JP3382463B2 - 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, and more particularly to a thermal transfer printer capable of cleaning the surface of a heating element formed on a thermal head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a recording sheet is provided in front of a platen,
The thermal head, which supports an ink ribbon coated with an ink of a desired color and has a plurality of heating elements arranged therein, reciprocates along the platen together with the carriage to eject the ink ribbon, and the thermal head is aligned with the thermal head. A thermal transfer printer that records an image such as a desired character on a recording sheet by selectively heating a heating element based on recording information has high recording quality, low noise, low cost, and easy maintenance. For this reason, it is widely used as an output device for computers, word processors and the like.

By the way, in a conventional thermal transfer printer, an ink component is formed on the surface of a heating element aligned with a thermal head, more specifically, on the surface of a protective layer covering the heating element, every time recording is performed on a recording sheet. However, there is a problem in that proper recording quality cannot be maintained because the recording quality deteriorates as the number of recorded sheets increases and the contamination progresses as the number of recorded sheets increases.

Therefore, there has been proposed a thermal transfer printer provided with a cleaning mechanism capable of cleaning dirt on the surface of the thermal head.

An example of a thermal transfer printer equipped with a cleaning mechanism capable of cleaning the dirt on the surface of such a conventional thermal head is, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 58-58.
There is one described in Japanese Patent Publication No.-7378.

In such a conventional thermal transfer printer, a cleaning tape used for cleaning is stored in addition to the ink ribbon used for recording stored in the ribbon cassette, or a part of the ink ribbon. If a cleaning tape is formed on the surface of the heating element and the surface of the heating element becomes dirty with the adhered material, the adhered material is removed by rubbing the surface of the thermal head with this cleaning tape, or a cleaning member is placed on the end of the platen. The surface of the thermal head is slidably brought into contact with the cleaning member to remove extraneous matter and clean the surface of the thermal head.

[0007]

However, in the cleaning using the above-mentioned conventional cleaning member, the cleaning member and the thermal head are arranged in a direction intersecting with the arrangement direction of the heating elements aligned in the thermal head. In a thermal head that is designed to move relative to each other and has a heating element formed on the top surface of a convex portion in recent years, cleans dirt on one side of the convex portion located on the downstream side in the moving direction of the cleaning member. (Removal) is difficult, that is, since the cleaning member moves over the convex portion of the thermal head and moves, the surface of the thermal head cannot be uniformly cleaned.

In order to reliably clean the surface of the thermal head, it is necessary to increase the contact force between the thermal head and the cleaning member or increase the number of sliding contact between the thermal head and the cleaning member. However, in either case, there is a problem that the wear of the thermal head is promoted and the life of the thermal head is shortened.

Further, in recent years, a thermal transfer printer for performing high-definition and high-speed recording has been proposed in which a heating element is heated to a high temperature by using an ink ribbon coated with a thermally sublimable ink. When recording is performed using an ink ribbon coated with a functional ink, the backing agent applied to the back surface of the base material made of heat-resistant resin of the ink ribbon or the base material itself melts every time recording is performed. The surface of the head becomes dirty, and in order to clean this dirt, it is necessary to increase the contact force between the thermal head and the cleaning member or to increase the number of sliding contact between the thermal head and the cleaning member. However, there is a problem that the wear of the thermal head is promoted and the life of the thermal head is shortened.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer printer capable of easily cleaning dirt on the thermal head without shortening the life of the thermal head. .

[0011]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention as set forth in claim 1 is characterized by a platen and a ribbon which is reciprocally movable along the platen. A thermal transfer printer having a carriage capable of mounting a cassette and a thermal head mounted on the carriage and capable of coming into contact with and separating from the platen, wherein a printable area on an extension line in the longitudinal direction of the platen is exceeded. The cleaning member is composed of an endless belt that can contact the thermal head and can move in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal head.

