JP2011062896A - Thermal printer, and printing method using thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermal printer capable of switching between high-speed printing and low-speed printing and obtaining a good image quality is provided.
A label printer detects a thermal head, a transport mechanism that can be switched between a low-speed mode and a high-speed mode, a thermal head holding unit that holds a first or second thermal head in an exchangeable manner. Includes a detector. The first thermal head includes a short-sized heating element having a low electrical resistance value. The second thermal head has a long heat generating element with a high electrical resistance value. When the first thermal head is detected by the detector, the transport mechanism 13 is set to the high speed mode, and printing control for the short-sized heating element is performed. When the second thermal head is detected by the detector, the transport mechanism 13 is set to the low speed mode, and print control for the long heat generating element is performed.
[Selection] Figure 1

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal printer that performs thermal printing with a thermal head, and a printing method using the thermal printer.

  Thermal printers are used in various devices such as POS (point of sales) terminals, electronic cash registers, label printers, barcode printers, and measuring instruments. Thermal printers use a thermal transfer ink ribbon (hereinafter referred to as ink ribbon) with a line thermal head (hereinafter referred to as thermal head) that transfers the ink onto the receiving paper, and color printing by applying thermal head heat to the thermal paper. There is a thing of the method to do. In either case, the thermal head is configured by arranging a plurality of heating elements in a direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the receiving paper conveyance direction.

  Thermal printers that use ink ribbons are broadly classified into hot peel types and cold peel types depending on the type of ink ribbon. Thermally peelable ink ribbons contain a lot of wax components, so the ink transferred to the receiving paper has weakness in scratch resistance and weather resistance, but is excellent in transferability and suitable for high-speed printing. ing. On the other hand, since the cold-peeling type ink ribbon contains a resin component, it is necessary to peel off from the receiving paper after the ink thermally transferred to the receiving paper is fixed. For this reason, the cold-peeling type ink ribbon has the advantage of being excellent in the scratch resistance and weather resistance of the ink thermally transferred to the receiving paper, but is slow in printing speed. Thus, the printing speed varies greatly depending on the type of ink ribbon.

  There are also various types of receiving papers, and printing speeds and energies differ greatly depending on the receiving paper, such as receiving paper having high thermal efficiency requires less printing energy than receiving paper having low thermal efficiency. For example, synthetic resin-based receiving paper such as PET (polyethylene terephthalate) and PP (polypropylene), highly heat-resistant thermal paper, or copy thermal paper that is printed in multiple layers has a low thermal sensitivity, so it requires a lot of printing energy. In order to improve image quality, low-speed printing is recommended. Under these circumstances, conventionally, a thermal printer for high-speed printing and a thermal printer for low-speed printing have been developed and manufactured separately.

  On the other hand, as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1 below, a thermal printer that can perform print control according to the characteristics of the thermal head based on head information stored in the thermal head has also been proposed. . Also, like the thermal printer of Patent Document 2, a plurality of types of thermal heads can be mounted according to the printing density, and printing can be performed with any of the thermal heads attached according to the desired printing density. Has also been proposed.

  Even if the printing speed can be switched between high speed and low speed with a single thermal printer, if there is more than a few times the speed between high speed printing and low speed printing, both low speed printing and high speed printing are equivalent. It is not easy to obtain the image quality. For example, a case where 12 IPS (Inch Per Second) high-speed printing is performed and a case where 3 IPS low-speed printing is performed will be described below.

  When high-speed printing is performed, printing dots referred to as “tailing” are generated in the printed dots as much as the receiving paper feed speed is high, so that the dots tend to extend in the feeding direction of the receiving paper. For this reason, depending on the length of the heating element, when a horizontal line (a line perpendicular to the feeding direction of the receiving paper) is printed at a small pitch, the horizontal lines are connected to the feeding direction of the receiving paper. The resolution gets worse. If the printing energy is reduced in order to suppress printing scratches, the lines are blurred and a good image quality cannot be obtained. Moreover, since high-speed printing has a short printing cycle, the energization time tends to be insufficient depending on the electric resistance value of the heating element.

  On the other hand, in the low-speed printing, compared with the high-speed printing, the dots to be printed are shortened by the amount of printing drag. For this reason, depending on the length of the heating element, when the horizontal line (line in the feeding direction of the receiving paper) is printed, the horizontal line becomes thin and poor. In addition, when vertical lines are printed at a low speed by a short heating element, dots are separated in the vertical direction, making it difficult to connect the vertical lines.

  For this reason, there is a problem that image quality is sacrificed when trying to achieve both low-speed printing and high-speed printing with a single thermal printer. This problem becomes more prominent as the difference in speed between low-speed printing and high-speed printing increases. For these reasons, there is a problem that it is difficult to cope with one thermal printer when the speed fluctuation is large between the low-speed printing and the high-speed printing. In this regard, the cited document 1 and the cited document 2 are not configured to obtain an image quality with the same resolution regardless of the speed in a thermal printer capable of switching between high-speed printing and low-speed printing.

  Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal printer capable of obtaining good image quality in both high-speed printing and low-speed printing, and a printing method using the thermal printer.

  The thermal printer of the present invention includes a transport mechanism capable of transporting a receiving paper along a transport path and capable of switching the transport speed between at least a high speed mode and a low speed mode, a first length, and a first electrical resistance. A first thermal head having a short-sized heat generating element having a value; a second length longer than the short-sized heat generating element; and a second electric resistance value larger than the first electric resistance value. A thermal head holding unit that holds one of the second thermal heads including a long size heating element in a predetermined position with respect to the transport path, and the short size heating element in the high-speed mode. And a control means for performing print control for the long-sized heating element in the low-speed mode. In the present invention, there may be provided detection means for detecting whether the thermal head held by the thermal head holding portion is the first thermal head or the second thermal head.

  In the printing method of the present invention, a first thermal head including a short heat generating element having a first length, and a long heat generating element having a second length longer than the short heat generating element. One of the second thermal heads provided with the thermal head holding part is attached to the thermal head holding part, and when the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding part is the first thermal head, the transport mechanism is set to the high speed mode. Transporting the receiving paper at a high speed, and when the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding portion is the second thermal head, the transport mechanism is set to a low speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a low speed, When the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding portion is the first thermal head, the printing energy for the first thermal head is related. Information is read from the storage means and supplied to the short-sized heating element. When the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding part is the second thermal head, the printing energy for the second thermal head is related to Printing on the receiving paper by reading information from the storage means and supplying the information to the long heating element.

  According to the present invention, good image quality can be obtained by performing print control suitable for high-speed printing using a thermal head having a short-sized heating element in high-speed mode printing, and long-size printing in low-speed mode printing. Good image quality can be obtained by performing print control suitable for low-speed printing using a thermal head having a heating element. Therefore, it is practically possible to switch between the high speed mode and the low speed mode without sacrificing image quality in one thermal printer. In the present invention, since printing conditions such as the printing speed are automatically set according to the type of the thermal head, there is no possibility of an input error, and high-quality printing can be performed at a speed suitable for the medium.

1 is a longitudinal sectional view schematically showing a thermal printer according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an electrical connection of a control unit or the like of the thermal printer shown in FIG. The front view of the thermal head of the thermal printer shown by FIG. FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view of the thermal head shown in FIG. 3. The figure which shows the relationship between the printing energy and density | concentration of a short size heating element and a long size heating element. The figure which shows the relationship between ambient temperature and printing energy in the case of printing in high speed mode, and in printing in low speed mode. The figure which shows an example of the thermal history of a thermal head. 2 is a flowchart showing print control of the thermal printer shown in FIG. 1.

A label printer as an example of a thermal printer according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 1 schematically shows the inside of the label printer 10. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the electrical connection of the main part of the label printer 10. The label printer 10 includes a housing 11. Inside the housing 11, a transport mechanism 13 for transporting the label paper 12, which is an example of a receiving paper, an ink ribbon feeding mechanism 16 for supplying the ink ribbon 15, and a control unit 17 that functions as control means. (Shown in FIG. 2) and the like are accommodated. The transport mechanism 13 can be switched to at least two speeds (for example, a high speed mode of 12 IPS and a low speed mode of 3 IPS).

  The housing 11 includes a main body case 11a located on the lower side in FIG. 1 and a cover 11b provided so as to be rotatable in the vertical direction with respect to the main body case 11a via a hinge portion (not shown). . On the front surface 11c side of the housing 11, a label discharge port 20, various operation switches 21 (shown in FIG. 2), a display 22 and the like are arranged.

  A label paper roll 12 a is accommodated in a receiving paper accommodating portion 25 formed inside the housing 11. The label paper roll 12a is a roll of the label paper 12 with a mount, and is wound so that the mount 12b faces outward. The label sheet 12 is provided with an adhesive layer on the surface in contact with the mount 12b, and the label sheet 12 can be peeled off from the mount 12b as required.

  A transport path 30 for transporting the label paper 12 is formed inside the housing 11. The conveyance path 30 extends in a substantially horizontal direction from the lower surface of the label paper roll 12 a set in the receiving paper storage unit 25 toward the label discharge port 20. A platen roller 31, a guide roller 32, a pinch roller 33, and the like are disposed in the middle of the conveyance path 30.

  The platen roller 31 and the guide roller 32 constitute a part of the transport mechanism 13 for transporting the label paper 12, and are configured to rotate in a predetermined direction by driving means including a motor and a gear (not shown). In FIG. 1, an arrow F indicates the conveyance direction of the label paper 12.

  The label discharge port 20 is formed near the end of the transport path 30. A mount peeling guide 40 is provided in the vicinity of the label discharge port 20. The mount sheet peeling guide 40 is configured to peel the label sheet 12 from the mount sheet 12b by bending the label sheet 12 provided with the mount 12b at a steep angle just before the label discharge port 20. The label 12c peeled off from the mount 12b can be taken out from the label discharge port 20. Below the transport path 30 is provided a mount winding mechanism 41 for winding the peeled mount 12b. The mount winding mechanism 41 includes a mount winding roller 42 that is rotated by driving means including a motor and a gear (not shown).

  A thermal head 50 is provided in the middle of the conveyance path 30. FIG. 3 is a front view schematically showing the thermal head 50. The thermal head 50 is disposed above the platen roller 31 so that the label paper 12 with the mount 12b is sandwiched between the platen roller 31 and the thermal head 50. The thermal head 50 is fixed to the lower surface of the head bracket 51.

  As shown in FIG. 4, a heating element 52 is provided near the lower surface of the thermal head 50. Under the heat generating element 52, a glaze 53 having a high thermal conductivity and functioning as a heat storage body, and a protective film 54 made of a material having wear resistance and high thermal conductivity are provided. As the thermal head 50, at least two types, that is, a first thermal head for high-speed printing and a second thermal head for low-speed printing are prepared according to the medium to be applied.

  In the first thermal head for high-speed printing, the length L1 (shown in FIG. 4) of the heating element 52 is set to the first length, for example, 90 μm. In the case of the second thermal head for low-speed printing, the length L1 of the heat generating element 52 is set to a second length that is larger than the first length, for example, 120 μm. A plurality of these heating elements 52 are arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction (main scanning direction) perpendicular to the conveying direction of the label paper 12 along the axial direction of the platen roller 31.

  In this specification, a short heating element (for example, 90 μm in length) used for the first thermal head is referred to as a short-sized heating element, and a long heating element (for example, 120 μm in length) used in the second thermal head. Is referred to as a long-sized heating element. As shown in FIG. 5, the short-sized heating element has a higher printing density and better energy efficiency than the long-sized heating element if it has the same energy. For this reason, in the present embodiment, when high-speed printing is performed by the first thermal head having a short-sized heating element, the energization supplied to the heating element is compared with the case where low-speed printing is performed by the second thermal head. The time can be set short and the printing cycle can be shortened.

  Regarding the glaze 53, the glaze thickness G1 is set to a relatively thin first thickness in the first thermal head for high-speed printing. On the other hand, the glaze thickness G1 of the second thermal head for low-speed printing is a second thickness that is larger than the first thickness.

  Regarding the protective film 54, the first thermal head for high-speed printing uses a protective film material that emphasizes thermal efficiency, and the second thermal head for low-speed printing uses a protective film material that emphasizes wear resistance. ing. In general, a medium capable of increasing the printing speed with high sensitivity has little influence on the wear of the protective film of the thermal head. For this reason, a material that emphasizes thermal energy efficiency rather than wear can be used for the protective film of the first thermal head for high-speed printing. Conversely, media with low sensitivity and slow printing speed often affect the wear of the thermal head protective film, so the second thermal head for low-speed printing has wear resistance. It is recommended to use an important type of protective film.

  The short-sized heating element used for the first thermal head has a first electric resistance value. In high-speed printing (for example, 12 IPS) using the first thermal head, since the energization time may be insufficient if the resistance value of the heating element is large, the electrical resistance value is set low, for example, less than 1000Ω at 24 volts.

  On the other hand, the long heating element used in the second thermal head has a second electric resistance value. In the low-speed printing (for example, 3IPS) by the second thermal head, since the printing cycle is long, if the resistance value of the heat generating element is small, the energy becomes excessive and problems such as sticking are likely to occur. For this reason, the electric resistance value is set larger than that of the short-sized heating element, and is set to 1000Ω or more at 24 volts, for example.

  The ink ribbon feeding mechanism 16 is configured to supply the ink ribbon 15 fed from the ink ribbon roll 15 a (shown in FIG. 1) in the label printer 10 toward the label paper 12 on the transport path 30. . The ink ribbon 15 supplied toward the label paper 12 passes between the platen roller 31 and the thermal head 50 in a state of being overlaid on the label paper 12, and then turns upward to change the ink ribbon take-up roller 55. It is designed to be wound on.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the control unit 17 is an example of a CPU (Central Processing Unit) 60 having a calculation function for controlling the operation of the label printer 10 and a storage unit that stores fixed data such as a print control program. A ROM (Read Only Memory) 61 and a RAM (Random Access Memory) 62 that stores various data in a rewritable manner are provided, and these are electrically connected to each other via a bus line 63.

  The motor of the transport mechanism 13 and the motor of the ink ribbon feeding mechanism 16 are connected to the CPU 60 via a bus line 63. Further, the operation switch 21, the display device 22, the mount winding mechanism 41, the thermal head 50, the communication interface 65, the detector 90 described later, and the like are connected to the CPU 60 via the bus line 63. Yes. The communication interface 65 has a function of receiving various data relating to printing from a host computer (not shown).

  As shown in FIG. 3, attachment portions 80 and 81 for attachment to frame members 75 and the like provided on both sides of the label printer 10 are provided at both ends of the thermal head 50. An example of the attachment portions 80 and 81 includes a plurality of pins 82 and 83, respectively. By supporting these pins 82 and 83 by, for example, fitting them to thermal head holding portions 85 and 86 provided on the frame member 75 of the housing 11, the thermal head 50 is labeled with respect to the transport path 30. It is held at a predetermined position in the printer 10.

  A detector 90 for identifying the type of the thermal head 50 is provided in the vicinity of one thermal head holding portion 85. For example, the type of the thermal head 50 is identified and output to the control unit 17 by a detector 90 that operates according to the shape of a plurality of pins 82 or a combination of pin groups provided in one mounting portion 80 of the thermal head 50. It is like that. This detector 90 functions as a detecting means for detecting the type of the thermal head 50.

The ROM 61 which is the storage means of the control unit 17 corrects based on the ambient temperature according to the type of the thermal head 50 (at least the first thermal head for high speed printing and the second thermal head for low speed printing). A table (ambient temperature table) that stores information on power to be printed is stored. The ROM 61 stores a table (thermal history table) that stores information on printing energy to be corrected based on the thermal history of the heating element 52 according to the type of the thermal head 50. An example of each table is shown in Table 1.

  FIG. 6 shows the relationship between the ambient temperature and the printing energy when high-speed printing is performed (12 IPS) and when low-speed printing is performed (3 IPS). In general, low-speed printing targets a low-sensitivity medium, and therefore requires more printing energy at the same ambient temperature than high-speed printing.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a heat history. The line segment Q1 shows an example in which dots are printed continuously when the printing cycle is short. A line segment Q2 indicates a case where the printing cycle is relatively long. In either case, when printing the next dot immediately after printing the first dot, consider the amount of heat that has not been reduced when printing the previous dot, and use less energy than the previous dot. It is necessary to supply.

  Moreover, the relationship between thermal history and printing energy differs between high-speed printing and low-speed printing. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a thermal history table for high-speed printing and a thermal history table for low-speed printing are prepared and stored in the ROM 61 of the control unit 17, and according to the type of thermal head detected by the detector 90. The heat history table is read out and stored in the RAM 62.

  When the first thermal head is detected by the detector 90, the CPU 60 functioning as a control unit sets the transport mechanism 13 to the high-speed mode and generates printing energy suitable for the first thermal head in a short size. Print control is performed so as to be supplied to the element. When the second thermal head is detected, the transport mechanism 13 is set to the low speed mode, and printing control is performed so that printing energy suitable for the second thermal head is supplied to the long-sized heating element. .

  FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing the flow of processing when printing is performed using the label printer 10. Hereinafter, an example of a printing method by the label printer 10 of the present embodiment will be described with reference to this flowchart.

  When the operation switch 21 is operated, the CPU 60 of the control unit 17 operates the transport mechanism 13, the ink ribbon feeding mechanism 16, the thermal head 50, and the like as described below, so that the ink on the ink ribbon 15 is transferred to the label paper 12. The print control program is executed so that the heat transfer is performed.

  In step S1 for setting the printing conditions, it is determined whether to use the first thermal head or the second thermal head according to the medium to be used. In step S2, an ink ribbon or receiving paper (for example, label paper 12) according to the purpose is set in the label printer 10. In step S3, the thermal head 50 corresponding to the medium is attached to the thermal head holding portions 85 and 86.

  For example, the first thermal head is attached to the thermal head holding portions 85 and 86 when using a hot-peeling type ink ribbon, when using a general popular paper-type receiving paper, or when high-speed printing is more important than image quality. Install to. In other words, since there is a limit to the energization time for printing in the high-speed mode, use a heat release type ink ribbon with good energy efficiency or a heat sensitive receiving paper, and use a short-sized heating element with low electrical resistance. The first thermal head provided is used.

  Conversely, when using a cold-peeling type ink ribbon or using a synthetic paper-type receiving paper, the second thermal head is attached to the thermal head holding portions 85 and 86. For example, in the case of a combination of a resin-based ink ribbon with poor thermal sensitivity and a synthetic resin-based receiving paper such as PET, PP, PI, etc., the second thermal head having a long-sized heating element with a large electric resistance value is used. Printing is performed in the low speed mode.

  In step S4, the detector 90 detects the presence or absence of the thermal head 50. If there is no thermal head 50, a message to that effect is displayed and the operator is prompted to attach the thermal head. When the thermal head 50 is detected, the type of the thermal head 50 is detected. Then, according to the type of the thermal head 50, the above-described ambient temperature table, thermal history table, and the like are read from the ROM 61. The ROM 61 functions as a storage unit for storing information regarding printing conditions corresponding to the type of the thermal head 50.

  In step S <b> 5, an ambient temperature table corresponding to the thermal head 50 is read from the ROM 61 and stored in the RAM 62. Further, in step S 6, a thermal history table corresponding to the thermal head 50 is read from the ROM 61 and stored in the RAM 62.

  In step S7, when the detected thermal head 50 is the first thermal head, the transport speed of the transport mechanism 13 is set to the high speed mode. In the case of the second thermal head, the transport speed of the transport mechanism 13 is set to the low speed mode. For example, in a high-speed mode using a short-sized heating element having a length of 90 μm and a resolution of 12 dots / mm, for example, an optimum printing speed from among three types of high-speed conveyance speeds of 8 IPS, 10 IPS, and 12 IPS, for example. And printing energy is selected. In the low-speed mode using a heat generating element having a long size of 120 μm and a resolution of 12 dots / mm, an optimum printing speed can be selected from, for example, three low-speed transport speeds of 3IPS, 5IPS, and 8IPS. Printing energy is selected.

  As another example, when the length of the heating element is 125 μm and the resolution is 8 dots / mm, the optimum printing speed and printing energy are selected from, for example, 8IPS, 10IPS, and 12IPS. When the length of the heating element is 140 μm and the resolution is 8 dots / mm, the optimum printing speed and printing energy are selected from, for example, 3IPS, 5IPS, and 8IPS.

  In the data reading step S8, data to be printed is read. If it is determined in the determination step S9 that the data for a plurality of lines has been read, the thermal history table is written in the writing step S10, and then the plurality of lines are printed in the printing step S11. When it is determined in the determination step S12 that the printing of all the sub-scanning lines has been completed, the printing is ended.

  Thus, when performing high-speed printing according to the medium such as the receiving paper, the operator attaches the first thermal head to the thermal head holding portions 85 and 86 of the label printer 10. Then, when the signal from the detector 90 is input to the CPU 60, printing conditions (various set values) suitable for the first thermal head are set in the control unit 17, and the high-speed mode for the short-sized heating element is set. Print control is performed. When performing low-speed printing, the second thermal head is attached to the thermal head holding portions 85 and 86. Then, when the signal from the detector 90 is input to the CPU 60, printing conditions (various set values) suitable for the second thermal head are set in the control unit 17, and the low-speed mode for the long-sized heating element is set. Print control is performed.

  That is, the CPU 60 functioning as a control unit switches the transport mechanism 13 to the high speed mode or the low speed mode according to the detected type of the thermal head 50, and, for example, according to the detected type of the thermal head 50, for example, an ambient temperature table or The printing energy corrected by the heat history table is supplied to the heating element 52.

  When printing is performed in the high-speed mode using the first thermal head, the printing energy is supplied to the short-sized heating element in a first energizing time per dot, and the second thermal head is used for the low-speed printing. When printing is performed in the mode, printing control may be performed such that printing energy is supplied to a long-sized heating element in a second energization time longer than the first energization time.

As described above, the printing method of the label printer according to the present embodiment includes the following steps.
(1) The conveyance speed, printing conditions, and the like corresponding to at least two types of thermal heads having different lengths of the heating elements are stored in advance in the ROM 61 of the control unit 17 as a storage unit.
(2) The thermal head 50 corresponding to the medium is attached to the thermal head holding portions 85 and 86 of the label printer 10.
(3) The thermal head 50 attached to the thermal head holding portions 85 and 86 is detected by the detector 90 as detection means.
(4) The printing conditions corresponding to the thermal head 50 detected by the detector 90 are read from the ROM 61.
(5) When the detected thermal head 50 is the first thermal head, the transport mechanism 13 is set to the high speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a high speed, and the detected thermal head 50 is the second thermal head. For this, the transport mechanism 13 is set to the low speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a low speed.
(6) When the detected thermal head 50 is the first thermal head, the printing energy for the first thermal head is supplied to the short-sized heating element, and the detected thermal head is the second thermal head. In some cases, printing is performed on the receiving paper by supplying printing energy for the second thermal head to the long heating element.
By the printing method having the steps (1) to (6) described above, a good image quality can be obtained at a printing speed corresponding to various media.

  The heating element of the first thermal head is suitable for obtaining a high-resolution image in a high-speed mode because it has a small length, a low electrical resistance value, and a thin glaze. On the other hand, the heating element of the second thermal head is suitable for obtaining a high-resolution image in the low-speed mode because it has a large length, a large electric resistance value, and a thick glaze. In this embodiment, one thermal printer can automatically use high-speed printing by the first thermal head and low-speed printing by the second thermal head depending on the medium. Even if the speed changes, vertical lines and horizontal lines A good image with high resolution can be obtained without causing collapse or blurring.

  The present invention can also be applied to a thermal printer using thermal paper. It can also be applied to thermal printers other than label printers. Accordingly, the receiving paper may be other than label paper. Needless to say, in carrying out the present invention, the shape and arrangement of the control unit, the detection means, and the like, including the conveyance mechanism, the thermal head, and the conveyance path constituting the thermal printer, can be variously changed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Label printer (an example of thermal printer), 12 ... Label paper (an example of receiving paper), 13 ... Conveyance mechanism, 17 ... Control part (control means), 30 ... Conveyance path, 50 ... Thermal head, 52 ... Heating element , 61 ... ROM (storage means), 85, 86 ... thermal head holding section, 90 ... detector (an example of detection means).

JP 2003-334985 A JP 2009-172775 A

Claims (7)

A transport mechanism capable of transporting the receiving paper along the transport path and switching the transport speed between at least a high speed mode and a low speed mode;
A first thermal head including a short-sized heating element having a first length and a first electrical resistance value; a second length longer than the short-sized heating element; and a first electrical resistance value. A thermal head holding unit that holds one of the second thermal heads having a long heat generating element having a larger second electric resistance value in a predetermined position with respect to the transport path;
Control means for performing printing control for the short-sized heating element in the high-speed mode, and performing printing control for the long-sized heating element in the low-speed mode;
A thermal printer characterized by comprising: A transport mechanism capable of transporting the receiving paper along the transport path and switching the transport speed between at least a high speed mode and a low speed mode;
A first thermal head including a short-sized heating element having a first length and a first electrical resistance value; a second length longer than the short-sized heating element; and a first electrical resistance value. A thermal head holding unit that holds one of the second thermal heads having a long heat generating element having a larger second electric resistance value in a predetermined position with respect to the transport path;
Detecting means for detecting whether the thermal head held by the thermal head holding portion is the first thermal head or the second thermal head;
When the thermal head detected by the detecting means is the first thermal head, the transport speed of the transport mechanism is set to the high speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a high speed and for the short-sized heating element. When the thermal head detected by the detecting means is the second thermal head, the transport speed of the transport mechanism is set to the low speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a low speed and the long size Control means for performing printing control for the heating element of
A thermal printer characterized by comprising:   The control means has storage means for storing information on the ambient temperature and printing energy for the first thermal head and the second thermal head, according to the type of the thermal head detected by the detection means. The thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the printing energy corrected by the ambient temperature is supplied to the short-sized heating element or the long-sized heating element.   The control means has storage means for storing information on thermal history and printing energy for the first thermal head and the second thermal head, and according to the type of thermal head detected by the detection means 4. The thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the printing energy corrected by the thermal history is supplied to the short-sized heating element or the long-sized heating element. A first thermal head including a short heat generating element having a first length and a second thermal head including a long heat generating element having a second length longer than the short heat generating element. Attach one of the heads to the thermal head holder,
When the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding part is the first thermal head, the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding part is set at a high speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a high speed. Is the second thermal head, the transport mechanism is set to a low speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a low speed,
When the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding portion is the first thermal head, information on the printing energy for the first thermal head is read from the storage means and supplied to the short-sized heating element, When the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding portion is the second thermal head, information on printing energy for the second thermal head is read from the storage means and supplied to the long-sized heating element. Printing on the receiving paper;
A printing method for a thermal printer, comprising: A first thermal head including a short heat generating element having a first length and a second thermal head including a long heat generating element having a second length longer than the short heat generating element. Attach one of the heads to the thermal head holder,
Detecting by a detecting means whether the thermal head attached to the thermal head holding part is the first thermal head or the second thermal head;
When the thermal head detected by the detection means is the first thermal head, the transport mechanism is set to a high speed mode to transport the receiving paper at a high speed, and the thermal head detected by the detection means is the second thermal head. In the case of the thermal head, the conveying mechanism is set to a low speed mode to convey the receiving paper at a low speed,
When the thermal head detected by the detection means is the first thermal head, information relating to printing energy for the first thermal head is read from the storage means and supplied to the short-sized heating element, and the detection is performed. When the thermal head detected by the means is the second thermal head, the information on the printing energy for the second thermal head is read from the storage means and supplied to the long-sized heating element to the receiving paper. Printing,
A printing method for a thermal printer, comprising:   When the thermal head detected by the detection means is the first thermal head, printing energy is supplied to the short-sized heating element in a first energization time per dot, and the thermal head detected by the detection means The thermal printer according to claim 6, wherein when the second thermal head is the second thermal head, printing energy is supplied to the long-sized heating element in a second energization time longer than the first energization time. Printing method.

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