JPS63270174A - Thermal transfer recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable an accurate recording with a simple construction, by a method wherein, an information recording part in which ink sheet attribute data is recorded is provided on a connecting part of a cassette case connecting an ink sheet supply reel with an ink sheet take-up reel, and the information recording part is read with the recording action. CONSTITUTION:A recording paper 3 is fed in a direction A to be carried to a thermal head part 5 by a guide means due to the rotation of a platen roller. The head 5 is pressed down in a direction C against the roller, an ink donor sheet 7 is carried in a direction D, and a new sheet 7 is pulled out from a supply shaft 10. Then, the recording paper 3 reaches the head part 5, and a recording is carried out. The recorded part of the paper is fed forward according to the rotation of the roller 4. The used sheet 7 is taken up by a take-up reel 11. The recording paper 3 is again carried to the head part 5, and a recording with overlaid two or more colors is performed. An information signal detected at the surface of a recording part 9 by an optical information-read sensor 23 is sent to a signal demodulation part 24 to be demodulated to a digital signal, thereafter being sent to a controller 25 to be used for the control in printing.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device, and particularly to a thermal transfer recording device that performs overlapping recording of a plurality of colors.

[Conventional technology]

There are terminal output devices that record characters and figures according to the information output from communication devices, electronic calculators, etc., but recently these output devices are not only capable of recording in black and white as in the past. , it is desired to perform color recording.

As one method for performing color recording, a thermal transfer recording method is seen as promising and is being put into practical use because it is maintenance-free and has a simple device configuration.

Conventionally, when wiring is done using a thermal transfer recording method, a minute heating element that can be controlled externally is used. A thermal head consisting of a plurality of thermal heads arranged in a row is pressed against an ink donor sheet (ink paper) consisting of a sheet-like base surface coated with heat-melting solid ink or heat-sublimating solid ink and heated to form the desired recording paper. is being recorded.

Further, color recording using the above-mentioned ink donor sheet is realized by superimposing and recording the wiring multiple times on the surface of the recording paper using inks of different hues. Therefore, an ink donor sheet is used in which a plurality of inks of different hues are applied in a pattern that is sequentially repeated over a certain length in the longitudinal direction. After one-color area recording is performed, successive overlapping recordings of the next color can be performed using the next successive hue portion of the ink donor sheet.

The ink donor as described above is applied to the thermal transfer recording device.

In order to apply the sheet, a means for supplying the sheet and collecting the used portion is required.

In addition, the types of coloring materials applied to the ink donor sheet include heat-sublimable dyes and heat-melting pigments that are commonly used for thermal transfer recording.The attributes of these inks include the type and coating thickness. The sensitivity of the donor sheet (the relationship between the density of color developed in response to heat applied from the thermal head) changes depending on the thickness of the donor sheet base material. In addition to the wide variety of sensitivities of these dyes, the sensitivity characteristics of sublimable dyes are such that there is no linear relationship between the color density developed in response to the heat applied from the thermal head, and thermal transfer recording devices that use these dyes have a non-linear relationship. It is necessary to control the amount of heat so that it changes to a linear amount of heat and obtains the desired density, and information regarding this non-linear sensitivity characteristic (for example, 3
(60 bytes for each color, etc.) must be input by some means.

Furthermore, if the ink donor sheet has been improved, such as by developing a new dye, the details of the improvement (attributes)
This cannot be dealt with by storing the information in advance on the device side.

Furthermore, regarding the ink application pattern, it is one color.

Information such as the number of coated colors (two colors, five colors, four colors, etc.), coating length, etc. cannot be handled by the thermal transfer recording apparatus unless it is inputted to the thermal transfer recording apparatus by some method. Conventionally, this type of ink donor sheet has generally been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-110002 for reasons such as convenience in handling.
It is known that a single cartridge C, as shown in Japanese Patent No. 6-67278, houses both an ink sheet supply reel and a take-up reel, and can be attached to and detached from a thermal transfer recording apparatus. In other words, in this conventional example, an unused thermal transfer ink ribbon (ink sheet)
There are two parts: a feed-out roller (supply reel) that winds the used ink ribbon (ink sheet), and a take-up roller (take-up reel) that winds up the used ink ribbon (ink sheet). The cartridge is rotatably supported at certain intervals and is loaded into a thermal transfer recording device to perform recording.

