JP6195271B2 - Printing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing apparatus, and more particularly to a printing apparatus including a rotation unit that rotates a recording medium in a sandwiched state.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the field of card printers (printing apparatuses), a rotation unit that rotates while holding a card (recording medium) is widely known. For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a reversing unit (rotating unit) for reversing the front and back of a sandwiched (nip) card and rotating the sandwiched card toward a conveyance path or a magnetic or electrical recording unit. ing. The rotation amount of the recording medium by such a reversing unit is controlled by the control unit.

  The printing apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1 includes a primary transfer unit (image forming unit) that forms an image (mirror image) on an intermediate transfer medium, and a secondary transfer unit that transfers an image formed on the intermediate transfer medium by the primary transfer unit to a card. (Transfer means). For such an intermediate transfer medium, it is preferable to perform the transfer in a relatively low temperature environment at the time of transfer at the secondary transfer portion. On the contrary, a hot-peeling type intermediate transfer medium, which is suitable in terms of print quality to perform transfer in a relatively high temperature environment, is used almost in half.

  On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 2 discloses a sheet conveying apparatus and an image forming apparatus (printing apparatus) that cool a sheet with a sheet (recording medium) reversing unit (rotating unit). In these apparatuses, a cooling fan is mounted in order to cool the sheet, thereby taking in the outside air and blowing it out to the conveyance path, thereby cooling the sheet passing therethrough.

  Note that as a technique related to the present invention, for example, Patent Document 3 discloses a reversing unit (rotating unit) that prevents co-rotation (rotation) of a card having both ends sandwiched.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-136783 JP 2004-161389 A JP-A-8-127443

  By the way, as in the technique of the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, it is known that the print medium is cooled by the rotation unit itself. However, in order to cool the print medium and improve the print quality, a part such as a fan is newly added. It is necessary to add it, which causes an increase in cost.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that can improve printing quality at low cost.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is a printing apparatus, which includes a printing unit that performs a printing process on a recording medium, a rotating unit that rotates while sandwiching the recording medium, and the rotating unit. A control unit that controls a rotation amount of the recording medium, and the control unit controls the rotation unit to rotate the recording medium by 360 ° or more in order to cool the recording medium. Features.

  In the present invention, the control unit may control the rotation unit so as to rotate the recording medium forward and backward by a predetermined angle and rotate a total of 360 ° or more. Further, a temperature sensor that detects the ambient temperature of the rotation unit may be further provided, and the control unit may control the rotation amount of the recording medium by the rotation unit according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

  The present invention is also suitable for a printing apparatus in which a printing unit includes an image forming unit that forms an image on an intermediate transfer medium, and a transfer unit that transfers an image formed on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit to a recording medium. In the printing apparatus of such an aspect, the control unit rotates the recording medium to rotate 360 ° or more in order to cool the recording medium during image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit. The moving unit may be controlled.

  In the printing apparatus of such an aspect, the control unit is information that is input or received and that indicates that the print information emphasizes the print speed according to the print information that indicates whether the print speed is important. In this case, when the image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit is completed, the rotation operation of the recording medium by the rotation unit may be finished or may be controlled to be finished. At this time, a temperature sensor that detects the ambient temperature of the rotating unit is provided, and the control unit determines the amount of rotation of the recording medium by the rotating unit according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, and is input or received information On the basis of the print information indicating whether the print speed or the print quality is important, it is determined whether the print information is information indicating the importance of the print speed. When the image formation on the intermediate transfer medium is completed, it is determined in advance whether or not the rotation operation of the determined rotation amount of the recording medium by the rotation unit is completed. During the image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming means, the rotation unit is controlled to rotate the determined rotation amount of the recording medium. When the image formation on the medium is completed, the rotation unit is controlled so that the rotation operation of the recording medium is terminated with a rotation amount less than the determined rotation amount, or the rotation speed of the recording medium by the rotation unit is set. The rotation unit may be controlled so as to rotate the determined rotation amount of the recording medium before the image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit is completed.

  Further, in the printing apparatus of this aspect, the control unit is information inputted or received or recorded in a cassette containing the supply spool and the take-up spool of the intermediate transfer medium, and the intermediate transfer medium According to the medium information indicating whether or not it is a cold peeling type, if the medium information is information indicating the cold peeling type, the recording medium is used to cool the recording medium during image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming means. The rotation unit is controlled to rotate 360 ° or more, and if the medium information is information indicating that it is not a cold peeling type, the rotation operation for cooling the recording medium is not performed. The moving unit may be controlled.

  Moreover, in this invention, you may make it further provide the partition member which partitions off between a printing part and a rotation unit.

  According to the present invention, the control unit controls the rotation unit so as to rotate the recording medium by 360 ° or more in order to cool the recording medium, so that the print medium can be printed without newly adding parts such as a fan. Since the printing quality is improved by cooling, an effect that a printing apparatus capable of improving the printing quality at low cost can be obtained can be obtained.

1 is an external view of a printing system including a printing apparatus according to an embodiment to which the present invention is applicable. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a printing apparatus according to an embodiment. It is explanatory drawing of the control state by the cam in the stand-by position where the pinch roller and the film transport roller are separated and the platen roller and the thermal head are separated. It is explanatory drawing of the control state by the cam in the printing position which the pinch roller and the film conveyance roller contact | abut, and the platen roller and the thermal head are contact | abutting. It is explanatory drawing of the control state by the cam in the conveyance position which the pinch roller and the film conveyance roller contact | abut, and the platen roller and the thermal head are contact | abutting. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state of a standby position of the printing apparatus. FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory diagram illustrating a state of a conveyance position of the printing apparatus. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing explaining the state of the printing position of a printing apparatus. It is an external view which shows the structure of the 1st unit integrated so that a film conveyance roller, a platen roller, and its peripheral part may be integrated in a printing apparatus. It is an external view which shows the structure of the 2nd unit integrated so that a pinch roller and its peripheral part may be integrated in a printing apparatus. It is an external view of the 3rd unit integrated to incorporate a thermal head in a printing apparatus. It is an external appearance perspective view of a ribbon cassette. It is a perspective view which shows the engagement state of a supply spool and a main body side. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of a control unit of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment. It is an external appearance perspective view of the rotation unit of the printing apparatus of an embodiment. It is a top view of a rotation unit. It is a flowchart of the printing process routine which CPU of the microcomputer of a control part performs. It is a flowchart of the rotation process subroutine which shows the detail of step 220 of a printing process routine. It is a flowchart of the rotation amount determination subroutine which shows the detail of step 234 of a rotation process subroutine. It is explanatory drawing which shows typically the state which the cooling nonuniformity produced in the card | curd by one-way rotation operation of the rotation unit.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a printing apparatus that prints and records characters and images on a card and magnetically or electrically records information on the card will be described with reference to the drawings.

<System configuration>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 14, the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment constitutes a part of a printing system 200. That is, the printing system 200 is roughly configured by a host device 201 (for example, a host computer such as a personal computer) and the printing device 1.

  The printing apparatus 1 is connected to the host apparatus 201 via an interface (not shown), and transmits image data, magnetic or electrical recording data, etc. from the host apparatus 201 to the printing apparatus 1 to perform a recording operation or the like. Can be instructed. Note that the printing apparatus 1 includes an operation panel unit (operation display unit) 5 (see FIG. 14). In addition to a recording operation instruction from the host apparatus 201, a recording operation instruction from the operation panel unit 5 is also possible.

  The host device 201 displays an image input device 204 such as a digital camera or a scanner, an input device 203 such as a keyboard or mouse for inputting commands and data to the host device 201, and data generated by the host device 201. A monitor 202 such as a liquid crystal display to be performed is connected.

<Printing device>
As shown in FIG. 2, the printing apparatus 1 includes a housing 2, and the information recording unit A, the printing unit B, the medium storage unit C, the storage unit D, and the rotation unit F are included in the housing 2. It has.

(Information recording part)
The information recording unit A includes a magnetic recording unit 24, a non-contact type IC recording unit 23, and a contact type IC recording unit 27.

(Medium container)
The medium accommodating portion C accommodates a plurality of cards arranged in a standing posture, and a separation opening 7 is provided at the front end of the medium accommodating portion C, which is fed out from the front row of cards by the pickup roller 19 and supplied. The drawn card Ca (see FIG. 20) is conveyed to the rotation unit F by the carry-in roller 22.

(Rotating unit)
The rotation unit F is mainly composed of a pair of rotation unit frames 73 and 74 and roller pairs 20 and 21, and details are as follows.

  As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the rotation unit F is a rectangular rotation unit frame 73, and is disposed opposite to the rotation unit frame 73. The rotation unit F is rectangular and is thinner than the rotation unit frame 73. A unit frame 74 is provided. Between the rotation unit frames 73 and 74, drive shafts 34a and 34b and driven shafts 35a and 35b having a slightly smaller diameter than the drive shafts 34a and 34b are disposed. It is pivotally supported so that it can rotate.

  The drive roller 20a and the drive roller 20b are fitted to the drive shaft 34a and the rotary unit frame 74, respectively. The drive roller 20b and the rotary unit frame 73 are fitted to the drive shaft 34a and the rotary unit frame 73, respectively. The drive roller 21a and the drive roller 21b are fitted at positions close to the rotation unit frame 73 (see FIG. 16). A driven roller 20c and a driven roller 20d near the rotation unit frame 74 are fitted to the driven shaft 35a and the rotation unit frame 73, respectively. A driven roller 21c near the frame 74 and a driven roller 21d near the rotating unit frame 73 are fitted (see FIG. 16). The driven shafts 35a and 35b are urged toward the drive shafts 34a and 34b by springs (not shown), the driven rollers 20c and 20d are driven by the drive rollers 20a and 20b, and the driven rollers 21c and 21d are driven by the drive rollers 21a and 21b, respectively. Contact (pressure contact).

  The rotation unit shaft 63 protrudes at the center position of the rotation unit frame 73 on the opposite side to the surface on which the roller pairs 20 and 21 are disposed (the position of the intersection of the diagonal lines connecting the diagonals of the rectangle). The tip of the rotation unit shaft 63 is pivotally supported on one side of the housing 2 so as to be rotatable. A gear 64 is fitted on the rotation unit shaft 63. The gear 64 meshes with a gear 62 fitted to the motor shaft of a rotation motor Mr5 (stepping motor).

  On the other hand, a rotation unit shaft 67 that is coaxial with the rotation unit shaft 63 protrudes from the center position of the rotation unit frame 74 on the side opposite to the surface on which the roller pairs 20 and 21 are disposed. The distal end portion of the rotation unit shaft 67 is pivotally supported on the other side surface of the housing 2 so as to be rotatable. Therefore, the rotation unit F is pivotally supported by the housing 2 so as to be rotatable. The rotation unit shaft 67 is fitted with a gear 68b at a position closer to the rotation unit frame 74 and a gear 68a at a position closer to the other side of the housing 2 than the gear 68b. The gear 68a meshes with a gear 66 fitted to the motor shaft of a conveyance motor (stepping motor) Mr6. The gear 68b meshes with gears 68c and 68d that are rotatably supported by the rotation unit frame 74, respectively. The gear 68c meshes with a gear 68b fitted to one end (lower side in FIG. 16) of the drive shaft 34b, and the gear 68d meshes with a gear 68f fitted to one end of the drive shaft 34a. ing.

  Therefore, the rotation unit F can reversely rotate the card Ca held at both ends by the rotation unit F by rotating the rotation motor Mr5 forward and backward (see FIG. 20), and drives the conveyance motor Mr6. By doing so, the card | curd Ca can be conveyed toward the exterior from the rotation unit F. FIG. The card Ca held by the rotation unit F is also rotated forward and backward by rotating the rotation motor Mr5 forward and backward. At this time, as disclosed in Patent Document 3 described above, the rotation is performed by the rotation motor Mr5. By rotating the conveying motor Mr6 by the same amount in the direction opposite to the rotating direction of the moving unit F, co-rotation is prevented.

  A rectangular slit 69 is formed in the rotation unit frame 73. A light emitting element (not shown) is arranged between the rotation unit frames 73 and 74, and a slit 69 is provided outside the rotation unit frame 73 on the side opposite to the surface on which the roller pairs 20 and 21 are arranged. A light receiving element (not shown) that receives the light of the transmitted light emitting element is disposed. Such a configuration of the light emitting element, the slit 69, and the light receiving element grasps an accurate rotation amount of one rotation (360 °) unit of the rotation unit F, and also rotates by the pulse control of the rotation motor Mr5 described above. It is also used to correct the error.

  As shown in FIG. 2, a temperature sensor 79 such as a thermistor for detecting the ambient temperature (environment temperature) of the rotation unit F is disposed on the outer periphery of the rotation unit F at a position separated from the printing unit B. Yes. In addition, a magnetic recording unit 24, a non-contact type IC recording unit 23, and a contact type IC recording unit 27 constituting the information recording unit B are disposed on the outer peripheral portion of the rotation unit F. The pair of rollers 20 and 21 forms a medium carry-in path 65 for carrying in either of the information recording units 23, 24, and 27, and the card Ca is magnetically or electrically connected to these recording units. Data is written to

(Printing department)
The printing unit B forms images such as face photographs and character data on the front and back surfaces of the card Ca, and a medium transport path P1 for transferring the card Ca is provided on the extension of the medium transport path 65. In addition, transport rollers 29 and 30 for transporting the card Ca are disposed in the medium transport path P1, and are connected to a transport motor (not shown).

  The printing unit B includes a film-like medium conveyance device. First, an image forming unit B1 that forms an image with the thermal head 40 on the transfer film 46 conveyed by the conveyance device, and then the heat roller 33 And a transfer portion B2 for transferring the image formed on the transfer film 46 onto the surface of the card Ca in the medium transport path P1.

  On the downstream side of the printing unit B, a medium conveyance path P <b> 2 for transferring the printed card Ca to the storage stacker 60 is provided. In the medium transport path P2, transport rollers 37 and 38 for transporting the card Ca are arranged and connected to a transport motor (not shown).

  A decurling mechanism 36 is disposed between the conveying roller 37 and the conveying roller 38, and the curl generated by the thermal transfer by the heat roller 33 is corrected by pressing the central portion of the card held between the conveying rollers 37 and 38. For this reason, the decurling mechanism 36 is configured to be movable in the vertical direction shown in FIG. 2 by a lifting mechanism such as a cam (not shown).

(Container)
The accommodation unit D is configured to accommodate the card Ca sent from the printing unit B in the accommodation stacker 60. The storage stacker 60 is configured to move downward in FIG.

  In this embodiment, the rotation unit F, the temperature sensor 79, the magnetic recording unit 24, and the contact IC recording unit 27 are accommodated and integrated in the casing 9, and the printing unit B is also accommodated in the casing 10. The image forming unit B1 and the transfer unit B2 are integrated. Except for the surface on the casing 10 side, the casing 9 has a large number of openings so as to communicate with the outside air. The casing 10 has a plurality of openings for dissipating heat from the thermal head 40 and the heat roller 33 serving as heat sources on the surface opposite to the surface on the casing 9 side. Accordingly, the casings 9 and 10 function as partition members that partition the printing unit B and the rotation unit F.

(Print section details)
The printing unit B will be described in more detail in the overall configuration of the printing apparatus 1 described above.

  The transfer film 46 is wound or unwound on a rotating take-up roll 47 and a feed roll (supply roll) 48 in the transfer film cassette by driving the motors Mr2 and Mr4, respectively. That is, in the transfer film cassette, a take-up spool is arranged at the center of the take-up roll 47, and a take-up spool (supply spool) is arranged at the center of the take-out roll 48. Thus, the rotational driving force of the motor Mr2 is transmitted, and the rotational driving force of the motor Mr4 is transmitted to the operation spool (supply spool) via a gear (not shown). The film transport roller 49 is a main driving roller that transports the transfer film 46, and the transport amount and transport stop position of the transfer film 46 are determined by controlling the driving of the roller 49. The film transport roller 49 is connected to a stepping motor (not shown). The motors Mr2 and Mr4 are also driven when the film conveying roller 49 is driven, and the transfer film 46 fed out from either the take-up roll 47 or the feed roll 48 is taken up by either of the other, The film 46 is not driven as a main conveyance.

  A pinch roller 32 a and a pinch roller 32 b are disposed on the peripheral surface of the film transport roller 49. Although not shown in FIG. 2, the pinch rollers 32 a and 32 b are configured to be movable so as to advance and retreat with respect to the film conveyance roller 49, and the state shown in the drawing advances to the film conveyance roller 49 and comes into pressure contact therewith. Thus, the transfer film 46 is wound around the film transport roller 49. As a result, the transfer film 46 is accurately transported at a distance corresponding to the number of rotations of the film transport roller 49.

  The ink ribbon 41 is accommodated in an ink ribbon cassette 42. A supply spool 43 for supplying the ink ribbon 41 and a take-up spool 44 for taking up the ink ribbon 41 are accommodated in the cassette 42. The take-up spool 44 is driven by a motor Mr1. The supply spool 43 is driven by the motor Mr3. As the motor Mr1 and the motor Mr3, DC motors capable of forward and reverse rotation are used. Further, Se2 shown in FIG. 2 is a transmission type sensor for detecting an empty mark that is attached to the end portion of the ink ribbon 41 and indicates the use limit of the ink ribbon 41. The ink ribbon 41 is configured by repeating an image forming panel having a Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) color ribbon panel and a Bk (black) ribbon panel in the surface direction in the longitudinal direction. .

  The platen roller 45 and the thermal head 40 constitute an image forming unit B1, and the thermal head 40 is disposed at a position facing the platen roller 45. The thermal head 40 has a plurality of heating elements arranged in the main scanning direction. These heating elements are selectively heated and controlled in accordance with print data by a head control IC (not shown), and are sublimated. An image is printed on the transfer film 46 using the ink ribbon 41. The cooling fan 39 is for cooling the thermal head 40.

  The ink ribbon 41 that has finished printing on the transfer film 46 is peeled off from the transfer film 46 by the peeling roller 25 and the peeling member 28. The peeling member 28 is fixed to the cassette 42, and the peeling roller 25 abuts against the peeling member 28 at the time of printing, and the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 are sandwiched between them to perform peeling. The peeled ink ribbon 41 is taken up by a take-up spool 44 driven by a motor Mr1, and the transfer film 46 is conveyed by a film conveying roller 49 to a transfer portion B2 including the platen roller 31 and the heat roller 33. .

  In the transfer portion B2, the transfer film 46 is sandwiched between the heat roller 33 and the platen roller 31 together with the card Ca, and the image on the transfer film 46 is transferred to the card surface. The heat roller 33 is attached to an elevating mechanism (not shown) so as to be pressed against and separated from the platen roller 31 via the transfer film 46.

  The configuration of the image forming unit B1 will be described in more detail along with its operation. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the pinch rollers 32 a and 32 b are respectively supported by the upper end and the lower end of the pinch roller support member 57, and the pinch roller support member 57 is attached to a support shaft 58 that passes through the central portion thereof. It is supported rotatably. As shown in FIG. 10, both ends of the support shaft 58 are bridged over elongated holes 76 and 77 provided in the pinch roller support member 57, and are fixed by a fixing portion 78 of the bracket 50 at an intermediate portion. Further, the long holes 76 and 77 have a space in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction with respect to the support shaft 58. Therefore, the pinch rollers 32a and 32b can be adjusted with respect to a film transport roller 49 described later.

  Then, the spring member 51 (51a, 51b) is mounted on the support shaft 58, and the ends of the pinch roller support member 57 on the side where the pinch rollers 32a, 32b are mounted are in contact with the spring member 51 and the springs. It is urged toward the film transport roller 49 by force.

  The bracket 50 is in contact with the cam operating surface of the cam 53 at the cam receiver 81, and rotates the cam 53 in the direction of the arrow with the cam shaft 82 driven by the drive motor 54 (see FIG. 10) as a fulcrum. Accordingly, the film conveying roller 49 is configured to move in the left-right direction in the figure. Therefore, when the bracket 50 advances toward the film transport roller 49 (FIGS. 4 and 5), the pinch rollers 32a and 32b press against the film transport roller 49 with the transfer film 46 sandwiched against the spring member 51, The transfer film 46 is wound around the film transport roller 49.

  At this time, the pinch roller 32b located far from the shaft 95, which is the pivot point of the bracket 50, first presses the film transport roller 49, and then the pinch roller 32a presses. As described above, by arranging the shaft 95 that is the rotation fulcrum above the film transport roller 49, the pinch roller support member 57 contacts the film transport roller 49 while rotating, not in parallel. There is an advantage that the space in the width direction is less than that of the movement.

  Further, the pressure contact force when the pinch rollers 32 a and 32 b are in pressure contact with the film transport roller 49 is made uniform with respect to the width direction of the transfer film 46 by the spring member 51. At that time, since the elongated holes 76 and 77 are provided on both sides of the pinch roller support member 57 and the support shaft 58 is fixed by the fixing portion 78, the pinch roller support member 57 can be adjusted in three directions. The transfer film 46 is conveyed in a correct posture without causing skew by the rotation of the film conveying roller 49. The adjustment in the three directions here means (i) the pinch roller 32a with respect to the axis of the film conveying roller 49 in order to make the axial contact force of the pinch rollers 32a, 32b uniform with respect to the film conveying roller 49. In order to adjust the parallelism of the horizontal axis of the shaft 32b, and (ii) the pressure contact force of the pinch roller 32a to the film transport roller 49 and the pressure contact force of the pinch roller 32b to the film transport roller 49 Adjusting the moving distance between the pinch roller 32a and the pinch roller 32b with respect to the transport roller 49, and (iii) the axis of the film transport roller 49 so that the axes of the pinch rollers 32a and 32b are perpendicular to the film traveling direction. The parallelism in the vertical direction of the axes of the pinch rollers 32a and 32b is adjusted.

  The bracket 50 is provided with a tension receiving member 52 that comes into contact with a portion of the transfer film 46 that is not wound around the film transport roller 49 when the bracket 50 advances toward the film transport roller 49.

  In the tension receiving member 52, the pinch rollers 32a and 32b resist the biasing force of the spring member 51 by the tension of the transfer film 46 generated when the pinch rollers 32a and 32b press the transfer film 46 against the film transport roller 49, respectively. Are provided to prevent the film from being retracted from the film conveying roller 49. Therefore, the tension receiving member 52 is attached to the tip of the end portion on the rotating side of the bracket 50 so as to come into contact with the transfer film 46 at a position left of the pinch rollers 32a and 32b in the drawing. FIG. 2 shows a state in which the tension receiving member 52 is in contact with the transfer film 46.

  Thereby, the tension generated from the elasticity of the transfer film 46 can be directly received by the cam 53 through the tension receiving member 52. Therefore, this tension prevents the pinch rollers 32a and 32b from retracting from the film transport roller 49 and weakening the pressure contact force of the pinch rollers 32a and 23b, so that the transfer film 46 is tightly wound around the film transport roller 49. The state is maintained and accurate conveyance can be performed.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the platen roller 45 disposed along the horizontal width direction of the transfer film 46 is supported by a pair of platen support members 72 that can rotate about a shaft 71. The pair of platen support members 72 support both ends of the platen roller 45. Each of the platen support members 72 is connected to an end portion of a bracket 50 </ b> A having the shaft 71 as a common rotation shaft via a spring member 99.

  The bracket 50 </ b> A includes a substrate 87 and a cam receiving support portion 85 formed by bending the substrate 87 in the direction of the platen support member 72. The cam receiving support portion 85 holds the cam receiver 84. A cam 53A that rotates with a cam shaft 83 driven by the drive motor 54 as a fulcrum is disposed between the substrate 87 and the cam receiver support 85, and the cam operating surface and the cam receiver 84 come into contact with each other. It is configured as follows. Accordingly, when the bracket 50 </ b> A advances toward the thermal head 40 by the rotation of the cam 53 </ b> A, the platen support member 72 also moves and the platen roller 45 comes into pressure contact with the thermal head 40.

  Thus, by arranging the spring member 99 and the cam 53A vertically between the bracket 50A and the platen support member 72, the platen moving unit can be accommodated within the interval between the bracket 50A and the platen support member 72. . Further, the width direction can be accommodated within the width of the platen roller 45, and space saving can be achieved.

  Further, since the cam receiving and supporting portion 85 is fitted into the perforated portions 72a and 72b (see FIG. 9) formed in the platen supporting member 72, the cam receiving and supporting portion 85 protrudes in the direction of the platen supporting member 72. Even if it forms, the space | interval of bracket 50A and the platen support member 72 does not spread, and space saving can be achieved also in the surface.

  When the platen roller 45 is in pressure contact with the thermal head 40, the spring members 99 connected to the respective platen support members 72 act so that the pressure contact force in the width direction of the transfer film 46 becomes uniform. Therefore, skew is prevented when the transfer film 46 is transported by the film transport roller 49, and the thermal transfer by the thermal head 40 can be performed accurately without the print area of the transfer film 46 being shifted in the width direction.

  The substrate 87 of the bracket 50A is provided with a pair of peeling roller support members 88 that support both ends of the peeling roller 25 via spring members 97. The peeling roller 25 is provided by the rotation of the cam 53A by the bracket 50A. When advancing to the thermal head 40, the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41, which are in contact with the peeling member 28 and are sandwiched between them, are peeled off. Similarly to the platen support member 72, the peeling roller support members 88 are also provided at both ends of the peeling roller 25, respectively, so that the pressure contact force in the width direction with respect to the peeling member 28 is uniform.

  A tension receiving member 52A is provided at the end of the bracket 50A opposite to the end on the shaft support 59 side. The tension receiving member 52A is provided so as to absorb the tension of the transfer film 46 that is generated when the platen roller 45 and the peeling roller 25 are pressed against the thermal head 40 and the peeling member 28, respectively. The spring member 99 and the spring member 97 are provided to make the pressure contact force in the width direction of the transfer film 46 uniform, but conversely, the spring members 99 and 97 lose the tension of the transfer film 46 and apply to the transfer film 46. The tension receiving member 52A receives the tension from the transfer film 46 so that the pressure contact force is not weakened. Since the tension receiving member 52A is also fixed to the bracket 50A in the same manner as the tension receiving member 52 described above, the tension of the transfer film 46 is received by the cam 53A via the bracket 50A. You wo n’t lose. As a result, the pressure contact force between the thermal head 40 and the platen roller 45 and the pressure contact force between the peeling member 28 and the peeling roller 25 are maintained, so that favorable printing and peeling can be performed. Further, there is no error in the transport amount of the transfer film 46 when the film transport roller 49 is driven, and the length of the print area is transported to the thermal head 40 accurately and can be printed with high accuracy.

  The cam 53 and the cam 53A are driven by the same drive motor 54 with a belt 98 (see FIG. 3) stretched between them.

  When the printing unit B is in the standby position shown in FIG. 6, the cam 53 and the cam 53A are in the state shown in FIG. 3, and the pinch rollers 32a and 32b are not in pressure contact with the film transport roller 49, and the platen The roller 45 is not in pressure contact with the thermal head 40. In other words, when in the standby position, the platen roller 45 and the thermal head 40 are located at a separated position where they are separated from each other.

  Then, when the cam 53 and the cam 53A rotate in conjunction with each other and the state shown in FIG. 4 is reached, the printing unit B shifts to the printing position shown in FIG. At that time, first, the pinch rollers 32 a and 32 b wind the transfer film 46 around the film transport roller 49, and the tension receiving member 52 contacts the transfer film 46. Thereafter, the platen roller 45 comes into pressure contact with the thermal head 40. In this printing position, the platen roller 45 moves toward the thermal head 40 to sandwich and press the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41, and the peeling roller 25 is in contact with the peeling member 28.

  In this state, when the transfer of the transfer film 46 is started by the rotation of the film transport roller 49, the ink ribbon 41 is simultaneously wound by the winding spool 44 by the operation of the motor Mr1 and transported in the same direction. During this conveyance, the positioning mark provided on the transfer film 46 passes through the sensor Se1 and moves by a predetermined amount. When the transfer film 46 reaches the printing start position, the thermal head 40 is moved to a predetermined area of the transfer film 46. Is printed. In particular, since the tension of the transfer film 46 is increased during printing, the tension of the transfer film 46 is such that the pinch rollers 32a and 23b are separated from the film conveying roller 46, and the peeling roller 25 and the platen roller from the peeling member 28 and the thermal head 40. 45 in the direction of separating them. However, as described above, since the tension of the transfer film 46 is received by the tension receiving members 52 and 52A, the pressure contact force of the pinch rollers 32a and 32b is not weakened, and accurate film conveyance can be performed. Since the pressure contact force between the thermal head 40 and the platen roller 45 and the pressure contact force between the peeling member 28 and the peeling roller 25 are not weakened, accurate printing and peeling can be performed. The ink ribbon 41 after printing is peeled off from the transfer film 46 and taken up on the take-up spool 44.

  The movement amount of the transfer film 46, that is, the length in the transport direction of the printing area where printing is performed, is detected by an encoder (not shown) provided on the film transport roller 49, and the film transport roller 49 accordingly. , And the winding by the winding spool 44 due to the operation of the motor Mr1 is also stopped. Thereby, the printing of the first color on the printing area of the transfer film 46 by the thermal head 40 is completed.

  When the cam 53 and the cam 53A further rotate in conjunction with each other and the state shown in FIG. 5 is reached, the printing section B moves to the transport position shown in FIG. 8, and the platen roller 45 returns to the direction of retreating from the thermal head 40. To do. In this state, the pinch rollers 32a and 32b still wind the transfer film 46 around the film transport roller 49, the tension receiving member 52 is in contact with the transfer film 46, and the transfer film 46 is rotated by the reverse rotation of the film transport roller 49. Reversely conveyed to the initial position. At this time as well, the movement amount of the transfer film 46 is controlled by the rotation of the film transport roller 49, but the length in the transport direction of the printed region on which printing has been performed is transported in reverse. The ink ribbon 41 is also rewound by a predetermined amount by the motor Mr3, and the panel of the color to be printed next is put on standby at the initial position (cueing position).

  Then, the control state by the cams 53 and 53A becomes the state shown in FIG. 4 again and becomes the printing position shown in FIG. 7, the platen roller 45 is brought into pressure contact with the thermal head 40, and the film transport roller 49 again rotates in the forward direction. When the transfer film 46 is moved by the length of the printing area, printing with the next color is performed by the thermal head 40.

  Thus, the operations at the printing position and the transport position are repeated until printing of all colors (four colors of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and Bk (black) in this example) is completed. . When the printing by the thermal head 40 is completed, the image formed area on the transfer film 46 is conveyed to the heat roller 33. At this time, the cams 53 and 53A move to the state shown in FIG. Release the pressure contact. Thereafter, the transfer to the card Ca is performed while the transfer film 46 is conveyed by driving the winding roll 47.

  Such a printing unit B is divided into three units 90, 91, 92 and integrated.

  A first unit 90 shown in FIG. 9 has a drive shaft 70 that is rotated by driving a motor 54 (see FIG. 10) mounted on a unit frame 75, and a film transport roller 49 is attached to the drive shaft 70. Yes. Below the film transport roller 49, a bracket 50A and a pair of platen support members 72 are disposed, and these members are rotatably supported by shafts 71 mounted on both side plates of the unit frame 75. Yes.

  In FIG. 9, a pair of cam receiving support portions 85 that are a part of the bracket 50 </ b> A appear from the perforated portions 72 a and 72 b formed in the platen support member 72. The cam receiver support portion 85 holds a pair of cam receivers 84 disposed on the rear side thereof. A cam 53 </ b> A that is attached to the cam shaft 83 that is inserted through the unit frame 75 is disposed further rearward of the cam receiver 84. The cam shaft 83 is mounted on both side plates of the unit frame 75.

  The thermal head 40 is disposed at a position facing the platen roller 45 with the transfer path between the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 11, the thermal head 40, the member related to heating, and the cooling fan 39 are integrated with the third unit 92 and are arranged to face the first unit 90.

  The first unit 90 holds the platen roller 45, the peeling roller 25, and the tension receiving member 52A whose positions are changed by a printing operation in a movable bracket 50A so as to adjust the position between these members. Is no longer necessary. Moreover, by moving the bracket 50 </ b> A by the rotation of the cam 53, these members can be moved to a predetermined position. Further, since the bracket 50A is provided, it can be accommodated in the same unit as the fixed film conveyance roller 49, and a transfer driving portion by the film conveyance roller 49 that must convey the transfer film with high accuracy, and a transfer position by the platen roller 45 are provided. Since the restriction part is included in the same unit, the position adjustment between them is not necessary.

  In the second unit 91 shown in FIG. 10, the cam shaft 82 on which the cam 53 is mounted is inserted through the unit frame 55, and the cam shaft 82 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 54. The second unit 91 supports the bracket 50 movably on the unit frame 55 so as to come into contact with the cam 53, and the pinch roller support member 57 is rotatably supported on the bracket 50. The support shaft 58 and the tension receiving member 52 are fixed.

  The pinch roller support member 57 has spring members 51a and 51b attached to the support shaft 58, and the end portions thereof are brought into contact with both ends of the pinch roller support member 57 supporting the pinch rollers 32a and 32b, respectively. The film is urged in the direction of the film conveying roller 49. The pinch roller support member 57 has a support shaft 58 inserted into the long holes 76 and 77, and the support shaft 58 is fixedly supported by the bracket 50 at the center.

  A spring 89 is provided between the bracket 50 and the pinch roller support member 57 to urge the pinch roller support member 57 toward the bracket 50. Since the pinch roller support member 57 is urged by the spring 89 in the direction of retreating from the film transport roller 49 of the first unit 90, when the transfer film cassette is set in the printing apparatus 1, The transfer film 46 can be easily passed between the second units 91.

  The second unit 91 holds the pinch rollers 32a and 32b and the tension receiving member 52 whose positions change according to the printing operation by the bracket 50A, and moves the bracket 50A by the rotation of the cam 53. In order to move the rollers 32a and 32b and the tension receiving member 52, the position adjustment between them and the position adjustment between the pinch rollers 32a and 32b and the film transport roller 49 are simplified. Such a second unit 91 is arranged to face the first unit 90 with the transfer film 46 interposed therebetween.

  By unitizing in this way, the first unit 90, the second unit 91, and the third unit 92 are each pulled out from the main body of the printing apparatus 1 in the same manner as the cassettes of the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41. Will also be possible. Therefore, if the units 90, 91, and 92 are removed as necessary when the cassette is replaced due to the consumption of the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41, the transfer film 46 and the ink ribbon 41 when the cassette is inserted can be easily installed in the apparatus. It can be mounted on.

  As described above, the first unit 90 in which the platen roller 45, the bracket 50A, the cam 53A, and the platen support member 72 are integrated, the pinch rollers 32a and 32b, the bracket 50, the cam 53, and the spring member 51 are integrated. In combination with the second unit 91, the third unit 92 to which the thermal head 40 is attached is arranged so as to face the platen roller 45, and is adjusted during assembly and maintenance during the production of the printing apparatus. Can be performed easily and accurately. In addition, since it is integrated, it can be easily detached from the apparatus, and handling as a printing apparatus is improved.

(Ink ribbon cassette)
Next, the cassette 42 for storing the ink ribbon 41 will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 12, the cassette 42 has a rectangular plate-like base 11 that serves as a base for the cassette 42. Main body connection projections 15 and 16 are provided on the base 11 so as to be mounted on the printing apparatus 1. Spring is wound around the main body mounting protrusions 15 and 16, and the springs are slidably mounted on the printing apparatus 1 by these springs.

  A winding spool 44 is rotatably arranged on one side in the longitudinal direction of the base 11 (upper side in FIG. 12), and a supply spool 43 is rotatable on the other side in the longitudinal direction of the base 11 (lower side in FIG. 12). Is arranged. That is, on one side and the other side of the base 11 in the longitudinal direction, there are circular through holes that rotatably support a shaft (see reference numeral 119 in FIG. 13) on one side of the take-up spool 44 and the supply spool 43, respectively. Is formed. The winding spool 44 has a large-diameter engaging portion 115 on the opposite side of the shaft, and the supply spool 43 has an engaging portion 112 having a smaller diameter than the engaging portion 115 on the opposite side of the shaft 119. Thus, the diameters of the engaging portion 115 and the engaging portion 112 are different so that when the cassette 42 is attached to the main unit, it cannot be attached even if it is erroneously attached in the vertical direction shown in FIG. It is.

  Further, the cassette 42 has a cover 17 that covers the take-up spool 44 and the supply spool 43 in a direction crossing the base 11. The cover 17 is fixed to an end portion along the longitudinal direction of the base 11. Further, in the cassette 42, the shafts 14 and 13, the shaft-like peeling member 28, and the shaft 12 are arranged in order from the lower side to the upper side of FIG. 12 so as to be parallel to the axis of the supply spool 43 or the take-up spool 44. It is installed. Each of these shafts is fixed to the base 11 on one side, and is fixed to an extending portion projecting from the cover 17 so as to face the base 11.

  Therefore, the ink ribbon 41 fed out from the supply spool 43 is slidably contacted with the shafts 14 and 13, the peeling member 28 and the shaft 12 on one side and wound on the winding spool 44, or vice versa. The separation member 28 and the shafts 14 and 13 are brought into sliding contact with the supply spool 43 so as to be rewound.

  Here, when the cassette 42 is attached to the main body apparatus, the sensor Se2 and the thermal head 40 on the main body apparatus side and the arrangement relationship between these shafts will be described along the ink ribbon 41 fed out from the supply spool 43. The sensor Se <b> 2 is positioned between the shaft 14 and the shaft 13, and the thermal head 41 is positioned between the shaft 13 and the peeling member 28.

  Further, regarding the relationship between the ink ribbon 41, the supply spool 43, the take-up spool 44, and the like when the cassette 42 is mounted on the main body device, a tension is provided between the supply spool 43 and the take-up spool 44 of the ink ribbon 41. The set length is set to be smaller than the total length of three ribbon panels among four consecutive ribbon panels of Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and Bk (black). Further, along the ink ribbon 41 stretched between the supply spool 43 and the take-up spool 44, a distance between the supply spool 43 and the sensor Se2, a distance between the sensor Se2 and the thermal head 40, The distance between the thermal head 40 and the peeling member 28 and the distance between the peeling member 28 and the take-up spool 44 are both the one-color ribbon of the ink ribbon 41. It is set smaller than the length of the panel.

  Next, the spool main body 110 on the supply spool 43 side and the engaging portion of the printing apparatus 1 that engages with the spool main body 110 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 13 shows the engagement state between the engagement portion 112 of the supply spool 43 and the engagement member (engagement convex portion 122) on the main device side, and the engagement portion of the take-up spool 44 and the main device. Since the engagement state with the engagement member on the side is the same, only the supply spool 43 will be described, and the description of the take-up spool 44 will be omitted. The engaging part 112 has eight rectangular convex parts protruding in the end part direction. The supply spool 43 and the take-up spool 44 shown in FIG. 12 are obtained by winding (holding) the ink ribbon 41 around the spool body 110, and the supply spool 43 includes unused portions of the ink ribbon 41. A used portion (ink ribbon 41 after thermal transfer by the thermal head 40) of the ink ribbon 41 is wound around the winding spool 44.

  The spool body 110 includes a cylindrical ribbon holding portion 118 that has flanges 113 and 114 on both sides and holds the ink ribbon 41, an engagement portion 112 provided at one end adjacent to the flange 113, and a flange 114 and a shaft portion 119 provided on the opposite side of the engaging portion 112 and having a diameter reduced from the cylindrical portion of the ribbon holding portion 118.

  Since the flanges 113 and 114 position-control the winding of the ink ribbon 41 around the ribbon holding portion 118 in the axial direction of the spool main body 110, the unused link ribbon 41 from the ribbon holding portion 118 even if the spool main body 110 rotates. Is supplied without being misaligned (in the case of the supply spool 43), and the used portion of the link ribbon 41 is appropriately wound around the ribbon holding portion on the winding side (in the case of the winding spool 44).

  The engaging part on the main body side with respect to the engaging part 112 of the supply spool 43 is composed of a plurality of members. That is, the support shaft 125 is fixed to the housing 2, and the support shaft 125 rotatably supports an engagement member having a disk shape and having a gear on the outer edge. On the side of the engaging member that engages with the engaging portion 112, two engaging convex portions 122 that are different in shape from the convex portion (groove portion) of the engaging portion 112 are opposed to each other (of the engaging member). It is provided so as to make a phase difference of 180 ° with respect to the rotation direction. The engaging portion 122 is formed with a groove formed by an inclined surface that is linearly formed on the side surface of the convex portion and has a predetermined inclination angle, and a bottom portion that connects the inclined surfaces of the adjacent convex portions. In FIG. 13, the relationship between the convex portions of the engaging portion 112 and the engaging portion 122 is reversed. A spring 124 is wound around the support shaft 125, and the engagement member (engagement convex portion 122) is slidably biased toward the engagement portion by the spring 124. A gear 126 fitted on the motor shaft of the motor Mr3 is engaged with the gear 123. Therefore, the rotational driving force from the motor Mr3 is transmitted to the spool body 110.

  When the cassette 42 is mounted on the main body device, the front end of the convex portion of the engaging portion 112 of the spool main body 110 and the front end of the engaging convex portion 122 provided on the engaging member on the main body side come into contact with each other. And may not be inserted smoothly. Since the engaging member is provided so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the support shaft 125, when the tip of the convex portion of the engaging portion 112 and the tip of the engaging convex portion 122 collide, the engaging convex portion 122. Is temporarily retracted to the apparatus frame side (opposite side of the spool body 110). Thereafter, when the engaging member or the spool main body 110 rotates, the engaging convex portion 122 enters the groove between the convex portions of the engaging portion 112 and is urged toward the spool main body 110 by the spring 124. Point contact is made at two points with the convex portions (grooves between) of the engaging portions 112.

  A gear 121C is engaged with the gear of the engaging member, and a rotating plate 121A having a slit (not shown) coaxially formed is fixed to the gear 121C. In addition, a transmission-integrated sensor 121B composed of a light emitting element and a light receiving element is disposed at a position sandwiching the rotating plate 121A. Accordingly, the rotating plate 121A and the sensor 121B constitute an encoder 121 as a rotation amount detecting means for detecting the rotation amount of the supply spool 43 that supplies the ink ribbon 41. In addition, the encoder (not shown) provided in the film conveyance roller 49 mentioned above is comprised similarly. That is, a gear similar to the gear 123 shown in FIG. 13 is fitted to the drive shaft 70 (see FIG. 9), and a gear meshing with this gear (corresponding to the gear 121C in FIG. 13) and a rotating plate ( The rotation plate 121 is configured to be detectable by a sensor (corresponding to the sensor 121B in FIG. 13).

  The ink ribbon 41 is transported from the supply spool 43 side to the take-up spool 44 along with the printing process of the thermal head 40 on the transfer film 46. According to this, the ribbon diameter of the supply spool 43 is The diameter changes from the large diameter to the small diameter, and the ribbon diameter of the take-up spool 44 changes from the small diameter to the large diameter. Along with this change, the tension (tension) when winding the ink ribbon 41 on the take-up spool 44 shifts from large to small, and the tension when rewinding the ink ribbon 41 to the supply spool 43 is opposite. In order to shift from small to large, in this example, two motors are used: a motor Mr1 that is a rotational drive source of the take-up spool 44 and a motor Mr3 that is a rotational drive source of the supply spool 43. Yes.

  Next, the control and electrical system of the printing apparatus 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 14, the printing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 100 that controls the operation of the entire printing apparatus 1, and a power supply unit that converts commercial AC power into DC power that can drive / operate each mechanism unit and control unit. 120.

(Control part)
As shown in FIG. 14, the control unit 100 includes a microcomputer 102 (hereinafter simply referred to as a microcomputer 102) that performs overall control processing of the printing apparatus 1. The microcomputer 102 includes a CPU that operates with a high-speed clock as a central processing unit, a ROM that stores basic control operations (programs and program data) of the printing apparatus 1, a RAM that functions as a work area for the CPU, and an internal bus that connects these. It consists of

  An external bus is connected to the microcomputer 102. In the external bus, an interface (not shown) for communication with the host device 201, print data to be printed on the card Ca, magnetic stripe on the card Ca, and record data to be magnetically or electrically recorded on the accommodation IC. Etc. are connected to a buffer memory 101 for temporarily storing them.

  The external bus also includes a sensor control unit 103 that controls signals from various sensors such as a temperature sensor 79, an actuator control unit 104 that controls a motor driver that sends drive pulses and driving power to each motor, and a thermal head 40. Are connected to a thermal head control unit 105 for controlling the heat energy to the heat generating element, an operation display control unit 106 for controlling the operation panel unit 5, and the information recording unit A described above.

(Power supply part)
The power supply unit 120 supplies operation / drive power to the control unit 100, the thermal head 40, the heat roller 33, the operation panel unit 5, the information recording unit A, and the like.

<Operation>
Next, a print processing operation (print processing routine) of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to a flowchart with a CPU of the microcomputer 102 (hereinafter simply referred to as a CPU) as a subject. Since the entire operation of the printing apparatus 1 has already been described, here, the cooling operation of the card Ca by the rotation unit F will be mainly described.

  As shown in FIG. 17, in the print processing routine, first, in step 202, image data (R, G, B color component image data for one surface (for example, the front surface) and the other surface (for example, the back surface) from the host device 201. And Bk image data) and magnetic or electrical recording data are received and stored in the buffer memory 101.

  In the next step 204, it is determined whether or not a print start command has been received. If the determination is negative, the process waits until the print start command is received. If the determination is affirmative, the print speed and printing are determined in the next step 206. An inquiry is made about print information indicating which of the quality is important, in other words, print information indicating whether the print speed is important. Note that the operator instructs the start of printing by pressing a predetermined button (for example, an enter button). The operator refers to the monitor 202, and in response to an inquiry about print information, the input device 203 is used to input to the host device 201 which of the print speed and print quality is important as print information. Through the print information inquiry. The operator may respond to the inquiry about the print information by using the operation panel unit 5. Next, in step 208, the process waits until the print information is received. When the print information is received, the print information received in the next step 210 is stored in the RAM.

  From the time when the image data is stored in the buffer memory 101 in step 202 to the end of the processing in step 210, the CPU calculates Y, M, and R from the R, G, and B color component image data for one side and the other side. Each is converted into C print data. Note that the Bk image data for one side and the other side received from the host apparatus 201 is also used as Bk print data in the printing apparatus 1. In addition, the CPU records data for the card Ca based on the magnetic or electrical recording data from the time when the magnetic or electrical recording data is stored in the buffer memory 101 in step 202 until the processing of step 210 ends. The processing is performed by any one of the magnetic recording unit 24, the non-contact type IC recording unit 23, and the contact type IC recording unit 27 constituting the information recording unit A, and the data to be recorded is specified.

  In the next step 212, the primary transfer for forming an image on the transfer film 46 is performed by controlling the thermal head 40 of the image forming unit B1 according to the converted Y, M, and C print data for one side and the Bk print data. Do. That is, the CPU outputs the print data to the thermal head 40 side for each line, thereby selectively heating the heating elements arranged in the main scanning direction to drive the thermal head 40. The operations of the thermal head 40, the transfer film 46, the ink ribbon 41, the film transporting roller 49, and the like during this period have already been described and will not be described.

  The guard supply / recording process in step 214 is executed in parallel with step 212. That is, the pickup roller 19 and the carry-in roller 22 are driven to feed out the card Ca from the medium accommodating portion C, and the conveying motor Mr6 is driven (forward rotation) to rotate the roller pairs 20 and 21 to feed out the card Ca. It is received by the rotating unit F. In the present embodiment, in the initial setting process, the roller pair 20, 21 is positioned at a position where the rotation motor Mr5 is driven and the card Ca fed out from the medium accommodating portion C can be received. The CPU stops the driving of the pickup roller 19 and the carry-in roller 22 and the driving of the conveying motor Mr6 when both ends of the card Ca are sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21.

  Next, the rotation motor Mr5 is driven to rotate the card Ca toward the specified information recording unit A (any one of the magnetic recording unit 24, the non-contact type IC recording unit 23, and the contact type IC recording unit 27). After the rotation of the rotation motor Mr5 is stopped, the card Ca is conveyed to the specified information recording section A by driving the conveyance motor Mr6, and the drive of the conveyance motor Mr6 is stopped. During this time, the CPU outputs data to be recorded in the specified information recording unit A. Further, the CPU records data to be recorded on the card Ca in the specified information recording unit A. When the rotation motor Mr5 is driven to prevent the card Ca from rotating together due to the rotation of the rotation unit F, the conveyance motor Mr6 is moved in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the rotation unit F. Although the same amount is rotated, the description is omitted below.

  After the data to be recorded by the specified information recording unit A is recorded on the card Ca, the CPU drives the conveying motor Mr6 (reversely) to rotate the roller pair 20, 21 and is conveyed from the specified information recording unit A. The card Ca is received by the rotation unit F, and when the both ends of the card Ca are sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21, the driving of the transport motor Mr6 is stopped. Subsequently, the rotation motor Mr5 is driven to rotate the card Ca having both ends sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21 toward the medium transport path P1, and after the rotation is completed, the drive of the rotation motor Mr5 is stopped. Then, the conveying motor Mr6 is driven to convey the card Ca toward the heat roller 33 side. The CPU stops driving the transport motor Mr6 when the card Ca is transported on the medium transport path P1 by a predetermined distance (predetermined number of pulses).

  In the next step 216, by controlling the heat generation of the heat roller 33, the movement and rotation of the heat roller 33 toward the platen roller 31, the image formed on the transfer film 46 by the image forming unit B1 is transferred to the rotation unit B2. The secondary transfer is performed to transfer the card Ca conveyed from F to the one surface side. Since the operations of the heat roller 33, the transfer film 46, the film transport roller 49, etc. during this time have already been described, the description thereof is omitted. In addition, it is controlled so that the card | curd Ca and the location in which the image was formed of the transfer film 46 arrive at the transfer part B2 synchronously. In step 216, following the secondary transfer, the curl generated on the card Ca by the heat transfer by the heat roller 33 is corrected by the decurling mechanism 36.

  Next, in step 218, after the transfer film 46 is transported (reversely fed) to the next primary transfer cueing position by driving a motor (not shown) that rotates the motors Mr2 and Mr4 and the film transport roller 49. As in step 212, the thermal head 40 of the image forming unit B1 is controlled in accordance with the converted Y, M, and C print data for the other side and the print data for Bk, thereby forming an image on the transfer film 46. Transcription.

  In step 214, the rotation process is executed in parallel with step 218. As shown in FIG. 18, in the rotation process, in step 232, the card Ca is conveyed from the decurling mechanism 36 toward the rotation unit F on the medium conveyance path P1. The CPU controls the drive of the conveyance motor Mr6 so that the card Ca is received by the rotation unit F, and when the both ends of the card Ca are sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21, the drive of the conveyance motor Mr6 is driven. Stop.

