JPH0655532B2 - Ink donor film - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an ink donor film used as a recording medium of a thermal transfer recording apparatus, and more specifically, to an ink donor film being loaded in the thermal recording apparatus. The present invention relates to an improvement in an ink donor film that can be used for the automatic detection of a corresponding print control sequence and that is useful for accurate detection of more types.

[Conventional technology]

As is well known, a thermal transfer recording apparatus, for example, an ink donor film formed by applying a heat-melting or heat-subliming ink on an ultrathin film substrate such as polyester, etc. The thermal head, which is in contact with the non-ink coated surface side of the donor film, is driven to generate heat according to the image signal, and the ink of the ink donor film melted or sublimated at the heat generating point is transferred onto the recording paper. It forms an image according to the image signal, and is widely used in various printers because it has advantages of types such as low noise, simple structure, and low running cost.

As a typical ink donor film used in a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus of this kind, as shown in FIG. 6, a monochrome ink donor film [FIG. 6 (a)]: black ink is applied to the entire surface Ink donor film for black and white printing.

Three-color color ink donor film [Fig. 6 (b)]: Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan)
An ink donor film for a color print in which color ink layers are arranged in a continuous pattern.

Four-color ink donor film [FIG. 6 (c)]: An ink donor film for color printing in which the B (black) ink layer is added to the above-mentioned three-color ink donor film as an area dedicated to black printing.

In general, it is mounted on a dedicated machine having a print control sequence corresponding to each ink donor film and provided for the print control as described above. By the way, in performing printing by such a dedicated machine, it may be considered that it is not necessarily optimal to use a dedicated ink donor film for a specific printing operation. For example, in the case where black prints are continuous in a recording apparatus using the three color ink donor film,
It is more economical to use a monochrome ink donor film than to obtain the black print by mixing the melted inks of the Y, M, C ink layers. Further, in the case where the black print and the color print are mixed and the print quality of the black print is pursued, a four-color ink donor film having the black print exclusive area is used rather than using the three-color ink donor film. Is more advantageous. From such a viewpoint, even in the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, the same recording apparatus is devised to exchange and load different kinds of ink donor films as necessary to obtain a desired printing result, Specifically, at the time of each replacement, a control sequence corresponding to printing of the ink donor film loaded in the recording device is newly set by the operator, and after the setting, printing is started based on this control sequence. It is carried out in various ways. Besides this,
Among conventional devices of this type that can selectively use a plurality of ink donor films, the shape of the detection piece or the like provided on the cassette itself, such as the printing device disclosed in JP-A-60-19576, is included. In some cases, the type of the ink donor film is detected according to the above, and a print control sequence is set according to the type.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, the specific ink donor film can be or can be used only in the dedicated machine in which the print control sequence of the ink donor film is set. Also, the operator must perform the identification of the type of the ink donor film and the setting of a new control sequence for the printing of the identified type of the ink donor film before the ink donor film is loaded and printing is started. Therefore, it is difficult to accurately and smoothly proceed the printing work for obtaining the above-mentioned effective printing result. Further, even in a printer that detects the type of ink donor film and automatically sets a print control sequence according to the type, such as the printer disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 19576/1985. Since the detection of the type was realized by detecting the shape of the detection piece or the like provided on the cassette itself, from the viewpoint of the processing technology of the detection piece, the number of types of detection is limited, and the detection accuracy is low. There was a point.

Therefore, in the present invention, when the ink donor film is replaced, a manual operation for setting the print control sequence corresponding to the type of the replaced ink donor film is unnecessary, and moreover, it is useful for accurate detection of more types. It is intended to provide an ink donor film.

[Means for solving problems]

The ink donor film of the present invention is formed by forming a type identification mark for identifying the type of the film in time series in the feeding direction on a marking area provided on the side edge of the film, and the type identification mark is a mark. The recording apparatus is mounted so as to face the detection sensor, the film type is detected by the mark detection sensor, and the film is conveyed in accordance with a print control sequence corresponding to the film type.

[Action]

Since the ink donor film of the present invention has the type identification mark formed on its own marking area,
The type can be recognized while reading the type identification mark by the mark detection sensor on the device side, and the print control sequence matching the type of the ink donor film can be easily set automatically during loading based on the recognition result.

Further, in the present invention, since the type identification mark formed on the ink donor film itself is directly read, extremely accurate type detection is possible, and the type identification mark can also be easily formed by processing a time-series pattern on the film. Therefore, it is possible to identify the types of a large number of ink donor films.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing a recording unit configuration of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention. A paper feed cassette 2 on which a recording paper 1 is placed, and the placed recording papers 1 are separated one by one. A separate roller 3 that is sent out from the paper feed cassette 2, a platen roller 4 that circulates and conveys the sent recording paper 1 while holding it on the peripheral surface, and a thermal head 5 that is pressed on the peripheral surface of the platen roller 4. , An ink donor film 6 interposed between the thermal head 5 and the platen roller 4, a supply roller 7 for winding and supporting the ink donor film 6 at both ends, and applying a corresponding tension to the ink donor film 6 and a winding roller. A take-up roller 8 and a transmissive mark detection sensor 9 for detecting a type identification mark, which will be described later, formed on the ink donor film 6 are provided.

