JPH1086423A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal transfer printer for stably recording in high quality by conducting thermal melting recording and thermal sublimable recording without necessity of a complicated mechanism and preventing occurrence of a jitter easily occurring in the case of the sublimable recording. SOLUTION: A reduction gear ratio of an output gear of a carriage motor to a carriage drive gear is set to 1/3 or less. A control means 11 controls to drive the motor in frequency of 1500pps or more in case of recording in a first recording mode of thermal melting recording and to drive the motor in frequency of 300pps or more in the case of recording in a second recording mode of thermal sublimable recording.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer for transferring ink from an ink film to recording paper by selective heat generation of a heating element of a thermal head, and particularly to recording and thermal sublimation by thermal fusion transfer. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer capable of performing printing by arbitrarily selecting printing by transfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a thermal transfer printer supports a recording paper in front of a platen, mounts a thermal head having a plurality of heating elements on a carriage, and places an ink film between the thermal head and the platen. An ink ribbon as an example is sandwiched between the recording paper, a thermal head is mounted on a carriage, and the ink ribbon is fed out while reciprocating along a platen, and a heating element of the thermal head is selectively operated based on recording information. By generating heat, desired images such as characters and figures are recorded on the recording paper. Such a thermal transfer printer has a high quality recording, low noise, low cost, easy maintenance, etc.
It is frequently used as an output device such as a word processor.

[0003] As such a conventional thermal transfer printer, there is a printer that performs recording on recording paper using an ink ribbon (hot-melt ink ribbon) in which a hot-melt ink is applied to a base such as a plastic film. As is well known, there is also known one that performs recording on recording paper using an ink ribbon (thermal sublimation ink ribbon) in which a heat sublimation ink is applied to a substrate.

Among these, a thermal transfer printer (hereinafter, referred to as a hot-melt type thermal transfer printer) that performs recording on recording paper using a hot-melt ink ribbon records on a wide variety of recording paper such as plain paper, cardboard, and postcards. It is easy to use.

On the other hand, a thermal transfer printer (hereinafter, referred to as a thermal sublimation type thermal transfer printer) that performs recording on recording paper using a thermal sublimation ink ribbon uses a specially treated paper as a recording paper. A high-quality recorded image comparable to a silver halide photograph can be obtained.

[0006] Since the thermal transfer type thermal transfer printer and the thermal sublimation type thermal transfer printer have different characteristics of inks used, conventionally, they have been practically used individually as different types of thermal transfer printers.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional thermal transfer printer, since the thermal fusion type thermal transfer printer and the thermal sublimation type thermal transfer printer are respectively practically used, general recording on recording paper and silver lead photograph are not performed. When it is necessary to record a comparable high-quality recorded image, two different thermal transfer printers of different types, a hot-melt thermal transfer printer and a hot-melt thermal transfer printer, must be used, requiring a large installation space. At the same time, there was a problem that the economic burden increased.

In order to solve such a problem, the present applicant has already proposed a serial type thermal transfer printer which can use both a heat-meltable ink ribbon and a heat-sublimable ink ribbon. Since there is a large difference in the thermal energy for recording applied to the thermal head between recording and thermal sublimation recording, it is necessary to change the control according to the recording mode used. That is, when printing is performed using a heat sublimable ink ribbon, a larger amount of heat energy is required than when printing is performed using a heat-meltable ink ribbon. The heat energy transmitted from the head 12 to the sublimable ink ribbon must be controlled so as to increase.

More specifically, in the case of performing thermal fusion recording in a conventional thermal transfer printer, the driving frequency (the number of pulses per second) of the carriage motor is set to 1230 pps.
When thermal sublimation printing is performed, the driving frequency of the carriage motor is set to 240.
The carriage motor was driven as pps.

[0010]

However, in the conventional thermal transfer printer, if the driving frequency of the carriage motor is low when performing the thermal sublimation recording as described above, the step angle of the carriage motor, the engagement with the pinion, and the like are reduced. In relation, the vibration component is concentrated in the low frequency range, so that resonance is likely to occur, and the carriage motor may not rotate smoothly and may perform uneven rotation. If the rotation unevenness of the carriage motor is transmitted to the drive belt of the carriage, the moving speed of the carriage also becomes uneven, so that the density of the printed image changes and the print quality is reduced. For example, at a position where the moving speed of the carriage is slow, a phenomenon called so-called jitter occurs in which the recording density becomes high and vertical streaks occur in the image at a specific period of about 0.5 mm to 2.0 mm.

In order to avoid such jitter, it is conceivable to apply high energy to the thermal head in a short time while the rotation speed of the carriage motor is set to a fixed speed at which no jitter occurs. However, in such a case, there is a problem that the peak temperature applied to the heating element becomes too high, and the thermal head is easily damaged, and the life is shortened.

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and it is possible to perform thermal melting recording and thermal sublimation recording without requiring a complicated mechanism, and to generate low-cost jitter generated during thermal sublimation recording. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer printer that can stably perform high-quality recording by preventing the occurrence of a high-quality recording.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, wherein a reduction ratio between an output gear of a carriage motor and a carriage drive gear is reduced to 1/3 or less. The control means drives the carriage motor at a frequency of 1500 pps or more when recording is performed in the first recording mode which is thermal melting recording, and the carriage is driven when the recording is performed in the second recording mode which is thermal sublimation recording. The point is that the motor is controlled to be driven at a frequency of 300 pps or more. By employing such a configuration, the carriage motor can be driven at a rotation speed that does not cause jitter during thermal sublimation recording, so that high-quality recording can be performed.

