JPS6076367A - Serial type thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enhance printing quality, by providing a notch for inserting a thermal head in the vicinity of the corner part of an ink ribbon storing cassette while returning the thermal head to the position of a printing stand-by state. CONSTITUTION:A notch 6 for inserting a thermal head 18 is provided to the corner part of a cassette 4 and the thermal head 18 is arranged to the space between the notch 16 and an ink ribbon 5 and moved during the forward process of printing operation to be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 5. In addition, a revolving block 31 rotatable around a pin 30 is pivotally mounted to a carriage 11 and the thermal head 18 is pivotally mounted to the revolving block 31 in a tiltable manner. By the aforementioned constitution, a separating angle theta can be taken largely with reason and printing quality is enhanced. In addition, the ink ribbon 5 is prevented from the contact with the thermal head.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a so-called serial type thermal printer equipped with a cassette for storing an ink ribbon for thermal transfer.

(Prior Art) The schematic structure of a conventional thermal printer of this type can be shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. In these figures, 1
is a platen, and a recording paper 3 is pressed against the platen 1 by a paper presser 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a cassette in which a thermal transfer ink ribbon 5 is stored, and a rectangular notch 6 is provided in the center of the end on the platen 1 side. The ink ribbon 5
is exposed to the outside at this notch. Further, one end of the ink ribbon 5 is fixed to a take-up row 57, and the other end is fixed to a delivery roller 8. The winding [1-Rough] is rotated manually by the knob 19 as necessary, and is also rotated by the drive shaft 9 during the forward stroke of the printing operation (when moving rightward in FIGS. 1 and 3). It has become so. Reference numeral 10 denotes a cassette holder, which is fixed to the carriage 11. Devices IJI of set 4 to the cassette holder 10
, is done with the help of the positioning bin 12. The =1-t/ridge 11 is guided by the guide shirts 1 to 13 and moves in the lateral direction in FIGS. 1 and 3, and is driven by the drive pulley 14 and the driven pulley 15. The winding is performed by moving a belt 16 which is fixed to the carriage 11 and is moved by a motor 17 via the drive pulley 14. A thermal head 18 is disposed in a space between the notch 6 of the cassette 4 and the ink ribbon 5, and its lower part is pivotally mounted to the carriage 11 so as to be tiltable. The thermal head 18 is
Although not shown, the ink ribbon 5 is constantly biased by a spring in the direction of separation (that is, it is biased to maintain the position shown in Figure 2) during the forward stroke of the printing operation. IIS (when moving to the right in Figures 1 and 3)
When the ink ribbon 5 side is forcibly tilted using a solenoid or the like, and the back side of the ink ribbon 5 (where ink is not applied) is pressed with the heating element part.
The recording M (3 is pressed against the platen 1 to bring the surface of the ink ribbon 5 into contact with the recording paper 3. Also, 20 is a rod to the felt 1, and 21 is a J-rule I~ plate. It contacts both sides of the ink ribbon 5 using the elastic force of the leaf spring 22. Therefore, dust and the like attached to the ink ribbon 5 are removed here.

In such a configuration, the recording of the J Ruri Ichi-Mul printer is carried out by moving the -1 cartridge 11 in the horizontal direction of FIGS. This is done by intermittent driving in the direction of the arrow in FIG. , no thermal transfer is performed.

Incidentally, in serial mold printers, there is a demand for increased printing speed, and attempts are being made to make the base of the ink ribbon 5 thinner. However, due to this thinning, even if the ink ribbon 5 is peeled off from the recording paper 3 after thermal transfer, it cannot be peeled off successfully, resulting in a problem that print quality deteriorates. According to the inventor's experiments, it was found that this problem could be solved by increasing the peeling angle θ (see Figure 3). Since a notch 6 for inserting the thermal head 18 is provided at the center of the end of the ink ribbon 5, it is difficult to make the peeling angle θ large due to its structure, and if you try to make it too large, a large amount of tension will be applied to the ink ribbon 5. Therefore, there is a problem that the ink ribbon breaks during the printing operation due to the thinning of the base.

Furthermore, in conventional thermal printers, the seamal head 18 collides with the ink ribbon 5 when loading the cassette.
There were cases where accurate loading was not possible or the ink ribbon 5 was damaged.

(Object of the Invention) The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and its purpose is to provide a serial type thermal printer that has excellent print quality, can load the cassette accurately, and can avoid Jllf- of the ink ribbon. The goal is to realize it.

(Structure of the Invention) The structure of the present invention that achieves this object is that a notch for inserting a thermal head is provided near a corner of a cassette that stores an ink ribbon for thermal transfer, and the force-mal head is inserted in a space near the notch. 81] The thermal head is configured to be able to contact the ink ribbon, and can take a position other than the printing or printing standby state where the thermal head can easily be inserted into the space near the insertion notch. , and furthermore, it is constructed such that it can be returned from the position to the print standby position by relative movement between the cassette and one normal head.

(Example) Hereinafter, a detailed description of the present invention will be given with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 4 is a partially cutaway view showing the main parts of an embodiment of the present invention. In this figure, parts corresponding to those in FIGS. 1 to 3 are designated by the same reference numerals, and their explanations will be omitted. The first difference between this embodiment and the thermal printer shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 is that a notch 6 is provided at the corner of the force cell 1-/l for inserting the single-mal head 1B. The thermal head 18 is placed in the space between the notch 6 and the ink ribbon 5. During the forward stroke of the printing operation, the thermal head 18 is moved as shown in FIG. This is the point configured to make contact.

With this configuration, the ink ribbon 5 is attached to the take-up roller 7.
Cassette 4 is the place where it twists and turns to be wound up.
Since the ink ribbon 5 is exposed outside the cassette 4 at the corner, the peeling angle θ can be easily increased. Therefore, printing quality can be improved. or,
With this configuration, it is possible to easily move the thermal head 18 to the edge of the recording paper 3, and it is also possible to print to the edge of the recording paper 3.

The second difference is that the carriage 1 is
A rotating block 31 rotatable around a pin 30 is pivotally attached to the rotating block 31, and the thermal head 1 is attached to the rotating block 31.
8 is pivotally mounted so that it can tilt. Furthermore, Ki 1/Ridge 1
1 is formed with an arcuate groove 11a centered on the bottle 30, and the thermal head 18 is configured to print (
The moderation is set at two positions: flJ (see Figure 7 (l)), the printed state position (see Figure 7 (c)), and a position rotated by 90 degrees from this position (see Figure 7 (a)). A steel ball 33 pressed by a coil spring 32 is placed at a predetermined position of the -1-arrangement arc shape tM11a so that the ball 33 can be held and stopped.
A deep hole has been formed for the people to fall even further.

With this configuration, the 'real head 18 is
Since the cassette 4 can be loaded when it is in the state shown in FIG.
Never. After loading the cullet 4, the thermal head 18 is rotated to obtain the position shown in FIG. 6(l), and printing can be performed by moving the thermal head 18 to the position shown in FIG. 6(c) as before. The reason why loading in the state shown in FIG. 6(a) is easy is because there are no obstructions such as the platen 1 in the lateral direction of the load 4 in FIG.

Incidentally, reference numeral 23 in FIG. 4 is a reflective photosensor 13 for detecting the end of feeding of the ink ribbon 5.
It is fixed on one side. This T-node detection sensor does not have to be the reflective type (1st to 1st) as described above, and may be a transmissive type photo sensor that has been widely used in the past.

FIG. 7 is a partial sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention, in which the collars 1 to 4 are made rotatable. The rotation Ill sideways is exactly the same as in FIG. 5, so the explanation will be omitted. According to this configuration, printing and printing timing can be obtained by rotating the cassette 4 90' from the state shown in FIG. 8 (a) to the state shown in FIG. 8 (b) as shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 9, the printing and printing standby states can be obtained by rotating the cassette 4 approximately 45° from the state shown in FIG. 9(a) to the state shown in FIG. 9(b). Needless to say, loading the cassette 4 becomes easier in these cases.

In the above description, a case has been described in which either the thermal head 18 or the cassette 4 is rotated, but both may be rotated. Further, the essence is not limited to rotation, and any movement may be used. Furthermore, movement is manual, not G-J.
It is also possible to provide a lens 1 for detecting the loading of the cassette 4, and to automatically shift to the print standby state using a motor, solenoid, or the like.

(Effects of the Invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the peeling angle of the ink ribbon can be greatly reduced, so that printing quality can be improved. Moreover, the cassette can be loaded accurately and the ink ribbon is not damaged.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 shows the main structure of the conventional example! In the explanatory drawings, Fig. 1 is a perspective view, Fig. 2 is a side view (showing the cullet lifted up), and Fig. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view. 4 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a main part of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 5 is a partial cross-sectional view of the main part of the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, viewed from the side, and FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the embodiment shown in FIG.
9 to 9 are explanatory diagrams of other embodiments of the present invention. 1...Platen 2...Paper presser 3...Recording paper 4...Force, 1? Cut 5... Ink ribbon 6... Notch 7... Take-up roller 8... Delivery 1] - Ra 9... Drive shaft 10... Curtain [-Holder 11... Carriage 12. ...Positioning bin 13...Guide 11 foot 16...Belt 18...Remal head 30
... Bottle 31 ... Rotating knob 32 ... Coil spring 33 ... Spool ball patent applicant Roku Konishi Photo Industry Co., Ltd. Figure 9 Procedural Amendment October 31, 1988 Special Edition Application No. 185247 2, Name of the invention Serial type thermal printer 3, Relationship to the Xi incident making the amendment Appointment of patent applicant Office Nishi, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo Shinjuku 1-26-2 Name (
Name) <127> Roku Konishi Photography T Gyo Co., Ltd. Building 1, Room 706 1-5, Date of amendment order Voluntary 6, Drawing subject to amendment 7, Details of amendment as shown in attached sheet

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) A notch for inserting the multi-head is provided near the corner A1 of (1) which houses the ink ribbon for thermal transfer, and the thermal head (1) contacts the ink ribbon in the space near the notch. In addition, it is possible to take a position other than the printing and printing standby state where the thermal head can be easily inserted into the space near the insertion notch, and the cassette and the thermal head can be connected to each other. A serial type IJ, characterized in that it is configured to be able to return from the position to the position of the printing special state by relative movement of the
-Mulprinter. (2) The thermal printer according to claim 11, wherein the relative movement is rotation of at least one of the cassette and the thermal head.