JPH0272964A - Thermal transfer recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To equalize shrinkage due to heat of recording paper approximately, and to remove an irregular curl due to the nonuniform picture data of recording paper after recording by heating the surface of the recording paper according to an applied calorific value used for recording the picture data and approximately making the applied calorific value uniform. CONSTITUTION:Calorific values are applied at every dot by a thermal head 8, and specified multicolor superposition recording is conducted. When the front end of recording paper 1 proceeding in a carrying path 7 is detected by a recording-paper front-end detecting means 15, a curl removing control section is operated, and an ink sheet 11 is positioned at a curl removing section 18. Since ink is not applied to the curl removing section 18, heat generated in the thermal head 8 is applied onto the surface of previously recorded recording paper 1 through the fabric of the ink sheet 11, and a calorific value corresponding to picture information and a calorific value for taking off a curl are applied approximately constantly at every dot to recording paper 1. Accordingly, shrinkage due to heat is kept approximately fixed at every dot on the surface of recording paper 1, thus removing irregular curls due to the magnitude of applied calorific values.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device, and more particularly, to a thermal transfer recording device suitable for overlapping recording of a plurality of colors on recording paper, particularly synthetic paper.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as this type of thermal transfer recording device, there is a
There is one described in Japanese Patent No. 185665.

In this apparatus, first and second rollers are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval, and an oval paper conveyance path is provided that includes the periphery of the rollers. The recording paper is circulated in this paper conveyance path, and in a part of the conveyance path, the recording paper and the ink carrier (this ink carrier is in the form of a belt, and the length is equal to the length of the paper conveyance path along the longitudinal direction). A thermal head is pressed and heated through a plurality of monochromatic ink layers of different tones, which are formed repeatedly in order to record image information. Then, the color of the ink carrier was changed to another color, and recording was performed again while the recording paper rotated once, thereby performing multicolor overlapping recording.

In this recording apparatus, since the recording paper is conveyed in a single direction, skewing of the recording paper due to load fluctuations during conveyance does not occur.

Furthermore, even if the size of the recording paper becomes large, a platen with a relatively small diameter can be used, and the size of the compatible thermal head and the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced.

However, when recording is performed using synthetic paper as recording paper, the surface of the recording paper shrinks due to the applied heat. Furthermore, it has not been sufficiently recognized that the recording curls almost uniformly for data that is uniform throughout, and irregularly for data that is non-uniform.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

The above-mentioned conventional technology does not take into account the fact that the surface of the recording paper is heated during recording and shrinkage due to heat occurs, and there is a problem that curling occurs due to the difference in the amount of shrinkage between the front and back sides of the recording paper after recording.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, to remove curls from recording paper, and to use heat suitable for recording image information. A means for heating the surface of the recording paper and making the applied heat substantially uniform was provided.

Further, means is provided to heat the back side of the recording paper after recording has been completed or before recording in accordance with the amount of applied heat used for recording image data, and to make the applied heat amount approximately equal on the front and back sides of the recording paper. Ta.

[Effect]

The surface of the recording paper is heated in accordance with the amount of applied heat used to record image data, and the applied amount of heat is made approximately uniform. This makes it possible to substantially equalize the shrinkage of the recording paper due to heat, so that it is possible to remove irregular curls caused by uneven image data on the recording paper after recording.

Further, the back side of the recording paper after recording or before recording is heated in accordance with the amount of applied heat used for recording image data, so that the amount of heat applied to the recording paper is approximately equal on the front and back sides of the recording paper. As a result, the shrinkage of the recording paper due to heat can be made approximately equal on the front and back sides of the recording paper, so that it is possible to eliminate substantially uniform curls due to uniform image data throughout, or irregular curls due to non-uniform image data.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of the thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention, where ▪ is recording paper, 2 is the thermal transfer recording device, 3 is a paper discharge port, and 4 is a paper feed port. When the recording paper 1 is inserted into the device 2 through the paper feed port 4, predetermined recording is performed as described later, and after the recording is completed, the recording paper 1 is ejected from the paper ejection port 3, and the device 2 completes the predetermined operation. do.

