JP2539380B2 - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a thermal transfer printer having a plurality of ink films of different colors, which can automatically replace the ink film.

[Conventional technology]

The conventional multi-color color thermal transfer printer uses a single ink film that sequentially has color backgrounds such as yellow, magenta, and cyan.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

In the above-mentioned prior art, since the order of the color background is irregular, the unnecessary color areas are wound up without being used, so that the ink film is wasted. Therefore, prepare ink films each having a single color background such as yellow, magenta, and cyan, and replace them with ink films of the required color in order to eliminate the above waste and to replace the ink film. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal head and an ink film which do not cause collision interference.

[Means for solving problems]

The features of the present invention include a platen, a thermal head that presses and separates from the platen, and an ink film that is sandwiched between the platen and the thermal head, and the ink of the ink film is heated by heating the thermal head. In what is transferred to a recording paper, the ink film is composed of a plurality of different color ink films of the same structure composed of a winding roll and a supply roll,
A plurality of roll accommodating means having the same structure for accommodating the plurality of ink films and each of the winding rolls and the supply rolls are selectively provided, and the separation distance of the thermal head separated from the platen is set to the maximum of the supply rolls. Between the platen and the thermal head while the thermal head is separated from the platen by taking out the supply roll of the selected roll storage means from the roll storage means by setting the diameter larger than the diameter. And then the thermal head is pressed against the platen to transfer the ink of the selected ink film to the recording paper, and when the transfer is completed, the thermal head separates the supply roll taken out from the platen. While moving, the roll transfer means reversely Latin and passed from between the thermal head is in was configured to accommodated in the roll housing means selected by.

[Action]

When performing color printing, an ink film is selected from a plurality of roll accommodating means of the same structure loaded with a plurality of different color ink films of the same structure composed of a winding roll and a supply roll, and a thermal head is selected. While the roller is fully separated from the platen, a roll of the selected ink film is passed between the platen and the thermal head, and then the thermal head is brought into contact with the platen to transfer the ink of the selected ink film to the recording paper. At the same time, when the transfer is completed, the roll taken out is passed through between the platen and the thermal head by the reverse operation while the thermal head is fully separated from the platen and stored in the selected roll storing means. Perform the same operation for the ink film required for color printing. It can be.

Example of Invention

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, 1 is the main body of the printer,
The sheet feeding device 2 is detachably attached to the outside of this. The paper feeding device 2 is provided with an automatic paper feeding means and a manual feeding means. Details will be described later.

The outer case of the printer body 1 is composed of an upper outer case 3, a lower outer case 4, and a door 5. The door 5 is supported by the lower outer case 4 by a hinge 5A so as to be openable and closable. The door 5 is located on the front side of the printer body 1, and when the door 5 is opened, the inside of the front side of the printer body 1 is largely opened.

Inside the outer case, the mechanical part of the printer and the electric control device are provided. The mechanical part is located on the front side and the electrical control is located on the rear side.

The support frame of the mechanical portion is composed of a left side plate 6, a right side plate 7 and a bottom plate 8.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 20, the film drum has the following structure.

The left side film 6 and the left side film 7 fixedly support the left side film roll guide 9 and the right side film roll guide 10, respectively. Both left and right side plates 6 and 7 are made of steel plates, while both film roll guides 9 and 10 are made of plastic. The drum shaft 11, which is rotatably supported by the center of both film roll guides 9 and 10, has a length that allows it to be stretched over both left and right side plates 6 and 7, and is a portion protruding from the right side plate 7 to the outside. A drum gear 12 is fixed to the.
Bearings 13 and 13 are provided on both film roll guides 9 and 10 in order to improve the rotation of the drum shaft 11.

The left and right cassette drum supporting side plates 14 and 15 are fixedly supported on the drum shaft 11 by approaching the inside of both film roll guides 9 and 10.

Although the main structure of the film drum is as described above, the film drum is provided with a film support device for supporting a film cassette described later. This film support device will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2, 19, 20, and 21. The film supporting device is composed of two parts, a movable part that can be attached to and detached from the film drum, and a fixed part that is fixed to the film drum.

 First, the fixed part will be described.

The winding roll shafts 16 and 16 are fixedly supported on both cassette drum supporting side plates 14 and 15. Spring receiving seat plates 17, 17 are rotatably supported at the roots of the winding roll shafts 16, 16. The winding gears 18, 18 rotatably supported by the winding roll shafts 16, 16 are arranged so as to face the spring receiving seat plates 17, 17. The winding gears 18, 18 are formed with spring receiving recesses 19, 19 on the side facing the spring receiving seat plates 17, 17. The helical springs 20 and 20 are attached to the spring receiving recesses 19 and 19 between the spring receiving seat plates 17 and 17, respectively. A one-way rotating clutch 21,21 near the tip of the take-up roll shaft 16,16.
The take-up roll holders 22, 22 are supported via the.
The take-up roll holders 22 and 22 are fitted in the inner cylinder of the take-up film roll 46, and a projection (not shown) of the take-up roll holders 22 and 22 is provided in a notch on the inner cylinder side provided in part.
It has a structure that fits together. Take-up roll shaft 1
Stoppers 23, 23 for retaining the take-up roll holders 22, 22 are provided at the tips of the rolls 6, 16. One-way rotating clutch 2
1,21 can slide in the axial direction of the winding roll shafts 16,16. The one-way rotation clutches 21, 21 are free to rotate when the winding roll holders 22, 22 rotate in the film winding direction, and prevent rotation when the winding roll holders 22, 22 try to rotate in the opposite direction. It has A friction plate is placed between the take-up roll holders 22 and 22 and the take-up gears 18 and 18.
24, 24 are interposed. The friction plates 24, 24 are made of a friction sliding material such as cork or synthetic resin felt. Since the friction plates 24, 24 are pressed against the take-up roll holders 22, 22 by the pressing spiral springs 20, 20, the rotation of the take-up gears 18, 18 is taken up via the friction plates 24, 24. Roll holder 22,22
Is transmitted to. Also take-up roll holder 22,22
The take-up gears 18, 18 are slidable in the axial direction with respect to the take-up roll shafts 16, 16. When replacing the film cassette, the take-up film roll 46 can be attached / detached by sliding the take-up roll holders 22, 22 in the axial direction against the pressing helical springs 20, 20.

The fixing portion of the film supporting device is configured as described above, but this fixing portion is provided on both cassette drum supporting side plates 14,1.
There are 4 locations on the same pitch as 5.

Next, the movable part of the film support device will be described below.

A film cover 26 is rotatably attached to the supply roll shafts 25, 25. The film cover 26 has a length that extends over both cassette drum supporting side plates 14 and 15. This film cover 26 is a supply roll shaft 25,25
It has the function of a support. Both supply roll shaft 2
Film cassette rollers 27, 27 are fixedly supported at the outer ends of 5, 25. Film cassette gears 28, 28 are formed on the outer circumferences of the film cassette rollers 27, 27. At the outer ends of both roll shafts 25, 25, stoppers 29,
29 are provided. The film cassette rollers 27, 27 are fixedly supported by the roll shafts 25, 25, but provided with stoppers 29, 29 to prevent the film cassette rollers from becoming stronger. A spring seat is formed on the inner surface of the film cover 26. Drive plates 30, 30 are supported on the supply roll shafts 25, 25 via unidirectional clutches 31, 31. Sliders 32, 32 are rotatably supported on the shaft cylinders of the drive plates 30, 30. A helical spring 33 is pressed between the sliders 32, 32 and the spring seats of the film covers 26, 26.
33 is attached. Both supply roll shaft 25,25
Supply roll holders 34, 34 are rotatably supported on the inner tip side of the. Stoppers 35, 35 for preventing the supply roll holder 34 from coming off are provided at the inner ends of both supply roll shafts 25, 25. The driven plates 36, 36 arranged adjacent to the supply roll holders 34, 34 are rotatably supported by both supply roll shafts 25, 25. Spring receiving seats are formed on opposing surfaces of the driven plates 36, 36 and the supply roll holders 34, 34. A torsion spring 3 is placed between the spring seats.
7,37 are intervening. The friction plates 38, 38 are interposed between the drive plates 30, 30 and the driven plates 36, 36. The friction plates 38, 38 are made of a friction sliding material such as cork, synthetic resin or felt.

The supply roll holders 34, 34 are connected to the driven plates 36, 36 via helical springs 37, 37. For this reason, the supply roll holders 34, 34 cannot rotate in the direction in which the film is fed relative to the supply roll shafts 25, 25 because the one-way clutches 31, 31 are provided, but in the direction in which the film is fed out. Reverse rotation is for supply roll holder 3
4,34 are configured to be able to rotate relative to the supply roll shafts 25,25. This operation is important in connection with the movement of the external support of the supply film roll, which will be described in detail later, and the effect will be described in detail there.

The one-way clutches 31, 31, the driven plates 36, 36, and the supply roll holders 34, 34 are slidably supported in the axial direction of the supply roll shafts 25, 25. When replacing the supply film roll 47, the supply roll holder resists the pressure spiral spring 33.
The supply film roll 47 can be attached and detached by moving 34, 34 in the axial direction.

The movable part of the film supporting device has the above-mentioned structure and is prepared in four pitches. Since the movable portion is supported by the film drum, the structure of the portion supporting the movable portion of the film drum will be described again.

Annular film cassette roll guide grooves 39, 39 are formed on both side surfaces of both film roll guides 9, 10. The film cassette rollers 27, 27 of the movable part of the film supporting device are fitted in the film cassette roll guide grooves 39, 39. The film cassette rollers 27, 27 are supported so as to be freely movable in the film cassette roll guide grooves 39, 39. Film cassette roll guide groove 39, 39
The film cassette roller 27, the doorway 40 where the 27 goes in and out,
Forty are formed. The entrances 40, 40 are in a positional relationship in which a part of both the film roll guides 9, 10 is cut out to open the film cassette roll guide grooves 39, 39.

Both cassette drum support side plates 14 and 15 are shown in Figs.
As shown in the figure, film unit support grooves 41, 41 are formed. The film unit support grooves 41 are provided in four equal pitches. The film unit supporting grooves 41 are arranged so as to alternate with the fixed portions of the film supporting device. The film unit support groove 41 supports the support portions 42, 42 formed on the film cover 26. Flat portions 43 are symmetrically provided on the support portions 42, 42. The flat portion 44 that receives the flat portion 43 is the film unit support groove 41.
Is formed in the back of the. The film unit support groove 41 is obliquely provided in both cassette drum support grooves 14 and 15, and has an opening 45 on the outside.

When the supporting portions 42, 42 of the film cover 26 are inserted and supported in the film unit supporting groove 41, the supporting portions 42, 4
Since the second flat portion 43 is received by the flat portion 44 of the film unit supporting groove 41, the film cover 26 is placed in a non-rotatable state.

The movable portion supporting portion of the film drum has the above structure.

 Next, the film cassette will be described.

The film cassette is composed of a winding film roll 46 and a supply film roll 47, and one film 48 is wound. The film cassette is black, red, blue,
Four types of yellow are prepared.

The film cassette is attached as follows. That is, one end of the take-up film roll 46 is applied to one side of the take-up roll holder 22, and the take-up roll holder 22 is pushed back against the pressing helical spring 20. While doing so, the other end of the take-up film roll 46 is aligned and fitted to the tip of the other take-up roll holder 22. In a similar manner, the supply film roll 47 is attached to the supply roll holders 34, 34.

Although the film cassette is attached in this manner, the supply film roll 47 is difficult to install because the supply roll holders 34, 34 receiving the supply film roller 47 have the film cover 26. Therefore, it is desirable to attach the supply film roll 47 to the supply roll holders 34, 34 before attaching the film cover 26 including the supply roll holders 34, 34 to the film drum side.

The film cassette is supported by the film roll guides 9 and 10 and the cassette drum support plates 14 and 15 as described above. The film drum with such a structure is
The left and right side plates 6 and 7 of the support frame are detachably supported.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 19 to 21, the left and right side plates are
A supporting groove 49 is formed in each of 6 and 7. The boss portions 50, 50 of the film roll guides 9, 10 are supported in the support groove 49.
The film roll guides 9 and 10 have a fulcrum 51 and have left and right side plates 6,
Since it is rotatably supported by 7, the entire film drum can be pulled out as shown by the chain line in FIG. At this time, the boss portions 50, 50 of the film roll guides 9, 10 are pulled out from the support groove 49. When pulling out the film drum as a whole, the door 5 of the outer case must be held open. Exchange of film cassettes,
The entire film drum is pulled out when the inside of the printer body 1 is inspected.

The entire film drum is usually locked so that it cannot be pulled out. Film lock lever shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 52 is for performing the lock, and the right side plate 7 has a support shaft.
It is rotatably supported by 53. When the entire film drum is set in the printer main body 1, by engaging the hook portion 54 of the film lock lever 52 with the boss portion 50 of the film roll guide 10, the entire film drum is locked so as not to be pulled out. To be done. 55 is a stopper. A detailed description of the operation of the film lock lever 52 will be given later.

The cassette film supply film roll 47 is pulled out from the film drum during operation of the printer and is supported by the supply film roll external support portion 56. The supply film roll external support portion 56 will be described with reference to FIG.

The supply film roll external support portions 56, 54 are provided in pairs on the left and right side plates 6, 7 and have arcuate grooves 57. One end of the groove 57 is opened, and the opening end faces the entrance 40 of the film cassette guide groove 39. A rack 58 is formed on the lower surface of the groove 57. The rack 58 meshes with the film cassette gear 28. When the supply film roll 47 supported by the supply roll holder 34 moves along the supply film roll outer supporting portion 56, the film cassette gear 28 always rolls on the rack 58. Since this rotation is transmitted to the supply film roll 47,
The supply film roll 47 is a supply film roll external supporting portion.
56 When moving to the right on the film 56, the film cassette gear 28 and the supply roll shaft 25 rotate in the direction in which the film 48 is pulled out.
The feeding amount of the film 48 required for keeping the film 48 without sagging between the film 47 and the winding film roll 4 is produced. It does not correspond to the amount of rotation of the supply film roll 47 (because the diameter of the supply film roll changes depending on the amount of the film withdrawn), so that the one-way crack 31
Does not transmit the rotation amount of the supply roll shaft 25 more than the required rotation amount of the supply film roll 47 (when the rotation of the supply roll shaft 25 is related to the rotation of the supply film roll 47, the connection is released). One way clutch 31 is set. On the contrary, when moving to the left, the one-way clutch 31 serves to transmit the rotation of the supply roll shaft 25 to the drive plate 30 as it is, and this rotation is passed through the friction plate 38, the driven plate 36, and the spiral spring 37. Transmitted to the supply roll holder 34, the supply film roll 47 is rotated in the winding direction of the film 48. The rotation amount of the supply roll shaft 25 is the same as that described above for the supply roll film.
Since the required winding rotation amount of 47 does not match, the gear ratio of the rack 58 and the film cassette gear 28 is set so that the rotation amount of the supply roll shaft 25 is always larger than the required winding rotation amount. . Therefore, the difference in the amount of rotation is the friction plate
It is absorbed by the slip between 38 and the driven plate 36.

The supply film roll 47 side goes back and forth between the film drum side and the supply film roll external support portion 56 side through the entrance 40 of the film cassette guide groove 39 and the opening end of the groove 57. This operation is performed by the deflector 59 and the swing arm 60, which will be described. 2 and 9
As shown in FIGS. 11, 11 and 17 to 18, the deflector 59 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 61. The swing arm 60 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 62. A claw portion 63 is formed on the tip side of the deflector 59. A claw portion 64 is also formed on the tip end side of the swing arm 60.
A sandwiching portion 65 is configured to have both claw portions 63 and 64. Slopes are formed on the inner front ends of the claws 63 and 64, respectively. Both slopes are formed so as to spread outward. On the slope, the claw portion 64 is formed deeper. A bent sliding portion 66 is formed on the outer side surface of the deflector 59, and the length of the sliding portion 66 is substantially larger than the length of the claw portion 63 and is approximately double the length.

The swing arm 60 is rotatably supported by the support shafts 62 on the left and right side plates 6 and 7, respectively.
The support shaft 61 is provided on the swing arm 61. For this reason, the deflector 59 and the swing arm 60 rotate together. A cutout window 67 is formed in the swing arm 60. The deflector 59 is provided with a protrusion 68. The protruding piece 68 is inserted into the cutout window 67. The deflector 59 can rotate about the support shaft 61 as a fulcrum within a range in which the protrusion 68 can move within the cutout window 67. A spiral spring 69 is attached to the support shaft 61, and one end of the spring is locked to the deflector 59 and the other end is locked to the swing arm 60. The spiral spring 69 biases the deflector 59 so that the holding portion 65 is opened. Projecting piece 68 has cutout window 67
The holding portion 65 is opened to the position where it comes into contact with. The swing arm 60 uses the swing arm spring 70 to move the 15th
As shown in FIG. 16, FIG. 17, FIG. 17, and FIG. 18, the swing arm 60, which will be described later, is urged so as to be pressed to the film drum side in the range from the center to the film drum side during the swinging process.

As shown in FIG. 15, the sandwiching portion 65 of the deflector 59 and the swing arm 60 supports the support portion 42 of the film cover 26 which supports the supply film roll 47. When the swing arm 60 is turned to the right in this state, the supporting portion 42 comes out of the opening 45 of the film unit supporting groove 41. Along with this, the entrance 40 of the film cassette guide groove 39
The film roll 27 exits from the film roll 27 and enters the groove 57 of the supply film roll external support portion 56. At the same time, the film cassette gear 28 meshes with the rack 58.
The supply film roll 47 moves along the groove 57 while being held on the side of the swing arm 60. When the swing arm 60 is turned to the left, the supply film roll 47 returns along the groove 57 along the path along which it has traveled. Then, through the doorway 40, the film cassette guide groove 39 is inserted into the film cassette roller.
27 returns. Of course, the support portion 42 is a film unit support groove.
Return to 41.

During the above-mentioned movement of the supply film roll 47, the holding portion 65 of the swing arm 60 holds the flat portion 43 of the support portion 42, so that the film cover 26 does not rotate. The film 48 can be delivered and wound without any trouble.

Next, the swing arm crank 71 that moves the swing arm 60 will be described.

Although only the right side of the swing arm crank 71 is shown in FIG. 2, the swing arm crank 71 is fixedly supported by the main shaft 72 on both left and right sides. The main shaft 72 is rotatably supported by the left side plate 6 and the right side plate 7 of the support frame. The lock pin 73 fixes the swing arm crank 71 to the main shaft 72. Swing arm crank 71 has a crank pin
74 and a pressing projection 75 are formed. The crank pin 74 and the pressing projection 75 are formed 180 degrees apart. 5 and 7
As shown in the figure, the crank pin 74 is attached to the swing arm 60.
It is inserted in the groove portion 76 of. When the swing arm crank 71 rotates clockwise, the swing arm 70 rotates rightward against the swing arm spring 70 with the support shaft 62 as a fulcrum. When rotated to the position shown in FIG. 7, the swing arm spring 70 almost reaches the dead point. When the swing arm 60 is further rotated to the right beyond this position, the swing spring 70 acts to bias the swing arm 70 to the right. FIGS. 8 and 9 are diagrams when the stroke end point on the right side of the swing arm 60, which will be described later, is reached, and at the same time when the stroke end point is reached, the crank pin 74 is disengaged from the groove portion 76 of the swing arm 60. The rotation of the swing arm crank 71 is not transmitted to the swing arm 60 and is pressed to the end point of the above stroke by the swing arm spring, and the swing arm 60 does not move to the right of this position. This is because, as shown in FIG. 19, the film cassette roller 27 on the supply film roll 47 side contacts the right end of the groove 57 in the supply film roll external support portion 56.

Even after this, the swing arm crank 71 rotates clockwise. Then, as shown in FIG. 11, the pressing protrusion 75 of the swing arm crank 71 presses the left end surface of the swing arm 60 to make the pressing of the swing arm 60 to the end point of the stroke more reliable and stop the rotation of the swing arm crank 71. .

Since the swing arm 60 is pressed by the pressing protrusion 75, when the film 48 is drawn out due to the printing described later, the supply film roll 47 receives the drawing force and moves the supply film roll external support portion 56 to the left. Can be prevented. The swing arm 60 is held on the right side of the swing arm spring 70, but since the holding by the spring is unstable, it is necessary to forcibly press it by the pressing projection 75 as described above.

When the swing arm crank 71 is turned counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. 11, the crank pin 74 is inserted into the groove portion 76 of the swing arm 60 after passing the position shown in FIG.
By this insertion, the swing arm crank 71 and the swing arm 60 are engaged with each other, and the swing arm 60 rotates counterclockwise together with the swing arm crank 71. Finally, the state returns to that shown in FIG. The supply film roll 47 is returned from the film roll external supporting portion 56 to the film drum side.

How the supply film roll 47 is transferred to the swing arm 60 when it is placed on the next film drum side is explained with reference to FIGS. 15, 16, 17, and 18. To do.

