JPH04353468A - Printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To shorten the operation time from the feed of paper to a platen roller to the pressure contact of a head. CONSTITUTION:In a printer equipped with a paper feed mechanism 17 supplying printing paper to a platen roller 11 and a head driving mechanism 15 moving a head 16 toward the platen roller 11 to press the printing paper 4 and an ink ribbon 2 to the platen roller 11 by the head 16, the feed of the printing paper 4 to the platen roller 11 by the paper feed mechanism 17 and the feed of the head 16 by the head driving mechanism 15 are performed in parallel.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

[Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a printer, and more particularly to a so-called thermal transfer type printer that uses photographic paper and an ink ribbon and prints by thermally transferring dye from the ink ribbon to the photographic paper using a thermal head. It is.

0002

[Prior Art] A thermal transfer printer is generally equipped with a paper feed mechanism that supplies photographic paper to a platen roller, and a head drive mechanism that moves a head toward the platen roller. The mechanism feeds the photographic paper to the platen roller and wraps it around the platen roller, then the head drive mechanism moves the head to the platen roller, overlays the ink ribbon on the photographic paper, and the head heats the ink ribbon. The dye from the ink ribbon is then thermally transferred to the photographic paper.

0003

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In the conventional printer described above, the paper feed mechanism first supplies photographic paper to the platen roller, and then the head drive mechanism moves the head toward the platen roller. In other words, the paper feeding operation by the paper feeding mechanism and the head movement operation by the head drive mechanism were performed in series, so the operating time from the start of paper feeding to the end of head movement was the paper feeding operation time + (Plus) There is a problem in that it takes a long time to move the head, and it takes a long time to move the head from the start of paper feeding to the end of the head movement.

The present invention has been made with the object of solving the above-mentioned conventional problems and providing a printer that can shorten the operating time from the start of paper feeding to the end of head movement more than before. .

[0005]

[Means for Solving the Problem] A paper feeding mechanism that supplies photographic paper to the platen roller side; a head drive mechanism that moves a head toward the platen roller side and presses the photographic paper against the platen roller with the head; In this printer, the paper feed mechanism feeds the photographic paper toward the platen roller, and the head drive mechanism feeds the head in parallel.

[0006]

[Operation] Since the paper feed mechanism feeds the photographic paper between the time when the head drive mechanism starts feeding the head and the time when the head ends, the paper feed operation time is absorbed within the head movement time. As a result, the time from the start of paper feeding to the end of head movement can be shortened.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Next, the printer of the present invention will be explained with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 1 denotes a printer of the present invention, and the printer 1 includes a ribbon accommodating section 3 for accommodating a roll-shaped ink ribbon 2 shown in FIG. When a ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 equipped with leaf-shaped photographic paper 4 . The ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is slid to a cassette loading position in front of the platen roller 11 in the cabinet 7 and stopped.

When the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 moves to the loading position and stops, the ribbon supply spool 12 (the ink ribbon 2 is wound around the ribbon supply spool 12) in the ribbon storage section 3 of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is moved to the loading position and stopped. The spool transport mechanism 14 transports the ribbon (attached to the ribbon and taken up on the ribbon take-up spool 13) to the opposite side of the platen roller 11 (the opposite side of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 across the platen roller 11). The ink ribbon 2 is carried to the ribbon loading position of the platen roller 11, and is pulled out along the lower side of the platen roller 11.
is in a loaded state.

[0010] When the ink ribbon 2 is loaded,
This time, the head drive mechanism 15 operates and the head 16 begins to move horizontally below the platen roller 11.

At approximately the same time that the head 16 begins to move horizontally, the paper feed mechanism 17 is activated, and the paper feed lever 18 of the paper feed mechanism 17 feeds the paper into the photographic paper storage section 5 of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6. Push up the stacked photographic papers 4...4 from the bottom side.

The uppermost photographic paper 4 of the pushed up photographic papers 4 . It is sent to the side and wound around the platen roller 11.

When the photographic paper 4 is wound around the platen roller 11, the head 1 is moved by the head drive mechanism 15.
6 moves toward the upper platen roller 11 side, and the ink ribbon 2 is pressed onto the platen roller 11 while superimposed on the photographic paper 4.