FIG. 1 is an internal sectional view showing a first embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, in which 5 is a platen, 6 is an auxiliary roller, 7 is a conveyance path, 8 is a thermal head, and 9 is a peeling roller. , 10 is a heating section, 1 is an ink sheet, 12 is a supply reel, 13 is a take-up reel, 14 is a marker detection means, 15 is a recording paper leading edge detection means, and 16 is a paper discharge frame.

First, the overall configuration will be explained using FIG. 1.

The platen 5 has a circumferential surface made of an elastic material such as rubber, and is
rotate in the direction. The auxiliary roller 6 is provided in pressure contact with the peripheral surface of the platen 5 so as to be able to rotate once by a plate spring or the like (not shown), and presses the recording paper 1 against the peripheral surface of the platen 5. The conveying path 7 is formed at approximately constant intervals with respect to the circumferential surface of the platen 5, and guides the photographic paper l. The thermal head 8 is pressed against the platen 5 by a support member (not shown) during recording, and is separated from the platen 5 during non-recording. The ink sheet 11 is wound around a supply reel I2, is supplied during recording, and is taken up on a take-up reel 13. The paper ejection frame 16 is swingable and swings to the position shown by the dotted line to guide the recording paper 1 on which a predetermined recording has been completed to the paper ejection port 3.

Next, the recording operation will be explained using FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 2 is an operational flowchart of the embodiment shown in FIG.

The recording paper 1 inserted through the paper feed port 4 in FIG. 1 is guided to the transport path 7 in FIG. 1 (step 1 in FIG. 2). Following the rotation of the platen 5 (step 2), the recording paper 1 is moved to the platen 5.
and is held and conveyed by auxiliary rollers 6. After traveling through the conveyance path 7, the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is attached to the ink sheet 1.
Contact with 1.

It then advances to the contact area between the thermal head 8 and the platen 5.

When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detection means 15 (step 3), recording is started by a recording control means (not shown) (step 4).

As will be described later, the ink sheet 11 is coated with ink of a plurality of colors in the longitudinal direction, is separated from the recording paper l by a peeling roller 9, and is wound onto a take-up reel 13.

Recording progresses as the platen 5 rotates, and the recording paper 1 goes around the conveyance path 7 a number of times corresponding to the predetermined number of colors. After the predetermined multicolor overlapping recording is completed (step 5), the recording paper 1 further advances in the conveyance path 7, and when the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detection means 15, the paper ejection frame 16 is moved. It swings to the position shown by the dotted line.

Here, the recording paper 1 on which the predetermined recording has been completed is subjected to curl removal processing, which will be described later (step 6). As the process progresses, the recording paper 1 is guided to the paper discharge port 3. When the curl removal process, which will be described later, is completed, the recording paper l is discharged from the paper discharge port 3 (step 7), and the entire operation is completed.

FIG. 3 is a detailed explanatory diagram of the ink sheet 11, 17
is a leading marker, and 18 is a curl removal portion. The ink sheet 11 has a plurality of (for example, yellow, magenta, and cyan) inks sequentially applied in the longitudinal direction. A first marker 17 is provided at the beginning of the series of inks, and a first marker 17 is provided at the beginning of the series of inks.
The marker detection means 14 shown in the figure detects the first marker 1.
7 is detected, the take-up reel 13 stops, and the ink sheet 11 completes preparation for the next recording. A curl removing portion 18 to which no ink is applied is provided at a position next to the ink corresponding to the last recording.

Next, the curl removal processing operation in the flow shown in FIG. 2 will be explained in detail.

As the recording paper 1, synthetic paper is used so that the ink can be easily transferred. Recording is performed by heating the ink-applied portion of the ink sheet 11 using the thermal head 8 and transferring the ink to the recording paper 1. The amount of heat applied to each drum differs depending on the image information. Therefore, unbalanced contraction due to heat occurs on the surface of the recording paper 1, and as a result, the recording paper 1 curls irregularly. FIGS. 1, 3, and 4 show the curl removal processing operation according to the present invention.

This will be explained with reference to FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b).

