JPH02292079A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To allow abnormality or mis-alignment to be identified correctly without printing an image, if a print error occurs by printing out the details of the abnormality or mis-alignment if printing conditions are abnormal or any mis-alignment is present between the printing conditions. CONSTITUTION:If print data is not present in frame memory 29 for example, this is interpreted as abnormal, and message ROM 39 is accessed by a system controller 33. Then data containing a warning message that print data is not present in frame memory 29 is read, and this data is written in message RAM 40. If even a single warning message is written in message RAM 40, print data is not printed out, but the warning message is printed out. In this case, a change over switch circuit 32 is changed over, and data from message RAM 40 is transmitted to a thermal head drive circuit 32.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The thermal printer of the present invention will be explained according to the following items.

A. A. Business usage allocation B. Summary of the invention C. Background technology D. Problem to be solved by the inventionE. Means for solving problems F. Example a, printing paper, ink ribbon [Figures 1 to 7] b. Printer body [Figs. 1 to 4, and 8] b-1. Operation unit [Figure 2] b-2. Platen, thermal head [Fig. 1, Fig. 3,
Figure 4] b-3. Sensor [Figure 1, Figure 3 1 b-4, Circuit configuration [Figure 1] b-5. Warning operation [Figure 8] G. Effects of the Invention (A. Field of Industrial Use) The present invention relates to a novel thermal printer. For more information,
The purpose is to provide a new thermal printer that can effectively notify the user by printing out the details of the error when there is an error in the setting of printing conditions.

(B. Summary of the Invention) The thermal printer of the present invention detects when there is an abnormality in the set printing conditions or inconsistency between the printing conditions, and prints out a warning message using the printing means. This makes it possible to reliably prevent the occurrence of printing errors, and to effectively notify of errors in printing conditions settings and inconsistencies between conditions without the need for special warning display means. This is what I did.

(C. Background Art) A type of printer called a thermal printer basically prints heat-sensitive coloring type printing paper while generating heat in accordance with desired print data using a large number of Joule heating resistors included in a thermal head. Printing is performed either directly or by interposing an ink ribbon coated with heat-sensitive melting ink between the thermal head and the printing paper.

By the way, in this type of printer, print information is usually input in the form of a television signal, but since there are several types of television signals, such as the NTSC system and the PAL system, generally, A changeover switch is provided for setting the signal format so that image information can be printed in response to several types of signal formats.

In addition, some thermal printers have binary recording (white/black) used in facsimiles, word processors, etc.
(hereinafter referred to as "normal print")
In addition, there are products that are equipped with a function to create so-called OHP films, and furthermore, by using printing paper or ink ribbons that have special gamma characteristics (recording density characteristics with respect to recording energy), the print density of individual pixels can be adjusted. Some have upper gradations, allowing them to reproduce gradations closer to the original.

In this way, there are print papers and ink ribbons with various gradation recording characteristics, so it is necessary to use types of print paper and ink ribbons that are compatible with the settings of various gradation print modes in thermal printers. can be,
Furthermore, it is necessary to set the television signal format in accordance with the signal format of input print data.

Note that this type of printer usually has its own printing characteristics depending on the model, and it is necessary to use the print paper and ink ribbon specified to best suit these characteristics. If such a printer is used, gradation reproducibility inevitably deteriorates, and in extreme cases, it may become impossible to print at all.

(D. Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in conventional printers of this type, there is no warning display means or means for displaying warnings about conditions that make the printing operation impossible, such as running out of printing paper, running out of ribbon, or a so-called paper jam. Although it was equipped with an operation stop mechanism, there was an abnormality in the printing conditions or an inconsistency between the printing conditions, such as an incompatibility with the print paper or ink ribbon itself, an incompatibility with the set print mode, or an inconsistency in the signal format settings. However, the printing operation was performed regardless of these factors.

For this reason, even if there is an error in the print condition settings, you will not notice it until you see the printout after the print operation has started or after the print operation has finished. Even if it is known that there is an error, it is often not easy to understand what the error is, and therefore, there is a problem in that printing errors are likely to occur.

Of course, in order to prevent such printing errors from occurring, if there is an error in the print condition settings, it will be detected and displayed on a display device such as an LED or LCD, and furthermore, the printing operation will be changed. It may be possible to prevent the startup from starting, but this method does not necessarily make it easy to understand the details of the setting error, and it is also possible to prevent the setting from starting if the number of LEDs is large or the LCD is large. Another problem arises, which is that the cost increases.

(E. Means for Solving the Problems) Therefore, the thermal printer of the present invention has a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of inconsistency between the above-mentioned conditions, and a warning message corresponding to abnormal or inconsistent printing conditions. A storage means is provided, so that when the above-mentioned abnormality or inconsistency occurs, the above-mentioned warning message can be printed out by the printing means.

Therefore, in the thermal printer of the present invention, if there is an abnormality in the set print conditions or inconsistency between the print conditions, the contents of the abnormality or inconsistency will be printed out instead of the original print operation. Even if a mistake occurs, it is possible to immediately and accurately understand what kind of abnormality or inconsistency exists in which printing conditions without having to print the image, and it also provides a warning to encourage such understanding. Since the display can be performed using a printing means that is necessarily provided as a printer, there is no risk of high costs.

(F. Embodiments) Details of the thermal printer of the present invention will be described below according to illustrated embodiments.

In the illustrated embodiment, the thermal printer of the present invention is
This embodiment is applied to a thermal transfer thermal printer 1 having an fffi type print mode.

First, examples of print paper and ink ribbon used in the thermal printer 1 will be explained, and then the mechanism, circuit, and operation of the thermal printer 1 will be explained.

(a. Print paper, ink ribbon) [Figures 1 to 7
Figure 1 2, 2, ... are cut paper type printing papers,
At least one side, the print surface 2a, is subjected to a predetermined treatment so that ink from an ink ribbon (described later) is transferred well, and one diagonal line of the other side, the back surface 2b, is For example, coded identification marks 2c, 2c (see FIG. 6) are placed on the two corners of the print paper 2, 2, . . . to indicate that the paper is designated for the thermal printer 1. is printed.

3 is an ink ribbon cassette, and thermal printer 1
It is designed to be removably attached to a predetermined position. 4 is a long ink ribbon, and on one side thereof there are ink layers 5, 5, . . . made of sublimation paint, for example.
(shown only in FIG. 5) are formed, and these ink layers 5, 5, . . . are formed on the printing paper 2, 2, .
They have approximately the same size and are arranged at predetermined intervals. The ink ribbon 4 is fixed at both ends to a supply spool 6 and a take-up spool 7, which are arranged at both upper and lower ends of the ink ribbon cassette 3, respectively.
Moreover, it is wrapped by a predetermined amount.

The ink ribbon 4 used in the thermal printer 1 has two types of ink layers 5, 5, .
There are normal ink ribbons for value recording (white/black) printing and ink ribbons for gradation reproduction that have gradation recording characteristics, and coded identification marks 8 are used to distinguish between them. It is attached to the housing 3a of the ink ribbon cassette 3.

In addition, when the ink ribbon 4 is for color printing, the ink layers 5, 5, . . . are made of one of the three predetermined primary colors.
three ink layers of different colors 5, 5,...
・ are arranged in a certain order, and the ink I15, 5, ・
An identification mark (not shown) indicating the color of... is provided.

Reference numeral 9 denotes OHP film paper, which is made of a transparent synthetic resin film material.

Then, the OHP film paper 9 or the print paper 2, 2J, etc. are stored in a paper feed tray 10, and the paper feed tray 10 is detachably attached to a predetermined position of the thermal printer 1. There is.

