JP2001260467A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce a printer in size and height. SOLUTION: An arch-shaped part of a U-shaped path of a feeding path for a recording paper is formed of an external U-shaped guide and an inner U-shaped guide. Each of the U-shaped guides is made of a metallic material and the recording paper is fed in the arch-shaped curved face. An organic coating material is coated on the face for feeding the recording paper so that the coefficient of sliding friction is small. As a result, it is possible to make a radius of curvature at the arch-shaped part small and to reduce the printer in size. A control board 81 for controlling the printer is disposed on a bottom face of a lower case 111 to be in a shape and an area roughly the same as those of the bottom face. A power board 82 is vertically provided to the rear end of the control board 81 to be disposed in the vicinity of a battery. An L-shaped portion formed by the control board 81 and the power board 82 is suitable for achievement of a sufficient area in the printer, miniaturization of the body and lowering of the height in consideration of the case and the U-shaped guide 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a printer device such as a sublimation type thermal transfer printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, as a device for hard copying an image from a personal computer, a camera-integrated video tape recorder, an electronic still camera, or the like, a thermal transfer printer device capable of displaying a high-definition image by full color has been developed. It is becoming popular. Examples of such a conventional printer are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-138905 (hereinafter referred to as Document 1) and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-157113 (hereinafter referred to as Document 2).

In order to realize a portable printer, miniaturization is important. A thermal transfer type color printer requires a plurality of reciprocating operations for transferring a sheet for transferring a plurality of colors, and requires a sheet transport path for reciprocating the sheet. If the paper is transported on a straight line, the size of the apparatus will increase. In view of the above, downsizing is achieved by bending a part of the paper transport path into an arc shape.

[0004] In the proposal of Document 1, an arc-shaped conveyance path portion is formed around a platen roller. In Document 1, a recording paper tray and a paper ejection guide are provided vertically, and the recording paper pulled out from the recording paper tray goes around a platen roller and passes through a substantially U-shaped conveyance path. The paper is guided to a paper ejection guide.

[0005] Above the platen roller, an ink cassette accommodating ink paper is provided with a paper transport path interposed therebetween, and above the ink cassette, a head arm to which a thermal head is attached is provided. . By rotating the head arm, the thermal head is moved downward from above the ink paper exposed at the opening of the ink cassette, and the thermal head is pressed against the platen roller across the ink paper and the paper.

A heating resistor is provided on one surface of the thermal head.
These heating resistors generate heat appropriately according to print data,
Heat the ink paper. As a result, the sublimable dye applied to the ink paper sublimates and is transferred and recorded on the recording paper.

By the way, in the proposal of Document 1, by forming a substantially U-shaped conveyance path as the conveyance path of the recording paper, the length in the longitudinal direction can be relatively shortened. However, due to the rigidity of the paper, the transport path of the U-shaped paper is relatively thick, and the thickness in the vertical direction of the apparatus is large, and the size of the apparatus is not sufficiently reduced.

Document 2 discloses a technique for reducing the size of a thermal head. However, Literature 1,
In either of the two, a partial configuration inside the apparatus is disclosed, but there is no specific disclosure about a specific internal structure arrangement for reducing the size and weight.

[0009]

As described above, in the above-mentioned conventional printer device, there is a problem that the internal structure arrangement for reducing the size and weight is not considered and the device becomes large. .

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printer capable of sufficiently reducing the size, thickness, and weight.

[0011]

A printer device according to the present invention is provided on a bottom surface side of an exterior member and controls at least one of sheet feed control and ink ribbon feed control, and one side surface of the exterior member. A power board connected to the battery section, a sensor means connected to the control board for detecting the feed amount of the paper feed or the ink ribbon feed, and electrically connecting the control board and the power board. First connection means for connecting, and second connection means for electrically connecting the control board and the sensor means, wherein the control board and the power board are brought close to each other with their board end faces close to each other. And the first and second connection means are concentrated near an end near the power board on the surface of the control board on which the power board is provided. One in which was placed in.

In the present invention, the control board is provided on the bottom side of the exterior member, and the power board is provided on one side of the exterior member. The control board and the power board are connected by first connecting means, and the sensor means and the control board are connected by second connecting means. The control board and the power board are arranged and mounted in a substantially L-shape with their board end faces close to each other, and the first and second connecting means are concentrated on the control board near the end near the power board. Placed in That is, the control board and the power board are arranged in a substantially L shape, and the first and second connection means are arranged in an empty space formed by the control board and the power board.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 to 9 relate to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 shows the first embodiment of the present invention, and is an exploded perspective view for explaining a U-shaped path and a substrate housed in a case. FIG. 2, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the substrate in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 2 viewed from the back side, FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the mechanism portion viewed from the side, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the mechanism of the apparatus, and FIG.
8 and 9 are cross-sectional views for explaining an operation at the time of printing, and correspond to FIG.

In this embodiment, the recording paper transport path is formed in a U-shape, and the thickness of the arc-shaped portion of the U-shaped path can be reduced. While miniaturization is achieved by arranging various mechanisms within the range described above, miniaturization and improvement in assembly workability are achieved by optimizing the shape and arrangement of the circuit board.

In FIG. 5, a main body 1 has a recording paper cassette 2 mounted in an opening provided on a front surface, and a battery 3 mounted on a rear surface. The ink ribbon cassette 4 is mounted in the main body 1 through an opening provided on a side surface of the main body 1. The main body 1 is provided with a slot (not shown) for mounting a memory card 5, and a connector 6 for connection to a personal computer or the like can be connected.

On the upper surface of the main body 1, there is provided a display section 142 having a built-in liquid crystal panel for displaying. Various operation switches 135 are also provided on the upper surface of the main body 1.

An engaging portion 92 for attaching to the rear end of the case 109 is formed on the front surface of the battery 3.
It can be attached to the rear end of the case 109 by the unevenness of the side surface. The battery 3 has a terminal 91 formed on the front surface for making an electrical connection with a circuit section in the case 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the case 109 is constructed by combining an upper case 110 and a lower case 111, and a U-shaped path is provided in the case 109 between the upper case 110 and the lower case 111. U to configure
Character guides 11 and 12 and substrates 81 and 82 are provided. The case 109 is made of a member having sufficient strength. Upper case 1 constituting case 109
The 10 and the lower case 111 are formed of a material such as a conductive metal or a conductive resin. The U-shaped guides 11 and 12, the substrates 81 and 82, and the cases 110 and 111 are grounded.

The lower case 111 is a box-shaped member having a small thickness and an open upper surface. Considering strength and the like, it is preferable that the lower case 111 is formed of a conductive metal. The upper case 110 is a lower case 1
11 is a thick box-shaped member having an open bottom surface corresponding to the upper surface opening of No. 11. These upper and lower cases 110, 11
1 is assembled by using the mounting portion 112, for example, by being screwed.

Next, the mechanism for transporting the recording paper will be described.

In FIG. 6, the side frames 13, 15,
The rear frames 14 and 16 and the outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are housed in a case 109 to form the housing 10. A U-shaped path, which is a recording paper transport path, is formed in the housing 10. That is, as will be described later, a paper feeding port and a paper discharging port are arranged in front of the housing 10, a recording paper supply / discharge conveyance path is formed below the housing 10, and recording is performed in the rear of the housing 10. A U-shaped path is formed by forming an arc-shaped conveyance path that bends the paper and conveys the paper to the upper side of the housing 10.

As shown in FIG. 7, the frames 13 to 16
The U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are plate members formed of metal or conductive resin. One side surface of the housing 10 is constituted by the side frame 13 having the opening 9 for insertion into the housing 10 and the rear frame 14. Further, the housing 10 is formed by the side frame 15 and the rear frame 16.
The other side of is constituted. The rear surface of the housing 10 is constituted by outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12.

The outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 have arcuate curved surfaces formed of a metal plate or a conductive resin plate.
The arc-shaped portions are arranged at a predetermined interval from each other. The arc-shaped portions of the U-shaped path are formed by the gaps between the arc-shaped portions of the U-shaped guides 11 and 12. U-shaped guide 1
Both ends of the U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are substantially framed so that the arc-shaped portions 1 and 12 are located near the back of the housing 10.
Attach it by contacting only with 4,16.

The outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 made of metal or conductive resin having excellent rigidity are integrally attached to the frames 13 to 16 by integrally mounting the arc-shaped both ends.
The housing 10 can be configured with sufficient strength.

The outer U-shaped guide 11 has a curved U-shaped guide.
It has an arc-shaped portion of the character path and a flat portion 20 extending forward from the curved surface portion. On the bottom surface of the housing 10, the flat portion 20 has a shape slightly inclined in accordance with the bottom shape of the ink ribbon cassette 4. The gap between the section 20 and the section 20 forms a substantially linear portion of the U-shaped path on the rear bottom surface of the housing 10.

On the front side of the housing 10, as shown in FIG.
A PA roller 41 for pulling out the recording paper 40 stored in the recording paper cassette 2 is provided. As shown in FIG. 6 or FIG. 4, the gear 3 that engages with the rotation shaft of the PA roller 41 via a link mechanism (not shown) is provided on the side frame 15.
0 is provided. The gear 30 is driven by the forward rotation of the motor 29 to rotate the PA roller 41. The rotation of the gear 30 is also transmitted to a rotating shaft that rotates the bobbin 42 of the ink ribbon cassette 4. PA roller 41 and bobbin 4
It is not necessary to drive the bobbin 4 of the ink ribbon cassette 4 by rotating the motor 29 in the reverse direction.
2, the ink ribbon 43 (see FIG. 8) is wound up. Note that the movement amount of the ink ribbon 43 is detected by a sensor (not shown).

The housing 1 against which the leading end of the recording paper cassette 2 contacts.
At the front end of the recording paper cassette 2, a paper feeding guide 51 is provided substantially horizontally from near the upper end of the recording paper cassette 2. Above the paper supply guide 51, a paper supply and discharge guide 53 attached to the lower paper discharge guide 52 is provided. Further, an upper discharge guide 54 is provided above the lower discharge guide 52 and the supply / discharge guide 53. The lower discharge guide 52, the supply / discharge guide 53, and the upper discharge guide 54 are provided to be slightly upwardly inclined forward.

The paper supply / discharge guide 53 is a film-like elastic member, and its tip is provided to extend below the paper supply guide 51 from an opening 55 provided in the paper supply guide 51. Recording paper 40
(A chain line in FIG. 4, FIG. 8, and FIG. 9)
, And is guided and conveyed by the upper surface of the paper feed guide 51 and the lower surface of the paper supply / discharge guide 53. When the leading end of the recording paper 40 pushes up the lower surface of the paper feed / discharge guide 53, the leading end of the paper feed / discharge guide 53 moves above the upper surface of the paper feed guide 51, and the recording paper 40 is moved between the paper feed guide 51 and the paper feed / discharge guide 53. Can be conveyed to the rear side of the housing 10.

A pinch roller 33 and a grip roller 34 are provided on the conveyance path of the recording paper 40 by the paper feed guide 51 and the paper supply / discharge guide 53. The grip roller 34 is rotatably supported by a shaft 36 attached to the side frames 13 and 15. A swing shaft (not shown) of the cam 31 is attached to the side frames 13 and 15, and the pinch roller 33 is rotatably supported by a shaft 32 at the tip of the cam 31.

The leading edge of the recording paper 40 is conveyed between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 by the rotation of the PA roller 41. Paper feed guide 5
A sensor 141 (not shown in FIGS. 8 and 9) is provided below the opening 55 provided in the device 1. Sensor 141
Detects that the recording paper 40 has been conveyed. When the recording paper 40 is conveyed to a position between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34, the pinch roller 33 moves by the swing of the cam 31, and moves the recording paper 40 to the surface of the grip roller 34. It comes into pressure contact.

The grip roller 34 is rotated by a stepping motor 56. The grip roller 34 rotates by the number of rotation steps of the stepping motor 56 in a state where the recording paper 40 is pressed and held between the grip roller 34 and the pinch roller 33, and conveys the recording paper 40 in the front-rear direction of the housing 10. The upper surface of the platen roller 35 is located on the conveyance path of the recording paper 40 behind the grip roller 34 and the pinch roller 33. The flat portion 20 of the outer U-shaped guide 11 is disposed below and below the platen roller 35, and the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4 is disposed above and behind the platen roller 35. That is, the platen roller 35
Behind, a transport path is formed by the flat portion 20 and the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4 as described above.

On the upper surface of the housing 10 facing the flat portion 20,
An upper guide plate 17 (two-dot chain line in FIG. 7, not shown in FIG. 4) attached to the upper end of the outer U-shaped guide 11 is provided. The recording paper 40 passing through the arc-shaped portion of the U-shaped path is
Guided by the upper guide plate 17, the upper part of the housing 10 is transported in the front-rear direction.

When the recording paper 40 is conveyed to the printing start position, the front end of the recording paper is located near the front ends of the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 as shown in FIG. In this state, the leading end of the paper supply / discharge guide 53 extends downward from the opening 55 of the paper supply guide 51. When printing,
The recording paper 40 includes a pinch roller 33 and a grip roller 34.
Is transported forward. In this case, the recording paper 40
Indicates that the front end (the front side of the housing 10) passes between the leading end of the paper feed guide 51 and the leading end of the upper discharge guide 54, and
(3) While sliding on the upper surface, the sheet is guided between the sheet supply / discharge guide 53 and the upper and lower sheet discharge guides 54 and 52, and is conveyed to the front of the housing 10.

In this embodiment, the radius of curvature of the outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 constituting the arc-shaped portion of the U-shaped path is set relatively small. The outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are preferably made of a metal material because of the requirement for rigidity. When the radius of curvature of the arc portion is reduced, it is necessary to consider the balance between the rigidity of the recording paper and the sliding friction between the surfaces of the U-shaped guides 11 and 12. That is, as the sliding friction is reduced, the radius of curvature can be reduced, and further downsizing can be realized.

For this reason, in this embodiment,
Organic coating materials 18 and 19 are applied to a surface where the outer U-shaped guide 11 and the inner U-shaped guide 12 face each other. Further, as described above, the rigidity of the device itself is ensured by connecting the U-shaped guides 11 and 12 made of metal integrally with the frames 13 to 16.

In this embodiment, the recording paper 4
The ink ribbon cassette 4, the head 71, and the like are accommodated in a range surrounded by a U-shaped path, which is a zero transport path. A flat support member 61 is fixed to the rear frames 14 and 16 on the front surface of the inner U-shaped guide 12. A pair of bearings 62 are fixed to the support member 61, and the cam shaft 22 is rotatably provided on the bearings 62. The motor 24 is also attached to the support member 61, and the rotation of the motor 24 is transmitted to the gear 25 attached to the cam shaft 22.

A bearing 63 is fixed to the front end of the inner U-shaped guide 12, and an arm shaft 66 of an arm 65 is swingably attached to the bearing 63.
The arm 65 is substantially L-shaped, and is urged rearward by the urging member 28 attached to the support member 61 so that the upper rear end thereof comes into contact with the cam surface of the cam 23. When the cam 23 rotates with the rotation of the motor 24, the upper rear end of the arm 65 moves in the front-rear direction along the cam surface, and the arm 65 swings about the arm shaft 66. The arm shaft 66 is located at one end of the L-shape,
The upper rear end is located at the L-shaped bent portion. A thermal head 71 is fixed to a front end (the other end of the L-shape) of the arm 65, and a heating resistor 72 is provided on a lower surface of the thermal head 71.
Are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the recording paper 40 (lateral direction of the housing 10).

The position of the arm 65 changes in three stages according to the rotation of the cam 23. That is, when the upper rear end of the arm 65 is located closest to the rear of the housing 10, the thermal head 7
Reference numeral 1 denotes the uppermost position, and the upper surface of the head 71 is close to the upper surface of the housing 10 (hereinafter, such positions of the arm 65 and the head 71 are referred to as standby positions). Conversely, when the upper rear end of the arm 65 is located closest to the front of the housing 10, the thermal head 71 is located at the lowermost position, and the lower surface of the head 71 contacts the surface of the platen roller 35 (hereinafter, this position is referred to as the position). Print position).

The ink ribbon cassette 4 is arranged above the recording paper supply / discharge transport path formed on the bottom side of the housing 10 and below the arm 65. The ink ribbon cassette 4 has a supply section 73 and a take-up section 74 for the ink ribbon 43. During printing, the ink ribbon 43 wound around the bobbin 75 of the supply section 73 in accordance with the conveyance of the recording paper 40. Is wound on the bobbin 42 of the winding section 74. The ink ribbon cassette 4 includes a supply unit 73
An opening 76 (see FIG. 5) exposing the ink ribbon 43 is provided between the winding unit 74 and the winding unit 74.

The ink ribbon cassette 4 is inserted and mounted in the housing 10 when the thermal head 71 is at the standby position. Thermal head 71
When the recording paper 40 is conveyed by the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 before printing, the recording paper 40 is located at a position intermediate between the standby position and the printing position (hereinafter, referred to as a partial position). The thermal head 71 is located at a printing position when the recording paper 40 is located at a predetermined start position and starts recording. At the printing position, the thermal head 71 is in a state where the heating resistor 72 presses the platen roller 35 with the ink ribbon 43 and the recording paper 40 interposed therebetween.

The bent portion of the arm 65 has a shape corresponding to the shape of the supply portion 73 of the ink ribbon cassette 4, and the arm shaft 66 is connected to the inner U-shaped guide 1 on the bottom side of the housing 10.
Even in the case where the arm 65 is positioned near the rear end of the ink ribbon cassette 4 near the front end, the arm 65 can be moved to the printing position by tilting the arm 65 forward without hitting the supply unit 73. In the ink ribbon cassette 4, the rear supply unit 73 is located near the front end of the inner U-shaped guide 12, and the front winding unit 74 is located near the front of the housing 10, and is disposed in the front-rear direction of the housing 10. The portion occupied in the vertical direction is small. Therefore, the ink ribbon cassette 4 is
It can be easily stored in the portion surrounded by the character path. Further, the shape of the arm 65 for moving the thermal head 71, the mounting position of the arm shaft 66, and the like also make it possible to store the thermal head 71 in a thin U-shaped path.

The camshaft 22 is provided with a cam 26 separate from the cam 23 for displacing the arm 65. The cam surface of the cam 26 comes into contact with the link 27, and the movement of the cam surface swings the cam 31 via the link 27 and a connecting rod (not shown). That is, the motor 2
The rotation of 4 causes the head 71 and the pinch roller 33 to be displaced.

In the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, a control board 81 for controlling the printer is arranged on the bottom side of the flat portion 20 of the outer U-shaped guide 11 constituting the U-shaped path. It is supposed to. Reducing the number of circuit boards provided in the apparatus main body is advantageous in terms of miniaturization and assembly workability. For this reason, in the present embodiment, the control board 81 having a large mounting area is used.

As shown in FIG. 1, in consideration of the arrangement of each mechanism described above, a plane parallel to the bottom surface near the bottom surface of the lower case 111, ie, a plane parallel to the bottom surface, is set as a plane capable of securing the largest substrate area in the apparatus main body. Select a surface parallel to the surface on which the recording paper is placed. In this manner, the control board 81 having the same area and shape as the bottom surface of the lower case 111 is disposed on the bottom surface side of the flat portion 20 of the U-shaped guide 11 near the bottom surface in the lower case 111.

