JPH03118180A - Thermal transfer recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the effect of the error of the cam dimension or link dimension of a lift apparatus by a method wherein the lift apparatus is connected not only to a carriage at one end thereof but also to a cassette table at the other end thereof and supported on the carriage in a freely rotatable manner through a drive shaft and a cam surface comes into contact with the bottom surface of the cassette table to rotationally drive a full-size cam. CONSTITUTION:In a lift apparatus 27, a drive shaft 56 is rotated by a drive mechanism 59 and a full-size can 57 is rotated from a falling posture to a rising posture. When the full-size cam 57 is rotated, the cassette table 25 in contact with the cam 57 is pushed up. At this time, since the full-size cam 57 is in contact with the bottom surface 25a of the cassette table 25, when the angle of rotation of the full-size cam 57 is set, for example, to 90 deg. by the stepping motor 70 of the drive mechanism 59, the lift height of the cassette table 25 is determined by the distance from the center of the drive shaft 56 to the leading end of the full-size cam 57. Therefore, when the length from the center of the drive shaft 56 to the leading end of the full-size cam 57 and the angle of rotation of the cam 57 are set accurately, the lift height of the cassette table 25 can be made accurate.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a serial printing type multicolor thermal transfer recording device.

<Prior Art> This type of multicolor thermal transfer recording device is shown in FIGS. 16 to 19.
As shown in the figure, there is a carriage 1 on which a recording head is mounted and reciprocates in the scanning direction, a cassette stand 2 on which a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes are stacked and mounted above the carriage 1, and a carriage 1 which is mounted with a recording head and moves back and forth in the scanning direction, a cassette stand 2 on which a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes are stacked and mounted, and a stage between which the recording head is scanned multiple times. The apparatus includes an elevating device 3 for elevating the cassette stand 2 relative to the carriage l in order to select a desired ink ribbon from among the plurality of ink ribbon cassettes to face the recording head.

The lifting device 3 includes a link mechanism 4 whose one end is connected to the carriage 1 and the other end is connected to the cassette table 2, a planar cam 5 rotatably supported by the carriage horn 1, and a base end of the link mechanism 4. One end is fixed to the drive shaft 6 and the tip is a flat cam 5
A cam follower piece 7 that comes into contact with the cam surface is provided.

In the above configuration, the cam follower piece 7 that is driven by the rotation of the planar cam 5 moves up and down about the drive shaft 6 .

Then, since the cam follower piece 7 is fixed to the drive shaft 6 and one end of the link mechanism 4 is fixed to the drive shaft 6, the links 4a and 4b of the link mechanism 4 follow the swinging of the cam follower piece 7. It will rotate.

At this time, since the lengths of the links 4 a and 4 b are set to be extremely larger than the length of the cam driven piece 7 , the vertical height of the links 4 a and 4 b is smaller than the vertical height of the cam driven piece 7 . becomes large and acts as a so-called boosting mechanism,
The cassette stand 2 will move up and down.

By raising and lowering the cassette table 2, a desired ink ribbon can be brought to face the recording head and printed on the recording paper. At this time, multiple ink ribbon cassettes are filled with yellow,
Using ink ribbons in three colors, magenta and cyan,
The three primary colors are subtractively mixed in the same location on the recording paper, resulting in black, blue, cyan, green, yellow, red, magenta, and white (
Eight colors (paper color) are obtained, and a multicolor recorded image is obtained.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, in the above-mentioned prior art, a so-called boosting mechanism is used to raise and lower the cassette table 2 by the lifting device 3, so that it is difficult to accurately align the desired ink ribbon with the recording head. To achieve this, errors in the cam dimensions, link dimensions, and dimensions of the cam follower piece have a large influence, and these dimensional accuracy requires high accuracy.

In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording device that is less affected by errors in cam dimensions, link dimensions, etc. of an elevating device.

<Means for Solving the Problem> As shown in FIG. 1.2, the means for solving the problem according to the present invention includes a carriage 23 on which a recording head 22 is mounted and reciprocating in the scanning direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction, and the carriage 23. A cassette stand 25 on which a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes 24 are stacked and mounted above and a desired ink ribbon 26 from among the plurality of ink ribbon cassettes 24 are sequentially selected and recorded while the recording head 22 is scanned multiple times. The cassette stand 25 is moved onto the carriage 23 in order to face the head 22.
The lifting device 27 has one end connected to the carriage 23 and the other end connected to the cassette table 2.
5, and a current size cam 5 which is rotatably supported by the carriage 23 via a drive shaft 56 and whose cam surface abuts the bottom surface 25a of the cassette table 25.
7, and a drive mechanism 59 that rotationally drives the actual size cam 57.

<Operation> In the problem solving means described above, the elevating device 27 is operated in response to a recording command to select which color of ink ribbon is to be used for printing. In the lifting device 27, first, the drive shaft 56 is rotated by the drive mechanism 59, and the actual size cam 57 is rotated, for example, from the lowered position shown in FIG. 4 to the raised position shown in FIG. Actual size cam 57
When it rotates, the cassette stand 25 that is in contact with it is pushed up.

At this time, the actual size cam 57 is attached to the bottom surface 25 of the cassette stand 25
a, so if the rotation angle of the actual size cam 57 is set to, for example, 90° by the stepping motor 70 of the drive mechanism 59, the vertical height of the cassette table 25 will be from the center of the drive shaft 56 to the actual size cam 57. It is determined by the distance to the tip of. Therefore, if the length from the center of the drive shaft 56 to the tip of the actual size cam 57 and the rotation angle of the cam 57 are made accurate, the height of the cassette table 25 can be raised and lowered accurately.

That is, since the current size cam 57 raises the cassette base 25 at a ratio of 1:1 to the cam stroke, it takes less time to raise the cassette base 25 to a predetermined position than when a conventional booster mechanism is used. Therefore, there is no need to improve the dimensional accuracy of the link, cam follower piece, etc.

<Example> Embodiments of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

[First Embodiment] FIG. 1 is a front view showing a cassette stand of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention in a raised position, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a lowered position of an ink ribbon cassette. 4 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 5 is a plan view thereof. Figure 6 is a side view of the ink ribbon cassette and carriage σ, Figure 7 is a cross-sectional view showing the scanning section of the carriage, and Figure 8 is a perspective view of the main parts of the thermal transfer recording device. The recording apparatus includes a recording head 22 mounted on the apparatus main body 21, a cartridge carriage 23 that reciprocates in the scanning direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction, and a plurality of C ink ribbon cassettes 24 stacked on top of each other above the carriage 23. cassette stand 25 on which the recording head 2 is placed, and the recording head 2
The cassette stand 25 is used to sequentially select desired ink ribbons 26 from among the plurality of ink ribbon cassettes 24 and make them face the recording head 22 while the ink ribbons 26 are scanned multiple times.
and a lifting device 27 for raising and lowering the carriage 23.

The carriage 23 is box-shaped as shown in FIG. 2.4.6, and a sliding hole 30 is formed in the front part 23a in the scanning direction, and a guide rod 31 of the apparatus main body 21 is inserted into the sliding hole 30. are fitted.

In order to move the carriage 23 in the scanning direction, the drive device 32 includes a pair of left and right pulley gears 33 arranged at both ends in the scanning direction, as shown in FIG.
It is comprised of an endless timing belt 34 that is wound around and drives the front portion 23a of the carriage 23, and a scanning motor 35 that rotationally drives the pulley gear 33.

The recording head 22 mounted on the carriage 23 is a thermal head, and as shown in FIG. Supported.

Further, a peeling lever 36 is arranged close to the recording head 22 in the scanning direction. This tear-off lever 36
Like the recording head 22, the recording head 22 is supported by a carriage 23 so as to be rotatable forward (in the platen direction) about its lower end. By rotating the peeling lever 36, the angle at which the ink ribbon is peeled off can be adjusted in accordance with the printing speed.

Further, in the carriage 23, a first paper guide plate 37 and a second paper guide plate 38 are arranged on both sides of the recording head 22 and the peeling lever 36. In order to prevent the recording head from bending toward the recording head 22, the upper end thereof is curved toward the platen (front side) and fixed to the carriage 23.

The second paper guide plate 38 is used to prevent the paper from bending toward the recording head 22 and from bulging during printing, and has an upper end curved toward the platen (front side), and a side end on the printing direction side that is bent toward the platen. It is curved in the direction (front side) and fixed to the carriage 23.

Further, a take-up wheel 39 is rotatably supported on the carriage 23 so as to pass through the cassette stand 25 at the rear side of the recording head 22 . As shown in FIG. 7, this take-up reel 390 rotation drive mechanism 40 has a rack 4I arranged in the scanning direction on the rear side of the carriage 23, and is engaged with the rack 41 according to the rotation of the recording head 22 to move the carriage 23. and a pinion 43 (see FIG. 6) that rotates in accordance with the rotational force and transmits this rotational force to the winding wheel 39. In addition, in FIG. 6, 44 is a roller for supporting the carriage, and the rack 41
slides on the toothless upper surface of the

Furthermore, a ribbon sensor 45 is provided at the front of the carriage 23.
are arranged. The ribbon sensor 45 detects the color ribbon, the black ribbon, and the end of the ribbon, and is composed of an optical coupling device. The ribbon sensor 4
The detection result No. 5 is displayed on the display section, thereby making it possible to confirm whether the print mode matches the installed ribbon or not, and to notify the end of the ribbon.

The second paper guide plate 3 faces the ribbon sensor 45.
8 is provided with a reflective plate 46. Based on the optical signal reflected from the reflecting plate 46 to the ribbon sensor 45, for example, discrimination between a color ribbon and a black ribbon is performed based on the high level (color) and low level (black) signals of the reflected light. Also, the ribbon end is ink ribbon 26
It is determined by the signal from the striped pattern.

The ink ribbon cassette stand 25 is of an open top type surrounded by side walls as shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, and in this example, three ink ribbon cassettes 24 of different colors are stacked on the cassette stand 25. ing. In FIG. 7, reference numeral 47 denotes a cassette holder that has elasticity and prevents the ink ribbon cassette 24 from wobbling.

The lifting device 27 is rotatably connected to the carriage 23 via a drive shaft 56 and a link mechanism 55 whose one end is connected to the carriage 23 by a bin 51.52 and the other end is connected to the cassette table 25 by a bin 53.54. The cam 57 is comprised of a current size cam 57 which is supported by the cassette base 25 and whose cam surface abuts against the bottom surface 25a of the cassette table 25, and a drive mechanism 59 which rotationally drives the current size cam 57.

The link mechanism 55 is arranged on both the left and right sides of the cassette stand 25, and on each side, a first link 61 and a second link 2
and a pantograph mechanism connected at the center by a bottle 63. Then, the upper end bin 54 of the first link 61 is fitted into the horizontal groove 64 of the cassette stand 25, and the second link 2
The lower end pin 52 is fitted into the lateral groove 65 of the carriage 23.

Furthermore, a link 66 is provided at the upper end of the second link 2 to connect the link mechanisms 55 on both the left and right sides of the cassette stand 25.

The actual size cam 57 has a ratio of 1 month to the stroke of the cassette table 25 to be moved, and is supported by a drive shaft 56 extending between the left and right walls of the carriage 23, as shown in FIG. For example, the cassette table 25 has a shape that allows it to be raised and lowered in three stages.

The drive mechanism 59 includes a worm wheel 68 that is fitted and fixed to the drive shaft 56, a worm 69 that meshes with the worm wheel 68, and a gear mechanism 70a that connects the worm 69.
The stepping motor 70 is rotated by a stepping motor 70.

In FIG. 8, 71 is a feed roller, and 72 is a motor for rotationally driving this feed roller 71.

In the above configuration, in response to a recording command, the elevating device 27 is operated to select which color ink ribbon is to be used for printing. In the lifting device 27, first, if the stepping motor 70 is driven, the gear mechanism 70a is activated.

The ohm 69 and the ohm wheel 68 rotate, and the rotation of the drive shaft 56 causes the actual size cam 57 to rotate from the lowered position shown in FIG. 4 to the raised position shown in FIG. 2, for example. When the actual size cam 57 rotates, the cassette stand 25 that is in contact with it
The link mechanism 55 raises the horizontal position at least on both the left and right sides. At this time, link 6
Since the left and right link mechanisms 55 are connected by 6,
The left and right ends of the cassette stand 25 will rise simultaneously.

Further, since the actual size cam 57 is in contact with the bottom surface 25a of the cassette stand 25, if the rotation angle of the actual size cam 57 is set to, for example, 90° by the stepping motor 70, the height of the vertical movement of the cassette stand 25 can be controlled by the driving force. From the center of the shaft 56 to the actual size cam 57
It is determined by the distance to the tip of. Therefore, if the length from the center of the drive shaft 56 to the tip of the actual size cam 57 and the rotation angle of the cam 57 are made accurate, the height of the cassette table 25 can be raised and lowered accurately. That is, since the ratio of the cam stroke to the stroke of the cassette stand 25 is raised by the actual size cam 57 at a ratio of 1:1, when a conventional boosting mechanism is used to raise the cassette stand 25 to a predetermined position, In comparison, there is no need to improve the dimensional accuracy of the link, cam follower piece, etc.

When the desired ink ribbon cassette 24 is located at the printing position, the drive motor 35 moves the pulley gear 33
The timing belt 34 is driven to scan the carriage 23. Then, the recording head 22 melts the ink in the ink ribbon cassette 24 and thermally transfers the ink to the paper on the platen side.

[Second Embodiment] FIG. 9 is a front view of a thermal transfer recording device according to a second embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 10 is a side view of the first actual size cam, and FIG. 11 is a side view of the second actual size cam. Figure 12 is a front view showing the state in which the first actual size cam and the second actual size cam are attached to the drive shaft, and Figure 13 shows the relationship between the actual size cam and the ink ribbon cassette at the lowest position of the ink ribbon cassette. Diagram 14 showing the contact state
The figure shows the contact state between the actual size cam and the ink ribbon cassette at the intermediate position of the ink ribbon cassette, and FIG. 15 shows the contact state between the actual size cam and the ink ribbon cassette at the top position of the ink ribbon cassette. .

