JP3172068B2 - 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 transfer printer for transferring ink on an ink film to paper by selective heating of a heating element of a thermal head and performing printing, and more particularly to printing on a wide variety of paper. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer capable of performing high-quality recording comparable to a silver lead photograph using dedicated paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a thermal transfer printer supports a sheet in front of a platen, mounts a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements on a carriage, and mounts a substrate between the thermal head and the platen. An ink ribbon as an example of an ink film coated with a desired ink is sandwiched between the paper and the paper, and while the thermal head is reciprocated along a platen with a carriage, the ink ribbon is paid out, and the heating elements of the thermal head are recorded. By selectively generating heat based on the information, an image such as a desired character or the like is recorded on a sheet. Such a thermal transfer printer has high recording quality,
For reasons such as low noise, low cost, and ease of maintenance, they are frequently used as output devices such as computers and word processors.

[0003] As such a conventional thermal transfer printer, recording on paper using an ink ribbon (hot-melt ink ribbon) in which a hot-melt ink is applied to a base such as a plastic film is often used. In addition to the above, there is also known a type in which recording is performed on paper using an ink ribbon (thermal sublimation ink ribbon) in which a substrate is coated with thermosublimable ink.

Among these, a thermal transfer printer (hereinafter, referred to as a hot-melt thermal transfer printer) that performs recording on paper using a hot-melt ink ribbon requires recording on a wide variety of paper such as plain paper, cardboard, and postcards. It is easy to use.

On the other hand, a thermal transfer printer (hereinafter, referred to as a thermal sublimation thermal transfer printer) that performs recording on paper using a thermal sublimation ink ribbon uses silver-lead as a paper using a surface-treated special paper. A high-quality recorded image comparable to a photograph can be obtained.

[0006] Since the thermal transfer type thermal transfer printer and the thermal sublimation type thermal transfer printer have different characteristics of inks used, conventionally, they have been practically used individually as different types of thermal transfer printers.

[0007]

However, in the above-described conventional thermal transfer printers, since the thermal fusion type thermal transfer printer and the thermal sublimation type thermal transfer printer are each put into practical use individually, general recording on paper is not possible. If it is necessary to record a high-quality recorded image comparable to that of a silver lead photograph, two thermal transfer printers having different methods of a thermal fusion type thermal transfer printer and a thermal fusion type thermal transfer printer must be used. However, there is a problem that a large installation space is required and an economic burden is increased.

Therefore, it is desired that a single thermal transfer printer can perform recording using a heat-meltable ink ribbon and recording using a heat-sublimable ink ribbon.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and uses recording using an ink film having a substrate coated with a heat-meltable ink and using an ink ribbon having a substrate coated with a heat-sublimable ink. An object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer printer capable of performing recording.

[0010]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer printer, comprising: a first recording mode for recording on a sheet using a heat-meltable ink film; Control means for selectively switching a second recording mode for performing recording on paper using an ink film, and a peeling time until the ink film after recording in both recording modes is peeled off from the paper corresponding to the recording mode to be executed And a peeling position control unit for changing the printing mode, and printing in the second printing mode using the heat sublimation ink.
Time when performing the heat-melting ink.
Longer than the peeling time when recording in the recording mode.
In that it has a peeling guide member that functions as follows. By adopting such a configuration, in the first recording mode using the hot-melt ink, the ink film in the molten state is removed from the ink film by peeling the ink film from the paper immediately after recording the paper. In the second recording mode using the heat sublimable ink, the transfer can be favorably performed on the paper, and the recording using the heat sublimable ink that requires more heat energy than the heat fusible ink is performed. Since the ink film is peeled off from the paper after the heat energy applied to the base of the ink film from the heating element disappears, good recording can be performed without damaging the base. In addition,
The peel guide sets the peel time according to the recording mode.
As a result, the ink ribbon is
Peelable from paper.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, wherein the main control means operates in the second recording mode.
The moving speed of the thermal head in the first recording mode.
The control is performed so as to be slower than the moving speed of the thermal head . And, by adopting such a configuration , compared with the first recording mode using the hot-melt ink,
In the second recording mode using thermal sublimation ink,
Because a large amount of heat energy can be applied,
High quality recording can be performed by any of
Wear.

