JPH06344580A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a printing device whose noise is low having a simple struc ture capable of printing by copying with a pressure sensitive paper, by superpos ing a recording paper and an ink sheet, making them pass through between a heat generating means and a support body, heating them, and pressing them by a press means. CONSTITUTION:A pressure sensitive triplicate recording paper 5 and an ink sheet 4 are supplied. Electric energy is given to a heating means 1, converted into heat energy on the surface, and transferred to the sheet 4. At that time, pressure from a support body 2 is given to the recording paper 5 from its back side. The heat energy is transmitted also to an ink layer 42 through a base material 41, so that temperature rises. Viscosity of a binding agent 43 lowers with rise of the temperature, the agent becomes adhesive to the recording paper 5 and strippable from the base material The layer 42 is transferred to the recording paper 5 and striped from the base material 41 completely. At this time, a carrier 44 included in the layer 42 is also transferred together with the binding agent 43 so as to be combined with fibers in the surface of the paper. The temperature of the transfer ink layer 42 lowers and the binding agent 43 solidifies.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing apparatus which stacks a plurality of recording sheets which can be copied in response to pressure, prints with thermal transfer ink on an upper sheet, and performs copy printing on a middle sheet or a lower sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art With the recent development of computers and office automation equipment, various printers and copying machines are commercially available as output devices for making hard copies of large amounts of information. For these printers and copying machines, there is a strong demand for high speed, low noise, high reliability, high durability, high print quality, and miniaturization. Further, in the form of slips, forms, and receipts, in addition to the original printing, there are many applications in which copying with pressure-sensitive copying paper is required.

As a conventional printing device capable of copying and printing,
The typical one is the dot impact type. The main structure of this system consists of an actuator, a printing wire, a wire guide, a fabric ribbon and the like. FIG. 2 shows a dot impact type printing mechanism. When an electric signal is applied to the actuator, the print wire connected to the actuator operates, and when the fabric ribbon and the recording paper are tapped through the wire guide, the ink of the fabric ribbon is transferred to the recording paper, and one pixel is printed for each print wire. It is formed. The print head is fixed to the carriage and can move smoothly on the guide shaft. When the print head reaches a predetermined position, the print wire operates to form characters. The actuator system includes a plunger solenoid type, a polar type, a clapper type, a spring charge type, a moving coil type, a piezoelectric element type, and the like. Generally, the clapper type, the spring charge type, etc. are widely used.

As recording paper, it is possible to copy by stacking a plurality of pressure-sensitive carbon or non-carbon papers, and it is actually widely used for slips and receipts. Currently, non-carbon paper is predominant among pressure-sensitive papers, and therefore a configuration example of non-carbon paper is shown in FIG.
The top paper, which comes to the top, has a coloring base applied to the back side of the base paper. The bottom paper at the bottom has a color developer applied to the front side of the base paper. In the middle paper which comes between these, the color developer is applied to the front side and the color-developing base is applied to the back side. The color-developing base is an assembly of microcapsules encapsulating a dye, and when it faces the developer and is applied with a load exceeding a limit pressure, it breaks and the dye exudes and a predetermined color appears. This is the principle of copying, and carbon paper is similar in that it is copied by pressure. Although the following description refers to non-carbon paper, the same applies to carbon paper as well, and the present invention is not limited to non-carbon paper. If two copies are required in addition to the original, a good copy can be obtained by stacking these three in a predetermined order and setting them on the printing device so that they are pressed by the printing wire from above. Become. Usually, the number of copies is about 4 to 5 by handwriting with a ballpoint pen, 3 to 6 with a dot impact type printing device, and about 6 to 10 with an electric typewriter. It should be noted that no other thermal transfer type, ink jet type, or electrophotographic type printing device capable of copying has been put into practical use so far.

With the recent increase in the information processing capability of computers, there is a need for computerizing financial approvals and outputting a large amount of information, and the issuance of slips and receipts requiring copying increases. is there.

Further, the thermal transfer type printing apparatus has a simple structure and has few mechanically movable parts, so that it produces less noise and has excellent characteristics, and is widely used. However, there is no report that copy printing can be performed on recording paper that is sensitive to pressure. A printing device that can perform copy printing by other methods has not been put to practical use.

