JPS61179772A - Hard copying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable to protect a recording paper without complicating construction and to reduce cost, by providing a buffer area capable of containing a recording paper fed reversely by an area guard provided in a continuous form at the side of a recording paper fitting part. CONSTITUTION:An ink paper take-up reel stand 7 and a payout reel stand 8 are fitted to a base. A cassette 21 of the ink paper 22 is so fitted that winding cores 23, 24 are engaged respectively to the reel stands 7, 8. A thermal head 30 is pressed against a platen roller 1, with a recording paper 62 and the ink paper 22 clamped therebetween in an overlapping condition, thereby printing. When a predetermined amount of information is completely printed in the first color, passage of an electric current to the head 30 is stopped, and a switching signal causes a motor 2 to start rotating counterclockwise, whereby the recording paper 62 is starts being fed reversely. Where the paper 62 is a cut paper, it is returned through a passage defined by a guide wall 51 and an outer wall 21e of the cassette, whereas where the paper is a rolled paper, it is reversely fed through an inserting port 51c to be stored in a space defined by a wall 51d at the side of a reel stand 57.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Application of the Invention] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer type hard copy device, and particularly to a recording paper mounting reel suitable for color recording.

[Background of the invention]

This type of device, such as a color printer, thermally coats a base film with a field-sequential ink paper 22, which is coated in strips with the required number of colors as one unit, on a predetermined area, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The head 30 is activated to perform recording on the recording paper 62.

In this case, if continuous paper is used as the recording paper, only the recording paper 62 needs to be returned to its original position after recording one color on one screen.

In this case, if there is a recording paper loading section in the apparatus, it is necessary to wind up the recording paper 62, which is fed backwards after recording one color, with the recording paper loading reel 57 as shown in FIG. This requires a drive member and a power transmission member such as the transmission belt 66, making the device expensive.

On the other hand, as mentioned in "Multiple thermal transfer color printer" in vol. 25, no. 12, p. 45 of "Electronic Technology", it is generally used when the recording paper loading section is located outside the device and does not have a recording paper winding mechanism. , as shown in FIG. 10, the recording paper 62 is supplied from outside the apparatus, and the recording paper 62 that is fed backwards after color recording is returned to the outside of the apparatus. However, there are disadvantages in that the recording paper 62 may be bent or wrinkled, and it may not be possible to reversely feed the recording paper 62 by a predetermined amount.

Furthermore, if the recording paper 62 is left unattached in the mounting section for a long period of time, there is a possibility that dust may adhere to the recording paper 62, resulting in a decrease in print quality, or that the recording paper 62 may become discolored due to light, etc. .

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a low-cost color hard copy device that eliminates the drawbacks of the prior art and can protect recording paper without complicating the structure.

[Summary of the invention! ]

The present invention is characterized in that a buffer area is provided in which the reversely fed recording paper can be stored by an area guard provided continuously on the side of the recording paper loading section.

[Embodiment of the Invention] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8.

FIG. 1 is a schematic front view showing a paper conveyance system in a hard copy apparatus, and FIG. 3 is a schematic plan view thereof, partially in section.

The platen roller 1 is formed by fixing an elastic body such as rubber to a metal shaft 1a into a cylindrical shape. “Axis 1a
is rotatably supported on a bearing 4 attached to a substrate 5,
Further, a motor shaft 2aK of a drive motor 2 coaxially mounted on the substrate 3 is connected to the motor shaft 2aK so as to be able to transmit rotation. Board 3
axis 5. A shaft 6 is installed, and a reel stand 7 for winding the ink paper and a reel stand 8 for feeding out the ink paper are rotatably attached to the reel stand 8, and the reel stand 8 is constantly applied with the required braking force by a plate spring 9 and a placki, -10. There is. The reel stand 7 is arranged between a gear pulley 11 rotatably disposed on the shaft 1a, a stopper 13° fixed to the shaft 1aK, a felt washer 12 affixed to the stopper 13, and the platen roller 1 and the gear pulley 11. A pickpocket made up of springs 14.

