JP2001277624A - Ink sheet cartridge and image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To certainly separate an ink sheet 21 in an ink sheet cartridge 20 and a recording paper 4 after printing. SOLUTION: A cartridge main body 30 of an ink sheet cartridge 20 is formed in a rectangular frame-like shape in a plan view with a pair of right and left side plates 31a, 31b, an upper cover piece 27 for interlocking the sheet supply side upper part, and a partition plate 21 for interlocking the sheet taking up side upper part. A thermal head 22 and a printing part of a platen 17 are made to face in the frame. The conveyance route for a printed recording paper 4 is provided between the upper surface of the partition plate 21 providing a lower chute part, and a rib-like upper chute part 27 projecting on the lower surface of an upper cover member 6 disposed thereabove.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure of an ink sheet cartridge provided with a replaceable wide ink sheet for use in an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a facsimile apparatus, and an image forming apparatus for setting the same. It is about structure.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When printing on recording paper such as plain paper using a thermal printer, an ink ribbon cartridge is usually used because of its easiness of replacement and simplicity of handling. And if the thermal printer is a line printer,
A wide ink sheet is used. A conventional ink sheet cartridge of this type is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 6-8174.
In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 9-193732 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-193732, a cartridge body configured to rotatably support a supply-side winding tube for an ink sheet and a winding core tube, respectively.
There is disclosed a structure in which the outer periphery of the supply-side winding tube and the winding core tube is covered from above and below, and is formed in a frame shape in a plan view formed in a space so that a printing portion can be seen therebetween.

[0003]

However, as described above, it is difficult to provide the cartridge body with the half-section cylindrical portion having an arc-shaped cross section for covering the upper and lower portions of the outer peripheral portions of the supply spool and the take-up spool. Although this contributes to increasing the rigidity, there is a problem that the manufacturing cost is increased.

In Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-193732, a printing unit (thermal head) is slid from below the space with respect to an ink sheet cartridge mounted on a printer, and the recording paper is slid from above with the cartridge body interposed therebetween. Since the recording sheet was supplied to the printing section and provided with a recording paper transport path for making the recording paper U-turn upward after printing, a means for separating the ink sheet and the recording paper after printing was required. Did not. Instead, it is necessary to separately provide a transport chute section as a means for separating (separating) the printer body or the cover body, and to attach the chute so that the chute does not interfere when replacing the ink sheet cartridge. It was necessary to devise such things.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and a recording paper conveyance path is provided to prevent the rigidity of a cartridge body of an ink sheet cartridge from being reduced while winding the ink sheet. An object of the present invention is to provide a compact ink sheet cartridge which can be applied to an image forming apparatus extending above the side spool and which can easily replace and mount the ink sheet cartridge. It is.

[0006]

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an ink sheet cartridge according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a supply spool and a take-up spool of an ink sheet are rotatable on a cartridge body. In the ink sheet cartridge to be supported in,
The cartridge body is provided with a partition plate for isolating a conveyance path of the recording paper after printing and a winding side of the ink sheet after printing.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the ink sheet cartridge according to the first aspect, wherein the partition plate is provided between both side plates of the cartridge main body that are opposed to each other. The upper surface is configured as a recording paper transport chute.

Further, according to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink sheet cartridge according to the first or second aspect, printing is performed on recording paper between the ink sheet supply side spool and the partition plate. A space for arranging the parts is formed.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink sheet cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, a handle portion for handling is projected upward on the both side plates of the cartridge body. It was done.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an image forming apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein a printing unit for recording paper is provided in a main body case and the ink sheet cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects is provided. And an upper cover body for covering the upper surface of the main body case is provided so as to be openable and closable, and an upper chute plate of the transport chute portion is provided on an inner surface side of the upper cover body. It is.

[0011]

Next, a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a facsimile apparatus 1 using the ink sheet cartridge 20 of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an enlarged side sectional view of a main part of a mounting portion of the ink sheet cartridge 20, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ink sheet cartridge 20.

First, the structure of a facsimile machine 1 as an image forming apparatus according to the present invention will be schematically described. The facsimile apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment reads an image or the like from a document 8, transmits the image data as facsimile data to another facsimile apparatus via a communication line such as a telephone line, and connects the communication line such as a telephone line. In addition to receiving the facsimile data transmitted from another facsimile device via the facsimile device and forming an image on the recording paper 4, the function as a normal facsimile device, and wireless communication such as a printer cable or infrared rays from a personal computer or a word processor. It has a function as a printer that receives print data transmitted through the printer and forms an image in accordance with the data.

A receiver (not shown) is arranged on one side of the main body case 2 of the facsimile apparatus 1. The upper cover body 6 covering the upper surface of the main body case 2 is moved around the rotation fulcrum 6a at the rear end thereof. It is pivotally attached to the upper rear end so as to be vertically rotatable. An operation panel 3 having a key switch 3a, a liquid crystal display device 3b, and the like is provided on a front side of an upper surface of the upper cover body 6. The operation panel 3 is also configured so that the front side can be opened upward and turned in order to remove the document 8 when the document 8 is not properly fed. At the rear of the upper surface of the main body case 2, a paper feed table 5 for stacking and placing the recording paper 4 in an obliquely downward state is provided on an upper cover body 6.
The document table 7 is detachably mounted in the middle of the upper and lower surfaces of the main body case 2.

In the main body case 2, a feed roller pair 9 for conveying a document 8 from the document table 7, a contact image scanner unit (CIS) 10, and a reading thereof are provided below the operation panel 3. A document pressing body 11 and a pair of paper discharge rollers 12 are arranged above the unit.

A paper feed roller 15 for transporting the recording paper 4 from the paper feed table 5 one by one in the main body case 2 below the paper feed table 5, and a spring is urged on the upper peripheral surface thereof. The paper feed unit 14 includes a separated pad 16 and the like.

A roller-shaped platen 17 serving as a recording unit, a thermal head 22 on a printing table 19 urged by a spring 18 toward the lower surface of the platen 17, An ink sheet cartridge 20 is arranged so as to straddle the printing table 19 in the front-rear direction.

In the ink sheet cartridge 20, the sheet spool 25 on the supply side of the ink sheet 21 is mounted on the main body case 2.
The take-up sheet spool 26 is located at the front side of the main body case 2 and the supply-side sheet spool 2
The supply side sheet spool 25 is wound on the front take-up sheet spool 26 so that the supply side sheet spool 25 is at a high position and the take-up side sheet spool 26 is at a low position. Rotated ink sheet 21
Is a thermal head 22 and a tension body 2 made of a spring plate.
3 and reaches the lower peripheral surface side of the take-up side sheet spool 26. At this time, the ink surface of the ink sheet 21 is on the upper surface. The recording paper 4 overlapping the upper surface (ink surface) of the ink sheet 21 is printed by a printing section where the platen 17 and the thermal head 22 overlap, and then is printed on the upper side of the ink sheet cartridge 20 on the winding sheet spool 26 side. The paper passes through the upper surface of the formed partition chute 24 having the function of the transport chute, and is discharged to the front of the main body case 2 via the pair of discharge rollers 28. An upper chute 27 of a plurality of rib-shaped transfer chutes protruding downward is arranged on the lower surface of the upper cover body 6 so as to extend from the upstream side to the downstream side with the platen 17 interposed therebetween. It is configured such that the recording paper 4 can pass between the partition plate 24 and the cartridge 20.

On the other hand, the ink sheet 21 is bent downward at the top surface of the tension body 23, passes through the lower surface of the partition plate 24, and is wound around the lower peripheral side of the winding sheet spool 26. Have been.

Next, the configuration of the ink sheet cartridge 20 according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

The ink sheet cartridge 20 includes a case body 30 as a cartridge body, an ink sheet 21, a pair of left and right supply-side spools 36 and 37 as a supply-side sheet spool 25, and a winding-side sheet spool 26. It comprises a pair of left and right take-up spools 38, 39.

The spools 36, 37, and 39 are integrally formed by, for example, injection molding of a synthetic resin material, and only one spool 38 is configured by combining a plurality of components.

The ink sheet 21 is formed by forming an ink layer on one entire surface of a wide resin film. As shown in FIG. 8, the ink sheet 21 is wound around a pair of cylindrical core tubes 40 and 41 made of paper or the like. Have been. The recording paper 4 is formed on the ink layer of the ink sheet 21.
Are sandwiched between the platen 17 and the recording surface of the thermal head 22 which is a line printer, and the heating resistor of the thermal head 22 is energized in accordance with image data. An image is formed.

Core tube 40 on the supply side and core tube 41 on the winding side
The supply-side right spool 37 and the take-up-side right spool 39 which are fitted to the right ends (the right side as viewed from the discharge side of the recording paper 4) have the same shape as shown in FIG. 4
The inner cylindrical portion 42 fitted to the inner diameter at the right end of 1) and the large-diameter flange portion 4
3 and a small-diameter cylindrical outer shaft 44 as a support shaft portion rotatably arranged with respect to a case body 30 described later.

The supply-side left spool 36 fitted to the left end of the supply-side core tube 40 fits into the inner diameter of the left end of the core tube 40, and has an inner cylindrical portion with an engagement claw 42a that engages with a notch groove. 42
A large-diameter flange portion 43, a support shaft portion (not shown) provided outside the flange portion 43 and rotatably disposed with respect to a case body 30 described later, and a gear portion provided outside the support shaft portion. 45,
It consists of.

On the other hand, the take-up left spool 38 fitted to the left end of the take-up core tube 41 is provided on one side plate 3 of the case body 30.
1a, the first member 46 having a gear 47 disposed outside the one side plate 31a, and the one side plate 31a is attached to the first member 46.
And a second member 48 connected from inside. These are formed by injection molding of a synthetic resin material. The engaging body 49 is removably fitted to the second member 48, and the engaging body 49 is fitted to the inner diameter portion at the left end of the core tube 41 on the winding side.

Next, the configuration of the case body 30 as the cartridge body will be described with reference to FIGS.
The case body 30 includes a pair of left and right side plates 31a and 31b extending from the sheet supply side to the take-up side so as to surround the left and right outer sides of the ink sheet 21, and the pair of side plates 31a and 3b.
1b, an upper cover piece 32 connected to cover the upper side of the winding portion on the supply side of the ink sheet 21, and a pair of side plates 31a, 31b covering the upper portion of the ink sheet 21 on the winding side. It is composed of a partition plate 24 and is integrally produced by injection molding of a synthetic resin material. Therefore, the left and right supply side upper cover pieces 32
And the winding side partition plate 24 and the left and right side plate connecting pieces 31a,
31b is a window portion from which the ink sheet 21 is exposed, and a roller-shaped platen 1 from above the window portion.
7, the printing table 19, the thermal head 22, and the tension body 23 are viewed from below the window (see FIGS. 1 and 2). Further, fin-shaped knobs 35, 35 project upward from both left and right end portions of the partition plate 24 or a pair of left and right side plates 31a, 31b.

The side plates 31a and 31b have:
Except for the take-up side left spool 38, the outer shafts 44 of the supply-side right spool 37 and the take-up right spool 39
A shaft support groove 33 of one end open type is formed in which the support shaft of the supply-side left spool 36 is loosely fitted (see FIGS. 6 and 8). The side plates 31a, 31a are connected to the shaft support groove 33 and extend radially outward.
b, each outer shaft 44
When the (support shaft) is pushed upward with its axis substantially crossing the shaft support groove 33, the width between the lower open groove edges of each shaft support groove 33 expands elastically.
In the free state, each outer shaft 44 (support shaft portion) is
3 so as not to fall off.

The ink sheet cartridge 2 having the above configuration
0 is mounted on the left and right sides of a main body frame (not shown) of the facsimile apparatus 1, the left and right side plates 31a and 31b of the case body 30 as a cartridge main body are supported in a predetermined posture. Picking side right spool 3
9 and the inner diameters of the outer cylinders 44, 44 of the supply-side right spool 37 are fitted on shafts (not shown) projecting from the main body frame (not shown), and the gear 45 and the gear 47 are driven by power, respectively. While meshing with a transmission gear (not shown), the supply side left spool 36 and the winding side left spool 3
The inner diameter portion of the outer shaft in 8 is fitted on a shaft portion (not shown) elastically projecting in the axial direction from the main body frame side. As a result, the supply-side sheet spool 25 and the take-up-side sheet spool 26 can rotate smoothly.

When a printing (recording) operation is started by outputting a print command on the operation panel 3 or a print command command from an external computer (not shown) or receiving facsimile data from another facsimile apparatus,
First, the sheet feeding roller 15 rotates to start sheet feeding. When the leading end of the recording paper 4 is conveyed by a predetermined distance after detecting a paper sensor (not shown) and approaches the platen 17, power is transmitted to the gear 45 and the gear 47 in the platen 17 and the ink sheet cartridge 20 to convey the ink sheet 21. And the feeding of the recording paper 4 is started, and printing is performed by the thermal head 22 which is a printing unit.

Immediately after printing is performed in a state where the ink sheet 21 and the recording paper 4 are sandwiched between the platen 17 and the thermal head 22, the ink on the ink sheet 21 is printed by the heat generated by the heating resistor of the thermal head 22. The ink sheet 21 melts according to the data (character) and appears on the recording paper 4, and then the ink is cooled, so that the ink sheet 21 remains attached to the surface of the recording paper 4. At the location of the top surface 23a of the tension member 23, as shown in FIG. 2, the ink sheet 21 is largely bent downward so as to be wound on the lower side of the outer periphery of the take-up sheet spool 26, so that the ink sheet 21 Of the ink is released. On the other hand, the recording paper 4 whose lower surface is a printing surface is placed on the upper surface of the partition plate 24 and conveyed, so that the recording paper 4 and the ink sheet 2
1 can be reliably separated from the transport path. The leading end of the partition plate 24 (on the side closer to the top surface 23a of the tension body 23) is bent downward to scoop up the leading end (the downstream side of conveyance) of the recording paper 4 in a free state. It can be prevented from moving downward. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, a large number of ridges 2 are provided on the upper surface of the partition plate 24.
If the recording paper 4a is formed in a longitudinal shape along the conveyance direction, the recording paper 4 with the printing surface facing downward does not rub widely when the recording paper 4 passes, and the recording paper 4 due to the adhesion of the ink does not rub.
Dirt can be reduced.

The partition plate 24 serves as a lower chute which serves as a guide portion of the conveyance path of the recording paper 4, and a rib-shaped upper chute portion 27 extending across the platen 17 and an upper surface of the partition plate 24. And the recording paper 4 can be guided reliably. When a paper jam (paper jam) occurs, when the upper cover body 6 is opened upward, the space between the partition plate 24 of the ink sheet cartridge 20 disposed on the main body case 2 side and the upper chute portion 27 is greatly increased. Therefore, the paper jam of the recording paper 4 can be extremely easily removed.

The partition plate 24 is provided on the left and right side plates 3 of the case 30 in the ink sheet cartridge 20.
Since it has the function of connecting between 1a and 31b, the structure of the case body 30 is simplified and the rigidity is not reduced.

When the used ink sheet 21 is replaced, when the operation of lifting the case body 30 from the main body case 2 or the like is performed, the left and right knob portions 35, 3 are required.
5 can be grasped with a finger, handling becomes easy, and the pair of left and right knobs 35, 35 are located at the left and right ends of the partition plate 24 serving as the lower chute. The function of the left and right guide portions can also be achieved. Further, a partition plate 24 as a lower chute portion is provided on the case body 30 side as the cartridge main body housed in the main body case 2, and an upper chute portion 27 is provided on the lower surface side (inner surface side) of the upper cover body 6 that opens and rotates. Is disposed, it is extremely easy to handle the transport chute when exchanging the ink sheet cartridge 20.

In the above-described embodiment, the ink sheet cartridge of the present invention is used for a facsimile apparatus. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and various image forming apparatuses such as a printer, a copying machine, and an apparatus having a plurality of functions thereof may be used. Can be used for equipment. The image forming apparatus includes at least a printing unit for recording paper, a storage unit for the ink sheet cartridge, and a paper discharge unit in a main body case, and opens and closes an upper cover body that covers an upper surface of the main body case. It is sufficient to provide an upper chute plate on the inner surface side of the upper cover body with the conveyance chute portion, and by combining the image forming apparatus having such a configuration with the ink sheet cartridge having the above configuration, Since the configuration of the chute for guiding the conveyance of the recording paper 4 after printing can be easily separated up and down according to the opening operation of the upper cover body, the structure of the image forming apparatus can be simplified and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. It works.