[0007]

However, the dot-impact type printing apparatus is noisy to humans because the noise generated during printing is noisy. When the printing speed is increased, noise tends to increase, and high-speed printing and low noise are contradictory requirements. Further, the printing resolution is determined by the number of printing wires and the printing quality is good, but the printing speed tends to be slow, and high printing quality and high-speed printing are contradictory requirements. In general, it is desirable that the noise of printing is as quiet as possible because it causes discomfort to humans. The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of copy printing with pressure-sensitive paper, having low noise, and having a simple structure.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressurizing means, and a plurality of sheets which can be copied in response to pressure. A mechanism for supplying recording paper and a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet containing a carrier and a binder are provided. After the recording paper and the ink sheet are superposed and passed between the heat generating means and the support to be heated, pressure is applied by the pressure applying means. It is characterized by that. According to another aspect of the present invention, heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording sheets that can be copied in response to pressure, a carrier, and In a printing apparatus provided with a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet containing a binder, assuming that the average particle diameter of the carrier is D, the total thickness of the recording paper is T, and the gap between the pressure rollers is G, T / 4 It is characterized in that ≦ G ≦ D + T. According to the invention of claim 3,
Printing apparatus including heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording sheets that can be copied in response to pressure, and a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet In the above, the ink sheet is composed of a base material, a carrier having an average particle size of 10 to 150 μm, a colorant, and a binder of a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of 50 to 200 ° C. In the invention according to claim 4, a heat generating means for heating a minute area, a supporting member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording paper sheets which can be copied in response to pressure, and a carrier are provided. It is equipped with a mechanism that supplies the ink sheet containing the linear pressure between the pressure rollers.
It is characterized by being 100 kgf / cm.

According to the fifth aspect of the invention, a heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, and a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording sheets which can be copied in response to pressure. In a printing apparatus having a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet composed of a substrate, a release layer and a transfer layer, the transfer layer thickness is d, the total thickness of the recording paper is T, and the gap between the pressure rollers is If G, then T / 4 ≦ G ≦ d + T.

In a sixth aspect of the invention, a heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, and a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording sheets capable of copying in response to pressure. In a printing apparatus having a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet, the ink sheet has a base material and a melting point of 5
It is characterized by comprising a thermoplastic resin peeling layer at 0 to 200 ° C. and a transfer layer containing a colorant. According to a seventh aspect of the invention, heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording paper sheets that can be copied in response to pressure.
In a printing apparatus provided with a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet composed of a peeling layer and a transfer layer, the linear pressure between the pressure rollers is 5 to 100 kgf / cm. The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that a mechanism for detecting the total thickness of the recording paper and varying the gap between the pressure rollers based on the result is provided.

[0011]

The printing apparatus of the present invention is a non-impact type,
Basically, a heat transfer method is used in which heat is applied to the heat generating means to heat it, and the ink layer on the ink sheet that is in contact with the heat generating means is heated and melted to transfer the ink layer to the recording paper. It is given to enable copy printing.

First, a recording paper and an ink sheet, which are sensitive to pressure and can be copied, are superposed and supplied between the heat generating means and the support. When one copy is required in addition to the original, the upper sheet and the lower sheet are stacked to form a recording sheet. If two copies are required, the upper paper, the middle paper, and the lower paper
It becomes a sheet composition. Further, when four copies are required, the number of medium sheets is increased by one to form a four-sheet configuration. The ink sheet is composed of a base material and an ink layer. In the second, third and fourth aspects, the ink layer contains a granular carrier for transmitting the copying pressure, a binder of a thermoplastic resin, a colorant and the like. In the case of claims 5, 6 and 7, the ink layer is a transfer layer for transmitting a copying pressure, a thermoplastic resin release layer,
Contains colorants, etc.