In this cassette, the information regarding the attributes of the ink sheet cannot be transmitted to the thermal transfer recording device because the two reels are simply supported by the cassette, and the following inconvenience may occur. It had not been done.

■The distinction between the number of colors on the ink sheet, such as single color, 2 colors, 3 colors, 4 colors, etc., is automatically communicated to the thermal transfer recording device, and the recording operation sequence cannot be changed, making it cumbersome to switch manually. .

■Distinctions such as one type of ink sensitivity (sublimation dye ink or heat-melting solid pigment ink) cannot be automatically transmitted to the same device, and not only is the switching complicated, but the ink improvement process is also difficult. There was insufficient recognition that the equipment could not respond in cases where characteristics such as sensitivity and sensitivity were changed.

In addition, as a conventional example of recording information regarding the medium stored in this type of cassette as a cassette shape and automatically transmitting it to a device loading the cassette, there is one example of the conventional example, eg, R Cini Engineer, Volume 26. Number 9 (N
OV/Dec, 1981), pages 21 to 25 (RCA Engineer Vol, 26
, N[L9.

NOV/Dec, 1981, PP 21 =
25) VC Oite, Coleman (C:o1gm
Video disc player mechanical design consideration recipe (Video Disc Pl
ayer macha rLLcal design
As discussed in the literature titled Contidgrations, the orientation of a wedge-shaped notch formed at the end of a cassette (caddy) containing a disk medium is detected and the direction of the disk medium is determined. Front and back? The information provided as a shape inside the cassette indicates that what the device determines is known.

This is automatically communicated to the device side, thereby preventing erroneous operations such as erroneously selecting one front and the other.

However, in addition to simple information such as whether the ink sheet is front or back, it also requires complex information such as the number of colors, ink types, and sensitivity characteristics required for the ink sheet cassette (for example, 128 bi
It has not been sufficiently recognized that mechanical detection methods are too complex to record attribute information. Furthermore, if the recorded contents were to be changed, the process would have to be large-scale, as it would require changing the metal used to mold the plastic.

In another conventional example of this type, information regarding the medium stored inside the cassette is recorded as electrical contact position information outside the cassette.

As disclosed in the explanatory article entitled ``VX code film from all companies gathered'' in Photo Industry 1 magazine, July 19F34 issue, there is a 9゛ camera detection code section on the surface of the 35am photographic film cartridge (exterior case). A method is known in which the coating pattern of electrically insulating paint is detected from the camera side via electrical contacts.

This coating pattern made it possible to record detailed (12-bit information) information such as the number of films, sensitivity, and latitude, and it was excellent in that the pattern could be changed by simply changing the coating plate. However, the amount of information required for the ink sheet cassette is about an order of magnitude larger than that of the photographic film case (e.g. 128 bit
), there are limits to the electrical contact method. In addition, with the detection method based on electrical continuity of the contact part, it is important to be aware that corrosion may occur if the contact part is touched by hand during handling, and the information may not be read accurately. It had not been done.

[Problem to be Solved by the Invention 3] As described above, in the prior art, ink donor sheet supply means for thermal transfer recording devices do not.

It is necessary to provide a means for transmitting information (attribute information) regarding the ink sheet stored inside to the recording device, and the direction is (11) relatively complicated (for example, 128
It is possible to record information (amount of information on the order of bits).

(2) It is a position record that can be easily read by the device when loaded in the device, (3) The recorded information content can be easily and inexpensively changed without major changes such as changing plastic molds, (4) ) There is no risk of the recorded information being destroyed due to malfunction during handling of the cassette.

These are some of the technical issues.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and provide a thermal transfer recording device that has a simple structure and is capable of precise recording.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, in the present invention, information regarding the ink donor sheet is recorded on a cassette,
In the method of reading with a thermal transfer recording device, an information recording means is provided on a connecting member of two means, an ink donor sheet supply means and a winding means, of a frame structure cassette through which a plate/roller or a housing of the apparatus passes during printing. , by combining information reading means that scans the information recording means inside the cassette frame using the movement movement of the thermal head or platen roller that accompanies printing.

Information about the ink donor sheet can be transmitted to the thermal transfer recording device via the cassette.

Further, the information recording means has a pattern that is read by an optical reading device, and is copied in large quantities by printing or the like and pasted on the cassette.

It was separated from the cassette-style plastic molding work.

Further, the information reading means is attached to a member that moves with the recording operation of the thermal transfer recording device, reads the information, and in order to make the information reading means scan the information recording portion on the cassette, a separate member is newly installed. I will not set it up.

