Thermal printer, control method, and computer program

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2017028741-A1
Application number	US-201514925877-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 28, 2015
Priority date	Jul 31, 2015
Publication date	Feb 2, 2017
Grant date	—

Abstract

A thermal printer includes: a plurality of heat elements that are to be heated by applying an electrical power; a printing controller that applies a first electrical power to heat elements not to be used for printing, the first electrical power depending on the number of heat elements not to be used for printing among the plurality of heat elements; and a thermal head that prints using the plurality of heat elements.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A thermal printer comprising:
a plurality of heat elements that are to be heated by applying an electrical power; a printing controller that applies a first electrical power to heat elements not to be used for printing, the first electrical power depending on the number of heat elements not to be used for printing among the plurality of heat elements; and a thermal head that prints using the plurality of heat elements.

2 . The thermal printer according to claim 1 , wherein the printing controller applies a second electrical power that is higher than the first electrical power to heat elements to be used for printing among the plurality of heat elements.

3 . The thermal printer according to claim 2 , wherein the printing controller determines the first electrical power, based on the difference between the total electrical power indicating a total of electrical power applied to the plurality of heat elements and a second total electrical power indicating a total of the second electrical power, and based on the number of heat elements not to be used for printing.

4 . The thermal printer according to claim 3 , wherein the printing controller determines the first electrical power by apportioning by the number of heat elements not to be used for printing.

5 . The thermal printer according to claim 3 , wherein the total electrical power is fixed and independent from the number of the heat elements not to be used for printing.

6 . The thermal printer according to claim 3 , wherein the total electrical power is the same as the second total electrical power in a case that the number of the heat elements to be used for the printing is largest.

7 . The thermal printer according to claim 1 , wherein the printing controller, in a period during which printing is not done, applies a third electrical power to each of a part or all of the plurality of heat elements.

8 . The thermal printer according to claim 1 , further comprising:
at least one of: a first sensor that measures a head temperature of the thermal head; a second sensor that measures a surrounding temperature; and a setter that sets a temperature value of the surrounding temperature, wherein the printing controller applies to each of the heat elements an electrical power that is corrected by the measured or set temperature during printing or in a time period that printing is not done and the transport of the medium is stopped.

9 . A controlling method comprising:
applying a first electrical power to heat elements not to be used for printing, the first electrical power depending on the number of the heat elements not to be used for printing among a plurality of heat elements that are to be heated by applying an electrical power; and printing using the plurality of heat elements.

10 . A non-transitory computer readable medium that stores a computer program to be executed by a computer to cause the computer to perform:
determining a first electrical power that is to be applied to heat elements which are not to be used for printing, depending on the number of the heat elements that are not to be used for printing among a plurality of heat elements that are to be heated by applying an electrical power.

Assignees

• Toshiba Kk
• Toshiba Tec Kk

Inventors

• Tatsuta Shinichi
• Tanaka Junya
• Ishikawa Misato
• Hattori Shunsuke
• Omori Takahiro
• Kugimiya Tetsuya
• Sugimoto Kazuaki

Classifications

• B41J2/355 Primary

  Control circuits for heating-element selection · CPC title

• B41J2/38 Primary

  Preheating, i.e. heating to a temperature insufficient to cause printing · CPC title

• B41J2/365

  by compensation for variation in temperature · CPC title

• B41J2/3555

  Historical control · CPC title

• B41J2/3556

  Preheating pulses · CPC title