When the print data is transmitted to the printing device, the heat generating means is appropriately energized to heat the printed portion of the heat generating means, and the binder or peeling layer on the ink sheet is heated and melted. At this time, an appropriate pressure is applied to the heat generating means and the support, and the melted ink layer is thermally transferred onto the upper paper. After the transfer, the viscosity of the binder or the release layer decreases and the ink solidifies as the temperature of the ink layer decreases. The white portion (non-image portion) of the print data is not energized by the heat generating means, so that the ink sheet remains on the ink sheet without being transferred.

Next, the thermally transferred recording paper is passed between pressure rollers, and the carrier or transfer layer contained in the ink layer is projected, so the pressure from the roller concentrates on the carrier or transfer layer. The pressure is transmitted in the thickness direction to the upper and lower sheets, the medium sheet, and the lower sheet. Therefore, the material of the pressure roller needs to be harder than at least the binder or the transfer layer or the recording paper, which is a condition for transmitting the pressure. If the pressure at this time destroys the microcapsules of the coloring base applied on the back side of the upper and middle sheets,
The dye encapsulated inside oozes out and reacts with the developer that is faced to develop color, which enables copy printing. This copying mechanism is not limited to the case where the number of pressure sensitive papers is three, but when the number of sheets is two, only the upper and lower sheets are used, and when the number of sheets is four or more, only the number of medium sheets is used. It will increase by one. The greater the pressure exerted by the carrier or transfer layer, the greater the number of sheets of pressure-sensitive paper that can be copied.

When the gap between the pressure rollers is small, pressure is applied to the non-image portion where the ink layer is not transferred, and the color tends to be developed to stain the base. On the other hand, if the gap between the pressure rollers is set appropriately, the plastic deformation of the binder or the release layer and the deformed portion of the recording paper are absorbed to some extent, but the aggregate of the carrier and the binder or the transfer layer are absorbed. Only the image portion constituted by the peeling layer is pressed, and the pressure is transmitted to the recording paper to enable copying. In this case, it is possible to obtain a high-quality copy image in which the pressure is hardly transmitted to the portion where the ink layer is not present and the background is less contaminated. Moreover, it is effective to stack many sheets, and clear copies can be made even on the pressure-sensitive paper at the bottom.

[0016]

【Example】

(Embodiment 1) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a schematic structure of a thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention. The main components are the heat generating means 1, the support 2, the pressure roller 3, the ink sheet 4, the recording paper 5, and the like. In addition to these, the paper feeding mechanism, the mechanism for scanning the heat generating means 1, and the ink sheet 4 are also provided. It consists of a supply roller and a winding roller.

The heating means 1 is usually called a thermal head, and an example of the structure is shown in FIGS. 4 (a) and 4 (b). Figure 4
In (a), the heat retaining layer 12, the heat generating layer 13,
The conductor layer 14, the oxidation resistant layer 15, and the wear resistant layer 16 are sequentially formed.
Patterned. In FIG. 4B, the shape of the heat insulating layer 12 is not a flat surface shape but a smooth curved surface shape that is convex upward.
The convex heat insulating layer 12 is formed by melting glass or the like.
This glass is firmly fixed to the substrate 11, and it is necessary to consider the substrate 11 and the heat generating layer 13 in the thermal expansion coefficient so that the glass does not peel off even if a thermal stress is applied.

As the substrate 11, alumina, aluminum nitride, stainless steel, etc., which have excellent thermal conductivity, mechanical strength as a substrate, and smooth surface, are suitable. The heat insulating layer 12 is preferably made of glass or the like having low thermal conductivity,
The heat generating layer 13 is a chromium-based alloy that can withstand repeated thermal stress,
Tantalum alloys are suitable, especially tantalum nitride T
a ₂ N is excellent because the temperature coefficient of electric resistance is small and the electric resistance value can be easily set. Aluminum, gold, etc. are suitable for the conductor layer 14. The oxidation resistant layer 15 is a protective layer for the heating element, and is preferably SiO ₂ or the like. The wear resistant layer 16 is preferably made of Ta ₂ O ₅ , SiO ₂ , SiC or the like, and particularly Ta ₂ O ₅ is excellent in terms of thermal conductivity. The above is a thin film type in which a thin film is formed by a sputtering device or a vapor deposition device, and is manufactured by a patterning process, but there is also a thick film type in which a thick film is formed by screen printing, and the invention is not limited to either. However, when the printing resolution is rough, the thick film type is suitable, and when the resolution is fine, the thin film type is suitable.

The ink sheet 4 includes a base material 41 and an ink layer 4.
It consists of two. The ink layer 42 is composed of a binder 43 containing at least a coloring agent 45 and a carrier 44. As the base material 41, a resin film that does not easily undergo thermal deterioration or mechanical elongation even at the melting temperature of the binder 43 is suitable, and polyethylene terephthalate, polyethylene naphthalate, polyimide, polyamide, crosslinked polyethylene, polypropylene, Polyester can be used.

As the binder 43, a thermoplastic resin which is melted at a relatively low temperature and easily peeled from the base material is suitable, and natural wax such as carnauba wax, montan wax, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, or montan wax. Derivatives, paraffin wax derivatives, alcohol fatty acid esters, chlorinated paraffin, synthetic waxes such as oxidized wax and low molecular weight polyethylene, polyvinyl stearate, polystyrene, acrylic resin, polyamide, vinyl chloride vinyl acetate copolymer resin, petroleum resin, Resins such as ethyl cellulose and a cellulose derivative ionomer resin can be used alone or as a mixture thereof. In addition, a softening agent, an antioxidant, etc. may be added if necessary. Usually, the upper limit of the storage temperature of the printing device or the ink sheet is about 50 ° C. to 70 ° C., and the melting point of the binder 43 needs to be at least 50 ° C. or higher. If the melting point of the binder 43 is less than 50 ° C., the ink layer 42 easily peels off from the base material 41 in the storage state or the operating state, and the heat generating means 1
Therefore, it may be transferred onto the recording paper 5 without applying heat energy. Further, the higher the melting point of the binder 43, the more heat energy is required. Therefore, it is necessary to take measures such as increasing power consumption or slowing the printing speed. From these viewpoints, the melting point of the binder 43 is 50 to 20.
A range of 0 ° C is desirable. More desirably 70 to 120 ° C
Is the range. As the colorant 45, pigments, dyes, carbon, etc., which are compatible with the binder 43, are suitable.

As the carrier 44, a material which does not easily deform even if a pressure is applied and has a good thermal conductivity is suitable, and simple metals such as iron, nickel, copper, aluminum, zinc, titanium, alloys thereof, or alumina. , Silicon nitride,
Examples thereof include particles of ceramics such as silicon carbide, zirconia, and aluminum nitride. Further, a thermosetting resin (for example, phenol, epoxy resin, etc.) which is heat-cured to be formed into particles can be used. Resin carriers have poor thermal conductivity, but are characterized by being lightweight and having small heat capacity. The average particle size is preferably in the range of 10 to 150 μm. When the average particle size of the carrier 44 is relatively large, it can be distributed in almost one layer, but when the average particle size is relatively small, it is distributed over 2 to 5 layers. However, in the production of the ink sheet, when the average particle size is small, there is a possibility that a region in which the carrier 44 is roughly distributed may be formed. Therefore, the average particle size of the carrier 44 is more preferably 70 to
It is 120 μm. If the carrier 44 is too large, the carrier 44 is likely to peel off from the ink layer, so there is a limit. If the particle size distribution is as uniform as possible, stable copy printing is possible.

The method of including a carrier in the ink layer has already been reported in the literature and the like, but the purpose thereof is to utilize the high thermal conductivity of the carrier and to make the heat generating means 1
Since the transfer amount of the ink layer is improved almost in proportion to the thermal energy given in step 2, it was an attempt to realize halftone recording. Therefore, the average particle size of the carrier is as small as several μm, which is different from the present invention.

The pressure roller 3 is preferably made of a hard material such as metal that is hard to bend in order to transmit a uniform pressure and is less likely to be locally deformed than the carrier 44 and the recording paper 5. Specifically, aluminum alloy, copper alloy, carbon steel,
Suitable is stainless steel. Further, in order to ensure the pressure uniformity of the pressure roller, in addition to the two simple configurations, a backup roller is provided, a skew roller in which the rotation center axes of the upper roller and the lower roller have an angle, and a drum. It is possible to use a crown roller or the like having a flat shape.