It is driven by the frictional rotational torque generated by the pull-up mechanism. Furthermore, an arm 15 is rotatably attached to the shaft 1aK,
The relay gear 17, which is rotatable around the pin 16' implanted in the arm 15IC, is always engaged with the gear goo 011.
Furthermore, it is arranged so that it can be engaged with the gear portion 7a of the reel stand 7. Further, the arm 15 includes a stopper 19 fixed to the shaft 1aK, a felt washer 18 attached to the stopper 19, and a stopper 19 fixed to the shaft 1aK.
The spring 2 disposed between the spring 15 and the stopper 13
0, and is configured to be swingable around an axis 1a depending on the direction of rotation of the platen roller 1. Further, a gear portion 7 of the reel stand 7 is attached to one end of the arm 15.
It has a claw portion 15a that can be held together with a.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a cassette 21 containing thermal ink paper 22 used in the four-unit device, in which unused ink paper is wound onto the core 24 and used ink paper is wound onto the core 2S. The leading edge of each ink paper is fixed to the core.

On the other hand, the winding cores 25 and 24 are configured so that when the cassette 21 is installed in the apparatus, they are engaged and rotationally connected to the reel stand 7.8 through holes 21t) and 21C formed in the cassette 21, respectively.

Further, an opening 21a is formed in the center of both winding cores, penetrating vertically. A lifting motor 25 for the thermal head 30 that can be switched forward or backward is attached to the board 3 via a bracket (not shown), and a motor shaft 258
A worm 26 is fixed to K. The drive arm 28 is rotatably supported on a shaft 27 implanted on the substrate 3.
It has a two-mugya part 28G and engages with the worm 26,
It is configured to rotate clockwise about the shaft 27 when the motor 25 rotates clockwise, and counterclockwise when the motor 25 rotates in reverse. A head arm 61 on which a thermal head 30 is mounted is rotatably attached to the shaft 27, and a spring 33 is also pivotally supported, and the drive arm 2
The bottle 29 planted in 8 and the helad arm 31 j
The two bins 32 are mounted between the two bins 32 so as to be biased in the direction of pulling them apart. Further, a pin 66 implanted in the head arm 31 is fitted into an elongated hole 28a formed in the drive arm 2BIC, and regulates the relative position of the two together with the spring 33 in FIG. A guide pin 37 for the pre-recording ink paper is attached to the tip of the head arm 51. Furthermore, an arm 39 having a used ink paper guide pin 40 at its tip is rotatably supported around a shaft 3B implanted in the head arm 31. Also, a spring 41 is stretched between the other end of the arm 39 and the door arm 31 and is biased clockwise; however, in FIG. A plate spring 42 is fixed to the lower part of the head arm 31 with a screw or the like, and in the state shown in FIG.
It is configured to be lightly pressed to 0.

On the other hand, the drive arm 2B is connected by a rod 35 to a changeover switch 34 consisting of a sliding three-position switch. Here, the changeover switch 54 is connected to a drive circuit for the motor 25 (not shown), and stops the rotation of the motor 25 driven by each operation mode when the rotation is switched to a designated statement signal. It is structured like this.

Reference numerals 50 to 54 are guide walls for transporting the recording paper, and 51a is an insertion opening for recording paper cut to a predetermined length. Lips 50b are provided on both sides of the guide walls 50 and 51.
, 51b are provided, respectively, and are configured to guide the paper in the width direction.

The reel stand 57 is rotatably supported by a shaft 56 installed on the substrate 3, and a recording paper wound in a roll is loaded onto the core, and the core and the reel stand 57 are integrated. It is configured so that it can be engaged with. Furthermore, a required braking force is applied to the outer periphery of the reel stand 57 by a leaf spring 5B and a player shoe 59.The opening 51C of the guide wall 51 is an insertion opening for a roll of recording paper, and is located on the left side of the reel stand 57. A space is provided between the guide wall 51d and the guide wall 51d to accommodate recording paper that is fed backward during recording. Reference numeral 60 denotes a photo sensor that detects the edges and edges of the recording paper. When the 61GS ink paper cassette is loaded, the photo sensor 60 enters the hole 21d drilled in the cassette and detects the index 22 provided on the ink paper.
a (FIG. 8), and is attached to the board 3 via a bracket (not shown). FIG. 8 shows the structure of the ink paper 22.

The ink paper 22 has three colors of ink, yellow, magenta, and cyan, coated on a base film sequentially in a dimension larger than the printing width of one screen, and a black index 22a is placed at the beginning of the yellow. , and between yellow and magenta, and between magenta and cyan, portions 22b and 22C of only the base film to which no ink is applied are provided.

