JPH11245459A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal transfer printer for improving the operability of a hand-fed sheets from a delivery port. SOLUTION: In a thermal transfer printer in which a capstan roller 37 rotates around a shaft 39 and holds a recording sheet 6 and an ink sheet 3 between it and a thermal head 36 for printing, wall surfaces 38a1, 38b1 are formed in arms 38a, 38b of a pair for supporting the roller 37 freely swingably, the wall surfaces 38a1, 38b1 face a recording sheet hand-feeding port/recording sheet delivery port with the roller 37 separated from the thermal head 36.

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, and more particularly, to a recording paper guide mechanism for manual paper feeding using a mechanism for pressing a platen roller against a thermal head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A pressing mechanism for a platen roller in a conventional thermal transfer printer will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration around a platen roller 37 and a thermal head 36 which are main parts in a conventional thermal transfer printer. In the thermal transfer printer described here, a thermal head is fixed to a chassis of the apparatus, and a platen roller 37 swings to press the recording paper 6 and the ink paper 3.

[0003] As shown in FIG.
Is rotatably supported by a pair of left and right arms 38a and 38b rotatably fitted to the shaft 39. Further, the shaft 39 is rotatably supported by a main frame of a device (not shown) and reciprocates in the directions of arrows A1 and A2 by the driving force of a motor (not shown). Reference numerals 23a and 24b denote torsion springs provided so as to be loosely fitted on the shaft 39. One end of the torsion spring 23a is locked by the arm 38a and the other end is locked by the pin 39a implanted in the shaft 39. I have. Similarly, one end of the torsion spring 23b is locked by the arm 38b and the other end is connected to the shaft 39.
And is locked to a pin 39b implanted in the horn. Pins 39c and 39d are implanted in the shaft 39, and the pins 39c and 39d abut against the upper walls of the arms 38a and 38b, thereby torsionally biasing the shaft 39 in the A2 direction. The rotation of the shaft 39 with respect to the arms 38a, 38b is restricted against the force of the springs 23a, 23b.

On the other hand, the thermal head 36 is fixed to the chassis of the apparatus with a slight degree of freedom of rotation provided around the shaft 24 (in the directions of arrows B1 and B2). Also,
Reference numerals 34 and 35 denote a capstan roller and a pinch roller, respectively, which pinch the recording paper 6 and convey it in the directions of arrows X1 and X2.

Next, the operation of the conventional thermal transfer printer having such a configuration will be briefly described. The thermal transfer printer described here includes a normal paper supply / discharge print process in which a recording paper fed from a paper supply tray to a thermal head unit and printed is discharged from a paper discharge port, and the normal paper supply / discharge printing process is performed. The paper is manually fed from the paper discharge port used in the print process, and the paper discharge can be performed by the manual feed / discharge print process performed from the paper discharge port. Therefore, the normal paper supply / discharge print process will be described first.

When the operator instructs a normal feed / discharge print process, the recording paper 6 is fed by a feed mechanism (not shown).
Are conveyed and fed from a recording paper tray (not shown) disposed on the right side of the capstan roller 34 in the figure, and reach the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35. The recording paper 6 is nipped by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 and further conveyed to the left. At this time, since the shaft 39 is rotated in the direction of arrow A2 by a motor (not shown), the platen roller 37 is separated from the thermal head 36. Accordingly, the recording paper 6 is further conveyed to the left through the gap formed between the thermal head 36 and the platen roller 37. Then, when a sensor (not shown) provided near the upstream side of the capstan roller 34 detects the leading end of the recording paper 6 in the printing direction, the conveyance of the recording paper by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 is stopped. At this time, the recording paper 6 is in a state of protruding from a recording paper hand slot / recording paper discharge port 11e1, which is a slit-shaped opening formed in a housing (housing) of an apparatus (not shown). The cueing operation of the ink paper 3 is performed in parallel with the conveyance of the recording paper 6.

When the detection of the leading end of the recording paper 6 in the printing direction and the cueing of the ink paper 3 are completed in this way, the press operation of the platen roller 37 to the thermal head 36 is performed. That is, when the shaft 39 is rotated in the direction of arrow A1 by a motor (not shown), the arms 38, 3
The platen roller 37 supported by 9b also swings in the direction of arrow A1 and comes into contact with the thermal head 36. When the shaft 39 further rotates in the direction of arrow A1 from this contact state,
The torsion springs 23a and 23b are twisted and charged. The force stored in the torsion springs 23a and 23b is
a, 38b is turned in the direction of arrow A1, and a pressing force of the platen roller 37 against the thermal head 36 is generated. This pressing force is applied to the platen roller 3
7 and the thermal head 36 are required to be uniform in the longitudinal direction.
Even if there is a variation in 3a, 23b, etc., the thermal head 36 is given a degree of freedom of rotation about the shaft 24 and is fixed to the chassis of the apparatus, so that the thermal head 36 itself is under pressure. By rotating around the axis 24 in response to the non-uniformity of the pressure, the non-uniformity of the pressure is improved.

As described above, when the recording paper 6 and the ink paper 3 are sandwiched between the thermal head 36 and the platen roller 37 at a predetermined pressure, each heat generated by the thermal head 36 according to the image information to be printed. When the energization control of the resistor is started, the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35
As a result, the recording paper 6 is conveyed at a predetermined speed in the X2 direction to print an image. Needless to say, at this time, the ink paper 3 is also wound from the left to the right in the drawing by an ink paper winding mechanism (not shown). When the printing of the image is completed, the shaft 39 rotates in the direction A2 to separate the thermal head 36 from the platen roller 37, and the recording paper 6 is conveyed in the direction of arrow X1 by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35. The recording paper is ejected from the recording paper outlet 11e1.

Next, the manual feed / discharge printing process will be described. When the operator instructs the manual feed / discharge print process, the capstan roller 34 is driven by a motor (not shown) to start rotating, and the pinch roller 35 pressed against the capstan roller 35 also starts rotating. After this, the operator
The recording paper 6 is inserted in the direction of the arrow X2 from the recording paper hand slot / recording paper discharge port 11e1. At this time, the shaft 3
9 is rotated in the direction of arrow A2 by a motor (not shown), so that the platen roller 37
6 are in a state of being separated. Accordingly, the recording paper 6 is inserted rightward through the gap formed between the thermal head 36 and the platen roller 37, and the capstan roller 34
And the pinch roller 35. Then, the recording paper 6 is nipped by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 and slightly conveyed rightward. That is, when a sensor (not shown) provided near the upstream side (right side in the figure) of the capstan roller 34 detects the leading end of the recording paper 6 in the printing direction, the conveyance of the recording paper by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 is performed. Stops. In this process, the cueing operation of the ink paper 3 is performed in parallel with the conveyance of the recording paper 6, and
The operation of pressing the platen roller 37 to the thermal head 36, the operation of printing an image, and the operation of discharging the recording paper 6 performed thereafter are the same as those in the normal supply / discharge print process described above.

[0010]

However, in the conventional thermal transfer printer described here, a manual feed / discharge print process can be performed in addition to a normal feed / discharge print process. When the paper 6 is supplied by hand, there is a problem that the position and orientation of the recording paper 6 are difficult to determine. That is, in this conventional thermal transfer printer, the recording paper 6 is supplied by hand from the recording paper hand slot / recording paper discharge port 11e1. The recording paper 6 is also used as a paper discharge port in the paper supply / discharge print process for more reliable paper discharge.
The slit-shaped opening is formed larger than the width and the thickness of the slit.

For this reason, at the time of manual feeding, there is a problem that the position of the recording paper 6 is hard to be determined and the recording paper is tilted and pinched by the capstan 34 and the pinch roller 35.
In order to solve this inconvenience, it is conceivable to separately provide recording paper guide means for manual paper feeding in the apparatus, but this not only causes an increase in cost but also causes the paper to be conveyed in a normal paper supply / discharge print process. It is also necessary to avoid interference with the recording paper.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and the invention according to claim 1 is directed to a recording paper for nipping and conveying a recording paper between a capstan roller and a pinch roller. Conveying means, a thermal head fixed to a base by arranging a large number of heating resistors linearly on the downstream side of the recording paper conveying means, and a platen roller for pressing or separating the platen roller with respect to the thermal head A thermal transfer printer that includes at least a driving unit and presses and sandwiches the recording paper and the ink paper between the platen roller and the thermal head to perform image recording, wherein the platen roller driving unit is mounted on the base. A pair of left and right platen roller support arms that rotatably support the platen roller at the other end and rotatably fit one end at each of the left and right end portions of the supported shaft, A torsion spring for loosely fitting the shaft and applying a pressing force of the platen roller to the thermal head via the pair of left and right platen roller support arms by rotation of the shaft after the platen roller contacts the thermal head; A slit-shaped opening is formed in the vicinity of the shaft of the housing of the thermal transfer printer so as to face the recording paper transport path, and the left and right pair of the platen rollers are separated from the thermal head. The pair of left and right platen roller support arms respectively have a wall surface for regulating the width direction of the recording paper facing the slit-shaped opening in a state in which the platen roller support arm of FIG. Thermal transfer printer. "

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a thermal transfer printer according to the first aspect, wherein the capstan roller and the pinch roller are always in pressure contact with each other.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink paper cartridge applied to a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (F).
FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining ink paper housed in the ink paper cartridge shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 1, an ink paper cartridge 1 applied to a thermal transfer type printer according to the present invention is configured such that an ink paper 3 coated with hot-melt ink is wound around a supply reel 4 in a cartridge 2 serving as an exterior part. It is wound around the reel 5 and stored. The ink paper cartridge 1 has a plurality of heating elements along a rod-shaped glass member attached to one end of a thin substrate, as described later, in accordance with the business card size of the recording paper 6 (FIGS. 4 to 10). End-type thermal head 36 having
It is formed small according to FIG. 10). The ink paper cartridge 1 has an ink paper cartridge insertion / removal opening 11b formed on a rear surface 11b of an outer housing 11 of a thermal transfer printer 10 (FIG. 3) to be described later, with the direction of arrow N at the top.
1 is replaceable.

Here, the ink paper 3 housed in the cartridge 2 will be described with reference to FIGS. The ink paper 3 is formed by sequentially and repeatedly applying a plurality of heat-meltable inks in a longitudinal direction on a base film surface formed of a polyester thin film material or the like.
Since the heat-meltable ink is used for the ink paper 3, a porous recording paper 6 (FIGS. 4 to 10) having good transfer performance is used in correspondence with the heat-meltable ink. As shown in FIG. 2A, the ink paper 3 is formed by sequentially and repeatedly applying inks of three colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C), or as shown in FIG. As shown, in order to undercoat plain paper before printing when plain paper is used as recording paper 6 (FIGS. 4 to 6) to be described later, before the plurality of inks (Y, M, C), For example, the one made by adding a transparent undercoat ink (UC), FIG.
As shown in (C), in order to overcoat the recording paper 6 after printing for protection, the plurality of inks (Y, M,
C), a transparent ink for overcoat (OC) is added, and the above-described FIGS. 2 (A) to 2 (C)
FIG. 2 with black (BK) ink added to the combination
Those created as shown in (D) to (F) are used.

In order to detect the cue position of each ink color on the ink paper 3, for example, as shown in FIG.
M3 is provided, similarly to FIGS.
In the case of (F), an ink color detection mark is provided, but illustration is omitted.

Next, a thermal transfer printer 10 according to the present invention will be described.
Will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.
1 is a perspective view of a thermal transfer type printer according to the present invention as viewed from the bottom side, wherein FIG. 1A shows a state in which a recording paper door is closed, and FIG. FIGS. 5A and 5B show a bottom view and a side sectional view of the thermal transfer type printer according to the present invention viewed from the bottom side, and FIGS.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a configuration of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 3, the thermal transfer type printer 10 according to the present invention has a rectangular parallelepiped shape and is small in size, and is provided with a battery for power supply inside so as to be highly portable. ing. This thermal transfer printer 1
0, the exterior housing 11 is formed in a box shape, and an ink paper cartridge insertion / removal opening 11b1 for inserting / removing the ink paper cartridge 1 (FIG. 1) on the rear surface 11b side facing the front surface 11a in front of the figure. An openable and closable ink paper door 12 that covers the ink paper cartridge insertion opening 11b1;
A battery insertion / removal opening 11b2 for inserting / removing a battery 22 (FIG. 6) described later, and a battery insertion / removal opening 11b2.
And an openable and closable battery door 13 that covers the battery.

A menu button 1 for operating the thermal transfer printer 10 is provided on the top surface 11c of the exterior housing 11.
4a, a memory / selection button 14b, a print / setting button 14c, and a liquid crystal panel 15 for displaying the status of the apparatus and displaying a message for the operator are attached. Further, a recording paper door 16 is attached via a hinge 17 to a recording paper insertion opening 11d1 opened on a bottom surface 11d facing the top surface 11c of the exterior housing 11 via a hinge 17. On one side (left side in FIG. 3) 11e of the housing, a slit shape for discharging the recording paper 6 and manually inserting a relatively thick card-shaped recording paper as needed. A recording paper outlet 11e1 is also formed, which is an opening of the recording paper outlet 11e1, and a battery 22 (FIG. 6) is provided inside the other side (right side in FIG. 3) 11f opposite to one side 11e. There is provided a battery storage unit for storing the battery.

Here, when the recording paper 6 is inserted into the thermal transfer printer 10, as shown in FIGS. 4 (A) and 4 (B), When the recording paper door 16 is opened by releasing the lock on the recording paper door 16 by the button 18, the recording paper storage unit upper plate 11 faces inside the recording paper insertion opening 11 d 1 which is opened on the bottom surface 11 d.
g is formed between the recording paper storage unit upper plate 11 g and the closed recording paper door 16.
The recording paper storage portion 11g1 capable of storing a plurality of recording papers is formed. That is, the closed recording paper door 16 is provided to face the recording paper storage portion 11g1 storing the recording paper 6. Further, a half-moon-shaped paper feed roller 31 is provided on the upper side of the recording paper storage unit 11g so as to be rotatable in the arrow direction shown in FIGS. 5B and 6 facing the recording paper storage unit 11g1. . In this case, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 5A, the paper feed roller 31 is provided to be offset to one end of the recording paper 6 in the width direction.

FIG. 4B and FIGS. 5A and 5B
As shown in FIG.
A slit member 32 having a slit for separating the stacked recording papers 6 one by one is provided in front of the sheet feeding direction. Since the slit member 32 is provided in the vicinity of one end of the recording paper 6 from the paper feed roller 31 side, the driving force of the paper supply roller 31 to the recording paper 6 causes the slit close to the paper supply roller 31 to move. Since the recording paper 6 can be transmitted to the member 32, the recording paper 6 can be surely separated one by one at the time of paper feeding.

On the other hand, the openable and closable recording paper door 16 has
A cylindrical pressing member 20 in which a compression spring 19 is fitted is mounted via a pressing plate 21 at a position facing the paper feed roller 31. When the recording paper door 16 is closed,
A cylindrical pressing member 20 attached to the recording paper door 16 via the urging force of a compression spring 19 feeds the recording paper 6 to a paper feed roller 31.
Side, so that when the paper feed roller 31 rotates,
The leading end of the recording paper 6 in the paper feeding direction is separated by the slit member 32 by one sheet and is transported in the paper feeding direction. As shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 6, a printing direction leading end detection sensor 33 that detects the leading end of the recording sheet 6 in the printing direction to determine the printing start position of the recording sheet 6 is located downstream of the slit member 32.
Is provided, and the print-direction leading end detection sensor 33 is further provided.
On the further downstream side, a cap that is connected to a pulse motor (not shown) and rotates clockwise and counterclockwise to reciprocate the recording paper 6 in a horizontal direction (arrows X1 and X2 directions) at a constant speed. A stump roller 34 and a pinch roller 35 which is constantly pressed against the capstan roller 34 and is driven while nipping the recording paper 6 between the capstan roller 34 are provided.

