JP2004237688A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal printer that can print on image receptive papers having different sizes without creating a stripe pattern on an image whereby it is unnecessary to prepare a thermal printer dedicated to an image receptive paper in a specific size. <P>SOLUTION: This thermal printer has a thermal head unit having one thermal head or a plurality of thermal heads arranged in series. In the thermal printer, thermal transfer films and image receptive paper sheets in each of which the number of rows is the same as the number of the thermal heads are conveyed, each of the thermal heads is heated, and the image is thereby transferred to each of the image receptive paper sheets. Alternatively, the thermal printer has the plurality of juxtaposed thermal heads and a head switching function for selecting one of the plurality of thermal heads. The thermal printer performs the transferring by heating one of the thermal heads selected by the head switching function corresponding to the width of the thermal transfer film or the image receptive paper sheet. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a thermal printer which performs recording by transferring a pigment or dye transfer material of a thermal transfer film to an image receiving paper as a material to be transferred by a thermal recording means such as a thermal head.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Conventionally, a color thermal printer that records by transferring a pigment or a dye of a thermal transfer film as a transfer material to an image receiving paper having an image receiving layer as a material to be transferred using a thermal head including a plurality of heating elements has been proposed. Have been.
[0003]
A thermal printer can handle a plurality of sizes of receiving paper, but when printing a plurality of types of receiving paper having different widths with a single thermal printer, especially after printing on a narrow width receiving paper, When printing is performed on a wide receiving paper, the possibility that a streak pattern is generated on an image increases.
[0004]
This is because, even when the width of the receiving paper is narrow, each heating element of the thermal head generates heat, and the heating elements on the outer portion of the receiving paper cannot release heat to the receiving paper. Occurs when the value changes.
[0005]
In order to solve such a problem, there is a thermal transfer printer that detects the size of an image receiving paper and transfers an image by applying heat to a region of a thermal transfer film having the same width as the image receiving paper with a thermal head (for example, see Patent Document 1). .).
[0006]
[Patent Document 1]
JP 2001-63110 A
However, in a service for printing a photograph of a digital camera on a receiving paper, a thermal printer is generally used exclusively for a specific size in order to print a photographic image with high quality.
[0008]
Therefore, such a print service requires a thermal printer for the type of receiving paper such as an L size, a post card, and an A4 size, and requires a device installation cost, a running cost, and an installation area corresponding to the number of printers. There is.
[0009]
Further, when there is a large difference in the print amount for each size of the image receiving paper, there is a high possibility that the above-mentioned streak pattern is generated. It is difficult to print in parallel with a size-specific printer.
[0010]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In order to solve such a problem, the present invention provides a thermal printer that can print in a plurality of sizes without generating a streak pattern on an image without installing a thermal printer dedicated to receiving paper of a specific size. The purpose is to provide.
[0011]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention is directed to a thermal printer that transfers a pigment or a dye of a thermal transfer film to an image receiving paper having an image receiving layer by a thermal head. A thermal head unit equipped with a thermal head, a thermal transfer film transport unit of one system for transporting the same number of rows of thermal transfer films as the number of the thermal heads, and A thermal transfer film and image receiving paper of the same number as the number of thermal heads are transported by the respective transport units, and heated by each of the thermal heads. To transfer the pigment or dye of the thermal transfer film to each of the same number of rows of image receiving paper as the number of thermal heads Those were.
[0012]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the thermal printer according to the first aspect, the thermal head unit is replaced with a thermal head unit in which thermal heads having different widths are arranged, so that the thermal head unit is transferred to image receiving paper of a different size. This enables the transfer of pigments or dyes on the film.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal printer for transferring a pigment or a dye of a thermal transfer film by a thermal head, a plurality of thermal heads installed in parallel, and a head switching function for selecting one of the plurality of thermal heads. A thermal transfer film transport unit for each thermal head, and a thermal transfer film transport unit for transporting the image receiving paper so as to overlap the thermal transfer film, the thermal transfer film or the image receiving paper. One of the plurality of thermal heads is selected by the head switching function according to the width, and the pigment or dye of the thermal transfer film is transferred to the image receiving paper by heating with the selected one thermal head. It was done.
