JPH0596761A - Color recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To use an ink film effectively by reducing waste consumption of color ink when a monochromatic image is recorded. CONSTITUTION:A mechanism control part 21, when recording start command is received, judges whether thermal transfer recording is performed or thermal recording is performed based on a class of a recording start indication signal with a recording mode judging means 21a. Then, when the mechanism control part 21 judges that the thermal recording is to be effected, the mechanism control part 21 makes a thermal head control part 22 control by driving a thermal head under a state wherein a non-ink applied area formed on an ink film 5 is positioned at the thermal head 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention produces images of a plurality of colors (for example, four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan and black).
The present invention relates to a color recording apparatus that records a color image by sequentially recording each color.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a schematic structure of a color recording apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a line-type thermal head in which a large number of heating resistors are one-dimensionally arranged over the recording width, and is pressed against the platen roller 2 by a spring (not shown). The platen roller 2 is rotated by the rotational force of a pulse motor or the like (not shown). An ink film 3 and a recording sheet 4 are held between the thermal head 1 and the platen roller 2. The ink film 3 is held by a film motor (not shown), and the recording sheet 4 is rotated by the platen roller 2 in the figure. Are conveyed in the directions of arrows A and B, respectively. In this color recording apparatus, the ink applied to the ink film 3 is melted or sublimated by the thermal head 1 and transferred to the recording paper 4 for printing.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 5, the ink film 3 is provided with regions 3Y, 3M, 3C and 3K sequentially coated with inks of yellow, magenta, cyan and black. Here, these areas 3Y, 3
Each of M, 3C and 3K has a length comparable to the length of one page of the recorded image. Thus, a color image is recorded by sequentially printing these yellow, magenta, cyan, and black images on one sheet of recording paper 4.

When a monochrome image is recorded by the color recording apparatus having such a structure, the three color areas 3Y, 3M, and 3C of yellow, magenta, and cyan are idly fed, and only the black area is used. Record the image. Therefore, the three color regions 3Y, 3 of yellow, magenta, and cyan
M and 3C are not used at all, and are wasted.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional color recording apparatus, even when a monochrome image is recorded,
Since the color ink for recording the color image is consumed, there is a problem that there is much waste.

The present invention has been made in consideration of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to reduce wasteful consumption of color ink when recording a monochrome image.
An object of the present invention is to provide a color recording device that can efficiently use an ink film.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the invention, a plurality of colors of ink (for example, four colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black) are applied in sequence for a predetermined length, and the ink is applied. An ink film that forms a non-ink application area, a thermal head that heats and transfers the ink applied to the ink film to a recording sheet, and whether thermal transfer recording or thermal recording is performed from the outside, for example. And a recording method determining means such as a recording mode determining means for determining based on the instruction, and when the recording method determining means determines to perform thermal recording, the non-ink application area of the ink film is set to the thermal head. The thermal head is made to generate heat while being positioned between the thermal head and the recording sheet.

In addition to the first invention, a second invention is
For example, a counting unit including a mechanism control unit and a register is provided for counting the amount of recording performed using one non-ink application area. When the count value of the counting unit reaches a predetermined value, the next recording is performed as follows. The thermal head is heated while the non-ink application area is located between the thermal head and the recording paper.

In addition to the first aspect of the present invention, a third aspect of the invention incorporates a thermal transfer recording sheet and a thermal recording sheet as recording sheets, and when the recording method determination means determines that thermal transfer recording is to be performed, the thermal transfer recording sheet is used. Also, when it is determined that the thermal recording is to be performed, the thermal recording paper is selected.

[0010]

By taking such a measure, when the thermal recording is designated by an instruction from the outside, the non-ink application area formed on the ink film is positioned between the thermal head and the recording paper. In this state, the thermal head generates heat. Therefore, if a thermal recording paper is set as the recording paper, thermal recording can be performed through the ink film and the ink film is not consumed.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a view showing the arrangement of the color recording apparatus according to this embodiment. The same parts as those in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

In the figure, 1 is a thermal head and 2 is a platen roller. An ink film 5 is inserted between the thermal head 1 and the platen roller 2.
Film feed rollers 6 and 7 are rotated by the rotational force of the film feed motor 8 to convey the ink film 5 back and forth.

