Thermo-sensitive recording apparatus
First Claim
1. A thermo-sensitive recording apparatus in which thermal recording is made on successive lines of a medium under the control of selective energization of a plurality of heater elements formed in a substrate and constituting a thermal head, the apparatus comprising:
- heat storage correction data forming means for generating latent heat correction data corresponding to the quantity of latent heat energy stored in each of the heater elements;
a thermal history correction data forming means for generating thermal history correction data for each of the heater elements in accordance with the state of the elements during printing of a selected number of preceding print lines;
a heater element resistance value correction data forming means for generating resistance data for each of the heater elements corresponding to the actual resistance of the heater elements;
a black percentage correction data forming means for forming solid image correction data for energy to be applied to the thermal head in accordance with the number of heater elements to be energized during printing of a print;
substrate temperature correction data forming means for forming substrate correction data corresponding to the temperature of the substrate; and
applied energy control means for individually controlling energization of the heater elements in accordance with said latent heat correction data, said thermal history correction data, said resistance data, said solid image correction data, and said substrate correction data.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A thermo-sensitive recording apparatus individually controls the energization level of each of a plurality of heater elements formed on a substrate and constituting a thermal print head. In generating each energization level, the present and previous status of an individual heater element and selected neighboring elements are taken into consideration. Other factors combined in a selectively weighted manner include the latent heat of the individual heater element and its neighboring heater elements, the resistance of the heater element, the percentage of heater elements to be activated during the printing of a line, and the temperature of the substrate.
-
Citations
10 Claims
-
1. A thermo-sensitive recording apparatus in which thermal recording is made on successive lines of a medium under the control of selective energization of a plurality of heater elements formed in a substrate and constituting a thermal head, the apparatus comprising:
-
heat storage correction data forming means for generating latent heat correction data corresponding to the quantity of latent heat energy stored in each of the heater elements; a thermal history correction data forming means for generating thermal history correction data for each of the heater elements in accordance with the state of the elements during printing of a selected number of preceding print lines; a heater element resistance value correction data forming means for generating resistance data for each of the heater elements corresponding to the actual resistance of the heater elements; a black percentage correction data forming means for forming solid image correction data for energy to be applied to the thermal head in accordance with the number of heater elements to be energized during printing of a print; substrate temperature correction data forming means for forming substrate correction data corresponding to the temperature of the substrate; and applied energy control means for individually controlling energization of the heater elements in accordance with said latent heat correction data, said thermal history correction data, said resistance data, said solid image correction data, and said substrate correction data. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
-
-
8. A thermo-sensitive recording apparatus for thermally recording selected images on successive lines of a medium by the selective energization of a plurality of heater elements formed in a substrate and constituting a thermal head, the apparatus comprising:
-
means for generating data concerning the temperature of the substrate, the latent heat energy of each of the heater elements, the history of energization of the individual heater elements and selected heater elements proximate thereto, and the resistance of each heater element; means for combining said data to generate a pulse duration signal singly corresponding to each of the heater elements; and means for gating said pulse duration signals to said corresponding heater elements in accordance with printing signals selectively indicating which of the heater elements are to be energized during the printing of a line of images on the medium. - View Dependent Claims (9, 10)
-
Specification