JP2596459Y2 - Thermal head drive mechanism in thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal head driving mechanism in a thermal transfer printing apparatus, and more particularly to a thermal head driving mechanism in a thermal transfer printing apparatus having improved operability when replacing a ribbon cassette.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A thermal head in thermal transfer printing includes:
When the ink ribbon is replaced, the open state is further separated from the standby state that is slightly separated from the platen (the state where a wide space exists between the thermal head and the platen)
After the detachment / loading of the ink ribbon, the open state is returned to the standby state again.

However, conventionally, the driving between the open state and the standby state is manually performed via a driving means different from pressing the platen of the thermal head at the time of printing, for example, a solenoid or a lever. .

For this reason, when replacing the ribbon cassette, the user may forget to change the thermal head from the open state to the standby state. In this case, the thermal head must be changed to the standby state again, and the operability is not good. there were.

[0005]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and is an operation capable of easily and reliably exchanging a ribbon cassette without requiring a special operation. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal head driving mechanism in a thermal transfer printing apparatus having excellent performance.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above problems, the present invention is a thermal head driving mechanism in a thermal transfer printing apparatus, which accommodates an ink ribbon (16) and a light shielding plate (9).
A ribbon cassette (2), a detection sensor (3) for detecting the attachment / detachment of the ribbon cassette (2) by detecting the presence or absence of the light-shielding plate (9), and a thermal head (7) at the tip end.
And a vertically moving lever (1) that rotates around a support shaft (12).
1), a platen (15) located below the thermal head (7) via the ink ribbon (16), and the vertical movement via an eccentric cam (14) connected to a rotating shaft (13). Lever (11)
When the ribbon cassette (2) is replaced, when the ribbon cassette (2) is pulled forward, the light shielding plate (9) is provided from the detection sensor (3). ) Is released, the output signal of the sensor (3) changes from H level to L level.
The thermal head (7) is switched to the platen (15) by driving the motor (10) for a predetermined time and rotating the vertical movement lever (11) about the support shaft (12). When the detection sensor (3) detects the light-shielding plate (9) by attaching the ribbon cassette (2) and separating from the open state, the output signal of the detection sensor (3) is changed from L level to H level. Switch to the level, the motor
(10) A thermal head driving mechanism in which the thermal head (7) is set in a standby state slightly separated from the platen (15) by driving the vertical movement lever (11) down by driving the same for a predetermined time. And

[0007]

[0008]

The thermal head driving mechanism in the thermal transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention detects the absence of the light shielding plate (9) when the ribbon cassette (2) is removed.
The thermal head (7) is set to an open state based on the off signal of the above, and the thermal head (7) is set to a standby state based on an on signal of the detecting means (3) which detects the presence of the light shielding plate (9) at the time of mounting. .

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on an embodiment shown in the drawings. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermal head driving mechanism in a thermal transfer printing apparatus, and FIGS.
It is a schematic view of the thermal head driving mechanism in the thermal transfer printing device, Figure 2, a thermal head (7) platen
FIG. 3 shows a standby state slightly separated from (15) , and FIG.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an open state in which the thermal head (7) is further away from the platen (15) than in a standby state.

The thermal head drive mechanism (1) includes a set detection sensor (3) attached to a base plate (not shown) for detecting the ribbon cassette (2), a control unit (4),
A driving means (5) and a power supply (6) are provided. The driving means (5) drives the thermal head (7) to a standby state, an open state, or the like.

As the set detection sensor (3), for example, a photo-interrupter type constituted by a light-emitting diode (light-emitting unit) and a phototransistor (light-receiving unit) is used.

In the set detecting sensor (3), a light shielding plate (9) (see FIG. 4) provided integrally with a cassette frame (8) of the ribbon cassette (2) enters between the light emitting portion and the light receiving portion to shield light. When the light is transmitted, an H level signal is output, and when light is transmitted, an L level signal is output.

The control unit (4) includes, for example, a timer which is started based on an output signal of the set detection sensor (3), and a time chart which power-amplifies the output of the timer and stores it in a memory in advance. (See FIG. 5).

The control unit (4) includes a power supply (6)
When an output signal from the set detection sensor (3) is detected and power is supplied from the set detection sensor (3), an output for driving the driving means (5) is generated for a preset time according to a change in the output signal.

As the control unit (4), for example, a 4-bit one-chip microcomputer can be used.

The driving means (5) includes a motor (10),
An up-down movement lever (11) is provided. (12) indicates a support shaft of the vertical movement lever (11).

The motor (10) may be of a rotary type, and for example, a stepping motor can be used.