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the curl removal process, in which 19 is image data to be recorded, 20 is a curl removal control section, 21 is a drive section for the thermal head 8, 39 is a switching section, and 40 is a recording control section.

Figure 5 shows the total amount of heat for each dot when the horizontal axis is the dot number of the thermal head 8 and the vertical axis is the amount of heat applied, where (a) shows the time of recording and (b) shows the time of curl removal. ing. The switching unit 39 in FIG. 4 first selects the solid line direction.

The recording control unit 40 controls the drive unit 21 according to the image data 19.
The thermal head 8 is controlled as shown in FIG. 5(a).
By applying heat to each dot, predetermined multicolor overlapping recording is performed. When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 that has traveled through the transport path 7 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detection means 15, the switching unit 39 selects the dotted line direction, and the curl removal control unit 20 enters a predetermined operation. That is, as shown in FIG. 5(b), the amount of additional heat to be added to each dot, indicated by the dotted line, is determined so that the heat IP is approximately constant with respect to the total amount of heat applied to each dot. The driving section 21 of the thermal head 8 receives information on the amount of heat to be applied from the curl removal control section 20, drives the thermal head 8, and starts the curl removal operation.

During the curl removing operation, the curl removing portion 18 of the ink sheet 11 is positioned as shown in FIG.

Since ink is not applied to the curl removal area on the 1st,
The heat generated by the thermal head 8 is applied to the recorded surface of the recording paper 1 via the fabric of the ink sheet 11.

Through the above-described operation, the amount of heat corresponding to the image information and the amount of heat for removing curls are applied to the recording paper 1 at a substantially constant rate for each dot. As a result, on the surface of the recording paper 1, the shrinkage due to heat is approximately constant for each dot, and irregular curls caused by the amount of applied heat can be removed.

FIG. 7 is an internal sectional view showing a second embodiment of the thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention, in which the same members as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1 are given the same reference numerals. . And 2
2 is a guide piece, 23 is a recording paper trailing edge detection means, 24 is a conveyance roller, and 25 is a presser roller.

The guide piece 22 is swingable and swings to the position indicated by the - dotted chain line to complete the predetermined recording and guide the recording paper l ejected from the transport path 7 to the transport path 7 again.

The recording paper trailing edge detection means 23 is provided downstream of the guide piece 22 and detects the trailing edge of the recording paper 1 that has been discharged.

The presser rollers 25a and 25b are pressed against the circumferential surface of the conveyance roller 24 by a temporary spring or the like (not shown).

It is rotatably provided. The conveying roller 24 is rotatable by a rotating means (not shown), and rotates in the direction of arrow B to convey the recording paper 1 when feeding and discharging paper.

Further, as will be described later, during the curl removal processing operation, the recording paper 1 is rotated in the direction opposite to the direction of arrow B to transport the recording paper 1 to the transport path 7.

The overall operation will be explained below using FIGS. 7 and 8.

FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of the present embodiment shown in FIG.

The recording paper 1 inserted through the paper feed port 4 is conveyed to the conveyance path 7 by the conveyance roller 24 and the press roller 25a (step 10). Here, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the recording medium rotates in the conveyance path 7, and multicolor overlapping recording is performed (steps 11 to 15). When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detection means 15 before the final ink recording is performed, the paper ejection frame 16 swings to the dotted line position, and the recording paper 1 is moved in the direction of the paper ejection port 3. I will guide you to.

The conveyance roller 24 and the presser roller 25b hold and convey the discharged recording paper 1. Recording paper trailing edge detection means 23
When the trailing edge of the recording paper 1 is detected, the transport roller 2
4 stops rotating, and the guide piece 22 swings to the position shown by the dashed line. After the guide piece 22 swings, the conveyor roller 2
4 rotates in the opposite direction to the arrow B and passes through the guide piece 22,
The recording paper 1 is conveyed to the conveyance path 7 again. Here, the recording paper I is reversed from the recording paper I, and is conveyed in such a manner that the surface on which the image information is recorded is in contact with the circumferential surface of the platen 5 (step 16). When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detecting means 15, the paper ejection frame 16 swings to the dotted line position, the guide frame 22 swings to the solid line position, and a curl removal process to be described later is performed (step 17). ). The recording paper 1 that has undergone the curl removal process is delivered to the paper ejection frame 16. The paper is ejected from the paper ejection port 3 by the conveyance roller 24 and the presser roller 25b, which rotate in the direction of arrow B via the guide piece 22 (step 18).
, the whole operation ends.

