JPH0428186B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device that records information, etc. on paper using a thermal head and an ink sheet.

Conventional configurations and their problems In recent years, there has been an increasing demand for devices that make color hard copies of display screens such as CRTs, and in particular, color devices in which the three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are applied sequentially are becoming easier to maintain. There is a need for an apparatus that sequentially transfers and records information onto recording paper using an ink sheet.

A conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus will be explained below.

FIG. 1 schematically shows the main recording part of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus. A thermal head 1 is pressed against the platen 2 via an ink sheet 5 and a recording paper 4. Two auxiliary rollers 3 are pressed against the platen 2. The ink sheet 5 is supplied from a supply rail 6 and wound onto a take-up rail 7.

In the above configuration, the first color ink sheet 5
(for example, yellow) and the recording paper 4 are sandwiched between the thermal head 1 and the platen 2.
is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and the ink on the ink sheet 5 is transferred onto the recording paper 4 by the thermal head 1 which is heated by the recording signal. When recording for one screen is completed, the thermal head 1 is separated from the platen 2 as shown in FIG. In this state, the platen 2 is reversed in the direction of arrow B, which is opposite to the direction of arrow A. At this time, the recording paper 4 is conveyed in the opposite direction by the pressure contact force between the auxiliary roller 3 and the platen 2, and when the recording start position of the first color reaches the heat generation position of the thermal head 1, the rotation of the platen 2 is stopped and recording is performed. paper 4
Transport of the equipment will also be stopped. During this time, the ink sheet 5 is wound up by the take-up reel 7, and stops when the second color reaches the heat generating position of the thermal head 1.
Thereafter, the thermal head 1 is again pressed against the platen 2, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 1, and recording of the second color (for example, magenta) is performed. In this way, recording is performed sequentially up to the third color (cyan).
A color hard copy is obtained by subtractive color mixing of yellow, magenta and cyan.

However, such a configuration has the following problems.

That is, in order to prevent uneven color development caused by warpage of the thermal head 1 or uneven thickness of the recording paper 4 and ink sheet 5, an elastic material such as silicone rubber is provided on the surface of the platen 1, but during recording Because the surface of the platen 1 is elastically deformed by the pressing force of the thermal head 1, the feeding amount of the recording paper 4 is not stable with respect to the amount of rotation of the platen 1, which may cause uneven overlay of the three colors. Become. Also, once sagging occurs on the recording paper 4 between the two auxiliary rollers 3, 3, this sagging will not be eliminated and the forward and reverse operations will be performed, so the recording start position for the second and third colors cannot be adjusted. It becomes difficult to accurately match the recording start position of the first color. Due to the reasons mentioned above, the recording paper 4 is forced to be transported unstablely, which often causes large color shifts when recording the second and third colors, resulting in a decrease in resolution. However, there was a problem in that the recording quality deteriorated significantly due to changes in hue and the like.

Purpose of the invention The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording device capable of obtaining high-quality solar hard copies without color shift by stably conveying recording paper with a simple configuration.

Structure of the Invention The present invention comprises an ink sheet coated with thermal transferable ink, a thermal head that selectively generates heat from a heating element, and a platen that faces the thermal head and presses and holds a recording paper and an ink sheet, and a rotatable platen. This is a thermal transfer recording device that is equipped with a drum that is held and capable of winding recording paper on its surface, and configured to record and transport the recording paper by rotating the drum, which stabilizes the recording transport of the recording paper. By doing this,
It is possible to prevent color misregistration when superimposing colors, and by configuring the drum so that its circumference is smaller than the feed length in the sub-scanning direction for one screen, it is possible to prevent color misregistration. It is possible to supply a small and lightweight printer.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 3 and 4. In addition, in Figures 3 and 4, the first
Components that are the same as those shown in FIGS.

In FIG. 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a thermal head which is pressed into contact with a platen 2 whose surface is made of an elastic material via an ink sheet 5 and a recording paper 4. The ink sheet 5 is supplied from the supply reel 6 and transferred to the take-up reel 7.
It is wound up. Yellow, magenta, and cyan inks are sequentially applied to the ink sheet 5.
Reference numeral 11 denotes a rotatably held drum, on the surface of which the recording paper 4 is wound, and the recording paper 4 is conveyed.
By the way, since the drum 11 of this embodiment does not need to be an elastic body, its configuration has a large degree of freedom and its circumferential length can be arbitrarily selected.
The circumference of the drum 11 is configured to be smaller than the feed length in the sub-scanning direction (conveyance direction) for one screen. In this embodiment, the drum 11 rotates twice to wind up the recording paper 4 and carry out recording and conveyance for one color per screen. A paper holder 12 is provided on a part of the drum 11 and is configured to firmly hold the leading edge of the recording paper 4 on the drum 11. Further, 12b is the drum 11 and the paper holder 12.
12a is the boundary between the recording paper leading edge 4a and the paper holder 1.
2, and the paper holder 12 is located at the boundary between FIGS. 3 and 4.
As shown in the figure, since the boundary portions 12b and 12a are shaped without any step, even when the recording paper 4 is wound on the paper holder 12, it is wound smoothly and uneven feeding does not occur. Reference numeral 13 denotes a tension roller, which rotates the drum 1 when the recording paper 4 is conveyed in forward and reverse directions.
It serves to provide tension to the recording paper 4 so that sagging does not occur between the recording paper 1 and the paper feed roller.

