JPH04105968A - Thermal transfer recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To continuously record the next screen without cutting roll-shape recording paper after the completion of the recording of one screen by providing a controller capable of applying continuous recording to the roll-shape recording paper and a recording paper cutting means cutting the recording paper at an arbitrary position corresponding to recording length. CONSTITUTION:When a current is supplied to a thermal head 8 while recording paper 7 is fed toward an upstream region, the first color ink on an ink sheet is transferred to the recording paper 7. After transfer, a main motor 10 is reversed and the recording paper 7 is fed toward a downstream side by predetermined length to stop. Continuously, the second and third colors are recorded in the same sequence as the first color. When the recording of the third color is completed, the recording paper 7 is fed toward the downstream region by the length corresponding to the feed length from the aspect of a platen roller 9 to the cutting position of a cutter block 4 to stop. Next, a cutter motor 78 is driven to cut the recording paper 7 and the recording paper 7A corresponding to one screen after recording is discharged, for example, from the opening provided to the bottom surface of the apparatus. By this recording operation, a color print wherein the whole surface of the recording paper is recorded in a predetermined paper size is obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device, and particularly to a thermal transfer recording device using a roll of recording paper.

[Prior Art] In a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, especially when performing color recording, for example, NaLional Technic
alReport Vol, 30 No. 3 Jun,
+984 As described in "High-speed thermal transfer color printer", when printing one screen, a predetermined amount of each color of yellow, magenta, and cyan is recorded back and forth on the recording paper pulled out from the paper feed roll in a field-sequential manner. It looks like this.

In this type of thermal transfer recording apparatus, after color printing for one screen is completed, the recording paper is cut into a predetermined size, and the recorded recording paper for one screen is discharged.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, as mentioned above, in conventional thermal transfer recording devices, the recording paper is cut into a predetermined size every time printing for one screen is completed. There is a concern that unrecorded portions are always present at the edges of recorded recording paper before the start of recording and after the end of recording, and these portions are wasted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to eliminate unrecorded areas on recorded recording paper, thereby reducing wasteful consumption of recording paper as much as possible through thermal transfer recording. The goal is to provide equipment.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a transport roller pair consisting of a drive roller and a driven roller that sandwich a roll of recording paper wound around a recording paper core, and the transport roller. In a thermal transfer recording device having a drive mechanism that rotates the pair forward and reverse, and a thermal head that is pressed by a platen roller through a recording paper and a transfer paper, a controller that enables continuous recording on the rolled recording paper, and a recording A recording paper cutting means is provided to cut the recording paper at an arbitrary position depending on the length, so that after recording one screen, the next screen can be continuously recorded without cutting the roll of recording paper. be made into Furthermore, a winding mechanism for winding the continuously recorded recording paper is provided, and preferably a winding core for winding the recorded recording paper used in the winding mechanism and a winding core for winding the recorded recording paper used in the winding mechanism, and a winding core for winding the recorded recording paper used in the winding mechanism. The resulting recording paper core is made into a product with the same shape.

[Function] After recording one screen, without cutting the roll of recording paper,
By continuously recording the next screen on the roll of recording paper, it is possible to eliminate unrecorded portions. Since continuous recording is performed, the recorded recording paper will gradually become longer and will be ejected to the outside of the set. For this reason, by winding and holding the recording paper in a roll using the recorded recording paper winding mechanism, the important recorded recording paper can be prevented from becoming dirty or dirty.
Make sure there are no scratches etc. This also prevents the recording paper from meandering. Furthermore, by making the recording paper core around which the unrecorded paper is wound and the winding core for winding the recorded recording paper into the same shape, the conventional method of
The discarded recording paper core can now be used as a winding core.

[Examples] Examples of the present invention will be described below. Figures 1 to 6
The figures relate to a thermal transfer color recording device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side view of the device, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same with the head block lifted, and FIGS. 3 and 4. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a part of the drive mechanism of this device, respectively.
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing a paper feed control sequence, and FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing recording areas on recording paper.

This device consists of two side plates 31.3 fixed perpendicularly to the bottom plate 30.
1', and a paper feed block 1 and a transport block 2 are fixed to the bottom plate 30 with bolts.

Further, the head block 3, cutter block 4, main motor 10, and cooling fan 11 are attached to side plates 31, 31'. The ink block 5 is a cassette with ink receivers 79 and 79' attached to the side plates 31 and 31'.
, 80.80' (Fig. 4). Also,
The recording paper roll 12 that supplies the recording paper 7 has the same mechanism as the ink block 5, and is attached to paper feed roller receivers 32 and 32' attached to the side plates 31 and 31' (Fig. 3).
. Furthermore, the recording paper roll 12a of the roll-shaped recording paper winding block 110 for winding up the recorded recording paper 7A is also mounted on the winding roller receivers 32a, 32a' similarly attached to the side plates 31, 31'. (Figure 3).

