JPH01123763A - printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a non-impact printing device, and more particularly to controlling the relative speed between an ink film and an ink transfer mechanism thereof.

[Prior Art] Various types of non-impact printing devices have been proposed as compact, low-cost, low-noise printers.

For example, a thermal transfer printer consists of an ink film created by applying heat-melting ink to the film and a thermal head that applies thermal energy to the ink film. The paper that is to be recorded (hereinafter referred to as recording paper) is brought into contact with the paper to be recorded and transferred.

FIG. 10 is a configuration diagram showing the principle of a thermal transfer printer, in which a thermal head 1001 - ink film 1002 - recording paper 1003 - platen 1004 are installed in this order, and when heat is applied by the thermal head 1001, the recording paper 1003 and ink film 1002 are brought into contact with each other. After adhering the molten ink 1005 to the recording paper 1003, the ink film 1002 is peeled off from the recording paper 1003 to transfer the recording dots 1006 onto the recording paper 1003.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, although the conventional printer described above prints according to printing speed data, when that data changes, for example, when the speed data changes from low-speed printing to high-speed printing, the carriage drive There was a problem in that the response times of the ink film transport system and the thermal head control system were different, and the printed matter was distorted.

An object of the present invention is to solve this problem, and to stop printing when the printing speed data changes in a non-impact printing device, and to restart the printing after the control system is in a state where it can cope with the new printing speed. To provide a printing device capable of obtaining high-quality prints by performing printing.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The printing apparatus according to the present invention includes a recording paper and an ink film arranged at a predetermined interval, an ink transfer mechanism that records and transfers to the recording paper via the ink film, and an ink transfer mechanism. A first driving means for transporting an ink film, a second driving means for driving the carriage, and a control means for causing an ink transfer mechanism to print in accordance with a print code.

Further, the printing apparatus according to the present invention inputs printing speed data, and when the data changes, the data before the change and the data after the change are made to continue at a predetermined gradient, and the ink transfer is performed based on the speed data. a speed function generator that controls the operation timing of the mechanism, the carriage, the first drive means, the second drive means, and the control means; and a gating circuit for blocking the output of the generator, thereby preventing operation of the ink transfer mechanism.

[Operation] In the present invention, the recording paper and the ink transfer mechanism are held in a non-contact manner, and the relative moving speed between the ink film and the ink transfer mechanism is controlled during printing. When the printing speed data changes, for example from low speed printing to high speed printing or from high speed printing to low speed printing, the data is made to continue at a predetermined gradient.

Then, the first driving means and the second driving means are controlled based on the continuous data. The operation of the ink transfer mechanism is stopped at that time, and after a predetermined time, that is, when the driving by the first driving means and the second driving means reaches a speed corresponding to the next printing speed data, the ink transfer mechanism is stopped. The mechanism starts working and starts printing.

[Example] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, 101 is a thermal head 102 with an ink film, 103 is a core around which an unused ink film is wound, and 104 is a core for winding up a used ink film. Further, 105 is a magnetic head. 106 to 109 are spacer rollers. 1
Reference numeral 10 denotes a capstan roller for conveying the ink film 10.2, and the ink film 102 is conveyed at a constant speed in the direction of the arrow by the rotational drive of the film motor 115.

Thermal head 101, ink film 102, two cores 103, 104 and spacer rollers 106, 107
is mounted on a carriage 201, while a magnetic head 105 and a spacer roller 1 are mounted on a carriage 202.
08.109 is installed. these carriages 2
01,202 is spacer roller 106,108.10
7.109, and are arranged facing each other at a constant interval.

A recording paper 112 is inserted between spacer rollers 106 and 108 and between 107 and 109, so that a gap is provided between the ink film 102 and the recording paper 112, and these are held in a non-contact manner. In this embodiment, the interval between recorded portions is maintained at 100 μm. Note that this interval is preferably a constant value between approximately 100 μm and 400 μm.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a moving mechanism of a serial conveyance system for carriages 201 and 202. In the figure, 203
204 is a wire, 204 is a carriage, 205 is a drive circuit that drives the carriage motor 204, and 206 is a drive circuit that drives the film motor 115. 207 is a timing belt, 209 is a sprocket driven by the timing belt 207, and 210 to 213 are pulleys.

The carriages 201 and 202 are each fixed on a single wire 203, and the driving force is transmitted through the timing belt 207, sprocket 209 and wire 203 by the rotation of the carriage motor 204, and the wire is connected to the wire by pulleys 210 and 211. Since the moving direction of 203 is reversed, they are conveyed as one in synchronization in the same direction. At this time, the direction of the arrow in the figure is the normal rotation direction, and the direction opposite to the arrow is the reverse rotation direction.

The thermal head 101 in FIG. 1 has a resolution of 18
0DP I, number of heating elements 24 bins, heating element resistance 600Ω
Figure 3 shows the shape of this thermal head. In the figure, 301 is a glaze layer, and 24 pins of heating elements 302 are lined up at the tip thereof. 303 is a ceramic substrate followed by 1mm thick permalloy 30
4 is installed.

The ink film 102 is constructed by applying a thermoplastic magnetic ink having the composition shown below to a thickness of 10 μm on PET (polyethylene terephthalate) having a thickness of 3.5 μm.

(Thermoplastic magnetic ink composition) (1) Magnetite fine particles...40% by weight (particle size 0
．． 1 μm to 0.5 μm) (2) Carnauba wax: 20% by weight (3) Paraffin wax: 30% by weight (4) EVA
...φ7% by weight (5) Dispersant
...3% by weight This ink film 102 is wound around the core 103 by about 100 meters.

The magnetic head 105 uses a samarium-cobalt magnet with an energy product of 150 kOersted Gauss, and the shape of the magnetic head in this case is shown in FIG. In the figure, 401 is a permanent magnet, 402403 is a yoke made of pure iron, and this yoke 402403 maintains a gap 404 of 500 μm. A 5-phase stepping motor is used as the carriage motor 204, and a commercially available constant current driver (Oriental Motor Co., Ltd. V) is used in the drive circuit 205.
EXTA 5PD5517) is used.

A five-phase stepping motor is also used for the film motor 115, and a similar constant current driver (VEXTASPD5517, manufactured by Oriental Motor Co., Ltd.) is used for its drive circuit 206.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a circuit that controls the rotation of the motors 204 and 115 and the heat generation of the thermal head 101 in this embodiment.

In the figure, 501 is a central control unit, 502 is an oscillation circuit,
503 is a DA conversion data setting circuit as a speed function generator, and 504 is a DA converter that converts the digital signal processed by the DA conversion data setting circuit 503 into an analog signal. 505 is amplifier, 506 is V
-F converter converts the input signal into a frequency signal according to the potential level. Reference numeral 507 denotes a gate circuit for stabilizing the frequency signal.

508, 509, 510, and 511 are frequency dividing circuits, and their frequency division ratios are independently set by the central control unit 501. The output SPB of the frequency dividing circuit 509 is sent to the ink film drive circuit 206, and the ink film drive circuit 206 drives the film motor 115 according to the frequency of the output SPB.

512 is a print code buffer memory into which a print code is input directly or via a printer interface and stored. 513 is an address setting circuit for setting print data;
514 is a character ROM, and a print data address setting circuit 513 sends an address signal to the character ROM 514 according to the print code of the print code buffer memory 512.
Send to. Address setting circuit 5 for print data at this time
The operation timing of 13 is based on the output SPD of the frequency dividing circuit 511.
according to the frequency of

Reference numeral 515 denotes a thermal history circuit, into which print data read from the character ROM 514 is input and predetermined signal processing is performed. 516 is a thermal head drive circuit that drives the heating element 30 according to the print data that has passed through the thermal history circuit 515.
Drive 2. The operation timing at this time is the frequency divider circuit 5.
According to the frequency of the output SPC of 10.

523 is a data setting circuit for DA conversion, 524 is a DA converter, 525 is an amplifier, 526 is a V-F converter, 527 is a gate circuit, and these are the ink film control system 503, 504, 505, 506, 507. handle.

The output of the DA conversion data setting circuit 523 is converted into an analog signal by the DA converter 524, and then sent to the amplifier 52.
5 and converted into a frequency signal by a V-F converter 526. The frequency signal is sent to the frequency dividing circuit 508 via the gate circuit 527, and after being frequency-divided there, is sent to the carriage motor drive circuit 205 to drive the carriage motor 204 and move the carriages 201 and 202.

530 is an inverter, 531 is a NAND circuit, and these constitute a gate circuit. As will be described later, only when E2 of the DA conversion data setting circuit 503 is H, the SP multiplied signal from the gate circuit 507 is sent to the frequency dividing circuits 510 and 511.

That is, the print data address setting circuit 513 and the thermal drive head 516 are driven to perform a printing operation.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram showing details of the DA conversion data setting circuit 503 (or 523) of FIG. 5. In the figure, 601 is an acceleration counter with a preset, 602 is a gate circuit, and 603 is a gate circuit. 604 is a deceleration counter with a preset, which is composed of a decrement counter. 605 is a gate circuit, 606 is a comparator, 607
is a ROM. It is assumed that this ROM 607 stores an output signal proportional to the magnitude of the address signal. 608 and 610 are AND circuits, 609 is an inverter, and 611 is an OR circuit.

Constant speed data, a RUN signal, and a CK multiplied signal are input to this DA conversion data setting circuit 503.

Constant speed data is input from the central control unit 501, and the desired operating frequency is replaced with a 16-bit digital signal, for example, and the variable number is 2 from 0 to 255.
You can choose from 56 options. The RUN signal is also input from the central control unit 501, and is output in the H state during operation. However, only at the start of operation, H is output after constant speed data H (01) is output. It is an input from the CK multiplier signal oscillation circuit 502, and is a clock pulse (a constant pulse from 100 KHz to I MHz <) for the counters 601 and 604.

Next, the operation of the DA conversion data setting circuit 503 of FIG. 5 will be explained based on the explanatory diagram of FIG. 7 and the time chart of FIG. 8.

During non-operation, the RUN signal is L and the constant speed data is H (00), which is A side data and B side data. Therefore, only E2 is H as the output of the comparator 606.
El and E3 become L. As a result, gate circuit 603 is selected and constant speed data is given to ROM 607 as address data. At this time, a reset signal is applied to the acceleration counter 601 via the AND circuit 608, and the acceleration counter 601 is turned off.
state, and the deceleration counter 604 is in the inverter 60
9 and the OR circuit 611, H is applied to the reset terminal and the gate circuit 605 is in an ON state.

Therefore, the address signal of ROM607 is H (00),
Since the output is also 0, D-A corresponding to this area I
The output of converter 504 is at 0 level as shown in FIG.

Next, when the operation starts, H(01
) is input, the output E1 of the comparator 606 becomes H, and the gate circuit 602 is opened (synonymous with oven, hereinafter the same), but the acceleration counter 601 has been reset by the output of the AND circuit 608, and therefore The address data given to the ROM 607 remains at H (00).

Therefore, the output of the DA converter 504 corresponding to the output of this region (2) remains at 0 level as shown in FIG.

Next, the RUN signal becomes H and IKH becomes constant speed data.
Given the carrier signal H(64) of z, the comparator 606
The output of El becomes H because A<B. gate circuit 6,
02 is opened, and the reset signal of the acceleration counter 601 becomes H and turns ON. Then, the acceleration counter 601 counts the CK multiplied signal, and the counted value is given to the ROM 607 as an address signal via the gate circuit 602.

Therefore, since the address signal increases at a predetermined rate, the corresponding D-A converter 505 of the output of this area
The output increases at a predetermined slope as shown in FIG.

The output of the acceleration counter ROM607 is the constant speed data H
(64), the comparator 606 detects it;
E2 becomes H, and the gate circuit 6 that was open until then
02 is closed, the gate circuit 603 is opened, and the constant speed data is directly applied as an address signal to the ROM 607. Therefore, D− corresponding to the output of this area ■
The output of A converter 504 is a constant value corresponding to constant speed data H (64).

When the constant speed data is changed to H (C8) corresponding to 2KHz transport, the acceleration counter 601 is released from its reset, and the previous speed data H (64) is preset, and the CK multiplier signal is counted and Add up. Then, similarly to the above, the count value is applied to the ROM 607 as an address signal via the gate circuit 602. When the output of the acceleration counter 601 and the constant speed data H (C8) match, the constant speed data H (C8) at that time is sent to the gate circuit 6.
03 as an address signal, and the data shown in areas 2 and V in FIG. 8 is obtained.

Next, a case where the constant velocity data is decelerated from 2 KHz conveyance to 500 Hz conveyance will be described. The constant speed data is H(
32), the comparator 606 detects it and sets E3 to H, the gate circuit 605 is opened, and the reset signal of the deceleration counter 604 becomes H and turns ON, and the constant speed data up to that point is saved. is preset. Then, the deceleration counter 601 decrements the preset value according to the CK multiplier signal input, and the count value is calculated by the gate circuit 6.
05 to the ROM 607 as an address signal. Therefore, the output of the DA converter 505 corresponding to the output of this region (2) falls at a predetermined slope as shown in FIG.

The output of the deceleration counter 604 is the constant speed data H (32
), the comparator 606 detects it, E2 becomes H, the gate circuit 605 that was open until then is closed, the gate circuit 603 is opened, and the constant speed data is directly used as the address signal of the ROM 607. Given. For this reason, the output of the D-A converter 504 corresponding to the output of the region ■ is the constant speed data H (
32), it becomes a fixed value.

When entering the stopping operation, the motor operates in the same manner as in the deceleration operation region (2) described above, and descends at a constant slope as shown in FIG.

As described above, the data setting circuit 5 for DA frequency variation shown in FIG.
03 When a change occurs in the constant speed data, an acceleration step consisting of a constant slope is generated when the speed increases, and a deceleration step consisting of a constant slope is generated when the speed is decelerated.

Although the above explanation concerns the DAA conversion data setting circuit 503, the operation of the DAA conversion data setting circuit 523 is also exactly the same as above.

Next, the operation of the printing apparatus according to this embodiment will be explained.

First, in FIG. 5, from the central control unit 501 IKHz
It is assumed that constant speed data for conveyance, 2KHz conveyance, and 500Hz conveyance are sequentially sent out as shown in FIG. Then, the DA conversion data setting circuit 503 at that time
．． 523 generates speed data including an acceleration step and a deceleration step, respectively, and DA converters 504 and 52
4 each converts the input data into an analog signal,
Speed data including the polygonal line shown in FIG. 8 is generated. The speed data is amplified by amplifiers 505 and 525, then converted by V-F converters 506 and 526 into a frequency signal according to the potential level, and sent to gate circuits 507 and 527. After the gate circuits 507 and 527, the ink transfer mechanism and the carriage moving mechanism are controlled differently.

SP double signal frequency divider circuit 509 via gate circuit 507
, 510, and 511, respectively, to obtain the SPB signal,
Obtain spc signal and SPD signal. Here, the frequency dividing circuit 50
・The frequency division ratio of 9 is set to 1/2, and the frequency division circuits 510 and 511
The frequency division ratio of is set to 1/1.

On the other hand, the frequency signal SP passing through the gate circuit 527 is divided by the frequency dividing circuit 508 to obtain the SPA signal. here,
The frequency dividing ratio of the frequency dividing circuit 508 is assumed to be 1/1.

As described above, pulse signals having the timing shown in FIG. 9 are obtained by each frequency dividing circuit.

The SPA signal is input to the carriage motor drive circuit 205, and the carriage motor 204 rotates 0.36 degrees for each pulse, so that both carriages 201.
202 is conveyed by one dot, that is, 140 μm. S
The PB signal is input to the ink film drive circuit 206 and drives the film motor 115. At this time, since the frequency of the SPB signal is 1/2 that of the SPA signal, the ink film 102 is wound up by 70 μm.

Print data is stored in the print code buffer memory 512 directly or via a printer interface, and is input to a print data address setter 513, where an address corresponding to the print code is set. At this time, the timing of reading from the print code buffer memory 512 of the print data address setter 513 is determined by the frequency dividing circuit 5.
Follow the SPD signal from 11.

The character ROM 514 reads the print data according to the address signal from the print data address setter 513, and after the thermal energy is controlled by the thermal history circuit 515, it is sent to the thermal head drive circuit 516, and this drive circuit reads out the print data corresponding to the print code. Heat generation of the heating element 302 of the thermal head 101 is controlled according to the pattern. The operation timing of the thermal head drive circuit 516 at this time follows the SPC signal. Then, the ink film 102 is heated by the heat generated by the heating element 302, and the heated ink is magnetically attracted and printed onto the recording paper 112.

The above printing operation is performed by the frequency dividing circuit 511 and the frequency dividing circuit 510.
This is when the SPD signal and the SPC signal are being sent, and this is when E2 of the DA conversion data setting circuit 503 is at H. These are the areas ■, ■, in Figure 8.
■ corresponds. On the other hand, when 1 and E2 are L, that is, in the regions ■, v1■, and ■ in FIG. The signal is blocked, and the SPD signal and SPC signal are not sent from these frequency dividing circuits. Therefore, the print data is not read from the character ROM 514, and the heating of the heating element 302 by the thermal head drive circuit 516 is not controlled. is not carried out either.

However, at this time, the ink film drive circuit 26 and carriage motor drive circuit 205 drive the film motor 115 and carriage motor 204 according to the speed data shown in the above area of FIG. 8, and these motors reach the next set speed. The printing operation is started at this point (at a corresponding timing).

The film motor 115 and the carriage motor 204 are driven as described above. In this embodiment, the film motor 115 is driven at half the frequency of the carriage motor 204, so for example, the ink film 104 is consumption will be halved.

By the way, the frequency divider circuit 508, the frequency divider circuit 509, the frequency divider circuit 510, and the frequency divider circuit 511 are controlled by the central control unit 501 (not shown), and each frequency division ratio can be set independently and freely. You can change the setting to .

For example, the frequency dividing ratios of the frequency dividing circuit 508 and the frequency dividing circuit 511 are each set to 1/2, and the frequency dividing ratios of the frequency dividing circuit 509 and the frequency dividing circuit 510 are set to 1/2. This doubles the transport speed of the ink film 102 for printing. Further, as a result of this, the setting frequency of the address is halved with respect to the printing frequency of the thermal head 101, so that as a result, the same data is sent twice as print data to the thermal head drive circuit 506 and printed. However, at this time, the printing frequency determined by the period of the SPC signal is twice the carriage movement speed determined by the SPA signal, so dots of the same data will be recorded and transferred twice in the normal printing area. Become.

Similarly, if the frequency division ratio of the frequency dividing circuit 510 is set to 1/3 and 1/4, 3 or 4 dots can be printed in the normal one-dot printing area.
It is possible to print high-density emphasized characters that record 1,000 print dots.

Even in the above embodiment, when the constant speed data is changed, the DA conversion data setting circuits 503 and 5
23, an acceleration step or deceleration step with a constant gradient occurs, and the ink film drive circuit 206 and carriage motor drive circuit 205 drive according to the speed data, and the print data address setting circuit 513 and the thermal head drive circuit 516 operate as a motor drive system. When the control system (control system with slow response time) starts operating in accordance with the next speed data, the printing operation is performed.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, when changing the printing speed, an acceleration step or a deceleration step is generated that connects the printing speed data before the change and the printing speed data after the change at a constant gradient. Then, the movement of the carriage and the conveyance of the ink film are speed-controlled based on the speed data.
Since the printing operation is stopped during the acceleration step and deceleration step, the operation of the motor drive system and the printing operation are completely synchronized, and no distortion occurs in the printing.
High quality prints can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the head peripheral area of a printing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the moving mechanism of the embodiment, and FIG.
FIG. 4 is an external view of the thermal head of the embodiment, FIG. 4 is an external view of the magnetic head of the embodiment, and FIG. 5 is a circuit configuration diagram showing the control system of the embodiment. Figure 6 is D of Figure 5.
A block diagram showing details of the data setting circuit for A conversion, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the block diagram in FIG. 6, and FIG. 8 is a time chart showing the output of the D-A converter in FIG. 5. , FIG. 9 is a time chart showing the operation timing of the embodiment. Figure 10 shows a conventional non-impact printer (thermal transfer type)
FIG. In the figure, 101 is a thermal head, 102 is an ink film, 105 is a magnetic head, 112 is a recording paper, and 20
1,202 is a carriage. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts. Agent Patent Attorney Sou Sasaki

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] An ink transfer mechanism in which a recording paper and an ink film are spaced apart from each other at a predetermined distance, the ink transfer mechanism transferring data to the recording paper via the ink film, a carriage equipped with the ink transfer mechanism, and a first drive that transports the ink film. means, a second driving means for moving the carriage, and a control means for causing the ink transfer mechanism to print according to the print code; and further, when printing speed data is input and the data changes, the data before the change is and the changed data at a predetermined gradient, and control the operation timing of the ink transfer mechanism, the carriage, the first driving means, the second driving means, and the control means based on the speed data. and a gate circuit that blocks the output of the velocity function generator when the output of the velocity function generator is changing at a predetermined gradient, and blocks the operation of the ink transfer mechanism during that time. Photography device.