JPS63144064A - Ink sheet for thermal transfer color printers - 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) This invention relates to a color ink sheet used in a thermal transfer color printer.

(Prior art) In the color ink sheet used in a conventional thermal transfer color printer, a bar code or the like is provided on the edge of the color ink sheet in order to detect the presence or absence of the ink sheet and the cue position. Alternatively, when the power is turned on, the ink sheet is wound up to some extent by the rotation of the motor, and then the sensor detects the bar code to detect the presence or absence of the ink sheet and the cue position.

(Problem to be solved by this invention) However,
With such conventional ink sheets, the presence or absence of the ink sheet or the cue position cannot be detected until after printing is completed or after the ink sheet has been wound up to a certain extent when the power is turned on. However, the presence or absence of the ink sheet cannot be immediately detected, and printers using this ink sheet have a problem in that it takes time to proceed to the next printing operation, resulting in poor workability.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and provides an ink sheet that can immediately detect the position of the leading color part and the presence or absence of an ink sheet. is intended to provide.

In order to achieve this object, the present invention provides a color ink sheet used for a thermal transfer color printer, in which a first detected object having a predetermined narrow width with a small or large light reflectance is placed at the end of the leading color part of the color ink sheet. A wide second detected portion having a small or large light reflectance is provided at the end of the color ink sheet, and the light reflecting portion is provided between the first detected portion and the second detected portion. A third detected portion having a high or low light reflectance opposite to the light reflectance is provided.

(Function) In the present invention having such a configuration, a mark is provided at the end of the ink sheet to indicate the position of the end portion or the cue position of the leading color portion.

Therefore, there is no need to wind up the ink sheet and detect the presence or absence of the ink sheet at the end of printing or when the power is turned on, unlike conventional methods, and the presence or absence of the ink sheet or the cue position can be detected immediately. By using , printing time can be saved and work efficiency can be improved.

(Example) Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

First, to explain the configuration, in FIG. 1, 1 is a color ink sheet used in a thermal transfer color printer;
The ink sheet 1 is composed of a position detection portion 1a provided at an end thereof to detect the position of the ink sheet 1, and an ink portion 1b to be transferred onto the recording paper. In the ink portion 1b, a yellow color portion Y, which is the first color portion, a majenda color portion M1 that follows this, and a cyan color portion C1 that follows this are alternately arranged, and following the cyan color portion C, the end of the ink sheet 1 An end section is provided to indicate the following.

The position detected part 1a includes a transparent part 2 as a third detected part with a small light reflectance, and a narrow black line part as a first detected part with a large light reflectance indicating the position of the leading colored part. 3, and a black portion 4 as a second detected portion having a high light reflectance indicating the position of the end portion.

The narrow black line part 3 is formed to have a predetermined width narrower than, for example, the spot diameter of the light emitting part of the reflective photosensor, and the black part 4 is formed to have a width sufficiently larger than the width of the black line part 3. . The black portion 4 is extended toward the leading colored portion.

Next, the effect will be explained.

First, the black line portion 3 indicates the cue position of the leading colored portion, and by detecting this, the cue position can be determined. Also, the transparent part 2 is the ink sheet 1
It shows that there is, and by detecting this,
It can be determined that ink sheet 1 is still present. moreover,
The black portion 4 indicates the position of the end portion of the ink sheet 1, and by detecting this, it can be determined that the ink sheet 1 has run out.

Therefore, the black line part 3, the transparent part 2 and the black part 4
Since the presence or absence of the ink sheet and the cue position can be detected immediately from the output value of the sensor corresponding to the light reflectance of the
There is no need to wind up the ink sheet and detect the presence or absence of the ink sheet, and by using this ink sheet 1, you can start printing immediately, saving printing time and improving work efficiency. .

Furthermore, since the black portion 4 is extended toward the leading color portion, non-detection can be reliably prevented, and the end portion of the ink sheet 1 can be reliably detected in advance.
It is possible to prevent waste of recording paper (receiving paper) and time caused by starting a printing operation when the recording paper is out.

Next, FIGS. 2 to 6 show an example in which the present invention is applied to a thermal transfer color printer.

In FIG. 2, 9 is an ink sheet driving section. 12 is a supply roller around which the ink sheet 1 is wound;
Reference numeral 3 indicates a take-up roller which is driven via a motor by a drive signal from the ink sheet driving unit 9, and 1 indicates the color ink shown in the above embodiment which is moved by the drive of the take-up roller 13 and transfers the ink onto the recording paper. It is a sheet.

Further, reference numeral 6 denotes a detecting section consisting of the photo sensor. The detecting section 6 detects the position detected portion 1a of the ink sheet 1 via the reflecting plate 5, and outputs a detection signal to the control section 7.

The control section 7 outputs a control signal to the ink sheet driving section 9 to drive the ink sheet 1 via the roller 12 based on the detection signal S from the detection section 6, and also determines the position of the ink sheet 1. and outputs a display signal to the display unit 8. The display section 8 displays the presence or absence of the ink sheet based on the display signal from the control section 7.

Next, FIG. 3 shows the characteristics of the photosensor of the detection unit 6 that detects the position of the ink sheet 1, and when the black and white pattern 10 as shown in FIG. 4 is moved in the plus direction or minus direction. It shows the relative current of the photosensor 6 at that time. Black and white pattern 1 from the center of photosensor 6
When the boundary between 0 white and black moves in the negative direction, that is, in the direction where the white background increases, the photocurrent gradually increases, and when the spot diameter of the light emitting part of the photosensor 6 completely enters the white pattern, the photocurrent reaches its maximum value. After that, it shows a maximum constant value. Furthermore, when the boundary between white and black of the monochrome pattern 10 moves in the positive direction, that is, in the direction where the black background increases, the photocurrent gradually decreases, and when the spot diameter of the light emitting part of the photosensor 6 completely enters the black pattern, the photocurrent gradually decreases. , the photocurrent becomes the minimum value,
After that, it shows a minimum constant value. Further, when the spot diameter of the photosensor 6 covers both a white background and a black background, the photocurrent shows an intermediate value between the maximum value and the minimum value.

Therefore, as described above, if the narrow black line portion 3 of the ink sheet 1 is made narrower than the spot diameter of the photosensor 6, when the spot diameter overlaps the black line portion 3, the light obtained from the transparent portion 2 The intermediate value between the maximum value of the current and the minimum value obtained in the black part 4 can be calculated as (q).

Next, FIG. 5 shows the output value S of the photosensor 6 at each position of the position detected portion 1a of the ink sheet 1.

First, when the transparent part 2 of the position-detected part 1a of the ink sheet 1 is at a position facing the photosensor 6, the output value S of the photosensor 6 becomes a high level H1, and the black color indicating the end part of the ink sheet When the section 4 is at a position facing the photosensor 6, the output value S is at a low level, and furthermore, when the narrow black line section 3 indicating the position of the top of the ink sheet 1 is at a position facing the photosensor 6. At some point, the output value S is at the intermediate level H2. Therefore, by determining the output value S of the photosensor 6 using the control unit 7, it is possible to easily detect the positional state of the ink sheet 1.

Next, the operation will be explained based on the flowchart shown in FIG.

The positional relationship between the ink sheet 1 and the photosensor 6 at the end of printing or when the power is turned on is normally in the state shown at 6a in FIG. 1 (Sl). That is, 6a indicates the position of the photosensor 6 with respect to the position-detected portion 1a of the ink sheet 1, and in this position state, detection of the presence or absence of the ink sheet is started (S2).

When the positional relationship is like this, the output value S of the 7-photo sensor 6 becomes the high level H1 as described above, and the ink sheet 1 moves a little, and the photo sensor 6 appears on the narrow black line section 3 indicating the position of the leading color section. Even if the sensor output value S is applied, the sensor output value S will not become low level (S3). Therefore, since the output value S is not at the low level L, it is determined in S4 that the ink sheet 1 is present, the diode is turned on in the display unit 8 based on the output from the control unit 7 in S5, and printing preparation is OK in S6. Of course, the display section 8 is not limited to a light emitting diode, but other means may also be used.In this way, when printing is finished or when the power is turned on, the presence or absence of the ink sheet 1' can be checked by winding up the ink sheet 1'). Since the presence or absence of the ink sheet 1 can be detected immediately without the need for detection, the printing operation can be started immediately, and time can be saved.

Next, when the final printing of the ink sheet 1 is completed, the position of the photosensor 6 with respect to the position detected portion 1a of the ink sheet 1 becomes 6b in FIG. At this position, the spot diameter of the photosensor 6 is entirely on the black part 4.
Therefore, the sensor output value S becomes low level L. Therefore, S determines that there is no ink sheet 1,
At s8, the light emitting diode on the display section 8 is made to blink based on the output from the control section 7 to notify the user that the ink sheet 1 is missing, and at S9 the user is prompted to replace the ink sheet 1.

As shown in Fig. 1, if the black part 4 at the end position of the ink sheet 1 is extended in the direction of the narrow black line part 3 at the leading color part of the final print, the ink sheet 1 will move slightly. However, since the spot diameter of the photosensor 6 does not deviate from the black area 4, there is no risk of erroneous detection.

Next, to explain how to locate the first color part of the ink sheet 1, in S6, when printing is finished, the ink sheet 1 is at the position of the transparent part 2 (i.e. 6a) with respect to the photosensor 6, so the ink sheet 1 is printed. The preparation is complete. Next, S
At step S10, the ink sheet driving section 9 is driven via the control section 7 to wind up the ink sheet 1 until the output value S of the photosensor 6 reaches the intermediate level H2, and at step S11, the output value S reaches the intermediate level H2. At this point, the ink sheet winding motor 12 is stopped in S12. As a result, the search for the first color portion is completed in S13, and printing is started in S314.

In this way, one photosensor 6 can detect the presence or absence of the ink sheet 1 and locate the beginning of the ink sheet.

Note that in this embodiment, the detected portion 1 of the ink sheet 1
a to transparent part 2. Narrow black line part 3. Although the black part 4 is used, it goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained even if 2 is a black part, 3 is a narrow transparent line part, and 4 is a transparent part.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, since the position detection portion is provided at the end of the ink sheet, the presence or absence of the ink sheet can be detected by winding up the ink sheet at the end of printing or when turning on the power. There is no need for detection, and the presence or absence of an ink sheet and the cue position can be detected immediately. therefore,
By using this ink sheet, printing operation can be started immediately, printing time can be saved, and work efficiency can be improved.

In addition, since the position detection area of the end of the ink sheet is extended in the direction of the cue position, it is possible to prevent false detection and to avoid wasting recording paper.
Another advantage is that the ink sheet is not damaged and the durability of the printer can be improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an ink sheet showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a color printer, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing characteristics of a photosensor, and FIG. 4 is an illustration of characteristics of a photosensor. FIG. 5 is an output waveform diagram of the photosensor, and FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining the operation. 1: Ink sheet 1a: Position detected portion 1b: Ink portion 2: Transparent portion 3: Black line portion 4: Black portion 5: Reflector plate 6: Photo sensor (detection portion) 7: Control portion 8: Display portion 9: Ink Sheet drive unit 10: Black and white pattern 12: Supply roller 13: Winding opening-ra

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A color ink sheet used in a thermal transfer color printer in which a plurality of colors are repeatedly arranged in a fixed order as a unit, and a detection portion is provided on one side in the width direction of the color ink sheet. , a first detected portion having a predetermined positional relationship with the leading end of the ink sheet, having predetermined optical characteristics, and having a predetermined length in the longitudinal direction of the ink sheet; a second detected portion having the predetermined optical characteristics and having a length longer than the predetermined length; An ink sheet for thermal transfer color printers characterized by its composition. (2) The ink sheet for a thermal transfer color printer according to claim 1, wherein the second detected portion extends toward the leading edge.