Incremental printing of symbolic information – Thermal marking apparatus or processes – Pre or post image recording treatment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-06-16
2001-04-03
Le, N. (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Thermal marking apparatus or processes
Pre or post image recording treatment
C347S214000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06211895
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an ink ribbon assembly comprising a plurality of ink ribbons, and to a thermal transfer printer using such ink ribbon assembly. Particularly, the present invention relates to an ink ribbon assembly and a thermal transfer printer using the ink ribbon assembly, suitable to lap-print an image with a color ink on a foundation or undercoat already printed, and print an overcoat on the printed image with a clear ink.
DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
The thermal transfer printer is conventionally used in a wider field for output units such as a computer, a word processor and the like by reasons of a higher printing quality, a lower noise, a lower cost and an easy maintenance.
In such a thermal transfer printer, when the surface of a printing paper sheet is not smooth, or is coated, the following disadvantage is arisen: a portion of an ink is not deposited on the printing paper sheet, or the ink transferred on the printing paper sheet is peeled off by rubbing. For this reason, a distinct result of printing is not obtained.
Therefore, a printing process has been proposed which comprises printing a foundation or undercoat with a clear ink or a white ink for the purpose of previously smoothening the surface of a paper sheet, or treating the surface of a paper sheet to provide a state in which the ink is easily transferred, prior to the printing of an image with an ink of a predetermined color; lap-printing the image on the undercoat with the ink of a predetermined color; and further conducting a lap-printing on an upper surface of the printed image with a clear ink in order to improve the slidability.
Thermal transfer printers using such a printing process which have been proposed, include a so-called auto-changed type thermal transfer printer including a plurality of ribbon cassettes which have ink ribbons (each of which is one of ink films) accommodated therein and retained at a location opposed to a carriage, so that a desired ribbon cassette is selectively replaced automatically by another one depending on the printing, whereby the printing is carried out.
In the above-described thermal transfer printer, however, when a terminal end mark on an ink ribbon is detected in the middle of the printing of an image in printing a code such as a bar code, thereby recognizing the using-up of the ink ribbon, the ribbon cassette having such ink ribbon accommodated therein is replaced by a new ribbon cassette, thereby continuing the printing. However, gaps or lapped portions on the order of 0.05 to 0.2 mm may be produced in some times in the printing before and after the replacement of the ribbon cassette due to the accuracy of detection of a home position of the carriage upon the replacement of the ribbon cassette. When such shear in printing is produced, a disadvantage of generation of a code-reading error is arisen.
In contrast to the printing of the image, the printing of the undercoat is intended to improve the printing of the image, and the overlap printing of an overcoat is intended to protect the code which is the printed image. Even when the ribbon cassette is replaced by new one for ensuring a distinct color tone in accordance with to the detection of a terminal end in the middle of the printing, whereby the link portion in the printing of the undercoat or the overlap printing is displaced, it cannot lead to a code-reading error.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an ink ribbon assembly and a thermal transfer printer using such an ink ribbon, wherein the printing of the image with the predetermined-color ink is feasible necessarily to the terminal end of a printing area, so that the ink ribbon does not reach its end in the middle of the printing.
To achieve the above object, according to a first aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided an ink ribbon assembly for use in a thermal transfer printer which uses a plurality of ink ribbons and conducts lap-printings by using the ink ribbons in a predetermined order, wherein at least one ink ribbon less influencing the printing accuracy is shorter in length than the other ink ribbons, the shorter ink ribbon having a terminal end mark formed at its terminal end.
With such feature, at a time point when the end of the shorter ink ribbon is detected in the middle of the printing of one printing area, the other ink ribbons have finished the printing of the printing area, because they are longer in length than the at least one shorter ink ribbon, and hence, joints cannot be produced in the printing carried out by the longer ink ribbons.
According to a second aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, the shorter ink ribbon is an ink ribbon for use in the printing of an uppermost layer. According to a third aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the second feature, the ink ribbon for use in the printing of the uppermost layer is an ink ribbon for an overcoat having a clear ink. With the above features, when the ribbon end is detected in the middle of the printing of one printing area and the ink ribbon is replaced by new one to conduct the printing, any problem is not arisen, even if a gap or a joint such as an overlapped portion is produced between the printing area printed with the unreplaced ink ribbon and the printing area printed with the new ink ribbon.
According to a fourth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to the first feature, the shorter ink ribbon is an ink ribbon for use in the printing of a lowermost layer. With such feature, the lowermost layer less influences the printing accuracy. Therefore, when the ribbon end is detected in the middle of the printing of one printing area and the ink ribbon is replaced by new one to conduct the printing, the printing is feasible, even if a gap or a joint such as an overlapped portion is produced between the printing area printed with the unreplaced ink ribbon and the printing area printed with the new ink ribbon. To ensure the printing of the voice code to be superposed thereon, the overlapped portion may be provided rather than provision of the gap at the joint. In this case, it is particularly preferable that the length of the overlapped portion is on the order of 1 mm.
According to a fifth aspect and feature of the present invention, in addition to any of the first to fourth features, the shorter ink ribbon is shorter in length than the other ink ribbons by a length required to print at least one printing area. With such feature, when a plurality of printing areas having the same length are repeatedly printed, the printing of one printing area can be necessarily finished in the printing with the ink ribbon other than the shorter ink ribbon.
According to a sixth aspect and feature of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer printer using a plurality of ink ribbons and designed to print a foundation or undercoat with an ink ribbon having a clear ink or a white ink, then print an image on the undercoat with an ink ribbon having an ink of a predetermined color, and further lap-print an overcoat on the image-formed area with an ink ribbon having a clear ink, at least one ink ribbon less influencing the printing accuracy being shorter in length than the other ink ribbons, the thermal transfer printer comprising a terminal end mark formed at a terminal end of the shorter ink ribbon, a detecting section for detecting the terminal end mark of the shorter ink ribbon, and a control section adapted to judge an ribbon end by the terminal end mark of the ink ribbon detected by the detecting section and to inform a user of the ribbon end.
With the above sixth feature, when the ribbon end of the at least one shorter ink ribbon is detected by the detecting section in the middle of the printing of one printing area, and the ribbon end is informed of, it is necessary to replace at least the at least one shorter ink ribbon. However, at the time point when the ribbon end has been informed of,
Asabe Yoshiyuki
Nozaki Iwao
Sato Hiroshi
Setsu Eihin
Alps Electric Co. ,Ltd.
Feggins K.
Koda & Androlia
Le N.
LandOfFree
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