According to another aspect of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, the reduction ratio between the output gear of the carriage motor and the carriage drive gear is set to 1/4, and the control means records in the first recording mode. In this case, the carriage motor is driven at a frequency of 1588 pps, and when printing in the second print mode, the carriage motor is driven at 320 pps.
The point is that control is performed so as to drive at the frequency of s. By employing such a configuration, the occurrence of jitter can be more reliably prevented during thermal sublimation recording, and high-quality recording can be stably performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a carriage driving gear is formed by two gears, a first recording driving gear and a second recording driving gear, and these carriage driving gear and the output are formed. A first recording intermediate gear meshing with the first recording driving gear, and a second recording intermediate gear meshing with the second recording driving gear between the gears; Transmission path switching means for selectively engaging one of the first recording intermediate gear and the second recording intermediate gear to switch the transmission path of the power of the carriage motor is provided. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to transmit the power of the carriage motor through an optimal power transmission path according to whether to perform the thermal melting recording or the thermal sublimation recording, so that the moving speed of the carriage is stabilized. High-quality recording.

In the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, the transmission path switching means includes a first recording clutch engaged with a first recording intermediate gear and a second recording intermediate gear engaged with a second recording intermediate gear. (2) A recording clutch is provided, and these can be engaged by the urging force of the electromagnet.
By adopting such a configuration, the power transmission path can be switched according to the recording mode, so that the carriage can be driven at the rotation speed of the carriage motor that does not cause jitter.

A feature of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention is that a transmission path switching means is provided between the first recording intermediate gear and the second recording intermediate gear. Then, by adopting such a configuration, the power transmission path can be switched more easily according to the recording mode, so that the carriage can be driven at the rotation speed of the carriage motor that does not cause jitter.

A feature of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention is that the reduction ratio between the output gear and the first recording drive gear is set to one.
/ 3, and the reduction ratio between the output gear and the second recording drive gear is set to 1/3 or less. By adopting such a configuration, the carriage can be driven at a more appropriate rotation speed of the carriage motor according to the recording mode, and it is possible to prevent occurrence of jitter during thermal sublimation recording.

A feature of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention is that the reduction ratio between the output gear and the second recording drive gear is set to 1/4. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of jitter when performing thermal sublimation recording.

The thermal transfer printer according to claim 8 is characterized in that the reduction ratio between the output gear and the output intermediate gear is 1/1.
, The reduction ratio between the first recording intermediate gear and the first recording driving gear is set to 1/3, and the second recording intermediate gear and the second
The point is that the reduction ratio with respect to the recording drive gear is set to 1/3 or less. And by adopting such a configuration,
The carriage is driven at a more appropriate rotation speed of the carriage motor according to the recording mode, so that it is possible to prevent the occurrence of jitter during thermal sublimation recording.

A feature of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention is that the reduction ratio between the second recording intermediate gear and the second recording driving gear is set to 1/4. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably prevent the occurrence of jitter when performing thermal sublimation recording.

[0022]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

FIGS. 1 to 5 show a first embodiment of the present invention in which both types of ink ribbons, a heat sublimation ink ribbon and a heat melting ink ribbon, can be selectively used. The thermal transfer printer 1 has a flat platen 2 on a recording surface 2 at a desired position on a frame (not shown).
The guide shaft 3 is disposed so as to be substantially vertical, and a guide shaft 3 is disposed below and in front of the platen 2 in parallel with the platen 2. A carriage 4 divided into upper and lower parts is attached to an appropriate position of the guide shaft 3, and one carriage 4a shown below is a lower carriage 4a attached to the guide shaft 3, and The other carriage 4b is an upper carriage 4b to which a ribbon cassette 5 to be described later is attached and which can be vertically moved toward and away from the lower carriage 4a.

The carriage 4 is, as shown in FIG.
An appropriate drive belt 7 wound around a pair of drive pulleys 6 is driven by a carriage motor 8 such as a stepping motor so as to reciprocate along the guide shaft 3. A carriage driving gear 10 integrally formed with the driving pulley 6 is meshed with an output gear 9 connected to a motor shaft 8a of the carriage motor 8. The reduction ratio between the output gear 9 and the carriage drive gear 10 is 1/3 or less,
Preferably, the ratio is set to 1/4, which is smaller than the reduction ratio between the output gear 9 and the carriage drive gear 10 in the conventional thermal transfer printer. The rotation speed of the carriage 4 is controlled by the control unit 11 so that the carriage 4 can select one of two speeds, a high speed and a low speed.

The rotation speed of the carriage motor 8 will be described more specifically. When the thermal transfer printer 1 performs thermal fusion recording, the driving frequency of the carriage motor 8 is 1500 pps or more, more preferably 158
The carriage rotates at a high speed of 8 pps. When performing thermal sublimation recording, the driving frequency of the carriage motor 8 is 300 pps or more, more preferably 320 pps.
s. This is because the carriage motor 8 in the conventional thermal transfer printer is rotated at a drive frequency of 1191 pps in the case of thermal fusion recording, and is rotated at a drive frequency of 240 pps in the case of thermal sublimation recording. The drive frequency of the carriage motor 8 in the first embodiment is increased.
As described above, the carriage motor 8 according to the first embodiment rotates the carriage motor 8 at a driving frequency of 300 pps or more even in the case of thermal sublimation recording.
Vibration and resonance are less likely to occur and smooth rotation with stable speed can be performed.