[0012]

[0013]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In a thermal transfer printer 1 according to the present embodiment, a flat platen 2 is provided at a desired position on a frame (not shown). The recording surface 2 a is disposed so as to be substantially vertical, and a guide shaft 3 is provided below the front side of the platen 2.
Are arranged in parallel with the platen 2. A carriage 4 divided into upper and lower parts is attached to an appropriate position of the guide shaft 3, and one carriage 4a shown below is a lower carriage attached to the guide shaft 3, and The other carriage 4b shown has a lower carriage 4a in which a ribbon cassette 5 described later is attached.
The upper carriage is configured to be able to approach and separate in the vertical direction. These carriages 4 drive an appropriate drive belt 6 wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown) by driving means (not shown) such as a stepping motor, and move along the guide shaft 3. It is designed to be driven reciprocally. The moving speed of the carriage 4 can be selected from two stages of a high speed and a low speed by a control unit 70 described later.

A well-known head moving mechanism (both not shown) which is opposed to the platen 2 and which can be operated with a driving force of a motor 25 to be described later and which is movable with respect to the platen 2, so that the carriage 4 can be brought into and out of contact with the carriage 4. A thermal head 7 for recording on a sheet (not shown) on the platen 2 in a pressure contact state (head down state) in contact with the thermal head 7 is provided. And this thermal head 7
Is provided with a plurality of heating elements (not shown) arranged and arranged to selectively generate heat based on desired recording information input by an appropriate input device (not shown) such as a keyboard. The thermal head 7 includes a control unit 7 described later.
0 makes it possible to select one of the high pressure welding and the low pressure welding as the pressure contact force with respect to the platen 2 and to set the thermal energy of the thermal head 7 in two stages of large and small (more specifically, Of long time and short time
) Can be selected.

The carriage 4 will be described in more detail. The carriage 4 has a plate-like upper carriage 4b which is substantially parallel to the lower carriage 4a attached to the guide shaft 3, and which is moved by a parallel crank mechanism 8 to the lower carriage 4a. And is attached so as to be able to move in parallel so as to come into contact with and separate from the camera. This parallel crank mechanism 8 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, a pair of links 9a and 9b are provided at the left and right ends of the carriage 4 and intersect each other in an X-shape. The intersection of these links 9a and 9b is pivotally connected by a pin 10a. The ends of the links 9a and 9b are slidably engaged by pins 10b, 10c, 10d and 10e with long holes (not shown) formed at the upper ends of the left and right sides of the lower carriage 4a and the upper carriage 4b, respectively. Has been stopped.

A rotary crank mechanism 11 is provided on the lower carriage 4a. The rotary crank mechanism 11 operates to move the upper carriage 4b in parallel. This rotary crank mechanism 11
A rotating plate 12 serving as a rotating member rotatably supported by the lower carriage 4a, and a connecting link 14 serving as a connecting member pivotally connected to the eccentric position of the rotating plate 12 by a pin 13a. The front end 14 is pivotally connected to the upper carriage 4b by a pin 13b.
Then, the rotating plate 12 is rotatably driven by a suitable driving means (not shown) such as a motor.

Returning to FIG. 1, a plate-like arm is formed on each of the left and right sides of the upper carriage 4b as an engaging portion 15a having a tip gently curved inward and a projection formed at the upper and lower ends. Reference numerals 15 stand upright at intervals substantially equal to the width of the ribbon cassette 5. A pair of rotatable bobbins 16 are disposed at a central portion of the upper carriage 4b so as to protrude upward at a predetermined interval from each other.
The bobbin 16 allows the ink ribbon 17 to travel in a predetermined direction. One of the pair of bobbins 16 is a take-up bobbin 16 a for winding the ink ribbon 17, and the other is a delivery bobbin 16 for sending the ink ribbon 17.
b. A first optical sensor 18 as a sensor for detecting the type of the ink ribbon 17 stored in the ribbon cassette 5 is provided on an edge of the carriage 4 farther from the platen 2. As the optical sensor 18, a reflection type is used in the present embodiment. The first optical sensor 18 is connected to a later-described control unit 70 serving as a main control unit that controls a recording operation and the like of the thermal transfer printer 1 disposed at a desired position of the thermal transfer printer 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, above the carriage 4, there is provided a substantially plate which is supported by a frame (not shown) at an appropriate interval so as to be openable and closable as shown by a double arrow A in FIG. A canopy 19 is provided. The canopy 19 functions as a paper presser on the exit side of a paper feed mechanism (not shown) in the closed state, and is disposed so as to face the carriage 4. The length is almost the same.

A plurality of cassette holders (not shown) for holding the ribbon cassette 5 are provided at predetermined positions on the lower surface of the canopy 19 facing the carriage 4 in parallel. Ribbon cassettes 5 a and 5 b as an example of two film cassettes in the embodiment are arranged in a line in the moving direction of the carriage 4. In the present embodiment, the ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b house therein an ink ribbon (heat-meltable ink ribbon) 17a as an example of an ink film obtained by applying a heat-meltable ink to a base such as a plastic film. And a ribbon cassette 5b containing therein an ink ribbon (thermal sublimation ink ribbon) 17b as an example of an ink film in which a heat sublimation ink is applied to a substrate such as a plastic film. ing. Each of the ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b is moved between the canopy 19 and the upper carriage 4b by the operation of the parallel crank mechanism 8 operating with the rotary crank mechanism 11, as indicated by a double-headed arrow B in FIG. Delivery is done selectively.

