JPH0768810A - Thermal transfer recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To guide smooth and reliably recording paper reciprocating before an behind a thermal transfer recording part along the surface of curvature of a platen, roller, even if such a recording paper-guide plate is not used that is shunted and driven from a recording paper guide position. CONSTITUTION:A guide plate 13 is provided along the external surface of a platen roller on both sides of a thermal head 3. The guide plate 13 is held under an immovable state and at the time of reciprocating removal of recording paper 2, the recording paper 2 is guided so that the tip part and rear end part of the recording paper 2 do not come into contact with the thermal head 3 and an ink sheet 1.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus which uses an ink sheet and a recording paper and transfers the recording paper while printing an image on the recording paper.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a thermal transfer recording apparatus of the above type, a recording head composed of, for example, a thermal head is used for thermal transfer recording. FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a peripheral configuration of a recording unit of an example of a recording apparatus using such a thermal head.

Ink sheet 1 used in this recording apparatus
(Indicated by a broken line) is fed from the ink sheet supply roll unit 1A at the time of printing (recording) and is wound around the ink sheet take-up roll unit 1B, so that it is transferred in the direction of arrow a. ing.

The ink sheet 1 is superposed on the recording paper 2 in the thermal transfer recording section 5 between the thermal head 3 which is an example of the recording head and the platen roller 4, and is transferred in the above-mentioned direction. On the other hand, the recording paper 2 is transported in the direction of arrow b by the rotating action of the platen roller 4 and the grid roller pair 7 while being wound around a part of the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 4 during printing. In this case, the ink sheet 1 and the recording paper 2 are respectively transferred so that the centers in the width direction are substantially aligned with each other. The second grid roller pair 7 is composed of a pair of grid rollers 8 and 9.

When the ink sheet 1 and the recording paper 2 are respectively transferred in the a and b directions, a recording voltage is selectively applied to the thermal head 3 in accordance with predetermined image data, whereby the ink sheet The ink applied to 1 is melted or sublimated (diffused) and transferred onto the recording paper 2,
A predetermined transfer image is formed on the recording paper 2. In this way, the thermal head 3 and the platen roller 4 are
Thermal transfer recording is performed on the recording paper 2 with the ink sheet 1 and the recording paper 2 interposed therebetween.

When the thermal transfer recording apparatus is of a color type, as is well known for the ink sheet 1, for example, a yellow ink layer area, a magenta ink layer area, and a cyan ink layer area are sequentially formed. Has been formed. In this case, a black ink layer region may be additionally formed if necessary.

First, when recording, the recording paper 2 is
A pair of grid rollers 7
Is fed in the direction of arrow c toward the platen roller 4, and is fed along the peripheral surface of the roller 4 as shown in the figure. Then, one end 2a of the recording paper 2 is at position A sandwiched by the grid roller pair 7 (hereinafter referred to as "recording start position").
At that point, the transportation is stopped.

Until now, the thermal head 3 has been placed at a position away from the platen roller 4 as shown by the phantom line, and when the recording paper 2 reaches the recording start position, the thermal head 3 is then moved to the solid line position. It descends, which sandwiches the ink sheet 1 and the recording paper 2 between the platen roller 4. In this way, the thermal head 3 is rotatable about the fulcrum shaft 3a. When the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4, the ink sheet 1 is in a state shown by a virtual line.

With the thermal head 3 lowered, the ink sheet 1 and the recording paper 2 are transferred in the directions of arrows a and b, respectively, and first, the yellow ink layer area of the ink sheet 1 is used to print the first color. Is done. At the end of this printing, the other end 2b of the recording paper 2 is placed, for example, at a position on the right side in the figure, which is somewhat larger than the position of the thermal transfer recording unit 5.

When the recording paper 2 is placed at such a position, the thermal head 2 is separated from the imaginary line position, and in this state, the recording paper 2 is moved by the grid roller pair 7 in the direction of arrow c opposite to the conventional direction. Be transferred to. And one end 2a is A
When the position is reached, that is, when the recording paper 2 is returned to the recording start position, the transfer of the recording paper 2 is stopped, and thereafter,
The thermal head 3 descends, and the second color is printed using the next magenta ink layer area.