If the output gear 9 and the carriage drive gear 10 are formed so that the reduction ratio is 1/5 or more, the carriage motor 8 can be used at the time of thermal fusion recording.
Must be rotated at a drive frequency of 1985 pps or more, which is not preferable because the rotation speed of the carriage motor 8 generally reaches the limit.

The carriage 4 has a platen 2
A thermal head 12 is disposed opposite to the platen 2 and can be freely moved toward and away from the platen 2 by a known head moving mechanism (not shown). This thermal head 12
Is configured to record on a recording sheet (not shown) on the platen 2 in a pressure contact state (head down state) in contact with the platen 2. The thermal head 12 has a plurality of heating elements (not shown) arranged and arranged to selectively generate heat based on desired recording information input by an appropriate input device (not shown) such as a keyboard. It has. Further, the thermal head 12 allows the control unit 11 to select any one of a strong pressure welding and a weak pressure welding for the pressing force on the platen 2, and to reduce the thermal energy of the thermal head 12 between a large pressure and a small pressure. Either of two stages (specifically, two stages of a long time and a short period of time for energizing the heating element) can be selected.

The carriage 4 will be described in more detail. The carriage 4 has a plate-like upper carriage 4b substantially parallel to the upper surface of a lower carriage 4a attached to the guide shaft 3, and the lower carriage 4a is driven by a parallel crank mechanism 13. And is attached so as to be able to move in parallel so as to come into contact with and separate from the camera. As shown in FIG. 3, a pair of parallel crank mechanisms 13 are provided at both left and right ends of the carriage 4, and a pair of links 14a, 14b crossing each other in an X shape.
have. The intersection of these links 14a, 14b is pivoted by pins 15a, and the links 14a, 14b
Are slidably locked by pins 15b, 15c, 15d, and 15e in long holes (not shown) formed in the upper ends of the left and right sides of the lower carriage 4a and the upper carriage 4b, respectively.

A rotary crank mechanism 16 is provided on the lower carriage 4a, so that the upper carriage 4b can be moved in parallel by the rotary crank mechanism 16. This rotary crank mechanism 16
A rotating plate 17 serving as a rotating member supported to be rotatably driven by the lower carriage 4a, and a connecting link 19 serving as a connecting member pivotally connected to an eccentric position of the rotating plate 17 by a pin 18a. The front end 19 is pivotally connected to the upper carriage 4b by a pin 18b.
The rotating plate 17 is driven to rotate by a suitable driving means (not shown) such as a motor.

Returning to FIG. 1, a plate-like arm is formed on each of the left and right sides of the upper carriage 4b with an engagement portion 20a having a tip gently curved inward and a projection formed at the upper and lower ends. Reference numerals 20 stand upright at intervals substantially equal to the width of the ribbon cassette 5. A pair of rotatable bobbins 21 are disposed at the center of the upper carriage 4b so as to protrude upward at a predetermined interval from each other.
The bobbin 21 allows the ink ribbon 22 to travel in a predetermined direction. One of the pair of bobbins 21 is a take-up bobbin 21 a that winds the ink ribbon 22, and the other is a delivery bobbin 21 that sends out the ink ribbon 22.
b. An optical sensor 23a is disposed on the edge of the carriage 4 farther from the platen 2 as a sensor 23 for detecting the type of the ink ribbon 22 stored in the ribbon cassette 5. This optical sensor 2
In the first embodiment, a reflection type is used as 3a. The optical sensor 23a is connected to the thermal transfer printer 1 provided at a desired position of the thermal transfer printer 1.
Is connected to a control unit 11 that controls the recording operation and the like.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 4, above the carriage 4, a substantially plate-shaped canopy is supported at an appropriate interval on a frame (not shown) so as to be openable and closable as indicated by a double arrow A. 24 are provided. This canopy 2
4 functions as a paper presser on the exit side of a paper feed mechanism (not shown) in the closed state, and is disposed so as to face the carriage 4 and is substantially the same as the moving area of the carriage 4. And the length.

A plurality of cassette holders (not shown) for holding the ribbon cassette 5 are provided at predetermined positions on the lower surface of the canopy 24 facing the carriage 4 in parallel. In the first embodiment, a ribbon cassette 5a in which an ink ribbon (heat-meltable ink ribbon) 22a coated with a heat-meltable ink is housed, and an ink ribbon (heat-sublimable ink) coated with a heat-sublimable ink. A ribbon cassette 5b in which a ribbon (ribbon) 22b is housed is arranged in a line in the moving direction of the carriage 4. Then, as shown by a double-headed arrow B in FIG. 4, each of the ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b is selected between the canopy 24 and the upper carriage 4b by the operation of the parallel crank mechanism 13 operating with the rotary crank mechanism 16. The delivery is done in a regular manner. Incidentally, the cassette holder 5a in which the hot-melt ink ribbon 22a is all stored is provided in the cassette holder.
Alternatively, the ribbon cassette 5b containing the thermal sublimation ink ribbon 22b may be held.

