JP2001253616A - Recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent a device body from enlarging originating from improvement in functions capable of recording on several kinds of recording papers such that several kinds of recording papers with different lengths such as a standard size and a panoramic size can be conveyed and recorded on the recording papers even when a size of the device body is miniaturized to a minimum. SOLUTION: A part of conveying passage of the recording papers P, PP is formed on changeable paper cassettes 2, 50 to form a conveying passage of the whole recording device by attaching the paper cassettes. A length of the conveying passage of the whole recording device is changed into an appropriate length corresponding to a length of the recording paper by changing the cassette into a paper cassette containing recording paper with a different length.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus having a detachable paper cassette for supplying a recording material, and recording the recording material on the recording material based on recording information.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A recording device having a function such as a printer, a copying machine, a facsimile, or a recording device used as an output device of a multifunction machine or a workstation including a computer, a word processor, etc., is based on recording information. An image (including characters and symbols) is recorded on a recording material (recording medium) such as an OHP sheet. The recording device,
Depending on the recording method of the recording means used, it can be classified into an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, a thermal transfer type, and a laser beam type.

In a serial type recording apparatus employing a recording method in which a main scanning is performed in a direction crossing a conveying direction (sub-scanning direction) of the recording material, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and then the recording material is set. An image (including characters and symbols) is recorded by recording means (recording head) mounted on a carriage that moves (main scans) along the line, and after recording for one line is completed, a predetermined amount of paper (Scanning), and thereafter, the operation of recording (main scanning) the image of the next row is repeated, whereby the image is recorded in a desired range of the recording material.
On the other hand, in a line type recording apparatus that performs recording only by sub-scanning in which the recording material is transported in the transport direction, the recording material is set at a predetermined recording position, and recording for one line or one line is continuously performed collectively. A predetermined amount of paper feed (pitch feed) is performed while performing the printing, and an image is recorded on the entire recording material.

Conventionally, as a recording apparatus, a heat-sensitive sheet has been used as a recording material (recording medium) such as recording paper to selectively drive a plurality of heating elements arranged in a main scanning direction. 2. Description of the Related Art There is known a line recording type thermal transfer recording apparatus (thermal transfer printing apparatus) in which a sheet is transported in a sub-scanning direction to sequentially record an image for each dot line of the sheet. In recent years, with the progress of input devices that handle images, such as digital cameras, digital video cameras, and scanners on the input side, the above-described thermal transfer recording apparatus has been receiving attention again.

[0005] The reason is that, in the ink jet recording apparatus, since there is only a binary choice of whether or not droplets are to be ejected, an apparent resolution and a gradation are determined by a method such as error diffusion by landing small droplets on paper. In contrast, in the case of a thermal transfer recording device, the controllable heat value for one pixel can be easily changed, so that it is possible to increase the gradation for one pixel. Thus, a smoother and higher quality image can be obtained as compared with the ink jet recording apparatus. In addition, the thermal transfer recording apparatus has been able to obtain image prints of the same quality as silver halide photographs because of the improved performance of thermal heads and paper materials. As keeping pace with progress, it has been particularly noted as a recording device for natural images.

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-123838 discloses a technique for thermal cooling of a head of a sublimation type printing apparatus (sublimation type recording apparatus). This is one in which a cooling fan is provided on a carriage member including a thermal head, and is effective as a measure against heat of the thermal head. Further, Japanese Patent No. 2824498 discloses a technique regarding a transport path of a printing apparatus. According to this, the recording paper (printing paper) is stacked and held inside the inner housing which is tiltably supported in the outer housing, and the upper portions of the inner housing and the recording paper are urged downward by different urging means. Then, the lowermost recording paper (printing paper) is pressed against the paper feed roller, and the recording paper is sent out from the paper feed port provided at the bottom of the outer casing by the rotation of the paper feed roller that occurs in this state, so that reliable feeding is possible. It is possible to shorten the conveyance path of the recording paper from the paper supply unit to the recording unit (printing unit).

[0007]

However, the above-mentioned prior art does not provide a solution sufficient for reducing the size and speed of the recording apparatus. For example, in the printing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H11-123838, a configuration is adopted in which a cooling fan is provided on a carriage member including a thermal head, so that the size of the printing apparatus in the height direction (size increase) is increased. I can't avoid it. If there is no restriction on the installation location for business use, etc., there may be no problem in increasing the size of the recording device. However, considering general household use, it is preferable to make the recording device as small as possible. In other words, one of the reasons that the image quality has been good, but it has not been widely used in general households, is that the miniaturization of the recording apparatus is insufficient. This is an essential requirement for household use.

[0008] The recording apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 2898178 discloses a configuration for shortening the transport path. This recording apparatus is effective in that the transport path is shortened, but on the other hand, when the apparatus main body is reduced in size, the internal structure is rather complicated, and an inner housing which is tiltably supported in an outer housing is provided. The configuration is not always effective for miniaturization, and it is still insufficient for miniaturization of the apparatus main body. Further, in the conventional recording apparatus, most of the paper cassettes for accommodating recording paper (recording material) are mounted so as to protrude from the apparatus main body at the time of recording (printing) on the front of the apparatus main body. .

In this case, the recording apparatus is taken out of the storage place and recorded (printed) one by one, or a large space is secured on the side of the recording apparatus where the paper cassette is mounted, and the paper cassette is inserted each time the apparatus is used. Extremely cumbersome work is required, such as taking out a paper cassette from the main unit when recording and not recording, and storing the paper cassette separately, and such poor handling is a factor that hinders the spread of recording devices to ordinary households. Was one of

In response to such technical problems, in recent years,
2. Description of the Related Art There has been proposed a recording apparatus in which a paper cassette is housed inside an apparatus main body. Such a recording apparatus with a built-in paper cassette is considered to be the mainstream in the future because of its very good operability, but the structure of the apparatus main body is the same as the conventional structure, so that the recording apparatus is very long in the front-rear direction. Become. Therefore, the print engine mechanism (recording operation mechanism) conventionally arranged in the front-rear direction of the printing apparatus is 90
There has also been proposed a recording apparatus which adopts a configuration in which the paper cassette is taken out by rotating the paper cassette in a direction 90 degrees with respect to the recording direction by rotating the paper cassette in the horizontal direction. However, in the recording apparatus having such a configuration, the apparatus main body becomes extremely large in the lateral direction, and the present situation is that the recording apparatus has not been reduced in size to a real size.

A recording engine (print engine)
In the case of a recording apparatus in which is disposed horizontally, there is a limit to the size of recording paper that can be stored in a paper cassette. That is, standard-size recording paper (for example, ordinary post paper) such as panorama-size recording paper (panoramic paper)
Even if it is attempted to record on a long recording sheet whose length is about twice as large as the size of the paper cassette, if the size of the paper cassette is determined by the apparatus main body, recording (printing) is performed on such a long recording sheet. This is not possible and has limited the use of this type of recording device.

As described above, in the conventional recording apparatus,
Provided is a recording apparatus that meets the user's demand for simultaneously performing various recordings (especially recording on various types of recording paper having different sizes) while maintaining both the miniaturization of the apparatus main body and the storability of a paper cassette. There was a technical problem that could not be solved.

The present invention has been made in view of the above technical problems, and an object of the present invention is to record on a plurality of types of recording materials having different lengths such as a standard size and a panoramic size. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus which can reduce the size of the apparatus main body to the minimum, and can save space when the apparatus is used. Another object of the present invention is to provide, in addition to the above objects, a recording apparatus capable of easily maintaining the uniformity of the conveyance operation by optimally adjusting the curved state during conveyance according to the characteristics of the recording material. It is to be.

[0014]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention (claim 1) comprises a detachable paper cassette for supplying a recording material, and the recording means performs recording based on recording information. In a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material, a part of a conveyance path of a recording material is formed in the paper cassette, a conveyance path having a recording unit is formed in the apparatus main body, and the entire recording apparatus is mounted by mounting the paper cassette. The length of the transport path of the entire recording apparatus is changed to a different length corresponding to the length of the recording material by replacing the paper cassette with a paper cassette containing recording materials of different lengths. It is characterized by the following.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the recording materials having different lengths are a standard size recording material and a panoramic size recording material. The cassette is mounted on the upper part of the apparatus main body, and the upper surface of the paper cassette serves as a paper discharge tray, or the transport path for feeding the recording material from the paper cassette and the recording material after recording. It is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus capable of achieving the above object more efficiently by adopting a configuration having transport path switching means for switching a transport path when discharging paper.

According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a part of the curved portion of the transport path formed in the apparatus main body is a standard for guiding a recording material of a standard size. A guide section and a panoramic guide section having a curvature smaller than the standard guide section for guiding a recording material of a panoramic size, and switching to one of the guide sections according to the type of the recording material, or By providing a cassette type mark on the paper cassette and providing a cassette type detection means for detecting the cassette type based on the mark on the main body of the apparatus, in addition to the above-described purpose, the paper type can be transported according to the characteristics of the recording material. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus capable of easily maintaining the uniformity of a transport operation by optimally adjusting a curved state.

According to a seventh and eighth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the recording means is a thermal transfer recording means for heating an ink sheet to transfer ink to a recording material, or The ink sheet has a plurality of color ink layers, and the recording material is reciprocated a plurality of times along a conveyance path including the recording section to perform transfer recording of each ink layer. A recording apparatus using a thermal transfer recording means capable of recording on a plurality of types of recording materials having different lengths such as a standard size and a panorama size by discharging the paper to a paper discharge tray on the upper surface of the cassette. In spite of this, it is an object of the present invention to provide a recording apparatus in which the size of the apparatus main body can be reduced to a minimum and space can be saved when the apparatus is used.

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. The recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1 uses a sublimation type thermal transfer type recording means (thermal head) as a recording section (printing section), and is capable of recording (printing out) electronic image information on an arbitrary number of recording sheets. This is shown by taking a recording device as an example. In FIG. 1, a paper cassette 2 on which a recording material P such as recording paper is loaded is removably mounted on the apparatus main body 1, and the paper feed roller 3 is driven with the paper cassette 2 mounted. As a result, the recording material (recording paper) P is separated from the paper cassette 2 one by one and fed toward the recording section of the apparatus main body. At this time, the recording paper P is pressed against the paper feed roller 3 by a push-up plate 21 urged downward by a spring 20. When the recording paper P is fed, the transport path switching sheet 16 provided at the junction with the transport path of the apparatus main body 1 is open.

The recording paper P fed forward (to the right in the figure) by the paper feed roller 3 passes through the junction where the transport path switching sheet 16 is opened, and guides the transport path of the apparatus main body 1. 15-1 and further separated (opened) through the first discharge roller 9-1, the guide 15-2, and the separated (opened) recording unit (between the platen 5 and the thermal head 6). The sheet is fed to the conveying roller pair 4. The transport roller pair 4 includes a grip roller 41 and a pinch roller 42. The recording paper P fed to the transport roller pair 4 is sandwiched between the grip roller 41 and the pinch roller 42, and By controlling the rotation of the roller 41, it is possible to accurately reciprocate (reciprocate) through the recording unit.

In the recording section, a platen roller 5 and a thermal head 6 are arranged to face each other with a recording paper transport path therebetween. The thermal head 6 records an image on recording paper (recording material) P by heating the ink sheet 8 stored in the ink cassette 7 according to the recording information. The ink sheet 8 stored in the ink cassette 7
Has an ink layer formed by applying a heat-meltable or heat-sublimable ink, and an overcoat layer overcoated on the recording surface to protect the recording surface. A predetermined image is transferred and recorded on the recording sheet P by pressing the ink sheet 8 against the recording sheet P by the thermal head 6 and selectively heating the recording sheet based on the recording information. Is overcoated.

Thus, a thermal head 6 as a heating means in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a line, and an ink sheet 8 having an ink layer and an overcoat layer to be transferred onto the recording paper P are provided. A thermal transfer type recording apparatus for transferring and recording an image on the recording material P by heating the ink sheet 8 by the heating means 6 is configured.

The ink sheet 8 covers the recording area of the recording paper P, and the yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) layers of approximately the same size and the overcoat (OP) layer overlap each other. It has a structure provided by.
Then, based on the recording information, the ink sheet 8 is heated by the thermal head 6 to thermally transfer each layer, and each time one layer is transferred, the recording paper P is returned to the recording start position P1 (not shown), and the transfer recording of each layer is sequentially performed. By repeating this, a recording image composed of a plurality of ink layers transferred in a layered manner on the recording paper P is formed. That is, when performing color recording as in the present embodiment, the recording paper P is
As a result, reciprocation (sub-scanning) is performed by the number of color inks and the number of overcoat layers.

At this time, recording of each ink layer is performed while feeding the recording paper P through the recording section to the left in the drawing, and the recording paper P is moved forward of the apparatus main body 1 (left in the drawing) each time recording of each ink layer is completed. Is reversed at the position where the paper is sufficiently fed to
The reversed recording paper P is transported by the transport roller pair 4 to guide portions 15-3 and 15-2 at the front and lower portions of the paper cassette 2.
The paper is guided to the rear (right side in the figure) of the apparatus main body 1 through the opened second discharge roller 9-1 and the like. Since the recording paper P is inverted at the position where it is sent to the front part (the left part in the drawing) of the apparatus main body each time recording is completed, the recording paper P in the middle of recording does not come out of the apparatus main body 1, Therefore, it is possible to prevent an extra space from being required or unintentionally touching the recording paper P, and it is possible to save the space where the recording apparatus is installed.

Further, the recording paper P is fed to the left in the drawing as shown in FIG.
5 is used directly as a paper guide, it is possible to reduce the thickness and length of the apparatus main body 1 to make it thinner and shorter. In addition, the apparatus main body 1 is sandwiched between the ink cassette 7 and the paper cassette 2. Since the recording paper P can be moved (paper feed leftward in the figure) through the space, it is possible to minimize the overall height of the apparatus main body 1, thereby reducing the size of the recording apparatus to a position close to the minimum size and shape. Has become possible. The paper transport guide section 25 formed at the lower portion of the paper cassette 2 feeds the recording paper P fed from the rear (right side in the figure) of the apparatus main body 1 to the left side in the figure (front side in the figure). And a guide section for reversing the paper cassette 2. The provision of such a paper cassette 2 can greatly contribute to a reduction in the size of the apparatus main body 1 as a whole. The upper surface of the paper cassette 2 is a paper discharge tray 26 for recording paper P that has been recorded and discharged.
Forming the paper discharge tray 26 with the paper cassette 2 also contributes to downsizing of the apparatus main body 1.

In FIG. 1, each of the ink layers (Y, Y, and Y) is moved while the recording paper P is reciprocated a predetermined number of times through the recording unit by rotating the conveying roller pair 4 composed of a grip roller 41 and a pinch roller 42 a predetermined number of times. After transfer of each layer (M, C, and OP), and the recording is completed, the recording paper P is guided and moved by the first discharge roller 9-1 and the second discharge roller 9-2, and the rear side of the apparatus main body 1. The paper is discharged from the upper part to the front onto the paper discharge tray 26, and the recording operation is completed. The first discharge roller 9-1 is configured to be pressed against the recording paper P only when the recording paper P is discharged,
Thus, the recording paper P during recording is configured so as not to be stressed.

Note that guide portions 15-1, 15-2, and 15-3 for the recording paper P are formed in the apparatus main body 1, thereby guiding the reciprocating movement of the recording paper P (paper guiding). .
A switching sheet 16 as a transport path switching unit is provided at an exit (a junction with the first guide section 15-1) of a feeding path for feeding the recording paper P from the paper cassette 2 by the paper feeding roller 3. That is, the switching sheet 16 is opened only when the recording paper P is fed, and the switching sheet 16 is closed otherwise, so that after the recording paper P is fed, the discharge side path (the second The paper is guided to the discharge roller 9-2).

The thermal head 6 for recording (printing, etc.)
It is provided integrally with the tip of the head arm 22 that is swingably supported, and when the ink cassette 7 is replaced, it can be retracted to a position that does not hinder the insertion and removal of the ink cassette. The ink cassette 7 can be replaced by pulling out the paper cassette 2. The retracting operation of the thermal head 6 is linked to the attaching / detaching operation of the paper cassette when the paper cassette 2 is pulled out, and the cam portion 2-1 (FIG. 4) of the paper cassette 2
From the state where the cam portion 22-1 is pressed.
This is performed by retracting (separating) from −1, whereby the head arm 22 can swing vertically and rotate upward.

In the thermal transfer recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of colors (three colors) of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) are obtained during reciprocating (sub-scanning) of the recording paper P a plurality of times.
Are sequentially superimposed on each other, so that it is necessary to perform control to accurately match the leading edge of each color (recording start position). For that purpose, it is necessary to reliably pinch and transport the recording paper P by the transport roller pair 4 including the grip roller 41 and the pinch roller 42. Therefore, it is necessary to provide a non-recordable margin at the end of the recording paper P in the feed direction (transport direction).

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a recording sheet (recording material, recorded matter) P used in the recording apparatus of FIG. Since it is necessary to provide a margin as described above, in order to finally obtain a printed matter having no margin (margin), it is not possible to perform recording while being reliably nipped by the transport roller pair 4 at the start of recording. It is necessary that the margin 16 can be easily cut off later. Therefore, perforations 12 as shown in FIG. 3 are provided at both ends of the recording paper P.

The recording operation according to the present embodiment is performed by using the recording paper P having the perforations 12 as described above and a thermal transfer recording apparatus as shown in FIG. Twelve areas are overcoated. 3 is a recording area 17 which is controlled to record an area including the perforations 12. As shown in FIG. The area to which the overcoat is transferred is a substantially recording area, and is usually set slightly larger than the recording area (including the recording area 17). That is, control is performed so that recording is performed in a recording area 17 that is set to a slightly wider range including the perforations 12.

In the recording apparatus shown in FIG.
Consists of a grip roller 41 and a pinch roller 42,
An output shaft of a stepping motor (not shown) is directly connected to the grip roller 41 via a speed reduction mechanism, and the grip roller 41 is driven by the rotation control of the stepping motor so as to be freely reversible. Recording paper P is transport roller pair 4
Therefore, the recording paper P is also conveyed and driven while its position is accurately controlled by the rotation control of the stepping motor.

As an example, the recording pitch for one line by the thermal head 6 is set to 85 μm, and the recording paper P is
If the number of steps of the stepping motor for transporting lines is four, the recording paper P is transported by one line (that is, 85 μm) by controlling the rotation of the stepping motor by four steps. The recording area (recording range) 17 shown in FIG.
In this case, 1694 lines can be recorded in the recording area 17, and the stepping motor is rotated by 6,776 steps in order to convey the recording paper P by that amount.

In the recording apparatus shown in FIG. 1, a recording paper leading edge detection sensor 10 is disposed at a position near the transport roller pair 4 in the paper guide path from the paper feed roller 3 to the transport roller pair 4. After the leading edge of the recording paper P is detected by the recording paper leading edge detection sensor 10 and is detected, the recording paper P is stopped when a predetermined number of lines of the recording paper P are fed to a range where the recording paper P can be nipped. This position is the above-described position at the start of recording (recording start position).

From here on, the first Y is first synchronized with the paper feed operation of feeding the recording paper P toward the guide section 15-3 and the paper transport guide section 25 (moving in the leftward direction in the drawing, sub-scanning). By driving the yellow ink layer to generate heat by the thermal head 6 based on the (yellow) recording information, a predetermined yellow image is recorded. When the recording of one color (in this case, yellow) is completed, a first discharge roller pair 9-1 and a second discharge roller pair 9-2 are disposed from this position. Return to the recording start position (rightward direction in the figure), set once again to the above-described recording start position, and print the next color (magenta M in this case) while feeding the paper in the leftward direction over the predetermined number of lines again. A predetermined image of the next color is recorded based on the information. By repeating these operations four times, thermal transfer recording of each color (three colors) of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) and thermal transfer of the overcoat layer are performed.

In the printing apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the distance from the position of the sensor 10 for detecting the leading edge of the printing paper to the position where the printing paper P is pressed by the platen roller 5 and the thermal head 6 is determined in consideration of the arrangement of parts in the printing apparatus. The distance on the paper P is, for example, 2
It is set to about 0 mm. Of course, it is not limited to this value. At this time, a recorded matter (recording paper P) as shown in FIG. 3 is obtained by transferring the ink layers of each color and transferring the overcoat layer as described below.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart showing the operation of the first embodiment (FIG. 1) of the thermal transfer recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Hereinafter, a sequence for transferring each color ink layer and transferring the overcoat layer will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. 2, first, in step S1, the user instructs a printing operation (recording operation) by a print button (not shown) or a recording instruction from a personal computer or the like. Next, the process proceeds to step S2, where the processing circuit 18 inside the apparatus main body 1 performs image processing on the recording information, and when the preparation of recording (printing) is completed, the control means (not shown) is connected to the paper feed roller 3. The motor (not shown) is driven to start feeding the recording paper P from the paper cassette 2.

Then, in step S3, the leading edge of the recording paper P fed into the recording device is
After detecting the leading end, the stepping motor is rotated by a predetermined step to start recording when the recording start position is reached. At this time, the recording start position on the recording paper P was 12.465 mm inward with respect to the leading end. Next, in step S4, the stepping motor is continuously rotated for four steps, and during that time, the thermal head 6 is driven to generate heat to record one line. And a total of 6776 steps (1694 lines)
Then, the recording (printing) of the first color ink on the recording paper P is completed. The recording end position at this time is a position of 156.455 mm with respect to the leading end of the recording paper P. Next, for stepping down to the stop, the stepping motor is rotated by about 10 lines (40 steps) to stop the paper feeding (transport).

In this state, the stepping motor is driven to rotate in the reverse direction, and the recording paper P is moved in a predetermined direction in a direction opposite to the transport direction (paper feeding left in FIG. 1) during recording (rightward in FIG. 1). The sheet is conveyed back by a number (the total number of steps of 6776 steps and the amount of deceleration), and further rotated for a predetermined number of lines (for example, 40 steps of 10 lines) and stopped for deceleration. Then, the next color ink layer is recorded again in synchronization with the leftward pitch feed. The above recording operation is performed for yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C).
Are repeated for the three colors, and a desired recording image is transferred and recorded on the recording paper P. Thereafter, the same operation is further repeated once to transfer the overcoat layer for protecting the recorded image.

Thereafter, the stepping motor is driven to rotate in the reverse direction to convey the recording paper P rightward in FIG. 1 and guided as it is to the discharge rollers 9-1 and 9-2.
The recording paper P on which recording has been performed is discharged to the paper discharge tray section 26 by the drive of 2, and a series of recording operations is completed. The discharge rollers 9-1 and 9-2 are in a pressure-contact state (a state in which the recording paper can be nipped and conveyed) only when the recording paper P is discharged (discharged).
At other times such as during paper feeding and recording, the recording paper P is opened (separated) so that the recording paper P can pass freely.

