the amount of thermal energy supplied from the thermal head 4 to the ink ribbon 3 is obtained. Then, it is determined whether or not a preset reference threshold has been exceeded (steps 13 to 14), and based on the determination result, cleaning is executed at the start of the next printing (steps 2 to 5 and 19 to 22). In other words, in the present embodiment, the integrated value of the amount of heat energy supplied from the thermal head 4 to the ink ribbon 3 is used for determination when optimally performing auto cleaning, thereby clearly defining the auto cleaning timing. As a result, efficient print processing can be performed. In addition, printing defects due to the back agent reservoir H can be prevented, and good print quality can be ensured.

In the above embodiment, it is determined in step 13 whether or not to perform auto cleaning based on the amount of heat energy based on the gradation data indicating the light and shade contained in the print data. This thermal energy is based on the print data. Instead of this, it may be calculated as follows.
For example, the thermal energy may be calculated based on the feed amount of the ink ribbon 3 with respect to the thermal head 4, may be calculated based on the number of printed sheets P, may be calculated based on the printing time, and various It may be configured by simple data or a combination of these data.

  The printer head control device 1 also sandwiches the ink ribbon 3 and the paper P between the platen roller 2, supplies thermal energy to the ink ribbon 3, and prints on the paper P from the thermal head 4. The “head cleaning method” is applied to calculate the amount of heat energy supplied to 3 and raise it to clean the thermal head 4 based on the integrated value of the amount of heat energy.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was explained in full detail with reference to drawings, the concrete structure is not restricted to this embodiment, The design change etc. of the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention are included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Printer head control apparatus 2 Platen roller 3 Ink ribbon 4 Thermal head 5 Head part 6 Head part 7 Head part 8 Head part 10 Head drive part 11 Lifting part 12 Drive control part 20 Printer mechanism part 30 In-apparatus temperature sensor 31 Thermal head temperature Sensor 100 Printer device

Claims (9)

A head drive unit that sandwiches an ink ribbon and a sheet between the platen roller, supplies thermal energy to the ink ribbon, and supplies a drive current to a thermal head that prints on the sheet;
An elevating part for elevating and lowering the thermal head relative to the platen roller;
A drive control unit that executes an increase for cleaning the thermal head based on an integrated value of the amount of thermal energy supplied from the thermal head to the ink ribbon,
When the integrated value of the amount of heat energy supplied from the thermal head to the ink ribbon exceeds a preset set value, the drive control unit
After all pages are printed, the thermal head is raised or auto-cleaning including dummy printing is performed,
If the device temperature value and / or head temperature value exceeds a predetermined value before printing of all pages is completed, after the back agent reservoir is removed by raising the thermal head, the next page It performs printing,
When the apparatus temperature is higher than a predetermined value after the printing of all pages, auto cleaning including dummy printing is performed on the condition that the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rising of the thermal head was not performed before the printing of all pages. And the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rise of the thermal head on the condition that the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rise of the thermal head was performed before the printing of all pages,
The printer head control apparatus , wherein after the printing of all the pages is completed, when the apparatus temperature is lower than a predetermined value, auto cleaning including the dummy printing is performed .   The printer head control device according to claim 1, wherein the thermal energy is calculated based on gradation data indicating light and shade included in print data.   The printer head control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thermal energy is calculated based on a feed amount of the ink ribbon to the thermal head.   The printer head control device according to claim 1, wherein the thermal energy is calculated based on a number of printed sheets.   The printer head control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thermal energy is calculated based on a printing time.   The printer head control apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the drive control unit performs auto cleaning based on an apparatus temperature value and / or a head temperature value measured at the end of printing. A printer apparatus having a thermal head that sandwiches an ink ribbon and paper between a platen roller, supplies thermal energy to the ink ribbon, and prints on the paper,
A head drive unit for supplying a drive current to the thermal head;
An elevating part for elevating and lowering the thermal head relative to the platen roller;
A punter head control device comprising: a drive control unit that executes an increase for cleaning the thermal head based on an integrated value of the amount of thermal energy supplied from the thermal head to the ink ribbon;
When the integrated value of the amount of heat energy supplied from the thermal head to the ink ribbon exceeds a preset set value, the drive control unit
After all pages have been printed, cleaning is performed.
If the device temperature value and / or head temperature value exceeds a predetermined value before printing of all pages is completed, after the back agent reservoir is removed by raising the thermal head, the next page It performs printing,
When the apparatus temperature is higher than a predetermined value after the printing of all pages, auto cleaning including dummy printing is performed on the condition that the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rising of the thermal head was not performed before the printing of all pages. And the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rise of the thermal head on the condition that the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rise of the thermal head was performed before the printing of all pages,
The printer apparatus , wherein after the printing of all pages is completed, when the apparatus temperature is lower than a predetermined value, auto cleaning including the dummy printing is performed . The thermal head is composed of a plurality of head portions arranged along the paper feed path,
The ink ribbon comprises yellow, magenta, cyan and overprint ink ribbons,
The printer apparatus according to claim 7, wherein each of the ink ribbons is supplied to the head unit. A thermal head that sandwiches an ink ribbon and paper between a platen roller, supplies thermal energy to the ink ribbon, and prints on the paper, calculates the amount of thermal energy supplied to the ink ribbon, and calculates the amount of thermal energy A method of raising the thermal head for cleaning based on the integrated value of:
When the integrated value of the amount of heat energy supplied from the thermal head to the ink ribbon exceeds a preset value,
After all pages have been printed, cleaning is performed.
If the device temperature value and / or head temperature value exceeds a predetermined value before printing of all pages is completed, after the back agent reservoir is removed by raising the thermal head, the next page He performs printing,
When the apparatus temperature is higher than a predetermined value after the printing of all pages, auto cleaning including dummy printing is performed on the condition that the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rising of the thermal head was not performed before the printing of all pages. And the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rise of the thermal head on the condition that the removal of the back agent reservoir due to the rise of the thermal head was performed before the printing of all pages,
The head cleaning method , wherein after the printing of all the pages is completed, when the apparatus temperature is lower than a predetermined value, auto cleaning including the dummy printing is performed .

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