JPS61135770A - Multicolor transfer type thermal recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain to miniaturize the shape of the titled apparatus and to prevent the wasteful consumption of an ink ribbon, by proforming the feed of each color ink ribbon in each of plural thermal transfer recording parts toward both positive and reverse directions in synchronous relation to the printing mode of a corresponding thermal head. CONSTITUTION:Independent serial type thermal transfer recording parts of three Y, M and C colors are constituted by arranging thermal heads 130, 131, 132 on the peripheral surface of a single back roller 110 in a state contacted with said roller under pressure so as to hold each of ink ribbons 120, 121, 122 between said roller and thermal heads. Ink ribbon feed mechanisms consisting of roller pairs 140a, 140b, 141a, 141b, 142a, 142b having the ink ribbons wound therearound and revolvable to both positive and reverse directions are mounted to both ends of each ink ribbon and each ink ribbon can be fed to both left and right directions on the peripheral surface of the back roller 110 along the axial direction thereof corresponding to the printing mode of each thermal head arranged corresponding to each ink ribbon.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention is capable of producing multicolor inks by overlapping each color component (inks of different colors that are melted or sublimated by selective heat generation according to the corresponding image signal). The present invention relates to a multicolor transfer type thermal recording device that performs recording.

[Conventional technology]

For example, a multicolor transfer type thermal recording device, which is known as a color recording device used in color facsimile machines, color printers, etc., is a multicolor transfer type thermal recording device that is coated with different color inks that have heat melting or heat sublimation properties. A thermal transfer recording medium (for example, ink donor film abbreviation IDF),
a thermal head for selectively heating each color IDF, and selectively melting each color ink applied to each IDF by the thermal head generating heat in accordance with an image signal corresponding to each color component. Alternatively, a multicolor recorded image is obtained by sublimating and transferring the ink to a recording paper and superimposing the transferred inks of the respective colors.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the configuration of a recording unit in a conventional system of this type, in which there are, for example, Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan) between the back rollers 1, 2 and 3. )
By arranging line thermal heads 7, 8, and 9 to sandwich the three color IDFs 4, 5, and 6, an independent thermal transfer recording section is constructed for each color. Back rollers (1, 2, 3) and IDF (4, 5, 6) of each recording section
By the method described above, ink is transferred in accordance with the image signal of each color component corresponding to each of the recording sections onto the recording paper 10, which is sequentially conveyed in the direction of the arrow by a paper conveyance mechanism (not shown), and multicolor recording is performed by superimposing them. is being carried out.

FIG. 3 shows another configuration example of the conventional device, in which a thermal head 13 for partial printing is pressed against a single back roller 11 by sandwiching an ink ribbon 12 stretched in the axial direction of the back roller 11. This is a serial type multicolor transfer type thermal recording device installed in

Here, the ink ribbon 12 has Y parallel to the axial direction of the back roller 11 in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 10 conveyed between the ink ribbon 12 and the back roller 11.
It consists of three color ink layers of M and C applied in a random pattern.
A mechanism is provided for transporting the ink ribbon 12 in one direction indicated by an arrow along the axial direction by rotationally driving a take-up roller 14 around which the ink ribbon 12 is wound. In addition, other main mechanisms (not shown) include a thermal head moving mechanism for moving the thermal head 13 parallel to the left-right phase direction along the axial direction on the circumferential surface of the back roller 11, and a recording paper 10. A mechanism is provided for conveying the ink ribbon in the direction of the arrow so as to pass between the back crawler 11 and the ink ribbon. Then, the ink ribbon 12 is wound and conveyed unit by unit in accordance with the horizontal movement of the thermal head 13 by the thermal head moving mechanism, and in synchronization with this, the ink ribbon 12 is selected according to the image signal of each color component. The ink of the corresponding color layer is melted or sublimated by the thermal head 13 which generates heat and is transferred onto the recording paper 10, and by superimposing these layers K, a multicolor recording is obtained.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, among the above-mentioned conventional multicolor transfer type thermal recording devices, the device shown in Figure 2 requires many large parts, mainly a line thermal head and a back roller. There was a problem with rising prices.

Furthermore, since the serial type shown in Fig. 3 uses a single uneven ink ribbon, in order to record a specific color, it is also necessary to transport color ink layers that do not need to be recorded. There was a problem that wasteful consumption of

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, in the present invention, a plurality of independent serial-type thermal transfer recording sections are provided for each color component on the circumference of a single back roller that also has a recording paper conveyance function, and each recording section handles the conveyance of each color ink ribbon. The structure is such that it can perform forward and reverse printing in synchronization with the printing mode of the thermal head.

[Effect]

This makes it possible to miniaturize parts and reduce the number of parts, as well as to reduce wastage of ink ribbons in areas where printing is not required, resulting in smaller device shapes, lower manufacturing costs, and significant savings in ink ribbons. be able to.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a recording section of a multicolor transfer type thermal recording apparatus according to the present invention, in which a single back roller 1 is used.
For example, Y (yellow), M (magenta), and C (cyan) are placed on the circumferential surface of the back roller 110 at predetermined intervals in the direction of rotation (direction of arrow a) of the back roller 110.
The ink ribbons 120, 121, 122 of three colors are brought into contact with the back roller 110 in the axial direction Ka, respectively, and the thermal head 130 is configured to sandwich the ink ribbons 120, 121, 122, respectively, between the back roller 110 and the back roller 110. , 131 and 132 are placed in pressure contact with each other to form the Y.

It constitutes an independent serial type thermal transfer recording section for three colors, M and C. Here, each of the thermal heads 130.13
1,132, each of the thermal heads 130, 131,
132 is provided with a moving mechanism capable of moving the back roller 1100 in parallel both left and right directions along its axial direction on the circumferential surface of the back roller 1100.

In addition, corresponding to this [each ink ribbon 120° 121]
．． Each ink ribbon 12 is attached to each end of the ink ribbon 122.
A pair of rollers (140a) on which rollers 0, 121, and 122 are wound and are rotatable in both forward and reverse directions.

140b), (141a, 141b), (142a, 1
42b) is provided, and the ink ribbon conveyance mechanism consisting of 42b) is provided, and each of the ink ribbons 120, 121, 122 is printed by each of the thermal heads 130, 131, 132 disposed corresponding to each of the ink ribbons 120, 121, 122. Depending on the configuration, it can be conveyed both left and right on the circumferential surface of the back roller 110 along its axial direction. Further, rollers 150 and 151 for paper conveyance are pressed onto the circumferential surface of the back roller 110 at a different position from the serial type thermal transfer recording section for each color. By rotating the recording paper 110, the recording paper 110 is conveyed between the rollers 150, 151, the ink ribbons 120, 121, 122 of the recording sections, and the back roller 110.

The printing operation will be explained in detail below.

First, the recording paper 10 is fed from a paper feeding system (not shown) and is conveyed by the rotational frictional force between the back roller 110 and the roller 150, and the Y recording is made up of the thermal head 130 and the corresponding ink ribbon 120. The ink ribbon 120 and the back roller 11
Passes between 0. Here, the thermal head 130 is transferred to, for example, the back crawler 110 by the above-mentioned mobile machine #1.
The thermal head 130 is moved in parallel from the left end toward the right end in the axial direction, and selectively generates heat in accordance with the Y component image signal input to the thermal head 130 . Lines of image information of the Y component are printed on the recording paper 10 by transferring the ink of the ink ribbon 120 that is melted or sublimated by the selective heat generation accompanying the parallel movement of the thermal head 130. At this time, the ink ribbon 1 of the recording section
20 also carries the thermal head 13 by the above-mentioned transport mechanism.
It is conveyed in the left-right phase direction in synchronization with the printing mode of 0, and is used efficiently when printing the image information of the Y component. That is, during the above-described printing operation by the thermal head 130, at a location where the image information of the Y component is required, the thermal head 130 moves to the right, while the ink ribbon 120 is conveyed to the left. In this way, a new ink layer is always present in the printed area. However, in areas where printing is not required as described above, the ink ribbon 120 is also moved to the right as the thermal head 130 moves to the right, and the next printing area always follows the previous printing. The ink is transported in such a way that printing can be performed again with an unused ink layer interposed adjacent to the used ink layer. Such transport control of the ink ribbon 120 is carried out by the thermal head 1.
Printing on the return path (parallel movement to the left end) of 30 is performed in the same manner. The recording paper 10 onto which the image information of the Y component has been transferred is then transferred to an M recording section consisting of a thermal head 131 and a corresponding ink ribbon 121, and further to a thermal head 132 and an ink ribbon 1 corresponding thereto.
31 (same as the printing control according to the Y component image signal in the Y recording section according to the M component and C component image signals in these M and C recording sections, respectively). The M and C inks are transferred to the corresponding printing position by the control, and the multicolor recording is made by superimposing the transferred inks of each color, and then the paper is discharged to a paper discharge section (not shown).

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the multicolor transfer type thermal recording device of the present invention, a plurality of independent serial type thermal transfer recording units for each color component are provided on the circumferential surface of a single back roller provided with a recording paper conveyance function. In addition, it is configured so that the ink ribbons of each color in each recording section can be transported in the forward and reverse directions in synchronization with the printing mode of the corresponding thermal head, making it possible to downsize each component or reduce the number Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the size of the device or reduce the manufacturing cost, and it also has the excellent effect of minimizing wasteful consumption of ink ribbons and contributing to economical operation.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of the recording section of a multicolor transfer thermal recording device according to the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 each show an example of the configuration of the recording section of a conventional device of this type. It is a conceptual diagram. 10... Recording paper, 110-... Back roller, 12
0゜121.123--ink ribbon, 130y・1
31,132...Thermal head, (1401,14
0b), (141a. 141b), (1421, 142b) --- Ink ribbon conveyance roller pair, 150, 151 --- Paper conveyance roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A plurality of thermal heads are arranged at predetermined distances apart on the circumferential surface of a single back roller, and the thermal heads are interposed between each of the thermal heads and the back roller and are stretched along the axial direction of the back roller. A plurality of ink ribbons of different colors are provided, a means for transporting the recording paper by rotationally driving a roller provided in pressure contact with the back roller, and a means for transporting the recording paper by rotating each of the thermal heads on the axis of the back roller. and a means for conveying each ink ribbon in the same direction along the axial direction of the back roller in synchronization with the printing mode of each of the thermal heads. A multi-color transfer type thermal recording device.