By adopting such a structure, the cleaning member moves in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heat generating elements of the thermal head, so that the surface of the convexly formed thermal head is substantially removed. In addition to cleaning uniformly , the cleaning member can be
It can be used as having a large length .

[0013] The feature of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention described in claim 2 of the appended claims, a platen, a carriage that give mounted is reciprocally movable ribbon cassette along the platen, the carriage A thermal transfer printer having a thermal head mounted on the platen and capable of contacting and separating from the platen, wherein the thermal head is disposed at a position beyond a recordable area on an extension line of the platen in the longitudinal direction. Can be contacted and can move in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal head
A cleaning member composed of an endless belt, and a cleaning member driving means for driving the cleaning member,
Counting means for counting the number of recorded recording sheets and contacting the thermal head with the cleaning member when the number of recorded recording sheets counted by the counting means reaches a preset count value. A control means for moving the cleaning member is provided.

By adopting such a configuration, the cleaning member which is moved by the cleaning member driving means moves in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heat generating elements of the thermal head, so that it is formed in a convex shape. The surface of the thermal head can be cleaned almost uniformly and the cleaning member can be infinitely long.
It can be used as having a thickness . Further, the counting means and the control means can control the timing of cleaning the thermal head according to the type of ink on the ink ribbon.

Further, the thermal transfer printer of the present invention according to claim 3 of the invention is characterized in that in claim 1 or 2, the cleaning member is a paper feed roller.
And one end of the paper feed roller with the platen sandwiched therebetween.
Opposing and extending substantially parallel to the platen
And the rotating member that is rotatably supported in this way.
And is driven to rotate along with the rotation of the paper feed roller.
The point is that it is configured to

By adopting such a structure, the cleaning member has the platen inside and
In addition, since it is driven to rotate around the platen,
When the thermal head is in contact with the
-Direction parallel to the direction in which the heating elements of the round head are arranged
Can be movable .

[0017]

[0018]

[0019]

[0020]

[0021]

[0022]

[0023]

[0024]

[0025]

[0026]

[0027]

[0028]

[0029]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a first embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing the configuration of the main part, and FIG. 2 shows the vicinity of a cleaning member. FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of a cleaning member.

As shown in FIG. 1, a thermal transfer printer 1 according to the present embodiment has a frame 2 (only a part of which is shown) having a substantially rectangular shape in a plane disposed inside a printer case (not shown).
have. 1, the front side in FIG. 1 orthogonal to the longitudinal direction shown in the left-right direction is the front side FS of the thermal transfer printer 1, and the back side in FIG. 1 is the rear side BS of the thermal transfer printer 1. Has been done. Above the rear surface BS of the frame 2, a platen 3 having a substantially flat plate shape is arranged so that its recording surface 3a is substantially vertical.
Is arranged so as to extend in the left-right direction. A guide shaft 4 is arranged below the platen 3 in parallel with the platen 3. A carriage 5 is arranged at an appropriate position on the guide shaft 4 so as to be capable of reciprocating along the platen 3.

Below the carriage 5, an annular drive belt 6 composed of a toothed belt is arranged.
The carriage 5 is fixed to one position of the drive belt 6. The drive belt 6 includes a pair of left and right pulleys 7 (only one is shown) disposed near both ends of the frame 2 in the longitudinal direction.
It is wound around. One pulley 7 shown on the right side in FIG. 1 can be rotated by the driving force of a carriage motor 8 composed of a step motor or the like shown on the right side in FIG. Further, the carriage motor 8 is electrically connected to a control means 9 which will be described later, which is arranged at a desired position of the frame 2, and is driven based on a control command sent from the control means 9. ing.

That is, by driving the carriage motor 8 based on the control command sent from the control means 9, the carriage 5 reciprocates along the platen 3.

