JPH02175275A - Ribbon identifier for thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To simply identify the type of a charged ribbon by identifying whether the charged ribbon is a multicolor ribbon or not by an output signal from an optical sensor when the optical sensor detects a color identification mark by mark discriminating means. CONSTITUTION:An end mark 4 is formed by disposing, for example, a plurality of reflecting parts 4a of metal color at an equal interval. The length and the interval of the reflecting parts 4a of the end mark 4 are apparently shorter than the length of each black (B) of a multicolor ribbon 1. Accordingly, when the ends of the ribbons 1, 2 are opposed to an optical sensor 6, a variation in the reflecting intensity of the end mark 4 is continuously detected at an equal interval by the optical sensor 6. When the part except the end of the ribbon is opposed to the optical sensor 6, no variation is detected in case of the monochromic ribbon 2. In the case of the multicolor ribbon 1, the lengths of black (B) parts on the way to the parts of a yellow (Y) part, a magenta (M) part and a cyan (C) part are different from each other. Accordingly, the pulse of the interval corresponding to the length of the black (B) part is detected.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [1] A ribbon identification device for a thermal transfer printer that identifies whether a thermal transfer ribbon loaded in a thermal transfer printer is a multicolor ribbon in which multiple colors are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction. The purpose of this system is to easily identify the type of ribbon loaded without the need for special protrusions or switches. An end mark provided near the end of the multicolor ribbon, a color identification mark provided at each color boundary of the multicolor ribbon to identify the color of the adjacent portion, and a color identification mark provided on the thermal transfer printer facing the feeding surface of the ribbon. mark discrimination means for discriminating between an end mark and a color identification mark based on an output signal from a provided optical sensor;
The ribbon can be identified as a multi-color ribbon by the output signal when the optical sensor detects the color identification mark.

MR is formed as in the mark discriminating means.

[Industrial Application Field 1] The present invention provides a ribbon identification device for a thermal transfer printer that identifies whether a thermal transfer ribbon loaded in a thermal transfer printer is a multicolor ribbon in which multiple colors are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction. Regarding.

Even for thermal transfer printers that print in color using multicolor ribbons, it is desirable for economic efficiency to be able to print using monochrome ribbons.However, when you want to print in color, even though the printer is loaded with monochrome ribbons , it would be inconvenient if printing was performed as is. Therefore, it is necessary to identify the type of ribbon loaded during printing.

[Conventional Technique #i] Conventionally, the end of the ribbon and the color identification of multicolor ribbons were performed using output signals from an optical sensor installed on the printer's shaft facing the ribbon6. The type of ribbon loaded was identified using a plastic acid cassette containing the ribbon.

In other words, depending on the type of ribbon loaded, cassettes are classified into those with protrusions and those without protrusions, and switches that are opened and closed by the protrusions (micro-sinch,
(or a leaf switch, etc.) was installed on the printer side. Then, by installing the ribbon cassette in the carriage of the printer, the protrusion of the ribbon cassette operates a switch to output a signal, and depending on the presence or absence of the output signal, it is determined whether the ribbon cassette is type 1, that is, the ribbon stored therein. I was trying to identify the type.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 1] However, if ribbon cassettes are provided with and without protrusions, separate molds for manufacturing the cassettes from plastic materials must be provided for each.
In terms of manufacturing and management, an increase in costs is unavoidable, and on the printer side, a dedicated switch must be provided for identification, which inevitably increases costs, making the printer extremely uneconomical as a whole.

This invention eliminates such drawbacks of the prior art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a ribbon identification device for a thermal transfer printer that can easily identify the type of loaded ribbon without providing special protrusions or switches.

Means for Solving Problem C] In order to achieve the above object, the ribbon identification device for a thermal transfer printer of the present invention has a plurality of colors arranged alternately in the longitudinal direction, as shown in FIG. A thermal transfer printer 3 that can load and print either a multicolor ribbon 1 or a monochrome ribbon 2, and a thermal transfer printer 3 for detecting the end of each ribbon of the multicolor ribbon I and the monochrome ribbon 2. , an end mark 4 provided near the end of each ribbon 1, 2; a color identification mark 5 provided at each color boundary of the multi-color ribbon 1 to identify the color of the adjacent portion; An optical sensor 6 provided in the thermal transfer printer 3 facing the feeding surface of the ribbon 1.2
and a mark discriminating means 7 for discriminating between the end mark 4 and the color identification mark 5 based on an output signal from the end mark 4 and the color identification mark 5. The present invention is characterized in that the mark discriminating means 7 identifies whether the ribbon being used is the multicolor ribbon 1 or not.

[Function] Using the optical sensor 6 and the mark discrimination means 7 for discriminating the end mark 4 and the color identification mark 5, it is determined whether the ribbon loaded in the printer 3 is a multi-color ribbon. Ru.

C Example] Examples will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which the ribbon cassette 10 is attached to the thermal transfer printer 3. 21 in the figure is a platen;
Reference numeral 22 denotes a carriage to which the Lvovkasef 6101 is freely attached, and it reciprocates upwardly with the platen 21 and along the stay shaft 23.

[1 is a thermal transfer ribbon (hereinafter simply referred to as "ribbon"), which is wound from the supply side spool 12 to the take-up side spool 13. This winding is performed by rotating the first winding shaft 14 (by means of a rack and pinion) by moving the space in the printing direction of the first roller. 15 is a thermal head that prints the printing paper (
(not shown), the ink on the ribbon 11 is thermally transferred. This thermal transfer is performed when the carriage 22 moves back and forth in one direction (for example, from left to right in FIG. 2), and at that time the ribbon 11 is transferred to the take-up spool.
It is wound up in 3.

Reference numeral 6 denotes an optical sensor provided in the second carriage 22, which is a reflective optical sensor that illuminates the surface of the ribbon 11 with light from, for example, an LED and detects changes in the intensity of the reflected light.

As shown in FIG. 3, the thermal transfer printer 3 of the present invention can be loaded with either a multicolor ribbon 1 in which a plurality of colors are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction or a monochrome ribbon 2 in a single color for printing. is now possible.

These ribbons l.

2 are both placed in a plastic acid cassette (10), and the shaft containing the multicolor ribbon 1 and the cassette containing the monochrome ribbon 2 are exactly the same cassette.

As shown in FIG. 3, the multicolor ribbon 1 includes, for example, three colors, yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), in which black (B) is arranged with two different lengths. This process is repeated over the entire length. Also,
The monochrome ribbon 2 is black (B) over its entire length, but any other color may be used as long as it is a single color.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, the multi-color ribbon 1
Both of the monochrome ribbon 2 and the monochrome ribbon 2 are provided with a known end mark 4 at the end of the ribbon. The end mark 4 is formed by arranging a plurality of reflective parts 4a of, for example, metallic color at equal intervals. The length and interval of each reflective portion 4a of the end mark 4 are clearly shorter than the length of each black (B) portion of one multicolor ribbon 1.

Therefore, when the end of the ribbon 1.2 faces the optical sensor 6, changes in the reflection intensity due to the end mark 4 are continuously detected by the optical sensor 6 at equal intervals. When a portion other than the end of the ribbon faces the optical sensor 6, no change is detected in the case of the monochrome ribbon 2, and in the case of the multicolor ribbon 1, the yellow (Y) portion and the magenta (M
) section, cyan (C) section, and the black (B) section.
Since the lengths of the ) portions are different, pulses at intervals corresponding to the length of the black (B) portion are detected.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a circuit that processes the output signal from the optical sensor 6.

The output signal from the optical sensor 6 is amplified by an amplifier 25,
It is input to the mark discrimination section 7. The mark discrimination unit 7 includes an end mark detection unit 7a that detects the end marks 4 provided on both the multicolor ribbon 1 and the monochrome ribbon 2, and an end mark detection unit 7a that detects which color of the multicolor ribbon l is approaching the thermal transfer position. A ribbon color identification section 7b for detecting the ribbon color and a ribbon identification section 7c for identifying whether the loaded ribbon is the multicolor ribbon 1 are provided.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a main control unit of the printer 3, which is composed of a microprocessor (MPU) 26a, a memory (not shown), etc., and receives a code signal from a host device (not shown) via an interface. .