[Effect]

By a certain degree of non-manual movement of the thermal head or platen roller during printing.

Since the optical reading means is physically scanned, it is possible to handle extremely complex information (for example, 128 bits of information) (that is, it is possible to read high-density records).

Furthermore, since the recording is performed in a portion of the cassette frame that is not subject to corrosion during normal handling, the inconvenience of missing information due to handling problems is unlikely to occur.

The information is recorded by printing, etc. performed in a separate process from the creation of the cassette, and the recorded content can be changed by simply changing the content to be printed.

Furthermore, since the contents recorded on the cassette are scanned and read by the thermal beam or moving movement of the platen roller during the printing operation, it is also possible to reuse an unused ink donor sheet cassette by remanufacturing it into the main body. The information must be read.

[Example〕 An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of an ink donor sheet cassette as an embodiment of the present invention.

1 is an ink donor sheet cassette, 7 is an ink donor sheet, 8 is an inner wall surface, and 9 is a recording section.

In the figure, in the ink donor sheet cassette C (hereinafter simply referred to as cassette) 1, the ink donor sheet 7 is hung at a portion indicated by a dotted line.

A recording section 9 on which an optical information pattern is printed is pasted on the inner wall surface 8 of the frame portion of the cassette 1. Information regarding the ink donor sheet 7 is recorded in this recording section 9, and as described later, the reading means of the thermal transfer recording device is scanned with the rotation of the thermal head.
Read.

Information is thereby transmitted to the device side.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the state in which the cassette shown in FIG. 1 is loaded into the thermal transfer recording device, and 1 is a cassette, 2
1 is a thermal transfer recording device main body, 6 is a recording paper, 4 is a platen roller, and 5 is a thermal head.

6 is the door.

As shown in the figure, recording paper 3 is fed in the direction shown by arrow A, wound around the outer periphery of platen roller 4, and recorded. After the recording is completed, the recording paper 3 is fed out of the apparatus in the direction of arrow B, and the series of operations of the apparatus is completed. During recording, as will be described later, the thermal head rotates in the direction shown by arrow C on the inner side of the frame of the cassette 1, presses it against the platen roller 5, and prints the ink through the ink donor sheet. Recording is performed while the recording paper is pressed. After recording is finished, it will be in the open state shown in the figure.
The cassette 1 can be taken out of the apparatus 2 by opening a door 6 provided in the apparatus 2.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of an ink donor sheet stored in the cassette shown in FIG. 1, in which 7 is an ink donor sheet, 10 is a supply reel, and 11 is a take-up reel.

In the figure, an unused ink donor sheet 7 is wound around a supply reel 1o, and the ink donor sheet is passed between it and a take-up reel 11 that winds up a used sheet. The ink donor sheet 7 is coated with different hues of ink at a constant width in its longitudinal direction, and is colored with different hues of ink (for example, Yt (yellow), My (magenta), and C in the direction of the arrow) to be used for printing.
31 (cyan)).

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the cassette structure shown in FIG. 1, in which the upper member is shown as a deaf member, the lower member is shown as a deaf member, 14 is a supply shaft housing portion, and 15 is an explanatory diagram of the cassette structure.
are the winding shaft storage section, 16α, 16b, 17α.

17.6 is a connecting member, and 18α and 18b are recording attachment parts.

As shown in the figure, the cassette has an upper member wing and a lower member 1.
It is composed of two upper and lower members of 3.

Both members are provided with a supply shaft accommodating section 141 and a winding shaft accommodating section 15 for storing two reels of one supply winding of the ink donor sheet explained using FIG. 3 above.

Connecting members 16α and 166 are connected between these 2-reel storage parts.
The upper member (1) side is also connected by similar connecting members 17α and 17A. The ink donor sheet stretched between the two reels described in FIG. 3 is housed between the upper member and the lower member and is then glued together to be used as a cassette.

In the completed cassette, there are two shaft storage compartments 14° and 15°.
The ink donor sheet is stretched across the space within the frame formed by the connecting members 16α, 16A, 17α, and 17h.

Note that recording attachment portions 18α and 18A are provided in some of the connecting members 16α and 16b of the lower member 13.

As described below, paste the recorded recording part created by printing etc.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a method of loading a cassette into the internal mechanism of the thermal transfer device.

