JPH07108570B2 - Thermal transfer recording device - Google Patents

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus for forming an image by transferring ink applied on a substrate by heat generated by a thermal head to form an image, and in particular, it has less color misregistration. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus that enables color printing.

Configuration of Conventional Example and Problems Thereof The thermal transfer recording system is used in various terminal recording apparatuses as a system for obtaining a hard copy which is small, inexpensive, and easy to maintain. In recent years, with the progress of terminal devices, colorization of hard copy has been achieved, and at the same time, active efforts have been made to improve image quality.

The conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus will be described below. First
The figure shows the basic configuration of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus. 1 is a long recording sheet, 2 is a heating element, 3 is a heating element 2 arranged in a line in the width direction of the recording sheet 1. Consists of a thermal head, 4 is a shaft fixed to the housing, and 5 is a thermal head 3
Is a support member that supports both ends of the and rotates around the shaft 4. Reference numeral 6 is a transfer sheet in which heat-melting inks of yellow, magenta, and cyan are separately applied on a film-like base material for each recording area of one screen, and 7 is an elastic body on the surface layer portion such as a rubber lining. The platen roller having the above-mentioned structure is rotated in the forward and reverse directions by a driving means (not shown).
Reference numeral 8 denotes a cam whose shaft is cut in a D shape, which is axially attached to the housing and is rotated by a driving means (not shown) to rotate the support member claw portion.
The support member 5 can be moved up and down by contacting or separating from the 5a. Reference numerals 9 and 10 denote metallic paper pressing rollers that are in contact with the platen roller 7 via the recording paper 1 and follow the rotation of the platen roller 7, and 11 and 12 are paper pressing rollers that are axially attached to the housing. Support members for supporting the rollers 9,10, 13,1
4 is a tension coil spring stretched between the support members 11 and 12 and the housing so that the paper pressing rollers 9 and 10 are pressed against the platen roller 7, and 15 is a platen for the thermal head 3 with a stronger force than the springs 13 and 14. It is a compression coil spring provided between the housing and the thermal head 3 so as to be pressed against the roller 7. The operation of the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus configured as described above will be described below. First, the recording paper 1 is set as shown in FIG. The cam 8 is rotated so that the portion where the cam 8 is not set contacts the support member claw portion 5a, and the support member 5 and the thermal head 3 are separated from the platen roller 7. Next, the platen roller 7 and the paper pressing roller 10 feed the recording paper 1 in the direction of arrow a, and stop when the leading edge of the recording paper 1 passes through the pressure contact position between the platen roller 7 and the paper pressing roller 9. Next, the cam 8 is rotated to be separated from the support member claw portion 5a, and the thermal head 3 is pressed against the platen roller 7 via the transfer sheet 6 and the recording paper 1 by the force of the compression coil spring 15. Then, the platen roller 7 is driven in the direction of the arrow b, and the transfer sheet 6 is wound while the recording sheet 1 is conveyed in the direction of the arrow a by the frictional force at the position where the thermal head 3 and the paper pressing rollers 9 and 10 are pressed. To wind up. At the same time, the heating element 2 on the thermal head 3 is caused to generate heat in accordance with the image signal, so that a fused transfer image of the first color ink, for example, yellow ink can be obtained on the recording paper 1. Next, the cam 8 is rotated again to release the pressure contact of the thermal head 3 with the platen roller 7,
Is rotated in the direction of arrow c and the recording paper 1 is conveyed by the same distance as at the time of printing and returned to the recording start position. By repeating the above operation three times for each color of the transfer sheet 6, for example, yellow, magenta, and cyan, it is possible to print a color image of three-color overprinting within a predetermined area on the recording paper 1. It was

While such a configuration is simple and the apparatus can be downsized, the surface layer of the platen roller, which is the drive source of the recording paper, is an elastic body such as rubber, so the deformation of the recording paper due to the pressing of the roller is large. Local transport speed is uncertain,
Therefore, there has been a problem in that the reciprocating conveyance distances of the recording paper do not match and the color shift becomes large when the printing shaft is repeatedly printed.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording apparatus with reduced color misregistration.

According to the present invention, a recording paper, a transfer sheet, a capstan roller axially attached to a housing, a platen roller that is pressed against the capstan roller via the recording paper, and the transfer sheet and the transfer sheet on the platen roller. Pressure contact through the recording paper
Thermal transfer provided with a line-shaped thermal head spaced apart from each other, and a platen bearing portion that pivotally supports a platen roller and slides on a part of the housing so that the platen roller can move in the general direction of the capstan roller. In the recording device, the reciprocal conveyance of the recording paper is performed on the surface of the capstan roller, which is an inelastic material such as metal, so that the recording paper conveyance speed is determined, the reciprocal conveyance distance is matched, and the color shift is similar. Can be reduced.

Description of Embodiments FIG. 2 is a view showing the arrangement of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 2, 16 is a long recording paper, 17a and 17b are paper feed guides, and 18 is a paper core.
Is wound to form a roll-shaped recording paper. Reference numeral 19 is a metal capstan roller axially mounted on the housing, and can be rotated forward and backward by a predetermined number of revolutions by a drive motor and a reduction gear (both not shown), and at the same time, is mounted on the outside of the housing. It can also be rotated by a knob (not shown) provided. Reference numeral 20 denotes a platen roller, which has an elastic body 20a having a constant thickness, such as a lining of silicon rubber, on its outer peripheral surface, 21 is a bearing for supporting the platen roller shaft 20b, and 22 is a bearing 21 fitted therein. As shown in FIG. 3, a platen support member that slides by being fitted in a notch provided in the housing, and 23 is a tension coil spring stretched between the platen support member 22 and the housing to fix the platen roller 20. Capstan roller
It is a platen pressurizing means that presses against 19. 24 is a paper feed roller, 25 is a paper feed roller support arm, 26 is a tension coil spring stretched between the paper feed roller support arm 25 and the housing to press the paper feed roller 24 against the platen roller 20, 27 is a rotary cutter, and 28 is a paper ejection guide. 29 is a transfer sheet, 30 is a sheet supply reel around which the transfer sheet 29 is wound, 31 is a flange-shaped disc having a certain thickness, which is fixed to both sides or one side of the sheet supply reel 30, and 32 is a casing at one end. The tension band is fixed around the disc 31 and wound around the outer circumference of the disc 31, and the felt 32a is attached to the inner side of the winding, and 33 supports the other end of the tension band 32 and is pivotally attached to the housing. The tension arm 34 is stretched between the tension arm 33 and the housing, and the tension band
A tension coil spring that generates a braking force by the dynamic frictional force between it and the felt 32a when the disc 31 is rotating by pressing 32 against the disc 31, and 35 is provided near the transfer path of the transfer sheet 29. Two detectors are provided, one on each side of the transfer sheet 29 near the both ends thereof, and 36 is a sheet take-up reel that rotates while winding the transfer sheet 29. It is driven with a constant torque through. 37 is a heating element, 38 is a thermal head in which the heating elements 37 are arranged in the width direction of the recording paper 16, 39 and 40 are both mounted on the thermal head 38, and the thermal head 38 is a platen roller.
A sheet guide that guides the transfer sheet 29 in a state of being pressed by 20, a bearing 41 that is fitted in the housing, a reference numeral 42 that supports the thermal head 38, and a bearing 41 that rotates about its own rotation shaft 42b. A moving head support member, 43 is a compression coil spring, 44 is pressed against the upper surface of the thermal head 38 by the pressing force of the compression coil spring 43, and the heating element 37 is in a direction substantially perpendicular to the sliding direction of the platen support member 22, A press contact pin loosely inserted into a part of the housing so as to be pressed into contact with the platen roller 20 via the transfer sheet 29 and the recording paper 16, and 45 is a cam whose shaft is cut in a D shape and is axially attached to the housing. It is rotated by driving means (not shown). cam
45 is a first position separated from the head supporting member claw portion 42a so that the platen roller 20 is pressed by the thermal head 38 by the coil spring 43, and is rotated by a driving means (not shown), and the head supporting member claw is rotated. The head supporting member 42 is rotated against the coil spring 43 by being brought into contact with the portion 42a to serve also as a second position where the thermal head 38 is separated from the platen roller 20. Coil spring in this way
43, the press contact pin 44 and the cam 45 constitute a contact / contact means for pressing and separating the thermal head 38 from the platen roller 20. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the transfer sheet. The transfer sheet 29 has yellow, magenta, and cyan color material layers 29b, 29c, and 29d made of heat-meltable ink on a film-shaped base material 29a such as cellophane. In order to detect the head position of the color material layer, the recording area of one screen is applied in sequence.
Black markers 29e, 29f, and 29g that block light are provided at the edge of the sheet corresponding to each color. However, only 29e is provided on the side different from 29f and 29g to distinguish the leading positions of the color material layers for one screen. The distance L between the marker and the leading position of the color material layer is at least longer than the transfer sheet conveying distance from the heating element 37 to the detector 35 shown in FIG. Regarding the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present embodiment configured as described above,
The operation will be described below. When the paper is first fed, the thermal head 38 is pushed up by the cam 45 to a position separated from the platen roller 20.
The leading edge of the recording paper 16 wound around 18 is manually guided.
It is inserted until it reaches the pressure contact position between the platen roller 20 and the paper feed roller 24 after passing between 17a and 17b. Next, a knob (not shown) axially attached to the capstan roller 19 is moved with an arrow a.
When the platen roller 20 and the paper feed roller 24 are rotated in the directions of arrows b and c, respectively, the recording paper 16 is rotated.
Of the platen roller 20 passes through the pressure contact position of the platen roller 20 and the paper feed roller 24 along the paper feed guide 17a.
Between the thermal head 38 and the thermal head 38, and the capstan roller 19
And the platen roller 20 through the pressure contact position and the rotary cutter guides 27a, 27b to pass through the inside of the rotary cutter 27, and the operator sees the leading edge of the recording paper 16 at the exit of the rotary cutter 27. Finish turning the knob. After the recording paper has been loaded as described above, the operator turns on a recording start switch (not shown). First, the rotary cutter 27 cuts the recording paper 16 to align the leading ends of the recording paper 16. Next, the capstan roller 19 is rotated in the direction of arrow d by a drive motor (not shown) and the platen roller 20 is rotated.
And the paper feed roller 24 are respectively rotated in the directions of arrows e and f, so that the recording paper 16 has a predetermined length in the direction of arrow g, for example, the recording start position on the recording paper 16 is the heating element 37 on the thermal head 38. The paper is conveyed until it reaches the position facing. At this time, the vicinity of the leading edge of the recording paper 16 is held by the capstan roller 19 and the platen roller 20. Further, the sheet take-up reel 36 is rotated in the direction of arrow h by a driving means (not shown) to wind up the transfer sheet 29, and the marker 29e indicating the leading position of the yellow color material layer on the transfer sheet has passed the detector 35. At this time, a signal is issued from the detector to stop the sheet take-up reel 36. In this state, the head position of the yellow ink is at the position facing the heating element 37 of the transfer sheet 29. After that, the cam 45 is rotated to separate the cam 44 from the head supporting member claw portion 42a, and the thermal head 38 is pressed by the pressing force of the coil spring 43.
Through the transfer sheet 29 and the recording paper 16 to the platen roller
Press on 20. Next, the capstan roller 19 is rotated in the direction of arrow a to convey the recording paper 16 in the direction of arrow i, and at the same time, the transfer sheet 29, which is pushed out from the pressure contact position of the thermal head 38 by the frictional force with the recording paper 16, slips. The sheet is wound in a slack state by the sheet take-up reel 36 that rotates in the direction of arrow h by a driving unit (not shown) through the mechanism. In addition, the sheet supply reel 30 transfers the transfer sheet 2 by the frictional force generated between the disc 31 and the felt 32a by the force of the coil spring 34.
It will rotate while giving 9 a moderate braking force.
While performing the above operation, the heating element 37 is caused to generate heat in accordance with the image signal for yellow recording, and the heat causes the yellow ink on the transfer sheet 29 to be melted and transferred onto the recording paper 16 to form an image. As described above, when the recording of one screen with the yellow ink is completed, the recording paper 16 and the transfer sheet 29 are
Is stopped and the cam 45 is rotated again to abut the head supporting arm claw portion 42a to separate the thermal head 38 and the transfer sheet 29 from the platen roller 20 and the recording paper 16.
Next, by rotating the capstan roller 19 in the direction of arrow d, the platen roller 20 and the paper feed roller 24 are rotated in the directions of arrow e and f, respectively, and the recording paper 16 is moved in the direction of arrow g in the same manner as when recording. Carry only the distance. At this time, the sheet take-up reel 36 is rotated in the direction of arrow h to transfer the transfer sheet.
29 is wound, and when the marker 29f indicating the leading position of the magenta color material layer on the transfer sheet passes the detector 35, the sheet take-up reel 36 is stopped, and the magenta ink is placed at a position facing the heating element 37. Match the start positions. In this way, the thermal head 38 is again brought into pressure contact with the platen roller 20 to perform the above-described recording operation to form a transfer image with magenta ink. Similarly, the cyan ink is also recorded, and the color recording for one screen by the overlapping printing of three colors is completed.
After the recording is completed and the thermal head 38 is separated from the platen roller 20, the recording paper 16 is conveyed for a predetermined length in the direction of arrow i, cut by the rotary cutter 27, and ejected along the ejection guide 28. . As described above, according to this embodiment, the conveying speed of the recording paper is determined because it is determined by the peripheral speed of the capstan roller which is an inelastic body, and therefore the reciprocating conveying distance of the recording paper can be easily matched. Color recording with less color misregistration can be performed.

A second embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus showing a second embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the same parts as those in FIG. The part different from FIG. 2 will be described below. 46 and 47 are shafts fixed to the housing, 48 is a bearing 21 that supports the platen roller shaft 20b, and also a bearing 41 that supports the head support member shaft 42b. A platen head support member that fits shafts 46 and 47 into 48a and 48b and slides in a direction substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction of the thermal head 38. The operation of the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the second embodiment of the present invention configured as described above is the same as that of the first embodiment, and the description thereof is omitted. According to this embodiment, since the platen roller and the thermal head are supported by the same support member and pressed against the capstan roller, it is possible to constantly press the same portion of the thermal head against the same portion of the platen roller, and the heating element. The contact state between the part and the platen roller can be always optimized.

Further, the platen support member 22 or the platen head support member 48 is supposed to slide along a part of the housing, but the platen support member 22 or the platen head support member 48 causes the thermal head 38 to press the platen roller 20. It may be a platen support arm or a platen head support arm that is pivotally attached to the housing by a rotation shaft so that the platen roller 20 presses the capstan roller 19 in a direction substantially perpendicular to the direction. Further, in both examples, the ink applied on the transfer sheet 29 was described as a heat-melting ink, but this is, for example, a heat sublimation ink which is transferred onto the recording paper 16 by a thermal means other than melting. Alternatively, the ink application order is yellow, magenta, and cyan, but the same effect can be obtained by performing another order in which the recording order is different. The recording paper 16 is conveyed in the direction of arrow g each time one-color recording is completed on the recording paper 16, but at this time, the recording paper 16 is prevented from slackening between the capstan roller 19 and the heating element 37. When the recording paper 16 is conveyed in the direction of arrow i, a proper back tension is applied to the recording paper 16 when the recording paper 16 is conveyed in the direction of arrow i, and when the recording paper 16 is conveyed in the direction of arrow g. The paper 16 may be wound while being kept in a tensioned state, or a tension bar or a tension roller may be separately provided so that the recording paper 16 is always in a tensioned state. Besides, although the transfer sheet 29 is taken up by the slip mechanism, the same effect can be obtained by taking up the sheet take-up reel 36 in synchronization with the drive source of the capstan roller 19. Also marking 29e, 29
Although f and 29g are supposed to be applied in front of the head position of the ink application section, markings 29e, 29f and 29g should be located behind the head position of the ink application section, and the marking detection sensor 35 and the position of the heating element 37. Needless to say, it may be provided on the sheet supply reel 30 side.

As described above, the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention includes a recording sheet, a transfer sheet, a capstan roller axially attached to the housing,
A platen roller, a platen support member that axially supports the platen roller, a platen pressurizing unit that presses the platen roller against the capstan roller via the recording paper, and a linear heating element that faces the platen roller. By providing a thermal head provided with a head supporting member and a separating / contacting means for pressing / separating the thermal head to / from the platen roller, it is possible to realize color recording with little color misregistration. The effect is great.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the basic structure of a thermal transfer recording apparatus in a conventional example, FIG. 2 is a side view of the thermal transfer recording apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a platen supporting member of the apparatus. FIG. 4 is a partial sectional view of a sliding portion of 22, a perspective view of a transfer sheet 29 of the same apparatus, and FIG. 5 is a side view of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 16 ... Recording paper, 19 ... Capstan roller, 20 ... Platen roller, 22 ... Platen supporting member, 23 ... Coil spring (platen pressing means), 29 ... Transfer sheet, 43 ... Coil spring, 44 …… Pressing pin, 45 …… Cam (these three are separating / connecting means), 48 …… Platen / head support member.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A recording paper, a transfer sheet in which a color material layer is applied on a film-like base material, a capstan roller at least having a surface layer portion made of an inelastic material and pivotally attached to a housing, and rotatable. A platen roller sandwiching the recording paper between the capstan roller, a platen pressurizing means for elastically pressing the platen roller against the capstan roller via the recording paper, and the platen roller A thermal head formed by linearly arranging a plurality of heating elements facing each other, and the thermal head so that the heating element portion of the thermal head is pressed against and separated from the platen roller via the transfer sheet and the recording sheet. A thermal transfer recording apparatus comprising a head support member for supporting the thermal head and a separating / contacting means for pressing / separating the thermal head to / from the platen roller. 2. The thermal transfer recording according to claim 1, wherein the separating / contacting means presses the thermal head against the platen roller in a direction substantially perpendicular to the pressing direction of the platen roller and the capstan roller. apparatus. 3. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a platen support member that slides in a general direction of the capstan roller while the platen roller is axially supported. 4. A platen support arm pivotally supported by a platen support arm which is axially attached to a housing so that the platen roller can be pressed and separated in a general direction of the capstan roller. Alternatively, the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the second aspect. 5. A platen head support member, wherein a head support member is pivotally attached to a platen support member or a platen support arm to form a platen head support member. Item 5. The heat-sensitive transfer recording apparatus according to item 4 or 5.