Each of the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5 according to the present embodiment
1b, regardless of the type of the ink ribbon 17, all are formed in the same shape and the same size, and are rotatably supported by a pair of upper and lower, substantially rectangular case bodies 20 (not shown). A pair of reels, a pair of rotatably supported ribbon feed rollers, a plurality of guide rollers facing the rotatably supported ribbon path, and the like are provided. The ink ribbon 17 is provided between a pair of reels.
Is wound, and an intermediate portion of the ribbon path of the ink ribbon 17 is led out. When the ribbon cassette 5 is mounted on the upper carriage 4b, one of the pair of reels serves as a take-up reel for winding the ink ribbon 17 of the portion used for recording, and the other sends out the ink ribbon. This is a sending reel. On the inner peripheral surface of each reel, a plurality of key grooves are formed in a spline shape at intervals in the circumferential direction. The inner peripheral surface of one reel is engaged with the winding bobbin 16a. The reel 21 has a take-up hole 21a, and the inner peripheral surface of the other reel is a feed hole 21b with which the feed bobbin 16b is engaged. On the surface of the ribbon cassette 5 which is mounted on the carriage 4 and faces the platen 2, a concave portion 22 facing the thermal head 7 is formed, and an intermediate portion of the ink ribbon 17 is led out in the concave portion 22. ing.

An identification mark 23 for discriminating the type of the ink ribbon 17 stored in each ribbon cassette 5 is provided on the rear surface of the ribbon cassette 5 extending parallel to the surface on which the concave portion 22 is formed. Are located. The identification mark 23 of the present embodiment is formed by a reflective seal 24 having a different number of striped non-reflective portions 24a depending on the type of the ink ribbon 17.

Then, the identification mark 23 is detected by the optical sensor 18a provided on the carriage 4, and a detection signal is output to the control unit 70 of the printer. The type of the ink ribbon 17 stored in the ribbon cassette 5 is determined by counting the number.

That is, in the ribbon cassette 5a shown on the left side in FIG. 1, a reflection seal 24A having four non-reflection portions 24a is arranged as the identification mark 23, and the ribbon cassette 5b shown on the right side in FIG. , A reflective seal 24 </ b> B having two non-reflective portions 24 a is arranged as the identification mark 23. And the ribbon cassette 5
In FIG. 1, the left end of the rear surface shown on the near side is a reference position BP for detecting the identification mark 23, and the identification mark 2
3, the distance L to the right end surface of the non-reflective portion 24a located at the right end is the same for all the identification marks 23, and a desired distance L for identifying the type of the ink ribbon 17 within this distance L. The non-reflection part 24a is formed. The carriage 4 can be stopped when the optical sensor 18a detects the identification mark 23 to be used. When the carriage 4 is stopped, the ribbon cassette 5 stored in the cassette holder is moved to the upper carriage 4b. It has been handed over.

As shown in FIGS. 4 to 7, the lower head 4a of the carriage 4 reciprocally movable along the platen 2 moves the thermal head 7 toward and away from the platen 2 and moves the ink ribbon. A motor 25 for performing winding control is provided, and an output pinion gear 26 of the motor 25 is meshed with a transmission gear 27. A gear portion 29 formed on an outer peripheral surface of a cam 28 is meshed with the transmission gear 27. A head contact / separation cam groove 30 and a head contact / separation cam groove 30
Each of the wider and shallower ribbon winding cam grooves 31 is formed.

The platen 2 of the lower carriage 4a
In the present embodiment, the support shaft 32 is formed so as to protrude from the upper surface of the upper carriage 4b, as shown in FIG. A substantially T-shaped head lever 33 is attached to the support shaft 32 so as to be swingable about the support shaft 32. A portion of the head lever 33 near the platen 2 is opposed to the platen 2. The head mounting base 34 is fixed by screws. This head mount 34
The thermal head 7 is mounted on an opposite surface of the platen 2 of FIG.
5 project from the rear surface of the head mounting base 34 so as to have a predetermined interval.

