Abstract: In a thermal transfer printer, before a thermal head transfers an ink component of a yellow region on a recording paper, the thermal head is preheated up to a transfer temperature and by sublimating a black ink component constituting a mark pattern during preheating, records used information in the mark pattern. After turn-on of an electric power, when an optical sensor reads the used information, an ink ribbon driving mechanism is driven until the optical sensor detects the rear mark pattern in which the used information is not recorded to locate the start of an unused region of an ink ribbon. Thus, residual amount of the ink ribbon is grasped accurately and the start of the unused region is located accurately without increasing the costs of ink ribbon.

Abstract: A portable type clinical examination device using expiratory air of a patient as a sample and measuring with high accuracy and rapidity concentration of trace amounts of aimed gas components contained in the expiratory air. The clinical examination device feeds an expiratory air sample provided by a patient, fed through an expiratory air sucking portion and separated in a column to a detector which detects trace amounts of aimed gas components contained in the expiratory air sample by ionizing the aimed gas components through application of ultraviolet or radiation, so that output signals from the detector are processed and concentration of the aimed gas components is computed by use of a previously memorized working curve to provide a clinical examination data which is output on a recording device or the like.