JPH03275368A - Thermal transfer recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To economically perform printing using a single recorder by providing a gradation setting means in which when input data is binary data, a gradation in thermal transfer is set to either 0-th or m-th gradation in accordance with the binary data. CONSTITUTION:When receiving a command of the number of gradation, a CPU part 5 interprets that transmitted image data is binary data of melting type and makes a buffer 3 ENABLE. A gradation conversion part 7 converts the data to, for example, 40-gradation level signals on a command from the CPU part 5. The signals are successively accessed and stored in a line buffer 8. The signals are transmitted to a thermal head 10 from the line buffer 8 in synchronism with a clock, whereby a required recording is accomplished. When gradation image data of sublimating type is inputted, the CPU part 5 makes a buffer 2 DISENABLE at reception of a command of the number of gradation, thereafter making a buffer 4 ENABLE. Then, an operation for a melting type is carried out to form a gradation image.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device that thermally transfers ink from an ink sheet to recording paper using a thermal head, and is applicable to copying machines, facsimile machines, etc. in addition to printers. .

[Prior Art] Conventionally, there are two types of thermal transfer printers: a sublimation printer that uses a sublimation ink sheet and a sublimation recording paper, and a melt printer that uses a melting elbow ink sheet and a melting elbow recording paper. These were used depending on the purpose.

In other words, in the former case, since the density is changed for each pixel, n
For gradation recording, use the ink sheet as yellow (Y),
03 when composed of three colors: magenta (M) and cyan (C)
It is possible to express colors, about 167 at nm256.
Capable of expressing 00,000 colors.

Therefore, the former was used for natural images such as photographs or CG (computer graphics).

Also, the latter is recorded (“1゛”) and not recorded (0°).
Since it can only record binary values, it was used in fields that use CAD and line drawings.

When expressing gradation using the fused blade method, dots were arranged in a matrix and the area ratio of the dots was changed, but the former did not provide any image quality. In the end, in order to obtain high-quality recordings, the former dye-sublimation printer had to be used.

In order to eliminate the above-mentioned disadvantages, a sublimation type printer and a melt type printer can be considered. As such printers, printers have been proposed that are capable of transferring color gradation images, lines, and characters by using ink sheets in which sublimation-type parts and melt-type parts are alternately formed. A specific explanation is shown below.

FIG. 4 shows an ink application section pattern of a thermal transfer ink sheet used in a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 179975/1983.
) is an ink sheet, (lly), (l1m),
(llc) is yellow, magenta, and cyan sublimable ink applied on ink sheet (15), (12) is black melting ink, (13y), (13m), (13c)
) (13b) is a color discrimination mark for discriminating four colors by the number of marks, and (14) is a mark for discriminating sublimation ink or melting ink by, for example, length. The ink sheet (15) has sublimation ink surfaces (lly), (l1m), (lll) in three colors: yellow, magenta, and cyan.
c) and a black meltable ink surface (12) are formed in sequence.

The ink discrimination mark (14) includes one (14□) indicating that the ink is sublimable and one (14°) indicating that it is meltable. Figure 5 shows the control circuit, Figure 6 shows the thermal characteristics of meltable ink and sublimable ink, and Figure 7 shows the thermal head energization time and paper line feed time during character/line output and image output. The relationship is shown respectively.

Next, the operation will be explained.

Because melting ink and sublimation ink have different thermal properties,
The 7th energization time of the thermal head (16) shown in FIG.
They need to be different as shown in the figure. For example, for meltable ink, 5 ffl5. 5 for sublimation ink
A difference is provided such as a variable range of ~20m5. Furthermore, the line feed times of the sheets (17) must also be made different as shown in FIG.

In FIG. 4, color discrimination marks (13y), (13m), (13c) on the ink sheet (15).

(13b) and an ink identification mark (141).

(14□) are sensors (18) and (19) respectively.
Detected by. In the case of image input, the color conversion section (
20) into three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan and stored in the memory (21), and in the case of character or line input, they are stored as they are in the memory (21). The image data stored in the memory (21) is read out by the image data successive section (22), and manually input to the thermal conversion section (24) via the gradation conversion section (23), in the case of character/line data. is read out by the character/line data reading section (25) and input as is to the thermal conversion section (24). Paper (1
7) The sending line feed mechanism (26) is controlled differently for image data and character/line data, as shown in FIG.

[Problem to be solved by the invention] Since the conventional thermal transfer recording device is configured as described above, when printing only gradation images or only images such as lines and characters, it is necessary to A portion of the meltable ink or sublimable ink is wasted and the ink sheet is consumed more than it is actually used. As a result, running costs doubled or more, putting users at a significant disadvantage.

In addition, a complex circuit is required to distinguish between image data and character/line data, which not only increases running costs but also significantly increases the cost of the equipment itself. be damaged. In addition, sublimation recording paper uses special paper, which is 10 times more expensive than melting recording paper, and running costs are high even when printing images without gradation (text, etc.). There was a problem.

This invention was made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and it is possible to print high-quality sublimation-type records with high gradation and fused-type records such as clear characters and line drawings at low cost using a single recording device. The purpose is to obtain a device that can.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention has input data that is non-printing/non-printing/
In the case of binary data indicating printing, the gradation of thermal transfer is set to the 0th or mth (m+integer, 0>
m>n) gradation setting means for setting the gradation.

Further, the thermal transfer recording device according to claim (2) of the present invention includes:
The ink sheet or recording paper currently installed is characterized by being equipped with a shape display means indicating whether the ink sheet or recording paper is a melting type or a sublimation type.

[Operation] In the present invention, when the input data is data related to halftone recording of n gradations, the halftone recording means instructs the thermal head about the gradation related to thermal transfer, and the thermal head The ink on the melting type or sublimation type ink sheet is thermally transferred to the recording paper for melting type or sublimation type depending on the gradation.

When the input data is binary data indicating non-printing/printing, the gradation setting means sets the gradation of thermal transfer to the 0th or m-th gradation, and thermal transfer is performed using this gradation.

Further, in the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim (2), whether the currently loaded ink sheet or recording paper is a melt type or a sublimation type is displayed by the shape display means.

[Example 1] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. In FIG. 1, (1) is an interface section that serves as a contact point for connection with a computer, etc., and includes a plurality of signal lines in addition to eight lines used for inputting commands or image data for communication.

(2) to (4) are buffers, and the interface part (1)
It plays the role of transmitting the contents of signals from the CPU section (5), parallel-to-serial conversion section (6), and line buffer section (8), which will be described later. (5) is a CPU unit that controls the entire device and also interprets and executes commands input from buffer (2). And buffer (2), buffer (
3) select one of the buffers (4), control the input side signal so that it is transmitted to the output side, and output the tone conversion information to the tone conversion section (7), which will be described later. (6) is a parallel-to-serial converter which serially converts the 8 pixels of binary data for melted elbow from the buffer (3) from the 8th bit to the 1st bit.

(7) is a gradation conversion section which converts the binary data from the parallel-serial conversion section (6) into a gradation level signal based on the gradation conversion information from the CPU section (5).

(8) is a line buffer section which stores either the gradation level signal from the buffer (4) or the gradation level signal output from the gradation conversion section (7) for -line. (9)
is a recording control unit that sequentially reads out one line of tone level signals stored in the line buffer (8), and depending on the tone level signals, outputs an energization signal, a data signal, and a latch for the thermal head (10), which will be described later. Control signals, etc. (10
) is a thermal head, which has, for example, 1024 heating resistors.

Next, the operation will be explained.

A thermal transfer recording device generally receives output from a computer or the like through an I/F that complies with Centronics specifications or R5-232C specifications. The interface unit (1) is a member that receives communication commands or image data from a computer (not shown) or the like (abbreviated as an external device), and in this example, it is a Centronics specification example.

The interface section (1) is composed of eight data signal lines and a plurality of signal lines (not shown).

For communication between an external device and this device, first, the external device sends the image size (for example, 1024 pixels * 1000 lines).
, the number of gradations (2 gradations, 64 gradations, etc.), etc. are received.

The CPU section (5) uses a buffer (2) when receiving a command.
is enabled and the command is interpreted by the CPU section (5). Note that since buffers (3) and (4) are not enabled, data lines containing commands are not output.

Next, the CPU section (5) disables the buffer (2) when it becomes possible to print, and enables either the buffer (3) or the buffer (4) according to the interpretation result of the tone number command. do.

This operation will be specifically explained below. First, when a value of 2 is received in the gradation number command, the CPU section (5) interprets the sent image data as binary data for melting, and enables the buffer (3). The binary data for the molten type will be explained using FIG. 2. Generally, in the case of binary data, there are two states: whether it is transferred (printed dot) or not transferred (non-printed dot). In the example in Figure 2, the first dot of the first line is printed, and the second
The data order is 1°°0° such that the dot is not printed. Here, the number of bits required for one pixel (dot) is one. Therefore, on the input data line of buffer (3), the 8th bit is 1', the 7th bit is 0, the 6th bit is "1", the 5th bit is "0", and the 4th bit is 1°.
...There is data for 8 pixels (dots), where the 1st bit is 1, and this is stored in the buffer (3).
The output signal is input to the parallel-to-serial converter (6).

The parallel-to-serial converter (6) converts parallel 8-bit data into serial data, and specifically converts the 8th bit to 1°, the 7th bit to 0', etc. in synchronization with a clock (not shown). . . . are outputted to the gradation converter (7) in the order of the first bit "1".

The gradation conversion section (7) is operated by the command from the CPU section (5).
1' data is converted every 40 gradation levels, for example.

The reason for converting to a level signal of 40 gradations is based on FIG. 6. That is, when recording with a sublimation ink sheet, the gradation level signal is usually 0 to 255, and the relationship between recording density and gradation level is 1.3/1 gradation when the maximum density is 1.3. It is divided equally by the density of 256 minutes,
For example, at 100 gradations, 1.3/256*100 is approximately 0,
The concentration will be 5. On the other hand, the relationship between the gradation level and the current application time is as shown in FIG. 6, and when the current is applied for approximately 6111 seconds, a recording density of approximately 0.2 and approximately 40 gradation levels are assigned.

When it comes to sublimation type ink sheet properties and melt type ink sheet properties, melt type ink sheets are generally more sensitive. That is, the desired concentration can be achieved in the molten form in 1/3 to 1/4 of the current application time. Therefore, in the molten form, the desired density can be achieved by applying electricity corresponding to 40 gradation levels.

The gradation conversion unit (7) in FIG.
are sequentially converted to gradation level 0, and the line buffer (
8) are stored in order from address 0, for example.

In the above explanation, the 8 bits from the beginning of the pixel were described, but the same operation is performed for the next 9th bit and onwards, and the 1024 bits of information for one line is reduced to 102 bits.
It is converted into 4-byte information and stored in the line buffer (8). Next, the contents are sequentially transferred from the line buffer (8) to the recording control section (9) using addresses synchronized with a clock (not shown). Here, from the line buffer (8), addresses 0 to 1023, that is, 1
The gradation level for each line is output. Next recording control section (
In step 9), the gradation level is changed to the energizing time or energizing pulse as shown in FIG. 7, and a signal is sent to the thermal head (10) to achieve the desired recording.

Specifically, the energization time or the number of energization pulses is selected and set in advance in accordance with the density of each gradation level.

In this way, by applying the number of energizing pulses corresponding to each gradation level to each heating resistor (not shown),
Energy corresponding to time or number of pulses is transferred.

When the above-mentioned melted binary data is input, energy corresponding to 40 gradations is applied to the ink sheet for a printing dot of 1°, and the desired recording is performed. At this time, use an ink sheet and recording paper for melting.

