JP6799791B2 - Printhead device and transfer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to, for example, a print head device for further printing on the ink ribbon in order to erase print information remaining on the ink ribbon on which the ink has been transferred, and a transfer device provided with the print head device.

A transfer system that prints an image of characters or the like on a transfer object such as a card using an ink ribbon has become widespread. The ink ribbon has a strip-shaped ribbon (support layer) and an ink layer formed on the ribbon and containing a dye or the like. In printing using such an ink ribbon, the ink from the ink layer is transferred to the transfer target in a pattern corresponding to a desired image to be printed. In this case, the ink ribbon on which the ink has been transferred has a printed pattern in which the ink is removed by the transfer. Therefore, it is possible to identify the image printed from the ink ribbon that has been transferred with ink. Therefore, when printing confidential information such as ID information on the transferred body using the ink ribbon, care must be taken in handling the ink ribbon that has been transferred with ink.

In order to deal with such a problem, the applicant of the present application has previously proposed a thermal transfer type transfer system including a first transfer device and a second transfer device. This system prints on the object to be transferred by the first transfer device, arranges the second transfer device in the vicinity of the winding shaft for winding the ink ribbon which has been ink-transferred, and is provided in the second transfer device. It is configured to heat the outer periphery of the ink ribbon wound around the winding shaft by a heating body (see Patent Document 1). As a result, the ink can be transferred to the ink ribbon on the inner circumference, and it is possible to prevent the image printed by the first transfer device from being specified.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-255564

By the way, in the transfer system of Patent Document 1, it is necessary to move the second transfer device according to the winding amount of the ink ribbon with respect to the winding shaft. In this case, for example, the second transfer device may be composed of an arm that swings around the base end portion as a rotation center and a print head provided at the tip end portion of the arm. In this configuration, the print head swings according to the winding amount of the ink ribbon wound around the winding shaft. Therefore, even if the winding amount of the ink ribbon increases, the outer periphery of the print head and the ink ribbon It is possible to maintain the contact state with.

However, in the above configuration, the contact state between the print head and the ink ribbon is maintained, but since the arm and the print head are fixed, the posture (angle) of the print head with respect to the ink ribbon is maintained constant. Not done. Therefore, the print quality changes according to the winding amount of the ink ribbon. To solve this problem, for example, if the length of the arm is made sufficiently long to suppress the amount of change in the orientation of the print head with respect to the ink ribbon in response to the swing of the arm, the change in print quality can be mitigated. However, with this measure, the entire device becomes large.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above circumstances, and the print head can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon in a suitable posture according to the winding amount of the ink ribbon while suppressing the size thereof. It is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus and a transfer apparatus equipped with the apparatus.

The print head device according to the present invention is a print head device that performs a printing operation on the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon wound around the winding shaft of the ink ribbon, and is a reference shaft arranged in parallel with the winding shaft. A swing arm having an arm body that is swingably supported by the portion, a connecting shaft portion provided at a swing end portion of the arm body in a state parallel to the reference shaft portion, and the swing arm. A head holder arm having a tip portion rotatably connected to the connecting shaft portion, and a base end portion provided with an elongated hole through which a guide shaft portion arranged in parallel with the reference shaft portion is inserted. The head holder arm includes a print head held on the tip end side of the head holder arm and abutted on the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon, and the head holder arm swings the swing end portion of the swing arm. The print head device is characterized in that it can move with respect to the guide shaft portion along the elongated hole according to the movement.

According to the printhead device according to the present invention, when the winding amount of the ink ribbon wound around the winding shaft increases, the printhead is moved by the ink ribbon and swings via the connecting shaft portion. The swinging end of the arm swings. Then, in response to the swing of the swing end portion, the head holder arm moves with respect to the guide shaft portion along the elongated hole, so that the swing arm of the print head held by the head holder arm The relative orientation to is changed. As a result, it is possible to suppress a change in the posture of the print head with respect to the ink ribbon before and after the change in the winding amount of the ink ribbon while avoiding an increase in the size of the swing arm. Therefore, the print head can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon in a suitable posture according to the winding amount of the ink ribbon while suppressing the size of the entire print head device.

In the printhead device according to the present invention, the guide shaft portion is arranged on the circular rotation locus of the connecting shaft portion drawn by rotating the connecting shaft portion around the reference shaft portion. When the connecting shaft portion is positioned at a reference position set at one point on the circular locus, the connecting shaft portion, the reference shaft portion, and the guide shaft portion are configured to be aligned on a straight line. May be good.