Recording paper 7 fed out from recording paper roll 12 is conveyed via paper feed block 1 , conveyance block 2 , and cutter block 4 . Paper feed block] is the front paper feed roller 15
It consists of two roller pairs: a and 15b, rear paper feed rollers 16a and 16b, and paper guides 17a and 17b. The front paper feed roller 15b and the rear paper feed roller 16b move in the vertical direction as the paper feed frame 14 moves in the left and right direction.

When the paper feed lever 13 is guided by the groove 19 provided in the cam 18 and rotates around the bin 33, the paper feed frame 1
4 moves left and right.

The conveyance block 2 is composed of paper guides 22 and 23, a conveyance roller pair of a conveyance roller 24 and a pressure roller 25, a platen roller 9, and a discharge roller pair of a discharge roller 27 and a pressure roller 28, etc., and each roller, guide, etc. are rotatably or bolted to the roller chassis 29, 29' (FIG. 3). The conveyance roller 24 is a rigid cylinder made of stainless steel or the like, and granular ceramic material is randomly adhered to the surface thereof to increase the coefficient of friction with the recording paper 7. The suppression roller 25 is a rigid hollow cylinder 25
The surface of a is covered with an elastic body 25b such as rubber, and a rolling bearing 25C is inserted into the hollow cylinder.This rolling bearing 25c is supported by a shaft 25d, and this shaft 25d is a roller chassis 29.29'. is rotatably mounted on the Press levers 35 are attached to both ends of the shaft 25d. The pressing lever 35 is guided by a groove (not shown) provided in the cam 18 and rotates around the bin 34, and presses the pressing roller 25 against the conveying roller 24.
To release oppression. The platen roller 9 and the discharge roller 27 are cylindrical rollers whose cores are made of stainless steel and whose surfaces are covered with an elastic material such as rubber. Pressing roller 28
is a roller made of plastic such as Duracon. A leaf spring 26 attached to the paper guide 23 constantly presses the pressure roller 28 against the discharge roller 27. An optical sensor 36 is attached to the paper kite 22 to detect the presence or absence of the recording paper 7. The paper guide 23 also includes an ink sensor 37 that detects the position of the ink sheet 6.
is the installation.

The cutter block 4 consists of a rotating blade 39, a fixed blade 40, and an optical sensor 38 that detects the presence or absence of recording paper 7.
It is fixed at 1,31'. The cutter block 4 has a mechanism in which the recording paper 7 fed between the rotary blade 39 and the fixed blade 40 is cut by the rotation of the rotary blade 39.

The rolled recording paper winding block 110 wraps the recorded recording paper 7A by rotating the recording paper roll 12a (take-up core) in synchronization with the recording paper roll (recording paper core) 12. Recorded recording paper 7A
It is a mechanism that winds up the

The head block 3 has a thermal head 8 at the left end of the head arm 41, and a shaft 42 that is the center of rotation when lifting the head block 3 is provided at the right end. It is rotatably mounted.

Further, a coil spring 43 is provided at the right end of the head arm 41 to hold the lifted head block 3.

The head block 3 can be lifted up as shown in FIG.
degree). The thermal head 8 is placed in the width direction (
It is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 46 at the center position (in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the paper). Further, the rotation shaft 46 is fixed to a head mounting plate 47 parallel to the width direction of the thermal head 8, and the head mounting plate 47 is rotatably mounted to the helad arm 41. At the top of the thermal head 8 are cooling fins 4.
8 is installed, cooling fins 48 and thermal head 8
moves in unison. The thermal head 8 is cooled by air from the cooling fan 11 passing between the cooling fins 48. At the bottom of the thermal head 8, there is a front peeling roller 5.
5 and a rear peeling roller 56 are rotatably mounted. Head pressing force for pressing the thermal head 8 against the platen roller 9 is provided by a coiled spring 44. The spring 44 is guided by a shaft 49 and installed between the upper surface of the thermal head 8 and the lower surface of the head top plate 51 fixed to the head arm 41. A bin 45 provided in the middle of the head arm 4 is guided by the groove 20 and moves in the vertical direction as the cam 18 rotates. This movement of the bottle 45 moves the head arm 41 and the head top plate 51 in the vertical direction, and the spring 4
4 to apply or release the head pressing force.

