JPH04331177A - Ink ribbon for color video printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide ink ribbon for color video printer wherein feed error, which occurs when a next ink coating face is to be sent quickly toward a head, is absorbed after completion of thermal transfer on a first ink coating face so as to perform printing operation by a printer without fail. CONSTITUTION:With a heading code 3 in the lead, an ink ribbon 1 for color video printer is formed orderly by making ink coating faces 4, 5, 6 of at least three primary colors yellow, magenta, and cyan fit to the size of printing paper. The length of the last ink coating face 6 out of the ink coating faces 4, 5, and 6 of yellow, magenta, and cyan is formed to be longer than the lengths of the other ink coating faces 4 and 5.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to an ink ribbon for a color video printer, and the present invention relates to an ink ribbon for a color video printer, in which the rearmost ink-coated surface of three primary color ink-coated surfaces such as yellow, magenta, and cyan is made longer than the other ink-coated surfaces. This allows the cumulative feeding error during ribbon feeding to be absorbed by the ink-applied surface at the rear end.

0002

[Prior Art] Ink ribbon 1 for color video printer
As shown in Figure 5, the cue code (mark) 3 is placed at the beginning, and after the cue code 3, ink (dye) of three primary colors such as yellow, magenta, and cyan is applied according to the length of the recording paper. It is formed by providing surfaces 4, 5, and 6 in this order.

After the cue code 3 is detected by the cue detection sensor 7, the yellow, magenta, and cyan ink-coated surfaces 4, 5, and 6 are sequentially sent to the position of the thermal head 8 to print the thermal head. Ink application surface 4 with head 8,
Color printing is performed by sequentially thermally transferring inks 5 and 6 onto recording paper.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the above-mentioned conventional ink ribbon, since the yellow, magenta, and cyan ink application surfaces 4, 5, and 6 are all formed to have the same length, the following problems arise. There were problems as described below.

(1) After the ink on the yellow ink-applied surface 4 is thermally transferred to the recording paper by the thermal head 8, the ink ribbon is rapidly forwarded to the position of the magenta ink-applied surface 5, and the ink on the magenta ink-applied surface 5 is transferred. thermally transferred,
Furthermore, when the ink ribbon is fast-forwarded to the position of the cyan ink-coated surface 6 and the ink on the cyan-inked surface 6 is thermally transferred, feeding errors during rapid-feeding accumulate as the ink ribbon approaches the rearward ink-coated surface. There is a risk that the printing operation will start from an area where the ink is not applied, or that the ink will exceed the ink-applied surface before the printing operation is finished.

(2) In a color video printer in which the relative positions of the cue detection sensor 7 and the thermal head 8 are far apart, there is no ink in the distance D corresponding to the distance L between the cue detection sensor 7 and the thermal head 8. Since it is not applied, there is a risk that other inks may be mixed in during printing.

(3) As a means of solving the problems in (1) and (2) above, it is possible to lengthen the ink-coated surfaces 4, 5, and 6, but if all of the ink-coated surfaces 4, 5, and 6 If the length of the ink ribbon is increased, the ink ribbon as a whole becomes extremely long, and a new problem arises in that the ink ribbon becomes larger.

The present invention provides an ink application surface 4 of an ink ribbon,
The above-mentioned conventional problems can be solved by partially elongating the ink-applied surface, rather than elongating both 5 and 6.

[0009]

[Means to solve the problem] Put the cue code at the beginning,
In an ink ribbon for a color video printer, in which ink-coated surfaces of at least three primary colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are sequentially formed to match the size of recording paper, ink is applied to the rearmost part in the ribbon feeding direction among the plurality of ink-coated surfaces. The surface was made longer than the other ink-applied surfaces.

0010

[Operation] The ink ribbon whose cue code is detected by the cue detection sensor and is cued, first has its yellow ink-coated surface sent to the position of the thermal head, and the ink on the ink-coated surface is recorded by the thermal head. thermally transferred to paper.

When the thermal transfer of the ink on the yellow ink-coated surface is completed, the magenta ink-coated surface is quickly moved to the position of the thermal head, and the ink on the ink-coated surface is thermally transferred onto the recording paper by the thermal head.

When the thermal transfer of the ink on the magenta ink-coated surface is completed, the cyan ink-coated surface is fast-forwarded to the position of the thermal head, and the ink on the ink-coated surface is thermally transferred onto the recording paper by the thermal head.

[0013]The feeding error when rapidly feeding the ink ribbon is accumulated and becomes most noticeable when the rearmost cyan ink ribbon coated surface is rapidly fed, but in the present invention, the cyan ink at the rearmost Since the coated surface is made longer than the other ink coated surfaces, the cumulative error described above can be effectively absorbed, and the printing operation by the thermal head can be started from a place where ink is not coated on the last ink coated surface. This prevents the ink application from being completed before the printing operation is completed.

[0014]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an ink ribbon according to a first embodiment. The ink ribbon 1 has a cue code 3 and inks of three primary colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan on a base material 2 of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film. Coated surface 4,
5 and 6 as one unit, and is formed by connecting a large number of these units in succession.

The yellow, magenta, and cyan ink coating surfaces 4, 5, and 6 are formed by coating the surface of the base material 2 with a heat sublimable dye.

The yellow ink coating surface 4 is formed to have a length LY that corresponds to the size of the recording paper.

Also, the length LM of the magenta ink application surface 5
In consideration of the feeding error during fast forwarding from the thermal transfer of the yellow ink-coated surface 4 to the magenta ink-coated surface 5, the yellow ink-coated surface 4 is adjusted so that the error can be absorbed. It is formed longer than the length LY.

Further, the length LC of the cyan ink coated surface 6 is determined by the length LC after the thermal transfer of the magenta ink coated surface 5 is completed.
Considering the feeding error during rapid forwarding from the cyan ink coating surface 6 and the feeding error from the yellow ink coating surface 4 to the magenta ink coating surface 5, in order to absorb these cumulative errors, the magenta Ink application surface LM
It is formed even longer than the

The ink ribbon 1, which has the lengths of the ink application surfaces 4, 5, and 6 changed to satisfy LY<LM<LC as described above, is placed on the reel 12 on the ribbon supply side of the ribbon cassette 11 as shown in FIG. The ribbon cassette 11 is wound around the ribbon 12 on the ribbon supply side and the ribbon 12 on the ribbon take-up side, as shown in FIG. It is attached to the printer with a platen roller 14 sandwiched between the reels 13.

Then, when the recording paper 16 housed in the paper cassette 15 is fed to the platen roller 14 side by the paper feed belt 17, the recording paper 16 is overlapped with the ink ribbon 1 and placed in the thermal head. 18 is pressed against the platen roller 14, and first, the dye on the yellow ink application surface 4 is thermally transferred onto the recording paper 16.

When the thermal transfer of the yellow ink coated surface 4 is completed, the recording paper 16 is temporarily sent back to the paper return section 19, and during this time the magenta ink coated surface 5 of the ink ribbon 1 is placed at the position of the thermal head 18. fast forwarded.

When the magenta ink coated surface 5 is sent to the position of the thermal head 18, the recording paper 16 that had been returned to the paper return section 19 is sent to the platen roller 14 side, and the magenta ink is inked by the thermal head 18. The dye on the ink-applied surface 5 is thermally transferred to the recording paper 16.

By repeating the same operation as described above, the dye on the cyan ink coating surface 6 is thermally transferred to the recording paper 16, and the printing operation is completed. Note that 20 and 21 are paper detection sensors, and 22 and 23 are guide rollers.

The ink ribbon of the first embodiment has the structure as described above, and the lengths of the ink application surfaces 4, 5, 6 are changed according to the cumulative value of the feed error during rapid feed, so that the LY
Since <LM<LC is set, as described above, when the ink-coated surface is rapidly fed, it is possible to absorb the feeding error for each ink-coated surface and perform reliable ribbon feeding.

FIG. 4 shows an ink ribbon 1 according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

In this embodiment, the length LY of the yellow ink-coated surface 4 and the length LM of the magenta ink-coated surface 5 are approximately the same as the size of the recording paper, and the length of the cyan ink-coated surface 6 is set to approximately the same length as the size of the recording paper. The length of LC is made larger than LY and LM so that the cumulative error of the cyan ink application surface 6 can be absorbed.

The error in fast forwarding from the yellow ink coated surface 4 to the magenta ink coated surface 5 is small, but on the other hand, the fast forward error from the magenta ink coated surface 5 to the cyan ink coated surface 6 is small. Double.

This is because errors in fast forwarding from the yellow ink-coated surface 4 to the magenta ink-coated surface 5 are accumulated.

In the second embodiment, the length LC of the cyan ink coating surface 6 on which feeding errors have been accumulated is compared to the other ink coating surfaces 4 and 5.
It is made longer than that so that cumulative errors can be absorbed.

In the embodiment shown in the drawings, an ink ribbon is provided with ink coating surfaces 4, 5, and 6 in three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan, but in addition to these three colors, so-called black ink may also be applied. Coating surfaces and other ink coating surfaces may be provided, and as the number of ink coating surfaces increases, the cumulative error increases. It becomes meaningful to make it longer than the surface to absorb the cumulative error.

[0032]

Effects of the Invention As explained above, in the ink ribbon of the present invention, the last ink-coated surface of the plural ink-coated surfaces of yellow, magenta, cyan, etc. is partially longer than the other ink-coated surfaces. Therefore, compared to the conventional method in which all the ink application surfaces of yellow, magenta, cyan, etc. are uniformly long in order to absorb the feeding error,
The overall length of the ink ribbon can be shortened, making the ink ribbon more compact and reducing costs, while also absorbing feeding errors when rapidly feeding the ink ribbon, making it possible to start printing from areas where no ink has been applied, or This has the effect of preventing the head from exceeding the ink-applied surface before the printing operation is completed, and making it possible to reliably perform the printing operation on each recording sheet.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of a first embodiment of an ink ribbon.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ink ribbon wound around the ribbon cassette.

FIG. 3 is a side view of the state of use.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a second embodiment of the ink ribbon.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

1... Ink ribbon, 3... Cue code, 4, 5, 6... Ink application surface.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ink ribbon for a color video printer, in which ink-coated surfaces of at least three primary colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are sequentially formed with a cue code at the beginning according to the size of recording paper, wherein the plurality of ink-coated surfaces An ink ribbon for a color video printer, characterized in that the ink-applied surface at the rear end in the ribbon feeding direction is longer than the other ink-applied surfaces.