JPH0464971B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Technical field) The present invention relates to a recording device.

(Prior Art) Recording devices such as various printers and copying machines generally use dedicated recording sheets, and these dedicated recording sheets are automatically distributed.

In this specification, paper distribution refers to a process in which the leading edge of a recording sheet is gripped by registration rollers that feed the recording sheet to a recording section.
Furthermore, when referring to paper distribution, the recording sheet is not necessarily limited to paper.

Furthermore, if the recording device is a copying machine, the recording section refers to a transfer section where a visible image on a photoreceptor is transferred onto a recording sheet, and if the recording device is a thermal transfer recording device, etc. Refers to the part where thermal transfer, etc. is performed.

Now, the size, color, thickness, sheet quality, etc. of the dedicated recording sheet used in such a recording apparatus are generally fixed. However, in general, it is common to record images on paper of a special color, on a resin film, or in other words, on a recording sheet other than a dedicated recording sheet. There are strong demands from device users.

In response to such requests, in addition to automatic paper distribution, it has recently become possible to distribute paper by hand, and recording sheets other than dedicated recording sheets can be manually distributed according to the user's preference. The recording device is intended to be a transparent recording device.

In this way, in addition to automatic paper distribution, if paper distribution by manual feeding is also possible, for example, in order to control the timing of the registration rollers to grip the leading edge of the recording sheet, the paper distribution method, that is, the automatic It is necessary to identify whether the paper is distributed manually or manually.

(Objective) An object of the present invention is to provide a recording device that can selectively perform automatic paper distribution method and manual paper distribution method as described above, and can easily and reliably identify both paper distribution methods. do.

(composition) The present invention will be explained below.

The features of the present invention are as follows.

That is, a first conveyance path for manual sheet distribution that guides recording sheets manually distributed from outside the recording apparatus to registration rollers, and a recording sheet distributed by an automatic sheet distribution mechanism installed in the recording apparatus. A second conveyance path for automatic paper distribution that guides the paper to the registration rollers is merged near the front side of the registration rollers, and a sensor is arranged on the front side of the registration rollers near the confluence of the respective conveyance paths. However, the leading edge of the distributed recording sheet is detected by the sensor, regardless of whether the recording sheet is distributed manually or automatically.

This fact occurs when the sensor detects the leading edge of the recording sheet even though no drive signal is generated in the signal generating section that generates the drive signal for driving the automatic sheet distribution mechanism. to identify the manual paper delivery method. This identification is performed by the identification section.

Automatic paper delivery can be identified by the occurrence of the drive signal itself.

The present invention will be described below with reference to specific examples.

FIG. 1 shows the appearance of an example of a thermal transfer recording device embodying the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows only the main parts necessary for explanation of the inside of this thermal transfer recording apparatus.

FIG. 3 shows a state in which the upper part of the thermal transfer recording apparatus is opened with respect to the lower part of the apparatus.

As shown in FIG. 3, this thermal transfer recording device
The upper part of the device can be hingedly opened and closed relative to the lower part of the device.

First, to explain the symbols appearing in FIG. 1, numeral 1 is the lid, numeral 2 is the main body, numeral 3 is the tray, numeral 4 is the cassette, and numeral 5 is the
The cover member and the symbol S each indicate a recording paper as a recording sheet.

The lid part 1 can be opened and closed with respect to the main body part 2.

Among the various parts of the apparatus, the part that is opened and closed together with the lid part 1 is the upper part of the apparatus, and the part that is fixed to the main body part 2 is the lower part of the apparatus. The tray 3 is removably attached to the lid part 1. The cassette 4 stores the recording sheets S in a stack therein, and is attached to the recording apparatus main body 2. Although plain paper is used as the recording paper S, it goes without saying that for example, a resin film or the like can be used as the recording sheet if necessary. Recording paper S is
Various sizes can be used, and each size is stored in a dedicated cassette for use. Regardless of the dimensions of the recording paper S, the length of the recording paper in the direction perpendicular to the recording paper conveyance direction is referred to as the width of the recording paper, and the direction of the length is referred to as the width direction of the recording paper.
No matter what size recording paper is used,
The center portion in the width direction is always set with respect to the main body portion 2 in a fixed position. That is,
In this example of the apparatus, the recording paper is set by a so-called center sorting method.

The cassette 4 is provided with a magnetic pattern corresponding to the size of the stored recording paper at the engagement portion with the main body 2, and the main body 2 detects the magnetic pattern to detect the set recording paper. detects the dimensions of the thermal head and controls the drive area of the thermal head.

In addition to the recording paper stored in the cassette, this apparatus also allows other recording sheets to be manually loaded into the apparatus for recording. The lid member 5 is adapted to open and close the entrance of the recording sheet setting section for manual feeding.

Now, to explain each part of the apparatus with reference to FIG. 2, reference numeral 11 is a paper distribution roller, numeral 12 is a paper feed roller, numeral 13 is a return roller, numeral 14 is a guide, numerals 15 and 16 are guides, and numeral 17 is a Sensors, symbols 18A and 18B are registration rollers, symbol 19
2 indicates a guide, and 20 indicates a platen roller, respectively.

Further, code IS is an ink sheet, code 21 is a guide pipe, code 22 is a buffer guide, code 23 is a guide pipe, code 24 is a guide roller, code 2
5 is a thermal head, 26 is a bracket, 27 is a relay roller, 28 is a guide, and 29 is a peeling claw.

Furthermore, codes 30A, 30B, 32A, 32
B, 34A, 34B are discharge rollers, code 31A,
31B, 33A, and 33B are guides, 35 is a control unit, 36 is a power source, 37 is a cover, 38 is a sensor, 39 is a take-up spool, and 40 is a take-up shaft.

The paper distribution roller 11 has a shaft equipped with a plurality of rollers arranged at intervals in a skewer shape, and these rollers have a rubber surface and have sufficient frictional force against the recording paper S. . This paper distribution roller 11 rotates clockwise during operation.

The paper feed roller 12 and the return roller 13 are also equipped with a plurality of rollers arranged in a skewered manner on their shafts, and the surfaces of these rollers are made of rubber, and each has sufficient friction against the recording paper S. It has power. During operation, the paper feed roller 12 rotates clockwise, but the return roller 13 is rotationally driven clockwise via a friction transmission mechanism.

The guide 14 is plate-shaped and constitutes a conveyance path for automatic paper distribution from the cassette 4 to the registration rollers 18A, 18B, that is, a second conveyance path. The guides 15 and 16 are also plate-shaped and constitute a conveyance path for recording sheets that are manually set, that is, a first conveyance path.

The sensor 17 is for detecting recording sheets,
The actuator 17A is placed near the confluence of the conveyance path formed by the guide 14 and the manual feed conveyance path. Of course, actuator 1
In the arrangement section 7A, guides 14, 15, 16
is cut out.

Roller 18A constituting the registration roller,
Among the rollers 18B, the roller 18A is on the driving side, and the roller 18B is on the driven side. Drive side roller 18
The surface of roller A is made of rubber, and the roller 18B on the driven side is made of stainless steel. The end of the guide 14 on the registration roller side is connected to the rollers 18A, 1.
It is located at a lower position than the contact part of 8B,
The recording paper is not obstructed from entering the contact portion. Further, the guide 14 is connected to the paper feed roller 1.
From the feeding position according to 2, register roller 1
It gradually rises toward 8A and 18B.

The guide 19 includes registration rollers 18A, 18
A conveyance path from B to the platen roller 20 is configured.

The platen roller 20 is a rubber roller and can be driven to rotate intermittently in both forward and reverse directions by a step motor (not shown).

The thermal head 25 has a plate shape elongated in the direction perpendicular to the drawing, and has a large number of minute heating elements arranged in an array in the longitudinal direction of the head, that is, in the direction perpendicular to the drawing. This heating element array arrangement section is hereinafter referred to as a writing section.

The thermal head 25 is held by a bracket 26, and during recording, it is connected to the writing section and the platen roller 20 via an ink sheet IS and a recording paper S.
are in pressure contact with each other along the generatrix of the platen roller 20 in the longitudinal direction. Thermal head 2
5 and the platen roller 20 are hereinafter referred to as a recording section.

The guide 28 is plate-shaped and forms a conveyance path for the recording paper from the recording section to the discharge rollers 30A and 30B. The peeling claw 29 is auxiliary provided to ensure separation of the recording paper S and the ink sheet IS after recording.

Ejection rollers 30A, 30B, 32A, 32B, 3
4A and 34B transfer the recording paper S after recording to the tray 3.
A conveyance path for discharging upward is provided by guides 31A,
31B, 33A, and 33B.

Ejection rollers 30A, 30B, 32A, 32B, 3
4A and 34B both have a plurality of rollers mounted on the shaft in a skewed manner. The discharge rollers 30A, 32A, and 34A are on the driven side and are made of a material that is not easily stained by ink, such as resin or aluminum. The discharge rollers 30B, 32B, and 34B are on the drive side and are made of a material such as rubber that has a sufficient coefficient of friction against the recording paper. Further, these discharge rollers 30A to 34B are all set to the same feeding speed. Moreover, the feeding speed by these discharge rollers is
The feeding speed of the relay roller 27 is set higher than the feed speed of the relay roller 27.

In the end, the recording paper S passes through the guide 14, the manual feed conveyance path, the registration rollers 18A, 18B, the guide 19, the platen roller 20, and reaches the recording section.
Guides 31A, 31B, discharge rollers 32A, 32
B, guides 33A, 33B, discharge rollers 34A, 3
4B and is discharged onto the tray 3. The recording paper transport path from the cassette 4 to the tray 3 is shown by a broken line in FIG. Immediately after the discharge rollers 30A and 30B in the recording paper conveyance path, a sensor 38 is installed to detect the recording paper to be discharged after recording.
The actuator 38A is inserted into the recording paper conveyance path. Guide 31A,
31B is plate-shaped, but of course, the portion where the actuator 38A is placed is cut out.

On the other hand, the ink sheet IS is wound into a roll and set on the upper part of the thermal transfer recording device. For ink sheet IS, first, guide pipe 2
1, and then the guide pipe 23
After wrapping around the upper side, and then wrapping around the lower side of the guide roller 24, it reaches the recording section, passes through the relay roller 27, and then winds up on the take-up spool 3.
9 , and is wound around the take-up spool 39 by rotating the take-up spool 39 counterclockwise by the take-up shaft 40 . Note that the winding shaft 4
0 is provided at the bottom of the device. ink sheet
The transport path of the IS is shown by a chain line in FIG.

Now, the guide pipe 21 is rotatably provided at the top of the device. The buffer guide 22 is a rotatable pipe, and the guide pipes 21 and 23
, and comes into contact with the upper surface of the ink sheet IS, that is, the back surface of the ink sheet IS. Buffer guide 22
A bracket (not shown) that rotatably holds the
is itself swingably held on the rotating shaft of the guide pipe 21. Therefore, the buffer guide 22 itself is swingable and can be moved between the position shown by the solid line and the position shown by the broken line. It is designed to be able to oscillate.

The guide pipe 23 is arranged at the bottom of the device and is rotatable. The guide roller 24 is disposed at the top of the device, is rotatable, is made of foamed rubber, and has a low hardness and a large outer diameter.

The relay roller 27 has a surface formed of rubber or foamed rubber that has a sufficient frictional transmission force with respect to the base sheet of the ink sheet IS, and is set at a feed speed that is 1 to 10% higher than the feed speed of the platen roller 20. .

The control unit 35 is a circuit system including a CPU, and is mainly composed of a printed circuit board.

The device also has two drive motors (not shown). One of them is the step motor mentioned above, and the others are regular motors for continuous rotation.

Here, if each part is associated with the upper part of the device and the lower part of the device, it will be as follows. As mentioned earlier,
The upper part of the apparatus can be opened and closed with the lid 1 in a hinged manner relative to the lower part of the apparatus.
Guide pipe 21, buffer guide 22, guide roller 24, thermal head 25, relay roller 2
7, discharge rollers 32A, 32B, 34A, 34B,
This is why guides 33A and 33B are provided. Also, as mentioned above, the ink sheet IS is set at the top of the apparatus. The platen roller 20 and others are located at the bottom of the device.

Therefore, as shown in Fig. 3, when the upper part of the apparatus is lifted upward, the upper part of the apparatus opens in a hinged manner with the ink sheet conveyance path (the path indicated by the chain line in Fig. 2) facing the lower part of the apparatus. It turns out.

The cover 37 is swingable around the shaft 37A, and when the upper part of the apparatus is opened, it follows the lid part 1 and rotates to the position shown in FIG. 3.

Note that the swing shaft for opening and closing the upper part of the device is
It is indicated by the symbol X in the figure and FIG.

Next, driving of each part will be explained. As mentioned above, the device has a step motor and a regular motor. These motors are arranged at the bottom of the apparatus, and among these motors, the step motor drives the platen roller 20, the relay roller 27, and the winding shaft 40. Platen roller 2
0 and the relay roller 27 are directly driven by a step motor, but the take-up shaft 40 is driven with constant torque via a friction transmission mechanism.

On the other hand, the normal motor first moves the paper delivery roller 11, the paper feed roller 12, the return roller 13, the drive side roller 18A of the registration roller, and then the side drive side of each ejection roller, that is, the ejection roller. 30
B, 32B, and 34B are driven. Of these,
Return roller 13, discharge roller 30B, 32B, 34B
is driven with constant torque via a friction transmission mechanism.

Each roller is operated according to predetermined timing by an electromagnetic clutch.

Various controls in the recording process are performed by a control unit 35. FIG. 4 shows a flow diagram of this control system.

In the figure, a portion surrounded by a solid line frame indicated by reference numeral 4-1 indicates a thermal transfer recording device. The host system is a system that supplies image signals to the thermal transfer recording device, and is a computer, word processor, communication device, or the like. The host system and thermal transfer recording device are mediated by a video interface. In the figure, the part indicated by the symbol 4-2 surrounded by a broken line is the control unit 3.
It corresponds to 5. This control unit 35 includes a CPU,
It has a video interface, bit unit energy control circuit, RAM, head driver, pulse width determining circuit, AMP, and mechanical driver. The head driver is the thermal head 25 (second
Figure). The mechanical driver is a motor,
Drives clutches, solenoids, etc.

The recording process using this thermal transfer recording apparatus will be explained below.

As shown in Figure 3, the upper part of the apparatus is opened like a hinge to the lower part of the apparatus, the ink sheet IS wound into a roll is set in a holding mechanism (not shown) at the upper part of the apparatus, and the take-up spool attached to the tip of the sheet is 39 is locked to the winding shaft 40. After that, if the upper part of the device is closed, the state shown in FIG. 2 will be obtained.

During recording, first, a lifting mechanism (not shown) operates to lift up the leading end of the recording paper S in the cassette 4. As a result, the leading edge of the topmost sheet of recording paper S comes into contact with the paper distribution roller 11.

Subsequently, the paper delivery roller 11, the paper feed roller 12, and the return roller 13 are driven, and each is rotated in the direction of the arrow. Note that since the return roller 13 is driven via a friction transmission mechanism, contact with the paper feed roller 12 causes
A slip occurs in the friction transmission mechanism, and the paper feed roller 12 rotates counterclockwise.

As the sheet distribution roller 11 rotates, the topmost sheet of recording paper S in the cassette 4 is distributed from within the cassette 4. The distributed recording paper S is transferred to the paper feed roller 12.
The paper is conveyed along the guide 14. At this time, the friction transmission mechanism of the paper feed roller 12 is slipping.

