Information
-
Patent Grant
-
6382852
-
Patent Number
6,382,852
-
Date Filed
Tuesday, August 25, 199825 years ago
-
Date Issued
Tuesday, May 7, 200222 years ago
-
Inventors
-
Original Assignees
-
Examiners
- Burr; Edgar
- Nolan, Jr.; Charles H.
Agents
-
CPC
-
US Classifications
Field of Search
US
- 400 12002
- 400 12001
- 400 76
- 400 83
- 400 61
-
International Classifications
-
Abstract
An information recording apparatus and an information recording method are provided for recording additional information on a heat-sensitive recording medium with a simple configuration without seriously affecting a main recorded image. A CPU includes a memory for storing the additional information. The CPU further includes a memory for storing information about thermal energy and glossiness of the heat-sensitive medium. Based on the information about gloss characteristics, the CPU controls a thermal head through a head controller so that a specific amount of thermal energy is applied to an image recording surface of the medium after image recording. The thermal energy applied effects variations of glossiness corresponding to the additional information to record. Through the application of the thermal energy, glossiness of the medium varies and the additional information is thereby recorded on the medium.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information recording apparatus and an information recording method of recording additional information different from a recorded image on a heat-sensitive recording medium that develops at least one color in response to an application of thermal energy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various methods have been developed for recording information such as texts and images, including electrophotography, ink-jet printing and thermal printing. The thermal printing utilizes a heat-sensitive recording medium made of a base material such as paper or synthetic paper to which a coupler or a developer is applied. Thermal energy is applied to the medium by means of a thermal head and the like so that the medium develops a color. An image is thereby recorded on the medium. The thermal printing has advantages in that no development is required as for photography, the density of a color is high and a high-contrast image is obtained and so on. The further advantage is that thermal printing is implemented with a recording apparatus of simple configuration at a low cost. The thermal printing has been therefore widely used in the fields of black-and-white facsimiles, printers and so on.
Although heat-sensitive recording media for black-and-white image printing have been mainly used for the thermal printing, media has been further developed for multicolor image printing including full-color printing. Such a heat-sensitive recording medium for multicolor printing includes a plurality of layers that develop colors different from each other. For example, the medium is made up of a base material to a side of which three color developing layers are stacked. The layers each develop a cyan, a magenta and a yellow. The layers develop colors in response to thermal energy belonging to the different energy ranges. The upper layer responds to higher thermal energy for developing a color, that is, the thermal energy for developing a color increases in the order of the yellow layer, the magenta layer and the cyan layer, for example. The density of developed color increases with an increase in thermal energy within the range of energy for developing each color.
Through the use of a heat-sensitive recording medium for multicolor printing as described above, a long-life multicolor image is obtained, having excellent hues and color separation that are difficult to obtain with prior-art techniques. Another excellent effect is that an image obtained may be turned to a transmission image or a reflection image.
Furthermore, some additional information such as a date may be recorded in a region where an image is recorded on the medium described above. In general, such additional information is superimposed on the recorded image in a method similar to the image recording method. In this case, the additional information is directly recorded on the heat-sensitive medium. As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-52428 (1995), for example, some thermal transfer image recording apparatuses utilize a lamination method for recording additional information.
In the related-art method of directly recording additional information by superimposing the information on the recorded image, however, the recorded image to be the main subject is seriously affected such as a loss of part of the image where additional information is applied. To avoid such a loss, a space may be provided for recording additional information. However, the image recording area is reduced by the space.
As disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 7-52428, the lamination method is used in the thermal transfer image recording apparatus for recording additional information without seriously affecting the main recorded image. In the lamination method, a transparent film is applied to an image recording surface and the film bears variations in glossiness corresponding to the additional information. In this case, however, a lamination mechanism capable of controlling glossiness is required. The apparatus is thereby complicated and the cost is raised.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the invention to provide an information recording apparatus and an information recording method of recording additional information on a heat-sensitive recording medium with a simple configuration without seriously affecting a main recorded image.
An information recording apparatus of the invention comprises: an application means for applying thermal energy and pressure to an information recording surface of a heat-sensitive recording medium on which principal information is recorded; and a control means for controlling the thermal energy applied by the application means. The control means controls the thermal energy applied by the application means based on gloss characteristics of the medium so that the additional information is recorded on the information recording surface on which the principal information is recorded through the use of variations of glossiness of the medium.
