JPH0286482A - Thermal transfer recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

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

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device that records an image on a recording medium by transferring ink contained in an ink sheet to a recording medium.

[Prior Art] Generally, a thermal transfer printer uses an ink sheet in which a base film is coated with heat-melting (thermally sublimable) ink, and a thermal head selectively heats the ink sheet in accordance with an image signal. Images are recorded by transferring melted (sublimated) ink onto recording paper. This ink sheet is generally one in which the ink is completely transferred to the recording paper in one recording (a so-called one-time sheet), so after one character or one line is recorded, the printed length will be covered. It was necessary to transport the ink sheet as much as possible, and then reliably bring the unused portion of the ink sheet to the next recording position. For this reason, the amount of ink sheets used increases,
Thermal transfer printers tend to have significantly higher running costs than normal thermal printers that record on thermal paper.

In order to solve these problems, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 57-83
As seen in No. 471, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-201686, and Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-58917, a thermal transfer printer has been proposed in which a recording paper and an ink sheet are conveyed in the same direction with a speed difference. There is.

The present invention is a further development of the invention described in the above publication.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] An ink sheet (so-called multi-print sheet) capable of recording an image multiple times is known, and if this ink sheet is used, when recording a recording length L continuously, The transport length of the ink sheet transported after each image recording or during image recording is set to be smaller than the length L (L/n:
n>1) and can be recorded. As a result, the usage efficiency of the ink sheet is n times higher than that of the conventional method, and it is expected that the running cost of the thermal transfer printer will be reduced. Hereinafter, this recording method will be referred to as multi-print.

However, in such thermal transfer printers, the amount of transport of the ink sheet relative to the amount of transport of the recording paper is always kept constant. If the remaining amount of ink sheets runs out, in extreme cases, the last sheet may not be printed and reception may become impossible. In this way, if the ink sheet runs out during reception, a transmission error will occur on the sending side, requiring the operation to resend the document in which the error occurred, and the receiving side will need to replace the ink sheet. Become.

The present invention has been made in view of the above conventional example, and by shortening the length of the ink sheet used for a recording medium of a predetermined length in accordance with the remaining amount of the ink sheet, it is possible to transfer and record recording data of a desired length. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording apparatus in which it is possible to select whether or not to change the conveyance length of an ink sheet for a recording medium of a predetermined length.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the thermal transfer recording device of the present invention has the following configuration. That is, the thermal transfer recording apparatus records an image on a recording medium by conveying an ink sheet by 1/n (n is a number larger than 1) of the predetermined conveyance amount for a predetermined conveyance amount of the recording medium, A conveying means for conveying the ink sheet, a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the ink sheet, and a current remaining amount of the ink sheet in consideration of the remaining amount of the ink sheet detected by the detecting means and the recorded information. determining means for determining whether or not the recording information can be recorded based on the amount; and when the determining means determines that recording is not possible;
and control means for controlling the conveyance of the ink sheet by changing the value of n to a large value.

Another claim provides a thermal transfer recording device that records an image on a recording medium by conveying an ink sheet by 1/n of the predetermined conveyance amount (n is a number larger than 1) for a predetermined conveyance amount of the recording medium. A conveyance means for conveying the ink sheet, a display means for detecting and displaying the remaining amount of the ink sheet, a human power means for inputting the value of n, and a human power means. and control means for controlling the conveying means in accordance with the manually inputted value of n.

[Operation] In the above configuration, the remaining amount of the ink sheet is detected by the detection means, and the recorded information can be recorded using the current remaining amount of the ink sheet, taking into consideration the detected remaining amount of the ink sheet and the recording information. Determine whether or not. Here, if it is determined that printing is not possible, the apparatus operates to control the conveyance of the ink sheet by reducing the amount of conveyance of the ink sheet relative to the recording medium.

According to another aspect of the present invention, the remaining amount of the ink sheet is detected and displayed on the display means. It operates to control the conveying means for conveying the ink sheet in accordance with the value of n manually entered from the input means in consideration of this value.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[Description of facsimile machine (Figs. 1 to 4)] Figs. 1 to 4 are diagrams showing an example in which a thermal transfer printer using an embodiment of the present invention is applied to a facsimile machine. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a schematic configuration of the facsimile machine, and FIG. 3 is a side sectional view of the facsimile machine.