On the front side FS of the frame 2, a plate-shaped carriage guide portion 10 for guiding the movement of the carriage 5 is arranged so as to extend parallel to the platen 3. On the other hand, a carriage support portion 11 is provided on the front side FS of the carriage 5 so as to project, and the carriage support portion 11 is slidably held by the carriage guide portion 10. A carriage support portion 11 for sliding and guiding the carriage 5 along the carriage guide portion 10 is provided.
Has a substantially U-shaped cross-section.
Protrusions 11a that come into contact with 0 are formed, and these protrusions 11a prevent rattling when the carriage 5 moves.

A thermal head 12, which is a recording means, is arranged at a substantially central portion of the rear surface BS of the carriage 5 so as to face the recording surface 3a of the platen 3. The thermal head 12 is provided with a plurality of heating elements (not shown) arranged in an array that selectively generate heat based on the recording information according to a control command from the control means 9, and performs recording on the recording paper 13. At the time of recording, the recording head 3 can be brought into contact with and separated from the recording surface 3a of the platen 3 via the ink ribbon 14 and the recording paper 13 by a known head driving mechanism (not shown). The contact position between the thermal head 12 and the platen 3 in the head-down state where the thermal head 12 is in contact with the recording surface 3a of the platen 3 is the recording position.

Further, on the upper surface of the carriage 5, an ink ribbon 14 is housed inside which can be moved up and down in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 5 during recording, and the ink ribbon 14 is placed in front of the thermal head 12. A cassette carrier 16 serving as a cassette mounting table on which the guiding ribbon cassette 15 can be mounted is provided.

The carriage 5 has a lift gear having a screw groove (not shown) formed on the outer peripheral surface for moving the cassette carrier 16 up and down, and a vertical movement trajectory of the cassette carrier 16. A pair of left and right guide members 18a and 18b that serve as guides, and a supply bobbin 21 that engages with a supply reel 19 and a take-up reel 20 that respectively wind the ink ribbon 14 stored in the ribbon cassette 15 from both ends thereof. Also, the take-up bobbin 22 and the thermal head insertion portion 2 of the ribbon cassette 15 that faces the intermediate portion of the ink ribbon 14 that is formed in a concave shape and is led out from the ribbon cassette 15 to the outside.
A second supply bobbin 26 and a second take-up bobbin 27 that engage with a pair of pinch rollers 24 and 25, respectively, which are arranged at positions upstream and downstream in the traveling direction of the ink ribbon 14 with the ink ribbon 3 interposed therebetween, and an ink ribbon. A peeling roller 28 which is disposed downstream of the thermal head 12 in the traveling direction of 14 and is selectively driven according to the type of the ribbon cassette 14 to be used, and not shown for driving each of these members. A drive member and the like are provided.

The thermal head 12 is brought into contact with and separated from the platen 3 (pressure contact / separation: head down / head up), and the carriage 5 of the cassette carrier 16 is moved.
Movement of the ink ribbon 14 in the direction of contact and separation, supply / winding / rewinding of the ink ribbon 14, and the peeling roller 2
All of the driving operations of 8 are configured such that a single stepping motor (not shown) provided in the carriage 5 is used as a driving source and the driving operation is performed based on a control command sent from the control means 9. .

The cassette carrier 16 is provided with a hole 29 having a tooth portion which meshes with a screw groove (not shown) of the lift gear 17, and a pair of left and right guide members 18a and 18b arranged on the carriage 5. Guide holes 30a and 30b to be respectively inserted are formed, and the guide members 18a and 18a are formed as the lift gear 17 rotates.
It is reciprocally movable on the carriage 5 along the direction 18b in a direction perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 5. In addition, the ribbon cassette 15 is provided in the cassette carrier 16.
Engages with the holding portions 31a, 31b formed on the outer peripheral portion of the
A pair of V-shaped holding members 32a and 32b for holding the ribbon cassette 15 are arranged at right and left intervals, and these holding members 32a and 32b are spaced by an urging member (not shown). It is urged in the direction of narrowing.