(b. Printer main body) [1st [Figures 3 to 4, Figure 8] (b-t. Operation section) [Figure 2] 1l is the outer casing of the printer l, 12 is provided on the top surface thereof It is an operation section, and a mode setting area 13 of the operation section 12 has three mode setting buttons 14a, 14b, 14c.
is arranged, and a print start button 15 is arranged in front of it.

One of mode setting buttons 14a, 14b, 14c 14
14b is a normal print mode setting button for using the normal ink ribbon 4, and 14b is a button for setting a print mode for using the gradation reproduction ink ribbon 4 (hereinafter referred to as "gradation print mode"). The other mode setting button 14c is for setting the OH mode.
A mode for creating an OHP film using the P film paper 9 (hereinafter referred to as rOHP film creation mode).

).

Also, on one side of the outer casing 1l, a signal format (NTSC/P
A changeover switch 16 (AL/SECAM, etc.) is arranged, and by moving the slider to a position corresponding to the signal form of the print data input to the thermal printer 1, the signal carrying the print information is changed. The format is set.

(b-2. Platen, thermal head) [Fig. 1, 3
17 is a platen provided inside the outer casing 11, and a paper nipping member 18 for supporting the leading end of the printing paper 2 or the OHP film paper 9 is provided on a part of the outer peripheral surface of the platen. When the print operation start command is issued, the paper feed roller 1
9 rotates in the paper feeding direction to feed the print paper 2 or OHP film paper 9 stored in the paper feed tray 10 toward the platen 17, and its leading end is held on the platen 17 by the paper nipping member 18.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a thermal head as a thermal transducer, which is composed of a circuit board 21 on which a thermal head drive circuit described later is provided, a head support 22 fixed to one end of the circuit board 21, and the like. Heating resistors 23, 23, . . . are attached to the outer periphery of the body 22 in a line-arranged state, and these heating resistors 23, 23, . is now generating heat.

The thermal head 20 is supported by a head support arm (not shown) and is arranged to face the platen 17, and when printing, the head support 22 supports the ink as shown by the solid line in FIG. The ribbon 4 is moved to a position where it is pressed against the platen 17, and the remaining paddy is placed on the platen 17 as shown by the two-dot chain line in the same figure.
It is now placed on standby at a location a little far away.

Incidentally, the ink ribbon cassette 3 is used to store the ink ribbon 4.
is located between the platen 17 and the thermal head 20,
Moreover, it is mounted so that the surface on which the ink layers 5, 5, . . . are provided faces the platen 17 side.

During the printing operation, the platen 17 rotates with the printing paper 2 held on the platen 17 by the paper nipping member 18, and the heating resistors 23, 23, . . . The ink ribbon 4 is brought into contact with the print paper across the ink layer 5 and the print paper 2 is aligned with the print paper 2, and the ink ribbon 4 is run in synchronization with the print paper 2, whereby the ink layer 5 is Of these, the heating resistors 23, 23 that generated heat
, . . . are dissolved and transferred onto the print paper 2. When the predetermined printing is completed, the print paper 2 is sent out from the paper discharge port 11a of the outer casing 11 to the paper discharge section 1lb.

Also, when creating an OHP film, use the paper feed tray 1.
OHP film sheets 9, 9, . When the OHP film production operation starts in this state, the OHP film paper 9 is held by the platen 17 and fed, and the head support 22 of the thermal head 20 is directly moved to the OHP film.
When contacted with the HP film paper 9, the surface of the OHP film paper 9 is heated and destroyed by the heating resistors 23, 23, . . . according to predetermined print data. - Irregularities with different depths etc. are formed according to the degree of maturity of the OHP film, thereby creating a desired OHP film.

(b-3, sensor) [Fig. 1, Fig. 3] 24 is an ink ribbon sensor, and when the ink ribbon cassette 3 is installed in the thermal printer 1, it faces the identification mark 8 attached to the ink ribbon cassette 3. It is provided to obtain information regarding the presence or absence and type of ink ribbon.