A substantially L-shaped head pressure lever 36 is attached to the support shaft 32 so as to be swingable about the support shaft 32.
The cam groove 30 for head contact / separation of the cam 28
Is formed. The other end of the head pressure lever 36 is disposed between the back surface of the head mounting base 34 of the head lever 33 and the stopper 35. The other end of the head pressure lever 36 has a spring holding portion 38. Is erected. Further, the spring holding portion 3
A pressure contact spring 39 is interposed between the head press base 8 and the head mounting base 34, and the head pressure contact lever 36 contacts the stopper 35 of the head lever 33 by the urging force of the pressure contact spring 39. In this state, the head press lever 36 and the head lever 33 are integrally rotated by the rotation of the cam 28 when the head is moved up and down.

A drive gear 41 meshed with a rack 40 formed in the printer is provided on the carriage 5 so as to be rotatable about a support shaft 42. The support shaft 42 and the head lever 33 And a weak pressure contact spring 43 having a spring pressure weaker than that of the strong pressure contact spring 39 so that the head lever 33 always applies a biasing force in a direction of pressing the thermal head 7 to the platen 2. I have.

A swing plate 44 is attached to the support shaft 42 so as to be swingable about the support shaft 42.
A pin 45 is formed at one end of the swing plate 44 so as to be engaged with the cam groove 31 for winding the ribbon of the cam 28. Here, the pin 45 of the swing plate 44 is formed to be thicker than the width of the head contact / separation cam groove 30.
Does not fall into the cam groove 30 for head contact / separation. A support shaft 46 is protruded from the other end of the swing plate 44, and a transmission gear 47 meshed with the drive gear 41 is rotatably mounted on the support shaft 46. .

The carriage 4 is provided with the ink ribbon take-up bobbin 16a and the delivery bobbin 16b, respectively, as described above. As shown in FIG. 4, the bobbin 16a is provided below the take-up bobbin 16a. The take-up gear 48 meshed with the transmission gear 47 is coaxially mounted via a friction mechanism (not shown). Further, in the present embodiment, a second take-up bobbin 49 and a second delivery bobbin 50 are provided on the carriage 4, respectively, and the take-up bobbin 49 is provided below the second take-up bobbin 49. A second winding gear 52 meshed with the winding gear 48 of the bobbin 16a via the transmission gear 47 is coaxially mounted via a friction mechanism (not shown). The winding bobbin 16a and the second winding bobbin 49 are
The transmission bobbin 16b and the second transmission bobbin 50 can be freely rotated, respectively, by being rotationally driven by the transmission gear 47 meshing with the take-up gear 48 by the swing of 4.

A peeling lever 53 urged in a direction away from the platen 2 by a spring (not shown) is rotatably mounted on the rotating shaft of the second winding bobbin 49. A peeling roller 54 serving as a peeling guide member is protruded from the leading end portion so as to extend upward. The peeling roller 5 of the peeling lever 53
4, an engaging pin 55 is attached movably up and down. On the upper surface side of the peeling lever 53 and on the outer peripheral portion of the engaging pin 55, as shown in FIG. A spring 56 for urging the mating pin 55 upward is provided.
The engaging pin 55 is held by the urging force of the spring 56 so that the lower end does not protrude below the peeling lever 53, and the engaging pin 55 is moved downward against the urging force of the spring 56. The engagement pin 55 is engaged with the distal end portion of the head lever 33 by pressing and projecting the lower end portion below the peeling lever 53.

Further, on the upper surface of the carriage 4, a second optical sensor 57 for detecting the end of the ink ribbon to be used is provided.

Returning to FIG. 1, cutouts 58 into which the peeling rollers 54 are inserted are formed at symmetrical positions on both sides of the concave portion 22 formed in each ribbon cassette 5 and facing the thermal head 7. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the ribbon cassette 5 is provided with a pair of hubs 59, 59 which are engaged with the take-up bobbin 16a and the delivery bobbin 16b and around which the ink ribbon 17 is wound. And the second winding bobbin 49 and the second
A pair of guide rollers 60, 60 that are engaged with the delivery bobbin 50 and guide the ink ribbon 14 are provided.

Further, the ribbon cassette 5 shown in FIG.
In the hot-melt ink ribbon 17a housed in a, it is necessary to peel off the ink ribbon 17a from paper while the ink in the ink ribbon 17a is in a molten state at the time of recording. On the other hand, the thermal sublimation ink ribbon 1 stored in the ribbon cassette 5b shown in FIG.
In the case of 7b, it is necessary to perform cold separation in which the ink of the ink ribbon 17b is solidified during recording and then the ink ribbon 17b is separated from the paper. The notch 58 of the ribbon cassette 5b in which the ink ribbon 17b for cold separation is stored is provided with the engaging pin 55 of the carriage 4.
The pressing plate 61 is formed to press downwardly. When the ribbon cassette 5 b for cold separation is mounted on the carriage 5, the engaging pin 55 is pressed downward by the pushing plate 61 to engage the engaging pin 55 with the head lever 33. To match. Further, the push plate 61 like the ribbon cassette 5b for cold separation is not formed in the cutout portion 58 of the ribbon cassette 5a in which the ink ribbon 17a for hot separation is stored, and accordingly, Even when the ribbon cassette 5a for hot separation is mounted on the carriage 4, the engaging pin 55 is not pressed, and the engaging pin 55 and the head lever 33 are not engaged.