In this case, the angle formed by the straight line connecting the reference position and the connecting shaft portion moved from the reference position and the straight line connecting the connecting shaft portion and the guide shaft portion is always 90 ° regardless of the position of the connecting shaft portion. It becomes possible to do. Then, the center of the winding shaft of the ink ribbon is positioned at the reference position, and the print head is placed so as to come into contact with the ink ribbon along a straight line connecting the reference position and the connecting shaft portion moved from the reference position. When arranged, the print head can always be brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon in a state orthogonal to the tangent line at the contact position between the ink ribbon and the print head. As a result, the print head can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon in the optimum posture for printing regardless of the winding amount of the ink ribbon, and the print quality can be kept constant.

Further, the printhead device according to the present invention is connected to the reference shaft portion and rotates integrally with the reference shaft portion, and the side where the contact portion of the printhead with the ink ribbon is located with respect to the swing arm. A drive mechanism having a drive arm arranged on the opposite side to the same side and an elastic member provided between the drive arm and the swing arm may be further provided.

In this case, the print head can be pressed against the ink ribbon by rotating the drive arm in the drive mechanism toward the swing arm side and pushing the swing arm toward the ink ribbon side via the elastic member.

Further, the printhead device according to the present invention may further include a position detection sensor that detects the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member between the drive arm and the swing arm.

In this case, by stopping the rotation of the drive arm according to the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member, the head pressure of the print head on the ink ribbon can be maintained constant at a desired value.

Further, the transfer device according to the present invention includes an ink ribbon cassette having an ink ribbon having one end fixed to a winding shaft and wound around the winding shaft and the other end fixed to a winding shaft, and a cassette case for storing the ink ribbon. A main print head device that performs a printing operation on the ink ribbon for transferring an image to a transfer target, and the above print head device as a sub print head device that erases print information by the main print head device. It is a transfer device, characterized in that it is provided with and.

According to the transfer device in the present invention, by providing the above-mentioned print head device, the print information on the ink ribbon printed by the main print head device can be accurately erased.

In the transfer device according to the present invention, the ink ribbon cassette and the printhead device are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other, and when the ink ribbon cassette and the printhead device are viewed along adjacent directions, the printhead The reference shaft portion, the connecting shaft portion, and the guide shaft portion in the device may be located within the outer shape of the ink ribbon cassette.

In this case, in particular, by suppressing the dimensions in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the ink ribbon cassette and the printhead device are lined up, the overall configuration of the transfer device can be made compact, and the transfer device is arranged side by side with the same transfer device. The occupied area can be suppressed extremely usefully.

According to the present invention, the print head can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon in a suitable posture according to the winding amount of the ink ribbon while suppressing the size of the entire print head device.

It is a side view of the transfer apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view of the main part of the printhead apparatus which constitutes the transfer apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the main part of the printhead device in a state where a part of the members shown in FIG. 2 are removed. It is a perspective view from the viewpoint different from FIG. 2 of the main part of the printhead apparatus which constitutes the transfer apparatus shown in FIG. It is a vertical cross-sectional view along the VV line of FIG. It is a figure explaining the operation of the said printhead apparatus. It is a figure explaining the operation of the said printhead apparatus. It is a figure which shows an example of the layout which arranged the transfer apparatus shown in FIG. 1 together with the same transfer apparatus.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

<Transfer device>
FIG. 1 shows a side view of the transfer device 100 according to the embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the transfer device 100 according to the present embodiment includes an ink ribbon cassette 1, a main printhead device 40, and a sub printhead device 60. The main printhead device 40 is a device that performs a printing operation on the ink ribbon 13 provided from the ink ribbon cassette 1 for transferring an image to a transfer target, and the sub printhead device 60 is a main printhead device. It is a device for erasing the print information by 40. Hereinafter, details of each part constituting the transfer device 100 according to the present embodiment will be described.

(Ink ribbon cassette)
First, the ink ribbon cassette 1 will be described. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon cassette 1 includes an ink ribbon body 10 and a cassette case 20 for accommodating the ink ribbon body 10. The ink ribbon body 10 has a winding shaft 11, a winding shaft 12, and a strip-shaped ink ribbon 13 extending between the winding shaft 11 and the winding shaft 12, and the ink ribbon 13 is, for example, an example. It is composed of a strip-shaped ribbon (support layer) and an ink layer formed on the ribbon and containing a dye or the like. One end of the ink ribbon 13 is fixed to the unwinding shaft 11, and a predetermined amount of the ink ribbon 13 is wound around the winding shaft 11, and the other end of the ink ribbon 13 is fixed to the winding shaft 12.

