JPH05221466A - Package for heat-sensitive recording paper - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the deterioration of a recorded image quality and improve the durability of a thermal head. CONSTITUTION:A number of heat-sensitive recording papers 10 are stacked with their heat-sensitive color developing layers upward. Each stack of the heat-sensitive recording papers 10 is sandwiched between two light shielding sheets 11 a and 11b and wholly packaged in a wrapping paper 12. These light shielding sheets 11a and 11b prevent the heat-sensitive recording papers 10 from exposure to outside light and clean the same upon passage through a thermal head.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal recording paper package used in a thermal printer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A thermal printer uses a thermal recording paper having at least one thermosensitive coloring layer formed on one side.
After performing thermal recording on this thermosensitive coloring layer with a thermal head,
The coloring ability is lost by irradiating electromagnetic rays in the wavelength range peculiar to the thermosensitive coloring layer. When this thermal recording paper is exposed to a fluorescent lamp for indoor lighting, the color fixing characteristics are affected by optical fixing.Therefore, multiple sheets are stacked and stored in a light-shielding bag or a light-shielding box. Is being supplied to.

When the thermal recording paper is loaded into the thermal printer, the light-shielding bag is first opened and the laminated thermal recording paper is taken out from this bag. At this time, the thermal recording paper is exposed to the external light of the fluorescent lamp system. Will be exposed. Since the color development characteristics of the uppermost thermal recording paper exposed to the external light change, light-shielding sheets are arranged on the recording surface side of the thermal recording paper or on both sides of the laminated thermal recording paper.

[0004]

By the way, in the thermal printer, when a large number of thermal recording papers are thermally recorded, dust and dirt adhere to the thermal head to deteriorate the image quality of a recorded image, and the life of the thermal head is shortened. There was a problem of shortening.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal recording paper package capable of preventing deterioration of the quality of a recorded image and improving the durability of the thermal head.

[0006]

The package of the present invention is provided with a plurality of laminated thermal recording papers and at least the recording surface side of the thermal recording papers, and has a function of cleaning the thermal head. A light-shielding sheet and a wrapping paper or a packaging box for stacking the light-shielding sheet and the heat-sensitive recording paper on top of each other.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In FIG. 1, a large number of thermosensitive recording papers 10 are laminated with the thermosensitive coloring layer side facing up, and the laminated thermosensitive recording papers 10 have two light shielding sheets 11a,
Sandwiched by 11b. The thermal recording paper 10 and the light shielding sheets 11a and 11b are
It is wrapped with a wrapping paper 12.

A non-woven fabric dyed in black, for example, is used for the light-shielding sheets 11a and 11b in order to provide a head cleaning function for cleaning the thermal head of the thermal printer. As shown, one surface of the nonwoven fabric 13 is hardened with the resin 14. Further, on the surfaces of the light shielding sheets 11a and 11b (surfaces opposite to the resin 14), for example, a note of "recording surface" is provided so as not to make a mistake when loading the thermal recording paper 10 into the printer. It is written.

To load the thermal recording paper 10 into the printer, the wrapping paper 12 is opened and the thermal recording paper 10 is taken out together with the light-shielding sheets 11a and 11b. Paper feed cassette 1
Load 5 Then, the paper feed cassette 15 is set in the cassette loading chamber of the printer shown in FIG. A sensor 17 is provided below the discharge opening 16 formed in the sheet feeding cassette 15, and determines the color of the facing sheet in association with the completion of setting of the sheet feeding cassette 15, and detects the black light shielding sheet 11a. To detect. Accordingly, the sequence is switched to the head cleaning mode, and the paper feed roller 18
Is rotated clockwise. The light shielding sheet 11 a is sent out from the discharge opening 16 toward the platen drum 20.

When the light-shielding sheet 11a reaches the platen drum 20 through the paper feed passage 21, the tip of the light-shielding sheet 11a is fixed by a gate-shaped clamp arm 22. Platen drum 2
When 0 starts rotating counterclockwise, the light shielding sheet 11a
Moves toward the recording position while being wound around the outer periphery of the platen drum 20. As is well known, the thermal head 23 provided at this recording position has a large number of heating elements arranged in a line in the main scanning direction, and each heating element generates thermal energy according to the density of a pixel.

As shown in FIG. 4, the thermal head 23 descends toward the platen drum 20 side and is pressed against the light shielding sheet 11a as in the recording. Platen drum 20
As is rotated, the thermal head 23 is rubbed with the fluff of the light shielding sheet 11a, and the dirt and dust attached to the tip of the head are removed. Further, at the same time when the thermal head 23 is started to be pressed against the light shielding sheet 11a, the fixing of the front end of the light shielding sheet 11a by the clamp arm 22 is released, and the light shielding sheet 11a is discharged to the tray 25 via the paper discharge passage 24. In the head cleaning mode, the optical fixing device 26 arranged on the downstream side of the thermal head 23 is not turned on.

After the light-shielding sheet 11a is ejected from the paper feed cassette 15, the sensor 17 detects the thermal recording paper 10 and switches from the head cleaning mode to the print mode. The paper feed roller 18 rotates again, and the first thermosensitive recording paper 10 is sent out from the discharge opening 16 toward the platen drum 20 and is fed to the recording position. When the thermal recording paper 10 reaches the recording position, thermal recording according to the recorded image is performed by the thermal head 23 while being discharged in the forward direction, and immediately thereafter, optical fixing by the optical fixing device 26 is performed.

Similarly, when the thermal recording papers 10 are sequentially fed and all the thermal recording papers 10 are ejected from the paper feed cassette 15, the thermal recording papers 10 are provided on the non-recording surface side of the last thermal recording paper 10. The light shielding sheet 11b is detected by the sensor 17, and the head cleaning is performed again by the light shielding sheet 11b. In the case of a color thermosensitive recording material in which thermosensitive coloring layers of three colors are formed, two types of lamps having different wavelengths of ultraviolet rays are arranged in order to optically fix the two thermosensitive coloring layers in the upper layer, It is selectively turned on according to the type of the thermosensitive coloring layer during printing.

In the embodiments described above, the light-shielding sheets having the head cleaning function are provided one above and one below the laminated thermal recording paper, but only one may be provided on the recording surface side. Further, of the two light-shielding sheets, only one may have a head cleaning function. Further, the recording surface side may be displayed by making the two light-shielding sheets different colors. The light-shielding sheet is not limited to a non-woven fabric resin-processed, and any material can be used as long as it is a material having a head-cleaning effect and has rigidity of a predetermined level or more. For example, a PET sheet may be used. Further, in the present embodiment, the thermal recording paper is wrapped with the wrapping paper, but the thermosensitive recording paper may be stored in a box-shaped packaging box. In this case, as described in detail in Japanese Patent Application No. 3-279990 filed by the applicant of the present invention on October 25, 1991, the discharge opening is formed by perforation, and the supply is performed as it is. Good to use as a paper cassette.

The above embodiment is a line printer for recording by moving the thermal head or the thermal recording paper relatively in the sub-scanning direction, but the present invention is applied to a serial printer for recording by relatively moving in two dimensions. Can also be applied. In this serial printer, heat generating elements are arranged in the main scanning direction, a thermal head is used that moves in the sub scanning direction during thermal recording, and the thermal recording paper moves in the main scanning direction.

[0016]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Since the head cleaning function is added to the light shielding sheet,
The dirt and dust on the thermal head can be regularly cleaned to prevent deterioration of the quality of the recorded image and improve the durability of the head.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a package of thermal recording paper.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an enlarged part of a light shielding sheet.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a paper feed state in which a thermal recording sheet and a light shielding sheet are loaded in a printer.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing a paper discharge state of the printer shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Thermal recording paper 11a, 11b Light-shielding sheet 12 Wrapping paper 13 Nonwoven fabric 14 Resin 23 Thermal head

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of laminated heat-sensitive recording papers, a light-shielding sheet which is provided at least on the recording surface side of the heat-sensitive recording paper and has a function of cleaning a thermal head, the light-shielding sheet and the heat-sensitive recording paper. A package for thermal recording paper, comprising a wrapping paper or a packaging box for stacking and wrapping with each other.