  Next, in step 234, the amount of rotation for cooling the card Ca is determined. As shown in FIG. 19, in the determination of the amount of rotation, first, in step 252, it is determined whether or not the transfer film 46 is a cold peeling type according to the medium information indicating whether or not the transfer film 46 is a cold peeling type. .

  Such medium information may be received, for example, in step 202, or when inquiring about print information in steps 206 to 210, the medium information is also inquired, and the received medium information is stored in the RAM. You may make it leave. Further, the inquiry may be displayed on the operation panel 5 and the medium information may be input from the operation panel 5. Alternatively, the medium information recorded on the transfer film cassette may be read. In such an embodiment, the medium information is recorded on the transfer film cassette mechanically, electrically or magnetically. As a typical example, as an example of mechanical recording, when the transfer film 46 is of a cold peeling type, a protrusion is provided at a predetermined position of the transfer film cassette, and the protrusion is detected on the printing apparatus 1 side as a transmission type sensor. Or a reed switch, or a notch is formed in a predetermined portion of the transfer film cassette, and the notch may be detected by a transmissive sensor or the like on the printing apparatus 1 side. As an example of electrical recording, the transfer film cassette has an IC, and the CPU reads out the medium information stored in the IC, or a resistance terminal is led out at a predetermined position of the transfer film cassette. In this case, the resistance value is set to 1 MΩ, for example, and the resistance value in the case of the hot transfer type is set to about 1 kΩ, for example, and the medium information may be obtained by measuring the resistance value on the printing apparatus 1 side. . As an example of magnetic recording, in the case of the cold transfer type, a magnet is embedded at a predetermined position of the transfer film cassette, and medium information is obtained by a magnetic sensor on the printing apparatus 1 side.

  If the determination in step 252 is negative, since the transfer film 46 is not a cold peel type (in the above example, it is a hot peel type), in step 264, the card Ca is cooled by the rotating unit F. Therefore, the rotation amount is set to 0 so as not to perform the rotation operation, and the rotation amount determination subroutine is terminated, and the process proceeds to step 236 in FIG.

  On the other hand, if the determination at step 252 is affirmative, the atmospheric temperature of the rotating unit F is detected via the temperature sensor 79 at step 254, and the rotating unit F is forcedly cooled at the next step 256 in order to forcibly cool the card Ca. A rotation amount for rotating the card Ca having both ends sandwiched between the F roller pairs 20 and 21 is determined. Note that the card Ca is still in a relatively high temperature state due to the effect of the image transferred by the heat roller 33 in step 216, even though there is natural heat dissipation during the conveyance from the decurling mechanism 36 to the rotating unit F. If the transfer is performed on the other side of the card Ca using the cold peeling type transfer film 46 (see step 222 in FIG. 17), the peeling will be discolored and the print quality will be lowered. Although the forced cooling is performed (see step 236 in FIG. 18), in step 256, the rotation amount for forced cooling of the card Ca by the rotation unit F is determined.

  In step 256, the amount of rotation is determined according to the temperature measured in step 254. In this embodiment, when the temperature measured in step 254 is less than 0 ° C., the rotation amount is 0, and when the temperature is 0 ° C. to 10 ° C., each forward / reverse one rotation (forward / reverse each 360 °), 11 ° C.- When it is 20 ° C, it has two forward and reverse turns (forward and reverse each 720 °), when it is 21 ° C-30 ° C, it has three forward and reverse turns (forward and reverse each 1080 °), and when it is 31 ° C or more, it is positive Each reverse is determined to be 5 rounds (1800 ° each forward and reverse). Based on the temperature measured in step 254, the CPU determines the amount of rotation by referring to program data (table) that is developed in the RAM and defines the relationship between the temperature and the amount of rotation. The reason why the card Ca is rotated in the forward and reverse directions is that, if the card Ca sandwiched between the roller pairs 20 and 21 of the rotation unit F at both ends is rotated only counterclockwise, for example, the hatched portion in FIG. This is because only a part of the card Ca is cooled and cooling unevenness occurs in the card Ca, so that this cooling unevenness is prevented.

  Next, at step 258, it is determined whether or not the print information stored in the RAM at step 210 is information indicating that printing speed is important. If the determination is negative, the rotation amount determining subroutine is terminated and the step of FIG. If the determination is affirmative, the rotation unit F determined in step 256 when the primary transfer in step 218 (image formation on the transfer film 46 by the image forming unit B1) is completed in step 260. It is determined in advance whether or not the rotation operation of the rotation amount of the card Ca is completed.

  If the determination is affirmative, the rotation amount determination subroutine is terminated and the process proceeds to step 236 in FIG. 18. If the determination is negative, the primary transfer in step 218 is performed in step 262 in order to prioritize the printing speed (see step 258). Is completed, the rotation amount of the card Ca by the rotation unit F determined in step 256 is corrected so as to be cut off with a rotation amount less than the determined rotation amount. In this embodiment, the rotation speed of the card Ca by the rotation unit F is set to 0.5 seconds per rotation (360 °), that is, 720 ° / second, and the rotation amount of the card Ca by the rotation unit F is set. Is set so that the primary transfer in step 218 is completed when the angle is within 4 forward and reverse rounds (1440 degrees each forward and backward). Accordingly, in step 262, the rotation amount of the card Ca by the rotation unit F, which has been determined to be 5 revolutions each in the forward and reverse directions when the measured temperature is 31 ° C. or higher in step 256, is determined as the determined rotation amount (forward and reverse each). The rotation amount is corrected so as to be cut off by the rotation amount of 4 rotations of less than 5 rotations, and the rotation amount determination subroutine is terminated, and the process proceeds to Step 236 in FIG.

  In step 236 of FIG. 18, the card Ca is cooled by the rotation of the rotation unit F by driving the rotation motor Mr5 according to the rotation amount determined or corrected by the rotation amount determination subroutine. Note that the cooling operation in step 236 does not perform other processing (for example, conveyance of the card Ca to the information recording unit A) other than the cooling rotation. In step 238, the rotation motor Mr5 is continuously driven to reverse the front and back surfaces of the card Ca (rotate 180 °), and the drive of the rotation motor Mr5 is stopped. In the next step 240, the conveyance motor Mr6 is driven to convey the card Ca toward the heat roller 33 side. The CPU stops driving the transport motor Mr6 when the card Ca is transported on the medium transport path P1 for a predetermined distance (predetermined number of pulses), ends the rotation processing subroutine, and proceeds to step 222 in FIG.

  In step 222 in FIG. 17, similarly to step 216, the heat generation of the heat roller 33, the movement toward the platen roller 31 and the rotation are controlled, so that the image is formed on the transfer film 46 at the image forming portion B1 in the transfer portion B2. The secondary transfer is performed in which the transferred image is transferred to the other side of the card Ca conveyed from the rotation unit F. In step 222, the curl generated on the card Ca by the heat transfer by the heat roller 33 is corrected by the decurling mechanism 36 following the secondary transfer.

  In the next step 224, the card Ca whose curl has been corrected by the decurling mechanism 36 is discharged to the storage stacker 60 through the medium transport path P2, and the print processing routine is ended. Note that the CPU positions each unit / mechanism of the above-described printing apparatus 1 at the home position, which is the initial position, in preparation for the next print processing routine after the end of the print processing routine.

<Effects>
Next, effects and the like of the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment will be described.

  In the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the CPU controls the rotation unit F so as to rotate the card Ca by 360 ° or more in order to cool the card Ca, so that a new component such as a fan is not added. Printing quality can be improved by cooling the card Ca. For this reason, the printing apparatus 1 which can improve printing quality at low cost can be obtained.

  In the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the CPU controls the rotation unit F to rotate the card Ca forward and backward by a predetermined angle (by 360 ° or more) in order to cool the card Ca. Since the occurrence of uneven cooling (see FIG. 20) that occurs in the card Ca when it is rotated only in the direction can be prevented, the print quality can be improved.

  Further, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the temperature temperature of the rotating unit F is detected by the temperature sensor 79, and the rotation amount of the card Ca by the rotating unit F is determined according to the detected temperature (step 254). Reference) and appropriate cooling can be performed on the card Ca (see step 256).

  In the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment, the CPU places importance on the printing speed according to the printing information indicating which of the printing speed and the printing quality is important (see Steps 206 to 210 and Step 258). In the case of the information representing the rotation unit F, the rotation unit F is controlled so that the rotation operation of the card Ca is terminated with the rotation amount less than the rotation amount determined when the image formation on the transfer film 46 by the image forming unit B1 is completed. However, if the print information is information indicating that the print quality is important, the rotation unit F rotates the rotation amount corresponding to the detected temperature of the card Ca (step 254, step 254, 236). 256), printing on the card Ca can be performed according to the needs of the operator.