The winding shaft 12 can wind the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding shaft 11 around itself by its rotation. As a result, the ink ribbon body 10 winds the ink ribbon 13 printed by the main print head device 40 on the winding shaft 12, so that the unused portion of the ink ribbon 13 is wound on the main print head device 40. It is possible to provide them in sequence.

The cassette case 20 includes a plate-shaped first side wall 21 and a second side wall 22 facing each other at a certain distance, and a storage space for the ink ribbon body 10 is provided between the first side wall 21 and the second side wall 22. Is forming. In FIG. 1, a part of the cassette case 20 is shown in cross section for convenience of explanation. In the illustrated example, the first side wall 21 and the second side wall 22 are formed in a rectangular shape, and are connected by a plurality of connecting wall portions (not shown) in a state where they face each other in the same direction. The first side wall 21 extends along the longitudinal direction and faces the first long side portion 21A and the second long side portion 21B, respectively, and extends along the lateral direction orthogonal to the longitudinal direction and faces each other. It has one short side portion 21C and a second short side portion 21D. Similarly, the second side wall 22 has a first long side portion 22A and a second long side portion 22B extending along the longitudinal direction and facing each other, and a first short side portion 22A extending along the lateral direction and facing each other. It has a side portion 22C and a second short side portion 22D.

In the present embodiment, the cassette case 20 has a first shaft holding portion 31 for holding the unwinding shaft 11 at a substantially central position in the longitudinal direction thereof, and has a first shorter side than the first shaft holding portion 31. A second shaft holding portion 32 for holding the take-up shaft 12 is provided at a position on the portions 21C and 22C side and closer to the second long side portions 21B and 22B than the first shaft holding portion 31. The first shaft holding portion 31 and the second shaft holding portion 32 are each composed of a pair, and one of the pair of first shaft holding portions 31 is a hole-shaped portion provided in the first side wall 21. , The unwinding shaft 11 is held in contact with the outer peripheral surface on one end side of the unwinding shaft 11. Further, the other of the pair of first shaft holding portions 31 is a hole-shaped portion provided on the second side wall 22, and the unwinding shaft 11 is in contact with the outer peripheral surface on the other end side of the unwinding shaft 11. It is configured to hold.

Further, one of the pair of second shaft holding portions 32 is a hole-shaped portion provided on the first side wall 21, and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface on one end side of the winding shaft 12 to hold the winding shaft 12. It is configured as follows. Further, the other of the pair of second shaft holding portions 32 is a hole-shaped portion provided on the second side wall 22, and the winding shaft 12 is brought into contact with the outer peripheral surface on the other end side of the winding shaft 12. It is configured to hold. In particular, the second shaft holding portion 32 in the present embodiment is configured to rotatably hold the take-up shaft 12.

Further, first to fourth rollers 24A to 24D are erected between the first side wall 21 and the second side wall 22 in the cassette case 20. When the unwinding shaft 11 is held by the first shaft holding portion 31 and the winding shaft 12 is held by the second shaft holding portion 32 by these rollers 24A to 24D, the ink ribbon 13 from the unwinding shaft 11 is released. The ink ribbon 13 is stretched so as to reach the take-up shaft 12 after extending along the first long side portions 21A and 22A, the second short side portions 21D and 22D, and the second long side portions 21B and 22B. It is possible to do.

Further, the first side wall 21 and the second side wall 22 are formed with rectangular slits 26 extending in the longitudinal direction from the second short side portions 21D and 22D, and the space inside the slits 26 is the space of the main printhead device 40. The placement space is defined. On the other hand, on the first short side portions 21C and 22C sides of the cassette case 20, the storage space between the first side wall 21 and the second side wall 22 is opened outward along the longitudinal direction, and the storage space is opened to the outside through the opened portion. The take-up shaft 12 is exposed to the outside. The sub-printhead device 60 is arranged so as to be adjacent to the ink ribbon cassette 1 on the first short side portions 21C and 22C of the cassette case 20, and the ink wound around the take-up shaft 12 via the open portion. The print head 64, which will be described later, is brought into contact with the ribbon 13.

(Main printhead device)
As shown in FIG. 1, the main printhead device 40 is arranged in the storage space formed by the slit 26 in the cassette case 20, and has an ink ribbon 13 crossing the slit 26 and a transfer body such as a card (not shown). It faces the platen by sandwiching it. In the present embodiment, the main printhead device 40 is configured as a thermal head device having a heating body, but the transfer method is not particularly limited. For example, the main printhead device 40 may be configured as a dot impact type printhead device.

(Sub printhead device)
The sub-printhead device 60 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a main part of the sub printhead device 60, and FIG. 3 shows a printhead in a state where a part of the members (drive arm 81 described later) is removed from the sub printhead device 60 shown in FIG. It is a perspective view of the main part of the apparatus 60. Further, FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a main part of the sub-printhead device 60 from a different viewpoint from that of FIG. 2, and FIG. 5 is a vertical sectional view of the sub-printhead device 60 along the VV line of FIG. .. 6 and 7 are views for explaining the operation of the sub printhead device 60.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, the sub-printhead device 60 includes a case 61, a swing arm 62, a head holder arm 63 connected to the swing arm 62, and printing held on the head holder arm 63. It includes a head 64 and a drive mechanism 65 for transmitting a driving force for pressing the print head 64 against the ink ribbon 13 or separating the print head 64 from the ink ribbon 13. In the present embodiment, the sub-printhead device 60 is arranged above the ink ribbon cassette 1 arranged along the vertical direction in the longitudinal direction. In the following description, in FIG. 1, the direction in which the sub printhead device 60 and the ink ribbon cassette 1 are arranged side by side with each other is referred to as a vertical direction, and in FIG. 1, a direction orthogonal to the vertical direction is referred to as a width direction. And. However, the present invention is not construed as being limited to the directions in the following description. Hereinafter, details of each part constituting the sub-printhead device 60 will be described.

First, the case 61 in the present embodiment is formed in a rectangular parallelepiped shape with one side open, and the ink ribbon cassette 1 is in a state where the open portion is directed downward and covers each of the other members constituting the sub-printhead device 60 described above. They are arranged next to each other. As shown in FIG. 1, the width dimension of the case 61 in the width direction of the ink ribbon cassette 1 is equivalent to the width dimension of the ink ribbon cassette 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the sub printhead device 60 with respect to the ink ribbon cassette 1 Overhang is suppressed.

The swing arm 62 has an arm body 62A that is swingably supported by a reference shaft portion 71 arranged parallel to the take-up shaft 12, and a swing end portion of the arm body 62A in a state parallel to the reference shaft portion 71. It has a connecting shaft portion 72 provided on the 62B, and the reference shaft portion 71 is arranged above substantially the center in the width direction of the ink ribbon cassette 1 as shown in FIG. The reference shaft portion 71 extends between the wall portions of the case 61 facing each other in the axial direction, and each of both ends of the reference shaft portion 71 in the axial direction is rotatably supported by the wall portion of the corresponding case 61. ing. Further, in the present embodiment, the swing arm 62 has a dimension wide in the axial direction of the reference shaft portion 71, the connecting shaft portion 72 is composed of a pair, and both ends of the swing arm 62 in the axial direction. A connecting shaft portion 72 is provided for each.

The head holder arm 63 is provided with a tip portion 63A rotatably connected to the connecting shaft portion 72 of the swing arm 62 and a long hole 63C through which a guide shaft portion 73 arranged in parallel with the reference shaft portion 71 is inserted. A pair of arm bodies 63X having a base end portion 63B, and a pair of tip portions 63A extending between the tip portions 63A of the pair of arm body bodies 63X so as to avoid a connecting shaft portion 72 to connect between the pair of tip portions 63A. It has a connecting portion 63Y integrally. In this example, the connecting portion 63Y constitutes a mounting portion of the print head 64, and the connecting portion 63Y can hold the print head 64 in a state of being positioned between the pair of connecting shaft portions 72. It is possible. Further, the elongated hole 63C extends long along the longitudinal direction of the head holder arm 63.

As shown in FIG. 1, the guide shaft portion 73 is arranged diagonally above the reference shaft portion 71 on one side (right side of the paper surface) in the width direction with respect to the reference shaft portion 71 and the take-up shaft 12, and is a guide shaft portion. The 73 extends between the wall portions of the case 61 facing each other in the axial direction, and each of both ends of the guide shaft portion 73 in the axial direction is supported by the wall portion of the corresponding case 61. Here, the head holder arm 63 extends from the guide shaft portion 73 in a direction diagonally downward on the other side in the width direction (left side of the paper surface in FIG. 1) so as to cross the reference shaft portion 71. As a result, the tip 63A of the head holder arm 63 is located diagonally below the reference shaft 71, and the print head 64 held on the tip 63A side comes into contact with the take-up shaft 12 from above. There is. Here, as described above, the swing arm 62 and the head holder arm 63 are held by the reference shaft portion 71 and the guide shaft portion 73, so that the head holder arm 63 is the swing end portion 62B of the swing arm 62. It becomes movable with respect to the guide shaft portion 73 along the elongated hole 63C according to the swing.

The print head 64 is held by the above-mentioned connecting portion 63Y and is located between the pair of connecting shaft portions 72, and is wound on the outer peripheral surface of the winding shaft 12 or the winding shaft 12 as shown in FIG. The contact portion 64A is placed in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 13. In the present embodiment, the print head 64 is configured as a thermal head device, and the contact portion 64A is configured by the heating surface of the heating body. When the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding shaft 12 increases, the swing arm 62 swings due to the force transmitted via the print head 64, the head holder arm 63, and the connecting shaft portion 72. As a result, the head holder arm 63 rotates around the connecting shaft portion 72 and with respect to the guide shaft portion 73 along the elongated hole 63C in response to the swing of the swing end portion 62B of the swing arm 62. It will move. As a result, the print head 64 brings the contact portion 64A into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 13 while changing the direction with respect to the swing arm 62.

Here, the positional relationship between the reference shaft portion 71, the connecting shaft portion 72, and the guide shaft portion 73 in the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. First, in the present embodiment, the connecting shaft portion 73 The guide shaft portion 73 is arranged on the circular rotation locus T of the connecting shaft portion 72 drawn by rotating the portion 72 around the reference shaft portion 71. Further, when the connecting shaft portion 72 is positioned at the reference position S set at one point on the circular locus T, the connecting shaft portion 72, the reference shaft portion 71, and the guide shaft portion 73 are configured to be aligned on a straight line. The above-mentioned reference position S is set at the center of the take-up shaft 12.

Due to the above positional relationship, as shown in FIG. 6, a straight line L1 connecting the reference position S and the connecting shaft portion 72 moved from the reference position S and a straight line L2 connecting the connecting shaft portion 72 and the guide shaft portion 73. And, the angle α formed by the above can always be 90 ° regardless of the position of the connecting shaft portion 72. Here, in the present embodiment, while the center of the take-up shaft 12 is positioned at the reference position S as described above, along the straight line L1 connecting the reference position S and the connecting shaft portion 72 moved from the reference position S. The print head 64 is arranged so that the print head 64 comes into contact with the ink ribbon 13. That is, the print head 64 is held so that the normal of the surface forming the contact portion 64A of the print head 64 passes on the straight line L1. As a result, even when the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13 changes, the print head 64 is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 13 in a state orthogonal to the tangent line at the contact position between the ink ribbon 13 and the print head 64. It is possible to always contact the ink. Thereby, in the present embodiment, the print head 64 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 in the optimum posture for printing regardless of the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13.

Further, as is clear from FIG. 1, in the present embodiment, when the ink ribbon cassette 1 and the sub printhead device 60 are viewed along the adjacent directions, the reference shaft portion 71, the connecting shaft portion 72, and the guide shaft portion are viewed. 73 is located inside the outer shape of the ink ribbon cassette 1, particularly in the outer shape in both the width direction and the depth direction in the present embodiment. As a result, the dimensions of the swing arm 62 and the head holder arm 63 are suppressed, and the case 61 can compactly cover these members.

On the other hand, referring to FIGS. 2, 4 and 5, the drive mechanism 65 is connected to the reference shaft portion 71 and rotates integrally with the reference shaft portion 71, and the print head 64 hits the swing arm 62. Between the drive arm 81 arranged on the side opposite to the side where the contact portion 64A is located, the elastic member 82 provided between the drive arm 81 and the swing arm 62, and the drive arm 81 and the swing arm 62. A position detection sensor 83 for detecting the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 82 is provided, and the drive mechanism 65 meshes with the fan-shaped driven gear 84 fixed to one end side of the reference shaft portion 71 and the driven gear 84. The relay gear 85 and the motor 86 for rotating the relay gear 85 by the drive gear 86A are further provided.

In the present embodiment, the elastic member 82 is made of a coil spring as an example, and one end of the elastic member 82 is fixed to the drive arm 81 and the other end thereof is directed to the swing arm 62. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, the position detection sensor 83 is fixed to the drive arm 81 at a position close to the elastic member 82. The driven gear 84 is arranged below the relay gear 85, and the relay gear 85 is arranged below the motor 86. The relay gear 85 is rotatably held on the wall of the case 61, and the motor 86 is fixed to the wall of the case 61 that holds the relay gear 85. Further, the axial direction of the drive gear 86A extends orthogonally to the axial direction of the relay gear 85 and in the width direction, the drive gear 86A is, for example, a worm gear, and the rotation direction of the drive gear 86A is converted to the relay gear 85. Be transmitted. Further, the relay gear 85 separately has a meshing portion with the drive gear 86A and a meshing portion with the driven gear 84. As a result, in the present embodiment, the driven gear 84, the relay gear 85, and the motor 86 are compactly housed in the case 61.

In this drive mechanism 65, the motor 86 can rotate forward and reverse, and when the motor 86 rotates in the forward rotation direction, the drive arm 81 is rotated toward the swing arm 62, and the swing arm 62 is rotated via the elastic member 82. Can be pressed toward the ink ribbon 13, and the print head 64 can be pressed against the ink ribbon 13. At this time, the elastic member 82 is degenerated, but the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 82 is detected by the position detection sensor 83, and when the elastic member 82 is degenerated by a predetermined threshold value, the drive of the motor 86 is stopped. , The head pressure of the print head 64 with respect to the ink ribbon 13 can be controlled to a desired value.

On the other hand, when the motor 86 is rotated in the reverse direction, the drive arm 81 is rotated to the side opposite to the swing arm 62 side. Here, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, when the drive arm 81 is rotated to a predetermined position on the side away from the swing arm 62, it comes into contact with a part of the head holder arm 63 from below. A locking portion 81A is provided on the drive arm 81. As a result, the drive arm 81 is moved away from the swing arm 62 while bringing the locking portion 81A into contact with the head holder arm 63, whereby the swing arm 62, the head holder arm 63, and the print head 64 are wound. It can be separated from the take shaft 12 and finally moved to the retracted position shown in FIG. At the retracted position, the swing arm 62, the head holder arm 63, and the print head 64 are in a state where they do not overlap with the ink ribbon cassette 1 in the axial direction of the take-up shaft 12.

(motion)
Next, the operation of the transfer device 100 in this embodiment will be described.

When performing transfer, the main print head device 40 is first driven, and the print head (not shown) performs a printing operation on the ink ribbon 13 in a desired pattern, so that a desired pattern is printed on the transferred object. Be given. The ink ribbon 13 that has been printed by the main printhead device 40 is sequentially wound around the take-up shaft 12 by rotationally driving the take-up shaft 12, thereby being unused in the main printhead device 40. Ink ribbon 13 will be provided. On the other hand, the sub-print head device 60 performs a printing operation on the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding shaft 12. As a result, printing is performed on the ink ribbon 13 inside the ink ribbon 13 on the outermost circumference, and the print information remaining on the ink ribbon 13 printed by the main print head device 40 can be erased.

In the present embodiment, the print head 64 is brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 before the transfer operation, and at this time, the drive arm 81 is rotated toward the swing arm 62 by the drive mechanism 65 and is passed through the elastic member 82. By pushing the swing arm 62 toward the ink ribbon 13, the print head 64 is pressed against the ink ribbon 13. At this time, the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 82 is detected by the position detection sensor 83, and when the elastic member 82 contracts more than a predetermined threshold value, the driving of the motor 86 is stopped. As a result, the head pressure of the print head 64 with respect to the ink ribbon 13 is controlled to a desired value. Therefore, at the time of printing by the above-mentioned sub-print head device 60, the sub-print head device 60 performs the printing operation at a desired head pressure.

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, in the sub printhead device 60, the guide shaft is drawn on the circular rotation locus T of the connecting shaft portion 72 drawn by rotating the connecting shaft portion 72 around the reference shaft portion 71. The unit 73 is arranged. Further, when the connecting shaft portion 72 is positioned at the reference position S set at one point on the circular locus T, the connecting shaft portion 72, the reference shaft portion 71, and the guide shaft portion 73 are configured to be aligned on a straight line. The above-mentioned reference position S is set at the center of the take-up shaft 12. Then, the print head 64 is arranged so that the print head 64 comes into contact with the ink ribbon 13 along the straight line L1 connecting the reference position S and the connecting shaft portion 72 moved from the reference position S. As a result, even when the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13 changes, the print head 64 is placed on the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 13 in a state orthogonal to the tangent line at the contact position between the ink ribbon 13 and the print head 64. It is possible to always contact the ink. As a result, the print head 64 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 in the optimum posture for printing regardless of the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13. As a result, the print quality by the sub-print head device 60 can always be constant regardless of the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13.

When the transfer device 100 is stopped, the drive mechanism 65 rotates the drive arm 81 to the side opposite to the swing arm 62 side, so that the swing arm 62, the head holder arm 63, and the print head 64 are rotated. It may be moved to the retracted position shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, at this retracted position, the swing arm 62, the head holder arm 63, and the print head 64 are in a state where they do not overlap with the ink ribbon cassette 1 in the axial direction of the take-up shaft 12, so that the ink ribbon cassette 1 is installed. By pulling out the take-up shaft 12 in the axial direction, it can be removed, and workability at the time of replacement can be improved.

In the present embodiment described above, the sub-print head device 60 is oscillatingly supported by the reference shaft portion 71 arranged in parallel with the take-up shaft 12, and is parallel to the reference shaft portion 71. In this state, a swing arm 62 having a connecting shaft portion 72 provided at the swing end portion 62B of the arm body 62A, and a tip portion 63A rotatably connected to the connecting shaft portion 72 of the swing arm 62. A head holder arm 63 having a base end portion 63B provided with an elongated hole 63C through which a guide shaft portion 73 arranged in parallel with the reference shaft portion 71 is inserted, and a tip portion 63A side of the head holder arm 63. It includes a print head 64 that is held and comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 13. The head holder arm 63 is movable with respect to the guide shaft portion 73 along the elongated hole 63C in response to the swing of the swing end portion 62B of the swing arm 62.

With this configuration, when the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding shaft 12 increases, the print head 64 is moved by the ink ribbon 13 so that the swing arm via the connecting shaft portion 72. The swinging end portion 62B of 62 swings. Then, in response to the swing of the swing end portion 62B, the head holder arm 63 moves with respect to the guide shaft portion 73 along the elongated hole 63C, so that the print held on the head holder arm 63 is printed. The relative orientation of the head 64 with respect to the swing arm 62 changes. As a result, it is possible to suppress a change in the posture of the print head 64 with respect to the ink ribbon 13 before and after the change in the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13 while avoiding an increase in the size of the swing arm 62. Therefore, the print head 64 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 in a suitable posture according to the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13 while suppressing the size of the entire sub print head device 60.

More specifically, in the present embodiment, the guide shaft portion 73 is arranged on the circular rotation locus T of the connecting shaft portion 72 drawn by rotating the connecting shaft portion 72 around the reference shaft portion 71. When the connecting shaft portion 72 is positioned at the reference position S set at one point on the circular locus T, the connecting shaft portion 72, the reference shaft portion 71, and the guide shaft portion 73 are configured to be aligned on a straight line. Has been done.

As a result, the angle formed by the straight line connecting the reference position S and the connecting shaft portion 72 moved from the reference position S and the straight line connecting the connecting shaft portion 72 and the guide shaft portion 73 is set to the position of the connecting shaft portion 72. Regardless, it is possible to always set the temperature to 90 °. Then, the center of the winding shaft 12 of the ink ribbon 13 is positioned at the reference position S, and the print head 64 moves the ink ribbon 13 along a straight line connecting the reference position S and the connecting shaft portion 72 moved from the reference position S. By arranging the print head 64 so as to come into contact with the ink ribbon 13, the print head 64 always comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon 13 in a state orthogonal to the tangent line at the contact position between the ink ribbon 13 and the print head 64. It becomes possible to make it. As a result, the print head 64 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 in the optimum posture for printing regardless of the winding amount of the ink ribbon 13, and the print quality can be kept constant.

Further, in the present embodiment, the sub printhead device 60 is connected to the reference shaft portion 71 and rotates integrally with the reference shaft portion 71, and the contact portion 64A of the printhead 64 is positioned with respect to the swing arm 62. Further, a drive mechanism 65 having a drive arm 81 arranged on the side opposite to the side to be driven and an elastic member 82 provided between the drive arm 81 and the swing arm 62 is further provided.