[0014]
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the thermal printer according to the third aspect, the thermal printer further includes a width measuring sensor for measuring a width of the thermal transfer film or the image receiving paper, and the head switching function includes the width measuring sensor. And automatically selecting a thermal head that matches the width from the plurality of thermal head units based on the measured value.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described based on the illustrated embodiments.
[0016]
FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a thermal head unit 1 of the present invention. FIG. 1A is a top view of a thermal head unit 1 in which two post card thermal heads 2 are arranged, and FIG. 1B is a perspective view thereof.
[0017]
In this case, two rows of the image receiving papers 3 in the same number as the number of thermal heads 2 arranged in the thermal head unit 1 can be simultaneously transported and conveyed and transferred.
[0018]
FIGS. 1C and 1D show a case in which one thermal head 2 for A4 size is arranged in the thermal head unit 1. In this case, one thermal head 2 has the same number of thermal heads 2 as one row. A3 size image receiving paper 3 can be conveyed and transferred.
[0019]
The transfer of the image receiving paper 3 and the thermal transfer film is not shown, but the thermal transfer film is supplied by a supply roll and a take-up roll around a pressing portion of a platen roll for pressing the image receiving paper 3 and the thermal transfer film against the thermal head unit 1. Then, the image receiving paper 3 is carried out by a guide roll that presses the guide plate and the image receiving paper 3 against the guide plate and conveys the image receiving paper 3 around the thermal transfer recording portion.
[0020]
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the thermal printer when the two postcard thermal heads 2 shown in FIG.
[0021]
It is determined whether or not a print instruction for the number of thermal heads (that is, two in the case of FIG. 9A) has been received from a personal computer or the like to which the thermal printer is connected.
[0022]
When only one print instruction is issued, one image is transferred from a personal computer or the like to an image memory provided inside the thermal printer, and then one thermal head 2 is selected for printing. For the thermal head 2, either one of the thermal heads may always be used preferentially, or the two thermal heads 2 may be used alternately.
[0023]
If there are two print instructions, it is determined whether to print two identical images or two different images.
[0024]
When the same image is printed, one image is transferred from a personal computer or the like to an image memory provided inside the thermal printer, and then one thermal head 2 is selected to print two images. It is also possible to print the image data in the image memory at the same time using two thermal heads 2.
[0025]
When printing two different images, the two images are transferred from a personal computer or the like to an image memory provided inside the thermal printer, and then the two thermal heads 2 print one image data.
[0026]
The thermal head unit with one or more thermal heads is replaced, and the same number of rows of image receiving papers are conveyed according to the number of thermal heads. Thus, thermal transfer recording can be performed with only one thermal printer.
[0027]
In particular, when a plurality of thermal heads are arranged in a thermal head unit like an L size or a post card, a plurality of rows of images can be printed at the same time, so that high-speed printing is possible.
[0028]
Also, when there are a plurality of thermal printers, when the amount of printing increases, the thermal printer can be operated effectively by replacing the thermal head unit with a thermal head according to the size of the image receiving paper. be able to.
[0029]
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram when two different thermal heads 4 and 5 are arranged in parallel. In FIG. 3, for example, it is assumed that the thermal head 4 is a thermal head that performs transfer to an L size width, and the thermal head 5 is a thermal head that performs transfer to a post card width.
[0030]
FIG. 3A is a view of the thermal heads 4, 5 and the image receiving paper 3 installed in parallel as viewed from above, and FIG. 3B is a perspective view thereof. In FIG. 3A, the image receiving paper 3 indicated by a solid line has an L-size width, and the image receiving paper 3 indicated by a broken line indicates an image receiving paper having a postcard width to be exchanged for the L size width.
[0031]
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the operation of the thermal printer when the thermal heads 4 and 5 shown in FIG. 2A are arranged in parallel.
