Abstract: A heat-sensitive hot-melt image transfer sheet transfers an ink image to a recording sheet when selectively heated by the heating element of the thermal head of a thermal printer. The image transfer sheet comprises a base coated on a surface thereof with a matrix of circular hot-melt ink dots at a constant pitch. The hot-melt ink dots are selectively meltable with heat applied through the base by the heating elements for transferring an ink image to the recording sheet held against the matrix of hot-melt ink dots.

Abstract: The present invention discloses a method for thermally transferring an ink pattern to a recording medium, comprising the steps of preparing an ink sheet provided with a hot-melt and/or hot-sublimable ink layer and a transparent material sheet provided with a transparent hot-melt material layer, thermally producing an ink pattern on the transparent material layer of the transparent material sheet by heating the ink sheet with thermal head, and thermally transferring the ink pattern to the recording medium together with the transparent hot-melt material layer.

Abstract: A method for transferring a hot-melt transparent protective material comprising steps of; contacting an ink sheet on which one or more color hot-melt ink layers have been provided with a moving recording medium, pressing and heating a thermal head system having an array of heat elements from above the ink sheet to print desired information, contacting a protective material sheet on which a hot-melt transparent protective material layer has been provided, with a printed surface of the recording medium, and pressing and heating the thermal head system from above the protective material sheet to transfer the hot-melt transparent protective material onto a surface of the picture and to apply thereon an overcoat of the hot-melt transparent protective material having a specific pattern.Another method for transferring a hot-melt transparent protective material comprises a step of transferring the hot-melt transparent protective material plural times onto the surface of the picture.

Abstract: A thermal printing apparatus prints input gradational images, characters and figures by using multilevel density regulates the levels of the densities representing the gradiational images etc. to be printed by a linear thermal head having n heating resistors arranged in a row.

Abstract: A thermal printer comprises a thermal head and a printing data output circuit outputting printing data. A portion of the printing data is copied. The copied portion of the printing data is added to a head of the printing data to form a combination of the copied portion and the printing data. The data combination is outputted to the thermal head. The thermal head is driven with the copied portion to preheat the thermal head. Then, the thermal head is driven with the printing data to perform actual printing.

Abstract: A thermal imprint recording apparatus for recording an image on a paper by a thermal head uses a cartridge of recording paper on which a roll of ink film for supplying the ink film and another roll on which the ink film is taken up are carried. The apparatus comprises an arm adapted to engage with one of the rolls when the cartridge is loaded on the apparatus. Responsive to the loading, the arm is swung upwards and the roll is lifted from the cartriddge. The roll is then carried over a platen roller of the printer and the ink film is drawn out so as to engage with the upper surface of the platen roller. Further, the paper is taken out from the bottom of the cartridge and is transported along a path passing below the platen roller to a predetermined printing station located between the platen roller and the ink film.

Abstract: A gradation control device for a thermal ink-transfer type printing apparatus controls an applying time of a current to each of heating elements of a thermal printing head depending on a voltage drop introduced between a power source and the thermal printing head, so that it is possible to constantly print the same gradation level with the same printing dot size regardless of the printing data.

Abstract: A gradation control device for a thermal ink-transfer type printing apparatus controls an applying time of a current to each of heating elements of a thermal printing head depending on a voltage drop caused to a supply voltage to the thermal printing head, so that it is possible to constantly print the same gradation level with the same printing dot size regardless of the printing data. The voltage drop is detected in a vicinity of an end of a current applying duration in which the current is supplied to the heating elements of the thermal printing head.

Abstract: An apparatus is disclosed for providing the projections of signals supplied to two inputs on mutually perpendicular axises by applying a different combination of the signals respectively at said input terminals and quadrature phases of an AC wave to each of four phase detectors or by applying each combination in sequence to each phase detector. Means are provided for calculating impedances from the outputs of the phase detectors when the voltages applied to the inputs are respectively those appearing across an unknown impedance and a calibrated resistor that is in series with it, there being an AC voltage applied across the series circuit.

Abstract: The present invention relates to apparatus for measuring the AC electrical parameters of a circuit element (Device-Under-Test, DUT), such as a resistor, a capacitor or an inductor, at the desired frequency of a signal while applying a DC bias to the DUT. The present invention provides an apparatus capable of measurement with less error even in the lower-frequency range.

Abstract: A color correcting circuit for thermal printer comprises a first circuit for obtaining a first degree correction operation result, a second circuit for obtaining a second degree correction operation result, and a difference limiting circuit for selectively outputting a correction data. The first degree correction operation makes the relationship between the density of an input image and the density of an output image linear for each primary color. The second degree correction operation reduces a difference between the density of the input image and the density of the output image by use of the method of least squares for each primary color.

Abstract: A thermal printing apparatus comprises a thermal printing head comprising heating elements which are applied with a constant current depending on printing data. One picture element is printed by use of at least two heating elements. Time periods in which heating times of the heating elements are controlled are time divisionally assigned depending on the gradation so that a time period in which the heating time of a certain heating element is controlled partly overlaps a time period in which the heating time of another heating element is controlled.

Abstract: A structure of a thermal head of the type using an ink paper or a heat-sensitive paper is disclosed. The structure includes an array of units each comprising a single resistance body and a pair of electrode members which respectively correspond to a first and a second heat-generating portions positioned at both ends of the resistance body, the electrode members being adapted to energize the resistance body. At least one of the first and second heat-generating portions of the resistance body is divided into a plurality of heat-generating members, and so is done one of the electrode members which is associated with those heat-generating members.

Abstract: A thermal transfer type printing apparatus first transfers white or transparent ink on a recording paper and thereafter transfers ink of a predetermined color on top of the recording made by the white or transparent ink, so that the recording is always made by the ink of the predetermined color on a smooth surface even when the surface of the recording paper is not smooth.

Abstract: A gradation control device for a thermal printer, keeps a frequency of a reference clock pulse signal and a data transfer speed to a shift register constant, respectively. A linearity compensation circuit is provided between a data counter and a gate circuit and the gradation level or printing density is controlled by controlling heating times of heating elements within the constant data transfer time, so that a data transfer time for one printing density becomes equal to a maximum heating time of the heating element and a control range described by (maximum printing density)/(minimum printing density) can be set in terms of the period of the reference clock pulse signal to thereby finely control the printing density.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for performing a thermal transfer recording, uses an ink ribbon having a plurality of ink parts which are coated with ink of different colors. The ink parts are successively arranged in a longitudinal direction of the ink ribbon. First, when performing a recording with a first color ink, an information is recorded on a recording paper by use of the first color ink, and at the same time, synchronization marks are also recorded by use of the first color ink. Next, when performing a recording with a second color ink, the information is recorded on the recording paper which is pre-recorded with the first color ink, by use of a second color ink, in synchronism with the synchronization marks which are detected.

Abstract: A thermal ink transfer printer comprises a thermal print head including a linear array of resistance elements corresponding to picture elements to be printed along a line path on a record medium, and means for continuously and relatively moving the head and the mediums to each other at a substantially constant speed in a direction perpendicular to the line path and providing a pressure contact between the head and transfer medium and between the mediums. A head control circuit is provided for generating currents in the resistance elements respectively for durations each proportional to the tone value of each of the picture elements.

Abstract: A plurality of heat generating resistors (11a, 11b) arranged in line in a thermal head are driven such that two consecutive heat generating resistors (11a, 11b) are combined to cover a single picture element whose desired density is represented by each datum. A head drive circuit is provided so that only a first heat generating resistor (11a) is energized when the desired density is below a predetermined value, and that both the first and second heat generating resistors (11a, 11b) are energized when the desired density is equal to or above the predetermined value. The energizing duration of the second heat generating resistor (11b) is set to be within the energizing duration of the first heat generating resistor (11a) to reduce printing time, and the end of the energizing duration of the second heat generating resistor (11b) corresponds to the end of energizing duration of the first heat generating resistor (11a) so as to ensure linearity in tone value.

Abstract: An input composite color video signal is processed to derive a luminance signal and three primary color signals first, and then only a high frequency component of the luminance signal is A/D converted by a first A/D converter, while only low frequency component of each of the three primary color signals is A/D converted by a second A/D converter with the low frequency component of the three primary color signals being time-shared by a first switching circuit to be a single analog signal. The A/D converted chrominance information is fed to a second switching circuit comprising shift registers of parallel-in and serial-out type so that three bits respectively indicative of red, green and blue signals are simultaneously outputted therefrom. The A/D converted luminance data of a plurality of bits, and three bits indicative of three primary colors are simultaneously written into a memory.

Abstract: A heating control for a thermal printing head having a plurality of head elements for heating a transfer sheet adhered with a kind of ink which melts due to heat and transferring melted ink onto a recording sheet which makes contact with the transfer sheet to print images such as characters and figures, the control having a converting circuit for sampling an input analog signal indicating tone or density of an image to be printed on the recording sheet according to the number of the head elements, and converting the input analog signal into a digital signal, a memory for storing the output converted digital signal of the converting circuit and reading out the stored digital signal from addresses corresponding to each of the head elements, and a control circuit for obtaining signals of addresses which are not adjacent to each other from among the signals of the addresses corresponding to the head elements thus read out from the memory and applying current to the head elements corresponding to the addresses of