JPH02215564A - Heat transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten a printing time and to improve an aligning accuracy by setting the length of a first color face to a length obtained by adding a distance from a printing position to a detecting position of detecting means to a maximum printing length. CONSTITUTION:Color faces of Y, M, C of a color ink sheet S are detected by a sensor 2 provided at a position separated at a distance B from a printing position. The lengths of color faces of the Y, M, C are set to (300 + B)mm obtained by adding the distance B to the maximum length of 300mm corresponding to A4 size. Marks Ya, Ma and Ca are provided as examples of elements to be detected at the ends of the color faces of the Y, M, C. The mark Ya is provided on a whole lateral end to be detected by both sensors 2-1 and 2-2 at both sides of the sheet, and the marks Ma or Ca is so provided only at one opposite side of the width of the sheet as to be detected only by the sensor 2-1 or 2-2 of one side.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] Bloody beans on hair! In the present invention, a color ink sheet formed by repeatedly arranging a plurality of sequentially arranged color surfaces is sent in the direction in which the color surfaces are arranged, and a detection means detects the color surface and aligns the color surface with a printing position. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer that performs color printing.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of a conventional thermal transfer printer. Color ink sheet S sent from feed roll 1
, the tip of the color group is detected by sensor 2,
After being sent to the thermal head 3 and aligned, it is printed, and then wound onto the winding roll 4.

Figure 1O shows the arrangement of the sensor 2, and Figure 11 shows the arrangement of the color plane and the mark arrangement of the detected part at the tip of the color group.The color group is the three primary colors yellow (Y) and magenta (M).
and cyan (C).

In such an apparatus, when the sensor 2 detects the mark Ya in front of the mark Y, after the detection, the number of pulses of the winding motor (not shown) is managed, and the color ink sheet S is moved by the distance jllA( For example, the winding is stopped after the paper has been fed by 50 rolls, and the Y printing position is adjusted. Then, for the next color M, after printing Y, for example, in the case of an A4 size sheet, the sheet length is 3.
The remaining 15 after subtracting 285 kakus, which are approximately 285 kakus, from the 00 kakus.
Positioning was performed by manually feeding the cabinet, and in this case too, a method of controlling the number of pulses of the pulse motor was used. When the printing of the three colors Y, M, and C is completed, the next color group has to be aligned because the next mark Ya has already passed the sensor 2 and is near directly below the thermal head 3. The Y positioning of the color group was performed by rewinding the feed roll l and performing the above-described method again.

However, the method of positioning the color ink sheets in such conventional thermal transfer printers is as follows: - After the color printing of a group is completed, the feed roll 1 is rewound once to perform positioning for the next group of printing. Since this was done later, the printing time was increased by that much.

In addition, since the alignment of the Y, M, and C surfaces of each color was performed by controlling the number of pulses of the pulse motor, the relationship between the amount of pulses and the actual amount of drive was unstable due to the load on the sheet conveying mechanism system. Therefore, there was a problem that the feeding accuracy was lacking and the positioning accuracy was poor.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, the invention as claimed in claim 1 aims to provide a thermal transfer printer with reduced printing time, and the invention as claimed in claim 2 In addition to the above, an object of the present invention is to provide a transfer-resistant printer with improved alignment accuracy.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is to send a color ink sheet formed by repeatedly arranging a plurality of sequentially arranged color surfaces in the direction in which the color surfaces are arranged, and detect the color surfaces using a detection means. In a thermal transfer printer that performs color printing by aligning the color surface with a printing position, the invention according to claim 1 provides that, among the color surfaces, a first color surface arranged at the beginning of each repetition is located at a leading end thereof. has a detected part to be detected by the detection means, and the length of the first color surface is the sum of the maximum printing length and the distance from the printing position to the detection position of the detection means. The invention according to claim 2 is characterized in that the collar surface has first, second, and third collar surfaces, and the detected portions have tip ends on both sides in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction on the first collar surface. The detection means is provided at a leading end on one side of the color ink sheet in the orthogonal direction on the second color surface, and at a leading end on the opposite side of the one side on the third color surface, and the detection means is provided on both sides of the color ink sheet in the orthogonal direction. It is characterized by being

According to the invention of claim 1, the detection portion is provided at the tip of the first color surface, and the length of the first color surface is set to the maximum printing length from the printing position to the detection position of the detection means. Since the length is made by adding the distance, when the color printing of the - group is completed and the next printing is to be made, the detection means can detect the detected part and align the position without having to rewind the color ink sheet. .

According to the invention of claim 2, in addition to the above-mentioned effect, the color surface has first, second, and third color surfaces, and the detected part is
On the collar side, on both ends in the direction perpendicular to the feeding direction,
The second color surface is provided at the tip of one side in the orthogonal direction, and the third color surface is provided at the tip of the opposite side of the one side.Since the detection means are provided on both sides of the color ink sheet, the detected portion of each color surface is It can be detected by the detection means or by the detection means on either side.

Support Ship-1 FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of a thermal transfer printer according to an embodiment.

The color ink sheet S sent from the feed roll l is sent to the printing position where the thermal head 3 is pressed against the printing drum 5 on which the printing paper is wound. In this embodiment, the color ink sheet S is Consisting of Y, M, and C, the second
It is configured as shown in the figure. The printing position is adjusted for each color surface, the take-up roll 4 and the printing drum 5 are driven to rotate, and image information is sent to the thermal head 3 to perform printing. Each time the printing drum 5 rotates once, one color is printed on the printing paper, and when it rotates three times, Y and M are printed.

