Printer, printing method, and non-transitory computer-readable storage medium storing printing program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12122170-B2
Application number	US-202318332687-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jun 9, 2023
Priority date	Jun 10, 2022
Publication date	Oct 22, 2024
Grant date	Oct 22, 2024

Abstract

A printer performs printing on a thermosensitive medium including a plurality of color developing layers including a first layer developing a first color and a second layer developing a second color. The printer includes a head and a control device performing a printing control including outputting a signal pattern based on post-conversion image data converted from pre-conversion image data to cause a plurality of heat generation elements of the head to selectively generate heat while controlling conveyance of the thermosensitive medium. In the converting, when target dots containing the second color is included in the plurality of dots in the pre-conversion image data, the control device converts a color of conversion dots to a conversion color containing the color developed by any one of the plurality of color developing layers.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A printer configured to perform printing on a thermosensitive medium, the thermosensitive medium comprising a base material and a plurality of color developing layers that are layers stacked on the base material in a stacking direction and that develop colors in accordance with energy applied,
the plurality of color developing layers comprising:
a first layer disposed at a position farthest from the base material among the plurality of color developing layers in the stacking direction and configured to develop a first color based on a first energy being applied to the thermosensitive medium; and
a second layer disposed between the base material and the first layer in the stacking direction and configured to develop a second color based on a second energy being applied to the thermosensitive medium, the second color being different from the first color, the second energy being different from the first energy,

the printer comprising:
a conveyance device configured to convey the thermosensitive medium in a conveyance direction;
a thermal head having a plurality of heat generation elements aligned in an arrangement direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and configured to perform printing on the thermosensitive medium conveyed by the conveyance device by heat generation of the plurality of heat generation elements from the first layer side in the stacking direction; and

a control device configured to:
receive pre-conversion image data;
convert the received pre-conversion image data to post-conversion image data; and
perform a printing control comprising outputting, to each of the plurality of heat generation elements, a signal pattern for applying energy to the thermosensitive medium based on the converted post-conversion image data to cause the plurality of heat generation elements to selectively generate heat while controlling conveyance of the thermosensitive medium by the conveyance device,

wherein the pre-conversion image data and the post-conversion image data respectively indicate a plurality of dots and colors corresponding to the plurality of dots, the plurality of dots being aligned in a sub-scanning direction corresponding to the conveyance direction and a main-scanning direction corresponding to the arrangement direction, respectively, and
wherein in the converting, in a case target dots that are dots of a color containing the second color is included in the plurality of dots in the pre-conversion image data, the control device is configured to convert a color of conversion dots to a conversion color containing a color developed by any one of the plurality of color developing layers, the conversion dots being at least one of dots among a pair of first dots adjacent to the target dots in the sub-scanning direction, a pair of second dots adjacent to the target dots in the main-scanning direction, and four third dots adjacent to each of the pair of second dots in the sub-scanning direction.

2. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein in the converting, the control device is configured to convert the color of the conversion dots comprising at least one dot of upstream dots printed on the thermosensitive medium by the thermal head before the target dots in the pair of first dots, the pair of second dots, and the pair of third dots printed on the thermosensitive medium by the thermal head before the target dots in the four third dots to the conversion color.

3. The printer according to claim 2 , wherein in the converting, the control device is configured to convert the color of the conversion dots comprising the upstream dots to the conversion color.

4. The printer according to claim 2 ,
wherein the plurality of color developing layers further comprises a third layer disposed between the base material and the second layer in the stacking direction and configured to develop a third color by being applied with third energy, the third color being different from the first color and the second color, the third energy being larger than the second energy, and
wherein in the converting, the control device is configured to convert the color of the conversion dots to a color containing the third color as the conversion color.

5. The printer according to claim 2 , further comprising:
a prohibitor prohibiting the color of the conversion dots from being converted to the conversion color by the control device in the converting in a case the color of the upstream dots is the same as the color of the target dots.

6. The printer according to claim 2 , wherein in the converting, the control device is configured to convert the color of the upstream dots to the conversion color in a case the color of the upstream dots is a color that does not contain any of the colors developed by the plurality of color developing layers.

7. The printer according to claim 2 ,
wherein the second energy is larger than the first energy,
wherein a first timing is later than a second timing, the first timing being a timing at which heat generation of the heat generation element stops in a case the heat generation element receives a first signal pattern in the performing of the printing control, the second timing being a timing at which heat generation of the heat generation element stops in a case the heat generation element receives a second signal pattern in the performing of the printing control, the first signal pattern being the signal pattern for applying the first energy and the second energy to the thermosensitive medium, the second signal pattern being the signal pattern for applying the first energy to the thermosensitive medium in the performing of the printing control, and
wherein in the converting, in a case the color of the upstream dots is the first color, the control device is configured to convert the color of the upstream dots to a color containing the first color and the second color as the conversion colors.

8. The printer according to claim 1 , wherein in the converting, the control device is configured to convert the color of the conversion dots to the color of the target dots as the conversion color.

9. A printing method by a printer, the printer being configured to perform printing on a thermosensitive medium, the thermosensitive medium comprising a base material and a plurality of color developing layers that are layers stacked on the base material in a stacking direction and that develop colors in accordance with energy applied,
the plurality of color developing layers comprising:
a first layer disposed at a position farthest from the base material among the plurality of color developing layers in the stacking direction and configured to develop a first color based on a first energy being applied to the thermosensitive medium; and
a second layer disposed between the base material and the first layer in the stacking direction and configured to develop a second color based on a second energy being applied to the thermosensitive medium, the second color being different from the first color, the second energy being different from the first energy,

the printer comprising:
a conveyance device configured to convey the thermosensitive medium in a conveyance direction; and
a thermal head having a plurality of heat generation elements aligned in an arrangement direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction and configured to perform printing on the thermosensitive medium conveyed by the conveyance device by heat generation of the plurality of heat generation elements from the first layer side in the stacking direction,

the printing method comprising:
obtaining pre-conversion image data;
converting the pre-conversion image data obtained in the obtainment process to post-conversion image data; an

Assignees

• Brother Ind Ltd

Inventors

• Minami Akira
• Nishihara Keisuke

Classifications

• B41J35/16 Primary

  Multicolour arrangements · CPC title

• B41J2/36

  Print density control · CPC title

• B41J2/32

  using thermal heads · CPC title

• B41J2/355 Primary

  Control circuits for heating-element selection · CPC title