JPS60253578A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to perform color printing in low running cost without requiring the lost feed of an ink ribbon, by mounting a plurality of ribbon cassettes receiving a plurality of ink ribbons to the definite position on a carriage according to necessity to subject the same to printing. CONSTITUTION:Ribbon cassettes receiving different color ink ribbons are preliminarily mounted on a cassette stacker 49 and moved to the position of a thermal head one at a time corresponding to a printing order to perform printing and successively replaced. A carriage 61 performs reciprocal motion in the direction same to the axial direction of a platen 43 for feeding recording paper. The carriage 61 is moved in front of either one of ribbon cassettes 45, 46, 48 to be mounted and the delivery solenoid 65 at the position of each cassette is operated to push out each cassette along an insert guide 67 and a pinch roller 66 to fix the same to the permanent magnet 63 on the carriage 61. By this method, because only the ink ribbon having a color to be used is consumed, running cost is low and the wasteful lost feed of the ink ribbon is not required.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a ribbon exchange and drive system for a thermal transfer printer capable of color printing.

[Background of the invention]

As shown in FIG. 10, a conventional thermal transfer printer stores one ink ribbon 2 in one ribbon cassette 5 that moves along the axial direction of a platen 3, and moves at the same speed as the ribbon cassette. A structure in which the ink ribbon is wound up is generally adopted.

When performing color printing with this type of printer, one ink ribbon 2 in the ribbon cassette 5 is printed in various colors 2B in a cascading or streaky manner as shown in FIG. 11 or 12. , 2Y, 2M, and 2C, and use these colors to print sequentially on the recording paper 4 on the thermal bed 1, and unused colors are empty-fed. However, in the case of a printing pattern with a large amount of idle feeding, the amount of wasted ink ribbon increases, resulting in a disadvantage that the cost of thinning the ink ribbon becomes extremely high.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a ribbon exchange and drive type thermal transfer printer that eliminates the need to feed unused colors, prevents ink ribbons from being wasted, and keeps running costs low. It is.

[Summary of the invention]

A feature of the present invention is that a plurality of ink ribbons are respectively stored in a plurality of ribbon cassettes, and the plurality of ribbon cassettes are mounted on a fixed position on a carriage as necessary for printing. With this method, there is no need to feed the ink ribbon in any character pattern, and a thermal transfer printer that prints in color at low running costs can be obtained.

[Embodiments of the invention]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view schematically showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In the figure, the recording paper 44 moves backward on the platen 43 and is printed, as in the conventional case. In the present invention,
Ribbon cassettes 45 to 48 containing ink ribbons of each color are installed on the cassette stacker 49, and in response to a printing command, these ribbon cassettes are moved one by one to the thermal head 41 for printing, and the ribbon cassettes are placed one after another. The plan is to exchange them.

In FIGS. 2 and 3 showing a plan view and a side view of this embodiment, the driving force of a carriage drive motor 68 is transmitted to a carriage 61 by a timing belt 60. As shown in FIGS. The carriage 61 is configured to perform reciprocating motion in the same direction as the axis of the platen 43 for conveying the recording paper, at a constant distance from the platen 43. Further, on the carriage 61, a permanent magnet 63 that fixes the ribbon cassette 47 on the carriage 61, a feeding solenoid 62 with sufficient force to separate the ribbon cassette 47 from the permanent magnet 63,
A thermal head 41 that generates heat in response to a recording signal, a pinch roller 66 that winds up the ink ribbon in the ribbon cassette 47, and a power transmission mechanism that transmits driving force to the pinch roller 66 are installed. The cassette stacker 49 is arranged parallel to the platen 43, that is, parallel to the moving direction of the carriage 61. Permanent magnets 63 . on the carriage 61 are placed on the cassette stacker 49 . Feeding solenoid 62. A permanent magnet 64 facing the pinch roller 66 fixes the ribbon cassettes 45 to 48 on the cassette stacker 49, a payout solenoid 65 on the carriage 61 with sufficient force to separate the ribbon cassette 47 from the permanent magnet 64, and A cassette insertion guide 67 is mounted facing the pinch roller 66 with a small gap therebetween.

The feed-out solenoids 62, 65 are operated in a timely manner by electrical signals sent from a control section of the printer equipment.