In this embodiment, since the so-called multi-time ink ribbon cassette 17 which can be used by being inverted can be used, two notches are provided at symmetric positions of the concave portion 22 into which the thermal head 7 is inserted. Although notches 58 are formed, in the case of a so-called one-time ink ribbon, the notch 58 may be formed in only one place.

The control unit 70 includes a memory (not shown)
The control unit 70 is made of PU or the like.
As shown in FIG. 7, based on a mode signal sent from a mode changeover switch 71 disposed at a desired position on a frame (not shown), at least
(a) is a mode for discriminating between the first recording mode in which recording is performed on a sheet of paper such as plain paper by thermal melting transfer and the second recording mode in which recording is performed by thermal sublimation transfer on dedicated paper using the thermal sublimation ink ribbon 17b. Based on the determination results of the determination unit 72 and the mode determination unit 72, the moving speed of the carriage 4, the energizing time to the thermal head 7, the pressing force of the thermal head 7 on the platen 2, the ribbon cassette 5, etc. correspond to each mode. A first recording mode control unit 73 and a second recording mode control unit 74 that perform control as described above. The control unit 70 also controls the first optical sensor 1 with the movement of the carriage 4.
8, the presence or absence of the ribbon cassette 5 and the ink ribbon 17 stored in the ribbon cassette 5
Of the ink ribbon 17 based on the end detection signal of the ink ribbon 17 from the second optical sensor 57, in addition to determining or detecting the type, the moving distance of the carriage 4 with respect to the home position, the open / closed state of the canopy 19, the distance between the ribbon cassettes 5, and the like. The drive of the carriage 4 and the like is controlled.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described.

When the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present embodiment is driven, the operator operates the mode changeover switch 71 so as to match the purpose of recording, and heats the paper such as plain paper using the heat-meltable ink ribbon 17a. First to perform recording by fusion transfer
The recording mode selection operation is performed by selecting either the recording mode or the second recording mode in which recording is performed on the special paper by thermal sublimation transfer using the thermal sublimation ink ribbon 17b.

When a recording mode selection operation is performed, a mode signal corresponding to one of the selected modes is transmitted from the mode changeover switch 71 to the control unit 70, and the mode determination unit of the control unit 70 72 determines whether the mode signal transmitted from the mode changeover switch 71 is the first recording mode or the second recording mode, and determines whether the first recording mode control unit 73 or the second recording mode control unit 74 based on the determination result. One of them is operated, and the selection operation of the ribbon cassette 5 containing the ink ribbon 17 corresponding to one of the first recording mode and the second recording mode is started.

Next, when the operation of selecting the ribbon cassette 5 is started, a command is issued from the control unit 70 (specifically, one of the first recording mode control unit 73 and the second recording mode control unit 74). The carriage 4 located at the home position is moved (traveled), and the first optical sensor 18 disposed on the carriage 4 detects the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5. Then, the first optical sensor 18 sends a unique detection signal of each identification mark 23 having a configuration such as an arrangement and a pitch of the non-reflection portions 24 a to the control unit 70, and an identification signal corresponding to a command issued by the control unit 70. It is determined whether the mark is the mark 23, and the identification mark 23 corresponding to the command is determined.
In the case of (1), the movement of the carriage 4 is stopped. If the identification mark 23 corresponding to the command is not received, the movement of the carriage 4 is continued until the identification mark 23 corresponding to the command is detected. That is, in the present embodiment, the reflection seal 24 of the ribbon cassette 5 depends on the type of the ink ribbon 17.
By detecting the difference, the ribbon cassette 5 (specifically, the ink ribbon 17) can be reliably determined.

Then, the ribbon cassette 5 containing therein the ink ribbon 17 corresponding to the selected recording mode.
The canopy 19 is moved by the parallel crank mechanism 8 and the rotary crank mechanism 11 as shown by a double-headed arrow B in FIG.
And the upper carriage 4b is selectively transferred, the ribbon cassette 5 is mounted on the carriage 4, and the operation of selecting the ribbon cassette 5 ends.