[0032]
The paper width of the image receiving paper 3 is determined. If the paper width of the image receiving paper 3 is L size, the head switching function provided in the system controller of the thermal printer selects the thermal head 4 and if the paper width is the post card size, The head switching function selects the thermal head 5.
[0033]
After the image data is transferred to the image memory from a personal computer or the like to which the thermal printer is connected, the image is printed on the image receiving paper 3 using the selected thermal head.
[0034]
The operator can determine the paper width of the receiving paper 3 by instructing the paper width by a mechanical switch or the like. However, a width measuring sensor for measuring the paper width is provided at an arbitrary position of the transporting section of the receiving paper 3. It is more preferable to select one of the thermal head 4 and the thermal head 5 based on the measurement value measured by the installed width measurement sensor.
[0035]
As described above, a plurality of thermal heads are installed in parallel to the image receiving paper, and one of the thermal heads is selected according to the width of the image receiving paper to transfer an image. Since it comes into contact with the paper, it is possible to prevent the generation of a streaky pattern due to a change in the resistance value of the heating element.
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the thermal printer of the present invention, by replacing and using a thermal head unit in which one or a plurality of thermal heads are installed, a plurality of different sizes of thermal printers can be used in one thermal printer. Since an image can be transferred to an image receiving paper and the number of installed thermal printers can be reduced, it is possible to reduce the equipment installation cost, running cost, and installation area.
[0037]
In addition, by replacing the thermal head unit, the number of thermal printers that use a specific size of image receiving paper can be increased or decreased, so that the operation efficiency of the thermal printer can be increased.
[0038]
In addition, by using multiple thermal heads installed in series or in parallel, especially on images that are likely to occur when printing on wide receiving paper after printing on narrow receiving paper It is possible to prevent the generation of streak-like patterns.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory view of a thermal head unit according to the present invention in which a plurality of thermal heads are arranged in series.
FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing an operation of the thermal printer when a plurality of thermal heads of the present invention are arranged in series.
FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram when a plurality of thermal heads of the present invention are arranged in parallel.
FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an operation of the thermal printer when a plurality of thermal heads of the present invention are arranged in parallel.
[Explanation of symbols]
1 Thermal head unit 2, 4, 5 Thermal head 3 Image receiving paper

Claims (4)

A thermal printer for transferring a pigment or a dye of a thermal transfer film to an image receiving paper having an image receiving layer by a thermal head,
A thermal head unit equipped with one or a plurality of thermal heads arranged in series,
One system of thermal transfer film transporting section for transporting the same number of rows of thermal transfer films as the number of thermal heads;
An image receiving paper transport unit for transporting the same number of image receiving papers as the number of thermal heads so as to overlap the thermal transfer film,
The thermal transfer film and the image receiving paper in the same number of rows as the number of thermal heads are transported by the respective transport units, and heated by each of the thermal heads. Transfer of pigment or dye of thermal transfer film,
A thermal printer characterized by having a configuration as described above. The thermal printer according to claim 1,
By replacing the thermal head unit with a thermal head unit in which thermal heads of different widths are arranged, it is possible to transfer a pigment or a dye of a transfer film to image receiving paper of a different size.
A thermal printer characterized by having a configuration as described above. A thermal printer that transfers a pigment or a dye of a thermal transfer film by a thermal head,
Multiple thermal heads installed in parallel,
A head switching function for selecting one of the plurality of thermal heads,
One thermal transfer film transport unit for each thermal head,
A single image receiving paper transport unit that transports the image receiving paper so as to overlap the thermal transfer film,
According to the width of the thermal transfer film or the image receiving paper, one of the plurality of thermal heads is selected by the head switching function and heated by the selected one thermal head, whereby the thermal transfer to the image receiving paper is performed. Transfer the pigment or dye of the film,
A thermal printer characterized by having a configuration as described above. The thermal printer according to claim 3, wherein
A width measuring sensor for measuring the width of the thermal transfer film or the image receiving paper,
The head switching function automatically selects a thermal head that matches the width from the plurality of thermal head units based on the measurement value of the width measurement sensor.
A thermal printer characterized by having a configuration as described above.

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