Typewriting machines – Including interposed inking device for record-medium – Ribbon – per se
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-20
2001-06-26
Yan, Ren (Department: 2854)
Typewriting machines
Including interposed inking device for record-medium
Ribbon, per se
C400S621100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06250826
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink ribbon, a cartridge containing the ink ribbon and a method of discriminating a failure location from an ink ribbon base film when the failure occurs on the ink ribbon.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an ink ribbon used in a thermal transfer printer is manufactured from ink ribbon base film. The ink ribbon base film is manufactured by applying a back coat layer to a back of a thin film as a film base material with a thickness of approximately a few &mgr;m made of polyethylene and others, applying an undercoat layer to a surface of the film and coating the undercoat layer with ink material by a gravure coater and others to form an ink layer. Next, the above ink ribbon base film is cut into plural columns (for example, into three columns) and then three small windings called a pancake are made therefrom. Each of the ink ribbons is manufactured from the pancake by winding the film of pancake on a spool.
The ink layer contains sublimation-type ink and a thermal head sublimates the ink by heating it via the film base material. In printing, the sublimated ink is transferred and fixed on paper to receive an image, said paper being closely touched to the ink layer. At that time, as a quantity of sublimated ink can be controlled based upon a quantity of heat applied to a thermal head, continuous gradation can be applied to the density of printing.
In the above ink ribbon, however, failure such as the unevenness of each color ink often occurs in an ink ribbon manufactured using a specific column of ink ribbon base film. A column of the ink ribbon base film from which the failed ink ribbon is manufactured cannot be discriminated only by looking at the failed ink ribbon. As a result, when the failure occurs in an ink ribbon, a column in which the failure occurs cannot be discriminated from the plural columns of the ink ribbon base film.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide an ink ribbon, a cartridge containing the ink ribbon and a method of discriminating a failure location from ink ribbon base film when the failure occurs in the ink ribbon wherein the failure location on the ink ribbon base film can be discriminated by providing the ink ribbon with a recording portion for recording column information indicating a column of any ink ribbon base film, from which an ink ribbon is manufactured.
In carrying out the invention in one preferred embodiment, I provide an ink ribbon manufactured by cutting ink ribbon base film into plural columns comprising a recording portion for recording column information indicating a column out of the plural columns of the ink ribbon base film, from which the ink ribbon is manufactured.
Also, plural types of ink are applied to the ink ribbon and the above recording portion is provided between areas covered by each of the inks in the ink ribbon.
The recording portion of the ink ribbon according to the present invention includes a printed mark.
The mark of the ink ribbon according to the present invention is composed of a sensor code.
As another preferred embodiment, I provide a cartridge containing the above ink ribbons.
Further, I provide, as still another preferred embodiment, a method of discriminating a failure location from ink ribbon base film. Column information indicating a column, from which the ink ribbon is manufactured, out of the plural columns of the ink ribbon base film, is recorded on a recording portion of the ink ribbon. When failure occurs in the ink ribbon, a column including the failure is discriminated from the plural columns of the ink ribbon base film based upon the above column information of the ink ribbon.
A further understanding of the nature and advantages of the invention may be realized by reference to the following portions of the specification and drawings.
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Crosby, Heafey Roach & May
Nguyen Anthony H.
Sony Corporation
Wigert, Jr. J. William
Yan Ren
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