JPS6032076A - Cassette of transfer material - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To charge and discharge a transfer material rapidly and precisely by coverting the transfer material of which both end parts are wound around winding cores respectively with a case so that the intermediate part is exposed and constituting the winding cores by combining plural members. CONSTITUTION:A ribbon cassette 14 has two parallel winding cores 31, 32 around which both the end parts of a thermal transfer ribbon 15 are wound and is covered with a case 33 so that a part of the intermediate part of the thermal transfer ribbon 15 is exposed between a platen and a thermal head 11. A slit 34 opened at its one end side is formed between the winding core storing parts 33a, 33b of the case 33 along the axial direction of the winding cores 31, 32 and the driving force receiving parts 31a, 32a of the winding cores 31, 32 are arranged on the opening end side. At the charge of the ribbon cassette 14, the opening end surface of the slit 34 is opposed to the end surface of a holder 12 and the ribbon cassette 14 is pushed along the longitudinal direction of the cassette 14 to engage the holder 12 with the slit 34. At the discharge, the ribbon cassette is pulled out in the reverse direction.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a transfer material cassette that can be applied to, for example, a thermal transfer type image forming apparatus.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

For example, thermal transfer image forming devices are small, inexpensive, noiseless, and capable of forming images on plain paper.In recent years, they have been put into practical use not only for recording the output of computers, word processors, and screens, but also for copying devices. be.

However, conventionally, in this type of image forming apparatus, the transfer material used does not have a case or the like, and has its ends wound around two cores made of simple pipe-shaped sections, which the user has to set independently. It has become. That is, both ends of two winding cores made of pipe-like members are held by flange members (reel members) disposed on the side of the attached device.

Therefore, not only is it very troublesome and time-consuming to replace the transfer material, but the colorant of the transfer material also stains the hands. Also,
When setting it, wrinkles may occur in the transfer material.1ii
This may lead to defective J image formation, etc. Further, the dedicated space required for mounting the transfer material is large, and the arrangement of the flange member complicates the structure, which hinders miniaturization and simplification of the attached device.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to enable quick and reliable mounting and removal of transfer materials without getting the hands dirty, and to downsize and simplify the device to which the transfer material is attached. The purpose of this invention is to provide a transfer material cassette that can be easily used.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve such an object, the present invention covers a transfer material whose both ends are wound around a winding core in a case so that the middle part of the winding is exposed, and also combines the winding core with a plurality of members. +: Yoshinari transfer material can be wrapped with high precision.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 17. FIG. 1 shows the external appearance of an image forming apparatus. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is the main body of the apparatus. A printing plate part 1a is formed at the front of the upper surface of the main body 1, and the left side of the main body 1 is used for original documents. There is a document scanning section 4 for scanning a document 3 set on a table 2, and an image forming section 5 on the right side.

A display section 6, a numeric keypad 7..., a keypad 8, etc. are arranged in the operation section 1a. In addition, the document scanning section 4
As illustrated in FIG. The information is photoelectrically converted and input to the image forming section 5.

Further, the image forming section 5 includes 1. The configuration is as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3. That is, the 7°C platen 1O is located approximately in the center of the image forming section 5, and in front of the platen 1O (toward the left in the state of FIG. 3).
A thermal head 11 for recording is disposed.

The thermal head 11 is attached to a heat dissipation plate 13 integrally formed on the rear end surface of the holder 12, and is connected to a thermal transfer ribbon cassette (hereinafter referred to as 1.8' A ribbon cassette and a blind 4) 14 are attached to L, and a thermal transfer ribbon 15 as a transfer material is interposed between the thermal head 11 and the platen 10.

Further, a paper feed roller is provided diagonally below the 1-platen 10, and is adapted to sequentially take out the sheets of paper P as a transfer material stored in the paper feed cassette 12 one by one. The leading edge of the ejected paper P is aligned by a pair of registration rollers 18 disposed diagonally above the paper feed roller 16, and then transported toward the platen 10, where it is pressed by pressing rollers 19 and 20. It is accurately fed in a state where it is wrapped around the platen 10.