Although it is rare, sometimes two or more sheets of recording paper are distributed by the paper distribution roller 11. In such a case, only the topmost sheet is fed toward the registration rollers due to the action of the paper feed rollers 12 and the return rollers 13.

That is, the conveyance force due to friction between the paper feed roller 12 and the recording paper is F _FP , the conveyance force due to friction acting between the recording paper and the recording paper is F _PP , and the return roller 1
Let F _RP be the recording paper return force caused by the friction between 3 and the paper, then these three forces are F _FP > F _PP , F _RP > F _PP ,
It is set so that F _FP > F _RP . In other words, the relationships F _FP > F _PP and F _RP > F _PP are established by forming the surfaces of the feed roller 12 and the return roller 13 with rubber, and the relationship F _FP > F _RP is established by forming the surfaces of the paper feed roller 12 and return roller 13 with rubber. This is achieved by setting the maximum transmission torque immediately before slippage occurs in the friction transmission mechanism that transmits rotation to the shaft 13 within a range where this relationship holds true. Because of this force relationship, when two or more sheets of recording paper are delivered and held by the paper feed roller 12 and return roller 13, the return roller 13 rotates clockwise correctly and reaches the maximum position. Except for the top one, pull the other recording papers back to the cassette 4 side. Therefore, even if a plurality of sheets of recording paper are delivered by mistake, only one sheet of recording paper is always sent to the recording section.

In order to realize stable conveyance of the recording paper S, the conveyance speed of the paper feed roller 12 is set higher than that of the paper distribution roller 11, and the reverse direction conveyance speed of the return roller 14 is set higher than that of the paper feed roller 12. It is desirable to make it even larger.

The leading edge of the recording paper S conveyed by the paper feed roller 12 gradually moves upward along the guide 14, knocks down the actuator 17A of the sensor 17, and then reaches the registration rollers 18A and 18B. As mentioned above, among the registration rollers,
The surface of the driving roller 18A is rubber, and the driven roller 18B is a stainless steel roller, but when the recording paper S enters the contact area between both rollers, the registration rollers 18A and 18B are not yet driven and are not rotating. do not have. The leading edge of the recording paper that is being conveyed is placed at the end of the guide 14 by both rollers 18A,
Since it is located below the contact part of roller 18B, it first hits the circumferential surface of the smooth and slippery stainless steel roller 18A, and slides on this circumferential surface.
The above contact area is reached smoothly.

The registration rollers 18A and 18B are rotated after a predetermined period of time after the sensor 17 is turned on, but as described above, when the leading edge of the recording paper enters the registration roller contact area,
It is not driven, but is driven a little later after the above-mentioned entry. During this time, the paper feed roller 12 continues to convey the recording paper S, and therefore, the recording paper S whose leading end is stopped by the contact portion of the registration rollers 18A and 18B is moved between the registration rollers and the paper feed roller. form a slack in between.

Subsequently, the registration rollers 18A and 18B rotate to convey the recording paper S to the recording section.

As described above, since the recording paper S is slackened and then the registration rollers are driven to transport the recording paper, the skew of the recording paper and uneven transport speed that occur between the cassette and the registration rollers are eliminated. It can be corrected and the subsequent conveyance position of the recording paper can be properly controlled.

Note that when the registration rollers 18A and 18B rotate, the paper feed rollers 12 and the like are deactivated and follow the movement of the recording paper S by free rotation.

When loading recording paper manually, use guide 1.
The recording paper is fed into the apparatus through the manual feed conveyance path indicated by 5 and 16. The fed recording paper knocks down the actuator 17A with its tip and rushes into the contact portion of the registration rollers 18A and 18B.

The registration rollers 18A and 18B start rotating a predetermined time after the sensor 17 is turned on. If this predetermined time is set to about 0.5 to 1.5 seconds, assuming that the distance from the position where the sensor 17 is turned on to the contact portion of the registration rollers 18A, 18B is 20 mm, a good operational feeling can be obtained.

The time interval from when the sensor 17 turns on to when the registration rollers are driven needs to be different depending on whether the recording paper is fed manually or from a cassette, and these two feeding modes can be distinguished. This is necessary, but this will be discussed later.

Now, when the registration rollers 18A and 18B rotate to send the recording paper to the recording section, the platen roller 20 rotates counterclockwise and grips the leading end of the recording paper S into the recording section. In this way, the recording paper S
is set in the recording section, registration roller 1
8A and 18B are released from driving and left in a freely rotatable state thereafter.

Subsequently, the platen roller 20 is rotated counterclockwise by intermittent driving to cause the recording paper S and the ink sheet IS to run toward the thermal head 25.

At the same time, an image signal is applied to the thermal head 25, and writing is performed. In other words, the minute heating element that constitutes the writing section of the thermal head 25 generates heat in response to the image signal, and instantaneously generates heat.
The temperature rises to around 300℃. This heat is transmitted to the ink layer via the base sheet of the ink sheet IS, and the ink in the heated portion is thermally melted and transferred onto the recording paper S.

As mentioned above, this recording device can use recording paper of different sizes, and these
They are transported through the device using a so-called center sorting method. Therefore, if the width of the recording paper used is shorter than the length of the writing section of the thermal head 25, the image signal applied to the thermal head 25 is masked according to the width of the recording paper, and the thermal By timing the latching to the head 25, appropriate image recording is achieved according to the width of the recording paper.

Now, the recording paper S and the ink sheet IS that have passed through the recording section are bonded together due to the adhesive force of the thermally transferred ink.
Although they are in a state where they are attached to each other, the two are separated from each other by the relay roller 27. That is,
As mentioned above, the ink sheet IS is extremely thin, so
The so-called stiffness of the ink sheet IS and the recording sheet S are greatly different. Therefore, ink sheet IS
When the conveyance direction of the ink sheet IS is suddenly changed greatly by the relay roller 27, the recording paper S cannot follow the change in the direction of the ink sheet IS due to its elastic force, that is, its stiffness, and the recording paper S automatically changes to the ink sheet IS. Separated and along the guide 28, the discharge rollers 30A, 30
It rushes into the contact area of B. The peeling claw 29 is used when separation of the two sheets fails due to some reason.
This is provided to ensure that the two are separated.

Since the relay roller 27 separates both sheets on its outer periphery, its diameter is preferably made as small as possible. When the diameter of the relay roller 27 becomes smaller, even thinner and weaker paper can be reliably separated, so that a wide variety of paper types can be used as recording paper.

The peeled ink sheet IS is then sequentially wound onto a take-up spool 39.

On the other hand, for recording paper S, discharge rollers 30A, 30
B, guides 31A, 31B, discharge rollers 32A, 3
2B, the guides 33A, 33B, and finally the tray 3 is conveyed by the discharge rollers 34A, 34B.
is discharged upwards. In this way, a desired thermal transfer recorded image is obtained.

The common tangential plane at the contact portion of the discharge rollers 34A, 34B is oriented slightly upward to the right in FIG. Therefore, the recording paper S is discharged slightly upward to the right. In this way, tray 3
Good stock is guaranteed.

Note that the sensor 38 detects the leading edge and trailing edge of the recording paper to be ejected by the fall and return of the actuator 38A, and compares the signal with the theoretical value to determine the position of the recording paper S. In addition to detecting the occurrence of a conveyance failure, that is, a so-called jam, the recording operation completion time is determined.

Also, after finishing writing in the recording section, the ink sheet
The IS is sent to the separation position together with the recording paper S, but if the IS is left as it is and the next recording is performed, the ink sheet portion between the recording section and the separation section will be wasted. Therefore, after the recording paper and the ink sheet are separated, the platen roller 20 is reversed, and the ink sheet portion located at the separating section and the recording section is returned to the recording section. In the case of continuous recording, the paper is pulled back after the last page of recording paper is separated.

Now, the recording sheet distribution method identification method according to the present invention will be explained based on this example of the apparatus.

As mentioned above, the guide 14 constitutes a conveyance path for automatic paper distribution, that is, the second conveyance path, and the guides 15 and 16
constitutes a conveyance path for manual sheet distribution, that is, a first conveyance path. Both of these conveyance paths are located near the registration rollers, that is, in this example, the registration rollers 18
A, 18B join each other at the position immediately before,
A sensor 17 is provided near the confluence point. This sensor 17 is connected to the registration roller 18
It was also mentioned earlier that it has the role of determining the timing of the bit insertion operations of A and 18B.

Further, the paper distribution roller 11, the paper feed roller 12, and the return roller 13 constitute an automatic paper distribution mechanism, and the drive signal for driving this automatic paper distribution mechanism is transmitted to the CPU (fourth (see figure).

When the drive signal is issued, the automatic paper distribution mechanism is driven, and recording paper S, which is a dedicated recording sheet, is automatically distributed from the cassette 4. Therefore, when the drive signal is generated, automatic sheet distribution can be identified from this generation.

However, when distributing paper by hand, no drive signal is generated and sensor 1 is suddenly activated.
7 is turned on. Therefore, in this case, based on the fact that the sensor 17 has detected the leading edge of the recording sheet even though no drive signal is generated, it can be determined that the sheet is being delivered manually. Note that the above identification is performed in the identification section. In this example, the identification unit is the CPU of the control unit 35 mentioned above.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a recording device that can easily and reliably identify the paper distribution method with a simple configuration. The conveyance speed for distributing the recording sheet generally differs depending on whether the paper is distributed automatically or manually.The leading edge of the recording sheet is detected by a sensor near the registration roller, and then the recording sheet is transferred to the registration roller. Because the arrival times are different, it is necessary to vary the delay time from the moment of detection by the sensor to the registration roller drive, and for this reason, it is necessary to identify the paper distribution method.
In the present invention, the paper distribution method can be easily and reliably identified using the above-mentioned sensor that determines the base point of the registration roller drive timing and the automatic paper distribution mechanism.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of a thermal transfer recording device which is an example of a recording device to which the present invention is applied;
The figure is an explanatory diagram showing only the main parts of the inside of the thermal transfer recording device, FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the upper part of the thermal transfer recording device opened with respect to the lower part of the device, and FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the inside of the thermal transfer recording device FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing a control system in the recording apparatus. 14...Guide (conveyance path for automatic paper distribution),
15, 16...Guide (transport path for manual sheet delivery), 18A, 18B...Registration roller, 1
7...Sensor installed near the confluence of the transport paths, 11...Paper distribution roller, 12...Paper feed roller, 1
3...Return roller (constituting an automatic paper distribution mechanism together with the paper distribution roller 11 and paper feed roller 12), 35...Control unit (CPU of the control unit generates a drive signal).

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. An automatic paper distribution method for automatically distributing recording sheets that carry recorded images by an automatic paper distribution mechanism;
In a recording device that can selectively perform a manual sheet distribution method in which sheets are manually fed, a registration roller that feeds the distributed recording sheet to the recording section and a registration roller that feeds the distributed recording sheet to the recording section, and a register roller that feeds the distributed recording sheet to the recording section, and a registration roller that feeds the distributed recording sheet to the recording section, and a registration roller that feeds the distributed recording sheet to the recording section and a register roller that feeds the distributed recording sheet to the recording section a first conveyance path that guides the recorded sheet to the registration roller; a second conveyance path that guides the recording sheet distributed by the automatic paper distribution method to the registration roller; A sensor that detects the leading edge of a distributed recording sheet, regardless of whether the manual paper distribution method or the automatic paper distribution method is used, near the confluence point where the first and second conveyance paths merge; and the automatic paper distribution mechanism. a signal generating section that generates a driving signal for driving the recording sheet; and a signal generating section that detects a leading edge of the recording sheet but when the signal generating section does not generate the driving signal, identifies a manual sheet feeding method. A recording device comprising: an identification section.