Each of the ribbon cassettes 5a, 5a,
5b, regardless of the type of the ink ribbon 22, all are formed in the same shape and the same size, and are rotatably supported (not shown) in a pair of upper and lower, substantially rectangular case bodies 25. A pair of reels, a pair of rotatably supported ribbon feed rollers, a plurality of guide rollers facing the rotatably supported ribbon path, and the like are provided. And an ink ribbon 2 between a pair of reels.
2 is wound, and an intermediate portion of the ink ribbon 22 is led out. When the ribbon cassette 5 is mounted on the upper carriage 4b, one of the pair of reels is a take-up reel that winds the ink ribbon 22 of a portion used for recording, and the other sends out the ink ribbon. It is a sending reel. On the inner peripheral surface of each reel, a plurality of key grooves are formed in a spline shape at intervals in the circumferential direction, and the inner peripheral surface of the take-up reel is formed by the winding bobbin 21a.
Is formed as a take-up hole 26a in which the delivery bobbin 21b is engaged.
It has been. The carriage 4 of the ribbon cassette 5
A recess 27 facing the thermal head 12 is formed on a surface facing the platen 2 in a state in which the ink ribbon 22 is mounted on the surface of the ink ribbon 22.

An identification mark 28 for identifying the type of the ink ribbon 22 stored in each ribbon cassette 5 is provided on the rear surface of the ribbon cassette 5 extending parallel to the surface on which the concave portion 27 is formed. Are located. The identification mark 28 of the first embodiment is formed by a reflective seal 29 having a different number of striped non-reflective portions 29a depending on the type of the ink ribbon 22.

The identification mark 28 is provided on the carriage 4 by an optical sensor 23 as a cassette type detecting means.
a, and outputs the detection signal to the control unit 1 of the printer.
1 and counts the number of identification marks 28 in each ribbon cassette 5 in the control unit 11 so that the ink ribbon 22 stored in the ribbon cassette 5 is counted.
Is determined.

That is, a reflection sticker 29A having four non-reflection portions 29a is arranged as an identification mark 28 on the ribbon cassette 5a shown on the left side in FIG. 1, and the ribbon cassette 5b shown on the right side in FIG. , A reflective seal 29 </ b> B having two non-reflective portions 29 a is arranged as the identification mark 28. And the ribbon cassette 5
The left end of the rear surface shown on the front side in FIG. 1 is a reference position BP for detecting the identification mark 28, and the identification mark 2
8, the distance L to the right end face of the non-reflective portion 29a located at the right end is the same for all the identification marks 28, and a desired distance L for identifying the type of the ink ribbon 22 within this distance L. The non-reflection part 29a is formed. Note that the identification mark 28 can identify not only the type of the ink ribbon 22 stored in the ribbon cassette 5 but also the color of the ink ribbon 22. The carriage 4 can be stopped when the optical sensor 23a detects the identification mark 28 to be used. When the carriage 4 is stopped, the ribbon cassette 5 stored in the cassette holder is moved to the upper carriage 4
b.

The identification mark 28 may be printed on the ribbon cassette 5, and is not particularly limited to the configuration of the present embodiment.

A lower carriage 4a of the carriage 4 reciprocally movable along the platen 2 has a stepping motor for bringing the thermal head 12 into and out of contact with the platen 2 and an ink ribbon for the ink ribbon. A stepping motor (hereinafter referred to as a ribbon take-up motor) for take-up control is provided, and the thermal head 12 and the take-up bobbin 21 are provided via a transmission gear (not shown).
a to transmit power.

The control unit 11 includes a memory (not shown)
As shown in FIG. 5, based on a mode signal sent from a mode changeover switch 31 disposed at a desired position on a frame (not shown), at least a heat-meltable ink ribbon is formed. It is determined whether the recording mode is a first recording mode in which recording is performed on recording paper such as plain paper by using thermal fusion transfer using the 22a or a second recording mode in which recording is performed by thermal sublimation transfer on special paper using the thermal sublimation ink ribbon 22b. Based on the mode discrimination unit 32 and the discrimination results of the mode discrimination unit 32, the rotation speed of the carriage motor 8, the energization time to the thermal head 12, the pressing force of the thermal head 12 against the platen 2, the ribbon cassette 5, etc. It has a first recording mode control unit 33 and a second recording mode control unit 34 that perform corresponding control.

Further, the control section 11 performs the following based on the output signal from the optical sensor 23a accompanying the movement of the carriage 4.
The presence or absence of the ribbon cassette 5, the type of the ink ribbon 22 stored in the ribbon cassette 5, the moving distance of the carriage 4 with respect to the home position, the open / close state of the canopy 24, the distance between the ribbon cassettes 5, and the like are determined or detected. I have.

The rotation speed of the carriage motor 8 is controlled based on whether the ink ribbon 22 in the ribbon cassette 5 is a hot-melt ink ribbon 22a or a hot-sublimation ink ribbon 22b based on the detection result of the optical sensor 23a. Although control is performed, the control is not limited to this, and control may be performed based on other factors.

For example, a recording medium detecting means (not shown) for detecting the type of the recording medium (recording paper) is provided, and the detection result is input to the control unit 11. The control unit 11 controls the rotation speed of the carriage motor 8 in a first recording mode based on the detection result when the recording medium is plain paper, and controls the rotation speed of the carriage motor 8 when the recording medium is OHP paper. Alternatively, the rotation speed of the carriage motor 8 may be controlled in the second recording mode.

The type of the ribbon cassette 5 to be used,
A selection switch 35 as selection means for manually or automatically selecting one or more conditions such as a recording mode, a recording medium, and a recording speed may be provided so as to be connected to the control unit 11. Alternatively, various conditions such as the type of the ribbon cassette may be input and selected from an external device such as a computer to which the thermal transfer printer 1 is connected. In particular, when the ribbon cassette 5, the recording mode, the recording medium, and the recording speed are arbitrarily selected by an external device, a necessary mode is selected on a display screen such as a CRT and the result is transmitted to the control means 25 via an interface. You may make it input.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described.

