JP2003175634A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal printer employing a thermal head having a heating part disposed in the vicinity of the end part of a substrate in which the heating part of the thermal head can be touched to a card body with a uniform print pressure. <P>SOLUTION: The thermal printer comprises an elevating/lowering mechanism 30 of a thermal head 20 supported by a cantilever member 10, and a mechanism having a first degree of freedom rotating freely about a first axis A orthogonal to the carrying direction of a card body C and movable freely on the downstream side, and a second degree of freedom rotating freely about a second axis B, i.e., a substantially central parallel axis in the widthwise direction, and generating a print pressure at the symmetric positions of the parallel axis. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal printer, and more particularly to a technique for performing thermal sublimation or thermal transfer recording by interposing a recording ribbon between a recording medium including a thermal head and a card body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A thermal printer that uses a thermal head and a color recording ribbon in a thermal printer that records a photograph of a user's face with predetermined characters on a card body that is a recording medium for creating ID cards and various membership cards. Sublimation type is mainly used. Further, for example, the same applicant has proposed a thermal printer in Japanese Patent No. 3205641. The reason why the thermal sublimation type thermal printer is used for printing on the card body is that the card body, which is a recording medium, is often made of plastic. System recording device cannot be used. Also, it takes time to dry the ink. In terms of durability, the inkjet type is inferior to the thermal sublimation type.

According to the above thermal printer, when the recording ribbon is interposed between the thermal head and the recording medium including the card body to perform thermal sublimation or thermal transfer recording, the heat generating portion of the thermal head is interposed via the recording ribbon. Since it is necessary to contact the card body with a uniform printing pressure and print while carrying the card body, a thermal head with a heat generating part on the side surface is used compared to the conventional one, and a uniform printing pressure is obtained by adjusting the angle. Was doing.

[0004]

However, a thermal head using a thermal head in which a heat generating portion of the thermal head is provided in the vicinity of an end portion of a substrate is becoming mainstream, and this type of thermal head is a recording ribbon. It is quite difficult to bring the heat generating portion of the thermal head into contact with the card body with a uniform printing pressure with the interposition of.

On the other hand, since the thermal head is also a consumable item in which the heat generating portion is worn away, for example, after printing on tens of thousands of card bodies, or when the heat generating element for one dot of the heat generating portion becomes defective in heat generation. Since the printed image is in a so-called drawn state, it needs to be replaced with a new one.

Ideally, this replacement work should be carried out by dispatching a skilled person to the site, but in reality, a service person must be carried out at the site where the thermal printer is installed.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a thermal head using a thermal head having a heat generating portion near the end of the substrate is used as a thermal head with a recording ribbon interposed. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal printer that can bring the heat generating part of the printer into contact with the card body with a uniform printing pressure.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a thermal printer in which anyone can easily replace the thermal head, which is a consumable item, regardless of location.

[0009]

According to the present invention, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems and to achieve the object, a heat generating portion is synchronized with a predetermined energization to a thermal head provided near an end portion of a substrate. A thermal printer for performing printing while conveying a recording medium, wherein the thermal printer includes a thermal printer base, and a one-sided support member rotatably provided between an open position and a closed position with respect to the thermal printer base. The thermal head is provided so as to be orthogonal to the recording medium conveyance direction, and includes an elevating means for elevating and lowering between a recording position and a retreat position, and ribbon feeding means for supplying and winding a recording ribbon. It is characterized by

The elevating means is a main elevating member arranged to engage with an actuator fixed to the one-side supporting member, and is fixed to the one-side supporting member,
A sub-elevating member configured to generate printing pressure in the thermal head at symmetrical positions parallel to the transport direction of the recording medium and substantially parallel to the center in the width direction of the recording medium; and the thermal head. An engaging member for engaging and an urging member for urging the engaging member in the engaging direction, and abutting against a positioning member disposed on the thermal printer base by the urging force of the urging member. It is characterized in that the recording medium is positioned at a position orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording medium.

Further, the thermal head includes a second connecting portion, a third connecting portion, and an abutting member, and the thermal head is connected to the first connecting portion provided on the one-side supporting member. A first degree of freedom which is composed of the second joint portion and has a first axis which is an orthogonal axis orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium, and the third joint portion and the engaging member. And a second degree of freedom having the parallel shaft as a second axis, and the contact member is configured to be positioned by contacting with the positioning member. It is characterized by

Further, the thermal head can be detached from the first coupling portion by operating the engagement member to release the engagement with the third coupling portion. At the same time, the second coupling portion is set to the first coupling portion, and the engagement member is operated to engage with the third coupling portion, so that the mounting can be performed. It is characterized by being configured.

Further, the printing pressure on the thermal head is characterized in that it can be individually adjusted at symmetrical positions with respect to the parallel axis.

An adjusting unit for adjusting the position of the thermal head in the orthogonal direction is provided.

[0015]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. First, Fig. 1
FIG. 3 is a side view of the thermal printer as seen from a plane orthogonal to the transport direction of a card body C which is a recording medium. Also, FIG.
[FIG. 8] is a skeleton diagram of an external perspective view that also serves as an operation description.

1 and 2, the thermal head 20
Is also called a line thermal head, and heat generating portions 20a (for example, resolution of 600 dots / inch or more) having a width greater than that of the card body C are formed in a line near the edge of the substrate. The thermal head 20 is provided with a connector (not shown) and a heat radiating plate for energization, and further, as shown in FIG. 2, a pin 21 and a convex member 22 which are the third connecting portion.
And the contact member 31 that is bent as shown in the figure are fixed, and the pin 21 and the convex member 2 that is the second connecting portion are fixed.
2, the thermal head 20 is lifted by a lifting mechanism 3 as described later.
0 and the one-sided support member 10 can be easily attached and detached.

The elevating mechanism 30 has an end that is moved by the suction operation of the actuator of the electromagnetic solenoid 12 fixed to the one-side supporting member 10, and an end that drives the main elevating and lowering member 25 in the vertical direction. Shaft 23 planted in
Arm member 24 that is swingably provided by the arrow Y
It is composed of a sub-elevating member, which will be described later, which serves as a base for generating a printing pressure in the Y1 and Y2 directions.

In FIG. 1, the piece support member 10 extends downward as shown in the drawing, and the shaft body 9 fixed to the base portion 1 is provided.
A locking member 7 is rotatably provided around and is rotatably provided around the shaft body 6 at the upper end of the pillar member 4 fixed to the base 1. The pin 11 is fixed to the one-side supporting member 10. By holding the ribbon cassette 15 in the illustrated state, the state shown in the drawing is released, and after releasing the locked state, the ribbon cassette 15 shown in the chain double-dashed line can be loaded into the ribbon drive mechanism 13 so that the spring 16 can be loaded. It is configured to be set with. Furthermore, the thermal head 2 is rotated to the position shown by the alternate long and short dash line.
Check 0 and replace.

The base 1 has a roller 8 as a positioning member.
Another column member 5 pivotally supported at its end is fixed as shown, and the roller 8 comes into contact with the bent contact member 31 to move the thermal head 20 to the arrow X1. It is positioned in the direction.

The recording ribbon R shown by the broken line is supplied and wound in the arrow direction shown in FIG. 2 by the engagement of the spool with the ribbon spool engaging member 14 of the ribbon drive mechanism 13.

The card body C is transported in the direction of arrow Z in FIG. 2 by the transport mechanism 18 which presses and moves the rear end,
The platen roller 3 and the heat generating portion 2 which are pivotally supported on the base portion 2.
It is configured to perform recording between 0a.

The elevating mechanism 30 for elevating the thermal head 20 between the recording position and the retracted position has the orthogonal axis orthogonal to the carrying direction of the card body C as the first axis A and moves on the downstream side of the carrying. The first degree of freedom to freely rotate
It has a second degree of freedom that allows a parallel axis parallel to the transport direction and substantially central in the width direction of the card body C to be rotatable about a second axis B, and the printing pressure is indicated by an arrow at a symmetrical position of the parallel axis. The arrow X indicates that the abutment member 31 comes into contact with the roller 8 at the recording position shown in the drawing and the printing pressure generating portion generated in the Y1 and Y2 directions.
An urging portion that generates urging force in one direction to perform positioning is provided.