Next, a processing operation for removing curls from the recording paper 1 after recording in this embodiment will be described.

FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the heating section 10 shown in FIG. 7, and the members explained in FIG. 7 are given the same reference numerals.

Reference numeral 26 denotes a heating element on the thermal head 8, which is formed on the glaze layer having an arcuate cross section. The thermal head 8 is pressed against the circumferential surface of the platen 5, with the ink sheet 11 and the recording paper 1 interposed therebetween, as described above. Further, as described above, the surface of the platen 5 is made of an elastic material such as rubber, so when the arc-shaped heating element 26 is pressed, the surface of the platen 5 becomes depressed as shown in FIG. It becomes a shape.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of curl removal in this example (
a) is a block diagram of the processing, (b) is the recorded data, (
C) is curl removal data.

In the same figure (a), 27 is an inversion curl removal control section. The inversion curl removal control section 27 inverts the recorded image data 19 shown in FIG. 10B as shown in FIG. The drive section 21 of the thermal head 8 selects the dotted line direction with the switching section 39, receives information on the amount of heat to be applied from the reverse curl removal control section 27, drives the thermal head 8, and enters the curl removal processing operation.

Figure 11 shows the amount of heat of each dot when the horizontal axis is the dot of the thermal head 8 and the vertical axis is the amount of heat applied.
) corresponds to recording dots, and (b) corresponds to the case where a fixed amount of heat is applied.

When the recording paper 1 is placed in a predetermined position, heat is applied to the back surface of the recording paper 1 as shown in FIG. 11(a).

Since the recording paper 1 is inverted as described above, the amount of heat applied is different from the image data 19 as shown in FIG. 10(C).
It corresponds to reversed information. That is, an amount of heat approximately equal to the total amount of heat applied to the surface is applied to each dot by the thermal head 8.

As a result, the irregular curls caused by the non-uniform image data 19 can be removed by canceling out the curls generated on the front surface of the recording paper 1 and the curls in the opposite direction caused by the heat applied to the back surface.

Further, in this embodiment, as explained in FIG. 9, in the portion where the surface of the recording paper 1 is heated, the heating element 26 causes the recording paper 1 to be bent in the opposite direction to the curled direction. ing. For this reason, as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 11 (1) for the recording paper 1 curled almost uniformly in the conveyance direction, a certain amount of heat 11 Pa is applied to the recording heat amount of the image data 19.
(For example, the average value of the recording heat amount of the image data 19) is also effective in removing curls.

The above-described curl removal process is carried out in the curl removal section 18 of the ink sheet 11 shown in FIG.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of the curl removal sheet 28,
The curl removal sheet 28 shown in FIG. 3A is composed of the curl removal section 18 and the leading marker 17 shown in FIG. In FIG. 7, when the trailing edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper trailing edge detection means 23 and the conveying roller 24 is stopped, the ink sheet 11 is replaced with a curl removal sheet 2 days, and then the curl removal process is performed. It is also possible to remove curls by performing the following. Also, mark 17a on the curl removal sheet 28° shown in FIG. 12(b).

17b, the marker detection means 14,
It is distinguished from the ink sheet 11. As a result, before recording, the ink sheet 11 and curl removal sheet 28 (28°)
13 is an internal sectional view showing a third embodiment of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention.

In FIG. 13, members similar to those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 7 are given the same reference numerals. Further, 29 is a heat roller, and 30 is a pressing roller. Pressing roller 30
is made of an elastic body such as rubber, and is pressed against the circumferential surface of the heat roller 29 by a plate spring or the like (not shown) so as to be able to rotate once. The heat roller 29, the pressing roller 30, or both can be rotated in the direction of arrow C by a rotating means (not shown).

Further, in FIG. 13, the ink sheet 11° has a structure in which the curl removing portion 18 is removed from the ink sheet 11 shown in FIG.

First, the overall operation will be explained.

Recording paper 1 inserted through paper feed port 4 is guided to conveyance path 7 . As the platen 5 rotates, the recording it is held by the platen 5 and the auxiliary roller 6.

transported. After traveling through the conveyance path 7, the leading edge of the recording paper 1 comes into contact with the ink sheet 11' and advances as one to the contact area between the thermal head 8 and the platen 5.

When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detection means 15, recording is started by a recording control means (not shown). Here, as in the first embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the recording paper 1 circulates within the conveyance path 7, and multicolor overlapping recording is performed. When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detecting means 15 before the final ink recording is performed, the paper ejection frame 16 swings to the dotted line position, and the recording paper 1 is moved toward the paper ejection port 3. I will guide you to.

The heat roller 29 rotates in accordance with the recording paper l being conveyed, and as will be described later, a curl removal process is performed on the recording paper l on which recording has been completed. Then, as the heat roller 29 rotates, the recording paper l is discharged from the paper discharge port 3, and the entire operation is completed.

Next, the curl removal processing operation of this embodiment will be explained.

FIG. 14 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the curl removal mechanism 31 shown in FIG. When the recording paper 1 on which recording has been completed is held by the heat roller 29 and the pressing roller 30, it assumes a shape bent in the opposite direction to the curled direction.

The heat roller 29 generates heat in accordance with the recorded image data 9, thereby heating the back surface of the recording paper 1.

As described above, the recording paper 1 curled almost uniformly in the transport direction
On the other hand, the curl can be removed by heating the back side of the recording paper l while it is bent in the opposite direction to the curled direction.

FIG. 15 is an internal sectional view showing a fourth embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and the same members as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 are given the same reference numerals.

Further, 32 is a pair of rollers, and 33 is a rubber belt.

The pair of rollers 32 is rotatable, and is covered by a rubber belt 33. The rubber belt 33 is pressed against the circumferential surface of the heat roller 29, and has a concave shape as shown in FIG.

Since the operation related to recording is similar to that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, its explanation will be omitted here.

The curl removing processing operation in the curl removing mechanism section 31 in this embodiment will be described.

The recording paper 1 on which the predetermined recording has been completed is guided to the paper ejection frame 16 and held by the heat roller 29 and the rubber belt 33. Here, since the rubber belt 33 is in pressure contact with the heat roller 29 as described above, the recording paper 1 has a shape bent in the opposite direction to the curled direction. heat roller 2
9 is caused to generate heat in accordance with the amount of heat applied during recording of the recorded image data 19, thereby heating the back surface of the recording paper 1.

As described above, by heating the back side of the recording paper 1 while it is bent in the opposite direction to the curled direction, the back side of the recording paper 1 also shrinks due to heat, and the image data 1 is uniform throughout.
It is possible to obtain a substantially uniform curl according to 9 or an irregular curl according to non-uniform image data 19. Further, since the heat roller 29 and the rubber belt 33 are in pressure contact and have a concave shape, the contact portion has a certain length in the conveying direction of the recording paper 1. As a result, the heat roller 29
The contact time between the recording paper 1 and the recording paper 1 becomes longer, and the amount of heat applied can be reduced.

FIG. 16 is a block diagram of a main part of a fifth embodiment of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and is an enlarged sectional view showing another structure of the curl removal mechanism section 31 of FIG. 15.

In FIG. 16, 34 is a heat plate, and 35 is a fixing member.

The recording paper 1 on which the predetermined multicolor overlapping recording has been completed is conveyed between the heat plate 34 and the fixing member 35, as shown in FIG. When the recording paper 1 reaches a predetermined position, the recording paper 1 stops, and as shown in FIG.
is pressed against the fixing member 35. In this state, the heat plate 34 generates heat corresponding to the recording heat amount of the image data I9, and heats the back surface of the recording paper l.