An information recording method of the invention comprises the steps of: determining thermal energy corresponding to additional information based on gloss characteristics of a heat-sensitive recording medium; and recording the additional information on the information recording surface by varying glossiness of the medium through an application of the determined thermal energy to an information recording surface of the medium.
According to the information recording apparatus of the invention, the application means applies thermal energy and pressure to the information recording surface of the heat-sensitive recording medium on which principal information is recorded. The control means controls the thermal energy applied by the application means based on gloss characteristics of the medium so that the additional information is recorded on the information recording surface on which the principal information is recorded through the use of variations of glossiness of the medium.
According to the information recording method of the invention, the thermal energy corresponding to the additional information is determined based on gloss characteristics of the medium. Glossiness of the medium is varied by applying the determined thermal energy to the information recording surface. The additional information is thereby recorded on the information recording surface.
Other and further objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear more fully from the following description.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1
is a schematic cross section for illustrating an image recording apparatus of a first embodiment of the invention in an initial status.
FIG. 2
is a schematic cross section for illustrating the image recording apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention in a status in the step of supplying a heat-sensitive medium.
FIG. 3
is a schematic cross section for illustrating the image recording apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention in a status in the step of recording an image on the medium.
FIG. 4
is a schematic cross section for illustrating the image recording apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention in a status in the step of discharging the medium.
FIG. 5
is a block diagram of a control system of the image recording apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 6
is a schematic cross section for illustrating the heat-sensitive recording medium used in the image recording apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 7
is a plot for showing coloring characteristics of the heat-sensitive medium shown in FIG.
6
.
FIG. 8
is a plot for showing gloss characteristics of the heat-sensitive medium shown in FIG.
6
.
FIG. 9
illustrates an example of additional information recorded on the heat-sensitive medium.
FIG. 10
illustrates another example of additional information recorded on the heat-sensitive medium.
FIG. 11
illustrates still another example of additional information recorded on the heat-sensitive medium.
FIG. 12
illustrates still another example of additional information recorded on the heat-sensitive medium.
FIG. 13
is a flowchart of an operation of the image recording apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 14
is a flowchart of an operation of the image recording apparatus of the first embodiment of the invention.
FIG. 15
is a block diagram of a control system of an image recording apparatus of a second embodiment of the invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
Preferred embodiments of the invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
[First Embodiment]
Reference is made to
FIG. 6
for describing a heat-sensitive recording medium
10
used in an image recording apparatus of a first embodiment of the invention.
The heat-sensitive recording medium
10
shown in
FIG. 6
is a multicolor recording medium provided for full-color printing. The medium
10
may comprise a base material
11
made of polyethylene-laminated bond paper or wood free paper. On a side of the base material
11
, a cyan layer
12
, a magenta layer
13
and a yellow layer
14
are stacked, each developing a color of cyan magenta and yellow, respectively. A heat-resistant protection layer
15
is further stacked on the top layer. Of the layers of the medium
10
, the cyan layer
12
, the magenta layer
13
, the yellow layer
14
and the protection layer
15
are all transparent. The base material
11
may be made of substantially transparent medium, too.
The magenta layer
13
and the yellow layer
14
are heat-sensitive color developing layers of photo-fixation type. The cyan layer
12
is a dye-type color developing layer. The magenta layer
13
and the yellow layer
14
may include microcapsulated diazonium salt compound and a coupler consisting of phenol compound and so on. On an application of thermal energy, permeability of microcapsulated diazonium salt compound increases and the diazonium salt compound reacts to the coupler to form an azo pigment. The magenta layer
13
and the yellow layer
14
thus develop colors. Diazonium salt compound absorbs light such as ultraviolet rays and is decomposed and loses reactivity to the coupler. The developed color is therefore fixed by radiation of light such as ultraviolet rays. For example, the color developed in the magenta layer
13
is fixed by radiation of light whose wavelength is 365 nm. The color developed in the yellow layer
14
is fixed by radiation of light whose wavelength is 420 nm. The color and density thereof will not change with a further application of thermal energy.
The heat-sensitive recording medium
10
develops different colors in response to applied thermal energy. That is, the ranges of thermal energy required for developing a color in the layers
12
to
14
of the medium
10
are different from each other. In addition, the layers
12
to
14
each develop a color of different density depending on thermal energy.
FIG. 7
is a plot for showing an example of color developing characteristics of the medium
10
. Graphs indicated with reference numerals
70
Y,
70
M and
70
C each represent a color developing characteristic of the yellow layer
14
, the magenta layer
13
and the cyan layer
12
, respectively. As shown, the ranges of thermal energy required for developing a color in the layers
12
to
14
are different from each other. Thermal energy required for developing a color increases in the order of the yellow layer
14
, the magenta layer
13
and the cyan layer
12
. Within the thermal energy ranges for developing a color in the layers
12
to
14
, higher thermal energy effects a higher density of developed color.
In order to record an image on the medium with the properties described above in practice, colors are developed in the order started from the one that requires the lowest thermal energy, that is, in the order of the yellow layer
14
, the magenta layer
13
and the cyan layer
12
. It is noted that after the yellow layer
14
develops a color, light of a specific wavelength is applied so as to fix the color of yellow before applying thermal energy for the magenta layer
13
. As a result, re-development of yellow with an application of thermal energy for the magenta layer
13
and the cyan layer
12
is prevented. Similarly, after the magenta layer
13
develops a color, light of a specific wavelength is applied so as to fix the color of magenta before applying thermal energy for the cyan layer
12
. As a result, re-development of magenta with an application of thermal energy for the cyan layer
12
is prevented. In general, fixation of cyan is not performed since thermal energy is no more applied for developing another color. As thus described, when an image is recorded on the medium
10
, glossiness varies from place to place on the image recording surface since thermal energy applied to the surface varies depending on the image. Such a characteristic may be effectively utilized for varying glossiness over the image recording surface more easily than the lamination method previously described.
An image recording apparatus
1
of the first embodiment of the invention for recording an image on the medium
10
with the structure described above will now be described. An information recording apparatus and a method of the invention that are implemented with the apparatus
1
will be described as well.
FIG. 1
to
FIG. 4
are cross sections for describing internal mechanical components of the apparatus
1
of the embodiment.
FIG. 1
shows an initial status preceding the step of supplying the medium
10
to an image recording section.
FIG. 2
shows a status in the step of supplying the medium
10
to an image recording section.
FIG. 3
shows a status in the step of recording an image on the medium
10
supplied to the image recording section.
FIG. 4
shows a status in the step of discharging the medium
10
with the recorded image out of the image recording section.
As shown, the image recording apparatus
1
of the embodiment comprises: a paper cassette
20
placed in the lower right section inside the apparatus
1
for holding the medium
10
before image recording; a drum-shaped platen roller
30
, placed in the image recording section in the center of the apparatus
1
, around which the medium
10
supplied from the paper cassette
20
is wound; a thermal head
40
, placed above the platen roller
30
, for applying pressure and thermal energy to the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
; a cam
50
placed in the upper left section in the apparatus
1
for bringing the thermal head
40
close to and away from the platen roller
30
in response to image recording operations; and a discharge slot
60
, placed above the paper cassette
20
, through which the medium
10
after image recording is discharged. The thermal head
40
includes a plurality of heating elements arranged in a row or a plurality of rows corresponding to pixels. The thermal head
40
corresponds to an application means for applying thermal energy and pressure of the invention.
Inside the apparatus
1
, a paper feed arm
21
is provided at the bottom of the paper cassette
20
, for lifting the medium
10
in the paper cassette
20
upward. Inside the apparatus
1
, supply rollers
22
and
23
are placed in the path between the paper cassette
20
and the platen roller
30
. The supply rollers
22
and
23
supply the medium
10
(
FIG. 2
) lifted upward by the arm
21
from the paper cassette
20
towards the platen roller
30
. A transport roller
24
is placed above the supply roller
23
, being brought to contact with the supply roller
23
in response to transport operations. Furthermore, a first sensor
25
and a supply guide
26
are provided in the path between the supply roller
23
and the platen roller
30
. The first sensor
25
detects the medium
10
being transported. The guide
26
guides the medium
10
detected by the first sensor
25
towards the platen roller
30
.
The platen roller
30
may be made up of a metal cylinder around which an elastic body is wound. A chuck
31
is provided on the surface of the platen roller
30
, for holding the medium
10
supplied form the paper cassette
20
and guided by the guide
26
to the platen roller
30
. A second sensor
32
is provided below the circumference of the platen roller
30
. The second sensor
32
detects and determines whether the medium
10
is wound around the platen roller
30
. In the upper right section near the circumference of the platen roller
30
, a light source apparatus
33
is provided for emitting light for fixation onto the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
. The light source apparatus
33
includes a light source
33
Y for emitting light (whose wavelength is 420 nm, for example) onto the medium
10
for fixing a color of yellow and a light source
33
M, placed next to the light source
33
Y, for emitting light (whose wavelength is 365 nm, for example) onto the medium
10
for fixing a color of magenta.
Inside the apparatus
1
, the thermal head
40
is fixed to the right end of a first arm
41
in the shape of delta plate. The left end of the first arm
41
is coupled to the right end of a second arm
43
in the shape of delta plate by means of a spring
42
. The lower ends of the first arm
41
and the second arm
43
are supported by a support axis
44
. The first arm
41
and the second arm
43
are pivotable around the support axis
44
. The left end of the second arm
43
is coupled to the cam
50
.
Inside the apparatus
1
, the cam
50
includes a rotating plate
51
having a specific curved groove
51
a to be a cam driver and a roller
50
coupled to the left end of the second arm
43
to be a cam follower that pairs up with the curved groove
51
a
of the rotating plate
51
. In the state before image recording (FIG.
1
and FIG.
2
), the cam
50
has the second arm
43
coupled to the roller
52
rotate clockwise by means of the rotating plate
51
rotating counterclockwise. At the same time, the cam
50
has the first arm
41
coupled to the second arm
43
with the spring
42
rotate clockwise. The thermal head
40
fixed to the first arm
41
is thereby brought to contact with the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
(FIG.
3
). Application of thermal energy and pressure by the thermal head
40
to the medium
10
is thus allowed. In the state during image recording (FIG.
3
), the cam
50
has the second arm
43
rotate counterclockwise by means of the rotating plate
51
rotating clockwise. At the same time, the cam
50
has the first arm
41
rotate counterclockwise. The thermal head
40
fixed to the first arm
41
is thereby brought away from the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
(FIG.
4
). Application of thermal energy and pressure by the thermal head
40
to the medium
10
is thus stopped.
Inside the apparatus
50
, discharge rollers
61
and
62
are provided in the transport path between the discharge slot
60
and the platen roller
30
. The discharge rollers
61
and
62
introduce the medium
10
after image recording to the discharge slot
60
. In the transport path between the discharge rollers
61
and
62
and the discharge slot
60
, a discharge guide
63
is provided for guiding the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
to the discharge slot
60
. The discharge roller
62
is made up of two rollers one of which pairs up with the discharge roller
61
and the other of which pairs up with the transport roller
24
so that the medium
10
is discharged out of the discharge slot
60
.
Referring to a block diagram of
FIG. 5
, the control system of the image recording apparatus
1
of the embodiment will now be described.
As shown, the control system of the apparatus
1
of the embodiment comprises: an interface
71
to which various items of image data are inputted from external video equipment and data terminal equipment; a memory
72
where image data inputted to the interface
71
is temporarily stored; an image processing section
73
for performing color adjustment, masking, γ processing and the like on the image data stored in the memory
72
; a head controller
74
for performing thermal control on the thermal head
40
based on the image data processed at the image processing section
73
; a light source controller
75
for controlling the light source apparatus
33
(the light sources
33
Y and
33
M) that emits light for fixation onto the medium
10
; a central processing unit (CPU)
76
for controlling the control blocks in the apparatus
1
; and an input section
77
, connected to the CPU
76
, for inputting additional information utilizing glossiness to the medium
10
after image recording.
The interface
71
may conform to the SCSI standard. SCSI-compliant data terminal equipment such as a personal computer may be connected to the interface
71
. Alternatively, the interface
71
may conform to any other standard such as the RS-232C, Centronics and R. G. B.
The input section
77
may be a key entry device. The user may enter additional information to record as desired from outside the apparatus
1
through key entry.
The CPU
76
includes a memory for storing information (
FIG. 7
) about thermal energy and color density on the medium
10
. During image recording, the CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
through the head controller
74
so that thermal energy corresponding to the inputted image data is applied to the medium
10
.
The CPU
76
includes a memory for storing additional information. The memory may temporarily hold additional information inputted from the input section
77
until the information is recorded on the medium
10
. Alternatively, predetermined patterns of additional information may be stored in the memory in advance. In the former case, all the additional information to record is inputted through the input section
77
. In the latter case, information inputted through the input section
77
includes information for determining which pattern of additional information is used. The CPU
76
further includes information about thermal energy and glossiness of the medium
10
(FIG.
8
). Based on the information about the gloss characteristics, the CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
through the head controller
74
so that the specific amount of thermal energy is applied to the image recording surface of the medium
10
after image recording. The specific amount of thermal energy effects two-dimensional variations of glossiness corresponding to the additional information to record on the medium
10
. The head controller
74
and the CPU
76
correspond to a control means of the invention. The thermal head
40
, the head controller
74
and the CPU
76
correspond to the information recording apparatus of the embodiment.
FIG. 8
is a plot for indicating the gloss characteristics (the relationship between applied thermal energy and glossiness) of the medium
10
. The thermal energy scale corresponds to that of the plot of color developing characteristics of FIG.
7
. As indicated with numeral
80
, the glossiness of the medium
10
first improves with an increase in applied thermal energy. The glossiness reaches the maximum value when applied thermal energy is near the value that allows the yellow layer
14
to start developing a color. The glossiness then decreases with an increase in applied thermal energy.
The gloss characteristics of the medium
10
have the specific relationship as thus described. Glossiness is therefore controllable as desired by varying thermal energy to apply. Based on the gloss characteristics of the medium, the CPU
76
determines the amount of thermal energy that effects two-dimensional variations of glossiness corresponding to additional information to record. The range of thermal energy effective for practical recording of additional information may be determined such that a one-to-one correspondence is established between thermal energy and glossiness. That is, the minimum energy value of the range may be the one that allows the yellow layer
14
starts to develop a color. The maximum energy value of the range may be the one that allows development of cyan (the range indicated with ‘E’ in FIG.
8
). The maximum energy value is determined so as to prevent unwanted development of unfixed cyan with an application of thermal energy higher than the value that allows development of cyan.
The gloss characteristics of the medium
10
shown in
FIG. 8
are determined through measurement in a specific method in advance. For example, thermal energy in the measurement range is applied to the medium
10
step by step. (The range may be between zero and the value that allows development of cyan to the maximum density.) Glossiness on the surface of the medium
10
thereby obtained is measured with a specific gloss meter. Thermal energy applied for measurement is determined, depending on the resolution of the gloss meter. The specific gloss meter may be an instrument for measuring specular glossiness that is generally used for measuring gloss characteristics of paper (such as photographic paper). For measurement by the instrument for measuring specular glossiness, a luminous flux with a specific incidence angle and a specific aperture angle is introduced onto a sample surface. A luminous flux of a specific aperture angle reflecting in the direction of regular reflection is measured by an appropriate photoreceptor. When thermal energy is applied to the medium
10
for practically recording additional information through the use of glossiness, the gloss characteristics of the medium
10
may change depending on the status of image recording on the medium
10
(the status of thermal energy already applied ). Therefore, it is preferable to adjust the gloss characteristics of the medium
10
obtained through the method described above, considering the status of image recording on the medium
10
.
Specific examples of additional information will now be described.
FIG. 9
to
FIG. 12
illustrate the examples of additional information to record on the medium
10
through the use of glossiness.
FIG. 9
shows the example wherein date information
91
as additional information is recorded in part of an image recording region
10
a
of the medium
10
. As illustrated in this example, textual information such as a date and time may be recorded as additional information through the use of glossiness in the embodiment.
FIG. 10
shows the example wherein image information
101
indicating a logo or a trademark is recorded as additional information in part of the image recording region
10
a
of the medium
10
. As illustrated in this example, image information such as a logo and a trademark may be recorded as additional information through the use of glossiness in the embodiment. For recording a logo, a trademark and the like, glossiness may be adjusted so as to achieve a watermark-like image.
FIG. 11
shows the example wherein a matte finish which is often used in silver halide photography is performed on all the image recording region
10
a
of the medium
10
, utilizing glossiness. As illustrated in this example, the additional information of the embodiment includes a surface finish such as a matte finish added to all the region of the image recording surface besides textual information added to part of the recording surface.
FIG. 12
shows the example wherein a gloss finish that provides high glossiness is performed on a region
10
b
, part of the region
10
a
of the medium
10
, where a human figure image is recorded. A matte finish is given to the rest of the region
10
a
. For recording information such as a surface finish as the additional information of the embodiment, a surface finish may be partly changed as illustrated in this example.
In addition to the foregoing examples, the additional information of the embodiment includes barcode information. The additional information further includes a mixture of the forgoing examples. For example, a matte finish as shown in
FIG. 11
may be performed as well as textual information such as a date as shown in
FIG. 9
may be recorded. Furthermore, image quality may be improved by having glossiness of the medium
10
consistent in a region where no additional information is recorded. In addition, the CPU
76
may control the thermal head
40
to apply thermal energy near the value that allows the yellow layer
14
to start developing a color to the medium
10
. As a result, glossiness is unified in a region where no additional information is recorded so as to improve the glossiness to the maximum level. In this case, thermal energy applied for improving glossiness is of a low value that allows the yellow layer
14
to start developing a color. Therefore, thermal energy more than the required amount will not be consumed and process time required for unification and improvement of glossiness is reduced. The CPU
76
thus controls thermal energy to apply so that the desired glossiness falls within the specific range including the highest glossiness with regard to the gloss characteristics of the medium
10
.
With reference to
FIG. 1
to
FIG. 5
, the operation of the image recording apparatus
1
of the embodiment will now be described according to the flowcharts shown in FIG.
13
and FIG.
14
. The following description applies to the information recording apparatus and method of the embodiment, too.
First, power is supplied to the image recording apparatus
1
from a power supply means not shown and the apparatus turns on. Image data as principal information is then inputted to the interface
71
from video equipment or data terminal equipment and so on (step S
101
). Additional information to record is inputted, that is, all the additional information or part of the information to record is inputted from the input section
77
to the CPU
76
(step S
102
). Processing that precedes actual image recording on the medium
10
is then performed. That is, in the control system of the apparatus
1
under the control of the CPU
76
, the memory
72
temporarily holds the inputted image data. The image processing section
73
performs color adjustment, masking, γ processing and the like on the image data stored in the memory
72
.
As a mechanical operation in the apparatus
1
, supply processing is performed for supplying the medium
10
held in the paper cassette
20
(
FIG. 1
) to the platen roller
30
in the image recording section (step S
103
). That is, as shown in
FIG. 2
, the paper feed arm
21
provided at the bottom of the paper cassette
20
lifts the medium
10
in the paper cassette
20
upward. The supply rollers
22
and
23
and the transport roller
24
introduce the medium
10
lifted by the arm
21
towards the platen roller
30
. During this procedure, the supply guide
26
guides the tip of the medium
10
to the chuck
31
provided on the surface of the platen roller
30
. The chuck
31
then holds the tip of the medium
10
. The medium
10
thus held by the chuck
31
is wound around the platen roller
30
through rotation of the platen roller
30
.
Having received the image data at the interface
71
, received the additional information from the input section
77
and performed the specific processing that precedes image recording as described above, actual image recording processing is performed on the medium
10
(step S
104
). That is, as a mechanical operation in the apparatus
1
, as shown in
FIG. 3
, the thermal head
40
fixed to the first arm
41
is brought to contact with the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
by the action of the cam
50
. The thermal head
40
then applies thermal energy corresponding to the image data to the medium
10
. The image is thereby recorded on the medium
10
.
FIG. 14
is a flowchart for describing the image recording processing performed in step S
104
in detail. As shown, the apparatus
1
performs processing for developing a color in part of the inputted image data corresponding to yellow (step S
201
). To be specific, the medium
10
held by the chuck
31
rotates to be wound around the platen roller
30
. At the first rotation of the medium
10
, the thermal head
40
applies thermal energy to the medium
10
for having the yellow layer
14
develop a color. In this processing, in the control system of the apparatus
1
shown in
FIG. 5
, the CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
through the head controller
74
so that thermal energy is applied to the medium
10
for developing a color in part of the image data corresponding to yellow. This control performed by the CPU
76
is based on information about thermal energy and color density of each color of the medium
10
stored in the internal memory.
At the first rotation of the platen roller
30
, the light source
33
Y emits light whose wavelength is 420 nm, for example, to the medium
10
immediately after the color of yellow is developed so that the color is fixed (step S
202
). In the control system of the apparatus
1
shown in
FIG. 5
, the CPU
76
controls the light source
33
Y through the light source controller
75
so that the light source
33
Y emits light for fixing the yellow with specific timing.