The portion where the thermal head 8 and the platen roller 9 come into contact with each other via the ink sheet 6 and the recording paper 7 is the apex portion of the platen roller 9. The deformation of the apex of the platen roller 9 can be approximated by an elastic contact model between a cylinder and a plane, in which the thermal head 8 presses against the cylindrical platen roller 9. In order to obtain high-quality prints, it is necessary to position the heat generating part of the thermal head 8 at the center of the contact length between the cylinder and the plane (the width of the tongue). In this device, the head positioning shaft 50 attached to the head arm 41 is attached to the roller chassis 29.
A mechanism is provided to maintain a constant pressing position of the platen roller 9 and the thermal head 8 by inserting the shafts into the U groove 21 provided at the upper end with precision.

As shown in FIG. 2, the ink block 5 includes a feed roll 53 and a take-up roll 54 attached to an ink case 52.
, and the ink sheet 6 that moves from the feed roll 53 to the take-up roll 54. Feeding roll 5
During printing, the ink sheet 6 stretched between the ink case 3 and the take-up roll 54 is held down by the thermal head 8 as shown in FIG.
). The ink sheet 6 discharged from the feed roll 53 passes through a guide shaft 57 rotatably attached to the roll chassis 29, 29', and is then delivered to the platen roller 9.
A front peeling roller 55 and a rear peeling roller 5 located on both sides of the
6 and thermal head 8 press the recording paper 7 along the platen roller 9 and wind it up on the winding roll 54 .

Next, the drive structure of this device will be explained.

Fig. 3 is a top view of this device, and shows the main parts of the power transmission mechanism such as each roller in a simplified manner. Illustrations are omitted.

The output of the main motor 10, which is mounted on the side plate 31, is transmitted via power transmission means to the conveyance roller 24, platen roller 9, discharge roller 27, front paper feed roller 1.5a, and rear paper feed roller 1.
．． 6a, the recording paper roll 12, and the take-up recording paper roll 12a. The main motor 10 is, for example, a pulse motor. The main motor 10 rotates the conveyance roller 24 with a belt 58. A gear 61 fixed to the conveyance roller 24 meshes with a gear 62 attached via an idler gear 68 and a one-way clutch 71 that has the function of transmitting power to the platen roller 9 in one direction only, thereby controlling the rotation of the main motor 10. It is transmitted to the platen roller 9. Another gear 63 fixed to the conveyance roller 24 meshes with the gear 64 via an idler gear 69. This gear 64 is attached to the discharge roller 27 via a one-way clutch 72 and a torque limiter 74 consisting of a friction transmission mechanism. The main motor 10 rotates the discharge roller 27 with a torque that is less than or equal to the torque set by the torque limiter 74 .

Further, the gear 61 meshes with a gear 65 attached to the rear paper feed roller 1.6a via an idler gear 70, the rear paper feed roller 16a and the front paper feed roller 15a are connected by a belt 60, and the main motor 10 The rotational force of the rear paper feed roller 16
a and the front paper feed roller 15a. Conveyance roller 24
A pulley 76 is attached to the upper end of the figure through a one-way clutch 73. This pulley 76 is connected to a gear 67 attached to the recording paper roll 2 via a belt 59, a pulley 77, a torque limiter 75, and a gear 66 in order to transmit rotational force to the recording paper roll 12. . The recording paper roll 12 is rotationally driven by the main motor IO with a torque less than the set torque of the torque limiter 75'. However, the rotational power of the main motor 10 drives the recording paper roll 12 only when the recording paper roll 12 is driven counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by the action of the one-way clutch 73.

Similarly, in order to transmit rotational force to the take-up recording paper roll (take-up winding core) 12a that winds up the recorded recording paper 7A in the roll-shaped recording paper winding block 110, the lower end of the transport roller 24 as shown in the figure is provided with a A one-way clutch 73a and a pulley 76a are attached, and this pulley 76
a, belt 59a, pulley 77a, torque limiter 7
5a, and the recording paper roll 12 via the gear 66a.
It is connected to the gear 67 attached to a. The recording paper roll 12a is rotated by the main motor 10 with a torque less than the set torque of the torque limiter 75a.

However, the rotational power of the main motor 10 drives the take-up recording paper roll 1.2a through the one-way clutch 73a.
This is only when the take-up recording paper roll 12a is driven in the training direction.

FIG. 4 is a simplified explanatory diagram showing the drive mechanism of the cutter block 4, ink block 5, and cam 18.

The rotary blade 39 of the cutter block 4 is driven by a motor 78 with a reduction gear.
Rotationally driven.

The ink block 5 is shown with the ink case 52 omitted. When the feed roll 53 is attached to the ink receivers 79, 79' provided on the side plates 31.degree. 31', it meshes with a gear 90 attached to the feed roll 53 or a gear 89 attached via a torque limiter 87. Torque limiter 87
is connected to the feeding motor 81 via a speed reducer 84. The power of the feeding motor 81 is transmitted to the feeding roll 53 at a torque that is less than the set torque of the torque limiter 87 . Further, the drive mechanism for the take-up roll 54 has the same configuration as the drive mechanism for the above-described delivery roll 53. That is, the power of the take-up remoter 82 is transmitted from the speed reducer 85 to the torque limiter 88, and is transmitted to the take-up roll 54 via gears 91 and 92 at a torque that is less than the set torque of the torque limiter 88.

Cams 18 and 18' mounted on both sides of camshaft 93
is rotationally driven by a mode motor 83 via a reduction gear 86. Here, the mode motor 83, the feeding motor 81
, and the winding remoter 82 are, for example, DC motors.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained. In Fig. 1, when the platen roller 9 is used as a reference, the paper feed block 1 side (right side in the figure) is the upstream side, and the cutter block 4 side (
The left side of the figure) is called the downstream side.

The recording paper 7 is shown in a roll as shown in FIG.
FIG. 2 shows a state in which the winding roller 54 and the winding roller 54 are mounted on the device. Front paper feed roller 15
The vertical movement of b and rear paper feed roller 16b, the generation of the pressing force by which the pressure roller 25 presses the transport roller 24, and the generation of the head pressing force by which the thermal head 8 presses the platen roller 9 are all caused by the cam 18. Controlled by rotational position. Now, the state of each roller etc. created at the position of the cam 18 shown in FIG. 2 will be referred to as "O mode". "O mode" means that the front paper feed rollers 15a and 15b are separated,
The rear feed rollers 16a and 16b are in contact with each other, and the conveyance roller pair 2
4 and 25 are separated, and the thermal head 8 and platen roller 9
refers to a state in which the two are far apart.

(1) Automatic paper feeding operation The leading edge 7a of the recording paper is the front paper feed roller 15a.

5b and rear paper feed rollers 16a, 16b (as shown in FIG. 2). Lower the head block 3 and insert the bottle 45 into the groove 2 of the cam 18.
Put it in 0. When recording starts, the cam 18 rotates to move only the front paper feed roller 15b downward, and the recording paper 4 is sandwiched between the front paper feed rollers 1, 5a and 15b. This state is the "paper feeding mode". Next, the main motor 10 rotates and the front paper feed roller 1.5a transports the recording paper 7 in the downstream direction.

The leading edge 7a of the recording paper enters rear paper feeding rollers 16a and 16b and is held therebetween. The recording paper 7 is transported by a front paper feed roller 15a and a rear paper feed roller 1.6a, and enters the transport block 2. When the optical sensor 36 detects the recording paper 7, the main motor 10 is stopped. Predetermined number of pulses N1
is input to the control circuit of the main motor 10. With the rotation of the main motor 10, the recording paper 7 is transported by the pair of transport rollers 24 and 2.
5, and the leading edge 7a of the recording paper passes between the pair of conveying rollers 24,
It stops at the position where it passes through 25. The cam 18 rotates,
The pressure roller 25 is pressed against the conveyance roller 24 to sandwich the recording paper 7. Then, the front paper feed roller 15b and the rear paper feed rollers 1 and 6b are moved upward. This state is called "conveyance mode J." The main motor 1o is driven again and the number of pulses is N2.
The leading edge 7a of the recording paper advances in the downstream direction by a conveyance length corresponding to , and stops at a position past the apex of the platen roller 9. The cam 18 rotates and the thermal head 8 changes from the transport mode.
changes to a state where it is lightly pressed against the platen roller 9. Due to the rotation of the main motor 10, the recording paper 7 is transferred to the transport roller 2.
4 and platen roller 9, and stops at a position where the leading edge 7a of the recording paper is sandwiched between a pair of discharge rollers 27 and 28.

Next, the cam 18 rotates to return to the transport mode, and the recording paper 7 is transported downstream by the transport roller 24 and discharge roller 27. Conveyance is stopped when the optical sensor 38 detects the leading edge 7a of the recording paper. This completes the automatic paper feeding operation.

The automatic paper feeding in this device has a transport mechanism that includes a transport roller 24 that applies transport force to the recording paper 7 and a discharge roller 27 on the upstream and downstream sides of the platen roller 9, and assists the transport of the recording paper 7 by the platen roller 9. This enables automatic paper feeding.

(2) Normal paper feeding operation The automatic paper feeding described above, when using a new recording paper roll 12, or when using a recording paper roll 12 that is currently in use due to maintenance, etc.
- This is an operation performed when there is no recording paper 7 on the conveyance path, such as when using the recording paper roll 12 in the middle of use again after it has been removed from the apparatus.

In many cases, the recording paper 7 is considered to be attached to the conveyance path. The operation differs depending on whether there is recording paper 7 on the conveyance path or not. Furthermore, when the recording paper 7 is on the conveyance path, the operation differs depending on whether the leading edge 7a of the recording paper is on the second-stream side or the downstream side of the optical sensor 38. In order to judge these, this device uses the sequence shown in FIG.

In FIG. 5, when the optical sensor 36 detects that there is no recording paper 7 in step STI, the automatic paper feeding described above is performed in step ST2, and the process proceeds to step ST7. On the other hand, if the optical sensor 36 detects that the recording paper 7 is present, the transport mode is set in step ST3, and then the transport mode is set in step ST3.
4, the output of the optical sensor 38 is determined. When the optical sensor 38 detects that there is no recording paper 7, the recording paper 7 is skipped to the downstream side using the conveyance roller 24 in step ST6.
The process stops when the optical sensor 38 detects the leading edge 7a of the recording paper in step ST7. On the other hand, the optical sensor 38 detects that the recording paper 7
If it is detected that the recording paper 7a passes the optical sensor 38, the recording paper 7a is moved until the leading edge 7a of the recording paper passes the optical sensor 38 in step ST5.
is conveyed to the upstream side, then conveyed to the downstream side (step 5T6), and stops when the optical sensor 38 detects the leading edge 7a of the recording paper (step 5T7).

(3)-Full-plane recording operation in which the recording paper is cut for each screen As shown in the processing flow in FIG. 5, the recording paper 7 is conveyed downstream, the optical sensor 38 detects the leading edge 7a of the recording paper, and the The recording operation starts from the point at which the recording operation stops.

While in the transport mode described above, feed the recording paper 7 by a predetermined amount (
For example, in the case of A4 size recording, the paper is conveyed downstream by the length of the A4 size (longitudinal direction size) and then stopped. This recording paper 7
In parallel with the conveyance of the ink sheet 6, the positioning of the ink sheet 6 is performed.

At this time, a conveyance force is applied to the recording paper 7 by the conveyance roller 24, the platen roller 9, and the discharge roller 27, and the recording paper 7 between the conveyance roller pair 24.25 and the discharge roller pair 27.28 does not sag. transported to. Next, the cam 18 rotates to enter the recording mode J. The recording mode is a state in which the thermal head 8 is pressed downward in the transport mode, as shown in FIG. In the recording mode, the head pressing force with which the thermal head 8 presses the platen roller 9 via the ink sheet 6 and the recording paper 7 is approximately 1ON.
The first color ink (for example, yellow) on the ink sheet is transferred onto the recording paper 7 by energizing the thermal head 8 while conveying the recording paper 7 upstream at a speed of /m. At this time, a conveying force is applied to the recording paper 7 by the conveying roller 24. Ejection roller pair 27 and 28 and platen roller 9
The one-way clutches 71 and 72 cause the recording paper 7 to rotate due to the frictional force. In particular, the discharge roller 2
7 is subjected to a load equal to the torque set by the torque limiter 74, pulling it in the opposite direction to the conveying direction of the recording paper 7.
The recording paper 7 can be transported near the platen roller 9 without being slackened. The recording paper 7 sent back to the upstream side from the pair of transport rollers 24 and 25 is wound around the recording paper roll 12 so as not to sag on the transport path of the paper feed block 1 and the like.

In FIG. 1, a constant torque Ts acts on the feed roll 53 in a counterclockwise direction, pulling the ink sheet 6 toward the upper left. Further, a constant torque (Tt) Ts) is applied to the take-up roll 54 in the counterclockwise direction, thereby applying tension to the ink sheet 6 in the upper right direction. In the part where the thermal head 8 presses the platen roller 9,
The frictional force between the recording paper 7 and the ink sheet 6 causes the ink sheet 6 to
is larger than the frictional force of the thermal head 8. Therefore, the ink sheet 6 and the thermal head 8 slip.

The ink sheet 6 is conveyed to the second stream side at the same speed as the recording paper 7, is sent out by the conveyed length from the payout roll 53, and is wound up on the take-up roll 54. In this way, the ink sheet 6 is conveyed under constant tension, so that sagging and wrinkles are prevented from occurring.

The ink sheet 6 and recording paper 7 in the transferred area are stuck together and are moved from the top of the platen roller 9 to the front peeling roller 55.
transported to. At the front peeling roller 55 part, the recording paper 7
A conveyance force acts on the ink sheet 6 in the lower right direction, and a tension force acts on the ink sheet 6 in the direction of the take-up roll 54.
Provides a peeling force to peel off (forward peeling). The forward peeling is performed while conveying the recording paper 7 to the upstream side.

When the leading edge 7a of the recording paper is on the downstream side of the pair of ejection rollers 27 and 28, the restraining force pressed by the pair of ejection rollers 27 and 28 and the rotational resistance force of the ejection roller 27 caused by the torque limiter 74 cause recording in the downstream direction. Since it acts to pull the paper 7, the recording paper 7 is recorded under tension. When the leading edge 7a of the recording paper passes the pair of ejection rollers 27 and 28, the recording paper 7 downstream from the apex of the platen roller 9 is conveyed without being restrained until the leading edge 7a of the recording paper reaches the apex of the platen roller 9. and stop.

At this time, the ink sheet 6 is not peeled off from the recording paper 7 from the leading edge 7a of the recording paper to the front peeling roller 55. In this part, the main motor 10 is reversed and the recording paper 7 is transferred to the transport roller 2.
4 and the platen roller 9 to the downstream side, the rear peeling roller 56 peels off the recording paper (back peeling), and the leading edge 7a of the recording paper
The recording paper 7 is stopped at the position where it is sandwiched between the discharge roller pair 27 and 28. In the case of back peeling, the feed roll 53
The tension of the ink sheet 6 pulled in the direction becomes the peeling force J. The portion of the recording paper 7 where the back is peeled off resists the peeling force with its own bending rigidity. If the bending rigidity of the recording paper 7 is too small, it will not be possible to separate the ink sheet 6 from the recording paper 7, and a conveyance problem will occur in which the recording paper 7 is carried along with the ink sheet 6 to the feed roll 53 side. do.

Further, when the bending rigidity of the recording paper 7 is sufficiently high, if the peeling force is too small, the recording paper 7 cannot be peeled off, causing a problem that the ink sheets 1 - 6 are drawn into the paper guide 26 . Therefore, in this device, by adjusting the setting torque of the torque limiter 87 connected to the feeding roller 53, the optimum setting torque is experimentally determined and the setting torque is set to this value.

Next, the cam 18 is rotated to set the transfer mode in which the head pressing force of the thermal head 8 is released.

Next, the main motor 10 is reversed, and the recording paper 7 is conveyed downstream by a predetermined length, and then stopped. This completes the recording of the first color. Subsequently, a second color (for example, magenta) and a third color (cyan) are printed in the same sequence as the first color. When the recording of the third color is finished, the platen roller 9
The recording paper 7 is conveyed downstream by a length corresponding to the conveyance length from the apex of the cutter block 4 to the cutting position of the cutter block 4, and then stopped. Next, the cutter motor 78 is driven to cut the recording paper 7, and one screen's worth of recorded recording paper 7A is ejected from, for example, an opening at the bottom of the apparatus. Through the above-described recording operation, a predetermined recording paper size (for example, in the case of A4 size, as shown in FIG. 6),
A color print 101 as shown in FIG. 6(a) is obtained, which is recorded from end to end (L=297 mm, W=210 mm).

(4) - Partial recording operation in which the recording paper is cut for each screen The partial recording operation in which recording is performed while the recording paper 7 is always being held between the pair of ejection rollers 27 and 28 is the recording operation explained in section (3). This is made possible by changing the conveyance length of the recording paper 7 and eliminating the back peeling operation. In this case, the obtained color print 102 will have an upper or lower margin as shown in FIG. 6(b). The length of this margin Q
corresponds to the transport length from the platen roller 9 to the discharge roller 27, and is a portion where recording cannot be performed because the recording paper 7 is always held between the pair of discharge rollers 27 and 28. Note that, considering the position of the image printed on the surface of the recording paper 7, it is also possible to obtain a color print 103 with margins provided at the top and bottom as shown in FIG. 6(C).

Further, the color print 101 recorded on the entire surface may be conveniently obtained by a partial recording operation.

This is a color print 104 obtained by partially recording the length of the specified paper size (for example, 297 mm in the case of A4 size) and cutting both ends of the recorded recording paper 7A. When a full-page color print 104 is obtained using this method, paper waste of length Q) is generated at the leading edge of the recorded recording paper 7A. Considering the effective use of the recording paper 7, the full-page recording described in item (3) is superior.

(5) When the continuous recording operation controller 1.05 controls the cutter motor 78 and the main motor 1o to perform continuous recording without cutting the recording paper 7, after the recording operation described in (3), the recorded In order to hold the paper 7A, the recorded recording paper 7A is wound around a winding recording paper roll (winding core) 12a, and the recording paper 7A is wound up with a torque equal to or less than the set torque of the torque limiter 75a so that there is no slack.

After the continuous recording is completed, the cutter motor 78 is driven by the controller 105 to cut the wound recorded recording paper 7A and take out the entire wound recording paper roll (winding core) 12a.

