JPH04358851A - Thermal printer and its printing processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To uniformalize the printing density of arm object to be printed by enabling an optimum correction process to be performed by a method wherein, a thermal head, a printing cycle detection means, a control means, etc., are provided, and electrification time of the thermal head is controlled based on an electrification repetitive cycle. CONSTITUTION:A thermal head 11, a printing cycle detection means 12, a memory means 13, and a first control means 14 are provided. The thermal head 11 thermally prints an object 17 to be printed based on an electrification dividing control data D1. The printing cycle detection means 12 detects an electrification repetitive cycle based on the electrification dividing control data D1. Further, the memory means 13 stores a printing cycle data D2 based on the electrification repetitive cycle. The first control means 14 controls electrification time of the thermal head 11 based on an electrification history data based on the printing cycle data D2 and a block selection control signal SIN. Thereby, a difference of its print-ing density becomes capable of being equalized by correction processing always.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Table of Contents] Industrial Application Fields Conventional Technology (FIG. 10) Problems to be Solved by the Invention (FIG. 11) Means for Solving the Problems (FIGS. 1, 2) Working Examples (FIG. 3) ~Figure 9) Effects of the invention

0002

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal printer and a print processing method thereof, and more specifically, to a printer that performs variable division printing processing by including fluctuations in print cycle as a control object, and a printing method thereof. It is something.

In recent years, thermal printers have been utilized in various fields of information printing due to their quietness, high speed, and maintainability. For example, in response to the demand for high-speed printing, there is a split fixed printing method in which the heating element of the thermal head is divided and fixed, or the number of heating elements that are currently being energized is calculated, and the number of divisions of the print block is variably controlled according to the number of heating elements. A thermal printer with a variable division printing method has been developed.

By the way, according to a conventional thermal printer using a variable division printing method, the heating elements of the thermal head are controlled to be divided and variable driven based on serial print data and a print control signal assigned to a print block. .

[0005] Therefore, the printing cycle of the printing line subjected to variable division printing on the printing object changes, and the thermal energy applied to it changes, causing the print density of characters etc. printed on the printing object to change. Differences may occur.

[0006] Therefore, instead of performing divided variable control of the thermal head regardless of the printing period of the printing object, the fluctuation of the energization repetition period of the heating element is included in the control object, and it is constantly corrected, and the printing is performed. A printer and method that can average density differences is desired.

[0007]

2. Description of the Related Art FIGS. 10 and 11 are explanatory diagrams of a conventional example. FIG. 10 shows a configuration diagram of a conventional thermal printer.

In FIG. 10, for example, a thermal printer that performs divided variable control on a heating resistor whose printing block is divided into five parts includes a thermal head 1, a motor drive control circuit 2, a motor 3, and an MPU (microprocessor unit).
4 and a head drive control device 5.

[0009] The function of the printer is, for example, when variably driving the 5 x 60 = 300 (dots) heating resistor that constitutes the thermal head 1, first, the When the printing target (thermal paper, etc.) 6 is sequentially fed through the motor 3, the MPU 4
A head control signal S1 is output from the head drive control device 5.

Further, print control signals WE1 to WE5, for example, are outputted from the head drive control device 5 to the thermal head 1. These five print control signals WE1 to WE5 are
By dividing the heating element of 1 line = 300 [dots] into 5 parts, when the printing area of the printing target 6 is divided into 5 control areas No. 1 to No. 5, permission or disapproval of the printing process can be determined. This is a limiting signal.

At this time, in the divided variable driving method of the heating resistor, print control signals WE1 to WE5 are activated across print blocks in accordance with the number of colored dots distributed in one line. For example, when the number of colored dots in one line of dots is the smallest, the print control signals WE1 to WE5 are activated all at once without performing division control. If the number of colored dots is intermediate, 2-4 division control is performed, and print control signals WE1-WE5 are activated across each print block. Note that when the number of colored dots is the largest, five-division control is performed, and print control signals WE1 to WE5 are activated for each print block.

Further, the movement step of the printing target 6 is controlled via the motor drive control circuit 2. For example, when the number of colored dots in one line is the smallest, print control signals WE1 to WE5 are activated all at once.
The printing cycle, which depends on the line time (also referred to as line time), also becomes shorter. Furthermore, when the number of colored dots is the largest in succession, the print control signals WE1 to WE5 are activated for each print block, so the print cycle becomes longer (see FIG. 11).

Accordingly, based on the serial print data DIN and the five print control signals WE1 to WE5, for example, 5×60=300 heating element elements divided into 60 pieces are dividedly driven and controlled.

[0014]

By the way, according to the conventional example, based on the serial print data DIN and the five print control signals WE1 to WE5, for example, 5×60=300 pieces of data are divided into 60 pieces each. The heating element elements are controlled to be divided into variable drives.

For this reason, as shown in FIG. 11, the energization repetition period SLT of the printing line subjected to the divided variable printing process on the printing object 6 fluctuates, which hinders the uniformity of the printing density on the printing object 6. There is a problem with becoming.

That is, in the state diagram of the divisional printing process for the printing target 6 according to the conventional example as shown in FIG. The energization repetition period SLT1 between time and 2-division driving is different from the energization repetition period SLT2 between 2-division driving and 3-division driving,
The amount of heat stored in the thermal head 1 is different from that in the case of the divided fixed drive method.

[0017] This is considered to be because the energization repetition period SLT in which the same heating element is energized changes, and the amount of thermal attenuation (amount of heat radiation) of the element and its surrounding equipment changes accordingly. For example, the energization repetition period S
When LT becomes shorter, the amount of thermal attenuation taken away from the head 1 by peripheral equipment etc. becomes smaller, and the thermal energy given to the printing target 6 is secured. Conversely, when the energization repetition period SLT becomes longer, the amount of thermal attenuation increases, and the thermal energy given to the printing target 6 becomes insufficient.

[0018] As a result, as the energization repetition period SLT changes, the thermal energy applied to the printing target 6 changes, causing a difference in the print density of characters etc. printed on the printing target 6. It is something.

The present invention was created in view of the problems of the prior art, and is capable of controlling fluctuations in the energization repetition period without performing variable division control of the thermal head regardless of the printing period of the object to be printed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal printer and a print processing method that can be included in a control target and constantly corrected to average differences in print density.

[0020]

[Means for Solving the Problems] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of a thermal printer according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are diagrams showing the principle of a printing processing method of a thermal printer according to the present invention. are shown respectively.

The thermal printer of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
7, a thermal head 11 that performs thermal printing, a printing cycle detection means 12 that detects the energization repetition period SLTx based on the energization division control data D1, and a storage means that stores printing cycle data D2 based on the energization repetition period SLTx. 13, and a first control means 14 that controls the energization time of the thermal head 11 based on the energization history data D3 based on the printing cycle data D2 and the block selection control signal SIN.

In the thermal printer, a moving means 15 for moving and supplying the printing target 17, and a second controlling means 15 for controlling input and output of at least the first control means 14, the storage means 13 and the moving means 15 are provided. It is characterized in that a control means 16 is provided.

Further, the print processing method for a thermal printer of the present invention includes the following steps as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2(b).
First, in step P1, the energization repetition period SLTx is detected as shown in FIG. 2(a) based on the block division control process of the thermal head 11, and then in step P
In step P2, the energization time of the thermal head 11 is corrected based on the energization repetition period SLTx, and further, in step P3, a thermal printing process is performed on the printing target 17 based on the correction process.

[0024] In the printing processing method for the thermal printer, the energization time correction process is based on the object detected one line before the block division control process regarding the printing area of the printing object 17. The above object is achieved by controlling the energization time of the thermal head 11 based on the energization repetition period SLTx-1 related to the printing area or the energization repetition period SLTi related to the printing area detected previously.

[0025]

[Operation] According to the thermal printer of the present invention, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
2, storage means 13 and first control means 14 are provided,
A moving means 15 and a second control means 16 are provided.

For example, the second control means 16 outputs a block selection control signal SIN to the first control means 14 as a reference for printing commands, and the second control means 16 outputs a movement control signal SIN to the movement means 15. When S is output, the printing target 17 is moved and supplied via the moving means 15, and a printing control signal based on the energization division control data D1 is outputted from the first control means 14 to the thermal head 11. Thereby, the thermal head 11 thermally prints the printing line on the printing target 17 based on the printing control signal.

On the other hand, the printing cycle detecting means 12 determines, based on the energization division control data D1, the energization repetition cycle SLTx related to the printing cycle between the print line of the object to be printed 17 and the next print line. The printing cycle data D2 based on the detected energization repetition cycle SLTx is stored in the storage means 13. As a result, the first control means 1
4, energization history data D based on printing cycle data D2
3 and the block selection control signal SIN, the energization time of the energization division control data D1 of the heating element of the thermal head 11, for example, the heating element related to the next print line, is controlled.

