JP2692291B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording apparatus such as a thermal transfer recording system for recording on an image receiving paper using an ink sheet.

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 4 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional recording apparatus, taking a thermal transfer recording system as an example. In this figure, 10
1 is an image receiving paper, 102 is an ink sheet in which transfer ink is applied on a resin base layer, 103 is a thermal head in which heating elements 103a are linearly arranged and supported by a head arm 103b, 10
Reference numeral 4 is a platen roller, 105 is an ink sheet supply roll formed by winding the ink sheet 102, and 106 is an ink sheet take-up roll that winds the ink sheet 102. Further, 107 is an ink sheet guide fixed to a casing (not shown), and 108 is an ink sheet 1 after recording fixed to the thermal head 103.
An ink sheet guide that guides the ink sheet 102 at a position where 02 is separated from the image receiving paper 101, and a sensor 109 that detects the position of the ink sheet 102. Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the ink sheet 102 is sequentially coated with three color inks of yellow (102a), magenta (102b), and cyan (102c), and a mark ( 102ma,
102mb, 102mc) are printed.

The operation of the conventional recording apparatus configured as described above will be described below.

The thermal head 103 has a platen roller 104 like 103A.
The ink sheet take-up roll 106 is rotated in the direction of arrow A in a state of being separated from the ink sheet 102, and the ink sheet 102 is conveyed in the direction of arrow B until the mark 102ma indicating the head of yellow on the ink sheet 102 is detected by the sensor 109. Further, the image receiving paper 101 is supplied and conveyed in the direction of arrow C from the left side of FIG. 4, and stops at a predetermined position. Next, the thermal head 103 is brought into pressure contact with the platen roller 104 via the ink sheet 102 and the image receiving paper 101, conveys the image receiving paper 101 in the direction of the arrow D by means not shown, and transfers the ink sheet 102 to the ink sheet take-up roll 106. Take up. In this way, a recording signal is sent to the thermal head 103 while the image receiving paper 101 and the ink sheet 102 are being conveyed, and the heating elements 103a are respectively heated for a predetermined time to transfer the ink and form an image on the image receiving paper 101. When the recording of one screen of the yellow ink is completed, the thermal head 103 is separated from the platen roller 104 again, and the ink sheet take-up roll 106 causes the ink sheet 102 to move to the arrow mark until the sensor 109 detects the mark 102mb indicating the beginning of magenta. Wind in B direction.
During this time, the image receiving paper 101 is conveyed in the direction of arrow C by means not shown, and is returned to the same state as before recording. After that, the thermal head 103 is pressed against the platen roller 104 to perform the same operation as described above, and finally, for cyan, similarly, three-color overlapping recording is performed to complete a color image.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention Here, since the base material layer of the ink sheet 102 is generally composed of a polyethylene-based resin in consideration of heat resistance and thermal conductivity, the ink sheet supply roll 105 can be used even in a normal environment. Pulled out ink sheet 102 is several hundred to several thousand V
When the ink sheet guide 107 is rubbed, the amount of charge is further increased. Such electrification causes white spots in the image due to dust adhering to the ink sheet 102, and running trouble due to close contact between the ink sheet 102 and the image receiving sheet 101. Further, when the ink sheet 102 is rubbed with the image receiving paper 101 and recording is performed, the same charged state occurs when the ink sheet guide 108 is peeled off at the portion of the ink sheet guide 108, and in this case, it is accumulated in the ink sheet guide 108. There is also a case where discharge occurs between the image receiving paper 101 from which the charge is peeled off. Such charging and discharging may cause damage and malfunction of the circuit including the thermal head 103. Therefore, there is a problem that the above-mentioned static electricity reduces the reliability of the device.

An object of the present invention is to solve such problems of the related art.

Means for Solving the Problems In view of the above points, the present invention is an ink sheet formed by applying ink on a base material layer such as a resin, and a recording in which a platen roller is pressed and separated via the ink sheet and the image receiving paper. The outer peripheral surface abuts the non-ink application surface of the ink sheet on at least either the upstream side or the downstream side of the head with respect to the recording head in the conveying direction of the ink sheet, and at least a part of the outer peripheral surface has a smaller diameter than the outer peripheral surface. And a rotatable conductive guide roller, and a conductive elastic member in which one end of the hook shape is hooked to the small diameter portion of the guide roller and the other end is grounded and fixed. In the recording apparatus, a moment around the guide roller generated in the hook portion of the elastic member by a force acts in a direction opposite to the rotation direction of the guide roller. is there.

Action The present invention has the above-described structure, in which the conductive ink sheet guide roller, which is rotated without contacting the outer peripheral surface of the ink sheet with the non-ink-coated surface of the ink sheet, is locked by the grounded elastic member. The static electricity of the ink sheet is removed, and the hooking force of the elastic member imparts a moment in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the ink sheet guide roller to the hook portion of the elastic member. To ensure running stability of the ink sheet. The driving force of the ink sheet can be reduced by reducing the locking force of the ink sheet guide roller when the thermal head is separated from the locking force when pressing the ink sheet, and the ink sheet driving mechanism can be miniaturized.

In this way, it is possible to remove static electricity from the ink sheet to ensure good reliability, reduce the running stability of the ink sheet, and reduce the driving force of the ink sheet.
As a result, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus that is highly reliable, has low noise, and can be easily downsized.

Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the basic structure of a recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, 1 is an image receiving paper,
2 is an ink sheet in which ink is applied on a transparent resin substrate layer, 3 is a linear array of heating elements 3a, both ends of which are supported by thermal head support arms 3b, and thermal head drive means (not shown) is used. A thermal head (recording head) that rotates around a thermal head support shaft 3c, 4 is a platen roller, 5 is an ink sheet supply roll formed by winding an unused ink sheet 2, and 6 is a used ink sheet 2. It is an ink sheet winding roll formed by winding. 7
Is a conductive ink sheet guide roller (guide roller) rotatably supported by the thermal head support arm 3b,
Reference numeral 8 is a conductive and grounded ink sheet guide (guide member) for supporting the non-ink coated surface of the ink sheet 2 after recording and separating the ink sheet 2 from the image receiving paper 1, and having a mirror surface 8a. Reference numeral 9 is a reflection type photo sensor facing the ink sheet guide mirror surface 8a.
It is a sensor that detects the portion guided by. 10 is a capstan roller that rotates in forward and reverse directions by a driving means (not shown), 11 is a pinch roller that presses against the capstan roller 10 via the image receiving paper 1, and 12 is a slip mechanism (not shown). It is an ink sheet drive source that drives the ink sheet take-up roll 6 to rotate in the winding direction of the ink sheet 2 (direction of arrow a). Further, 13 is made of a conductive material such as metal and has a hook shape, and one end 13a is hooked on the ink sheet guide roller 7, and the other end 13b is fixed and stretched to a part 20 of the grounded casing. Is a spring (elastic member), and the hook portion 13a also receives a moment 7f in the direction of arrow b due to frictional force with respect to the rotation of the ink sheet guide roller 7 in the direction of arrow b due to the conveyance of the ink sheet 2, but this force is elastic. It acts in the direction opposite to the latching force 13f of the member. Further, since the ink sheet guide roller 7 is supported by the thermal head support arm 3b, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4 (3A).
In comparison, the total length of the spring 13 is shorter than that in the pressed state (3), and the generated elastic force (the hooking force at the hook portion 13a)
Becomes smaller.

Here, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of the ink sheet 2,
Yellow (2a), magenta (2) on the transparent substrate layer (2d)
Ink of three colors of b) and cyan (2c) are sequentially applied in a size of one screen, and marks (2ma, 2mb, 2mc) indicating the start position of each color are printed.

Further, FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view showing the configuration of the running system of the ink sheet 2, and for convenience, the thermal head support arm 3b is shown.
Is omitted. When the normal mark is not at the position facing the sensor 9, the detection light of the sensor 9 is the ink sheet 2
Is transmitted through the transparent base material layer or the ink layer of the ink sheet guide 8 and reflected by the mirror surface 8a of the ink sheet guide 8, and the reflected light is detected by a light receiver. When the mark comes to a position facing the sensor 9, the detected light is blocked by the mark. Then, the reflected light cannot be received and the beginning of each color is detected. The mark 2ma of the ink sheet 2 is detected by the sensor 9a, and the marks 2mb and 2mc of the ink sheet 2 are detected by the sensor 9b. The ink sheet guide roller 7 guides the ink sheet 2 at a large diameter portion that is longer than the width of the ink sheet 2, and the hook portion 13 of the spring 13 is attached to the small diameter portions 7a at both ends.
a is hooked.

The operation of the recording apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above will be described below.

In the initial state, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4 like 3A, the ink sheet 2 is 2A, and the ink sheet drive source 12 is the ink sheet take-up roll 6
Is rotated in the direction of arrow a and the ink sheet 2 is conveyed in the direction of arrow c until the mark 2ma indicating the head of yellow on the ink sheet 2 is detected by the sensor 9a. At this time, the ink sheet guide roller 7 is at the position 7A together with the thermal head support arm 3b, and the total length of the spring 13 is short, so that the friction load of the hook portion 13a on the ink sheet guide roller 7 is small. During this time, the image receiving paper 1 is supplied and conveyed from the left side of the drawing in the direction of the arrow d, and stops at a predetermined position. Next, when the thermal head 3 is pressed against the platen roller 4 via the ink sheet 2 and the image receiving paper 1, the heating element 3a is pressed against the head of the yellow ink 2a of the ink sheet 2. At this time, the total length of the spring 13 becomes long, and the hook portion 13a surely contacts the ink sheet guide roller 7, so that the grounding of the ink sheet guide roller 7 is ensured. And capstan roller
The image receiving paper 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow f at the position where it is pressed against the pinch roller 11, and is rotated by the ink sheet drive source 12 to rotate the ink sheet take-up roll 6
Is driven to wind up the ink sheet 2 in the direction of arrow a. At this time, since the ink sheet 2 is conveyed by the friction load with the image receiving paper 1 at the position where the ink sheet 2 is pressed against the thermal head 3,
The ink sheet drive source 12 needs only a force for separating the ink sheet 2 from the image receiving paper 1, which is lower than the load when the thermal head 3 is separated. In this manner, while the image receiving paper 1 and the ink sheet 2 are being conveyed, each of the heating elements 3a is sequentially heated for a predetermined time in accordance with the recording signal sent to the thermal head 3, and the yellow ink is transferred to the image receiving paper 1 for transfer. Form an image on. Further, static electricity generated when the image receiving paper 1 and the ink sheet 2 are peeled off is released from the conductive and grounded ink sheet guide 8. After the recording of one full screen in yellow is completed, the thermal head 3 is again separated from the platen roller 4 (state 3A in FIG. 1), and the mark 2m indicating the beginning of the magenta ink 2b.
Ink sheet take-up roll 6 until sensor 9 detects b
Is rotated in the direction of arrow a to wind up the ink sheet 2. During this time, the capstan roller 10 is rotated and the pinch roller
The image receiving paper 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow d at the position of pressure contact with 11, and is returned to the same state as before recording. Thereafter, the thermal head 3 is again brought into pressure contact with the platen roller 4 and the same operation as described above is performed, and magenta is recorded by superimposing it on the yellow screen. Finally, the same recording is performed for cyan to complete a color image by three-color superimposed recording.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the ink sheet guide 8 at the portion where the ink sheet 2 is peeled off from the image receiving paper 1 is made of a conductor and grounded to release the electric charge, thereby destroying the circuit and malfunctioning due to discharge. In addition, the conductive ink sheet guide roller 7 is brought into contact with the non-ink coated surface of the ink sheet 2 to rotate without rubbing against the ink sheet 2,
The static electricity of the ink sheet 2 is removed by latching with the grounded spring 13 (elastic member) to prevent white spots in the image due to dust adhering to the ink sheet 2, destruction of the circuit including the thermal head 3, and malfunction. It is effective. Further, by the structure in which the hooking force of the spring 13 gives a moment in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the ink sheet guide roller 7 to the hook portion 13a of the spring 13, the spring 13 is always biased in the pulling direction, The portion 13a makes stable contact with the ink sheet guide roller 7 even during rotation of the ink sheet guide roller 7 for reliable charge removal, and
Since the load on the ink sheet guide roller 7 is stable, the running stability of the ink sheet 2 can be secured without uneven rotation of the ink sheet guide roller 7. The ink sheet guide roller 7 when pressing the thermal head 3
By increasing the hooking force of the ink sheet 2 to ensure the static elimination of the ink sheet 2 and eliminating the malfunction due to static electricity during the recording operation, and reducing the hooking force of the ink sheet guide roller 7 when the thermal head 3 is separated, the ink leading mark (EN) Provided is a recording apparatus capable of reducing the driving force of the ink sheet 2 during the detection operation to shorten the recording time and downsizing the ink sheet drive mechanism 12.

According to the present invention, the static electricity of the ink sheet 2 is removed and the driving force of the ink sheet 2 is reduced by the above-described configuration, so that the apparatus including the running stability of the ink sheet 2 has high reliability and excellent recording image quality. Therefore, the present invention provides a recording device which is easy to be miniaturized with low noise.

Although the recording head is a thermal head in this embodiment, the same effect can be obtained by using another head such as an energization thermal head.

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus that can obtain good running stability of an ink sheet, have few troubles due to static electricity, have a short recording time, and can be easily downsized. , Its practical effect is great.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a recording apparatus in an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ink sheet in FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a running system of the ink sheet of the same embodiment. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a schematic structure of a recording apparatus in a conventional example, and FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a structure of an ink sheet in FIG. 1 ... Image receiving paper, 2 ... Ink sheet, 3 ... Thermal head (recording head), 4 ... Platen roller, 7 ... Ink sheet guide roller (guide roller), 8 ... Ink sheet guide (guide member), 13 ... Spring (elasticity) Element).

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) Reference JP-A-61-120784 (JP, A) Actual opening Sho-59-56054 (JP, U) Actual opening Sho-63-19798 (JP, U) Actual opening Sho- 60- 29636 (JP, U)

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An ink sheet formed by applying ink on a base material such as a resin, a recording head that is pressed against and separated from a platen roller via the ink sheet and image receiving paper, and the ink with respect to the recording head. An electrically conductive guide roller that is rotatable and has at least a part of the outer peripheral surface abutting the non-ink application surface of the ink sheet on at least one of the upstream side or the downstream side in the sheet conveying direction, And a conductive elastic member having one end hooked on the small diameter portion of the guide roller and the other end grounded and fixed. The hooking force of the elastic member causes the hook portion of the elastic member to generate. A recording apparatus, wherein a moment around the guide roller acts in a direction opposite to a rotation direction of the guide roller. 2. A guide roller is integrally operated with a recording head, and the engaging force of the elastic member on the guide roller when the recording head is separated is smaller than the engaging force when pressing. Item 2. The recording device according to item 1.