First, the schematic configuration will be explained based on FIG. 2.

In the figure, reference numeral 100 denotes a reading unit that photoelectrically reads an original and outputs it as a digital image signal to a control unit 101, and is equipped with an original transport motor, a CCD image sensor, and the like. Next, the configuration of this control section 101 will be explained. 110 is a line memory that stores image data of each line of image data, and when transmitting or copying an original, the reading unit 1
Image data for one line starting from 00 is stored, and when receiving image data, 1 of the decoded received image data is stored.
Line data is stored. Image formation is then performed by outputting the stored data to the recording unit 102. Reference numeral 111 denotes an encoding/decoding unit that encodes image information to be transmitted by MH encoding or the like, and decodes received encoded image data to convert it into image data. Further, 112 is a buffer memory that stores encoded image data that is transmitted or received. Each part of the control unit 101 is controlled by a CPU 113 such as a microprocessor.

In addition to this CPU 113, the control unit 101 includes a cpu 11.
ROM that stores 3 control programs and various data
114, and a RAM 115 for temporarily storing various data as a work area for the CPU 113.

A recording unit 102 includes a thermal line head and records an image on recording paper using a thermal transfer recording method. This configuration will be described in detail later with reference to FIG. Reference numeral 103 is an operation unit including keys for various functions such as starting transmission, keys for inputting a telephone number, etc. Reference numeral 103-1 is a switch for instructing whether or not to adjust the conveyance amount of the ink sheet, which will be described later. This indicates that the value of n will be automatically changed. Reference numeral 103-2 designates an instruction switch for instructing the conveyance amount of the ink sheet relative to the recording paper, and is composed of, for example, a digital switch. Further, 103a is a switch for instructing the type of ink sheet to be used; when the switch 103a is on, it indicates multi-printing, and when it is off, it indicates that a normal ink sheet is attached. Reference numeral 104 is a display section that is normally provided in the operation section 103 and displays various functions, the status of the apparatus, and the remaining amount of ink sheets. A power supply unit 105 supplies power to the entire device. Further, 106 is a modem (modulator/demodulator), 107 is a network control unit (NCU), and 108 is a telephone set.

Next, the configuration of the recording section 102 will be explained in detail with reference to the side sectional view of FIG. Note that parts common to FIG. 2 are indicated by the same figure numbers.

In the figure, 10 indicates recording paper 11, which is plain paper, as a core 10.
A is a roll of paper wound into a roll. This roll paper 10 is arranged so that the recording paper 11 can be supplied to the thermal head 13 by rotation of the platen roller 12 in the direction of the arrow.
It is rotatably housed within the device. Note that 10b is a roll paper loading section, in which the roll paper 10 is removably loaded. Furthermore, a platen roller 12 conveys the recording paper 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow and presses the ink sheet 14 and the recording paper 11 between it and the heating element 132 of the thermal head 13 . Thermal head 13
As the platen roller 12 further rotates, the recording paper 11 on which the image has been recorded due to the heat generated by the
(16a, 16b), and when the image recording for one page is completed, it is cut into pages by the engagement of the cutters 15 (15a, 15b).

17 is an ink sheet supply roll that winds the ink sheet 14; 18 is an ink sheet winding roll;
It is driven by an ink sheet conveying motor, which will be described later, and winds up the ink sheet 14 in the direction of arrow a. Note that the ink sheet supply roll 17 and the ink sheet take-up roll 18 are removably loaded into an ink sheet loading section 70 within the apparatus. Furthermore, 19 is a sensor for detecting the remaining amount of the ink sheet 14 and the conveying speed of the ink sheet 14. Also, 20 is ink sheet 1
An ink sheet sensor 21 detects the remaining amount of the ink sheet 14 based on the presence or absence of the ink sheet 4 and marks made on the ink sheet 14, and 21 is a spring that is connected to the platen roller 12 via the recording paper 11 and the ink sheet 14. The thermal head 13 is pressed against the thermal head 13. Further, 22 is a recording paper sensor for detecting the presence or absence of the recording paper 11.

Next, the configuration of the reading section 100 will be explained.

In the figure, 30 is a light source that illuminates the original 32;
The light reflected by the CCD sensor 31 passes through an optical system (mirror 50, 51, lens 52) and is converted into an electrical signal. The document 32 is conveyed by conveyance rollers 53, 54, 55, and 56 driven by a document conveyance motor (not shown).
Accordingly, the document 32 is transported in accordance with the reading speed of the document 32.

Note that 57 is a document loading table, and the plurality of documents 32 stacked on this loading table 57 are separated into sheets one by one by the cooperation of the conveying roller 54 and the pressing separation piece 58, and then sent to the reading section. 100.

A control board 41 constitutes the main part of the control section 101, and various control signals are output from this control board 41 to each part of the apparatus. Further, 106 is a modem board unit, 107 is N
This is a CU board unit.

The fourth UXJ is a diagram showing details of the transport mechanism for the ink sheet 14 and the recording paper 11.

In the figure, 24 rotationally drives the platen roller 12;
This is a recording paper transport motor that transports the recording paper 11 in the direction indicated by the arrow, which is opposite to the direction of the arrow a. Further, 25 is an ink sheet conveying motor that conveys the ink sheet 14 in the direction of arrow a. Furthermore, 26.27 is a recording paper conveyance motor 24.
a transmission gear 28 that transmits the rotation of the platen roller 12 to the platen roller 12;
．． A transmission gear 29 transmits the rotation of the ink sheet conveyance motor 25 to the take-up roller 18.

The ink sheet sensor 20 reads the mark 33 attached to the ink sheet 14 and detects the remaining amount of the ink sheet 14. This mark 33 may be, for example, sheet count data printed by a bar code or the like indicating how many sheets can be recorded on an A4 size sheet, or, for example, the mark 33
Assuming that 20 marks are attached in total, it may be configured such that by counting the number of marks, it is possible to detect how many meters or millimeters remain to be recorded.

Note that by reversing the conveyance directions of the recording paper 11 and the ink sheet 14, the direction in which images are sequentially recorded in the longitudinal direction of the recording paper 11 (the direction of arrow a, the opposite direction to the conveyance direction of the recording paper 11) can be changed. The transport direction of the ink sheet matches.

Here, the conveying speed V of the recording paper 11 is Vp = -n
-Vl (V.

is the conveyance speed of the ink sheet 14, and - indicates that the conveyance direction of the recording paper 11 and the ink sheet 14 are different), then the relative speed of the recording paper 11 and the ink sheet 14 with respect to the thermal head 13 is VPI is expressed as Vp+=Vp-Vl-(1+1/n)v, and this relative velocity VPI is greater than or equal to VP, that is, the relative velocity vp+'("(i-1/n) when conveying in the same direction as before. n)
It can be seen that it is larger than Vp).

In addition to this, when recording n lines by the thermal head 13, (fL/m) is recorded for each (n/m) line.
(m is an integer, n > m) When transporting the ink sheet 14 in the direction of arrow a or when recording a distance corresponding to the length, the ink sheet 14 is moved from the recording paper 11 during recording.
and at the same speed in the opposite direction, and before recording the next predetermined amount,
- There is a method of rewinding the ink sheet 14 by (n-1)/n (where n>1). In any of these cases, the relative speed when recording with the ink sheet 14 stopped is vP, and the relative speed when recording while moving the ink sheet 14 is (1+1/n) Vp.

FIG. 1 shows a control unit 10 in a facsimile machine according to an embodiment.
1 and the recording unit 102, and parts common to other drawings are indicated by the same figure number.

The thermal head 13 is a line head. The thermal head 13 is connected to a shift register 130 for inputting one line of serial recording data 43 from the control section 101, and a latch signal 44 to input the shift register 130.
A latch circuit 131 for latching 0 data is provided with a heating element 132 consisting of a heating resistor for one line. Here, the heating resistor 132 is divided into m blocks indicated by 132-1 to 132-m and driven.

Further, 133 is a temperature sensor attached to the thermal head 13 for detecting the temperature of the thermal head 13. The output signal 42 of this temperature sensor 133 is A/D converted within the control unit iot and input to the CPU 113. As a result, the CPU 113 detects the temperature of the thermal head 13 and outputs a strobe signal 47 corresponding to the temperature.
or change the pulse width of the thermal head 13.
The energy applied to the thermal head 13 is changed according to the characteristics of the ink sheet 14 by changing the driving voltage and the like.

The characteristics (type) of this ink sheet 14 are instructed by the switch 103a described above. The type and characteristics of the ink sheet 14 may be determined by detecting marks printed on the ink sheet 14, or by detecting marks or notches attached to the cartridge or cassette of the ink sheet. Roundness, protrusion, etc. may be determined.

Reference numeral 46 denotes a drive circuit that receives a drive signal for the thermal head 13 from the control unit 101 and outputs a strobe signal 47 for driving the thermal head 13 in units of blocks. Note that this drive circuit 46 changes the voltage output to the power supply line 45 that supplies current to the heating element 132 of the thermal head 13 in accordance with instructions from the control unit 101 to control the thermal head 13.
The applied energy of can be changed. 48.49
are motor drive circuits that rotationally drive the corresponding recording paper conveyance motor 24 and ink sheet conveyance motor 25, respectively. Although the recording paper conveyance motor 24 and the ink sheet conveyance motor 25 are stepping motors in this embodiment, they are not limited to this, and may be, for example, DC motors.

[Description of Recording Operation (Figs. 1 to 5)] Fig. 5 is a flowchart showing the receiving process in the facsimile machine of this embodiment, and the control program for executing this process is executed by the control unit 10.
1 is stored in the ROM 114.

This process begins upon reception of a facsimile image signal. First, the image data decoded and converted into image data in step S1 is stored in the line memory 110, and the number of received image data is input in step S2. In step S3, based on the remaining amount of the ink sheet 14 detected by the photosensor 20 and the number of received images obtained in step S2, it is determined whether all the received image data can be recorded on the current ink sheet 14. to decide. If all of the received images can be recorded, the process advances to step S9, but if not, the process advances to step S4, where ink sheet 1 is recorded.
4 remaining amount is displayed on the display section 104. Note that this remaining amount display is regardless of whether or not it can be recorded with an ink sheet.
It may be possible to always display it.

In step S5, based on the state of switch 103-1, n
Check whether the value of is changed. If it is instructed that the value of n can be changed, the process advances to step S6, and the value of n is increased depending on the remaining amount of the ink sheet 14 and the number of received images. As a result, the transport length of the ink sheet 14 relative to the predetermined transport length of the recording paper 11 becomes shorter, and the number of times the ink sheet 14 is used increases. If the value of n is not instructed to be changed in step S5, the process proceeds to step S7, and it is checked whether the value of n has been instructed by the switch 103-2. If so, the process advances to step S8 and the value is stored as the value of n.

On the other hand, as is obvious with ink ribbons used in wire dot printers, the recording density of multi-strike ribbons decreases as the number of times they are used increases, but they do not suddenly become unable to record at all. Therefore, similarly to this, when performing thermal transfer recording using a multi-sheet, if you want to give priority to recording the received image even if the recording quality of the image is slightly degraded, the value of n can be set by switch 103-1. The number of times the ink sheet 14 is used can be increased by instructing the ink sheet 14 to be changed or by setting the value of n using the switch 103-2.

In this way, the process proceeds to step S9, where the line memory 110
The recording data for one line from 1 to 1 is serially output to the shift register 130 of the thermal head 13. And l
When the transfer of line recording data is completed, the latch signal 44
is output, and l lines of recording data are stored in the latch circuit 131. Next, proceed to step SIO, and the above n
The number of drive steps of the ink sheet transport motor 25 is adjusted to correspond to the value of the ink sheet transport motor 2.
5, the ink sheet 14 is moved by (1/n) lines,
It is conveyed in the direction of arrow a in FIG.

Then, in step 511-, the recording paper transport motor 24 is driven to transport the recording paper 11 by one line in the direction indicated by the arrow. Note that this one line corresponds to the length of one dot recorded by the thermal head 13.

Next, the process proceeds to step S12, in which each block of the heating elements 132 of the thermal head 13 is sequentially energized. When all m blocks are energized and one line of image recording is completed, the process proceeds to step 513 to check whether one page of image recording has been completed.

If the image recording of the portion has not been completed, the process advances to step S9, where the recording data of the next line is transferred to the thermal head 13 and image recording processing is performed.

When the image recording for one page is completed in step 313, the process proceeds to step S14, where a predetermined amount of the recording paper 11 is transferred to the paper ejection roller 16,
16b direction, the cutters 15a and 15b are driven and engaged to cut the recording paper 11 into pages, and the discharge rollers 16 discharge the recording paper 11 out of the apparatus. Then, in step S15, the recording paper 11 is returned by a distance corresponding to the distance between the thermal head 13 and the cutter 15, so that the leading portion of the recording paper 11 is at the image recording position by the thermal head 13.

In step S16, it is checked whether all received images have been recorded.
If the image has not been recorded, the process returns to step S9 and the above-described image recording process is executed. When recording of all the received image data is completed, the process proceeds to step S17, where the value of n is returned to the original value, and the process ends.

This is because there is no guarantee that the next received image data will have the same recording density as the current image data, so by returning the value of n to its original value (to the initial value), the next received image will be This is to eliminate the risk of being recorded at low concentrations against the will of the individual.

Note that when the ink sheet conveying motor 25 is constituted by a stepping motor, the control of the value of n described above is effective when the ink sheet 14 is conveyed for one line of the recording paper 11.
The number of steps may be changed, and can be set by changing the minimum step angle of the motor using microstep drive.

Also, step S14. The movement of the ink sheet 14 in the cutting process of the recording paper 11 in S15 is, for example,
Similar to when recording, V is applied in the opposite direction to the conveyance direction of the recording paper 11.
It may be transported at p/n, or the value of n may be increased. Further, it may be conveyed in the same way as the recording paper 11, or it may be stopped.

Furthermore, as shown in step S10 and step 311, it is preferable that the ink sheet transport motor 25 is driven to transport before the recording paper transport motor 24 is driven to transport. This is because even if the ink sheet conveyance motor 25 is driven, there is a time delay until the ink sheet 14 actually starts conveying due to the characteristics of the motor and the characteristics of the drive transmission system. Note that the same effect can be obtained even if the recording paper conveyance motor 24 is driven first.
If the time from the start of conveyance of the recording paper 11 to the drive of the thermal head 13 (the recording operation shown in step S12) is too long, there is a risk that gaps will be formed between the recorded dots.

[Description of Other Conveying Mechanisms (Figure 6) Figure 8 shows that the ink sheet 14 is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow a by a capstan roller 71 and a pinch roller 72 instead of directly driving the take-up roller 18 as in the previous embodiment. 7 is a diagram illustrating a case where a fixed amount can always be conveyed by conveying the ink sheet in the direction, regardless of the winding diameter of the ink sheet winding roller 18. FIG. Note that parts common to FIG. 4 are indicated by the same figure numbers.

In the figure, 73 and 74 are reduction gears, and 75 is a slip clutch unit. Here, when the ink sheet conveyance motor 25 and the recording paper conveyance motor 24 are driven, the reduction gear 7
The aforementioned n can be set by appropriately setting the value of the reduction ratio lI by 3.7'4 and the value of the reduction ratio iP by the gear 26.27. Further, by engaging the gear 73 and the gear 75a of the slip clutch 75, the take-up roll 18 can take up the ink sheet 14 conveyed by the capstan roller 71 and the pinch roller 72.

Note that the length of the ink sheet 14 wound up on the winding roller 18 by the rotation of the gear 75a is determined by the capstan roller 71.
By setting the ratio of gear 74 and gear 75a so that it is longer than the length of the ink sheet conveyed by
The ink sheet 14 conveyed by the capstan roller 71 is reliably wound around the winding roller 18. and,
The amount of winding of the ink sheet 14 by the winding roll 18 and the ink sheet 1 fed by the capstan roller 71
The amount corresponding to the difference amount of 4 is the slip clutch unit 75.
It is absorbed by. This makes it possible to suppress fluctuations in the transport speed of the ink sheet 14 due to fluctuations in the winding diameter of the winding roller 18.

[Explanation of Recording Principle (FIG. 7)] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an image recording state when an image is recorded with the conveyance directions of the recording paper 11 and the ink sheet 14 reversed in this embodiment.

As shown, a recording paper 11 and an ink sheet 14 are held between the platen roller 12 and the thermal head 13, and the thermal head 13 is connected to the spring 2! is pressed against the platen roller 12 with a predetermined pressure. Here, the recording paper 11 is conveyed at a speed VP in the direction of the arrow by the rotation of the platen roller 12. On the other hand, the ink sheet 14
is conveyed at a speed V in the direction of arrow a by the rotation of the ink sheet conveyance motor 25. Note that, as described later, the ink sheet 14 may also be in a stopped state.

Now, power supply 1 is connected to heating resistor 132 of thermal head 13.
When the ink sheet 14 is energized and heated, the shaded portion 81 of the ink sheet 14 is heated. Here, 14a represents the base film of the ink sheet 14, and 14b represents the ink layer of the ink sheet 14. The ink in the ink layer 81 is heated by energizing the heating resistor 132 and melts, and a portion of the ink layer 82 is transferred onto the recording paper 11 . The ink layer portion 82 to be transferred corresponds to approximately 1/n of the ink layer indicated by 81.

At the time of this transfer, it is necessary to generate a cutting force against the ink at the boundary line 83 of the ink F114b and transfer only the ink layer portion indicated by 82 onto the recording paper 11. However, this shearing force varies depending on the temperature of the ink layer, and the higher the temperature of the ink layer, the smaller the shearing force tends to be. Therefore, if the heating time of the ink sheet 14 is shortened, the shearing force within the ink layer increases. Therefore, if the relative speed between the ink sheet 14 and the recording paper 11 is increased, the ink layer to be transferred is removed from the ink sheet 14. It can be removed reliably.

According to this embodiment, since the heating time of the thermal head 13 in the facsimile device is as short as about 0.6 ms, the conveyance direction of the ink sheet 14 and the conveyance direction of the recording paper 11 are set in opposite directions (opposed to each other). , the relative speed between the ink sheet 14 and the recording paper 11 is increased.

[Description of Ink Sheet (FIG. 8)] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the ink sheet used for multi-printing in this embodiment, and here it is composed of four layers.

First, the second layer is a base film that serves as a support for the ink sheet 14. In the case of multi-printing, thermal energy is applied to the same location many times, so aromatic polyamide films and capacitor paper with high heat resistance are advantageous, but conventional polyester films can also be used. Considering the role of a medium, it is advantageous for the thickness of these materials to be as thin as possible in terms of printing quality, but from the viewpoint of strength, it is desirable that the thickness be 3 to 8 μm.

The third layer is an ink layer containing an amount of ink that can be transferred n times onto a recording paper (recording sheet).

This component mainly consists of resin such as EVA as an adhesive, carbon black and nigrosine dye for coloring, carnauba wax and paraffin wax as binding materials, and is designed to withstand n times of use in the same place. It is blended. This application amount is 4-8 g/m
' is desirable, but sensitivity and density vary depending on the amount of application.
Can be selected arbitrarily.

The fourth layer is a top coating layer for preventing pressure transfer of the third layer ink onto the recording paper in areas where printing is not performed, and is made of transparent wax or the like. As a result, only the transparent fourth layer is pressure-transferred, and it is possible to prevent background smudges on the recording paper. The first layer is the thermal head 13
This is a heat-resistant coating layer that protects the second layer base film from heat. This is suitable for multi-printing where there is a possibility that thermal energy for n 2 rays is applied to the same location (when black information is continuous), but whether or not to use it can be selected as appropriate. It is also effective for base films with relatively low heat resistance, such as polyester films.

Note that the structure of the ink sheet 14 is not limited to this embodiment, and may be composed of, for example, a base layer and a porous ink-retaining layer containing ink provided on one side of the base layer. A heat-resistant ink layer having a microporous network structure may be provided on the film, and the ink may be contained in the ink layer. Furthermore, the material of the base film may be, for example, a film or paper made of polyimide, polyethylene, polyester, polyvinyl chloride, triacetylcellulose, nylon, or the like. Further, although the heat-resistant coating layer is not necessarily required, its material may be, for example, silicone resin, epoxy resin, fluorine resin, nitrocellulose, or the like.

An example of an ink sheet containing a heat sublimable ink is a base material made of polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, aromatic polyamide film, etc., and spacer particles made of guanamine-based resin and fluorine-based resin. An example is an ink sheet provided with a coloring material layer containing a dye.

Further, the heating method is not limited to the thermal head method using the above-mentioned thermal head, and for example, an energization method or a laser transfer method may be used.

Further, the recording medium is not limited to recording paper, and may include cloth, plastic sheets, etc. as long as it is made of a material that allows ink transfer. Further, the ink sheet is not limited to the configuration shown in the embodiment, and may be of a so-called ink sheet cassette type built in the housing, for example.

As explained above, according to this embodiment, the current image information to be recorded is changed by changing the conveyance amount of the ink sheet 14 for one line of the recording paper 11 depending on the number of received images and the remaining amount of the ink sheet. It has the effect of being able to record with only a small amount of ink sheet remaining.

In addition, by providing a switch for instructing whether to adjust the conveyance amount of the ink sheet 14 relative to the recording paper 11, the operator can select whether to give priority to reducing the recording density or recording with the current ink sheet. There is an effect that can be done.

Furthermore, there is an effect that the operator can instruct the conveyance amount of the ink sheet 14 for one line of the recording paper 11, depending on the length of the recording information and the remaining amount of the ink sheet.

In this embodiment, the recording section of a facsimile machine is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the present invention can also be applied to a normal thermal transfer printer.

In this case, the total number of sheets to be recorded may be manually determined in advance from the host device that outputs the recording data, and the printer may adjust the amount of ink sheet conveyance based on that number and the amount of remaining ink sheets. .

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the current remaining amount of the ink sheet is reduced by shortening the length of the ink sheet used for a recording medium of a predetermined length in accordance with the remaining amount of the ink sheet. This has the effect that image recording can be performed for a desired length of recording data.

Further, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the operator can select whether or not to change the conveyance length of the ink sheet for a recording medium of a predetermined length.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a diagram showing the electrical connection between the control section and the recording section in the facsimile machine of the embodiment, Fig. 2 is a block diagram showing the schematic configuration of the facsimile machine of the embodiment, and Fig. 3 is a diagram of the facsimile machine of the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the ink sheet and recording paper conveyance system; FIGS. 5A and 5B are flowcharts showing the reception process in the facsimile machine of the embodiment; FIG. FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the structure of the ink sheet and recording paper conveyance system of another embodiment, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the state of the recording paper and ink sheet during recording in this embodiment, and FIG. 8 is this embodiment. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of an ink sheet used in FIG. In the figure, 10... Rolled recording paper, tab... Roll paper loading section, 11... Recording paper, 12... Platen roller, 13... Thermal head, 14... Ink sheet, 15 ... cutter, 16 ... discharge roller, 17.
... Ink sheet supply roll, 18... Ink sheet take-up roll, 19... Ink sheet sensor, 20...
- Ink sheet presence/remaining amount sensor, 21... Spring, 22... Recording paper presence/absence sensor, 24... Recording paper conveyance motor, 25... Ink sheet conveyance motor, 7
0... Ink sheet loading section, 75... Slip clutch, 100... Reading section, 101... Control section, 102.
...Recording section, 103-...Operation section, 103a, 103-
1,103-2...Switch, 104...Display section,
105...Power supply, 106...Modem, 107...
NCU, 110... Line memory, 111... Encoding/decoding unit, 112... Buffer memory, 113...
・・CPU, 114・ROM, 115・RAM, 132
---Heating resistor (heating element). Figure 4 Figure 5B

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) A thermal transfer recording device that records an image on a recording medium by conveying an ink sheet by 1/n (n is a number larger than 1) of the predetermined conveyance amount for a predetermined conveyance amount of the recording medium, the ink sheet a conveying means for conveying the ink sheet; a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the ink sheet; and a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the ink sheet, taking into consideration the remaining amount of the ink sheet detected by the detecting means and recorded information. determining means for determining whether or not the recording information can be recorded based on the remaining amount; and when the determining means determines that recording is not possible, the n
A thermal transfer recording apparatus comprising: control means for changing the value of to a larger value to control conveyance of the ink sheet. (2) The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising prohibition means for prohibiting the control means from changing n. (3) A thermal transfer recording device that records an image on a recording medium by conveying an ink sheet by 1/n of the predetermined conveyance amount (n is a number larger than 1) for a predetermined conveyance amount of the recording medium, the ink sheet a conveying means for conveying the ink sheet; a display means for detecting and displaying the remaining amount of the ink sheet; an input means for inputting the value of n; and a value of n input by the input means. A thermal transfer recording apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling the conveyance means in accordance with a value of .