JPS6141577A - Ink donor film - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable the enhancement of use efficiency, by providing a memory means utilizing a magnetic body storing predetermined information in a non- printing region. CONSTITUTION:The writing of the use information of an ink donor film 10 to a magnetic stripe 11 is performed by magnetizing said nagnetic stripe. That is, when a current (i) is formed to a coil 23b, line of magnetic force is generated in a magnetic core 23a and N, S are formed to both terminals of a head. Next, when the magnetic stripe 11 is placed under the head, said magnetic stripe 11 has S, N generated therein and magnetizes a used part to read information. When information is read, a magnetic core 24a is allowed to approach the magnetic strip 11 to generate induction voltage eV in the coil 24b and this induction voltage is outputted to a control part 25 as a regeneration output signal. Contrarily, no output appears in a non-magnetized part. That is, by the presence or absence of the output of the regeneration output signal of eV, it can be judged whether the ink donor film was used.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to an ink donor film, and in particular to an ink that improves the efficiency of use of the donor film by providing a strip-shaped storage means using a magnetic material on the donor film. Regarding donor films.

[Conventional technology]

An ink donor film 2 used in a conventional thermal transfer printer 1 has a film base material coated with a thermally transferable ink, and is wound into a roll around a donor film supply roll 3 as shown in FIG. The ink donor film 2 sent out from the donor film supply roll 3 by the drive roll 9 is selectively heated by the thermal head 4 according to the image signal.

Transfer recording is performed on the recording paper 5 that is pressed against the platen roll 6 (the thermal head 4 and the platen roll 6 constitute the recording section 7). The used ink donor film 2 that has finished recording is collected onto a donor film take-up roll 8.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, since the ink donor film 2 used in the conventional thermal transfer printer 1 is supplied to the recording section 7 together with the recording paper 5 and subjected to thermal recording processing as described above, the ink donor film 2 used in the conventional thermal transfer printer 1 is Although only the area between O and D of the corresponding ink donor film 2 is subjected to the transfer process in order to perform the thermal recording process on only the recording area R, the donor film B is
The distance between B and E, which is the sum of the distance between -0 and D and E, is required for the recording paper 5 to pass through the recording section 7. Furthermore, the donor film between A and B for feeding the recording paper 5 and between B and F for ejecting the recording paper 5 is also consumed irrespective of thermal transfer recording. As a result, although the length of the donor film 2 between 0 and B is actually used for thermal recording, the length of the donor film 2 between A and F passes through the recording section 7 and is consumed. This results in a very low usage efficiency (this decreases as the ratio of the recording holes to the recording paper 5 decreases).

[Means and effects for solving the problems] The present invention has been made in view of the above, and in order to improve the usage efficiency of the ink donor film, in an ink donor film coated with a thermally transferable ink, the donor film is The present invention provides an ink donor film equipped with a band-shaped storage means using a magnetic material for storing specific information in a non-printing area along the longitudinal direction of the ink donor film.

Hereinafter, an ink donor film according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention, in which a magnetic stripe 11 is provided on one side of the non-printing area along the longitudinal direction of an ink donor film 10, which is a film base coated with a thermally transferable ink.

Figure 2 (a) and (b) show the ink donor film 1 of the present invention.
1 is an example of a thermal transfer printer 12 using 0. A donor film supply roll 13 in which an ink donor film 10 according to the present invention is wound into a roll, and a donor film 10 sent out by a drive roll 21 (to be described later) from the donor film supply roll 13 are transferred to a recording paper insertion tray 14 according to an image signal. A thermal head 16K and a thermal head 16K selectively heat the recording paper 15 inserted therein while being in pressure contact with the recording paper 15.

A platen roll 17 that presses the recording paper 15 is provided (the recording section 22 is composed of the thermal head 16 and the platen roll 17). Further, a drive roll 21 having its own drive source (motor) 20 is provided for transporting the recorded recording paper 15 to the discharge tray 18 and the donor film 10 to the donor film 8 taking roll 19 direction. The donor film roll 1) The roll 19 is used to collect the used ink donor film 10 after recording. Further, in the recording section 22, a writing head 23 having a structure as shown in FIG. 4(A) is installed between the donor film supply roll 13 and the recording section 22 as shown in FIG. 4(C). A door 24 is provided for each readout structure.

For example, the structure of the write field 23 and the read field 24 is as follows:
As shown in FIG. 4, magnetic cores 23a, 2 made of soft iron etc.
4a is wound with coils 23b and 24b. Each section of the thermal transfer printer 12 described above is controlled by a built-in control section (for example, a microcomputer) 25. The control unit 25 has an input interface 25a that inputs various sensor signals and operation command signals within the printer 12.
and a ROM 25 that stores programs necessary for arithmetic processing of input signals (programs such as finding an unused ink donor film and re-recording using that part).
With b.

0PU25e that performs predetermined calculations based on the program;
A RAM 25d that temporarily stores calculation results and data, and an output interface that outputs control signals to various control targets of the printer 12 (drive source 20 of the drive roll 21, write to, do 23, etc.) based on the calculation results. It has 25e.

In the above configuration, the operation will be explained with reference to FIG. The donor film 10 is overlapped with the donor film 10 and conveyed to the recording section 22, where it is subjected to thermal recording processing by the thermal conductor 16.