The cassette 1 is loaded in a space provided above a platen roller 4 in a mechanical section of the thermal transfer apparatus. The ink donor sheet supply shaft and take-up shaft of the cassette 1 and the mechanism section 19 are connected by a supply reel stand 20 and a take-up reel stand 21. Recess at the end of reel 2 on cassette 1 side (not shown)
The protrusions of the 2-reel base on the 1st mechanism section 19 side fit together, and the driving force from the 1st mechanism section 19 side passes through the reel, and the driving force from the 1st mechanism section 19 side passes through the reel to the cassette 1. The tension is transmitted to the ink donor sheet 7 on the side.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of the state in which the cassette is inserted into the internal mechanical section of the thermal transfer recording apparatus.

This figure shows the state in which the cassette 1 is loaded in the internal mechanism section 19 of the thermal transfer recording apparatus. The cassette 1 is rotated to enter the space inside the frame portion of the cassette 1, and is pressed against the platen roller 4 via the ink donor sheet 7. At this time, the optical reading sensor 23 attached to the tip of the thermal head 5.

The recording section 9 on the side of the cassette 1 is scanned to read information regarding the ink donor sheet. Since the rotation of the thermal head 5 is performed automatically, the rotation speed can be kept almost constant, and the scanning speed can also be kept almost constant.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the scanning state of the recording section by the thermal head.

When the cassette 1 is loaded, the thermal head 5, which was in the initial position indicated by the dotted line in the figure, is moved as shown by the dotted line by rotating the head support member 22 in the direction of arrow C, as explained in FIG. It is moved from the position 5' shown to the use position shown by the solid line. At this time, the optical reading sensor 23 attached to the tip of each thermal head takes a trajectory shown by a dotted line 34 from the position 23', scans the surface of the recording section 9, and reads the recorded information.

When a thermal transfer recording device performs thermal transfer recording.

First, the recording paper 6 is fed in the direction of the arrow, rotated along the outer periphery of the platen roller 4, and conveyed to the thermal head 1 by guide means (not shown). At this time,
The friction coefficient μm between the thermal head and the ink donor sheet 7, and the friction coefficient μ2 between the ink donor sheet 7 and the platen roller 4. Recording paper 30 surface and ink donor sheet 7
The relationship of the friction coefficient μs between the two is 1 μm × μ29 μm × μ5. When the thermal head is pressed toward the platen roller in the direction of arrow C, the ink donor sheet 7 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow and is supplied. A new ink donor sheet 7 is pulled out from the shaft 10. Recording paper 3 is.

When the thermal head reaches the intersection, recording is performed by thermal transfer, and the recorded area advances in the direction indicated by the arrow as the platen roller 4 rotates. The used ink donor sheet 7 is advanced to a take-up reel 11 which is rotated by a rotational force supplied from the main body of the apparatus by means not shown, and is taken up once. The recording paper 3 advances along the platen roller 4 and is conveyed again to the thermal head 5 section, where overlapping recording of a plurality of colors is performed. After recording has been performed a predetermined number of times, the recording paper 3 is discharged to the outside of the apparatus through a path indicated by an arrow BK.

FIG. 8 is an operational block diagram showing an example of the recording/reading section.

In the figure, the surface of the recording section 9 is detected by an optical reading sensor 23.
Scan the information to read the information. The optical reading sensor 23 is L
It can be configured from ED and photosensor.

The information signal detected by the optical reading sensor 23 is sent to the signal demodulation section 24, where it is demodulated into a digital signal.
This digital signal is sent to the printer controller 25 and used for control during printing.

In the figure, the information pattern recorded in the recording section 9 is as follows:
Although a striped barcode pattern is used, the present invention is not limited to this. The above barcode pattern is based on the information encoding system (generally NRZ, RZ, NRZ
This is when the information content to be transmitted is recorded as a black-and-white linear pattern according to the method (which can be selectively adopted from well-known encoding methods such as I, AMl, CMI, etc.). Unlike manual reading, this recorded pattern is read by scanning at a constant speed.

Even when reading relatively high-density records, the error rate is low and the reading can be done safely. Furthermore, the method of demodulating the information signal within the printer controller 25 according to the encoding method can be easily implemented using a micro combinator program or the like, so a description thereof will be omitted here.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of one embodiment of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG.

First, take in the recording paper and transport it (Step 2)
6). Next, the thermal head is pressed against the platen roller (step 27). At this time, the information recorded inside the cassette frame is read at the same time. Continue recording for one screen (Step 28).

It is determined whether a predetermined number of colors have been printed (step 29), and if not, the process returns to step 28 and recording is performed.

When recording of a predetermined number of colors is completed, the recording paper is ejected and the thermal head is raised (step 30), and the series of operations ends.

In this way, for multi-color recording - information about the ink donor sheet is always read at the beginning of the equinox recording, and even if the cassette is removed from the device and another cassette is loaded, there is no error. Information about the ink donor sheet is transmitted to the device.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the external appearance of a cassette as another embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is the cassette, 7 is an ink donor sheet, 8 is an external wall surface, and 53 is a recording section.

In the figure, a recorded recording section 33 is pasted on the outer wall surface 8 of the cassette 1 outside the frame. Desired information is recorded here as an optical black and white pattern.

Inside the thermal transfer recording apparatus, the contents of the recording section 33 are read out by an optical reading means provided at the tip of the thermal head when the thermal head rotates, as in the previous embodiment. A detailed explanation will be omitted since it is almost the same as the above.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of various configuration examples of the ink donor sheet, and data corresponding to each configuration is recorded in the recording section.

The figure (α) shows an ink donor sheet 7 coated with five color inks 36 for color printing. Following the cue mark 35 that indicates the start position of the ink donor sheet 7, five color inks 36, which are three primary colors of a subtractive color mixture of Yl (horizontal), My (magenta), and (J (cyan)), are injected.
Each color is coated in a size equivalent to one screen of recording paper, and as described in the explanation of FIG. Realize. The same figure (bl is for color printing.

This is an example of an ink donor sheet coated with four color inks, and following the cue mark 55 indicating the start position of the ink donor sheet 7, the same Yg, My, and
Four-color ink 37 consisting of five-color Cy ink and black ink (Black) k is applied.

Due to the presence of black ink, the calculation of printing data is different compared to the case of (a), and it is necessary to transmit the configuration of the ink donor sheet 7 to the printer. The configuration of the ink donor sheet 7 is described and transmitted to the printer.

Figure (C) is an example of an ink donor sheet coated with black ink for black and white printing.Following cue 1-35 indicating the starting position of the ink donor sheet 7,
Black ink 38 is applied in a size equivalent to one screen of recording paper. As mentioned in the explanation of (b) above, the calculation of print data is different between black and white prints and color prints using the inks shown in Figures (α) and (A), so it is necessary to transmit the configuration of the ink donor sheet 7 to the printer. 1. The configuration of the ink donor sheet 7 is described on the recording section 9 or 65 on the cassette 1 according to the present invention.

Communicate to printer.

In addition to this, the information recorded on the recording section can include, for example, the sensitivity characteristics and chromaticity information of the ink, which will be described later, or information such as the number of recordable sheets, thickness, and length of the ink donor sheet.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the sensitivity characteristics of the ink applied to the ink donor sheet described in the recording section.

As explained above with reference to FIG. 7, the ink donor sheet 7 is stacked on the recording paper 3 on the platen roller 4, and pressure is applied from above by the thermal head. The thermal head generates heat while changing the amount of heat generated according to the applied energy according to the pattern you want to record, and the thermal head generates heat.

The thermal transfer ink applied to the reink donor sheet 7 is transferred to the recording paper 3 by sublimation or melting. The end of the reflection density of the image transferred to the recording paper 3.

The heat generation t of the thermal head 5 changes depending on the energy applied to the thermal head 5. In order to obtain a specified dark recording, the relationship between the applied energy and the reflection density, which differs depending on the type of ink, that is, the sensitivity characteristics of the ink, must be determined. It is necessary for the printer to apply energy to the thermal head in accordance with the specified density.

FIG. 12 shows an example of the sensitivity characteristics of ink and the sampling of data to be digitally recorded in the recording section 9 or 36. The horizontal axis of the graph is the energy applied to the thermal head. If the applied voltage is fixed at each time, this becomes the energization time. The vertical axis represents the reflection density of the image recorded on the recording paper 3. An example of sampling this graph at regular intervals is shown in the figure (α), where the circle mark 3
9 is the sampling point. The sampling points are kept at regular intervals on the applied energy axis and represent the shape of a graph showing the sensitivity characteristics of the ink.

In this case, if the sampling point on the applied energy axis is kept constant regardless of the type of ink.