As described above, shrinkage due to heat is generated on the back surface of the recording paper 1, and it is possible to remove substantially uniform curls due to the image data 19 that is uniform throughout, or irregular curls due to the non-uniform image data 19.

Further, in the configuration of this embodiment, since the entire recorded portion of the recording paper l is heated at once, it also has the effect of shortening the processing time for curl removal.

FIG. 17 is an internal sectional view showing a sixth embodiment of the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and the same members as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 are given the same reference numerals.

In the figure, a pair of rotating paper ejection rollers 37a and 37b and a heating member 38 constitute the curl removal mechanism 31. The recording operation is the same as that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, so the explanation will be omitted here.

The curl removal processing operation in this embodiment will be described below.

The recording paper 1 on which predetermined multicolor overlapping recording has been completed is held by a pair of paper ejection rollers 37a and 37b.

transported. When the recording paper 1 reaches the position of the heating member 38, the heating member 38 is caused to generate heat in accordance with the amount of heat applied during recording of the recorded image data 19, and the back surface of the recording paper 1 is heated while the recording paper 1 is being conveyed.

As a result, the back side of the recording paper 1 undergoes almost the same shrinkage due to heat as the front side, and it is possible to remove substantially uniform curls due to uniform image data 19 throughout, or irregular curls due to non-uniform image data 19. Can be done.

FIG. 18 is an internal sectional view showing a seventh embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and in this embodiment, a curl removing mechanism 31 is provided upstream of recording. That is, the heat roller 29 is caused to generate heat corresponding to the amount of heat that should be used to record the image data 19 on the recording paper 1 inserted through the paper feed port 4, thereby heating the back surface of the recording paper 1. Then, by heating the recording paper l before recording, a curl in the opposite direction to the curl that occurs during recording is generated in advance. As a result, the recording paper 1 on which the predetermined recording has been completed has approximately uniform curls due to uniform image data 19 over the entire surface, or irregular curls due to non-uniform image data 19, and is removed from the paper ejection port 3. more excreted.

The amount of heat to be applied before recording can be determined by referring to the memory in which the image data to be recorded is stored.

The above configuration also has a similar curl removal effect. Further, the same effect can be obtained even if the curl removing mechanism section 31 in FIG. 18 is constructed from the members of the curl removing mechanism section 31 shown in FIGS. 15, 16, and 17.

FIG. 19 is an internal sectional view showing an eighth embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and the same members as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13 are given the same reference numerals. 7a is an outbound trip, and 7b is a return trip.

The overall configuration and operation of FIG. 19 will be described below.

The recording paper 1 inserted through the paper feed port 4 advances on an outward path 7a and is held by a platen 5 and an auxiliary roller 6. The recording paper 1 is conveyed according to the rotation of the platen 5 (in the direction of the arrow).
After the leading edge of the recording paper 1 comes into contact with the ink sheet 11', it advances together with the ink sheet 11 to the contact area between the thermal head 8 and the platen 5. When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is detected by the recording paper leading edge detection means 15, recording starts. Recording progresses according to the rotation of the platen 5, and the recording paper l
continues on the return route 7b. A curl removal mechanism 31 including a heat roller 29 and a pressing roller 30 is provided near the boundary between the return path 7b and the outbound path 7a. The back surface of the recording paper 1 on which recording of one color has been completed is heated by the heat roller 29 as described in FIG. 13, and the curl removal process is performed. After the curl removal process, the recording paper l moves along the forward path 7a again, and the next recording is performed. In this way, when the predetermined multicolor overlapping recording is completed by going around the outward path 7a and the backward path 7b, the paper ejection frame 16 swings to the dotted line position, and the recording paper 1 that has traveled on the backward path 7b is delivered to the paper ejection port. 3, and the entire operation is completed.

By the above-described operation, it is possible to remove substantially uniform curls using the image data 19 that is uniform throughout, or irregular curls due to the non-uniform image data 19.

In addition, since curl removal processing is performed every time one color is recorded,
It is possible to remove curls from the recording paper 1 one color at a time. Furthermore, since the curling process is performed during the conveyance, it also has the effect of shortening the overall operation time.

