JPH09277638A - Heat transfer recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To make the independent provision of a take-up driving means of an ink sheet unnecessary by a method wherein the take-up of the ink sheet is performed by transmitting the rotary driving force of a platen roller to an ink sheet take-up roller for rotation through the engagement and disengagement between a first and a second transmitting means caused by the opening and closing of a head supporting member. SOLUTION: A first transmitting means is made of a rotary plate 84, which is rotatably mounted to the frame of a recording device main body and to the rotating shaft of which the turning force of a platen roller 20 is transmitted from a pulley 21 through a belt 22. A second transmitting means is made of an outer flange 81, which is mounted to the second flange 512 of an ink sheet take-up roller 51 and energized toward the first transmitting means side at all times with a compression spring 82. The engagement and disengagement between the first and the second transmitting means are performed by means of a head cover 10 as the heat supporting member so as to take up an ink sheet by the rotary driving force of the platen roller 20.

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 device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the construction of a thermal transfer recording apparatus of this type, in which 1 is a thermal head and 2 is a thermal head.
Is a platen roller, 3 is a peeling member, 4 is a guide roller,
Reference numeral 5 is an ink sheet ribbon, 6 is a recording paper, and 7 is an ink sheet winding means. The platen roller 2 is rotatably supported by the recording apparatus main body, and the thermal head 1 is provided so as to come into contact with and separate from the outer peripheral surface of the platen roller 2. Further, the recording paper 60 and the ink sheet 50 are sequentially laminated from the platen roller 2 side, conveyed onto the platen roller 2 via the guide rollers 4, respectively, and pressed against the platen roller 2 by the thermal head 1. The ink sheet 50 is formed by applying ink, which is sublimated or melted by heating, to the surface of a base film serving as a base material.

When recording is performed by this thermal transfer recording apparatus, the platen roller 2 and the ink sheet take-up roll 51 are rotated, and the recording paper 60 and the ink sheet 50 which are pressed against the platen roller 2 by the thermal head 1. The ink applied to the surface of the ink sheet 50 is transferred to the recording paper 6 by selectively driving the heating resistor formed on the thermal head 1 while transporting the ink.
It is configured so that the image is transferred onto the recording medium and recorded. The transferred ink sheet 50 is peeled from the recording paper 60 by the peeling member 3 and wound on the ink sheet take-up roll 51, and the recorded recording paper 60 is sequentially conveyed and discharged.

In order to wind up the transferred ink sheet 50, the driven gear 53 engaged with the shaft of the ink sheet take-up roll 51 is attached to the drive gear 7 of the ink sheet take-up means 7.
1 is meshed with each other, and the rotational drive force is transmitted by the drive gear 71.

In this type of thermal transfer recording apparatus, in order to easily replace the recording paper 6, the thermal head 1 and the ink ribbon 5 are rotatably supported by the recording apparatus main body, as shown in FIG. When attached to the cover member and opened, the platen roller and the recording paper roll 61
Is exposed and the cover member is closed, the thermal head 1 is pressed against the platen roller 2 via the recording paper 60 and the ink sheet 50.

[0006]

In the case of the above-mentioned conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, since the ink sheet cassette supporting the ink sheet ribbon 5 is attached to the cover member, the drive mechanism for winding the ink sheet 50 during the recording operation. 7 (driving motor (not shown), driving gear 71) must be attached to the cover member separately from the mechanism for driving the platen roller 2, resulting in an increase in the number of parts and an increase in manufacturing cost. Was occurring.

The present invention has been made in order to solve these problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording apparatus which does not require an independent drive means for winding an ink sheet during a recording operation. . It is another object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording device in which an ink sheet ribbon is attached to an opening / closing cover and the ink sheet is not loosened when the cover is opened / closed.

[0008]

In order to solve the above problems, in the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, the first transmission means engaging with the platen roller driving means and the ink sheet take-up roll are engaged. A second transmission means, each of which engages and disengages when the head support member is opened and closed, and in the recording operation, the rotational driving force of the platen roller is transmitted to the ink sheet take-up roll to rotate it. It is configured by providing a transmission means configured to wind up the ink sheet. Further, the second transmission means is supported by the ink sheet take-up roll so as to be fixed in the rotational direction thereof, and one surface thereof is gently inclined and the other is steeply inclined on the surface which is pressed and brought into contact with the first transmission means. A plurality of protrusions, each of which has a top portion formed of two sides having different inclination angles and formed in a pointed shape, are arranged radially with respect to the axis of the ink sheet take-up roll. During the opening / closing operation, the ink sheet take-up roll is configured to rotate in the ink sheet take-up direction on the basis of the frictional force received by the pointed projection from the side of the steep slope from the first transmission means.

[0009]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a configuration of an ink sheet take-up unit and a driving force transmission unit in a thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, and the same or equivalent configurations as those of the above-described conventional apparatus are designated by the same reference numerals. In the figure, 10 is a head cover as a head supporting member rotatably supported by the recording apparatus main body. The thermal head 1 is attached to the head cover 10, and the ink sheet supply roll 52 and the ink sheet are sandwiched so as to sandwich the thermal head 1. A winding roll 51 is rotatably provided. FIG. 1 is a front view of the head cover 10, and the thermal head 1 and the ink sheet supply roll 52 are not shown. The ink sheet take-up roll 51 includes a take-up roll shaft 510 as a take-up shaft, and first and second flanges 511 and 512 attached to both side portions of the take-up roll shaft 510, and can be rotated by the head cover 10. In addition, it is detachably supported.
Further, the ink sheet take-up roll 51 has a compression spring 513.
Is always urged toward the second flange 512.

The transfer means 8, which is the main component of the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, comprises a first transfer means and a second transfer means. The second transmission means is an outer flange 81 attached to the second flange 512 of the ink sheet take-up roll 51 so as to be fixed in the rotation direction thereof,
The outer flange 81 is composed of an elastic member 82 composed of a compression spring that constantly urges the outer flange 81 toward the first transmission means. The outer flange 81 is attached so as to rotate in synchronization with the ink sheet take-up roll 51. Like the platen roller 20, the first transmission unit is attached to the rotary plate 84 rotatably attached to the frame of the recording apparatus main body and the rotary shaft of the rotary plate 84, and the platen roller unit 2 is attached via the belt 22. The pulley 85 is configured by a pulley 85 to which the rotational force of the platen roller 20 is transmitted. Furthermore,
A friction pad 83 is attached to the contact surface of the rotating plate 84 with the outer flange 81.

When replacing the recording paper, etc., FIG.
As shown in (a), the head cover 10 is opened to separate the thermal head 1 from the platen roller 20,
In this state, the first transmission means and the second transmission means are also kept separated from each other.

When the operator closes the head cover 10 during the recording operation, the thermal head 1 causes the platen roller 2 to move.
2B, the outer flange 81 makes surface contact with the friction pad 83 of the rotary plate 84, and the restoring force of the elastic member 82 causes the outer flange 81 to be urged toward the rotary plate 84. Then, the first transmission means and the second transmission means are engaged. In the recording operation, the control unit of the recording apparatus (not shown) drives and controls the platen roller driving means to rotate the platen roller 20. The rotational driving force of the platen roller 20 is transmitted to the pulley 85 of the first transmission means via the pulley 21 and the belt 22, and thereby the rotary plate 84 is rotationally driven. At this time, the friction pad 83 whose surface attached to the rotary plate 84 has a high frictional force,
This rotational force is transmitted to the outer flange 81, which is pressed by the restoring force of the elastic member 82, to rotate it. The rotational force transmitted to the outer flange 81 causes the second flange 512, the take-up roll shaft 510, and the first flange 511 to rotate, whereby the ink sheet 50 is taken up by the ink sheet take-up roll 51. Has been done. That is, in the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, the ink sheet can be wound by transmitting the rotational driving force of the platen roller 20 during the recording operation without providing a drive motor for winding the ink sheet.

FIG. 3 is a view showing the detailed structure of the outer flange 81 in the second transmission means of the present invention. FIG. 3 (a) shows the plane of the surface which comes into contact with the friction pad 83 of the first transmission means. FIG. As shown in the figure, a plurality of protrusions 811 are radially arranged on the plane portion of the outer flange 81 around the rotation axis thereof, that is, the rotation axis of the ink sheet take-up roll 51. Also, as shown in FIG.
Each of the protrusions 811 is formed in a pointed shape that forms a triangular pyramid having two sides of a gently inclined side 812 and a steeply inclined portion 813, and the gently inclined side 812 and the steeply inclined side 813 are in the same direction. In this way, a plurality of annular portions are formed around the rotation axis (the left view of FIG. 3B is an enlarged view of the protrusion 811 of the portion a shown in FIG. 3A). The right figure is a view showing a partial cross section thereof.).

With the above-described structure, the transmission means 8 of the present invention uses the frictional force generated when the first and second transmission means are engaged and disengaged from each other to the ink sheet take-up roll 51. A rotating force can be applied. That is, FIG.
When the opened head cover 10 shown in (a) is moved and closed in the direction of arrow A in the figure, the outer flange 81 also moves in the direction of A as shown in FIG. 3 (a). When the surface of the outer flange 81 on which the protruding portion 811 is formed contacts the friction pad 83 attached to the rotating plate 84 and rubs against it, the protruding portion 811 of the portion b shown in the figure has a friction pad 83 Similarly, the force in the C direction is the same as the protrusion 811 of the portion c.
A force in the E direction acts on.

At this time, in the portion b, the outer flange 8
The frictional force generated at No. 1 is a force based on the vertical drag force on the gently inclined side 812, that is, the force of the sine component related to the angle of the gently inclined side of the force in the C direction and the friction coefficient of the surface of the outer flange 81. On the other hand, the frictional force generated on the outer flange 81 in the portion c is based on the vertical drag force on the steeply inclined side 813, that is, the force of the sine component related to the steeply inclined side angle of the force in the E direction and the friction coefficient of the surface of the outer flange 81. Become power. Therefore,
The frictional force generated in the portion c becomes larger than the frictional force generated in the portion b, and the frictional force generated in the half on the portion c side as viewed from the center of rotation becomes large in the entire outer flange 81. A force is applied to rotate in the G direction, and as shown in FIG. 4B, when the head cover 10 is closed, the outer flange 81 and the rotary plate 84 are closed.
When the (friction pad 83) moves while rubbing, the outer flange 81 and the ink sheet take-up roll 51 are urged with a rotational force in a direction in which the ink sheet 50 is taken up. Thereby, when the thermal head 1 is pressed against the platen roller 20, tension can be applied to the ink sheet 50, and the ink sheet 5 can be formed without causing slack wrinkles.
A set of 0 can be done.

The head cover 10 shown in FIG.
When the head cover 10 is opened from the state in which the thermal head 1 is pressed against the platen roller 20 by closing the head cover 10 and the outer flange 81, the head cover 10 and the outer flange 81 move in the B direction shown in FIGS. 2B and 3A. At this time, the outer flange 81 is pressed by the rotating plate 84 (friction pad 83) by the urging force of the elastic member 82, and moves while rubbing. On the surface of the outer flange 81 on which the protrusion 811 is formed, a force in the D direction is applied to the protrusion 811 of the portion b shown in the figure.
Further, a force in the F direction acts on each of the protrusions 811 of the portion c by the friction pad 83.

At this time, the frictional force generated on the outer flange 81 in the portion b is the vertical drag force on the steeply inclined side 813, that is, the force of the sine component of the force in the D direction on the gently inclined side angle,
The force is based on the friction coefficient of the surface of the outer flange 81.
On the other hand, the frictional force generated on the outer flange 81 in the portion c is the vertical drag force on the gently inclined side 812, that is, the force of the sine component of the angle in the F direction of the steeply inclined side and the outer flange
1 is a force based on the coefficient of friction of the surface. Therefore, the frictional force generated in the portion c becomes larger than the frictional force generated in the portion b, and the frictional force generated in the half on the side of the portion c as viewed from the center of rotation becomes large in the outer flange 81 as a whole. A force is applied so as to rotate in the G direction in the figure, and as shown in FIGS. 4C and 4B, when the head cover 10 is released from the closed state, the outer flange 81 and the rotary plate 84 (friction). When the pad 83) moves while rubbing, the outer flange 81 and the ink sheet take-up roll 51 are urged by a rotational force in a direction in which the ink sheet 50 is taken up. Accordingly, when the thermal head 1 is separated from the platen roller 20, the slack portion of the ink sheet 50 generated in the guide roller 4, the thermal head 1, and the peeling member 3 can be wound up.

In the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, as the head cover 10 is opened and closed, a rotational force in the direction in which the ink sheet 50 is wound can be applied to the ink sheet take-up roll 51. When the head 1 is pressed, it can be pressed against the platen roller 20 while applying a predetermined tension to the ink sheet 50, and the ink sheet 50 can be set without causing slack wrinkles, and when the thermal head 1 is separated. The slack portion of the ink sheet 50 generated in the guide roller 4, thermal head 1, and peeling member 3 can be wound up. In addition, it is not necessary to provide an ink ribbon cartridge, and thus there is an effect that a cartridge storage space for replacing recording paper, which has been conventionally required, becomes unnecessary.

[0019]

As described above in detail, in the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, the first transmission means engaging with the platen roller driving means and the second transmission means engaging with the ink sheet take-up roll. The head support member is engaged and disengaged by opening and closing, and in the recording operation, the rotational driving force of the platen roller is transmitted to the ink sheet take-up roller to rotate the ink sheet to take up the ink sheet. Since the above-mentioned transmission means is provided, it is not necessary to provide a drive mechanism for winding the ink sheet during the recording operation separately from the mechanism for driving the platen roller, the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced. . Further, the second transmission means is supported by the ink sheet take-up roll so as to be fixed in the rotational direction thereof, and one of the surfaces is pressed gently and the other is steeply inclined and the other is steeply inclined on the surface which is pressed and contacted by the first transmission means. A plurality of protrusions, each of which has a top portion formed of two sides having different inclination angles and formed in a pointed shape, are arranged radially with respect to the axis of the ink sheet take-up roll. During the opening / closing operation, the ink sheet take-up roll is configured to rotate in the ink sheet take-up direction based on the frictional force received by the pointed projection from the side of the steep slope from the first transmission means. ,
Along with the opening / closing operation of the head cover, it is possible to apply a rotational force to the ink sheet take-up roll in the direction in which the ink sheet is taken up. When the thermal head is pressed, the platen roller is applied while applying a predetermined tension to the ink sheet. The ink sheet can be set without causing slack wrinkles, and when the thermal head separates, the loose portion of the ink sheet that occurs in the guide roller, thermal head, and peeling member is wound up. There is an effect that can be. Further, since the gear member is not used as the rotational force transmitting portion, there is an effect that the recording paper replacement work can be safely performed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a configuration of an ink sheet winding unit and a driving force transmission unit in a thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing engagement of transmission means in the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a detailed configuration of an outer flange 81 in the second transmission means of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing head pressure contact and separation operations in the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional thermal transfer recording device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a configuration of a conventional thermal transfer recording device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Thermal Head Part 2 Platen Roller Part 3 Peeling Member 4 Guide Roller 5 Ink Sheet Ribbon 6 Recording Paper 7 Ink Sheet Winding Means 8 Transmission Means

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A platen roller which is rotatably supported by a recording apparatus main body, a recording sheet is partially wound on a peripheral surface thereof, and is rotationally driven by a platen roller driving means to convey the recording sheet; A thermal head that is attached to a head support member that is openably and closably mounted on the apparatus main body and that presses and separates from a platen roller when the head support member is opened and closed, and an ink sheet supply roll and an ink sheet formed by winding an ink sheet. A heat transfer recording apparatus comprising an ink sheet winding roll for winding the ink sheet ribbon, the ink sheet ribbon being rotatably attached to the head supporting member, and a first transmission unit engaging with the platen roller driving unit; And a second transmission means that engages with the sheet take-up roll, and opens and closes the head support member. Each of them is engaged and disengaged, and has a transmission means configured to wind the ink sheet by transmitting the rotational driving force of the platen roller to the ink sheet take-up roller in the recording operation and rotating the roller. And thermal transfer recording device. 2. The second transmission means is supported by the ink sheet take-up roll so as to be fixed in the rotation direction thereof, and is pressed in the direction of the first transmission means, and
On the surface that presses or contacts the transmission means of
A protrusion having a peak portion formed of two sides, each of which has a different inclination angle and the other is formed into a steep inclination,
A plurality of ink sheet take-up rolls are radially arranged with respect to the axis thereof, and when the head support member is opened and closed,
The ink sheet take-up roll is configured to rotate in the ink sheet take-up direction on the basis of the frictional force received by the pointed projection from the side of the steep slope from the first transmission means. Item 2. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to Item 1.