Next, the configuration of the head drive mechanism 15 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the head drive mechanism 15 includes a motor 21 and a worm 2 driven by the motor 21.
2. Worm gear 23, first to third rotation transmission gears 24
A slide plate 2 provided with a pinion 27 rotated via a pinion 26 and a rack 28 fitted to the pinion 27.
9 is rotatably attached to the slide plate 29 about a shaft 30, and its rotation causes the head 16 to be rotated.
When the slide plate 29 slides below the platen roller 11 by the rotary plate 31 that moves up and down to approach and separate from the platen roller 11, the pinion 27 and the rack 28, the pinion 27 and the rack 28 are disengaged. When the pinion 27 and the rack 28 are disengaged by the first cam 32 and the first cam 32,
The second cam 33 rotates the rotating plate 31 to bring the head 16 into contact with the platen roller 11.

The motor 21, worm 22, worm gear 23, first to third gears 24 to 26, and pinion 27 are arranged on one side of the left and right side plates 35, 36 of the chassis 34, and the pinion 2
7, the slide plate 29, and the rotating plate 31 are also arranged on the other side plate 36 side, and the pinion 2 is arranged on the side plate 35 side.
7 and the pinion 2 arranged on the other side plate 36 side.
7 are connected by a connecting shaft 37 so that they rotate synchronously.

Furthermore, the left and right slide plates 31,
31 are connected by the shaft 30.

Then, the left and right ends of the shaft 30 are inserted into the slide guide grooves 38 and 38 provided in the pair of left and right side plates 35 and 36, and the slide guide pins 39 and 38 provided in the side plates 35 and 36 are inserted. 39 is a slide guide groove 4 provided in the rotating plates 31, 31.
0, 40, the pair of left and right slide plates 29, 29 are slidably attached to the chassis 34.

When the pinion 27 is rotated in one direction, the slide plates 29, 29 and the rotating plate 31
, 31 slide horizontally toward the platen roller 11 along the slide guide grooves 38 and 40 from the first home position shown in FIG. 6, and stop at a position where the pinion 27 and the rack 28 are disengaged.

When the pinion 27 and the rack 28 are disengaged, the first cam 32 moves the slide plate 29,
Press the pressed pins 41, 41 provided at one end of 29,
Slide the slide plates 29, 29 slightly to completely disengage the pinion 27 and rack 28,
As shown in FIG. 7, the slide plates 29, 29 are stopped at the second home position.

The first cam 32 is provided on one side of the pinion 27 and rotates together with the pinion 27.

As shown in FIG. 9, the first cam 32 has a pin groove for introducing the pressed pin 41 in an arc shape around the pinion 27 and the rotating shaft 42 of the first cam 32. 43 are provided.

When the pinion 27 and the rack 28 are disengaged, the pressed pin 41 is momentarily pressed by the pin pressing portion 44 provided at the end of the pin groove 43 on the pin introduction port side. , by slightly sliding the slide plate 29 to completely release the engagement between the pinion 27 and the rack 28, and even if the pinion 27 and the first cam 32 rotate further, the arc-shaped pin groove 43 prevents the pinion from rotating further. The pressed pin 41 is not pressed, that is, the slide plate 29 is not allowed to slide.

As described above, after the first cam 32 disengages the pinion 27 and the rack 28 and stops the slide plate 29 from sliding, the rotation plate 31 is rotated by the second cam 33. It is designed to move.

The second cam 33 is provided on one side of the worm gear 23, as shown in FIG. 10, and is configured to rotate together with the worm gear 23.

The second cam 33 is formed into a substantially semicircular shape, and its outer circumferential surface 45 is an inclined rotating arm lifting/lowering operation surface whose diameter gradually increases around the rotating shaft 46 of the worm gear 23. 47, and an arcuate non-operation surface 48 that is continuous with the rotating arm lifting/lowering operation surface 47.

When the rotating plate 31 slides to the second position together with the slide plate 29, the rotating second cam 33 engages the cam engaging portion 49 provided on the rotating plate 31. The tilted rotary arm lifting operation surface 47 makes contact, and the turning plate 31 is pushed up by the lifting operation surface 47, and the rotating plate 31 is moved around the shaft 30 as shown in FIG.
The head 16 provided on the rotating plate 31 comes into contact with the platen roller 11 as shown in FIG.

Note that 50 is a slide guide groove provided in the rotating plate 31, and a pair of guide pins 51 and 52 provided on the side plate 35 side of the chassis 34 are inserted into the slide guide groove 50. There is. Further, arcuate rotation guide grooves 53 and 54 centered on the shaft 30 are provided at the center and one end of the slide guide groove 50.

The arc-shaped rotation guide groove 53,
Guide pins 51 and 52 are fitted into the guide pins 54, so that the rotating plate 31 rotates at a predetermined angle.

Next, the configuration of the paper feed mechanism 17 will be described. The paper feed mechanism 17 includes a paper feed lever 18 disposed on the upper surface of the chassis 34, a paper feed belt 19 disposed opposite to the paper feed lever 18, and a paper feed lever drive mechanism 61.

As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the paper feed lever drive mechanism 61 includes a cam gear 62 that meshes with a pinion 27 disposed on one side plate 36 side of the chassis 34, and A swing lever 63 that swings by rotation, and the swing lever 6
3, a pinion 66 that meshes with a gear 65 of the rack 64, and a paper feed gear 67 that meshes with the pinion 66, and rotates the paper feed gear 67. Move the paper feed lever 18 up and down to feed the photographic paper 4...4 in the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6.
is designed to be lifted into position.

One end of the paper feed lever 18 is attached to a lever support shaft 69 coaxial with the rotating shaft 68 of the paper feed gear 67, and the other end rotates vertically about the lever support shaft 69. , the photographic paper 4...4 is lifted to a predetermined position.

The rack 64 is slidably attached to the side plate 36 by slide guide grooves 70...70 and guide pins 71...71, and when it slides in one direction, the pinion 66, paper feed gear 67,
The lever 18 is rotated in one direction to feed the photographic paper 4...
When it is lifted to the raised position and slid in the other direction, the paper feed lever 18 is rotated in the other direction, and the photographic paper 4...4 is lowered to a predetermined lowered position (reference position).

The swing lever 63 is formed into a substantially V-shape, and its central portion is rotatably supported on the side plate 36 by a shaft 72, and a rack engaging pin 73 is provided at one end. However, a cam gear engagement pin 74 is provided at the other end.

The rack engaging pin 73 is fitted into a vertically elongated rack engaging pin fitting groove (not shown) provided on the rack 64, and the cam gear engaging pin 74 is fitted into a vertically elongated rack engaging pin fitting groove (not shown) provided on the cam gear 62. It is fitted into an oval cam gear engagement pin fitting groove 75.

When the cam gear 62 is rotated, the cam gear engaging pin 74 is pushed by the cam gear engaging pin fitting groove 75, and the swing lever 63 is rotated clockwise and counterclockwise about the shaft 72. The paper feed lever 18 is moved up and down by sliding the rack 64 forward and backward.

[0037] The oval cam gear engagement pin fitting groove 75
As shown in FIG. 14, small-diameter arcuate grooves 77 are formed at symmetrical positions around the rotation axis 76 of the cam gear 62.
, a large diameter arcuate groove 78 and these small diameter arcuate grooves 7
7 and a lever push-up operation groove 79 that connects one end of the large-diameter arcuate groove 78 and a lever push-down operation groove 80 that connects the other end of the small-diameter arcuate upper groove 77 and the other end of the large-diameter arcuate groove 78. ing.

Then, the cam gear 62 is rotated counterclockwise from the state where the cam gear engaging pin 74 is located at the end inside the small diameter arcuate groove 77 of the cam gear engaging pin fitting groove 75 shown in FIG. The lever push-up operation groove 79 connected to the small diameter arcuate groove 77 allows the cam gear engagement pin 7 to be
4 is pressed, the swing lever 63 rotates counterclockwise, slides the rack 64 to the left, rotates the pinion 66 counterclockwise, and rotates the paper feed gear 67 to the paper feed lever 18 clockwise. Then, use the paper feed lever 18 to lift up the photographic paper 4...4.

When the cam gear 62 rotates further and the cam gear engaging pin 74 is positioned within the large diameter arcuate groove 78, the paper feed lever 18 maintains the photographic paper 4 in a lifted state.

When the cam gear 62 rotates further and the cam gear engagement pin 74 is introduced into the lever press operation groove 80, the swing lever 63 is rotated clockwise by the lever press operation groove 80, and the rack 64 is rotated. Slide the photographic paper 4 to the right, rotate the pinion 66 clockwise and the paper feed gear 67 to the paper feed lever 18 counterclockwise.
...4 is lowered to the reference position.

The photographic paper 4...4 is moved up and down by the paper feed lever 18 by rotating the cam gear 63 once. ,4
This is performed while moving horizontally along 0 toward the platen roller 11.

Next, the configuration of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 will be described.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 has upper and lower halves 91 formed in a box shape.
It is formed by a cassette main body 91 consisting of a and 91b, and a pair of left and right ribbon supply spool support arms 92 and 93 protruding from the left and right ends of the front surface of the cassette main body 91.

[0044] On the opposing surfaces of the pair of left and right ribbon supply spool support arms 92, 93, supply spool support parts 94, 94 in the shape of a truncated cone are attached so as to be able to move toward or away from each other.

When the ribbon supply spool 12 is inserted between the pair of ribbon supply spool support arms 92 and 93, the supply spool support portions 94, The conical peripheral surfaces of the ribbon supply spool 12 are pushed and spread apart from each other, and the ribbon supply spool 12 is sandwiched between the supply spool support parts 94, 94, and both the left and right ends of the rotation center axis of the ribbon supply spool 12 are pushed. When the circular recesses 95, 95 provided on the surface match the positions of the supply spool supports 94, 94, these supply spool supports 94, 94 fit into the recesses 95, 95, and the center of rotation of the ribbon supply spool 12 is aligned. The shaft is detachably and rotatably supported.

A pair of left and right inner flanges 96, 97 are provided at both ends of the central axis of rotation of the ribbon supply spool 12, and
Outer flanges 98 and 99 are arranged at a predetermined interval outside these inner flanges 96 and 97, and
Clamped parts 100, 100 are provided outside these outer flanges 98, 99, and these clamped parts 100, 100 are clamped by a pair of left and right rotating arms of a spool conveying mechanism 14, which will be described later. ing.

Further, a gear 101 is further provided outside the clamped portion 100 of one outer flange 99, and the gear 101 is connected to the ribbon supply spool when winding the ink ribbon 2 onto the ribbon take-up spool 13. 12 and meshes with a brake (pack tension) gear that provides an appropriate braking force.

The drawn-out end side of the ink ribbon 2 drawn out from the ribbon supply spool 12 is connected to the ribbon take-up spool 13.
It is locked to.

Like the ribbon supply spool 12, the ribbon take-up spool 13 also has a pair of left and right inner flanges 111, 112 at both ends, and these inner flanges 111.
, 112 are provided with outer flanges 1 at a predetermined interval.
13 and 114 are arranged, and a gear 115 is provided outside one outer flange 114.

[0050] Then, the inner flanges 111, 112
The ink ribbon 2 is wound up between the inner flanges 111, 112 and the outer flange 11.
3 and 114 as bearing support parts 116 and 117,
A pair of left and right bearing members 11 provided inside the cassette main body 91
It is rotatably supported by 8 and 119.

A gear of a ribbon winding mechanism, which will be described later, meshes with the gear 115 and rotates the ribbon winding spool 13, thereby winding the ink ribbon 2 from the ribbon supply spool 12 to the ribbon winding spool 13 side. It looks like this.

Further, an opening 121 is provided on the upper surface of the upper half 91a of the cassette main body 91 for protruding a portion of the photographic paper 4, and a lid plate 122 is provided in the opening 121 for opening and closing. The cover plate 1 is freely attached.
Reference numeral 22 denotes an opening/closing operation member engaging portion 123 provided at one end side of the lid plate 122 when a cassette is inserted into the cassette holder 9 described below. It is designed to open automatically when engaged.

A rotary bottom plate 125 is mounted on the bottom surface 124 of the lower half 91b of the cassette main body 91.
6, the rotatable bottom plate 1
A large number of photographic papers 4 . . . 4 are placed in a stacked state on the paper 25 .

[0054] Then, the paper feed lever 18 is connected to the bottom surface 124.
When entering through the cutout window 127 provided in the opening 127 and lifting the rotating bottom plate 125, the photographic papers 4...4 are also lifted together with the rotating bottom plate 125, and one end side of the photographic papers 4...4 protrudes from the opening 121, and the most The upper photographic paper 4 is pressed against a paper feed belt 19 disposed facing the opening 121, and is fed to the platen roller 11 side by the paper feed belt 19.

In FIG. 5, reference numerals 128 and 128 are coil springs that spring the supply spool support portion 94, and 129 is a coil spring that automatically closes the cover plate 122 when the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is unloaded. It is a coil spring for.

Next, the configurations of the cassette holder 9 and the holder drive mechanism 10 will be described.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cassette holder 9 includes a bottom plate 131, and left and right side plates 13 formed by bending both left and right sides of the bottom plate 131 upward at a substantially right angle.
2, 133, left and right top plates 134, 134 formed by bending the upper ends of these left and right side plates 132, 133 inward at approximately right angles, and these left and right top plates 134.
, 134 for holding down the top surface of the cassette.
It is equipped with 5,135.

The left and right side plates 132, 133 are arranged on the inner surfaces of the left and right side plates 35, 36 of the chassis 34, and the left and right side plates 132, 133
A pair of front and rear guide pins 1 are formed with steps in the vertical direction on both ends of the outer surface of the holder in the holder sliding direction.
36 and 137 are the side plates 35 of the chassis 34.
, 36 for slide guide elongated holes 138, 139
By fitting the cassette holder 9 into the chassis 3
It is slidably attached to the top of 4.

[0059] Also, the side plate 132 and the side plate 3
5 and between the side plate 133 and the side plate 36, a cassette lock plate 140 is interposed, and one end side of the cassette lock plate 140 is rotatably supported on a guide pin 137 of the one side plate 133. In addition, a pin 141 for rotating the cassette lock plate is provided on one side of the other end (free end side) of the cassette lock plate 140.
is fitted into a guide hole 142 provided in the side plates 35, 36 for rotating the cassette lock plate.

Then, the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is inserted into the cassette holder 9, and the tip of the cassette 6 contacts the stopper 143 provided on the bottom plate 131, and the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is inserted into the cassette holder 9.
The photographic paper cassette 6 has long holes 138, 1 for slide guides.
39, the pin 141 for rotating the cassette lock plate provided on the cassette lock plate 140 rises along the inclined surface 144 of the guide hole 142 for rotating the cassette lock plate. The cassette lock plate 140 rotates so that the free end side rises, and the cassette lock piece 1 provided on the free end side
45 enters into the cassette holder 9 through the cutout window 146 provided in the bottom plate 131, fits into the lock piece engagement groove provided on the bottom surface of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 in the cassette holder 9, and the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is inserted into the lock piece engagement groove. Place the photographic paper cassette 6 into the cassette holder 9
It is designed to be positioned and fixed inside.

As described above, insert the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 into the cassette holder 9, slide the cassette holder 9 slightly, and lock the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 with the cassette lock plate 140. When the holder drive mechanism 10 operates, the cassette holder 9
automatically slides out the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6.
to the cassette loading position.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 2 and 16, the holder drive mechanism 10 includes the left and right side plates 35.
, 36 and is rotatably attached to the rotary shaft 15.
1, one end side is attached to both ends of the rotating shaft 151, and the left and right pin fitting holes 152 (see FIG. 16) provided on the other end side (free end side) are connected to the left and right sides of the cassette holder 9. Guide pins 137 provided on side plates 132, 133
A pair of left and right rotating arms 153, 154 into which the ends of
a gear 155 formed on the one rotating arm 153 around the rotating shaft 151; a small gear 156 meshing with the gear 155; and a large gear integrally provided with the small gear 156. 157, a small gear 158 meshing with the large gear 157, a worm wheel 159 provided integrally with the small gear 158, and a worm wheel 159.
It consists of a worm 160 that meshes with the worm 160, and a motor 161 that rotates the worm 160.

Then, the motor 161 drives the worm 16.
0, worm wheel 159, small gear 158, large gear 1
57, the pair of left and right rotating arms 153, 154 rotate around the rotating shaft 151 via the small gear 156 and gear 155, and the pin fittings provided at the free ends of these rotating arms 153, 154 rotate. The cassette holder 9 is slid along the sliding holes 138, 139 by pushing the guide pins 137, 137 inserted into the sliding holes 152, 152.

When the cassette holder 9 moves to the holder loading position, the ribbon supply spool 12 of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 housed in the cassette holder 9 is moved by the spool conveyance mechanism 14 described below.
It is designed to be transported to a predetermined position.

The spool transfer mechanism groove 14 has a pair of left and right clamp arms 171 that clamp both ends of the ribbon supply spool 12 that has moved to the holder loading position.
172 and these pair of clamp arms 171, 172
and an arm drive gear 173 for operating the arm.

As shown in FIG. 15, the clamp arms 171 and 172 each have a bearing hole 174 at one end and a first spool clamp surface 175 at the other end.
a rotor 176, and a second rotor having a bearing hole 177 having a larger diameter than the bearing portion 174 of the first rotator 176 on one end side and an arcuate spool clamping surface 178 on the other end side. It consists of a rotator 179, and the end of the central axis of rotation of the ribbon supply spool 12 is clamped by the first and second spool clamp surfaces 175, 178.

Further, a cylindrical bearing portion 180 is formed on one side of the arm drive gear 173.
0 into the bearing hole 177 of the second rotator 179, the second rotator 179 is rotatably supported by the arm drive gear 173.

A plurality of connecting pins 181...181 are provided on the end face of the bearing portion 180, and these connecting pins 181...181 are provided on the outer periphery of the bearing hole 174 of the first rotator 176. By fitting into the pin holes 182...182, the first rotator 176 is connected to the arm drive gear 17.
3, and is supported to rotate together with the gear 173.

Then, as described above, the arm drive gear 173 with the first and second rotators 176 and 179 attached thereto.
is rotatably attached to the end of the rotation center shaft of the platen roller 11. 183 is the first and second rotating element 1
The coil spring 183 is a coil spring for clamping the end of the ribbon supply spool 12 with a predetermined pressure on the spool clamp surfaces 175, 178 of 76, 179.
One end is the spring locking portion 18 of the first rotator 176.
4, and the other end is locked to a spring locking portion 185 of the second rotator 179.

When the arm drive gear 173 is rotated and the clamp arms 171, 172 are rotated from the ribbon loading position shown in FIG. 18 to the ribbon unloading position, as shown in FIG. , the stopper contact piece 1 provided on the second rotator 179
86 comes into contact with a stopper 187 provided on the chassis 34, the rotation of the second rotator 179 is prevented, and only the first rotator 176 continues to rotate. Spool clamp surfaces 175, 178 of rotators 176, 179
Both ends of the central axis of rotation of the ribbon supply spool 12 are opened to allow insertion, and the ribbon supply spool 12 is stopped.

Then, the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is transported by the cassette holder 9 to the cassette loading position as shown in FIG. When the arm drive gear 173 is inserted between the spool clamp surfaces 175 and 178, the arm drive gear 173 begins to rotate clockwise in FIG. The clamp arm 171,1
72 is in a so-called closed state and clamps the clamped portions 100 at both ends of the rotation center axis of the ribbon supply spool 12.

When the arm drive gear 173 is further rotated, the second rotator 179 is also rotated together with the first rotator 176, that is, the entire clamp arms 171 and 172 are rotated, and the ribbon is pulled out. At the same time, as shown in FIG. 18, the ribbon supply spool 12 is transferred to the ribbon loading position.