FIG. 15 shows a state in which the support portion 42 of the supply film roll 47 is housed in the swing arm 60 and the sandwiching portion 65 of the deflector 59. The order to settle is as follows.
The cassette drum supporting side plates 14 and 15 supporting the film cassette, which is composed of the winding film roll 46 and the supply film roll 47, rotates counterclockwise. Then, when passing through the position shown in FIG. 18, the supporting portion 42 on the side of the supply film roll 47 comes into contact with the sliding portion 66 of the deflector 59. Further, since the cassette drum supporting side plates 14 and 15 rotate counterclockwise, as shown in FIG. 17, the deflector 59 rotates rightward about the support shaft 61 against the spiral spring 69. At this time, the swing arm 60 does not rotate. This is because the swing arm 60 is held down by the swing arm crank 71. As described above, the deflector 59 is rotated to prevent the support film 42 from moving toward the groove 57 of the external support film 56 as shown in FIG. 19 and at the same time the film of the film roll guides 9 and 10. Prompting to keep the cassette roll guide grooves 39, 39 inside, further, the cassette drum support side plates 14, 15 rotate counterclockwise.
Then, when the support portion 42 of the supply film roll 47 reaches a position beyond the tip of the deflector 59, the deflector 59 is rotated leftward with the support shaft 61 as a fulcrum by the returning force of the spiral spring 69. Return to the position. At this time, the supply film roll 47 is positioned slightly counterclockwise from the state shown in FIG. The deflector 59 returns to the position where the protruding piece 68 contacts the left end of the cutout window 67 of the swing arm 60.

Now, the gripping part 59 between the swing arm 60 and the day deflector 59.
Is open, and the support portion 42 of the supply film roll 47 is located slightly counterclockwise from the tip of the sandwiching portion 65, so that by turning the cassette drum support side plates 14 and 15 in the clockwise direction, as shown in FIG. Supporting part of supply film roll 47
42 approaches the entrance and exit of the sandwiching section 65. By further rotating in the clockwise direction, the supporting portion 42 of the supply film roll 47 is housed in the holding portion 65 as shown in FIG.

The transfer of the supply film roll 47 to the swing arm 60 is performed in this manner, but the transfer of the supply film roll 47 of the film cassette at the uppermost portion shown in FIG. 18 is performed on the cassette drum supporting side plate 14, By rotating 15 in the clockwise direction, the support portion 42 of the supply film roll 47 is housed in the holding portion.

Further, taking out a film cassette of any color from the four film cassettes is stopped when the cassette film drum is rotated counterclockwise and the desired supply film roll is at the position of the 18th supply film roll 47, and the cassette drum is removed. Is rotated in the clockwise direction and the support portion 42 is housed in the holding portion as described above.

It was mentioned above that the entire film drum is pulled out from the printer body 1 when the film cassette is replaced. Give a supplementary explanation.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the main shaft 72 is provided with a main gear 77. A lock lever engagement pin 78 is formed on the main gear 77. When the main gear 77 rotates counterclockwise and the upper surface of the rear end of the film lock lever 52 is pushed downward by the lock lever engaging pin 78, the film lock lever 52
Rotates clockwise about the support shaft 53. The hook portion 54 of the film lock lever 52 is disengaged from the boss portion 50 of the film roll guide 10. The entire film drum can be pulled out from the printer body 1 as described above.

When the hook portion 54 of the film lock lever 52 is disengaged from the boss portion 50 of the film roll guide 10, any of the film cassettes is housed on the film drum side. That is, the hook portion 54 comes off when the swing arm 60 is in the position as shown in FIG. 18, for example.

Since the film cassette supply film roll 47 is not placed on the film roll external support portion 56 side, there is no problem in pulling out the entire film drum from the printer main body 1 as shown in FIG.

Supply film roll 47 to film roll external support 56
If the entire film drum is pulled out from the printer main body while it is left on the side, the film 48 is pulled out longer than the supply film roll 47, so that the film 48 is easily damaged and may be cut.

The supply film roll 47 has a film roll external support 56.
When it is on the side, the entire film drum is locked by the hook portion 54 so as not to be pulled out from the printer main body 1, so that the above-mentioned defect in the film 48 is eliminated.

Next, the related structure of the thermal head and the platen will be described.

As shown in FIG. 2, the platen 79 is a platen shaft 80.
It is provided in. The platen shaft 80 is rotatably supported by the left side plate 6 and the right side rear 7 of the support frame. Both side plates 6 and 7 are supported by bearings 81. Platen 79 and bearing 81 to prevent platen shaft 80 from moving left and right
A sleep 82 located between and is inserted in the platen shaft 80. As shown in FIG. 1, an auxiliary roller A83 and an auxiliary roller B84 are provided on the outer periphery of the platen 79 so as to be joined to each other. The auxiliary rollers A and B are placed almost symmetrically.

The platen 79 and the auxiliary rollers A and B are provided at a position higher than the film roll external supporting portion 56,
Also, the supply film cassette 74 is positioned so as not to interfere with the passage thereunder.

The thermal head 85 is attached to the head base 86 as shown in FIGS. This thermal head
The 85 has a length close to that of the platen 79. This is a so-called line type thermal head.

A head arm 87 is attached to the head base 86. Headstopper 88 is also attached to headbase 86.

The head arm 86 is rotatably supported by the head arm shaft 89. The head arm shaft 89 is supported by the left side plate 6 and the right side plate 7 of the support frame.

Since the thermal head 85 is supported by the head arm 87, the thermal head 85 rotates about the head arm shaft 89 as a fulcrum. The rotational locus of the thermal head 85 is set so as to cross the arcuate line of the film roll external support portion 56. The thermal head 85 is located at the uppermost position as shown in FIG. At this position, the thermal head 85 presses the platen 79 with the pressure necessary for transfer. Note that the head stopper 88 is sleeve 82.
Abut the platen shaft 80 via the thermal head.
A linear transfer heating element formed on the thermal head 85 at a pressing position of the plate 85 on the platen 79 is regulated so as to coincide with the contact line of the platen 85.

The thermal head 85 is located at the bottom as shown in FIG. The thermal head 85 is such that the above turning locus is performed within the range shown in FIGS. 4 and 10.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a head pin 90 is attached to a head base 86 of the thermal head 85. The head base 86 is provided with a pair of cut-and-raised parts, and the head pins 90 are attached thereto.

The head pin 90 is connected to a head crank arm 91 fixedly supported by the main shaft 72 via connector means. That is, the crank shaft 92 is rotatably supported at the tip of the head crank arm 91. The connector means is composed of a connecten-grod A93 and a connecten-grod B94 as shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 14 and FIG. Both connectable rods A and B are rotatably supported by the connector shaft 95. The tip of the connectable rod A is rotatably supported by the crank shaft 92. The boss 96, which is integrally formed with the head crank arm, restricts the movement of the connect-in rod A in the left-right direction.

The tip of the connecting rod B is rotatably supported by a head pin 90. The two sleeves 97 fitted into the head pins 90 restrict the movement of the connect-in rod B in the left-right direction. The connecting rod B is provided at the center of the entire length of the thermal head 85. A connector spiral spring 98 is attached to the connector shaft 95. The connector spiral spring 98 is wound around the entire length of the connector shaft 95, and the central portion is engaged with the connecting rod B and both ends thereof are connected with the connecting rod A.

Connected rods A and B are connector spiral springs 9
It is urged to open by 8. Connected Glossy A
Since the stopper portion 99 and the connecter rod B are provided with the stopper portion 100, the contact between the surface stopper portions 99 and 100 causes both the connecter rods A and B to move to the first position.
It does not open more than the state shown in Fig. 3.

 Next, the rotating operation of the thermal head 85 will be described.

Now, the thermal head 85 is located at the bottom as shown in FIG. Here, when the main shaft 72 rotates clockwise, the head crank arm 91 moves to the position shown in FIG.
Rotate to the position shown in the figure. Head crank arm 91
However, the thermal head 85 hardly moves upward even if it rotates from the position shown in FIG. 4 to the position shown in FIG. When the head crank arm 91 rotates from the position shown in FIG. 6 to the position shown in FIG. 8, the thermal head 85 moves slightly upward. When the head crank arm 90 further rotates from the position shown in FIG. 8 to the position shown in FIG. 10, the thermal head 85 moves slightly upward and presses against the platen 79.

