JP2002273963A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal transfer printer that can prevent contamination of a recording paper and lowering of printing quality even when the recording paper is repeatedly conveyed to the upstream side and the downstream side in the direction of supplying the recording paper by a constitution wherein a separating member for separating an ink ribbon with the recording paper is provided to a portion at the downstream side of a platen in a direction of supplying the recording paper to be supplied from a paper supply section. SOLUTION: The recording paper 1 and the ink ribbon 15 are conveyed to a portion between a thermal head 7 and the platen 3 and are pressed against the platen 3 by the thermal head 7 which is moved downward. As the separating member 20 for separating the ink ribbon 15 with the recording paper 19 is provided to a portion at the downstream side of the platen 3 in the direction of arrow E of supplying the recording paper 9 to be supplied to a portion between the thermal head 7 and the platen 3 from the paper supply section, it is possible to guide the recording paper 9 by contacting one end 9a of the recording paper 9 to the lower face of the separating member 20.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention is suitable for performing printing by transferring ink on an ink ribbon to recording paper by selectively generating heat from a plurality of heating elements of a thermal head based on print information. It relates to a thermal transfer printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional thermal transfer printer, a thermal head comprises a line thermal head having a length capable of facing a printing range in a printing line direction of recording paper, for example. The operation is performed between the thermal head and the rotatable pre-tension roller, with the ink ribbon supplied from the ribbon cassette,
Position the recording paper fed from the paper feed unit. At this time, the recording paper fed from the paper feeding unit is conveyed to the downstream side in the paper feeding direction by the rotation of the paper feed roller, and cueing for aligning the first print line with the thermal head is performed.

[0003] Next, the thermal head is lowered, the ink ribbon and the recording paper are pressed and held by the platen roller, and a plurality of heating elements of the thermal head are selectively heated based on print information. The paper feed roller pulls the recording paper upstream in the paper feeding direction. Then, the platen roller rotates and the ink ribbon is pulled in the same direction as the recording paper. Then, the ink of the ink ribbon is transferred to the recording paper, and an image such as a desired character is printed on the recording paper. The ink ribbon that has been subjected to printing is wound on a take-up reel.

When the image to be printed is a color image, the recording paper fed by the paper feed roller is caught in the first printing operation to lower the thermal head. Then, by pulling the recording paper toward the upstream side in the paper feeding direction, for example, yellow ink of the color ink ribbon is transferred, and a yellow color image is printed on the recording paper.

[0005] Next, in a second printing operation, the thermal head is raised, and the paper feed roller is reversed, so that the recording paper on which the yellow color image has been printed is moved downstream in the paper feeding direction. return. Then, the first print line of the recording paper is aligned with the thermal head, and magenta color ink is overprinted on the yellow image. Thereafter, in the third printing operation, the desired color image can be printed on the recording paper by overprinting cyan ink from above the magenta color image in the same operation as the second printing operation. it can.

[0006]

However, a conventional thermal transfer printer that performs color printing while reciprocating the recording paper 9 in a plurality of printing operations as described above, requires a second printing operation and a third printing operation. When the recording paper is returned to the downstream side in the paper feeding direction, the end of the recording paper that has passed between the thermal head and the platen roller contacts the ink ribbon, and the ink on the ink ribbon is partially peeled off in a line. May be done.

As described above, when the ink of the ink ribbon is partially stripped off in a line, a portion (white line) where no line-shaped ink is present occurs in a part of the printed image.
There was a possibility that the print quality was reduced. In addition, the second and third
When the recording paper is conveyed to the downstream side in the paper feeding direction in the printing operation, if the ink ribbon is slightly loosened, the ink ribbon is wound on the take-up reel and the movement is stopped. The surface of the recording paper conveyed to the ink ribbon may come into contact with the ink surface of the ink ribbon and be rubbed. When the recording paper comes into contact with the ink surface of the ink ribbon and rubs,
The ink of the ink ribbon may adhere to the recording paper, and the recording paper may be stained.

