JP2000177856A - Image recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the size of a body by moving a paper feeding cassette to a paper feeding port by rotary motion, sliding motion, detaching to change a fitting position, or the like. SOLUTION: A paper cassette is stored or fitted to a body lower part except during image printing action. When printing an image, the paper cassette is manually rotated to move from a printer body lower part position into a position inserted in a paper feeding port. The cassette 8 can thus be connected with simple action. As a concrete method of rotary motion, any holding method using a hinge, a pivot, or the like can be adopted, and a sliding type cassette or a completely detaching and attaching method can be adopted in addition to rotary motion.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a color thermal transfer type image recording apparatus (hereinafter, also referred to as a "printer") in which a method for holding, transporting and feeding a sheet is improved in order to reduce the size.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As shown in FIG. 1, a color thermal transfer recording apparatus 1 includes an ink ribbon 2, a transfer sheet 3 (hereinafter referred to as a sheet) having a color-developed layer formed on a sheet, a thermal head 4, a platen roller 5, It comprises a roller 6, a paper feed roller 7, and a paper cassette 8.

[0003] Sheets are stored in a cassette 8 for automatic sheet feeding and supplied from there, or are supplied manually one by one as consumables prepared separately from the printer.

[0004] The fed paper is taken into the printer body, and an image is formed on the surface by a thermal transfer ribbon and a thermal head. The thermal transfer ribbon is usually composed of three basic colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan and, in some cases, four colors including black, and the paper is reciprocated as indicated by 9 for each color so that the colors are superimposed. While the image is formed on the surface of the sheet, the sheet is discharged outside the printer body.

At this time, in the case of automatic paper feeding, the paper cassette is usually arranged inside the printer main body as shown in FIG. The position of the paper cassette must be a position considering the paper path, the mounting place is naturally near the entrance of the paper, and the paper cassette is held so as to protrude outward at a more horizontal angle from there, and It is configured in a plane.

Some printers have a paper cassette at the bottom of the printer as shown in FIG. 2. The paper cassette can be removed at the time of replenishment of paper. There is no need to move for operation, and naturally, a structure is required in which the sheet is curled at the upper sheet entrance and guided to the entrance by the guide 10 and other transport systems. For this reason, the space required for the transport system and the manufacturing cost for realizing the structure have been expensive and large. In the conventional method, there is no concept of easily moving the paper cassette to the printer paper entrance, and the size of the printer and the weight are increasing at the same time due to the transport system portion and the limited position of the paper cassette. Therefore, it could not be said that it was a very portable structure. In such a conventional technique, a small-sized color thermal transfer recording apparatus suitable for portable use was not conceived and could not be realized.

On the other hand, some desk-top printers allow the paper cassette to be detached from the printer body for convenience of transportation and packing, and are packaged together with the printer. There is no known printer that can be installed so as to be integrated under the main body.

[0008]

In such a conventional recording apparatus, the paper cassette is formed on a plane close to the same plane with respect to the print recording mechanism as shown in FIG. 1, or as shown in FIG. The paper entrance is required to have a structure in which the paper is curled and guided to the entrance by a guide and transport system. Therefore, the size of the printer is required to be large enough to add the length of the print recording mechanism to the length of the paper size, or becomes large depending on the space occupied by the members required for the paper transport path. It is the biggest problem that hinders.

[0009]

As described above, the position of the conventional paper feed cassette is fixed with respect to the printer, and paper can be fed in that state. However, according to the present invention, The paper cassette is attached under the main unit when it is carried or stored, but it is integrated with the main unit.However, during printing, the paper cassette is fed by rotating, sliding, or removing and changing the mounting position. Moved to the mouth. By having a means that allows such movement, the paper cassette is folded or retracted or attached to another position when carrying, and is unfolded or pulled out or changed at the time of use, so that the paper cassette is If they are matched, the size of the main body can be reduced.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a recording apparatus according to the present invention will be described. In the present embodiment, a recording apparatus using a line type thermal head will be described.

As an example, the portable thermal transfer recording apparatus main body of FIG. 3 will be described. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a color thermal transfer recording apparatus. This apparatus (main body 1) includes a paper cassette 8, an ink ribbon 2, a thermal head 4, a platen roller 5, a paper feed roller 7, a transport roller 6, a battery pack 11, and the like. , And the control means 12. When automatic paper feed is used, the paper cassette 8 is inserted into the cassette insertion slot 13 on the main body side, for example, as shown in FIG.

