JPH06270486A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To always apply a predetermined back tension to a ribbon mounted to be wound in a rolled on a supply shaft irrespective of a diameter of the roll. CONSTITUTION:When a ribbon 27 is conveyed in the step of recording via a thermal head 2, number of pulses generated from an encoder 25 in response to a rotating amount (displacing amount) of a slit disk 25a rotatably displaced in cooperation with conveying of the ribbon at that time and varying at its displaced amount upon change of a rolled diameter D of the ribbon 27 mounted at a supply shaft 21 is measured. A current of a motor 23 for the ribbon back tension to apply a back tension to the ribbon is controlled by operating a rotary force at the shaft 21 based on a measured result to apply the a given back tension to the ribbon 27 mounted at the shaft 21 irrespective of a change in the diameter of the roll.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a recording device such as a thermal printer or a bar code printer which records on a recording medium using a thermal transfer ribbon wound in a roll shape (hereinafter simply referred to as a ribbon).

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, in a thermal printer, a ribbon, which is a transfer medium, wound around a winding core attached to a supply shaft is unwound, and the ribbon, which is a recording medium, is stacked and passed between a thermal head and a platen. At that time, recording (printing) is performed on the paper by using the ribbon by the thermal head, and only the portion used for recording the ribbon is sequentially wound by the winding shaft.

As described above, in a thermal printer that uses a ribbon wound in a roll shape, slack and wrinkles are likely to occur on the ribbon on the supply side. To prevent this, for example, a mechanism as shown in FIG. 12 is provided. There is something.

In this mechanism, a shaft 62 having a friction drum 63 fixed to a gear 62 integrally fixed to a supply shaft 61 is used.
4, a gear 65 fixed coaxially with the gear 4 is meshed, and one end of the friction drum 63 is attached to the outer peripheral surface 63a of the shaft 66.
The pad portion 67a of the friction member 67, which is swingably supported by, is brought into sliding contact with a constant pressing force by a biasing member (not shown) so that a constant rotational load is applied when the supply shaft 61 is rotated. Therefore, when the ribbon 69 is wound up by the winding shaft 68, the ribbon 69 is prevented from slackening or wrinkling.

On the other hand, some recording apparatuses, such as thermal printers, which use such a ribbon wound in a roll shape, are provided with a mechanism for detecting the ribbon when it is used up to the end. For example, as shown in FIG. 13A, in a recording apparatus that uses a ribbon whose end 69a of the ribbon 69 is formed of a transparent film, a transmissive photosensor 71 detects the end 69b of the ribbon 69. It is arranged at a position so that the recording operation is stopped when the end 69a of the transparent film is detected.

Further, as shown in FIG. 13B, in a recording apparatus using a ribbon whose end 69a of the ribbon 69 is formed of, for example, a silver film, a reflection type photo sensor 72 is attached to the end of the ribbon 69. It is arranged at a position for detecting 69b, and stops the recording operation when it detects the end 69a formed of a silver film.

[0007]

However, when a constant load is applied to the supply shaft in this way and a back tension (a tension applied to the ribbon on the supply side, which is the feeding force of the ribbon) is applied to the ribbon. However, since the back tension changes between when the ribbon starts to be used and when it is near the end of winding, good print quality may not always be obtained.

That is, since the thickness of the ribbon coated with carbon on the base film is as thin as about 4 μ, the work of replacing the ribbon is quite troublesome. Therefore, in order to reduce the troublesome replacement work as much as possible, it is possible to save the labor if the ribbon length of one roll can be made as long as possible and the replacement time can be delayed.

However, if the length of the ribbon is increased, the roll diameter of the ribbon wound in a roll shape is increased by that much. Therefore, in the case of the structure in which a constant load is applied to the supply shaft to give back tension to the ribbon as described above. When the ribbon starts to be used, the roll diameter is large, so the back tension is small and wrinkles are likely to occur on the ribbon.On the contrary, at the end of winding near the end, the back tension is large and the paper and ribbon cannot be conveyed at the same time. There is a problem that ribbon slip easily occurs.

The conventional ribbon end detection is shown in FIG.
When the transmissive photosensor 71 shown in (a) is used, there is a case where the end 69a of the ribbon 69 cannot be detected when it is formed of a silver film. Further, the ribbon 69 is entirely provided up to the terminal end 69a.
And the end of the ribbon 69 is formed by the winding core 7.
In the case of the ribbon of the type fixed to No. 3, similarly, there is a problem that the end of the ribbon cannot be detected.

Further, when the reflection type photosensor 72 shown in FIG. 13B is used, the ribbon 69 is used.
When the end 69a of No. 6 was formed of a transparent film, it could not be detected. In addition, even when the end 69a is entirely formed by the ribbon (black) 69, or when the end of the ribbon 69 is separated from the winding core 73 at the end, the end of the ribbon is There was a problem that it could not be detected.

In the case of this reflection type photo sensor, when the ribbon is cut in the middle, it may not be detected. Further, in the conventional recording device,
There is no one that can detect the remaining amount of the ribbon remaining on the supply shaft side with a simple configuration.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and a constant back tension is always applied to a transfer medium such as a ribbon wound in a roll shape and attached to a supply shaft regardless of the roll diameter. The purpose is to give a stable running.

The transfer medium to be used has a silver film or a transparent film attached to the end thereof, or the transfer medium is entirely formed up to the end and the end is fixed to the winding core. Even when the end of the transfer medium is finally separated from the winding core of the supply shaft, the end of the transfer medium can be surely detected and the transfer medium is cut off in the middle. At times, it is also an object to prevent unnecessary recording (printing) thereafter. Another object is to be able to always detect the remaining amount of the transfer medium on the supply shaft side.

[0015]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a recording device for recording energy on a recording medium by applying energy to the transfer medium in the recording apparatus as described above. A recording / transfer medium conveyance control unit that controls the conveyance of the transfer medium, and when the transfer medium is conveyed in the recording process by the recording unit, the transfer medium is displaced in conjunction with the conveyance of the transfer medium, and the displacement amount is attached to the supply shaft. Transfer medium transfer interlocking displacement amount measuring means for measuring a displacement amount of a portion of the transfer medium that changes with a change in roll diameter, back tension applying means for applying back tension to the transfer medium, and transfer medium transport interlocking displacement amount. And a back tension force control means for controlling the back tension force of the back tension applying means based on the measurement result of the measuring means.

Further, recording means for applying energy to the transfer medium to perform recording on the recording medium, recording / transfer medium conveyance control means for controlling conveyance of the recording medium and the transfer medium, and the transfer medium in the recording step by the recording means. When a sheet is conveyed, the medium is displaced in conjunction with the conveyance of the transfer medium, and the displacement amount is measured in order to measure the displacement amount of a portion where the displacement amount changes with the roll diameter of the transfer medium attached to the supply shaft. The recording apparatus may be configured to include the interlocking displacement amount measuring unit and the transfer medium remaining amount detecting unit that detects the remaining amount of the transfer medium based on the measurement result of the measuring unit.

Further, in each of the recording apparatuses, the transfer medium transport interlocking displacement amount measuring means is composed of a transfer medium supply shaft rotation amount measuring means for measuring the rotation amount of the transfer medium supply shaft or a member interlocking with the supply shaft. Good to do. Further, in any one of the above-described recording apparatuses, the transfer state of the transfer medium is determined by the control signal instructing the transfer amount of the recording / transfer medium transfer control unit and the measurement result of the transfer medium transfer interlocking displacement amount measuring unit, It is effective to provide recording operation control means for stopping the recording operation by the recording means when the sheet is not in the normal transport state.

[0018]

According to the recording apparatus thus constructed, when the transfer medium is conveyed in the recording step by the recording means, it is displaced in conjunction with the conveyance of the transfer medium at that time and the displacement amount is attached to the supply shaft. The displacement amount of the portion that changes with the change of the roll diameter of the transfer medium is measured by the transfer medium transport interlocking displacement amount measuring means, and the back tension force of the back tension applying means is controlled based on the measurement result. The transfer medium wound in a roll shape and attached to the supply shaft can be stably run because a constant back tension is always applied to the transfer medium regardless of the change of the roll diameter.

Further, the same recording means as described above, recording / transfer medium conveyance control means, transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means, and transfer for detecting the remaining amount of the transfer medium based on the measurement result of the measuring means. According to the recording apparatus having the medium remaining amount detecting means, the transfer medium has a silver film or a transparent film attached to the end, or the transfer medium is entirely formed up to the end and the end is fixed to the winding core. Have been
Alternatively, even when the transfer medium at the end thereof is separated from the winding core of the supply shaft at the end, the transfer medium remaining amount detecting means changes the position of the portion that changes with the change of the roll diameter of the transfer medium. Since the remaining amount of the transfer medium is detected based on the displacement amount measurement result, the remaining amount of the transfer medium on the supply side can be known at any time.

If the transfer medium transport interlocking displacement amount measuring means is constituted by the transfer medium supply shaft rotation amount measuring means for measuring the rotation amount of the transfer medium supply shaft or a member interlocking with the supply shaft, those rotations are performed. The amount can be easily measured by using an encoder or the like which is a means for detecting a general rotation amount.

Further, the transfer state of the transfer medium is judged based on the control signal for instructing the transfer amount of the recording / transfer medium transfer control means and the measurement result of the transfer medium transfer interlocking displacement amount measuring means,
By providing the recording operation control means for stopping the recording operation by the recording means when the transfer medium is not in the normal transport state,
When the transfer amount of the recording / transfer medium transfer control unit and the measurement result of the transfer medium transfer interlocking displacement amount measuring unit do not match, it means that the transfer medium has reached the end or the transfer medium has been cut off midway. Since the control means stops the recording operation, unnecessary recording can be prevented.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT An embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a recording apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a left side view of the recording apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a plan view thereof. This recording apparatus holds a thermal head 2 swingably on a main frame 1 via a head holding member (not shown).
The head holding plate 3 integrated with the platen 5 is pressed and urged toward the platen 5 by the plate spring 4, and the thermal head 2 is pressed against the platen 5 with a predetermined pressing force.

The platen 5 is rotatably supported by bearings on the main frame 1 at one end of the shaft 5a and at the platen sub-frame 6 shown in FIG. Head positioning collar 7,7
Are rotatably attached. Further, the platen gear 8 is fixed to one end of the shaft portion 5a (on the left side in FIG. 2), and the platen gear 8 is attached to the motor sub-frame 9
It meshes with the motor gear 11 fixed to the rotating shaft 10a of the motor 10 fixed to.

Further, the motor gear 11 is attached to the sleeve 1.
3 meshes with a gear 12 fixed integrally with the motor 3, and its sleeve 13 is rotatably fitted to a shaft 39 fixed to the motor sub-frame 9.

A gear 15 having a one-way clutch 14 press-fitted inside is mounted on the outer periphery of the portion of the sleeve 13 projecting from the gear 12, and the gear 15 is interposed between the main frame 1 and the motor subframe 9 via bearings. And a gear 17 that is rotatably attached to a ribbon winding shaft 16 that is rotatably supported.

On the right side surface of the gear 17 in FIG. 2,
The friction member 18 is fixed, and a disc 19 having a step portion on the right side thereof cannot rotate relative to the ribbon winding shaft 16 and is in the axial direction of the ribbon winding shaft 16 (see FIG. 2).
It is attached so as to be movable only in the left-right direction).
Are pressed against each other by the urging force of.

Therefore, the rotational force of the gear 17 is transmitted to the disk 19 via the friction member 18, the ribbon winding shaft 16 rotates, and the thermal transfer ribbon (hereinafter also simply referred to as ribbon) as shown in FIG. It is designed to wind up 27.

On the other hand, the supply shaft 2 on the side for supplying the ribbon 27
As shown in FIG. 3, 1 is rotatably supported by a mainframe 1 and a motor subframe 9 via bearings, respectively, and is located between the mainframe 1 and the motor subframe 9 of the supply shaft 21. Gear 22 in part
Is fixed.

The gear 22 has a ribbon back tension motor 2 fixed to the motor sub-frame 9.
3, a gear 24 fixed to one (lower side in FIG. 3) of a rotary shaft 23a extending to both sides of the rotary shaft 23 is fixed to the other side of the rotary shaft 23a, and a slit disk 25a of an encoder 25 is fixed to the slit disk 25a. A photo sensor 25b is arranged at a position where a slit formed on the outer peripheral side of 25a passes, and an encoder pulse is generated as the supply shaft 21 rotates.
The generation cycle of the encoder pulse is inversely proportional to the rotation speed of the supply shaft 21.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
The head holding plate 3 for fixing and holding the head has leg portions 3a, 3a formed by bending downward at right angles on both sides, and the left end edge of each leg portion 3a, 3a in FIG. The position of the thermal head 2 with respect to the platen 5 (horizontal direction in FIG. 1) is determined by abutting against the outer circumference of the platen 7.

When this recording apparatus is used, the ribbon 27, which is wound in a roll shape as shown in FIG. 1, is set on the supply shaft 21, and one end of the drawing side is located between the thermal head 2 and the platen 5. Through the ribbon winding shaft 16
Wind it around the take-up core that is set to.

Similarly, a label Ra (which may be a recording medium such as a ticket or a price tag) which is a recording medium in a wound state is set on the label supply shaft 28, and one end on the pull-out side thereof is set. Is pulled out between the thermal head 2 and the platen 5 and held there.

In this state, printing of the first label Ra1
When (recording) is started, the motor 10 rotates in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG. 1 to sequentially convey the label Ra and the ribbon 27 to the left in the figure. As the conveying motor 10, for example, a 1.8 ° / step stepping motor is used, and the label Ra and the ribbon 27 are conveyed at 0.125 mm / step.

Therefore, for example, when one label Ra having a length of 10 cm in the transport direction is transported together with the ribbon 27 until it passes through the thermal head 2, the motor 1 is used.
It is necessary to drive 0 for 800 steps (4 rotations), and in this embodiment, 800 steps is set as the measurement period of the encoder pulse number when controlling the ribbon back tension force described later.

In this recording apparatus, a predetermined current is applied to the ribbon back tension motor 23,
The rotational force is transmitted to the gears 24 to 22, and the rotational force in the arrow B direction acts on the supply shaft 21 integrated with the gear 22. As a result, back tension is applied to the ribbon 27 that is unwound from the roll portion and held between the thermal head 2 and the platen 5, and slack and wrinkles that are likely to occur at that portion are prevented.

By the way, in this recording apparatus, the ribbon 27 and the label Ra are set at predetermined positions before the printing is started and the power is turned on. It has not yet been determined whether or not was set on the part of the supply shaft 21.

Therefore, in this embodiment, in order to prevent an excessive back tension from acting on the ribbon 27 at this time due to the rotational force of the ribbon back tension motor 23, the current flowing through the ribbon back tension motor 23 at this time. Is set to an extremely small current as shown at point a in FIG.

When printing is started, the motor 10 is moved to the above-mentioned 800 steps at the same timing as the start of printing.
A motor rotation control signal for rotating the conveyance control unit 4 described later.
3 (FIG. 8), the rotation amount of the rotating shaft 23a of the ribbon back tension motor 23 caused by the ribbon 27 being pulled out is detected by the encoder 25.
Measure with the number of pulses from.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, a graph obtained by an experiment on the relationship between the measured pulse number and the encoder pulse number n and the current I flowing to the ribbon back tension motor 23 in advance (table or table in memory). (Stored by a mathematical formula), a current value corresponding to the measured pulse number is obtained, and the current is controlled to flow to the ribbon back tension motor 23.

As a result, a rotational force in the direction of arrow C in FIG. 1 acts on the ribbon back tension motor 23, and the rotational force is transmitted to the supply shaft 21 via the gears 24, 22 and then to the supply shaft 21. Arrow B against the transport direction of the ribbon 27
Since the force in the direction acts, an optimal back tension force that prevents slack and wrinkles acts on the ribbon 27.

The ribbon back tension motor 2
3 only gives a holding force enough to apply a back tension force to the ribbon 27.
No rotational force is generated to rewind 7 to the supply shaft 21 side. When the roll diameter D becomes smaller as the ribbon 27 wound in a roll shape and attached to the winding core of the supply shaft 21 is used, the motor 10
Supply shaft 21 that rotates as it rotates 800 steps
Since the rotation speed of No. 1 becomes faster, the period of the pulse generated by the encoder 25 becomes shorter and the number of pulses n increases.

Then, the current I flowing to the ribbon back tension motor 23 has a relationship that becomes smaller as the pulse number n increases, as shown in FIG. 4, so that when the roll diameter of the ribbon 27 becomes smaller in this way. Since the rotational force of the ribbon back tension motor 23 is controlled so as to decrease accordingly, even if the roll diameter D of the ribbon 27 changes, the ribbon 27 always has a constant back tension force as shown in FIG. F acts.