There is no need to write the numerical value of the applied energy on the recording part, and the amount of information written on the recording part is, as an example in this case, density data 8 bits/point x 9 points=72 bits.

The same figure (js) is an example in which the sensitivity characteristics of ink are sampled at non-uniform intervals, and circles 39 are sampling points. Generally speaking, the sensitivity characteristics of an ink are such that as the applied energy increases, its reflection density increases slowly when the value is low, and then the slope of the applied energy and reflection density increases with a constant slope. Further, as the reflection density approaches a certain saturation density, the slope of the relationship between the applied energy and the reflection density decreases and the saturation density is reached. As a result, the graph showing the sensitivity characteristics of the ink is not a simple straight line, but a nonlinear figure-eight shape as shown in Figure 1.

As an example of how to faithfully encode this property.

Sampling is performed at the circle mark 59 in Cb) of the same figure. Particularly, data is encoded with high efficiency by making the sampling density finer in the curved portion of the graph and coarser in the @ line portion. In this case, the details of the data can be accurately recorded in the recording section and transmitted to the printer.
It is suitable for printing on multi-gradation, high-precision recording paper, but the amount of information recorded in the recording section is larger than the example shown in (α) in the same figure. data f3
bit 10 applied energy data 8 bit)
Point = 1926 bits. FIG. 4(C) is an example of linear approximation of the sensitivity characteristics of ink. That is, the same figure (αl,
Unlike (A), the sensitivity characteristics of the ink are expressed as the intercept 5 of the coordinate axis.
This is represented by a straight line represented by 9 and a slope 40, and this is written in the recording section V-. In this case, the sensitivity characteristics of the ink are approximated fairly roughly, so it cannot be used for multi-tone, high-precision recording, but when used in relatively low-cost printers, it is possible to use a small number of tones. This is sufficient information, and the amount of information recorded in the recording section 9 or 33 of the cassette 1 is also reduced. The amount of information in this case is.

For example, intercept density data B bit 10 slope data 8 bit
Since t=16 bits is sufficient, the density of the recording section 9 is low and the accuracy of the reading means of the printer example is also low, so that the cost of the metal body can be reduced. The above examples are as follows.

Although the characteristics of one ink have been shown, in the case of multiple colors, for example, in the case of three colors, the above data 51@ may be prepared, and the information to be written in the recording section 9 is as follows.

The original information may be compressed and written.

Even when the user is busy, the recording section 9 or 53 of the cassette 1 according to the present invention is capable of relatively high-density writing.

It is also possible to write and utilize the complex information described above.

FIG. 15 is an explanatory diagram of reading of the recording section, and the same figure (α)
1 is an enlarged view of the recording section, FIG. 10B is a configuration diagram of the optical reading sensor, and FIG.

As shown in FIG. 3(α), a recording pattern 41 composed of black and white parallel lines is written on the recording section 9.

The optical reading sensor 23 scans thereover along the dashed line 34 . The optical reading sensor 23 has a sensor window 56 and a light source window 57 in one box, as shown in FIG.

Each has its own sense range 56 and illumination range 54, as shown in FIG. By providing a slide 52 in front of the optical reading sensor 23, the aperture diameter of the sensor that scans the recording pattern 41 is limited, as shown in FIG. Specifically, the sense range 5 is the overlapped part of the sense range 53 and the illumination range 540 narrowed down by the slit 52.
3, the optical reading sensor 23 reacts only to light within this area and reads the recorded pattern 41 without 7 strokes. The same figure (CL) shows the difference between the output of the VC optical reading sensor 25 and the actual recorded pattern. In the recording pattern, the signals are uniformly formed with equal intervals with respect to the bits, and the optical reading sensor 23 scans the recording pattern while drawing an arc or moving along the recording pattern as shown in FIG. Therefore, the output of the optical reading sensor 23 has uneven intervals as shown in the figure, and it is difficult to decipher the output as it is. this is,
If the scanning locus of the optical reading sensor 23 is known, the calculation unit.

Although it is possible to reproduce the recorded pattern by a method such as physical processing, the above-mentioned problem can be solved by the configuration of the recording section described below.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of the recording pattern on the recording section of the printer considering the reading means of the recording section, and a recording section 9 on which information regarding the ink donor sheet 7 is pasted is pasted on the cassette unit. , the information is read by scanning the optical reading sensor 23 thereon. The optical reading sensor 23 is provided on the thermal head 5 as shown in FIG. 7, and the relative movement of the thermal head follows the head support member 22. Since the head support member 22 rotates around a certain point, the scanning locus of the optical reading sensor 23 also draws an arc as shown at point i 34 in FIG.