Prior to printing by the thermal transfer recording apparatus, the paper cassette is manually rotated as shown in FIG. 5 to move from a position at the lower portion of the printer main body to a position inserted into the paper feed port. Thus, the cassette 8 can be connected by a simple operation. As a specific method of the rotational movement, any holding method such as a hinge or a pivot may be used.

As another specific example, in addition to the rotary motion, a slide type paper cassette can be used as shown in FIG. Rails and other members required for sliding operation,
Although details of the means for fixing the cassette in a state in which the sheet is ready to be fed are not shown, the design itself of such a member is easy for those skilled in the art.

As still another specific example, as shown in FIG. 7, a method of completely removing and attaching can be adopted. Also in this case, the details of the attachment members are not shown, but the design itself of such members is easy for those skilled in the art.

Thus, the paper entrance of the main body of the recording apparatus is
By providing a mechanism that allows the paper cassette to be easily attached, even a portable recording apparatus can perform an automatic paper feeding operation. Manual paper feeding can be performed one sheet at a time by inserting paper directly into the paper entrance of the main body of the apparatus without moving the paper cassette, that is, without unfolding or pulling out or removing and attaching the paper cassette to another position. is there. Further, if the lower cassette is removed, the recording device becomes smaller, lighter, and more suitable for carrying.

Hereinafter, an automatic paper feeding operation with the paper cassette attached and a specific printing operation will be described.

FIG. 8 is a partially enlarged view showing details of a color thermal transfer recording apparatus and a paper feed port thereunder. The bundle of paper 3
It is pushed up by the compression spring 14 and the upper surface is pressed against the paper feed roller 7. By driving the paper feed roller,
The upper sheet of the sheet bundle advances and contacts the separation plate 15.
The sheet is inhibited from being conveyed by the frictional force of the slope 16, and only the uppermost sheet in contact with the sheet feeding roller is fed forward with a conveying force greater than the frictional force. Next, the sheet is sandwiched between a pair of rotating conveyance rollers 6 and is conveyed to a position where the rear end of the sheet reaches the platen roller 5 and the thermal head 4. At that time, the thermal head 4 simply passes the sheet. And is retracted to a position several mm away from the platen roller 5. When the paper is conveyed by a specified distance with respect to the paper length, the thermal head 4 is pressed against the platen roller 5 with an appropriate pressure and stands by.

When image information is input, the ink ribbon 2 and the transport roller 6 are rotated in reverse at a predetermined timing, and recording is performed for each line by the thermal head 4.
The paper is temporarily discharged to the discharge unit 18 by the sorting plate 17 from the middle of the paper feeding path. At this time, the leading end of the sheet is still held by the transport roller. The same operation is repeated for the number of colors of the ink ribbon. At the final time, the sheet is released from the thermal head and the transport roller, and the recording is completed. The number of colors of the ink ribbon is usually four colors of Y, M, C, and K, but may be a specific number of colors depending on the device.

After the above steps, printing is completed.

Several types of automatic paper feeding systems are known. Since the present invention is not an invention relating to an automatic sheet feeding device and a separating mechanism, the details thereof will not be described, but the color thermal transfer recording apparatus main body 1 of the present invention can employ any automatic sheet feeding method.

If the present invention is not adopted, when a paper cassette is used, it is usually necessary to secure at least an area for paper in addition to the area occupied by the place where the apparatus main body is placed for installation of the apparatus. Occupies a large area,
Not very portable.

According to the present invention, when the paper cassette is stored or attached to the lower part of the main body except when the printing operation is performed, for example, during carrying, the storage area can be reduced to about half. At this time, as described above, it is not necessary to mount the sheet feeding device as a part of the automatic sheet feeding device, but the sheet feeding device can be used simply as a container for sheets, and the sheets may be manually inserted one by one. Even in this case, since the main body device and the paper cassette are integrated, it is very convenient when carrying.

The present invention can also have a feature that the paper cassette can be removed when not in use. If the paper cassette is removed, it is needless to say that the paper cassette is smaller and thinner, and is convenient for carrying. In such a case, the paper can be supplied from a different container such as a bag or the like by hand, and the image can be easily printed on the paper while being carried. Such ease of use is one of the features of the present invention.