The recording mode selecting operation for driving the thermal transfer printer 1 of the first embodiment and selecting the recording mode so as to match the recording purpose is performed automatically or by operating the mode changeover switch 31 by the operator. A first recording mode in which recording is performed by thermal fusion transfer on recording paper such as plain paper using the thermal fusible ink ribbon 22a, or a second recording in which recording is performed by thermal sublimation transfer on dedicated paper using the thermal sublimable ink ribbon 22b. This is performed by selecting one of the modes.

When a recording mode selection operation is performed, a mode signal corresponding to one of the selected modes is transmitted from the mode changeover switch 31 to the control unit 11, and the mode determination unit of the control unit 11 32 determines whether the mode signal sent from the mode changeover switch 31 is the first recording mode or the second recording mode, and selects one of the first recording mode control unit 33 and the second recording mode control unit 34 based on the determination result. One of them is operated, and the selection operation of the ribbon cassette 5 containing the ink ribbon 22 containing the heat-meltable ink or the heat-sublimable ink corresponding to one of the first recording mode and the second recording mode is started.

Then, the carriage 4 located at the home position is moved (runs) by a command from the control unit 11 (specifically, one of the first recording mode control unit 33 and the second recording mode control unit 34). Then, the optical sensor 23a disposed on the carriage 4 detects the identification mark 28 of the ribbon cassette 5. And the optical sensor 23a is
A unique detection signal of each identification mark 28 based on the arrangement and pitch of the non-reflection portions 29a is sent to the control unit 11, and it is determined whether the identification mark 28 corresponds to the command issued by the control unit 11, In the case of the identification mark 28 corresponding to the instruction, the movement of the carriage 4 is stopped. When the identification mark 28 is not the instruction mark corresponding to the instruction, the movement of the carriage 4 is continued until the identification mark 28 corresponding to the instruction is detected. That is, in the first embodiment, the ribbon cassette 5 (specifically, the ink ribbon 22) can be reliably determined by detecting the difference in the reflection seal 29 of the ribbon cassette 5 depending on the type of the ink ribbon 22. .

According to the thermal transfer printer 1 of the first embodiment, since each ribbon cassette 5 is attached to a predetermined position of the canopy 24, from the home position of the carriage 4 to the identification mark 28 of each ribbon cassette 5. Is constant, and the moving distance of the carriage 4 with respect to the home position can be easily detected. That is,
By counting the number of steps of the carriage motor 8 that drives the carriage 4, the moving distance of the carriage 4 with respect to the home position can be easily detected, and the home position can be easily detected.
Then, the number of steps of the carriage motor 8 corresponding to the distance from the predetermined home position to the identification mark 28 of each ribbon cassette 5 and the actual number of steps of the carriage motor 8 when the carriage 4 is driven are calculated. By making a comparison, it is also possible to detect a change in the thermal transfer printer 1 due to temperature, such as a change in the distance between the home position and the ribbon cassette 5 and a change in the distance between the ribbon cassettes 5.

According to the thermal transfer printer 1 of this embodiment, since the ribbon cassette 5 is attached to the predetermined position of the canopy 24, when the canopy 24 is opened, the ribbon cassette 5 The identification mark 28 does not face the optical sensor 23a. As a result, even if the carriage 4 is scanned, the optical sensor 23a cannot detect the identification mark 28 of the ribbon cassette 5. Using this, the open / closed state of the canopy 24 can be detected.

As described above, according to the thermal transfer printer 1 of this embodiment, the detection of the presence / absence and type of the ribbon cassette 5, the detection of the home position, the detection of the open / closed state of the canopy 24, and the like are performed by one sensor 23. , The cost can be reduced as a whole.

Then, the ribbon cassette 5 containing therein the ink ribbon 22 corresponding to the selected recording mode.
Are the parallel crank mechanism 13 and the rotary crank mechanism 16
As a result, as shown by a double arrow B in FIG.
4 and selectively transferred between the upper carriage 4b,
The ribbon cassette 5 is mounted on the carriage 4 and the operation of selecting the ribbon cassette 5 ends.

Next, the recording paper corresponding to the selected recording mode is set between the platen 2 and the thermal head 12 manually or by a paper feeder (not shown), and the recording operation is started.

Then, in the case of the first recording mode, a command from the first recording mode control unit 33 of the control unit 11
The pressing force of the thermal head 12 against the platen 2 in the head down state is about 0.5 to 3.0 kg, the moving speed of the carriage 4 corresponding to the recording speed by the thermal head 12 is about 10 to 50 cm / sec, and the heat generation of the thermal head 12 The energizing time per dot of the element is 0.1
The current is controlled so that the temperature of the heating element rises to 600 ° C. by one-pulse energization when the energization time elapses. Further, the winding speed of the winding bobbin 21a is the same as the moving speed of the carriage 4 or 10 times.
It is set to about 5%, and the timing for winding the hot-melt ink ribbon 22a is performed almost simultaneously with the recording by the carriage 4 so that the hot peeling can be performed. This makes it possible to reliably perform recording by thermal fusion transfer on recording paper such as plain paper using the thermal fusion ink ribbon 22a.

In the second recording mode, the pressing force of the thermal head 12 against the platen 2 in the head down state is smaller than that in the first recording mode in accordance with a command from the second recording mode controller 34 of the controller 11. 0.2 ~
The moving speed of the carriage 4 on which the thermal head 12 is mounted is set to about 1.5 kg,
The same pulse P is repeated five times by dividing the energization per dot to the heating element of the thermal head 12 by about 25 cm / sec, and when the energization time of 0.8 msec elapses, the temperature of the heating element becomes 650 ° C. Control to ascend to Further, the take-up speed of the take-up bobbin 21a is set to be about 80 to 95% lower than the moving speed of the carriage 4, and the timing at which the heat sublimable ink ribbon 22a is taken up is such that the peeling can be performed in a cold state. This is performed after the carriage 4 has moved a predetermined amount from the recording start position. This makes it possible to reliably perform recording by thermal sublimation transfer on recording paper using the thermal sublimation ink ribbon 22b.

As described above, by making the pressure contact force of the thermal head 12 against the platen 2 in the second recording mode weaker than that in the first recording mode, wear of the thermal head 12 in the second recording mode is reduced. Thereby, the overall durability of the thermal head 12 can be reliably improved.

The thermal transfer printer 1 according to the present embodiment
Is a first recording mode for performing recording by thermal fusion transfer on a variety of recording papers by using the thermal fusion ink ribbon 22a by switching the mode changeover switch 31 according to the recording purpose; and a thermal sublimation ink ribbon 22b. And a second recording mode in which high-quality recording comparable to silver halide photography by thermal sublimation transfer is performed on special paper, and recording can be easily performed. General recording on paper and recording of a high-quality recorded image comparable to a silver halide photograph can be reliably performed, and the installation space can be reduced more reliably than before.

When selecting the ribbon cassette 5, the recording mode, the recording medium, or the recording speed by the selection switch 35 or an external input device, the thermal transfer printer 1 or the like does not need to have a detecting means for detecting each condition. The ink ribbon can be wound with a simple configuration at an optimum ink peeling timing according to each condition.

Further, according to the first embodiment, the reduction ratio between the output gear 9 of the carriage motor 8 and the carriage driving gear 10 is 1/3 or less, more preferably 1/4.
The carriage motor 8 can be driven at a driving frequency of 300 pps or more even when a low energy is applied for a long time during the thermal sublimation recording, and the vibration or resonance is caused. The occurrence of uneven rotation of the carriage motor 8 can be prevented.

For this reason, a complicated mechanism is not required for the thermal melting recording and the thermal sublimation recording, and the occurrence of jitter which is likely to occur when performing the thermal sublimation recording is prevented, and high quality recording is stably performed. be able to.

Next, the second embodiment of the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

The same components of the thermal transfer printer 1 according to the second embodiment as those of the thermal transfer printer 1 according to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and will not be described again.

The thermal transfer printer 1 according to the second embodiment
The power of the carriage motor 8 is
Have two routes, and each is arbitrarily selected depending on whether thermal melting recording or thermal sublimation recording is performed.

More specifically, in the second embodiment, the carriage driving gear 10 is formed by two gears, a first recording driving gear 10a and a second recording driving gear 10b. The first recording drive gear 10a and the second recording drive gear 10b are loosely fitted coaxially, and rotate independently of each other. In addition, these carriage driving gears 10
a, 10b and an output gear 9 of the carriage motor 8, a first gear meshing with the first recording drive gear 10a is provided.
A recording intermediate gear 36 and the second recording drive gear 10b
A second recording intermediate gear 37 meshing with the output gear 9
And an output intermediate gear 38 that meshes with the rotary shaft 39. Among them, the first recording intermediate gear 3
6 and the second recording intermediate gear 37 are connected to the rotating shaft 3.
9, the output intermediate gear 38 is fitted to the rotating shaft 39 by a slide key or the like, and is integrally formed with the rotating shaft 39. Rotate in the axial direction, but are not constrained in the axial direction. In the second embodiment, the reduction ratio between the output gear 9 and the output intermediate gear 38 is set to 1/1, and the first recording intermediate gear 36 and the first recording drive gear 10a are set. Is set to 1/3, and the second recording intermediate gear 37 and the second recording drive gear 1 are used.
The reduction ratio with 0b is set to 1/3 or less, preferably 1/4.

The reduction ratio of each of these gears is not limited to the above-described reduction ratio, but can be arbitrarily determined so that the moving speed of the carriage 4 is optimal for the thermal melting recording and the thermal sublimation recording. . As for the reduction ratio in the second embodiment, the reduction ratio between the output gear 9 and the first recording drive gear 10a at the final position of the gear group for transmitting power to the carriage 4 is 1/3, Similarly, if the reduction ratio between the output gear 9 and the second recording drive gear 10b is 1/4, the reduction ratio of the gear group disposed in the middle may be arbitrarily determined. For example, the output gear 9
The reduction ratio between the first recording intermediate gear 36 and the first recording driving gear 1 is set to 1/3.
0a, and the reduction ratio between the second recording intermediate gear 37 and the second recording drive gear 10b is 3 /
4 may be set.

