JPH0781099A - Thermal recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide an excellent thermal recording device wherein a printing which can not be read can be prevented beforehand by judging a life of a rewritable card. CONSTITUTION:By a thermal head 5 of a thermal recording device 21, at each printing of a letter information, a printing at a specified position of a rewritable card 2 is executed. At this specified position, a sensor 22 for measuring a reflectance ratio is set. By a measurement result of the sensor 22, a life of the rewritable card 22 can be judged.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal recording apparatus which uses a thermoreversible recording material as a medium and applies heat to the medium for printing and erasing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a thermal recording medium using a thermoreversible recording material (hereinafter referred to as a rewritable card) is heated by a thermal head to perform printing, and a heat stamp provided with a heating heater erases the print. There is something to do. FIG. 6 shows such a conventional thermal recording device.

In FIG. 6, a thermal recording device 1 is provided with a card insertion / ejection slot 3 for inserting and ejecting a rewritable card 2.
A magnetic head 4 for writing and erasing magnetic recording on the magnetic stripe of the rewritable card 2, a thermal head 5 for printing, a platen 6 provided opposite to the thermal head 5, and a heat for erasing printing on the rewritable card 2. A stamp 7, a plunger magnet 8 for driving the heat stamp 7, a stamp base 9 for mounting the rewritable card 2 at the time of erasing, and a cartridge 10 for storing the erased rewritable card 2 are provided.

When erasing the print on the rewritable card 2, the rewritable card 2 is inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 3 and necessary information is written on the magnetic stripe of the rewritable card 2 by the magnetic head 4. When the writing is completed, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed to the stamp base 9,
The plunger magnet 8 is driven to press the heat stamp 7 against the rewritable card 2, and the heat stamp 7 is energized to apply heat to the rewritable card 2. As a result, the print data recorded on the surface of the card 2 is erased, and the card 2 is stored in the cartridge 10.

When updating the recorded contents of the rewritable card 2, the card 2 is inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 3,
After the magnetic recording contents of the magnetic stripe of the card 2 are read by the magnetic head 4, the card 2 is conveyed to the stamp base 9. Here, the plunger magnet 8 is driven to erase the print data by the heat stamp 7. Then card 2
Is conveyed in the opposite direction and returned to the position of the thermal head 5,
Printing is performed by the thermal head 5. Further, magnetic data is written by the magnetic head 4 and the card 2 is ejected from the card insertion / ejection slot 3.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional thermal recording apparatus, there is a problem in that the print quality is deteriorated by repeatedly using the rewritable card, and the printed characters cannot be read.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide an excellent thermal recording apparatus which can prevent unreadable printing by judging the life of a rewritable card. is there.

[0008]

A first solution provided by the present invention to solve the above-mentioned problems is a thermal recording medium in a thermal recording apparatus for printing by heating a thermal recording medium with a heating element. Each time printing is performed on the thermal recording medium, writing is performed at a specific position of the thermal recording medium by the heating element, and a measuring unit for measuring deterioration characteristics at the specific position; and deterioration of thermal characteristics of the thermal recording medium based on the measurement result of the measuring unit The determination means for determining is provided.

As a second solving means, there is provided a reading means for printing the number of times of rewriting by the heating element at a specific position of the thermal recording medium each time printing is performed and reading the number of times of rewriting printed. I did it.

[0010]

According to the first solving means having the above structure, the heating element writes data to a specific position of the thermal recording medium each time printing is performed on the thermal recording medium, so that the deterioration is most advanced at this specific position. . Then, the deterioration characteristic at this specific position is measured by the measuring means, and the judgment means judges as deterioration of the thermal recording medium based on the measurement result.
The maximum deteriorated print at the specific position is used as a reference for life, and thus unreadable print can be prevented in advance.

According to the second solving means, the number of times of rewriting is printed by the heating element each time printing is performed on the thermal recording medium, so that the number of times of rewriting is always printed on the thermal recording medium. There is. By determining whether or not the number of rewritings exceeds a predetermined number, it is possible to determine whether or not the thermal recording medium has reached the end of its life. The number of rewritings is updated by reading the current number of rewritings by the reading means and printing the number of times obtained by adding one to the number of readings with the heating element.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Note that elements common to the drawings are given the same reference numerals. First, the first embodiment will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a thermal recording apparatus of a first embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a rewritable card of the first embodiment.

In both figures, the thermal recording device 2 of the first embodiment is shown.
1 is provided with a card insertion / ejection port 3, a magnetic head 4, a thermal head 5, a platen 6, a heat stamp 7, a plunger magnet 8, a stamp base 9 and a cartridge 10, as in the conventional example, and further, a card insertion. A reflection sensor 22 is provided between the discharge port 3 and the magnetic head 4. Further, in the device 21, the conveyance rollers 23 to
27 is provided to carry the rewritable card 2.