The rotating shaft (13) of the motor (10) is connected to an up / down moving lever (11) via an eccentric roller (14), and the up / down moving lever (11) is connected to a support shaft (12).
It is rotatable around.

The thermal head (7) is attached to the lower part of the tip of the vertical movement lever (11) so as to face the platen (15).

Therefore, when the motor (10) is driven, the eccentric roller (14) is eccentric, and the vertical movement lever (1) is driven.
The thermal head (7) at the tip of 0) can be moved up and down.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, (16) is an ink ribbon, and (17) is a pinch roller for guiding the ink ribbon (16).

In the above configuration, when the ribbon cassette (2) is to be replaced, the control section (4) operates as shown in the time chart of FIG.

When the ribbon cassette is removed (removed) (FIG. 5)
(Refer to (a)) When the ribbon cassette (2) is pulled out slightly to replace it, the light shielding plate (9) comes off from between the set detection sensors (3), and the light shielding plate (9) is detected. The output signal of the missing set detection sensor (3) is switched from the H level to the L level, and the motor (10) constituting the driving means (5) is driven for a predetermined time to drive the vertical movement lever (11). The tip is pushed up to open the thermal head (7).

As a result, a large space is formed between the thermal head (7) and the platen (15), and even if the ribbon cassette (2) is moved toward the front, the ink ribbon ( since no 16) is caught, the ribbon cassette (2) is readily disengaged.

When mounting (loading) the ribbon cassette (see FIG. 5 (b)), when the ribbon cassette (2) is mounted, the light shielding plate (9) is inserted between the light transmitting and receiving portions of the set detection sensor (3). Becomes Then, the output signal of the set detection sensor (3) that has detected the light shielding plate (9) is switched from L level to H level, and after a predetermined time, the motor (10) constituting the driving means (5) is driven for a predetermined time. The thermal head (7) is put into a standby state by driving the thermal head (7) down while pushing down the tip of the vertical movement lever (11).

That is, after the ink ribbon (16) of the ribbon cassette (2) is loaded in the wide space between the open thermal head (7) and the platen (15) without being hooked, the thermal head (7) ) Is automatically put into a standby state.

[0027]

As described above, according to the thermal head driving mechanism in the thermal transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention, the attachment / detachment of the cassette is detected by detecting the presence or absence of the light shielding plate formed on the cassette frame. Automatically drives the thermal head to the open state or the standby state based on the above.

Therefore, when the cassette is replaced, no special operation is required, for example, the thermal head must be reset to the standby state by forgetting to change the thermal head from the open state to the standby state. Can be prevented, the ribbon cassette can be easily and reliably replaced, and there is a practical effect that the operability at the time of replacing the ribbon cassette is improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermal head driving mechanism in a thermal transfer printing apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a thermal head driving mechanism in the thermal transfer printing apparatus, and is a diagram illustrating a standby state of the thermal head.

FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of a thermal head driving mechanism in the thermal transfer printing apparatus, and is a diagram showing an open state of the thermal head.

FIG. 4 is a side view of a cassette frame of the ribbon cassette.

FIG. 5 is a time chart showing the operation of the control unit.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal head drive mechanism 2 Ribbon cassette 3 Set detection sensor 7 Thermal head 8 Cassette frame 9 Light shielding plate 15 Platen 16 Ink ribbon

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) B41J 25/312 B41J 2/32 B41J 25/316 B41J 32/00 B41J 35/36

Claims (1)

(57) [Scope of request for utility model registration] A thermal head driving mechanism in a thermal transfer printing apparatus, comprising: a ribbon cassette (2) containing an ink ribbon (16) and having a light shielding plate (9); and detecting the presence or absence of the light shielding plate (9). A detection sensor (3) for detecting the attachment / detachment of the ribbon cassette (2), and a vertical movement lever (11) having a thermal head (7) at the tip and rotating about a support shaft (12). ), And the ink ribbon (16) below the thermal head (7).
And a motor (10) for driving the vertical lever (11) up and down via an eccentric cam (14) connected to a rotating shaft (13). When replacing the ribbon cassette (2), when the ribbon cassette (2) is pulled toward the user, the light-shielding plate (9) comes off the detection sensor (3), and the sensor (3) is removed.
Is switched from the H level to the L level, and the motor (10) is driven for a predetermined time to rotate the vertical movement lever (11) about the support shaft (12). When the detection sensor (3) detects the light shielding plate (9) by attaching the ribbon cassette (2) and separating the platen (15) from the platen (15) to open, the detection sensor (3) Output signal from L level to H level
Level, and the motor (10) is driven for a predetermined period of time to depress the vertical movement lever (11) so that the thermal head
(7) A thermal head drive mechanism wherein the standby state is slightly away from the platen (15).