JPS5995168A - Thermal transfer type printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To constitute the titled printing apparatus so as to make a transfer image excellent while to make it possible miniaturize the same and to perform rapid printing treatment, by mounting a recording paper cooling mechanism at a position after transfer printing but before recording paper is separated from transfer paper. CONSTITUTION:After thermal printing is performed by a thermal head 2, recording paper 4 and transfer paper 3 are superposed along the circumferential side surface of a platen roller 1 to be sent between a metal roller 5 and the platen roller 1 and the surface of the side not coated with heat meltable ink of the transfer paper 3 is cooled by the metal roller 5 while the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 are separated after cooling. The transferred heat meltable ink is adhered to the side of the recording paper 4 in a beautiful dot pattern to obtain an excellent transfer image and an apparatus can be miniaturized as compared with a natural cooling apparatus while printing is rapidly finished.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printing device, and by providing a recording paper cooling mechanism in a position before the recording paper and the transfer paper come into contact with each other after transfer printing in the thermal transfer printing device, When the recording paper and the transfer paper are separated after transfer, the shape of the ink dots is beautiful, the transferred image is perfect, and furthermore, we have developed a thermal transfer printing device that can be miniaturized and print quickly. The purpose is to provide.

The principle of thermal transfer recording is that heat-melting ink applied to transfer paper and recording paper are sent between a thermal head and a platen roller, and the thermal head presses the transfer paper and recording paper against the platen roller. During the pressure bonding, the heat from the thermal head melts the heat-melting ink on the transfer paper.
~, this melted heat-fusible ink is transferred onto recording paper.

However, during such thermal transfer recording, when the transferred recording paper is separated from the transfer paper after transfer, the heat-melting ink that was supposed to have been transferred does not completely and accurately adhere to the recording paper side. For example, the heat-melt ink that should have been transferred may stick to the transfer paper, or only half the thickness of the heat-melt ink may stick to the recording paper, or even become ring-shaped. As a result, the shape of the dots of the transferred dots is not constant, which has a negative impact on various factors that affect image quality such as gradation, resolution, S/N1/kneading, etc. It has been pointed out that the disadvantage is that the image quality is significantly degraded.

The invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks, and examples of its implementation will be described below.

1 to 3 show a thermal transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention: A
, ' is an explanatory diagram of one embodiment of '.

In the figure, ■-platen roller 2 is a thermal head, and between the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2, a recording paper 4 is placed on the heat-fusible ink side of the transfer paper 3 coated with heat-fusible ink. The thermal head 2 presses the transfer paper 3 onto the side of the transfer paper 3 on which no heat-melting ink is applied, and the thermal head 2 causes the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 to come into contact with each other. The ink is pushed by the platen roller, the heat from the thermal head 2 melts the heat-fusible ink on the transfer paper side, and the melted heat-fusible ink is transferred to the recording paper 4.

5 is, for example, a metal roller for cooling, and this metal roller 5 is configured to be pressed against the platen roller 1, and the recording paper 4 and the transfer paper 3 after the transfer is performed by the heat of the thermal head 2. is superimposed along the circumferential side of the platen roller 1 and fed between the metal roller 5 and the platen roller 1, and the surface of the transfer paper 3 on which the heat-melting ink is not applied is coated by the metal roller 5. The recording paper 4 is also cooled down, and after this cooling, the transfer paper 3 is taken up on a take-up reel, and one part of the recording paper 4 is
The transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 are configured to separate from each other when they pass between the metal roller 5 and the platen roller 1, such as when the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 are fed onto the circumferential surface of the platen roller 1 (81).

When the thermal transfer printing apparatus is configured as described above, the thermal head 2 and the metal roller 5 are separated from the platen roller 1 as shown in FIG.
As shown in the figure, the thermal head 2 and the metal roller 5 enter the transfer mode in which the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 are sandwiched and pressed against the platen roller 1, and the heat of the thermal head 2 causes the transfer paper 3 to become thermally meltable. The ink is smeared, and this melted hot-melt ink is transferred to the G4 side for recording.
Part 1. Then, the cow-sized transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 are superimposed and fed between the metal roller 5 and the platen roller 1.
The transfer paper 3, heat-melting ink,
When the recording paper 4 is cooled to a certain extent and then the recording paper and the transfer paper are separated and thermal transfer recording is performed, the transferred heat-melting ink adheres neatly to the recording paper 4 side in the form of dots. Therefore, the quality of the transferred image does not deteriorate.