At this time, by configuring the recording pattern 41 so that it is always orthogonal to the dotted line 34, high-density reading is always performed. In this example, the case where the optical reading sensor 23 draws an arc-shaped locus is shown, but even if the optical reading sensor 23 makes a special movement such as a simple arc (such as a figure 8 shape), This can be handled by always providing the recording pattern in a direction perpendicular to the trajectory of the optical reading sensor 23.

FIG. 15 is a block diagram showing a configuration in which a PG pulse synchronized with a recording pattern is outputted from the printer.The head support member 22, which has an optical reading sensor 23 at its tip, is moved up and down by a cam 43.

That is, the guide rod 45 provided on the head support member 22 is connected to the cam 4.
When the cam 43 is rotated in the direction of arrow E by a head moving motor (not shown), the cam groove 44 provided on the cam 43 also rotates.

The guide rod 45 is pulled by the cam groove 44 and moves toward the center of the cam 45.

Accordingly, the head support member 22 moves in the direction of arrow C, and the optical reading sensor 23 scans the recording pattern 41 on the recording section 9 toward the 23' position.

The cam 43 is provided with an FG pattern 42 to detect its rotational speed, and its movement is read by an FG sensor 46. As an example of the operation of this configuration example.

When the cam 43 rotates at a constant speed, the FG sensor 46
The output is a pulse train with fixed time intervals. The movement of the optical reading sensor 23 at this time depends on the shape of the cam groove 44 on the cam 43, and does not move at a constant speed, but the uneven movement speed uses the same cam groove 44. reproduced as long as possible. In this embodiment, the recording pattern 41 of the recording unit 9 is recorded non-uniformly at one step intervals in accordance with the non-uniform movement speed of the optical reading sensor 23.

That is, each time the FG sensor 46 outputs one pulse.

The one-step interval of the recording pattern 41 is set so that the optical reading sensor 23 scans one step of the recording pattern 41. As a result, the recording pattern 41 absorbs the non-uniformity of the scanning speed due to the shape of the cam @ 44, and the specifications of the recording pattern 41 and the cam groove 44 correspond one-to-one. With this configuration, even if the rotational speed of the cam 43 becomes uneven.

Although the readings are accurate, if the rotational speed of the cam 450 is always constant, the readings are performed at regular time intervals by a microcomputer or the like, and the FG pattern and FG sensor 46 are not required. In any case, according to this example,
The present invention can be applied even to busy printers with non-uniform scanning speeds.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing another embodiment of the ink donor sheet cassette according to the present invention, in which an optical reading sensor 23 is provided at the tip of each thermal head, and the thermal heads are placed in the lowered state. When the thermal heads are in close contact with the platen roller 4, the optical reading sensor 23 functions as a cue sensor that scans the ink donor sheet 7 and senses the cue mark 35 in FIG. In the figure, a recording attachment part 18 is provided using a part of the cassette 1 so as to project from the upper part of the cassette 1, and the recording part 9 is pasted thereon. As the thermal heads move from the position shown by the dotted line 5' to the position shown by the solid line, the optical reading sensor 23 also moves from the position shown by the dotted line 25 to the position shown by the solid line and passes through the recording section 9. The recording section 9 is scanned to acquire data.

By configuring the cassette 1 as shown in this example,
The optical reading sensor 23 of the printer can also be used as a cueing sensor for the ink donor sheet, resulting in cost reduction.

FIG. 17 is a configuration diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention, and the point that the optical reading sensor 23 provided on the thermal helid 5 is also used as a cueing sensor for the ink donor sheet 7 is as shown in FIG. 16. This is the same as the previous example, but here the recording attachment part 1B of the cassette 1 is protruded from the inside of the cassette 1. In this case, by providing the recording attachment part 1 inside the cassette 1, damage to the recording attachment part 18 due to contact with other objects can be prevented, and at the same time, by placing the recording part 9 inside the cassette.

Prevent that stain. In this way, when the recording attachment part 18 is provided inside the cassette 1, the ink donor sheet 7 is stretched between the supply reel 10 and the take-up reel 110 when the cassette 1 is removed, so that the ink donor sheet 7 is not attached to the recording attachment. 18. In this embodiment, the lower part 47 of the recording mounting portion 18 is used as an ink donor sheet presser and its shape is formed smoothly, thereby preventing damage to the ink donor sheet 7 and at the same time preventing the occurrence of wrinkles.

FIG. 18 is a configuration diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention, in which the rotation of the platen roller 4 is used to move the optical reading sensor 23 to form a recording pattern written on the recording section 9 on the cassette 1. Scan 41.

A sensor cam 50 is provided coaxially with the platen roller 4 and offset from its center. A sensor support arm 49 has one end in contact with the sensor cam 50 .

The sensor support arm 49 rotates around a support arm center 51 and has one end pressed against the sensor cam 50 by a spring 48 .

The sensor cam 50 rotates in accordance with the rotation of the platen roller 4, and the sensor support arm 49 connects one end thereof to the sensor cam 50.
Shake your head according to the movement of the sensor cam 50 while in contact with the sensor cam 50. An optical reading sensor 25 is attached to the other end of the sensor support arm 49, and scans the recording pattern on the recording unit 9 as the sensor support arm 49 moves to capture the neck.

During one cycle of the oscillating motion of the sensor support arm 49 during the rotation of the platen roller 4, such as during the cueing operation of the ink donor sheet 7 before printing starts or the paper feeding operation when winding the recording paper 3 around the platen drum 4. The recorded pattern 41 can be read.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, an ink donor sheet cassette is provided with a recording section recording information regarding the ink donor sheet, and a reading section is provided at the tip of a thermal head that moves at a constant speed. By attaching the cassette and scanning the recording section on the cassette side, the device using the cassette can easily read the information on the cassette, even if it is relatively complex information.

come. In addition, the recording part can be easily created by pasting a pre-printed sticker on the recording mounting wall provided on the cassette, so there is no need to make large-scale changes to plastic molds due to changes in information content. No further changes are required.

Furthermore, since the recording section is provided at the connection between the ink donor sheet supply means and the winding means of the cassette, handling problems caused by tentacles, etc. may cause inconveniences such as destruction of the information content in the recording section. hard.

As described above, information regarding the ink donor sheet can be reliably transmitted to the thermal transfer recording device via the cassette containing the ink donor sheet, and a highly reliable thermal transfer recording device with few malfunctions can be provided.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the ink donor sheet cassette shown in FIG. 1 loaded into a thermal transfer recording device, and FIG. 3 is an explanation of the ink donor sheet. Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of the cassette, Fig. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing how to load the cassette into the mechanism, Fig. 6 is an explanatory diagram of the mechanism after loading the cassette, and Fig. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of the cassette. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram of the reading section; FIG. 9 is a flowchart explaining the recording operation; FIG. 10 is a diagonal block diagram showing another embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 11
The figure is an explanatory diagram of various configuration examples of the ink donor sheet, No. 12.
The figure is an explanatory diagram of the sensitivity characteristics of the ink applied to the ink donor sheet written in the recording section of the cassette, FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of reading the recording section, FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of the recording pattern of the recording section, and FIG. 15 18 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 18 is a block diagram showing still another embodiment of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Ink donor sheet cassette, 2... Thermal transfer recording device main body, 3... Recording paper, 4... Platen roller. 5... Thermal head, 6... Door, 7... Ink donor sheet, 9... Recording section.躬 1 (! １ 謬 2 国 3 連 連 連 3 n th 4 [! １ 謬 5 口 Muscle 6 n muscle lO closure 11 f @ 35 3 δ 謬 72 (ENG) 13th Close (C) Fig. 18

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A supply reel wound with ink paper made of a thin strip-shaped film or paper coated with ink, and a take-up reel for winding the ink paper are arranged side by side in a cassette case as a pair,
Each of the reels uses an ink paper cassette that can come into axial contact with a torque supply shaft inserted from the outside of the cassette case and that can transmit the rotational force of the torque supply shaft to the reel. In a thermal transfer recording device that performs recording by overlaying the ink on photographic paper and transferring the ink onto the photographic paper by heating using a thermal head, a supply reel for supplying the ink paper of the cassette case and the ink paper. An information recording section in which attribute data of the ink paper is recorded is provided on a connection section that connects a take-up reel for winding up the ink paper, and as the thermal transfer recording device performs the recording operation,
A thermal transfer recording device comprising a reading means for reading the information recording section.