JPH02303870A - Recording head and thermal transfer recording device using same head - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate uselessness of a transfer medium in an unused state and to detect also an inclined run of the transfer medium by providing a plurality of heating elements able to generate heat in response to a picture signal and a photo-sensor provided in the outer, both end regions in the direction of row of heating elements. CONSTITUTION:Two photo-sensors 3a, 3b are disposed on the forward side in the direction of travel of a recording head A in the outer regions at the upper and lower both ends of a row of heating elements on a head substrate 1. These photo-sensors 3a, 3b are composed of reflection type sensors, wherein these sensors are disposed at an interval smaller than the width of an ink sheet 4. For example, when the ink sheet 4 runs in a direction inclined with respect to the row of heating elements of a recording head A, the photo-sensor 3b placed under the row of heating elements gets out of the ink sheet 4. And in recording, when the ink sheet 4 has been used up, a speculator portion 4b of the ink sheet 4 engages the photo-sensors 3a, 3b, which is detected due to the differences in reflection factors so that the termination of the ink sheet 4 is detected.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention provides a recording head capable of detecting skew and end of the ink sheet when conveying an ink sheet and recording, and a recording head using the recording head. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device.

<Prior art> Today, personal computers and word processors are widely used, and as a method for recording information input from these input devices, it is easy to miniaturize the device, and it has excellent low noise characteristics. Thermal transfer recording methods are widely used.

In this thermal transfer recording method, for example, in a serial type device, as shown in FIG. The ink is selectively heated by a recording head 53, which has a plurality of heating elements arranged in a row on a head substrate, each of which individually generates heat when energized, and the molten ink is transferred onto a recording sheet.

Further, in the device, a mirror sheet 50a with high reflectance is provided at the sheet end portion, and a photo sensor 55 attached to the carriage 54 is attached to the mirror sheet 50a.
The ink sheet 50 is configured to interrupt recording and prompt the ink sheet 50 to be replaced when the ink sheet 50 is detected.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the device with the above configuration, the photosensor 55
Since there is a distance e from record rad 53,
When the photo sensor 55 detects the specular sheet 50a, the ink sheet 50 corresponding to the distance M1 from the photo sensor 55 to the recording head 53 is left unused, and the ink sheet is replaced. It was wasted.

Further, even if the ink sheet 50 skews during recording, there is no means to detect this, so recording continues as is, and recording omissions may occur.

The present invention differs from the conventional t! 4B, and its purpose is to provide a recording head that can eliminate waste of the unused transfer medium and also detect skewed movement of the transfer medium, and a thermal transfer recording using the recording head. The goal is to provide equipment.

<Means for Solving the Problems> A typical means according to the present invention for solving the above problems includes a head substrate, and a head substrate arranged in a row on the head substrate,
The present invention is characterized in that a recording head is configured by providing a plurality of heating elements capable of generating heat in accordance with an image signal and photosensors disposed at outer regions of both ends of the heating element array in the column direction.

Further, the recording head is used to configure a thermal transfer recording device.

Effect> In the above means, the sheet end of the ink sheet can be detected by a photo sensor, and since this sensor is provided in the recording head, the ink sheet can be used without wasting it.

Furthermore, since the photosensors are provided outside the outer regions of both ends of the heat generating element array in the column direction, it is possible to detect even a state in which the ink sheet is running obliquely with respect to the heat generating element array.

<Embodiment> Next, an embodiment in which the above means is applied to a serial type recording head and its device will be described.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory plan view of a serial type recording head A. FIG.

First, to explain the structure of the recording head A, a glaze portion (not shown) made of a glass layer is provided near one side end of a head substrate 1 made of Altos or the like having strong mechanical strength, and heat is generated when electricity is applied to the glaze portion. A plurality of heating elements 2 made of TaN or the like are arranged in vertical rows.

A Japanese electric scraper and a common electrode are connected to this heating element 2,
The heating elements 2 individually generate heat by applying current between the electrodes in accordance with the image signal. A protective layer (not shown) is formed on the heating element 2 and the electrodes to protect the heating element 2 and the like.

Further, two photosensors 3a and 3b are disposed on the outer regions of both upper and lower ends of the heat generating element array on the head substrate 1, and on the front side in the traveling direction of the recording head A. The photosensors 3a and 3b are composed of reflective sensors, and the 2
As shown in FIG. 2, the ink sheets 4 are arranged at intervals narrower than the width of the ink sheet 4, which will be described later.

Next, a thermal transfer recording apparatus using the recording head A will be explained with reference to FIG.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a serial type thermal transfer recording device using the recording head A, in which thermal transferable (thermal melting, thermal sublimation, thermal softening, etc.) ink 4a is applied to a long base film. The coated ink sheet 4 is wound around a supply reel 5a and a take-up reel 5b and is housed in a cassette 6, and the cassette 6 is configured to be removably loaded into a carriage 7. Incidentally, at the end of the winding of the ink sheet 4, there is a mirror surface sheet (4b) as shown in FIG.
is formed. The mirror sheet 4b has a higher reflectance of light than the surface coated with the ink 4a, and is configured so that the difference in reflectance between the ink coated surface and the mirror sheet 4b can be detected by the photosensors 3a and 3b.

