JP2548392B2 - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

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 of the type that uses recording paper that has been cut into a predetermined size as recording paper.

Conventional technology Conventionally, recording paper is superposed on a transfer ink film formed by coating or impregnating ink that melts or sublimes with heat, and this is conveyed while being pressed against the thermal head by the platen roller and heated by the thermal head. By doing so, a thermal transfer printer configured to transfer the ink on the transfer ink film to the recording paper is widely used. As the recording paper used here, a long roll is usually used (for example, see Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 63-156746).

Recently, in a thermal transfer printer of a type including a thermal head and a platen roller, it has been proposed to use recording paper preliminarily cut into a predetermined size as recording paper instead of conventional roll paper. This type of apparatus, as shown in FIG. 4, feeds a recording sheet 1 cut into a fixed size one by one to a recording position and an ink which is melted or sublimated by heat on a film. A supply roll 4 for feeding the transfer ink film 3 applied or impregnated, a winding roll 5 for winding the used transfer ink film 3, a thermal head 6 for performing one-dimensional linear recording, and a transfer ink film 3. A platen roller 7 for superposing the recording papers 1 against the thermal head 6 and transporting them, a peeling bar 8 for peeling the recording papers 1 and the transfer ink film 3 which are in close contact with each other, and the recording papers 1 after peeling are discharged. It has a discharging roller 6 and the like. To perform transfer recording in this thermal transfer printer, first, the recording paper 1 is fed between the thermal head 6 and the platen roller 7 by the paper feed roll 2, and the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 6 bring the recording ink 1 into close contact with the transfer ink film 3. At the same time, the ink in the transfer ink film 3 is melted or sublimated by the heat generated by the thermal head 6 and transferred onto the recording paper 1. Thereafter, the recorded recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3 are conveyed by a platen roller 7 and separated by a separation bar 8, the transfer ink film 3 is wound up by a winding roll 5, and the recording paper 1 is discharged by a discharge roller 9 Is discharged to the outside of the device. Thereafter, the second and subsequent recordings are similarly performed.

However, according to such a configuration, there is a problem that the transfer ink film is wasted and the running cost is increased.

The above problem occurs for the following reasons. That is, since the recording paper 1 cut to a fixed size is used, this recording paper 1
When recording is performed on the recording paper 1, the transfer ink film 3 must be conveyed at the same speed as the recording paper 1 until the trailing edge of the recording paper 1 passes at least the platen roller 7, and preferably past the peeling bar 8. . Therefore,
Even when recording is performed only on a part of the length of the recording paper 1, the transfer ink is transferred at least until the trailing edge of the recording paper 1 passes the platen roller 7 after the recording output of the thermal head 6 is completed. The film 3 must be continuously fed, and the transfer ink film in that portion is treated as used even though it is unused.

Further, when the paper feed roller 2 conveys the recording paper 1 to the position of the platen roller 7, the platen roller 7 rotates in synchronization with the paper feed roller 2, and therefore the recording paper 1 is moved by the paper feed roller 2. The unused transfer ink film 3 passes through the platen roller 7 even though recording is not performed during the period from the start of feeding to the time when the front end is supplied between the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 6. And is treated as used. In this way, when recording on a fixed-size recording paper for a length shorter than the recording paper length, the unused transfer ink film is used before and after the recording output by the thermal head. 7 was conveyed through the thermal head 6 and wasted in vain.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer printer capable of reducing waste of the transfer ink film and reducing running costs.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer using a recording sheet preliminarily cut into a certain size, and a pullback means for pulling back a transfer ink film and at the end of recording output of a thermal head. A storage means is provided for storing the distance that the transfer ink film is conveyed before the recording paper is peeled off. Further, a preset distance is added to the distance stored in the storage means, and the transfer ink is added for the total distance. The pulling-back means is controlled to pull back the film. Here, the preset distance means that the transfer ink film is conveyed from when the paper feed roller starts to feed the recording paper until the leading edge of the recording paper is fed between the thermal head and the platen roller. It is an approximate distance to be.

Effect of the Invention With the above-described structure, the present invention performs a predetermined recording on a fixed-size recording sheet, and after the recording sheet is ejected, the transfer is carried together with the recording sheet from the end of recording output to the end of peeling. Pull back the unused portion of the ink film, and then pull back the used portion of the transfer ink film by the length of the transfer ink film that is conveyed before the recording paper is sent to the thermal head position by the operation of the paper feed roller. Since it is possible to prepare for the next recording, the unused portion of the transfer ink film is not wasted and the running cost can be reduced.

Practical Example FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a thermal transfer printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those in the conventional example shown in FIG. Reference numeral 1 is a recording sheet that has been cut into a predetermined size, and is stored in a sheet feeding cassette 1A and set at a predetermined position. 2 is a paper feed roller for feeding the recording paper 1 one by one, 3 is a transfer ink film, 4 is a supply roll for supplying an unused transfer ink film 3, 5
Is a take-up roll for winding the used transfer ink film 3, 6 is a thermal head for linear recording, 7 is a platen roller for pressing the transfer ink film 3 and the recording paper 1 against the thermal head 6, and 8 Is a peeling bar for peeling the recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3, and 9 is a discharge roller for discharging the recording paper 1. 11 is a platen roller 6
Is a paper feed motor that drives the. This paper feed motor 11
Is a platen roller 6 that can be rotated not only in the forward direction indicated by the arrow A but also in the reverse direction indicated by the arrow B.
At the time of non-recording, it is possible to reversely rotate the platen roller 7 and pull back the transfer ink film 3. Therefore, the paper feed motor 11 and the platen roller 7 also serve as a pullback means for pulling back the transfer ink film. Reference numeral 12 is a supply roll shaft for mounting the supply roll 4, and 13 is a winding roll shaft for mounting the winding roll 5, which is configured to rotate in conjunction with the platen roller 7 through the drive transmission mechanism 14. There is. The supply roll shaft 12 and the winding roll shaft 13
Is provided with a torque limiter (not shown) and one-way clutches 15 and 16, respectively, and is configured so that the transfer ink film 3 can be wound up by being forcibly driven only in the directions of arrows C and D. Although not shown, the paper feed roller 2 and the discharge roller 9 are also driven by the paper feed motor 11.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the compulsory circuit. Reference numeral 18 is a recording control circuit that controls the thermal head 6 to perform predetermined recording, 19 is a motor drive circuit that controls the paper feed motor 11, 20 is a control circuit that controls the whole, 21 is a counter, and 22 is a memory. As will be described later, the counter 21 stores the distance (strictly speaking, the number of clock pulses corresponding to the distance) at which the transfer ink film is conveyed from the end of recording output of the thermal head to the peeling of the recording paper. . In the memory 22, an approximate length e (strictly speaking, the transfer ink film 3 conveys while the paper feed roller 2 supplies the recording paper 1 from the paper feed cassette 1A between the thermal head 6 and the platen roller 7. The number of clock pulses corresponding thereto) is stored in advance.

The operation of the thermal transfer printer configured as described above will be described below with reference to the timing charts of FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

Before the start of recording, the recording paper 1 is accommodated in the paper feed cassette 1A, and the transfer ink film 3 is stopped in a state in which it is hung on the thermal head 6 as shown in FIG. At this time, the boundary P between the unused portion and the used portion of the transfer ink film 3 is at a position pulled back from the recording portion of the thermal head 6 by a predetermined length e. This length e
Is an approximate length that the transfer ink film 3 is conveyed while the paper feed roller 2 supplies the recording paper 1 from the paper feed cassette 1A between the thermal head 6 and the platen roller 7.

In recording, first, the control circuit 20 controls the motor drive circuit 19 to drive the paper feed motor 11 in the forward direction. As a result, the paper feed roller 2 starts to operate, and the recording paper 1 in the paper feed cassette 1A is fed out. At this time, since the platen roller 7 also rotates in the forward direction (direction of arrow A), the transfer ink film 3 is also conveyed in the direction of arrow E. When the front end of the recording paper 1 reaches the platen roller 7, the transfer ink film 3 is conveyed by the length e (at this time, the portion indicated by the used portion S in FIG. 3 passes through the thermal head 6). ), The tip of the recording paper 1 substantially coincides with the tip P of the unused portion of the transfer ink film 3. Thereafter, the recording paper 1 is stacked on the unused portion of the transfer ink film 3 by the platen roller 7, and the thermal head 6
It is pressed against and is conveyed in the direction of arrow E.

While the recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3 are conveyed in close contact with each other by the platen roller 7, the control circuit 20 controls the recording control circuit 18 and the motor drive circuit 19, and the thermal head 6 conveys the recording paper by the platen roller 7. Is synchronously recorded and output to perform two-dimensional image recording. The portion of the transfer ink film 3 conveyed during this time is the portion indicated by the in-use portion T in FIG.

The platen roller 7 continues to rotate even after the recording output of the thermal head 6 is completed. The recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3 sequentially sent by the platen roller 7 are in a state of being adhered by the viscosity of the melted ink and separated by the peeling bar 8, and the transfer ink film 3 is wound by the take-up roll 5. The recording paper 1 is taken up by the paper and conveyed to the outside of the apparatus. The platen roller 7 continues to rotate until the trailing edge of the recording paper 1 passes through the thermal head 6 and further past the peeling bar 8, and then stops. During this period, the transfer ink film 3 has a portion (length d) indicated by an unused portion U in FIG.
Passes through the thermal head 6.

On the other hand, at the same time when the recording output of the thermal head 6 is completed, the control circuit 20 starts the operation of the counter 21. As a result, the counter 21 counts the number of pulses of the clock of the circuit. This count continues until the platen roller 7 stops. Therefore, the counter 21 counts and stores the number of clock pulses corresponding to the transported distance d of the transfer ink film from the end of recording output of the thermal head to the peeling of the recording paper.

After the platen roller 7 is stopped, the control circuit 20 draws the count value from the counter 21 and the memory 22.
The number of pulses stored in advance (the number of pulses for conveying the transfer ink film 3 by the length e) is extracted, both are added, and the paper feed motor 11 is rotated in reverse by the added pulse. As a result, the platen roller 7 reversely rotates in the direction of arrow B, and the transfer ink film 3 is pulled back and rewound onto the supply roll 4. The pullback length of the transfer ink film 3 at this time is d + e. Therefore, in the transfer ink film 3, not only the unused portion U (length d) is pulled back, but also the length e of the used portion T is increased.
The part of is also pulled back to the state described at the beginning.

 The same operation is repeated for recording on the next recording sheet.

In this way, in the recording operation for each recording paper, when the leading end of the recording paper 1 is supplied to the thermal head 6, the leading end thereof is always almost coincident with the leading end of the unused portion of the transfer ink film, Therefore, the transfer ink film is usually used for recording from the tip of the unused portion. For this reason, the transfer ink film is not wound up on the take-up roll after the unused portion is used, and the transfer ink film is effectively used.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in the thermal transfer printer using the recording paper of the fixed size, the transfer distance of the transfer ink film from the end of the recording output of the thermal head to the peeling of the recording paper. A storage unit is provided for storing, and a preset distance is set to the distance stored in the recording unit (the leading end of the recording paper is between the thermal head and the platen roller after the paper feeding roller starts feeding the recording paper). The approximate distance that the transfer ink film is conveyed before being supplied to the transfer ink film) is added, and the transfer ink film is pulled back by the total distance. After separating the paper from the transfer ink film, pull back the unused part of the transfer ink film that has passed through the thermal head, and then operate the paper feed roller to make a note. The used portion of the transfer ink film can be pulled back by the length of the transfer ink film that is conveyed before the recording paper is sent to the thermal head position. When it is sent to, the tip of the transfer ink film can be overlapped with the tip of the unused portion of the transfer ink film, and the unused portion of the transfer ink film can be used. It has the effect that it can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

1 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a thermal transfer printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a control circuit thereof, FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the thermal transfer printer, and FIG. FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional thermal transfer printer. 1 ... Recording paper, 1A ... Paper feed cassette, 2 ... Paper feed roller, 3 ... Transfer ink film, 4 ... Supply roll, 5
...... Winding roll, 6 …… Sailal head, 7 …… Platen roller, 8 …… Peeling bar, 9 …… Discharge roller, 11 ……
Paper feed motor.

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A thermal head for recording in line,
The transfer ink film provided so as to pass through the thermal head, the platen roller that presses and conveys the transfer ink film and the recording paper in an overlapping manner with respect to the thermal head, and the recording paper preliminarily cut to a predetermined size A paper feed roller that feeds between the thermal head and the platen roller, a pullback unit that pulls back the transfer ink film, and the transfer when the paper feed roller starts feeding the recording paper between the thermal head and the platen roller. Transfer ink film transport means for starting the transport of the ink film, the distance that the transfer ink film is transported from the end of the recording output of the thermal head to the peeling of the recording paper, and the feed roller is operated to move the recording paper to the thermal head. The total amount of the transfer distance to the position To pull back the Lum, thermal transfer printer and a means for controlling the retraction means.