That is, the rotational movement amount of the thermal head 85 is not proportional to the rotational angle of the head crank arm 91. 4 and 6
In the rotation angle range of the head crank arm 91 shown in the figure, the thermal head 85 hardly moves up and down. In the vicinity of the rotation angle range shown in FIG. 8, the thermal head 85 is largely moved up and down, and almost no thermal head 85 is moved up and down in the area shown in FIG.

85 in thermal head 85
The reason why the above-mentioned movement form is given is that it has to be done in this way in relation to the taking in and out of the supply film roll 47.

I will explain it. When the main shaft 72 is rotated clockwise in the state shown in FIG. 4, the head crank arm 91 rotates and the swing arm crank 71 is also fixed on the same axis and therefore rotates together. When the head crank arm 91 is in the position shown in FIG. 4, the swing arm crank 71 is in the position shown in FIG. 5, so that the head crank arm 91 is in the sixth position.
When the position shown in the figure is reached, the swing arm crank 71 comes to the position shown in FIG.

When the swing arm clamp 71 rotates, the supply film roll 47 is pulled out from the film drum side by the movement of the swing arm 60, as described above.
When the swing arm clamp 71 reaches the position shown in FIG. 7, the swing arm 60 pulls out the supply film roll 47 to the position shown in FIG. Despite the fact that the head crank arm 91 has rotated, the thermal head 85 hardly rises upwards, so that the supply film roll 47 does not interfere even when it is pulled out as described above. As shown in FIG. 8, the thermal head 85 moves upward after the supply film roll 47 has moved to the right position by passing above the thermal head 85. FIG. 8 shows a state in which the supply film roll has reached the stroke end position. The rotation range from FIG. 8 to FIG. 10 is that the supply film roll has already reached the end position of the stroke and the thermal head 85 has been opened to open the thermal head 85, and the thermal head 85 immediately moves upward and moves to the platen in the state of FIG.
Pressed by 79.

When the main shaft 72 rotates counterclockwise, the thermal head 85 first moves downward, traverses the passage through which the supply film roll passes, and then the supply film roll 47 moves to the left side to the film drum side. It fits.

In this way, the supply film roll 47 is taken in and out without being interfered by the thermal head 85, so that the film cassette of the required color can be easily replaced.

In the condition shown in FIG. 10 in which the thermal head 85 presses against the platen 79, the crankshaft shaft 92 is attached to the head pin 90.
It is located to the right of the line that connects the main shaft 72 with the main shaft. With the crankshaft 92 in this position, the thermal head
The head crank arm 91 receives a rotational force in the clockwise direction by the reaction force of 85, the platen 79, the pressing force or the force of the connector spiral spring 78. At this time, the pressing protrusion 75 of the swing arm crank 71 fixedly supported by the main shaft 72 is used.
Comes into contact with the left end surface of the swing arm 60, and the main shaft 72 can no longer rotate clockwise. Therefore, the thermal head 85 is kept pressed by the platen 79, and the thermal head 85 is not separated from the platen 79 by itself.

When the thermal head 85 presses against the platen 79, the head pin 90 that is connected to the thermal head 85 side is
Since the crank shaft 9 of the head crank arm 91 is in the top dead center area, the vertical movement is almost eliminated.
For this reason, the platen 79 of the thermal head 85 is pressed very slowly. Of course, there is little impact,
The film cassette film 48 is extremely loose and is pressed against the platen 79 by the thermal head 85 so that it cannot be damaged.

Since the thermal head 85 side is connected to the head crank arm 91 through the connector means, the head crank arm 91 is stopped as shown in FIG. 10, the thermal head 85 operating mechanism, the platen 79 mounting position, etc. Even if there is a variation in assembly, the pressing force of the thermal head 85 on the platen 79 can be kept almost constant.

That is, as shown in FIG. 12, FIG. 13, and FIG. 14, the connector means is constituted by the connecting rods A and B, the connector shaft 98, and the connector spiral spring 98. When an upward force as indicated by an arrow is applied to the crane shaft 92, the reaction force of the thermal touch 85 of the thermal head 85 on the platen 79 acts on the head pin 90 as a downward force as indicated by an arrow. The connectable rods A and B move around the connector shaft 98 as a fulcrum against the connector spiral spring 98 so as to fit. This is shown in FIG. 12, in which the stopper portion 99 of the connect- ing rod A and the stopper portion 100 of the connecting rod B are separated. Even in the head touch of the thermal head 85 to the platen 79 as shown in FIG.
A and B are a little in a state of being absent.

Even if the amount of slack in the connectable rods A and B changes, the pressing force of the thermal head 85 against the platen 79 by the head touch does not change because the reaction force of the connector spiral spring increases as the amount of slack increases. On the other hand, since the connectten rods A and B lie sideways, the pressing force is almost constant as a whole.

Since the pressing force of the thermal head 85 against the platen 79 does not change, it is possible to provide uniform transfer even if there is the above-mentioned variation in assembly.

Although the auxiliary rollers A and B of the platen 79 have been described above, the auxiliary rollers A and B are rotatably supported by the supporting members 101 and 102 as shown in FIG. The support members 101 and 102 are rotatably supported by support pins 103 provided on the left side plate 6 and the right side plate 7 of the support frame, and tension springs 104 are provided at the tips of the support members 101 and 102. This tension spring 104
Therefore, the auxiliary rollers A and B are pressed by the platen 79.

Next, the drive relationship of the winding film roll 46 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 4, 6 and 8, the traction lever 105 is rotatably supported by the support shafts 106 provided on the left side plate 6 and the right side plate 7. Support shaft 1
The transition lever 105 is urged clockwise by the spiral spring 107 wound around 06. As shown in FIG. 2, the drive lever 108 is rotatably supported at both ends by the transition lever 105, as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, a traction gear 109 is fixedly supported on the drive shaft 108. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the trunk gear 109 is attached to the right end of the drive shaft 108. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, it is meshed with the platen gear 110. An elongated slot 111 is formed in the right side plate 7.
The drive shaft 108 penetrates the slot 111.
The rotation range of the traction lever 105 with the support shaft 106 as a fulcrum is restricted to the range of the slot 111. Traction Gear 1
09 moves within the range of slot 111, but platen gear 1 always
It meshes with 10. As shown in FIG. 2, a drive gear 112 is fixedly supported by the drive shaft 108. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the drive shaft 10
The drive gear 112 is also fixedly supported on the right side of the. Both drive gears 112 are provided at positions facing the outside of the winding gears 18, 18. As shown in FIG. 4, a cam follower 113 is provided at the rear end of the traction lever 105. In the cam follower 113, both traction levers 105 are fitted and inserted in the shafts 114 fixed to the respective traction levers 105.
A cam 115 is formed at the base of the head arm 87.
On the left side of the cam 115, a pressing cam portion 116 is continuously provided. A head arm stopper 117 is attached by a screw at the base of the head arm 89 so that the head arm 89 does not come off from the head arm shaft 89.