FIG. 20 is a block diagram of a main part of a ninth embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, and is an internal sectional view of a curl removal mechanism section 31.

In the figure, reference numeral 1' indicates a recording paper on which predetermined multicolor overlapping recording has been completed, and 36 indicates a heating control section.

In this embodiment, in addition to the device 2, a curl removal mechanism section 31 is provided.
It consists of The operation of the multicolor overlapping recording in the apparatus 2 is the same as that in the embodiment shown in FIG. 13, so the explanation will be omitted.

The curl removal mechanism section 31 will be explained below.

In the apparatus 2, the recording paper 1'' on which recording has been completed is inserted into the curl removal mechanism section 31. The recording paper sheet ' is held and conveyed by a heat roller 29 and a pressing roller 30 rotating in the direction of arrow E. The heating control unit 36 receives the recorded image data 19 from the device 2 and controls the heating roller 2.
9 is heated and controlled. Heat roller 2 on the back side of the recording paper l°
9, shrinkage occurs due to heat, resulting in approximately uniform curling due to uniform image data 19 or non-uniform image data 19 over the entire recording paper 1' after recording.
It can remove irregular curls.

The heating control unit 36 can also perform the above-described curl removal process by receiving information from the reverse curl removal control unit 27 in addition to the image data (1)9.

Further, the curl removing mechanism section 31 may be connected to a counter roller 32 as shown in FIG. 15, for example. Rubber belt 33. Even if the heat roller 29 is used, curl removal processing can be similarly achieved.

Furthermore, the curl removal mechanism 3I shown in FIG. 20 can also be used as a laminator by means of a switching means (not shown).

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the surface of the recording paper is heated by the thermal head in accordance with the amount of heat applied during recording of the image data recorded as shown in the first embodiment, and the heat is applied to the recording. A means was provided to make the amount of heat approximately uniform. This equalizes the shrinkage of the recording paper due to heat, making it possible to remove irregular curls caused by non-uniform image data.

In addition, as shown in the second embodiment, the recording paper on which recording has been completed is reversed and fed, and the back side of the recording paper is heated by a thermal head in accordance with the amount of heat applied during recording of image data. A means was provided to make the amount of heat applied approximately equal on both sides of the recording paper. This makes it possible to make the thermal contraction of the recording paper approximately equal on the front and back sides of the recording paper, and it is possible to eliminate approximately uniform curls due to uniform image data throughout, or irregular curls due to non-uniform image data. .

Furthermore, the third. 4th. Fifth. 6th. As shown in each of the seventh embodiments, after recording is completed, heat is applied to the back side of the recording paper that is in the middle of being ejected, or to the back side of the recording paper that is being fed in accordance with the image data. A heating means is provided to make the amount of heat generated substantially equal on the front and back sides of the recording paper. This makes it possible to make the shrinkage of the recording paper approximately equal on the front and back sides of the recording paper, resulting in approximately uniform curling due to uniform image data throughout, or irregular curling due to non-uniform image data.

Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment in which the heating means is constituted by a member having the size of the entire back surface of the recording paper, the shrinkage due to heat of the recording paper can be made approximately equal on the front and back sides of the recording paper, and is uniform throughout. It is possible to remove substantially uniform curls due to uniform image data or irregular curls due to non-uniform image data, and at the same time, since heating is performed at once, the processing time for removing curls can be shortened.

Furthermore, as shown in the eighth embodiment, the heating means
By using a configuration that heats the back side of the recording paper on which one color recording has been completed, approximately uniform curls or irregular curls that occur due to contraction of the recording paper due to heat can be replaced by one color recording. It can be taken every time.