Reference numerals 9 and 10 are recording sheets, 9 is a thermal transfer recording sheet, and 10 is a thermal recording sheet. Reference numeral G denotes a guide, which is a recording paper conveyance path that guides the thermal transfer recording paper 9 and the thermal recording paper 10 to the cutter 13 between the paper feed roller 11, the thermal head 1 and the platen roller 2 and the paper feed roller 12. Form P. A thermal transfer recording paper selection roller 14 receives the rotational force of the paper feed motor 15 and rotates to send the thermal transfer recording paper 9 to the recording paper conveyance path P. Reference numeral 16 denotes a heat sensitive recording paper selection roller, which receives the rotational force of the paper feed motor 15 and rotates to feed the heat sensitive recording paper 10 to the recording paper conveyance path P. A power transmission switching mechanism 17 selectively transmits the rotational force generated by the paper feed motor 15 to the thermal transfer recording paper selection roller 14 and the thermal recording paper selection roller 16. The platen roller 2 and the paper feed rollers 11 and 12 are also rotated by receiving the rotational force of the paper feed motor 15 and are fed to the recording paper conveyance path P.
Alternatively, the thermal recording paper 10 is conveyed back and forth.

Reference numeral 20 is a printer control section for controlling the color recording apparatus as a whole, and comprises a mechanism control section 21 and a thermal head control section 22. The mechanism control unit 21 controls the film feed motor 8, the paper feed motor 15, and the power transmission switching mechanism 17 to control the conveyance of the ink film 5 and the recording paper (the thermal transfer recording paper 9 and the thermal recording paper 10). Further, the mechanism control unit 21 controls capturing of image data into the image memory 18 and output of image data from the image memory 18. The thermal head controller 22
The drive control of the thermal head 1 is performed according to the image data output from the image memory 18. Reference numeral 19 is a register connected to the mechanism control unit 21.

The mechanism control section 21 has, for example, a microcomputer as a main control circuit, and has a recording mode determination means 21a and a recording sheet selection control means 21b in addition to the general control means described above. Here, the recording mode determination unit 21a determines whether the recording based on the instruction is color transfer recording, monochrome transfer recording, or thermal recording based on a recording start signal given from the outside (for example, a host computer). To do. Further, the recording paper selection control means 21b controls the power transmission switching mechanism 17 based on the determination result of the recording mode determination means 21a to select the recording paper.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the structure of the ink film 5. As shown in this figure, the ink film 5 of this embodiment
In addition to the areas 5Y, 5M, 5C, and 5K coated with inks of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, a non-ink coated area 5A not coated with ink is formed. Reference numeral 50 is a marker for identifying the start position of one cycle.

Next, the operation of the color recording apparatus configured as described above will be described according to the processing procedure of the mechanism control section 21. First, in the standby state, the mechanism control unit 21 waits for a recording start instruction, as shown at step a in FIG. When the recording start instruction signal is given from the outside, the mechanism control unit 21 shifts the processing from step a to step b. In step b, the mechanism control unit 21 fetches the image data externally given to the image memory 18 following the recording start instruction signal.

Subsequently, in step c, the mechanism control section 21 determines whether or not thermal transfer recording has been designated for this recording. This is performed by determining whether the given recording start instruction signal is a color transfer recording start signal, a monochrome transfer recording start signal, or a thermal recording start signal. Note that this processing is performed by the recording mode determination means 21a.

If the recording start instruction signal is a color transfer recording start signal or a monochrome transfer recording start signal, thermal transfer recording is designated, so the mechanism controller 2
1 shifts the processing from step c to step d. In step d, the mechanism control unit 21 causes the power transmission switching mechanism 17 to select the thermal transfer recording paper selection roller 14. The processing of step d is performed by the recording paper selection control means 21b.

Further, in step e, the mechanism control section 21 activates the film feed motor 8 to normally rotate the film feed rollers 6 and 7 by a predetermined amount to align the tip of the yellow area 5Y of the ink film 5 with the thermal head 1. At the same time, the paper feed motor 15 is activated to rotate the thermal transfer recording paper selection roller 14 and the paper feed roller 11 in the normal direction, and the leading end of the thermal transfer recording paper 9 is aligned with the thermal head 1. At this time, since the power transmission switching mechanism 17 selects the thermal transfer recording paper selection roller 14, the thermal recording paper selection roller 16 does not rotate even if the paper feed motor 15 is activated, and only the thermal transfer recording paper 9 is the recording paper. It is sent to the transport path P.