As shown in FIG. 4, when the thermal head 85 is on the lower side, the cam neo-lower 113 of the trunk lever 105 is in contact with the cam 115 of the head arm 89. Therefore, the drive gear 112 is kept away from the winding gear 18. As shown in FIG. 10, when the thermal head 85 is positioned upward and is pressing against the platen 79, the pressing cam portion 116 of the head arm 89 is pressed by the cam follower 113.
Come into contact with. Because of this, the traction lever
The right side of 105 is pushed up with the support shaft 106 as a fulcrum, and conversely, the drive gear 112 on the left side is lowered to engage with the take-up gear 18.

In this way, the winding film roll 46 side is
6, the drive film 112, the drive shaft 108, and the traction gear 109 are connected to the platen gear 110, so that the take-up film roll 46 is rotated by the platen 79 and the friction film.
It is possible to wind the required amount of the film 48 fed from between the platen 79 and the thermal head 85 with the rotation of the platen at a constant friction torque while causing slippage at the 24th part. Supply film roll 47 Similar take-up film roll
Since the diameter of 46 also changes and the amount of rotation of the take-up film roll required to take up the required amount of film 48 also changes, the take-up gear can be used for any take-up film roll 46 diameter.
The ratio of the number of teeth of the transmission system to 18 is determined so that 18 is overdriven and the friction plate 24 causes slippage.

 Next, the drive system will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a platen-system motor 118 is provided on the right side plate 7 of the support frame. It is attached to the outside of the right side plate 7 via a support 119.
The motor 118 is provided with a pinion 120. Pinion
A two-stage gear 121 is provided next to 120. Two-stage gear 12
1 is rotatably supported by the right side plate 7, and its large gear portion meshes with the pinion 120. The platen gear 110 is fixedly supported on the right end side of the platen shaft 80. The large gear portion of the platen gear 110 meshes with the small gear portion of the two-stage gear 121. An intermediate gear 122 is provided next to the platen gear 110. The intermediate gear 122 is rotatably supported by a gear support 123 mounted on the right side plate 7 and meshes with a small gear portion of the platen gear 110. Both ends of the paper discharge roller shaft 124 are rotatably supported by the gear support 123. The paper discharge roller shaft 124 is provided with a paper discharge roller 125. A paper discharge roller gear 126 is fixedly supported at the right end of the paper discharge roller shaft 124. The paper discharge roller gear 126 is meshed with the intermediate gear 122.

The drive system on the platen 79 side has the above-described configuration. When the motor 118 rotates, the platen 79 rotates through the gear group and the paper discharge roller 125 also rotates. Further, only when the thermal head is pressed against the platen 79 with the rotation of the platen 79 and the dry gear 112 meshes with the take-up gear 18, the take-up film roll is provided.
46 is also rotated with the sliding of the friction plate 24.

The drive system of the film drum and the thermal head has the following structure. As shown in FIG. 3, the motor 127 on the film drum side is attached to the right side plate 7. Motor 127 motor pulley 128 and clutch pulley 12
A timing belt 129 'is stretched around the 9's. The configuration on the clutch side including the clutch pulley 129 is shown in Figs.
It is as shown in the figure.

That is, the substrate 130 is attached to the right side plate 7 of the support frame. The bottom plate 132 is screwed to the substrate 130 and the clutch support plate 133. The clutch support plate 133 is screwed to the substrate 130. Pulley shaft bearing 134 to substrate 130
And attach it to the clutch support plate 133. A pulley shaft 135 is rotatably supported by both pulley shaft bearings 134. The clutch pulley 129 is attached to the tip of the pulley shaft 135. Pulley Shaft 1
35 has idle clutch gear 136 and drum clutch gear 1
37 is rotatably supported. Idle clutch gear
The 136 and the drum clutch gear 137 are supported so as to be movable in the axial direction of the pulley shaft 135.

On the tying surface of the idle clutch gear 136 and the drum clutch gear 137, a recess having a groove 140 with which the pin 139 engages is formed. Ratchet teeth 141 are formed on the left side surface of the idle clutch gear 136. A fixed ratchet plate 142 is fixed to the right side surface of the bottom plate 132 with a rivet. The fixed ratchet plate 142 has fixed ratchet teeth 143.
Are formed. The ratchet teeth 141 of the idle clutch gear 136 disengage from the fixed ratchet teeth 143.

On the right side of the drum clutch gear 137, the ratchet teeth 144
Are formed. A fixed ratchet plate 145 is fixed to the left side surface of the clutch support plate 133 with a rivet. Fixed ratchet teeth 146 are formed on the fixed ratchet plate 145.

A clutch spring 147 is placed between the drum clutch gear 137 and the pulley shaft bearing 134.
Is fitted in the pulley shaft 135. The clutch spring 147 presses the drum clutch gear 137 and the idle clutch gear 136 to the left. For this reason, the ratchet teeth 141 of the idle clutch gear 136 engage with the fixed ratchet teeth 143 of the fixed ratchet plate 142. Similarly, the pin 139 of the pulley shaft 135 is an idle clutch gear.
The groove 140 of the drum clutch gear 136 is disengaged from the groove 140 side of 136.
It is disengaged from the side and engages with the groove 140 of the drum clutch gear 136. At the same time, the ratchet teeth 144 of the drum clutch gear 137 are fixed to the fixed ratchet teeth 14 of the fixed ratchet plate 145.
It is out of 6. That is, the pulley shaft 135
Is connected to the drum clutch gear 137 via the pin 139, while the idle clutch gear 137 is not connected to the pulley shaft 135.

A pressing cylinder 148 is placed on the left side of the idle clutch gear 136. The pressing cylinder 148 is fitted in the pulley shaft 135. The movable shaft 149 of the solenoid 131 has a lever 15
0 is connected with a connecting pin 151. The lever 150 is supported by the locking portion 152 of the substrate 130. Lever 150
The tip of the is formed by a bifurcated portion 153 as shown in FIG. The bifurcated portion 153 sandwiches the pulley shaft 135. Further, each of the bifurcated portions 153 is formed with a U-shaped portion, and the U-shaped portion is in contact with the left side surface of the pressing cylinder 148.

The idle gear 154 meshes with the idle clutch gear 136, and the drum gear 12 meshes with the drum clutch gear 137. The idle gear 154 is rotatably supported on the right side plate 7 of the support frame and meshes with a main gear 77 supported on the right end side of the main shaft 72.

When the motor 131 on the film drum side is driven without energizing the solenoid 131, the rotation transmitted to the clutch pulley 129 via the timing belt 129 'rotates the drum gear 12 via the drum clutch gear 137. In this way, the film drum side is driven to the take-out position of the film cassette of the color required for transfer.

When the solenoid 131 is energized, the movable shaft 149 is attracted,
The lever 150 is in the state shown by the chain line in FIG. Idle clutch gear 136 and drum clutch gear 1 via pressing cylinder 148
37 moves to the right against the clutch spring 147. The ratchet teeth of the drum clutch gear 137 mesh with the fixed ratchet teeth 146 of the fixed clutch plate 145, and the drum clutch gear 1
37 is detained. Conversely, since the idle clutch gear 136 is released and the groove of the idle clutch gear 136 engages with the pin 139 of the pulley shaft 135, the pulley shaft 1
35 and the idle clutch gear 136 are connected. By this connection, the rotation of the motor 127 is transmitted to the idle clutch gear 137. The main gear 77 rotates via the idle clutch gear 137, and the main shaft 72 rotates. When the main shaft 72 rotates, as described above, the swing arm 60 rotates, and the supply film roll 47 is pulled out to the supply film roll external support portion 56 from the coil drum side. Since the head crank arm 91 is also rotated together with this pulling operation, the thermal head 85 is replaced by the platen 79.
Is pressed against. In order to return the supply film roll 47 and the thermal head 85 to the original state, the motor 127 is rotated in the reverse direction. When returned to the original state, as described above, the rear end upper surface of the film lock lever 52 is pressed by the lock lever engagement pin 78 of the main gear 77.
For this reason, the constraint on the film drum side is released, and the film drum can be pulled out from the printer body 1 at any time.

