JPH0441273A - Thermal transfer recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make an ink sheet straightened and to reduce therewith load applied to a recording sheet while being conveyed by a method wherein a sensor detects the position of the front end of the recording sheet when it comes near the ink sheet, and a take-up reel, is made to rotate with a driving means that works on a signal outputted from the sensor. CONSTITUTION:As the front end of a recording sheet 21 passes a position near a sensor 35, the sensor 35 sends detected signals to a control circuit. The control circuit controls, based on the detected signals, a reel motor that drives a take-up reel 48, and the take-up reel 48 is driven, making a take-up bobbin 45 rotate likewise. Slackness of an ink sheet 43 is taken up with the take-up bobbin 45, and the ink sheet 43 is straightened in a section between a guide roller 34 and a roller 49; a section wherein the front end of the fed recording sheet 21 contacts with the ink sheet. Therefore little load is laid by the ink sheet 43 on conveyance of the recording sheet 21. With a tilt provided by the respective positions of the guide roller 54 and the roller 49, the ink sheet 43 is held aslant at a specified angle against the direction in which the recording sheet 21 proceeds, and thereby forward movement of the recording sheet 21 after contacting with the ink sheet 43 becomes extremely easy.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a high-definition thermal transfer recording device for making hard copies of television images and the like.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, images from personal computers, camera-integrated video tape recorders, electronic still cameras, and the like have been soft-copied using display devices capable of high-resolution display. Recently, thermal transfer recording devices that can display high-definition images in full color have been developed as devices for hard copying images from these information sources.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional side view showing such a conventional thermal transfer recording device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 117841/1984.

Recording paper 1 is stored in a paper cassette 2. The recording paper 1 pulled out from the paper cassette 2 by the paper feed roller 3 is
The paper advances while being guided by the paper feed guide 4. During paper feeding, the thermal head 5 is separated from the platen roller 6 , and the recording paper 1 is transported by the transport roller 7 and positioned in the gap between the platen roller 6 and the thermal head 5 . An ink sheet 8 is placed in the gap between the platen roller 6 and the thermal head 5.
is also located. The ink sheet 8 is wound around a feed shaft 9 and a take-up shaft 10 and stored in a cartridge (not shown). During recording, the thermal head 5 is connected to the platen roller 6.
Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the ink sheet 8 and the recording paper 1 are pressed against the platen roller 6. The leading edge of the recording paper 1 is held in pressure contact with a platen roller 6 and a pinch roller 11, and is advanced as the platen roller 6 rotates. The thermal head 5 is energized in accordance with the video signal, and the thermal head 5 generates heat due to this energization, so that the ink applied to the ink sheet 8 is sublimated and transferred and recorded onto the recording paper 1.

In this way, when recording of the first color (for example, cyan) is completed, the thermal head 5 separates from the platen roller 6, and the platen roller 6 rotates in the reverse direction to convey the recording paper 1 in the reverse direction. In this case, the recording paper l is conveyed to the reverse feed roller 12 side and advances to the paper discharge tray 13 side. Paper jams are prevented from occurring by changing the conveyance path of the recording paper I when it is fed and when it is returned. When the recording paper 1 reaches the same position as the recording start position for the first color, the rotation of the platen roller 6 stops, and the ink sheet 8 and the recording paper 1 are again pressed against the platen roller 6 by the thermal head 5, and then Transfer recording of a color (for example, yellow) is started. Similarly, transfer recording of the third color (magenta) is also performed.

By the way, in order to shorten the total length of the apparatus, in the apparatus shown in FIG.
The recording paper 1 is ejected in the direction between the paper cassette 2 that supplies the recording paper 1 and the path. For similar reasons,
The recording paper 1 that has been transferred by the thermal head 5 during recording is conveyed by a pinch roller 11 to a guide 14 disposed in a direction between the paper cassette 2 and the path. That is, the recording paper 1 fed from the paper cassette 2 via the paper feed guide 4 is transferred to the thermal head 5 and the platen roller 6.
Then, the direction is changed approximately 180 degrees by the pinch rollers 11, etc., and the sheet moves forward. Therefore, when the distance from the paper cassette 2 to the thermal head 5 and platen roller 6 is relatively long, the recording paper 1 cannot be easily advanced by the conveying force of the paper feed roller 3 alone, and paper jams are likely to occur. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 4, a conveying roller 7 is required between the paper feed roller 3 and the full head 5, resulting in a problem that the cost of the apparatus becomes high.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, in the conventional thermal transfer recording device described above, in order to prevent paper jams during paper feeding, a conveyance roller is required between the paper feed roller and the thermal head. There was a problem that the price of the device became high.

The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and includes:
It is an object of the present invention to provide a small and inexpensive thermal transfer recording device that does not require an extra conveyance roller by reducing the load of recording paper conveyance.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) A thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention includes a guide means for guiding the recording paper fed from the paper feed case, and a guide means for guiding the recording paper by the guide means when feeding the paper. An ink sheet arranged inclined at a predetermined angle in the direction of travel, a take-up reel for winding up this ink sheet, a drive means for rotationally driving this take-up reel, and The ink sheet is equipped with a sensor that detects when the ink sheet has reached the vicinity, and a control means that controls the driving means based on the output of the sensor to rotate the take-up reel and wind up the ink sheet.

(Operation) In the present invention, the slack in the ink sheet is removed by rotating the take-up reel and winding it up.The recording paper fed from the paper feed case is guided by the guide means and advances. , it is detected that the leading edge of the recording paper has reached the vicinity of the ink sheet, and the drive means rotates the take-up reel based on the output of the sensor.
When the recording paper comes into contact with the ink sheet, the ink sheet becomes straight and the load of conveying the recording paper is reduced. Furthermore, the ink sheet is inclined at a predetermined angle with respect to the recording paper traveling direction, making it extremely easy for the recording paper to advance.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described in detail based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention.

A paper feed case 22 capable of storing a plurality of sheets of recording paper 21 is disposed at the lower side of one side of the housing 20 . A paper discharge case 23 is arranged above the paper feed case 22, into which the recording paper 21 after printing is sent.

Further, a recording section 24 is provided on the other side of the housing 20, and the recording section 24 transfers and records information onto the recording paper 21 fed from the paper feed case 22.

The recording paper 21 is pulled out from the paper feed case 22 by a paper feed roller 25. That is, an opening 26 is formed in the upper part of the paper feed case 22 on the side of the recording section 24, and a paper feed roller 25 is disposed opposite to the opening 26. The recording paper 21 is
lifted in the direction of the opening 26 by the lever 27;
It is pressed by the paper feed roller 25. As the paper feed roller 25 is rotated by a DC motor (not shown) or the like, the recording paper 21 in contact with the paper feed roller 25 is fed to the recording section 24 through the opening 26 .

The recording paper 21 fed from the paper feed case 22 is provided between a return guide 28 and a paper feed guide 29.

A return guide 30 is located opposite the paper feed guide 29.
A switching guide 31 is provided between the paper feed guide 29 and the return guide 30. The paper feed guide 29 has a sloped part 32 at the end, and the recording paper 21 has a return guide 28, a paper feed guide 29, and a switching guide 3.
1, the sheet is conveyed substantially horizontally, then the sheet is turned diagonally upward at the inclined portion 32 of the paper feed guide 29 and is conveyed toward the platen roller 33.

A guide roller 3 is provided near the inclined portion 32 of the paper feed guide 29.
4 are arranged. The guide roller 34 regulates the advancing direction of the recording paper 21, determines the angle of entry of the recording paper 21 with respect to an ink sheet 43 (described later), and facilitates the advance of the recording paper 21 toward the platen roller 33 side.

Further, a sensor 35 is disposed near the inclined portion 32, and the sensor 35 detects that the recording paper 21 has been conveyed to the vicinity of the guide roller 34 and outputs a detection signal.

The platen roller 33 has a cylindrical shape whose outer periphery is made of an elastic material, and is rotatable about a support shaft 36 . The platen roller 33 is equipped with a bearing such as a ball bearing, so that even when the recording paper 21 comes into sliding contact with the recording paper 21, the recording paper 2
It is designed so that it does not become a burden on the transportation of item 1.

A thermal head 37 is arranged at a position facing this platen roller 33. That is, a "<"-shaped head plate 38 is provided below the platen roller 33 at the bottom of the housing 20 so as to be able to swing around a pivot 39, and the head plate 38 faces the platen roller 33. A thermal head 37 is attached to one side. Head lever 4 rotating around a pivot 40
1 and the end of the head plate 38 are connected by a connecting member 42, and as the head lever 41 rotates, the head plate 38 swings to move the thermal head 37 toward the platen roller 33 or It is separated from the platen roller 33. As the thermal head 37, a line-type thermal head in which a large number of heating elements are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording paper 21 is employed.

An ink cartridge I/44 having an ink sheet 43 is disposed between the thermal head 37 and the platen roller 33. The ink cassette 44 has a supply bobbin 45 and a take-up bobbin 46, and ink sheets 1 to 43 have both bobbins 4
5.46 and is housed in the ink cassette 44. Bobbins 45, 46 are engaged with supply reel 47 and take-up reel 48, respectively. The take-up reel 48 is rotated by being driven by a reel motor (not shown). The ink cassette 44 exposes ink sheets 1 to 43 between both bobbins 45 and 46, and as the thermal head 37 moves toward the platen roller 33 in this part, the ink sheet 43 is pressed by the thermal head 37. It is brought into pressure contact with the platen roller 33. The ink sheet 43 has yellow,
Ink bands of three colors, magenta and magenta, are applied sequentially and cyclically in the advancing direction of the ink sheet 43 in sizes based on the size of the recording paper 21.
A roller 49 is provided to guide the ink cassette 4.
A roller 50 is disposed on the platen roller 33 side near 4, and when the thermal head 37 moves to the platen roller 33 side, the ink sheet 43 is guided by the guide roller 34 and rollers 49 and 50 and advances. It is supposed to be done. Note that when the thermal head 37 moves toward the platen roller 33, the ink sheet 1-43 is tilted at a predetermined angle by the guide roller 34 and roller 49 with respect to the traveling direction of the recording paper 21. Further, a mark for color discrimination is formed on the ink sheet 43, and a sensor 51 is provided at the tip of the head plate 38 to detect this mark. A reflective plate 52 is disposed on the platen roller 33 side, and when the thermal head 37 moves to the platen roller 33 side, the sensor 51 and the reflective plate 52 face each other, and the sensor 51 reflects the ink sheet 43. Marks are now detected.

A capstan 53 is rotatably disposed above the platen roller 33. The capstan 53 is driven by a pulse motor (not shown) or the like and rotates at a constant pitch. Note that the capstan 53 has a relatively rough surface to increase the friction between the recording surface of the recording paper 21 and the back surface of the recording paper 21, thereby preventing the recording paper 21 from shifting and preventing color misregistration. There is.

A rotatable pinch roller 54 is disposed at a position facing the capstan 53 so as to be swingable about a support shaft 55 . The pinch roller 54 has a cylindrical shape whose outer periphery is made of an elastic material. The pinch roller 54 is provided with a bearing such as a ball bearing, so that even if the recording paper 21 comes into sliding contact with the pinch roller 54, it does not impose a load on the conveyance of the recording paper 21. When feeding the recording paper 21, the pinch roller 54 is swung around a spindle 55 by a DC motor (not shown), is sufficiently separated from the capstan 53, and is conveyed upward by the paper feed guide 29, ink sheet 43, etc. The printed recording paper 21 is passed between the capstan 53 and the capstan 53. In addition, when conveying the recording paper 21, the pinch roller 54 swings around the support shaft 55 to move the capstan 530.
It moves in the direction of the rotation axis and presses the recording paper 21 against the capstan 53.

Discharge guides 56 and 57 are provided above the pinch roller 54 and above the capstan 53, respectively, to guide the recording paper 21 toward the paper discharge case 23. Paper ejection guide 56
In the vicinity of the pinch roller 54, the slanted portion 58 faces diagonally upward toward the paper ejection case 23, and is bent at the upper portion of the housing 20 to become approximately horizontal. On the other hand, the paper ejection guide 57 is bent above the capstan 53 and has an inclined part 59, and the guide 57 is bent above the capstan 53 and has an inclined part 59.
It is parallel to 6. The recording paper 21 on which printing has been completed is guided by these paper discharge guides 56 and 57 and fed into the paper discharge case 23.

A pair of sensors 60 are provided near the inclined portions 58,59 of the paper discharge guides 56,57. The sensor 60 detects when the leading edge of the recording paper 21 reaches the inclined portion 58, 59 and outputs a detection signal.

Next, the operation of the thermal transfer recording apparatus configured as described above will be explained with reference to the front views of FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 2 shows the first half of the recording paper 21 when it is fed, and FIG. 3 shows the second half when the recording paper 21 is fed.

Before the power is turned on, the state is shown in FIG. 1, and the thermal head 37 is sufficiently separated from the platen roller 33 and does not press the ink sheet 43.

When paper feeding is started, the thermal head 37 is moved to the vicinity of the platen roller 33 by rotation of the head lever 41, as shown in FIG. As the thermal head 37 moves, the ink sheet 43 is pressed and unwound onto the ink sheet 1. On the other hand, the lever 27 below the paper feed case 22 rotates upward and enters into the case 22 from the bottom surface of the paper feed case 22. As a result, the recording paper 21 is pressed against the paper feed roller 25, and is sent out from the opening 26 by the rotation of the paper feed roller 25. The recording paper 21 from the paper feed case 22 advances between the return guide 28 and the paper feed guide 29, and then passes through the switching guide 3.
1 and the paper feed guide 29 substantially horizontally. The recording paper 21 changes direction diagonally upward at the inclined portion 32 of the paper feed guide 29 and advances.

When the leading edge of the recording paper 21 passes near the sensor 35, the sensor 35 provides a detection signal to a control circuit (not shown). Based on the detection signal, the control circuit controls a reel motor (not shown) that drives the take-up reel 48 to rotate the take-up reel 48.9 As a result, the take-up bobbin 45 rotates in the direction A in FIG. Then, the slack of the ink sheet 43 is taken up by the take-up bobbin 45, and the ink sheet 43 becomes straight between the guide roller 34 and the roller 49, that is, at the portion where the leading edge of the conveyed recording paper 21 contacts. . For this reason, the ink sheet 43 is almost the same as the recording paper 21.
It does not become a burden for transportation. Further, due to the inclination by the guide rollers 34 and rollers 49, the ink sheet 43 is disposed at a predetermined angle with respect to the traveling direction of the recording paper 21, so that the ink sheet 43 is tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the traveling direction of the recording paper 21. becomes extremely easy. As the ink sheet 43 advances, the recording paper 21 also advances, and as shown in FIG. 54 passes between each other. Sensor 51 and reflector 5
When the mark on the ink sheet 43 is detected by 2,
The reel motor stops rotating.

When the recording paper 21 advances further and the leading edge of the recording paper 21 passes near the sensor 60, the sensor 60 outputs a detection signal and stops the rotation of the paper feed roller 25 after a predetermined period of time. Next, the pinch roller 54 rotates around the support shaft 55 and moves toward the capstan 53, thereby pinching the capstan 53 and the recording paper 21. Next, the capstan 53 rotates in the reverse direction to return the recording paper 21 by a certain amount to the supply side, and cue the print start position.

Next, the thermal head 37 presses the ink sheet 43 and the recording paper 21 onto the platen roller 33, and the capstan 5
3 rotates, the thermal head 37 is energized and transfer printing is started.

When printing is completed, the recording paper 21 is guided and conveyed by a paper discharge roller 5657 and sent into the paper discharge case 23.

The recording paper 21 pulled out from the paper feed case 22 disposed at the bottom of the housing 20 is changed in direction by the paper feed guide 29, ink sheet 43, paper ejection guides 56, 57, etc., and then placed at the top of the paper feed case 22. The paper is configured to be fed into a paper ejection case 23 that is not provided, making it possible to shorten the overall length of the device.

As described above, in this embodiment, the ink sheet 43 is tilted at a predetermined angle with respect to the traveling direction of the recording paper 21, and when the recording paper 21 comes into contact with the ink sheet 43,
The ink sheet 43 is wound up so that the abutting portion is linear, so that the load on conveyance of the recording paper 21 can be extremely reduced. Therefore, even if the distance between the paper feed roller 25 and the thermal head 37 is relatively long, there is no need to provide a conveyance roller unlike in the past, and the apparatus can be configured at low cost.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the load of conveying the recording paper can be reduced, so an extra conveyance roller is unnecessary, and a thermal transfer recording device can be configured in a small size and at low cost. .

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention, FIGS. 2 and 3 are front views for explaining the operation of the embodiment, and FIG. 4 is a front view of a conventional thermal transfer recording device. FIG. 21...Recording paper, 22...Paper feed case, 2830...Return guide, 2 paper feed guides, 31...Switching guide, 35...Sensor, 34, Guide roller, 43...Inksy... 48... Take-up reel, 49, 50...
roller.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] A guide means for guiding recording paper fed from a paper feed case; an ink sheet disposed inclined at a predetermined angle in the direction in which the recording paper travels by the guide means during paper feeding; a take-up reel for winding up the ink sheet; a driving means for rotationally driving the take-up reel; a sensor for detecting when the leading edge of the recording paper has reached the vicinity of the ink sheet; A thermal transfer recording apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling a drive means to rotate a take-up reel and take up an ink sheet.