Above the carriage 5, a substantially plate-shaped canopy 33 is provided which is openably and closably supported by a printer case (not shown) at an appropriate interval. A plurality of well-known cassette holders (not shown) for holding the ribbon cassette 15 are provided at predetermined positions on the lower surface of the canopy 33 which faces the carriage 5 in parallel, and a plurality of cassette holders (not shown) for holding the ribbon cassette 15 are provided. In the embodiment, four ribbon cassettes (only one shown) 15 accommodating ink ribbons 14 of four colors (yellow, magenta, cyan, black) for full-color recording are arranged along the moving direction of the carriage 5. They are arranged in a line. Then, the ribbon cassette 15 is transferred between the cassette holder and the cassette carrier 16. Further, as the ink ribbon 14 of the present embodiment, the ink ribbon 14 coated with a thermally sublimable ink is used in order to perform high-definition and high-speed recording.
Further, as the ink ribbon 14 coated with the heat sublimation ink of the present embodiment, one having a back surface agent (not shown) made of heat-resistant fine particles called a back coat applied on the back surface of the ink ribbon 14 is used. Has been.

The cassette carrier 16 and the lift gear 17 constitute a known cassette delivery means 34 for delivering the ribbon cassette 15 between the carriage 5 and the cassette holder.

Near the left end of the front side FS of the carriage 5, there is provided a first portion for detecting the type of the ribbon cassette 15 held at a predetermined position when the ribbon cassette 15 is replaced.
The detection sensor 35 and the ribbon cassette 1 on the carriage 5
A sensor arrangement plate 37 having a second detection sensor 36 for detecting the presence / absence of No. 5 is mounted. As shown in the figure, the first detection sensor 35 and the second detection sensor 36 use reflection type optical sensors having different focal lengths, and the first detection sensor 35 is arranged at a position slightly distant from the ribbon cassette 15. The shape of the sensor arrangement plate 37 is formed so that the second detection sensor 36 is arranged at a position close to the ribbon cassette 15. The detection signals detected by the first detection sensor 35 and the second detection sensor 36 are sent to the control means 9.

A paper feed roller 38 for conveying the recording paper 13 at a predetermined speed in both forward and reverse directions so as to pass the front of the recording surface 3a of the platen 3 at the time of recording is disposed below the inner side of the platen 3. Has been done. This paper feed roller 38
1 can be rotated by the driving force of a paper feed motor 39 including a step motor and the like arranged on the right side in FIG.

On the outer peripheral surface of the paper feed roller 38, a plurality of short auxiliary rollers 40 (only one is shown) are rotatably arranged so as to come into contact with the paper feed roller 38 with a desired pressure contact force. The auxiliary roller 40 is adapted to rotate following the paper feed roller 38. That is, the recording sheet 13 is made to be able to run while being sandwiched between the sheet feed roller 38 and the auxiliary roller 40. Also,
The recording paper 1 is placed at an appropriate position around the paper feed roller 38.
A guide (not shown) for guiding the 3 to travel along a predetermined transport path is provided.

The paper feed motor 39 is electrically connected to the control means 9 arranged at a desired position on the frame 2, and is driven based on a control command sent from the control means 9. Has become.

That is, by driving the paper feed motor 39 based on the control command sent from the control means 9, the recording paper 12 is conveyed in both the forward and reverse directions in the direction orthogonal to the moving direction of the carriage 4. It is like this.

In the vicinity of the paper feed roller 38, a sensor (not shown) for detecting the presence or absence of the known recording paper 13, the position of the leading edge of the recording paper 13 and the like is disposed, and is detected by the sensor. Various types of information are sent to the control means 9.

A position within the moving range of the carriage 5 near the right end of the platen 3 shown on the right side in FIG. 1, and beyond the recording range in which recording is performed on the recording sheet 13 by the thermal head 12. , That is, platen 3
A cleaning member 41, which is an endless belt for cleaning the surface of the thermal head 12, is arranged at a position beyond the recordable area on the extension line of the longitudinal direction. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the cleaning member 41 is rotated so as to extend substantially parallel to the platen 3 in the vicinity of the right end of the paper feed roller 38 and in the vicinity of the right end of the platen 3. The cleaning member 41 is wound around a freely supported rotating member 42, and the cleaning member 41 is configured to be rotationally driven in accordance with the rotational driving of the paper feed roller 38.

