JPH0671966A - Sensor for sensing number of times of printing for heat transfer recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a sensor for the number of times of printing in the form of simple constitution for sensing the number of times of using ink sheets without adding a special mechanism in a sheet transfer recording device. CONSTITUTION:An auxiliary color ink zone for forming a plurality of count marks corresponding to the number of times of using an ink sheet is provided at the end of the ink sheet. A sensor for sensing the number of times of printing is provided with control circuits 4 and 41 for controlling the operation of an ink sheet feed mechanism 6 and a printing mechanism 8 and an optical sensing circuit 3 for sensing count marks formed in the auxiliary color ink zone so that one count mark is formed in the auxiliary color ink zone every time the overall length of the ink sheet is used, and the number of count marks is counted based on the output of the sensing circuit.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus, such as a video printer, which thermally transfers ink from an ink sheet onto photographic paper for printing, and particularly, an ink sheet which can be used a plurality of times. The present invention relates to a printing number detection device that counts the number of times a sheet is used.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as shown in FIG. 10, a video printer (1) has a cartridge insertion port (12) inside a door (11) provided on a front panel, and an ink sheet cartridge () is inserted from the insertion port. 2) is detachably loaded.

A supply bobbin and a take-up bobbin are arranged at both ends in the ink sheet cartridge (2), and the ink sheet is wound between both bobbins. Ink sheet (21)
As shown in FIG. 11, the yellow part (24) and the magenta part (2
5) and the cyan portion (26) are repeatedly formed in the longitudinal direction.

The printing paper (9) to which the ink of the ink sheet (21) is to be transferred by heat is wound around the platen roller (71) peripheral surface as shown in FIG. It is installed in the shooting position.

The thermal head (8
1) is attached to the tip of a head pressure contact arm (83) whose base end is pivotally supported (85), and the arm is rotated counterclockwise to move the ink sheet (21) to the platen roller. (71) It is pressed against the photographic paper (9) on the upper side to perform thermal transfer.

By the way, the conventional general ink sheet cannot be reused by printing once, but in recent years, an ink sheet which can be repeatedly used plural times (for example, several times) has been developed and put into practical use. It is being converted.

In a video printer that targets an ink sheet (21) that can be used multiple times, the ink sheet
It is necessary to grasp the number of times of use in (21) and notify the user when the number of times of use exceeds the limit.

Therefore, a perforator is mounted on the video printer, and one hole is formed in the ink sheet each time the ink sheet is used, and the number of holes is counted at the start of printing. A device has been proposed that detects the number of times and notifies the user of this when the number of times of use exceeds a limit (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-9869 [B41J17 / 36]).

[0009]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional video printer, mounting the punching machine not only complicates the entire structure of the apparatus, but also causes punching of a circular shape due to punching. There is a problem that the disposal of the punched pieces becomes complicated.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printing number detecting device of a simple structure capable of detecting the number of times an ink sheet is used in a thermal transfer recording device without adding a special mechanism.

[0011]

A thermal transfer recording apparatus targets an ink sheet (21) capable of printing a plurality of times for each of a plurality of printing areas continuous in the longitudinal direction. Sheet conveyance mechanism (6) for reciprocating the paper in the longitudinal direction, photographic paper conveyance mechanism (7) for conveying photographic paper (9) to a predetermined printing position, and photographic paper (9) at the printing position Thermal head (81) that thermally transfers the ink on the ink sheet (21) to
It is equipped with

Further, at the head portion of the ink sheet (21), an auxiliary color ink area is formed in which a plurality of count marks corresponding to the number of times of use of the ink sheet (21) are to be formed at a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction of the sheet by thermal transfer. It is provided.

In the printing number detecting device according to the present invention, each time the entire length of the ink sheet (21) is used once, one count mark is formed in the auxiliary color ink area so that the ink sheet conveying mechanism (6) is formed. ) And a control means for controlling the operation of the thermal head (81), and an optical detection means arranged to face the ink sheet (21) in order to detect the count mark formed in the auxiliary color ink area, and the optical means. Counter means for counting the number of count marks based on the output of the detecting means.

[0014]

When the ink sheet (21) is rewound to the leading end position by the ink sheet conveying mechanism (6) after the predetermined printing operation on the photographic printing paper (9), the control means firstly the ink sheet conveying mechanism (6). Control the ink sheet (21) in the winding direction, while monitoring the output of the optical detection means,
Determine whether there is a count mark.

