JPH0363152A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a recorder in which a driving force is effectively transmitted to an ink sheet conveying system even in the case of recording by multi-printing to enhance the quality of a recording image by providing ink sheet conveying means at a cover side in which the ink sheet is charged. CONSTITUTION:When an ink cartridge 9 is mounted on a recording cover 11, a reel gear of a winding reel is engaged with a driving force transmission gear 44a for forming a driving mechanism 44 of the winding reel provided at a recording cover 11. A reel gear of a supply reel is engaged with a tension transmission gear 45a for forming a back tension applying mechanism 45 provided at a recorder body 7. In the mechanism 44 a bracket 46 is fixed to the side face of the cover 11, and a driving motor 44b is secured to the bracket 46. The rotation of the motor 44b is decelerated through gears 44c, 44d-44f to be effectively transmitted to the gear 44a. Thus, an ink sheet 2 can be effectively conveyed at a predetermined conveying speed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a recording apparatus using a thermal transfer recording method that transfers an image onto an ink recording medium of an ink sheet in accordance with an image signal.

<Prior Art> In recent years, recording devices such as facsimile devices using a so-called thermal transfer recording method using an ink sheet have been developed.

The thermal transfer type recording device uses an ink sheet in which a heat-melting (heat-sublimating) ink is applied to a base film, and by heating the ink sheet with a recording head in accordance with an image signal, An image is formed by transferring melted (sublimated) ink onto a recording sheet. Generally, this ink sheet is a so-called one-time sheet in which the ink is completely transferred to the recording sheet by one image formation, so there is a possibility that the consumption of the ink sheet is large and the running cost becomes high.

Therefore, in the thermal transfer recording type recording apparatus, a multi-printing method has been proposed in which recording is performed by conveying a recording sheet and an ink sheet at different speeds in order to reduce running costs.

In this multi-printing method, the transport length of the ink sheet is shorter than the transport length of the recording sheet.
L/n: n>1) Recording is performed at L, and the ink sheet usage efficiency is n times higher than in the conventional recording method in which the conveyance length of the recording sheet and the ink sheet is the same.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> In a recording device using a conventional one-time ink sheet, a drive mechanism for a take-up reel for conveying an ink sheet is provided on the device main body side, and a drive constituting the drive mechanism is provided. Generally, the force transmission gear is configured as a pendulum gear to mesh with the reel gear of the take-up reel, and a slip clutch is provided in the drive mechanism to transmit the rotation of the motor. For this reason, if the tension acting on the ink sheet becomes large, there is a risk that tooth skipping may occur at the meshing portion of the pendulum gear, or slippage may occur in the slip clutch. That is, there is a possibility that the rotation of the drive motor constituting the drive mechanism may not be reliably transmitted to the take-up reel.

When the multi-printing method is adopted, since this recording method forms an image while shearing the ink within the ink layer, in order to convey the ink sheet,
A force that is the sum of the frictional force between the ink sheet and the recording head and the shearing force of the ink is required. For this reason, a larger force is required to convey the ink sheet than when using a conventional one-time ink sheet. There is a possibility that the rotation of the drive motor constituting the drive mechanism may not be reliably transmitted to the take-up reel.

In addition, in the multi-print method, the ink sheet is printed 1/1 every time one line of image is formed on the recording sheet.
It is necessary to reliably transport the n lives, and by reliably performing the transport, it is possible to improve the quality of the recorded image, but in this case as well, if a conventional one-time ink sheet is used, the drive The rotation of the motor is not reliably transmitted to the take-up reel, making it impossible to improve the quality of recorded images.

The present invention solves the above problems of the prior art, and its purpose is to ensure that driving force is transmitted to the ink sheet conveyance system even when performing multi-printing, thereby improving the quality of recorded images. The objective is to provide a recording device that can increase the

<Means for Solving the Problems> The means of the present invention for solving the problems described above includes an apparatus main body equipped with a loading section into which a recording medium can be loaded, and a loading section which can be installed and in which an ink sheet can be loaded. a lid body having a section;
The invention is characterized by an ink sheet conveying means provided on the lid body and conveying the ink sheet.

<Function> In the above means, the ink sheet conveying means is provided on the lid body side loaded with the ink sheet, and the conveying force of the ink sheet conveying means can be directly transmitted to the ink sheet.

<Embodiment> An embodiment of a recording apparatus to which the above means is applied will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The recording apparatus A according to this embodiment is configured as a recording system of a facsimile machine. FIG. 1(^) is an external perspective view of a facsimile apparatus, FIG. 1(B) is a cross-sectional explanatory view of the facsimile apparatus, and FIGS. 2(A) and 2(B) are perspective views of a recording apparatus A.

First, Figure 1 (A), (B) and Figure 2 (A),
The overall configuration of the facsimile machine will be schematically explained with reference to (B). Hereinafter, in FIG. 2(A), the arrow X direction will be taken as the left-right direction of the device, the arrow y direction will be taken as the front-back direction, and the explanation will be made assuming that the arrow 2 direction is the up-down direction.

The facsimile approval device includes a recording device A as a recording system, a reading system B for reading an image written on a document,
It is composed of an operation panel C.

The recording device A forms an image on the recording sheet 1 in response to an image signal transmitted from another device or an image signal transmitted from a reading system B, which will be described later.

That is, the overlapping recording sheet 1 and ink sheet 2 are pressed against the platen roller 4 side by the recording head 3 as a recording means, and the recording sheet 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow a by driving the platen roller 4 in the direction of the arrow. At the same time, the ink sheet 2 is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow by a drive mechanism 44, which will be described later. In the process of conveying the recording sheet 1 and the ink sheet 2, the ink applied to the ink sheet 2 is melted (including sublimation, hereinafter referred to as intermittent) by driving the recording head 3 according to the image signal, An image is formed by transferring molten ink onto a recording sheet 1. The recording sheet l on which a predetermined image has been formed is further conveyed in the direction of arrow a, cut by a cutter 5, conveyed by a pair of conveyance rollers 6, and discharged to the outside of the recording apparatus A.