On the downstream side of the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35, a plurality of heating elements
In addition, an end face type thermal head 36 provided in the width direction of the recording paper 6 is fixed and installed substantially vertically downward, and a lapten roller 37 freely rotatable with respect to the thermal head 36 is provided with a cam wheel (not shown). ) Are provided so as to be able to freely contact and separate between the retracted position shown by the solid line and the contact position shown by the two-dot chain line via the arms 38a and 38b (FIGS. 8 and 9) which are rotated by). Platen roller 37
The shaft 39 rotatably fitted to the arms 38a and 38b rotatably supporting the platen is provided with a torsion spring 40 for pressing the platen roller 37 toward the thermal head 36 only during printing. Therefore, during printing, the platen roller 37 has a structure in which the recording paper 6 and the ink paper 3 are superimposed and can be rotated while being pressed against the thermal head 36.

A cartridge guide 41 and a print direction rear end detection sensor 42 are provided downstream of the thermal head 36 and the platen roller 37 and on the supply reel 4 side of the ink paper cartridge 1. Here, the cartridge guide 41 is formed with a cartridge guide portion 41a for guiding the ink paper cartridge 1 at the time of insertion and removal. On the other hand, the printing direction rear end detection sensor 4
Reference numeral 2 denotes the recording paper 6 for determining the printing end position of the recording paper 6.
And is provided below the recording paper 6 in opposition to the cartridge guide / ink paper folding guide 41. Each of the above-described components is installed such that the conveyance path of the recording paper 6 from the supply of the recording paper 6 to the discharge thereof is substantially straight.

Further, above the platen roller 37, an ink paper cartridge insertion / removal opening 11b1 opened to the back of the paper surface.
An ink paper cartridge accommodating portion for exchangeably mounting the ink paper cartridge 1 described above from FIG. 3 is formed. In the ink paper cartridge accommodating portion, a cartridge 2 serving as an exterior part of the ink paper cartridge 1 is formed. The ink paper 3 is stretched between the supply reel 4 and the take-up reel 5 so that the supply reel 4 and the take-up reel 5 are positioned on both sides of the vertically disposed thermal head 36. The paper feed roller 31 and the ink paper cartridge 1
The take-up reel 5 is provided with a supply roller drive unit and ink paper take-up drive unit 50 that selectively switches and drives the feed roller 31 and the take-up reel 5. Although the detailed illustration of the ink-roll take-up driving means 50 also serving as the paper-feeding-roller driving means is omitted, the oscillating gear oscillating according to the rotation direction of the motor is driven by selectively meshing with the gear train on each driving means side. The transmission of force is switched.

Here, the configuration of the main part of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration around a platen roller and a thermal head, which are main parts of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, and shows a state where the platen roller is pressed against the thermal head and a state where the platen roller is separated from the thermal head, respectively. Show.

As shown in FIG. 8 or FIG. 9, the platen roller 37 is rotatably supported by a pair of left and right arms 38a and 38b rotatably fitted to a shaft 39. Further, the shaft 39 is rotatably supported by a main frame of a device (not shown) and reciprocates in the directions of arrows A1 and A2 by the driving force of a motor (not shown). Numeral 40 denotes a torsion spring provided so as to be loosely fitted on the shaft 39.
a, 40b and a connecting portion 40c for connecting these winding portions 40a, 40b are integrally formed. Then, the end portion 40a1 of the winding portion 40a and the end portion 40b of the winding portion 40b
Numerals 1 are locked to the arms 38a and 38b, respectively, and the connecting portion 40c is locked to a pin 39e implanted in the shaft 39.

The shaft 39 has pins 39c and 39c.
d are implanted, and these pins 39c and 39d
By contacting the upper walls of the arms 38a and 38b, the rotation of the shaft 39 with respect to the arms 38a and 38b is restricted against the force of the torsion spring 40 which biases the shaft 39 in the direction of arrow A2. On the other hand, the thermal head 36 is completely fixed to a chassis (not shown) of the apparatus.

The left and right arms 38a, 38b have
Wall surfaces 38a1, 38b1 for regulating the position in the width direction of the recording paper 6 during manual paper feeding during the manual paper supply / discharge print process.
Are formed. And these wall surfaces 38a1, 3
Reference numeral 8b1 denotes a recording paper which is a slit-shaped opening formed in a housing of the apparatus in a mode in which the platen roller 37 is pressed against the thermal head 36 (the mode shown in FIG. 8). In a state in which the platen roller 37 is separated from the thermal head 36 and comes out of the paper discharge port 11e1 (a state shown in FIG. 9), the recording paper discharge port 11e1 also faces the recording paper hand slot. Have been.

Next, the thermal transfer type printer 1 having the above configuration will be described.
The operation of a normal paper feed / discharge print process for printing a color image on the recording paper 6 according to 0 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIGS. 7A to 7E are diagrams for explaining a normal paper supply / discharge print process for printing a color image on the recording paper 6 in the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

First, as shown in FIG. 7A, when the thermal transfer type printer 10 is in the initial state, the half-moon-shaped paper feed roller 31 does not come into contact with the uppermost recording paper 6, and Stopped above 6 Further, the capstan roller 34 connected to the pulse motor (not shown) is stopped, and the pinch roller 35 which is always in pressure contact with the capstan roller 34 is also stopped. The ink paper 3 wrapped between the supply reel 4 and the take-up reel 5
Has also stopped. Further, the platen roller 37 rotatably supported by the arms 38a and 38b that rotate about the shaft 39 as a center of rotation is retracted from the thermal head 36 fixedly installed between the supply reel 4 and the take-up reel 5. I have.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (B), the ink is supplied by a paper feeding roller driving means / ink paper winding driving means 50 (FIG. 6) which is switched to a paper feeding roller driving means side in accordance with the rotation direction of a motor (not shown). The paper roller 31 is the uppermost recording paper 6
While rotating in the direction of the arrow (counterclockwise) while pressing against the paper, only the leading end of the uppermost recording paper 6 in the feeding direction is the slit member 3.
2, the uppermost recording paper 6 is separated from the lower recording paper 6. Then, the paper feed roller 3
The recording paper 6 conveyed in the direction of the arrow X1 in FIG. 1 is rotated substantially clockwise by a pulse motor (not shown) at substantially the same time as the operation of the paper feed roller 31, and a pinch roller 35 driven by the capstan roller 34. Sandwiched between. Also here, the platen roller 37 is retracted from the thermal head 36.

Next, as shown in FIG.
Is completely conveyed in the direction of arrow X1 by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35,
Although 1 is separated from the uppermost recording paper 6 and stopped, the recording paper 6 continues to be conveyed in the direction of the arrow X1 by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35, and is conveyed to the opposite side from the leading end of the recording paper 6 in the paper feeding direction. When the printing direction leading end of the recording paper 6 is detected by the printing direction leading end detection sensor 33, the rotation of the capstan roller 34 in the clockwise direction is stopped, and the recording paper 6
Stops in a state in which it greatly protrudes from the recording paper hand slot / recording paper discharge port 11e1 formed in the exterior housing 11. At this time, since the platen roller 37 has been retracted from the thermal head 36, printing on the recording paper 6 is not performed.

Next, as shown in FIG.
As soon as the printing start position is detected, the arms 38a,
The platen roller 37 pivotally supported by 38b moves toward the thermal head 36 so that the recording paper 6 and the ink paper 3 overlap, and the platen roller 37 is pressed against the thermal head 36 by the urging force of the torsion spring 40. You.

At this time, the torsion spring 40
The left and right winding portions 40a, 40b and these winding portions 40a,
And a connecting portion 40c for connecting the end portion 40a1 of the winding portion 40a and the end portion 40b1 of the winding portion 40b are locked by the arms 38a and 38b, respectively. Since the plate 40c is engaged with the pin 39e implanted in the shaft 39, the platen roller 37 is pressed against the thermal head 36 with a uniform pressure in the longitudinal direction.

