JP2010012630A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To obtain a printer which carries out color printing by using a plurality of monocolor ink ribbons of different colors and a thermal head, can print on a plurality of sheets simultaneously, contributes to high-speed printing, space saving and power saving, and can consider the roll diameter of sheet. <P>SOLUTION: The printer 1 comprises a plurality of print engines 4 each having one thermal head 2 and sheet feed mechanism 3, respectively, an ink ribbon set holder 5 in which a plurality of ink ribbon sets 6 consisting of a plurality of monocolor ink ribbons 7 can be arranged, and a drive mechanism 8 which drives a plurality of ink ribbon set holders 5 to operate relatively to the print engines 4 so that each monocolor ink ribbon 7 may go round on a predetermined track. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2010,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a color printer using an ink ribbon and a thermal head.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various thermal transfer type printers that perform color printing on paper by providing a plurality of single color ink ribbons of different colors and bringing a thermal head into contact with the single color ink ribbon of each color are known. In this type of printer, as a configuration for suppressing wasteful consumption of the ink ribbon and shortening the printing time, a plurality of sets of head blocks each including a single color ink ribbon and a thermal head are provided, and these sets of head blocks are arranged. A revolver type printer that rotates is developed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this revolver-type printer, a head block is used for printing by disposing a head block at a predetermined angle in the circumferential direction of the rotational direction of the rotational body that is rotationally driven, and driving the rotational body according to the print color. By switching the, the high-speed processing of color printing and single-color printing can be realized without wasting the ink ribbon wastefully, and space saving can also be realized.

Other revolver-type printers are equipped with a single color ink ribbon of different colors that can rotate a plurality of times, and the single color ink ribbon required for printing is selectively positioned at a predetermined position and printed on a sheet by a single thermal head. A configuration is also considered (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3). In these printers, the thermal head is movably provided between the retracted position and the printing position, the thermal head is retracted when the ink ribbon is rotated, and the ink ribbon tape is used by the thermal head only when printing on the paper. Is pressed against the paper so as to prevent wasteful consumption of the ink ribbon and prevent the paper from being stained.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-269556 JP 7-227982 A JP-A-11-170583

  By the way, although each of the various printers described above has advantages, in the field of this printer, further higher speed printing, space saving, power saving, and the like are required. For example, as is apparent from the fact that each of the printers described in each of the above-mentioned patent documents is equipped with one thermal head, it is natural that one printing (one pass) is performed once on a sheet. You can only do it. In this one pass, while printing on a sheet with one single color ink ribbon, the other single color ink ribbon is in a standby state and is not directly used for printing. In this type of printer, the printing paper is usually wound in a roll shape. However, if the roll diameter of the paper is large, the torque for pulling out the paper during printing may become too large. . On the other hand, if the roll diameter of the paper is too small, curling will occur on the drawn paper, causing a problem that the paper after printing is curled. Therefore, the roll diameter of the paper needs to be set to an appropriate size although it depends on the quality of the paper. However, in a printer with a single thermal head, a large-diameter paper roll is often used to prevent delay due to running out of paper during printing.

  In view of such a problem, the present invention mainly aims to provide a printer capable of simultaneously printing on a plurality of sheets in a color printer using an ink ribbon and a thermal head, and further to increase the printing speed. This also contributes to space saving and power saving, and enables consideration of the roll diameter of the paper.

  That is, the present invention is a printer that performs color printing on a sheet conveyed by a sheet feeding mechanism using a plurality of single color ink ribbons and thermal heads each having a different color, each having one thermal head and a sheet feeding mechanism. An ink ribbon set holder that includes a plurality of print engines and can be provided with a plurality of ink ribbon sets each including a plurality of single color ink ribbons, and each single color ink ribbon circulates on a predetermined trajectory through the plurality of ink ribbon set holders. Thus, the printer includes a drive mechanism that operates relative to the print engine.

  In the present invention, normal color ink ribbons such as yellow, cyan and magenta, black ink ribbons, special color ink ribbons such as gold and silver, and overprint ink ribbons can be applied to the single color ink ribbon. . One ink ribbon set is provided with a plurality of single-color ink ribbons each having a different color, and the ink ribbon set holder is provided with a plurality of ink ribbon sets. In the printer of the present invention, a plurality of print engines each having one thermal head and one paper feed mechanism are provided. The number of print engines, the number of ink ribbon sets, and the number of single color ink ribbons provided in each ink ribbon set can be appropriately set.

  In the present invention, by using a plurality of ink ribbon sets mounted on the ink ribbon set holder and a plurality of print engines, it becomes possible to perform color printing on a plurality of sheets of paper at the same time, thereby reducing the printing time. Power saving can be achieved. The contents printed by each print engine may be the same or different. Further, by configuring each single color ink ribbon mounted on the ink ribbon set holder by the driving means to operate in a predetermined track, the entire printer apparatus can be made compact. Furthermore, even if any single color ink ribbon is worn out, any thermal head is broken, or the paper transported by any paper feed mechanism is out of paper, Since it can be replaced by a monochromatic ink ribbon, other thermal heads, or paper of a paper feed mechanism, interruption of the printing operation can be suppressed. Furthermore, when the paper feed mechanism is of a type in which paper is loaded on a paper roll and unwinds, the printer of the present invention includes a plurality of paper feed mechanisms, so that the diameter of each paper roll is not too large. Of course, the roll diameter can be set not to be too small.

  In such a printer of the present invention, if the drive mechanism is configured to rotationally drive a plurality of ink ribbon set holders so that each single color ink ribbon performs a circular movement, the movement of the ink ribbon set holder by the drive mechanism is simplified. And simplification of the mechanism and space saving of the printer can be achieved.

  Each print engine includes a retreat position where the thermal head is separated from the single color ink ribbon when the ink ribbon set holder is operated by the driving mechanism, and any single color ink ribbon when the ink ribbon set holder is stopped and printing is performed. The printer according to the present invention can be provided with a contact / separation mechanism that operates between the printing position and the printing position in contact with the printer, and in this case, wasteful consumption of the ink ribbon and adhesion of dirt on the paper can be prevented.

  Furthermore, in the printer of the present invention, a plurality of ink ribbon set holders are provided in the paper advance direction by the paper feed mechanism, and a thermal head is further provided in addition to the thermal head that is paired with the paper feed mechanism in the print engine. It is also possible to arrange the heads corresponding to the plurality of ink ribbon set holders. According to this configuration, printing can be executed at a plurality of locations on a sheet conveyed by one sheet feeding mechanism, so that printing efficiency can be further improved. In addition, if any of the ink ribbon sets aligned in the paper advance direction is worn out or fails, or if the thermal head fails, printing can be performed using another ink ribbon set provided in the paper advance direction and the thermal head. You can continue.

  According to the printer of the present invention, a plurality of print engines each provided with a thermal head and a paper feed mechanism are provided, and an ink ribbon set holder capable of providing a plurality of ink ribbon sets each including a plurality of single color ink ribbons is driven. By circulating operation with the mechanism, color printing can be performed on the paper transported by each paper feeding mechanism by the corresponding thermal head and the moving ink ribbon, so simultaneous printing on multiple papers is possible Thus, it is possible to realize high-speed printing and downsizing of the printer device. In addition, even if the ink ribbon is worn or broken, the thermal head is broken, the paper feed mechanism is broken, or the paper is partially consumed, it can be supplemented by another ink ribbon, thermal head, paper feed mechanism, or paper. Therefore, it is possible to continue printing without interrupting the operation of the printer, and also in this respect, the printing operation can be speeded up.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is a sublimation thermal transfer printer (hereinafter simply referred to as “printer”) 1 which is an example of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view, FIG. 2 is a schematic side view, and FIG. Shows a schematic front view. The printer 1 includes a plurality of print engines 4 each including a single thermal head 2 and a paper feed mechanism 3, and a plurality of single color ink ribbons 7. It is possible to perform color printing at the same time. In FIG. 2, the paper feed mechanism 3 is omitted. Note that reference numerals 2, 3, 4, 6 (described later), 7, 3P are used only in the description of the present specification, and in the drawing, the reference numerals of specific members corresponding thereto are used. .

  Specifically, the printer 1 of this embodiment is provided with four thermal heads 2 and four paper feed mechanisms 3, and the thermal head 2 and the paper feed mechanisms 3 are in a one-to-one pair, for a total of four sets. The print engine 4 is configured. The thermal head 2 is a normal one applied to a general sublimation thermal transfer printer, but the paper feed mechanism 3 includes a paper roller 3a, a paper transport path (not shown), and a cutter 3b. The paper 3P wound around the roller 3a is guided on the paper conveyance path, and the paper 3P after printing is cut by the cutter 3b. Hereinafter, when the thermal head 2, the paper feeding mechanism 3, the paper 3P, and the print engine 4 are described separately, the thermal heads 21, 22, 23, and 24 and the paper feeding mechanisms 31, 32, and 33 are differentiated from each other. , 34, paper 31P, 32P, 33P, 34P, and print engines 41, 42, 43, 44.

  In addition, eight monochromatic ink ribbons 7 are mounted on the printer 1 of the present embodiment, and two ink ribbon sets 6 are configured by four. Hereinafter, when the two ink ribbon sets 6 are described separately, the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are denoted by different symbols. The single color ink ribbon 7 in each ink ribbon set 6 includes a pair of a supply ribbon 7a and a recovery ribbon 7b, and each color ink tape 7c (yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), overprint (OP). 4 types). Hereinafter, when distinguishing the single color ink ribbons 7 of the respective colors in the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62, the single color ink ribbons 71Y, 71M, 71C, 71OP, 72Y, 72M, 72C, 72OP are differentiated from each other. And The two ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are mounted on an ink ribbon set holder 5 (schematically represented by a cylindrical shape in the drawing), and the ink ribbon set holder 5 is rotationally driven by a drive mechanism 8. Thus, each single-color ink ribbon 7 is configured to rotate on a certain circumference. Although the drive mechanism 8 will not be described in detail, mechanical parts such as a motor (not shown) are operated in accordance with a computer and a program for controlling the print engine 4 to appropriately determine the rotation or stop of the ink ribbon set holder 5 and the rotation direction. The configuration is adopted. That is, the printer 1 is a kind of revolver type printer that performs printing by rotating the ink ribbon 7.

  In the printer 1 of the present embodiment, the single color ink ribbons 7 are arranged on the circumference of the ink ribbon set holder 5 so as to be substantially uniform, and the print engines 4 are arranged corresponding to every other single color ink ribbon 7. is doing. In this example, due to the temperature management of the printing color, for each ink ribbon set 61, 62, each single color ink ribbon 7 is clocked in the order of 71Y (72Y), 71M (72M), 71C (72C), 71OP (72OP). The ink ribbon set holder 5 is arranged to rotate counterclockwise (FIG. 2). In consideration of access to the thermal head 2 and the ease of exchanging the monochrome ink ribbon 7 and the paper 3P, the thermal head 2 is arranged outside the ink tape 7c, and the paper 3P is arranged inside the ink tape 7c. However, these arrangement relationships may be changed. Further, as indicated by arrows in FIGS. 2 and 3, each thermal head 2 is movable by an approach / separation mechanism (not shown) provided in the print engine 4, and the ink ribbon set holder 5 of the drive mechanism 8 During operation, it is positioned at a retracted position that is separated from the ink tape 7c, and is positioned at a printing position that contacts the ink ribbon 7c and presses against the paper 3P only when printing is performed with the ink ribbon set holder 5 stopped. The operation of the thermal head 2 and the paper feed of the paper 3P by the paper feed mechanism 3 are collectively controlled by the computer and the program that control the print engine 4 together with the drive mechanism 8.

  Hereinafter, the printing execution process by the printer 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Below, the printing process for one rotation of the ink ribbon set holder 5 is demonstrated.

  1) First, as shown in FIG. 1 to FIG. 3, a state in which the yellow single-color ink ribbons 71Y and 72Y of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are arranged at positions corresponding to the print engine 41 and the print engine 42, respectively. Start state. In this state, the thermal heads 21 and 22 are moved to the printing position, and one screen is printed in yellow on the paper 31P and 32P. However, at this time, in the print engines 42 and 44, the thermal heads 23 and 24 are in the retracted positions, and printing on the sheets 33P and 34P has not yet started.

  2) Next, the thermal heads 21 and 22 move to the retracted position, and the ink ribbon set holder 5 rotates 45 ° (counterclockwise in FIGS. 1 and 2; the same applies hereinafter), and the sheets 31P and 32P become one. The screen is rewound. In this state, the single-color ink ribbons 71M and 72M of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are supplied to the print engines 41 and 42, respectively, and the thermal heads 21 and 22 are moved to the printing position so that the papers 31P and 32P have the same magenta color. The screen is printed. At this time, in the print engines 43 and 44, the thermal heads 23 and 24 are still in the retracted positions, and printing on the sheets 33P and 34P has not yet started.

  3) Next, the thermal heads 21 and 22 move to the retracted position, the ink ribbon set holder 5 rotates 45 °, and the sheets 31P and 32P are rewound by one screen. In this state, the single color ink ribbons 71C and 72C of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are supplied to the print engines 41 and 42, respectively, and the single color ink ribbons 71Y and 72Y of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are supplied to the print engines 43 and 44, respectively. Is done. Then, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the printing position, and one screen is printed on the papers 31P and 32P in magenta color and on the papers 33P and 34P in yellow color.

  4) Next, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the retracted position, the ink ribbon set holder 5 is rotated 45 °, and all the sheets 3P are rewound by one screen. In this state, the single color ink ribbons 71OP and 72OP of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are supplied to the print engines 41 and 42, respectively, and the single color ink ribbons 71M and 72M of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are supplied to the print engines 43 and 44, respectively. Is done. Then, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the printing position, and the overprint is printed on the papers 31P and 32P for one screen, and the one screen is printed on the papers 33P and 34P in magenta color. Here, since color printing for one screen on the sheets 31P and 32P is completed, the print engines 41 and 42 move the thermal heads 21 and 22 to the retracted position, and the sheets 31P and 32P are constant when necessary. The amount is fed out and cut by the cutter 3b as printed matter P (FIG. 2).

  5) Next, the thermal heads 23 and 24 are also moved to the retracted position, the ink ribbon set holder 5 is rotated by 45 °, and the sheets 33P and 34P are rewound by one screen. In this state, the monochrome ink ribbons 72Y and 71Y of the ink ribbon sets 62 and 61 are supplied to the print engines 41 and 42, respectively, and the monochrome ink ribbons 71C and 72C of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are supplied to the print engines 43 and 44, respectively. Is done. Then, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the printing position, and one sheet is printed on the papers 31P and 32P in yellow and on the papers 33P and 34P in cyan.

  6) Next, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the retracted position, the ink ribbon set holder 5 is rotated by 45 °, and all the sheets 3P are rewound by one screen. In this state, the monochrome ink ribbons 72M and 71M of the ink ribbon sets 62 and 61 are supplied to the print engines 41 and 42, respectively, and the monochrome ink ribbons 71OP and 72OP of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 are supplied to the print engines 43 and 44, respectively. Is done. Then, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the printing position, and one screen is printed in yellow on the papers 31P and 32P, and one overprint is printed on the papers 33P and 34P. Here, in the print engines 43 and 44, color printing for one screen on the sheets 33P and 34P has been completed, so the thermal heads 23 and 24 move to the retracted position, and the sheets 33P and 34P are constant when necessary. The amount is fed out and cut as a printed matter P by the cutter 3b.

  7) Next, the thermal heads 21 and 22 are also moved to the retracted position, the ink ribbon set holder 5 is rotated by 45 °, and the sheets 31P and 32P are rewound by one screen. In this state, the single color ink ribbons 72C and 71C of the ink ribbon sets 62 and 61 are supplied to the print engines 41 and 42, respectively, and the single color ink ribbons 72Y and 71Y of the ink ribbon sets 62 and 61 are supplied to the print engines 43 and 44, respectively. Is done. Then, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the printing position, and one sheet is printed on the papers 31P and 32P in cyan color and on the papers 33P and 34P in yellow color.

  8) Next, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the retracted position, the ink ribbon set holder 5 is rotated 45 °, and all the sheets 3P are rewound by one screen. In this state, the monochrome ink ribbons 72OP and 71OP of the ink ribbon sets 62 and 61 are supplied to the print engines 41 and 42, respectively, and the monochrome ink ribbons 72M and 71M of the ink ribbon sets 62 and 61 are supplied to the print engines 43 and 44, respectively. Is done. Then, all the thermal heads 2 are moved to the printing position, and the overprint is printed on the papers 31P and 32P for one screen, and the one screen is printed on the papers 33P and 34P in magenta color. Here, in the print engines 41 and 42, the second color printing for one screen on the paper 31P and 32P has been completed, so the thermal heads 21 and 22 move to the retracted position, and if necessary, the paper 31P and A certain amount of 32P is fed out and cut as printed matter P by the cutter 3b.

  9) Next, the thermal heads 23 and 24 are also moved to the retracted position, the ink ribbon set holder 5 is rotated by 45 °, and the sheets 33P and 34P are rewound by one screen. In this state, the thermal heads 21 and 22 are in the retracted position, and printing by the print engines 41 and 42 on the paper 31P and 32P is suspended, but printing of the ink ribbon set holder 5 for the second rotation is started. It doesn't matter. The print engines 43 and 44 are supplied with the single color ink ribbons 72M and 71M of the ink ribbon sets 61 and 62, respectively. Then, the thermal heads 23 and 24 are moved to the printing position, and one screen is printed in magenta color on the paper 33P and 34P.

  10) Next, the thermal heads 23 and 24 move to the retracted position (assuming that the print engines 41 and 42 remain in the rest state), the ink ribbon set holder 5 rotates 45 °, and the sheets 33P and 34P. Is rewound by one screen. In this state, the single color ink ribbons 72OP and 71OP of the ink ribbon sets 62 and 61 are supplied to the print engines 43 and 44, respectively. Then, the thermal heads 23 and 24 move to the printing position, and one screen of overprinting is printed on the sheets 33P and 34P. Here, in the print engines 43 and 44, since the second color printing for one screen on the sheets 33P and 34P is completed, the thermal heads 23 and 24 are moved to the retracted position, and if necessary, the sheets 33P and 34P are printed. A predetermined amount of 34P is fed out and cut as a printed matter P by the cutter 3b.

  Through the steps as described above, the printing process for one rotation of the ink ribbon set holder 5 is completed, and the printing engine 4 has performed printing for two screens on the paper 3P. In the above description, the process of simultaneously operating the four print engines 4 to perform printing on the four sheets 3P has been described. However, in the printer 1 according to the present embodiment, the number of print requests is one, two It is possible to deal with any of three or three sheets. In this case, a measure may be taken to place some print engines 4 in a dormant state.

  As described above, in the printer 1 of this embodiment, two ink ribbon sets 61 and 62 (a total of eight single-color ink ribbons 7) are cyclically supplied to the four print engines 4, so that it takes time to start and end printing. Although simultaneous misregistration occurs, simultaneous color printing on four sheets of paper 3P is possible at the same time, so high-speed printing is possible. For example, if the print contents of the four print engines 4 are the same, the same printed matter can be printed in a short time. If the print contents of the four print engines 4 are made different, different prints can be obtained simultaneously by one printer 1. Further, since each of the paper feed mechanisms 3 of the four print engines 4 is one in which the paper 3P is wound around the paper roller 3a, the roll diameter around which the paper 3P is wound can be set to an appropriate size. Therefore, it is possible to simultaneously reduce the torque when the paper 3P is unwound and the curl of the paper 3P.

  Further, even when any single color ink ribbon 7 is worn out or broken, when any sheet 3P is consumed, or when any thermal head 2 is broken, other single color ink ribbons 7 or Supplementation by printing by the print engine 4 is possible.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above. For example, as long as the design size of the printer allows, the number of print engines and ink ribbon sets can be changed as appropriate. Further, the operation by the driving means of the ink ribbon set holder (including the ink ribbon set and the single color ink ribbon) is not necessarily a circular motion, and can be an appropriate circular motion that circulates around the print engine. Furthermore, each print engine may be provided with one or more thermal heads in addition to the pair of paper feeding mechanisms and thermal heads, and one or more ink ribbon set holders may be additionally provided correspondingly. In this case, it becomes possible to obtain more printed materials simultaneously and at high speed. In addition, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1 is a schematic perspective view showing a printer according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing the printer. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the printer. Explanatory drawing which shows an example of the printing process by the printer.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Printer 2 (21, 22, 23, 24) ... Thermal head 3 (31, 32, 33, 34) ... Paper feed mechanism 3P (31P, 32P, 33P, 34P) ... Paper 4 (41, 42, 43, 44) Print engine 5 Ink ribbon set holder 6 (61, 62) Ink ribbon set 7 (71Y, 71C, 71M, 71OP, 72Y, 72C, 72M, 72OP) Monochromatic ink ribbon 8 Drive mechanism

Claims (4)

A printer that performs color printing on paper conveyed by a paper feed mechanism using a plurality of single-color ink ribbons and thermal heads each having a different color,
A plurality of print engines each having one thermal head and one paper feeding mechanism;
An ink ribbon set holder capable of disposing a plurality of ink ribbon sets composed of the plurality of single color ink ribbons;
A printer comprising: a drive mechanism that operates the plurality of ink ribbon set holders relative to the print engine so that each single color ink ribbon circulates on a predetermined track. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the drive mechanism is configured to rotationally drive the plurality of ink ribbon set holders so that each single color ink ribbon performs a circular motion. Each of the print engines includes a retreat position where the thermal head is separated from the single color ink ribbon when the ink ribbon set holder is operated by the drive mechanism, and when the ink ribbon set holder is stopped and printing is performed. The printer according to claim 1, further comprising a contact / separation mechanism that operates between a printing position that contacts the single-color ink ribbon. A plurality of the ink ribbon set holders are provided in the paper traveling direction by the paper feeding mechanism, and a thermal head is further provided in addition to the thermal head that is paired with the paper feeding mechanism in the print engine. The printer according to claim 1, wherein the printer is disposed corresponding to each of the ink ribbon set holders.

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