As shown in the figure, in the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, there is a first actual size cam 75 whose cam surface is in contact with the bottom surface 25a of the cassette table 25 to raise the ink ribbon cassette 24 to an intermediate position, and a cam surface whose cam surface is in contact with the bottom surface 25a of the cassette table 25 to raise the ink ribbon cassette 24 to an intermediate position. A second actual size cam 76 is provided which makes contact with the bottom surface 25a of the ink ribbon cassette 24 to raise it to the uppermost position. is fitted onto the drive shaft 56 so as to be freely rotatable. The length from the rotation center of the first actual size cam 75 to the tip cam surface is set smaller than the length from the rotation center of the second actual size cam 76 to the tip cam surface.

A pin 77 is protrudingly provided on the first current size cam 75, and a long hole 7 into which the pin 77 is slidably fitted is provided on the second current size cam 76.
8 is formed, and after the first actual size cam 75 rotates 90 degrees, the second actual size cam 76 follows the second actual size cam 75 by 90 degrees.
The two are related by a phase difference of .

The other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment.

In the above configuration, the cassette stand 25 operates as shown in Table 1.

Table 1 In other words, at the lowest position of the cassette stand 25 in Fig. 13,
Both the first actual size cam 75 and the second actual size cam 76 are in the initial state.

Here, the stepping motor 70 is driven to drive the drive shaft 56.
When the cam 75 is rotated by 90 degrees, the actual size cam 75 is rotated by 90 degrees, and the cassette table 25 is raised one step higher. However, since the second actual size cam 76 is designed to freely rotate with respect to the drive shaft 56, it remains in its initial state.

Next, when the first actual size cam 75 is further rotated by 90 degrees, the pin 77 of the second actual size cam 75 is inserted into the elongated hole 7 of the second actual size cam 76.
8, the second actual size cam 76 follows the second actual size cam 75 and rotates by 90°, and the cassette table 25 further rises to one level.

In this way, since there is a phase difference between the first actual size cam 75 and the second actual size cam 76, the space required in the initial state and during operation can be reduced.

Further, since both cams are actual size cams, the influence of errors in cam dimensions is small, as in the first embodiment.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that many modifications and changes can be made to the above embodiments within the scope of the present invention.

<Effects of the Invention> As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the actual size cam is used in the lifting device, and the actual size cam pushes up the bottom of the cassette table, so that the cassette table is raised to a predetermined position. However, compared to the case where a conventional booster mechanism is used, there is an excellent effect that there is no need to increase the dimensional accuracy of the link, the cam follower piece, etc.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing the cassette table of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention in a raised position, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a front view showing the ink ribbon cassette in a lowered position. Figure 4 is a side view of the same, Figure 5 is a plan view of the same, Figure 6 is a side view of the ink ribbon cassette and carriage, Figure 7 is a perspective view of the scanning section of the carriage, and Figure 8 is a view of the thermal transfer recording device. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the main parts, and FIG.
Figure O is a side view of the first actual size cam, Figure 11 is a side view of the second actual size cam, and Figure 12 shows the first actual size cam and the second actual size cam attached to the drive shaft. A front view, FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the contact state between the actual size cam and the ink ribbon cassette at the lowest position of the ink ribbon cassette, and FIG. 14 is a diagram showing the contact state between the actual size cam and the ink ribbon cassette at the intermediate position of the ink ribbon cassette. FIG. 15 is a diagram showing the contact state between the actual size cam and the ink ribbon cassette at the top position of the ink ribbon cassette, and FIG. 16 is a front view showing the state of collapse under the cassette stand of a conventional thermal transfer recording device. , FIG. 17 is a side view thereof, FIG. 18 is a front view showing the cassette table in a raised state, and FIG. 19 is a side view thereof. 22: Recording head, 23 Nikyariji, 24: Ink ribbon cassette, 25: Cassette stand, 25a: Bottom surface, 26
: Ink ribbon, 27: Lifting device, 5152: Pin, 5
3, 54: Bin, 55: Link mechanism, 56: Drive shaft, 5
7, 75, 76: Actual size cam, 59: Drive mechanism. Applicant Sharp Corporation

Claims (1)

[Claims] A carriage on which a recording head is mounted and reciprocates in the scanning direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction, a cassette stand on which a plurality of ink ribbon cassettes are stacked and mounted above the carriage, and a carriage that is moved between the recording heads to scan multiple times. an elevating device for elevating the cassette stand relative to a carriage in order to sequentially select desired ink ribbons from among the plurality of ink ribbon cassettes to face the recording head, the elevating device having one end connected to the carriage and the other end are each connected to a cassette stand, a current size cam rotatably supported by the carriage via a drive shaft and whose cam surface abuts the bottom surface of the cassette stand, and a drive for rotationally driving the current size cam. A thermal transfer recording device comprising a mechanism.