25 is a print paper sensor, which is arranged so as to face the position where the identification marks 2C, 2C are printed on the print paper 2 when the print paper 2 is fed from the paper feed tray 10 to the platen 17; paper tray 1
When the print paper 2 is sent out from the print paper 2, the presence or absence of the identification marks 2C, 2c and the code contents are detected.

(b-4. Circuit configuration) [Figure 1] 26 shows the main part of the circuit configuration of the thermal printer 1. A video signal input terminal 27 receives a video signal from an image processing device such as a television receiver, video tape recorder, or electronic camera.

28 is an A/D conversion circuit, the manual terminal of which is connected to the video signal manual terminal 27, and the video signal is transmitted here.
After being converted into a digital signal in step 8, the signal for one screen is temporarily stored in the frame memory 29.

Reference numeral 30 denotes a pulse width modulation circuit arranged after the frame memory 29, and the pulse width modulation circuit 30 modulates the print data output from the frame memory 29 into a signal having a pulse width corresponding to the print data to generate a heat generating resistor. body 23,
The mode setting switches 14a, 14b and 1
It has three types of modulation ROM tables corresponding to the three types of print swords selected by 4c.

31 is a thermal head drive circuit for selectively driving and controlling a predetermined one of the heating resistors 23, 23, . is connected to the output terminal of

The changeover switch circuit 32 is used to select whether the content to be printed is print data written in the frame memory 29 or warning message data from a message RAM to be described later.

33 is a system controller that controls the entire system of the thermal printer 1; 34 is a synchronization signal separation circuit whose input terminal is connected to the video signal input terminal 27;
5 is the synchronization signal separation circuit 34 and the system controller 3
These circuits separate horizontal and vertical synchronization signals from the input video signal, and generate sampling pulses for the A/D conversion circuit 28 based on these signals. The signal data indicating the type of signal is sent to the system controller 33.

36 is a mode setting section, which includes the mode setting buttons 14a,
14b and 14c, the signal format changeover switch 16, etc. are operated, and a predetermined mode signal corresponding to the operation is output to the system controller 33.

37 is an ink ribbon detection circuit which, when a signal corresponding to the presence or absence of the identification mark 8 on the ink ribbon 4 and its content is sent from the ink ribbon sensor 24, identifies the ink ribbon 4 based on this; Signal data corresponding to this is sent to the system controller 33.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a print paper detection circuit, which determines the presence or absence of the identification marks 2C, 2C on the print paper 2 and their contents based on the signal from the print paper sensor 25, and sends predetermined signal data corresponding to this to the system controller 33. It is set to be sent.

The system controller 33 then controls these detection circuits 3.
Based on the signals input from 7 and 38, it is determined whether the ink ribbon 4 or print paper 2 is a specified product for the thermal printer i, and whether it is compatible with the set print mode. Determine whether

39 is a message ROM, and 40 is a message RAM. The message ROM 39 stores the determination element (hereinafter referred to as "
'Printing conditions'. ) or inconsistencies between print conditions, such as ``The loaded print paper is unspecified.'', ``The loaded ink ribbon is unspecified.'', or ``The loaded ink ribbon is unspecified.'' The type of ink ribbon does not match the setting mode. A large number of predetermined warning messages corresponding to items such as j are stored, and such warning messages are stored in the message ROM 39 at any time according to commands from the system controller 33.
The message is read from the message RAM 40 and written to the message RAM 40.

41 is a motor drive circuit, and the system controller 3
The platen motor 42 is provided in order to receive a command signal from the platen motor 3 and control the rotation of the platen motor 42.

(b-5. Warning Operation) [FIG. 8] Next, the warning operation by the circuit 26 will be explained step by step according to the operation flowchart shown in FIG.

a) R START” The print operation is started by pressing the print start button 15, and the printing paper 2 or O in the paper feed tray 10 is pressed.
HP film paper 9 is sent out to platen 17.

b) "Clear the warning message data in the message RAM." If a warning message was written in the message RAM 40 during the previous print operation, it is erased.

c) "Is there print data in the frame memory?" During normal operation, a video signal from an external video device is input through the video signal input terminal 27, and after being A/D converted, it is sent to the frame memory 29. It should exist as print data in the file.

Therefore, if there is no print data in the frame memory 29, this is determined to be abnormal and the next step d) is performed.
If the print data is present in the memory 29, proceed to step e).

d) "Write a warning message (absence of print data) to the message RAM." In other words, the system controller 33 accesses the message ROM 39 and confirms that there is no print data in the frame memory 29; Data containing a warning message such as "No message has been sent" is read out and written to the message RAM 40.

a) Does the signal form of the r input video signal match the set signal form? ” The signal form of the input video signal is identified by the data sent from the synchronization signal generation circuit 35 to the system controller 33, and this is identified by the signal form changeover switch 1 of the mode setting section 3B.
6, it is determined whether or not the signal form matches the set one. If not, the process proceeds to the next step f), and if it does, the process proceeds to step g).

f) Write r warning message data (signal form mismatch) to message RAM. If a mismatch in signal format is found in step e), a warning message to that effect is read from the message ROM 39 and written into the message RAM 40. for example,
If the set signal format is NTSC, but the input video signal format is PAL, etc., the message "Signal formats do not match.

(Setting: NTSC/Input signal: PAL) Data of the warning message content such as J is written into the message RAM 40.

g) "Identify the setting mode, ink ribbon, and print paper." In other words, the system controller 33 identifies the current setting mode based on the signal from the mode setting section 36, and also identifies the ink ribbon based on the signal from the ink ribbon detection circuit 37. First, it is detected whether the ribbon 4 is attached to the thermal printer 1, and if so, its type is specified.

Then, based on the signal from the print paper detection circuit 38,
After detecting whether or not the print paper 2 or the OHP film paper 9 is attached to the thermal printer 1, the print paper is identified.

In addition, the state with no print paper installed and the transparent O}
The difference from the mounting state of the IP film paper 9 is, for example, O
This can be determined based on the reflectance of the HP film paper, that is, the intensity of the received signal.

h) Does the r setting mode match other print conditions? ” Determine whether the setting mode identified in step g) above matches other print conditions, that is, the installed ink ribbon and print paper, and if so, proceed to step j) and If not, proceed to step i).

i) Write r warning message data (setting mode mismatch) to message RAM. "In step h) above, when the mode setting does not match other printing conditions, for example, even though the ink ribbon 4 and print paper 2 having normal, that is, binary recording characteristics are installed, the mode setting is If you are in OHP film creation mode, a warning message such as "The setting mode is inappropriate for ink ribbon or print paper. (Setting mode: OHP/Ink ribbon: Normal/Print paper: Normal)" Data is message RAM4
Written within 0.

j) "Does the ink ribbon match other print conditions?" In other words, determine the compatibility between the print paper installed in the thermal printer 1 and the setting mode and ink ribbon 4, and check the other print conditions. If it matches, step It
), and if there is no match, proceed to the next step k).

k) “Warning message data (ink ribbon mismatch)
is written to the message RAM. ” In step j), when the ink ribbon 4 does not meet other printing conditions, for example, when the normal mode is set and the printing paper is for binary recording,
If the ink ribbon 4 has gradation recording characteristics, the message ``The ink ribbon does not match the setting mode or print paper.'' (Ink ribbon: gradation recording characteristics/setting mode 2 normal/print paper) :Normal)" is written into the message RAM 40.

Il) Does the printing paper comply with other printing conditions? That is, the consistency between the installed print paper and the setting mode and ink ribbon 4 is determined, and if they match, the process proceeds to step n), and if they do not match, the process proceeds to step m).

m) "Warning message data (print paper mismatch)"
is written to the message RAM. ” In step J2), when the print paper does not meet the other printing conditions, for example, when the gradation print mode is set and the ink ribbon 4 having gradation recording characteristics is installed, binary recording is not performed. If normal print paper with special characteristics is installed, the message "Print paper does not match the setting mode and ink ribbon. (Print paper: Normal / Setting mode: Sui print / Ink ribbon: @ print characteristics)" will appear. Warning message data such as this is written into the message RAM 40. Then proceed to the next step n).

n) "Is there warning message data in the message RAM?" Check whether a warning message is written in the message RAM 40, and if it is not written, step 0.
), and if even one is written, proceed to step p).

o) Print in the print mode set. ” As a result of the determination in step n) above, the message RA
If no warning message is written in M40, there are no abnormalities or inconsistencies among all of the set print conditions, and the print data is stored in the frame memory 29, so the set mode is correct. Print the print data and create an OHP film according to the instructions. In this case, the changeover switch circuit 32
As shown in FIG. 1, the output signal of the pulse width modulation circuit 30 can be sent to the thermal head drive circuit 32.

p) "Print the warning message." If even one warning message data is written in the message RAM 40, there is some kind of abnormality or inconsistency in the set print conditions, so the print data is not printed out. First, print a warning message. In this case, the changeover switch circuit 32 is switched and the data from the message RAM 40 can be sent to the thermal head drive circuit 32.

Then, the print paper with the warning message printed on it is ejected to the paper ejection section 1lb, so by reading the warning message, you can specify which abnormality or inconsistency exists in the printing conditions. And it's easy to know.

(G. Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the thermal printer of the present invention includes a printing means, a detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in printing conditions or a mismatch between the printing conditions, and a thermal printer of the present invention. The present invention is characterized by comprising a storage means for storing a warning message corresponding to a printing condition item determined to be inconsistent, and a control means for printing the warning message by a printing means when there is an abnormality or inconsistency in the printing conditions. .

Therefore, in the thermal printer of the present invention, if there is an abnormality in the set print conditions or inconsistency between the print conditions, the contents of the abnormality or inconsistency will be printed out instead of the original print operation. Even if a mistake occurs, it is possible to immediately and accurately understand what kind of abnormality or inconsistency exists in which printing conditions without having to print the image, and it also provides a warning to encourage such understanding. Since the display can be performed using a printing means that is necessarily provided as a printer, there is no risk of high costs.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, it is not possible to print out a warning message when no ink ribbon or printing paper is attached to the thermal printer. Any suitable method may be used, such as visual notification on a display panel, etc. In addition, the method for identifying ink ribbons and printing paper is not limited to the above-mentioned detection method, but may include attaching an identification code to the ink ribbon itself. In the case of roll paper, it is conceivable to provide an identification means on its subwoofer, etc., and various modifications can be made without departing from the technical scope of the present invention.

Further, in the above embodiments, the present invention was applied to a thermal transfer type thermal printer, but the present invention can also be applied to a thermal type thermal printer that directly records on thermal paper, or to print using both of these methods. It can also be applied to thermal printers and the like that can be used.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an example of an embodiment in which the thermal printer of the present invention is applied to a thermal transfer type thermal printer, and FIG. 1 is a circuit block diagram, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the printer main body, ink ribbon cassette, and paper feed tray, and FIG. FIG. 3 is a side view showing the main parts of the printer, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the main parts of the printer, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the ink ribbon cassette with a part of the ink ribbon pulled out, and FIG. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of print paper, FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing an example of OHP film paper, and FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart. Explanation of symbols 1... Thermal printer, 4, 17, 20... Printing means, 24, 25, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38... Detection means, 33... Control means, 39, 40 ...Storage means applicant Sony Corporation

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Printing means, detection means for detecting the presence or absence of an abnormality in printing conditions or inconsistency between printing conditions, and storage means for storing a warning message corresponding to an item of printing conditions determined to be abnormal or inconsistent. and a control means for printing the above-mentioned warning message by the printing means when there is an abnormality or inconsistency in the printing conditions.