In this heat-sensitive recording process, the magnetic stripe 11 corresponding to the part of the ink donor film 100 where the thermal transfer was performed by the thermal head 16 has information indicating that the ink has been used due to the magnetization process performed by the write head 23. Then, the recording paper 22 on which the thermal recording process has been completed is discharged to the discharge tray 1B by the drive roll 21, and the donor film 10 is wound on the donor film winding roll 19.Then, the ink donor that has passed through the recording section 22 Rewind film 10.

An unused portion is searched for by the read head 24, and when the rewinding of the unused portion is completed, the unused portion is checked, and the unused portion is used for thermal recording on a subsequent new recording paper 15.

Searching for the unused portion of the ink donor film 10 is as follows:
This is done by unwinding the ink donor film 10 at a specific timing. Next, the information indicating that it is 'used' is written on the magnetic stripe 11 as shown in Figure 4 (a).
This is done by magnetizing the magnetic stripe 11 as shown in FIG. When a current i is passed through the coil 23b in FIG. 4(a) in the direction of the arrow, lines of magnetic force are generated in the magnetic core 23a, and the magnetic core
When the magnetic stripe 11 is placed under the magnetic stripe 11, the lines of magnetic force pass through the magnetic stripe 11 and form S and N at its entrance and exit, as shown in FIG. 4(a). In other words,
N to both extremes of to and C.

When S is formed, S and N are formed on the magnetic stripe 11, magnetizing the used portion. In this way, Figure 4 (b)
Information is read onto the magnetic stripe 11 as shown in FIG. Next, in the case of reading, it is performed as shown in FIG. 4 (c).

That is, when the magnetic core 24a is brought close to the magnetized magnetic stripe 11 as shown in FIG. An induced voltage e is generated in the coil 24b through the L head. The induced voltage of eV becomes a reproduction output signal and is output to the control section 25. On the other hand, in the non-magnetized portion, no output appears, as shown in Fig. 4). That is, it is determined whether or not the ink donor film in the corresponding portion has been used, depending on whether the reproduced output signal of -V is output. .

Other embodiments are shown in FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b). The same parts as in FIGS. 2(a) and 2(b) are indicated by the same reference numerals, so redundant explanation will be omitted. As a substitute, the recording Asahi outside heating element of the thermal head 16 for image recording is used. For example, when the magnetic stripe 11, which has been magnetized from the beginning, is formed from chromium dioxide (0r02).

Since the Curie point temperature of chromium dioxide is 75° C., when the thermal head 16 heats the recording paper 15 to a temperature of 75° C. or higher, the recording paper 15 is subjected to a thermal recording process and at the same time the magnetic stripe 11 is demagnetized.

The corresponding part is shown in Figure 4).
Since the induced voltage e is zero, the ink donor film 1
Used and unused portions of 0 can be easily identified. In this way, in the second embodiment, to the writing used in the first embodiment,
Since there is no need for a magnetic head for the card, there is the added benefit of lower costs. Thereafter, prior to new thermal recording, the ink donor film 10 is run, the reading head 24 searches for an unused portion of the ink donor film 10, and thermal recording is performed using that portion.

That is, between A and 0 and between D and F' in the ink donor film in FIG.

This makes it possible to reuse.

Further, regarding the rewinding of the ink donor film 100, the usage efficiency can be further increased by rewinding the recording paper 15 for each roll instead of rewinding the recording paper 15 for each page [7].

In that case, the read head 24 is connected to the ink donor film lO
It is preferable that when the magnetic information of END provided at the end of the ink donor film 10 is detected (this magnetic information is inputted in advance), the ink donor film 10 is rewound by one roll.

Furthermore, if a mechanism is provided to convey the recording paper 15 and the ink donor film 10 independently, it becomes possible to utilize the unused portion between O and D in FIG. 5.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the ink donor film of the present invention, in the ink donor film coated with thermal transferable ink, a magnetic material for storing specific information is provided in the non-printing area along the longitudinal direction of the donor film. Since the ink donor film is provided with a strip-shaped storage means, the efficiency of using the ink donor film can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of an ink donor film according to the present invention, Fig. 2 (a)←) is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer using the ink donor film according to the present invention, and Fig. 3 )(b) is. FIG. 4 (-r
) ←) (C) is an explanatory diagram of the structure and principle of the write head and readout of a thermal transfer printer. Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram showing the structure of a conventional thermal transfer printer. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of a conventional thermal transfer printer. FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the relationship between the printing area of recording paper and the usage area of an ink donor film in a thermal transfer printer. Explanation of symbols 10... Ink donor film, 11... Magnetic stripe. Patent applicant Fuji Zero, representative of Kusu Co., Ltd. Patent attorney Shin Matsubara 2nd patent attorney
Kiyoshi Muraki Patent Attorney Taira 1)
Tadashi Rima Patent Attorney Atsushi Kamijima - Same
Patent Attorney Hitoshi Suzuki (Hitoshi Figure 4'1'1 (2)) Figure 5 7% Kaisho G1-41577 (6) Figure 6 Complaint

Claims (1)

[Claims] An ink donor film coated with thermally transferable ink, comprising a strip-shaped storage means using a magnetic material for storing predetermined information in a non-printing area along the length of the film. An ink donor film characterized by: