JP2013154579A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printer capable of optimizing a surface state of a printing surface without preparing an exclusive ribbon cassette for each surface state of a desired printing surface; and to provide a printer capable of automatically changing a surface state of a printing surface according to printing contents without changing the ribbon cassette.SOLUTION: A printer 10, which is a thermal transfer type printer for printing on a sheet 1 by using an ink ribbon 23, includes: a platen roller 15Y arranged near a conveyance route of the sheet 1 for conveying the sheet 1 and the ink ribbon 23; a thermal head 16Y arranged to face to the platen roller 15Y for heating ink of the ink ribbon 23 and transferring the ink to the sheet 1; and a separating plate 17Y for separating the ink ribbon 23 from the sheet 1. The separating plate 17Y can change a separating position where the separating plate 17Y separates the ink ribbon 23 from the sheet 1.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer that performs printing on a printing medium using an ink ribbon.

  In a thermal transfer type printer that prints on a printing medium using an ink ribbon, the ink on the ink ribbon is melted and transferred to the paper by heat, so printing is performed depending on the molten state of the ink when the ink ribbon is peeled off the paper. The state of the surface changes. Therefore, in these printers, the glossiness of the printing surface changes depending on the timing at which the ink ribbon printed by the thermal head is peeled from the paper.

  When peeling is performed after the ink is completely solidified, the surface of the printing surface becomes a mirror surface and easily reflects because the surface of the base material of the ink ribbon at the time of transfer is reproduced. In this case, since there is a glossiness, a good result is obtained for printing a graphic image. However, when characters or codes are printed, reflection tends to occur, making it difficult to read. As described above, the state of the surface of the printing surface is different depending on what is printed.

  Patent Document 1 discloses a ribbon cassette that can change the distance from a transfer position by a thermal head to a peeling portion, and a printer that uses this ribbon cassette.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-180015

  However, in the technique of Patent Document 1, the peeling timing is optimized for each ribbon cassette, and the surface state of the printing surface cannot be changed unless the ribbon cassette is changed. Therefore, the user needs to prepare a large number of ribbon cassettes for each printing application, which is not convenient. Further, it is necessary to exchange the ribbon cassette each time switching between printing of graphic images and printing of characters and codes, and this is also not convenient.

An object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can optimize the surface state of the printing surface without preparing a dedicated ribbon cassette for each surface state of the desired printing surface.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer that can automatically change the state of the surface of the printing surface in accordance with the printing content without replacing the ribbon cassette.

  The present invention solves the above problems by the following means.

  The invention of claim 1 is a thermal transfer type printer that performs printing on a printing medium using an ink ribbon, and is disposed in the vicinity of a conveyance path of the printing medium, and conveys the printing medium and the ink ribbon. A platen roller that is disposed opposite to the platen roller, and a thermal head that heats and transfers the ink on the ink ribbon to the printing medium; and a peeling unit that peels the ink ribbon from the printing medium. The peeling part is provided so that the peeling part can change the peeling position at which the peeling part peels the ink ribbon from the printing medium.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the peeling portion includes a peeling plate that is peeled by contact with the ink ribbon, and the peeling plate includes a support member to which the peeling plate is attached. The printer can be attached to the support member with a spacer interposed therebetween.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the first aspect, the peeling portion includes a peeling plate that is peeled by contact with the ink ribbon, and includes a moving mechanism that moves the position of the peeling plate. A printer characterized by the above.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the printer according to the third aspect of the present invention, the printer has a control unit that controls printing, and the control unit gives an instruction to the moving mechanism in accordance with the content of printing to position the release plate. The printer is characterized by performing control of movement.

According to the present invention, the printer can bring the glossiness of the surface of the printing surface to the optimum state according to the printing content without preparing a dedicated ribbon cassette for each surface state of the desired printing surface.
In addition, since the printer can be provided with an arbitrary number of spacers between the release plate and the support member, the surface state of the printing surface is automatically changed according to the printing contents without replacing the ribbon cassette. it can.

1 is a diagram illustrating a first embodiment of a printer according to the present invention. FIG. It is a figure which expands and shows the A section enclosed with the dashed-dotted line in FIG. It is a figure which shows the state which changed the peeling position PB from the state of FIG. It is a figure which shows 2nd Embodiment of the printer by this invention. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a state in which the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB is set to L4 shorter than L3 from the state of FIG.

  The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a first embodiment of a printer according to the present invention.
In the drawings shown below including FIG. 1, XYZ orthogonal coordinates are shown in a unified direction. Note that XYZ merely indicates a direction and does not indicate an absolute position such as an origin position.
In addition, each figure shown below including FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically shown, and the size and shape of each part are appropriately exaggerated for easy understanding.
In the following description, specific numerical values, shapes, materials, and the like are shown and described, but these can be changed as appropriate.

  The printer 10 is a thermal transfer type color printer for printing on a printing medium (paper) such as a label temporarily attached to a mount or a strip-like sheet of a tag, and using a plurality of ink ribbons of different colors. Then, printing is performed by transferring the ink of the ink ribbon onto the paper. In the following, a case where printing is performed on a sheet using ink ribbons of four colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (B) will be described as an example.

  As shown in FIG. 1, a sheet 1 is rotatably supported on a sheet supply shaft 11 provided in a housing 14 of a printer 10 as a roll sheet 2 wound in a roll shape. The paper 1 pulled out from the paper supply shaft 11 is nipped and conveyed by the drive roller 12 and the pressure roller 13.

  Also, four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y, 20M, 20C, and 20B are mounted on the casing 14 from the upstream side in the transport direction (right side in the figure) to the downstream side in the transport direction (left side in the figure). Yes. For example, the ink ribbon cassette 20Y is loaded with a yellow (Y) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20M is loaded with a magenta (M) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20C is loaded with a cyan (C) ink ribbon. The ink ribbon cassette 20B is loaded with a black (B) ink ribbon.

  In the housing 14 of the printer 10, four platen rollers 15Y, 15M, 15C, and 15B, and four thermal heads 16Y and 16B are arranged along the paper transport direction corresponding to the four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B. 16M, 16C, 16B and four peeling plates 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17B are arranged. The thermal heads 16Y to 16B are inserted into the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B, respectively. Further, the thermal heads 16Y to 16B are disposed to face the platen rollers 15Y to 15B, respectively. The peeling plates 17Y to 17B are disposed on the downstream side of the thermal heads 16Y to 16B, respectively. The four platen rollers 15Y to 15B, the four thermal heads 16Y to 16B, and the four release plates 17Y to 17B are combined to form four printing units. In each printing part, it prints using the ink ribbon cassettes 20Y-20B set to each.

  In each of the four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B, the ink ribbon 23 is bridged between the ink ribbon supply shaft 21 and the ink ribbon take-up shaft 22. The ink ribbon winding shaft 22 is driven to rotate by a motor provided in the housing.

  The unused ink ribbon 23 supported while being wound around the ink ribbon supply shaft 21 of the yellow ink ribbon cassette 20Y is supplied together with the paper 1 between the platen roller 15Y and the thermal head 16Y. After the transfer, the ink ribbon 23 is peeled off from the paper 1 by the peeling plate 17Y, and then taken up by the ink ribbon take-up shaft 22.

  The platen roller 15Y is driven and rotated by a motor provided in the casing, thereby conveying the paper 1 and the ink ribbon 23 at the same speed in the same direction. The thermal head 16Y has a plurality of fine heating elements that generate heat when energy is applied in the width direction. Printing is performed using the yellow ink ribbon loaded in the ink ribbon cassette 20Y by applying energy to the heating element to generate heat and heating the ink on the ink ribbon 23 and transferring it to the paper 1. In order to apply energy (electric power) to the heating element, a voltage may be applied from the voltage source to the heating element, or a current may be passed from the current source to the heating element.

  The platen rollers 15M to 15B are configured similarly to the platen roller 15Y, and the thermal heads 16M to 16B are configured similarly to the thermal head 16Y. Further, the release plates 17M to 17B are configured similarly to the release plate 17Y. The paper 1 that has passed through the position of the platen roller 15Y sequentially passes through the positions of the platen rollers 15M to 15B, and the thermal heads 16M to 16B are fed with magenta, cyan, and black ink ribbons loaded in the ink ribbon cassettes 20M to 20B, respectively. The printing used is performed sequentially. The printed paper 1 is discharged from the paper discharge port.

  The printer 10 includes an input unit 30, a control unit 40, a display unit 45, and a power supply unit 70.

  The input unit 30 includes a plurality of operation keys and is used for operating the printer 10 and inputting color print data to the printer 10.

  The control unit 40 controls the operation of each unit of the printer 10.

  The display unit 45 includes an LCD (liquid crystal display) panel or a plurality of LEDs (light emitting diodes) for displaying an error message or the like, and performs various displays based on signals supplied from the control unit 40.

  The power supply unit 70 supplies power to each unit of the printer 10.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion A surrounded by a one-dot chain line in FIG.
The peeling plate 17Y is formed of a plate-like member, has a corner portion 17Ya that turns the transport direction of the ink ribbon 23, and functions as a peeling portion that peels the ink ribbon 23 and the paper 1. The peeling plate 17Y is fixed to the support member 18 to which the thermal head 16Y is attached using screws 24. Here, a plurality of spacers 19 can be sandwiched between the peeling plate 17Y and the support member 18.

  FIG. 2 shows an example in which three spacers 19 are sandwiched between the peeling plate 17Y and the support member 18. In FIG. 2, the distance between the transfer position PA where the thermal head 16Y transfers the ink on the ink ribbon 23 to the paper 1 and the peeling position PB where the ink ribbon 23 and the paper 1 are peeled is L1. This distance L1 is set to a distance at which the printing surface becomes a glossy surface.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state where the peeling position PB is changed from the state of FIG.
FIG. 3 shows an example in which one spacer 19 is sandwiched between the peeling plate 17Y and the support member 18. In FIG. 3, the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB is L2 shorter than the distance L1. This distance L2 is set to a distance at which the printed surface does not become a glossy surface.
The portions of the peeling plates 17M to 17B have the same configuration as that of the peeling plate 17Y.

  In the present embodiment, when printing a graphic image or the like, and when it is desired to make the printed surface glossy, three spacers 19 are provided between the peeling plate 17Y and the support member 18, as shown in FIG. The distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB is L1. By setting in this way, the ink on the ink ribbon 23 heated at the transfer position PA is sufficiently cooled while being transported through the distance L1, and the ink is completely solidified. Therefore, when the ink ribbon 23 is peeled from the paper 1 at the peeling position PB, the surface of the printing surface becomes a glossy surface by reproducing the surface of the base material of the ink ribbon at the time of transfer.

  On the other hand, when it is not desired to make the printed surface glossy, such as when printing characters or codes, a single spacer 19 is sandwiched between the release plate 17Y and the support member 18 as shown in FIG. Therefore, the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB is L2. By setting in this way, the ink on the ink ribbon 23 heated at the transfer position PA is reduced in cooling time, and is not solidified while being transported over the distance L2, and the ink is peeled off in a semi-molten state. The position PB is reached. Therefore, when the ink ribbon 23 is peeled off from the paper 1 at the peeling position PB, the surface of the printing surface is peeled off at the ink portion, so the surface of the base material of the ink ribbon is not reproduced. Don't be.

  In the above example, the case where three spacers 19 are used and the case where one spacer 19 is used are exemplified. However, by adjusting these numbers as appropriate according to the characteristics of the ink ribbon, more preferable conditions can be set for each ink ribbon. Can be set.

  As described above, according to the first embodiment, the printer 10 is provided with the spacer 19 between the peeling plates 17Y to 17B and the support member 18, and by changing the number of the spacers 19 between the desired values, Even if a dedicated ribbon cassette is not prepared for each surface state of the printing surface, the optimum gloss state of the printing surface can be selected according to the printing content.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a second embodiment of a printer according to the present invention. FIG. 4 shows the same position as FIG. 2 of the first embodiment described above.
The second embodiment has the same form as the first embodiment except that the form of changing the positions of the peeling plates 17Y to 17B in the first embodiment is different. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the portions that perform the same functions as those in the first embodiment described above, and repeated descriptions are omitted as appropriate.

  The printer of the second embodiment includes a feed screw 25, a guide shaft 26, and a motor 27 as a moving mechanism that moves the position of the peeling plate 17Y.

  The feed screw 25 is rotatably attached to the support member 18. A female screw portion 17Yb provided on the peeling plate 17Y is screwed into a feed screw portion 25a on the X plus side of the feed screw 25. Further, a gear portion 25 b is provided on the X minus side of the feed screw 25.