The operation of the thermal transfer recording apparatus of this embodiment configured as described above will be explained below.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the recording state. In FIG.
The drum 11 is rotated in the direction of arrow C while being sandwiched between the ink sheet 5 and the ink sheet 5, and the ink on the ink sheet 5 is transferred onto the recording paper 4 by the thermal head 1, which is heated by the recording signal. At this time, the conveyance of the recording paper 4 is not affected by the elasticity of the platen 2.
Since it is directly controlled by the rotation of the drum 11,
Corresponding to the rotation of the drum 11, it is possible to realize accurate recording paper feeding at even pitches. Then, by rotating the drum 11 twice as described above, recording of the first color for one screen is performed. When the recording of the first color is completed, the thermal head 1 is separated from the platen 2,
The recording paper 4 is conveyed in the reverse direction. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a reversed state, in which the drum 11 is reversed in the direction of arrow D. At this time, the tension roller 13
The recording paper 4 is fed out in the direction of arrow E so that sagging does not occur in the recording paper 4 fed out by the reverse rotation. The recording start position for the first color is thermal head 1.
When the recording paper reaches the heat generating position, the drum 11 and tension roller 13 stop rotating, and the recording paper stops.
During this time, the ink sheet 5 is wound up by the take-up reel 7, and stops when the second color reaches the heat generating position of the thermal head 1. Thereafter, the thermal head 1 is again pressed against the platen 2, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 3, and recording of the second color is performed. In this way, recording is performed sequentially up to the third color, and a color hard copy is obtained. Even if sagging occurs on the recording paper 4 at the end of the reverse operation, this sag will be eliminated immediately after the forward rotation of the second color starts, so if you are concerned about sagging, thermal paper 4 should be printed for the same number of lines for each color. Carry out empty feed while pressing head 1,
It is a good idea to record after the sagging has been resolved.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the recording conveyance of the recording paper 4 is directly controlled by the rotation of the drum 11 without being affected by the elasticity of the platen 2. Since recording paper can be fed accurately at even pitches, it is possible to obtain color hard copies without color misregistration. Further, since the recording paper 4 can be wound multiple times using the drum 11 having a small circumference to feed the recording paper, a small and lightweight printer without color misregistration can be realized.

Effects of the Invention The thermal transfer recording device of the present invention includes an ink sheet coated with thermal transfer ink, a thermal head that selectively generates heat from a heating element, and a platen that faces the thermal head and presses and holds the recording paper and the ink sheet. By providing a drum that is rotatably held and on which the recording paper can be wound, the recording conveyance of the recording paper is directly controlled by the rotation of the drum without being affected by the elasticity of the platen. Since it is possible to realize accurate recording paper feeding at even pitches according to the rotation of the drum, it is possible to obtain high-quality color hard copies without color shift with a simple configuration.
In addition, the circumference of the drum can be arbitrarily selected, and stable running of the recording paper can be achieved using a drum with a small circumference, making it possible to obtain a small and lightweight printer without color misalignment, and its practical effects are big.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are schematic diagrams of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are schematic diagrams of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1...Thermal head, 2...Platen, 4...
... Recording paper, 5 ... Ink sheet, 11 ... Drum, 12 ... Paper holder.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A thermal transfer recording device that performs color recording by repeating recording operations for each color using an ink sheet coated with thermally transferable color inks of multiple colors, wherein the heating element is selectively activated. a thermal head that generates heat; a platen that faces the thermal head and presses and holds the recording paper and ink sheet; a moving means that moves the ink sheet; 1. A thermal transfer recording device comprising: a drum; and by rotating the drum, a recording sheet is conveyed back and forth. 2. The drum is configured such that its circumference is smaller than the feed length in the sub-scanning direction of one screen, and the recording paper is transported for one screen by winding the recording paper around the drum a plurality of times. The thermal transfer recording device according to claim 1, characterized in that: