JPS60245579A - Heat transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable even a cardboard to be used as a recording paper, by operating a film-feeding mechanism and a paper-feeding mechanism in conjunction with each other. CONSTITUTION:A cover 12 incorporates a film-feeding roller 16 and a pinch roller 17 for feeding an ink film 14 in the direction of an arrow 15, and a thermal head 18. A main body 11 incorporates a platen roller 24 opposed to the thermal head 18, and paper-feeding rollers 27, 28 and pinch rollers 29, 31 opposed thereto for feeding the paper 25 in the direction of an arrow 26. The paper 25 inserted through an inlet 32 is first fed to a position between the head 18 and the roller 24 by the feeding roller 27 and the pinch roller 29. The ink film 14 and the paper 25 are clamped between the head 18 and the roller 24 in the condition of overlying on each other. In this condition, heat is generated by heating elements of the head 18, whereby the ink of the ink film 14 is transferred onto the paper 25, resulting in transferring.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer that forms an image by transferring ink from an ink film to transfer paper (hereinafter referred to as "paper") by heating. Here, the ink film generally has an ink layer several microns thick formed on the surface of a base film.

[Conventional technology]

A conventional thermal transfer printer includes a thermal head having two heating elements and a platen roller facing the thermal head.

The printer body incorporates a film feeding mechanism and a thermal head for feeding the ink film, while a lid that can be opened and closed on the top of the printer body has a
It incorporates a paper feeding mechanism and platen roller for feeding paper. As a result, a state is obtained in which the platen roller faces the upper surface of the thermal head.

The ink film and the paper are inserted between the thermal head and the platen roller in an overlapping state and are sandwiched between them. Ink film also. It is wrapped around the platen roller about half a circle. A thermal transfer operation is performed by the heat generated by the heating element of the thermal head, and at the same time, the ink film and paper are fed. Note that a so-called "center type" thermal head is used in which a heating element is located in a shallow groove in the center.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, there is a problem in that stiff cardboard cannot be used because the paper must be wrapped around the siratin roller.

However, if the configuration is such that the paper is fed flatly without being wrapped around the platen roller, the paper will be fed with its transfer surface facing downward.

Confirmation of transfer quality is delayed, which is undesirable as it gives the user a sense of anxiety.

Further, since the thermal head is provided facing upward, there are also problems in terms of dust prevention, such as dust easily adhering to the 9 heating elements.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer printer that can also use cardboard as paper.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer printer in which transfer quality can be checked relatively quickly and easily.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer printer that is advantageous in terms of dust prevention in the thermal head.

[Means for solving problems]

According to the present invention, in a thermal transfer printer in which ink from an ink film is transferred to paper by overlapping the ink film and the paper and heating the paper.

The printer includes a printer main body and an opening/closing lid on an upper surface, and the opening/closing lid incorporates a film feeding mechanism and a thermal head for feeding the ink film.

The printer main body shall incorporate a platen facing the thermal head and a paper feed mechanism for feeding the paper, and be provided with an interlocking mechanism for interlocking the film feed mechanism 9 and the paper feed mechanism. A thermal transfer printer is obtained.

〔Example〕

1 and 2 show an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention. Referring to FIG.

The thermal transfer printer IO includes a printer body 11 and a lid 12 provided on the top surface of the printer body 11. -The lid 12 is the main body 11
It is attached so that it can be rotated to open and close about a pivot 13. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the lid 12 is opened.

The lid 12 incorporates a film feeding roller 216 and a pinch roller 217 for feeding the ink film 14 in the direction of the arrow 15, and a thermal head 18. The ink film 14 is formed by forming an ink layer several microns thick on the surface of a base film, and is pulled out from the supply reel 21 and wound onto the take-up reel 22. Note that the ink film 1-4 can be removed without using the take-up rule 22.
, may be discharged outside the printer.

As the thermal head 18, one called an edge type is used. Edge type thermal head 1
8, as an example is shown in FIG.

A large number of heating elements 18a are arranged in a row at one end. Furthermore, the edge type thermal head 18 is also
The principle is the same as a conventional center type thermal head.