In this continuous recording operation, the next screen is continuously recorded on the recording paper 7 without cutting the roll of recording paper 7 after one screen's worth of recording is completed, thereby eliminating the unrecorded area (margin).
This makes it possible to eliminate the problem, and the recording paper 7 can be used effectively. In addition, during continuous recording, the recorded recording paper 7A is wound up and held in a roll shape with the recording paper roll (take-up core) 12a, thereby preventing dirt, scratches, etc. on the precious recorded recording paper 7A. This also prevents the recording paper (recorded recording paper 7A) from meandering. Further, a recording paper roll (recording paper core) 12 around which the unrecorded recording paper 7 is wound, and a winding recording paper roll (winding core) 12 for winding up the recorded recording paper 7A.
By making a the same shape, conventionally, after consumption of recording paper,
The discarded recording paper core can now be used as a winding core.

As described above, according to this embodiment, by performing a continuous full-surface recording operation, it is possible to eliminate unrecorded areas (margins), and the recording paper 7 can be used effectively. In addition, in this embodiment, a pair of conveying rollers 24 and 25, which are rollers for conveying the recording paper 7 to the upstream side and downstream side of the platen roller 9;
By providing the pair of discharge rollers 27 and 28, it is possible to record extremely small color misregistration of several tens of microns or less, resulting in the effect that high quality color prints can be obtained. Furthermore, rollers 55 and 56 for peeling off the ink sheet 6 from the recording paper 7 are provided on both sides of the platen roller 9.
Furthermore, by driving the platen roller 9 only when conveying the recording paper 7 to the downstream side, back peeling becomes possible, and full-surface recording can be performed without increasing the operating time. In addition, by providing a U groove 21 and a head positioning shaft 5o, which are mechanisms for defining the relative positions of the conveying block 2 having the platen roller 9 and the head block 3 having the thermal head 8, the platen roller 9 and Since the pressing position of the thermal head 8 is constant, recording with extremely small color shift is possible.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, each mechanical component is connected to the paper feed block 1.
, the conveyor block 2, the head block 3, the cutter block 4, etc. are assembled into blocks, and each of these blocks is attached to the bottom plate 30 and side plates 31, 31', so the assembly work is shortened. It also has the effect of being easier to assemble.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

This embodiment is not particularly illustrated, or in FIG. 1, the discharge roller 27 is made of a rigid cylindrical surface made of a stainless steel material or the like, with granular materials of a ceramic material being randomly adhered to the surface, similar to the conveyance roller 24. This is a thermal transfer color recording device having a conveying block 2 in which the pressing roller 28 has a core made of stainless steel and a surface made of an elastic material such as rubber, and its operation is the same as in the previous embodiment.

As in this embodiment, the conveyance roller 24, which is a roller having a surface made of granular material, is provided on the upstream and downstream sides of the platen roller 9.
By providing the discharge roller 27, the restraint force on the recording paper 7 is increased. Due to this increase in restraint force, the main motor 1
The rotation of 0 is reliably transmitted to the recording paper 7 via the conveyance roller 24 and the discharge roller 27, and the positioning accuracy of the recording paper 7 corresponds to color shift and 1=1, so it is possible to record with extremely small amount of color shift. become.

Next, a third embodiment in which the discharge roller 27 is driven by a single motor will be described.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the main structure of the thermal transfer color recording apparatus according to the present embodiment, and only the parts corresponding to FIG. 3 of the first embodiment described above are shown. The other configurations of this embodiment are the same as those shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 4.

In FIG. 7, members shown with the same symbols as in FIG. 3 are:
It has the same structure and function as the above.

The difference between FIG. 7 and FIG. 3 is that a discharge motor 94 and a gear reducer 95 are provided. The discharge motor 94 is, for example, a DC motor. The discharge roller 27 is connected to the gear reducer 9
5 and is driven by a discharge motor 94. The operation of this embodiment is approximately the same as that of the first embodiment described above, and the difference lies in the drive of the discharge motor 94. In this embodiment, when conveying the recording paper 7 to the downstream side, the discharge motor 94 is driven to rotate the discharge roller 27 counterclockwise (FIG. 1). When conveying the recording paper 7 upstream (mainly during recording), the discharge motor 94 is not driven. By controlling in this way, during recording, the conveyance roller 2
The recording paper 7 is conveyed to the upstream side by the conveyance force transmitted from the recording paper 7 to the recording paper 7, and at the same time, the discharge roller 27, which rotates as a result of the frictional force with the recording paper 7, is connected to the gear reducer 95 and the discharge motor 94.
Turning the. The gear reducer 95 and the discharge motor 94 act as an inertial load on the discharge roller 27. Therefore, the force exerted on the recording paper 7 by the discharge roller pair 27, 28 in the opposite direction to the conveying direction is greater than that in the first embodiment by the force due to the torque required to rotate the inertial load.

The fact that the force in the opposite direction is large means that the transport roller pair 24. ．． Since a greater tension than in the first embodiment is applied to the recording paper 7 from the discharge roller pair 25 to the pair of discharge rollers 27 and 28, recording is performed with local out-of-plane deformation of the recording paper 7 being corrected. Thereby, local color shift on the recording paper 7 can be prevented.

Next, a fourth embodiment will be described in which the ink sheet 6 is peeled off only by forward peeling without performing back peeling in the operation of performing full-surface recording. FIG. 8 is a side view of a main part showing a state in which the present embodiment is in operation.

The structure of this embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment (FIGS. 1 to 4), but the operation is partially different. The parts that differ in operation are described below. In the operation corresponding to the recording operation in item (3) above, in this embodiment, the recording paper 7 is conveyed upstream while recording the first color of the ink sheet 6 on the recording paper 7, so that the leading edge 7a of the recording paper When the platen roller 9 reaches the top, recording is stopped, and the recording paper 7 and ink sheet 6 are further conveyed upstream. When the leading edge 7a of the recording paper reaches the upstream side of the front peeling roller 55 (FIG. 8), the conveyance is stopped. The recorded area is now completely peeled off from the ink sheet 6.
In this state, the cam 18 rotates to enter the half mode in which the thermal head 8 is lightly pressed. Thereafter, the main motor 10 is reversed to convey the recording paper 7 downstream. The recording paper is conveyed to a position where the leading edge 7a is sandwiched between the pair of discharge rollers 27 and 28, and then stopped.

In this way, in this embodiment, by carrying out the conveyance during recording in the above sequence, the ink sheet 6 can be peeled off from the recording paper 7 only by forward peeling, so that the entire surface can be recorded without back peeling, which has strict peeling conditions. It becomes possible.

[Effects of the Invention] As described below, according to the present invention, wasteful consumption of recording paper can be eliminated by continuous recording on a roll of recording paper. In addition, since the recorded recording paper is continuously wound,
This prevents the recording paper from meandering and enables more accurate overlapping recording. Furthermore, since the recording paper core can be used as a winding core, recording paper that has been continuously recorded to some extent can be stored in roll form, which is convenient for storing continuous images and the like.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 6 relate to a thermal transfer color recording device according to the embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a side view of the device, FIG. 2 is a side view of the same with the head block lifted, and FIG. 3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams each showing a part of the drive mechanism of this device, and FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a paper feed control sequence.
FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing the recording area on the recording paper, FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the main part configuration of a thermal transfer color recording apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 2 is a side view of a main part of the thermal transfer color recording apparatus according to the embodiment, showing a state in the middle of operation. ]...Paper feed block, 2...Transport block, 3...
・Head block, 4... Cutter block, 5・
・Ink block, 6... Ink sheet, 7...
・Recording paper, 7a ・Tip, 7A... Recorded recording paper, 8... Thermal head, 9... Platen roller, 10. Main motor, 12... Recording paper roll (recording paper core), 12a...take-up recording paper roll (take-up roll core), 15a, 15b...front paper feed roller, 16a, 16b...rear paper feed roller]
8... Cam, 24... Conveyance roller, 25...
・Press roller, 27 discharge roller, 28...press roller, 36 light sensor, 37...ink sensor, 38...
・ Optical sensor, 39... Rotating blade, 40... Fixed blade, 4-head arm, 53... Feeding roll,
54... Winding roll, 55... Front peeling roller, 56... Back peeling roller, 105... Controller, 110... Rolled recording paper winding block. and 21 noro 5 no 6th kuno

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transport roller pair consisting of a drive roller and a driven roller that sandwich a roll of recording paper wound around a recording paper core, a drive mechanism that rotates the transport roller pair in forward and reverse directions, and a platen roller. A thermal transfer recording device having a thermal head that is pressed through recording paper and transfer paper includes a controller that enables continuous recording on the roll of recording paper, and a controller that enables continuous recording on the roll of recording paper, and a controller that enables continuous recording on the roll of recording paper, and a recording paper at an arbitrary position depending on the recording length. 1. A thermal transfer recording device comprising a recording paper cutting means for cutting the recording paper. 2. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a winding mechanism for winding up the continuously recorded recording paper. 3. In claim 2, a winding core for winding recorded recording paper used in the winding mechanism and a recording paper core around which the unrecorded recording paper is wound are products of the same shape. A thermal transfer recording device characterized by: