JPS61160282A - Control of thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To attain to increase a printing speed and to enhance printing quality, by setting the lateral dimension of a printing tape to a dimension capable of printing a plurality of characters and changing the height direction of a tape cassette in plural stages. CONSTITUTION:In a thermal printer wherein a frame 1, a platen 2, a carriage 71, a thermal head 4 and a tape cassette 5 receiving a printing tape 35 are mounted and the printing tape 35 is arranged between the recording paper 3 contacted with the platen 2 and the thermal head 4 and printing is applied to the recording paper 31 by pressing the thermal head 4 to the platen 2, the lateral dimension of the printing tape 35 is set to a dimension capable of printing a plurality of characters along the lateral direction of said tape 35 and the position of the tape cassette 5 receiving the printing tape 35 in the height direction of said cassette 5 is made changeable in plural stages by the shift mechanism provided on the carriage 71 and the start of the shift operation of the tape cassette 5 is performed after the release of the pressure of the head to the side of the platen 2 was started and shift operation is finished before the pressing of the head is finished.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a thermal printer, and more particularly to a thermal printer equipped with a printing tape shifting mechanism.

[Background of the invention]

Conventionally, a printing tape containing a heat-melting material is placed between a recording paper and a thermal head, and a plurality of heat-generating elements provided in the thermal head are selectively heated as the thermal head moves. A thermal printer has been proposed in which a heat-melting material is pressed so as to be melted and transferred onto recording paper. This thermal printer has the advantage of not producing noise during printing, and also has the advantage of not being restricted by the type of recording paper used.

Incidentally, in this conventional thermal printer, a thermal head is supported by a carriage that can reciprocate along a platen, and a tape cassette that stores a printing tape is attached to this carriage. During this reciprocating movement of the carriage, printing can only be performed when moving one way, and there is a lot of dead time that is not involved in printing.In other words, during the other one-way movement, the thermal head cannot release the pressure on the printing tape, and it simply returns. Movement is now taking place.

Therefore, printing can be performed only during one movement of the carriage, that is, one of the two movement opportunities of the carriage. The percentage of total time required for printing work, that is, the printing speed, decreases, making it impossible to improve the efficiency of printing work.In addition, the conventional thermal printers described above can only print, for example, one character in the width direction of the printing tape. Because it is set to be practical, the amount of printing tape used is large,
Therefore, the running cost becomes high and there are uneconomical problems.

Also, as mentioned above, since a large amount of printing tape is used,
the frequency of replacing the tape cassette in which the printing tape is stored;
In other words, the frequency of attaching and detaching the tape cassette to and from the carriage increases, and from another point of view, it is not possible to improve the efficiency of printing operations.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, another thermal printer capable of printing two characters in the width direction of the printing tape has been proposed.

Kneading is a method in which both the upper part and the lower part of the printing tape are set as separate printing areas.For example, after printing is completed in the entire printing area of the upper part, the tape cassette is raised,
The printing tape in this tape cassette is fed in the direction opposite to the direction in which it travels until it reaches the bend, so that printing can be performed using the printing area of the unused lower part.

In this other conventional thermal printer, although the amount of printing tape used and the frequency of replacing tape cassettes can be reduced compared to the above-mentioned conventional thermal printer, Printing can only be carried out on one movement occasion, and therefore,
In the end, it is only possible to obtain a printing speed equivalent to that of the conventional thermal printer described above, and there is a problem that no improvement in printing work efficiency can be expected.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention was made in view of the actual situation in the prior art, and its purpose is to improve the printing speed so as to suppress the amount of printing tape used and the frequency of replacing tape cassettes, and to improve the print quality. The object of the present invention is to provide an efficient method of controlling a thermal printer.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve this object, the present invention includes a frame forming a main body, a platen against which the recording paper is brought into contact, a carriage movable along the platen, and a carriage mounted on the carriage so as to face the platen. A thermal head is arranged, and a tape cassette is arranged above the carriage and stores a printing tape having a heat-soluble material, and the printing tape is arranged between the recording paper in contact with the platen and the thermal head. In a thermal printer that prints on recording paper by pressing a thermal head against a platen, the width of the printing tape is such that multiple characters can be printed along the width direction, and the printing tape is stored. The position of the tape cassette in the height direction can be changed in multiple stages by a shift mechanism provided on the carriage, and the shift operation of the tape cassette is started by releasing the suppression of the head toward the platen side. The shift operation is completed before the next pressing of the head is completed.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the thermal printer of the present invention will be explained based on the drawings. FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration of an embodiment of the present invention.

