JPS6124491A - Heat transfer type printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To keep the amount of winding constant by a method in which the feeding speed of a thermal ink ribbon is detected on the basis of the output of a photo sensor to detect the density of the thermal ink ribbon, and the turning speed of a motor is controlled in such a way as to make the feeding speed constant. CONSTITUTION:When the banded discriminators 15 and 17 of a thermal ink ribbon 14 are matched with a photo sensor 12, command signal So of fixed pulse width To is sent out from an arithmetic unit 20, and the step number of the step motor 9 is counted by a counter 19. When the colorant portion of the ribbon 14 comes to match with the sensor 12, maximum value of counted contents of the counter 19 is stored, and command signal So' of a pulse width DELTAT corresponding to the stored value is sent out. As the pulse width DELTAT is increased, the turning speed of the motor 9 is slowed down. The pulse width DELTAT is sent up to be increased with increasing the winding diameter of the ribbon 14 on the winding shaft.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer configured to thermally transfer pigments from a thermal ink ribbon to printing paper in response to heat generated by a thermal head, and particularly to a thermal transfer printer configured to thermally transfer pigments from a thermal ink ribbon to printing paper in response to heat generated by a thermal head, and particularly to a thermal transfer printer that is divided in the longitudinal direction. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer capable of using a multicolor thermal ink ribbon having a band-like identification portion for cueing between at least predetermined dyes among a plurality of colors of dyes applied.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Conventionally, when using a multicolor thermal ink ribbon having three primary colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan in a thermal transfer printer, feeding of the carriage and thermal ink ribbon is controlled using a color feeding pattern to print the three primary colors. The dyes are thermally transferred to each print line either singly or in a superimposed manner. In this case, since the part of the thermal ink ribbon where the dye has been thermally transferred cannot be reused, the used part of the thermal ink ribbon is sequentially wound onto the winding shaft. is rotated at a constant speed. Therefore, as the winding diameter of the thermal ink ribbon increases, the winding amount of the thermal ink ribbon per unit rotation of the winding shaft drive motor gradually increases. Become. Therefore, the effective width of each dye part of the thermal ink ribbon is
The winding diameter of the thermal ink ribbon must be set to be relatively large so that one line can be printed when the winding diameter of the thermal ink ribbon reaches its maximum. When the ink ribbon is small, the width of each dye portion becomes larger than necessary, which has the disadvantage that the utilization rate of the thermal ink ribbon deteriorates and waste increases. In addition, in order to deal with such drawbacks, conventionally, slippage has been imparted to the winding shaft, and as the winding diameter of the thermal ink ribbon on the winding shaft increases, the drive required to drive the winding shaft increases. It has also been considered that the amount of thermal ink ribbon taken up per unit rotation of the take-up shaft drive motor can be made constant by configuring the system so that the amount of slippage gradually increases by taking advantage of the increase in torque. There is. However, with this configuration, it is extremely difficult to set the amount of slippage of the winding shaft, and there are problems in that the winding amount of the thermal ink ribbon is not always constant, resulting in low reliability.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to be able to always maintain a constant winding amount of thermal ink ribbon by a winding device, thereby improving the utilization rate of the thermal ink ribbon, and to improve the utilization rate of the thermal ink ribbon. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer printer that can sufficiently improve the reliability of such a winding amount constant operation.

[Summary of the invention]

The present invention has been made to achieve the above objects by: 1. In a thermal transfer printer, a multicolor thermal ink ribbon having strip-like identification portions between at least predetermined dyes among a plurality of color dyes applied in sections in the length direction can be mounted and used. An optical sensor is provided to detect the density of a certain thermal ink ribbon, and a detection means is provided to detect the feeding speed of the thermal ink ribbon based on the output of this optical sensor. A control means is provided for controlling the rotational speed of the motor for driving the winding device so that the feed speed of the winding device is constant.

(Embodiment of the Invention) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a platen rotatably provided within the main body case (not shown);
The printing paper 2 is attached to the holder. Reference numeral 3 denotes a rectangular carriage disposed inside the main body case, which is supported by guide rails 4, 4 so as to be movable in parallel in the direction along the platen 1. In this case, the wire is moved by a motor (not shown). It is designed to be moved back and forth via 5. Reference numeral 6 denotes a head support plate erected at the center of the front end of the carriage 3, on which a thermal head 7 is attached. It is provided so that it can be moved back and forth in the front and back direction between a standby position separated from the printing paper 2. Reference numeral 8 denotes a winding shaft, which is a winding device supported by the carriage 3 so as to protrude upward, and this is rotated by a step motor (indicated by the reference numeral 9 in FIG. 7). It has become. Reference numerals 10 and 11 denote sensor support plates that are erected at the rear end of the carriage 3 to face each other at a predetermined distance in the front-rear direction, and each of the support plates 10 and 11 is equipped with a light emitting diode 12a and a phototransistor 12b, respectively. These light emitting diodes 12a and phototransistors 12b are arranged so as to face each other.
A transmissive optical sensor 12 is configured.

In FIGS. 3 to 5, reference numeral 13 denotes a rectangular cassette case mounted on the carriage 3, which includes a reel 13a and a reel 13b connected to the winding shaft 8.
A thermal ink ribbon 14 wound around a rack is stored in between. The front end of the cassette case 13 is formed with a notch-like recess 13c into which the head support plate 6 enters when it is attached to the carriage 3, and the thermal ink ribbon 14 led out into the recess 13c is inserted into the cassette case 13. It is positioned between the thermal head 7 and the platen 1 in the installed state.

Further, an opening 13d into which the sensor support plates 10 and 11 enter when mounted on the carriage 3 is formed at the rear end of the cassette case 13 so as to extend between the bottom wall and the rear wall of the cassette case 13. The thermal ink ribbon 14 drawn across this opening 13d is positioned between the sensor support plates 10 and 11 and further between the light emitting diode 12a and the phototransistor 13 in the optical sensor 12 when the cassette case 13 is attached. It has become.

Therefore, the thermal ink ribbon 14 stored in the cassette case 13 is a multicolored one in which heat-melting dyes of three primary colors, yellow, magenta, and cyan, are applied to a base film in sections in the length direction. Two types of thermal ink ribbon 14 are available: 1 and a monochrome one in which only a black heat-melting dye is coated on the base film.
This will be explained with reference to the figure. That is, the multicolored thermal ink ribbon 14 has yellow on its surface on the printing paper 2 side.

The heat-melting dyes of magenta and cyan (indicated by Y, M, and C, respectively) in the same order have a predetermined width dimension LD.
It is coated with. Two band-shaped identification parts 15 for cueing are formed in black at the boundary between the yellow dye and the magenta dye in the next stage, with a transparent part 16 between them. One cueing band-like identification portion 17 is formed in black at each of the boundary portions with the dye and the boundary portion between the cyan dye and the yellow dye. In this case, each strip-like identification portion 15.17 is set to have a width Ls, and the width Lo of each dye portion is
The fourth dimension is set to be sufficiently larger than the above dimension L1, and the fourth dimension is set to be sufficiently larger than the above dimension L1.
It is set equal to the length of the feeding path of the thermal ink ribbon 14 from the optical sensor 12 to the thermal head 7 in the figure. Therefore, multicolor thermal ink ribbon 1
4 is wound up by the winding shaft 8, and the winding operation is stopped when the optical sensor 12 detects the two band-shaped identification parts 15, so that the leading part of the yellow dye corresponds to the thermal head 7. The cue will be determined in this way. Since it is known in advance that magenta and cyan dyes exist in this order after the yellow dye, after the above-mentioned yellow dye is located, the optical sensor 12 detects the band-shaped identification portion while winding up the thermal ink ribbon 14. If the winding operation is stopped when 17 is detected, the beginning of the magenta dye can be located, and the beginning of the cyan dye can also be located in the same manner.