The recording sheet 1 is stored in a roll holder 8 provided in the main body 7 of the apparatus. Said roll holder8. Platen a-ra4. The cutter 5 and the pair of conveyance rollers 6 are each provided in the main body 7 of the apparatus.

Further, in this embodiment, the ink sheet 2 is loaded into an ink cartridge 9, which will be described later. The ink cartridge 9 is removably loaded into a recording cover 11, which is a lid, and which is configured to be rotatable in the main body 7 of the apparatus via a rotary wheel 1O. Further, the recording head 3 is connected to the recording cover 1.
1 at a predetermined position.

The reading system B irradiates the original 12 with light, converts the reflected light into an electrical signal, and transmits this signal to another device or to the recording device A depending on the operation mode.

That is, the document mounting table i formed on the upper surface of the recording cover 11
3, a plurality of originals 12 are placed on it, and the originals 12 are preliminary transported by a preliminary transport roller 14a and a pressing roller 14b, and are separated and fed one by one by a separation roller 15a and a pressure contact piece 15b that is in pressure contact with the original. The document 12 is configured to be transported by a pair of transport rollers 16a and 16b and discharged onto a discharge tray 17. While the original 12 is being conveyed, a light source 18 irradiates the original surface with light, and the reflected light is directed to a photoelectric conversion element 21 such as a CCD through a light source 19 and a lens 20, and the image signal is copied. In the case of mode, the information is transmitted to its own recording system, and in the case of transmission mode, it is configured to be transmitted to the recording system of another device.

The operation panel C is a panel for performing operations such as mode switching operations, copying operations, and sending operations, and is provided with keys corresponding to various operations. This operation panel C is provided above the document transport mechanism in the reading system B, and is configured to be rotatable with respect to the apparatus main body 7. still,
On one side of the operation panel C is a telephone 4il for sending and receiving data.
It is equipped with D.

In FIG. 1(B), 22 is an electrical board;
3 is a power supply section.

Next, the configurations of the recording apparatus iA, the ink cartridge 9, etc. will be specifically explained.

As the recording sheet 1, plain paper, plastic film, or other materials to which ink can be transferred can be used. In this embodiment, a long plain paper of 84 width or A4 width is used as the recording sheet 1. A sheet roll 1a obtained by winding the recording sheet I into a roll is stored in a roll holder 8 provided at a predetermined position of the apparatus main body 7 (substantially in the center of FIG. 1(B)).

There is a possibility that the recording sheet 1 may curl.

In order to remove this curl, a decurl shaft 43 is provided near the platen roller 4 side of the roll holder 8. The decal shaft 43 is connected to the recording sheet 1
The recording sheet 1 is rotated in response to the tension acting on the recording sheet 1, and is configured to be able to remove curls from the recording sheet 1 by connecting it to a guide shaft 24, which will be described later, and W (11).

In this embodiment, in order to reduce running costs, a so-called multi-print method is adopted in which recording is performed by conveying the recording sheet 1 and the ink sheet 2 at different speeds.

In this multi-printing method, the conveyance length L of the recording sheet 1 is
When the conveyance length of ink sheet 2 is shorter than that (
(L/n: n11), and the usage efficiency of the ink sheet 2 is n times higher than that of the conventional recording method in which the conveyance length of the recording sheet 1 and the ink sheet 2 is the same. .

Therefore, in this embodiment, the ink sheet 2 is constructed of, for example, 4N, with an ink layer that can be transferred n times on a base film, as shown in FIG.

That is, the second layer is a hese film that serves as a support for the ink sheet 2. In the case of multi-printing, thermal energy is applied to the same location many times, so aromatic polyamide films and capacitor paper with high heat resistance are advantageous, but conventional polyester films can also be used. As for the thickness of these materials, it is advantageous in terms of printing quality to be as thin as possible because of their role as a medium, but strength must be taken into consideration, and it is desirable that the thickness be approximately 3 μm to 8 μm.

The third layer is an ink layer containing an amount of ink that can be transferred onto the recording sheet 1 n times. This component mainly consists of resins such as EVA as an adhesive, carbon black and nigrosine dyes for coloring, and carbana wax and paraffin wax as binding materials, and is designed to withstand use n times in the same location. It is blended. The sensitivity and density vary depending on the coating amount and can be selected arbitrarily, but it is preferably about 4 g/nf to 8 g/ni.

The fourth layer is a top coating layer for preventing pressure transfer of the third layer ink onto the recording sheet 1 in non-printing areas, and is made of transparent wax or the like. As a result, only the transparent fourth layer is pressure-transferred, and scumming on the recording sheet 1 can be prevented.

The first layer is a heat-resistant coating layer that protects the base film of the second layer from the heat of the recording throat 3, which is a thermal head. This heat-resistant coating layer is suitable for multi-printing where 0947 minutes of thermal energy may be applied to the same location (when black information is continuous), but whether or not to use it can be selected as appropriate. It is also effective for base films with relatively low heat resistance, such as polyester films.

The structure of the ink sheet 2 is not limited to this embodiment. For example, the ink sheet 2 may be composed of a base layer and a porous ink-retaining layer containing ink provided on one side of the base layer. A heat-resistant ink layer having a microporous network structure may be provided on the film, and the ink may be contained in the ink layer. In addition, the material of the base film includes, for example, polyimide, polyethylene,
It may also be a film or paper made of polyester, polyvinyl chloride, triacetylcellulose, nylon, or the like. Furthermore, although the heat-resistant coating layer is not necessarily required, its material may be, for example, silicone resin, epoxy resin, fluorine resin, nitrocellulose, or the like.

Further, as an example of the ink sheet 2 having heat-sublimable ink, a spacer formed of a guanayone resin and a fluororesin is placed on a base material formed of polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, aromatic polyamide film, etc. An example is an ink sheet provided with a coloring material layer containing particles and a dye.

In the recording bag WA, a supply reel 25 and a take-up reel 26 configured as described later are attached to the recording cover 11 as a lid.
The ink sheet 2 wound around the supply reel 25 is taken up on the take-up reel 26, whereby the sheet 2 can be conveyed and image formation can be performed.

However, the ink sheet 2 in this embodiment is loaded and held in a cartridge 9' which is a frame of an ink sheet cartridge 9 constructed as shown in FIGS. 3 to 6.

Ink cartridge 9, supply reel 25 and take-up
At the same time, by attaching the ink sheet 2 wound around the supply reel 25 to the take-up reel 26 side, the ink sheet 2
It is configured by loading. This ink cartridge 9
By using the ink sheet 2, the ink sheet 2 can be loaded into the recording apparatus A very easily and reliably in a stable state.

Normally, the ink sheet 2 loaded in the recording apparatus A is not removed until the sheet 2 is completely used. Then, the ink sheet 2 that has been completely used is disposed of. Therefore, the ink cartridge 9 loaded with the ink sheet 2 is also disposable and is required to be inexpensive.

Therefore, the cartridge 9' in this embodiment is integrally molded of plastic, thereby reducing the number of parts and assembly cost.

As shown in the figure, the cartridge 9' includes a first housing 9a, a second housing 9b, and doors 9c and 9d that are integrally molded from plastic.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, which is a sectional view of the cartridge 9', a thin wall formed to be thinner than the thickness of the casings 9a and 9b is formed at the connecting portion between the first casing 9a and the second casing 9b. In addition to providing a portion 9e, similar thin-walled portions 9f and 9 are provided at the connecting portions between the first housing 9a and the doors 9c and 9d formed approximately at the center of the housing 9a.
It is molded with g. Further, the doors 9c and 9d are connected by an undulating connecting piece 9h.

The thin portion 9e is connected to the supply reel 25 in the cartridge 9'.
After loading the winding wheel 26, the first housing 9a and the second
It is configured as a hinge when closing the housing 9b facing each other. Also, the thin wall portion 9f.

Reference numeral 9g is configured as a hinge when the doors 9c and 9d are opened by fork members 3c provided on both sides of the recording head 3 when the ink cartridge 9 is installed in the recording apparatus A.

The thin portions 9e to 9g have flexibility and appropriate strength. That is, the thickness of the thin parts 9e to 9g is set to an appropriate value depending on the plastic material used.

The thin parts 9e to 9g may be formed over the entire length,
Moreover, it may be formed intermittently with a predetermined length.

The undulating connecting piece 9h that connects the doors 9c and 9d connects the doors 9c and 9d when the ink cartridge 9 is in an unused state.
9d is kept closed to prevent dirt and dust from entering the inside of the cartridge 9. Furthermore, when installing the ink cartridge 9 into the recording apparatus, the fork member 3c provided on the recording head 3 may come into contact with the Ii% 9c, 9d and easily break when opening the doors 9c, 9d. It is formed with dimensions.

As the molding material for the cartridge 9', resins such as polypropylene resin and ABS resin can be used.

In the cartridge 9', a window 9i+ for inserting the platen roller 4 is formed approximately at the center of the second housing 9b, and the shaft portion 4b of the platen roller 4 is inserted continuously into this window 9i1. A notch 9it is formed for this purpose.

Sides Fi, 9a+, and 9b+ are formed upright on both sides of the first housing 9a and the second housing 9b, respectively, and 1/4 circular curved surfaces are formed on the thin wall portion 9e side and the open side, respectively. ing. Further, on the open side curved surface, a locking portion 9at is formed on the first housing 9a side, and a locking protrusion 9bz that engages with the engaging recess 9at is formed on the second housing 9b side. . Further, on the open side curved surfaces of the first housing 9a and the second housing 9b, a locking protrusion 9a3 is provided which engages with a locking spring 41 provided on the recording cover 11 when the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11. 9b3 are formed respectively.

The side plate 9b of the second housing 9b, Ovi side position side position,
A guide bin 9j is formed to serve as a guide when the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11.

At predetermined positions of the side plates 9 a+ and 9 b+, there are U grooves 9 for loosely fitting the bearings 27 attached to the supply rail 25.
A U-groove 9J2 for loosely fitting the bearing 27 attached to the winding wheel 26 and the winding wheel 26 is formed, respectively. Also, the first housing 9
a. The second housing 9b is formed with an opening 9m for exposing the reel gear 25c of the supply reel 25 and the reel gear 26C of the take-up reel 26, respectively.

In FIG. 4, when the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11, 9n comes into contact with a sensor 50 provided on the cover 11, and the sensor 50 detects whether or not the ink cartridge 9 is present or whether it is loaded in the ink cartridge 9. This is an identification section for identifying the size, etc. of the ink sheet 2.

Both the supply reel 25 and the take-up reel 26 have reel shafts 25a, 26a that are longer than the width of the ink cartridge 9, as shown in FIG. The reel shafts 25a, 25b are provided with flanges 25b+, 25b having a length substantially equal to the inner dimension of the ink cartridge 9.
g, 26b+, and 26bt are provided. - side flanges 25b+, 26b+ have reel gears 25c,
26C is integrally formed.

In this embodiment, the reel gears 25c and 26c are formed as helical gears, and the reel gears 25c and 26c are formed as helical gears.
The twisting direction of the teeth c is from the flange 25b+, 26b+ side to the reel shafts 25a, 26a to the flange 25b6.26.
b.

In other words, it is formed with a direction in which thrust can be generated on one end side in the axial direction.

In addition, both ends of the reel shafts 25a and 26a are lugya 25C.
, 26c and the flanges 25bi, 26bt. A bearing 27 is rotatably mounted on this protruding end. Therefore, when each reel 25, 26 is attached to the cartridge 9' of the ink cartridge 9, each reel 25, 26 is inserted into the U groove 9 via the bearing 27.
94! It is loosely fitted into. The bearings 27 protrude from the cartridge 9' of the ink cartridge 9, and the bearing grooves 39a, 39b, 40a formed in the main body 7 of the recording apparatus A,
40b.

Next, a case will be described in which the ink cartridge 9 is manufactured by loading the ink sheet 2 into the cartridge 9' configured as described above.

As shown in FIG. 3, with the cartridge 9' open, the supply reel 25 having the ink sheet 2 and bearings 27 attached to both ends is attached to the U groove 9k on the second housing 9b side. Further, a take-up reel 26 with bearings 27 attached to both ends is attached to the U groove 9e.

Then, the leading end of the ink sheet 2 is pulled out from the supply reel 25, and the leading end of the ink sheet 2 is attached to the reel shaft 26a of the take-up reel 26 using adhesive tape or the like. Thereafter, the first casing 9a is bent around the thin wall portion 9e to face the second casing,
By engaging the engagement recess 9al and the engagement protrusion 9bt, the ink cartridge 9 loaded with the ink sheet 2 can be manufactured as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The ink cartridge 9 is mounted on the recording cover 11 via a mounting groove 28 configured as described below.

The recording head 3 and platen roller 4 constitute a recording section. The recording head 3 and platen roller 4
are arranged facing each other. The recording head 3 is swingably provided on the recording cover 11, and the platen roller 4 is rotatably provided on the apparatus main body 7.

In the case of this embodiment, the recording head 3 is a thermal head, has a plurality of heating elements, and is movably attached to a head support portion 3a provided on the recording cover 11.

Further, the recording head 3 is urged toward the platen roller 4 by a spring 3b disposed between the head 3 and the recording cover 11. This biasing force presses the overlapping recording sheet 1 and ink sheet 2 against the platen roller 4 side.

Fork members 3c are provided on both sides of the recording head 3. When the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11, the fork member 3c opens the i9c and 9d formed on the cartridge 9, and engages with the shaft portion 4b of the platen roller 4 to perform recording on the platen roller 4. It has a positioning function for setting the position of the head 3.

The platen roller 4 is provided on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording sheet l. A roller portion 4a corresponding to the width dimension of the recording sheet 1 is formed on the platen roller 4. Shaft portions 4b are formed on both sides of the roller portion 4a, and a fork member 3c provided on the recording head 3 can be engaged with the shaft portions 4b.

The platen roller 4 is driven by the driving force of a motor 29. The motor 29 is mounted on the side 17 of the device main body 7.
It is fixed to a. Further, the rotation of the motor 29 is transmitted to the platen roller 4 via gears 30a to 30c. When forming an image on the recording sheet 1, the platen roller 4 is rotated in the direction of the arrow to transport the recording sheet l in the direction of the arrow a, and after the recording sheet 1 is cut by the cutter 5, the platen roller 4 is rotated in the direction of the arrow. The recording sheet 1 is conveyed in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow a by rotating the recording sheet 1 in the direction opposite to the direction of the arrow a.

The device main body 7 for installing the platen roller 4, etc., includes:
It is formed into a rigid U-shape.

Side plates 7a and 7b are formed on both sides of the device main body 7, and the cough side plates 7a and 7b are connected by a partition plate 7C. The partition plate 7C separates the recording device A and the reading system B.
It has the function of separating the

A recording cover 11 is attached to the apparatus main body 7 via a rotation shaft 10 so as to be openable and closable.

In conventional facsimile machines, the center of rotation of the recording cover relative to the main body of the machine is located below the operation panel. For this reason, when opening the recording cover, the original i3! placed on the top surface of the cover! In order to prevent interference between the end of the device and the end of the operation panel, the operation panel is provided at a position farther away than the document table, and therefore the length of the entire device is longer.

For this reason, in this practical example, the center of rotation of the recording cover l10 relative to the apparatus main body 7 is located at the side of the operation panel C and at the end on the document placement table 13 side formed on the upper surface of the recording cover II. ing.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 7 to 9 (A) and (B), the upper surface of the recording cover 11 is configured as a document @ placing table 13, and this document placing table 13 has a side facing toward the reading system B. A sloped portion t3a having a downward slope is formed. The horizontal portion 13b of the document mounting table 13 is configured to have approximately the same height as the upper surface of the operation panel C.

The end of the recording cover 11 on the reading system B side, that is, the original! ! A shaft member 31 having rotation shafts 10 on both sides is provided at the end of the inclined portion 13a of the table 13.

This shaft member 31 is the recording cover l! Manuscript! ! It is configured such that it protrudes toward the placing stand I3 side, and the rotating wheel 10 is positioned on the side of the operation panel C. Incidentally, the inclined portion 13a is provided with a slider 13c for guiding the original 12.
The slider 13c can be slid according to the size of the original 12.

A pair of brackets 32 are fixed to opposite ends of the side plates 7a and 7b of the apparatus main body 7 on the partition plate 7C side. The bracket 32 serves as a support for making the recording cover 11 rotatable relative to the apparatus main body 7. For this reason, the bracket 32 is formed with a shaft hole 10a into which the rotation shaft 10 provided on the recording cover 11 is inserted.

The shaft hole 10a may be formed as a round hole, but in this embodiment, an elongated hole is formed so that the recording cover 11 can be moved in the front-rear direction with respect to the main body 7 of the apparatus.

The bracket 32 is as shown in the figure.
The shaft hole 10a formed in 1 is located on the side of the operation panel C and at the end of the operation panel C on the document vi placement table 13 side. That is, the recording cover 11
The center of rotation is located on the side of the operation panel C and at the end of the operation panel C on the document table 13 side.

By fitting the rotating shaft 10 of the recording cover 11 into the shaft hole 10a formed in the bracket 32, the apparatus main body 7
The recording cover 11 is attached so as to be openable and closable.
The center of rotation of the recording cover 11 can be positioned on the side of the operation panel C and at the end on the document table 13 side.

As described above, the center of rotation of the recording cover 11 relative to the main body 7 of the apparatus is set to the side of the operation panel C and the document mounting table 13.
By locating it at the side end, when the recording cover 11 is opened, the end of the operation panel C and the end of the document mounting table I3 will not interfere with each other.

Therefore, it is possible to arrange the operation panel C close to the document a table 13 side, and therefore, it is possible to shorten the overall length of the apparatus.

When closing the recording cover 11, a rotational torque is applied to the rotation shaft 10 in accordance with the weight acting on the center of gravity of the recording cover ti and the horizontal distance between the rotation wheel lO and the center of gravity. Therefore, if the recording cover ti is allowed to fall freely from the open state, there is a risk that an impact will be generated due to the rotational torque when the cover l] is closed.

For this reason, conventional recording apparatuses are configured such that a torsion coil spring is attached to the rotating shaft of the recording cover, and the spring generates a braking force. However, since the rotating shaft is usually provided at the end of the recording cover, the distance between the rotating shaft and the center of gravity of the recording cover is long, and therefore it is necessary to increase the rigidity of the torsion coil spring.

In this embodiment, a torsion coil spring 36 is attached to a shaft portion 33c provided on a cover stay 33 for maintaining the open position of the recording cover 11, and the spring 36 is configured to generate a braking force.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 (A) and (B), a cover stay 33 is rotatably attached to the side plate 7b of the apparatus main body 7, and a pin 34 is provided on the recording cover 11. ing.

The cover stay 33 is attached to a mounting portion 35 provided on the side plate 7b. The mounting portion 35 is located closer to the center of gravity G of the recording cover 11 than to the rotation axis lO, which is the center of rotation between the apparatus main body 7 and the recording cover 11. Further, the pin 34 is provided near the center of gravity of the recording cover 11.

The cover stay 33 has a plate member 3 formed with a groove 33a.
3b and a shaft portion 33 for attaching the torsion coil spring 36.
It is composed of c. The groove 33a is connected to the shaft portion 33.
An arcuate groove 33aI is formed near c, and the arcuate groove 33a
, a substantially straight groove 3382 is formed continuously. A pin 34 provided on the recording cover 11 is fitted into the groove 33a, and the rotational force of the recording cover 11 is transmitted to the cover stay 33 via the pin 34. Note that the protrusion 33a3 formed at the end of the groove 33a8 is for engaging with the pin 34 to maintain the open state of the recording cover 11.

A through hole 33d is formed axially through the shaft member 33c. By fitting the cover stay 33 to a shaft 35a provided in the mounting portion 35 through the through hole 33d, the stay 33 is rotatably attached to the device main body 7 about the shaft 35a.

A torsion coil spring 36 is attached to the outer periphery of the shaft member 33c. One arm 3 of the torsion coil spring 36
6a is a groove 35 formed in the mounting portion 35 provided on the side plate 7b.
b and is fixed to the device main body 7, and the other arm 36b is a free end. The torsion coil spring 36 is tightened when the cover stay 33 rotates in the closing direction of the recording cover 11 and the recording cover 11 is closed.
The shaft member 33c is attached to the shaft member 33c so that the shaft member 33c loosens when the shaft member 33c rotates in the opening direction. The inner diameter of the torsion coil spring 36 is approximately equal to or slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the shaft member 33c. Therefore, the torsion coil spring 3
A frictional load is always acting between the shaft member 6 and the shaft member 33c.

By fitting the pin 34 provided on the recording cover 11 into the groove 33a of the cover stay 33 configured as described above,
When closing the recording cover 11, it is possible to generate a braking force by the torsion coil spring 36.

That is, from the open state of the recording cover 11 shown in FIG.
During the transition of the recording cover 11 to the closed state shown in the figure (while the recording cover 11 is shifted from the open state to the closed state with constant angular velocity movement), the groove 33a of the cover stay 33 as shown in FIG. , and the pin 34 are engaged with each other. At this time, the cover stay 33 rotates as the recording cover 11 rotates, and this rotation angle is equal to the groove 33a.

is straight, so it is not large, and as the recording cover 11 rotates, the pin 34 moves into the arcuate groove 338. as shown in FIG. When the cover stay 33 is engaged with the cover stay 33, the rotation angle of the cover stay 33 increases. Therefore, the frictional load between the torsion coil spring 36 and the shaft portion 33c becomes large, and the spring 36 becomes tightened, so that a braking force acts on the cover stay 33. At this time, the shaft portion 33 of the cover stay 33
The rotational torque acting on c is the rotational torque lO of the recording cover 11.
The value is smaller than the rotational torque acting on the
It is possible to reduce the rigidity of the torsion coil spring 36.

The recording apparatus A of this embodiment uses a thermal transfer method. As mentioned above, this recording method involves polymerizing the recording sheet 1 and the ink sheet 2, and heating the ink sheet 2 from the support sheet side in an image pattern to melt the ink and transfer it to the recording sheet 1 to form an image. is formed. Therefore, a sticking force of the molten ink acts between the recording sheet l and the ink layer. Then, the conveyance force acting on the recording sheet 1 due to the sticking force is transmitted to the recording cover 11 via the ink sheet 2, and a force that vertically moves the cover 11 in the conveyance direction of the recording sheet 1 acts.

When image formation is performed normally, the ink is melted, so the sticking force is small and does not pose a problem.
However, if for some reason during image formation the recording sheet 1 and the ink sheet 2 are polymerized and the molten ink solidifies, a large sticking force is generated, which causes the recording cover 11 to stick to the recording sheet 1. There is a risk that the product may move in the transport direction.

For this reason, in this embodiment, the recording cover 11 is fixed to the apparatus main body 7, and the recording cover 11 is configured not to move in the front-back direction.

That is, as shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 7, and FIG. 8, shafts 37 are provided on the side plates 7a and 7b of the apparatus main body 7 on the downstream side in the conveying direction of the recording sheet 1, respectively.

The shaft 37 is arranged with a predetermined degree of parallelism to the axial direction of the platen roller 4.

A pair of locking members 38 are fixed to both sides of the recording cover 11 at positions facing the shaft 37. This locking member 3
8 is formed into a fork shape having a U groove 38a that engages with the shaft 37. The inner diameter dimension of the U groove 38a is the shaft 37
It is formed with a predetermined fitting tolerance for the outer diameter dimension. A line connecting the centers of the pair of U grooves 38a is arranged parallel to the supply reel 25 and take-up reel 26 of the ink sheet 2. When closing the recording cover 11 with respect to the apparatus main body 7, by engaging the locking member 38 with the shaft 37, the recording cover I+ is accurately positioned relative to the apparatus main body 7, and the front and back of the cover 11 are Prevents movement in any direction.

In the above configuration, the sticking force generated between the recording sheet 1 and the ink layer is transmitted to the recording cover 11 via the ink sheet 2, and is further transmitted from the locking member 38 to the apparatus main body 7 via the shaft 37. communicated. At this time, since the locking member 38 and the shaft 37 fit together with a predetermined tolerance, the recording cover 11 does not move in the front-back direction.

Next, the configuration of the loading portion of the recording cover 11 into which the ink cartridge 9 is removably loaded and the gear portion of the conveyance system for conveying the ink sheet 2 inside the ink cartridge 9 will be explained.

Generally, when performing positioning in multiple directions with one operation, skill in the operation is required. However, with office machines such as recording devices, it is difficult to require skilled operation.

For this reason, in conventional recording apparatuses, some allowance, ie, play, is provided in the axial direction of each reel in order to facilitate attachment of the take-up reel and the supply reel to the recording cover. However, due to the backlash that each reel has, the ink sheet being conveyed during image formation may be skewed, which may cause a jam. A spring means for applying lateral pressure to the reel is required, which increases the number of parts.

In this embodiment, by mounting the ink cartridge 9 on a recording cover 11 serving as a loading section and closing the cover 11, the longitudinal and vertical positions of each reel 25, 26 are adjusted to the bearing grooves 39a, 39b, 40a, 40
b and the support member 42, and by applying thrust to each reel 25, 26, the position of each reel 25, 26 in the left and right direction can be set.

First, to explain in detail the structure of the part into which the ink cartridge 9 is loaded, the mounting groove 28 for removably loading the ink cartridge 9 faces both sides of the recording cover 11, as shown in FIG. It is provided. This mounting groove 28 is formed by a key-shaped groove for locking the guide bin 9j of the ink cartridge 9. Further, on both sides of the recording cover 11, each reel 25 is provided facing each other.
．． The bearing 27 is fitted to both ends of the bearing 26.
U-shaped bearing grooves 39a, 39b for positioning 7
, 40a.

40b are provided at predetermined intervals on the same extension line. The bearing grooves 39a, 40a are formed as U grooves passing through the recording cover 11, and the bearing grooves 39b5, 1O
b is formed as a U groove whose axial end is closed. Further, a locking spring 41 for locking the locking protrusion 9bs of the ink cartridge 9 is provided near the open end side of the recording cover 11.

Bearing grooves 39a, 39b formed in the recording cover 11,
Side plates 7a and 7b of the device main body 7 facing 40a and 40b
A support member 42 is provided. The support member 4
2 is in contact with bearings 27 fitted to both ends of each reel 25, 26, and the bearings 27 are inserted into the bearing grooves 39a, 39b.

By biasing toward 40a and 40b, each reel 2
5 and 26 to maintain their positions relative to the recording cover 11. The support member 42 includes a case 42a fixed to the side plates 7a and 7b, and a support piece 42b having one end housed in the case 42a and the other end having a contact surface with the bearing 27.
It is constituted by a spring housed in the case 42a.

Therefore, the guide pin 9j of the ink cartridge 9 is fitted into the key-shaped groove 28a and locked, and the ink cartridge 9 is rotated around the guide pin 9j, so that the locking protrusion 9b
The ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11 by locking z to the locking spring 39. At this time,
The bearing 27 has respective bearing grooves 39a, 39b, 40a, 40.
Fits into b. And when the record cover 11 is closed,
The bearing 27 is supported by the support piece 42b of the support member 42, and the bearing grooves 39a, 39b, 40
By being biased toward the sides a and 40b, each reel 25, 26 is set to its mounting position relative to the recording cover 11, respectively.

Also, as described above, the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11.
When installing the cartridge 9, the cartridge 9 can be brought into contact with a guide shaft 24 rotatably provided on the recording cover 11, and inserted along this guide shaft 24. Further, when the guide pin 9j of the ink cartridge 9 is inserted into the mounting groove 28 and the ink cartridge 9 is rotated thereafter, the fork members 3 provided on both sides of the recording gutter 3
c comes into contact with the doors 9c and 9d of the ink cartridge 9, and S
The connecting piece 9h connecting the doors 9c and 9d is broken and pushed open, thereby inserting the recording nozzle 3 into the ink cartridge 9.

As described above, the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11.
When mounted, the position of each reel 25, 26 in the front-rear direction is set by bearing grooves 39a, 39b, 40a, 40b. When the recording cover 11 is closed to the main body 7 of the apparatus, the vertical position of each reel 25, 26 is adjusted to the bearing grooves 39a, 39b, 40a, 40b and the supporting member 4.
It is set by 2.

Further, when the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 11, the sensor 50 provided on the cover 11 comes into contact with the identification part 9n of the ink cartridge 9, and detects the presence or absence of the ink cartridge 9 or the presence or absence of the ink sheet 2 loaded in the ink cartridge 9. It is configured to be able to detect size, etc.

Next, the gear portion of the conveyance system for the ink sheet 2 will be explained.

That is, when the ink cartridge 9 is mounted on the recording cover 11, the reel gear 26c of the take-up reel 26 meshes with the driving force transmission gear 44a that constitutes the drive mechanism 44 of the take-up reel 26 provided on the recording cover 11, and The reel gear 25c of the supply reel 25 is a tension transmission gear 45 that constitutes a puncture tension applying mechanism 45 provided in the device main body 7.
It is configured so that it can mesh with a.

The reel gears 25c and 26c of each of the reels 25 and 26 are constructed of helical gears as described above (see FIG. 3), and the driving force transmission gear 44a and the recording cover 11 side mesh with the reel gears 25c and 26c, respectively. The tension transmission gear 45a is also configured by a helical gear.

As shown in FIG.
By meshing these and applying rotational force to the driving force transmission gear 44a, an axial thrust is generated in the take-up reel 25.

Also, the reel gear 25c of the supply reel 25 and the recording cover 1
The reel 26 is meshed with the tension transmission gear 45a on the first side.
When the ink sheet 2 wound around the ink sheet 2 is taken up by the take-up reel 26, the tension acting on the ink sheet 2 at this time rotates the supply reel 25, and the rotational force is transferred from the reel gear 25c to the tension transmission gear on the side of the recording cover 11. 4
When acting on the supply reel 5a, an axial thrust is generated on the supply reel 25.

The thrust force acting on each reel 25, 26 is
Bearing 27 fitted into bearing grooves 39b and 40b formed in
transmitted to. Then, it is transmitted from the bearing 27 to the recording cover 11 and supported by the cover it.

Supply reel 25 and take-up reel 26 configured as described above
In this case, an axial thrust is applied while the ink sheet 2 is being conveyed. For this reason, each of the reels 25 and 26 always has a bearing groove 39b formed in the recording cover 11.

40b direction. Therefore, each reel 25.26
does not move in the axial direction during conveyance of the ink sheet 2, which prevents the ink sheet 2 from being skewed, and eliminates the possibility of a jam occurring due to the skew. In addition, the thrust of each reel 25C+26c is generated by the bearing grooves 39b and 40b.
Since the receiver is stopped and does not act on the ink cartridge 9, there is no need to provide rigidity to the ink cartridge 9.

Reel gear 2 constructed of helical gears as described above
5c, 26c, driving force transmission gear 44a, tension transmission gear 4
5a, if the torsion angle of the helical gear is smaller than 3 degrees, sufficient axial thrust cannot be obtained, and if it is larger than 20 degrees, although the axial thrust is large, it will interfere with gear rotation. , is set within the range of 3 degrees to 30 degrees, but within this range it is preferably set within the range of 4 degrees to 15 degrees, and most preferably within the range of 5 degrees to IO degrees. be.

Further, the number of teeth of the reel gears 25c+26c is set to 52, for example, and the driving force transmission gear 44a and the tension transmission gear 45
It is preferable to set the number of teeth of gear a to 12, for example. By setting the number of teeth of gears 25c, 26c, 44a+45a in this way, it is possible to easily obtain the optimum ink sheet conveying speed and to obtain axial thrust. It will be done.

A drive mechanism 44 for the take-up reel 26 for conveying the ink sheet 2 is connected to the recording cover 11 as shown in FIG.
located on the side of the Further, the drive mechanism 44 is a first
It is configured as shown in Figure 3.

In a conventional recording device using a one-time ink sheet, a drive mechanism for a take-up reel for conveying the ink sheet is provided on the main body of the device, and a driving force transmission gear constituting the drive mechanism is configured as a pendulum gear. Generally, the reel gear of the take-up reel is meshed with the reel gear of the take-up reel, and a slip clutch is provided in the drive mechanism to transmit the rotation of the motor. For this reason, if the tension acting on the ink sheet becomes large, there is a risk that tooth skipping may occur at the meshing portion of the pendulum gear, or slippage may occur in the slip clutch. That is, there is a possibility that the rotation of the drive motor constituting the drive mechanism may not be reliably transmitted to the take-up reel.

When a multi-print method is adopted in the recording apparatus A, since this recording method forms an image while shearing the ink in the ink layer, in order to convey the ink sheet 2, A force that is the sum of the frictional force between the ink sheet 2 and the recording head 3 and the shearing force of the ink is required. Therefore, a larger force is required to convey the ink sheet 2 than when using a conventional one-time ink sheet.

In addition, in the multi-print method, one print sheet per recording sheet.
Each time an image for a line is formed, fill the ink sheet 2 1/
It is necessary to reliably transport the image by n947 minutes, and by reliably performing the transport, it becomes possible to improve the quality of the recorded image.

In order to satisfy the above conditions, in this embodiment, the drive mechanism 4
4 is provided on the recording cover 11.

The drive mechanism 44 has a bracket 46 fixed to the side surface (in this embodiment, the right side surface) of the recording cover 11.
A drive motor 44b is fixed to 6.

A motor gear 44c is attached to the shaft of the drive motor 44b. In addition, the brake gear 7) 46 includes a first reduction gear 44d, a second reduction gear 44e, and a driving force transmission gear 4.
Third reduction gears 44r integrally formed with the third reduction gears 44a are rotatably attached to the third reduction gears 44r with a predetermined center-to-axis distance maintained between each gear. Therefore, drive motor 44b
The rotation is reliably transmitted to the driving force transmission gear 44a through each gear 44c to 44d to 44f while being decelerated.

As described above, in the drive mechanism 44 of this embodiment, it is possible to reliably transmit the rotation of the drive motor 44b to the drive force transmission gear 44a, and therefore the ink sheet 2 can be transported at a predetermined conveyance speed. It becomes possible to hold and transport reliably.

Further, when the conveying system for the ink sheet 2, that is, the take-up reel 26 and the drive mechanism 44 for the reel 26 are provided on the recording cover 11 as described above, the conveying force for the ink sheet 2 acts on the recording cover 11. Therefore, there is a possibility that the recording cover 11 may move in the conveying direction of the ink sheet 2 with respect to the apparatus main body 7.

In this embodiment, the locking member 3 is attached to the recording cover 11 as described above.
8, a shaft 37 that engages with the locking member 38 is provided on the apparatus main body 7, and when the recording cover 11 is closed, the locking member 38 is engaged with the shaft 37. prevents movement in the front-back direction.

Next, the bank tension applying mechanism 45 for applying back tension to the winding wheel 25 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), it is provided on the side plate 7a of the device main body 7.

The bank tension applying mechanism 45 is fixed to the rotating plate 45b2, which is configured to be rotatable about a rotational fulcrum 45b1 on the side plate 7a, and
It is composed of a slip clutch 45c connected to a tension transmission gear 45a, and a tension spring 45d that biases the rotating plate 45b upward.

In the bank tension applying mechanism 45 configured as described above, when the reel gear 25c of the supply reel 25 and the tension transmission gear 45a mesh with each other, and the ink sheet 2 wound around the reel 25 is rewound, the reel 25 rotates. The rotation of the supply reel 25 is transmitted from the reel gear 25c to the slip clutch 45c via the tension transmission gear 45a. As a result, a predetermined back tension is applied to the ink sheet 1-2.

Next, the formation of an image in the recording apparatus A as described above will be explained.

First, as shown in FIG. 8, open the recording cover 11 and
The sheet roll 1a is stored in the roll holder 8, and the leading edge of the recording sheet l is pulled out to the platen roller 4. Next, the ink cartridge 9 is attached to the recording cover 1 as described above.
1, the ink sheet 2 is loaded, and the cover 11 is closed. By closing the recording cover 11, the supply reel 25 attached to the ink cartridge 9 is removed.
And the take-up reel 26 has bearing grooves 39a, 39b, 40a,
40b, each reel 25,26 is positioned in a predetermined position. At the same time, a locking member 3 provided on the recording cover 11
8 engages with the shaft 37 provided on the main body of the device,
The recording cover 11 is set at a predetermined position with respect to the apparatus main body 7, and its movement in the front and rear directions is restricted.

Place the original 12 on the original placing table 13 formed on the top surface of the recording cover 11! When the copy mode is selected on the operation panel C, the document 12 is read by the reading system B, and an image signal is transmitted to the recording device A. At the same time, the platen roller 4 is driven by the motor 29 to transport the recording sheet l in the direction of arrow a.
The ink sheet 2 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow by the drive motor 44b.

An image is then formed on the recording sheet 1 by driving the recording head 3 in accordance with the transmitted image signal. The recording sheet I on which a predetermined image has been formed is further conveyed in the direction of arrow a, and when the edge of the image reaches the cutter 5,
5 is driven to cut the recording sheet 1. The cut recording sheet is transported by a pair of transport rollers 6 and discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

Further, the recording sheet 1 is conveyed by the platen roller 4 in a direction opposite to the direction of arrow a.

In the manner described above, a predetermined image can be formed on the recording sheet 1.

[Other Examples]

In the above embodiment, the conveying direction of the recording sheet 1 (direction of arrow a)
Although the case is shown in which the ink sheet 2 is conveyed in the opposite direction (the direction indicated by the arrow), it may be set in the same conveyance direction.

In addition, although we have shown the case where the multi-print method is adopted as the thermal transfer recording method, it is also possible to use an ink sheet reel, ink sheet cartridge, and recording device that completely transfers ink to the recording sheet l by 11i'Q image recording. The same can be applied.

Furthermore, although a case has been shown in which the container 9 of the ink cartridge A is integrally formed with thermoplastic synthetic resin such as polypropylene, the present invention is not limited to this, and the first housing 9a and the second housing 9b may be molded separately and hinges etc. You may also connect them with

In addition, although a case is shown in which the cartridge rim 9', which is the frame of the ink sheet cartridge 9, almost completely covers the ink sheet 2 except for the part where the recording head 3 etc. are inserted, the ink sheet reel ( It may consist of a frame portion that only holds the supply reel 251 and the take-up reel 26).

Further, although the case is shown in which the ink cartridge 9 (supply reel 251 take-up reel 26) is loaded on the recording cover 11 side, it may be loaded on the apparatus main body 7 side.

Although the case where the ink sheet cartridge 9 is used is shown, it is of course applicable to the case where the ink sheet reel (supply reel 251 winding reel 26) that is not stored in the cartridge 9' is loaded into the recording device. .

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, in the present invention, since the ink sheet conveying means is provided on the lid body side where the ink sheet is installed, the conveying force of the conveying means is directly applied to the ink sheet without using a slip clutch or the like. Even when recording is performed using a multi-print method, the conveying force is reliably transmitted to the ink sheet, and the quality of the recorded image can be improved.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 (8) is an external perspective view of the facsimile machine;
B) is a cross-sectional explanatory diagram of the facsimile machine, Fig. 2 (A)
, (B) is a perspective view of the recording device, FIGS. 3 to 6 are explanatory diagrams of the ink cartridge, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram with the recording cover closed, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram with the recording cover opened. Figures 9 (A) and (B) are explanatory diagrams showing how the recording cover is attached to the main body of the device, Figure 10 is an explanatory diagram of the cover stay, and Figures 11 (A) and (B) are diagrams showing how the cover stay is installed. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the take-up reel attached to the recording cover, No. 1311J is an explanatory diagram of the drive mechanism, and FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the ink sheet. A is a recording device, B is a reading system, C is an operation panel, 1 is a recording sheet, 2 is an ink sheet, 3 is a recording head, 4 is a platen roller, 5 is a force/lid, 6 is a pair of transport rollers, 7
is the device main body, 7a and 7b are side plates, 8 is a roll holder,
9 is an ink cartridge, 9' is a cartridge, 9a is a first housing, 9b is a second housing, 9e to 9g are thin parts, 10
10a is a rotation shaft, 10a is a shaft hole, 11 is a recording cover, 13 is a document wi placing table, 13a is an inclined part, 13b is a horizontal part, 25 is a supply reel, 25c and 26c are reel gears, 26 is a take-up reel, and 27 is a Bearing, 28 is mounting groove, 29 is motor,
31 is a shaft member, 32 is a bracket, 33 is a cover stay, 33a is a groove, 33c is a shaft portion, 34 is a pin, 35 is a mounting portion, 35a is a shaft, 36 is a torsion coil spring, 37 is a shaft, 38 is a locking member , 39a, 39b, 40a, 40b are bearing grooves, 41 is a locking spring, 42 is a support member, 42b is a support piece, 44 is a drive mechanism, 44a is a drive force transmission gear, 44
b is a drive motor, 44d to 44f are reduction gears, 45 is a hack tension copying mechanism, 45a is a tension transmission gear, 4
5b2 is a rotating plate, 45c is a slipping clutch, and 46 is a rotating plate. 1st layer (A)

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A device main body including a loading section into which a recording medium can be loaded; a recording medium transport means installed in the device main body and configured to transport the recording medium; and a device that can be opened and closed in the device main body. a lid body equipped with a loading section in which an ink sheet can be loaded; an ink sheet transport means provided on the lid body for transporting the ink sheet; A recording device comprising: recording means for transferring onto the recording medium.