Therefore, when the energization repetition period SLT becomes shorter, the energization time of the heating element is controlled to be shorter to promote the amount of heat attenuation taken away from the head 11 by peripheral equipment, etc.
On the other hand, when the energization repetition period SLT becomes longer, the energization time is controlled to be longer to suppress the amount of thermal attenuation taken away from the head 1 by peripheral equipment, etc., and to provide thermal energy to the printing target 17. It becomes possible to achieve uniformity.

[0029] As a result, even if there is a change in the energization repetition period SLT due to discontinuous printing processing caused by insufficient data transfer capacity or an emergency stop due to a sudden printing error, the target to be printed 17 is It becomes possible to uniformly control the applied thermal energy.

Further, according to the printing processing method for a thermal printer of the present invention, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 2(b), the energization as shown in FIG. 2(a) is performed based on the block division control process of step P1. The repetition period SLTx is detected.

Therefore, in step P2, the object to be printed 17
In response to the block division control processing for the printing area, the thermal head 11 is controlled based on the energization repetition period SLTx-1 for the printing area detected one line before or the previously detected energization repetition period SLTx. It becomes possible to perform correction processing for the energization time. As a result, in step P3, for example, depending on the number of colored dots in one line dot, the energization repetition period SLT1 between the non-divided driving of the heating element element and the 2-divided driving, and the energization repetition period SLT1 between the 2-divided driving and the 3-divided driving are determined. Even if the energization repetition period SLT2 is different between the two, it is possible to average the amount of heat stored in the thermal head 11 as in the case of the divided fixed drive method.

[0032] This makes it possible to perform thermal printing on the printing target 17 based on the corrected energization control data D1. From this, it can be determined that the energization repetition period SL of the printing line subjected to the divided variable printing process on the printing target 17 is
Even when T fluctuates, it is possible to equalize the printing density of the printing target 17 and to perform high-speed printing processing.

[0033]

Embodiments Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 3 to 9 are diagrams for explaining a thermal printer and a print processing method thereof according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 shows a configuration diagram of the thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 3, for example, there are 5 print blocks.
A thermal printer that performs division variable control of divided heating resistors includes a line thermal head 21, an M for SLT measurement.
PU22, RAM (memory that can be written/read at any time) 2
3. Consists of an energization time control system 24, a motor 25, and a printer engine MPU 26.

That is, the line thermal head 21 is an embodiment of the thermal head 11, and is used to perform thermal printing on thermal paper, which is an example of the printing target 17, based on the energization division control data D1. For example, the line thermal head 21 generates heat based on a print data signal DIN, five print control signals (hereinafter simply referred to as print commands) WE1 to WE5, a latch signal Latch, etc. 60 [dots] x 5 divided blocks = 300 [Dot] heating resistors are provided.

The SLT measurement MPU 22 is an embodiment of the printing cycle detection means 12, and detects the energization repetition cycle SLTx from the energization division control data D1. For example, the MPU 22 receives the energization trigger of the energization division control data D1 output from the energization pulse control MPU 24A, and measures the printing cycle between the data D1 one line before and the print line. The printing cycle at this time is measured by the time counter 24C.

The RAM 23 is an embodiment of the storage means 13, and stores printing cycle data D2 based on the energization repetition cycle SLTx. For example, the printing cycle data D2 is based on the write/read control signal S1 output from the printer engine MPU 26, and calculates the energization repetition cycle SLTx related to the printing cycle between the data D1 one line before and the printing line. R as energization history data D3
The information is read out from the AM 23 to the energization pulse control MPU 24A.

The energization time control system 24 is an embodiment of the first control means 14, and includes an energization pulse control MPU 24.
A, block control MPU 24B and time counter 2
Consists of 4C. For example, MPU24A for energization pulse control
are block selection control signal SIN and energization repetition period SL
The energization control data D1 is output to the block control MPU 24B based on the energization history data D3 based on Tx.

The block control MPU 24B generates five print control signals WE1 based on the time counter value TS and the energization control data D1 output from the time counter 24C.
~WE5 is output to the thermal head 21.

The time counter 24C measures the activation/deactivation times of the five print control signals WE1 to WE5, etc., and transmits the time counter value TS to the block control MPU 24.
This is what is output to B.

The motor 25 is an embodiment of the moving means 15, and is used to move and supply the printing target 17. The motor 25 is controlled by a motor drive control signal S2 output from the printer engine MPU 26.

The printer engine MPU 26 is an embodiment of the second control means 16, and controls the input/output of the RAM 23, the energization time control system 24, and the motor 25. For example, the MPU 26 develops print data DIN related to one line of print processing and transfers the data DIN to the thermal head 21. Also, the MP
U26 calculates the printing rate [number of colored dots/total number of dots per line] of the print data DIN for each of the 5 divided energizing heating element blocks, and determines the number of divisions of the printing block according to the number of simultaneous heating elements. do. This number of printed dots is RAM23
It is stored in the memory and its readout is controlled.

Further, when one line of print data DIN is transferred to the thermal head 21, the MPU 26 outputs a latch signal Latch to a register in the head to latch the contents. Furthermore, the MPU 26 outputs a block selection control signal SIN, which is heat generating block information, to the energization pulse control MPU 24A.

In this way, according to the thermal printer according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG.
4B and a time counter 24C, and a motor 25
A printer engine MPU 26 is also provided.

For example, when the MPU 26 outputs the block selection control signal SIN, which is the reference for the print command, to the energization pulse control MPU 24A, and the MPU 26 outputs the motor drive control signal S2 to the motor 25, the motor 25, the printing target 17 is moved and supplied, and five printing control signals WE1 to WE5 are output from the block control MPU 24B to the thermal head 21. Thereby, the printing line on the printing target 17 is thermally printed by the thermal head 21 based on the printing control signals WE1 to WE5.

On the other hand, the SLT measuring MPU 22 detects the energization repetition period SLTx, which is related to the printing period between the next printing line and the next printing line, based on the energization division control data D1. The printing cycle data D2 based on the energization repetition cycle SLTx is R.
It is stored in AM23. Thereby, the energization pulse control MPU 24A divides the energization of the heating element of the thermal head 21, for example, the heating element related to the next print line, based on the energization history data D3 based on the printing cycle data D2 and the block selection control signal SIN. The energization time of control data D1 is controlled.

Therefore, when the energization repetition period SLT becomes shorter, the energization time of the heating element is controlled to be shorter to increase the amount of heat attenuation taken from the head 21 to peripheral equipment, etc.
On the other hand, when the energization repetition period SLT becomes longer, the energization time is controlled to be longer to suppress the amount of thermal attenuation taken away from the head 1 by peripheral equipment, etc., and to provide thermal energy to the printing target 17. It becomes possible to achieve uniformity.

As a result, as in the conventional example, the object to be printed 1
To average the print density by including fluctuations in the energization repetition period SLT as a control target and always performing correction processing without performing divided variable control of the thermal head 21 regardless of the printing period of 7. becomes possible. Therefore, even if there is a fluctuation in the energization repetition period SLT due to discontinuous printing processing due to insufficient data transfer capacity or emergency stop due to sudden printing errors,
It becomes possible to uniformly control the thermal energy applied to the printing target 17.

Next, a print processing method of a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be explained with supplementary explanation of the operation of the printer.

4 to 9 are print processing flowcharts of a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
2A and 2B respectively show explanatory diagrams related to the variable division control.

For example, when printing is performed by variable division control of a heating resistor (60×5=300 [dots]) in which a printing block is divided into five parts, in FIG. Print data DIN related to the line
Process the input. At this time, the printer engine MP
Print data DI related to one line printing process by U26
N is input, and the data DIN is developed in the RAM 23 or the like. Further, the data DIN is transferred to the thermal head 21. Also, the print data DIN of one line is the thermal head 2.
1, the MPU 26 outputs a latch signal Latch to the register in the head, and its contents are latched.

Next, in step P2, the number of divisions is determined based on the number N of colored dots of the print data DIN for one line of the printing line. At this time, the MPU
26, the printing rate of the printing data DIN [number of colored dots/
The total number of dots per line] is calculated for each energized heating element block divided into five, and the number of divisions of the print block is determined according to the number of simultaneous heating elements. The number of printing dots for each heating element block is stored in the RAM 23. In addition, the block selection control signal SIN, which is the division information of the heating element block, is
It is output from the PU 26 to the energization pulse control MPU 24A.

Next, in step P3, the print block is divided into 1 to 5 parts based on the number of divisions. Here, in FIG. 4, for example, the number N of colored dots of the printing line is 60.
[Dot] In the following cases, printing processing is performed when the printing area B1 is not divided into one division [no division]. In addition,
The energization repetition period SLT1 is the printing period between the current printing line and the next printing line. Similarly, FIGS. 5 to 9 show print processing state diagrams when the printing area B is divided into 2 to 5 parts.

After that, in step P4, the thermal head 2
The detection process of the energization repetition period SLTx is performed based on the block division control process of No. 1. At this time, M for SLT measurement
In response to the trigger edge of the one-shot pulse of the energization pulse control MPU 24A, the PU 22 starts measuring the printing cycle between the data D1 of the previous line and the print line. As a result, the energization repetition period SLTx related to the detected printing period is stored in the RAM as printing period data D2.
23, the memory is updated (history updated).

Furthermore, in step P5, the energization time of the thermal head 21 is corrected based on the energization repetition period SLTx. At this time, the correction process of the energization time is based on the write/read control signal S1 output from the printer engine MPU 26, and print cycle data related to the print cycle between the data D1 of the previous line and the print line. (Electrification repetition period SLTx) D2 is energization history data D
3 as MPU24A for energization pulse control from RAM23
is read out.

For example, the correction calculation for the energization time is performed experimentally in accordance with the color development sensitivity of thermal paper, which is an example of the printing target 17, so as to optimize the energization pulse width supplied to the heating resistor of the head 21. Direct calculation using an approximation formula using a higher-order function or normal distribution function, etc. related to the energization time determined in 2009 or storing the relationship (approximate formula) between the energization repetition period SLT and the energization time in a ROM (read-only memory) in advance. , a table lookup method is used to read out and correct the data.

[0057] As a result, for the block division control process related to the printing line of the printing target 17, the energization repetition period S related to the printing line detected one line before is changed.
The energization time of the thermal head 21 is optimally controlled based on LTx-1.

Next, in step P6, the printing control signals WE1 to WE1 for each heating resistor of the printing block are adjusted based on the correction process.
The WE 5 is activated and the printing target 17 is thermally printed. At this time, in the energization time control system 24,
Block selection control signal SIN and energization repetition period SLT
The energization control data D1 is output to the block control MPU 24B based on the energization history data D3 based on x. In addition, from the time counter 24C, the block control MPU 2
The time counter value TS is output to 4B.

As a result, the line thermal head 2
The print data DIN transferred to 1 and M for block control
60 [dots] x 5 based on the five print control signals WE1 to WE5 output from the PU24B to the head 21
Thermal printing is performed on thermal paper or the like using a heating resistor of divided blocks = 300 [dots].

Note that the motor 2 is controlled based on the motor drive control signal S2 output from the printer engine MPU 26.
5 is controlled to move, and the printing target 17 moves to a predetermined step [S
T×1, ST×2...ST×5] (see FIGS. 5 to 9).

Thereafter, in step P7, it is determined whether the printing process for the line concerned is complete. At this time, if the printing process for the line has ended (YES), the process moves to step P8 and it is determined whether or not the printing process has ended. Note that if the printing process for the line is not completed (NO), the process returns to step P6 to continue the energization process.

Further, if the printing process is not completed in step P8 (NO), return to step P1 and repeat step P.
Repeat steps 1 to P6. Note that the contents of the print cycle data D2 related to the energization repetition cycle SLT in the RAM 23 are updated as needed by measuring the next SLT information.

At this time, the storage process of the printing cycle data D2 is performed not only by simply storing the previous energization repetition cycle SLT-1, but also by storing the n times previous energization repetition cycle SLT-1.
It is also possible to accumulate and store x and refer to it. In addition, the energization repetition period SLT is determined by calculation processing such as moving modified average.
By updating the , more precise control becomes possible.

It should be noted that the end of the printing process in step P8 (Y
ES), the printing control process of the printer is ended.

In this way, according to the print processing method for a thermal printer according to the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 4, the steps shown in FIGS. Such energization repetition periods SLT1 to SLT5 are detected.