  Furthermore, in the printing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment, the CPU follows the medium information indicating whether or not the transfer film 46 is a cold peeling type (see step 252), and if the medium information is information indicating the cold peeling type. In the case of information indicating that the rotation of the card Ca is rotated to cool the rotation unit F and the medium information is not a cold peeling type (in this example, it is a hot peeling type), the card Since the rotation unit is controlled so as not to perform the rotation operation for cooling the Ca (see step 264), the print quality can be ensured according to the type of the transfer film 46.

  Since the printing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the casings 9 and 10 that function as partition members that partition the printing unit B and the rotation unit F, the outer periphery of the rotation unit F and the inside of the casing 9 are provided. The temperature sensor 79 disposed in the printing unit B is prevented from being affected by heat radiation from the thermal head 40 and the heat roller 33 that are disposed in the printing unit B and serves as a heat source. Detection can be performed to determine an appropriate amount of cooling rotation of the card Ca.

  In the present embodiment, the printing apparatus 1 including the printing unit B including the image forming unit B1 and the transfer unit B2 has been illustrated, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be applied to an image forming apparatus (printing apparatus) disclosed in Patent Document 2 and a printing apparatus that directly forms an image on a recording medium via an ink ribbon or the like without using a transfer film. .

  In the present embodiment, a relatively thick card Ca is exemplified as the recording medium, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a relatively thin recording medium such as a sheet or a label may be used. In such a thin recording medium, the heat on the back side of the recording medium with respect to the rotation direction moves smoothly to the front side, so that the thick recording medium as shown in FIG. 20 is rotated in one direction. Therefore, it is not always necessary to perform forward / reverse rotation, and only one-way rotation may be performed. Even in such an embodiment, it is preferable to rotate the recording medium by one turn (360 °) or more in order to cool the recording medium.

  Furthermore, in the present embodiment, an example in which the rotation unit F is rotated by one or more rotations forward and backward in order to cool the card Ca has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a recording medium such as a card Ca may be rotated forward and backward by a predetermined angle and rotated in total 360 ° or more. The predetermined angle is preferably 90 ° or more, and more preferably 180 ° or more. For example, when the recording unit such as the card Ca is cooled by rotating the rotation unit F by a total of 600 °, the normal / reverse rotation of 60 ° is performed five times. The cooling efficiency is considered to be inferior to the mode performed once. That is, since the movement distance and the rotation speed due to the rotation at the end portion of the card Ca are larger than those at the central portion, the cooling proceeds, and as a result, the heat of the central portion also moves to the end portion. Although it is conceivable, in the aspect in which the forward / reverse rotation of 60 ° is performed 5 times, the cooling effect by the heat transfer from the central portion to the end portion is small because the cooling of the end portion per rotation is small. Conceivable.

  In the present embodiment, when the print information is information indicating that printing speed is important, the CPU rotates the card Ca when the image formation on the transfer film 46 by the image forming unit B1 is completed. Although an example in which the rotation unit F is controlled so as to be cut off with a rotation amount less than the determined rotation amount (see steps 262 and 236), stepping motors are used as the rotation motor Mr5 and the conveyance motor Mr6, and pulse control is performed. Since the motor speed can be changed by step 236, the card Ca is inserted in step 256 until the rotation speed of the card Ca by the rotation unit F is increased in step 236 and the image formation on the transfer film 46 by the image forming unit B1 is completed. The rotation unit F may be controlled so as to rotate the amount of rotation determined in (1). In such an aspect, it is possible to achieve both printing speed and printing quality.

  In the present embodiment, the example in which the card Ca is not cooled is shown in step 214, but the card Ca may be cooled by rotating the rotation unit F in the same manner as in step 220. In such an embodiment, when the outside air temperature is relatively high, the printing quality can be improved by neatly reducing the temperature of the card Ca (the image formed on the transfer film 46 can be exfoliated cleanly). At this time, it is not always necessary to determine the amount of rotation as in step 256. For example, the card Ca may be cooled by the rotation unit F only when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 79 exceeds 25 ° C. . Further, in the present embodiment, an example in which an image is transferred to the other surface side after the image is transferred to the one surface side of the card Ca has been shown, but after the image is transferred to the one surface side of the card Ca, the image is temporarily discharged from the printing apparatus 1. Alternatively, the card Ca on which an image is formed on one surface side may be supplied again from the medium accommodating portion C to transfer the image to the other surface side. Even in such a case, as described above, by rotating the rotation unit F and cooling the card Ca, when the outside air temperature is relatively high, the temperature of the card Ca can be lowered and the printing quality can be improved. .

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, although the example which determines the rotation amount according to the table which predetermined the relationship between temperature and rotation amount in step 256 was shown, you may make it calculate using numerical formula etc. Also, in order to simplify the explanation in step 256, for example, when the detected temperature is 11 ° C. to 20 ° C., an example of 720 ° forward / reverse is shown uniformly, but depending on the detected temperature Thus, the rotation amount may be distributed and calculated corresponding to the discrete values in the table.

  And in this embodiment, although the casings 9 and 10 were illustrated as a partition member, this invention is not limited to this. That is, since the temperature sensor 79 does not have to be affected by the heat source of the printing unit B, for example, a partition plate that partitions the printing unit B and the rotation unit F or the information recording unit A, for example, without the casing structure covering the whole. May be used.

  As described above, the present invention provides a printing apparatus capable of improving print quality at low cost, and thus contributes to the manufacture and sale of the printing apparatus, and thus has industrial applicability.

1 Printing device 9 Casing (part of partition member)
10 Casing (part of partition member)
79 Temperature Sensor 100 Control Unit B Printing Unit B1 Image Forming Unit (Image Forming Unit)
B2 Transfer section (transfer means)
Ca card (print medium)
F Rotating unit

Claims (8)

A printing unit that performs a printing process on a recording medium;
A rotating unit that rotates while sandwiching the recording medium;
A control unit for controlling the rotation amount of the recording medium by the rotation unit;
With
The printing apparatus, wherein the control unit controls the rotation unit to rotate the recording medium 360 ° or more in order to cool the recording medium.   2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the rotation unit to rotate the recording medium forward and backward by a predetermined angle and rotate a total of 360 ° or more.   The temperature sensor which detects the atmospheric temperature of the said rotation unit is further provided, The said control part controls the rotation amount of the said recording medium by the said rotation unit according to the temperature which the said temperature sensor detected. The printing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2. The printing unit includes an image forming unit that forms an image on an intermediate transfer medium, and a transfer unit that transfers the image formed on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit to the recording medium.
The control unit controls the rotation unit to rotate the recording medium by 360 ° or more in order to cool the recording medium during image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit. The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   In the case where the print information is information indicating that the print speed is important according to the print information indicating whether the print speed is important or not, the image forming unit is the input or received information. 5. The printing according to claim 4, wherein when the image formation on the intermediate transfer medium is completed, the rotation operation of the recording medium by the rotation unit is completed or controlled to be completed. apparatus. A temperature sensor for detecting the ambient temperature of the rotating unit;
The controller is
Determining the amount of rotation of the recording medium by the rotation unit according to the temperature detected by the temperature sensor;
It is determined whether or not the print information is information indicating that the print speed is important based on the print information indicating whether the print speed or the print quality is important according to the input or received information. In the determination, whether or not the rotation operation of the determined rotation amount of the recording medium by the rotation unit is completed when the image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit is completed. Determine in advance,
When the determination is affirmative, the rotation unit is controlled to rotate the determined rotation amount of the recording medium during image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming unit,
When the determination is negative, when the image forming unit completes the image formation on the intermediate transfer medium, the rotation unit is stopped so that the rotation operation of the recording medium is terminated with a rotation amount less than the determined rotation amount. The determined rotation amount of the recording medium is rotated until the rotation of the recording medium is controlled by the rotation unit or the image forming unit finishes image formation on the intermediate transfer medium. Controlling the turning unit to
The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the printing apparatus is a printer.   The control unit determines whether the intermediate transfer medium is a cold peeling type information that is input, received, or recorded in a cassette that houses the supply spool and the take-up spool of the intermediate transfer medium. When the medium information is information representing a cold peeling type according to the medium information to be expressed, the recording medium is rotated 360 ° to cool the recording medium during image formation on the intermediate transfer medium by the image forming means. The rotation unit is controlled to rotate as described above, and when the medium information is information indicating that it is not a cold peeling type, the rotation operation for cooling the recording medium is not performed. The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the rotation unit is controlled.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a partition member that partitions the printing unit and the rotation unit.

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