JPS59143674A - Color printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To discern colors with high accuracy by means of a sensor of simple constitution in which bar codes are provided between the colors of a multi-color film or ribbon and thereby the boundary of colors is detected. CONSTITUTION:A color film 5 moves in the direction of arrow and passes by the front of a reflection type photo sensor 7. In this case, according to the bar code of the color film 5, signals are sent out from the reflection type photo sensor 7 one time in the case of Y, two times in the case of M and three times in the case of C. The reflection type photo sensor 7 is composed of a luminous diode 7a and a photo transistor 7b. Light from the diode 7a is reflected at the color film 5 usually, the transistor 7b is connected electrically, and H-level signal is sent out to an output terminal S. When the bar code-printed portion is passed, light from the diode 7a is not reflected, the transistor 7b is interrupted, and L-level signal is sent out to the output terminal S. By judging the H-level signal and the L-level signal by a micro processor, for example, Y, M and C and be exactly discerned.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to printers used in computer terminals, etc., and in particular to color printers using thermal transfer. The purpose is to enable reliable identification of yellow, magenta, and cyan colors and to facilitate color management.

Conventional configuration and its problems At present, color printers use subtractive mixing of the three primary colors, Y: yellow, 1M: magenta, and C (hereinafter referred to as y, iz, and c), as shown in Figure 1. , R: Resodo, G Nigeleen, B Nibble, and BK Niblack. For this reason, in color printers, Y-M, C
The three colors of color film and color ribbon are sequentially overlapped and printed. The conventional method for color identification of color films and color ribbons is to use color sensors, but color sensors are expensive and the output level from the sensor is not constant, so it is difficult to use a circuit to compare and judge the output. There were drawbacks such as complexity.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION The present invention is intended to solve these conventional problems, and relates to a color printer that enables highly accurate color identification using a simple detection means.

Structure of the Invention The present invention provides a color film or a color ribbon with Y, M
By coating, printing, or pasting a barcode that distinguishes between C and C, the output level from the sensor can be stabilized, making it possible to identify colors with high precision using a simple sensor.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described and explained with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a color film in a thermal transfer color printer.
2 is a bar code indicating M, and 3 is a bar code indicating C. Printing is performed by moving in the direction of the respective arrows. FIG. 3 shows a color film cassette and /<- code detection unit using the present invention. 4d, the color film cassette is a reflective photosensor; the color film 5 moves in the direction of the arrow, and the reflective photosensor 7
pass in front of. At this time, signals are output from the reflective photosensor 7 according to the barcode of the color film shown in FIG. 2, once for Y, twice for M, and three times for C. The reflective photosensor 7 includes a light emitting diode 7a1 and a phototransistor 7, as shown in FIG.
The light emitted from the light emitting diode A is usually reflected by the color film 6 to cause the phototransistor A to conduct, thereby outputting a high level signal (hereinafter referred to as an H signal) to the output terminal S. When the barcode printed portion passes, the light from the light emitting diode 7a is not reflected, the phototransistor is cut off, and a low level signal (hereinafter referred to as L signal) is output to the output terminal S.

As a result, in this embodiment, a signal as shown in FIG. 5 is output to the output terminal S. By determining the H signal and the L signal of the printer using, for example, a microprocessor sensor (not shown), Y, M, and C can be reliably identified, making it possible to provide an extremely economical and reliable thermal transfer color printer.

Effects of the Invention As shown in I-I, the present invention (d) has a bar code between each color of the 11-color film cutter or ribbon, and the color boundaries are detected using this bar code. , highly accurate color identification is possible with a simple configuration detection means.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a subtractive color mixing diagram of three colors, Figure 2 is a plan view of a color film and barcode printing unit used in an embodiment of the present invention, and Figure 3 is a diagram of a color film cassette and barcode detection unit. FIG. 4 is an internal circuit diagram of a reflective photosensor for barcode detection, and FIG. 5 is a waveform diagram showing output signals from the reflective photosensor. 1.2.3... Barcode, 4... Color film cassette body, 6... Color film, 6... Thermal Henode, A... Reflective photo sensor. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 1 other person No. 1
Figure 2 Figure 13 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A color film ribbon is provided in which the colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are sequentially overlapped, and a bar code is provided between each color of the color film and sundahari ribbon,
A color printer comprising a detection means for detecting a bar code provided on the color film ribbon.