Naturally, the recording apparatus can be used without an external power supply by using the battery pack 10 as a power supply. Because of this and the small size of the device, the user does not need to search for an installation location while traveling, and does not choose a use location. Indeed, a subminiature portable sublimation transfer printer can be achieved with the present invention. For reference, the minimum size of a recording device made possible by the present invention is at the present time approximately the same as that of five compact disk cases, or can be smaller.

As another conventional method for reducing the size of a recording apparatus, an apparatus for conveying and recording paper with the automatic paper feed cassette fixed to the lower portion of the main body in FIG. 2 needs to bend and convey the paper. Therefore, a space required for the mechanism and a space for the bending are required, which are clearly larger than those of the present invention. In addition, since the paper is bent, it is difficult to pass thick paper such as an official postcard or easily peelable paper such as a sticker or the like. On the other hand, the present invention is characterized in that the paper cassette cannot be fed when the paper cassette is fixed to the lower portion of the main body.

By applying the present invention, the mechanism is not required, and the paper is not damaged or bent so as to affect printing, so that reduction in size, weight, and cost is promoted. If applied to a portable color printer of a digital camera or the like, photographic-quality images can be output at any time and any place, and the commercial value of the product as a new product related to digital devices such as multi-media is extremely large.

[0027]

According to the present invention, the size, weight, and cost of the main unit can be reduced, so that the design is different from the conventional image of a stationary printer.
Price and size can be manufactured, and paper can be carried at the same time. A new use can be sought from the convenience, such as the need for an external power supply. For example, as a printer for a digital camera or a video camera, it can be carried in the same manner as a camera, and can output a photographic quality image on the spot at any time and anywhere. Of course, by combining a portable personal computer with the portable printer through personal computer communication or the like, information can be output in real time, and the effects such as output of information such as GPS can be immeasurable. It can be used not only as a mobile phone but also in a stationary state, but in that case it is small, so it takes up little space and is convenient. In addition, by utilizing the small size, it can be incorporated into any product, and its use is not limited. Once, typically,
As the size of mobile phones has become smaller and the emergence of notebook-type mobile personal computers, the market has expanded greatly, including secondary factors. Naturally, various effects can be expected in the information-oriented society, in addition to the effects specified here.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional color thermal transfer recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a conventional color thermal transfer recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a color thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a color thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic view showing the movement of a paper cassette of the color thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the movement of a paper cassette of the color thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the movement of a paper cassette of the color thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view of a color thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention and paper feeding thereof.
Schematic showing an enlarged view to show details of the partExplanation of reference numerals  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Color thermal transfer recording device 2 Ink ribbon 3 Transfer sheet (paper) 4 Thermal head 5 Platen roller 6 Conveyance roller 7 Paper feed roller 8 Paper cassette 9 Reciprocating motion 10 Guide 11 Battery pack 12 Control means 13 Cassette insertion port 14 Compression spring 15 Separation Plate 16 Slope 17 Sorting plate 18 Discharge unit

Continued on the front page F term (reference) 2C059 AA05 AA09 AA22 AA26 AA30 2C061 AP06 AQ04 AR01 AS02 CD23 CF06 3F343 FA02 FB04 GA01 GB01 GC01 GD01 HA14 HA39 HB03 HC04 KB03 KB13 KB14 LA02 LA13 LA16 LC02 LC19 LD12

Claims (5)

[Claims] A portable image recording device operable without an external power source and / or with an external power source such as a power adapter, wherein a paper cassette or a paper case to be printed can be mounted below the image recording device. The paper cassette or the paper case does not function as a part of the automatic paper feeding mechanism at the installed position below the image recording apparatus, and the automatic paper feeding cannot be performed. Image recording device. 2. A portable image recording apparatus operable without an external power supply and / or with an external power supply such as a power adapter, wherein a paper cassette or a paper case to be printed when not in use is provided below the image recording apparatus. An image recording device that can be attached, wherein the position of the paper cassette or case attached in contact with a paper feed port for paper feeding during use is different from the position attached below the image recording device. An image recording apparatus, comprising: 3. A paper cassette or a paper case for changing a position between a position mounted under the image recording apparatus when not in use and a position mounted in contact with a paper feed port for paper feeding during use. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising: means for rotating or sliding the image. 4. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said paper cassette or case and the printer unit are detachable, and function as an image recording apparatus even when there is no paper cassette or case. . 5. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, which is a color thermal transfer recording apparatus using a thermal transfer ribbon.