JP2008272971A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer for issuing a medium such as a card or the like capable of accurately and immediately detecting a defect in printing. <P>SOLUTION: This printer comprises a conveyance path 8 for conveying a card medium 2, a ribbon feeding section 15 for feeding a transfer type ink ribbon 3, a ribbon winding section 16 for winding the ink ribbon 3, a plurality of guide shafts (48, 45, 44, 42) for allowing the ink ribbon 3 to face the conveyance path 8 and guiding it toward the ribbon winding section 16 from the ribbon feeding section 15, a thermal head 4 which disposed between the ribbon feeding section 15 and the ribbon winding section 16 so as to face the conveyance path 8 and is adapted to print prescribed information by transferring ink on the ink ribbon 3 to the card medium 2, an image sensor 81 for reading a remaining image on the ink ribbon 3 after the recording is performed by the thermal head 4, and a control means that judges good or bad of the printed result applied on the card medium 2 by comparing the prescribed information with the remaining image information. The image sensor 81 is provided opposite to the guide shaft 42 disposed to a portion nearer the ribbon winding section 16 than the thermal head 4. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus for issuing a medium such as a card that can accurately detect a printing defect.

A card issuing system that prints on a medium such as a card and issues the medium after printing is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In the card issuing system described in Patent Document 1, while the transport device transports the card along a predetermined path (transport path), the surface printing device provided along the transport path has a thermal head or This system prints characters by hot stamping. A print confirmation device is provided subsequent to the surface printing device. The print confirmation device obtains character data by a scanner or the like that optically scans the printed card surface, and the obtained character data and This is a device for determining whether or not the character data supplied in advance from the host computer matches. If the two do not match, the card is rejected as a defective card. Such a card issuing system is said to realize labor saving in the card issuing process and reliably detect printing defects.
JP-A-8-241440

  In the card issuing system as described in Patent Document 1, in order to read the printed content on the card surface with the scanner, the scanner needs to be arranged at a position facing the card conveyance path. ) Cards to be transported may move up and down in the transport path and change the distance to the scanner, which may be slightly disadvantageous in terms of focusing during reading. (2) Facing the transport path The card may come into contact with the arranged scanner and the card or the glass surface of the scanner may be scratched. (3) When the glass surface of the scanner is cleaned, the scanner must be removed. Further, (4) the arrangement of the scanner in the conveyance path itself may cause a structural problem, and (5) the scanner is arranged as a part of the upper surface or the lower surface of the conveyance path. There is also a risk of the card being caught in the gap between the scanner and the scanner. Also, (6) in order to avoid these problems, if the scanner is arranged on a separate stage away from the printing unit, the entire apparatus becomes large, and problems such as improper determination of printing defects are not possible. is there.

  The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus for issuing a medium such as a card, which can accurately and quickly detect a printing defect. It is in.

  The printing apparatus of the present invention for solving the above problems includes a conveyance path for conveying a printing medium, a ribbon supply unit that supplies a transfer-type ink ribbon, a ribbon winding unit that winds up the ink ribbon, A plurality of guide shafts for causing the ink ribbon to face the transport path and guiding the ribbon supply section toward the ribbon take-up section; and facing the transport path, the ribbon supply section and the ribbon take-up section; A printing unit disposed between the printing unit for transferring the ink of the ink ribbon to the printing medium and printing predetermined information; and an image sensor for reading a residual image of the ink ribbon after printing by the printing unit And control means for comparing the predetermined information with the residual image information of the ink ribbon to determine whether the printing medium is good or bad.

  According to the present invention, after printing using a transfer type ink ribbon, the afterimage of the ink ribbon is read by the image sensor, and the quality of printing is controlled by comparing the read afterimage information with the information to be printed. It is comprised so that it may determine with a means. Therefore, (i) the image information is obtained by reading the afterimage of the ink ribbon guided by the guide shaft by the image sensor without obtaining the image information by scanning the surface of the printing medium to be conveyed by the image sensor. , Even if the printing medium moves up and down in the conveyance path, there is no problem of focus shift at the time of image information acquisition as in the past. (Ii) The ink ribbon is not arranged without facing the conveyance path. Since it is arranged on the runway, the distance between the ink ribbon and the image sensor can be kept constant, and the print medium comes into contact with the image sensor and the print medium or the glass surface of the image sensor is damaged. There is an advantage that there is no fear of sticking. In addition, since the image sensor that reads image information from the ink ribbon is arranged at the position after the printing means to read the afterimage of the ink ribbon, (iii) compared to the conventional configuration arranged in the conveyance path, The degree of freedom of the image sensor is increased, and the glass surface of the image sensor can be easily cleaned. (Iv) The degree of freedom in the structural design of the conveyance path can be increased. (V) The printing medium in the gap between the conveyance path and the image sensor. There is no fear of being caught, and (vi) there is an advantage that printing failure can be determined accurately and quickly and the entire apparatus can be downsized.

  As a preferable aspect of the printing apparatus of the present invention, the image sensor is disposed to face the guide shaft provided on the ribbon winding unit side with respect to the printing unit with the ink ribbon interposed therebetween.

  According to the present invention, the accuracy of focusing with respect to the ink ribbon after printing running on the guide shaft is improved, and the afterimage can be read with high accuracy. Further, if the guide shaft is configured to be easily attached and detached, cleaning as described above becomes easy.

  As a preferable aspect of the printing apparatus of the present invention, the image sensor is emitted from a light source, a light guide member that emits light from the light source toward the ink ribbon on the guide shaft, and the light guide member. A light receiving element that receives reflected light.

  As a preferred aspect of the printing apparatus of the present invention, the guide shaft is made of a white member or a bright member.

  According to the present invention, by configuring the guide shaft with a white member or a light color member, for example, when an ink ribbon on which a black ink layer is formed is transferred, the white member or the bright member through which the transfer mark of the black ink layer can be seen through. Since the contrast between the color member and the black portion not transferred is improved, the accuracy of the image information obtained by the image sensor can be further improved.

  As a preferred aspect of the printing apparatus of the present invention, the ribbon supply unit and the ribbon take-up unit are integrally supported by a ribbon cartridge having a pair of frames supported by the plurality of guide shafts, and the ribbon supply unit And a biasing means for applying tension to the ink ribbon between the ribbon winding unit and the ribbon winding unit.

  According to the present invention, since the ribbon supply unit, the ribbon take-up unit, and the plurality of guide shafts are integrated as a ribbon cartridge and can be configured to be easily attached and detached as a whole, the glass of the image sensor is removed when the ribbon cartridge is removed. It can be arranged so that the surface is exposed. As a result, maintenance such as cleaning as described above is facilitated. Furthermore, since it has an urging means that applies tension to the ink ribbon between the ribbon supply unit and the ribbon take-up unit, the accuracy of focusing with respect to the ink ribbon after printing running on the guide shaft can be further improved. Can

  As a preferred aspect of the printing apparatus of the present invention, the printing apparatus includes a driving unit that controls feeding of the ink ribbon, and the driving unit is directed toward the ribbon winding unit until an afterimage of the ink ribbon is read by an image sensor. After the forward feed is controlled and read, the ink ribbon is fed backward by a predetermined length.

  According to the present invention, the ink ribbon can be moved forward and backward freely by the driving means, so that the effective area of the ink ribbon can be used even when the image sensor cannot be disposed in the immediate vicinity of the printing means due to its structure. Can be used without wasting.

  As a preferable aspect of the printing apparatus of the present invention, when the control unit determines that the image information supplied from the host apparatus matches the afterimage information read by the image sensor, the control unit prints the printed medium after printing. When it is determined that the image information issued from the host device and the afterimage information read by the image sensor do not match, the printed medium after printing is discarded and printing processing is performed on a new printed medium. Do.

  According to the printing apparatus of the present invention, the image information is obtained by reading the residual image of the ink ribbon guided by the guide shaft by the image sensor without obtaining the image information by scanning the surface of the conveyed printing medium with the image sensor. As a result, there are advantages such as being able to determine printing defects accurately and quickly and realizing downsizing of the entire apparatus. Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to accurately and promptly detect a printing defect when a transfer type ink ribbon is used in a printing apparatus for printing medium to be printed such as a card.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The printing apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the following description and drawings as long as it has the technical features.

(Outline of printing device)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an example of the printing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view showing an internal configuration of the printing apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the cartridge shown in FIG. 1 from the front side and the left side. In the following embodiments, the card medium 2 is described as an example of the print medium.

  The printing apparatus 1 of the present invention is a printing apparatus that performs printing of characters, images, and the like on a card medium 2 using a transfer type ink ribbon 3 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The ink ribbon 3 is heated by a printing unit 4 (also referred to as a thermal head 4) to melt the ink contained in the ink ribbon 3 and print it on the card medium 2 by thermal transfer. The printing apparatus 1 according to the present invention includes a conveyance path 8 that conveys the card medium 2, a ribbon supply unit 15 that supplies a transfer type ink ribbon 3, a ribbon winding unit 16 that winds up the ink ribbon 3, and an ink. A plurality of guide shafts (for example, 48, 45, 44, and 42) that guide the ribbon 3 to the conveyance path 8 and guide from the ribbon supply unit 15 toward the ribbon take-up unit 16, and the conveyance path 8 to supply the ribbon A printing unit 4 disposed between the unit 15 and the ribbon winding unit 16 to transfer the ink of the ink ribbon 3 to the card medium 2 to print predetermined information; and after printing by the printing unit 4 An image sensor 81 that reads an afterimage of the ink ribbon 3 and a control unit that compares the predetermined information with the afterimage information of the ink ribbon 3 and determines whether printing on the card medium 2 is good or bad. It has been.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing apparatus 1 may have a cleaning mechanism 6 that removes dust or the like attached to the surface of the card medium 2 before printing, an ink ribbon 3, a thermal head 4. A housing 7 that houses the cleaning mechanism 6 and the like may be provided. In the following description, the X direction in FIG. 1 is described as “front-rear direction”, the Y direction as “left-right direction”, and the Z direction as “up-down direction”. Further, in FIG. 1, the X1 direction side is “front”, the X2 direction side is “back”, the Y1 direction side is “right”, the Y2 direction side is “left”, the Z1 direction side is “up”, and the Z2 direction side is “ This will be described as “below”. Further, the clockwise direction in FIG. 2 will be described as “clockwise” and the counterclockwise direction will be described as “counterclockwise”.

  An example of the card medium 2 is a vinyl chloride card having a thickness of about 0.7 to 0.8 mm. The card medium 2 may have a magnetic stripe on which magnetic information is recorded on the surface thereof, an IC contact fixed on the surface thereof, or a communication medium within the card medium 2. The antenna may be built in. The card medium 2 may be made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate) having a thickness of about 0.18 to 0.36 mm, or may be made of paper.

  The ink ribbon 3 is a transfer type ink ribbon 3 in which ink is applied to a tape-like film. For example, the ink ribbon 3 is provided on one surface of a polyester film having a thickness of about 4 μm to 5 μm (that is, a surface facing the card medium 2). An ink-coated one is used. The ink ribbon 3 is usually mounted on an ink ribbon cartridge 5 (hereinafter referred to as the cartridge 5) having a ribbon supply unit 15 and a ribbon take-up unit 16, and the ink application surface faces the card medium 2, and the ink ribbon 3 Travels in the printing apparatus 1 with the non-application surface facing the thermal head 4. Then, the ink is melted by being heated by the thermal head 4 and is thermally transferred to the card medium 2. Various inks can be used, and the color of the ink is not particularly limited. Further, it may be a single color ink ribbon 3 or a color printable ink ribbon 3 in which a multicolor region is formed.

  The thermal head 4 (printing means 4) faces the conveyance path 8 and is disposed between the ribbon supply unit 15 and the ribbon take-up unit 16, and transfers the ink of the ink ribbon 3 to the card medium 2 to transfer predetermined information. Is arranged at the approximate center in the front-rear direction of the printing apparatus 1 and above the conveyance path 8. The ink ribbon 3 is configured to pass under the thermal head 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thermal head 4 is moved with respect to the conveyance path 8 (specifically in the front-rear direction) by a thermal head drive mechanism including a drive motor 12, a worm gear 13 and an eccentric cam 14. ) With respect to the conveying roller 9 disposed substantially at the center of the sheet. The thermal head 4 performs printing on the upper surface of the card medium 2 in a state where the thermal head 4 is in contact with the upper surface of the card medium 2 with a predetermined contact force via the ink ribbon 3.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cartridge 5 includes a ribbon supply unit 15 that supplies the ink ribbon 3 toward the thermal head 4, and a ribbon winding that winds the ink ribbon 3 after printing by the thermal head 4 is completed. And a taking part 16. In this embodiment, the ribbon supply unit 15 is disposed on the back side of the thermal head 4, and the ribbon winding unit 16 is disposed on the near side of the thermal head 4. The cartridge 5 is disposed above the conveyance path 8 and is detachable from the main body of the printing apparatus 1.

  Although the detailed configuration of the cartridge 5 will be described later, the cartridge 5 includes a pair of frames 40 and 41 supported by a plurality of guide shafts 48, 45, 44, and 42, and the ribbon supply unit 15 and the ribbon winding unit. 16 is integrally supported between the frames. The plurality of guide shafts 48, 45, 44, 42 guide the ink ribbon 3 toward the transport path 8 and guide it from the ribbon supply unit 15 toward the ribbon winding unit 16.

  The cleaning mechanism 6 is disposed at the back end of the printing apparatus 1 as necessary. This cleaning mechanism 6 is inserted from the back side of the printing apparatus 1 and cleans the upper surface of the card medium 2 before printing with the thermal head 4. The cleaning mechanism 6 of this embodiment is in contact with the upper surface of the card medium 2 being conveyed, removes dust adhering to the surface of the card medium 2, the rotating shaft 32 of the cleaning roller 31, and the rotating shaft 32. A pair of bearings (not shown) that rotatably support both ends of the shaft, a pressing mechanism 35 that presses the pair of bearings, and the like are provided.

  The housing 7 includes a first housing 17 disposed on the upper side and a second housing 18 disposed on the lower side. In this embodiment, the cartridge 5 is placed on the second housing 18, and the cartridge 5 is fixed from above by the first housing 17. That is, the shaft 19 is fixed to the back end of the first housing 17, and the first housing 17 is opposite to the second housing 18 from the state shown in FIG. 2 around the shaft 19. It can be turned clockwise. Then, when the first casing 17 rotates counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 2, the cartridge 5 placed on the second casing 18 can be taken out from the casing 7. In the state shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the first housing 17 is locked to the second housing 18 by the lock mechanism 20 disposed at the front end of the housing 7. In addition, although the conveyance path 8 in which the card | curd medium 2 is conveyed is formed in the inside of the housing | casing 7, the several card conveyance roller 9 for conveying the card | curd medium 2 in the conveyance path 8 is formed. Has been placed.

  The conveyance path 8 is formed linearly in the front-rear direction of the printing apparatus 1 and so as to penetrate the printing apparatus 1 in the front-rear direction. The plurality of card transport rollers 9 are arranged so as to protrude from the lower side to the transport path 8. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of card transport rollers 9 are connected to a drive motor 24 via a transmission means including a pulley 22, a timing belt 23, and the like, and rotate by the power of the drive motor 24. Further, the pad roller 25 is placed on the upper side of the card transport roller 9 except for the card transport roller 9 disposed on the back side and the card transport roller 9 disposed substantially at the center in the front-rear direction so as to be in pressure contact with the card transport roller 9. Is arranged. Further, the cleaning roller 31 is opposed to the card conveying roller 9 disposed on the back side, and the thermal head 4 is opposed to the card conveying roller 9 disposed substantially at the center in the front-rear direction.

  The ribbon transport roller 10 is disposed above the transport path 8 and is disposed on the back side of the ribbon winding unit 16 and on the front side of the thermal head 4. As shown in FIG. 1, the ribbon transport roller 10 is connected to a drive motor 28 via a transmission means including a pulley 26 and a timing belt 27 and is rotated by the power of the drive motor 28. In the present embodiment, the ribbon transport roller 10 rotates clockwise in a normal state, but may be configured to be able to rotate counterclockwise. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink ribbon 3 is guided obliquely upward toward the back side by the ribbon transport roller 10. A pad roller 29 is disposed obliquely above the ribbon transport roller 10 so as to be in pressure contact with the ribbon transport roller 10, and the pad roller 29 can prevent slippage during transport of the ink ribbon 3. As will be described later, the ribbon take-up unit 16 is also connected to the drive motor 28, and a take-up winding core 52, which will be described later, constituting the ribbon take-up unit 16 is driven by the ribbon motor using the power of the drive motor 28. 10 and rotate.

  The guide shaft 11 is fixed to the second housing 18 with the left-right direction as the axial direction. The guide shaft 11 is disposed above the transport path 8, and is disposed on the front side of the ribbon supply unit 15 and on the back side of the thermal head 4. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink ribbon 3 is guided obliquely upward toward the near side by the guide shaft 11.

(Details of afterimage information reading unit)
The characteristic configuration of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present invention is that, after printing using the ink ribbon 3, the afterimage of the ink ribbon 3 is read by the image sensor 81, and the read afterimage information is compared with the information to be printed. Thus, the configuration is such that the quality of printing is determined by the control means.

  The image sensor 81 reads an afterimage of the ink ribbon 3 after printing by the thermal head 4, and is provided on the ribbon winding unit 16 side of the thermal head 4 as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. The guide shaft 42 is disposed opposite to the ink ribbon 3. As the image sensor 81, various types can be used. For example, the image sensor 81 having the form shown in FIG. 4 can be exemplified. The image sensor 81 shown in FIG. 4 emits light from a light source (not shown), a light guide member 83 that emits light from the light source toward the ink ribbon 3 on the opposing guide shaft 42, and the light guide member 83. And a light receiving element 84 for receiving reflected light of the reflected light. Reference numeral 85 denotes a glass surface.

  The guide shaft 42 is one of a plurality of guide shafts (48, 45, 44, 42) of the cartridge 5. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the guide shaft 42 is disposed between the thermal head 4 and the ribbon winding unit 16. More specifically, the guide shaft is provided between the ribbon transport roller 10 and the ribbon winding unit 16. In this embodiment, the ink ribbon 3 is fed toward the ribbon winding unit 16 while contacting the lower side of the guide shaft 42. Since the upper surface of the ink ribbon 3 is a ribbon-like film to which ink is not applied, there is an advantage that problems (for example, ink stains) due to the ink ribbon 3 coming into contact with the guide shaft 42 are less likely to occur.

  If the guide shaft 42 is configured to be easily attached and detached, the glass surface of the image sensor 81 can be easily cleaned. In the present embodiment, as shown in the figure, the guide shaft 42 is integrated with the cartridge 5, so that the glass surface 85 of the image sensor 81 is exposed by pulling the cartridge 5 upward from a predetermined position. Can be arranged. As a result, the guide shaft 42 can be separated from the image sensor 81, and the glass surface 85 of the image sensor 81 can be easily cleaned.

  Further, the guide shaft 42 is preferably made of a white member or a bright member. Since the ink applied to the ink ribbon 3 is a relatively dark primary color such as black, blue, or red, if the guide shaft 42 is formed of a white member or a light member, for example, a black ink layer is formed. When the transferred ink ribbon is transferred, the contrast between the white member or light color member through which the transfer mark of the black ink layer can be seen through and the black portion not transferred is improved, so that the image information obtained by the image sensor can be read. The accuracy can be further improved. Here, the light-colored member is a generic term for members exhibiting a color such as stainless steel.

  In the present invention, the image sensor 81 is disposed opposite to the guide shaft 42 with the ink ribbon 3 interposed therebetween. However, the image sensor 81 and the guide shaft 42 are not displaced from each other in the casing of the printing apparatus 1. Therefore, the distance between the image sensor 81 and the guide shaft 42 can be kept constant. As a result, the accuracy of focusing with respect to the ink ribbon 3 after printing running on the guide shaft 42 is high, and the afterimage can be read with high accuracy. Note that the distance between the image sensor 81 and the guide shaft 42 may be such that the gap between the glass surface 85 of the image sensor 81 and the surface of the guide shaft 42 is about 0.3 mm to 1.5 mm.

  As described above, by configuring the image sensor 81 and the guide shaft 42 as described above, (i) the image sensor 81 reads the afterimage of the printed ink ribbon 2 guided by the guide shaft 42 to obtain image information. In addition, since the guide shaft 42 and the image sensor 81 can be easily fixed so as not to be misaligned in the printing apparatus 1, even when the card medium 2 moves up and down in the transport path 8, when acquiring image information as in the prior art. There is an effect that no out-of-focus problem occurs. Further, (ii) the image sensor 81 is not disposed facing the conveyance path 8, but is disposed at a position on the running path of the ink ribbon 3 and facing the guide shaft 42, so that the ink ribbon 3 and the image sensor 81 are disposed. It is possible to keep the distance between the card medium 2 and the card medium 2 in contact with the image sensor 81, and there is an effect that the card medium 2 and the glass surface 85 of the image sensor 81 are not damaged.

  In addition, the image sensor 81 that reads image information from the ink ribbon 3 is disposed at a position after the thermal head 4 where the afterimage of the ink ribbon 3 can be read. (Iii) The image sensor is disposed in the conveyance path 8. Compared to the conventional configuration, the degree of freedom in mounting the image sensor 81 is increased, the glass surface 85 of the image sensor 81 can be easily cleaned, and (iv) freedom in structural design of the transport path 8 In addition, (v) there is no fear of the card medium 2 being caught in the gap between the conveyance path 8 and the image sensor 81, and (vi) the printing defect is accurately and accurately identified. There are effects such as being able to carry out promptly and realizing downsizing of the entire apparatus.

(Details of control)
Next, the control of the printing apparatus 1 will be described in detail. The printing apparatus 1 of the present invention has a drive unit that controls the feeding of the ink ribbon 3. An example of the driving unit is the ribbon transport roller 10 shown in FIG. The ribbon transport roller 10 performs forward feed control toward the ribbon winding unit 16 until the afterimage of the ink ribbon 3 is read by the image sensor 81. A control signal to the ribbon transport roller 10 is given from a host device (hereinafter also referred to as a host computer).

  Further, after the afterimage of the ink ribbon 3 is read by the image sensor 81, the ribbon transport roller 10 may be operated so that the ink ribbon 3 is reversely fed by a predetermined length. By providing the ribbon transport roller 10 with such a reverse feeding operation, the effective area of the ink ribbon 3 can be used without wasting even if the image sensor 81 cannot be disposed in the immediate vicinity of the thermal head 4, for example. can do.

  The control means constituting the present invention compares the predetermined image information supplied from the higher-level device with the afterimage information of the ink ribbon 3 acquired by the image sensor 81, and determines whether the printing on the card medium 2 is acceptable. Configured as follows. When it is determined that the image information supplied from the higher-level device matches the afterimage information read by the image sensor 81, the printed card medium 2 is issued, and the image information supplied from the higher-level device is When it is determined that the afterimage information read by the image sensor 81 does not match, the printed card medium 2 is discarded and a new card medium 2 is printed.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart of card medium issuance processing by the printing apparatus of the present invention. First, a predetermined command is input to the host computer, the system is activated, and the system is started. In step S1, predetermined information to be recorded on the card medium 2 is input to the host computer. Examples of the predetermined information include personal information, remaining amount information, print position information, and the like, work contents representing processing procedures, characters and pattern data to be printed on the card medium 2, and the like.

  The information thus input is supplied from the host computer to a control device (not shown) attached to the image sensor 81 in the printing apparatus 1. This control device inspects the printing state of the card medium 2 and controls the driving operation in the printing device 1 based on the inspection result. For example, the CPU, RAM, memory, ROM, various I / O interfaces Etc. as necessary. In the ROM, a program for performing a picture composition process based on character / picture data to be printed on the card medium 2 and issuance data, and an afterimage information data of the ink ribbon 3 acquired by the image sensor 81 and a picture composition process A program for performing a collation process with the generated image information data is stored, and the CPU executes these programs to check the image information printed on the card medium 2 and the inspection result. Issue processing or reissue processing is performed.

  After the processing in step S1, the control device attached to the image sensor 81 synthesizes image data to be printed on the card medium 2. The synthesized image data is stored in a memory in the control device.

  In step S2, the CPU outputs the image data combined in step S1 to the thermal head 4, and prints an image based on the image data on the card medium 2.

  In step S <b> 3, the afterimage information of the ink ribbon 3 is read by the image sensor 81. As described above, since the ink corresponding to the print image is transferred to the ink ribbon 3 by the thermal head 4, the transferred portion is depleted of ink, and the remaining portion is read by the image sensor 81 as the afterimage information.

  In step S4, the image information actually printed on the surface of the card medium 2 is compared with the image information that would have been printed on the card medium 2. The actually printed image information is acquired by the image sensor 81, the image information that would have been printed is supplied from the memory, and both image information are compared to determine whether the print state of the card medium 2 is good or bad.

  In step S5, when the range of deviation when both pieces of image information are compared is within a predetermined range, it is determined that both pieces of image information match, and an “OK” signal is output, and the process proceeds to step S6. On the other hand, if the range of deviation when comparing both pieces of image information is outside the predetermined range, it is determined that both pieces of image information do not match, and an “NG” signal is output, and the process proceeds to step S7.

  In step S6, the card medium 2 issuance process is performed based on the “OK” signal output in step S5, and the card medium 2 issuance process ends. On the other hand, in step S7, the card medium 2 is discarded based on the “NG” signal output in step S5, and then the card medium 2 is reissued in step S8. In this reissuance, a reissue signal is output to a card medium storage unit (not shown) in which the card medium 2 before printing is stocked, and a new card medium 2 is reissued from the card medium storage unit. Thereafter, the new card medium 2 is again supplied to the transport path 8 and printed by the thermal head 4 in step S2.

(Details of biasing means)
Next, the urging means for applying tension to the ink ribbon 3 will be described in detail. The ribbon supply unit 15 and the ribbon take-up unit 16 are integrally supported by the cartridge 5 having the configuration shown in FIG. 3, and the ribbon supply unit 15 and the ribbon take-up unit 16 apply tension to the ink ribbon 3. It is preferable to have a biasing means. By providing such an urging means, it is possible to further improve the accuracy of focusing with respect to the ink ribbon 3 after running on the guide shaft 42.

  First, the configuration of the cartridge 5 will be described. In addition to the ribbon supply unit 15 and the ribbon take-up unit 16, the cartridge 5 includes two cartridge frames 40 and 41 arranged in parallel and facing each other at a predetermined interval as shown in FIG. Connecting shafts 42 to 48 as connecting members for connecting the cartridge frames 40 and 41. In this embodiment, the cartridge frame 40 forms the left side surface of the cartridge 5, and the cartridge frame 41 forms the right side surface of the cartridge 5. Further, the cartridge 5 of this embodiment includes seven connecting shafts 42 to 48, and the connecting shafts 42 to 48 are fixed to the cartridge frames 40 and 41. Further, a substantially frustoconical guide member 49 is provided at the connecting portion between the cartridge frames 40 and 41 and the connecting shaft 42 and the connecting portion between the cartridge frames 40 and 41 and the connecting shaft 46, respectively. , 41 in a state of being brought into contact with. Of these connecting shafts 42 to 48, the connecting shaft that acts to guide the travel of the ink ribbon 3 is referred to as a guide shaft (for example, 48, 45, 44, 42) in the present application, and is used depending on the case. Yes.

  The ribbon supply unit 15 is disposed on the back end side of the cartridge frames 40 and 41, and the ribbon winding unit 16 is disposed on the front end side of the cartridge frames 40 and 41. The connecting shaft 42 is disposed below the ribbon winding unit 16, the connecting shaft 44 is disposed on the near side of the front and rear direction center of the cartridge 5 and at the lower end of the cartridge 5, and the connecting shaft 45 is disposed on the front and rear of the cartridge 5. The connecting shaft 48 is disposed on the back side of the cartridge 5 and obliquely below the back side of the ribbon supply unit 15, and both are used as guide shafts for the ink ribbon 3. The connecting shaft 43 is disposed obliquely above the back side of the ribbon take-up unit 16, the connecting shaft 46 is disposed obliquely below the front side of the ribbon supply unit 15, and the connection shaft 47 is connected to the ribbon supply unit 15. It is arrange | positioned diagonally upward of the near side.

  In the cartridge 5, as shown in FIG. 3, the ink ribbon 3 is a guide shaft from the ribbon supply unit 15 toward the ribbon take-up unit 16. The lower side of the connecting shaft 44 and the front side of the connecting shaft 42 are sequentially passed.

  The cartridge 5 is placed on the second housing 18. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 2, as shown in FIG. 2, the substantially U-shaped fitting groove portion into which the connecting shaft 42 is fitted in the two frames 37 that form the left and right side surfaces of the second housing 18. 37 a and a rectangular mounting projection 37 b on which the connecting shaft 46 is mounted are formed, and the connecting shafts 42 and 46 are mounted on the two frames 37. As shown in FIG. 3, the distance between the outer ends in the left-right direction of the two frames 37 is substantially equal to the distance between the inner ends of the two guide members 49 arranged at the ends of the connecting shafts 42 and 46, for example. ing. In this embodiment, the frame 37 is a mounting frame on which the cartridge 5 is mounted, and the bottom portion 37c of the fitting groove portion 37a and the upper portion 37d of the mounting protrusion 37 are mounted on which the connecting shafts 42 and 46 are mounted. Part.

  When the cartridge 5 is attached to the main body of the printing apparatus 1, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink ribbon 3 between the connecting shaft 42 and the connecting shaft 44 is guided obliquely upward toward the back side by the ribbon transport roller 10. The ink ribbon 3 between the connection shaft 45 and the connection shaft 48 is guided obliquely upward toward the front side by the guide shaft 11. That is, the supply core 66 rotates clockwise to supply the ink ribbon 3 by the amount guided and pulled out by the ribbon transport roller 10 and the guide shaft 11.

  Next, the biasing means included in the cartridge 5 will be described. In the cartridge 5 shown in FIG. 3, the urging means is provided in each of the ribbon supply unit 15 and the ribbon winding unit 16.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ribbon supply unit 15 includes a cylindrical supply core 66 around which the supplied ink ribbon 3 is wound, a mounting plate 67 attached to one end (left end) of the supply core 66, A mounting plate 68 attached to the other end (right end) of the supply core 66, a supply rotary shaft 69 that rotates integrally with the supply core 66, and a left side of the supply core 66, and rotates around the supply rotary shaft 69. A tension coil spring (provided in the supply core 66) as a rotation urging member that urges a rotation member (not shown) held in a counterclockwise direction, and is fixed to the cartridge frame 40 for supply rotation. A bearing 73 that rotatably supports the shaft 69, a friction member (not shown) disposed in the supply core 66, a holding member 75 that holds the friction member on the left end surface, a mounting plate 67, and a holding member 75 Placed between and A compression coil spring as a friction urging member for urging the friction member (not shown), and a mounting plate 68 is fixed to the cartridge frame 41 and a fixed shaft 77 rotatably supporting.

  In the ribbon supply unit 15 having such a configuration, when the ink ribbon 3 is supplied, the supply winding core 66 rotates in the clockwise direction with the winding operation of the ink ribbon 3 by the winding winding core 52 and the ribbon transport roller 10. With the winding operation of the ink ribbon 3, the supply core 66 is driven to rotate and the ink ribbon 3 is supplied. On the other hand, since the urging force against the supply operation acts on the supplied ink ribbon 3 by the friction member and the friction urging member included in the ribbon supply unit 15, Constant tension is applied.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the ribbon winding unit 16 also has a cylindrical winding core 52 around which the ink ribbon 3 is wound, a mounting plate 53 attached to one end (left end) of the winding core 52, and a winding A mounting plate 54 attached to the other end (right end) of the winding core 52, a winding rotary shaft 55 that rotates integrally with the winding core 52, and a winding rotation disposed on the left side of the winding core 52. A gear 56 held by the shaft 55, a bearing 51 fixed to the cartridge frame 40 and rotatably supporting the winding rotary shaft 55, a friction member (not shown) disposed in the winding core 52, A holding member 56 that holds the friction member on the left end surface; a compression coil spring (not shown) that is disposed between the mounting plate 53 and the holding member 56 and that biases the friction member; and a cartridge frame It is fixed to 41 and the mounting plate 54 can be rotated. And a fixed shaft 60 which supports.

  When the ink ribbon 3 is wound, the ribbon winding unit 16 having such a configuration transmits the driving force of the drive motor 28 to the winding core 52, and the winding core 52 rotates counterclockwise. Further, when the ink ribbon 3 is rewound and rotated clockwise by the friction member and the friction urging member provided in the ribbon take-up portion 16, an urging force that resists the rewinding action acts. Therefore, tension is constantly applied to the ink ribbon 3.

  By providing such urging means in the ribbon supply unit 15 and the ribbon take-up unit 16 included in the cartridge 5, it is possible to further improve the focusing accuracy with respect to the ink ribbon 3 after running on the guide shaft 42.

  As mentioned above, although the suitable example of the printing apparatus 1 of this invention was given, this invention is not limited to the said form, A various deformation | transformation implementation is possible in the range which does not change the summary of this invention.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of the printing apparatus of this invention. FIG. 2 is a side view showing an internal configuration of the printing apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a perspective view which shows the cartridge shown in FIG. 1 from the near side and the left side. It is the schematic which shows an example of an image sensor. It is a flowchart of the card medium issuing process by the printing apparatus of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

1 Printing device 2 Card medium (medium to be printed)
3 Ink ribbon 4 Thermal head (printing means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 5 Cartridge 6 Cleaning mechanism 7 Case 8 Conveyance path 9 Card conveyance roller 10 Ribbon conveyance roller 15 Ribbon supply part 16 Ribbon take-up part 25, 29 Pad roller 31 Cleaning roller 37 Frame 40, 41 Cartridge frame 42-48 Connecting shaft 49 Guide Member 81 Image sensor 83 Light guide member 84 Light receiving element 85 Glass surface

Claims (7)

A conveyance path for conveying a printing medium;
A ribbon supply section for supplying a transfer type ink ribbon;
A ribbon take-up unit for taking up the ink ribbon;
A plurality of guide shafts that guide the ink ribbon from the ribbon supply unit toward the ribbon take-up unit, while facing the transport path;
A printing unit that faces the conveyance path and is disposed between the ribbon supply unit and the ribbon winding unit, and prints predetermined information by transferring the ink of the ink ribbon to the printing medium;
An image sensor that reads an afterimage of the ink ribbon after printing by the printing unit;
And a control unit that compares the predetermined information with the residual image information of the ink ribbon to determine whether or not the printing medium is printed.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image sensor is disposed to face the guide shaft provided on the ribbon winding unit side with respect to the printing unit with the ink ribbon interposed therebetween.   The image sensor includes a light source, a light guide member that emits light from the light source toward the ink ribbon on the guide shaft, and a light receiving element that receives reflected light of the light emitted from the light guide member. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:   The printing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the guide shaft is made of a white member or a light color member.   The ribbon supply unit and the ribbon winding unit are integrally supported by a ribbon cartridge having a pair of frames supported by the plurality of guide shafts, and ink between the ribbon supply unit and the ribbon winding unit The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an urging unit that applies tension to the ribbon.   The driving means controls the feeding of the ink ribbon, and the driving means controls the forward feeding toward the ribbon take-up unit until the afterimage of the ink ribbon is read by an image sensor. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon is reversely fed by a predetermined length. The control means includes
When it is determined that the image information supplied from the host device matches the afterimage information read by the image sensor, the printed medium after printing is issued,
When it is determined that the image information supplied from the host device and the afterimage information read by the image sensor do not match, the printing medium after printing is discarded and printing processing is performed on a new printing medium. Item 7. The printing apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 6.

Images