By performing such printing for the third color and thereafter, ink images of different colors are superimposed on the same position on the recording paper, and a predetermined color image is obtained on the recording paper 2. In any case, in the color thermal transfer recording apparatus illustrated in FIG. 12, the recording paper 2 is reciprocated before and after the thermal transfer recording section 5. Then, the backward feeding of the recording paper 2 (transportation in the direction of arrow c) is
This is performed during non-printing when the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4. The recording paper 2 for which printing has been completed is conveyed in the direction of arrow b by the grid roller pair 7 and discharged.

In this type of recording apparatus, the recording sheet conveying path that passes through the thermal transfer recording section 5 is often not a straight line, and in order to convey the recording sheet smoothly along the curved surface of the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller, recording is performed. A recording paper guide plate is required to move the paper while bending it along its curved surface. In particular,
If the platen roller has a small diameter in order to further reduce the size of the recording apparatus, the need for such a recording paper guide plate is further increased.

Conventionally, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 12, a recording paper guide plate 10 elongated along the axial direction of the platen roller 4 is provided at a position directly above the platen roller 4.
The recording paper is guided by the recording paper guide plate 10 so that the recording paper smoothly and appropriately moves along the curved surface during the reciprocating transfer.

However, with such a configuration,
At the time of printing in which the thermal head 3 is brought into contact with the platen roller 4, it is necessary to retract the recording paper guide plate 10 to the side position as shown by an imaginary line. In any case, conventionally, it is necessary to provide means for displacing the recording paper guide plate 10 in the circumferential direction of the platen roller 4, which makes the structure of the recording apparatus complicated and reduces its cost. Was rising or the reliability of the equipment was decreasing.

Therefore, in this type of recording apparatus, 2
Recording that can smoothly guide the recording paper along the curvature surface of the platen roller without causing jams or skews on the recording paper without using a recording paper guide plate that is displaced and driven to one position The advent of a device was desired. Incidentally, as a related technique of this type, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2-16
The one disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2074 has already been proposed.

[0016]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to transfer the recording paper to be transferred along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller without using the recording paper guide plate which is driven to retract from the recording paper guide position. An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of smoothly and surely guiding.

Another object of the present invention is also to smoothly and reliably transfer the recording paper to be transferred along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller without using a recording paper guide plate that is similarly driven to retract from the recording paper guide position. It is to provide an image forming apparatus capable of guiding the user.

[0018]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention comprises a platen roller and a recording head for sandwiching an ink sheet and the recording paper between the platen roller and performing thermal transfer recording on the recording paper. In a thermal transfer recording apparatus having a width of the recording head and an ink sheet in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction thereof is narrower than the width of the recording paper, at least one of both sides in the width direction of the recording head. It is proposed that the guide which guides the recording sheet along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller is immovably arranged at the position where the recording sheet is not in contact with the ink sheet and the recording head. It is a thing.

At this time, the guides are arranged on both sides of the recording head, and both guides are integrally connected in the axial direction of the platen roller at the upstream side portion in the recording paper transporting direction during printing. It is effective.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, another invention is to wind a platen roller, a recording head for performing thermal transfer recording on the recording sheet with the ink sheet and the recording sheet sandwiched between the platen roller, and the ink sheet. An ink sheet cassette that is built in as much as possible, and the recording head,
The width of the ink sheet in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction is
In a thermal transfer recording apparatus in which both are narrower than the recording paper width, recording is performed at a position on at least one of both sides in the width direction of the recording head, and at an ink sheet cassette portion that does not contact the ink sheet and the recording head. The present invention proposes a configuration in which a recording paper guide unit for guiding the recording paper along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller is provided when the paper is transported.

At this time, recording paper guide portions are provided on both sides of the recording head, and both guide portions are integrally connected in the axial direction of the platen roller at the upstream side portion in the recording paper transport direction during printing. It is effective to configure

[0022]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In this description, the same reference numerals are used for the members that achieve the same functions as those of the conventional example, and the description of the functions will be omitted for convenience.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a peripheral structure of a recording unit of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the recording apparatus shown here, instead of the recording paper guide plate 10 shown in FIG.
A guide composed of a guide plate 13 is attached, and other points are the same as those of the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus described above with reference to FIG.

The ink sheet roll shaft 1a shown in FIG.
1b, the fulcrum shaft 3a of the thermal head 3 which is an example of the recording head, the platen roller shaft 4a, the grid roller shaft 8a, etc., are fixed side plates 12 (the other one is not shown) arranged to face each other as shown in FIG. ) Is rotatably supported by.

Here, in FIG. 1, the ink sheet 1 is transported in the direction of arrow a at the time of printing, but as shown in FIG. 2, the width W of the ink sheet 1 in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction is shown. And the width W1 of the thermal head 3 in the same direction
Are smaller than the width W2 of the recording paper 2 in the same direction.

The pair of guide plates 13 (FIG. 3) described above are fixedly arranged at both sides of the thermal head 3 in the width direction and at both sides of the thermal transfer recording section 5. As shown in FIG. 1, the guide plate 13 has a shape having a curvature substantially along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 4, and an inner surface thereof faces the platen roller 4 at a relatively narrow interval. Has been. In this example, the guide plate 13 is fixedly attached to the side plate 12 as shown in FIG. The other guide plate is also fixedly fixed to the other side plate.

As described above, the other end 2b of the recording paper 2 is placed, for example, at a position slightly to the right of the thermal transfer recording section 5 shown in FIG. However, after this, the recording paper 2 is fed back in the direction of the arrow c to print the next color. During this reverse feeding, the thermal transfer recording unit 5
The other end 2b side of the recording paper 2 that has passed through is guided by the guide plate 13 along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 4 while being restricted in the conveying direction and being bent downward. When the recording paper 2 is fed backward, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4 as described above, and the ink sheet 1 is in the state shown by the chain line in FIG.

Even when the recording paper 2 is fed from the paper feeding section in the direction of arrow c, the recording paper 2 is guided by the pair of guide plates 13 in exactly the same manner.

Now, referring to FIG. 2, the recording paper 2 is printed from the side plate 12.
Of L ₁ the distance to the side edges, the distance L ₂ from the side plate 12 to the side edge portion of the ink sheet 1, the distance from the side plate 12 to the side of the thermal head 3 L _3, the width of the guide plate 13 H
Then, the specifications are set in the following magnitude relationship. L ₁ <H <L ₂ (≒ L ₃ )

With such a relationship, the guide plate 13, the thermal head 3 and the like are arranged, and the conveyance route of the recording paper 2 and the ink sheet 1 is determined, so that the recording paper 2
The guide plate 13 regulates the transfer direction, and the ink sheet 1, the thermal head 3 and the like never come into contact with the guide plate 13. Both guide plates 1
3 regulates the path of only the recording paper 2.

With this configuration, it is not necessary to retract the guide plate 13 from the thermal transfer recording section 5 in the circumferential direction of the platen roller 4 during printing, and the guide plate 13 may be left at the position shown in FIG. In any case, the guide plate 13 is arranged at a position where it does not contact the ink sheet 1 and the thermal head 3, so that it is not necessary to drive the guide plate 13 to be displaced in the circumferential direction of the platen roller 4.

When the recording paper 2 is transported in the direction of arrow c,
If the guide plate 13 is not provided, the other end 2b of the recording paper 2 may come into contact with the ink sheet 1, causing slack or wrinkles on the ink sheet. Further, the other end 2b of the recording paper may be caught by the ink sheet 1 and may cause a jam or a skew on the recording paper. The guide plate 13 has a function of suppressing the occurrence of such a defect. Further, in this example, it is not necessary to displace the guide plate 13 in the circumferential direction of the platen roller 4. In any case, the guide plate 13 serves to smoothly guide the recording sheet when the recording sheet is reciprocally transferred without interfering with the ink sheet 1 or the thermal head 3.

FIG. 3 shows the relative positional relationship among the two guide plates 13, 13, the ink sheet 1, and the recording paper 2. The guide plate 13 has a main scanning direction X (recording scanning direction by the thermal head). It functions to guide the recording paper 2 in the orthogonal sub-scanning direction Y.

Conventionally, a structure has been proposed in which the recording paper conveyance path is set to a state of a straight line and the ink sheet is used as a guide. However, in order to take such a conveyance path, an ink sheet roll or a thermal head is used. Since the arrangement is restricted, it not only hinders the miniaturization of the apparatus, but also causes the slack in the ink sheet when the leading edge of the recording paper comes into contact with the ink sheet in order to use the ink sheet as a guide, which causes wrinkles. There is a possibility that it may cause a problem, or the leading edge of the recording paper may be caught on the ink sheet, causing a jam or a skew, causing a trouble and reducing the reliability of the apparatus. According to the above-mentioned configuration of the embodiment of the present invention, such a problem can be completely prevented.

Although the guide plates 13 are provided on both sides of the thermal head 3 in the above-described embodiment, the recording paper 2 can be guided as described above even if only one of them is provided. In this way, for example, the guide including the guide plate 13 is arranged at a position on at least one of both sides in the width direction of the thermal head 3 and at a position that does not contact the ink sheet and the thermal head 3, and the recording paper 2 The recording paper 2 is guided along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 4 when the sheet is transferred.

A guide including the guide plate 23 shown in FIG. 4 is provided on both sides of the thermal head 3 (FIG. 1). The guide plates 13 and 13 shown in FIG. At the upstream side in the transfer direction (direction b in FIG. 1), the platen roller 4 (FIG. 1) is integrally connected in the axial direction (main scanning direction). ,
It is fixedly attached to the side plate 12 shown in FIG. 2 and an opposite side plate (not shown).

Here, the other end 2b of the recording paper 2 which has been transported in the direction c (feeding or reverse feeding from the paper feeding portion) is bent while both corner portions 2b ₁ hit the guide plate 23. , In a direction different from that of the ink sheet 1, that is, in a direction along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 4. in this way,
The guide plate 23 is located at a position such that the recording paper 2 does not come into contact with the ink sheet 1 after the recording paper 2 is separated from the ink sheet 1, and the two guide plates described above are connected in the main scanning direction. It is in the shape of a letter.

As shown in FIG. 3, in the structure using the guide plates 13 and 13 divided on both sides, when the width of the recording paper 2 becomes large, the central portion in the width direction thereof bulges toward the outside of the platen roller 4. In some cases, both sides of the recording paper 2 may come off the guide surfaces of the guide plates on both sides. When this happens, the recording paper will be skewed or jammed (paper jam).
And so on.

When the guide plate has the structure shown in FIG. 4, the bulge at the center of the recording paper is connected to the connected portion 23a.
Since it can be pressed to the platen roller side, it is possible to prevent such skew and jam from occurring easily, and it is possible to enhance the reliability in transporting the recording paper.

As in the guide plate 33 shown in FIG. 5, the recording paper can be smoothly transferred by forming the inner concave shape into a U shape (or V shape). That is, the other end 2b of the recording paper 2 is less likely to collide with the U-shaped edge portion 33a, and the recording paper can be transported smoothly.

Next, another invention will be described.

In FIG. 6, the ink sheet 1 is built in the ink sheet cassette 14 for the purpose of convenience of replacement and protection, and in this cassette, the ink sheet 1 is wound around the winding roller portion 1B. It is possible. The ink sheet cassette 14 connects the cover portion 15 for determining the position of the ink sheet supply roll portion 1A, the cover portion 16 for determining the position of the ink sheet take-up roll portion 1B, and these cover portions 2 The two connecting arm portions 17 are integrally configured. Two
As can be understood from FIGS. 7 and 8, the two connecting portions 17 and 17 are located on both sides of the ink sheet 1 with the ink sheet 1 sandwiched therebetween, and the ink sheet 1 can move between the connecting portions 17 and 17. As shown in FIG. 6, the thermal head 3
Rushes in.

As shown in FIG. 8, the width W of the ink sheet 1 in the ink sheet cassette 14 in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction and the width W1 of the thermal head 3 in the same direction are
Both are narrower than the width W2 of the recording paper 2 in the same direction. The ink sheet cassette 14 has a thermal head 3
On both sides in the width direction of the thermal transfer recording section 5
When the recording paper 2 is transferred to both sides of the platen roller 4
A recording paper guide portion 18 (FIG. 6) for guiding the recording paper 2 along the outer peripheral surface of FIG. 6 is provided. The guide plates 13, 23, 33 of the above-described embodiment are not provided. Other configurations are the same as those in the previous embodiment.

FIG. 7 shows a state in which the ink sheet cassette 14 is turned upside down, and a hatched portion is the recording paper guide portion 18 (the other is not shown). The recording paper guide portion 18 includes a semicircular concave portion and is formed in a range G in FIG. This portion serves as a guide surface for the recording paper. Such a recording paper guide portion 18 is also arranged at a position where it does not contact the ink sheet 1 and the thermal head 3.

Similar to the embodiment corresponding to the previous invention,
When the recording paper 2 is transported (feeding or reverse feeding), first, the other end 2b passes through the thermal transfer recording unit 5 shown in FIG. 6, and then both corners 2b ₁ (FIG. 4) of the recording paper are It hits the recording guide portion 18 and is bent downward along this guide portion. During the transfer, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4, and the ink sheet 1 in the cassette is linearly extended between the rolls 1A and 1B.

The recording paper 2 is transported along the circumferential direction of the platen roller 4 so as not to hit such an ink sheet 1. Also in this embodiment, FIG.
The recording paper guide plate 10 shown in FIG. That is,
The recording paper guide plate 10 for displacing and driving the platen roller 4 in the circumferential direction is completely unnecessary. And
Furthermore, the dedicated guide plates 13, 23, shown in the previous embodiment,
33 is also unnecessary. As a result, the structure of the recording apparatus can be greatly simplified, and it is advantageous in terms of cost.

In FIG. 7, a recording paper guide portion 18 may be provided on each of the connecting arm portions 17 (the other one is not shown) of the ink sheet cassette 14, or the ink sheet 1 or the ink sheet. Cassette 14 and recording paper 2
In the case where the configuration in which only one side of the recording paper is guided has to be adopted due to the size of each width, the recording paper guide portion 18 may be provided only on one side of the ink sheet cassette. Of course, in this case, only one side edge portion including one corner portion of the recording paper is guided by the recording paper guide portion 18.

As described above, the recording paper guide portion 18 is located on at least one side of both sides in the width direction of the thermal head 3, and is located on at least one side of both sides of the thermal transfer recording section 5. 1 is provided in the ink sheet cassette portion that does not contact the thermal head 3.

FIG. 10 shows another example of the ink sheet cassette, and FIG. 9 shows a state in which the ink sheet cassette 24 is turned upside down.

As shown in FIG. 9, both connecting arm portions 17,
A recording paper guide portion 28 is provided so as to straddle the cover portion 15 from the surface facing the platen roller 4. Of the recording paper guide portion 28, the portion provided on both the connecting arm portions 17 is a semicircular recess.
FIG. 11 is a top view of the ink sheet cassette 24 of FIG. 9, and the recording paper guide portion 28 has a V-shape or U-shape as shown in the figure in which the central portion in the cassette width direction is deeply carved. ing. Other configurations are the same as those shown in FIGS. 6 to 8.

Here, as in the example of the ink sheet cassette shown in FIG. 7, the recording paper guide portion 1 is provided only in the connecting arm portion 17.
In the case where the recording paper 2 has a large width, the central portion in the recording paper width direction easily bulges outside the platen roller 4 when the width of the recording paper 2 is large, and the recording paper 2 is dislocated from the recording paper guide portions 18 on both sides, so that the recording paper is not skewed or jammed. May occur.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the concave guide portions 28a, 28a on both sides of the recording paper guide portion 28 are
After the recording paper 2 and the ink sheet 1 are separated from each other, a cover portion 15 is provided so as to cover the ink sheet surface in a region that does not come into contact with the ink sheet, and a portion of the cover portion indicated by reference numeral 28b is also guided. Use as a surface.

The guide surface portion 28b prevents the recording paper 2 from bulging when the recording paper 2 is fed backward, and prevents skew or jam from occurring on the recording paper. And that part is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, by making it V-shaped or U-shaped, as in the example of the guide plate 33 shown in FIG. The sheet is smoothly conveyed along the recording paper guide portion 28.

In any case, in the ink sheet cassette examples shown in FIGS. 9 to 11, the guide portions provided on both sides of the recording head are provided on the platen roller at the upstream side portion in the transport direction of the recording paper 2 at the time of printing. 4 is configured to be integrally connected in the axial direction.

Although the example of the color type thermal transfer type recording apparatus has been described above, the present invention is also applicable to a single color type thermal transfer type recording apparatus, that is, a recording apparatus which does not need to reversely feed the recording paper. Further, the guide for guiding the recording paper is not limited to a plate material such as the guide plates 13, 23, 33, but can be configured in an appropriate form.

[0056]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the recording paper can be smoothly and reliably transported, and skew and jam at the time of the transportation can be less likely to occur.
Further, since it is not necessary to provide a guide plate that is displaced and driven in the circumferential direction of the platen roller as in the conventional case, the structure of the thermal transfer recording apparatus can be further simplified. Furthermore, since it is possible to further reduce the diameter of the platen roller,
It is possible to further reduce the size of the recording device.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above effects, the recording paper can be reliably and smoothly transferred even if a wide recording paper is used. The reliability can be further increased.

According to the third aspect of the invention, the recording paper can be smoothly and reliably transported, and skew and jam at the time of the transportation can be prevented.
Moreover, since it is not necessary to provide a guide plate that is displaced and driven in the circumferential direction of the platen roller as in the conventional case, the structure of the thermal transfer recording apparatus can be further simplified. Furthermore, since it is possible to further reduce the diameter of the platen roller,
It is possible to further reduce the size of the recording device. Further, a guide as an independent member is not required, and the cost of the recording device can be further reduced.

According to the structure described in claim 4, in addition to the above effects, the recording paper can be surely and smoothly transferred even if a wide recording paper is used, and the recording paper can be transferred smoothly. The reliability can be further increased.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a peripheral configuration of a recording unit of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing only one side of the peripheral configuration of the recording unit.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a relative positional relationship among a guide plate, an ink sheet, and a recording sheet.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a relative positional relationship among another example of a guide plate, an ink sheet, and a recording sheet.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a relative positional relationship among another example of the guide plate, the ink sheet, and the recording paper.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a peripheral configuration of a recording unit of the recording apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a part of an ink sheet cassette of another example.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing only one side of a peripheral configuration of a recording unit.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an ink sheet cassette of another example.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a state in which the same ink sheet cassette is turned upside down.

FIG. 11 is a view of the same ink sheet cassette as seen from the back side.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a peripheral configuration of a recording unit of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Sheet 2 Recording Paper 3 Thermal Head as Recording Head 4 Platen Roller 5 Thermal Transfer Recording Section 13 Guide Plate 14 Ink Sheet Cassette 18 Recording Paper Guide Section 23 Guide Plate 24 Ink Sheet Cassette 28 Recording Paper Guide Section 33 Guide Plate W Width W1 Width W2 width

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A platen roller, and a recording head that performs thermal transfer recording on the recording sheet with an ink sheet and the recording sheet sandwiched between the platen roller, and the recording head and the ink sheet transfer direction. In a thermal transfer recording apparatus in which the width in the direction orthogonal to the width is narrower than the width of the recording paper, at a position on at least one of both sides in the width direction of the recording head, and when contacting the ink sheet and the recording head. A thermal transfer recording apparatus characterized in that a guide for guiding the recording paper along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller is disposed in a stationary state at a position where the recording paper is not transported. 2. A structure in which guides are arranged on both sides of the recording head, and both guides are integrally connected in the axial direction of the platen roller at an upstream side portion in the recording paper feeding direction during printing. 1. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to 1. 3. A platen roller, a recording head for performing thermal transfer recording on the recording paper by sandwiching the ink sheet and the recording paper between the platen roller, and an ink sheet cassette in which the ink sheet can be wound up. However, in the thermal transfer recording apparatus in which the widths of the recording head and the ink sheet in the direction orthogonal to the transfer direction are both narrower than the recording paper width, at least one of the both sides in the width direction of the recording head is A recording paper guide portion that guides the recording paper along the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller at the time of transfer of the recording paper is provided at the position of the ink sheet cassette that does not contact the ink sheet and the recording head. A thermal transfer recording device. 4. A recording paper guide portion is provided on both sides of the recording head, and both guide portions are integrally connected in the axial direction of the platen roller at an upstream side portion in the recording paper transport direction during printing. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 3, which is configured.