JPS59218887A - Thermal transfer recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable printing during the reciprocal movement of a carriage, by a method wherein two ink ribbon cassettes are mounted on the carriage and one cassette is selected when the carriage forwardly moves while the other cassette is selected when said carriage backwardly moved. CONSTITUTION:Two ink ribbon cassettes 10, 11 are mounted to ink ribbon change-over apparatuses 12, 14 on a carriage 4 in a suerposed state. The change- over apparatuses 12, 14 are moved up and down corresponding to the reciprocal movement of the carriage 4 to change over the ink ribbon corresponding to a printing head. At the same time, the blade 22 provided to the shaft 21 of a pulley rotating with the reciprocal movement of the carriage 4 changes over the engaged ink ribbon cassettes 10, 11 to also change over ribbon feed operation. By this method, printing can be performed during the reciprocal movement of the carriage 4.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an improvement in a serial printing type thermal transfer recording device, and more specifically, to enable printing in both directions during forward movement and backward movement, and to improve the printing speed. ” - is applied to a thermal transfer recording device designed to measure .

<Prior Art> The basic structure of a conventional serial printing type thermal transfer recording apparatus is as shown in the perspective view of FIG. That is, the first
In the figure, the thermal transfer recording device Hiko wraps a complete sheet of paper 1,
A timing bell 1-4 moves a platen 2, which is rotated intermittently by a line feed means (not shown), and a carriage 7, which is suspended from a pair of guide shafts 3, 3, which are provided parallel to the platen 2.
Alternatively, it is comprised of a drive device (not shown) that reciprocates via a wire 5.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a recording head (thermal head) mounted on the carriage 4, which generates Joule heat by placing a plurality of printing elements at regular intervals and selectively applying >+i+% to the printing elements. , thermal transfer inkphone 13
The meltable ink applied to the sheet is melted and transferred onto the sheet of paper, thereby printing characters, figures, etc. on the plain paper.

(2) There is an ink cartridge cassette l-C mounted on the carriage 4, in which a thermal transfer ink ribbon 13 is stored, and a part of the ink ribbon 13 is pulled out from the ink ribbon cassette 4o. and recording head 6
Leading between.

When the carriage 4 moves forward, the recording head 6 is urged toward the platen 2, and the image is transferred onto the plain paper 1 and recorded. During the return movement of the sharpener 4, the recording head 6 is separated from the platen 2 and the plain paper 1 by a recording head release device (not shown), and the used ink ribbon 13 after recording is separated from the platen 2 and the plain paper 1.
is wound up during forward movement by an ink ribbon winding device (not shown). Once used, the ink ribbon cannot be reused.

Such conventional serial type thermal transfer recording apparatuses have a drawback in that they cannot perform reciprocating printing (printing is performed in both directions during forward movement and backward movement).

The reason why reciprocating printing is not possible is that during recording, the recording head 6 is connected to the platen 2 via the ink ribbon I3 and the recording paper 1.
When the carriage 4 moves in this state, the ink ribbon 13 is always pulled out in the opposite direction to the direction of movement of the ink ribbon 4. In other words, during the forward movement, the ink ribbon on the right side is pulled out, and during the backward movement, the left ink ribbon (used ink ribbon) is also pulled out, so printing during the backward movement is not possible. lko.

〈Te 1〉 1 -゛・ The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks and improves the recording speed of 7J with slow recording speed.
The purpose of this invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording device with a high recording speed by enabling reciprocating printing in a thermal transfer recording device where the + is the biggest drawback.

It is a side view showing the basic configuration, and -j and '115 are represented by the same symbols as the conventional device shown in the $1 figure.

In FIG. 2, the thermal transfer recording device is provided with a platen 2, which also serves as a paper feed roller, around which recording paper (plain paper) is wound and rotated intermittently by a line feed means (not shown), and a platen 2 installed parallel to the platen 2. an ink ribbon winding device (19° 21.22) that winds only the ribbon reciprocably suspended on a pair of guides 3, 3, and one ink ribbon cassette 10 that stores independent and separate ink ribbons. and 1
1, and a drive device (not shown) for reciprocating the carriage 4. Note that 6 is a recording head (thermal head).

Next, the recording head release device (7, 8, 9) will be explained first.

The recording head 6 is always urged toward the platen 2 by a spring (not shown), and has a structure in which it comes into pressure contact with the platen 2 via the ink ribbon and the recording paper 2. However, when the recording head 6 is at the home position, When stopping or not printing, the head lift motor 7 is driven to rotate the henodrift cam 8 and rotate the recording head holder 9 to separate the recording head 6 from the platen 2.

This is the case when the ink cartridge is stopped.
This is to facilitate the replacement of O and II, and to prevent the ink ribbon from being drawn out and consumed while the carriage 4 is moving during printing interruption.

Next, independent and separate ink ribbon cassettes 10 and 11
I will explain about it. (See Figure 3) Each independent ink ribbon is provided in a separate ink ribbon cassette 10.
and 11. Figure 3 shows the state before use, and the second ink ribbon cassette 10 contains A
The ink ribbon 13 is stored on the side (left side in the drawing),
It is wound up on the winding core on the B side (right side in the drawing). Therefore, the ink ribbon cassette 10 represents an ink ribbon cassette used during forward movement. Further, in the lower ink ribbon cassette 11, the ink ribbon 13 is stored on the B side, and is wound onto the winding core on the A side. The ink ribbon cassette 11 represents the ink ribbon cassette and throat used during backward movement.

Next, the ink ribbon selection device (12, 14) will be explained. (Figure 4 (a) and tb+bl) Figure 4 (21)
In (1) and (1), the plunger 12 is driven to move the socket base 14 downward. On this cassette stand 14, the ink ribbon cassette 10 described in "2"
and 11 are installed, the initial state (〆() 4 figure (,,))
In this case, the ink ribbon cassette throat 10 is located at a position opposite to the platen 2, and recording during forward movement is possible.

Next, when the plunger I2 is driven, it enters the state shown in FIG. 4 (bl), and the ink ribbon rotates oppositely to the ink ribbon cassette 1l or the platen 2, and recording during backward movement becomes possible.

Next, the ink ribbon winding mechanism (19, 21, 22), which is the most important in the present invention, will be explained.

(See Figure 5) In Figure 5, wire lobes (not shown) fixed at both ends to the frame (not shown) are wound around the wire lobes 19 and 19', and as the carriage 4 moves, the pulleys 19 and 19' and I 9' or rotate. Tatami pulley 19
and 19' include one-way clutches 20 and 20, respectively.
``Kahamekoma I''shi is there. Also, on the other hand, crack 2
0 and one-way clutch 2 (1') are installed in opposite directions, so during forward movement, the rotation of pulley 19 or the winding shaft 2
However, the rotation of the sea IJ l 9' is not transmitted to the take-up shaft 21' and is stopped. When returning, the opposite is true,
Either the rotation of the pulley 19 is not transmitted to the winding shaft 21 and is stopped, or the rotation of the pulley 19' is arranged so as to be transmitted to the winding shaft 2Y.

Further, blades 22 and 22' are attached to the winding shafts 21 and 21', respectively, at positions facing the platen 2.

Due to the ASt configuration, only the winding core 23 or 23', which is engaged with the wing 22 or 22' of the rotating winding shaft 21 or 21', rotates and winds up the ink ribbon.

The ink ribbon winding cores A23 and 23' and cores B24 and 24' (hereinafter simply referred to as core A and core B) in the ink ribbon cassettes IO and 11 slip so that a torque of less than a predetermined value is applied. ++'-j structure.)

That is, in Figure 5, the core A28 of the ink ribbon cassette 10 is engaged with the blade 22 of the take-up shaft 21, and when the take-up shaft 21 rotates, the core A23 also rotates. Also core A2
3 and the core B24 are pressed together by a leaf spring 26 via a friction plate 25. Therefore, the rotation of core A23 is the rotation of core B2
4, but if the winding diameter of the ink ribbon 13 changes and a torque greater than a certain value is applied, the core A2
3 and core B24 slip. As a result, even if the take-up shaft 21 always rotates at a constant speed, there is no fear that excessive tension will be applied to the ink ribbon due to a change in the take-up diameter of the ink ribbon. Furthermore, by changing the spring constant of the leaf spring 26, the limit torque value at which slipping starts can be changed.

The winding core portion of the ink ribbon cassette 11 also has a similar structure.

In addition, in the ink ribbon winding device shown in FIG.
One-way clutches 20 and 21' are installed in pulleys 19 and 19'.
is installed, but it works without anything else. In this case, while the carriage 4 is moving, the ink ribbon selection device (12, 14) cannot switch the ink ribbon. In other words, the ink ribbon can be switched only when the carriage 4 is completely stopped. On the other hand, if the clutch is engaged, switching by the ink ribbon selection device tji can be started even when the printing of that row is finished and the carriage 4 has not yet stopped in order to increase the printing speed even a little.

On the other hand, if there is no clutch, Boo IJ I 9 and 19
' are fixed to the winding shafts 21 and 21', respectively. Therefore, while the carriage 4 is moving, the winding shaft 21
and 21' are rotating. During forward movement, the second ink ribbon cassette 10 is selected by the ink ribbon selection device (7, 8, 9), and the blade 22 of the take-up shaft j31 is engaged with the take-up core A23. And core B24 rotates.

However, since the wings 22' of the take-up shaft 21' are not engaged with the ink ribbon supply core 27, the rotation of the take-up shaft 2' is not transmitted. When moving backwards, the ink ribbon switching device
The ink cartridge below is selected, so take it up! I! The blades 22 of the 1II 21 are engaged with the ink ribbon supply core 27, and the rotation of the take-up shaft 21 is not transmitted thereto. On the other hand, the blade 22' of the winding shaft 21' or the core Δ23'
The core A2a' and the core A2a' and the arrow 24' rotate, and the used ink ribbon is wound up.

Next, the operation process of reciprocating recording by the thermal transfer recording device made by Kosukei will be explained.

In the initial state, this apparatus is in the state shown in FIG. 4(a) by the ink ribbon selection device, and the second ink ribbon cassette 1o is selected.

In this state, at the same time as the carriage 4 starts, the recording head 6 is pressed against the platen 2 via the ink printer 13 and the recording paper 1 by the drive of the head lift motor 7, and the recording head 6 is started by the recording signal supplied via the recording cotton 28. will be started. As the carriage 4 moves, the pulley 19
The winding shaft 21 and the blade 22 also rotate. At this time, the rotation of the boot gear is controlled by the winding shaft 21 by the clutch 20'.
′ is not communicated. Therefore, it is interlocked with this feather 22.
Core A23 and core B of the second ink ribbon cassette 10
The ink ribbon 13 rotates 24 times and is wound up as much as the ink ribbon 13 has come out in one cycle.

When the recording of 1°J is completed, the recording head 6 is released from the platen by the aforementioned recording head release device (7, 8, 9).
more separated.

Next, by a paper feeding means (not shown), the record Ma1 is conveyed by line feed.

Further, the lower ink ribbon cassette 11 is directed toward the platen 2 by the aforementioned ink ribbon selection device (12, 14).

Next, the carriage 4 starts moving in the opposite direction (backward movement) by a towing carriage drive device (not shown). Along with this movement of the carriage 4, the recording head 6 is brought into pressure contact with the platen 2 by the drive of the head lift motor 7, and recording is performed in accordance with the recording signal.
Although the pulleys 19 and 19' rotate with the movement in the opposite direction, the rotation of the boot IJI9 is not transmitted to the winding shaft 21 by the one-way clutch 20. Only the rotation of the blade IJI 9' is transmitted to the winding shaft 2+', causing the blade 4'11 and the blade 2z to rotate. Therefore, the core A 23' and the core 1324' of the lower ink ribbon cassette 11 that are engaged with the wing 22' rotate 1im, and the ink ribbon is wound up in the opposite direction from the forward movement. By repeating this action, the members are recorded.

Do it like this? 1. When moving, the second ink ribbon cassette 10 is always used, and when moving backward, the lower ink ribbon cassette 11 is used.

As described above, reciprocating printing according to the present invention is executed, or the present invention can also be applied to two-color printing.

That is, in the embodiment of the present invention described in section 2, the ink ribbon cassette 10 containing the black ink ribbon is mounted at the bottom, and the ink ribbon cassette 11 containing the red ink ribbon is mounted below. By installing the two-color ink ribbon cassettes 11 and 12 in this manner, recording is performed with black ink during forward movement, and recording is performed with red ink during backward movement. In this case, there are no four line feeds on the recording paper 1 at the time of switching from forward movement to backward movement.

Since it is recorded in red or during backward motion, it has the feature of being able to record in two colors without significantly reducing the recording speed compared to conventional black recording single-function machines.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the ink phone selection device.

In Figure 6, the ink ribbon lift motor 15 is driven to move the cassette table 14 downward. The rotation of the shaft of the ink ribbon lift motor 15 is transmitted by the transmission gear 16 to the shaft 17 (pole screw, etc.) provided with a helical groove, and this rotation causes the cassette stand 14 to which the cassette holder 17 is attached to move upward. , and their respective positions are determined by a position detection sensor (not shown).

<Effects> As described above, the thermal transfer recording device of the present invention has at least two inks IJ, 14, each provided independently.
an ink ribbon switching device that switches to enable use of either one of the ink ribbons during forward and backward movement of the nozzle, and an ink ribbon winding device that collects only the ink ribbon that is being printed. Since printing is performed using different ink ribbons both when the carriage moves forward and backward as described in -14, it is a very simple configuration and cost-effective. It is possible to increase the recording speed without increasing the recording speed.

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing the basic structure of a conventional serial type thermal transfer recording device, and Figure 2 is an implementation of the reciprocating recording thermal transfer recording device of the present invention. A side view showing the configuration of an example, Figure 3 is a perspective view showing the ink ribbon cassette, Figures 4 (a) and (b) are side views showing the position state of the ink ribbon cassette selected by the ink ribbon selection device N, respectively. Figure 5 does not show the inside of the ink ribbon winding device and ink ribbon cassette...The first view and Figure 6 are other old examples of the ink ribbon selection device←←
It is a sectional view without showing.

1... Recording paper (, lJi paper passing), 2... Platen, 3
° Noid axis, 4... Carriage, 6... Note 4.
■(Head (thermal head), 7...Head lift motor, 8...Head lift cam, 9...Record halter, lt)...Ink ribbon cassette (for forward use only), 11...Ink ribbon cassette (Used during double action)
, 12... plunger, 13... ink ribbon,
14... Skein/gutter stand, 15... Ink ribbon lift motor, 21 and 21'... Ink ribbon take-up shaft,
22 and 22'・wings, 23 and 23′...winding core A
, 24 and 24'... Winding core B127 and 27'...
・Ink ribbon supply core.

Deputy Kanato Patent Attorney Aihiko Fukushi (2 others)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A carriage carrying a recording head and an ink ribbon is reciprocated parallel to the platen in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction,
A thermal transfer recording device in which ink from the ink ribbon is transferred onto a recording paper by the recording head, at least two ink ribbons each provided independently, and an ink ribbon for forward movement and return of the ink ribbon. During forward movement of the carriage, an ink ribbon cutting device that switches to the ink ribbon function and a link ribbon winding device that winds only the ink ribbon during printing are activated, and when the carriage moves forward and A thermal transfer recording device characterized in that printing is performed using ink ribbons with different odors during both backward motions.