When the operation of selecting the ribbon cassette 5 is completed, the paper corresponding to the selected recording mode is set between the platen 2 and the thermal head 7 manually or by a paper feeding device (not shown), The separation between the hot ink ribbon 17a and the cold sublimation ink 17b is switched.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, when the cam 28 is rotated to the leftmost position in the drawing, the pin 37 of the head pressure lever 36 is located at the outermost periphery of the head contact / separation cam groove 30. The head pressure lever 36 is pivoted to the left most in FIG.
Is brought into contact with the stopper 35 of the head lever 33 by the urging force of the strong pressure contact spring 39, and the head mounting base 34 is operated together with the head pressure contact lever 36. The swing of the head pressure contact lever 36 causes the thermal head 7 to platen. 2
It is held in a head-up state away from the head.

On the other hand, the ribbon winding cam groove 31
The oscillating plate 44 is swayed to the left, the transmission gear 47 supported by the oscillating plate 44 is meshed with the take-up gear 51, and the carriage 4 moves along the platen 2 so that the rack When the drive gear 41 meshed with 40 is driven to rotate, the take-up gear 51 is transmitted via transmission gears 47 and 48.
The second winding gear 52 is rotated and the winding bobbin 16a and the second winding bobbin 49 are rotated to perform the winding operation of the ink ribbon 17.

At the position of the cam 28, recording is not performed, and color sensing by the photo sensor 57 when the color ink ribbon 17 is used or slack removal operation when the ink ribbon 17 is slack is performed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7, when the cam 28 is rotated rightward by driving the motor 22 from the state shown in FIG. 6, the head pressure lever 36 is not swung, and the thermal head 6 is moved to the platen 2. The swinging plate 44 is swung to the right by the ribbon winding cam groove 31 while being held in the head-up state separated from the winding gear 51, and the transmission gear 47 of the swinging plate 44 is separated from the winding gear 51. In this state, even when the carriage 4 moves, the rotation of the drive gear 41 is not transmitted to the winding bobbin 16a and the second winding bobbin 49, and the winding operation of the ink ribbon 14 is not performed. Used for return operation or ribbon save operation.

Further, when the ribbon cassette 5a containing the hot-melt ink ribbon 17 to be peeled off by heating is mounted on the carriage 4 and recording is performed on paper such as plain paper, as shown in FIG. 5, the motor 22 is further driven to rotate the cam 28 to the right, whereby the head pressure contact lever 36 is swung rightward, and accordingly, the head lever 33 is moved through the strong pressure contact spring 39. Is also rocked together. In this state, since the pin 37 of the head pressure contact lever 36 is located at the position closest to the rotation center of the head contact / separation cam groove 30, the head pressure contact lever 36 is moved rightward about the support shaft 32. As a result, the head press lever 36 is separated from the stopper 35 of the head mount 34, and the head mount 34 is pressed by the spring holding portion 38 of the head press lever 36 via the strong press spring 39. In this state, since the urging force of the low pressure contact spring 43 is applied to the head lever 33, the high pressure contact spring 39
Is applied, and the thermal head 4 is pressed against the platen 2 with a strong pressing force.

At this time, since the pushing cassette 57 is not formed on the ribbon cassette 5 containing the hot-melt ink ribbon 17a shown in FIG. 9, it is impossible to press the engaging pin 55 of the carriage 5. Therefore, the engaging pin 55 and the head lever 33 are not engaged, so that the head lever 33
Is rotated, the peeling lever 53 is not rotated, and the peeling roller 54 is held at the same position.

In the present embodiment, the support shaft 3 which forms the center of rotation of the head lever 33 and the head press lever 36 which presses the thermal head 6 against the platen 2 is used.
2 has a long dimension so as to protrude from the upper surface of the carriage 5, the head lever 33
And there is no backlash of the fulcrum of the head pressure lever 36,
The head lever 33 and the like can be supported with extremely high precision, and the pressing operation of the thermal head 6 can be performed stably.

On the other hand, the oscillating plate 44 is rotated leftward from the state shown in FIG. 5, the transmission gear 47 of the oscillating plate 44 meshes with the winding gear 51 again, and the ribbon A winding operation is performed.

In this state, by moving the carriage 4, the drive gear 41 is driven to rotate via the rack 40, and the winding gear 51 and the second winding gear 52 are rotated via the transmission gears 47 and 48. Let me take it up and take up the bobbin 1
6a and the second take-up bobbin 49 are driven to rotate, and while the ink ribbon 14 of the ribbon cassette 5 is being taken up, the thermal head 7 is driven on the basis of a desired record signal so that recording is performed on a predetermined sheet. It has become. At this time, since the thermal head 5 is pressed with a strong pressing force, good recording can be performed.