The rewritable card 2 has a printing area 2
a and a non-printing area 2b are provided.
Printing is performed on a. A print density determination area 2c is provided in the print area 2a, and the print density determination area 2c is further divided into a printing portion 2ca and a non-printing portion 2cb. The printing unit 2ca prints each time the rewritable card 2 is printed, and the non-printing unit 2c prints.
No printing is performed on b.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing the control system of the thermal recording apparatus 21 of the embodiment. In FIG. 3, the main controller 31 controls the operation of the entire thermal recording device 21. An interface control unit 32, a mechanism control unit 33, an operation / display control unit 34, a magnetic control unit 35, a print control unit 36, and a sensor information processing unit 37 are connected to the main control unit 31.

The interface control unit 32 is connected to the host device. The mechanism control unit 33 mechanically drives the stamp unit 38, the traveling system 39, and the thermal head 5.
The stamp part 38 includes the heat stamp 7 and the plunger magnet 8. The traveling system 39 includes the transport rollers 23 to 2
Drive 7 The operation / display control unit 34 controls the operation unit 40 and the display unit 41 (not shown). Magnetic control unit 35
Controls the magnetic head 4. The print control unit 36 electrically controls the thermal head 5 and the heat stamp 7. That is, the print data is processed for the thermal head 5, and the temperature is controlled for the heat stamp 7. Further, the sensor information processing unit 37 controls the sensor 22.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. First, a case where printing is performed in the printing area 2a of the rewritable card 2 will be described. When the rewritable card 2 is inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 3, the insertion is detected by a detection unit (not shown), the traveling system 39 is driven by the mechanism control unit 33, and the rewritable card 2 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the conveyance roller 23. . The sensor 22 measures the reflectance of the print density determination area 2c as the rewritable card 2 is conveyed. As described above, the print density determination area 2c is divided into the printed portion 2ca on which printing is performed and the non-printed portion 2cb on which printing is not performed, and the sensor 22 measures the reflectance of both portions. The measured values are sent to the sensor information processing unit 37, respectively. The sensor information processing unit 37 calculates the reflectance of the printing unit 2ca and the reflectance of the non-printing unit 2cb, respectively, and obtains the difference between the reflectances. Then, the obtained data is sent to the main control unit 31. Data serving as a reference is stored in the main control unit 31 in advance, and the reference data is compared with the sent data.

When the rewritable card 2 deteriorates, the reflectance in the printing portion 2ca increases, while the non-printing portion 2c.
The reflectance at b is always constant. Therefore, the difference in reflectance between the two becomes larger as the rewritable card 2 deteriorates. When the difference in the measured reflectance with respect to the reference data becomes large, the rewritable card 2 is determined to have deteriorated.

When the main control unit 31 determines that the rewritable card 2 has deteriorated (is at the end of its life), an alarm notification is displayed on the display unit 41 and the subsequent operation is not performed, and the rewritable card 2 is inserted into the card. It is discharged from the discharge port 3. Further, the rewritable card 2 determined to have not deteriorated has the magnetic information read by the magnetic head 5, and the stamp table 9
Transported on. With respect to the rewritable card 2 placed on the stamp table 9, the stamp section 38 is driven to press the heat stamp 7 against the printing area 2a. Predetermined heat is applied to the heat stamp 7 by the print control unit 36, and this heat erases the character information of the entire print area 2a.

When the erasing is completed, the driving of the plunger magnet 8 is stopped and the heat stamp 7 is separated from the rewritable card 2. Next, the traveling system 39 is driven to convey the rewritable card 2 in the arrow B direction. When the rewritable card 2 comes to the thermal head 5,
The mechanism control unit 33 presses the thermal head 5 against the rewritable card 2 to print characters or the like on the printing area 2a. At this time, the printing unit 2 in the print density determination area 2c
Printing is also performed on ca. When the printing is completed, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed again in the direction of the arrow B, the magnetic information is updated by the magnetic head 4, and the rewritable card 2 is ejected from the card insertion ejection port 3.

Next, the case of erasing the card information will be described. When the rewritable card 2 whose information in the print area 2a is to be erased is inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 3, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed to the stamp table 9 by the traveling system 39. Here, the plunger magnet 8 is driven to press the heat stamp 7 against the rewritable card 2,
The character information in the print area 2a is erased. When the erasing is completed, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed in the direction of arrow B and the magnetic information is updated by the magnetic head 4. Next, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A and stored in the cartridge 10.

In the above embodiment, the print density determination area 2
By measuring the reflectances of both the printing portion 2ca and the non-printing portion 2cb of c and determining the difference, whether or not the rewritable card 2 is deteriorated is determined, but only the reflectance of the printing portion 2ca is measured. Then, the deterioration may be determined by comparing the measured value with a reference value. In this case, it is not necessary to provide the non-printing portion 2cb.

As described above, the first embodiment is particularly effective when the thermal characteristics of the rewritable card 2 deteriorate faster than the number of times guaranteed by the operating environment. On the contrary, even if it is possible to print more than the guaranteed number of times,
Rewritable card 2 as it accurately indicates the time of deterioration
Can be effectively used.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a thermal recording apparatus of a second embodiment according to the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a rewritable card of the second embodiment.