Next, FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of the lifting mechanism 30, showing a state in which the thermal head 20 is removed. In this figure, the same reference numerals are given to the components already described and the description thereof is omitted. In the thermal head 20, a pin 21 that rotates around the second axis B is provided.
Are fixed to the front surface, the convex member 22 is fixed to the rear surface, and the hole portion 35, which is the first coupling portion of the hole member 35 formed of the spring material shown by the alternate long and short dash line and fixed to the rear end side of the one-side supporting member 10,
After setting the convex member 22 which is the second coupling portion in a, hold the pin 21 between the shape portion 26a of the sub-elevating member 26 and the claw portion 33a of the lever 33, and press it against the front side. It is configured so that it can be loaded.
Here, since the convex member 22 is configured so that it can be set in the hole portion 35a with a margin, it is rotatable about the first axis A shown in FIG. 2 in the arrow direction. Become. Further, it goes without saying that the above-mentioned first coupling portion may be a convex member and the above-mentioned second coupling portion may be a hole portion, which is the reverse configuration.

For this reason, the lever 33 is provided with an auxiliary lifting member 26.
It is rotatably provided around a shaft body 32 that is planted in the sub-elevation member 26.
The lever 33 is urged to rotate counterclockwise by the pulling action of the tension coil spring 34 fixed to 3. As a result, the pin 21 can be urged to move in the direction of the arrow X1, so that the abutment member 31 can abut the roller 8 for positioning.

The sub-elevating member 26 is bent in three directions as shown in the drawing, and pins 27 are planted on the inner wall surfaces of the left and right side surfaces, respectively.
As the main elevating member 25 into which 5a is inserted is moved upward by the arm member 24, the auxiliary elevating member 26 is moved upward by lifting the pin 27. In addition, a compression spring 42 held by screws 40 and 41 arranged in parallel is provided between the one-sided supporting member 10 and the sub-elevating member 26, and a predetermined amount with respect to the pressing surface 20 b of the thermal head 20 is provided. It is configured to generate printing pressure.

With the above construction, the thermal head 20 can be easily attached to and detached from the thermal head 20, and the first degree of freedom having the first axis A as the center of rotation and the second axis B having the center of rotation as the center of rotation. By enabling the thermal head to be held in a float state having two degrees of freedom, a uniform printing pressure is guaranteed along the longitudinal direction of the heat generating portion 20a.

Next, FIG. 4 is a sectional view schematically showing the printing pressure generating mechanism. In this figure, the components already described are given the same reference numerals and the description thereof is omitted. The thermal head 20 is rotatably held around the second axis B with the pin 21 as the axis. So 2
The pressing surfaces 20b are provided at symmetrical positions that are the same distance from the second axis B, and the ends of the screws 40 and 41 are provided so as to contact the pressing surfaces 20b and generate a predetermined printing pressure. Has been. The collar 44 is fixed to the one-side supporting member 10, and the screw body 45 is fixed to the sub-elevating member 26 and screwed with the screws 40 and 41. Compression spring 42
Is provided between the collar 44 and the screw body 45,
By rotating the screw 40 with a screwdriver, the compression length of the compression spring is changed so that the printing pressure is the same on the left and right.

Next, FIG. 5A is a plan view of the one-sided support member 10, and FIG. 5B is a rear view of the one-sided support member 10. First, in FIG. 5B, the hole member 35 having the above-described hole portion 35a, which is the first connecting portion, is fixed to the one-side supporting member 10 with a screw.

In FIG. 5 (a), a screw 39 is screwed between the main elevating member 25 and the one-side supporting member, and a compression spring 38 is provided as shown in the drawing. Adjust the screw 39 with a screwdriver to make the arrow X
Allows fine adjustment of direction.