The main body 11 includes a platen roller 24 facing the thermal head 18, paper feed rollers 27, 28 for feeding the paper 25 in the direction of the arrow 26, and pinch rollers 29, 31 facing them.

The paper 25 inserted from the entrance 32 first passes through the feed roller 2.
7 and a pinch roller 29 between the thermal head 18 and the platen roller 24 . The ink film 14 and the paper 25 are overlapped and sandwiched between the thermal head 18 and the siratin roller 24. In this state, due to the heat generated by the heating element of the thermal head 18,
The ink on the ink film 14 is transferred to the paper 25. That is, a transfer operation is performed. The paper 25 after the transfer is completely discharged from the outlet 33 by the feed roller 28 and the pinch roller 31 as shown by the arrow 26.

Each feed roller 16, 27, 28 and platen roller 24 are interlocked and driven by a single motor 35 as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 4, the rotation of the motor 35 attached to the two main body frames 36 is transmitted to the paper feed roller 28 on the exit side through the meshing of gears 37 and 38. This rotation of the feed roller 28 also causes two mini-pitch boos! J41
, 42 and a timing belt 43 stretched between them.

It is also transmitted to the paper feed roller 27 on the entrance side. The rotation of the feed roller 28 is slow, gears 44 and 45.

46, the information is transmitted to the platen roller 24. Moreover, the rotation of the feed roller 28 is controlled by the gears 47 and 48.
．． 49, the signal is transmitted to the rotating shaft 51 which is pivotally supported on the upper part of the two body frames 36. The rotation of this rotating shaft 51 is caused by the meshing of gears 52 and 53, which causes the lid frame 5 to rotate.
is transmitted to a film feed roller 16 which is rotatably supported.

In this way, each feed roller 16 is
, 27, 28 and the platen row 224 can be rotated simultaneously.

Now, when the lid 12 is opened as shown in FIG.

As shown in FIG. 5, the lid frame 54 rotates about the pivot 13, and as a result, the gears 52 and 53 are completely disengaged. That is, the film feed roller 16 can only be driven by the motor 35 when the lid 12 is closed. Here, these gears 52.5 are arranged to ensure that the gears 52 and 53 mesh when the lid 12 is closed.
3 is desirably a shifted gear with relatively narrow tooth tips.

Gear 47 attached to trench paper feed roller 28 and rotating shaft 5
The idle gear 48, which is connected to the gear 49 attached to the paper feed roller 28, is rotatably supported at one end of an idle lever 56, which is rotatably attached to the sheet feed roller 28. Therefore, by rotating the idle lever 56, the gear 48 can be disengaged from the mesh between the gears 4, 7 and 49 and moved. When this engagement is disengaged, the transmission of rotational force to the film feed roller 16 is cut off. Note that the idle lever 56 is connected to a spring hook 57 between the other end and the main body frame 36.
The tension spring 58 between the gear 48 and the gear 47
．． It is constantly biased in the direction of meshing with 49.

Furthermore, with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6, the 9 main body frame 360
A platen rake 61 is provided on each side. The platen lever 51 is rotatably supported around the paper feed roller 28. Platen lever 61
A platen roller 24 is rotatably supported at one end of the platen roller 24 . In this way, the platen roller 24 is substantially movable up and down while facing the lower surface of the thermal head 18. A tension spring 62 is interposed between the platen lever 61 and the main body frame 36. This tension spring 62
serves to lift the platen roller 24 towards the thermal node 18. When the other end of one of the pair of platen levers 61 is lifted by the tension spring 62, the idle lever 5
6, and this idle lever 56 is also slightly rotated in the same direction as the platen lever 61 around the paper feed roller 28. That is, the platen lever 6
1 is lifted, the siratin roller 24 is pulled away from the thermal head 18, and the idle gear 48 is disengaged and the film feed roller 16
Power transmission to is cut off.

The other end of the pair of platen levers 61 is engaged with one end of the pair of arms 63. The pair of arms 63 is one main body frame 36
Alternatively, they are each attached to a member fixed thereto so as to be rotatable about a fulcrum 64, and their other ends are connected to each other by a pin 65 so as to be rotatable and also slightly movable in the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, a rotary solenoid 67 is connected to one arm 63 via a rod 66. When the rotary solenoid 67 is not driven, the arm 63 is in a horizontal state as shown in FIG. The arm 63 rotates slightly about the fulcrum 64, thereby lifting the end of the platen lever 61.

To make the position of the Shira ten row 224 movable.

The mechanism of FIG. 9 may be used. Referring to Figure 9,
The rotation of the stepping motor 71 is transmitted to the sector gear 74 via gears 72 and 73, and the fulcrum 7 of this sector gear 74
The rod 66 is driven by rotating around the center 5. At this time, the rotation of the stepping motor 71 is stopped by detecting a portion 76 of the sector gear 74 with a sensor 77 fixed to the main body frame 36 side.

It goes without saying that various other mechanisms can be used to drive the platen lever 61.

In the thermal transfer printer described above, the platen roller 24 is lifted up as shown in FIG. 10 during normal transfer operations. Therefore, ink film 14 and paper 2
5 and 18 are overlapped with each other at the portion corresponding to 18, and the transfer operation is carried out in the same manner as in the conventional method. Further, when inserting or ejecting the paper 25, the platen roller 24 is pushed down as shown in FIG. Then the ink film 14
Not only does the paper 25 separate from the paper 25, but also the transmission of rotational force to the film feed roller 216 is cut off as described above.

Therefore, without feeding the ink film 14, the paper 2
It is possible to insert only 5 to a predetermined position and eject it. Furthermore, even during the thermal transfer operation, it is possible to stop only the feeding of the ink film 14 in blank areas of transfer information.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, in the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, paper is fed flatly, so thick paper such as postcards can also be used conveniently. Furthermore, since the paper is discharged with the transferred side facing up, the quality of the transfer can be checked relatively quickly and easily. Furthermore, since the thermal head is provided facing downward, it is advantageous in terms of dust prevention.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing a schematic configuration of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing the same with the lid open, and FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing an example of a thermal head. , FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the internal mechanism of an embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the internal mechanism when the lid is opened, and FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the position of the platen roller. FIG. Figure 7 is a front view of the operating mechanism with the grating roller lifted, Figure 8 is a front view of the operating mechanism with the grating roller being pushed down, and Figure 9 is an operation for moving the position of the platen roller. A perspective view showing the other side of the mechanism, FIG. 1O is an explanatory diagram of a normal transfer operation, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of an operation of feeding only paper. lO... Thermal transfer printer, 11... Printer body. 12... Lid, 13... Pivot, 14... Ink film. 16... Film feed roller, 18... Thermal head, 24... Platen roller, 25... Paper, 2
7゜28...Feed roller. Agent (7171) Engraving of the drawings by Yosuke Goto, a caregiver (no changes to the contents) Figure 1 Procedural amendment @ (method) 1930-2 Otsu month 2. ? Manabu Shiga, Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office1, Indication of the case, Patent Application No. 101811 of 19812, Name of the invention Thermal transfer printer6, Person making the amendment Relationship to the case Name of patent applicant Yonezawa NEC Co., Ltd.4, Agent Person: 105 Address: 1-4-10 Nishi-Shinbashi, Minato-ku, Tokyo Voluntary amendment 1) Drawing Z Contents of amendment 1) Engraving of the drawing (no changes to the content)

Claims (1)

[Claims]] A thermal transfer printer that transfers ink from the ink film to the paper by overlapping the ink film and the paper and heating the paper, comprising a printer main body and an opening/closing lid on the top surface, the opening/closing lid having an opening/closing lid. 1. incorporates a film feeding mechanism and a thermal head for feeding the ink film; on the other hand, a platen facing the thermal head and a paper feeding mechanism for feeding the paper are built into the printer main body; A thermal transfer printer further comprising an interlocking mechanism that interlocks the film feeding mechanism and the paper feeding mechanism. 2. The thermal transfer Zolink according to claim 1, wherein the interlocking mechanism includes a pair of shifted gears that are disengaged when the opening/closing lid is opened.