On the other hand, on the back side of the arc-shaped portion of the outer U-shaped guide 11, a power board 82 is provided in which a circuit through which a large current flows for controlling the power supply current and controlling the heat generation of the thermal head 71 is concentrated. Has become. Power board 82
Is provided upright at the rear end of the control board 81, and a pattern surface is provided in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the control board 81. Substrate 81,
The connection between the wiring patterns provided on the
7a and 87b. The connectors 87a and 87b are detachable.

A large current flows through a power supply and a control circuit for controlling the thermal head 71, and generates a large amount of heat. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a substrate through which a large current such as these control circuits flows is arranged at a position close to the generation source, that is, near the rear end face of the case 109, and these control circuits and the like are arranged as a single sheet. It is designed to be mounted on the power board 82 in a concentrated manner.

The control board 81 and the power board 82 are substantially L-shaped when viewed from the side. With this shape, the substrates 81 and 82 are formed by the arc-shaped portion of the outer U-shaped guide 11, the back surface of the case 109, and the flat portion 20 and the case 109.
It is arranged by utilizing a gap between the bottom surface. That is, in the apparatus, the control board 81 and the power board 82
Various electric controls can be realized by mounting only the two main substrates.

On the substrate 81, a control IC 8 is further provided.
5, various connectors 89 and other various circuit components (not shown) are mounted, and a control circuit (not shown) for controlling paper feed control and ink ribbon feed is also mounted.

In the apparatus, a plurality of sensors such as a sensor 141, a liquid crystal panel, an operation switch 135, and other various electric parts are arranged, and wiring for connecting these electric parts to the substrate 81 is provided. Are connected to various connectors 89 provided on the substrate 81 as shown in FIG.

In this embodiment, the essential connector group is connected to the arc-shaped portion of the outer U-shaped guide 11 as much as possible.
It is arranged to be concentrated in a space formed by the two substrates 81 and 82 mounted in a letter shape. That is, the connector 89 is mounted on the rear end side of the upper surface of the control board 81. For example, wiring from a plurality of sensors such as the sensor 141 is connected to a connector arranged at the rear end of the control board 81.
Thus, the outer surface of the curved U-shaped path and the L-shaped 2
The mounting density is improved by effectively utilizing the empty space inevitably formed between the substrates.

A U-shaped notch is formed at the center of the lower end of the power board 82 as viewed from the rear side, and a battery section block 83 is provided in this notch. Battery section block 8
3 has three battery sections 84 on the back, and these sections 84 are connected to power supply wiring (not shown) of the power board. The battery section block 83 is fixed to the lower case 111 or the frame by a support member (not shown).

With the substrates 81 and 82 housed in the case 109, the battery section 84 of the battery section block 83 is inserted into the case 1 through an opening (not shown) provided on the back of the case 109.
09 to the rear. By attaching the battery 3 to the rear end of the case 109, the terminal 91 provided on the front surface of the battery 3 and the battery piece 84 exposed from the case 109 come into contact with each other, and the electrical connection between the battery 3 and the substrates 81 and 82 is established. It has become.

In this case, in order to improve the electrical connection between the battery piece 84 and the terminal 91, the battery piece 84 is pressed forward by the terminal 91. Since it is fixed to the lower case 111 having strength, the pressing force of the battery 3
1,82 is not stressed.

The battery section block 83 is disposed in a notch of the power board 82. That is, the power board 8
The battery section block 8 utilizing the empty space in the plane direction of 2
3 is advantageous in terms of high-density mounting.

Next, the operation of the embodiment configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 4, 8 and 9.
4 shows a state immediately after the start of feeding of the recording paper, FIG. 8 shows a state at the start of printing, and FIG. 9 shows a state during printing.

With the head 71 in the standby position,
The ink ribbon cassette 4 is mounted in the housing 10. The recording paper 40 is stored in the recording paper cassette 2, and the recording paper cassette 2 is set on the front surface of the housing 10.

Before the start of printing, the head 71 is at the standby position, and the pinch roller 33 is also at the upper position. Here, it is assumed that printing is instructed in accordance with the print data read from the memory card 5 or the like. Then, the motor 29 rotates, and the rotational force is transmitted to the PA roller 41 via the gear 30. When the PA roller 41 rotates, the leading end of the recording paper 40 is pulled out to the upper surface of the paper feed guide 51 by the frictional force. The recording paper 40 is conveyed by the rotation of the PA roller 41, and as shown in FIG. 4, the leading end of the recording paper 40 pushes up the supply / discharge guide 53 and advances to the rear of the housing 10.

The rotation of the PA roller 41 causes the recording paper 40
When the leading end reaches between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34, the movement of the recording paper 40 is detected by a sensor (not shown), and the transmission of the rotational force to the PA roller 41 is stopped. Pinch roller 3
3 presses and holds the recording paper 40 with the grip roller 34.

Next, the stepping motor 56 starts rotating, and the grip roller 34 starts rotating at a constant speed. As a result, the recording paper 40 sandwiched between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 is conveyed to the rear of the casing 10 and guided by the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4 and the flat portion 20 while the leading end slides on the bottom surface of the ink ribbon cassette 4. , Proceeding to the rear of the housing 10.

In the vicinity of the rear end of the casing 10, the recording paper 40 is guided along an arcuate transport path between the outer U-shaped guide 11 and the inner U-shaped guide 12, and changes its direction upward. 10 It changes to the front side at the upper end side.

The facing surfaces of the outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 forming the conveyance path of the recording paper 40 are coated with the coating materials 18 and 19 to reduce the coefficient of sliding friction. Therefore, as described above, the outer and inner U
Despite the small radius of curvature of the character guides 11 and 12,
The recording paper 40 is smoothly conveyed in the arcuate U-shaped path and changes its direction.

When the sensor (not shown) detects that the recording paper 40 has reached the recording start position, the conveyance of the recording paper by the stepping motor 56 is stopped. Next, the cam 23 is rotated by the rotation of the motor 24 and the arm 65 is rotated.
Is tilted forward, and the head 71 moves to the printing position. FIG. 8 shows this state. The ink ribbon 43 and the recording paper 40 are pressed against the surface of the platen roller 35 by the heating resistor 72 of the thermal head 71.

Next, the heating resistor 72 of the thermal head 71 is energized based on the print data. As a result, the sublimable dye applied to the ink ribbon 43 is sublimated and transferred to the recording paper 40. Thermal head 71
The heat generation control and the power supply current control are performed by a circuit on the substrate 82. These circuits are concentrated on the substrate 82, and the path of the large current flowing through these circuits is configured to be the shortest.

When printing of a predetermined number of lines in the recording paper width direction is performed by the heating resistor 72, the stepping motor 5
The rotation of 6 causes the grip roller 34 to rotate, and the recording paper 40 sandwiched between the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34 is conveyed to the front side of the housing 10. The rotation of the motor 29 is transmitted to a take-up bobbin 42 of the ink ribbon cassette 4 via a transmission mechanism (not shown).
3 is also conveyed, advances upward from the front end of the thermal head 71, and is taken up by the take-up unit 74. Thereafter, the printing by the thermal head 71 and the conveyance of the recording paper 40 and the ink ribbon 43 are repeated in the same manner.

At the start of printing, the leading end of the paper supply / discharge guide 53 is located below the upper surface of the paper supply guide 51. When the recording paper 40 is conveyed to the front of the housing 10 by the pinch roller 33 and the grip roller 34, the recording paper 40 advances while sliding forward diagonally with its front end guided by the paper supply / discharge guide 53. Thus, the recording paper 40 is guided by the lower and upper discharge guides 52 and 54, and is conveyed onto the recording paper cassette 2 from the front of the housing 10 (see FIG. 9). At the end of the recording of the first color, the end of the recording paper 40 is
3 and the grip roller 34.

As the ink ribbon 43, for example, a ribbon in which inks such as yellow, cyan and magenta are cyclically applied in a predetermined order is used. In this case,
When the recording of the first color (for example, cyan) is completed, the grip roller 34 is rotated by the rotation of the stepping motor 56, and the recording paper 40 is conveyed in the U-shaped path to the rear of the housing 10, and the recording start position of the first color Conveyed to the same position. The second color (for example, yellow) on the recording paper 40
The ink ribbon 43 is moved by rotation of the motor 29 to a position where transfer of the ink ribbon 43 is possible.

The printing of the second color is performed in the same manner as the printing of the first color. Thereafter, similarly, transfer recording of the third color (for example, magenta) and the laminate coat layer is performed. When the recording of the laminate coat layer is completed, the recording paper 40 is discharged to the front side of the housing 10 by the rotational force of the grip roller 34.

As described above, in the present embodiment, U
The arc-shaped portion of the U-shaped path is formed of outer and inner U-shaped guides 11 and 12 made of a metal material having excellent rigidity, and the recording paper conveying surfaces of the U-shaped guides 11 and 12 are coated with organic coating materials 18 and 19. As a result, the friction coefficient is reduced, so that the recording paper 40 can be smoothly conveyed even when the radius of curvature of the arc-shaped portion is reduced. Further, a control board 81 having substantially the same shape and area as the bottom surface of the lower case 111 is disposed in a gap between the bottom surface of the U-shaped path and the lower case 111, and the rear surface and the upper and lower cases 110, 111 of the U-shaped path are arranged. The power board 82 is arranged in the gap between the two boards, and the circuits are intensively mounted on these two boards, thereby achieving miniaturization and thinning of the device. Then, a connector for making an electrical connection with each electric component in the device is provided on the substrate 81 on the outside U
It is arranged in an empty space between the arc-shaped portion of the character guide 11 and the substrates 81 and 82, thereby improving the mounting density and further promoting the reduction in thickness and size. As shown in FIG. 11, the control board is further extended to the rear side of the power board 82.
9a may be implemented.

[0069]

As described above, according to the present invention, there is an effect that the size, thickness and weight can be sufficiently reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view illustrating a U-shaped path and a substrate housed in a case according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a substrate in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of FIG. 2 as viewed from the rear side.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a mechanism portion viewed from a side.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the overall appearance.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing a mechanism of the apparatus.

FIG. 7 is an exploded perspective view showing a U-shaped path.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation during printing.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating an operation during printing.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory view showing a connector on a board.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory view showing a connector on a board.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ... Outside U-shaped guide, 12 ... Inner U-shaped guide, 81 ...
Control board, 82: power board, 110: upper case, 1
11 Lower case.

Claims (6)

[Claims] A control board provided on the bottom side of the exterior member for controlling at least one of paper feed control and ink ribbon feed control; and a power supply provided on one side of the exterior member and connected to a battery section. A substrate, a sensor connected to the control substrate for detecting a feed amount of the paper feed or the ink ribbon feed, and a first electrical connection between the control substrate and the power substrate.
And a second means for electrically connecting the control board and the sensor means.
And the control board and the power board are disposed and mounted in a substantially L-shape with their end faces close to each other, and the first and second connecting means are connected to the control board. The printer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the power substrate is intensively disposed near an end near the power substrate on a surface on which the power substrate is disposed. 2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein said first and second connection means include a connector arranged on said control board. 3. The printer device according to claim 2, wherein the connector is capable of detachably connecting a wiring from the power board and the sensor unit. 4. A rear end face of the control board extends further to a rear side than an end face of the power board arranged substantially in an L-shape, and the first and second connection means are extended. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein the printer device is disposed in a portion. 5. The control means according to claim 1, further comprising means for connecting the display means and the operation switch means in a concentrated manner near an end near the power board on a surface of the control board on which the power board is provided. The printer device according to claim 1. 6. An image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when the image is formed on the sheet, at least one side of the conveying path along which the sheet is conveyed, the conveying path in the sheet feeding direction is formed in a substantially arc shape so as to be substantially arc shaped. A guide member, the first and second
2. The printer device according to claim 1, wherein said connecting means are arranged concentratedly in a space formed between said guide member, said control board and said power board.