It seems that the phenomenon described above is mainly based on the following factors. That is, in a state where no cooling is performed by the metal roller 5, the temperature of the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 at the time of heating by the full head 2 is due to the heating of the thermal head 2 between the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4. The temperature of the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 sent out with the rotation of the platen roller 1 is 1 degree (dF), and after this temperature has decreased sufficiently, If the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 come into contact with each other in the process, there is not much of a problem, but it takes a certain amount of time to cool them down sufficiently, and cooling only by leaving them naturally will cause the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 to move away from the transfer position. It is necessary to make the distance at 1 considerably long, which not only increases the size of the thermal transfer printing device, but also increases the distance between the transfer paper and recording paper sent out from the transfer position by the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2. It becomes difficult to process the paper, and it becomes mechanically complicated.However, if the recording paper is sufficiently cooled by the metal roller 5 (this cooling is done via the transfer paper, (Since the temperature is originally low, the temperature on the recording paper side is slightly lower than that on the transfer paper side), and the temperature change distribution of the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 is as shown in Fig. 4, When the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 pass between the metal roller 5 and the platen roller 1, their temperature has dropped sufficiently, so that the transfer paper 3 and the recording paper 4 are immediately mixed together and separated. However, the heat-melting ink to be transferred adheres neatly to the recording paper 4 side, and the dot shape is not damaged. In addition, in FIG. 4, solid lines and dotted lines dl, 6 of the transfer paper and recording paper when there is a cooling effect by the metal roller 5.
"m degree displacement distribution, one-dot chain line and two-dot chain line t",
It shows the temperature change of the transfer paper and the recording paper when there is no cooling effect by the metal roller.

For example, color separation in data processing does not require gradation recording, so the ability to improve the transfer rate is 91 cm, but when printing television images, for example, gradation recording is not necessary. Since recording is required, it is desired that the dots have a neat shape. Therefore, in the case of such thermal transfer printing, it is preferable to use the apparatus of the present invention.

Also, in Figures 2 and 3, 6 indicates the thermal head; 1
Holder, 7 is a metal roller holder, 8 is 1 bottle,
9 is a tension spring, 10 is a guide bar for the transfer paper on the inlet side of the thermal head 20, and as shown in FIG. 2, when the thermal transfer printing device is in the non-transfer mode,
Thermal head mounting holder 6:,:J rotates around the axis, and the thermal head 2 and metal roller 5 are separated from the platen roller 1, and the transfer mode is set as shown in Fig. 3. If there is
The thermal hemlock mounting holder 6 rotates in a predetermined direction, and the thermal hemlock 2 is pressed against the platen roller 1, and
Since the metal roller number holder 7 is rotatably attached to a predetermined position of the thermal head number holder 6, the metal roller mounting holder 7 is also displaced, and at that time the pin/
The movement of the metal roller 5 is regulated by 8, the metal roller 5 is rotated counterclockwise, and the metal roller 5 is also pressed against the platen roller 1.

The thermal transfer printing device according to the present invention feeds a recording paper or other transfer paper between a platen roller and a thermal head, and records by melting the heat-fusible ink on the transfer paper with the heat of the thermal head. A thermal transfer printing device that performs transfer printing on paper is equipped with a recording paper cooling mechanism at a position after transfer printing and before the recording paper and the transfer paper come into contact with each other. The heat-melt ink adheres neatly to the recording paper side, and when the recording paper and transfer paper come into contact with each other, the shape of the dots of the heat-melt ink that should have been transferred is not damaged, resulting in an excellent transferred image. Furthermore, the apparatus having such features can be miniaturized, and printing can be completed quickly.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 3 show a thermal transfer printing device according to the present invention.
FIG. 4, an explanatory diagram of the embodiment, is an explanatory diagram of the spirituality displacement distribution of transfer paper and recording paper during thermal transfer printing. 1 Platen "l-ra", 2 thermal head, 3 transfer paper, 4...recording paper, 5 metal roller. Patent applicant 1-1 Victor Co., Ltd. 1, 1st
Enclosure 72 Mill side '31 Continued from page 1 0 Inventor Shigeru Kato Inside Victor Co., Ltd., 3-12 Moriya-cho, Kanayō-ku, Yokohama-shi 0 Inventor Tsutomu Kiuchi 3-12 Moriya-cho, Kanayō-ku, Yokohama-shi Japan Within Victor Co., Ltd.

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a thermal transfer printing device that sends recording paper and transfer paper between a platen roller and a thermal head, and uses the heat of the thermal head to melt the heat-melting ink on the transfer paper and transfer print onto the recording paper, after transfer printing, A thermal transfer printing device further comprising a recording paper cooling mechanism at a position before the recording paper and the transfer paper come into contact with each other.