Unlike normal recording, when a ribbon cassette 5b containing a heat-sublimable ink ribbon 17b that needs to be peeled off at the time of cold is mounted on a carriage and high-quality recording is performed on special paper, As shown in FIG. 7, the motor 22 is driven from the state shown in FIG. 5 to rotate the cam 28 further to the left after passing through the state shown in FIG. The lever 36 swings rightward with the head lever 33. In this state, the pin 37 of the head pressure contact lever 36 is
Since the width of the head contact / separation cam groove 30 at this position is formed to be large, the pin 37 of the head pressure contact lever 36 and the head contact / separation cam groove 30
Is formed between them. As a result, the head pressing lever 36 moves the stopper 3 by the urging force of the strong pressing spring 39.
5, so that the thermal head 7 is rotated.
Is pressed against the platen 2 by the urging force of only the weak pressure spring 43, so that recording can be performed with a weak pressure as compared with normal recording.

Further, a pushing plate 57 is provided on the ribbon cassette 5 containing the ink ribbon for cold separation, and the engaging pin 55 is pressed downward by the pushing plate 57 so as to be pressed. Since the engaging pin 55 is engaged with the head lever 33, when the head lever 33 is swung, the peeling lever 5 is connected via the engaging pin 55.
3 is rotated, and the peeling roller 54 is pressed against the platen 2, so that the distance between the ink ribbon 14 after recording and the paper can be increased.

On the other hand, even when the cam 28 is rotated, the transmission gear 47 of the oscillating plate 44 is held in a state of being engaged with the winding gear 51. The movement of the carriage 4 causes the ink ribbon 17b to move.
Can be performed.

Thus, by selecting the position of the cam 28 according to the required situation, various operations required as a thermal transfer printer can be performed.

In the above description, the operation of sequentially selecting the position of the cam 28 from the state shown in FIG. 4 to the state shown in FIG. 7 has been described, but the state shown in FIG. 7 changes to the state shown in FIG. To do so, the cam 28 may be driven in a direction opposite to that described above.

Next, when the recording operation is actually started,
In the case of the first recording mode, the thermal head 7 with respect to the platen 2 in the head down state is controlled by a command from the control unit 70 (specifically, the first recording mode control unit 73).
And the moving speed (recording speed) of the carriage 4 (thermal head 7) is 10 to 50 kg.
cm / sec, thermal head 7 (specifically, heating element)
The energizing time per dot is controlled to be about 50 to 2000 μsec, so that the recording by thermal fusion transfer can be reliably performed on paper such as plain paper using the thermal fusion ink ribbon 17a.

Further, in the case of the second recording mode, the pressure contact force of the thermal head 7 against the platen 2 in the head down state is set to 0. 0 in accordance with a command from the control unit 70 (specifically, the second recording mode control unit 74). The moving speed (recording speed) of the carriage 4 (thermal head 7) is about 0.2 to 25 cm / sec, and the energizing time per dot of the thermal head 7 (heat generating element) is 150. Approximately あ る い は 30000 μsec or a plurality of repetitions of energization, whereby high-quality recording by thermal sublimation transfer can be reliably performed on the specially treated paper using the thermal sublimation ink ribbon 17b. it can.

Further, as described above, the pressing force of the thermal head 7 against the platen 2 in the second recording mode using the heat sublimable ink ribbon 17b is set to be smaller than in the first recording mode using the heat melting ink ribbon 17a. By making it weaker, wear of the thermal head 7 in the second recording mode, in which more energy is applied to the thermal head 7 than in the first recording, is reduced, thereby ensuring the overall durability of the thermal head 7. Can be improved.

Then, the moving speed (recording speed) of the carriage 4 (thermal head 7) in the second recording mode is made slower than that in the first recording mode, and the thermal head 7 (more specifically, the heating element) in the second recording mode is used. By increasing the energizing time per dot in the first recording mode or by repeating it a plurality of times, a larger thermal energy is required than in the first recording mode in which the heat-meltable ink is melted and transferred to paper. Since the recording in the second recording mode in which the thermal sublimation ink is sublimated and transferred to the sheet can be reliably performed, high-quality recording quality comparable to a silver lead photograph can be obtained.

Further, in the second recording mode, the energization per dot of the thermal head 7 (more specifically, the heating element) is repeated a plurality of times, so that the heating element of the thermal head 7 generates heat when the energization time is simply lengthened. The danger that the temperature exceeds the allowable temperature and is damaged can be reliably prevented.

The thermal transfer printer 1 according to the present embodiment
By switching the mode changeover switch 71 in accordance with the purpose of recording, the first recording mode in which recording is performed by heat fusion transfer on various types of paper using the heat fusion ink ribbon 17a, and the heat sublimation ink ribbon 17b is switched. The recording can be performed by simply selecting the second recording mode in which high-quality recording comparable to a silver lead photograph by thermal sublimation transfer is performed on dedicated paper for recording. General recording and recording of a high-quality recorded image comparable to a silver lead photograph can be reliably performed, and the installation space can be reduced more reliably than before.