As a result, the drive arm 81 in the drive mechanism 65 is rotated toward the swing arm 62, and the swing arm 62 is pushed toward the ink ribbon 13 via the elastic member 82, thereby pressing the print head 64 against the ink ribbon 13. be able to.

Further, the sub-printhead device 60 further includes a position detection sensor 83 that detects the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 82 between the drive arm 81 and the swing arm 62, whereby the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member 82 is increased. By stopping the rotation of the drive arm 81, the head pressure of the print head 64 with respect to the ink ribbon 13 can be maintained constant at a desired value.

Further, in the transfer device 100 according to the present embodiment, the ink ribbon cassette 1 and the sub printhead device 60 are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other, and the ink ribbon cassette 1 and the sub printhead device 60 are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other. When viewed, the reference shaft portion 71, the connecting shaft portion 72, and the guide shaft portion 73 of the sub printhead device 60 are located within the outer shape of the ink ribbon cassette 1. As a result, in particular, the dimensions in the direction orthogonal to the direction in which the ink ribbon cassette 1 and the sub printhead device 60 are aligned are suppressed, so that the overall configuration of the transfer device 100 can be made compact, and the transfer device 100 can be combined with a similar transfer device. The occupied area when arranged side by side can be suppressed extremely usefully. For example, as shown in FIG. 8, it is possible to suppress the occupied area when three transfer devices 100 having different colors to be printed are arranged in the horizontal direction, and it is possible to improve the degree of freedom in layout of peripheral members.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be made.

1 ... Ink ribbon cassette, 11 ... Unwinding shaft, 12 ... Winding shaft, 13 ... Ink ribbon, 20 ... Cassette case, 40 ... Main printhead device, 60 ... Sub printhead device, 61 ... Case, 62 ... Swing arm , 62A ... arm body, 62B ... swinging end, 63 ... head holder arm, 63A ... tip, 63B ... base end, 63C ... long hole, 64 ... printhead, 64A ... contact, 65 ... drive mechanism , 71 ... Reference shaft, 72 ... Connecting shaft, 73 ... Guide shaft, 81 ... Drive arm, 82 ... Elastic member, 83 ... Position detection sensor, 100 ... Transfer device, T ... Circular locus, S ... Reference position

Claims (6)

A printhead device that performs a printing operation on the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon wound around the winding shaft of the ink ribbon.
An arm body that is swingably supported by a reference shaft portion that is arranged parallel to the take-up shaft, and a connecting shaft portion that is provided at the swing end portion of the arm body in a state parallel to the reference shaft portion. With a swing arm,
It has a tip portion rotatably connected to the connecting shaft portion of the swing arm, and a base end portion provided with an elongated hole through which a guide shaft portion arranged in parallel with the reference shaft portion is inserted. With the head holder arm
A print head that is held on the tip end side of the head holder arm and is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the ink ribbon is provided.
The print head is characterized in that the head holder arm is movable with respect to the guide shaft portion along the elongated hole in response to the swing of the swing end portion of the swing arm. apparatus. The guide shaft portion is arranged on the circular rotation locus of the connecting shaft portion drawn by rotating the connecting shaft portion around the reference shaft portion.
When the connecting shaft portion is positioned at a reference position set at one point on the circular locus, the connecting shaft portion, the reference shaft portion, and the guide shaft portion are configured to be aligned on a straight line. The printhead device according to claim 1, wherein the printhead device is characterized by the above. It is connected to the reference shaft portion and rotates integrally with the reference shaft portion, and is arranged on the side opposite to the side where the contact portion of the print head with the ink ribbon is located with respect to the swing arm. The printhead device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a drive mechanism including a drive arm and an elastic member provided between the drive arm and the swing arm. The printhead device according to claim 3, further comprising a position detection sensor that detects the amount of expansion and contraction of the elastic member between the drive arm and the swing arm. An ink ribbon cassette having an ink ribbon having one end fixed to the unwinding shaft and wound and the other end fixed to the winding shaft, and a cassette case for storing the ink ribbon.
A main print head device that performs a printing operation on the ink ribbon for transferring an image to a transfer target.
A transfer device comprising the printhead device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, as a sub-printhead device that erases print information by the main printhead device. The ink ribbon cassette and the printhead device are arranged so as to be adjacent to each other.
When the ink ribbon cassette and the printhead device are viewed along adjacent directions, the reference shaft portion, the connecting shaft portion, and the guide shaft portion of the printhead device are located within the outer shape of the ink ribbon cassette. The transfer device according to claim 5, wherein the transfer device is provided.

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