JPH02279380A - Manual printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate missing dots, collapse and the reverse transfer of ink by providing an ink ribbon cooling member cooling an ink ribbon immediately after passing a thermal head and a peeling-off member for peeling off the ink ribbon from a printing surface immediately after the ink ribbon passes the ink ribbon cooling member. CONSTITUTION:An ink ribbon 30 is drawn out in an E'-direction by the tension applied to the ink ribbon 30 reaching a taking-up core 2 from the leading end of a thermal head 20 by the rotary torque of the taking-up core 2. At this time, the ink ribbon 30 having a thermal latent image formed thereto gets out of the thermal head 20 to be immediately cooled by a thermal head bracket 29. The ink ribbon 30 sufficiently cooled by the bracket 29 leaves the bracket 29 to be peeled off from a printing surface 80 by a peeling-off roller 75 and only printing data 81 is sharply transferred to the printing surface to remain thereon to complete printing. At this time, the peeling-off roller 75 is rotated in the direction shown by an arrow F by the ink ribbon 30. By this method, the ink ribbon 30 can be stably peeled off.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer manual printer that prints by manual scanning.

[Prior Art] Many manual scanning printers have been proposed in the past. A typical example is Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 62-244670. It has a guide member for peeling off.

In addition, many thermal transfer type printers have been proposed in the past, representative examples of which include Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-25781 and Utility Model Laid-Open No. 58-9749.

These also perform printing by peeling off the ink ribbon at a certain angle.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in these conventional examples, even if the peeling angle of the ink ribbon after printing is adjusted, the printing speed in manual printers depends on the human hand, and the size of the printed information also increases. Because of the various variations, peeling of the ink ribbon was unstable and good printing quality could not be obtained. That is, when the printing speed is high or the size of printed information is large, the peeling force is large, so the ink ribbon 30 is in close contact with the paper until just before the peeling roller 75, as shown in the schematic diagram of the printing part of the conventional example in FIG. However, the peeling angle was actually large, and when peeled off, the outline of the printed information became unclear and, in severe cases, caused a tail-side condition. In addition, when the printing speed is slow or the size of the printed information is small, the peeling force is small, so as shown in the schematic diagram of the printing part of the conventional example in FIG. Since the ink is peeled off in a semi-molten state, voids may occur in the ink, resulting in dots being dropped or printed information being crushed.In severe cases, the printed information transferred to the printing surface may be reversely transferred to the ink ribbon 50, resulting in characters being lost. This caused problems such as shortages. In any case, since the ink ribbon cannot be peeled off stably after printing, the conventional examples have a serious drawback in that the printing quality is extremely low.

The purpose of the present invention is to eliminate these major drawbacks of the conventional method and to enable stable ink ribbon peeling even when printing speed and print information size change, thereby eliminating the tail side phenomenon of printed information and ink peeling.

To provide a thermal transfer manual printer with excellent printing quality without dot dropout, crushing phenomenon, ink reverse transfer, etc.
There is a particular thing.

[Means for Solving the Problems] A manual printer according to the present invention includes a thermal head and an ink jet located behind the thermal head in the direction of movement, for cooling the ink jet immediately after passing through the thermal head. The present invention is characterized by comprising an ink ribbon cooling member and a peeling member located at the rear of the ink ribbon cooling member in the direction of travel for peeling off the ink ribbon from the printing surface immediately after passing through the ink ribbon cooling member.

Furthermore, the ink ribbon cooling member is a receiving member for the thermal head that protrudes from the tip of the thermal head.

Still further, the ink ribbon cooling member is a rotatable ink ribbon cooling roller.

Still further, the ink ribbon cooling member is a heat dissipation plate of the thermal head that protrudes from the tip of the thermal head.

Still further, the peeling member is a rotatable peeling roller.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of a manual printer according to the present invention. 2 to 4 are external configuration diagrams of an embodiment of a manual printer according to the present invention. All the same numbers indicate the same thing and will be explained below.

1 is a frame, and 20 is a thermal head provided on a heating element near the edge. 10 is thermal head 2
It is a driving roller located at the rear in the direction of arrow A, which is the moving direction for printing 0, and has a built-in one-way clutch to rotate only in the direction of the arrow, and has a concave relief part 13 for the passage part of the thermal ribbon 60. It has a shape. The drive row 210 is integrally formed with a drive tooth section 14 that transmits the drive force to the transmission gear A300L.
are drive roller rubbers A, which are provided on the outer periphery of the drive roller 10 and are in contact with the printing surface 80 so that they do not slip (rotate) when the printer body moves.

40 is provided so as to be freely rotatable, and the printing surface 8
This is an auxiliary roller that rotates in contact with zero and supports the printer.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a receiving member bonded to the thermal head 20 with an adhesive or the like, and its tip protrudes beyond the edge of the thermal head 20 and comes into contact with the ink ribbon 30 after printing to cool the ink ribbon 30. The thermal head 20 and the receiving member 29 are held by a head holder 21 so as to face the printing surface 80 and form a constant angle. The head holder 21 is connected to the head pressing plate 22 via the head holder shaft 24.
The thermal head 20 and the receiving member 29 are rotatable about the head holder shaft 24. The head pressing plate 22 has a head pressing spring 23 which is a torsion coil spring.
A pressing force is applied by the head, and the head is rotatable around the head pressing shaft 28. The head pressing shaft 28 and the head holder shaft 24 are set at perpendicular positions, so that the thermal head 20 can always contact the printing surface 80 with a uniform and constant force, preventing the undulation of the paper surface and the printer. The thermal head 20 is prevented from hitting unevenly due to the inclination of the main body.

The rotational driving force of the drive row 210 is transmitted from the drive tooth section 14 to the detection slit plate 60 via the transmission gear A50α and the transmission gear B50/l. The detection slit plate 60 has a plurality of holes 60a formed in the circumferential direction to obtain a signal synchronized with the movement of the roller 10. Reference numeral 61 denotes a detection slit temporary pressing spring, which applies a frictional load to the detection slit plate 61 to prevent excessive rotation due to inertia or reverse rotation due to disturbances such as sudden changes in the tension of the ink ribbon, and generates unnecessary pulses. I try not to do that. Reference numeral 62 denotes a photointerlab, which detects the amount of movement by rotating the detection slit plate 60 so that infrared light is transmitted and blocked by the slit portion 60α, and converts it into a signal. A photointerrupter FPO 66 connects the photointerrupter 62 and the processor.

The rotational driving force of the drive row 210 is further transmitted from the transmission gear B5'0b to the winding gear 51 via the transmission gear C (not shown) to wind up the used ink ribbon 63. FIG. 6 additionally shows a cross-sectional detailed configuration diagram of an embodiment of the ribbon winding section of the manual printer according to the present invention, and 2 to explain the ribbon winding section is a winding core, which is press-fitted into the winding shaft 53. It is locked. The take-up gear 51 is biased with a pressing force by the take-up spring 54 from the take-up core 2, and is frictionally engaged with the take-up shaft 53 via a friction plate 52 made of felt or the like. The take-up gear 51 always rotates faster than the take-up shaft 56 and the take-up core 2, and prevents the used ink ribbon 330 from becoming loose.

A brake core 3 has a structure (not shown) to which a braking force such as a brake or tension is transmitted to prevent the unused ink ribbon 32 on the supply side of the ink ribbon 30 from loosening.

70 follows the printing surface 80 with respect to frame 1 and shows arrow C.
It is a sliding board that slides up and down in the direction. The slide plate 70 is attached to the frame 1 by the slide @ 72 fixed to the frame 1 and the guide parts 1α1b and 1c of the frame 1.
The slide spring 74, which is held between the frame 1 and the slide plate 70, always applies a constant pressing force to the printing surface 80. This pressing force is determined only by the slide spring 74, regardless of the pressing force applied by the hand 90. 71 is slide plate 7
0 by a bottle 73 so that it can be opened and closed in the direction of arrow E, and protects the thermal head 20 and the ink ribbon 30. When printing is performed by manual scanning, the protective cover 71 presses the printing surface 80 to correct warping and floating of the printing material, so that printing can be performed accurately and clearly. At the same time, it serves as a traveling guide for the ink ribbon 30 so that the ink ribbon 30 does not lose its straightness. Reference numeral 75 is rotatably provided on the slide cover 71 and carries the ink ribbon 6 printed by the thermal head 20 and cooled by the receiving member 29.
This is a pricking roller for peeling off the printed surface 80 immediately after passing through the receiving member 29.