Further, in the present embodiment, the engaging pin 55 of the peeling lever 53 is pressed by the pressing plate 57 formed on the ribbon cassette 5 so that the engaging pin 55 is engaged with the head lever 33. The head lever 3
Since the peeling lever 53 is operated by the rotation of the shutter 3 to perform the operation of bringing the peeling roller 54 into and out of contact with the platen 2, a separate driving device for operating the peeling lever 53 becomes unnecessary, and Control can be easily performed, and furthermore, it is not necessary to secure a large installation space in the carriage 5, so that the entire apparatus can be downsized. Can be.

Further, since the pushing plate 57 for pressing the engaging pin 55 is formed only on the ribbon cassette 5 in which the ink ribbon 14 for cold peeling is housed, of the ribbon cassette 5. The peeling lever 53 can be selectively operated only when the ribbon cassette 5 of the ink ribbon 14 for cold peeling is mounted.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be changed as needed. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the ink ribbon is used as the ink film. However, the present invention is not limited to the ink ribbon as long as it is stored in a cassette, and other types of ink films can be used.

[0065]

As described above, according to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, recording using an ink film coated with a heat-meltable ink and recording using an ink film coated with a heat-sublimable ink are one. This is an extremely excellent effect that it can be reliably performed on a table.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic side view showing a main part of the thermal transfer printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a carriage of the thermal transfer printer according to the exemplary embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram showing an ink ribbon sensing operation state of the thermal transfer printer according to the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram illustrating a carriage return operation state of the thermal transfer printer according to the exemplary embodiment;

FIG. 6 is a configuration diagram illustrating a first recording state of the thermal transfer printer according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a configuration diagram illustrating a second recording state of the thermal transfer printer according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a peeling lever and a head lever in the thermal transfer printer of the embodiment.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a ribbon cassette of a hot-melt ink ribbon used in the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a ribbon cassette of a thermal sublimation ink ribbon used in the thermal transfer printer of the embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the thermal transfer printer according to the embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 thermal transfer printer 2 platen 4 carriage 5 ribbon cassette 5a (ink ribbon coated with hot melt ink is stored inside) ribbon cassette 5b (ink ribbon coated with heat sublimation ink is stored inside) Ribbon cassette 7 Thermal head 17 Ink ribbon 17a Ink ribbon 17b (coated with heat-meltable ink) Ink ribbon 17 (coated with heat-sublimable ink) 18 First optical sensor 23 Identification mark 25 Motor 28 Cam 30 Head contact / separation Cam groove 31 ribbon winding cam groove 33 head lever 34 head mounting base 36 head pressure contact lever 39 strong pressure contact spring 43 weak pressure contact spring 44 rocking plate 49 second take-up bobbin 52 second take-up gear 53 peeling lever 54 peeling Roller 55 Engagement pin 57 Second optical sensor 61 Push plate 7 Controller 71 mode switch 72 the mode determination unit 73 first recording mode control unit 74 second recording mode control unit

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-305484 (JP, A) JP-A-2-261657 (JP, A) JP-A-5-261949 (JP, A) JP-A-7- 125270 (JP, A) JP-A-5-208533 (JP, A) JP-A-4-166378 (JP, A) JP-A-3-118179 (JP, A) JP-A-64-40367 (JP, A) JP-A-62-179975 (JP, A) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/325 B41J 2/36 B41J 32/00 B41J 35/04 B41J 35/16 B41J 35 / 22 B41M 5/26

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A thermal head having a plurality of heating elements formed thereon is moved along the platen while being in pressure contact with the platen via the ink film and the paper while driving the heating elements of the thermal head to apply ink on the ink film to the paper. A thermal transfer printer for transferring and recording on a substrate, comprising: a first recording mode for recording on paper using a heat-fusible ink film having a substrate coated with a heat-fusible ink; Control means for selectively switching a second recording mode for performing recording on paper using a sublimable ink film, and peeling off the ink film after recording in both recording modes in correspondence with the recording mode to be executed. Stripping position control means to change the stripping time until
The peeling position control means records in the second recording mode.
The peeling time for recording is determined by the first recording mode.
Function to make it longer than the peeling time when recording
A thermal transfer printer, comprising: 2. The apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein said main control means includes a second recording mode.
The moving speed of the thermal head in the first recording mode.
Slower than the moving speed of the thermal head
2. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, wherein the control is performed in the following manner .