The three colors of C are superimposed and printed to form a color image. 3
After color printing, the printing drum 5 rotates and the printing paper is ejected to a paper ejecting section (not shown).

The Y, M, and C color planes of the color ink sheet S are detected by a sensor 2, which is an example of a detection means, and is provided at a distance B from the printing position. FIG. 3 shows the installation position of the sensor 2, in which a sensor 2-1 and a sensor 2-2 are provided on both sides of the color ink sheet S. However, if only the positioning of the color 7 surface is performed by mark detection and the positioning of the color M and C surfaces is performed by pulse control of a pulse motor, the sensor 2 may be provided only on one side.

In FIG. 2 showing the structure of the color ink sheet S, Y
The length of each color surface of , M, and C is 300+B, which is the maximum length of 300 that corresponds to A4 size and the distance B added. However, if the alignment of the M and C surfaces is not performed by mark detection, the length of the M and C surfaces may be 300cm.
Furthermore, marks Ya%Ma and Ca are provided at the tip of each color Y, M%C surface as an example of a detected portion. The marks Ya are marked on both sides of the sheet by sensors 2-1 and 2-.
The mark Ma or Ca is provided over the entire tip part in the width direction so that it can be detected by both sensor 2 on one side.
-1 or 2-2 are provided only on opposite sides of the sheet width.

Figure 4 shows the flow of printing when the above device and color ink sheet S are used.The color ink sheet S is fed by powering on the printer, and the color ink sheet S is fed one by one in the order of Y, M, and C sides.
Positioning and printing are performed for each color, and the paper is ejected after printing is completed.

5 to 7 are flowcharts for positioning the Y, M, and C planes, respectively.

In FIG. 6, the color ink sheet S is wound up, the sensor 2-1 and the sensor 2-2 detect the mark Ya and are both turned on, and the sheet is further wound and the sensor 2-1 and the sensor 2-2 mark the mark Ya. If Ya is not detected and both are turned off, the winding of the sheet is stopped, thereby performing positioning on the Y plane. In this case, since the length of the sheet is 300 mm, the printing position will be aligned if the winding of the sheet is stopped when the sensor 2 detects the mark Ya, and the printing position will be aligned. , when the printing of the first group on the C side is completed and the next printing is to be performed, the mark Ya is under the thermal radar 3 and has not passed the position of the sensor 2, so the color ink sheet S can be printed without rewinding the next one. Positioning can be performed, and printing accuracy and efficiency can be improved.

In FIG. 6 or 7, alignment is performed in the same manner as in FIG. 5, but in this case, the mark Ma or C
Only sensor 2-1 or sensor 2-2 will detect a, and alignment of M plane or C plane will be performed. If the alignment of the M plane and the C plane is performed by detecting their respective marks in this way, the accuracy will be significantly improved compared to the method of detecting the Y plane and then managing the number of motor pulses for alignment. I will do it. Furthermore, it is also an effective method when detecting one or two specified colors in cases where all three colors are not printed.0For example, conventional printers align M or C first. I couldn't.

FIG. 8 shows a case where the end of the color ink sheet S is made of a black sheet that does not transmit or reflect light in order to detect the end of the color ink sheet S.
As shown in the flowchart of the figure, sensor 2-1 or 2
-2 detects a black sheet and turns on, and when it does not turn off even after being driven by 105W, this can be detected as the end of the sheet.

In the above description, for example, a photosensor can be used as the sensor 2, but in this case, the photosensor can be either a reflection type or a transmission type. In the invention, the color ink sheet is not rewound (because the detection means can detect the detected portion and align the position), the printing time can be shortened, and in the invention of claim 2, By detecting the detected portion of each color surface by the rain detection means or by detecting it by the detection means on either side, it is possible to accurately align each color.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of the thermal transfer printer of the embodiment, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the color ink sheet, FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the detection means, and FIGS. 4 to 7 8 is a plan view of another color ink sheet, FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram showing the main parts of a conventional thermal transfer printer, FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the arrangement of its detection means, and FIG. 11 is a plan view of the color ink sheet. 2.2-1.2-2...Sensor (detection means) Color ink sheet Ya, Ma, Ca---Mark (detected part) Fig. 1 Fig. 2 @ Fig. 3 Fig. Figure 10 Figure

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A color ink sheet formed by repeatedly arranging a plurality of sequentially arranged color surfaces is sent in the direction in which the color surfaces are arranged, and the detection means detects the color surface and aligns the color surface with the printing position. In a thermal transfer printer that performs color printing, the first color surface arranged at the beginning of each repetition is
The color surface has a detected portion at its tip that is detected by the detection means, and the length of the first color surface is the maximum printing length plus the distance from the printing position to the detection position of the detection means. A thermal transfer printer characterized by an added length. (2) A color ink sheet formed by repeatedly arranging a plurality of sequentially arranged color surfaces is sent in the direction in which the color surfaces are arranged, and the detection means detects the color surface and aligns the color surface with the printing position. In a thermal transfer printer that performs color printing, the color surface has first, second, and third color surfaces, and the detected portion is located at both ends of the first color surface in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction. , on the second color surface, it is provided at the tip of one side in the orthogonal direction, and on the third color surface, it is provided on the tip on the opposite side of the one side, and the detection means is provided on both sides of the color ink sheet in the orthogonal direction. A thermal transfer printer characterized by: