Printer device

• US 20070229644A1
• Filed: 03/13/2007
• Published: 10/04/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 03/31/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Original Assignee: Sony Corporation (Sony Group Corp.)
• Inventors: Koyama, Noboru, Hoshino, Tetsuya
• Granted Patent: US 7,466,329 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 347/194
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 11/0095 Detecting means for copy material, e.g. for detecting or sensing presence of copy material or its leading or trailing end
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/32 using thermal heads

Abstract

A printer device that prints an image to a printing paper using a thermal head formed with a plurality of heating resistors. The printer device includes: edge position detection means for performing edge position detection to an incoming printing paper using the thermal head based on a change of temperature increase observed in, as a result of energization, any of the heating resistors opposing the printing paper and the remaining heating resistors not opposing the printing paper; and control means for exercising control over an image printing operation using the thermal head based on a detection output derived by the edge position detection means.

Claims

1. A printer device that prints an image to a printing paper using a thermal head formed with a plurality of heating resistors, the device comprising:

edge position detection means for performing edge position detection to an incoming printing paper using the thermal head based on a change of temperature increase observed in, as a result of energization, any of the heating resistors opposing the printing paper and the remaining heating resistors not opposing the printing paper; and

control means for exercising control over an image printing operation using the thermal head based on a detection output derived by the edge position detection means.

2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein

based on a change of a resistance value caused by the temperature increase observed in the heating resistors of the thermal head, the edge position detection means performs the edge position detection to the printing paper using the thermal head.

3. The printer device according to claim 2, wherein

in an edge position detection mode, the edge position detection means detects the change of the resistance value observed in any of the heating resistors located at a center by energizing the heating resistors adjacent thereto at the same time.

4. The printer device according to claim 2, wherein

the edge position detection means measures an initial resistance value of each of the heating resistors by energizing the heating resistors without a setting of the printing paper, measures a resistance value of each of the heating resistors by energizing the heating resistors every time the printing paper comes, and detects the edge position of the printing paper using the thermal head from data of each of the resistance values derived by subtracting therefrom the resistance values measured without the setting of the printing paper.

5. The printer device according to claim 2, wherein

the edge position detection means includes a reference resistance that is collectively connected to the heating resistors of the thermal head, sequentially energizes the heating resistors via the reference resistance, and detects the change of the resistance value observed in each of the heating resistors as a descending voltage by the reference resistance.

6. The printer device according to claim 5, wherein

the edge position detection means includes switching means for collectively connecting the reference resistance to the heating resistors of the thermal head in an edge position detection mode, and in a printing mode, cutting off the reference resistance from each of the heating resistors.

7. A printer device that prints an image to a printing paper using a thermal head formed with a plurality of heating resistors, the device comprising:

an edge position detection section performing edge position detection to an incoming printing paper using the thermal head based on a change of temperature increase observed in, as a result of energization, any of the heating resistors opposing the printing paper and the remaining heating resistors not opposing the printing paper; and

a control section exercising control over an image printing operation using the thermal head based on a detection output derived by the edge position detection section.