Patent ID: 6364443
Filing Date: 2002-04-02
Classification: B41J

Abstract:
A thermal printer comprising a carriage on which a plurality of heater elements are mounted supported so as to be reciprocated along a platen, a long linear scale on which markers and blanks are formed alternately and continuously along the platen disposed in parallel to the platen near the platen, an encoder to detect markers of the linear scale when the carriage is moved to generate pulse signals intermittently, and a control unit to generate and selectively supply an ON head pulse that is synchronous with an output starting time of the pulse signal and an OFF head pulse that is synchronous with an output ending time of the pulse signal to a plurality of heater elements of the thermal head, wherein;a measurement unit to measure a duty ratio of an output time of the pulse signal to a non-output time of the pulse signal, and an output correction time arithmetic unit to operate an output correction time of an OFF head pulse from the duty ratio measured by the measurement unit are provided, and the control unit supplies the OFF head pulse to the heater elements at the time point that delays by the output correction time from the output ending time of the pulse signal.