That is, the cleaning member 41 is rotationally driven with the platen 3 inside and the platen 3 as a center, whereby the cleaning member 41 causes the heating element of the thermal head 12 when the thermal head 12 is abutted. Is movable in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of.

Cleaning for moving the cleaning member 41 of the present embodiment in the direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal head 12 by the paper feed roller 38, the rotating member 42 and the paper feed motor 39. The member driving means 43 is configured.

As shown in FIG. 3, the cleaning member 41 has an endless belt shape in which a nonwoven fabric 45 such as felt is fixed to the surface of a base material 44 made of resin.

As the cleaning member driving means 43, an endless belt-shaped cleaning member 41 is used.
That can be driven to rotate, for example, the cleaning member 41
May have a pair of pulleys that can be wound and a motor that drives the pulleys and that is independently arranged.

The control means 9 has a CPU, a memory, a controller and the like (not shown), and controls the operation of each part of the thermal transfer printer 1 and various information based on various programs stored in the memory. Is configured to be able to. Then, the control means 9 at least every time the recording using the one ribbon cassette 15 on the recording paper 13 is completed, that is, every time the recording of one color is completed, the ribbon cassette 1 used for the recording.
It has a control program section 41a for moving the cleaning member 41 by bringing the thermal head 12 into contact with the cleaning member 41 in a state where the carriage 5 does not have the ribbon cassette 15.

Next, the operation of this embodiment having the above-mentioned structure will be described.

The recording operation by the thermal head 12 and the replacement operation of the ribbon cassette 15 by the cassette delivery means 34 are the same as the conventionally known operations, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted, and only the cleaning operation of the thermal head 12 will be described. .

The cleaning operation of the thermal head 12 in the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present embodiment is performed every time one color recording operation is completed on one recording sheet 13.

A more detailed description will be given.

When the recording operation for one color on one recording sheet 13 is completed, the thermal head 12 is separated (head-up) from the platen 3, and the carriage 5 and the cassette transfer means 34 are driven to drive the carriage 5. The ribbon cassette 15 on the cassette carrier 16 is returned to the empty cassette holder.

Then, the ribbon cassette 1 is attached to the carriage 5.
5 is not mounted, the carriage 5 is moved to a position facing the cleaning member 41 disposed at a position beyond the recordable area within the movement range of the carriage 5,
The movement of the carriage 5 is stopped.

Next, the thermal head 12 is attached to the platen 3
The head down operation is performed so that the thermal head 12 is pressed against the cleaning member 41.

Then, the paper feed motor 39 is driven to
When the recording paper 13 for which the color recording operation has been completed is conveyed to the first recording start position in the opposite direction to the conveying direction at the time of recording, the paper feed roller 38 that also serves as a part of the cleaning member driving means 34 rotates. The cleaning member 41 moves (rotationally driven) while the thermal head 12 is in pressure contact.
To do. Then, by moving the cleaning member 41, the adhered matter is removed from the surface of the thermal head 12, and the dirt of the thermal head 12 is cleaned. At this time, since the moving direction of the cleaning member 41 is parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements formed on the thermal head 12, the cleaning member 41 moves over the convex portion of the thermal head 12 unlike the conventional case. Since it is not necessary to move the same position while maintaining pressure contact with the thermal head 12, good cleaning can be reliably performed regardless of the shape of the surface of the thermal head 12.

Therefore, in the cleaning member 41 of the present embodiment, the surface of the thermal head 12 can be uniformly and easily and reliably compared with the conventional one, with the contact force between the thermal head 12 and the cleaning member 41 being reduced. Can be cleaned. This means that the thermal head 12
The wear of the surface of the thermal head 12 can be reduced and the life of the thermal head 12 can be extended, and the thermal head 12 can reliably retain its function for a long period of time. further,
The cleaning member 41, which is an endless belt, can also shorten the relative movement distance to the thermal head 12.

Further, since the cleaning member 41 is an endless belt, it can be easily moved in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal head 12, and its length is infinite. The thermal head 12 can be reliably cleaned.

As the cleaning member 41, instead of the nonwoven fabric 45 shown in FIG. 4A, foam 45a such as sponge is fixed to the surface of the base material 44, or the cleaning member 41 shown in FIG.
Fine particles (particle size of about 1 to 50 μm) 46 made of an abrasive on the surfaces of the nonwoven fabric 45 and the foam 45a shown in (b)
To which is adhered, and the non-woven fabric 45 and the foam 4
It is preferable that 5a and the like are fixed to the entire surface of the base material 44 from the viewpoint of cleaning property, but if they are fixed to at least a part of the surface of the base material 44, there is essentially no problem. Further, as the polishing agent, alumina or the like can be exemplified. Further, fine particles 46 made of an abrasive are fixed to the surface of the base material 44 shown in FIG. 4C, or fine particles 46 made of an abrasive are formed on the base material 44 itself shown in FIG. 4D.
May be mixed in advance to expose fine particles 46 made of an abrasive on the surface.

The cleaning member 41 may be composed of the above various structures alone or in combination depending on the type and structure of the ink ribbon 14 to be used, the heat generation state of the thermal head 12 and stains.

Further, when the cleaning member 41 is a non-woven fabric 45 or a foam 45a fixed to the surface of a base material 44 made of resin, the non-woven fabric 4 is used.
5 or in the direction intersecting the moving direction on the surface of the foam 45a, a recess or a protrusion having a depth or height of about 0.2 to 2 mm and a width of about 0.5 to 1.0 mm, alone or in combination. Alternatively, the cleaning effect may be improved. Further, as the base material 44, elastomer, rubber, cloth or the like may be used.

Further, the cleaning member 41 is formed by applying a non-woven fabric 45 or a foam 45a on the surface of a base material 44 made of resin.
By using one having a fixed structure, it is possible to improve the contact with the surface of the thermal head 12.

Furthermore, the non-woven fabric 45 or the foam 45
By using fine particles made of an abrasive such as alumina fixed to the surface of a, a base material 44 made of a heat resistant resin of the ink ribbon 14 coated with the thermally sublimable ink is used.
Also, strong dirt on the surface of the thermal head 12 due to the back surface agent can be easily cleaned.

The cleaning operation time of the thermal head 12 by the cleaning member 41 is the recording time when the recording operation of one color is completed for the thermal head 12 brought into contact with the cleaning member 41 based on the control command sent from the control means 9. The control can be performed by performing the head-up operation within an arbitrary time until the sheet 13 is conveyed to the first recording start position in the reverse direction opposite to the conveying direction at the time of recording.

FIG. 5 shows a second example of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.
It is a block diagram which shows the structure of the control means of the embodiment.

Thermal transfer printer 1A according to the present embodiment
Is a modification of the cleaning operation of the thermal transfer printer 1 of the first embodiment described above, and other configurations are the same as those of the thermal transfer printer 1 of the first embodiment described above. Therefore, in the thermal transfer printer 1A of the present embodiment, only the main part of the control means 9A will be described, and description of the other configurations will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 5, the control means 9A of the thermal transfer printer 1A of the present embodiment has a count program section 48 as a counting means for counting at least the number of recording sheets 13 recorded based on recording information and the like. ,
When the number of recorded recording sheets 13 counted by the count program unit 48 reaches a preset count value, the thermal head 12 is brought into contact with the cleaning member 41 to move the cleaning member 41. And a control program section 49 for performing a cleaning operation.

According to the control means 9A of the thermal transfer printer 1A of the present embodiment having such a configuration, the same effect as that of the thermal transfer printer 11 of the first embodiment described above can be obtained, and the cleaning operation can be performed. Since the timing of performing the cleaning can be given in advance as the number of recording sheets to be recorded on the recording paper 13, the timing of performing the cleaning operation can be appropriately controlled according to the type of the thermal sublimation ink or the thermal transferable ink.

That is, the thermal head 1 using the back surface agent
When the ink ribbon 14 coated with the thermal sublimation ink having a relatively large stain on 2 is used, the cleaning operation is performed as described above every time one-color recording is performed, and the thermal head 12 is relatively stained. When an ink ribbon coated with a small amount of heat-meltable ink is used, the cleaning operation can be performed every predetermined number of recording sheets on the recording sheet 13, for example, every 5 sheets, and each time the ribbon cassette 15 is replaced. Since it is not necessary to move the carriage 5 to the position where the cleaning member 41 is provided, the time required for recording can be shortened.

In other words, the frequency of the cleaning operation can be appropriately set according to the type of ink, and the time required for recording can be made appropriate.

The cleaning member 41 of each of the above-described embodiments can also be used in a conventional general thermal transfer printer.

Further, the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, but can be modified as necessary.

[0078]

As described above, according to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, the cleaning member is arranged so as to be movable in the direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements arranged in the thermal head. Therefore, the surface of the thermal head can be uniformly and easily cleaned while the contact force between the thermal head and the cleaning member is reduced. As a result, wear of the surface of the thermal head is reduced and The life of the thermal head can be extended, and the thermal head can reliably retain its function for a long period of time, which is an extremely excellent effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a first embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing the vicinity of the cleaning member of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the configuration of the cleaning member of FIG.

4A to 4D are views similar to FIG. 3 showing a modified example of the configuration of the cleaning member.

FIG. 5 is a configuration diagram showing a configuration of a control unit of a second embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1A thermal transfer printer 3 Platen 5 carriage 9, 9A control means 12 Thermal head 13 Recording paper 14 Ink ribbon 15 Ribbon cassette 16 cassette carriers 17 lift gear 34 cassette delivery means 41 Cleaning member 41a Control program section 43 Cleaning member driving means 44 Base material 45 non-woven fabric 48 count program section 49 Control program section FS front side BS rear side

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-62-189183 (JP, A) JP-A-2-89673 (JP, A) JP-A-7-304241 (JP, A) JP-A-4-107178 (JP , A) Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 4-216087 (JP, A) Actually open 5-51659 (JP, U) Actually open 1-148349 (JP, U) Actually open 3-59855 (JP, U) (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/32-2/325 B41J 2/35-2/36 B41J 29/17

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A thermal transfer printer having a platen, a carriage capable of reciprocating along the platen and capable of mounting a ribbon cassette, and a thermal head mounted on the carriage and capable of coming into contact with and separating from the platen. An endless device capable of contacting the thermal head at a position beyond a recordable area on an extension line of the platen in the longitudinal direction and being movable in a direction parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal head. A thermal transfer printer having a cleaning member made of a belt-shaped belt . Thermal transfer with 2. A platen, a carriage that give mounted ribbon cassette is reciprocally movable along the platen, and a thermal head which is capable separable relative to said platen is mounted on the carriage A printer, which is arranged at a position beyond a recordable area on an extension line of the platen in the longitudinal direction, is in contact with the thermal head, and is parallel to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal head. From a movable endless belt
A cleaning member, a cleaning member driving means for driving the cleaning member, a counting means for counting the number of recording sheets recorded, and a preset count value for the number of recorded recording sheets counted by the counting means. And a control means for moving the cleaning member by bringing the thermal head into contact with the cleaning member. 3. The paper feed roller as the cleaning member.
And one end of the paper feed roller with the platen sandwiched therebetween.
Opposing and extending substantially parallel to the platen
And the rotating member that is rotatably supported in this way.
And is driven to rotate along with the rotation of the paper feed roller.
The structure according to claim 1 or the contract.
The thermal transfer printer according to claim 2 .