The thermal transfer printer 1 according to the second embodiment
A transmission path switching means 40 for selectively engaging with one of the first recording intermediate gear 36 and the second recording intermediate gear 37 and switching the power transmission path of the carriage motor 8 is provided. Has been established. As shown in FIG. 6, the transmission path switching means 40 is connected to the first recording intermediate gear 3.
6 and a first recording clutch 4 engaged at the upper end surface thereof
1 and a second recording clutch 42 engaged with the second recording intermediate gear 37 at the lower end surface thereof, and are fitted to the rotating shaft 39 of the output intermediate gear 38, respectively. Therefore, on the upper end surface of the first recording intermediate gear 36 and the lower end surface of the second recording intermediate gear 37 in FIG. 6, clutch engagement portions 43a and 43b for engaging with the respective clutches are provided. Is formed. The first recording clutch 41 and the second recording clutch 42 in the second embodiment are formed by meshing clutches engaged by meshing teeth as shown in FIG. 6, but are not limited thereto. , A disc clutch, a conical clutch, or the like. Then, the transmission path switching means 40 moves the rotary shaft 39 in the longitudinal direction by the urging force of the electromagnet 44 so as to move the first recording clutch 41 and the second recording clutch 42 to the first recording clutch 42.
Recording intermediate gear 36 and second recording intermediate gear 37
To be selectively engaged with each other.

Therefore, in the thermal transfer printer 1 according to the second embodiment, when the mode discriminator 32 determines that the recording is performed in the first recording mode using the heat-fusible ink ribbon, the controller 11 controls the electromagnet 44 Is actuated to move the rotary shaft 39 downward in FIG. 6 by the urging force to engage the first recording clutch 41 with the first recording intermediate gear 36. As a result, the power of the carriage motor 8 is changed to the output gear 9 and the output intermediate gear 38.
The first recording drive gear 10a, which is transmitted to the first recording intermediate gear 36 via the rotary shaft 39 and meshes with the first recording intermediate gear 36, corresponds to these reduction ratios. The drive pulley 6 of the carriage 4 is rotated at a rotation speed of 1/3. And
The rotation of the drive pulley 6 rotates the drive belt 7 to move the carriage 4 at a desired speed along the platen.

On the other hand, if the mode discriminating section 32 judges that recording is to be performed in the second recording mode using the thermal sublimation ink ribbon, the control section 11 operates the electromagnet 44 to apply the urging force to the rotating shaft 39. Is moved upward in FIG. 6 to engage the second recording clutch 42 with the second recording intermediate gear 37. As a result, the power of the carriage motor 8 is transferred to the output gear 9 and the output intermediate gear 3.
The second recording drive gear 10b, which is transmitted to the second recording intermediate gear 37 via the rotary shaft 8 and the rotating shaft 39, and meshes with the second recording intermediate gear 37, corresponds to these reduction ratios. Rotate at a low speed with a rotation speed of 1/4.
Due to this rotation, the drive pulley 6 also rotates, and the drive belt 7 rotates, so that the carriage 4 moves at a desired speed along the platen. Therefore, in the case of thermal sublimation recording, the thermal head 1 is larger than in the case of thermal melting recording.
2 can be energized for a long time.

As described above, according to the thermal transfer printer 1 of the second embodiment, the output gear 9 and the carriage driving gear 10 can be used without changing the driving frequency of the carriage motor 8.
The moving speed of the carriage 4 can be arbitrarily changed by switching the power transmission paths having different reduction ratios up to a and 10b. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of jitter which is likely to occur during the thermal sublimation recording, and to stably perform higher quality recording.

The switching of the transmission path switching means 40 is performed by operating the electromagnet 44 by the control unit 11, but is not limited to this. For example, when the recording mode is changed, the carriage 4 may be moved out of the printing area and manually switched by a switching lever (not shown) or the like.

Next, the third embodiment of the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present invention will be described.
An embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

Note that, of the configuration of the thermal transfer printer 1 of the third embodiment, the same components as those of the thermal transfer printer 1 of the first and second embodiments are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will not be repeated.

The thermal transfer printer 1 according to the third embodiment
In the above, the output intermediate gear 38 is
It is fitted so as not to move in the axial direction by means such as cut fixing. Then, as shown in FIG. 7, a clutch mechanism 45 as the transmission path switching means 40 is provided on the rotation shaft 39 of the output intermediate gear 38, and the first recording intermediate gear 36 and the second recording And the intermediate gear 37. Therefore, in the above-described second embodiment, the transmission shaft switching means 40 causes the rotation shaft 39 to rotate.
Is moved in the axial direction to switch the transmission path. However, in the third embodiment, the rotating shaft 39 does not move, and the engaging member (not shown) is provided from the clutch mechanism 45 to the control unit 11. Thereby, any one of the first recording intermediate gear 36 and the second recording intermediate gear 37 is engaged. For example, a concave portion is formed on the lower end surface of the first recording intermediate gear 36 and the upper end surface of the second recording intermediate gear 37 in FIG. Under the control, the clutch mechanism 45 projects from the clutch mechanism 45 and engages with one of the intermediate gears 36 and 37.

Also, in the third embodiment, as in the second embodiment, the reduction ratio between the output gear 9 and the output intermediate gear 38 is set to 1/1. Recording intermediate gear 36 and first recording drive gear 10
The reduction ratio with respect to a is set to 1/3, and the reduction ratio between the second recording intermediate gear 37 and the second recording drive gear 10b is set to 1/3 or less, preferably 1/4. ing.

Therefore, according to the thermal transfer printer 1 of the third embodiment, the output gear 9 and the carriage drive gear 10 can be used without changing the drive frequency of the carriage motor 8.
The moving speed of the carriage 4 can be arbitrarily changed by switching the power transmission paths having different reduction ratios a and 10b by the transmission path switching means 40. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the occurrence of jitter that is likely to occur during thermal sublimation recording,
Higher quality recording can be performed stably.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, but can be variously modified as needed.

[0076]

As described above, according to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, thermal melting recording and thermal sublimation recording can be performed without requiring a complicated mechanism, and jitter which tends to occur during thermal sublimation recording is obtained. This can prevent the occurrence of the image quality and stably perform high-quality recording.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a mechanism for transmitting power of a carriage of the thermal transfer printer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view of a carriage of the thermal transfer printer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic side view showing a main part of the thermal transfer printer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control system of the thermal transfer printer of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a mechanism for transmitting power of a carriage of a thermal transfer printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a mechanism for transmitting power of a carriage of a thermal transfer printer according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 thermal transfer printer 2 platen 4 carriage 5 ribbon cassette 5a (ink ribbon coated with hot melt ink is stored inside) ribbon cassette 5b (ink ribbon coated with heat sublimation ink is stored inside) Ribbon cassette 6 Driving pulley 7 Driving belt 8 Carriage motor 9 Output gear 10 Carriage driving gear 10a First recording driving gear 10b Second recording driving gear 11 Control unit 12 Thermal head 22 Ink ribbon 22a (Heat-melting ink is applied T) Ink ribbon 22b (Ink coated with thermal sublimation ink) 31 Mode switch 32 Mode discriminator 33 First recording mode controller 34 Second recording mode controller 35 Selection switch 36 First recording intermediate gear 37 Second recording intermediate gear 38 Output intermediate Car 39 rotary shaft 40 transmitting path switching means 41 first recording clutch 42 second recording clutch 44 electromagnet 45 clutch mechanism

Claims (9)

[Claims] A thermal head having a plurality of heating elements formed thereon and capable of coming into contact with and separating from a platen via an ink ribbon and a recording medium; and a carriage mounted with the thermal head and reciprocating along the platen in accordance with the rotation of a drive belt. A carriage motor as a driving source for moving the carriage, a carriage driving gear for transmitting power transmitted from an output gear of the carriage motor to a driving pulley of the driving belt, and heat melting using a heat melting ink ribbon. Control means for discriminating between a first recording mode for performing recording by transfer and a second recording mode for performing recording by thermal sublimation transfer using a thermal sublimation ink ribbon and performing recording control based on the recording mode. And a reduction ratio between an output gear of the carriage motor and the carriage drive gear. Set to 1/3 or less,
The control means drives the carriage motor at a frequency of 1500 pps or more when printing in the first print mode, and drives the carriage motor at a frequency of 300 pps or more when printing in the second print mode. A thermal transfer printer characterized by controlling. 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein a reduction ratio between an output gear of the carriage motor and the carriage drive gear is set to 1/4, and the control unit controls the carriage motor to operate at 1588 pps when recording in the first recording mode. 2. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, wherein the carriage motor is controlled to drive at a frequency of 320 pps when driving at a frequency and printing in the second printing mode. 3. A thermal head having a plurality of heating elements formed thereon and capable of coming into contact with and separating from a platen via an ink ribbon and a recording medium; and a carriage mounted with the thermal head and reciprocating along the platen in accordance with rotation of a drive belt. A carriage motor as a driving source for moving the carriage, a carriage driving gear for transmitting power transmitted from an output gear of the carriage motor to a driving pulley of the driving belt, and heat melting using a heat melting ink ribbon. Control means for discriminating between a first recording mode for performing recording by transfer and a second recording mode for performing recording by thermal sublimation transfer using a thermal sublimation ink ribbon and performing recording control based on the recording mode. Wherein the carriage driving gear is a first recording driving gear and a second recording driving gear. And between the carriage driving gear and the output gear, a first recording intermediate gear meshing with the first recording driving gear, and a second recording driving gear meshing with the first recording intermediate gear. A second recording intermediate gear is disposed, and selectively engages with either the first recording intermediate gear or the second recording intermediate gear to thereby transmit the power transmission path of the carriage motor. A transmission path switching means for switching is provided, and when recording in the first recording mode, the transmission path switching means is engaged with the first recording intermediate gear, and when recording in the second recording mode, A thermal transfer printer wherein the transmission path switching means is engaged with the second recording intermediate gear. 4. An output intermediate gear meshing with the output gear is provided, and the first recording engaged with the first recording intermediate gear as the transmission path switching means on a rotation shaft of the output intermediate gear. And a second recording clutch engaged with the second recording intermediate gear, and each of the clutches is engaged with each of the intermediate gears by moving the rotating shaft by the urging force of an electromagnet. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 3, wherein the thermal transfer printer is configured to perform the operation. 5. An output intermediate gear meshing with the output gear is provided, and the output intermediate gear is disposed on a rotating shaft of the output intermediate gear and is connected to the first recording intermediate gear and the second recording intermediate gear. 4. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 3, wherein said transmission path switching means is provided between said two. 6. A reduction ratio between said output gear and said first recording drive gear is set to 1/3, and said output gear and said second
6. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 4, wherein a reduction ratio with respect to the recording drive gear is set to 1/3 or less. 7. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 6, wherein a reduction ratio between the output gear and the second recording drive gear is set to ４. 8. A reduction ratio between the output gear and the output intermediate gear is set to 1/1, and a reduction ratio between the first recording intermediate gear and the first recording drive gear is set to 1/3. 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein a reduction ratio between the second recording intermediate gear and the second recording driving gear is set to 1/3 or less.
Or a thermal transfer printer according to claim 5. 9. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 8, wherein a reduction ratio between the second recording intermediate gear and the second recording driving gear is set to 1/4.