After that, in step f, the mechanism control section 21 outputs Y, M, C, K data (when color transfer recording is designated) or only K data (when monochrome transfer recording is designated). ), Thermal transfer recording is performed by a known procedure.

When the thermal transfer recording is completed in this way, in step g, the mechanism control unit 21 reversely rotates the paper feed motor 15 by a predetermined amount, so that the cutter 13 cuts the front end of the thermal transfer recording paper 9 to a predetermined position. While returning to the reference position (for example, a position slightly protruding from the thermal transfer recording paper selection roller 14 as shown in FIG. 1), the film motor 8 is normally rotated until the next marker 50 of the ink film 5 is positioned on the thermal head 1. Send the ink film 5. Further, the mechanism control unit 21 sets the content n of the register 19 to "0" in step h, and then ends the processing.

On the other hand, when the thermal recording start signal is given as the recording start instruction signal, the mechanism control section 21 shifts the processing from step c to step i. Mechanism control unit 2
Step 1 causes the power transmission switching mechanism 17 to select the thermal recording paper selection roller 16 in step i. The processing of step i is performed by the recording paper selection control means 21b.

Further, in step j, the mechanism control section 21 activates the film feed motor 8 to rotate the film feed rollers 6 and 7 forward by a predetermined amount to position the tip of the non-ink application area 5A of the ink film 5 on the thermal head 1. At the same time, the paper feed motor 15 is activated to rotate the thermal recording paper selection roller 16 and the paper feed roller 11 to align the tip of the thermal recording paper 10 with the thermal head 1. At this time, since the power transmission switching mechanism 17 selects the thermal recording paper selection roller 16, the thermal transfer recording paper selection roller 14 does not rotate even when the paper feed motor 15 is activated, and only the thermal transfer recording paper 10 is the recording paper. It is sent to the transport path P.

After this, in step k, the mechanism control unit 21 supplies the thermal head control unit 22 with the image data (K data only) stored in the image memory 18 to control the drive of the thermal head 1. As a result, the thermal head controller 22 drives and controls the thermal head according to the image data as is well known. At this time, a non-ink application area 5A is formed between the thermal head 1 and the thermal recording paper 10.
However, since the ink is not transferred, the heat of the thermal head 1 heats the thermal recording paper 10 through the ink film 5 to perform thermal recording.

When the thermal recording is completed in this way, the mechanism control unit 21 determines in step 1 whether the content n of the register 19 is a predetermined value or more. Here, the predetermined value is the number of times that a single non-ink application area 5A can be repeatedly used, and is set appropriately in consideration of various conditions such as the material of the ink film 5 and the heat generation amount of the thermal head 1.

If the content n of the register 19 is less than the predetermined value, the mechanism controller 21 shifts the processing to step m. In step m, the mechanism control unit 21 reversely rotates the paper feed motor 15 by a predetermined amount to return the leading end of the thermal recording paper 10 after cutting by the cutter 13 to the reference position and reverse the film motor 8. , The ink film 5 is returned until the original marker 50 of the ink film 5 is positioned on the thermal head 1. Further, the mechanism control unit 2
1 sets the content n of the register 19 to "n +
After setting "1", the process is terminated.

On the other hand, in step l, the content n of the register 19 is
If is greater than or equal to a predetermined value, the mechanism control unit 21 shifts the processing to step g, performs the processing of steps g and h, and then ends the processing.

Thus, according to this embodiment, when the thermal transfer recording is designated, the ink film 5 is set to 1 in the same manner as in the conventional case.
Thermal transfer recording is performed using a cycle, but when thermal recording is specified, the non-ink application area 5A of the ink film 5 is used.
Make a thermal recording over there. When thermal recording is performed in this manner, when thermal recording is continuously performed, the non-ink application area 5
A is repeatedly used up to a predetermined number of times. Therefore, if thermal recording is designated, the ink film will not be consumed. Generally, when recording a monochrome image, thermal recording is often sufficient, and the consumption of the ink film 5 can be effectively reduced.
When the thermal recording is continuously performed a predetermined number of times, the yellow area 5Y, the magenta area 5M, the cyan area 5C and the black area 5K are consumed without being used. Is significantly less.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. For example, in the above embodiment, the ink film 5 coated with four colors of inks of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black is illustrated, but black is eliminated when combining black, yellow, magenta, and cyan for recording. Is also good. The type and number of colors may be arbitrary.

