Printing System

• US 20200130369A1
• Filed: 10/31/2019
• Published: 04/30/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 10/31/2018
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Original Assignee: Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Brother Industries Limited)
• Inventors: Fujita, Keisuke
• Granted Patent: US 11,052,673 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 17/04 Feed dependent on the record-paper feed, e.g. both moved at the same time
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 17/07 electromagnetically controlled
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 17/12 Special adaptations for ensuring maximum life
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/325 by selective transfer of ink from ink carrier, e.g. from ink ribbon or sheet
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 2/355 Control circuits for heating-element selection
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 33/16 with drive applied to spool or spool spindle
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 33/36 with means for adjusting feeding rate
• CPC Class Codes: B41J 33/54 for ensuring maximum life of the ribbon B41J33/38 takes precedence

Abstract

A printing system includes: a printing device including a thermal head, a supplier, a winder, and a ribbon transport mechanism; and a controller configured to: transport an ink ribbon in a first direction from the supplier to the winder and heat the ink ribbon to perform printing; rewind the ink ribbon subjected to the printing in a second direction opposite to the first direction; after again receiving a print command, rewind the ink ribbon in the second direction by a first length corresponding to a length required to reach a printable speed; after the rewindings, store a second length corresponding to a length of the ink ribbon subjected to the printing upstream of the thermal head in the first direction; and feed the ink ribbon in the first direction by the stored second length.

Claims

1. A printing system comprising:

a printing device comprising;

a thermal head;

a supplier configured to supply an ink ribbon to the thermal head;

a winder provided opposite to the supplier with respect to the thermal head and configured to wind the ink ribbon; and

a ribbon transport mechanism configured to transport the ink ribbon between the supplier and the winder;

an interface;

a storage; and

a controller configured to;

transport the ink ribbon in a first direction with the ribbon transport mechanism and heat the ink ribbon with the thermal head to perform printing, the first direction being a direction from the supplier to the winder;

perform a first rewinding comprising rewinding the ink ribbon subjected to the printing in a second direction with the ribbon transport mechanism, the second direction being opposite to the first direction;

after again receiving a print command via the interface, perform a second rewinding comprising rewinding the ink ribbon by a first length in the second direction with the ribbon transport mechanism, the first length corresponding to a length required to reach a printable speed;

after performing each of the first rewinding and the second rewinding, store, in the storage, a second length, the second length corresponding to a length of the ink ribbon subjected to the printing upstream of the thermal head in the first direction; and

feed the ink ribbon in the first direction by the stored second length with the ribbon transport mechanism.

2. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

in the feeding, feed the ink ribbon in the first direction and clear the stored second length from the storage.

3. The printing system according to claim 1,

wherein the controller is configured to store, in the storage, a setting of ON or OFF of a rewind function of rewinding the ink ribbon in the second direction with the ribbon transport mechanism, and

wherein the controller is configured to control the ribbon transport mechanism based on the setting of ON or OFF of the rewind function stored in the storage.

4. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

receive a setting of ON or OFF of a rewind function via the interface;

in a case the setting of ON of the rewind function is received, perform the printing, the first rewinding, the feeding, the second rewinding, and the storing; and

in a case the setting of OFF of the rewind function is received,

not perform the first rewinding,

perform the second rewinding and the storing only once based on receiving a command to start printing via the interface, and then

perform the printing.

5. The printing system according to claim 1, further comprising:

a stepping motor configured to drive the ribbon transport mechanism,

wherein the controller is configured to store, in the storage, the number of steps of the stepping motor as the second length, and

wherein the controller is configured to drive the stepping motor based on the number of steps stored in the storage to perform the feeding.

6. The printing system according to claim 1,

wherein the storage stores a menu list in which one or more setting contents for setting a predetermined operation of the printing device are associated with an identification code, and

wherein the controller is configured to, based on receiving the identification code via the interface, control one or more setting contents corresponding to the identification code.

7. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

in a case a print stop instruction is received via the interface, perform the feeding.

8. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the controller is configured to:

in a case an instruction to change setting contents affecting the first length is received via the interface, perform the feeding.

9. The printing system according to claim 1, wherein the printing system is the printing device comprising the interface and the controller.

10. A printing system comprising:

a printing device comprising;

a thermal head;

a supplier configured to supply an ink ribbon to the thermal head;

a winder provided opposite to the supplier with respect to the thermal head and configured to wind the ink ribbon; and

a ribbon transport mechanism configured to transport the ink ribbon between the supplier and the winder;

an interface;

a storage; and

a controller configured to;

transport the ink ribbon in a first direction with the ribbon transport mechanism and heat the ink ribbon with the thermal head to perform printing, the first direction being a direction from the supplier to the winder;

perform a first rewinding comprising rewinding the ink ribbon subjected to the printing in a second direction with the ribbon transport mechanism, the second direction being opposite to the first direction;

after performing the first rewinding, store, in the storage, a second length, the second length corresponding to a length of the ink ribbon subjected to the printing upstream of the thermal head in the first direction; and

after again receiving a print command via the interface, perform a difference transporting comprising;

in a case the stored second length is longer than a third length, feeding the ink ribbon in the first direction by a difference length between the second length and the third length with the ribbon transport mechanism, the third length corresponding to a length of the ink ribbon required to reach a printable speed; and

in a case the stored second length is equal to or less than the third length, rewinding the ink ribbon in the second direction by the difference length with the ribbon transport mechanism.