Also, during printing with the thermal head down, the ink ribbon when the recording paper is forcibly pulled to the upstream side in the paper feeding direction by the paper feed roller during printing is one side of the ink surface. The side is in close contact with the recording paper. As a result, the ink ribbon moves in conjunction with the movement of the recording paper, but the other surface is pressed against the thermal head to generate frictional resistance. However, there is a possibility that an obstacle such as turbulence may occur in the running ink ribbon.
When such a trouble as turbulence occurs in the ink ribbon during printing, wrinkles or the like are generated in the ink ribbon, and there is a possibility that print quality may be deteriorated.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and separates an ink ribbon and a recording sheet downstream of a platen in a sheet feeding direction of a recording sheet fed from a sheet feeding unit. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer printer in which a separating member is provided, and the recording paper is not stained or the print quality is not deteriorated even when the recording paper is repeatedly transported downstream and upstream in the paper feeding direction.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer printer including a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements, a platen to which the thermal head can be pressed, and a ribbon. An ink ribbon housed in a cassette, and recording paper positioned in a paper feeding unit, wherein the recording paper and the ink ribbon are transported between the thermal head and the platen, and the head is moved down. The thermal head can be pressed and held on the platen, and the ink ribbon and the ink ribbon are located downstream of the platen in the paper feeding direction of the recording paper fed between the thermal head and the platen from the paper feeding unit. The configuration is such that a separating member for separating the recording paper is provided.

As a second means for solving the above problems, a ribbon guide member capable of guiding the width direction of the ink ribbon is provided at a position facing the separating member.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, the ribbon guide member includes a pair of guide portions for guiding the ink ribbon in a width direction, and a portion sandwiched between the pair of guide portions. A ribbon sliding contact portion to which the ink ribbon can slide in a position facing the separation member, wherein the guide portion is formed so as to protrude toward the separation member, and the separation member is elastically moved toward the ribbon guide member. When the guide portion is urged and abuts on the separating member, a gap having a predetermined size is formed between the separating member and the ribbon sliding contact portion.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. Figure 1
FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a principal part of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a principal part explaining the operation of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a principal part showing a separating member and a ribbon guide part according to the present invention. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion D in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is an external view of a main part of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a thermal transfer printer 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a platen 3 composed of rotatable rollers in a main body case 2 shown by a two-dot chain line.
The platen 3 has both ends of the rotating shaft 3 a pivotally supported on the side wall of the main body case 2. In addition, a head lever 5 that is rotatable in the up and down directions in the directions of arrows A and B is provided with the rotation fulcrum 4 on the right side in the figure as a fulcrum.

At the end of the head lever 5 on the side opposite to the fulcrum 4, as shown in FIG. 3, an elongated head mounting base 6 is attached in the direction of arrow C as shown in FIG. A thermal head 7 is mounted on the head lever 5 via a mounting base 6. By rotating the head lever 5 in the vertical direction of arrows A and B, the thermal head 7 can be pressed up and down and pressed against the platen 3.

The thermal head 7 is composed of a line thermal head, and a printing surface of a portion facing the platen 3 has a longitudinal direction indicated by an arrow C of the head mounting table 6 shown in FIG. A plurality of heating elements (not shown) are formed in alignment over a length corresponding to a printing range in the printing line direction.

The thermal head 7 is electrically connected, for example, to a driver (not shown) mounted on the head mount 6, and is sent from the driver based on print information (print data). Each heating element (not shown) is selectively heated by a control command.

The head mounting base 6 is formed such that the longitudinal dimension of an arrow C shown in FIG. 3 is slightly larger than the width dimension of an ink ribbon 15 described later. A ribbon guide member 8 capable of guiding the width direction of an ink ribbon 15 described later is mounted on the head mounting base 6. The ribbon guide member 8 protects a driver section connected to the thermal head 7 and a driver protection section 8a and a ribbon sliding contact section 8b to which the ink ribbon 15 during printing can slide.
And the ink ribbon 1 that moves on the ribbon sliding contact surface 8b
In FIG. 5, an obstacle such as meandering does not occur. The ribbon guide member 8 has mounting bases 8d opposed to each other at both ends thereof. The mounting bases 8d are fixed to both ends of the head mounting base 6 by screws or the like. The ribbon guide member 8 includes an arc-shaped guide portion 8c on the right side of the mounting base 8d in the drawing, and a separating member
The projection is formed on the side. As shown in FIG. 4, the arc-shaped arc diameter of the guide portion 8c is formed larger than the arc diameter of the ribbon sliding contact portion 8b.

