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EP0568162A1 - Dispositif pour la commande d'une tête d'impression électrothermique - Google Patents

Dispositif pour la commande d'une tête d'impression électrothermique Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0568162A1
EP0568162A1 EP93250024A EP93250024A EP0568162A1 EP 0568162 A1 EP0568162 A1 EP 0568162A1 EP 93250024 A EP93250024 A EP 93250024A EP 93250024 A EP93250024 A EP 93250024A EP 0568162 A1 EP0568162 A1 EP 0568162A1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
electrodes
etr
voltage
control
current
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP93250024A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Inventor
Günther Stephan
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Francotyp Postalia GmbH
Original Assignee
Francotyp Postalia GmbH
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from DE19924214545 external-priority patent/DE4214545C2/de
Application filed by Francotyp Postalia GmbH filed Critical Francotyp Postalia GmbH
Publication of EP0568162A1 publication Critical patent/EP0568162A1/fr
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B41—PRINTING; LINING MACHINES; TYPEWRITERS; STAMPS
    • B41J—TYPEWRITERS; SELECTIVE PRINTING MECHANISMS, i.e. MECHANISMS PRINTING OTHERWISE THAN FROM A FORME; CORRECTION OF TYPOGRAPHICAL ERRORS
    • B41J2/00—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed
    • B41J2/315—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material
    • B41J2/32—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material using thermal heads
    • B41J2/35—Typewriters or selective printing mechanisms characterised by the printing or marking process for which they are designed characterised by selective application of heat to a heat sensitive printing or impression-transfer material using thermal heads providing current or voltage to the thermal head
    • B41J2/355—Control circuits for heating-element selection
    • B41J2/36—Print density control

Definitions

  • the invention relates to an arrangement for an ETR printhead control of the type specified in the preamble of claim 1.
  • An ETR printer can be used, for example, in a franking machine for franking mail.
  • the ETR printer includes an electronic head control, an ETR print head with a large number of electrodes and a current collecting electrode which are connected to a power supply.
  • the pressure energy is fed as a constant current in each current path associated with each electrode in order to ensure a uniform print quality.
  • the ETR printhead acts on the recording medium, preferably paper, via a resistance ink ribbon which is moved with the recording medium.
  • the resistance ribbon has an upper one with the ETR printhead in contact resistance layer, a middle current return layer and a lower color layer in contact with the recording medium.
  • the ETR print head contains a multiplicity of electrodes which are arranged insulated from one another, each of which can generate a pixel of the printed image.
  • the energy supplied via these electrodes is converted into current heat in the area of the resistance layer assigned to each pixel, which leads to the melting of the color of the color layer located in the area.
  • Such an ETR printer with back electrodes is known from EP 0 301 891 A1.
  • the energy to be supplied depends on the resistance of each current path assigned to a pixel, on the melting temperature of the color, the intended contrast of the printed image and on the speed of the moving resistance ribbon and increases non-linearly with the roughness of the paper surface.
  • a series / parallel shift register loaded with the serial print data transfers the print data to the latches of an intermediate store in a first control phase.
  • each gate controlled by the associated outputs of the latches is switched to continuity during a strobe pulse and a control pulse to the respective one Resistor element delivered.
  • the resistance heating elements are preheated directly by a clock frequency which is adapted to the required heating energy in terms of its pulse height and pulse width.
  • Such preheating via energy from a voltage source is in principle not possible with an ETR printer because the resistance elements are located in the resistance layer of the resistance ribbon.
  • the energy supply to the individual electrodes of an ETR head is best provided by a constant current source, since the accuracy of the constant current and the specific tape resistance guarantee a very even printing performance.
  • the invention has for its object to find a technical control for any ETR print head that is simple and therefore inexpensive combines technical design with minimal power dissipation in the system and thus also causes only low operating costs, and at the same time maximum print quality.
  • the invention is based on the fact that the arrangement for an ETR print head control is equipped with storage means and with a control for the ETR print unit, the control of an ETR print head within a printing system being carried out consistently with the help of microprocessors, microcomputers or computers and
  • the electrodes of an ETR printing unit are provided with energy from a voltage source for the individual pixels of the printed image, the number of electrodes temporarily connected to the controllable voltage source being predetermined by a microprocessor control, which generates a control signal corresponding to the dependence on the number of activated electrodes outputs to the controllable voltage source.
  • the invention is further based on the consideration that with a microprocessor control unit the relevant print information is loaded into the switching unit at the appropriate time, which in the active state ensures that the pixels to be printed are energized for a defined time, so that the necessary for the printing process Heat is generated in the ETR band.
  • the energy for the electrodes of the ETR printing unit 3 is provided by a single controllable energy source 1, the number n of the electrodes 31, 32, 33, ... temporarily connected to the controllable energy source 1 being predetermined by the microprocessor control unit 5 which additionally outputs a control signal corresponding to the dependence on the number of activated electrodes to the controllable energy source 1.
  • a switching unit 2 acted upon by the microprocessor control unit 5 transmits the energy to an ETR printhead 30 of the ETR printing unit 3, which is in contact with an ETR resistance ink ribbon 10 via electrodes 31, 32, 33,..
  • Relevant print information at the correspondingly correct time t 1 are loaded into the switching unit 2, which in the activated state from t 2 ensures that the pixels to be printed are energized for a defined time t j , so that the heat required for the printing process in the controlled, briefly contacted areas 101 , 102, ..., the resistance layer 100 of the resistance ribbon 10 is produced.
  • FIG. A circuit of the switching unit 2 is shown in FIG. A with the serial print data directly or via a decoder 20 not shown series / parallel shift register 21 of the switching unit 2 transfers the print data in a first control phase from t1 to the latches of an intermediate memory 22. So the current print information is sufficiently long before actual printing process in the control unit 2 before.
  • each of the associated outputs during a strobe pulse the latches controlled gate G1, G2, ..., an output-side driver 23 switched to continuity and a drive pulse to the respective current path with the associated resistor R p .
  • the control circuit SN 75518 with 32 bit shift register, 32 latches and 32 AND gates can advantageously be used as switching unit 2. After a defined time has elapsed, the new print data are provided by the microprocessor control unit 5 and stored in the latches of the buffer store 22.
  • FIG. 3a shows an electrical equivalent circuit diagram for ETR printers with an activated current path with the associated resistor R p and with a single constant current source I s .
  • the contact resistance R k of an electrode with the upper resistance layer 100 of the resistance ribbon 10 is depending on the size of the effective electrode area and the pressure on the tape.
  • the current return resistance R r of the middle layer 8 of the resistance ribbon is preferably made of aluminum and depends on the total current, the distance of the back electrode.
  • the aluminum layer 8 is approximately 0.8 ⁇ m thick.
  • the resistance layer 100 which is about 15 microns thick and against the color layer 9, the thickness of which is about 6 microns.
  • the current collecting electrode 6 is arranged closer to the electrode ends of the ETR printing head 30, the current return resistance R r is negligible.
  • the band resistance R b of the resistance layer 100 of the resistance ink ribbon 10 is determined by the wrap angle ⁇ of the surface of the back electrode 6.
  • the contact resistance R ü between band 10 and current collecting electrode 6 depends on the pressure and the back electrode area.
  • the required pulse level is provided by the controlled energy source 1, which applies a current I s or a voltage U s to the electrodes 31, 32, 33, ..., which are temporarily connected to it via the switching unit 2, the level of which is one has such a dependency on the temporarily different number n of activated electrodes that a larger number of electrodes are supplied with a higher current or with a higher voltage than a smaller number.
  • an energy source 1 that can be controlled in an analog manner is provided, which can be controlled by the analog output of a D / A converter 4 that is connected with its digital inputs to outputs of the microprocessor control unit 5.
  • this has the advantage that, for example, a single controllable and adjustable constant current source I s is sufficient for the entire system with any number of ETR electrodes and not one must be available for each current path, and on the other hand there is only a very small series resistor R v in each current path I, II, III, ..., required to set the current distribution.
  • R v is 1/2 to 1/8 of the value of the effective heating resistor, preferably 1/3 to 1/4, which minimizes the energy loss of the system compared to the prior art mentioned above with much larger R v .
  • R H + R v »R r + R b + R ü + R l the losses are minimal.
  • Another advantage of this invention is based on the fact that the pressure intensity of the entire ETR head can be very easily changed by changing a single actuator S, namely by changing a factor y of the controllable constant current I s or constant voltage U s of the controllable energy source 1 If another factor z is changed with the same actuator S, the printing speed or belt speed V b can also be taken into account.
  • FIG. 3b shows an electrical equivalent circuit diagram for ETR printers with a single constant voltage source U s .
  • FIG. 4 A variant of a controllable voltage source is presented in FIG. 4, with a linear regulator 11 to which the unregulated input voltage U g and a setpoint value amplified via a non-inverting operational amplifier 12 are supplied and which outputs a voltage U s on the output side.
  • the resistance ratio R s / R e of the actuator S1 allows the basic gain to be set and / or a switching of a resistor chain controlled by the microprocessor control unit 5 - shown in FIG. 5 - according to the required factors y and z.
  • FIG. 6 shows a further variant for a controllable voltage source, which is equipped with a connection for additional regulation of the print quality by means of the measuring voltage U m .
  • the measuring voltage drops across the measuring resistor R m , which is orders of magnitude smaller than the series resistors R v or the heating resistors R h and smaller than the current return resistor R r .
  • the measuring voltage U m is connected through a resistor R d and the inverted control voltage -U alternate via a resistance R t at the node of inverting amplifier 13. With increasing total resistance decreases, the total current and thus m U, which is intended to increase the nominal voltage U leads .
  • FIG. 7 shows a further variant for a controllable voltage source with additional regulation.
  • the amplifier 12 is designed as a subtracting amplifier.
  • positive voltages U stell and U m can be applied on the input side, with otherwise the same mode of operation.
  • a further variant for a controllable voltage source with digital control inputs, for setting according to the selected printing speed, for setting the contrast per se and with additional regulation of the print quality by means of the measuring voltage U m results from FIG. 5 in connection with one not shown in FIG Extension of the block diagram which will be discussed below becomes.
  • the microprocessor unit 5 is additionally equipped on the input side with an analog / digital converter 14, at the input of which the measuring voltage U m is present.
  • the digital data corresponding to the measuring voltage U m are entered into the microprocessor unit 5 and form a correction quantity U 3, which is also included in the above-mentioned equation (8).
  • the number n of electrodes temporarily connected to the controllable current source I s is specified directly by the microprocessor control unit 5, which outputs a control signal corresponding to the number n of the controlled electrodes to the controllable energy source 1, so that each resistance heating element R p provides the required uniform heating power when printing.
  • the ETR printer is used for a franking machine, its memory and microprocessor control unit can also be used for control.
  • a franking machine consists of a storage means and a receiving means connected thereto for data that can be transmitted via a transmission means, an input means, a control module and the ETR printer.
  • the embodiment of the invention is not limited to the preferred exemplary embodiment specified above. Rather, a number of variants are conceivable who make use of the solution shown, even with fundamentally different types.

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  • Electronic Switches (AREA)
  • Dot-Matrix Printers And Others (AREA)
EP93250024A 1992-04-29 1993-01-20 Dispositif pour la commande d'une tête d'impression électrothermique Withdrawn EP0568162A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
DE4214545 1992-04-29
DE19924214545 DE4214545C2 (de) 1992-04-29 1992-04-29 Anordnung für eine ETR-Druckkopfansteuerung

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0568162A1 true EP0568162A1 (fr) 1993-11-03

Family

ID=6458020

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP93250024A Withdrawn EP0568162A1 (fr) 1992-04-29 1993-01-20 Dispositif pour la commande d'une tête d'impression électrothermique

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US5517229A (fr)
EP (1) EP0568162A1 (fr)
CA (1) CA2095106C (fr)
DE (1) DE4337542C2 (fr)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1996032271A1 (fr) * 1995-04-12 1996-10-17 Eastman Kodak Company Compensation de la puissance de chauffage en fonction de la charge d'impression dans des systemes d'impression thermique
WO1996032272A1 (fr) * 1995-04-12 1996-10-17 Eastman Kodak Company Appareil de mise en page d'images et d'ajustement de la tolerance d'erreur pour des systemes d'impression
US5796418A (en) * 1995-04-12 1998-08-18 Eastman Kodak Company Page image and fault tolerance control apparatus for printing systems
US5841449A (en) * 1995-04-12 1998-11-24 Eastman Kodak Company Heater power compensation for printing load in thermal printing systems

Families Citing this family (7)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH07178954A (ja) * 1993-12-24 1995-07-18 Brother Ind Ltd 画像形成装置
SE9702933L (sv) * 1997-08-14 1998-07-06 Intermec Ptc Ab Metod för energistyrning av tryck med transferband och direkttermomaterial i termoskrivare
JP2001225457A (ja) 2000-02-15 2001-08-21 Canon Inc 記録装置および記録装置の電源制御方法
US7588681B2 (en) * 2003-12-19 2009-09-15 Shell Oil Company Systems, methods, and catalysts for producing a crude product
US7597424B2 (en) * 2004-05-27 2009-10-06 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Printhead substrate, printhead, head cartridge, and printing apparatus
CN100548683C (zh) * 2004-05-27 2009-10-14 佳能株式会社 打印头基板、打印头、头盒和打印设备
CN105827234B (zh) * 2015-12-09 2018-06-15 西安科技大学 面向电阻层析成像的电流激励和多电极选择一体化调理器

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS6246659A (ja) * 1985-08-26 1987-02-28 Toshiba Corp プリンタのサ−マルヘツド駆動制御装置
GB2194852A (en) * 1986-09-04 1988-03-16 Roneo Alcatel Ltd Printing devices
WO1989002825A1 (fr) * 1987-10-02 1989-04-06 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procede d'impression thermique de supports
JPH01141058A (ja) * 1987-11-27 1989-06-02 Canon Inc インクジェット記録装置

Family Cites Families (20)

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JPS6010914B2 (ja) * 1980-02-14 1985-03-20 松下電送株式会社 感熱記録装置
SE420226B (sv) * 1980-02-27 1981-09-21 Sunds Defibrator Sett och anordning for avskiljning av anga fran cellulosamaterial som behandlats i en raffinor
JPS6027577B2 (ja) * 1980-03-12 1985-06-29 株式会社東芝 熱記録装置
JPS5763280A (en) * 1980-10-03 1982-04-16 Ricoh Co Ltd Driving circuit for heat-sensitive recorder
JPS5779761A (en) * 1980-11-05 1982-05-19 Sony Corp Drive method for thermo-sensing picture display device
US4345845A (en) * 1981-06-19 1982-08-24 International Business Machines Corporation Drive circuit for thermal printer
JPS5857977A (ja) * 1981-10-02 1983-04-06 Canon Inc 熱転写プリンタ
DE3219383A1 (de) * 1982-05-24 1983-11-24 Hellige Gmbh, 7800 Freiburg Verfahren und vorrichtung zur ansteuerung von thermoschreibern in registriergeraeten
US4514738A (en) * 1982-11-22 1985-04-30 Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kabushiki Kaisha Thermal recording system
JPS59227471A (ja) * 1983-06-09 1984-12-20 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd 感熱記録用ヘツド
US4531134A (en) * 1984-03-26 1985-07-23 International Business Machines Corporation Regulated voltage and approximate constant power for thermal printhead
JPS60201971A (ja) * 1984-03-26 1985-10-12 Tokyo Electric Co Ltd サ−マルドツト式印字装置
JPH0775893B2 (ja) * 1984-04-03 1995-08-16 キヤノン株式会社 プリンタ用の記録制御装置
US4575731A (en) * 1984-10-30 1986-03-11 International Business Machines Corporation Electro resistive printhead drive level sensing and control
JPS61242859A (ja) * 1985-04-22 1986-10-29 Chino Corp サ−マルヘツド駆動装置
JPS637952A (ja) * 1986-06-30 1988-01-13 Matsushita Electric Ind Co Ltd 通電記録装置
US4855758A (en) * 1987-04-17 1989-08-08 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Thermal transfer recording apparatus with electroconductive ink
EP0301891B1 (fr) * 1987-07-31 1992-01-29 Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba Imprimante électrothermique avec ruban encré à résistance
DE3833746A1 (de) * 1988-09-30 1990-04-05 Siemens Ag Thermodruckverfahren mit vorheizung
US5163760A (en) * 1991-11-29 1992-11-17 Eastman Kodak Company Method and apparatus for driving a thermal head to reduce parasitic resistance effects

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS6246659A (ja) * 1985-08-26 1987-02-28 Toshiba Corp プリンタのサ−マルヘツド駆動制御装置
GB2194852A (en) * 1986-09-04 1988-03-16 Roneo Alcatel Ltd Printing devices
WO1989002825A1 (fr) * 1987-10-02 1989-04-06 Siemens Aktiengesellschaft Procede d'impression thermique de supports
JPH01141058A (ja) * 1987-11-27 1989-06-02 Canon Inc インクジェット記録装置

Non-Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 11, no. 234 (M-611)30. Juli 1987 & JP-A-62 046 659 ( TOSHIBA CORP. ) 28. Februar 1987 *
PATENT ABSTRACTS OF JAPAN vol. 13, no. 398 (M-866)5. September 1989 & JP-A-01 141 058 ( CANON INC. ) 2. Juni 1989 *

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
WO1996032271A1 (fr) * 1995-04-12 1996-10-17 Eastman Kodak Company Compensation de la puissance de chauffage en fonction de la charge d'impression dans des systemes d'impression thermique
WO1996032272A1 (fr) * 1995-04-12 1996-10-17 Eastman Kodak Company Appareil de mise en page d'images et d'ajustement de la tolerance d'erreur pour des systemes d'impression
US5796418A (en) * 1995-04-12 1998-08-18 Eastman Kodak Company Page image and fault tolerance control apparatus for printing systems
US5841449A (en) * 1995-04-12 1998-11-24 Eastman Kodak Company Heater power compensation for printing load in thermal printing systems

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
CA2095106A1 (fr) 1993-10-30
DE4337542C2 (de) 1997-03-06
DE4337542A1 (de) 1995-05-24
US5517229A (en) 1996-05-14
CA2095106C (fr) 1999-03-16

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