JPH0789174A - Dye thermal transfer recording apparatus and ink sheet cartridge employed therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a small-sized and high-quality recording apparatus capable of recording onto a normal paper in regard of a thermal transfer dye recording apparatus using a sublimable dye. CONSTITUTION:A dyeing layer sheet 2 having a dyeing layer formed thereon and an ink sheet 5 having a color material layer formed thereon are moved with both layers kept in contact, and the color material layer is selectively heated in accordance with the image signals to be recorded by a thermal head 1, and the dye of the color material layer is selectively transferred onto the dyeing layer in accordance with the image signals, and then the dyeing layer on the dyeing sheet 5 with dye transferred thereon is transferred onto paper 12 through the heat and pressure of a fixing roll 10 to be fixed finally.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a dye thermal transfer recording apparatus capable of recording a high quality image on a paper regardless of the substrate of the paper and an ink sheet cartridge used for the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a dye thermal transfer recording apparatus is known as a recording apparatus capable of providing a high quality image comparable to a color photograph. This is because the ink sheet with a coloring material layer containing a sublimable dye on a thin film substrate and an image receiving paper with a dyeing layer on a film substrate such as synthetic paper are superposed, and a sublimation property is obtained using a thermal head. This is an apparatus for transferring a dye to a dyeing layer and recording a mixed color image of dye molecules. However, it is difficult to obtain a high-quality image on plain paper, and the recorded image is formed on the special paper on which the dyeing layer is formed in advance, so the running cost is high and the spread of the present technology is hindered.

Therefore, in order to obtain a high image quality on plain paper, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-141486 proposes a dye thermal transfer recording method using an intermediate recording medium. In this method, as shown in FIG. 5, the intermediate recording medium is formed into a drum shape, and the processes of both recording, transfer to paper and fixing are performed on one drum 2.
It has a simple configuration that can be performed in 2. The drum 22 is formed by winding a silicon rubber 23 around an aluminum tube 24 with a wall thickness of about 3 mm.
On the surface of 3, a release layer 21 having adhesiveness is formed. The hardness of the silicone rubber 23 on the drum 22 needs to be 40 to 50 degrees for recording with the thermal head 1. A fixing roll 10 is arranged on the opposite side of the thermal head 1, and a heating element 9 is built in the fixing roll 10.

In the printing process, first, the dyeing layer 17 formed on the ink sheet 2 via the release layer 16 is pressed against the release layer 21 on the drum 22 between the thermal head 1 and the drum 22, and heat is applied. Is uniformly transferred.
Next, Y (yellow) recording of the color material layer 18 formed on the ink sheet 2 is performed on the dyeing layer 17 transferred onto the drum 22 by the thermal head 1, and the color material layer 19 is sequentially printed.
M (magenta) and C (cyan) of the color material layer 20 are recorded. After the recording is completed, the recorded dyeing layer 17 on the drum 22 is fixed to the sheet 12 by heat and pressure by pressing the fixing roll 10 and the drum 22 with the sheet 12 interposed therebetween.

[0005]

However, in the method of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-141486, the drum system is used for the intermediate recording medium, and when recording 110 mm in A6 size in the sub-scanning direction, the diameter of the drum 22 is 50 mm. Getting bigger,
If the diameter of the fixing roll 10 is reduced in order to suppress the increase in size of the apparatus as much as possible, the drum 22 and the fixing roll 10
There is a problem that the curl of the paper becomes large due to the imbalance of the diameter of the paper. When transferring and fixing onto a sheet of paper, it is difficult to apply heat from the side of the drum 22 because the drum 22 has a silicon rubber with a thickness of about 3 mm on the surface, and heat is applied from the fixing roll 10 on the opposite side. There is a problem that heat is difficult to be transmitted to the surface, and as a result, the temperature setting becomes high and the problem of temperature rise in the device easily occurs. In addition, when a transfer residual at the time of the previous printing occurs due to a paper jam, a power failure, or the like, there is a high possibility that the transfer residual is transferred to the next printing, and an image abnormality easily occurs.

[0006]

Therefore, in the dye thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, a conventional ink sheet is divided into two types, a dyeing layer sheet having a dyeing layer formed thereon and an ink sheet having a color material layer formed thereon. The intermediate recording medium is eliminated, and the processes of recording on the dyeing layer, transferring to the paper, and fixing are separated so that each roll can be separated, and the diameter of each roll is reduced.

[0007]

According to this structure, the apparatus can be downsized without the need for a large-diameter drum, and the diameters of the roll pairs for transferring and fixing to the paper can be made the same. Curl can be suppressed. Further, since the printing surface side of the paper can be easily heated, it is possible to suppress an increase in the temperature inside the apparatus. In addition, since a new dyeing layer is used in the next printing even if a transfer residue occurs due to an abnormality of the apparatus or the like, an image abnormality does not occur in the next printing, so that a high-quality recording apparatus can be provided.

[0008]

Embodiment An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The biggest difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned conventional example is that the conventional ink sheet is divided into two types, a dyeing layer sheet 5 having a dyeing layer formed thereon and an ink sheet 2 having only a color material layer formed thereon. . In FIG. 1, 2 is an ink sheet in which three sublimable ink layers of Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) are sequentially arranged, and 5 is a dyeing layer sheet having a dyeing layer formed thereon. is there. Then, the thermal head 1 having the heating elements in a line, the ink sheet 2, the dyeing layer sheet 5,
The platen rolls 6 are arranged in this order.

The ink sheet 2 is wound around the supply side bobbin 4, and is wound up by the winding side bobbin 3. The dyeing layer sheet 5 is wound on the supply-side bobbin 7 and is wound up by the winding-side bobbin 8. However, reversible rotation is necessary to perform overprinting of three colors, so the supply-side bobbin 7 is used. It can also be wound up by.

In the recording operation, first, the thermal head 1, the ink sheet 2 and the dyeing layer sheet 5 are pressure-bonded to the platen roll 6 and wound while selectively heating the heating elements of the thermal head 1 by a signal based on image information. By rotating the side bobbin 3 and the take-up side bobbin 8, the ink sheet 2 and the dyeing layer sheet 5 are moved together in the direction of arrow 13, and Y (yellow) ink is applied to the dyeing layer on the dyeing layer sheet 5. Record. After the recording of Y (yellow), the thermal head 1 is released from the pressure contact again, the supply side bobbin 7 is rotated, and the dyeing layer sheet 5 is rewound. Overlay and record images of magenta ink. Similarly, a color image is formed on the dyeing layer sheet 5 by superimposing images of C (cyan) ink.

Next, the pressure roll 11a is moved to the position 11b and pressure-bonded to the fixing roll 10 having the heater 9 built therein, and at the same time, the separation claw 27a is brought into contact with the dyeing layer 5 at the same time (position 27b). ) To. Then, the supply side bobbin 7 is rotated to move the dyeing layer sheet in the rewinding direction, and the paper 12 is conveyed in synchronization with the dyeing layer sheet 5 to pass between the fixing roll 10 and the pressure roll 11b. The color image on the dyeing layer sheet 5 is transferred and fixed on the paper 12 together with the dyeing layer. Then, the separation claw 27b
Thus, the paper 12 is separated from the dyeing layer 5 and guided by the paper conveyance guide 26 to move, and is ejected to the outside of the apparatus by the ejection roll 25, and the printing operation is completed.

2 and 3 show that the dyeing layer sheet 5 and the ink sheet 2 are housed in the same cartridge housing that can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body to improve operability.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 14a denotes a first cartridge half body in which a supply side bobbin 4 and a winding side bobbin 3 are built in, and an ink sheet 2 is hung between them, and between both bobbins. The third openings 15 are formed so that the front and back surfaces of the ink sheet 2 are exposed.

The reference numeral 14b designates a second cartridge half body in which the supply side bobbin 7 and the winding side bobbin 8 are built in, and the dyeing layer sheet 2 is hung between them, and the dyeing layer sheet 2 is provided between both bobbins. The fourth opening portion 16 and the fifth opening portion 17 are formed so that the front and back sides thereof are exposed.

