JPH06126997A - Thermal printer and recording cartridge therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To easily replace a thermal head and an ultraviolet lamp by eliminating complicated positioning operation. CONSTITUTION:A thermal head 14 and ultraviolet lamps 15, 16 are unified and contained in one cartridge 12. The cartridge 12 is inserted into and removed from an opening 11 of a printer body 10, thereby replacing the head 4 and the lamps 15, 16 together. When the cartridge 12 is set to a predetermined position, the head 14, the lamps 15, 16 are respectively set accurately to predetermined positions. The head 14 is so energized to the inside of the cartridge 14 by a spring 21 as not to inadvertently protrude from a head opening 12a at the time of replacing the cartridge 12 to cause it to be brought into contact with a platen drum 28.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal printer in which a thermosensitive recording material, which is thermally recorded by a thermal head, is irradiated with ultraviolet rays from an ultraviolet lamp to be optically fixed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A thermal printer is, for example, a cylindrical platen drum around which a heat-sensitive recording material is wound, a thermal head which is arranged around the platen drum and heats the heat-sensitive recording material to thermally record a video image, and the thermal head. It is composed of an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating ultraviolet rays on the heat-sensitive recording material thermally recorded by the head to perform optical fixing. This ultraviolet lamp is replaced at an appropriate time, because the amount of light gradually decreases with time and sufficient optical fixing cannot be performed. The thermal head is also replaced with a new thermal head when it fails or when the glaze portion that comes into contact with the thermal recording material wears down due to long-term use and the recording accuracy deteriorates.

[0003]

By the way, in the above-mentioned ultraviolet lamp, when the distance from the platen drum is changed, the amount of ultraviolet rays applied to the heat-sensitive recording material is changed, so that an accurate positioning operation is required at the time of replacement. is there. Also in the above thermal head, when the positional relationship with the platen drum is changed, for example, the contact pressure with the thermosensitive recording material is changed, and the size of the recording pixel is changed. Since recording cannot be done, the positioning work at the time of replacement required labor and specialized skill.

The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and provides a thermal printer in which the thermal head and the ultraviolet lamp can be easily replaced without the need for troublesome positioning work. The purpose is to

[0005]

To achieve the above object, in the thermal printer of the present invention, the thermal head and the ultraviolet lamp are unitized, and the cartridge is detachably mounted in the thermal printer main body. And the UV lamp is easy and can be replaced at the same time,
Each positioning work becomes unnecessary. Further, since the cartridge is provided with a biasing means for biasing the thermal head to the inside of the cartridge, when the cartridge is attached to or detached from the thermal printer main body, there is a problem that the thermal head comes into contact with the platen drum and is damaged. Disappear.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Referring to FIG. 1, a side wall 10 of a printer body 10 is shown.
An L-shaped opening 11 is provided in a, and a cartridge 12 as shown in the drawing is removably mounted in the printer body 10 through the opening 11. Inside the cartridge 12, a thermal head 14 and two ultraviolet lamps 15 and 16 are housed, and these are provided inside the printer body 10 when the cartridge 12 is mounted inside the printer body 10. It is connected to a connector (not shown) and controlled by the controller of the printer body 10.

As is well known, the thermal head 14 has a large number of heating elements arranged in a line in the main scanning direction. Each heating element heats a heat-sensitive recording material, which will be described later, to develop a color, and prints a dot pattern image on the heat-sensitive recording material. The ultraviolet lamps 15 and 16 are for yellow fixing, which emits near ultraviolet rays of approximately 420 nm, and for magenta fixing, which emits ultraviolet rays of approximately 365 nm, respectively.

A lock lever 17 is rotatably mounted in the vicinity of the opening 11, and after the cartridge 12 is loaded in the printer body 10, the lock lever 17 is operated to fix the cartridge 12 at an accurate position. To be done. Further, by rotating the lock lever 17 in the opposite direction, the fixation of the cartridge 12 is released, and the cartridge 12 can be pulled out from the opening 11. The cartridge 12 is provided with a handle portion 13 that facilitates holding of the cartridge 12 when the cartridge 12 is pulled out from the opening 11.

The thermal head 14 is a head substrate 18
The head substrate 18 is rotatably attached in the cartridge 12 via a substrate rotation shaft 19. A head drive shaft 20 is attached to the head substrate 18, and a spring 21 is bridged between the substrate rotation shaft 19 and the head drive shaft 20. The spring 21 constantly urges the head substrate 18 in the clockwise direction so that the thermal head 14 does not inadvertently protrude from the head opening 12a provided in front of the thermal head 14. Reference numeral 22 is a stopper of the spring 21.

As shown in FIG. 2, when the cartridge 12 is loaded into the printer body 10 and the lock lever 17 is rotated to the lock position, the cartridge 12 is locked.
7 and the guide members 24, 25, 26 are fixed and fixed at a fixed position. As a result, the thermal head 14
The ultraviolet lamps 15 and 16 are always set at fixed positions with respect to the platen drum 28. At this time, the head drive shaft 20 engages with the drive arm 29 of the printer body 10, and the head arm 18 is rotated counterclockwise by the drive arm 29 against the bias of the spring 21 during thermal recording. It The drive arm 29 is driven by, for example, a solenoid 30, and when thermal recording is completed, the drive arm 29 returns to the home position and retracts the thermal head 14 into the cartridge 12.