2 (a), (b) and (c) show various ink donor films (ID) used in this thermal transfer recording apparatus.
F) is a conceptual example of a configuration, for example, a monochrome IDF 60, a 3-color IDF 61, and a 4-color I
A marking area Am having a corresponding width is continuously provided in the sub-scanning direction at a portion of the right end of the ink application area Ai in the DF 62 that is not directly related to printing, and the monochrome IDF 60 is provided at a required position of the marking area Am. Marks for identifying the types of the three-color IDF 61 and the four-color IDF 62 are formed. That is, FIG. 3 shows an enlarged detailed view of the surface of, for example, the three-color IDF 61 of the above-mentioned ones, which are arranged in a continuous manner in the form of a damper, Y (yellow), M
On the marking area Am on the three-color IDF 61, which is repeated with each of the ink layers of (magenta) and C (cyan) as one stroke, the marker portion M is provided for each ink layer (for example, Y ink layer) at the beginning of the stroke. Further, the marker portion M is formed continuously from the tip of the ink layer (Y ink layer), and the start mark M ₁ sufficient for detection by the above-described transmissive mark detection sensor 9, The identification mark M ₂ indicates the type of the three-color IDF 61.

This configuration has a monochrome IDF60 and a four-color IDF62.
The same applies to the above, and the recording unit of the thermal transfer recording apparatus can be selectively loaded as needed. The IDFs 60, 61 and 62 are loaded by, for example, temporarily releasing the interlock of the housing of the thermal transfer recording apparatus.

Hereinafter, the operation of the thermal transfer recording apparatus will be described in detail with reference to the control block diagram of FIG. First, a control signal is sent from the CPU 11 to the ink donor film transport circuit 15 through the input / output interface 10 based on the print start operation performed after the ink donor film 6 is loaded, and the ink donor film transport circuit 15 drives the control signal. The take-up roller 8 starts the take-up conveyance of the ink donor film 6 at a predetermined speed. After a lapse of a predetermined time from the start of transportation of the ink donor film 6, the start mark M _{1 at the} head of the marker portion M provided on the marking area Am of the ink donor film 6 is detected by the mark detection sensor 9. To be done. When the detection output of the mark detection sensor 9 is input to the CPU 11 through the input / output interface 10, the CPU 11 sends a control signal to the ink donor film transport circuit 15 through the input / output interface 10 as described above. Then, thereafter, the ink donor film 6 is conveyed at a constant speed. Therefore, in the mark detection sensor 9 immediately after the above-described constant speed conveyance of the ink donor film 6 is started, the identification mark M following the start mark M ₁ of the marker portion M is detected.
The reading detection is performed every _two fixed times. When the detection output of the mark detection sensor 9 at this time is input to the CPU 11 through the input / output interface 10, the CPU
Reference numeral 11 identifies the type of the ink donor film 6 from the detection output, and sets a control sequence for a printing operation corresponding to the identified type of the ink donor film 6. This setting is, for example, the program ROM1.
This can be done by selecting the one corresponding to the identified ink donor film 6 from the pre-programmed control sequence in FIG. After that, the CPU 11 issues a control command to the thermal head drive circuit 14 and the recording paper transport circuit 16 through the input / output interface 10 based on the control sequence set by the method as described above.
The printing operation is performed on the ink donor film 6 which is being conveyed at a constant speed. That is, when a control signal is sent from the CPU 11 to the recording paper transport circuit 16 through the input / output interface 10 at a predetermined timing based on the control sequence set as described above, the separate roller 3 is first rotated. The recording sheets 1 placed in the sheet feeding cassette 2 are separated and fed one by one, and when the recording sheets 1 reach the peripheral surface of the platen roller 4 after a predetermined time, the platen roller 4 The front end of the gripper 40 is gripped by the gripper 40, and at the same time, the recording sheet 1 is circulated along with the rotation of the platen roller 4. The circulation of the recording sheet 1 here is controlled so as to be synchronized with the conveyance speed of the ink donor film 6.

When the leading edge of the recording sheet 1 that is conveyed in close contact with the ink application surface side of the ink donor film 6 reaches the timing of passing the lower portion of the recording portion of the thermal head 5 by such control, the thermal head 5 will cause the image to be drawn. The recording paper 1 is driven by heat generation according to a signal, and the ink of the ink donor film 6 that is melted at the heat generation portion is transferred.
An image corresponding to the image signal is formed on the top. Incidentally, the above-mentioned image signal is temporarily taken into the RAM 13 from the image signal processing circuit (not shown) through the input / output interface 10, and then, from the RAM 13 to the predetermined print timing based on the control sequence described above under the control of the CPU 11. It is supplied to the thermal head 5 through the entry output interface circuit 10 and the thermal head drive circuit 14 to drive the thermal head 5.

By the way, when considering the printing operation when different kinds of ink donor films are used in this type of thermal transfer recording apparatus, for example, the case of using the monochrome IDF 60 and the case of 3
When the color color IDF 61 or the four color IDF 62 is used, the recording paper 1
There is a specific difference in whether the platen roller 4 is orbited to convey the recording paper 1 once or continuously 3 times or 4 times, and accordingly, the recording paper 1 and each IDF 60 are rotated. , 61, 62 also have different conveyance timings. In this respect, in the heat-sensitive transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, of course, the basic control sequence setting for each IDF 60, 61, 62 as described above is performed, and for example, the three-color IDF 61 and the four-color IDF 6 are set.
When both 2 are used together and a black print is required, a complicated control such as realizing this black print by using the Y, M, and C ink layers or performing black print by only the B ink layer is performed. The sequence can also be automatically set based on the detection result of the identification mark M ₂ by the mark detection sensor 9, and the printing operation can always proceed in an optimum state.

However, in the method of forming the identification mark M ₂ described above,
It is fully possible that an error in the detection of the mark detection sensor 9 due to external requirements or the like will occur, and in particular, when the above-mentioned erroneous detection occurs when the three-color IDF 61 and the four-color IDF 62 are used, the print result Will bring a big obstacle to. Therefore, in addition to the start mark M ₁ and the identification mark M ₂ at the marker portion M on the marking area Am in each of the IDFs 60, 61 and 62 configured as shown in FIG. 3, as shown in FIG. It is possible to avoid the above-mentioned obstacles by providing the error detection mark M ₃ and reading the error detection mark M ₃ including the error detection mark M ₃ by the mark detection sensor 9 to check the presence or absence of erroneous detection. Further, the can also performs correction of the erroneous detection by the configuration of an error detection mark M _3, whereby it becomes possible to further improve the reliability of the print control. Further, in the above example, the control sequence set based on the detection output of the mark detection sensor 9 is the power supply OF.
Although the configuration is such that it is lost at the time of F, this method requires that the detection operation of the marker portion M by the mark detection sensor 9 is executed from the beginning every time the power is turned on, and the control sequence is set. The inconvenience of increasing the waste of Therefore, when the power is turned off, backup is performed by a battery power source or the like, and the once set control sequence is stored in the program ROM 12, for example.
If it is kept inside, the IDF is turned on every time the power is turned on.
The waste of can be reduced. However, the power source OF
Since it is quite possible that the IDF is exchanged even at the time of F, in such a case, for example, the interlock detection sensor 17 for detecting the open / closed state of the interlock of the device.
(See FIG. 4) is provided to check the open / closed state of the interlock when the power is turned off.
It may be determined that the replacement has been performed, and the control sequence held by the above-described method is invalidated when the power is turned on.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, since the type identification mark is formed on the ink donor film itself, the type of the ink donor film being loaded is based on the reading result of the type identification mark by the mark detection sensor on the apparatus side. The print control sequence corresponding to the above can be automatically set, and a special operation for resetting the print control sequence when replacing the ink donor film is unnecessary.

Moreover, in the present invention, since the type identification mark provided on the ink donor film itself is directly read, it is possible to perform accurate type detection as compared with the case of indirectly detecting according to the shape of the detection piece or the like provided on the cassette itself. Since the type identification mark can be changed by changing the time-series pattern on the film, the excellent effect of being able to handle an extremely large number of type identifications is achieved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a recording unit of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of various ink donor films used in the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing the structure of the main part of one of the ink donor films shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control unit of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing an improved example of the main part structure shown in FIG. 3, and FIG. 6 is a conceptual diagram showing the configuration of a typical ink donor film used in a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus. 1 ... Recording paper, 2 ... Paper feed cassette, 3 ... Separate roller, 4 ... Platen roller, 40 ... Gripper,
5 ... Thermal head, 6 ... Ink donor film (IDF), 7 ... Supply roller, 8 ... Winding roller,
9 ... Mark detection sensor, 10 ... Input / output interface, 11 ... CPU, 12 ... Program ROM, 1
3 ... RAM, 14 ... Thermal head drive circuit, 15
...... Ink donor film transport circuit, 16 …… Recording paper transport circuit, 17 …… Interlock detection sensor, 60 ・ ・ ・
... monochrome IDF, 61 ... three-color IDF, 62 ...
... 4-color IDF, Ai ... Ink application area, Am
…… Marking area, M …… Marker part, M ₁ …… Start mark, M ₂ …… Identification mark, M ₃ …… Error detection mark.

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification number Reference number within the agency FI Technical indication location B41J 35/22 9012-2C (72) Inventor Tomio Murayama 2274 Hongo, Ebina City, Kanagawa Prefecture Fuji Zero Tux Shares Ebina Works, Ltd. (56) Reference JP-A-60-19576 (JP, A) JP-A-59-120488 (JP, A) JP-A-60-19580 (JP, A) Actual development 61-170563 (JP , U)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A type identification mark for identifying the type of the film is formed in time series in the feeding direction on a marking area provided at the side edge of the film, and the type identification mark serves as a mark detection sensor. An ink donor film, which is mounted so as to face the recording device, detects the type of film by the mark detection sensor, and is conveyed according to a print control sequence corresponding to the type of film.