Therefore, a constant back tension is always applied to the ribbon 27 regardless of the roll diameter D, so that the ribbon 27 is stably conveyed. By the way, in this recording apparatus, the motor 10 for conveying the label Ra and the ribbon 27 is used.
While the control signal for instructing the carry amount is output, the label Ra and the ribbon 27 are normally carried, so that the supply shaft 21 rotates around according to the carry amount. Since the ribbon back tension motor 23 rotates via the gears 22 and 24, the number of pulses from the encoder 25 should be measured according to the carry amount.

However, in the following cases, the encoder pulse is not generated. [1] At the ribbon end when the ribbon end comes off the winding core. [2] When the end of the ribbon is fixed to the take-up core and the rotation of the take-up shaft is locked after reaching the ribbon end.

In the cases [1] and [2], the ribbon ends are silver films or transparent films as described in FIGS. 13A and 13B, or other ends. Regardless of whether it is fixed to the winding core on the supply shaft side, it is always roughly classified into the cases of [1] or [2]. In other words, no matter what kind of ribbon is used, only the above two cases exist at the end of the ribbon.

In addition to the above, there are the following cases when the encoder pulse is not generated. [3] When the ribbon breaks on the way. [4] When a label is jammed and a conveyance failure occurs. Therefore, in the recording apparatus according to this embodiment, the label Ra and the control signal for instructing the carry amount of the ribbon 27 (driving the motor 10) and the pulse number n from the encoder 25
It is determined whether or not the ribbon 27 is normally conveyed, and when the ribbon 27 is not in a normal conveying state, the recording operation control unit (the recording operation control unit 49 in FIG. 8 stops the recording operation by the thermal head (recording unit) 2). (Corresponding) is provided.

Therefore, when the instructed carry amount and the encoder pulse number are significantly different (for example, when the encoder pulse is not generated), the recording operation control means determines whether the ribbon 27 has reached the end or is in the middle. It is determined that the recording operation has ended, and the recording operation is stopped at that time, so that unnecessary recording operations thereafter can be prevented.

By the way, as described above, as the roll diameter of the ribbon 27 becomes smaller, the pulse number n measured by the encoder 25 increases. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the relationship between the roll diameter D of the ribbon 27 on the supply side and the pulse number n of the encoder 25.

As is clear from this diagram (graph),
By knowing the pulse number n, the ribbon 27
It is possible to know the roll diameter D of. Therefore, by utilizing this relationship, the current remaining amount of the ribbon 27 (corresponding to the roll diameter D) can always be detected from the pulse number n.

Therefore, for example, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of LEDs 1 to 6 are turned on in accordance with the remaining amount of the ribbon.
If the number (the number of which can be set appropriately) is provided at a visible position outside the apparatus, LEDs 1 to 6 for notifying the current remaining amount when the user leaves the recording apparatus or performs printing work at night. Is convenient because you can leave the device after checking the remaining amount. And
If the LEDs 1 to 6 are color-coded into several types as shown in the figure, the remaining amount can be known at a glance, which is more convenient.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the control system of this recording apparatus. The main controller 40 is composed of a microcomputer or the like, and has a recording controller 41 and a conveyance controller 4.
3. Signals are exchanged with the back tension force control unit 46 and the like to control the entire recording apparatus. The recording control unit 41 outputs a signal for printing to the thermal head driver unit 42 based on the recording (printing) information sent from the main control unit 40, and drives the thermal head 2 which is a recording unit. Control.

The conveyance control section 43 functions as a recording / transfer medium conveyance control means, and is a motor driver section 4.
5, a signal for driving the motor 27 that conveys the ribbon 27 that is the transfer medium and the label Ra that is the recording medium is output at a predetermined timing.

Recording operation control section (recording operation control means) 49
Determines the carrying state of the ribbon 27 based on the control signal from the carrying control unit 43 for instructing the carrying amount of the ribbon 27 and the label Ra and the number of pulses from the encoder 25 which is the transfer medium carrying interlocking displacement measuring means. When the conveyance amount is not normally conveyed by the instructed conveyance amount, a signal for stopping the recording operation by the thermal head (recording unit) 2 is output to the main control unit 40. Therefore,
In that case, the main controller 40 promptly outputs a signal for stopping the recording operation to the recording controller 41.

Further, the back tension force control unit 46 is
It functions as a back tension force control means, and counts by inputting encoder pulses from an encoder 25 that detects the shaft rotation amount of a rotary shaft 23a (see FIG. 3) of a ribbon back tension motor (back tension applying means) 23. To do. Then, a signal for giving a back tension to the ribbon 27 is output to the back tension motor driver section 48 to drive the ribbon back tension motor 23 to give a predetermined back tension force to the ribbon 27.

The transfer medium remaining amount detecting section (transfer medium remaining amount detecting means) 51 counts the encoder pulses generated by the encoder 25 and determines the remaining amount of the ribbon 27 by the encoder pulse number n shown in FIG. The remaining amount of the ribbon is detected from the relationship with the roll diameter D, and the information is output to the main control unit 40. The main control unit 40 may perform the functions of the transfer medium remaining amount detection unit 51 and the recording operation control unit 49 described above.

FIG. 9 is an overall configuration diagram similar to that of FIG. 1 showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus also provided with a ribbon save function. The parts corresponding to those of FIG. . In this recording apparatus, when there is a large non-printing portion which is not used for printing between the printing portions (for example, between adjacent labels in the transport direction) on the ribbon 27, the portion is marked as the next portion. In order to use for printing, the transportation of the label Ra and the ribbon 27 is once stopped, the thermal head 2 is separated from the platen 5, and in that state, only the label Ra is transported by the amount of the non-printing portion, and when it is completed, the thermal head 2 Back to the pressed state, and again ribbon 27 and label Ra
Both of them can be conveyed in the forward direction and predetermined printing can be repeated.

Therefore, the mechanism necessary for performing this ribbon save operation is added to the recording apparatus of the embodiment described in FIG. That is, the leg portions 3a of the head holding plate 3 that holds the thermal head 2 fixed,
A mechanism for lifting the thermal head 2 upward and separating it from the platen 5 is provided below 3a.

As shown in FIG. 10, the mechanism is such that an arm 33 is fixed to an approximately middle portion of a plate-shaped arm 32, and the arm 33 is extended to the position of the leg portion 3a of the head holding plate 3 on the main frame 1 side. Installed, and a cylindrical boss 3 on the tip side
5, a columnar boss 35 is similarly attached to the upper end side of the arm 32 so as to correspond to the leg portion 3a on the right side in FIG.

The arms 32 and 33 are axially fixed to a shaft 34 mounted between the main frame 1 and the platen sub-frame 6, and are pivoted in the direction of arrow A in FIG. It is possible. On the other hand, a coil spring 36 is attached to the lower end side of the arm 32, and the urging force of the coil spring 36 urges the arm 32 together with the arm 33 in the direction opposite to the arrow A in FIG. The position is regulated at the position where it abuts on the pin 37.

Further, the coil spring 36 of the arm 32 is
A plunger 31 of a DC solenoid 30 for raising the thermal head 2 to separate it from the platen 5 is attached to the upper part of the position where is attached, and when the DC solenoid 30 is excited, the plunger 31 is attracted. , The arm 32 rotates together with the arm 33 in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 9 against the biasing force of the coil spring 36.

When the DC solenoid 30 is not operated, the bosses 35, 35 on the tip ends of the arms 32, 33 have a slight gap just below the leg portions 3a, 3a on both sides of the head holding plate 3. Are positioned so that they are open (see FIG. 10).

The following are application examples of this recording apparatus.
For example, when there are many non-printed portions during printing on one label, winding the portion also causes waste of the ribbon. Therefore, in such a case, it is desirable to minimize the waste of the ribbon. This can be achieved by using the recording device according to this embodiment.

That is, when there is a non-printed portion having a certain length or longer during printing of one label, the ribbon winding is forcibly stopped when the label is conveyed in that portion. The concrete realization means is shown in FIG. In the figure, when the non-printing portion is conveyed, the conveyance of the label Ra is once stopped.

Next, when the DC solenoid 30 is excited, the plunger 31 is attracted to the left side in FIG.
An arm 32 rotatably connected to the plunger 31 via a pin, and an arm 3 integrated with the arm 32.
3 rotates in the arrow A direction with the shaft 34 as a fulcrum.

As a result, the bosses 35, 35 fixed to the upper ends of the arms 32, 33 move, and they come into contact with the lower end edges of the leg portions 3a, 3a of the head holding plate 3 to move them upward. The thermal head 2 is separated from the platen 5 for lifting.

While maintaining this state, a sufficient current is applied to the ribbon back tension motor 23 to strengthen the holding force. In this state, the conveyance of the non-printing portion is started again. In this case, since the thermal head 2 and the platen 5 are separated from each other, the label Ra is conveyed by the drive rollers 55 and 56 connected to the platen gear 8.

At this time, the ribbon winding shaft 16 also rotates to perform the winding operation, and the gear 17, friction member 18, and disc 19 (all of which are shown in FIG. 10), which are winding forces at that time, are used. The supply shaft 2 is driven by the ribbon back tension motor 23 rather than the load acting on the ribbon winding shaft 16.
Since the holding force applied to the first side is superior, the gear 17 idles and the ribbon winding shaft 16 does not rotate.

By the above operation, the label Ra is used to convey the non-printing portion.
After that, the excitation to the DC solenoid 30 is stopped, the thermal head 2 is returned to the original pressure contact state, and the label Ra and the ribbon 27 are pressed and held by the thermal head 2 and the platen 5 to print. When the ribbon back tension motor 23 is conveyed in this state, the current applied to the ribbon back tension motor 23 is switched to the ribbon back tension current again.
Ribbon can be saved by sequentially repeating the above operation.

In this application example, the means for stopping the ribbon winding operation at the time of carrying the non-printing portion is taken, but as another embodiment, after the label and the ribbon are carried by the thermal head 2 and the platen 5, Even if the thermal head 2 and the platen 5 are separated from each other and the ribbon back tension motor 23 rewinds only the ribbon of the non-printing portion, the same effect can be obtained. However, in this case, it is necessary to restrict the measurement of the encoder pulse to be forcibly ignored.

FIG. 11 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3 showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus provided with a transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means having a different structure, and the portions corresponding to those in FIG. I am doing it.

This recording apparatus is different from the embodiment of FIG. 3 in that the photo sensor 26 is provided with the crests of the teeth of the gear 22 without using an encoder having a rotating disk as the transfer medium conveyance displacement amount measuring means. It is arranged at the position to be detected, so that the gear 22
Amount of ribbon 27 used (consumption amount)
The only difference is that the number of encoder pulses corresponding to is measured. Even in this case, the same effect as that of the embodiment of FIG. 3 can be obtained.

In each of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 1 and 9, the transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means rotates the ribbon back tension motor which is interlocked with the supply shaft 21 to which the ribbon 27 as the transfer medium is attached. 23 rotation shaft 23a
Although it is configured as a means for measuring the rotation amount of the slit disk 25a fixed to the slit disc 25a, the portion for measuring the rotation amount may be the supply shaft 21 itself or the ribbon on the winding side of the ribbon 27. It may be the winding shaft 16 or a member interlocking with the shaft.

[0073]

As described above, according to the present invention, the transfer medium is displaced in association with the conveyance of the transfer medium in the recording process, and the displacement amount is accompanied by the change of the roll diameter of the transfer medium attached to the supply shaft. Measure the amount of displacement of the changing part,
Since the back tension force on the supply side of the transfer medium is controlled based on the measurement result, a constant back tension is applied to the transfer medium during transport regardless of the roll diameter of the transfer medium wound in a roll and attached to the supply shaft. Since tension can be applied, stable running is possible.

If the transfer medium remaining amount detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the transfer medium on the basis of the measurement result of the transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means is provided, the transfer medium is terminated with a silver film or a transparent film. Either the film is attached, the transfer medium is all up to the end and the end is fixed to the take-up core so that it does not separate, or the end ends away from the take-up core of the supply shaft. No matter what type of transfer medium is used, the remaining amount of transfer medium can be detected by measuring the amount of displacement of the part that changes with the change in the roll diameter of the transfer medium. It is possible to know the remaining amount of the transfer medium on the supply side.

If the transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means is constituted by the transfer medium supply shaft rotation amount measuring means for measuring the rotation amount of the transfer medium supply shaft or a member interlocking with the transfer shaft, these The rotation amount can be easily measured using an encoder or the like which is a means for detecting a very general rotation amount.

Further, the transfer state of the transfer medium is judged by the control signal instructing the transfer amount of the recording / transfer medium transfer control means and the measurement result of the transfer medium transfer interlocking displacement amount measuring means,
By providing the recording operation control means for stopping the recording operation by the recording means when the transfer medium is not in the normal transport state,
When the transfer amount of the recording / transfer medium transfer control unit does not match the measurement result of the transfer medium transfer interlocking displacement amount measuring unit, it means that the transfer medium has reached the end or the transfer medium has been cut off midway. At that time, the recording operation control means stops the recording operation, so that unnecessary recording can be prevented.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a recording apparatus showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a left side view of the recording device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.

4 is an encoder 2 provided in the recording apparatus of FIG.
5 is a diagram showing the relationship between the encoder pulse number n generated by No. 5 and the current passed through the back tension motor 23. FIG.

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining how a constant back tension force F is obtained even if the roll diameter D of the ribbon changes in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a relationship between a roll diameter D of a ribbon on the supply side and an encoder pulse number n in the same embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing an embodiment in which the remaining amount of the ribbon on the supply side is displayed by lighting an LED.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of a control system of this recording apparatus.

FIG. 9 is an overall configuration diagram similar to FIG. 1, showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus also provided with a ribbon save function.

FIG. 10 is a left side view of the same embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a plan view similar to FIG. 3, showing an embodiment of a recording apparatus provided with a transfer medium transport-related displacement amount measuring means having a different configuration.

FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing an example of a conventional mechanism for preventing the slack and wrinkles of the supply side ribbon.

FIG. 13 is a perspective view showing an example of detection of the end of the supply-side ribbon using a conventional transmissive and reflective photosensors.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 thermal head (recording means) 5 platen 10 motor 16 ribbon winding shaft 21 supply shaft 27 thermal transfer ribbon (transfer medium) 23 ribbon back tension motor (back tension applying means) 25 encoder (transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means) Sensor unit) 25a Slit disk 40 Main control unit 43 Conveyance control unit (recording / transfer medium conveyance control means) 46 Back tension force control unit 48 Back tension motor driver unit 49 Recording operation control unit 51 Transfer medium remaining amount detection unit Ra Label (recording medium)

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (51) Int.Cl. ⁵ Identification code Internal reference number FI technical display location B41J 35/36 9012-2C

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A recording apparatus for recording on a recording medium by using a transfer medium which is wound in a roll shape, attached to a supply shaft and fed out, and energy is applied to the transfer medium to perform recording on the recording medium. Recording means, recording / transfer medium conveyance control means for controlling conveyance of the recording medium and transfer medium, and displacement of the transfer medium in conjunction with conveyance of the transfer medium when the transfer medium is conveyed in a recording process by the recording means. , Transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means for measuring a displacement amount of a portion whose displacement amount changes with a change in roll diameter of the transfer medium attached to the supply shaft, and applying back tension to the transfer medium. The back tension applying means controls the back tension force of the back tension applying means based on the measurement results of the transfer medium transport interlocking displacement amount measuring means. A recording apparatus comprising a back tension force control means for controlling. 2. A recording device for recording on a recording medium using a transfer medium, wherein recording means for applying energy to the transfer medium to perform recording on the recording medium, and conveyance of the recording medium and the transfer medium are controlled. A recording / transfer medium transportation control means, and a transfer medium which is displaced in association with the transportation of the transfer medium when the transfer medium is transported in the recording step by the recording means, and the displacement amount is attached to the supply shaft. Transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means for measuring the displacement amount of a portion that changes with the change of the roll diameter of the roller, and the transfer medium remaining amount detection for detecting the remaining amount of the transfer medium based on the measurement result of the measuring means. And a recording device. 3. The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transfer medium conveyance interlocking displacement amount measuring means measures a rotation amount of the transfer shaft of the transfer medium or a member interlocking with the supply shaft. A recording device comprising a shaft rotation amount measuring means. 4. The recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a control signal for instructing a transport amount of the recording / transfer medium transport control means and a measurement of the transfer medium transport interlocking displacement amount measuring means. The recording apparatus is provided with a recording operation control unit that determines a conveyance state of the transfer medium based on the result and stops the recording operation by the recording unit when the transfer medium is not in a normal conveyance state.