In FIG. 2, the ribbon cassette 47 is placed in the cassette stacker 49.
It is shown being pushed out from above by a solenoid 65 and mounted on a carriage 61. After this,
The feeding solenoid 65 returns to the cassette stacker 49, the carriage 61 is driven, and printing starts as a thermal transfer printer. When replacing the ribbon cassette 47 with another one after printing with this ribbon cassette 47 is completed, first place it in front of the position on the cassette stacker 49 where the ribbon cassette 47 currently fixed on the carriage 61 should be installed. The carriage 61 is stopped, the feed-out solenoid 62 is activated, the ribbon cassette 47 is pushed out along the pinch roller 66 and the cassette insertion guide 67, and the ribbon cassette 47 is fixed to the permanent magnet 64 on the cassette stacker 49. Therefore, the ribbon cassette that should be installed next) 45, 46.48
Move the carriage 61 in front of one of the ribbon cassettes, actuate the feed-out solenoid 65 at the position of the ribbon cassette,
The ribbon cassette is pushed out along the cassette insertion guide 67 and the pinch roller 66 and fixed to the permanent magnet 63 on the carriage 61. In this embodiment, four ribbon cassettes are available for selection.

In the case of color printing, this thermal transfer printer consumes only the ink of the color used, so it is possible to print any character pattern at the lowest running cost.

Also, when ink ribbons with different densities are installed in the ribbon cassette, a combination of single printing and overlapping printing will result in
Simple gradation expression printing is also possible.

In addition, since the ink ribbon is fed only during printing, there is no need for unnecessary ink ribbon feeding time, so printing time is also shortened.

Another embodiment of the present invention is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

The same parts as in FIGS. 1 and 2 are designated by the same reference numerals.

The difference from the previous embodiment is that the cassette stacker 49 is moved when replacing the ribbon cassette. 4 and 5, permanent magnets 63. on the carriage 61 are placed on the cassette stacker 49. Feeding solenoid 62. There is a permanent magnet 64° cassette fixing guide 69 that faces the pinch roller 66 and fixes the ribbon cassettes 45-48 on the cassette stacker 49. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, the cassette stacker 49 is capable of horizontal movement in the direction of the carriage 61 and tilt movement in the opposite direction to the carriage 61 about the lower part of the cassette stacker 49 as an axis.

In FIGS. 4 and 5, the ribbon cassette 4 is at rest.
5, 46, and 48 are regulated in position by a cassette fixing guide 69 and fixed to the cassette stacker 49 by a permanent magnet 64. Also, the ribbon cassette 47 during the printing operation is moved to the carriage 6 by the permanent magnet 63 on the carriage 61.
It is fixed on 1. From this state, ribbon cassette 4
7, first the carriage 61 is stopped in front of the position on the cassette stacker 49 where the ribbon cassette 47 on the carriage 61 is to be installed. Next, the cassette stacker 49 is moved toward the carriage 61, brought into contact with the ribbon cassette 47 on the carriage 61, and the cassette fixing guide 69. Ribbon cassette 4 by permanent magnet 64
7 is also fixed to the cassette stacker 49. Here, the feeding solenoid 62 on the carriage 61 is activated,
When the cassette stacker 49 is moved in the opposite direction to the carriage 61, the ribbon cassette 47 is moved to the carriage 61.
The cassette is separated from the cassette stacker 49 and placed on the cassette stacker 49. Next, the ribbon cassette (45) to which the carriage 61 should be attached next
, 46.48. Then, the cassette stacker 49 is first moved toward the carriage 61, and one of the ribbon cassettes 45, 46, 48 is fixed to the permanent magnet 63 on the carriage 61. Furthermore, when the upper part of the cassette stacker 49 is tilted in the opposite direction to the carriage 61 while the cassette stacker 49 remains in that position, the ribbon cassette on the carriage 61 is pried by the pinch roller 66 passed through the ribbon cassette, and the ribbon cassette on the carriage 61 is The cassette stacker 49 is pulled away from the cassette stacker 49 while being fixed to the cassette stacker 49. Then, when the cassette stacker 49 is moved to the initial position again, the series of operations for replacing the cassettes is completed.

Still other embodiments of the present invention are shown in FIGS. 6 to 9. This embodiment differs from the previous two embodiments in that ribbon cassettes 55 to 58 are stacked in multiple stages, and this ribbon cassette group is moved in the direction of movement of the thermal head 51, that is, on the platen 5.
The axial direction in No. 3 means vertical movement. Therefore,
The ribbons in each cassette are independent as shown in FIG. 7, but have the same color arrangement as the conventional example shown in FIG.

8 and 9, the power of the carriage drive motor is transmitted to the carriage 87 by the timing belt 75. In FIGS. The carriage 87 is connected to the platen 5 that conveys the recording paper.
It is designed to perform reciprocating motion in the same direction as the axis No. 3 and at a constant distance from the platen 53. On the carriage 87, there is a pinch roller 85 that runs the timing belt 50.
Pulley 77, power transmission gear 78, 79°8
0.81 is placed. Further, there is a stopper 84 mounted on the same axis of the power transmission gear 80 with a certain distance between the shaft and the stopper 84, which rotates in the same direction as the rotation of the power transmission gear 80, and a pinch roller in that direction. The pinch row 285 is engaged with a gear 83 disposed coaxially with the pinch row 85 to stop rotation of the pinch row 285.

