JPH0532030A - Base regeneration-type transfer recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily replace an ink sheet by incorporating a film base and a roller member integrally as a cassette in a device which applies ink repeatedly to the film base having missing print after ink transfer to a recording medium side. CONSTITUTION:A base regeneration-type transfer recording device is equipped with a main top part 2A which can be released and a main lower part 2B above. In addition, a cassette 1 is installed in an attachable manner using a guide shaft 33 provided on cassette lateral walls 31,32. In the main lower part 2B, an ink application device consisting of an ink storage part 41 and an ink roller 42 which is arranged in the storage part with its part immersed in an ink liquid. The cassette 1 is composed of roller members 12A to 12F mounted between paired lateral walls 31, 32, an ink sheet 11 which orbits between the roller members 12A to 12F and a printing head loading space 14 provided on a side facing a plate 23.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a substrate reproduction type transfer recording apparatus in which ink is repeatedly applied to a recording medium side and a film substrate which is not printed after the ink is transferred and the substrate can be reused.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, a desired character or image is transferred and recorded on a recording paper by selectively energizing a pixel electrode or a heating resistance element on the back side of a film substrate carrying a hot-melt ink. Thermal transfer printers are known, and in this type of recording apparatus, the substrate is generally formed of an endless ink sheet, and an ink capable of re-applying a transfer material on the surface of the substrate on which printing has been omitted downstream of the transfer position. A regenerative transfer recording apparatus is known in which a coating device is provided and an ink sheet which has been printed out and transferred by the coating device can be reused repeatedly. (JP-A-61-154
No. 978)

[0003]

As described above, there are a thermal recording system using a heating resistance element and an energization type thermal transfer recording system using energization type pixel electrodes in this type of recording device. The endless ink sheet is endlessly orbited by the driving force from the platen or the orbiting roller, and the sheet is peeled off from the recording paper every time one line is printed by the print head. The frictional rotation between the peeling operation and the recording paper imposes a burden.

Further, the ink sheet is generally cut into a predetermined length, for example, by stacking both end sides of a polyimide film so as to be formed into a tubular shape, and a heat-welding film is interposed between the overlapped portions, and heat sealing is performed. Although it is configured by welding, in this method, since the joint portion has a larger thickness than other portions, when the ink sheet is circulated while tension is applied, vertical wrinkles are formed in the portion. If vertical wrinkles occur once, it is difficult to restore them to the original state.

Therefore, in the apparatus using the ink sheet, it is necessary to replace the ink sheet 1 periodically or every time vertical wrinkles occur, but the ink sheet is placed between a plurality of rollers. Since it is stretched, if only the ink sheet is to be removed, the ink sheet must be removed after releasing the tensioned state of the roller. With such a configuration, the roller is replaced after the ink sheet is replaced. It becomes difficult to uniformly stretch the sheet when the sheet is re-stretched, and since the polyimide film used for the ink sheet has almost no stretchability, a slight tension is applied when the sheet is endlessly wound in the same direction. The non-uniformity immediately causes skew and the like.

In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks of the prior art, the present invention provides a substrate regenerative transfer recording apparatus which facilitates replacement of the ink sheet and allows replacement without causing uneven tension during the replacement. To aim for things. Another object of the present invention is to easily remove even if skew or vertical wrinkles are generated on the ink sheet, thereby reducing print quality and enabling stable repeated recoating. To provide the equipment.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above technical object, the invention according to claim 1 integrates the film substrate (ink sheet) and a roller member for hanging the substrate integrally from an apparatus main body. The first feature is that a cassette body configured to be removable is provided.

When the ink sheet is formed into a cassette, since the print head is arranged so as to be inserted in the peripheral circuit of the ink sheet, the print head can be integrally formed into a cassette. However, with such a configuration, the print head itself is expensive and the print head has a longer durability than the ink sheet. Therefore, it is not only a resource-saving problem to dispose them integrally. Especially, since the print head is energized and controlled based on the control signal corresponding to the image information, it is necessary to attach a lead wire or a connector for supplying the control signal, which inevitably increases the cost and weight. It leads to and is not preferable.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the head mounting space is formed without integrally mounting the print head on the cassette body, and the print head is left on the apparatus main body side or the print head by utilizing the mounting space. The second feature is that each cassette body is configured to be detachable individually.

In this case, the maintenance work can be accomplished more smoothly by providing the print head attachment / detachment guide portion in the mounting space so that the print head and the cassette body can be individually attached and detached.

Even when the ink sheet is formed into a cassette as described above, as long as the sheet is endless, the joint portion is present and vertical wrinkles are likely to occur as described above. Therefore, according to the invention of claim 3, one of a plurality of roller members which wraps the film base so as to be able to circulate is disposed on the base peripheral circuit from the ink transfer position to the ink application position. A reverse crown roller is formed, and an elastic body is pressed against the reverse crown roller via a base so that a tensile force can be applied to the base from the center toward the axial end direction. Is. In this case, the elastic body is preferably formed by an elastic roller that rotates in cooperation with the reverse crown roller, but the elastic body is not limited to this, and a plate plate or a fixed roller that does not rotate may be used.

[0012]

According to the invention of claim 1, since the ink sheet 11 can be taken out integrally with the roller members 12A to 12F as shown in FIG. 1, the tension of the ink sheet 11 is always uniform. It can be maintained, and thereby, the skew and the like can be prevented from occurring, and the maintainability for the replacement can be greatly improved. Further, since the present invention is configured such that the print head, which is more costly than the cassette body 1, can be separated and taken out, it is preferable in terms of cost and resource saving. Particularly, a lead wire attached to the print head or Since the connector is unnecessary, it is possible to avoid an increase in weight burden and a complicated structure.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the reverse crown roller 12 as shown in FIG. 2 is provided at the inlet side of the ink application position.
Since the ink sheet 11 can be rotated while sandwiching the ink sheet 11 with A and the elastic body 22 under pressure contact, as shown in FIG. 3, the pressure contact state of the ink sheet 11 is closer to the shaft end side than the central portion. It becomes larger as it progresses, and this makes it possible to apply a tensile force from the center of the ink sheet 11 toward the axial end direction. As a result, while the ink sheet 11 is orbiting, it may be slightly increased for the reason described in the preceding paragraph. Even if vertical wrinkles occur, they are corrected and stable ink application becomes possible.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be illustratively described in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention thereto, but are merely examples, unless otherwise specified. Not too much. Figure 1
1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an energization type thermal transfer recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and 2 is an apparatus main body in which an upper main body 2A and a lower main body 2B can be divided and opened around a fulcrum 21 provided on the right end side in the figure. The platen 23 is disposed on the upper body 2A side of the main body 2, the ink application device 4 is disposed on the lower left side of the lower main body 2B in the figure, and the cassette mounting space 15 is formed in the central portion of the device main body 2. And the cassette body 1 to be described later
Is configured to be mountable at a predetermined position in the mounting space 15 from above along the guide groove 26 provided on the side wall of the apparatus body 2.

Next, the configuration of each of the above-mentioned parts will be described step by step. The upper body 2A has a first angle (approximately 45 °) and a second angle.
The platen 23 and the ink sheet 11 can be separated from each other by performing the jam treatment by opening the first angle to the angle (approximately 90 °) and the second angle position. By opening up to the mounting position of the cassette body 1, the space above the mounting position of the cassette body 1 is almost completely opened, and the guide shaft 33 provided on the cassette side walls 31 and 32 and the guide groove 26 provided on the side wall of the apparatus main body 2 are used for the right side. The cassette body 1 can be mounted from diagonally above. (See FIG. 4) Lower body 2
On the B side, the ink applying device 4 is provided on the lower left side in the upper part of the figure, and the elastic roller 22 is provided above it.

The ink application device 4 comprises an ink storage portion 41 having an arcuate cross-section capable of storing ink, and an application roller 42 disposed in the storage portion 41, a part of which is immersed in the storage liquid. Become. The cassette body 1 is, as shown in FIG.
A pair of side walls 31, 32 erected on both sides in the roller axial direction
Roller members 12A to 12F, which will be described later, installed between the side walls 31 and 32, an ink sheet 11 that is wound between the roller members 12A to 12F, and a print head device provided on the side facing the platen 23. The roller members 12A to 12F are formed of an insertion space 14, and the roller members 12A to 12F are arranged at a position facing the elastic roller 22 on the apparatus main body 2 side, and the pressure roller 1 is pressed at a position facing the reverse crown roller 12A and the coating roller 42 shown in the figure.
2B, the paper feed roller 1 at a position facing the platen 23.
2C, and a pair of orbiting rollers 12D and 12E arranged at the upper and lower corners on the right side of the drawing, and a tension roller 12F that applies tension to the roller group and prevents sagging during loading and unloading. There is.

The tangential direction connecting the reverse crown roller 12A and the pressure contact roller 12B is preferably formed parallel to the loading direction of the cassette body 1. 33 is both side walls 31, 32
It is a guide shaft that is made to project more. Further, the pressure contact roller 12
B is connected to a drive system (not shown) when the cassette is mounted and functions as a drive roller. On the other hand, the print head loading space 14 is a rectangular space which is open at the side facing the platen 23 and is inclined obliquely so that the top is located in the opening, and extends in the roller axial direction on the inner wall surface of the space. A pair of guide grooves 16 and 17 are provided. Reference numeral 5 shown in FIG. 5 is a head unit in which the print head 51 is incorporated, and is a rectangular housing 5 that is slightly smaller than the loading space 14 and has a similar shape.
2 and a print head 51 housed in the housing 52.

The rectangular housing 52 has guide rails 53, 5 slidable on the outer wall side thereof on the guide grooves 16, 17.
4 is extended in the longitudinal direction, and a socket portion 55 connected to the connector portion 29 on the apparatus main body 2 side is provided on the upstream side in the insertion direction of the housing 52, and the end of the print head 51 is provided via the socket portion 55. Electrode 51a provided in the bottom part
A control signal corresponding to the image information for selectively energizing the power source is configured to be able to be supplied. The upper surface of the housing 52 has a strip-shaped opening 56 through which the platen 23 can enter.

The print head 51 has a pixel electrode 51 on the tip side.
a is provided, the base end side is pivotally supported by the housing 52 so as to be swingable in the contacting / separating direction of the platen 23 about the fulcrum 51b, and the lower end side of the mounting position of the pixel electrode 51a is directed to the upper opening 56 of the housing 52. The elastic member 58 is arranged so as to be able to be biased. A stopper pin 55 is provided on the wall surface of the housing 52 facing the print head 51 so that the tip of the print head 51 does not protrude from the housing opening 56. As a result, the print head 51 does not become an obstacle when the head unit 5 is loaded.

Next, the operation of such a device will be described. First,
After opening the upper main body 2A to the second angular position, the cassette body 1 is slid obliquely downward while the guide shaft 33 is engaged with the guide groove 26. The reverse crown roller 12A comes into contact with the elastic roller 22 immediately before the cassette body 1 is mounted at a predetermined position in the main body of the apparatus, and the tangential direction connecting the reverse crown roller 12A and the pressure contact roller 12B is the tangential direction of the cassette body 1. Since the crown roller 12A is formed in parallel with the loading direction, the crown roller 12A is further in pressure contact with the elastic roller 22, while the pressure contact roller 12B is in contact with the coating roller 4.
After abutting on 2, it is mounted in place.

That is, the cassette body 1 includes the pressing roller 12
B / Applying roller 42 and the guide shaft 33 / Guide groove 26
The reverse crown roller 12A can be absorbed even if there is some play on the cassette body 1 side because the reverse crown roller 12A is in contact with the elastic roller 22.

In the above state, the head unit 5 is slidably mounted in the head loading space 14 using the guide grooves 16 and 17 and the guide shafts 53 and 54, and then the upper main body 2A is closed. By swinging the print head 51 slightly downward against the elastic force of the elastic member 58, the pixel electrode 51a at the tip of the print head 51 comes into contact with the peripheral surface of the platen 23, and the printing operation is enabled. Become.

In the printing operation, the rotation of the platen 23 and the pressure contact roller 12B functioning as a drive roller is used to cause the recording paper to enter the printing position on the peripheral surface of the platen 23, while the ink sheet 11 of the cassette body 1 is rotated. . In this state, by applying a control signal (pulse voltage V) corresponding to image information to the pixel electrode 51a of the print head, the Joule heat generated at the contact portion of the pixel electrode 51a melts the ink layer of the ink sheet 11. On the other hand, print transfer is performed on the recording paper 9 which is moved by the platen 23.

Then, the ink sheet 11 from which the printing is omitted is
After the reverse crown roller 12A removes wrinkles from the printed sheet by the elastic roller, the pressure roller 12B guides the sheet to the application position, and the application roller 42 rotates to repeatedly apply the ink to the sheet where printing has been lost. To be melted. After the printing operation is completed, if the cassette body 1 is to be removed as necessary, the operation opposite to the operation for attaching the cassette body 1 may be performed.

[0025]

As described above, according to the present invention, it becomes easy to replace a film-like substrate generally formed as an ink sheet or an ink ribbon, and even if the replacement is repeated, uneven tension or bending does not occur. It can be replaced smoothly. Further, the present invention can easily remove even if skew or vertical wrinkles are generated on the ink sheet, thereby making it possible to reduce print quality and to perform stable repeated reapplication. It has various remarkable effects.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a substrate reproduction type transfer recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an external view of the roller member according to claim 3.

FIG. 3 is a pressure distribution chart of the roller member shown in FIG.

4 is an external perspective view of the cassette body shown in FIG.

5 is an external perspective view of the head unit shown in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 ink sheet 12A reverse crown roller 22 Elastic body 2 body 15 cassette mounting space 1 cassette body 5 head unit 51 print head

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A substrate reproduction type transfer recording apparatus in which ink is repeatedly applied to a film substrate which is not printed after ink is transferred to a recording medium side, and the substrate can be reused. A cassette body that is configured to be detachable from the main body of the apparatus together with a roller member to be mounted is provided, a print head mounting space is formed in the cassette body, and the print head is left on the main body of the apparatus using the mounting space. Alternatively, the substrate reproducing type transfer recording apparatus is characterized in that the print head and the cassette body are individually detachable. 2. A substrate regenerative transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a print head attachment / detachment guide portion is provided in the mounting space, and the print head and the cassette body are individually attachable / detachable. 3. A substrate reproduction type transfer recording device in which ink is repeatedly applied to a recording medium side after ink transfer and printing is omitted so that the substrate can be reused. Among the plurality of roller members to be mounted, one roller member disposed on the substrate peripheral circuit from the ink transfer position to the ink application position is formed by an inwardly concave reverse crown roller, and the reverse crown roller is provided with the base member therebetween. A substrate-reproducing transfer recording apparatus, wherein a tensile force can be applied to the substrate from the center toward the axial end by pressing an elastic body. 4. The substrate reproduction type transfer recording apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the elastic body is an elastic roller which rotates in cooperation with a reverse crown roller.