Now, FIG. 7 shows a circuit configuration of a portion related to the gist of the present invention, which will be explained below. That is, the optical sensor 12 receives a DC voltage signal V at a level corresponding to the density of the thermal ink ribbon 14 interposed between the light emitting diode 12a and the phototransistor 12b. The logic circuit 18 provided to receive the voltage signal Vo from the optical sensor 12 is connected between the positive power supply and the ground so as to output the voltage signal Va. (In other words, if the optical sensor 12 has a band-shaped identification portion 15.
17 is supported), and when the voltage signal Vo is above a certain level (in other words, when the optical sensor 12 detects the dye portion of the multicolor thermal ink ribbon 14), a low level signal is output.

If the transparent portion 16 is compatible), a high level signal is output. 19 is a counter serving as a detection means, which counts the number of steps of the step motor 9 during a period when a low level signal is output from the logic circuit 18, and counts the number of steps when a high level signal is output from the logic circuit 18. Therefore, the maximum value of the counted contents is determined by the number of steps of the step motor 9 required to send each band-shaped identification part 15, 17 of the thermal ink ribbon 14, and by extension, each band-shaped identification part. The value corresponds to a feed rate of 15°17. Reference numeral 20 denotes a calculation unit serving as a control means, which outputs a command signal So with a constant pulse width To during a period when a low level signal is output from the logic circuit 18, and outputs a command signal So with a constant pulse width To during a period when a high level signal is output from the logic circuit 18. At the time of inputting the high level signal, the maximum value counted by the counter 19 (i.e., the value indicating the feed speed of the strip identification section 15.17) is stored, and a pulse that changes according to the stored value is stored. A command signal S'Ω having a width of 6 lines is output. Specifically, the calculation unit 2
0 is counter 1 stored at the time of input of the high level signal.
As the count value of 9 increases, in other words, as the feeding speed of each band-like identification portion 15.17 of the thermal ink ribbon 14 increases, the pulse width ΔT of the command signal S'o increases. Control so that it gradually increases. 21 is the command signal S mentioned above. +S'11 is input to the signal processing section, which outputs a new printing signal for each printing line and from the time when the power is turned on until the beginning of the yellow dye by the strip identification section 15.15. The configuration is such that the step motor 9 is repeatedly energized via the driver 22 for a time corresponding to the pulse width To or 6 of the command signal So or S10 until printing for one line is completed. has been done. Note that when the pulse width of the command signal S'o increases, the number of steps per unit time of the step motor 9 decreases, and as a result, the step motor 9
The rotation speed of the

The operation of the circuit configuration shown in FIG. 7 described above is as follows. That is, from the time the power is turned on until the beginning of the yellow dye and until the printing of one line is completed by the print signal, the step motor 9 is
In contrast, the command signal S. Or it is repeatedly energized for a time according to the pulse width To or 6 of either S'o,
Thus, the thermal ink ribbon 14 is wound onto the winding shaft 8. In this case, when the logic circuit 18 outputs a low level signal, in other words, when the optical sensor 12 corresponds to the band-shaped identification section 15 or 17 of the thermal ink ribbon 14, the calculation section 20 A command signal So with a constant pulse width To is output from the step motor 9, and the command signal S is sent to the step motor 9. The step motor 9 is rotated at a constant speed, and the counter 19 counts the number of steps of the step motor 9.

Thereafter, when a high level signal is output from the logic circuit 18, in other words, when the dye portion of the thermal ink ribbon 14 comes to correspond to the optical sensor 12, the calculation unit 20
However, the counter 19 at the time of outputting the high level signal
The maximum value of the counted contents (feeding speed of the thermal ink ribbon 14 when the step motor 9 is rotated at a constant speed) is stored, and a command signal S'o of 6 pulse widths is outputted according to the stored value. At the same time, the count contents of the counter 19 are initialized. Then, until printing for one line is completed, the step motor 9 is repeatedly energized for a time corresponding to the pulse width ΔT of the command signal S'o. The thermal ink ribbon 14 is rotated at a speed corresponding to the maximum value of the count contents, and winding operation of the thermal ink ribbon 14 is performed.

In this case, as the pulse width 6 of the command signal S'o increases, the rotational speed of the step motor 9 becomes slower. Thermal ink ribbon 14
As the feeding speed of each band-shaped identification portion 15 and 17 becomes faster, in other words, as the winding diameter of the thermal ink ribbon 14 on the winding shaft 8 becomes larger, the diameter of the thermal ink ribbon 14 increases. Because of this setting, as the winding diameter on the winding shaft 8 increases, the rotational speed of the step motor 9 becomes slower, and as a result, the feeding speed of the thermal ink ribbon 14, that is, the thermal ink by the winding shaft 8 increases. The amount of winding of the ribbon 14 per unit time becomes constant.

Incidentally, FIG. 8 shows a flowchart for understanding the above-mentioned operation.

In short, according to this embodiment, even if the winding diameter of the thermal ink ribbon 14 on the winding shaft 8 gradually becomes smaller,
The winding amount can always be kept constant, so there is no problem even if the effective width of each dye part of the thermal ink ribbon 14 is set to the minimum width required for printing one line (unlike conventional methods). In contrast, the utilization rate of the thermal ink ribbon 14 can be greatly improved.Furthermore, since there is no need for the winding shaft 8 to have slippage as in the prior art, reliability can be improved.

In the above embodiment, the feeding speed of the thermal ink ribbon 14 is detected based on the number of steps of the step motor 9 required to feed the band-shaped identification portion 15.17, but the present invention is not limited to this. The feed speed may be detected based on the number of steps of the step motor 9 required to feed the dye portion or the transparent portion 16. In addition, although the reflective optical sensor 12 was used in the above embodiment,
Instead, a transmission type optical sensor may be used, and the thermal ink ribbon 14 may be stored in the cassette case 13 as required. Furthermore, the functions of the main parts shown in FIG. 7 may be obtained by a program of a built-in control microcomputer.

(Effects of the Invention) As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides a multicolor thermal ink ribbon having a strip-like identification portion between at least predetermined pigments among a plurality of pigments applied in sections in the length direction. In a thermal transfer printer equipped with a thermal head for thermally transferring the pigment of the thermal ink ribbon onto printing paper, and a winding device for the thermal ink ribbon, the thermal ink ribbon is wound by the winding device. The present invention has excellent effects such as being able to always keep the take-up amount constant, improving the utilization rate of the thermal ink ribbon, and increasing the reliability of such a constant take-up amount operation. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts with the cassette case not installed, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-n in Fig. 1, and Fig. Figure 3 is a perspective view of the cassette case, Figure 4 is a plan view showing the main parts of the cassette case in the 81 state with the top cover of the cassette case removed, and Figure 5 is taken along the v-v line in Figure 4. FIG. 6 is a partial front view of the thermal ink ribbon, FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the electrical configuration of the main parts, and FIG. 8 is a functional diagram of the main parts shown in FIG. FIG. In the figure, 3 is a carriage, 7 is a thermal head, 8 is a winding shaft (winding device), 12 is an optical sensor, 13 is a cassette case, 14 is a thermal ink ribbon, 15.17 is a band-shaped identification part, and 19 is a counter. (detection means), 2o is the arithmetic unit (
control means). Applicant Higashi Co., Ltd.
Shiba Toshiba Audio/Video Engineering Co., Ltd. Figure 1 Figure 2 Figure WA3 Figure wA6 Figure 7

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A multicolor thermal ink ribbon having strip-like identification portions between at least predetermined dyes among a plurality of color dyes applied in sections in the length direction is installed, and the dye of the thermal ink ribbon In a thermal transfer printer equipped with a thermal ink ribbon winding device and a thermal head for thermally transferring the thermal ink to the printing paper, the thermal ink ribbon is placed in a position corresponding to the mounting position of the thermal ink ribbon. an optical sensor that generates a signal of a corresponding level; a detection means that detects the feeding speed of the thermal ink ribbon based on the output of the optical sensor; and a detection means that detects the feeding speed of the thermal ink ribbon based on the detection result of the detection means. 1. A thermal transfer printer, comprising: control means for controlling the rotational speed of the motor for driving the winding device so that the rotational speed of the motor for driving the winding device is maintained at a constant speed.