Through this operation, the power transmission gear 81 is connected to the pinch roller 85, which is its rotating shaft, via the helical clutch 82. Further, on the carriage 87, a cassette pedestal 88, its legs 74, and the legs 72 with the shaft 72 as the central axis are mounted.
4, a cassette vertical drive motor 70 that applies rotational force to the shaft 72, and a reduction gear 71 that transmits the power of the motor 70 to the shaft 72. The pinch roller 85 has a convex portion so as to transmit driving force only to the hub 86 in one of the ribbon cassettes 55 to 58.

FIGS. 8 and 9 show a state in which the ribbon cassette 55 in the uppermost stage of the ribbon cassettes stacked in four stages is ready for printing operation. If you want to change the ribbon cassette for printing from this state to another one, rotate the cassette vertical drive motor 70 and push up the ribbon cassette leg 74 due to the eccentricity of the plate cam 73. When the cassette is placed at the position 51, the rotation of the cassette vertical drive motor may be stopped. in this case,
As the cassette vertical drive motor, it is desirable to use a permanent magnet type stepping motor or the like whose rotation speed can be accurately controlled. In this embodiment, a plate cam is used in the cassette up-and-down mechanism to move the cassette up and down, but the up-and-down movement can also be performed using another mechanism 9, such as a link.

〔Effect of the invention〕 .

According to the present invention, since a plurality of ribbon cassettes are selectively used depending on the printing of each color, empty feeding of the ink ribbon is prevented for any character pattern, and there is no need to waste the ink ribbon, so running costs can be kept low. A color printing thermal transfer printer with a ribbon exchange and drive system can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

' Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an outline of an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a plan view of the embodiment of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a side view of the embodiment of Fig. 1, and Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment of the present invention. 5 is a side view of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a perspective view schematically showing another embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 7 shows its tape arrangement. 8 is a plan view of the example shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 9 is a front view of the embodiment shown in FIG. FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing an outline of a thermal transfer type printer, FIG. 11 is a view showing a dotted ribbon used in the conventional example shown in FIG. 10, and FIG. 12 is a view showing a frugal ribbon used in the conventional example shown in FIG. 10. 1.47.51...Thermal belt, 2,42°52
...ink ribbon, 3,43.53...platen,
4.44.54...Recording paper, 5,45,46,47°48.55,56,57.58...Ribbon cassette,
49...Cassette stacker, 60...Timing belt, 61...Carriage, 62.65...Solenoid, 63.64:...Permanent magnet, 66...Pinch roller, 67...Cassette insertion Guide, 68... Carriage drive motor, 69... Cassette fixing guide, 7
0... Cassette vertical drive motor, 71... Reduction gear, 73... Plate cam, 74... Cassette pedestal leg, 75
...Timing belt, 77...Pulley, 78,
79,80゜81.83...Gear, 82...Slip clutch, 84...Stopper, 85...Pinch low 2.86...Hub, 87...Carriage, 88...
...Cassette holder. Agent Patent Attorney Akio Takahashi Figure 7 Figure 30 Haku (+ figure 5m Figure 6 q Kasumi door rising □ Birth 28 Haku 80 Figure 9 hanging)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ribbon cassette containing an ink ribbon is placed on a carriage that is equipped with a thermal head and can move left and right in the axial direction of the platen, and the thermal head that moves in contact with the ink ribbon is moved in accordance with recording information. A thermal transfer printer that transfers and records an ink image onto a recording paper placed opposite an ink layer by heating the ink layer, is equipped with a plurality of ribbon cassettes each containing a plurality of ink ribbons of different colors at predetermined positions. It has a device that moves the necessary ribbon cassettes one by one to the printing position where the thermal head is located according to the recorded information specifying the color, etc., and after printing with that color, etc. is finished, the next specified color, etc. A thermal transfer printer that can be replaced with a ribbon cassette. 2. Claim 1 is characterized in that the device for storing a plurality of ribbon cassettes at predetermined positions is a cassette stacker that does not move by itself, and a carriage moves to pick up the necessary ribbon cassettes. Thermal transfer printer. 3. Claim 1 provides that the device for keeping a plurality of ribbon cassettes at predetermined positions is a cassette stacker that itself moves, and that the carriage and the cassette stacker work together to deliver the ribbon cassettes. Features of thermal transfer printer. 4. In claim 1, the device for holding a plurality of ribbon cassettes at predetermined positions is a cassette holder placed on a carriage and moving by itself in a direction perpendicular to the platen axis; A thermal transfer printer characterized in that cassettes are stacked and fixed on top of each other, and the required ink ribbon is selected depending on the top and bottom of the cassette holder. 5. A thermal transfer printer according to any one of the above claims, characterized in that each ink ribbon has a different color. 6. A thermal transfer printer according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that each ink ribbon expresses different densities and gradations.