JPH04193554A - thermal color printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always improve the quality of a printed image by providing printing sheet type deciding means for deciding the type of a printing sheet based on a detected result from hold detecting means and a detected result from a reflection sensor. CONSTITUTION:A printing sheet 2 is held by a clamping pawl 3, and whether the sheet 2 is mounted or not is decided by a CPU 6. If a strain sensor 5 is turned OFF, no mounting of the sheet 2 is decided, a sheet supply mistake is displayed, and a transferring operation is stopped. On the other hand, if the sensor 5 is turned ON, mounting of the sheet 2 is decided. After the mounting of the sheet 2 is decided, the type of the mounted sheet 2 is decided by printing sheet type deciding means in the CPU 6 based on a detected result from a reflection sensor 7. If the sensor 7 is turned OFF, the sheet 2 of an OHP sheet is decided, while if the sensor 7 is turned ON, the sheet 2 of a plain sheet is decided.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal color printer used in copying machines, facsimile machines, and the like.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, thermal color printers that print by mounting printing paper on a rotating drum have been developed using
As described in Publication No. 61, the printing paper is mounted on a rotating drum by clamping the leading end of the printing paper using a clamping means, and a reflective sensor placed facing the outer circumferential surface of the rotating drum is used. The presence or absence of printing paper is determined.

Further, in thermal color printers, it is common to use an ink sheet cassette containing ink sheets. There are two types of printing paper, plain paper and OHP sheets, and there are also ink sheets, one for plain paper and one for OHP sheets, and the voltage applied to the thermal head is changed depending on the type of these ink sheets. There is a need.

Therefore, as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 64-9750, different protrusions and reflective tapes are attached to the outer circumferential surface of the ink sheet cassette depending on the type of ink sheet stored, and a sensor detects these protrusions. Some printers determine the presence or absence of an ink sheet cassette and change the voltage applied to the thermal head depending on the detection results from the ink sheet cassette.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention When a reflective sensor is provided facing the outer peripheral surface of a rotating drum as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 61-112961, when the printing paper is plain paper, However, if the printing paper is an OHP sheet, the light from the reflective sensor is
It cannot be detected because it passes through the HP sheet.

Furthermore, as described in Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 61-112961, even if the voltage applied to the thermal head is changed depending on the type of ink sheet, it is possible to For example, when the printing paper is an OHP sheet, printing may be performed using an ink sheet for plain paper.

Means for Solving the Problems In a thermal color printer having a thermal head facing a rotating drum, and a printing paper holding section for mounting a printing paper on the rotating drum, the printing paper holding section is mounted on the printing paper. a clamping detection means for detecting whether paper is clamped; a reflective sensor for detecting the printing paper mounted on the rotating drum; a detection result from the clamping detection means; and a detection result from the reflective sensor. and a printing paper type determining means for determining the type of printing paper based on the above.

Further, in a thermal color printer in which an ink sheet cassette storing an ink sheet and a thermal head are disposed at a position facing a rotating drum, different detected parts are set in the ink sheet cassette depending on the type of the stored ink sheet. A sensor is provided on the outer peripheral surface to detect the detected portion, and an ink sheet determining means is provided to determine the presence or absence of the ink sheet cassette and the type of the ink sheet based on the inspection result from the sensor.

Furthermore, in a thermal color printer, an ink sheet cassette containing an ink sheet and a thermal head are disposed at a position facing a rotating drum, and a printing paper holding section for mounting printing paper on the rotating drum is provided. Different detected parts are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the ink sheet cassette depending on the type of the stored ink sheet, and a sensor detects the detected part and whether the printing paper is held by the printing paper holding part or not. a reflection sensor that detects the printing paper mounted on the rotating drum; and a reflection sensor that detects the presence or absence of the ink sheet cassette and the type of the ink sheet based on the detection results from the sensor. an ink sheet determining means for determining the type of the printing paper based on the detection result from the clamping detection means and the detection result from the reflection sensor; The compatibility between the loaded printing paper and the set ink sheet is determined based on the determination result from the determination means and the determination result from the printing paper type determination means, and the voltage applied to the thermal head is determined. A control means for controlling the control is provided.

The clamping detection means detects whether or not the photographic paper clamping section clamps the photographic paper, and furthermore, the photographic paper mounted on the rotating drum is detected by the reflection sensor by being clamped by the photographic paper clamping means. Based on the detection result from the clamping detection means and the detection result from the reflection sensor, the type of printing paper mounted is determined by the printing paper type determination means.

Further, a detected portion provided on the outer peripheral surface of the ink sheet cassette is detected by a sensor, and based on the detection result from the sensor, the presence or absence of the ink sheet cassette and the type of the ink sheet are determined by the ink sheet determining means.

Furthermore, based on the determination result from the ink sheet determination means and the determination result from the printing paper type determination means, determination of compatibility between the loaded printing paper and the set ink sheet;
Further, the voltage applied to the thermal head is controlled by the control means.

Example An embodiment of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

A rotary drum 1 is provided which is rotatably driven together with a rotary shaft (not shown), and this rotary drum 1 carries a printing paper 2.
a clamp claw 3, which is a paper holding part that mounts the printing paper 2 on the rotating drum l by clamping the leading end of the paper;
A paper separation claw 4 that lifts up the clamp claw 3 is attached to the back of the clamp claw 3, and a strain sensor 5, which is a clamping detection means using an electrostrictive element, is attached to the back of the clamp claw 3. is connected to the CPU6. Also,
A reflective sensor 7 for detecting the printing paper 2 mounted on the rotating drum 1 is provided at a position facing the outer peripheral surface of the rotating drum 1, and this reflective sensor 7 also detects the printing paper 2 mounted on the rotating drum 1.
Connected to U6.

Note that there are two types of printing paper 2: plain paper and OHP sheet.

Next, an ink sheet cassette 11 containing an ink sheet 10 whose one end is wound around the feed roll 8 and the other end is wound around the take-up roll 9, and a thermal head 12 are attached to the outer peripheral surface of the rotary drum 1. The ink sheet cassette 11 is detachably provided. The ink sheet 10 includes an ink sheet for plain paper that is suitable when the printing paper 2 is plain paper, and an ink sheet for OHP sheet that is suitable when the printing paper 2 is a ○HP sheet. There are also 3-color ink sheets and 4-color ink sheets depending on the number of colors to be printed. Further, the ink sheet cassette 11
A reflective tape 13, which is a detection target part, is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the reflective tape 13, and a reflective part with a high reflectance and a non-reflective part with a low reflectance are formed on the reflective tape 13. The arrangement with the reflective part is the stored ink sheet 1.
It is set separately depending on the type of 0.

A pair of reflective sensors 14 and 15 are provided at positions facing the reflective tape 13, and these reflective sensors 14 and 15 are connected to the CPU 6. Further, the thermal head 12 is also connected to the CPU 6. In addition, among the reflective sensors 14 and 15, the one facing the reflective part of the reflective tape 13 is turned on, and the one facing the non-reflective part of the reflective tape 13 is turned off. The relationship between the detection results of the reflection sensors 14 and 15, the presence or absence of the ink sheet cassette 11, and the type of the ink sheet 10 is set as shown in the table below.

In the configuration shown in No. 2, first, the operation of mounting the printing paper 2 onto the rotating drum l will be explained. When the start key is pressed to start the printing operation, the rotary drum 1 is driven to rotate and the paper separation claw 4 is lifted, and the paper separation claw 4 lifts the clamp claw 3. Next, the leading end of the printing paper 2 fed from the printing paper feeding section (not shown) is inserted between the clamping claw 3 and the rotating drum 1, and the printing paper separation claw 4 is returned to its original position. The printing paper 2 is clamped by the clamp claws 3 which return to the original position in conjunction with the return to the rotating drum 1, and the mounting of the printing paper 2 onto the rotary drum 1 is completed. When the printing paper 2 is clamped by the clamp claws 3, the strain sensor 5 that detects the distortion of the clamp claws 3 is turned on, and the CPU 6 determines that the printing paper 2 is clamped. .

Next, the type of printing paper 2 mounted on the rotating drum l, the type of the set ink sheet 10, and the compatibility between the mounted printing paper 2 and the set ink sheet 10 are determined. The flow will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG. First, based on the inspection results from the reflection sensors 14 and 15, the presence or absence of the ink sheet cassette 11, that is, the presence or absence of the ink sheet 410 is determined by the CPU 6, which is an ink sheet determining means. Both reflective sensors 14.
15 are both "off", it is determined that there is no ink sheet cassette, an error message indicating that there is no cassette is displayed, and the transfer operation is stopped. On the other hand, if at least one of the reflection sensors 14.15 is turned on, it is determined that an ink sheet cassette is present, and the printing paper 2
Paper is fed.

Next, the CPU 6 determines whether or not the printing paper 2 is clamped by the clamp claws 3 and the printing paper 2 is mounted, and if the strain sensor 5 is "off", the printing paper 2 is mounted. It is determined that the transfer operation has not been performed, a paper feeding error message is displayed, and the transfer operation is stopped. On the other hand, the strain sensor 5
When it is turned on, it is determined that the printing paper 2 is loaded.

After it is determined that the printing paper 2 is attached, the reflection sensor 7
Based on the inspection results from the CPU 6, the type of the loaded printing paper 2 is determined by the CPU 6, which is a printing paper type determining means. When the reflection sensor 7 is "OFF", it is determined that the transfer paper 2 is an OHP sheet, and when the reflection sensor 7 is "OFF", it is determined that the transfer paper 2 is a plain paper.

Next, after the type of printing paper 2 is determined, the reflective sensor 1
Based on the detection results from 4 and 15, the ink sheet 10 is set in the CPU 6, which is an ink sheet determining means.
The type of is determined. For example, when the reflective sensors 14 and 15 are both "ON", it is determined that the ink sheet is for plain paper of 4 colors, and when the reflective sensor 14 is "ON" and the reflective sensor 15 is "OFF", it is determined that the ink sheet is 3 colors. If the reflective sensor 14 is "off" and the reflective sensor 15 is "on", it is determined that the ink sheet is an ink sheet for OHP sheets.

Furthermore, based on the determination result from the printing paper type determining means and the determination result from the ink sheet determining means, the CPU 6, which is the control means, determines the compatibility between the loaded printing paper 2 and the set ink sheet 10. is determined, and if it is compatible, a suitable voltage is applied to the thermal head 12 and printing is performed. Specifically, printing paper 2 is OH
If the ink sheet 10 of the P sheet is an ink sheet for plain paper, a combination error message is displayed and the printing operation is stopped, and if the printing paper 2 is an OHP sheet and the ink sheet 10
In the case where the ink sheet is for a HP sheet, a voltage necessary for printing the HP sheet onto the printing paper 2 is applied to the thermal head 12 to perform printing. On the other hand, if the printing paper 2 is plain paper and the ink sheet 10 is an ink sheet for OHP sheets, a combination error message is displayed and the printing operation is stopped. In the case of a paper ink sheet, the necessary voltage is applied to the thermal head 12 when printing on plain printing paper 2, and printing is performed.

Effects of the Invention The present invention is capable of determining the type of printing paper mounted on the rotating drum by the printing paper determining means as described above.
Further, the ink sheet determining means can determine the presence or absence of an ink sheet cassette and the type of the set ink sheet, and the control means can determine the compatibility between the loaded printing paper and the set ink sheet. At the same time, it is possible to control the voltage applied to the thermal head according to the printing paper loaded, and therefore the image quality of the image printed on the printing paper can always be kept good. have

[BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS] The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a block diagram, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the type determination of printing paper and ink sheet and the compatibility between printing paper and ink sheet. Fig. 3 is a front view showing the overall configuration of the thermal color printer, Fig. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional front view showing an enlarged view of the structure of the printing paper holding part, and Fig. 5 shows the ink sheet cassette. The perspective view shown in FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the reflective tape and the reflective sensor. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1...Rotating drum, 2...Print paper, 3...Print paper holding section, 5...Piece detection means, 6...Print paper type determining means. Ink sheet determination means, control means, 7... Reflection sensor, 10... Ink sheet, 11... Ink sheet cassette, 12... Thermal head, 13... Tested high part, 14.15. ...Sensor, %, 3 diagram JLL diagram"

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A thermal color printer having a thermal head facing a rotating drum and a printing paper holding section for mounting printing paper on the rotating drum, wherein the printing paper holding section is configured to hold the printing paper on the printing paper. clamping detection means for detecting whether or not the photographic paper is clamped;
a reflective sensor for detecting the printing paper mounted on the rotating drum; and a printing machine for determining the type of the printing paper based on the detection result from the clamping detection means and the detection result from the reflection sensor. A thermal color printer characterized in that it is provided with paper type determination means. 2. In a thermal color printer in which an ink sheet cassette containing an ink sheet and a thermal head are disposed at a position facing a rotating drum, different detected parts are set in the ink sheet cassette depending on the type of the stored ink sheet. A sensor provided on the outer peripheral surface to detect the detected portion, and an ink sheet determining means to determine the presence or absence of the ink sheet cassette and the type of the ink sheet based on the detection result from the sensor. A thermal color printer with special features. 3. Arrange the ink sheet cassette containing the ink sheet and the thermal head at a position facing the rotating drum,
In a thermal color printer provided with a printing paper holding part for mounting printing paper on the rotating drum, different detection parts are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the ink sheet cassette depending on the type of the stored ink sheet, and the a sensor for detecting a detected portion; a clamping detection means for detecting whether or not the printing paper clamping section clamps the printing paper; and a reflection device for detecting the printing paper mounted on the rotating drum. a sensor, an ink sheet determining means for determining the presence or absence of the ink sheet cassette and the type of the ink sheet based on the detection results from the sensor, and the detection results from the clamping detection means and the detection results from the reflective sensor. a printing paper type determining means for determining the type of the printing paper based on the ink sheet type determining means; A thermal color printer comprising: a control means for determining compatibility between printing paper and the set ink sheet and for controlling a voltage applied to the thermal head.