Next, the position control relating to the rotation of the film drum, the vertical movement of the thermal head and the withdrawal of the supply film roll will be described.

First, the vertical movement of the thermal head and the withdrawal of the supply film roll will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 25 and 26, two shield plates 156, 157 located on the right side of the main gear 77 are fixedly supported by the main shaft 72. Sensor 158 of shield 156 and sensor 159 of shield 157
Install the sensor stand 160 side by side,
Is attached to the right side plate 7. A window 161 is formed on the shielding plate 157. The size of the window 161 is θ ₂ . The window 162 is formed in the shield plate 156. The size of the window 162 is θ ₁ .

OF when the sensor light is blocked by the light shield
If F and the state where the light is not interrupted are expressed as ON, the rotation range of the shielding plates 156 and 157 is from A to D, the sensor 159 is ON, and the sensor 158 is OFF.
In B, both sensor 159 and sensor 158 are ON. In C, sensor 159 is OFF, sensor 158 is ON
Is. In D, both sensors 159 and 158 are off.

When it is a, the thermal head 85 is at the bottom. This corresponds to a state in which the supply film roll 47 is placed on the film drum side. At the time of b, the thermal head 85 is slightly elevated, and the supply film roll 47 corresponds to the range in which the supply film roll 47 begins to be pulled out and has moved to the final end of its stroke. The skip operation is performed at the position corresponding to the transition between this b and the next c. If you don't transfer, skip the film from the transfer paper.
By transferring only the transfer target paper, the waste of the film is eliminated.

In the case of c, the thermal head 85 rises considerably, corresponding to the process until the platen is pressed.

In the case of D, the thermal head 85 is pressed against the platen 79.

 This is summarized in the table below.

The operation control of the motor 127 for moving the thermal head up and down, taking in and out of the supply film roll, and skipping is performed by looking at the output signals of the two sensors 158 and 159.

 Next, the film drum will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 27, 28, and 29, reflecting plates 163, 164, 165 are provided on the side surface of the drum gear 12. Sensor 166,1
67 and 168 are provided on the sensor base 169. The sensor base 169 is supported by the side plate 7. Three sensors 16
6,167,168 are opposed to the reflection plates 163,164,165. reflector
The presence or absence of the reflection of 163, 164, 165 and the sequence
The position is confirmed by detecting at 6,167,168, and if the positions for inserting the four-color film cassettes are decided in advance, the cassette film of the required color can be surely taken in and out. Transfer is performed in the correct color.

 Next, the sheet feeding device 2 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG.
An automatic paper feeder 171 is placed on the back of 0. Automatic paper feeder 17
1 is detachably attached to the back of the manual paper feed stand 170.
Two receiving plates 172 are provided on the back surface of the paper feed stand 170.
On the back side of the bottom plate 173, there is a rear wall 174 bent downward. The rear wall 174 is fixed to the left and right side plates 6 and 7 with screws 175, and the bottom plate 173 is also fixed to the left and right side plates 6 and 7 with screws 175 '. On the back of the paper tray 170, the receiving plate 17
The bottom plate 173 and the rear wall 174 form a receiving portion of the automatic paper feeder 171.

The automatic paper feeder 171 is provided with a receiving plate 177. Supporting feet 178 are formed on the back surface. A receiving groove 179 is formed at the lower end of the receiving side portion 178. By inserting the automatic paper feeder 171 into the receiving portion, the receiving groove 179 of the receiving side plate 177 is formed into the left and right side plates.
It is provided in 6,7. Engage with support rod 180. Also support legs 17
7 is received by the upper part of the upper and outer case 3 of the printer body 1 to support the automatic paper feeder 171. Receiver plate 1
The 77 is provided with an automatic paper feed roller 181. Case 176
A push-up plate 182 is provided on the inner bottom side of the. A push-up spring 183 is provided on the back of the push-up plate 182. The paper 183 'inserted in the case 176 is a push-up spring 184.
Is pressed against the automatic paper feed roller 181.

An automatic paper feed separator 184 that is in contact with the lower outer periphery of the automatic paper feed roller 181 is provided in the receiving portion of the automatic paper feeder 171. Further, the bottom plate 173 forming the receiving portion has an automatic paper feed lower guide 185. An automatic paper feed upper guide 186 is provided so as to face the upper surface of the automatic paper feed lower guide 185. The automatic paper feed upper guide 186 is supported on the lower back surface of the paper feed table 170 with a support shaft 187. The paper feeding motor 188 is attached to the receiving plate 177. The feeding motor 188 and the automatic paper feeding roller 181 are connected via a belt 189. Automatic paper feed roller 181
Since a one-way clutch 190 is provided in the automatic paper feed roller 181 the automatic paper feed roller 181 can rotate only in the paper feeding direction. Even if the paper feed motor 188 rotates in the direction in which the paper is not fed, the one-way clutch 190 only idles and the automatic paper feed roller 181 does not rotate.

The paper 183 in the case 176 is rotated by the rotation of the automatic paper feed roller 181.
′ Is sent to the automatic paper feed separator 184 side. When two sheets are fed, only the upper one is fed between the automatic paper feed vertical guides 186, 186. The rest of the paper will be sent out at the next opportunity.

The left side end of the automatic paper feed lower guide 185 is curved downward and extends toward a portion where the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 84 are aligned. A window 192 is formed in the curved portion 191. Window 192
A paper feed sensor 193 is provided on the back surface of the.

A paper guide 194 is provided below the surface of the manual paper feed tray 170 with a small gap. The paper guide 194 extends toward the mating portion between the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 84, and the extended portion faces the curved portion 191 of the automatic lower paper feeding guide 185 with a slight gap.

Paper fed from the automatic paper feeder 171 or the manual paper feed tray 170 passes between the curved portion 191 and the extension portion of the paper guide 194,
It bites into the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 84.
An inclined surface 195 is formed at the lower end corner of the manual paper feed tray 170. The multi-color transfer will be described in detail later, but in order to prevent the paper returned through the curved portion 191 and the extension portion from entering the automatic paper feeder 171 side during the multi-color transfer, The inclined surface 195 is provided.

A V-shaped paper guide pocket 196 is formed at the lower end of the extension of the paper guide 194. This Paper Guide Pocket 196
A paper sensor plate 197 is fixed to the upper part of the. A paper sensor 198 is attached to the paper sensor plate 197. A window 199 of the paper sensor 198 is provided on the paper sensor plate 197.

A paper guide rod 200 is provided just below the mating portion between the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 83. Platen 79 and auxiliary roller 84
A film guide groove 201 is provided a little below the joint with. The film guide groove 201 needs to be supported at least on the thermal head 85 side.

The paper discharge plate 202 is in contact with the upper outer periphery of the paper discharge roller 125. The paper discharge plate 202 is provided with a spindle 203 on the upper and lower case 3 of the printer body.
It is rotatably supported by.

 Next, the transfer operation will be described.

When the paper is fed from the automatic paper feeder or the manual paper feed tray 170, the leading end of the paper is received along the curved portion 191 at the joint between the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 84. Since the paper feed sensor 193 detects the passage of the paper, the motor 118 of the platen system rotates. Since the platen 79, the auxiliary rollers A and B, the paper discharge roller 125 and the winding film roll 46 rotate,
The paper passes between the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 84, passes between the film 48 pressed by the thermal head 85 and the platen 79, and only the paper is deflected by the upper side of the paper guide bar to be conveyed to the platen 79. The paper is bitten by the mating portion of the auxiliary roller 83, and the leading edge of the paper goes up against the paper sensor plate 197 to reach the up window 199 and the paper sensor 198 detects that the paper has been sent to a transferable position. The platen further rotates from this state, and at this time, the thermal head 85 receives the transfer signal and generates heat, and transfers the ink of the film 48 onto the paper. After the transfer, the film 48 also moves to the left along with the paper. In this way, the transfer is sequentially performed. Further, the paper advances between the paper discharge roller 125 and the paper discharge plate 202 while being pushed in the discharge direction by the paper discharge roller 125. After the transfer is completed, the paper is dropped and stored in the paper guide pocket 196. The passage of the trailing edge of the paper is detected by the paper sensor 198, and after this detection, the motor 118 is stopped when it is time to drop the paper into the paper guide pocket 196.

When performing multicolor transfer, the paper is reciprocated between the platen 79 and the film 48 many times. At this time, as described above, the film cassette is replaced every time the transfer color is changed. The trailing edge of the paper is the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 83.
In between, it is desirable that the leading edge of the paper does not come off between the platen 79 and the auxiliary roller 84 so that the paper can reciprocate. During this reciprocation, the paper feed sensor 193 and the paper sensor 198 are used to detect the position of the paper.

In the above embodiment, the four colors of black, Y, M, and C are described, but a multi-strike ink film, an ink film for rough surface paper, a special ink film with particularly good color tone, or the like is used as the main unit 4.
It is effective as a printer that can be installed in some of the books to support special purposes (it can automatically switch from standard usage to special usage).

〔The invention's effect〕

The effect of the present invention is to realize two kinds of different motions with a single drive input, to simplify the mechanism, and to form an interference by linking both link mechanisms even though they pass through trajectories intersecting with each other. It is to provide an inexpensive and highly reliable thermal transfer printer that eliminates the possibility of occurrence.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 to 29 show an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a central vertical sectional view of the entire printer, FIG. 2 is a front vertical sectional view of the entire printer, FIG. 3 is a side view of the drive system seen from the side, and FIG. 4 is a thermal head, a supply film roll, and a track. Fig. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the lever, Fig. 5 is an operation explanatory view of the swing arm and the swing arm crank,
FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view of a thermal head, a supply film roll, and a traction lever, and FIG. 7 is a swing arm,
Swing arm crank operation explanatory diagram, FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory diagram of thermal head, supply film roll, traction lever, FIG. 9 is an operation explanatory diagram of swing arm, swing arm crank, and FIG. 10 is thermal head, supply Film roll, traction lever operation explanatory diagram,
FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view of the swing arm and swing arm crank, FIGS. 12, 13, and 14 are enlarged views of the connector means, and FIGS. 12 and 13 are operation explanatory views. FIG. 14 is a front view. FIG. 15 is an operation explanatory view of a supply roll film, a swing arm and a day deflector, FIG. 16 is an operation explanatory view of the same supply film roll, a swing arm and a day deflector, and FIG. 17 is a supply film roll, a swing arm and a day deflector. Fig. 18 is an explanatory view of the operation of the deflector, Fig. 18 is an explanatory view of the operation of the supply film roll, the swing arm and the deflector, Fig. 19 is a view showing the relationship between the film drum and the supply film roll external supporting portion, and Fig. 20 is the film drum. FIG. 21 is a side view of the film drum, and FIG. 22 is an enlarged view of the relationship between the sheet feeding / discharging device, the platen, the thermal head, and the film. FIG. 23 is a sectional view of the clutch, FIG. 24 is a front view of the clutch, FIG. 25 is a sectional view around the sensor that detects the rotational angle position of the main shaft, and FIG. 26 is a front view around the sensor.
FIG. 27 is a sectional view around the sensor for detecting the position of the film drum, FIG. 28 is a view showing a reflector, and FIG. 29 is a sectional view around the sensor for detecting the position of the film drum. 14,15 …… Cassette drum support side plate, 46 …… Rolling film roll, 47 …… Supply film roll, 48 …… Film, 79 …… Platen, 85 …… Thermal head, 11 …… Drum shift, 52 …… Film lock lever, 54 ...... Fuck part.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Junichi Matsumoto 1-1 Cho Higashi Tagacho Hitachi City Hitachi Ltd. Taga Factory (72) Inventor Tomio Sato 1-1 Cho Higashi Tagacho Hitachi City No. 1 (1) 1-1 Higashi-Tagacho, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor, Hitachi Ltd. Taga Factory (72) No. 1 in 1-1, Higashi Taga-cho, Hitachi City (72) Inventor, Tetsuji Takekoshi 1 1-cho, Higashi Taga-cho, Hitachi No. 1 Stock Company, Hitachi, Ltd., Taga Factory (72) Inventor, Shoji Yokoyama, 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama City Hitachi, Ltd., Microelectronics Equipment Development Laboratory (72) Inventor, Yukio Nakata Yoshida, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama 292, Machi Within Hitachi, Ltd. Microelectronics Device Development Laboratory (72) Inventor Akira Nakajima Yokohama 292 Yoshida-cho, Tsuka-ku, Hitachi, Ltd., Microelectronics Device Development Laboratory (72) Inventor, Tomohiko Yanagita 292, Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama, Hitachi, Ltd., Microelectronics Device Development Laboratory (72) Inventor, Yuji Aoyagi 292 Yoshida-cho, Totsuka-ku, Yokohama-shi Hitachi, Ltd. Microelectronics Device Development Laboratory (56) References JP 62-174175 (JP, A) Actual 62-159651 (JP, U) Actual 59 -131853 (JP, U) Actually opened 62-175947 (JP, U) Actually opened 62-97765 (JP, U) Japanese Patent Publication 4-44588 (JP, B2)

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A platen, a thermal head that presses and separates from the platen, and an ink film sandwiched between the platen and the thermal head. The ink of the ink film is recorded by heating the thermal head. In the one to be transferred to, the ink film is composed of a plurality of different color ink films of the same structure composed of a take-up roll and a supply roll, and stores the take-up roll and the supply roll of each of the plurality of ink films. A plurality of roll accommodating means having the same structure are selectably provided, the separation distance of the thermal head separated from the platen is set to be larger than the maximum diameter of the supply roll, and the supply of the selected roll accommodating means is performed. Before the roll is taken out from the roll storage means by the roll transfer means, While passing the thermal head between the platen and the thermal head while the thermal head is away from the platen, and then transfer the ink of the selected ink film to the recording paper by pressing the thermal head against the platen, When the transfer is completed, the supply roll that has been taken out is passed through the roll transfer means between the platen and the thermal head by the reverse operation while the thermal head is away from the platen, and the selected roll storage is performed. A thermal transfer printer, characterized in that it is housed in a means.