In the above embodiment, the non-ink application area 5
A also has the same size as the ink application area such as the yellow area 5Y, but the size of the non-ink application area 5A is smaller than that of the ink application area.
The transport speed of is lower than the transport speed of the recording paper,
Alternatively, thermal recording may be performed by stopping the ink film 5. In the above embodiment, one non-ink application area 5A is formed for one cycle of the ink film (one for yellow, one for magenta, one for cyan, and one for black). 1
There may be a plurality for each cycle.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, when recording a monochrome image, either thermal transfer recording or thermal recording can be selected, but color image recording is thermal transfer recording,
Recording of a monochrome image may be defined as thermal recording. In this case, it is convenient to determine whether the input image data is a color image or a monochrome image and automatically select thermal transfer recording or thermal recording.

Further, in the above embodiment, both the thermal transfer recording paper 9 and the thermal recording paper 10 are provided as the recording papers, and one of them is automatically selected and used. However, printing is performed on the manually inserted recording paper. In this case, the mechanism for selecting the recording paper can be omitted. In addition, various modifications can be made without departing from the paper of the present invention.

[0034]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, inks of a plurality of colors (for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black 4 inks) are used.
(Color) is applied in sequence for each predetermined length, and an ink film formed by forming a non-ink application area on which ink is not applied, and the ink applied to this ink film are heated and transferred to a recording sheet. Of the thermal head and recording method determining means such as recording mode determining means for determining whether to perform thermal transfer recording or thermal recording, and when the recording method determining means determines to perform thermal recording, The non-ink application area of the ink film is positioned between the thermal head and the recording sheet so that the thermal head is heated.

A second invention is the same as the first invention, except that
For example, a counting unit including a mechanism control unit and a register is provided for counting the amount of recording performed using one non-ink application area. When the count value of the counting unit reaches a predetermined value, the next recording is performed as follows. The thermal head is heated while the non-ink application area is located between the thermal head and the recording paper.

In addition to the first aspect of the present invention, a third aspect of the present invention incorporates a thermal transfer recording sheet and a thermal recording sheet as recording sheets, and when the recording method determination means determines that thermal transfer recording is to be performed, the thermal transfer recording sheet is used. Also, when it is determined that the thermal recording is to be performed, the thermal recording paper is selected.
As a result, the color recording apparatus can reduce wasteful consumption of color ink when recording a monochrome image and can efficiently use the ink film.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of a color recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ink film 5 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing a processing procedure of a mechanism control unit 21 in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique.

FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a conventional technique.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Thermal head, 2 ... Platen roller, 5 ... Ink film, 6, 7 ... Film feeding roller, 8 ... Film feeding motor, 9 ... Thermal transfer recording paper, 10 ... Thermal recording paper, 1
1, 12 ... Paper feed roller, 14 ... Thermal transfer recording paper selection roller, 15 ... Paper feed motor, 16 ... Thermal recording paper selection roller, 17 ... Power transmission switching mechanism, 18 ... Image memory, 19
... register, 20 ... printer control section, 21 ... mechanism control section, 21a ... recording mode determination means, 21b ... recording paper selection control means, 22 ... thermal head control section.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An ink film formed by sequentially applying a plurality of colors of ink for each predetermined length and forming a non-ink application area where no ink is applied, and heating the ink applied to the ink film. A thermal head for transferring the image onto a recording sheet, a recording method determining means for determining whether thermal transfer recording or thermal recording is performed, and when the thermal recording is determined by this recording method determining means, A color recording apparatus comprising: a recording control unit that causes the thermal head to generate heat while the non-ink application area is located between the thermal head and the recording sheet. 2. A recording means for counting the amount of recording performed using one non-ink application area, and the recording control means, when the count value of the counting means reaches a predetermined value, next recording 2. The color recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thermal head is caused to generate heat while the next non-ink application area is located between the thermal head and the recording paper. 3. A thermal transfer recording paper and a thermal recording paper are used as the recording paper, and the thermal transfer recording paper is used when the recording method determining means determines that the thermal transfer recording is to be performed, and the thermal transfer recording paper is used when the thermal recording is determined to be performed. 2. A recording sheet selection means for selecting each thermal recording sheet is provided.
The color recording apparatus described in 1.