JPH032537Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] 1. Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a web-shaped body supply device, for example, an ink film supply device in a thermal transfer recording device.

2. Prior Art When a so-called web-like body such as a tape or sheet wound into a roll is sequentially fed out, used, and wound up, the tension applied to the web-like body (hereinafter referred to as tape) is not constant. , wrinkles or skew occur on the tape. For example, when running an extremely thin ink film used in a thermal transfer recording device, if the tension applied to the ink film is not constant, wrinkles and skew will occur, making it impossible to obtain good recordings. .

In order to prevent the tape from wrinkling or skewing while running, it is sufficient to keep the tension applied to the tape constant by the tape winding mechanism, but there is no need to do anything with the tape feeding mechanism that winds the tape into a roll. If no tension is applied and rotation is free, the tension applied to the tape by the tape winding mechanism will not be constant due to the inertia of the tape feeding mechanism, causing the tape to become tense or slack, causing the tape to become loose during its travel. Wrinkles and skew appear on the paper.

Therefore, in the past, a device was devised that applies back tension to the ink film 1 wound into a roll as shown in FIG. According to this device, back tension is always applied to the traveling ink film 1 through the brake member 3 based on the elastic tensile force of the spring 2, so that the ink film 1 is
If the tension applied to the brake member 3 is greater than the sliding friction generated between the brake member 3 and the ink film 1, the ink film 1 is considered to travel at a substantially constant speed.

However, it has been found that in this device, the back tension applied to the film 1 by the spring 2 changes due to a difference in the amount of ink film 1 in the film feeding mechanism, and the film 1 does not travel at a constant speed. That is, the amount of extension of the spring 2 is different when the film winding diameter on the film winding mechanism is large and small, and this causes a change in the back tension applied to the film 1.
The tension applied to the film 1 changed, causing wrinkles and skew.

That is, if the running tape is strong, wrinkles or skew will not occur in the tape even if the tension of the tape changes somewhat. Therefore, a double layered tape as shown in Figure 2 was devised. A mechanically strong tape (for example, plain paper) 4 and a mechanically weak ink film 1 that is actually used are pasted together with an adhesive 5 to form a double tape. Immediately before the film 1 is used for recording, the tape 4 used as a reinforcing material is peeled off from the film 1. In this way, even if the film 1 is mechanically weak and the tension applied to the film 1 changes somewhat, the film 1 will not be wrinkled or skewed.

However, manufacturing such a tape requires a lot of adhesive work and is expensive. tape 4
is only used as a reinforcing material for the film 1, and if there is a means that prevents the mechanically weak film 1 from wrinkling or skewing while it is running, it would not be necessary.

3 Purpose of the invention After considering the above, the purpose of the invention is to
Even if the tape (web-like material) has weak mechanical strength and is prone to wrinkles or skew during running, such as ink film, the back tension applied to the tape feeding mechanism can be used regardless of the amount of tape. As a result, almost constant tension is always applied to the tape, it runs at a constant speed, no wrinkles or skew occur during running, and the web-like body is easy to replace and there is no strain on the rotating shaft. The objective is to provide a device that does not require any force to be applied.

4. Structure of the invention That is, the present invention provides a thermal transfer ink sheet supplying device having a rotating member consisting of a winding core and guides at both ends thereof, which sequentially feeds out a thermal transfer ink sheet from a state in which it is wound and held. a fixed first support shaft that rotatably supports the rotating member; a second support shaft that rotatably supports the other guide of the rotating member and is capable of thrust movement in the axial direction of the rotating member; a pressing member fixed to the second support shaft and positioning the rotating member in the axial direction by pressing against the rotating member in the axial direction; a biasing means for biasing the rotating member; and a biasing means attached to the pressing member and/or the guide on the second support shaft side, and the biasing force of the biasing means is applied to the guide on the second support shaft side of the rotary member and the pressing member. This invention relates to a thermal transfer ink sheet supply device characterized by comprising a friction member that generates a predetermined frictional force between the heat transfer ink sheet supply device and the friction member.

5 Embodiments Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 shows a cross-sectional view of a portion of a tape, particularly ink film, supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Film guides 7 and 8 are provided on both sides of the film core 6.
8 is a convex portion 7' inserted into the film core 6;
8' is tapered, and when the film guides 7, 8 are completely inserted into the film core 6, the film guides 7, 8 and the film core 6 become integrated.

A portion of a support shaft 10 is inserted into the center hole of the film guide 7 via a bearing 9, and the support shaft 10 is inserted through and fixed to a side plate 11.

On the other hand, one end side of the support shaft 15 related to the film core 6 is connected to a housing 18 fixed to the side plate 17.
A disk-shaped friction plate 13 as a friction applying means having a friction member 12 attached thereto is fixed by a pin 14 to the other end thereof. is inserted into the hole. Between the friction plate 13 fixed to the support shaft 15 and the film guide 8,
A friction member 12 made of rubber, felt, synthetic leather, or the like is interposed, for example, in a ring shape. This friction member 12 may be attached to either or both of the film guide 8 and the friction plate 13.

Then, the friction plate 13 and the housing 18
The film guide 8 is connected to the housing 18 between
A spring is provided via the E-ring 21 to bias the winding core 6 in the direction away from the winding core 6 (that is, in the axial direction of the winding core 6).

A pin 19 is provided in a portion of the support shaft 15 that passes through the housing 18 . This pin 1
As shown in FIG. 4, the support shaft 15 is inserted into a groove 30 provided in the housing 18 so as to be able to move (thrust) in the axial direction.

In the ink film supply device configured as described above, when the film 1 starts to be wound up by the film winding mechanism 24 (see FIG. 5), the tension applied to the film 1 causes the film core 6 to
Torque is generated in the guides 7 and 8 that are integrated with the
It begins to rotate. The film guide 7 is rotatably supported by a support shaft 10 fixed to a side plate 9, and the friction between the guide 7 and the bearing 9 provided between the guide 7 and the support shaft 10 is extremely low. less.

On the other hand, the film guide 8 is rotatably supported via a bearing 20 by a support shaft 15 which cannot rotate due to the action of a pin 19 and a groove 30 of the housing 18 . A friction plate 13 is fixed to the support shaft 15 by a pin 14 while being positioned by an E-ring 21. Due to the biasing action of the spring 16, a pressing force acts on the friction plate 13 in the direction of the film guide 8 via the support shaft 15, and this force is applied to the film guide 8 via the friction member 12. Friction member 1
2 is fixed to the guide 8, for example, sliding friction will occur on the contact surface between the friction plate 13 and the rotating friction member 12, and this sliding friction will occur in a direction that prevents the tape guide 8 from rotating. and applies back tension to guide 8.

The sliding friction resistance generated between the friction plate 13 and the guide 8 is approximately constant regardless of the amount of winding of the film 1 wound on the winding core 6 as long as the biasing force applied by the spring 16 is constant. be. The urging force applied by the spring 16 is constant if the distance between the friction plate 13 and the housing 18, that is, the contraction rate of the spring 16 is the same.

The direction of tension applied to the film 1 by the film winding mechanism is the same direction as the direction of rotation of the guide 8, and almost no force is applied in the axial direction of the guide 8. Therefore, due to the tension of film 1,
The guide 8 rarely acts in the axial direction, but even if it does, the elastic urging force of the spring 16 keeps the pressing force constant against the friction plate 1.
3 joins guide 8. Since the biasing force applied to the guide 8 is thus constant, the sliding frictional resistance generated between the friction plate 13 and the guide 8 via the friction member 12 is also constant, and the guide 8 is wound around the winding core 6. A substantially constant back tension is applied regardless of the amount of film 1 being rolled up, and the tension applied to the tape 1 being wound up by the winding mechanism does not change during running.

If the tension applied to the film 1 does not change, the film 1 will not expand or contract during travel, and therefore will not wrinkle or skew, allowing it to be used in a desirable state and wound on the winding mechanism. Become.

It is necessary to adjust the back tension depending on the mechanical strength of the film 1 used, and this can be done by changing the spring constant of the spring 16 that applies the biasing force to the guide 8.

According to the inventor's experiments, the film 1 is very thin (5 to 15 μm) used in thermal transfer recording devices.
m) In the case of ink film, the back tension is
It was confirmed that when the ink film was between 0.6 and 1.2 Kg/cm, no wrinkles or skew occurred during running of the ink film, and records of good print quality were recorded on the recording paper.

Note that when all of the film 1 that has been wound around the core 6 is used up and a new film needs to be attached, the support shaft 15 is thrust by pushing the guide 7 in the direction of the guide 8 by hand. The guide 7 is inserted from a part of the support shaft 10 inserted into the hole 7.
The support shaft 1 inserted into the hole of the guide 8 can be removed by pulling out the guide 7.
The guide 8 can be removed from 5. In order to mount a new film 1, the above-mentioned operation may be reversed.