Then, when the count mark is not detected, the control means controls the operations of the ink sheet transport mechanism (6) and the thermal head (81) to control the ink sheet (21).
One count mark is formed by printing at the head position of the auxiliary color ink area. Further, when one or a plurality of count marks are detected, the control means additionally forms one count mark by printing at a position separated by a predetermined distance behind the last count mark.

Here, the count mark is the ink sheet (2
It is a trace of the ink in the auxiliary color ink area of 1) that was thermally transferred to photographic paper, and the ink was peeled off to expose the transparent base film. Therefore, for example, if the light of the light source forming the optical detecting means is emitted toward the count mark, the light will be transmitted through the ink sheet (21) and detected by the light detecting portion forming the optical detecting means.

The counter means counts the number of count marks based on the output of the optical detection means and outputs a count value as required, or when the count value exceeds a predetermined value, a notification signal indicating this. Is output.

[0018]

According to the printing number detecting device in the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, the control operation is slightly changed and an auxiliary color ink area is provided on the ink sheet without adding a new mechanism. The number of times the ink sheet is used can be counted with a simple configuration.

[0019]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An example in which the present invention is applied to a color video printer will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 8 and 9 show the main mechanism of the video printer. The components of the printing paper transport mechanism (not shown) and the printing mechanism (8) linked to the platen roller (71) are basically the same as the conventional ones. Is. Cooling fins (84) are attached integrally with the thermal head (81) to the tip ends of the pair of left and right head pressure contact arms (83) (83) that form the printing mechanism (8). Further, an ink sheet transport mechanism (not shown) having the same configuration as the conventional one is connected to the supply bobbin (22) and the winding bobbin (23) of the ink sheet cartridge.

A red LED (31) and a photo sensor (32) are provided on the side opposite to the ink sheet guide (82) with the ink sheet (21) interposed therebetween. The ink sheet guide (82) has a red LED ( A reflection sticker (34) is attached so as to face the photo sensor (32) and the photo sensor (32).

As shown in FIG. 2, the ink sheet 21 has a first cyan portion 26, a second cyan portion 27, and a second cyan portion 27 from the sheet leading end position.
Yellow part (24), magenta part (25), first cyan part (26),
It is configured by repeating the second cyan portion (27) ...
The cyan portion 26, the yellow portion 24, and the magenta portion 25 are each coated with a sublimation dye capable of printing a plurality of times. On the other hand, each second cyan portion (27) is coated with a sublimation dye that can be printed only once.

Here, the first cyan portion (26) at the head is used for winding a certain distance V from the leading end of the sheet around the winding bobbin (23), and the remaining section W is used for cueing the sheet.
A reflective sticker (28) for detecting the winding start position is attached to a predetermined position of the section. Also, the second at the beginning
The cyan portion (27) serves as an auxiliary color ink area X for forming a plurality of count marks.

Then, the three color ink areas of the yellow portion (24), the magenta portion (25) and the first cyan portion (26) following the first second cyan portion (27) form one photographic paper (9 ) Constitutes one triplet used for printing. An unnecessary second cyan portion (27) is formed between the triplets,
This is because the first cyan portion (26), the second cyan portion (27), and the yellow portion (24) at the head are manufactured in the manufacturing process of the ink sheet (21).
This is because it is advantageous in terms of cost to repeatedly form one pattern including the magenta part (25).

FIG. 1 shows a control system of the video printer, which includes the red LED (31) and the photo sensor (32).
Constitutes a detection circuit (3) together with the power supply Vcc, the amplification circuit (33) and the like. The light from the red LED (31) is detected by the photo sensor (3
When 2) detects, the detection signal is output to the mechanism control circuit (4) via the amplifier circuit (33).

The mechanism control circuit (4) is connected to the ink sheet transporting mechanism (6), the photographic paper transporting mechanism (7) and the printing mechanism (8), and controls the operation of each mechanism. Further, the printing control circuit (5) is connected to the mechanism control circuit (4), and the operation of the printing mechanism (8) is controlled by supplying an image signal to the printing control circuit (5). To be done. The ink sheet transport mechanism (6) includes a supply bobbin (22) and a take-up bobbin.
An ink sheet drive motor (not shown) for switching and rotating (23) in the sheet winding direction (forward rotation direction) and the sheet rewinding direction (reverse rotation direction) is provided.

A printing number control circuit (41) is further connected to the mechanism control circuit (4), the number of times the ink sheet (21) is used is counted by the control circuit (41), and the count value becomes a predetermined value. When it exceeds the limit, the ink sheet use warning LED (42) connected to the printing number control circuit (41) is turned on.

FIG. 11 shows the video printer 1
When printing on a sheet of photographic paper, one triplet of the ink sheet (21) has a yellow part (24), a magenta part (25),
The change of the output signal obtained from the photo sensor (32) is shown in the process of being conveyed in the order of the first cyan portion (26).
In the yellow portion (24), the light emitted from the red LED (31) is transmitted through the ink sheet (21), and the light reflected by the reflection seal (34) on the ink sheet guide is again returned to the ink sheet ( It passes through 21) and reaches the photo sensor (32). Therefore, the sensor output is at a high level.

Further, in the magenta part (25), the sensor output is obtained as in the yellow part (24), but the light intensity is weakened when passing through the ink sheet (21), so the output level is yellow part. It is slightly lower than the case of (24).

On the other hand, in the first cyan portion (26), since the light from the red LED (31) is absorbed by the ink sheet (21), it does not reach the photo sensor (32) and the sensor output is zero. Becomes

Therefore, when positioning the tip of one triplet of the ink sheet (21) at a predetermined printing start position,
The conveyance of the ink sheet (21) may be stopped when the sensor output rises from low to high.

In this case, as shown in FIG. 8, the ink sheet (2
1) Above, there is a deviation (ink sheet detection distance L) due to a mechanism between the sheet detection position by the red LED (31) and the photo sensor (32) and the printing start position by the thermal head (81). Will be formed.

FIG. 3 shows that the red LED () is attached to the first cyan portion (26) and the second cyan portion (27) provided at the head of the ink sheet (21) during the transfer of the ink sheet (21). An example of the sensor output when the light of 31) is irradiated is shown.
Here, the maximum number Nn of count marks to be formed on the second cyan portion (27), that is, the use limit of the ink sheet (21) is set to 5, and the number N of count marks already formed is set.
The case where o is 3 is illustrated.

A reflective sticker attached to the first cyan portion (26)
In (28), by reflecting the light from the LED,
The sensor output becomes "H".

In the second cyan portion (27), the count mark M ₁ formed by thermal transfer by the thermal head (81),
In M ₂ and M ₃ , the light from the red LED is the ink sheet (21).
Through the ink sheet guide is reflected by the reflective seal (34), and again through the ink sheet (21),
Reach the photo sensor (32). Therefore, the sensor output becomes "H" by the number of count marks.

The first time interval Tv ₁ between the reflection seal 28 on the ink sheet 21 and the sensor output generated by the _first count mark M ₁ is the ink sheet detection distance L and the margin distance α. , Bobbin diameter D, and bobbin rotation speed R are defined by the following equation 1.

[0036]

[Formula 1] Tv ₁ = (L + α) / π ・ D ・ R

Similarly, the time interval between the count marks and the last fifth count mark M ₅ and the yellow portion are counted.
Second time interval T between sensor outputs caused by (24)
v _{2 is} also defined in advance. The pulse width of the sensor output is also specified in advance.

Therefore, by measuring the change in the sensor output over time, it is possible to distinguish between the reflective sticker (28) and the count mark, count the number of count marks, and control the printing position of a new count mark.

In this embodiment, at the beginning of use of the ink sheet (21), the ink sheet (21) is first rewound to make a reflection seal.
After detecting (28), the operation moves to the count mark detecting operation and the count mark printing operation. 4 to 7 show a control operation for detecting and printing a count mark.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ink sheet is first rewound until the reflection seal is detected (S1, S2). When the reflective sticker is detected, the ink sheet drive motor is temporarily stopped, then it is normally rotated in the ink sheet winding direction, and the time value T and the count mark for counting the time between sensor outputs are counted. The counter value N of is initialized (S3, S4, S5).

Next, while measuring the time value T until the sensor output becomes "H", the time value T is kept at the second time interval T.
It is determined whether or not v ₂ is exceeded (S6, S7). Here, when the ink sheet (21) is used for the first time, since the count mark is not formed yet, step S7 is performed.
Then, the judgment is finally YES.

If YES is determined, the ink sheet drive motor is once stopped as shown in FIG. 5, and then the motor is reversed in the ink sheet rewinding direction until the sensor output becomes "H" (S8, S9, S10). Then, when the sensor output becomes “H”, the ink sheet drive motor is temporarily stopped, and then the ink sheet is normally rotated in the ink sheet winding direction, and the time value T is initialized (S11, S1).
2, S13).

After that, when the time value T coincides with the first time interval Tv ₁ , the transfer mode is entered (S14, S1).
5). Then, after the count mark is printed as shown in FIG. 6, the ink sheet detection mode is entered (S1).
6, S17). As a result, the count mark is printed, and the thermal head again rises to the printing standby position.

Next, until the sensor output becomes "H",
The ink sheet drive motor is reversed in the ink sheet rewinding direction, and the motor is stopped when the sensor output becomes "H" (S18, S19, S20). This completes the cueing of the ink sheet.

On the other hand, if YES is determined in step S6 of FIG. 4, it means that one or a plurality of count marks have already been formed, and the time value T is the first time as shown in FIG. It is judged whether or not the interval Tv ₁ is exceeded.
(S21). If NO is determined here, that is, if the presence of the count mark is detected, after counting up the count value N, it is determined whether or not the count value N exceeds the use limit value Nn (S22). , S24).

When the count value N does not exceed the use limit value Nn, the time value T is initialized (S26), the process returns to step S6 shown in FIG. 4, and the count mark number counting operation based on the sensor output is repeated. . And FIG.
When it is determined in step S24 that the count value N exceeds the use limit value Nn, the ink sheet drive motor is stopped and the ink sheet use warning LED is turned on (S25, S27).

During the counting operation of the count mark,
If YES is determined in step S7 of FIG. 4, the process proceeds to step S8 of FIG. 5 and a new count mark is additionally formed (S9 to S16).

If YES is determined in step 21 of FIG. 7, the ink sheet drive motor is stopped (S2
3), the operation ends as shown in FIG.

According to the above procedure, even when the ink sheet cartridge is taken out of the video printer in the middle of the ink sheet and then the cartridge is loaded into the video printer again, the ink sheet is rewound to the leading end and the number of times of use is increased. Is counted, there is no possibility of exceeding the maximum number of times of use.

In the above video printer, since the count mark is formed by printing on the ink sheet (21), there is no problem in the conventional device equipped with the punching machine.
However, since the formation and counting of the count marks are performed using the conventional mechanism, the device configuration does not become complicated.

Further, since the count mark is formed in the head area of the ink sheet (21) and the width of the ink sheet (21) is the same as the conventional one, the apparatus does not become large by implementing the present invention.

The above description of the embodiments is for explaining the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the invention described in the claims or reducing the scope. The configuration of each part of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an overall configuration of a video printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the configuration of an ink sheet.

FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating a relationship between a configuration of an auxiliary color ink area at a head portion of an ink sheet and a sensor output.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first part of a flow chart showing a count mark forming and counting operation.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second part of the same flowchart.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a third part of the above flowchart.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a fourth portion of the above flowchart.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a main part of the mechanism of the video printer.

FIG. 9 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the above.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a video printer.

FIG. 11 is a diagram illustrating the relationship between the configuration of the three color ink portions of the ink sheet and the sensor output.

[Explanation of symbols]

 (21) Ink sheet (22) Supply bobbin (23) Take-up bobbin (31) Red LED (32) Photo sensor (7) Printing paper transport mechanism (71) Platen roller (8) Printing mechanism (81) Thermal head ( 82) Ink sheet guide (9) Printing paper

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ink sheet (21) capable of being printed a plurality of times for each of a plurality of printing areas continuous in the longitudinal direction, for reciprocating the ink sheet (21) in the longitudinal direction. The ink sheet transport mechanism (6), the photographic paper transport mechanism (7) that transports the photographic paper (9) to a predetermined printing position, and the ink of the ink sheet (21) on the photographic paper (9) at the printing position. In a thermal transfer recording apparatus having a thermal head (81) for thermal transfer, the ink sheet (21) is provided at the beginning of the ink sheet (21).
A plurality of count marks according to the number of times of use are formed by an auxiliary color ink area to be formed at a constant pitch in the longitudinal direction of the sheet by thermal transfer, and the auxiliary color ink area is used each time the entire length of the ink sheet (21) is used. Ink sheet transport mechanism (6) and thermal head (81) so that one count mark is formed in the ink area
Based on the output of the optical detecting means, which is arranged to face the ink sheet (21) in order to detect the count mark formed in the auxiliary color ink area, A printing number detecting device in a thermal transfer recording device, comprising: a counter means for counting the number of count marks.