Finally, in the side view for explaining the operation of FIG. 6, when the electromagnetic solenoid 12 is energized from the state shown in FIG. 2, the arm member 24 moves in the direction of the arrow with the pivot shaft 23 as a fulcrum. As a result of the rotation, the main elevating member 25 rises and the pin 27 rises in the direction of the arrow, and as a result, the sub elevating member 26 comes to the standby position together with the thermal head 20. In addition, by stopping the power supply to the electromagnetic solenoid 12, it returns to the operating position.

[0031]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Provided is a thermal printer using a thermal head using a thermal head provided with a heat generating portion near the end of a substrate, and a heat generating portion of the thermal head can be brought into contact with a card body with a uniform printing pressure through a recording ribbon. it can.

In addition, it is possible to provide a thermal printer which allows anyone, regardless of location, to easily replace the thermal head, which is a consumable item.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a card body C which is a recording medium for a thermal printer.
It is the side view seen from the surface orthogonal to the conveyance direction.

FIG. 2 is a skeleton diagram of an external perspective view that also serves to explain the operation.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view showing a state in which the thermal head 20 is removed from the lifting mechanism 30.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a printing pressure generating mechanism.

5A is a plan view of the one-sided support member 10, and FIG. 5B is a rear view of the one-sided support member 10.

FIG. 6 is a side view for explaining the operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 base (thermal printer base) 3 Platen roller 4, 5 prop members 6 axis 10 Single support member 12 Electromagnetic solenoid 15 Ribbon cassette 18 Transport mechanism 20 thermal head 21 pin 22 Convex member (second connecting portion) 23 Shaft 24 Arm member 25 Main lifting member 26 Sub-elevation member 27 pin 33 lever 35a Hole (first coupling part) A first axis B second axis R recording ribbon C card body (recording medium)

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Katsuta             Konica Stock, 1 Sakura-cho, Hino City, Tokyo             In the company F-term (reference) 2C064 CC02 CC06 CC13 DD01 DD06                 2C065 AA01 AC04 CC01 CC02 CC03                       CC05 CC10 CC12 CC15 CC16                       CC17 DA01 DA03 DA04 DA12

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A thermal printer for printing an image while transporting a recording medium in synchronism with a predetermined energization of a thermal head provided with a heat generating portion near an end of a substrate, wherein the thermal printer comprises a thermal printer base and a thermal printer base. , A one-sided support member rotatably provided between an open position and a closed position with respect to the thermal printer base, an elevating means for elevating and lowering between a recording position and a retracted position, and supplying and winding a recording ribbon A ribbon printer, and the thermal head is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium. 2. The elevating means is a main elevating member arranged so as to engage with an actuator fixed to the one-side supporting member, and is fixed to the one-side supporting member and is in a conveyance direction of the recording medium. And a sub-elevating member configured to generate a printing pressure in the thermal head at symmetrical positions with respect to a parallel axis substantially parallel to the center of the recording medium in the width direction, and an engaging member that engages with the thermal head. And a biasing member that biases the engaging member in the engaging direction, and contacts the positioning member disposed on the thermal printer base by the biasing force of the biasing member, The thermal printer according to claim 1, wherein the thermal printer is configured to be positioned at a position orthogonal to the transport direction. 3. The thermal head includes a second joint portion, a third joint portion, and an abutting member, and the thermal head includes a first joint portion provided on the piece support member. A first degree of freedom which is composed of the second coupling portion and has a first axis which is an orthogonal axis orthogonal to the transport direction of the recording medium; and the third coupling portion and the engaging member. And a second degree of freedom with the parallel shaft serving as a second axis, and the contact member is configured to be positioned by contacting with the positioning member. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein
The thermal printer described in. 4. The thermal head is configured to be detachable from the first coupling portion by operating the engagement member to release the engagement with the third coupling portion. At the same time, the second coupling portion is set to the first coupling portion, and the engagement member is operated to engage with the third coupling portion so that the mounting can be performed. The thermal printer according to claim 2, wherein the thermal printer is configured. 5. The printing pressure applied to the thermal head is configured so as to be individually adjustable at symmetrical positions with the parallel axis interposed therebetween. The thermal printer described in. 6. The thermal printer according to claim 1, further comprising an adjusting unit for adjusting the position of the thermal head in the orthogonal direction.