JPH07290789A - Crease-removing mechanism for transfer ribbon in thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute a thermal transfer printer so that defective printing is not caused even if back feed is performed, by a method wherein a tape for sticking is provided between a line thermal head and IC cover. CONSTITUTION:A thin sheetlike tape 25 one side of which is provided with an adhesive layer is arranged between a thermal head 28 and IC cover 29. Then the tape 25 is stuck extending to the surface of a board from the IC cover 29. As for the quality of the material of the tape 25 having low frictional resistance is preferrable and though a Teflon tape is most preferrable, the other tape may also be applicable to the purpose. Namely, constitution is performed by laminating a sheetlike tape 25 to a space between the line thermal head 28 and IC cover 29 provided on the line thermal head 28 and generation of creases on a transfer ribbon at the time of back feed in a heat transfer printer is removed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer line thermal printer, and more particularly to a mechanism for removing wrinkles generated on a transfer ribbon.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As line thermal printers, there are printers of the type for recording using thermal paper and printers of the type for recording on recording paper using a transfer ribbon. A printer using a transfer ribbon is called a thermal transfer printer and is widely used for recording on plain paper or label paper.
The thermal transfer printer is configured to press the recording paper and the transfer ribbon between the thermal head and the platen roller for feeding the recording paper, and to energize the dots recorded by the thermal head heating element to generate ink. One line is printed by melting the ribbon and transferring it to the recording paper. After the printing of one line is completed, the platen roller is rotated to feed the recording paper and the transfer ribbon by a predetermined amount, and the printing of the next line is performed. By repeating this, desired recording can be obtained. The structure of a conventional thermal transfer printer will be described with reference to FIG. 28 is a thermal head, and the thermal head 2
8 is provided with an IC cover 29 for the purpose of avoiding contact between the components mounted on the substrate of the thermal head and the recording paper. Reference numeral 30 is a platen roller, 20 is a recording paper, and 22 is a transfer ribbon. The platen roller 30 rotates by receiving power from a drive mechanism (not shown), and sends the recording paper 20 and the transfer ribbon 22 in the direction of the arrow in the figure. The transfer ribbon 22 is wound around the transfer ribbon supply reel 24 in a roll shape and is pulled out by the rotation of the platen roller 30. The transfer ribbon take-up reel 26 takes up the transferred transfer ribbon in synchronization with the platen roller 30 by a driving device (not shown). The transfer ribbon 22 is partially heated by the thermal head 28, and the melted ink layer is transferred onto the recording paper. Since the shrinkage ratio is different between the heated portion and the non-heated portion, wrinkles occur on the transfer ribbon. When wrinkles occur, part of the transfer ribbon shrinks and overlaps, so the thickness of the transfer ribbon varies between the wrinkled part and the wrinkle-free part. For this reason, the pressing force between the thermal head and the platen is not uniform, which causes blurring in printing and deteriorates printing quality. In order to remove the wrinkles, the transfer ribbon supply reel 22 and the transfer ribbon take-up reel 26 are provided with a mechanism for applying tension to the transfer ribbon. However, in a printer of a type in which a cutter is provided to cut the recording paper, the recording paper after printing must be sent to the cutting position of the cutter for cutting, and then the recording paper must be back-fed to the next printing position. When back feeding is performed, the recording paper and the transfer ribbon are fed in the direction opposite to normal printing. When back feeding is performed, line-shaped print omission may occur on the next printed label paper.

[0003]

As a result of analyzing the cause of occurrence of print omission, the present inventor has found the following facts. The phenomenon when back feeding is performed will be described with reference to FIG. 3. Since the label paper is composed of a mount and a label and is thick, the paper has a strong elasticity and moves horizontally along the tangent line between the platen roller 30 and the thermal head 28. The transfer ribbon 22 is located between the thermal head 28 and the label paper 20, and moves linearly along the thermal head 28 together with the label paper 20. The label paper 20 hits the IC cover 29 and is fed downward in the drawing. However, as shown in the detailed view of the portion A of FIG. 3, the transfer ribbon 22 is pushed between the IC cover 29 and the thermal head 28, and is folded to overlap the ink layer. Will be stuck together. Since the ink layer has a strong adhesive force, the transfer ribbons are overlapped and supplied to the thermal head even when printing is started after the back feed is completed. As a result, the ink layers of the transfer ribbon are sent with overlapping,
It was discovered that printing cannot be performed because the ink layer of the transfer ribbon does not melt even when heated by the heating element of the thermal head. The thermal head 28 and the IC cover 29 must be structurally provided separately, and since the substrate surface side of the thermal head is wired from each heating element by wire bonding, the IC cover cannot be pressed against the substrate surface. As a result, the thermal head 28 and the IC cover 29
However, there is a problem in that it is not possible to eliminate the gap and it is not possible to eliminate printing defects when back feeding is performed. In order to solve this problem, an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer printer in which printing defects do not occur even when back feeding is performed.

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a line thermal head and an IC cover provided on the line thermal head, and a sheet-shaped tape is attached between the line thermal head and the IC cover. Eliminates the occurrence of wrinkles on the transfer ribbon during backfeed in a thermal transfer printer.

[0005]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the configuration of the present invention, in which 28 is a thermal head, 29 is an IC cover, and 25 is a tape. The tape 25 is a thin sheet and has an adhesive layer on one surface. As shown in FIG. 1, the tape 25 is attached from the IC cover 29 to the substrate surface of the thermal head 28. The material of the tape 25 is preferably one having a small friction resistance on the surface, and Teflon tape is most suitable, but the object of the present invention can be achieved with other tapes.

[0006]

According to the structure of the present invention, even when back-feeding is performed in the thermal transfer printer, the transfer ribbon does not enter the thermal head and the IC cover, and the printing defects caused by the overlapping of the transfer ribbons do not occur.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a thermal transfer printer.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the movement of the transfer ribbon when back feeding is performed.

[Explanation of symbols]

 20 Recording Paper 22 Transfer Ribbon 25 Tape 28 Thermal Head 29 IC Cover 30 Platen Roller

Claims (1)

[Claims] A thermal transfer comprising: a line thermal head; an IC cover provided on the line thermal head; and a tape provided so as to be attached between the line thermal head and the IC cover. Wrinkle removal mechanism of transfer ribbon in printer.