The platen drum 28 has a pulse motor 31.
Is continuously or intermittently rotated in the direction of the arrow. A heat-sensitive recording material 32 is wound around the peripheral surface of the platen drum 28, and the tip of the heat-sensitive recording material 32 is pressed by a clamp member 33. Below the platen drum 28, the thermal recording material 3
A paper supply / discharge passage 35 for supplying / discharging 2 is provided, and a conveyance roller pair 36 for nipping and conveying the thermosensitive recording material 32 is provided in the middle thereof. Reference numeral 37 is engaged with the rear end of the heat-sensitive recording material 32 when the heat-sensitive recording material 32 on which all the heat recording and optical fixing has been completed is discharged, and the heat-sensitive recording material 32 is applied from the peripheral surface of the platen drum 28. It is a separating claw that separates.

As shown in FIG. 3, the structure of the thermosensitive recording material 32 is such that a cyan thermosensitive coloring layer 42, a magenta thermosensitive coloring layer 43, and a yellow thermosensitive coloring layer are provided on a support 41 made of opaque coated paper or plastic film. 44, protective layer 4
5 are sequentially layered. Each of these thermosensitive coloring layers 42-
The layers 44 are layered from the surface in the order of thermal recording.
The cyan thermosensitive coloring layer 42 contains an electron-donating dye precursor and an electron-accepting compound as main components, and develops cyan when heated.

As the magenta thermosensitive coloring layer 43, a diazonium salt compound having a maximum absorption wavelength of about 365 nm,
It contains a coupler which thermally reacts with this to develop a magenta color. This magenta thermosensitive coloring layer 43 has a thickness of 365 nm after the magenta image is thermally recorded by the thermal head 14.
When irradiated with ultraviolet rays in the vicinity, the diazonium salt compound is photolyzed and the coloring ability is lost.

The yellow thermosensitive coloring layer 44 contains a diazonium salt compound having a maximum absorption wavelength of about 420 nm and a coupler which thermally reacts with this compound to develop yellow. When this yellow thermosensitive coloring layer 44 is irradiated with near-ultraviolet rays in the vicinity of 420 nm, it is photo-fixed and the coloring ability is lost.

In order to replace the cartridge 12 of the thermal printer constructed as described above, after turning off the power, the lock lever 17 is rotated and the handle 13 is pulled, whereby the cartridge 12 is easily pulled out from the opening 11. You can Then, when a new cartridge 12 is inserted through the opening 11 and pushed in until it stops, the tip end of the head drive shaft 20 is fitted into the drive arm 29 and the electrode pin (not shown) of the cartridge 12 is attached to the printer body 10. The ultraviolet lamps 15 and 16 and the thermal head 14 are fitted into the connector and connected to the control mechanism on the printer body 10 side.

When the lock lever 17 is rotated, the cartridge 12 is set at a predetermined position by the lock lever 17 and the guide members 24, 25 and 26, and the replacement work of the cartridge 12 is completed. by this,
The thermal head 14, the ultraviolet lamps 15 and 16 and the platen drum 28 can be used without any troublesome position adjustment.
The positional relationship with is set to a constant state. During the replacement of the cartridge, the head substrate 18 is biased toward the inside of the cartridge 12 by the spring 21, and the thermal head 14 does not project from the head opening 12a. Therefore, the glaze portion 14a of the thermal head 14 is not scratched or soiled. In addition, the thermal head 14 is not damaged.

At the time of printing, the platen drum 28 is
The clamp member 33 is stopped in a state in which it is vertical in FIG. The transport roller pair 36 nips the thermal recording material 32 supplied from a cassette (not shown) and transports it toward the platen drum 28. This transport roller pair 3
No. 6 once stops when the tip of the heat-sensitive recording material 32 enters between the platen drum 28 and the clamp member 33. The clamp member 33 is used as the heat-sensitive recording material 32.
After the front end of the platen is clamped, the platen drum 28 and the conveying roller pair 36 rotate, so that the heat-sensitive recording material 32 is wound around the peripheral surface of the platen drum 28.

When the tip of the recording area of the thermosensitive recording material 32 reaches the recording position facing the thermal head 14, the drive arm 29 presses the head drive shaft 20.
As a result, the thermal head 14 moves to the head substrate 18
Each of them is rotated toward the peripheral surface of the platen drum 28 against the bias of the spring 21, and is pressed against the surface of the thermosensitive recording material 32. The thermal head 14 heats the heat-sensitive recording material 32 by causing a plurality of heating elements arranged in the main scanning direction to generate heat with heat energy according to the density of the yellow image. At the same time when the thermal recording by the thermal head 14 is started, the ultraviolet lamp 15 for yellow fixing is turned on. When the portion thermally recorded by the thermal head 14 enters the ultraviolet irradiation range of the ultraviolet lamp 15, it is almost 42
When irradiated with near-ultraviolet rays of 0 nm, the yellow thermosensitive coloring layer 44
Is light-fixed.