At substantially the same time as the pressing operation, the capstan roller 34 is rotated counterclockwise by a pulse motor (not shown), so that the recording paper 6 sandwiched between the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 is moved by an arrow. The take-up reel 5 is conveyed in the X2 direction and is switched to the ink-paper take-up driving means by the rotation direction of a motor (not shown). (In the counterclockwise direction), the ink paper 3 is wound up. Here, while the ink paper 3 is wound on the take-up reel 5, the first yellow (Y) ink color detection mark M1 (FIG. 2A) is detected by a photo sensor (not shown) and the head of yellow (Y) is detected. Then, the image information corresponding to the first color yellow (Y) is supplied to the thermal head 36, so that the first color yellow (Y) is applied to the recording paper 6 by the thermal head 36 while winding the ink paper 3.
Start printing. During the printing of yellow (Y), the ink paper 3 is forcibly peeled off from the recording paper 6 when the ink paper 3 passes through the thermal head 36 due to the winding tension of the ink paper 3. The recording paper 6 on which yellow (Y) is printed is temporarily stored between the next uppermost recording paper 6 and the recording paper storage unit upper plate 11g.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7 (E), when the printing direction rear end of the first color yellow (Y) recording paper 6 is detected by the printing direction rear end detection sensor 42, the first color yellow (Y) is detected. Since the printing of yellow (Y) is completed, the platen roller 37 immediately moves away from the thermal head 36 and retreats, and the conveyance of the ink paper 3 and the recording paper 6 also stops. Thereafter, the operation returns to the operation described with reference to FIG.
The operations of (C) to (E) of FIG. 7 are repeated to print magenta (M) for the second color and cyan (C) for the third color, and a color image is obtained on the recording paper 6 when printing is completed. .

Next, the manual feed / discharge printing process will be described. When an operator operates the menu button 14a and the memory / setting button 14b to instruct the thermal transfer printer 10 to perform the manual paper feed / output printing process, the liquid crystal panel 1 is displayed.
5, a message "Please give me a hand." Is displayed. In accordance with this, the operator inserts the recording paper 6 in the direction of arrow X2 from the recording paper outlet 11e1.

At this time, the shaft 39 is rotated in the direction of arrow A2 by a motor (not shown), and the arms 38a, 38b
The wall surfaces 38a1 and 38b1 are facing the recording paper hand slot / recording paper discharge port 11e1 (see FIG. 9), and the platen roller 37 is separated from the thermal head 36. Therefore, when the operator inserts the recording paper 6, the position of the recording paper 6 in the width direction is regulated by the wall surfaces 38a1 and 38b1, and the thermal head 36 is inserted.
Is inserted rightward through a gap formed between the roller and the platen roller 37, and reaches the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 which are always in a pressed state. At this time, the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 have not yet rotated, and the leading end of the inserted recording paper 6 abuts on the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 in the pressed state, and The orientation is corrected.

With the insertion of the recording paper 6 by the operator, the rear end detection sensor 42 in the printing direction detects that the recording paper 6 has been inserted, and a message "Press the print button." Is displayed on the liquid crystal panel 15. Is displayed. The operator follows the message and presses the print / setting button 1
4c, the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 3
Reference numeral 5 indicates that the recording paper 6 starts rotating and is further conveyed in the direction of arrow X2. When the print-direction leading-edge detection sensor 33 (see FIG. 6) provided near the upstream side of the capstan roller 34 detects the printing-direction leading end of the recording paper 6, recording by the capstan roller 34 and the pinch roller 35 is performed. The conveyance of the paper 6 stops. In this process, the cueing operation of the ink paper 3 is performed in parallel with the conveyance of the recording paper 6, and the pressing operation of the platen roller 37 to the thermal head 36, the printing operation of the image, the recording paper The paper ejection operation 6 is the same as in the normal paper supply / discharge print process described above.