  The end of the X minus side of the guide shaft 26 is fixed to the support member 18, and the portion protruding to the X plus side is fitted into a guide hole provided in the peeling plate 17Y, so that the X of the peeling plate 17Y. Guides movement in the direction.

  The motor 27 is a stepping motor fixed to the support member 18. A pinion gear portion 27 a is provided on the output shaft of the motor 27. The pinion gear portion 27a meshes with the gear portion 25b of the feed screw 25. The motor 27 is driven and controlled by the control unit 40.

In FIG. 4, the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB is L3. This distance L3 is set to a distance at which the printing surface becomes a glossy surface.
FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating a state where the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB is set to L4 shorter than L3 from the state of FIG. The distance L4 in FIG. 5 is set to a distance at which the printed surface does not become a glossy surface.
The portions of the peeling plates 17M to 17B have the same configuration as that of the peeling plate 17Y.

The distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB can be controlled and changed by the control unit 40 by the moving mechanism described above. Specifically, when receiving a print instruction, the control unit 40 first determines the print content.
As a result of the determination, when the control unit 40 determines that the print content is a graphic image, the control unit 40 drives the motor 27 so that the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB becomes L3. Let When the motor 27 rotates, the feed screw 25 rotates and the peeling plate 17Y moves. Since the motor 27 is a stepping motor, the position of the peeling plate 17Y is controlled by its rotational position.
On the other hand, when the control unit 40 determines that the print content is a character or a code, the control unit 40 drives the motor 27 so that the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB is L4.

When the control unit 40 determines that the print content is a mixture of graphic images and characters, the control unit 40 sets the distance between the transfer position PA and the peeling position PB between L3 and L4. You may control so that it may be in the middle.
Furthermore, the user may select and input the gloss level desired to be obtained as a print result using the input unit 30, and the control unit 40 may perform control according to the input content.

  As described above, according to the second embodiment, the printer 10 is provided with the moving mechanism that moves the peeling plates 17Y to 17B. Moreover, this moving mechanism moves the peeling plates 17Y to 17B by the control unit 40 in accordance with the contents of printing. Therefore, the printer 10 can automatically select the optimal gloss state of the printing surface according to the printing content.

(Deformation)
The present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the scope of the present invention.

  For example, in each embodiment, the printer 10 has been described with respect to one corresponding to four types of ink ribbon cassettes 20Y to 20B. For example, a printer using only one type of ink ribbon cassette may be used.

  Each embodiment and modification may be used in appropriate combination, but detailed description is omitted. Further, the present invention is not limited by the embodiments described above.

1 paper 2 roll paper 10 printer 11 paper supply shaft 12 driving roller 13 pressure roller 14 housing 15Y, 15M, 15C, 15B platen roller 16Y, 16M, 16C, 16B thermal head 17Y, 17M, 17C, 17B release plate 17Ya angle Portion 17Yb Female thread portion 18 Support member 19 Spacer 20Y, 20M, 20C, 20B Ink ribbon cassette 21 Ink ribbon supply shaft 22 Ink ribbon take-up shaft 23 Ink ribbon 24 Screw 25 Feed screw 25a Feed screw portion 25b Gear portion 26 Guide shaft 27 Motor 27a Pinion gear section 30 Input section 40 Control section 45 Display section 70 Power supply section

Claims (4)

A thermal transfer printer that prints on a printing medium using an ink ribbon,
A platen roller that is disposed in the vicinity of a conveyance path of the printing medium and that conveys the printing medium and the ink ribbon;
A thermal head that is disposed to face the platen roller and heats the ink on the ink ribbon to transfer it to the printing medium;
A peeling portion for peeling the ink ribbon and the printing medium;
With
The peeling portion is provided such that the peeling portion can change a peeling position at which the ink ribbon is peeled from the printing medium;
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 1.
The peeling portion has a peeling plate that is peeled by contact with the ink ribbon,
The release plate can be attached to the support member with a spacer sandwiched between the release plate and the support member to which the release plate is attached;
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 1.
The peeling portion has a peeling plate that is peeled by contact with the ink ribbon,
Comprising a moving mechanism for moving the position of the peeling plate;
Printer characterized by. The printer according to claim 3.
A control unit for controlling printing;
The control unit performs control to move the position of the peeling plate by giving an instruction to the moving mechanism according to print contents;
Printer characterized by.

Images