These first and second cartridge halves 14
a and 14b are the third opening 15 and the fourth opening 16
Are joined together so as to form a single ink sheet cartridge. Then, this ink sheet cartridge is inserted into the main body of the apparatus in the direction of the arrow in FIG.
The supply side bobbins 4 and 7 and the winding side bobbins 3 and 8 are engaged with a drive shaft (not shown) provided on the apparatus side.

The subsequent printing operation is performed in the same manner as described above. That is, the thermal head 1 and the platen roll 6
Holds the ink sheet 2 and the dyeing layer sheet 5 through the first opening 15 and the second opening 16, respectively, and transfers the dye of the ink sheet 2 to the dyeing layer sheet 5, as shown in FIG. At the third opening 17, the image is transferred onto the sheet 12 by the fixing roll 10 and the pressure roll 11b. The paper 12 after the transfer is separated by the separation claw 27b and then guided to the discharge roll 25 by using a part of the outer wall of the ink sheet cartridge case as a guide.

[0017]

As described above, the dye thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention comprises the conventional ink sheet, the dyeing layer sheet having the dyeing layer formed thereon and the ink sheet having only the color material layer formed thereon.
Since the intermediate recording medium is divided into different types, the device can be downsized, curl of the paper and the temperature rise inside the device can be suppressed, and the abnormal image due to dust and dust on the surface of the intermediate recording medium. It is also possible to prevent image abnormalities due to transfer residuals due to device failure, etc., and to provide a high-quality recording device.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view showing an embodiment of a dye thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view showing an outline of an example of an ink cartridge used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a side view of an example of a recording material in which the same ink cartridge is attached to the dye thermal transfer device of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing an outline of an example of an ink sheet used in a conventional example.

FIG. 5 is a side sectional view showing a conventional dye thermal transfer recording apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermal Head 2 Ink Sheet 5 Dyeing Layer Sheet 6 Platen Roll 10 Fixing Roll 11 Pressure Roll 12 Paper

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Koichi Matsuda 1-8-8 Koshinmachi, Takamatsu City, Kagawa Prefecture Matsushita Judenko Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A dyeing layer sheet having a dyeing layer formed thereon and an ink sheet having a colorant layer formed thereon are moved in a state where the two layers are in close contact with each other, and the first heating means is used to respond to an image signal to be recorded. Selectively heating the color material layer, the dye of the color material layer is selectively transferred onto the dyeing layer in accordance with the image signal, and the dyeing layer to which the dye is transferred is printed on a paper. A thermal transfer recording apparatus for dyes, characterized in that it is transferred and fixed by heat and pressure by a second heating means. 2. The dye thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the dyeing layer sheet and the ink sheet are housed in the same cartridge which can be attached to and detached from the apparatus main body. 3. The second heating means is configured to be able to come into contact with and separate from the dyeing layer sheet, and the separation claw is interlocked with the contacting operation of the second heating means with the dyeing layer sheet. 2. The dye thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said dyeing layer sheet is brought into contact with said dyeing layer sheet, and the paper after transfer is separated from said dyeing layer sheet. 4. An image to be recorded by a first heating means by moving a dyeing layer sheet on which a dyeing layer is formed and an ink sheet on which a color material layer is formed in a state where both layers are in close contact with each other. The coloring material layer is selectively heated according to a signal, the dye of the coloring material layer is selectively transferred onto the dyeing layer according to the image signal, and the dyeing layer to which the dye is transferred An ink sheet cartridge used in a dye thermal transfer recording apparatus for transferring and fixing paper onto a sheet by heat and pressure by a second heating means, the ink sheet cartridges being housed in the same cartridge housing and having respective supply side bobbins and take-up sides. The dyeing layer sheet and the ink sheet wound between the bobbins travel in the first section so that the dyeing layer and the ink layer are close to each other, and in the subsequent second section, only the dyeing layer sheet travels. So as to face the first section. A first opening of the first heating device and the ink sheet is brought into contact with the portion of the housing,
An ink sheet cartridge in which a second opening for contacting the second heating device and the dyeing layer sheet is formed in a portion of the housing facing the second section. 5. A part of the outer wall of the cartridge housing is in contact with the transferred paper having the dyeing layer transferred at the second opening and constitutes a part of a guide guide for the paper. The ink sheet cartridge according to claim 4.