Next, a case will be described in which gradation image data for sublimation type is input. When the CPU section (5) receives a gradation number command, for example a 256 gradation command, it disables the buffer (2) and then enables the buffer (4). Then, storage in the line buffer (8) is performed sequentially in synchronization with a clock (not shown), and the above-mentioned operation for the melted type is then performed to form a gradation image.

Here, the ink sheet and recording paper used are those for sublimation printing.

In this way, with the present invention, it is possible to share gradation recording and recording of characters, line drawings, etc., which was previously not possible, by simply replacing the ink sheets and recording paper for melting type and sublimation type with one recording device. can.

In addition, in the present invention, as shown in FIG.
It is clearly indicated that it is in either molten form.

In the figure, (31) is an ink sheet cassette, (3
2) is the ink sheet, (33) is the thermal transfer recording device main body,
(34) is an ink sheet cassette discrimination sensor, (35)
(36) is a paper cassette discrimination sensor, (36) is a recording paper cassette, and (37) is a display panel. In operation, there are two ink sheet cassettes (31), one for melting type and one for sublimation type.
Prepare the ink sheet cassette (31) and the recording paper cassette (36) so that they can be identified by a sensor, such as by punching holes in some of them. For example, if a hole is made for the melting type, it can be detected by the ink sheet cassette discrimination sensor (34) and paper cassette discrimination sensor (35), and this is sent to the display panel control section (not shown), and the display panel (37)
It will be easier to use if it is displayed in Further, in the above example, only one of the recording paper cassettes (36) for melting type and sublimation type is set, but both cassettes are set in the thermal transfer recording apparatus main body (33) and commands from an external device are set. Alternatively, the paper may be taken from one of the cassettes.

In addition, if the command (number of gradation levels) sent from an external device and the currently set ink sheet (32) or recording paper are different, this can be displayed on the display panel (37) to prevent mistakes.

In the above embodiment, one line of data is input to the line buffer (8) and recorded, and then the next line of data is input, or when configured with screen memory, data is input from an external device. The image quality is improved because the reading speed from the memory is constant regardless of the data transfer speed. Furthermore, the same effect as described above can be obtained even if one screen of memory is provided next to the interface section (1).

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, melting type recording is performed even in a sublimation type recording device, so that economical printing can be performed with one recording device.

Furthermore, according to claim (2), it is indicated whether the currently loaded ink sheet or recording paper is a melting type or a sublimation type, thereby improving usability for the user of the thermal transfer recording apparatus.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of this embodiment, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 4 is a diagram of a conventional ink sheet, FIG. 5 is a control circuit block diagram, FIG. 6 is a characteristic diagram, and FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the relationship between energization times. (1) is the interface section, (2), (3), and (4) are the buffers, (5) is the CPU section, (6) is the parallel-to-serial conversion section, (7) is the gradation conversion section, and (8) is the Line buffer section, (9) is recording control section, (10) is thermal head, (31) is ink sheet cassette, (32) is ink sheet, (33) is thermal transfer recording device main body, (34) is ink sheet discrimination A sensor (35) is a paper cassette discrimination sensor, (36) is a recording paper cassette, and (37) is a display panel. In addition, in the figures, the same reference numerals indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A thermal head thermally transfers ink from an ink sheet to a recording paper, and if the input data is data related to halftone recording of n gradations, the thermal head thermally transfers the ink to n (n: an integer) according to the input data. ) A thermal transfer recording device that has a halftone recording means that performs halftone recording at halftones, and selectively attaches an ink sheet and recording paper from either a melting type or a sublimation type; In the case of binary data indicating printing, the gradation of thermal transfer is set to the 0th or mth (m: integer, 0<m≦n
) A thermal transfer recording device characterized by comprising a gradation setting means for setting one of the gradations. (2) The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim (1), further comprising a shape display means for indicating whether the currently installed ink sheet or recording paper is a melt type or a sublimation type.