Facsimile and static presentation processing – Static presentation processing – Communication
Reexamination Certificate
1998-06-25
2001-08-28
Mancuso, Joseph (Department: 2624)
Facsimile and static presentation processing
Static presentation processing
Communication
C358S304000, C358S488000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06281981
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image printing apparatus for, after printing an image on printing paper on the basis of an image signal, cutting the paper to obtain cut printing paper.
2. Background of the Invention
FIG. 16
roughly shows a structure of a printing unit (hereinafter referred to as a printing mechanical unit)
12
of the image printing apparatus using a thermal transfer recording method with a roll type of printing paper.
In
FIG. 16
, a thermal head
1
for patterning an image signal to thermally transfer it to printing paper is in contact with an ink sheet
2
coated by a thermal-soluble or thermal-sublimation ink for thermal transfer recording. Under the ink sheet
2
provided is printing paper
3
. The ink sheet
2
and the printing paper
3
are brought into intimate contact with the thermal head
1
by being pressed by a platen roller
4
opposed to the thermal head
1
, so that an image pattern in the thermal head
1
is thermally transferred to the printing paper
3
via the ink sheet
2
. After the thermal transfer, the ink sheet
2
and the printing paper
3
are sent out by the rotation of the platen roller
4
.
The ink sheet
2
and the printing paper are long roll types of paper. The ink sheet
2
is supplied from an ink sheet supply roll
201
, and rolled up by an ink sheet take-up roll
202
. The printing paper
3
is supplied from a printing paper supply roll
301
, sent in a discharge direction via the proton roller
4
by a pinch roller
5
, and cut by a cutter
6
on the basis of a cutting command from a CPU
10
.
Next, a structure of an image printing apparatus
90
will be described with reference to FIG.
17
. The image printing apparatus
90
is an apparatus for making a print by receiving an image signal inputted from the outside. It has an input terminal T
1
for inputting a digital image signal.
The input terminal T
1
is directly connected to a memory controller
22
which is an input and output interface of an image or control signal.
The memory controller
22
is connected to a frame memory
21
for storing picture information of one frame, a CPU (central processing unit)
10
, and a transfer circuit
23
for making a data conversion for printing. The transfer circuit
23
is connected to the thermal head
1
of the printing mechanical unit
12
.
The CPU
10
reads or writes an image signal from and to the frame memory
21
via the memory controller
22
, and also has a function for controlling the printing mechanical unit
12
via a mechanical controller
11
which will be described later.
Further, the CPU
10
is connected to the mechanical controller
11
for controlling the mechanism of the printing mechanical unit
12
, and the mechanical controller
11
is connected to all the equipment described with reference to FIG.
16
. The CPU
10
is also connected to a programmable ROM
13
for storing, for example, a predetermined cutting position of the printing paper.
In such a structure, the digital image signal inputted via the input terminal T
1
is temporarily stored into the frame memory
21
via the memory controller
22
under the control of the CPU
10
.
The image signal stored in the frame memory
21
is read by the transfer circuit
23
via the memory controller
22
under the control of the CPU
10
. The transfer circuit
23
converts the image signal into data for printing, and send it to the thermal head
1
of the printing mechanical unit
12
. The data conversion of the image signal into the data for printing by the transfer circuit
23
includes a color conversion from an RGB signal to a YMC (yellow, magenta, and cyanogen) signal, a conversion from a YMC signal to a pulse signal for operating the thermal head, or the like.
Then, the thermal head
1
heats a heater line (an array of heating elements disposed on the head) for a given time to sink a thermal-soluble or thermal-sublimation ink applied to the ink sheet
2
into the printing paper
3
by means of thermal solution or thermal sublimation, thereby printing an image on the printing paper
3
on the basis of the data for printing obtained from the transfer circuit
23
.
The printed printing paper is sent out by the pinch roller
5
of the printing mechanical unit
12
, and cut by the cutter
6
on the basis of the cutting command from the CPU
10
. A cutting position of the printed printing paper has been preset and stored in the programmable ROM
13
. Thus, the CPU
10
gives the cutting command which indicates the cutting position stored in the programmable ROM
13
to the cutter
6
of the printing mechanical unit
12
via the mechanical controller
11
. In order to change the cutting position, the programmable ROM
13
needs to be rewritten.
According to the structure of the printing mechanical unit
12
as shown in
FIG. 16
, the printing paper
3
has a blank area of a length L
1
from the heater line of the thermal head
1
to the pinch roller
5
.
FIG. 18
shows an example of cut printing paper
30
outputted from the image printing apparatus
90
. As shown in the figure, an area of the length L
1
from the top end of the cut printing paper
30
to a printing start position RS is blank. This blank area is a margin M
1
which is so wide that one can hold it.
In the conventional image printing apparatus
90
, the printing paper is cut only one time after printing to a predetermined size at a cutting position CP in the vicinity of a printing end position RE, so that the wide margin M
1
remains on the cut printing paper
30
. If the cutting position CP is shifted to the opposite direction to a discharge direction of the paper, a margin M
2
corresponding to a shift length L
2
of the cutting position CP remains.
Since a width W
1
of a heater line
16
, which is a print width of the thermal head
1
, is smaller than a width W
2
of the printing paper
3
as shown in
FIG. 19
, a margin M
3
of a length
13
and M
4
of a length L
4
also remain at the left and right of the printing paper
30
, respectively, after printing.
Likewise, even for a multiple printing where a plurality of printing images are longitudinally printed in one print area as is the case with cut printing paper
31
in
FIG. 20
, the margins M
1
to M
4
remain even after the area is divided into printing images
311
.
As described above, the conventional image printing apparatus
90
leaves the margins M
1
to M
4
at the top and bottom or the left and right of the cut printing paper
30
. Especially at the printing start position RS, the wide margin M
1
remains.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A first aspect of the present invention is directed to an image printing apparatus comprising: data conversion means for receiving an image signal from the outside and converting the image signal into data for printing; printing means for printing at least one printing image longitudinally on printing paper of a predetermined width to obtain a print area, on the basis of the data for printing; control means for giving a cutting command which indicates a cutting position of the printing paper; and cutting means for laterally cutting the printing paper on the basis of the cutting command. In the apparatus, a print width by the printing means, corresponding to a lateral direction of the printing paper, is set to be not less than the predetermined width of the printing paper. Further the control means determines a first cutting position that is on the side of the print area with respect to a printing start position of the print area and a final cutting position that is on the side of the print area with respect to a printing end position of the print area, and gives the cutting command which indicates the first and final cutting positions to the cutting means.
Preferably, in the image printing apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention, the control means determines the first cutting position that is on the side of the print area not less than the maximum shift length to be caused by the cutting means with respect to the printing
Kano Kimio
Tawa Kazutomo
Yasui Shoji
Mancuso Joseph
Mitsubishi Denki & Kabushiki Kaisha
Tran Douglas
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