A paper feed unit (not shown) is formed on the left side of the main body case 2 shown in FIG. 1, and a plurality of recording papers 9 made of, for example, plain paper are stacked and stored in the paper feed unit. Have been. The recording paper 9 can be conveyed from the paper supply section in the paper supply direction of arrow E by the rotation of the pickup roller 10 shown in FIG. A rotatable paper feed roller 11 and a driven roller 12 are disposed in a pressure-contact state on the upstream side of the platen 3 in the paper feed direction indicated by an arrow E.

The paper feed roller 11 and the driven roller 1
The recording paper 9 pressed and held between the recording paper 9 and the paper feed roller 9
Is rotated clockwise, paper is fed in the paper feeding direction indicated by arrow E, and one end 9 a passes between the thermal head 7 and the platen 3 in the head-up state. When one end portion 9a of the recording sheet 9 that has passed between the thermal head 7 and the platen 3 is conveyed to a separation member 19 described later, it is guided by the lower surface of the separation member 19 and further conveyed downstream. It has become.

As shown in FIG. 5, the paper feed roller 11 is driven by a driving force of a driving motor 13 such as a stepping motor disposed on the outer surface of the side wall of the main body case 2 by a gear group 14 (see FIG. 5). (Only a part is shown) and can be rotationally driven. When the recording paper 9 fed by the paper feed roller 11 in the paper feed direction indicated by the arrow E is conveyed to the vicinity of the paper feed roller 11 at the left end 9b shown in FIG. (Not shown) detects the other end 9b. The rotation of the paper feed roller 11 is stopped before the recording paper 9 comes off from between the paper feed roller 11 and the driven roller 12.

Further, between the platen 3 and the thermal head 7 in the head-up state, an ink ribbon 15 is positioned above the recording paper 9 fed in the paper feeding direction of arrow E. . The ink ribbon 15 has a base film made of a resin material, and ink of a desired color is applied to one side of the base film, ie, the lower surface in the figure, to form an ink surface. The width of the ink ribbon 15 is formed to be slightly larger than the printing width of the recording paper 9 in the printing line direction.
6 is accommodated in a ribbon cassette 18 with the end wound around the supply reel 17.

In the ribbon cassette 18, a winding case 18a for storing the ink ribbon 15 wound on the winding reel 16 and a supply case 18b for storing the ink ribbon 15 wound on the supply reel 17 are connected. It is formed. Such a ribbon cassette 18 can be mounted on the cassette mounting portion 19 shown in FIG. 5 by rotating the head lever 5 largely above the arrow A.
In addition, the ribbon cassette 1 placed on the cassette loading portion 19
Reference numeral 8 denotes a configuration in which the winding case 18a is located upstream of the thermal head 7 in the paper feeding direction indicated by the arrow E, and the supply case 18b is located downstream. Further, in the ribbon cassette 18 mounted on the cassette mounting portion 19, a gap of a predetermined size is formed between the ink ribbon 15 and the platen 3, and the recording paper 9 being fed in the feeding direction of arrow E is , Can be transported.

A separating member 20 is disposed downstream of the platen 3 in the sheet feeding direction indicated by an arrow E. The separating member 20 includes a separating portion 21 and an arm portion 22. The length of the separating portion 21 shown in FIG. 3 in the longitudinal direction of arrow C is longer than the length of the head mounting base 6 in the longitudinal direction of arrow C. ing. The separation member 20 is connected to the arm 2
2 is rotatably supported by a support portion 23 formed on the main body case 2. Further, the separating member 20 supported by the support portion 23 includes a spring member 24 formed of a torsion coil spring.
As a result, the separating portion 21 is elastically urged toward the upper ribbon guide member 8 and comes into contact therewith.