27 is a print control unit that controls printing of a character when a character code is input to the main control unit 26 from the host device;
Reference numeral 28 denotes a printing section that performs a printing operation based on an output signal from the printing control section 27.

Reference numeral 29 indicates a space control unit that controls the tjj movement in the line direction of printing; 30 indicates a space operation unit that operates according to the output signal from the space control unit 29; and 31 indicates a line feed type that controls the line feed behavior of printing. 32 is the line feed control section 3! This is a line feed operation section that performs a line feed operation based on the output signal from the .

The end mark detecting section 7a of the mark discriminating section 7 recognizes the end mark as an end mark when continuous pulses at short constant intervals are input, and outputs an end mark detection signal to the main control section 26. As a result, the main control unit 26
For example, it performs processing to stop printing and outputs a signal to the host 11 to display ribbon replacement.

In the ribbon color identification section 7b, when a single pulse longer than the pulse of the end mark 4 is input, the color of the ribbon is identified according to the pulse length, and a signal indicating the color is output to the main control section 26. do. Thereby, the main control unit 26 performs processing so that printing is performed in a color corresponding to the input code.

Ribbon: When a single pulse longer than the pulse of the 2nd end mark 4 is input to the separate section 7c of Ia, it recognizes that the ribbon is a multicolor ribbon, and sends a signal 1, for example, ``rl'' indicating this to the AND gate 33. Output. On the other hand, when a code is input from the host H1 device to the main control section 26, the main control section 26 discriminates the code using the discrimination section 26b, and if the code is a color printing command, a message to that effect is sent to the space control section 29. Output a signal. Then, the space control section 29 controls the space operation section 3o so that the carriage 22 moves back and forth along the platen 2, and the ribbon is wound onto the take-up spool 13 by this operation. If the loaded ribbon is a multi-color ribbon, a signal "rl" is sent from the ribbon identification section 7c to the AN.
It is output to the D gate 33. Also, during this time, the main control unit 2
A signal 1, for example "1", indicating a color printing command is output from the determination unit 26b of No. 6 to the AND gate 33. Therefore, if a multicolor ribbon is identified during one reciprocation of the carriage 22, a signal of "1" to that effect is output from the AND gate 33 to the main control section 26.

In the main control unit 26, even though a color printing command is input from the host device, if a signal indicating that the ribbon in use is a multicolor ribbon is not input, the main control unit 26 performs processing such as 1, for example, to stop printing; Outputs a signal that causes the host device to display ribbon replacement.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the ribbon identification device for a thermal transfer printer of the present invention, an optical sensor, which was conventionally used only for detecting the end of the ribbon and color identification, is used to identify the ribbon loaded in the printer in multiple colors. Since it is possible to identify whether it is a ribbon or not, there is no need to make multiple types of molds to make ribbon cassettes, or to install a switch in the printer that is used only for ribbon identification, reducing economic costs. very good in terms of

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure 1 shows the original J! ! figure, Figure 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment; FIG. 3 is a plan view of the ribbon of the example; FIG. 4 is a plan view of the end mark of the embodiment. FIG. 5 is a circuit block diagram of the embodiment. In the figure, 1...Multi-color ribbon, 2... Monochrome ribbon, 3...Thermal transfer printer, 4... End mark, 5... Color identification mark, 6... Optical sensor 7... Mark discrimination means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A thermal transfer printer (3) that can load and print with either a multi-color ribbon (1) in which multiple colors are alternately arranged in the longitudinal direction or a monochrome ribbon (2) in a single color. And the above multi-color ribbon (1) and monochrome ribbon (2)
To detect the end of each ribbon (1, 2
) and a color identification mark (4) provided near the end of the multi-color ribbon (1) to identify the color of the adjacent portion at each color boundary of the multi-color ribbon (1).
5), an optical sensor (6) provided in the thermal transfer printer (3) facing the feeding surface of the ribbon (1, 2), and an output signal from the optical sensor (6) to mark the end mark. (4) and mark discriminating means (7) for discriminating the color discrimination mark (5), the loading A ribbon identification device for a thermal transfer printer, characterized in that the mark determining means (7) identifies whether or not the ribbon being displayed is a multicolor ribbon (1).