Further, since the support shaft 15 is capable of thrust movement in the axial direction, the rotating member 23 can be moved particularly in the direction of the side plate 17.
Even when the rotating member is moved (during replacement) or the rotating member becomes misaligned or shakes (during rotation, etc.), the thrust of the support shaft 15 at this time applies unreasonable force to the bearing part (i.e., the housing 18). Support shaft 15
(junction area)). Therefore, the durability of the coaxial bearing portion is improved.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a thermal transfer recording device using the ink film supply device according to the present invention.

The ink film 1 is sequentially unwound from the rotating member 23 that winds and holds it, and the ink film 1 is rolled out by the guide roller 25.
At the same time, the recording paper 27 is fed out from the feed roller 26 and runs while being held between the platen roller 29 and the thermal head 28. Ink film 1 is
The image is transferred onto the recording paper 27 in the form of dots by the thermal head 28 between the platen roller 29 and the thermal head 28 using a known thermal transfer method, thereby creating a record. After that, the ink film 1 is
The running direction is suddenly changed by the guide roller 31 , where it is separated from the recording paper 27 and taken up by the take-up roller 24 . The recording paper 27 is then discharged to a predetermined location by the guide 32.

Rotating member 23 that winds and holds the ink film 1
is equipped with a mechanism according to the present invention as shown in FIG. 3, and a constant back tension is always applied to the rotating member 23. Therefore, the tension applied to the traveling ink film 1 does not change from the beginning to the end of the ink film 1 being fed out from the rotating member 23, and is substantially constant. This prevents the ink film 1 from expanding and contracting during its travel, and prevents wrinkles and skew from occurring.

Although the present invention has been illustrated above, the above-mentioned example can be further modified based on the technical idea of the present invention.

For example, other elastic force biasing means (such as a leaf spring) may be provided in place of the spring 16 described above. The above-mentioned friction member may be separate from other members or may be integrated with other members, but another method is to appropriately roughen the contact surfaces of the friction plate 13 and/or the guide 8. Frictional force may be generated on this roughened surface. Note that the present invention can of course be applied to web-like bodies such as tapes or sheets other than ink films.

6. Effects of the invention According to the invention, since a frictional force is generated by applying a substantially constant biasing force from the axial direction to the rotating member that is sequentially unrolled from a state in which a tape or sheet-like object is wound and held, A substantially constant back tension can always be applied to the rotating member, regardless of the amount of remaining web-like material wound around the rotating member. Therefore, the tension applied to the web-shaped bodies that are sequentially fed out from the web-shaped body feeding device does not change from the beginning to the end of the web-shaped bodies that are sequentially fed out from the rotating member, and as a result, the tension applied to the web-shaped bodies that are sequentially fed out from the web-shaped body feeding device does not change from the beginning to the end of the web-shaped bodies that are sequentially fed out from the rotating member. The paper is used in a desirable state without wrinkles or skew, and is wound up by the winding mechanism.

The back tension can be easily changed in accordance with the mechanical strength of the web-like body used by changing the elastic body serving as the biasing means. Furthermore, the rotating member around which the web-shaped body such as the ink film is wound and held can be attached and detached easily by hand without the need for any special tools. Furthermore, even when the rotating member moves or misaligns or shakes, the thrust movement of the support shaft prevents excessive force from being applied to the bearing, improving the durability of the bearing. I will do it.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a back tension mechanism in a conventional ink film delivery device, Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a reinforcing agent bonded to a thin ink film, and Fig. 3 is an embodiment of the present invention. A partial sectional view of the ink film supply device, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the housing that supports the support shaft,
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a thermal transfer recording device using an ink film supply device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In addition, in the symbols used in the drawings, 1
...Ink film, 2,16...Spring,
3, 12... Friction member, 4... Reinforcement material, 5... Adhesive, 6... Film winding core, 7, 8... Film guide, 9, 20... Bearing, 10... Support shaft, 1
1, 17... Side plate, 13... Friction plate, 1
4, 19...pin, 15...support shaft, 18...housing.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a thermal transfer ink sheet supply device having a rotating member consisting of a winding core and guides at both ends thereof, which sequentially feeds out a thermal transfer ink sheet from a state where it is wound and held, a fixedly installed member rotatably supports one guide of the rotating member. a first support shaft, a second support shaft that rotatably supports the other guide of the rotating member and is capable of thrust movement in the axial direction of the rotating member; a pressing member that presses against the rotating member in the axial direction to position the rotating member in the axial direction; urging means that elastically urges the pressing member against the rotating member in the axial direction; It is attached to the pressing member and/or the guide on the second support shaft side, and applies a predetermined frictional force between the guide on the second support shaft side of the rotary member and the pressing member by the urging force of the urging means. 1. A thermal transfer ink sheet supply device comprising: a friction member that generates friction.