First, the carriage drive mechanism and paper feeding mechanism provided in this embodiment will be described based on FIG.

In this figure, 1 is a frame forming the main body, 2 is a platen against which the recording paper comes into contact, and 3 is a platen rubber attached to the front surface of the platen 2 at a printing position. 4 is a thermal head arranged to face the platen 2; 5;
1 is a tape cassette, and 6 is a cassette holder that holds this tape cassette 5 and constitutes a cassette shift mechanism to be described later.

The entire cassette shift mechanism is supported by a carriage 71, which will be described below, located below the tape cassette 5. Reference numeral 7 denotes a rotatable shaft extending along the platen 2 and passing through a carriage 71, which will be described later. Although not shown, a cam and a worm wheel are integrally provided on the left end of the shaft 7, and a stepping motor 8 rotates a worm (not shown) that engages with the worm wheel. is designed to rotate.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a lever that has one end that engages with a cam that is integrally provided on the shaft 7, and is rotatable around a support shaft 10, and the other end is a slider that can be moved in the left-right direction in the figure. It is engaged with the trunk of No. 11. Note that this slider 11 is rotatably provided integrally with the output shaft of a stepping motor 12, and gears are formed on both sides. The gears on both sides of the slider 110 can be selectively engaged with gears 13 and 14 that are loosely fitted to the output shaft of the stepping motor 12.

Further, 15 is a gear that engages with gear 13 and rotates integrally with this gear 13, and has a helical gear 16 on the side. Reference numeral 17 denotes a helical gear that engages with the helical gear 16, and is provided integrally with a pulley 19 having a protrusion 18 on the circumferential side. 2
0 is a metal belt whose both ends are connected to a carriage 71 which will be described later, and which has a square hole 21 that engages with a protrusion 18 of a pulley 19. 22 is a pulley placed on the opposite side of the pulley 19 and around which the metal belt 20 is wound.

Metal belt 20 mentioned above. Pulley 19, 22° helical gear 17. Gear 15 with helical gear 16, gear 13
．． Slider 11. The stepping motor 12 is connected to the thermal head 4. It constitutes a carriage driving means for moving a carriage 71, which will be described later, holding the tape cassette 5 and the like along the platen 2, that is, in the left-right direction in the drawing.

A gear 23 engages with the gear 14 and has a small-diameter gear 24 in a remote part, and is loosely fitted to the paper feed shaft 25 so as to be rotatable. A gear 26 engages with the gear 24, and has a small diameter gear 27 on the side.

A gear 28 engages with the gear 27 and is rotatably mounted integrally with the paper feed shaft 25. In addition, 29 is the paper feed shaft 2
This sprocket is integrally provided with the sprocket 5 and has protrusions 30 on its curved surfaces that are fitted into holes formed, for example, on both edges of the recording paper.

Sprocket 290 and paper feed shaft 25 mentioned above. Gear 28.
Gear 26 with gear 27. gear 23 with gear 24
．． Gear 14. Slider 11. The stepping motor 12 constitutes a paper feeding mechanism that feeds the recording paper 31 shown by the two-dot chain line wound around the platen 2 in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the carriage 71, that is, in the direction of an arrow 32.

FIG. 2(a) is a plan view showing the inside of the above-mentioned tape cassette 5, and FIG. 2(b) is an explanatory view showing an enlarged part of the printing tape stored in the tape cassette 5. .

In FIG. 2(a), 33 is the lower case of the tape cassette 5, and the tape cassette 5 has this lower case 33,
It consists of an upper case (not shown) attached to the lower case 33. Note that 34 is a cavity into which the thermal head 4 is inserted.

Reference numeral 35 denotes a printing tape containing a heat-melting material, which is housed inside the tape cassette 5, and as shown in FIG. 2 (bl).
The upper, middle, and lower rows each have a different printing color, for example, a red printing area 36. Yellow printing area 37. A blue print area 38 is set, and each print area 36, 37, 38
Each has a width dimension that allows printing of one character, for example. That is, three characters can be printed in the width direction of the printing tape 35. Also, in FIG. 2(a),
A pair of cores 39 and 40 around which the printing tape 35 is wound are rotatably arranged within the tape cassette 5, and have, for example, cross-shaped holes 41 and 42 formed in the center.

Figure 3 (a), (b) to Figure 5 fa), (b)
3(a) is a plan view showing the aforementioned cassette holder, and FIG. 3(b) is a side view showing the cassette holder. 4(a) is a plan view showing the first connecting member connected to the cassette holder etc., FIG. 4(b) is a side view showing the first connecting member, and FIG. 5(a3 5 is a plan view showing the second connecting member connected to the first connecting member, etc.; FIG. 5 fb is a side view showing the second connecting member;
FIG. 6(a) is a plan view schematically showing the aforementioned carriage, FIG. 6(b) is a side view schematically showing the same carriage, FIG. 7 is a front view showing a cam attached to the carriage, and FIG.
Figures a), (b), and (c) are schematic side views showing the operation of the cassette shift mechanism.

The cassette holder 6 shown in FIG. 3(a) and (bl) has a flat plate part 43 on which, for example, a tape cassette 5 is placed, a rising part 44, 44 that can hold the tape cassette 5, and a thermal head 4. A pair of projecting parts 46, 46 each having a round hole 45 formed in the side part 6a, and a long hole 47 are provided. The cassette holder 6 has a pair of projecting portions 48 and 48 formed respectively.
These bobbins 49 are rotatably supported by
．． 50 is formed in a cross shape that can be engaged with the holes 41 and 42 of the cores 39 and 40 of the tape cassette 5 described above. Although not shown, these bobbins 49 and 50 are configured to rotate in response to the aforementioned rotational movement of the shaft 7 via cams, gears, and the like.

In addition, the first connecting member 51 shown in FIGS. 4(a) and 4(b)
is a pair of arm portions 52.52 disposed inside the overhang portion 46.48 of the cassette holder 6, and these arm portions 52.52.
52, and a connecting part 53 for connecting the arm part 52.
A pair of round holes 54 are connected to each of the elongated holes 47 of the projecting portion 48 of the cassette holder 6 in a relatively rotatable and slidable manner via a pin 51a shown in FIG. Overhangs 55.55 and these overhangs 55.55
A pair of overhangs 57.57 having a round hole 56 and a pair of overhangs 59.5 having a round hole 58 provided between these overhangs 55.570.
9.

Further, the second connecting member 60 shown in FIG. 5(a), fbl
is a square hole 61, a flat plate part 63 with a pin 62 provided at the square hole 61 position, and side parts 64 and 64 of this flat plate part 63.
The projecting portion 46 of the cassette holder 6 described above is provided in
A pair of overhanging parts 66.66 each having a round hole 65 rotatably connected to each of the round holes 45 through a bottle 60a.
and a pair of overhanging parts 68.68 provided at the opposite end of the overhanging parts 66.66 and having a round hole 67, and a pair of overhanging parts 68.68 provided between these overhanging parts 66.68. A pair of overhangs 70.7 each having a round hole 69 which is relatively rotatably connected to each of the round holes 58 of the overhang 59 of one connecting member 51 via a pin 60b shown in FIG.
0, and the arm portion 52. of the first connecting member 51.
These overhangs 66, 68, 70 are arranged inside 52.

In addition, the carriage 71 shown in FIGS.
, a horizontal portion 72a on which the cassette holder 6 can be placed, and a hole 73 into which the shaft 7 shown in FIG. 1 is rotatably inserted.
A square hole 75 is provided in which a cam 74 is arranged, which is rotatable via a gear (not shown) in accordance with the rotation of the shaft 70, and a side portion 76 of the overhang portion 57 of the first connecting member 51 described above is provided. A pair of round holes 77.7 to which the round hole 56 is relatively rotatably connected via a pin 71a shown in FIG.
7 and grooves 78 and 78 in which the round hole 67 of the overhanging portion 68 of the second connecting member 60 described above is relatively rotatably and slidably connected via the bin 71b shown in FIG. The projecting portion 66 of the second connecting member 60 described above
．． The side portion 76 is arranged inside the 68.70.

Note that the cam 74 is rotatably mounted on the carriage 71.
For example, as shown in Figure WC7, it has three portions 80, 81, and 82 whose distance from the rotation center 79 gradually increases, and the pin 62 provided on the second connecting member 60 described above can be engaged. It is formed into a shape with a groove 83.

Although not particularly shown, the thermal head 4 is connected to the shaft 7.
With the zero rotation, the platen 2 is pressed against or released from the platen 2 via a cam or the like (not shown).

Next, the operation of an embodiment configured as described above will be described.

First, (1) Carriage driving operation (2) Paper feeding operation (3) The shifting operation of the tape cassette will be explained individually, and then a series of operations performed in one basic printing operation will be described.

(1) [Carriage drive operation] As the stepping motor shown in Fig. 1 rotates 80 times, the lever 9 moves counterclockwise in Fig. 1 around the spindle 10 via a worm, a worm wheel, and a cam (not shown). Rotate. Therefore, the slider 1 engaged with the lever 9
1 moves to the left in FIG. 1, and the gear formed on the left side of the slider 11 engages with the gear 13. When the stepping motor 12 rotates, the slider 11 rotates, and as the gear 130 rotates, the gear 15, that is, the helical gear 16, rotates, and as the helical gear 16 rotates, the helical gear 17, that is, the pulley. 19 rotates. When the pulley 19 rotates, the metal belt 20 moves,
This allows tape cassette 5. Thermal head 4. A carriage 71 shown in FIG. 6 equipped with a cassette shift mechanism and the like moves in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, that is, along the platen 2.

(2) [Paper feeding operation] When the stepping motor 8 shown in FIG. 1 rotates, the lever 9 moves around the spindle 10 via a worm, a worm wheel, and a cam (not shown) into the state shown in FIG. 1, that is, as described above. Rotates clockwise from the middle spear drive operation state. Therefore, the slider 11 engaged with the lever 9 moves to the right in FIG. 1, and the gear formed on the right side of the slider 11 engages with the gear 14. When the stepping motor 12 rotates, the slider 1
1 rotates, and as the slider rotates 110 times, the gear 14 rotates.
, 23, 24, 26, and 27.28 rotate, and the paper feed shaft 2
5 rotates, and the sprocket 29 rotates with the rotation of the paper feed shaft 25, which causes the recording paper 31 wound around the platen 2 to be moved by a predetermined amount, for example, one line, perpendicular to the moving direction of the carriage 71. It is sent in the direction of arrow 32.

(3) [Shifting operation of tape cassette] When the stepping motor 8 shown in FIG. 1 rotates with the tape cassette 5 attached to the cassette holder 6, the shaft 7 rotates via a worm, a worm wheel, and a cam (not shown). The cam 74 mounted on the carriage 71 via a cam, gear, etc. (not shown), that is, the cam 74 shown in FIG. 7, rotates. In case B, when the pin 62 of the second connecting member 60 is engaged with the portion 80 of the groove 83 of the cam 74 shown in FIG. 7, the cassette holder 6 is placed on the horizontal part 72a of the carriage 71, and from this K the cassette holder 6 and tape cassette 5
is placed in the lower position as shown. Furthermore, at this time,
The printing tape 35 stored in the tape cassette 5 is
The printing area 36 located in the upper row of FIG. 3B faces the thermal head 4, and therefore printing using the printing area 36 of the printing tape 35 is possible.

- From the state shown in FIG. 8(a), as the shaft 7 rotates, the cam 74 is moved so that the pin 62 of the second connecting member 60 engages with the portion 81 of the groove 83 in FIG. , the second connecting member 60 rotates and slides with respect to the carriage 71 at the pin 71b portion shown in Figure 8 fa), and the second connecting member 60 and the cassette holder rotate at the pin 608 portion. 6 rotates relative to each other, and the bottle 60
The second connecting member 60 and the first connecting member 5 in the b part
1 rotates relative to each other, the first connecting member 51 and the carriage 71 rotate relatively in the bin 71a portion, and the first connecting member 51 and the cassette holder 6 rotate relative to each other in the bin 51a portion. As a result, the cassette holder 6 and tape cassette 5 rotate and slide as shown in FIG.
From the state shown in FIG. 1, it rises while being held horizontally and is placed in the state shown in FIG.
The printing area 37 located in the middle of the printing tape 35 is opposed to the thermal head 4, so printing using the printing area 37 of the printing tape 35 is possible.

From the state shown in FIG. 8, as the shaft 70 rotates, the cam 74 is rotated so that the pin 62 of the second connecting member 60 engages with the portion 82 of the groove 83 in FIG. , the second connecting member 60 rotates and slides with respect to the carriage 71 in the same manner as described above, the second connecting member 60 and the cassette holder 6 rotate relatively, and the second connecting member 60 rotates and slides relative to the carriage 71. 6
0 and the first connecting member 51 rotate relatively, the first connecting member 51 and the carriage 71 rotate relatively, and the first connecting member 51 rotates relatively.
The connecting member 51 and the cassette holder 6 rotate and slide relative to each other, so that the cassette holder 6 and the tape cassette 5 move from the state shown in FIG. The printing area 38 located at the lower stage of the tape cassette 5 (F+ in FIG. 2) faces the thermal head 4. Therefore, printing using the printing area 37 of the printing tape 35 becomes possible.

The printing tape 35 of the tape cassette 5 is attached to a bobbin attached to the cassette holder 6 shown in FIG. 3(a) via a gear (not shown) as the carriage 71 moves in the left-right direction in FIG. 1, for example. By rotating the bobbin 50 or the bobbin 49, the cassette is wound in the direction of the arrow 84 or the direction of the arrow 85 in FIG. 2(a) while being guided by the guide portion 46b of the cassette holder 6.

Next, a series of operations performed in one basic printing operation will be described.

In this embodiment, the feed amount of the printing tape 35 is an amount corresponding to the one-way movement amount of the carriage 71, and the above-mentioned three-stage printing is possible in the width direction of the printing tape 350. As basic printing operations, for example, operations ① to ② listed below are sequentially performed.

(2) [Paper Feed Implementation] That is, the carriage 71 to which the tape cassette 5 is first mounted is placed at a predetermined printing start position on the left side of FIG. When the stepping motor 8 is driven in this state, the slider 11 is moved through the lever 9 as described above.
rotates, the paper feed shaft 25 and sprocket 29 rotate via the gears 14.degree. 23.24, 26, 27.28, and the recording paper 31 is fed, for example, by one line in the direction of the arrow 32 in FIG.

In this case, the thermal head 4 is set in a pressure release state away from the platen 2, and the pin 6 of the cassette holder 6 is
2 is a groove 8 of a cam γ4 mounted on the carriage 71, for example.
8 (a).
), the tape cassette 5 on the cassette holder 6 is placed in the lower position, and the printing tape 35 is placed in the lower position as shown in FIG.
) is available for use.

■ [Rightward movement of the carriage, first printing] That is, when the stepping motor 8 is further driven from the above state (■), the lever 9 rotates via a worm, a worm wheel, and a cam (not shown). Slider 11 engages gear 13. In this state, when the stepping motor 12 is driven, the slider 11 rotates, and along with this, the gears 13 and 15, the helical gears 16 and 17, and the pulley 1
9 rotates, the metal belt 20 moves, and the carriage 7
1 moves to the right in FIG. 1, that is, from the left end to the right end of the frame 1.

During this movement of the carriage 71, as the shaft 7 is rotated by the stepping motor 8, the thermal head 4 is moved onto the printing tape 35 via a cam (not shown) or the like.
By applying a predetermined current to the thermal head 4, printing can be performed using the printing area 36 located at the upper stage of the printing tape 35 as shown in FIG. You can do it. In addition,
The printing tape 35 in the tape cassette 5 is wound up in accordance with the amount of movement of the carriage 71.

■ [Paper feeding] That is, when the stepping motor 8 is further driven from the state of (■) above, the lever 9 is reversed, the slider 11 is engaged with the gear 14, and the recording paper 31 is moved in the direction of the arrow in the same manner as described above. One line is sent in 32 directions.

During this time, the shaft 7 also rotates, and the thermal head 4 is released from pressure contact, and the cam 74 of the carriage 71 rotates, and the second pin 62 having the pin 62 that engages with the groove 83 of the cam 74 rotates. connecting member 60, first connecting member 51
moves, and the cassette holder 6 and tape cassette 5 rise, thereby placing the tape cassette 5 on the cassette holder 6 in the middle position as shown in FIG. The printing area 37 located in the middle stage of (b) faces the thermal head 4.

(2) [Leftward movement of the carriage, second printing] That is, when the stepping motor 8 is further driven from the state (2) above, the slider 11 is moved to the gear 13 via the lever 9.
When the stepping motor 12 is engaged and the stepping motor 12 is reversed, the carriage 71 moves from the right end to the left end of the frame 1 in FIG. During this time, the thermal head 4 is in pressure contact state again, so this thermal head 4
By energizing, it is possible to perform printing using the printing area 37 located in the middle of the printing tape 35 shown in FIG. 2 fb).

(2) [Paper feeding] That is, when the stepping motor 8 is further driven from the state (2) above, the slider 11 engages with the gear 14 via the lever 9, and the recording paper 31 is moved in the same manner as described above. is sent one line in the direction of arrow 32. During this time, the shaft 7 also rotates, and accordingly, the pressure contact of the thermal head 4 is released, and the second connecting member 60. As the first connecting member 51 moves, the cassette holder 6 and the tape cassette 5 rise, and the tape cassette 5 on the cassette holder 6 is thereby placed in the upper position as shown in FIG. 8(C). Now, the printing tape 35 is in a state where the printing area 38 located at the bottom of FIG. 2 (b>) faces the thermal head 4.

■ [Rightward movement of the carriage, third printing] That is, when the stepping motor 8 is driven from the above state (■), the slider 11 engages with the gear 13 via the lever 9, and here the stepping motor 12 When the frame 1 is reversed, the carriage 71 moves from the left end to the right end of the frame 1 in FIG. During this time, the thermal head 4 is pressed in the same way as in the case (2) above, and by applying a predetermined current to the thermal head 4, printing using the printing area 38 located at the lower stage of the printing tape 35 shown in FIG. 2(b) is performed. can be carried out.

When this printing is completed, all of the printing area 36 located in the upper stage of the printing tape 35, the printing area 37 located in the middle stage, and the printing area 38 located in the lower stage are used by the feed amount corresponding to the one-way movement of the carriage 710. .

■ [Carriage moves leftward, printing stops] In other words, when the stepping motor 8 is further driven from the state of (■) above, the slider 11 is kept engaged with the gear 13 via the lever 9, and the stepping motor is now stopped. When the motor 12 is reversed, the carriage 71 moves leftward from the right end to the left end of the frame 1 in FIG. During this time, the pressure contact of the thermal head 4 is released and the feeding of the printing tape 35 in the tape cassette 5 is stopped, that is, the printing operation is kept in a stopped state, and the cam 74 is rotated in accordance with the rotation of the shaft 70. , thereby connecting the second connecting member 60 and the first
The connecting member 51 moves, and the cassette holder 6 and tape cassette 5 descend, thereby returning to the state shown in FIG. 8(a).

Thereafter, the operations ① to ② described above are repeated depending on the amount of printing.

FIG. 9 is a timing chart of this thermal printer, which shows the pressure contact and release of the head against the recording paper, the shifting operation of the tape cassette to the lower, middle, and upper positions, carriage transfer (CR), and paper feeding (
LP) motor drive operation and the presence or absence of tape winding.

As is clear from this timing chart, the shift operation of the tape cassette (printing tape) starts after the pressure release of the head starts, that is, after the head begins to move away from the recording paper side, and is started with a slight delay until the pressure contact is completely released. At the time of completion, the shift operation is still in progress. The shift operation is controlled to end before the next head is completely pressed.

Such timing adjustments are made by the design of the power transmission mechanism.

Because the above-mentioned timing is established between the press-contact and press-release operations of the head and the shift operation of the tape cassette, the printing tape slides over the head without being subjected to excessive tension by the head, and is placed in the desired direction. It can be shifted to the position of

In one embodiment configured in this way, since a cassette shift mechanism is provided that operates in conjunction with the rotation of the shaft 70, the carriage 71 moves back and forth on the frame 1 for two times, that is, for four During the degree movement opportunity, the carriage 7
Within the range of the feed amount of the printing tape 35 corresponding to 10 one-way movement distances, the upper stage for the widthwise rotation of the printing tape 350.

It is possible to print three times in the three printing areas 36, 37, and 38 of the middle and lower tiers, so the entire width of the printing tape 35 can be used for printing without waste, and the amount of printing tape 35 used can be minimized. Can be suppressed. In addition, the amount of printing that can be done with one printing tape 35 stored in the tape cassette 5 can be increased by 1.5 to 3 times compared to the conventional one, so the frequency of replacing the tape cassette 5 can be minimized and printing work efficiency can be increased. will improve. In addition, printing can be carried out in three of the four opportunities for movement of the tsuji 71, and the ratio of the total time required for printing work based on the predetermined total amount of recording on the recording paper 31, that is, The printing speed can be increased by 1.5 times compared to the conventional method, and printing work efficiency is improved from a different viewpoint than the above.

Further, in this embodiment, the shift mechanism for the tape cassette 5 is connected to a cassette holding mechanism that holds the tape cassette 5 via the second connecting member 60 that moves as the shaft 70 rotates, and the connecting member 51 of @1. Since the pressure is used to raise and lower the body 6, it is possible to accurately shift the cassette holder 6, that is, the tape cassette 5 to the lower, middle, and upper stages while keeping it in a horizontal state, and to hold it in the position. The printing areas 36, 37, and 38 of the printing tape 35 in the tape cassette 5 can be opposed in parallel to the surface of the thermal head 40, and the printing areas 36, 37, and 38 of the printing tape 35 in the tape cassette 5 can be opposed in parallel to the surface of the thermal head 40. Therefore, the contact pressure between the thermal head 4 and the printing tape 35 can be made uniform over the entire area of the thermal head 4, and the printing tape 35 can be made uniform.
No unnecessary load is applied to the printing tape 35, and the printing tape 35 is not twisted or damaged. Therefore, good printing performance and quality maintenance of the printing tape 35 can be achieved.

In the above embodiment, one end of the first connecting member 51 is rotatably connected to the carriage 71, and the other end is rotatably and slidably connected to the cassette holder 6. One end of the second connecting member 60 is rotatably connected to the cassette holder 6Vc, and the other end is rotatably and slidably connected to the carriage 71. Although the second connecting member 60 is relatively rotatably connected,
The present invention is not limited to this, but one end of the first connecting member 51 is rotatable relative to the cassette holder 6, and the other end is rotatable and slidable relative to the carriage 71. one end of the second connecting member 60 is relatively rotatably connected to the middle ridge 71, the other end is relatively rotatably and slidably connected to the cassette holder 6, and the first connecting member 51
and the second connecting member 60 may be connected so as to be relatively rotatable.

Further, in the above embodiment, the printing area 36 of the printing tape 35,
37 and 38 are set to enable printing of red, yellow, and blue, but the present invention is not limited to this, and these printing areas 36 and 37. Alternatively, the color may be set to the same color such as black.

Further, in the above embodiment, the tape cassette 5 is pressed to be shifted in the order of the lower stage, the middle stage, and the upper stage, but the present invention is not limited to this. The printing operation may be performed in each of the steps.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the thermal printer of the present invention, the width of the printing tape is such that a plurality of characters can be printed along the width direction, and the width of the tape cassette containing the printing tape is large enough to print a plurality of characters along the width direction. The tape cassette is configured so that its position can be changed in multiple stages by a shift mechanism provided on the carriage, and the shift operation of the tape cassette is started after the head is released from the platen side. The operation timing is such that the operation ends before the pressing of the next head ends.

When the head is pressed toward the platen, tension is applied to the printing tape by the head, so if you shift the tape cassette (printing tape) in this state, the printing tape will catch on both ends of the head. This causes wrinkles, which cause a decline in print quality. In this respect, since the present invention has the above-described configuration, wrinkles do not occur in the printing tape, and the tape cassette can be smoothly shifted while maintaining high printing quality.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 9 are explanatory diagrams showing one embodiment of the thermal printer of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the overall configuration, and FIG.
Figures (al) are a plan view showing the inside of the tape cassette; Figure 2(b) is an explanatory diagram showing an enlarged portion of the printing tape stored inside the tape cassette; Figure 3(at) is a plan view showing the inside of the tape cassette;
bl ~ Figure 5 fa1. (bl is an explanatory view showing the constituent members of the cassette shift mechanism that raises and lowers the tape cassette, FIG. 3(a) is a plan view showing the cassette holder, FIG. Figure 4 (a)
is a plan view showing the first connecting member, and FIG. 4(b) is a plan view showing the first connecting member.
5 (al is a plan view showing the second connecting member, FIG. 5 [b) is a side view showing the second connecting member, and FIG. 6 1a) is a side view of the carriage. FIG. 6(b) is a schematic plan view of the carriage; FIG. 6(b) is a schematic side view of the carriage;
Fig. 7 is a front view showing the cam attached to the carriage, Figs. 8 (al, bl, and c) are schematic side views showing the operation of the cassette shift mechanism, and Fig. 9 is a timing chart. 1. ...Frame, 2...Platen, 4
...Thermal head, 5...Tape cassette, 6...Cassette holder, 7...
Shaft, 31... Recording paper, 35...
Printing tape, 36, 37. 38...printing area,
45.54゜56,58,65,67゜69.77...
...Round hole, 47...Long hole, 51...
・First connecting member, 51 a, 60 a, 60
b, 62°71a, 71b...bin, 7
1... Group Carriage, 74... Cam, 78...
...Groove, 80,81.82...Part, 8
3... Groove.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A frame forming a main body, a platen against which the recording paper comes into contact, and a carriage movable along the platen.
A thermal head mounted on the carriage and arranged to face the platen, and a tape cassette arranged above the carriage and containing a printing tape containing a heat-fusible material, the recording paper being in contact with the platen. In a thermal printer that prints on recording paper by placing a printing tape between and a thermal head and pressing the thermal head against a platen, the width of the printing tape allows multiple characters to be printed along the width direction. The tape cassette containing the printing tape is configured so that its height position can be changed to multiple levels by a shift mechanism provided on the carriage, and the tape cassette is configured to be able to change its height in multiple stages by a shift mechanism provided on the carriage. A control method for a thermal printer, characterized in that the shift operation is started after the head is released from pressing against the platen side, and the shift operation is completed before the next head pressing ends.