Also, head arm! 51V (formed locking part 511i
1, door arm 31 and thermal spatula)" 30
In the state shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 when the mechanism has entered the cassette 21,
The lid portion 51a is configured to cover a portion of the winding side of the cassette 210.

Next, the printing operation will be explained.

K, who performs printing, first loads the ink paper cassette 21 into the apparatus, and the operation for positioning the first color ink paper at this time will be explained.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cassette 21 containing the ink paper 22 is first placed on the reel stand 7.
Although not shown, a cassette detection switch capable of detecting the presence or absence of the cassette 21 is provided on the board 3, and the switch is switched when the cassette 21 is mounted. Next, when the power supply lead (not shown) is pressed, the cassette detection switch and the power switch are ANDed, and the motor 25 starts to drive counterclockwise. Start rotating in the direction. As a result, the head arm 31 rotates counterclockwise integrally with the coarse movement arm 2B via the torsion spring S5, so that the thermal head 3G is
The guide pin 37 enters the cassette 21, and the guide pin 40 holds the ink paper 22 between the platen rollers I KH! Then, the spring 41 is further rotated counterclockwise around the shaft 38 while stretching the spring 41, and the state shown in FIG. 5 is reached. At this time, the changeover switch 34 is switched from the first position to the second position by the rotation of the rotating arm 280, and the rotation of the motor 25 is stopped by this signal.

Here, the photosensor 61 senses the index 22a of the ink paper 22, and if the index 22a is detected, the state shown in FIG. 5 is maintained, but if the index 22a
When there is no thermal head 30, the motor 25 is further rotated counterclockwise, and the head arm 31 is further rotated counterclockwise and comes into contact with the platen roller 1 with the thermal head 30 and the ink #v22 interposed therebetween. As the rotation of the motor 25 progresses and the rotating arm 28 further rotates counterclockwise, a tone is generated.

The spring 33 deflects due to pressure from the pin 29, and the pin 3
6 and the elongated hole 28a 17) are not in contact (because the torsion spring 53 presses the pin 32, the thermal head 30 presses the ink a, 22 and the platen roller 1. 34 is switched to the sixth position, and the rotation of the motor 25 is stopped to reach the state shown in FIG. 6.The motor 2 is driven clockwise in FIG. , platen roller 1
is rotated clockwise. This allows arm 1
5 swings its head clockwise in FIG. 1, the relay gear 17 engages with the gear portion 7a of the reel stand 7 and begins to rotate counterclockwise, so the reel stand 7 receives rotational drive in the clockwise direction. . As a result, the ink paper 22 is driven by the pressure of the Latin roller 1 and the thermal head 3o, overcoming the braking force of the reel stand 8, and is wound onto the reel stand 7, but once the photosensor 61 detects the index 22a, motor 25
is rotated clockwise, and the thermal spatula)"50
The pressure is released. At this time, the motor 2 continues to rotate clockwise, and the first platen roller 1 and the reel stand 7 are rotationally driven, but the winding torque of the reel stand 7 is generated between the gear pulley 11 of the platen roller shaft 1a and the seventh rotor washer 12. The reel stand 8 on the feeding side is constantly subjected to braking by the brake shoe 10, so that this brake torque always exceeds the winding torque of the reel stand 70. Therefore, after the reel stand 7 winds up the ink paper 22 that has become slack due to the retreat of the reel 30, it does not rotate and the movement of the ink paper 22 stops.

On the other hand, the clockwise rotation of the motor 25 continues until the changeover switch 34 is switched from the third position to the second position by the clockwise rotation of the rotating arm. The state returns to , and the cueing operation for the ink paper 22 is completed.

Next, loading the recording paper 62 will be explained.

In the state shown in FIG. 5, if you are using cut paper, insert it through the insertion slot 51a, or if you are using roll paper, insert it onto the reel stand 57 and insert the leading edge of the °C paper through the insertion slot 51C.

Furthermore, when the paper feed operation boat (not shown) is pushed, the motor 2 starts to drive clockwise, and the platen roller 1 and reel stand 7 are simultaneously driven clockwise, but the ink paper 22 cannot be moved as described above. The reel stand 7 stops
There is. However, due to the winding torque of the reel stand 7 and the braking of the reel stand 8, the ink paper 22 is in a state in which a tension run between the reels is constantly applied.

On the other hand, in the case of cut paper, the recording paper 62 is guided by the guide wall 51 and the outer wall 216 of the cassette 21 and descends, and the leading edge eventually comes into contact with the platen roller 1. In the case of roll paper, the leading edge also passes through the insertion slot 51C. However, due to the frictional force between the leading edge of the recording paper 62 and the platen roller 1, the leading edge of the recording paper 62 is easily guided in the rotating direction of the platen roller 1, and the leading edge of the recording paper 62 is brought into contact with the ink paper 22 and the platen roller. 1, the recording paper 62 is driven in the direction of rotation of the platen roller 1 due to the frictional force between the recording paper 62 and the platen roller 1 caused by the tension run of the ink paper 22. When the photo sensor 60 reaches the position of the recording paper 62, the photo sensor 60 detects the edge of the recording paper 62, and this signal stops the rotation of the motor 2, and the recording paper 62 is stopped.
The second loading operation is completed. Here, the outer wall 21 of the cassette
If e is black and the recording paper is white, the photosensor 60 can easily detect it, and this signal can also be connected to an indicator (not shown) provided on the panel surface of the device to indicate whether recording paper is loaded or not. can also be displayed.

Next, the printing operation will be explained.

When the copy lead (not shown) is pressed in the state shown in FIG. The thermal head 30 overlaps the recording paper 62 and the ink paper 22 and presses them against the platen roller 1. At this time, when the changeover switch 34 is switched to the third position, the motor 25 is stopped and the motor 2 is driven clockwise and energization to the thermal head 30 is started to perform the printing operation, as shown in FIG. reach.

Here, the motor 2 may be driven intermittently by a stepping motor or continuously driven at a constant speed by a normal DC motor, and the energization pitch to the thermal head 30 is synchronized with the amount of drive of the gratea c1-ra1 by the motor 2. shall be.

At this time, the ink paper 22 and the recording paper 62 are transferred to the platen roller 1.
The used ink paper is sent in one piece at the guide pin 4.
It is separated from the recording paper 62 at
4.

Note that the braking force applied to the reel stand 8 is the same as that of the ink paper 22.
It is seen as a backtensilan in 4, and prevents wrinkles and skew. On the other hand, the recording paper 62 is guided by the guide wall 50 and the cassette outer wall 21f, and further by the guide walls 55, 5.
4 to reach the outside of the device. When the printing of the predetermined amount of the first color (yellow) is completed, the power to the thermal head 30 is cut off, but the recording paper 62 and the ink paper 22 continue to be conveyed by the pressure of the thermal head 30, and after the power is turned off, the ink is turned off. paper 22
is fed by a length M, and when the part 22b (Fig. 8) reaches the thermal head 30, the motor 25 is driven clockwise, the pressure on the thermal head 30 is released, and the rotation of the motor 2 is stopped. , the movement of the ink paper 22 and the recording paper 62 is also stopped. This operation can be easily performed if the ink application length of the ink paper 22 is determined in advance and the above-mentioned switching is activated after a certain period of time set by a microcomputer or the like after the start of printing. At this time, it is assumed that all the recorded ink paper 22 passes through the guide pin 40 and is separated from the recording paper 62. The motor 25 rotates clockwise until the changeover switch 34 changes from the third position to the second position, as shown in FIG. 7, but the motor 2 is driven counterclockwise by the changeover signal to the second position. be started.

In Fig. 1, when the motor 2 rotates counterclockwise, the arm 15
swings its head counterclockwise, the relay gear 17 is disengaged from the reel stand 7, and the claw portion 15a is moved to the reel stand 7.
is engaged with the gear portion 7a.

On the other hand, since the recording paper 62 is being pressed together with the ink paper 22 by the force of the spring 41 of the guide pin 40, it starts to be fed backwards due to the frictional force acting between it and the platen 1. At this time, the ink paper 22 also tries to return due to the frictional force acting between the recording papers 62, but since the reel stand 7 is stopped by the aforementioned claw portion 15a, the ink paper 22 does not move. Therefore, ink paper 2
Only the recording paper 62 is transported backwards while sliding between the second ink-free area 22b and the recording paper 62. Here, it is also possible to use the thermal head 30 instead of the guide pin 40 as the reverse feeding means and apply a predetermined pressing force necessary for reverse feeding.

