JPS61185481A - Color printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To lessen the wasteful use of ribbon by a method in which plural ink ribbons having larger holes than a printing head are set with a spacing for each interval of one page of printing paper and separately driven and the printing head is vertically moved. CONSTITUTION:A printing head 5 and thermal transfer ribbons 6, 7, and 8 of Y, M, and C colors are set in a lapped manner with intervals. In the ribbons 6, 7, and 8, holes are formed with a fixed interval in the longitudinal direction of a medium 10 and the size of the holes and the width of the ribbon are made larger toward the medium 10. The ribbons 6, 7, and 8 are set on the position of the medium 10 under a condition that the holes are lapped with each other, and only the ribbon of desired color is moved to the direction of H with moving of the medium 10 for printing. When the printing for one piece of the medium 10 is ended by the desired ribbon, the holes of the ribbons 6, 7, and 8 are again lapped with each other. The operations are repeated thereafter.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a color printer that prints in multiple colors using a thermal transfer ribbon.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION In recent years, color printers have been using thermal transfer ribbons of different colors to print each color one on top of the other.

An example of the conventional color printer mentioned above will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 shows the basic configuration of a conventional color printer. In Fig. 4, 1 is a print head, 2 is a thermal transfer ribbon that is color-coded in the longitudinal direction, and in the example of Fig. 4, Y,
C, M (7) has three colors, Y, C.

It shows that they are colored in the order of M, Y, C, M... Reference numeral 3 denotes a medium such as paper on which the ink of the thermal transfer ribbon 2 is transferred by the print head 1 and characters, figures, etc. are printed thereon. Reference numeral 4 denotes a rubber roller for reciprocating the medium 3 in the longitudinal direction and for moving the thermal transfer ribbon 2 in the longitudinal direction.

The operation of the color printer configured as described above will be explained below.

First, the print head 11 &: is lifted upward, the thermal transfer ribbon 2 and the medium 3 are brought into close contact, and the heat generating elements of the print head 1 are heated and controlled, so that the ink of the thermal transfer ribbon 2 is melted and transferred to the medium 3, and the characters and A figure, etc. is formed on the medium 3. After the printing operation for one line is completed, the print head 1 is lowered downward, and the rubber roller 4 feeds the thermal transfer rib/2 and the medium 3 in close contact with it by one line in the direction of arrow A. This operation is repeated thereafter, and when printing on the medium-autumn equinox is completed, the thermal transfer ribbon 2 is then peeled off from the medium 3, and the rubber roller 4 rotates in the direction of arrow B to return the medium 3 to its original position, and this operation is repeated thereafter. Then, desired characters, figures, etc. are formed on the medium 3 in a desired color.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with the above configuration, there are problems in that it takes time to move the thermal transfer ribbon and there is a lot of wasted ribbon because unnecessary colors are skipped and used. Ta.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above problems, the present invention provides a color printer that reduces the time required to change printing colors and reduces ribbon waste.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the color printer of the present invention has a long shape, and in the feeding direction thereof, at intervals of one page of printing paper, the color printer is larger than the plane of the print head, which will be described later. A plurality of ink ribbons of different colors having a plurality of holes are overlapped in the thickness direction with gaps so that they do not contact each other during printing, and each is driven separately, and the print head moves up and down. .

action The present invention has the following effects due to the above-described configuration.

In other words, the print head passes through the holes in the ribbon for unnecessary colors and prints all of the desired colors, reducing wasted ribbon.Also, by moving the ribbon and shifting the hole positions, printing colors can be changed. Since the switching can be performed, the time required for the switching can be shortened.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A color printer according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows the basic configuration of a color printer in an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 5 is a print head, and 6, 7.8 are Y and M, respectively.

They are 0 color thermal transfer ribbons that overlap with a gap. 9 is a guide for supporting each electrothermal transfer ribbon 6.7.9. 10 is a medium such as plain paper on which characters, figures, etc. are printed, and 11 is a roller for reciprocating the medium 1o in the longitudinal direction and for moving the thermal transfer ribbons 6, 7, and 8f in the longitudinal direction. In FIG. 2, the thermal transfer ribbon 6°7.8 shown in FIG. 1 will be explained. In Fig. 2, the thermal transfer ribbons 6, 7, and 8 each have holes spaced apart from each other by the length of the medium 1o in the longitudinal direction. At times they avoid contact with each other.

The operation of the color printer configured as described above will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

First, the thermal transfer ribbon 6.7.8 is placed at the position of the medium 1o with the holes overlapping each other as shown in FIG. medium 1o-
For the printing of the autumnal equinox, the ribbons of unnecessary colors remain as they are, and only the ribbons of desired colors move in the H direction as the medium 1o moves. The printing operation is the same as the conventional example, and the third
The figure shows printing with a thermal transfer ribbon 7.

When the printing of the medium 10-Autumn Equinox by the ribbon 7 is completed, the holes of the thermal transfer ribbon 6.7.8 overlap again as shown in FIG. Further, the medium 10 returns to its original position as the roller 11 rotates in the P direction. Next, only the ribbon of the desired color moves as the medium 1o moves. Thereafter, this operation is repeated to form desired characters, figures, etc. on the medium 1o.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by providing holes in the thermal transfer ribbons of each color, stacking them with a gap between them, and driving each ribbon separately, the time required to change printing colors is shortened, and ribbon waste is reduced. can do.

Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention provides a plurality of thermal transfer ribbons of different colors, each having a plurality of elongated strips and having a plurality of different colors that are closer to the plane of the print head at intervals of one page of printing paper in the feeding direction. a driving means for separately moving the ink ribbons stacked with gaps so as not to contact each other;
By providing a print head that transfers the ink ribbon onto printing paper, it is possible to shorten the time required for switching printing colors and to reduce wastage of ribbon.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a basic configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a block diagram of the thermal transfer ribbon in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a diagram of the printing operation in FIG. 1, and FIG. 4 is a basic block diagram of a conventional example. 6...Print head, 6,7.8...°...Thermal transfer ink ribbon, 10...Medium. Name of agent: Patent attorney Toshio Nakao and 11 others Figure 2

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A plurality of thermal transfer ink ribbons of different colors, each having a long shape and having a plurality of holes larger than the print head plane (described later) at intervals of one page of printing paper in the feeding direction, come into contact with each other during printing. A color printer comprising a driving means for separately moving the ink ribbons stacked in the thickness direction with a gap therebetween, and a print head for transferring the ink of the ink ribbons onto printing paper. . (2) The color printer according to claim 1, wherein the closer the thermal transfer ink ribbon is to the printing paper, the wider the ribbon and the larger the hole size.