In FIG. 2, 189 and 190 are gears that mesh with the left and right arm drive gears 173, respectively. These gears 189 and 190 are connected by a connecting shaft 191, and the connecting shaft 191 is connected to a reduction gear. By rotating a motor 193 via a group 192, a pair of left and right clamp arms 171, 172 can be driven and operated simultaneously by one motor.

In FIG. 16, reference numeral 194 indicates the gear 10 provided on the ribbon supply spool 12 when the ribbon supply spool 12 moves to the ribbon loading position.
1 to apply an appropriate back tension (load) to the ribbon supply spool 12, and the brake gear 194 applies an appropriate back tension to the ribbon supply spool 12 while moving the ribbon take-up spool 13 to the ribbon. The ribbon is rotated by a winding mechanism 196 to wind the ribbon from the ribbon supply spool 12 onto the ribbon take-up spool 13.

The ribbon winding mechanism 196 is connected to the rotating arm 15 of the holder drive mechanism 10, as shown in FIG.
a rotating lever 197 that rotates following the rotation of the rotating arm 153 when the rotating arm 153 rotates;
a slide lever 198 that slides when the slide lever 198 rotates, and a swing lever 200 that swings in a seesaw shape about a shaft 199 as the slide lever 198 slides.
a first gear 201 attached to the shaft 199;
A second gear 202 is attached to one end of a swinging lever 200 in a state of meshing with a gear 201, and meshes with the gear 115 of the ribbon take-up spool 13 when the swinging lever 200 swings. There is.

When the rotating arm 153 of the holder drive mechanism 10 rotates by a predetermined angle in the cassette loading direction, one end of the rotating lever 197 is pushed and rotated, and the slide lever 198 slides. Then, the swinging lever 200 swings, and the second gear 202 provided at one end of the swinging lever 200 connects to the gear 115 of the ribbon take-up spool 13.
mesh with.

Therefore, the shaft 199 is driven by a drive mechanism 205 consisting of a reduction gear group 203 and a motor 204 shown in FIG.
If the shaft 199 is rotated at The ribbon is wound from the supply spool 12.

In FIG. 16, reference numeral 206 is a ribbon supply spool rotation lock lever provided on the second rotator 179 of the spool transport mechanism 14.
06, the ribbon supply spool 12 is locked in a non-rotatable state while being transferred by the spool transport mechanism 14, and the used ink ribbon is pulled out from the ribbon take-up spool 13 side, and the ribbon supply spool 12 is
When the ribbon supply spool 12 is conveyed to the ribbon loading position, the ribbon supply spool 12 is unlocked.

[0079] 207 also transfers the photographic paper 4 to the platen roller 1.
This is a paper chuck lever for winding around paper.

The printer of the embodiment has the configuration as described above, and the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is inserted into the cassette holder 10 from the cassette insertion opening 8 of the cabinet 7, and the cassette holder 10 is inserted into the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6. When the cassette 6 is pressed and slightly slid, the cassette lock plate 140 rotates and locks the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6.

Almost at the same time as the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is locked, the holder drive mechanism 10 is activated, and the rotating arms 153 and 154 rotate to slide the cassette holder 10 and move the inside of the cassette holder 10. The ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 is transported to the cassette loading position shown in FIG. Then, both ends of the central axis of rotation of the ribbon supply spool 12 supported between the ribbon supply spool support arms 92 and 93 of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6 are connected to a pair of left and right clamp arms 171 of the spool conveyance mechanism 14.
, 172, the first and second rotators 176, 179
The second gear 202 of the ribbon winding mechanism 196 is brought into mesh with the gear 115 of the ribbon winding spool 13 of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette 6.

When the end of the ribbon supply spool 12 enters between the spool clamp surfaces 175 and 178, the spool conveyance mechanism 14 is activated, and the first rotator 176 is first moved in the spool clamping direction around the central axis of rotation. The spool clamping surfaces 175 and 178 clamp both ends of the rotation center axis of the ribbon supply spool 12, and then the first rotator 1
76, the second rotator 179 also rotates around the central axis of rotation, and while pulling out the ink ribbon 2 from the ribbon take-up spool 13 side, the ribbon supply spool 12 is conveyed to the ribbon loading position shown in FIG. , gears 101 provided at both ends of the central axis of rotation of the ribbon supply spool 12 mesh with a brake gear 194.

When the ribbon supply spool 12 is brought to the ribbon loading position, the head drive mechanism 15 is activated, and the left and right side plates 35, 3 of the chassis 34 are moved.
A pair of left and right slide plates 29, 29 are moved in the horizontal direction toward the platen roller 11 as shown in FIG.

When the slide plate 29 moves horizontally to a predetermined position, the pinion 27 and rack 28
are disengaged, and the slide plate 29 stops.

During this time, the cam gear 62 meshing with one of the pinions 27 rotates once, and the lever push-up operation groove 79 of the cam gear engagement pin fitting groove 75 first raises the paper feed lever 18 to remove the ribbon/photographic paper. After pressing the photographic paper 4 in the cassette 6 against the paper feed belt 19, the lever press operation groove 8
By lowering the paper feed lever 19 at 0, a sheet of photographic paper 4 is sent to the platen roller 11 side, and the photographic paper 4 is wound around the platen roller 11.

When the pinion 27 and the rack 28 are disengaged, the first cam 32 presses the pressed pin 41 of the slide plate 29 to further slide the slide plate 29 slightly in the horizontal direction, and the pinion 27 and the rack are disengaged. 28
Completely release the mesh.

When the engagement between the pinion 27 and the rack 28 is completely released, the second cam 33 pushes up one end of the rotary plate 31 to separate the ink ribbon 2 and the photographic paper, as shown in FIG. Printing is performed by pressing the head 16 onto the platen roller 11 with the two sheets superposed one on top of the other.

The series of operations described above are performed by a control device (not shown).

[0089]

As explained above, the present invention has a paper feeding mechanism that supplies photographic paper to the platen roller side, a head that moves toward the platen roller side, and the head that pushes the photographic paper against the platen roller. In a printer equipped with an attached head drive mechanism, the feeding of the photographic paper to the platen roller side by the paper feeding mechanism and the feeding of the head by the head drive mechanism are performed in parallel.
This has the effect of absorbing the paper feeding operation time within the head movement operation time, thereby shortening the time from the start of paper feeding to the end of head movement.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the main parts of a printer.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the main parts of the printer.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette.

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the ribbon and photographic paper.

FIG. 6 is a side view of the head in a first home position.

FIG. 7 is a side view of the head moved to the second home position.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the head rotated and pressed against the platen roller.

FIG. 9 is a side view of the first cam.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the second cam.

FIG. 11 is a side view of the state before pushing up the paper feed lever.

FIG. 12 is a side view of the paper feed lever in a raised state.

FIG. 13 is a side view of the paper feed lever in a lowered state.

FIG. 14 is a side view of the cam gear.

FIG. 15 is an exploded perspective view of the clamp arm of the spool transfer mechanism.

FIG. 16 is a side view showing the positional relationship between the head and the clamp arm before inserting the ribbon/photographic paper cassette.

FIG. 17 is a side view of the ribbon/photographic paper cassette after loading.

FIG. 18 is a side view of the ribbon supply spool conveyed to the ribbon loading position by the clamp arm.

FIG. 19 is a side view of the state in which the head is moved to the second home position and the paper feed lever is raised to feed paper.

FIG. 20 is a side view of the head in pressure contact with the platen roller.

[Explanation of symbols]

4... Photographic paper, 11... Platen roller, 15... Head drive mechanism, 16... Head, 17... Paper feeding mechanism.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A paper feed mechanism that supplies photographic paper to the platen roller, and a head drive mechanism that moves a head toward the platen roller and presses the photographic paper against the platen roller with the head. . A printer characterized in that the feeding of the photographic paper to the platen roller side by the paper feeding mechanism and the feeding of the head by the head driving mechanism are carried out in parallel.