31 is a ribbon cassette with a snap fit part 51α
and positioning part 1 provided on frame 1 by 61b
The protective cover 71 can be attached and detached with a single touch by opening and closing the protective cover 71 in the direction of the arrow B and in the direction of the arrow E, respectively. 35
is a used ink ribbon 30 and a ribbon cassette core 54
52 is an unused part of the ink ribbon 3, which is wound around the ribbon cassette core 34b and stored in the ribbon cassette 31. It is attached to.

The cassette core 34α is connected to the winding core 2, and the cassette core 54
b is engaged with the brake core 5 at the same time as the cassette is operated, and a winding force and a braking force are transmitted to the brake core 5, respectively.

(Operation) FIG. 10 is a schematic external view of an example of use of an embodiment of the manual printer according to the present invention. By holding the case 82 with a hand 90 or the like and moving it in the direction of arrow A while pressing it against the printing surface 80, the drive row 210 rotates and the photo interrupter 62
The print information 81 is printed on the print surface 80 by the thermal head 20 in synchronization with the print synchronization signal.

FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the printing mechanism of an embodiment of the manual printer according to the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the construction of an embodiment of a manual printer according to the present invention. Identical parts are indicated by the same numbers, and explanations that overlap with the previous explanation will be omitted.

When the printer body is manually scanned in the direction of the arrow, the unused ink ribbon 32 is moved between the thermal head 20 and the ink ribbon 6.
00 The difference between the friction coefficient μ of the back coated surface 30α and the friction coefficient μ2 between the ink surface 30b of the ink ribbon 30 and the printing surface 80, μ2−μ, (μ2> μm), is pulled out in the direction of arrow E and printed information is printed by the thermal head 20. A thermal latent image is formed. The ink ribbon 5 extends from the tip of the thermal head 2 to the take-up core due to the rotational torque of the take-up core 20.
The ink ribbon 50 is pulled out in the E' direction by the tension applied at zero. At this time, the ink ribbon 30 on which the thermal latent image has been formed is immediately cooled by the thermal head receiving member 29 after leaving the thermal head 20 . When the ink ribbon 30, which has been sufficiently cooled by the receiving member 29, exits the receiving member 29, it is stabbed at a fixed angle by a pricking roller 75 on the printing surface 8.
0 and only the printed information 81 is clearly printed on the printed surface 80
The image is transferred onto the top and the remaining printing is completed. At this time, the peeling roller 75 is rotated by the ink ribbon 30 in the direction of arrow F, so that the peeling force of the ink ribbon 30 is not lost. What is important here is that the ink ribbon 30 is reliably and sufficiently cooled by the receiving member 29 immediately after the thermal latent image is formed, so that the peeling force and peeling position can be made stable, and as a result, the ink ribbon 30 is stabilized. By obtaining a peeling angle and stabilizing the transfer of ink to the printing surface 80 when peeled off by the pulling roller 75, stable and high printing quality is made possible.

The used ink ribbon 36 after being peeled off passes through the concave portion 13 of the drive roller 10 and passes through the ribbon tensioning portion 31C of the ribbon cassette 61 (not shown in FIGS. 5 and 7, but having a similar structure). (shown in Figure 1) by arrow E"
direction and is wound up by the winding core 2.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the printing part of another embodiment of the manual printer according to the present invention.

A series of printing operations such as drawing out the ink ribbon 30, forming a thermal latent image, cooling it, peeling it off, discharging it and winding it up twice are the same as those described in FIGS. 5 and 7 above. A ribbon cooling roller 77 presses the ink ribbon 50 discharged from the tip of the thermal head 20 against the printing surface 80 and cools it, and is freely rotatable in the direction of arrow G. A ribbon cooling roller spring 78 has one end fixed to the frame 1, and the other end engages with the ribbon cooling roller 77 to apply a pressing force to the ribbon cooling roller. The ribbon cooling roller spring 78 cools the printing surface 80 due to the tension of the ink ribbon 30.
The spring force is set to be relatively small to the extent that it does not float up. In addition, even when the printing surface 80 is uneven, the printing surface 80 is always
The ribbon cooling roller can also be displaced in the direction of arrow H so that the density becomes zero. The ink ribbon 30 ejected from the tip of the thermal head 20 and containing the thermal latent image of printing information remains attached to the printing surface 80 until it reaches the ribbon cooling roller 77, during which time the ink ribbon 30 emits heat into the air. It is cooled by

In other words, the ink ribbon 30 is provided as a cooling distance by the distance fIIAL and is reliably cooled. Further, since the ribbon cooling roller 77 contacts the ink ribbon 30 while rotating in the direction of arrow G, the heat of the ink ribbon 30 is absorbed by the ribbon cooling roller 77 and cooled here as well. After passing through the ribbon cooling roller 77, the ink ribbon 30 is peeled off from the printing surface 8° by the pulling roller 75, and only the thermal latent image portion is removed from the printing surface 8.
o, and the remaining printing is completed.

FIG. 9 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the printing portion of still another embodiment of the manual printer according to the present invention.The series of printing operations is the same as that described in FIGS. 5 and 7 above.

26 is a heat dissipation plate for improving the thermal response of the thermal head 2o, and the part protruding from the tip of the thermal head 2o presses the ink ribbon 3o, so that the ink ribbon 3
It absorbs the heat of o. This heat dissipation plate 26 increases the thermal response of the thermal head and the thermal response of the ink ribbon in one part, and the printing speed is arbitrary because it depends on the manual scanning speed of humans, making it possible to stabilize the ink ribbon 3o in manual printers with large variations. It became possible to peel it off.

The present invention has been described above through one embodiment. By installing an ink ribbon cooling member to cool the ink ribbon at the rear in the direction of movement of the thermal head, stable peeling of the ink ribbon is made possible, and the transfer of ink to the printing surface is stabilized, making clear and beautiful printing possible. This series of effects, such as significantly improving print quality, is not limited to only one embodiment of the present invention.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, by using a simple mechanism, the ink ribbon can be reliably cooled and pulled out after printing, thereby making it possible to stably peel off the ink ribbon. , it eliminates the trailing phenomenon of printed results such as letters and pictures, ink peeling, missing dots due to voids, crushing, reverse transfer of ink, etc., dramatically improving the printing quality of manual printers using thermal transfer method, and improving the printing quality of conventional printers. It is a self-evident fact that eliminating all points is extremely effective and has great industrial value.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an external perspective configuration diagram of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the appearance of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention without an ink ribbon cassette installed. FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bottom appearance of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention with the ribbon protection cover unit removed. FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of a printing mechanism portion of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a detailed sectional view of the ribbon winding section of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of another embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of still another embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 10 is a schematic external view showing an example of use of an embodiment of the manual printer of the present invention. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram of a printing portion of a conventional manual printer when the peeling force is large. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram of a printing part when the peeling force of a conventional manual printer is small. 1 River...Frame 10...Drive roller 20...Thermal head 26...
... Heat sink 29 ... Thermal-rad receiving member 0 ...
..... Ink ribbon 0 ..... Detection slit plate 1 ..... Printer protection cover 5 .....
...Peeling roller 0...Print surface 1...Print information 2...Case 0... ··hand

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) In a thermal transfer manual printer that prints image information on a printing surface by manual scanning, the ink ribbon is located behind a thermal head in the direction of movement of the thermal head and cools the ink ribbon immediately after passing the thermal head. and a peeling member located at the rear of the ink ribbon cooling member in the traveling direction and peeling off the ink ribbon from the printing surface immediately after passing the ink ribbon cooling member. manual printer. (2) The manual printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon cooling member is a receiving member for the thermal head that protrudes from the tip of the thermal head. (3) The manual printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon cooling member is a rotatable ink ribbon cooling roller. (4) The manual printer according to claim 1, wherein the ink ribbon cooling member is a heat dissipation plate of the thermal head that protrudes from the tip of the thermal head. (5) The manual printer according to claim 1, wherein the peeling member is a rotatable peeling roller.