JPH1034996A - Dot printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a dot printer having a reinking operation in which the density of ink can be improved even after high duty printing. SOLUTION: This dot printer employing a reink type ink ribbon cassette comprises a sensor 5 for detecting the density of printed ink, a section 6 for determining the density level of ink thus detected, and a control section 7 for reinking the ink ribbon cassette when a decision is made that the density of ink is lower than a predetermined reference level otherwise bringing about a printable state. The control section 7 reinks the ink ribbon cassette without performing the printing by moving a carrier unit 2 containing the ink ribbon cassette and turning an ink roller therein.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dot printer, and more particularly, to a dot printer for printing using a re-ink type ink ribbon cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a dot printer uses an ink ribbon cassette containing monochrome or color ink ribbons and performs desired printing while moving an ink ribbon. However, when printing is repeated, the ink density gradually decreases, so that a new ink ribbon cassette must be replaced.

In order to eliminate the need for frequent replacement of the ink ribbon cassette and extend the life of the ink ribbon cassette, an ink ribbon cassette provided with a re-ink mechanism has been proposed.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 6-143776 discloses an ink ribbon cassette equipped with a multicolor ink ribbon including a monochrome print color and provided with a reink mechanism only for monochrome colors. According to this ink ribbon cassette, ink is replenished by the re-ink mechanism for the most frequently used monochrome color, so that the life is extended by the amount of ink in the ink tank.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-59277 discloses that
An ink replenisher for an ink ribbon cassette that replenishes ink to an ink ribbon by passing an ink ribbon between a lower roller and an upper roller installed in an ink reservoir is disclosed.

[0006]

In the conventional ink ribbon cassette of the re-ink type, the length of the ink cloth is short, and the same zone is printed in a short cycle. Therefore, when printing with high duty such as kanji or graphics with a large number of strokes, the ink liquid is greatly consumed, and even if ink is replenished by re-inking, the ink concentration is rapidly reduced, and the life of the ink ribbon cassette is extremely short. There was a problem that became shorter.

[0007] Further, no conventional printer device has a function of re-inking the ink ribbon cassette in accordance with the ink density.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a dot printer having a re-inking function capable of improving the ink density even after printing with a high duty. Aim.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A dot printer according to the present invention is a dot printer for printing using an ink ribbon cassette of a re-ink system, comprising: an ink density detecting means for detecting a printed ink density; and the ink density detecting means. An ink density determining means for determining the level of the detected ink density; and if the ink density determining means determines that the ink density does not reach the predetermined reference value, the ink ribbon cassette is re-inked and the ink density is adjusted to the predetermined reference value. And control means for controlling to make the printable state when it is determined that the value is equal to or more than the value.

According to the present invention, if the ink density is determined by the ink density determining means to be less than the predetermined reference value, the ink ribbon cassette is re-inked. Even with high printing, the ink density can be immediately improved.

The control means re-inks the ink ribbon cassette without printing by moving a carrier unit in which the ink ribbon cassette is stored and rotating an ink roller in the ink ribbon cassette.

In the present invention, it is preferable that a predetermined check pattern is printed and the ink density of the check pattern is determined.

The ink density detecting means is, for example, a photo sensor.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the dot printer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the dot printer of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the dot printer of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the internal structure of an ink ribbon cassette used in the dot printer of the present invention.

The dot printer A of the present invention prints using a re-ink type ink ribbon cassette. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the dot printer A houses a re-ink type ink ribbon cassette C and includes a print head 1. A carrier unit 2, a platen 3 for transporting the paper P, and a rack plate 4 provided on the base end side of the carrier unit 2.

A re-ink type ink ribbon cassette C
Is, for example, as shown in FIG.
A pair of ink rollers 11 provided in the cassette body 10, an endless ink ribbon cloth 12 sandwiched between the ink rollers 11 and traveling around by the rotation of the ink rollers 11, and an ink liquid impregnated into a sponge or the like. An ink tank 13 and an ink replenishment piece 14 for applying the ink liquid in the ink tank 13 to the ink roller 11
And

As shown in FIG. 4, the ribbon drive gear 1 meshed with the rack plate 4 is provided in the carrier unit 2.
The ink roller 11 in the ink ribbon cassette C is provided on the rotation shaft 15a of the ribbon drive gear 15.
Are linked. Therefore, when the carrier unit 2 moves left and right, the ribbon drive gear 15 meshed with the rack plate 4 rotates, and the ink roller 11 in the ink ribbon cassette C rotates. The ribbon drive gear 15 is configured to transmit rotation in only one direction by a member such as a one-way clutch, so that the ink roller 11 in the ink ribbon cassette C rotates only in one direction.

As shown in FIG. 1, the dot printer A of the present invention also has an ink density detecting sensor 5, an ink density judging unit 6, and a control unit 7, which are main parts of the present invention.