When the platen drum 28 makes one rotation and the recording area of the thermosensitive recording material 32 reaches the recording position again, the thermal recording of the magenta image is started by the thermal head 14. At the same time, the ultraviolet lamp 15 is turned off, and instead, the ultraviolet lamp 16 for magenta fixing is turned on. Ultraviolet lamp 1 on heat-sensitive recording material 32 on which heat recording has been performed
The magenta thermosensitive coloring layer 43 is photo-fixed by irradiating the ultraviolet ray of about 365 nm from 6. Further, when the platen drum 28 makes one rotation and the recording area of the thermosensitive recording material 32 reaches the recording position, a cyan image is thermally recorded on the cyan thermosensitive coloring layer 42. The cyan thermosensitive coloring layer 42 has such a value that the coloring thermal energy does not develop color in a normal storage state, so that the cyan thermosensitive coloring layer 42 is not provided with optical fixing property. Therefore, the cyan thermosensitive coloring layer 4
In the thermal recording of No. 2, optical fixing is not performed.

After the thermal recording of the yellow image, the magenta image and the cyan image is completed, the platen drum 28 and the conveying roller pair 36 are reversed. By the reverse rotation of the platen drum 28, the trailing end of the heat-sensitive recording material 32 is guided to the paper feed / discharge path 35 by the separating claw 37, and the conveying roller pair 3
Nip to 6. When the platen drum 28 reaches the sheet feeding position after this, the fixing of the tip of the thermosensitive recording material 32 by the clamp member 33 is released, and the rotation of the platen drum 28 is stopped. As a result, the heat-sensitive recording material 32 having undergone heat recording is discharged to the tray via the paper supply / discharge path 35.

In the above embodiment, the thermal printer or the thermal recording material is described as a line printer which relatively moves in the sub-scanning direction for recording, but the present invention is also applicable to a serial printer which relatively two-dimensionally moves and records. Can be applied.

[0022]

As described above in detail, according to the thermal printer of the present invention, the thermal head and the ultraviolet lamp are unitized, so that when the thermal head and the ultraviolet lamp are replaced, a troublesome positioning work is required. It becomes unnecessary. Therefore, even an inexperienced general user can easily replace the thermal head and the ultraviolet lamp.

Further, since the glaze portion of the thermal head is easily exposed by pulling out the cartridge from the printer body, there is also an effect that this cleaning operation can be simplified. Further, the thermal recording material may come into contact with the ultraviolet lamp and stain the ultraviolet lamp, but this cleaning operation can be easily performed by pulling out the cartridge. Further, even if paper jam occurs around the platen drum, the thermal recording material can be easily removed by pulling out the cartridge. Also,
Collecting the entire cartridge facilitates waste management.

Since the cartridge is provided with the urging means for urging the thermal head into the cartridge, the thermal head is prevented from accidentally protruding from the cartridge to the outside and coming into contact with the platen drum or the like during the replacement work of the cartridge. Therefore, the glaze part of the thermal head is prevented from becoming dirty and the thermal head is prevented from being damaged,
The cartridge can be replaced safely and securely. Further, even when the cartridge is transported, the thermal head does not move and is not damaged, and the safety is improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a partially broken structure of a cartridge.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the structure of a thermal printer.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing a layer structure of a thermosensitive recording material.

[Explanation of symbols]

 10 Printer Main Body 12 Cartridge 14 Thermal Head 15, 16 Ultraviolet Lamp 17 Lock Lever 18 Head Substrate 19 Substrate Rotating Axis 20 Head Drive Axis 21 Spring 28 Platen Drum 29 Drive Arm 32 Thermosensitive Recording Material

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A thermal printer comprising a thermal printer for thermally recording an image on a thermal recording material, and an ultraviolet lamp for irradiating ultraviolet rays to the thermal recording material for which thermal recording has been completed for optical fixing, in a thermal printer body. A thermal printer characterized in that the thermal head and the ultraviolet lamp are housed in one cartridge to form a unit, and the cartridge is detachably mounted in the thermal printer main body. 2. The cartridge comprises a biasing means for biasing the thermal head to the inside of the cartridge so that the thermal head does not project to the outside when the cartridge is attached to or detached from the thermal printer main body. The thermal printer according to claim 1, which is characterized in that. 3. A cartridge having a head substrate on which a thermal head for thermally recording an image on a thermosensitive recording material is mounted, and at least two kinds of ultraviolet lamps for irradiating and fixing the thermosensitive recording material for which thermal recording has been completed. The head substrate is movable between a first position where the thermal head is exposed from the surface of the cartridge and a second position where the thermal head is retracted inside the cartridge, and the head substrate is moved from the first position to the second position by the urging means. The cartridge is biased toward the position, and the cartridge has an opening for irradiating an ultraviolet lamp, an opening for allowing the thermal head to project, and a biasing means for biasing the thermal head that acts from the outside of the cartridge during recording. A recording member for a thermal printer, which has an opening for receiving a driving member for moving it to the first position against the force. Tridge.