As shown in the ninth embodiment, the heating means is provided separately from the apparatus, receives image data recorded from the apparatus, and heats the back surface of the recording paper on which recording has been completed in accordance with the image data. As a result, it is possible to eliminate the shortcomings of the prior art, such as the ability to remove substantially uniform curls caused by uniform image data throughout the recording paper, or irregular curls caused by non-uniform image data, which occur due to contraction of the recording paper due to heat. Therefore, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer recording device with excellent functions.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an internal sectional view of the first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an operation flowchart of the thermal transfer recording device shown in Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a configuration diagram of an ink sheet, and Fig. 4 is a processing block for removing curls. Figure 5 is a graph of the amount of heat applied to each dot, Figure 6 is a graph of the amount of heat applied to each dot.
The figure is an overall perspective view of the device of the present invention, and FIG.
An internal sectional view of the embodiment, FIG. 8 is an operation flowchart of FIG. 7, FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of the heating section of FIG. 7, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of curl removal in the embodiment of FIG. 7. 11th
The figure is a graph of the applied heat amount for each dot, FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of the curl removal sheet 28, FIG. 13 is an internal sectional view of the third embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 14 is a graph of the amount of heat applied to each dot. FIG. 15 is an enlarged sectional view of the curl removing mechanism, FIG. 15 is an internal sectional view of the device of the fourth embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is the fifth embodiment of the present invention.
Enlarged sectional view of the curl removal mechanism of the device of the embodiment, No. 17
18 is an internal sectional view of an apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the invention, and FIG. 19 is an internal sectional view of an apparatus according to an eighth embodiment of the invention. 20 are internal cross-sectional views of a curl removal mechanism according to a ninth embodiment of the present invention. ■・----1 recording paper, 5-・----1-platen,
7. ---1 --- Conveyance path, 8 --- Thermal head, l L ---- 1. Ink sheet, 18 ---
-1 curl removal part, 19-...-1111 image data, 2
0.--Curl removal control section, 27.--Reverse curl removal control section, 2 B-----1 Curl removal sheet, 29
--------Heat roller, 31 --- Curl removing mechanism section, 33 -- Rubber belt, 34 -- Heat plate, 36 -- Heating control section, 3 B ------- Heating Element. Figure 5 (b) Thermal head dots Figure 6 Figure 8 Figure 10 (G) (b) (C) Figure 11 (b) Thermal head dot numbers Figure 12 ( a) (b) □8 left? 1st day 2nd day 6th day Fig. 14 Fig. 16 (a) (b) Fig. 20

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Recording consisting of a conveyance path for conveying recording paper, an ink sheet formed by sequentially applying ink of a plurality of colors, a platen, and a thermal head that approaches and separates from the platen via the ink sheet. In the thermal transfer recording apparatus, a heating means is provided for heating the paper surface of the recording paper with an amount of heat corresponding to the amount of heat applied during recording of the image data recorded by the thermal head, and A thermal transfer recording device characterized by making the amount of applied heat substantially uniform over the entire recording area. 2. In claim 1, the heating means is the thermal head for recording image data, and the thermal head applies an amount of heat to the recording paper corresponding to an amount of heat applied to apply the image data to be recorded to the recording paper. A thermal transfer recording device characterized by having a configuration in which: 3. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating means is configured to heat the recording paper from the surface on which image data has been recorded. 4. According to claim 1 or 2, the heating means heats the recording paper from the back side on which image data has been recorded, thereby making the amount of heat applied to the recording paper substantially uniform on the front and back sides of the recording paper. A thermal transfer recording device characterized by: 5. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heating means heats the recording paper in accordance with a recording pattern on the recording paper of image data to be recorded. 6. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the heating by the heating means heats the recording paper before recording the image data. 7. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the heating by the heating means heats the recording paper after recording the image data. 8. In claim 1, 2 or 5, after the recording of one color on the ink sheet is completed, means for heating the back side of the recording paper with an amount of heat corresponding to the amount of heat applied during recording of image data is provided on the conveyance path. A thermal transfer recording device characterized by: 9. An input means for receiving the image recording data from the thermal transfer recording device, and applying an amount of heat corresponding to the image data inputted by the input means to the recording paper on which the image data has been recorded, and applying the heat to both sides of the recording paper. 1. A thermal transfer recording device, characterized in that a recording paper heating device is provided separately from the thermal transfer recording device, and is provided with means for making the amount of heat substantially equal. 10. An ink sheet, characterized in that inks of a plurality of colors are sequentially applied to the same length, and then a portion to which no ink is applied is provided with a length approximately equal to the length of each ink applied.