Therefore, in step P5, the object to be printed 17
In response to the block division control processing for the printing area, the thermal head 21 is energized based on the energization repetition period SLTx-1 for the printing area detected one line before or the previously detected energization repetition period SLTx. It becomes possible to perform time correction processing. As a result, in step P6, for example, the number of colored dots related to the printed dots on the first line is N = 60, and the number of colored dots on the second line is N = 1.
20, there is a case where the energization repetition period SLT1 between the 1-division drive and the 2-division drive of the heating element element is different from the energization repetition period SLT2 between the 2-division drive and the 3-division drive. However, it is possible to average the amount of heat stored in the thermal head 21 as in the case of the divided fixed drive method.

[0067] Thereby, it becomes possible to perform optimal thermal printing processing on the printing target 17 based on the corrected energization control data D1. From this, the printing target 17
Even if the energization repetition period of the printing line subjected to the divided variable printing process fluctuates, it is possible to equalize the printing density of the printing target 17 and to perform high-speed printing processing.

In the embodiment of the present invention, three MPUs are used for the printer engine, energizing pulse control, and block control, but it is possible to reduce the number of sub-MPUs to one, or to use the MPU 26 for the printer engine. Similar effects can be obtained even if the energization pulse control and block control functions are provided.

[0069]

As explained above, the thermal printer of the present invention is provided with a thermal head, a printing cycle detection means, a storage means, a moving means, and a first and second control means. Based on this, the energization pulse width of the head is controlled.

Therefore, when the energization repetition period is shortened, the energization time of the heating element is controlled to be short, and the amount of heat loss taken from the head to peripheral equipment is increased, and conversely, the energization repetition period is shortened. If the head is long, the energization time is controlled to be long to suppress the amount of heat loss lost from the head to peripheral equipment as much as possible. As a result, even if there is a change in the energization repetition cycle due to discontinuous printing processing due to insufficient data transfer capacity or an emergency stop due to a sudden printing error, the thermal energy applied to the printing target can be reduced. Uniform control becomes possible.

Furthermore, according to the print processing method for a thermal printer of the present invention, the energization repetition period is detected based on the block division control process.

Therefore, for the block division control process related to the printing area of the printing target, the energization of the thermal head is performed based on the energization repetition period detected one line before or the energization repetition period detected previously. It becomes possible to perform optimal time correction processing. As a result, even if the printing cycle differs depending on the number of colored dots on the printing object, it is possible to make the printing density of the printing object uniform.

[0073] This greatly contributes to providing a thermal printer with good print quality and capable of high-speed printing processing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the principle of a thermal printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the principle of a print processing method for a thermal printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a thermal printer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a print processing flowchart of the thermal printer according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram at the time of one division (no division) according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram when the image is divided into two according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram at the time of three divisions according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram when dividing into four according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram when the image is divided into five according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram of a conventional thermal printer.

FIG. 11 is a state diagram of divided printing processing explaining problems related to a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11... Thermal head, 12... Print cycle detection means, 13... Storage means, 14, 16... First and second control means, 15... Moving means, D1... Energization division control data, D2... Print cycle data, D3... Energization history data, SIN...block selection control signal, SLTx, SLT1 to SLTx-1...energization repetition period.

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A thermal head (17) that thermally prints on a printing target (17) based on energization division control data (D1).
11), printing cycle detection means (12) for detecting the energization repetition cycle (SLTx) based on the energization division control data (D1), and storing printing cycle data (D2) based on the energization repetition cycle (SLTx). storage means (1
3), the thermal head (11) based on the energization history data (D3) based on the printing cycle data (D2) of the thermal head (11), and the block selection control signal (SIN).
1) A thermal printer comprising: first control means (14) for controlling the energization time. 2. The thermal printer according to claim 1, further comprising: a moving means (15) for moving and supplying the printing target (17); and at least a moving means (15) for moving and supplying the printing target (17);
), a storage means (13), and a second control means (16) for controlling input/output of the movement means (15). 3. Detecting the energization repetition period (SLTx) based on the block division control processing of the thermal head (11), and determining the energization time of the thermal head (11) based on the energization repetition period (SLTx). A printing processing method for a thermal printer, characterized in that a correction process is performed, and a thermal printing process is performed on a printing target (17) based on the correction process. 4. The printing processing method for a thermal printer according to claim 3, wherein the energization time correction processing is performed for one line with respect to the block division control processing regarding the printing area of the printing target (17). The energization repetition period (SLTx-1) related to the previously detected printing area or the energization repetition period (SLTx-1) related to the previously detected printing area
A printing processing method for a thermal printer, characterized in that the energization time of the thermal head (11) is controlled based on (i).