Next, the second rotation of the platen roller
30
is effected and the apparatus
1
performs processing for developing a color in part of the inputted image data corresponding to magenta (step S
203
). The processing is performed by the thermal head
40
applying thermal energy to the medium
10
for having the magenta layer
13
develop a color. In the processing, in the control system of the apparatus
1
shown in
FIG. 5
, the CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
through the head controller
74
so that thermal energy is applied to the medium
10
for developing a color in part of the image data corresponding to magenta. This control performed by the CPU
76
is based on information about thermal energy and color density of the medium
10
stored in the internal memory.
At the second rotation of the medium
10
, the light source
33
M emits light whose wavelength is 365 nm, for example, to the medium
10
immediately after the color of magenta is developed so that the color is fixed (step S
204
). In the control system of the apparatus
1
shown in
FIG. 5
, the CPU
76
controls the light source
33
M through the light source controller
75
so that the light source
33
M emits light for fixing the magenta with specific timing.
Having performed fixation of yellow and magenta as thus described, at the third rotation of the platen roller
30
, the apparatus
1
performs processing for developing a color in part of the inputted image data corresponding to cyan (step S
205
). The processing is performed by the thermal head
40
applying thermal energy to the medium
10
for having the cyan layer
12
develop a color. In the processing, in the control system of the apparatus
1
shown in
FIG. 5
, the CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
through the head controller
74
so that thermal energy is applied to the medium
10
for developing a color in part of the image data corresponding to cyan. This control performed by the CPU
76
is based on information about thermal energy and color density of the medium
10
stored in the internal memory.
Having completed the actual image recording processing by performing steps S
201
to S
205
, the apparatus
1
shifts to processing for recording additional information on the medium
10
through the use of glossiness (step S
105
) as shown in FIG.
13
. At the fourth rotation of the platen roller
30
after fixation of cyan is performed, the recording of additional information is performed by the thermal head
40
applying a specific pressure and thermal energy to the medium
10
. The thermal energy applied corresponds to the additional information inputted from the input section
77
. In the control system of the apparatus
1
shown in
FIG. 5
, the CPU
76
determines the two-dimensional thermal energy distribution corresponding to the additional information based on information about thermal energy and glossiness of the medium
10
stored in the internal memory. The CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
through the head controller
74
so that the determined thermal energy is applied to the image recording surface of the medium
10
on which the image has been recorded. The specific pressure applied by the thermal head
40
may be 10 kg per width if the medium
10
is an A4-size sheet of 210 mm in width. In this case, the local pressure is about 48 g/ mm.
Next, the apparatus
1
performs processing for discharging the medium
10
(step S
106
). As shown in
FIG. 4
, the thermal head
40
fixed to the first arm
41
is brought away from the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
by the action of the cam
50
. While the platen roller
30
is rotating, the chuck
31
releases the tip of the medium
10
immediately before the discharge guide
63
. The discharge guide
63
rotates and shifts towards the platen roller
30
so that the medium
10
wound around the platen roller
30
is introduced to the discharge slot
60
. The medium
10
is further transported by the discharge rollers
61
and
62
and the transport roller
24
to be discharged through the discharge slot
60
. The entire operation of the apparatus
1
is thus completed.
According to the image recording apparatus
1
of the embodiment described so far, thermal energy is applied to the image recording surface of the medium
10
on which the image has been recorded, thermal energy effecting two-dimensional gloss variations depending on the additional information. As a result, without lamination mechanisms and the like, additional information is recorded with a simple mechanism at a low cost through effectively utilizing glossiness without seriously affecting the main recorded image.
According to the image recording apparatus
1
, the thermal head
40
for image recording is used as the means for applying thermal energy for additional information recording and the means for applying pressure as well. As a result, thermal energy to apply is precisely controlled and application of thermal energy more than the required amount will be prevented. Power consumption is thereby restrained and precise control of glossiness is achieved. Costs are further reduced since no additional components are required for additional information recording.
[Second Embodiment]
In the first embodiment described above, additional information is stored in the memory inside the CPU
76
. However, the amount of data to be stored in the memory increases when items of image information such as complicated logos and trademarks are stored as additional information. It is therefore preferable to provide another memory dedicated to additional information storage.
FIG. 15
is a block diagram of the control system of an image recording apparatus of the second embodiment of the invention. Like numerals are assigned to the components similar to those of the image recording apparatus
1
of the first embodiment and descriptions thereof are omitted.
As shown, in the apparatus of the embodiment, a memory
72
a
is provided for storing image data. A memory
72
b
for storing additional information is connected to the memory
72
a
in parallel. Image data and additional information are inputted through the interface
71
.