On the other hand, the thermal heater 11 presses the paper P against the platen 10 via the thermal transfer ribbon 15 as a transfer material.
Heat transfer as shown in Figure 4? The ink 21 as a colorant on the cylinder 15 is heated and melted and transferred onto the paper P.

The thermal transfer ribbon 15 has approximately the same size as the paper P, as shown by range A in FIG. Cyan and black ink portions 21 mm 21b, 21c, and 21d are arranged side by side, and after each color is transferred, the paper P is returned to its original position and accurately stacked one after another.

Thermal transfer ribbon with black ink portion 21d is black 7. r % It is used when you want to print clearly, and even if it does not have the melancholy ink portion 21d, you can print the interlocking points by printing the three colors.

As described above, only the color gauze is moved forward and backward by the rotation of the platen 10, but at that time, the path of the paper P is 91. , will be guided onto the second guide 23,24.

That is, the explanation will be made with reference to FIGS. 6(a) to 6).

First, the paper P from the paper feed cassette 17, the paper feed 7', and the paper P pass through the registration roller pair 18 and the distribution tN portion of the first distribution guide 25, and are wound around the platen 10.

(See FIG. 6(a)) Next, the platen 10 is connected to a pulse motor f iJJ,K ! (not shown). The heating element (not shown) of the thermal head 11, which is formed in a line tod shape in the axial direction of the platen 10, rotates as Ih %i and transports the paper P at a predetermined speed. The ink 21 on the thermal transfer ribbon 15 is transferred to the paper P.

Furthermore, the leading edge of the paper P that has passed through the platen 10 is located at the second
The paper is sent onto a first guide 23 provided along the lower surface of the paper discharge tray 22 by a sorting guide 26 . (See FIG. 6(B)) In this way, the paper P onto which two inks of one color have been transferred is transported backwards by the free rotation of the platen 1o, and is then transferred to the first distribution guide 25. Due to the rotational displacement movement of , it is sent onto the second guide 24 provided along the lower surface of the first guide 23 . (See FIG. 6(c)) In this way, by moving the paper P back and forth several times, +i lc'i colors are transferred.

Finally, the paper P to which two inks of all colors have been transferred is
The second sorting guide t°26 guides the paper to a pair of paper discharge rollers 27, and the paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 22. (See FIG. 6)) Also, the image forming apparatus has an original 'i+'8 as shown in FIG.
Scanning section 4, color conversion section 28, memory section 29, image forming section 5
, and the overall control unit 30k (has an excellent configuration).

Then, the green (
The values of the respective color components of G), yellow (Y), and cyan (C) are converted by the color conversion unit 28 into magenta), yellow (Y), and cyan (C), which are the colors of the printing medium. The calculated values are stored in the memory section 29 for each color together with the position 1d information on the document. In the image forming unit 5, the colors read out from the memory unit 29 are changed to magenta, yellow (Y), cyan (c), and dark (B).
Black tJ: magenta (goods), yellow (Y), cyan (
AND output of C)] is transferred onto paper P.

Note that the overall control section 30);j: controls the entire document scanning section 4, color conversion section 28, memory section 29, and image forming section 5.

Also, a pair of paper ejection rollers 27, a paper ejection tray 22, a first and a second
The guides 23, 24 are formed into a unit, and this unit can be removed if necessary.

Further, the ribbon cassette 14 has parallel two ends around which both ends of the thermal transfer ribbon 15 are wound, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.
Book core J 1 , having 32 and rising 1;
Thermal transfer 'J +1? The middle part of the platen 5 is enclosed by a case 233 so that its -f radius is exposed so as to be interposed between the platen 1o and the thermal radar 1no.

Between the winding core accommodating parts 33a and 33b of the case 33, there is a slit 34 in the shape of H along the axial direction of the winding core 31, 32 and open at one end.
The driving force receiving end portion 31 a r J 2a of the winding core 31.32 is provided at the l18i40D:ii 1lll.

Furthermore, the case 33 of the ribbon cassette 14 has the eighth M.
, Figure 10, and Figure 11! Thermal transfer phosphorus as shown in 21? A space for accommodating a heat sink 13 integrally formed at the rear end m1 of the holder 12 and a thermal head 11 attached to the heat sink 13 between the exposed surface of the housing 15 and the case 33. A cross section a forming the part is formed in a U-shape.

Thermal transfer ribbon 150 width dimension tB (see FIG. 10) is larger than the maximum winding diameter t due to the winding core 31.
The cutting depth t of 4 (see figure 111) is the thermal transfer ribbon 15.
More than half of the 0 width dimension tR, that is, Zl > 2 Z
It is set to R.

As described above, the ribbon cassette 14a consists of a range 1A where the upper and lower parts are connected and a range t which is divided into upper and lower halves by the slit 34, where tc is the total length of the case 33. Also, the width dimension δ of the slit 34. is set to be slightly wider than the thickness δH of the holder 2, and the cutting depth tB of the slit 34 is set to be the same as the width tH of the holder 2.

However, when installing the ribbon cassette 14, the holder 2
The open end surface of the slit 34 is opposed to the end surface of the ribbon, and the ribbon is cut by force along the longitudinal direction (axial direction of the slit 34'), as shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. All you have to do is engage it, step 1. To remove it, just pull it out in the opposite direction.

Further, the driving force receiving end portion 31a of the winding core 31.32.

32m is exposed to the outside through a through hole formed in the end face of the case 33, and has an engagement recess 35.35 formed at its tip. (See FIG. 9.) On the other hand, as shown in FIG.
What is it? When the hook set 14 is installed, the winding core 3
A winding core driving means 37 is provided for applying a driving force to the winding core 1.

In other words, a coupling 39 driven by a motor 38 is disposed on the front surface of a frame attached to one end surface of the head holder 12.

When the ribbon cassette 14 is completely installed in the predetermined position, the coupling 39 engages with the engagement recess 35 of the winding core 31. (See Figure 9) Also, the above ribbon cassette 1
As shown in FIGS. 15 and 16, the winding cores 31 and 32 of No. 4 are made of a hollow, flat, rib-like material 40 made of paper around which the thermal transfer riser 715 is wound, and the first cores 31 and 32 attached to both ends thereof. , a second flange member (reel part @) 41, 42.

The first flange member 41 has a shaft portion 41hk.Dift that can be rotatably fitted into the bearing hole of the case 33, and the shaft portion 4-1a has the engaging recess 3 at its axial center.
5 has been formed.

The second flange member 42 includes a shaft portion 42m that can be rotatably fitted into the bearing hole of the case 33.

Further, the first and second flange members 41 and 42 have A? Engagement steps 4 formed at both ends of the eve-shaped member 400
Interlocking beam portions 41b and 42b that fit into 0th and 40b are formed.

Then, the engagement step portions 40a and 4 at both ends of the nosave-like member 400
The first and second flange members 41 and 42 are integrally attached to the winding cores 31 and 32 by press-fitting or gluing them to the winding cores 31 and 32.
f configuration. With this configuration, the thermal transfer ribbon 15 can be wound around the winding core 31 m (32,) after the winding core 31 (J?) e has been assembled, or the arm-shaped rib-like member 40 can be wound with high precision as a single unit. , then the first. The second flange member 41,42 may also be mounted and assembled in the manner described above.

Further, as shown in FIG. 17, the first flange member 4 is formed with an engaging recess 35, and the driving force receiving portion 31&*3 is formed with an engaging recess 35.
2& is also used.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments.

That is, 1st. Engagement protrusions 41b, 42b'cJ' of the second flange portion 41° 42; engagement step portions 40a formed at both ends of the ebb-like member 40;

40b, but the first
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 19, the second flange member 4
A locking protrusion 43 is formed on the pipe-shaped member 2 to be fitted into a detent notch 44 formed on the pipe-shaped member 40, and
Although not shown, the first flange member 41 may also have a similar configuration and be detachable.

Moreover, the pipe-shaped member 40 may be divided into two parts along the longitudinal direction. Although the description has been given of a cantilever-shaped connector cassette 14 having one end and a slot 34 that is completely open on the side, the present invention is not limited to this, and for example, a double-supported one having an opening 5o with both ends closed. It may also be a Norigin cassette.

Further, although the paper feed cassette 17 is attached to and removed from the front side of the apparatus main body 1, and a part thereof protrudes from the front side of the apparatus main body 1, the present invention is not limited to this. As shown in FIG. 20, the paper feed cassette 17 may be entirely housed in the device main body 1, or as shown in FIG.
It may also be applied to items that can be attached and detached from the top side of the
It doesn't have to be a cassette type. In short, it goes without saying that the present invention may be applied to any image forming apparatus that forms a predetermined image by transferring a transferred colorant onto a transfer material.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the invention.

In the description of the other embodiments (FIGS. 20 and 21), the same parts as those of the embodiment described above are given the same reference numerals and detailed explanations will be omitted.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, for example, it is possible to quickly and reliably install, install and remove transfer materials such as thermal transfer materials without getting your hands dirty. This has the effect of downsizing and simplifying the device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 17 show an embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of an image forming apparatus, FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view partially cut away, and FIG. 4 is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view, FIG. 4 is a perspective view for explaining the transfer operation state, and FIG.
The figure is a plan view showing the ink application state of thermal transfer V<n.
Figures 0)-f) are explanatory diagrams explaining the movement of paper during multicolor transfer, and Figure 7 is a professional diagram showing the configuration of the main parts. Figure 8 is a vertical side view of the recycle cassette, Figure 9 is a vertical front view of the recycle cassette, Figures 10 and 11 are schematic perspective views of the recycle cassette, and Figures 12 and 13 are diagrams of the recycle cassette. A perspective view showing the installed state, Fig. 14. FIG. 15 is a sectional view of the core, FIG. 16 is an exploded sectional view, FIG. 17 is a front view of the first flange member, and FIGS. 18 to 21 are views of the present invention. Fig. 18 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the retaining part between the flange member and the pipe member, and Fig. 19 shows the flange member as seen from a different direction with some parts omitted. 20 and 21 are schematic longitudinal sectional side views of different types of image forming apparatuses to which the present invention can be applied. 12...Holder, 14...Transfer material cassette (su?inkase,)), 15...Transfer material (thermal transfer printer), 21...
... Colorant, 31.32 ... Winding core, 33 ... Case, 31a * 32a ... Driving force receiving end portion, 40 ... Main tube-shaped member, 41.42 ... Flange Part, 43...
・Latching protrusion, 44 times] Locking notch. Applicant's agent Takehiko Takehiko, patent attorney Figure 1 Figure 3 / g44゛ Figure 6 Figure 10 Figure 12

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) A case comprising a transfer material and a case in which both ends of the transfer material are wound around a circular core so that a midway portion of the transfer material is exposed; A transfer material cassette characterized in that a core is constructed by combining a plurality of members. (2) The transfer phase cassette according to claims i1:lJ, wherein the transfer material has a width dimension larger than the maximum diameter of the winding sheet. (3) The transfer material according to claim 1, wherein the winding core is composed of a hollow nob-like member around which the transfer material is wound, and flange members attached to both ends of the core. cassette. (4) The transfer material cassette according to claim 3, wherein the material of the i4 ideal member is paper. (5) The transfer material cassette according to claim 3, characterized in that the flange member is detachably attached to the mother tube member. (6) A patent claim characterized in that the end portion of the four-tube member to which the flange member is attached is formed with a rotation stopper notch into which a locking protrusion formed on the flange member is inserted. The transfer material cassette according to item 3 or item 5. (7) The transfer material cassette according to claim 3 or 5, wherein at least one of the flange members also serves as a driving force receiving portion. to.