Next, the printing mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5A shows a state in which three sheets of recording paper 5 and ink sheet 4 that are sensitive to pressure are being supplied. Next, FIG. 5B shows a state in which electric energy is applied to the heat generating means 1 to be converted into heat energy on the surface and the heat energy is transmitted to the ink sheet 4. At this time, the pressure from the support body 2 is applied from the back side of the recording paper 5. The thermal energy is also transferred to the ink layer 42 through the base material 41, and the temperature of the ink layer 42 rises. Binder 4
The viscosity of No. 3 decreases as the temperature rises, and it becomes a state of being adhered to the recording paper 5 and at the same time being easily peeled from the base material 41. FIG. 5C shows a state in which the ink layer 42 is transferred to the recording paper 5 and completely peeled from the base material 41. At this time, the carrier 44 contained in the ink layer 42 is also transferred together with the binder 43 and is bonded to the fibers on the surface of the upper paper 51. The temperature of the transferred ink layer 42 decreases,
The binder 43 becomes highly viscous and solidifies. Therefore, even if the transferred ink layer 42 is touched with a hand, it does not stick.

Next, the recording paper 5 is inserted between the pressure rollers 3. When a pressure is applied to the ink layer 42 including the carrier 44, the carrier 44 is less likely to be deformed than the binder 43 or the like, so that the pressure is concentrated on a portion where the carrier 44 is present and the recording paper 5 is also affected. It will transmit pressure. If the initial value of the gap G between the pressure rollers at this time is zero or smaller than ¼ of the total thickness T of the recording paper 5, the pressure is transmitted not only in the vicinity of the carrier 44 but also to the non-image portion. Then, the non-image portion of the recording paper 5 which can be copied and printed is also colored. On the contrary, when the initial value of the gap G between the pressure rollers is larger than the sum D + T of the particle diameter D of the carrier 44 and the total thickness T of the recording paper 5, the pressure by the pressure rollers is not transmitted to the image portion. You will not be able to print copies. FIG. 6 shows the situation at this time, and there is a relationship of T / 4 ≦ G ≦ D + T. Therefore, it is necessary to set the initial value of the gap G between the pressure rollers according to the total thickness T of the recording paper 5. Total thickness T of recording paper 5
Is detected by an optical sensor or a mechanical sensor utilizing pressure, and the gap G between the pressure rollers 3 is adjusted based on the result. As a mechanism for adjusting the gap G, there is a method in which a linear actuator is provided in one bearing portion of the pressure roller and the gap G is adjusted by the moving distance thereof.

A block diagram of the control circuit of the printing apparatus is shown in FIG. Mainly, the microprocessor 70,
The memory 71, the character pattern generation unit 72, the heat generation unit control unit 73, the mechanism control unit 74, the heat generation unit 75, the motor, the sensor 76, the operation panel 77, the power supply unit 78, the interface 79, and the like. A print command is sent from the computer or the like to the interface 79 of the printing apparatus, and print data is sequentially sent. The microprocessor 70 receives this and temporarily stores the data in the memory 71. If the printing device is a serial recording type, this data is converted into image data suitable for the printing device by converting the print data of one line into image data suitable for the printing device by using the character pattern generating unit 72, and Sending to the mechanism control unit 74, detecting the presence or absence of paper, detecting the position of the heat generating means, feeding the paper, moving the heat generating means, etc., a current corresponding to the image data is passed through each channel to perform thermal transfer printing. When printing is completed for one line, printing of the next line is repeated. If the printing device is a page recording type,
After being stored in the memory 71, the print data is collectively converted into image data for one page by using the character pattern generator 72, and then thermal transfer printing is performed. Operation panel 7
When the signal comes from 7, the microprocessor 70 detects it and gives an instruction. The heat generating means 75 is equipped with a so-called thermal head in which minute heat generating means are arranged in an array, and an integrated circuit for driving having functions such as current control and multiplex.

The temperature given by the heat generating means in the printing mechanism and the characteristics of the thermal transfer ink are important and affect the printing quality. Particularly important is the method of controlling the heating means of each dot. One of them is heat history control, which aims to keep the temperature of the heat generating means constant, to secure the density of isolated points, and to prevent crushed characters from being crushed. This is a control method in which the pulse width of printing is varied depending on the presence or absence of one dot before or a few dots before.

The other is a control method for performing temperature correction, concentration control, and correction of the resistance rank of the heat generating means. A factor W1 that determines the pulse width by detecting the ambient temperature with a temperature sensor, such as a thermistor, formed on the heat generating means, a factor W2 that determines the pulse width by the resistance value indicated by the variable resistor on the operation panel, and each dot Factor W that determines the pulse width by correcting the resistance value rank of the heat generating means corresponding to
There are three factors. Each factor is multiplied by a coefficient to determine the actual pulse width given to the heat generating means. When the variation in the resistance value of the heat generating means corresponding to each dot is small, the factor W3 is small or zero, and when the print density cannot be adjusted from the operation panel, the factor W2 is zero. .

(Embodiment 2) An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The configuration is similar to that of the first embodiment and has a schematic structure according to FIG. The main components are the heat generating means 1, the support 2, the pressure roller 3, the ink sheet 4 ', the recording paper 5, and the like. In addition to these, a paper feeding mechanism, a mechanism for scanning the heat generating means 1, an ink sheet 4 It is composed of a roller for supplying and a roller for winding. Heating means 1, support 2,
The pressure roller 3 and the like can be the same as those in the first embodiment.

The ink sheet 4'includes the base material 41 and the release layer 4.
6 and a transfer layer 47 containing a colorant 45.
As the release layer 46, a thermoplastic material that is easily melted at a relatively low temperature and easily peeled from the base material 41 is suitable. Natural waxes such as carnauba wax, montan wax, paraffin wax, and microcrystalline wax, montan wax derivatives, and paraffin are suitable. Synthetic wax such as wax derivative, alcohol fatty acid ester, chlorinated paraffin, and oxidized wax, and low molecular weight polyethylene, polyvinyl stearate, polystyrene, acrylic resin, polyamide, vinyl chloride vinyl acetate copolymer resin, petroleum resin,
Resins such as ethyl cellulose and a cellulose derivative ionomer resin can be used alone or as a mixture thereof.
In addition, a softening agent, an antioxidant, etc. may be added if necessary. As the colorant 45, pigments, dyes, carbon, etc., which are compatible with the binder, are suitable. Release layer 46
As the thickness increases, it takes more time for heat conduction, so
The range of 10 μm is desirable.

Usually, the upper limit of the storage temperature of the printing device or the ink sheet is about 50 ° C. to 70 ° C., and the peeling layer 46 is used.
Must have a melting point of at least 50 ° C. or higher. If the melting point of the peeling layer 46 is less than 50 ° C., the ink layer 48 may be the base material 4 in the storage state or the operating state.
There is a possibility that the toner will be easily peeled off from No. 1 and transferred to the recording paper 5 without applying heat energy by the heat generating means 1. Further, the higher the melting point of the peeling layer 46, the more heat energy is required, so that it is necessary to take measures such as increasing the power consumption or slowing the printing speed. From these viewpoints, the melting point of the peeling layer 46 is preferably in the range of 50 to 200 ° C. More preferably, it is in the range of 70 to 120 ° C.

The transfer layer 47 is preferably made of a thermoplastic material that melts at a higher temperature than the peeling layer 46, such as polyamide resin, low molecular weight polyethylene resin, low molecular weight polyolefin resin,
Ethylene vinyl acetate copolymer resin, higher fatty acid resin, polyester resin, homopolymer of styrene and its substitution product and copolymer resin thereof, copolymer resin of styrene and (meth) acrylic acid ester, and styrene ( A multi-component copolymer resin of (meth) acrylic acid ester and another vinyl-based monomer, a styrene-based copolymer resin of styrene and another vinyl-based monomer, and a resin obtained by partially crosslinking each of the above resins can be used. Further, bisphenol A type epoxy resin, polymethyl methacrylate resin, polybutyl methacrylate resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, polyurethane resin, silicone resin, polyvinyl butyral resin, polyvinyl alcohol resin, polyacrylic acid resin, phenol resin, aliphatic or oil. Examples thereof include cyclic hydrocarbon resins and petroleum resins, and simple substances or mixtures thereof can be used. The thickness of the transfer layer 47 depends on the copying conditions and is 10
The range of 150 μm is desirable. More preferably, 70
Is in the range of to 120 μm.

Next, the printing mechanism will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8A shows a state in which three sheets of recording paper 5 and an ink sheet 4'which are sensitive to pressure are supplied. Next, FIG. 8B shows a state in which electric energy is applied to the heat generating means 1 to be converted into heat energy on the surface, and the heat energy is transmitted to the ink sheet 4 ′.
At this time, the pressure from the support body 2 is applied from the back side of the recording paper 5. The thermal energy passes through the base material 41 and the ink layer 4
8 and the temperature of the ink layer 48 rises. The peeling layer 46 has a reduced viscosity as the temperature rises, and is easily peeled from the base material 41. FIG. 8C shows a state in which the ink layer 48 is transferred to the recording paper 5 and completely peeled from the base material 41. At this time, the transfer layer 47 is bonded to the fibers on the surface of the upper paper 51 and transferred. The temperature of the transferred ink layer 48 decreases, and the peeling layer 46 becomes highly viscous and solidifies. Therefore, even if the transferred ink layer 48 is touched by hand, it does not stick.

Next, the recording paper 5 is inserted between the pressure rollers 3. When pressure is applied to the ink layer 48, the transfer layer 47 is less likely to be deformed than the peeling layer 46 and the like.
The pressure concentrates on a portion of the transfer layer 47, and the pressure is also transmitted to the recording paper 5. At this time, the initial value of the gap G between the pressure rollers is zero or 1/4 of the total thickness T of the recording paper 5.
If it is smaller, the pressure is transmitted not only to the vicinity of the transfer layer 47 but also to the non-image portion, and the non-image portion of the copyable recording paper 5 is colored. Conversely, the gap G between the pressure rollers
When the initial value of is larger than the sum d + T of the thickness d of the transfer layer 47 and the total thickness T of the recording paper 5, the pressure by the pressure roller is not transmitted to the image portion, and the copy printing cannot be performed.
FIG. 9 shows the situation at this time, and T / 4 ≦ G ≦ d + T
Have a relationship. Therefore, it is necessary to set the initial value of the gap G between the pressure rollers according to the total thickness T of the recording paper 5. FIG. 10 shows an embodiment of a mechanism for adjusting the gap G of the pressure roller 3. Mainly upper roller 31, lower roller 32, contact ring 3
3, an eccentric cam 34, a paper thickness detection sensor 35, and the like. The total thickness T of the recording paper 5 is determined by the paper thickness detection sensor 35 (for example, an optical sensor or a mechanical sensor using pressure).
And the gap G between the pressure rollers 3 is adjusted based on the detection result. As a mechanism for adjusting the gap G, an eccentric cam is provided on one bearing portion of the pressure roller,
The pressure roller moves by the amount corresponding to the amount of eccentricity and the gap G
There is a way to adjust. For example, when the eccentric cam 34 is rotated by a motor or the like in the direction shown in the figure, the contact ring 33 is pushed up and the lower roller 32 is pushed up, so that the gap G between the upper roller 31 and the lower roller 32 can be adjusted. That is, the gap G changes according to the rotation angle of the eccentric cam 34. If the motor for rotating the eccentric cam 34 is a step motor, it is possible to adjust the gap G with reproducibility by storing in advance in the memory how many eccentricity one step becomes. The gap G can be narrowed by rotating in the direction opposite to that shown in FIG. For the control method of the printing mechanism and the like, the same method as in the first embodiment can be applied.

[0035]

As described above, the printing apparatus of the present invention is
It has the characteristics of low noise, high print quality, high speed printing, etc. That is, since the dot impact type printing apparatus does not have a printing wire, there are few mechanically movable parts, and a large noise such as an impact sound due to the printing wire does not occur. Moreover, it is possible to obtain a high-quality copy print in which the pressure is less likely to be transmitted to the non-image area and the background is less contaminated. Moreover, the same effect can be obtained by stacking several sheets, and clear copying can be performed even on the pressure-sensitive paper at the bottom.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a thermal transfer type copying and printing apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a dot impact type printing mechanism.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a configuration example of non-carbon paper.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a cross-sectional structure of a heating means of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a printing process of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the principle of copying by the pressure roller of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a block configuration of a control circuit of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the printing process of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the principle of copying by the pressure roller of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing an embodiment of a gap adjusting mechanism for a pressure roller of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Heat generating means 11 Substrate 12 Heat retaining layer 13 Heat generating layer 14 Conductor layer 15 Oxidation resistant layer 16 Wear resistant layer 2 Support 3 Pressure roller 31 Upper roller 32 Lower roller 33 Contact ring 34 Eccentric cam 35 Paper thickness detection sensor 4, 4 'Ink sheet 41 Base material 42 Ink layer 43 Binder 44 Carrier 45 Coloring agent 46 Release layer 47 Transfer layer 48 Ink layer 5 Recording paper 51 Upper paper 52 Middle paper 53 Lower paper 54 Base paper 55 Coloring base 56 Color developer 6 Print head 61 Print wire 62 Carriage 63 Guide shaft 64 Fabric ribbon 7 Control circuit 70 Microprocessor 71 Memory 72 Character pattern generation unit 73 Heat generation means control unit 74 Mechanism control unit 75 Heat generation means 76 Motor, sensor 77 Operation panel 78 Power supply unit 79 The interface

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Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support facing the heat generating means, a pressure applying means, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording papers which can be copied in response to pressure, a carrier and a binder. A printing apparatus comprising a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet including the recording sheet, the recording sheet and the ink sheet, which are stacked, passed between a heat generating means and a support to be heated, and then pressed by a pressing means. 2. A heat generating means for heating a minute area, a supporting member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording sheets which can be copied in response to pressure, a carrier and a binder. In a printing apparatus having a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet containing T, assuming that the average particle diameter of the carrier is D, the total thickness of the recording paper is T, and the gap between the pressure rollers is G, T / 4
A printing apparatus, wherein ≦ G ≦ D + T. 3. A heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording paper sheets which can be copied in response to pressure, and a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet. In a printing apparatus including the above, the ink sheet is composed of a base material, a carrier having an average particle size of 10 to 150 μm, a colorant, and a binder of a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of 50 to 200 ° C. Printing device. 4. An ink sheet including a heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording sheets which can be copied in response to pressure, and an carrier. A printing apparatus comprising a supply mechanism, wherein the linear pressure between the pressure rollers is 5 to 100 kgf / cm. 5. A heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording paper sheets which can be copied in response to pressure, a base material, a peeling layer, and In a printing apparatus having a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet composed of a transfer layer, if the thickness of the transfer layer is d, the total thickness of the recording paper is T, and the gap between the pressure rollers is G, then T /
A printing apparatus, wherein 4 ≦ G ≦ d + T. 6. A heat generating means for heating a minute area, a support member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording paper sheets which can be copied in response to pressure, and a mechanism for supplying an ink sheet. In the printing apparatus, the ink sheet is composed of a base material, a release layer of a thermoplastic resin having a melting point of 50 to 200 ° C., and a transfer layer containing a colorant. 7. A heat generating means for heating a minute area, a supporting member facing the heat generating means, a pressure roller, a mechanism for supplying a plurality of recording papers which can be copied in response to pressure, a peeling layer and a transfer layer. In a printing apparatus having a mechanism for supplying the configured ink sheet, the linear pressure between the pressure rollers is 5 to 100 k.
A printing device characterized by being gf / cm. 8. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism for detecting the total thickness of the recording paper and varying the gap between the pressure rollers based on the detection result.