Then, when the head lever 5 is rotated below the arrow B to lower the thermal head 7, the guide portion 8b of the ribbon guide member 8 contacts the separation member 20, as shown in FIG. Touch and press down. When the ribbon guide member 8 comes into contact with the separation member 20, a gap G having a predetermined size is formed between the separation member 20 and the ribbon sliding contact portion 8b, as shown in FIG. Due to the gap G, even if the ink ribbon 15 moves while sliding on the ribbon sliding portion 8b, the ink on the ink ribbon 15 is not peeled off by the separating member 20.

In such a thermal transfer printer 1, the driving force of the driving motor 13 as the driving source of the paper feed roller 11 is placed on the cassette placing section 19 via the gear group 14 (only a part of which is shown in FIG. 5). Take-up reel 1 of ribbon cassette 18
6 is transmitted. When the take-up reel 16 rotates, the ink ribbon 1 wound on the supply reel 17 is rotated.
5 can be taken up on a take-up reel 16.

Also, as shown in FIG.
1 is rotated clockwise to turn the paper feed roller 11 counterclockwise as shown in FIG. 2 for the recording paper 9 fed in the paper feeding direction indicated by the arrow E during the printing operation described below. And paper can be discharged in the paper discharge direction indicated by arrow F. When the other end portion 9b of the recording paper 9 at the time of discharging is brought into contact with the pickup roller 10, the pickup roller 10 is rotating in the direction of arrow J.
The paper is discharged to the upper side.

Next, the printing operation by the thermal transfer printer 1 according to the present invention will be described. First, the head lever 5 is largely rotated above the arrow A, and the ribbon cassette 18 is mounted on the cassette mounting portion 19. Thereafter, the head lever 5 is rotated to the position of the head-up state shown in FIG. At this time, a predetermined gap is formed between the ink ribbon 15 and the platen 3. The recording paper 9 fed from a paper feeding unit (not shown) is conveyed in the paper feeding direction indicated by an arrow E by the rotation of the pickup roller 10, and one end 9 a of the recording paper 9 is fed to the paper feed roller 11 and It is pressed and held.

Next, when the paper feed roller 11 is rotated in the clockwise direction, the one end 9a of the recording paper 9 is moved to the ink ribbon 15 between the thermal head 7 and the platen 3 in the head-up state shown in FIG. Passing through the lower part of the separation member 2
The sheet is guided by the separation section 21 and further transported downstream in the sheet feeding direction indicated by arrow E. Then, when the sheet detecting sensor (not shown) detects the other end 9b of the recording sheet 9 and the rotation of the sheet feed roller 11 is stopped, the cueing of the recording sheet 9 is performed. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 2, the head lever 5 is turned downward in the direction of arrow B to lower the thermal head 7, and the ink ribbon 15 and the recording paper 9 are pressed and held by the platen 3.

Next, the paper feed roller 11 is reversed in the counterclockwise direction, and the heating element of the thermal head 7 is selectively energized in accordance with the print information, so that the recording paper 9 pulled in the paper discharge direction indicated by the arrow F is printed. Then, the ink of the ink ribbon 15 is transferred, and an image of a desired color is printed on the recording paper 9. The ink ribbon 15 after the transfer of the ink is wound on a take-up reel 16. Then, images such as characters can be printed on one recording sheet 9 continuously from the first line to the last line.

When performing color printing, for example, with the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present invention, at least the three primary colors of Y (yellow), M (magenta) and C (cyan) are formed on the ink-coated surface of the ink ribbon 15. A ribbon cassette 18 containing a color ink ribbon called a multi-color ink ribbon in which three colors of ink are sequentially and repeatedly applied is placed on a cassette mounting portion 19.

In the first printing operation, while the recording paper fed from the paper feeding section in the paper feeding direction of arrow E is conveyed in the paper discharging direction of arrow F, for example, an image of Y (yellow) color When the printing of the Y (yellow) color image is completed, the recording paper 9 is returned to the feeding direction of the arrow E again, and the M (magenta) image is placed on the Y (yellow) color image. Are repeatedly printed, and these operations are repeated so that the C (cyan) color ink is overprinted to print a desired color image. When such color printing is performed, one end portion 9a of the recording sheet 9 is separated from the separating section 2 of the separating member 20 when the recording sheet 9 is repeatedly transported in the sheet feeding direction of arrow E.
1, the end 9 a does not come into contact with the ink ribbon 15. Therefore, since the ink on the ink ribbon 15 is not partially peeled off, generation of a white line or the like can be prevented, and high quality printing can be performed.

In the description of the embodiment of the present invention, the head mounting base 6 and the ribbon guide member 8 are described as separate members, but the head mounting base 6 and the ribbon guide member 8 are integrally formed of the same material. May be done.

[0034]

According to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, a separation for separating the ink ribbon and the recording paper downstream from the platen in the paper supply direction of the recording paper fed between the thermal head and the platen from the paper supply unit. Since the member is provided, one end of the recording paper is brought into contact with the separating member and guided downstream when the paper is fed. For this reason, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer printer capable of performing high-quality printing by preventing one end of the recording paper from abutting against the ink surface of the ink ribbon and partially exfoliating the ink to prevent generation of white lines and the like.

Further, since a ribbon guide member capable of guiding the width direction of the ink ribbon is disposed at a position facing the separation member, fluctuations in ribbon tension due to contact pressure between the recording paper and the ink ribbon can be suppressed, and printing can be performed. There is no meandering or the like in the ink ribbon inside, and it is possible to prevent wrinkles of the ink ribbon.

The guide portion is formed so as to protrude toward the separating member, and the separating member is elastically urged toward the ribbon guide member so that when the guide portion comes into contact with the separating member, the separating member and the ribbon sliding contact portion are in contact with each other. Since a gap of a predetermined size is formed between the ink ribbon and the ink ribbon, the ink surface of the ink ribbon does not contact the separating member even when the ink ribbon slides on the ribbon sliding portion. Therefore, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer printer capable of performing high-quality printing without removing the ink of the ink ribbon.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a main part of a thermal transfer printer of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part for explaining the operation of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a main part showing a separating member and a ribbon guide section according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a portion D in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an external view of a main part of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal transfer printer 2 Main body case 3 Platen 4 Rotating fulcrum 5 Head lever 6 Head mounting stand 7 Thermal head 8 Ribbon guide member 8a Driver protection part 8b Ribbon sliding contact part 8c Guide part 9 Recording paper 9a One end part 9b Other end part 10 Pickup Roller 11 Paper feed roller 12 Follower roller 13 Drive motor 14 Gear group 15 Ink ribbon 16 Take-up reel 17 Supply reel 18 Ribbon cassette 18a Take-up case 18b Supply case 18c Pull-out port 19 Cassette mounting section 20 Separating member 21 Separating section 22 Arm Part 23 support part 24 spring member

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A recording head comprising: a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements; a platen to which the thermal head can be pressed; an ink ribbon housed in a ribbon cassette; and recording paper positioned at a paper feed unit. And the ink ribbon are transported between the thermal head and the platen so that the thermal head with the head down can be pressed and held on the platen, and the thermal head and the platen are A separating member for separating the ink ribbon and the recording paper from each other downstream of the platen in a paper feeding direction of the recording paper fed between the heat transfer printers. 2. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, wherein a ribbon guide member is provided at a position facing the separation member so as to guide the width direction of the ink ribbon. 3. The ribbon guide member includes a pair of guide portions for guiding the width direction of the ink ribbon, and the ink ribbon slides to a position sandwiched between the pair of guide portions and facing the separation member. A guide portion protruding toward the separating member, and elastically biasing the separating member toward the ribbon guide member so that the guide portion contacts the separating member. 3. A thermal transfer printer according to claim 2, wherein a gap having a predetermined size is formed between said separating member and said ribbon sliding contact portion.