JP2000118015A - Rotary printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a rotary printing apparatus which can rotate a disc printing medium stably at the time of printing operation and realize high-quality image printing. SOLUTION: The rotary printing apparatus comprises a thermal head 11 for carrying out heat-sensitive printing in a main scan direction in parallel to a radial direction of a disc printing medium M having a heat-sensitive coloration layer, a spring 11a for pressing the thermal head 11 to the disc printing medium M, a rotary stage 19 for supporting the medium M rotatably in a sub scan direction in parallel to a circumferential direction of the disc printing medium M, a pinch roller 31 for rotating the disc printing medium M in touch with an outer circumferential part of the medium, and the like.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

[0001] The present invention relates to a CD-R (Compac
The present invention relates to a rotary printing apparatus for printing on a disk printing medium such as a disk-recordable (t-recordable).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art CD-R (Compact Disk-Recordable)
Is a read-only CD and CD-ROM (Read Only)
Memory) is a write-once optical disc on which data can be recorded only once. CD-R with recorded data
Can be played back by the playback device, just like CDs and CD-ROMs. Due to its low cost, easy handling, and large storage capacity, it is often used to publish about 100 small-scale software.

One side of a CD and a CD-ROM is used as a recording side for recording and reading data, and the other side is generally used as a printing side for printing a title or the like. In the case of CDs and CD-ROMs, printing is generally performed by a large printing device in order to publish a large volume of the same design, whereas in the case of CD-Rs, it is used for small volume publishing and personal use. There has been a demand for a small and inexpensive printer that can easily create and change print contents for each sheet.

[0004]

Such a printer is disclosed in JP-A-5-238005 and JP-A-6-31906.
Some are described in. These information recording devices record information on a recording surface of an optical disk from a pickup, and perform ink-jet printing on a printing surface. Printing on the optical disc is performed while moving the inkjet nozzle in the radial direction of the optical disc and rotating the optical disc.

[0005] Such an information recording apparatus is provided with an ink cartridge, a mechanism for guiding ink to an ink jet head, and a pickup for information recording for ink jet printing, and the apparatus is large and complicated. . Further, since the ink jet head and the pickup are provided in the same device, ink scattered from the ink jet head may adhere to the pickup and prevent recording of information. Further, maintenance work such as replacement of the ink cartridge and cleaning around the ink jet head is troublesome.

Further, if the rotation speed of the optical disc fluctuates during the printing operation, density fluctuations such as image unevenness and stripes appear in the radial direction, resulting in a significant deterioration in image quality.

An object of the present invention is to provide a rotary printing apparatus capable of stably rotating a disk print medium during a printing operation to realize high-quality image printing.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a thermal head for performing thermal printing in a main scanning direction along a radial direction of a disk printing medium having a thermal coloring layer, and pressing the thermal head against the disk printing medium. Head pressing means for rotating the disk print medium, and rotation support means for rotatably supporting the disk print medium in a sub-scanning direction along the circumferential direction of the disk print medium, and rotating in contact with the outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium. A rotary driving device for driving the rotary printing device.

According to the present invention, by rotating the disk printing medium in contact with the outer peripheral portion thereof, the rotation torque T applied to the disk printing medium = radius R × external force F can secure a large radius R. A large rotating torque can be obtained with a small driving force. In particular, in a thermal recording method using a thermal head, since the thermal head and the medium need to be brought into uniform contact, the frictional resistance between the two becomes relatively large.
Therefore, as the driving is performed with a larger rotation torque, the influence of the load fluctuation caused by friction, disturbance, and the like can be reduced, and the rotation speed fluctuation is reduced, and a high-quality image can be printed.

[0010] In a disk printing medium such as an optical disk,
One side is a data recording side accessed by the optical pickup, and the other side is a label printing side, and both sides dislike dirt and scratches. Therefore, by adopting the rotation driving method that contacts the outer peripheral portion, the influence on the data recording surface and the label printing surface can be avoided.

Further, by directly applying the driving force to the disk print medium, the influence of mechanical errors and transmission loss of the drive transmission system can be reduced as much as possible, so that the rotational speed can be stabilized.

Further, according to the present invention, the rotation driving means includes a pinch roller for pressing an outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium, a roller driving mechanism for driving the pinch roller, and an outer periphery that displaces the pinch roller. And a roller displacement mechanism for controlling contact or separation with the part.

According to the present invention, the pinch roller presses the outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium, so that torque can be smoothly transmitted to the disk print medium. Further, the rotation unevenness is absorbed by the elasticity of the pinch roller itself, and the rotation speed is stabilized.

[0014] Further, since the pinch roller is displaced and separated from the outer peripheral portion, mounting and replacement of the disk print medium becomes easy. Further, when the pinch roller is made of rubber, the roller can be prevented from being deformed with time by keeping the separated state except during the printing operation.

Further, according to the present invention, the rotation driving means includes: a belt in contact with the outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium; a belt driving mechanism for driving the belt in the longitudinal direction; and a tension control for controlling the tension of the belt. And a mechanism.

According to the present invention, rotation unevenness is absorbed by the elasticity of the belt itself, and a long contact length between the outer peripheral portion and the belt can be ensured. The rotation unevenness factors are averaged, and the rotation speed is stabilized.

Further, by controlling the tension of the belt and moving it away from the outer peripheral portion, the mounting or replacement of the disk printing medium becomes easy. When the belt is made of rubber, by keeping the separated state except during the printing operation, the belt can be prevented from being deformed over time.

[0018]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a thermal recording system according to the present invention. The rotary printing apparatus 10 includes a thermal head 11, a backup roller 12, and cathode tubes 13, 14, and performs printing on a disk print medium M. The disc printing medium M is a disc-shaped printing medium having a thermosensitive coloring layer that develops a color when heat is applied. The thermal head 11 is a line type thermal head extending in the radial direction of the disk print medium M. The stepping motor 15 drives the disk print medium M to rotate around its axis. The backup roller 12 is a roller whose surface is covered with rubber and which supports the disk printing medium M from the back side in response to pressure from the surface by the thermal head 11, and rotates with the rotation of the disk printing medium M. The cathode tubes 13 and 14 emit ultraviolet rays having a wavelength for fixing the coloring layer of the disk print medium M.

Such a rotary printing apparatus 10 uses the radial direction of the disk print medium M as the main scanning direction, the circumferential direction of the disk print medium M as the sub-scan direction, and the radial direction and the circumferential direction of the disk print medium M. The printing is performed by selectively supplying heat to the pixel regions arranged in a color and causing the color to develop.

Incidentally, the thermal head 11 of FIG. 1 may be constituted by a serial head which can scan in the radial direction of the disk print medium M. Further, a turntable can be used instead of the backup roller 12 in FIG.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing the structure of the thermal printing sheet 21 used as the disk printing medium M in FIG. 1, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of a medium 19 in which the present invention has been performed.

The thermal printing sheet 21 shown in FIG. 2A has a cross-sectional structure similar to that of the multicolor thermal recording sheet described in JP-A-3-43293 and JP-A-5-69566. A printing method in which heat is applied to the multicolor heat-sensitive recording sheet to form a color and print is called a TA (Thermo-Auto Chrome) method. The rotary printing apparatus 10 of the present embodiment is also a TA printing apparatus.

The thermal printing sheet 21 is made of a substrate 22 such as paper.
Is formed with a thermosensitive coloring layer 23 on the surface thereof, and its planar shape is a disk shape. The thermosensitive coloring layer 23 includes a yellow coloring layer 23a, a magenta coloring layer 23b, and a cyan coloring layer 23c.

The yellow coloring layer 23a contains a yellow dye material and a coupler encapsulated in microcapsules,
When a heat energy of 20 mJ / mm ² or more is applied, the two pass through the microcapsules and react to form a color. The yellow coloring layer 23a has a wavelength of 420
Irradiation with ultraviolet light of nm causes the unreacted yellow dye material to be decomposed and no longer develops color.

The magenta coloring layer 23b contains a magenta dye material and a coupler encapsulated in microcapsules,
When a thermal energy of 40 mJ / mm ² or more is applied, the two pass through the microcapsules and react to form a color. The magenta coloring layer 23b has a wavelength of 365.
Irradiation with ultraviolet light of nm causes the unreacted magenta dye material to be decomposed and no longer develops color.

The cyan coloring layer 23c contains a dye encapsulated in microcapsules, and develops a color when heat energy of about 80 mJ / mm ² or more is applied.

The thermal head 11 shown in FIG.
thermal energy ^{mJ / mm 2 ~40mJ / mm 2} , 40
Either thermal energy of the thermal energy of mJ / mm ² ~80mJ / mm ² of thermal energy and 80mJ / mm ² ~120mJ / mm ² can be supplied. Cathode tube 1
Reference numeral 3 denotes a wavelength 4 for fixing the yellow coloring layer 23a.
Emit 20nm ultraviolet light. The cathode tube 14 emits ultraviolet light having a wavelength of 365 nm in order to fix the magenta coloring layer 23b.

The medium 19 shown in FIG. 2B is a medium in which a thermal printing sheet 21 is adhered to a printing surface 20a of an optical disk 20 such as a CD-R via an adhesive layer 24.

The optical disk 20 is constructed by laminating an organic dye layer 25, a reflective layer 26 made of metal, and a protective layer 27 on a polycarbonate substrate 30 in this order. In the optical disk 20, data is recorded by irradiating a laser beam from the recording surface 20b to change the phase of the organic dye layer 25. The optical disc 20 that can be used in the rotary printing apparatus 10 includes:
Not limited to such a configuration, for example, CD, CD
-ROM, CD-RW (ReWritable), etc. DVD (Digital Video Disk) -ROM, DVD-R
AM (Random Access Memory), DVD-R, DVD-
RW or the like may be used.

As the disk print medium M, the thermal printing sheet 21 shown in FIG.
The medium 19 of (b) may be used. Thermal printing sheet 2
When 1 is used as it is, the thermal printing sheet 21 can be attached to the optical disc 20 after printing. Also,
The thermosensitive coloring layer 23 may be formed directly on the optical disc 20 by vapor deposition or the like.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing the operation of the rotary printing apparatus 10. FIGS. 4 (a) to 4 (f) are diagrams showing the printing state of the disk printing medium M in a stepwise manner. When printing is started, print image data created by the external host is transmitted to the thermal head 11 via an interface (not shown) and a CPU. With this,
The energization of the stepping motor 15 is started, and the stepping motor 15 rotates the disk print medium M at a constant rotation speed.

First, in FIG. 4A, energization of the thermal head 11 is started, and thermal energy of the minimum thermosensitive coloring level is applied to the disk print medium M. As a result, the yellow coloring layer 23a develops a color. Next, as shown in FIG. 4B, when the leading line 73 of the colored region 75 of the yellow coloring layer 23a reaches the last portion 71b of the light irradiation region 71, the current supply to the cathode tube 13 is started. . As a result, the light from the cathode tube 13 is applied to the disk print medium M. The light irradiation area 71 is an area where light from the cathode tube 13 is irradiated. Next, when the head line 73 reaches the thermal head 11 again, the energization of the thermal head 11 is terminated, and the coloring of the yellow coloring layer 23a is terminated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4C, when the leading line 74 of the fixed area 77 in which the fixing of the yellow coloring layer 23a is completed reaches the thermal head 11, energization to the thermal head 11 is started. Then, the thermal energy of the second lowest thermosensitive coloring level is applied to the disk print medium M. As a result, coloring of the magenta coloring layer 23b starts from the first line 74. Next, the top line 73 of the yellow-colored area is again the last part 71 of the light irradiation area 71.
When the current reaches b, the power supply to the cathode tube 13 is terminated,
The fixing of the yellow coloring layer 23a ends.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4D, the first line 7 of the colored area 79 in which the magenta coloring layer 23b is colored.
When 4 reaches the rear end 72 b of the light irradiation area 72, energization of the cathode tube 14 is started. As a result, the light from the cathode tube 14 is irradiated on the disk print medium M, and the magenta coloring layer 23b is fixed. The light irradiation area 72 is an area where light from the cathode tube 14 is irradiated. Next, when the head line 74 reaches the thermal head 11, the energization of the thermal head 11 is terminated, and the magenta coloring layer 23 is turned off.
The coloring of b ends.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4E, when the leading line 78 of the fixed area 81 where the magenta coloring layer 23b has been fixed reaches the thermal head 11, the thermal head 11 is energized. Starting, the thermal energy of the maximum thermosensitive coloring level is applied to the disk print medium M. As a result, coloring of the cyan coloring layer 23c is started from the first line 78. Next, when the leading line 74 of the magenta-colored area reaches the rear end 72b of the light irradiation area 72 again, the power supply to the cathode tube 14 is terminated, and the fixing of the magenta coloring layer 23b is terminated.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4F, when the leading line 78 reaches the thermal head 11 again, the power supply to the thermal head 11 is terminated and the cyan coloring layer 23c is turned off.
The coloring of is ended. At this time, the disk printing medium M is entirely covered with the colored area 82 in which the cyan coloring layer 23c has developed color, and printing is completed.

As described above, the coloring and fixing of the yellow coloring layer 23a, the coloring and fixing of the magenta coloring layer 23b,
In addition, by sequentially coloring the cyan coloring layer 23c,
Full color printing can be performed.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a comparative example thereof. FIG. 7 shows the first embodiment of the present invention.
It is a top view showing an embodiment. First, in FIG. 5, the disk print medium M is placed on the turntable 19. Turntable 1
At the center of 9 is provided an engagement protrusion having substantially the same outer diameter as the center hole of the disk print medium M, and performs centering of the disk print medium M. The thermal head 11 is arranged along the radial direction of the disk print medium M, and is pressed against the disk print medium M by a pressing force Ft by a spring 11a attached to the apparatus cover. The backup roller 12 is driven and rotated to oppose the pressing force Ft, and stably supports the rotating surface of the disk print medium M. Although FIG. 5 shows the cylindrical backup roller 12, a conical roller as shown in FIG. 1 may be used.

Pinch roller 31 connected to motor 15
Are arranged on an extension of the recording line of the thermal head 11 and directly rotate the disk printing medium M. The pinch roller 31 is formed of rubber or the like that is unlikely to slide with the medium M, and presses the outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium M with a pressing force Fp in the rotation plane and toward the center. To support the disk print medium M. Since the disc printing medium M is positioned by the balance of these forces, the medium clamping mechanism facing the turntable 19 may be omitted.

The rotation angle of the turntable 19 is detected by the rotary encoder RE, and the rotation angle and the rotation speed of the disk print medium M can be controlled with high accuracy by using the detection signal as a feedback signal of the motor 15.

By such a direct driving of the outer periphery by the pinch roller 31, a large rotational torque can be obtained with a small driving force, so that the disk print medium M can be rotationally driven stably. Further, the rotation unevenness is absorbed by the elasticity of the pinch roller 31 itself, and the rotation speed is stabilized.

On the other hand, in the comparative example of FIG.
Is held between the turntable 18 and the clamp 30 by the pressing force Fc, and the turntable 18 is connected to the motor 15 via gears 16 and 17.
Driven by Therefore, although a speed reduction mechanism using the gears 16 and 17 exists, the motor 15 must be of a type that generates a large rotational torque. In addition, backlash of the gears 16 and 17, slippage between the disk print medium M and the turntable 18, and rotation unevenness due to deformation of members are likely to occur.

Next, FIG. 7 shows the displacement mechanism of the pinch roller 31 in detail. The pinch roller 31 and the gear 32 integrally rotating therewith mesh with an intermediate gear 33, which meshes with a drive gear 34, and the drive gear 34 is driven to rotate by a drive shaft 35 of the motor 15. Further, the pinch roller 31 and the gear 32 are pivotally supported at the tip of the lever 37. The lever 37 is swingably supported around an axis coinciding with the axis of the intermediate gear 33. The rear end of the lever 37 is engaged with a spring 36, and the restoring force of the spring 36 generates a pressing force Fp for pressing the pinch roller 31 against the medium M. At the rear end of the lever 37, an electromagnetic plunger 38 for controlling the expansion and contraction of the spring 36 is attached.
And the contact or separation of the medium with the outer peripheral portion of the medium M.

FIG. 7 shows the rotational driving state of the medium M. In a state where the electromagnetic plunger 38 is off and the pinch roller 31 presses the outer peripheral portion of the medium M by the spring 36, the motor 15 is rotated.
Drives the pinch roller 31 via the drive gear 34, the intermediate gear 33, and the gear 32, and finally drives the medium M to rotate. When the medium M is exchanged, the lever 37 is angularly displaced by the energization of the electromagnetic plunger 38, and the pinch roller 31 is displaced.
Is separated from the outer peripheral portion of the medium M. The operation of the electromagnetic plunger 38 can be linked with the opening and closing of the device cover.

As described above, since the pinch roller 31 is displaced and separated from the outer peripheral portion, the mounting and replacement of the disk print medium M becomes easy. When the pinch roller 31 is made of rubber, by keeping the separated state except during the printing operation, the roller can be prevented from being deformed with time.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the pinch roller 31. In FIG. 8A, two pinch rollers 31 are provided so as to contact obliquely 45 degrees with the front edge and the rear edge of the outer peripheral portion of the medium M. By the combination of the two pressing forces, the pressing force Fp is generated in the outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium M in the rotation plane and toward the center, and the rotation of the pinch roller 31 can rotate the medium M.

In FIG. 8B, a pinch roller 31 having a V-shaped groove formed on the outer peripheral surface is provided, and contacts the front edge and the rear edge of the outer peripheral portion of the medium M at an oblique angle of 45 degrees. In this way, the pressing force Fp is generated on the outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium M in the rotation plane and toward the center, and the rotation of the pinch roller 31 can rotate the medium M.

FIG. 9 is a structural view showing a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 (a) shows a rotating state of the disk printing medium M, and FIG. 9 (b) shows a state of removing the medium M.

The disk print medium M is placed on a turntable 19 having a centering engagement projection similar to that shown in FIG. The thermal head 11 is arranged along the radial direction of the disk print medium M, and is pressed against the disk print medium M with a pressing force Ft by a spring attached to the apparatus cover. Further, similarly to FIG. 5, a backup roller which is driven and rotated to oppose the pressing force Ft is provided.

The belt 40 is mounted so as to bridge between the outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium M and the drive pulley 42 connected to the motor 15. The belt 40 further includes a drive pulley 42 and a driven belt pressing roller. 43. The belt 40 is formed of a flexible rubber or the like that does not easily slide with the medium M and the driving pulley 42.

A drive unit composed of the drive pulley 42, the belt pressing roller 43, the motor 15, and the like is urged by a spring mechanism or the like with a pressing force Fb so as to apply a predetermined tension to the belt 40. The outer peripheral portion of the medium M is pressed toward the center of the rotation plane and toward the center, and the turntable 19 supports the disk print medium M. Since the disc printing medium M is positioned by the balance of these forces, the turntable 19
May be omitted.

The rotation angle of the turntable 19 is detected by a rotary encoder or the like, and the detection signal is used as a feedback signal of the motor 15 so that the rotation angle and the rotation speed of the disk print medium M can be accurately controlled.

When the motor 15 drives the drive pulley 42, the belt 40 is driven in the longitudinal direction, and the disk printing medium M that comes into contact with the belt 40 is driven to rotate. By such a direct driving of the outer periphery by the belt 40, a large rotational torque can be obtained with a small driving force, so that the disk printing medium M can be rotationally driven stably. In addition, uneven rotation is absorbed by the elasticity of the belt 40 itself, and the outer peripheral portion and the belt
Since a long contact length can be ensured, rotation unevenness factors such as torque fluctuation and dimensional errors of the belt and the disk printing medium are averaged, and the rotation speed is stabilized.

When removing the medium M from the turntable 19,
As shown in FIG. 9B, when the drive unit is displaced toward the medium M and the tension of the belt 40 is relaxed, the belt 40 sags and separates from the outer peripheral portion of the medium M. At this time, belt guides 41a to 41c are provided so that the position of the belt 40 does not largely deviate, and reproducibility of the mounting position of the belt 40 is secured.
c moves with the drive unit. Note that the displacement operation of the drive unit can be linked with the opening and closing of the device cover.

By controlling the tension of the belt 40 and separating it from the outer peripheral portion in this manner, the mounting and replacement of the disc printing medium M becomes easy. Further, when the belt 40 is made of rubber, the belt 40 can be prevented from being deformed with time by keeping the separated state except during the printing operation.

[0056]

As described above in detail, according to the present invention, a large rotational torque can be obtained with a small driving force by rotating the disk printing medium while contacting the outer peripheral portion thereof.
Rotational speed fluctuations are reduced, and high-quality images can be printed.

Further, by adopting a rotary drive system in contact with the outer peripheral portion, the influence on the data recording surface and the label printing surface can be avoided.

Further, by directly applying the driving force to the disk print medium, the influence of mechanical errors and transmission loss of the drive transmission system can be reduced as much as possible, so that the rotational speed can be stabilized.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating a thermal recording system according to the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view showing a structure of a thermal printing sheet 21 used as a disc printing medium M in FIG. 1, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a structure of a medium 19 attached to the medium 0.

FIG. 3 is a timing chart showing an operation of the rotary printing apparatus 10.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a printing state of the disk print medium M in a stepwise manner.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a comparative example.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram showing another embodiment of the pinch roller 31.

9A and 9B are configuration diagrams illustrating a second embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 9A illustrates a rotating state of the disk print medium M, and FIG.
(B) shows a state where the medium M is removed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 rotary printing apparatus 11 thermal head 12 backup roller 13, 14 cathode tube 15 stepping motor 19 turntable 20 optical disk 21 thermal printing sheet 31 pinch roller 37 lever 38 electromagnetic plunger 40 belt 41a to 41c belt guide 42 drive pulley 43 belt pressing roller M Disk printing media

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Norihiro Sawamoto 20-10 Nakayoshida, Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Prefecture Star Precision Co., Ltd. F-term (reference)

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A thermal head for performing thermal printing in a main scanning direction along a radial direction of a disk printing medium having a thermal coloring layer, a head pressing unit for pressing the thermal head against the disk printing medium, Rotation support means for rotatably supporting the disk print medium in a sub-scanning direction along the circumferential direction of the disk print medium; and rotational drive means for rotating the disk print medium in contact with the outer peripheral portion thereof. A rotary printing apparatus comprising: 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein the rotation driving unit includes a pinch roller for pressing an outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium, a roller driving mechanism for driving the pinch roller, and a displacing the pinch roller. 2. The rotary printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a roller displacement mechanism for controlling contact or separation. 3. The rotation driving unit includes a belt that contacts an outer peripheral portion of the disk print medium, a belt driving mechanism that drives the belt in a longitudinal direction, and a tension control mechanism that controls tension of the belt. The rotary printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the rotary printing apparatus is configured.