[0036]

As described above, in the ink sheet cartridge according to the first aspect of the invention, the supply spool and the take-up spool of the ink sheet are rotatably supported by the cartridge body. In the ink sheet cartridge, the cartridge main body is provided with a partition plate for isolating the conveyance path of the recording paper after printing and the winding side of the ink sheet after printing. In addition, it is possible to easily prevent the inconvenience that the recording paper after printing is wound on the winding side of the ink sheet.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the ink sheet cartridge according to the first aspect, the partition plate is provided between both side plates of the cartridge body that are opposed to each other and is provided. Since the upper surface is configured as a recording paper transport chute, the partition plate can simultaneously perform the function of stabilizing the transport of the recording paper and the function as a member connecting the left and right side plates of the cartridge body, This has the effect of simplifying the configuration of the ink sheet cartridge and making it compact.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the ink sheet cartridge according to the first or second aspect, printing is performed on a recording paper between the supply side spool of the ink sheet and the partition plate. Since a space for arranging the ink sheet is formed, the printing section for the wide ink sheet is arranged in the space, and is conveyed to the upper surface of the partition plate immediately after printing on the recording paper. Since the separating operation between the ink sheet cartridge and the recording paper can be performed quickly and the configuration for the separation is only the partition plate, there is an effect that the structure of the ink sheet cartridge becomes compact.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the ink sheet cartridge according to any one of the first to third aspects, a handle portion for handling is projected upward on the both side plates of the cartridge body. Since the cartridge can be handled only by the knob without grasping the cartridge body when replacing the ink sheet, there is an effect that the finger of the operator does not touch the ink sheet and the ink sheet is not stained.

On the other hand, an image forming apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention provides a printing unit for recording paper in a main body case and an ink sheet cartridge according to any one of the first to fourth aspects. And an upper cover body that covers the upper surface of the main body case is provided so as to be openable and closable, and an upper chute plate of the transport chute portion is provided on an inner surface side of the upper cover body. Therefore, it is possible to form a transport chute that transports and guides the recording paper to the paper discharge section in combination with the lower chute section composed of the partition plate on the main body side of the ink sheet cartridge incorporated in this apparatus. This has the effect that the structure can be made simple and compact. Then, when replacing the ink sheet, the upper chute portion provided on the inner surface thereof can be easily separated from the partition plate simply by turning the upper cover body upward and opening,
Unlike the conventional case where a pair of upper and lower chutes are provided separately from the ink sheet cartridge, the trouble of removing the chutes can be omitted, so that the ink sheet cartridge replacement operation can be extremely easily performed. Play.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a facsimile machine.

FIG. 2 is a side view illustrating a path of a recording paper and an ink sheet near a printing unit.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the ink sheet cartridge.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ink sheet cartridge as viewed from the front left side.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the ink sheet cartridge as viewed from the front right side.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of the ink sheet cartridge.

FIG. 7 is a left side view of the ink sheet cartridge.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view of parts of the ink sheet cartridge.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 Body Case 4 Recording Paper 6 Upper Cover 17 Platen 20 Ink Sheet Cartridge 21 Ink Sheet 22 Thermal Head 23 Tension Body 24 Partition Plate as Lower Chute 25 Supply Sheet Spool 26 Take-up Sheet Spool 27 Upper Chute 28 Eject Paper roller pair 30 case body 31a, 31b as cartridge body 31a side plate 32 upper cover piece 36-39 spool

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An ink sheet cartridge in which a supply spool and a take-up spool of an ink sheet are rotatably supported by a cartridge body, respectively. An ink sheet cartridge, wherein a partition plate for isolating a path and a winding side of the ink sheet after printing is continuously provided. 2. The cartridge according to claim 1, wherein said partition plate is provided between opposite side plates of the cartridge body, and an upper surface of said partition plate is formed as a recording paper conveying chute portion. The ink sheet cartridge as described in the above. 3. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a space for arranging a printing section for recording paper is formed between the supply side spool of the ink sheet and the partition plate. Ink sheet cartridge. 4. The ink sheet cartridge according to claim 1, wherein knobs for handling are provided on the both side plates of the cartridge body so as to protrude upward. 5. A printing unit for printing on a recording paper in a main body case,
A storage section for the ink sheet cartridge according to any one of claims 1 to 4, and a paper discharge section,
An image forming apparatus, wherein an upper cover body that covers an upper surface of the main body case is provided so as to be openable and closable, and an upper chute plate is provided on an inner surface side of the upper cover body.