A bell 8c is connected to the carriage 7, which is passed between pulleys 8a and Bb, and is configured to be able to reciprocate along a guide shaft 9 by driving a carriage motor 8d connected to the pulley 8a. In other words, the recording sheet (
With respect to 1), RAD A can be moved to record.

The carriage 7 also carries the recording head A described above, and the recording head A is configured to be able to move up and down in the direction of arrow a in FIG.

Further, the head A is located at a position opposite to the recording head A.
A platen 11 is provided in the moving area of
is provided. A pinch roller (not shown) is in pressure contact with the conveyance roller 12, and when the conveyance roller 12 is driven and rotated by the conveyance motor 13, the recording sheet (1) is moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 due to the cooperative action with the pinch roller. It is configured to be transported to.

Therefore, in the above device, when the recording head A goes down, the ink sheet 4 comes into pressure contact with the recording sheet (1) whose back side is supported by the platen 11, and in this state, when the carriage 7 runs in the direction of arrow C, , the ink sheets 4 are sequentially fed out from the supply reel 5a. Further, when the recording head A is energized in accordance with the image signal in synchronization with the carriage 7 traveling in the direction of arrow C, the heating element 2 in the energized portion generates heat, and the ink melted by this heat is transferred to the recording sheet. It is transcribed and recorded in NO. The ink sheet 4 fed out from the supply reel 5a is wound onto a take-up reel 5b connected to a take-up shaft 14 rotated by a motor (not shown). It is configured to convey the sheet 4.

Furthermore, when the transfer recording for one line is completed as described above, the head of the recording head A is raised, the carriage 7 is returned to the home position, and the conveying roller 12 is rotated by a predetermined amount to move the recording seam 0 in the direction of the arrow. The recording medium is conveyed by one line, and recording continues by repeating the recording of the next line and subsequent lines in the same manner as described above.

During the recording, if the ink sheet 4 is not skewed, the two photosensors 3a and 3b of the recording head A are both covered by the ink sheet 4. On the other hand, if the ink sheet 4 runs diagonally, for example, as shown in FIG. The installed photo sensor 3b is connected to the ink sheet 4
come off from At this time, the photosensor 3b detects that the ink sheet 4 has come off from the photosensor 3b due to the difference in reflectance from when it is covered by the ink sheet 4, and the ink sheet 4 is conveyed normally. It is detected that the vehicle is tilted upward. Therefore, it is possible to display a warning that the ink sheet 4 has skewed by using the detection signal.

Incidentally, when the ink sheet 4 is obliquely moved downward in the opposite manner to the above, it is detected by the photosensor 3a in the same manner as described above.

Next, when the ink sheet 4 is used up during the recording, the mirror sheet 4b portion of the ink sheet 4 is applied to the photosensors 3a and 3b, as shown in FIG. At this time, the difference in reflectance is detected, and the end of the ink sheet 4 is detected. These photosensors 3a, 3b
is provided near the heating element 2, which is the recording part of the recording pad A, so that when the end of the ink sheet 4 is detected, the end of the coated surface of the ink 4a is located at the heating element 2 part. Therefore, the ink sheet 4 can be used without waste.

As described above, by providing the sensor 3 in the recording head A, the ink sheet 4 can be used without wasting it, and the skew of the ink sheet 4 can be detected.

Although the above embodiments have been explained using a serial type recording head and a thermal transfer recording device as an example, the present invention is not limited thereto. It can be applied in the same way.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, in the present invention, by providing a photo sensor in the recording head, it is possible to use an ink sheet without wasting it, and it is also possible to effectively detect skewing of an ink sheet.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a recording head according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a photosensor detects an end mark, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of a thermal transfer recording device.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which an ink sheet is skewed, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional technique. A is a recording head, B is a recording device, 1 is a head substrate, 2 is a heating element, 3a, 3b are photosensors, 4 is an ink sheet, 4a is ink, 4b is a mirror sheet, 5a is a supply reel, 5b is a take-up Reel, 6 is a center, 7 is a carrying, 8a, 8b is a belt, 8c is a belt, 8d is a motor, 9 is a guide shaft, 10 is a recording sheet, 11 is a platen, 12 is a conveyance roller, 13 is a conveyance motor, 14 is a winding shaft.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) a head substrate; a plurality of heating elements arranged in a row on the head substrate and capable of generating heat in accordance with an image signal; and photosensors disposed in outer regions of both ends of the heating element row in the column direction; , a recording head having. (2) a conveying means for conveying an ink sheet coated with thermal transferable ink; a recording head according to claim (1) for heating the ink sheet in accordance with an image signal; the recording head and the recording sheet A thermal transfer recording device comprising: a moving means for relatively moving;