[0041]

According to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, a recording paper transport means for nipping and transporting a recording paper between a capstan roller and a pinch roller, and a number of heating resistors downstream of the recording paper transport means are provided. A thermal head fixed linearly to the base and a platen roller driving means for pressing or separating the platen roller from the thermal head; And a thermal transfer printer that performs image recording by pressing and holding the thermal head with the thermal head, wherein the platen roller driving means rotatably fits one end to each of left and right ends of a shaft supported by the base. A pair of left and right platen roller support arms for rotatably supporting the platen roller at each other end, and the platen roller loosely fitted on the shaft and the thermal head And a torsion spring for applying a pressing force of the platen roller to the thermal head via the pair of left and right platen roller support arms by rotation of the shaft after the contact. A slit-shaped opening is formed near the shaft facing the recording paper transport path, and the pair of left and right platen roller support arms rotate around the shaft so that the platen roller is separated from the thermal head. In this manner, the pair of left and right platen roller support arms are formed on the pair of left and right platen roller support arms so as to face the slit-shaped opening and regulate the width of the recording sheet in the width direction. The position is reliably guided and regulated, so that reliable paper feeding can be performed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an ink paper cartridge applied to a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIGS. 2A to 2F are diagrams for explaining the ink paper housed in the ink paper cartridge shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention as viewed from the bottom side.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are a bottom view and a side sectional view showing the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention viewed from the bottom side.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a configuration of a thermal transfer printer according to the invention.

FIGS. 7A to 7E are views for explaining a normal paper supply / discharge print process for printing a color image on recording paper in the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a configuration around a platen roller and a thermal head which are main parts of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, and shows a state where the platen roller is pressed against the thermal head.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a configuration around a platen roller and a thermal head, which are main parts of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, and shows a state where the platen roller is separated from the thermal head.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a configuration around a platen roller and a thermal head which are main parts in a conventional thermal transfer printer.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Ink paper cartridge, 2 cartridge 3 Ink paper 4 Supply reel 5 Take-up reel 6 Recording paper 10 Thermal transfer printer 11 Exterior housing 12 Ink paper door 13 Battery door 14 Operation button 15 Liquid crystal panel 16 Recording paper door 17 Hinge 18 Lock Button 19 Compression spring 20 Cylindrical pressing member 21 Pressing plate 22 Battery 23a Torsion spring 23b Torsion spring 24 Shaft 31 Feed roller 32 Slit member 33 Printing direction leading end detection sensor 34 Capstan roller 35 Pinch roller 36 Thermal head 37 Rapten roller 38 Arm 39 shaft 40 torsion spring 41 cartridge guide 42 print direction rear end detection sensor 50 ink roller take-up drive unit also serving as feed roller drive unit

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Morihiko Ota 3-12-12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside of Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (72) Toshiyuki Nakamura 3--12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Address Victor Company of Japan, Ltd. (72) Inventor Kenichi Masano 3-12-12 Moriyacho, Kanagawa-ku, Yokohama-shi, Kanagawa Prefecture Inside Victor Company of Japan

Claims (2)

[Claims] A recording paper conveying means for nipping and conveying a recording paper between a capstan roller and a pinch roller; and a plurality of heating resistors arranged linearly downstream of the recording paper conveying means on a base. At least a fixed thermal head and a platen roller driving means for pressing or separating the platen roller from the thermal head are provided, and the recording paper and the ink paper are pressed and held between the platen roller and the thermal head. A platen roller driving means, one end of each of which is rotatably fitted to left and right ends of a shaft supported by the base, and the platen roller is attached to each other end of the shaft. A pair of left and right platen roller supporting arms rotatably supported, and a rotation of the shaft after the platen roller is loosely fitted on the shaft and the platen roller contacts the thermal head. At least a torsion spring for applying a pressing force of the platen roller to the thermal head via the pair of left and right platen roller supporting arms; and a conveyance path for the recording paper in the vicinity of the shaft of the housing of the thermal transfer printer. And a pair of left and right platen roller support arms are rotated around the shaft so that the platen roller is separated from the thermal head. A thermal transfer printer having a pair of left and right platen roller support arms formed with wall surfaces for regulating the position of the recording sheet in the width direction. 2. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, wherein said capstan roller and said pinch roller are always in pressure contact with each other.