The ink density detection sensor 5 includes the print head 1
And a photo sensor for detecting the density of the check pattern printed on the paper P. The ink density detection sensor 5 is preferably provided near the print head 1 of the carrier unit 2.

The ink density determining section 6 compares the ink density detected by the ink density detecting sensor 5 with a preset reference value to determine the ink density.

When the ink density determination section 6 determines that the ink density is below the predetermined reference value, the control section 7 moves the carrier unit 2 right and left for several cycles,
Only the re-inking operation is performed, and if the ink density is determined to be equal to or higher than the predetermined reference value, control is performed so that the printable state is set.

The dot printer A of the present invention is provided with an ink density determination mode, and the user can select the ink density determination mode or directly enter the print mode without entering the mode. It is.

Next, the operation of the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG.

When the power of the dot printer A of the present invention is turned on, first, a display is made on the printer A as to whether or not to enter the ink density determination mode set by the FW (firmware) of the printer.

Next, when the ink density determination mode is selected, a check pattern composed of 24 × 24 black square character characters set in the printer in advance is printed. At the same time, an ink density detection sensor 5 provided in the carrier unit 2 reads a part of the check pattern and detects the ink density.

Next, the ink density judging section 6 receives the detection signal from the ink density detecting sensor 5, and judges by comparing the ink density with a predetermined reference value set in advance.

If the result of the determination by the ink density determination section 6 is that the ink density is low and does not reach a predetermined reference value, the apparatus enters a re-ink mode. That is, the carrier unit 2 is moved right and left for several cycles, and the ink roller 11 is rotated by the ribbon drive gear 15. At the same time, the ink liquid is applied to the ink roller 11 from the ink replenishment piece 14, and the ink liquid is transferred to the ink ribbon cloth 12 sandwiched between the ink rollers 11 and replenished.

In the normal printing mode, the ink liquid is replenished while printing, and especially when printing with a high duty such as kanji or graphics with a large number of strokes, the ink liquid is greatly consumed and the ink is rapidly consumed. The concentration decreases.

On the other hand, in the re-ink mode, only the replenishment of the ink liquid is performed without performing normal printing, so that the ink density can be immediately improved.

As a result of the determination by the ink density determination section 6, if the ink density is good and is equal to or higher than a predetermined reference value,
The ink density determination mode is released, and the printer is ready for printing. When the control unit 7 receives a print signal output from a host device 8 (see FIG. 1) such as a personal computer or a word processor, the control unit 7 moves the carrier unit 2 to the sheet P conveyed by the platen 3. The print head 1 is moved to the print position and printing is performed by the print head 1. The movement of the carrier unit 2 causes the rotation of the ink ribbon cloth 12 and the replenishment of ink.

According to the dot printer A of the present invention, when the ink density determined by the ink density determining section 6 is determined to be less than the predetermined reference value, the ink ribbon cassette C is re-inked, so that the number of images is large. Even when printing with high duty such as kanji and graphics, the ink density can be immediately improved, and the life of the ink ribbon cassette C can be extended.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made within the technical scope described in the claims.

[0033]

According to the dot printer of the present invention, when the ink density determined by the ink density determining means is determined to be lower than the predetermined reference value, the ink ribbon cassette is re-inked. Even when printing with a high duty such as a print or a graphic, the ink density can be immediately improved, and the life of the ink ribbon cassette can be extended.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration of a dot printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of the dot printer of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the dot printer of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view showing a ribbon driving gear of the dot printer of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the internal structure of an ink ribbon cassette used in the dot printer of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 A: dot printer C: re-ink type ink ribbon cassette P: paper 1: print head 2: carrier unit 3: platen 4: rack plate 5: ink density detection sensor (ink density detection means) 6: ink density determination unit (ink density Judgment unit) 7: Control unit (control unit) 8: Host device 11: Ink roller 12: Ink ribbon cloth 15: Ribbon drive gear

Claims (4)

[Claims] An ink density detecting means for detecting the density of a printed ink, and an ink for determining a level of the ink density detected by the ink density detecting means, in a dot printer for printing using an ink ribbon cassette of a re-ink type. Density determining means, when the ink density determining means determines that the ink density is less than the predetermined reference value, re-inks the ink ribbon cassette, and when it is determined that the ink density is equal to or higher than the predetermined reference value, A dot printer comprising: control means for controlling a printable state. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control means moves a carrier unit in which the ink ribbon cassette is stored, and rotates an ink roller in the ink ribbon cassette to re-ink the ink ribbon cassette without printing. Item 3. The dot printer according to Item 1. 3. The dot printer according to claim 1, wherein a predetermined check pattern is printed, and the ink density of the check pattern is determined. 4. The dot printer according to claim 1, wherein said ink density detecting means is a photo sensor.