In both figures, the thermal recording device 5 of the second embodiment is shown.
1, an image sensor 52 is provided between the card insertion / ejection slot 3 and the magnetic head 4. Further, the print area 2a of the rewritable card 2 is provided with a frequency display area 2d. The number of times printing is performed in the print area 2a of the rewritable card 2 is printed in the number display area 2d. The other structure is the same as that of the first embodiment.

Next, the operation of printing on the print area 2a of the rewritable card 2 of the second embodiment will be described.

When the rewritable card 2 is inserted from the card insertion / ejection port 3, the insertion is detected by a detection means (not shown), and the rewritable card 2 is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the conveying roller 23. The card 2 conveyed into the device 51 is first printed by the image sensor 52 by the printing area 2a.
The numerical value written in the number-of-times display area 2d is read. Unless the rewritable card 2 is an unused one, a number indicating the number of times of printing is written in the number-of-times display area 2d. The read numerical data is sent to a control unit (not shown).

The rewritable card 2 deteriorates as the number of times of printing increases. Therefore, whether or not the rewritable card 2 has deteriorated can be determined based on whether or not the number of times of printing reaches a predetermined number.

When the controller determines that the number of prints has reached the predetermined number (deteriorated), the rewritable card 2 is ejected from the card insertion / ejection slot 3 without performing the subsequent operation. If it is determined that the number of times of printing has not reached the predetermined number of times, the rewritable card 2 is set to the magnetic head 4
The magnetic information is read by and is conveyed onto the stamp base 9. Then, the heat stamp 7 is pressed against the print area 2a by the plunger magnet 8,
The character information of is erased.

When the erasing is completed, the heat stamp 7 is separated from the rewritable card 2 and conveyed in the direction of arrow B.
When the rewritable card 2 comes to the thermal head 5, the thermal head 5 is driven and the printing area 2
Characters etc. are printed on a. Here, the frequency display area 2d
The number of prints is printed to. The value printed at this time is a value obtained by adding 1 to the value read when the rewritable card 2 is inserted. For the unused card 2, no value is written in the number display area 2d, so 1 is printed in the number display area 2d. When printing on the number-of-times display area 2d is completed, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed again in the direction of arrow B, and the magnetic information is updated by the magnetic head 4 and discharged. In the rewritable card 2 in which the character information is rewritten in this way, the number printed in the number-of-times display area 2d is incremented by 1 and ejected.

Next, the case of deleting character information will be described. When the rewritable card 2 whose information in the print area 2a is to be erased is inserted from the card insertion / ejection slot 3, the image sensor 52 reads the numerical value of the number of prints in the number display area 2d. After that, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed to the stamp base 9, where the heat stamp 7 erases the character information in the print area 2a. When erasing is complete,
The rewritable card 2 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow B, and the thermal head 5 prints a numerical value obtained by adding 1 to the read numerical value in the number display area 2d. Further, the magnetic information is updated by the magnetic head 4. Next, the rewritable card 2 is conveyed in the A direction and stored in the cartridge 10.

As described above, in the second embodiment, since the number of prints is printed, it is possible to visually check the number of prints.
It can be replaced with a new rewritable card in advance.

Also in the second embodiment, the alarm notification may be displayed when it is determined that the rewritable card 2 is deteriorated. In addition, the number display area 2
Instead of a numerical value, a symbol indicating the number of times may be printed in d.

[0034]

As described in detail above, according to the present invention, every time character information is printed, a rewritable card is printed at a specific position, and the deterioration characteristic at this position is measured to determine whether the card is deteriorated. Since it is determined whether or not the character information is deteriorated, the character information is not printed.Each time the character information is printed, the number of times of printing is printed at a specific position of the rewritable card. Since it is determined whether or not the rewritable card is deteriorated, it is possible to prevent difficult or unreadable printing.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a thermal recording apparatus of a first embodiment according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a rewritable card according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the thermal recording apparatus of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a thermal recording apparatus of a second embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a rewritable card according to a second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a conventional thermal recording device.

[Explanation of Codes] 2 Rewritable Card 5 Thermal Head 7 Heat Stamp 21 Thermal Recording Device 22 Sensor 31 Main Control Section 37 Sensor Information Processing Section 52 Image Sensor

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. In a thermal recording apparatus for performing printing by heating a thermal recording medium with a heating element, writing is performed by the heating element at a specific position of the thermal recording medium every time printing is performed on the thermal recording medium. A thermal recording apparatus comprising: a measuring unit that measures deterioration characteristics at a position; and a determining unit that determines deterioration of thermal characteristics of a thermal recording medium based on a measurement result of the measuring unit. 2. The thermal recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the measuring unit is a reflection sensor that measures print density. 3. A thermal recording apparatus for printing by heating a thermal recording medium with a heating element, wherein the number of times of rewriting is printed by the heating element at a specific position of the thermal recording medium every time printing is performed on the thermal recording medium. A thermal recording device comprising reading means for reading the number of times of rewriting that has been printed.