In the case of cut paper, the reversely fed recording paper 62 returns along the path formed by the guide wall 51 and the cassette outer wall 216,
In the case of roll paper, it passes through the insertion port 51C in the opposite direction, enters a space surrounded by a wall 51dK continuous to the side of the reel stand 57, and is stored as shown in FIG.

Here, if motor 2 is a stepping motor, when p is the number of steps rotated clockwise from the start of printing,
When a free point occurs, the rotation is stopped after feeding 9+y steps, and in the case of a continuous feed motor, it has a built-in encoder that can measure the amount of rotation, and similarly measures the amount of rotation clockwise from the start of printing, and when reversing, it stops rotating. +? The rotation is stopped after the rotation is stopped. On the other hand, the motor 25 is
In response to the rotation stop signal, the thermal head 30 is driven counterclockwise and the crimping operation of the thermal head 30 is performed again, but the motor 25 is stopped by the third position signal of the changeover switch, and the motor 2 starts driving clockwise. Here, the amount of rotation is t
When the thermal head 30 is advanced by 2.
Color (magenta) printing is performed, but 1.
If the ink paper 22 and the thermal head 30 are placed in the magenta region as shown in FIG. Therefore, it is possible to superimpose the printed dots on the recording paper with high precision.Similarly, the third color cyan is also printed, but after the printing of the fifth color is completed, the photosensor 61 detects the index 22a. Therefore, the motor 25 is driven, the thermal head 30 is released from pressure, and the movement of the ink paper 22 is stopped.

On the other hand, the recording paper 62 continues to move outside the apparatus by being driven by the guide pin 40 and the platen roller 1. motor 25
The motor 2 returns to the state shown in FIG. 5 and stops, and the motor 2 stops after a predetermined time set so that at least the rear end is completely driven by the guide bin 40, and the copy operation is completed. finish.

Hereinafter, when copying is to be done again, just press the copy lead when using roll paper, and when using cut paper, use the insertion slot 51a.
It is sufficient to insert one sheet of paper, perform a paper feed operation, and then perform a copy lead operation. Next, when all copying is completed and a stop button (not shown) is pressed, the motor 25 is driven clockwise from the state shown in FIG. 5 and rotates until the changeover switch 34 is switched from the second position to the first position. do. As a result, the head 'r-
The rotating arm 2B of the head arm 311 rotates clockwise to reach the position shown in FIG.
Since the upper cover is released, the cassette 21 can be replaced, and the leaf spring 4 attached to the rear end of the head arm 51 can be replaced.
2 lightly presses the guide wall 50, so when the roll paper is loaded, it presses down the roll paper and prevents it from moving backwards into the apparatus, and troubles when the ink paper cassette 21 is taken in and out can be avoided.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, since the reversely fed paper is stored in the buffer area, it is possible to perform the recording paper reversely feeding process at low cost without requiring a conventional drive device for winding the recording paper. Reduce force loss as much as possible, and record the reverse feed f&
It is possible to prevent the recording paper from being bent or wrinkled or from being skewed in the printed area due to the paper being caught on or coming into contact with other members.

Since the recording paper can be installed in the apparatus, it has the effect of preventing the paper from changing due to dust, light, etc. when the recording paper is left in the mounting section for a long period of time.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figure WL1 is a schematic front view of a mechanical section of a hard copy apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is a schematic perspective view of an ink paper cassette, Figure 3 is a plan view of an embodiment of the present invention, and Figures 4 to 4 are 7 is a front view, FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing the structure of the ink paper, and FIGS. 9 and 10 are schematic front views of the conventional apparatus. 1... Platen roller, 22... Ink paper, 50... Thermal head, 51d... Area guard, 55... Buffer area, 57. ... Recording paper attached reel, 62 ... Recording paper. Ward 1 $ Figure 4 f No. 70

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The thermal head is placed in a state in which a mounting portion for recording paper wound in a roll, a thermal head, a roller, the recording paper, and an ink paper on which a plurality of coloring media are arranged in a plane-sequential manner are overlapped. In a transfer-type thermal copying device that performs color recording on the recording paper by applying pressure between the rollers, a roller of the recording paper mounting section is located in a direction connecting the mounted recording paper and the center of the roller. A hard copy apparatus characterized in that a buffer area is provided on the opposite side of the recording paper loading section to accommodate the recording paper that has been fed in the reverse direction.