In such a configuration, additional information together with image data inputted through the interface
71
from an external source is temporality stored in the memory
72
b
. After the image is recorded on the medium
10
, the CPU
76
reads the additional information stored in the memory
72
b
. The CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
through the head controller
74
to apply thermal energy for effecting gloss variations corresponding to the additional information.
For sending image data and additional information from an external source to the image recording apparatus, image data and additional information for each color corresponding to the entire image recording surface may be sent surface by surface. Alternatively, image data and additional information for each color corresponding to each pixel of the image recording surface may be sent dot by dot.
According to the image recording apparatus of the embodiment described so far, the memory
72
b
dedicated to additional information storage is separately provided. As a result, more complicated additional information is easily recorded.
The remainder of configuration, operations and effects of the embodiment are similar to those of the first embodiment.
The invention is not limited to the foregoing embodiments but may be practiced in still other ways. Although the image recording apparatus is described in detail in the embodiments, the invention is applicable to an apparatus for recording texts, patterns and so on. Although the heatsensitive recording medium
10
for full-color printing made up of stacked three layers developing cyan, magenta and yellow is described in the foregoing embodiments, the invention is not limited to such a medium but may be applied to recording on any other multicolor recording medium or single-color recording medium that develops cyan only, for example.
In the foregoing embodiments the CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
so that thermal energy is applied to the medium
10
for effecting two-dimensional gloss variations corresponding to the additional information, based on the gloss characteristics of the medium
10
shown in FIG.
8
. However, the invention may be applied to a heat-sensitive recording medium having the gloss characteristics other than those shown in FIG.
8
. In this case, based on the gloss characteristics specific to the medium, the CPU
76
controls the thermal head
40
so that thermal energy is applied to the medium for effecting two-dimensional gloss variations corresponding to the additional information. Through such control, glossiness corresponding to additional information is given to various types of heat-sensitive recording media.
The invention may be utilized in a system for optically reading additional information by recording optically readable additional information such as a barcode on a heat-sensitive medium.
Obviously many modifications and variations of the present invention are possible in the light of the above teachings. It is therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended claims the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically described.
Claims
- 1. An information recording apparatus for recording independent additional information after recording independent principal information on an information recording surface of a heat-sensitive recording medium that develops at least one color in response to thermal energy applied thereto, comprising:application means for applying said thermal energy and pressure to a protection layer of said information recording surface of said heat-sensitive recording medium for recording said independent additional information after said independent principal information is recorded; and control means for controlling said thermal energy applied by said application means, wherein said control means controls said thermal energy applied by said application means based on energy-gloss characteristics of said heat-sensitive recording medium for recording said independent additional information on said protection layer of said information recording surface of said heat-sensitive recording medium using variations of glossiness based on said energy-gloss characteristics of said heat-sensitive recording medium after said independent principal information is recorded.
- 2. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said application means is a thermal head for recording said independent additional information on said protection layer of said information recording surface.
- 3. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said independent additional information recorded on said protection layer includes one of a date, a time, a logo, a trademark, and a barcode.
- 4. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said independent additional information recorded on said protection layer includes a matte finish.
- 5. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a gloss finish is given to a part of said protection layer of said information recording surface and the recording of the additional information includes a matte finish given to another part of said information recording surface.
- 6. The information recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising an independent memory for storing said independent additional information only prior to recording said independent additional information on said protection layer of said information recording surface.
- 7. An information recording method for recording independent additional information after recording independent principal information on an information recording surface of a heat-sensitive recording medium that develops at least one color in response to thermal energy applied thereto, comprising the steps of:determining said thermal energy corresponding to said independent additional information based on energy-gloss characteristics of said heat-sensitive recording medium; and recording said independent additional information on a protection layer of said information recording surface by varying a glossiness of said heat-sensitive recording medium by applying said thermal energy determined in said step of determining to said information recording surface.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
9-231231 |
Aug 1997 |
JP |
|
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Name |
Date |
Kind |
5633670 |
Kwak |
May 1997 |
A |
5678133 |
Siegel |
Oct 1997 |
A |
5815191 |
Michelsen et al. |
Sep 1998 |
A |
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0524245 |
Feb 1993 |
JP |
06218968 |
Aug 1994 |
JP |
0752428 |
Feb 1995 |
JP |