In the above-described recording operation, the control means controls the stepping motor based on the recording paper leading edge detection signal detected by the recording paper leading edge detection sensor 10 when the recording paper P is fed. The printing position management is performed by managing the number of steps of the rotation driving of the stepping motor over the entire printing based on the number and the positional relationship during the conveyance of the printing paper P. However, the present invention is not limited to this. In the transfer recording of each color ink (Y, M, C) and the transfer recording of the overcoat layer, a detection sensor is provided at the leading end of the recording paper to detect the leading end of the recording paper. May be performed, and the recording position management may be performed by managing the number of rotation drive steps of the stepping motor for each transfer recording based on these signals.

In the above-described recording operation, the transfer of the overcoat layer is performed only by turning on / off the heat generation drive of the thermal head. It is also possible to add a control such that the calorific value is gradually increased in the (initial) stage and the calorific value is gradually decreased at the end of the transfer of the overcoat layer (final stage).

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state when the paper cassette 2 is pulled out in the first embodiment (FIG. 1) of the thermal transfer recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. 1 and 4
, When the paper cassette 2 is pulled out, the ink cassette 7 can be taken out. At this time, the ink cassette 7 can be taken out by the head arm 22 escaping from the ink cassette 7 around the rotation center 22-2 by the spring force in the retreating direction (clockwise upward direction in FIG. 1). State. Conversely, when the paper cassette 2 is inserted (installed), the cam portion 2-1 (FIG. 4) formed on the lower surface of the paper cassette presses the cam portion 22-1 of the head arm 22, whereby the head The arm is set at the recording position (use position).

The apparatus body 1 includes a thermal head 6.
Head covers 23 and 24 that move up and down in conjunction with the elevation of the (head arm 22) are provided. This head cover is composed of two head cover portions 23, 24. The head covers 23 and 24 are connected by a fulcrum in the direction in which the paper cassette 2 is taken out and are foldable, so that the user cannot touch the thermal head 6 by hand. Thus, safety of the user and protection of the thermal head 6 are achieved. When the paper cassette 2 is inserted and mounted, the head covers 23 and 24 are stored in the state shown in FIG. 1 in conjunction with the operation of lowering the thermal head 6 via the cam 22-1 of the head arm 22. It is configured to be.

FIG. 5 shows a case where the paper cassette 2 containing the standard-size recording paper P in the recording apparatus of FIG. 1 is replaced with a paper cassette 50 containing the long recording paper PP such as a panorama-size paper. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a state where a paper cassette 50 for (for example, panoramic paper) is installed. When the paper (recording material) becomes longer, the stiffness (bending stiffness) of the recording paper at the time of inversion is the same as that of the standard recording paper (recording paper P in FIG. 1). Or the maximum size of the sheet inside the apparatus main body 1 may be restricted. Therefore, in the recording apparatus according to the present embodiment (FIGS. 1 and 5), recording paper of various lengths (for example, a recording paper of a standard size and a recording paper of a standard size) despite the apparatus main body 1 being sufficiently miniaturized. (Panoramic size recording paper).

In FIG. 5, the long recording paper PP in the paper cassette 50 is, for example, a panoramic size recording paper having a length that is about twice (about twice) the length of the standard recording paper P. . A panoramic paper cassette 50 in which such a long recording paper PP is set (stored) is mounted on the apparatus main body 1. The mounting method and the like are substantially the same as in the case of the standard size (standard type) paper cassette 2 described above.
In such a recording operation facing the recording paper PP,
The recording paper PP on which recording is being performed is nipped by the conveyance roller pair 4 and is guided by the guide unit 15 in the same manner as in the case of the standard size recording paper P described above.
-3, 15-2, and 15-1 (reciprocating conveyance).

At this time, when the recording paper PP fed through the recording unit in the leftward direction in the drawing arrives at the first paper transport guide unit 27 of the panoramic paper cassette 50, the recording paper PP is further fed by this paper. The paper is further guided leftward in the figure (to the front of the apparatus) through the transport guide portion 27. The recording paper PP thus guided is further fed into a second paper transport guide section 28 formed at the lower front of the panoramic paper cassette 50, and is forward (to the left in the drawing) by the paper transport guide section 28. It is guided.

If it is necessary to convey the recording paper PP guided so far until it comes out of the panoramic paper cassette 50, the leading end of the recording paper PP is moved forward of the panoramic paper cassette 50 (left side in the figure). To). That is, the total length of the panoramic paper cassette 50 is
It is not necessary to completely cover the front part of the transport path,
The length may be shortened so that the recording paper PP is exposed. However, in a case where the leading end of the recording paper PP is exposed (exposed) and touches a user's hand or the like, or the conveyance is hindered, the length of the panoramic paper cassette 50 is set to the entire length of the conveyance path. Preferably.

By doing so, even when the apparatus main body 1 is sufficiently miniaturized, it is not necessary to enlarge the apparatus main body 1 for a conveyance path of a special recording paper (for example, a panoramic size recording paper PP). However, even though a paper cassette is prepared in accordance with the length of the recording paper, a plurality of types (especially long) can be obtained even though the size of the apparatus is reduced to a minimum.
A recording apparatus capable of reliably transporting the recording paper is obtained. That is, according to the embodiment described above, it is possible to record on a plurality of types of recording materials having different lengths such as a standard size and a panorama size, while minimizing the size of the apparatus body to a minimum. And a recording device that can save space when using the device.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In FIG.
When the panoramic paper cassette 50 is mounted on the apparatus body 1,
The control unit determines (detects) the type of the cassette based on the detection signal from the cassette type sensor 201 of the apparatus main body 1.
I do. When the mounting of the panoramic paper cassette 50 is detected in this way, the control means (not shown) drives the switching motor 205 and, via the gear 204, the transport path switching lever 2
03 is switched to the transport path suitable for transporting the panoramic size recording paper PP.

In this case, the recording paper P is switched so as to be conveyed through the panoramic guide 202 having a curvature smaller than that of the standard guide 15-3 used for the normal standard size recording paper P. That is, the transport path switching lever 2
03 denotes a panorama guide unit 202 as indicated by a solid line in the figure.
Is set at a position where the sheet is conveyed through.
The recording sheet PP whose path has been changed by the transfer path switching lever 203 is guided to the sheet transfer guide section 206 of the panoramic sheet cassette 50.

In this embodiment, the panoramic paper cassette 50
Also, the curvature of the paper transport guide portion 206 is smaller than the curvature of the paper transport guide portion 25 of the standard recording paper P (the paper transport guide portion 25 of the paper cassette 2 shown in FIG. 1), and the curvature of the transport path Are configured such that the long recording paper PP is looser than the standard-size recording paper P as a whole. Accordingly, even when the recording paper is thicker than, for example, the standard-size recording paper P and it is preferable that the curvature of the transport path is gentle, or when the recording paper PP is a paper that is very long in the longitudinal direction, the smoothness can be obtained. The apparatus can be conveyed, and can be applied to various types of recording paper (recording materials) without increasing the size of the apparatus main body 1.

The embodiment shown in FIG. 6 is different from the embodiment shown in FIG. 1 in the points described above, but has substantially the same structure in other respects. And their detailed description is omitted. According to the embodiment of FIG. 6, in addition to the effects of the embodiment of FIG. 1, the transport operation can be easily uniformized by optimally adjusting the curved state during transport according to the characteristics of the recording material (recording paper). The effect that the property can be maintained is obtained.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a thermal transfer type recording apparatus has been described as an example. However, the present invention is applicable to an ink jet type, a wire dot type, a thermal type, and the like.
The present invention can be similarly applied to a recording apparatus using another recording method such as a laser beam method, and the same effect can be obtained. Further, according to the present invention, recording is performed only by sub-scanning using a serial recording method in which the recording means (recording head) 6 is moved in the main scanning direction or a line recording means having a length covering the entire width or a part of the recording material. The present invention can be similarly applied to various printing apparatuses having different scanning methods such as a line recording method, and the same effect can be achieved.

The present invention also relates to a recording apparatus for performing monochromatic recording, a color recording apparatus for recording in a plurality of different colors using one or a plurality of recording heads, and a recording apparatus for recording in a plurality of densities of the same color and different densities. The present invention can be similarly applied to a key recording device and a recording device in which these are combined, and can achieve the same effect. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, a case where the recording means is a replaceable ink jet cartridge (head cartridge) in which a recording head unit and an ink storage unit are integrated, or a case where the recording means is a permanent type. The present invention can be similarly applied to a case where the recording means and the ink storage section take various forms, and can achieve the same operation and effect.

In the case of an ink jet recording apparatus, the present invention can be applied to, for example, an apparatus using recording means (recording head) using an electromechanical transducer such as a piezo element. An excellent effect is obtained in an ink jet recording apparatus using a recording means of a type in which ink is ejected by using an ink jet recording method. According to such a method, it is possible to achieve higher density and higher definition of recording.

[0056]

As is apparent from the above description, according to the present invention (claim 1), a detachable paper cassette for supplying a recording material is provided, and recording is performed by recording means based on recording information. In a recording apparatus for recording on a recording material, a part of a conveyance path of a recording material is formed in the paper cassette, a conveyance path having a recording unit is formed in the apparatus main body, and the entire recording apparatus is mounted by mounting the paper cassette. The length of the transport path of the entire recording apparatus is changed to a different length corresponding to the length of the recording material by replacing the paper cassette with a paper cassette containing recording materials of different lengths. With this configuration, it is possible to record on a plurality of types of recording materials having different lengths such as a standard size and a panorama size, while minimizing the size of the apparatus body to a minimum. Recording apparatus capable of achieving space-saving at the time of use is provided.

According to the second to fourth aspects of the present invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the recording materials having different lengths are a standard size recording material and a panoramic size recording material. A configuration in which the paper cassette is mounted on an upper portion of the apparatus main body, and an upper surface of the paper cassette is a discharge tray unit;
Alternatively, a configuration is provided in which a transport path switching unit for switching a transport path for feeding the recording material from the paper cassette and a transport path for discharging the recording material after recording is used, so that the above-described configuration is more efficiently performed. A recording device capable of achieving the effect is provided.

According to the fifth and sixth aspects of the invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, a part of the curved portion of the transport path formed in the apparatus main body is used to guide a standard-size recording material. And a panoramic guide portion having a curvature smaller than the standard guide portion for guiding a recording material having a panoramic size, and switching to one of the guide portions according to the type of the recording material. Alternatively, a cassette type mark is provided on the paper cassette, and a cassette type detecting means for detecting the cassette type based on the mark is provided on the apparatus main body. A recording apparatus capable of easily maintaining the uniformity of the transport operation by appropriately adjusting the curved state of the recording apparatus.

According to the seventh and eighth aspects of the invention, in addition to the configuration of the first aspect, the recording means is a thermal transfer type recording means for heating an ink sheet to transfer ink to a recording material. Alternatively, the ink sheet has a plurality of color ink layers, and the recording material is reciprocated a plurality of times along a conveyance path including the recording portion to perform transfer recording of each ink layer,
A thermal transfer type that can record on multiple types of recording materials with different lengths such as standard size and panorama size because the recording material after recording is discharged to the paper discharge tray on the top of the paper cassette Although the recording apparatus uses the recording unit, a recording apparatus that can reduce the size of the apparatus main body to a minimum and can save space when using the apparatus is provided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a configuration of an embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a flowchart illustrating an operation of the recording apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating an example of a recording medium used in the recording apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing a state when a paper cassette is pulled out in the recording apparatus of FIG. 1;

5 is a schematic side view showing a state in which a long panoramic paper cassette is mounted in the recording apparatus of FIG. 1 while replacing the standard paper cassette.

FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing the configuration of another embodiment of the recording apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Apparatus main body 2 Paper cassette 2-1 Cam part 3 Paper feed roller 4 Transport roller pair 5 Platen roller 6 Recording means (thermal head) 7 Ink cassette 8 Ink sheet 9 Discharge roller 10 Lead detection sensor 12 Perforation 15 Guide part 16 Margin Unit 17 Recording area 18 Processing circuit 21 Push-up plate 22 Head arm 22-1 Cam unit 23 Head cover unit 24 Head cover unit 25 Paper transport guide unit 26 Discharge tray unit 27 First paper transport guide unit 28 Second paper transport guide Unit 50 Panoramic paper cassette 201 Cassette type sensor 202 Panoramic guide unit 203 Transport path switching lever 205 Switching motor 206 Paper transport guide unit P Standard size recording material (recording paper) PP Panoramic size recording material (recording paper)

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus, comprising: a detachable paper cassette for supplying a recording material; and recording on the recording material by recording means based on recording information. A part is formed, a transport path having a recording unit is formed in the apparatus main body,
By mounting the paper cassette, a transport path of the entire recording apparatus is formed, and by replacing the paper cassette with a paper cassette storing recording materials having different lengths, the length of the transport path of the entire recording apparatus becomes the length of the recording material. A recording device characterized by being changed to a different length corresponding to the length. 2. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the recording materials having different lengths are a recording material having a standard size and a recording material having a panoramic size. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet cassette is mounted on an upper portion of the apparatus main body, and an upper surface of the sheet cassette serves as a sheet discharge tray. 4. A transport path switching means for switching between a transport path for feeding a recording material from a paper cassette and a transport path for discharging a recording material after recording. Item 4. The recording device according to any one of Items 1 to 3. 5. A part of a curved portion of a transport path formed in an apparatus main body has a standard guide portion for guiding a standard-size recording material and the standard guide portion for guiding a panoramic-size recording material. The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the recording apparatus comprises a panoramic guide section having a curvature smaller than the guide section, and switches to one of the guide sections according to the type of the recording material. 6. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a cassette type mark is provided on the paper cassette, and cassette type detecting means for detecting the cassette type based on the mark is provided on the apparatus main body. 7. A recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said recording means is a thermal transfer recording means for heating an ink sheet to transfer ink to a recording material. 8. The ink sheet has a plurality of ink layers of a plurality of colors, and a recording material is reciprocated a plurality of times along a conveyance path including the recording section to perform transfer recording of each ink layer. 8. The recording apparatus according to claim 7, wherein the recording material is discharged to a discharge tray on an upper surface of the paper cassette.