JPS61205176A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent the occurrence of maloperations in a head reciprocal movement mechanism and a cassette vertical movement mechanism by permitting both the mechanisms to be operated with good timing by rotationally operating a cam for reciprocally moving the head and a cam for vertically moving the cassette by a common motor. CONSTITUTION:A mechanism 58 to control the reciprocal movement of a printing head 41 in relation to ink ribbons 2 and 3 and a mechanism 59 to control the vertical movement of a ribbon cassette 1 in relation to printing actions and the head 41 are provided. Both the mechanisms 58 and 59 are provided with cams 65 and 64 for reciprocally moving the head 41 and vertically moving the cassette, which are turned by a common motor. When the printing direction is switched from forward path to backward path, or vice versa, the head 41 is retracted from ribbons 2 and 3 by the mechanism 58, the cassette 1 is vertically driven by the mechanism 59, and the positions of the ribbons 2 and 3 to be transferred are switched over.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer that transfers ink onto plain paper by melting one of the upper and lower ink ribbons using heat from a print head. .

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, as shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 59-218887, a ribbon is constructed in two stages, upper and lower, corresponding to the forward and reverse directions of the ink ribbon running path in the printing section where thermal transfer is performed by the print head. A thermal transfer printer using a cassette, comprising: a head advancement/retraction mechanism for controlling the print head to move forward and backward relative to the ink ribbon; and a cassette elevating mechanism for controlling the ribbon cassette to move up and down relative to the print head in relation to printing operations on the outward and return passes. There is a thermal transfer printer equipped with a mechanism.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in this conventional printer, the print head is moved forward and backward by a head lift motor, and the cassette is moved up and down by a plunger, and the drive sources are different, but having multiple drive sources like this This is not economical, and if both drive sources are not operated in a timely manner, malfunctions may occur, which is undesirable.

An object of the present invention is to enable a head advancing/retracting mechanism and a cassette elevating/lowering mechanism to be driven by one motor.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention is a thermal transfer printer that uses a ribbon cassette 1 in which two stages of ink ribbon paths are formed, upper and lower, so that the running directions are opposite in at least a printing section 16. A head advance/retreat mechanism 58 for controlling the advance/retreat of the ribbon cassette 1 and the print head 4 in relation to the forward and return printing operations
This is an improved thermal transfer printer in which a cassette lifting mechanism 59 for controlling the lifting and lowering of the cassette 1 is provided.

That is, both mechanisms 58 and 59 have a head advancing/retracting cam 65 and a cassette elevating/lowering cam 64 which are rotated by one common motor.

[Operation] In the present invention, when switching the printing direction from the forward path to the backward path or from the backward path to the forward path, the print head 41 is moved back from the ribbon 2.3 by the head advance/retreat mechanism 58, and the cassette 1 is moved back from the ribbon 2.3. Lifting mechanism 59
The ribbons 2 and 3 are displaced and transferred in the vertical direction by
Switch the position.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 6, the ribbon cassette 1 used in the present invention has an outward transfer ribbon 2 in the upper stage and a return transfer ribbon 3 in the lower stage inside the cassette main body 1a. It is configured to be wound in opposite directions onto take-up reels 4 and 5, each having a ratchet roller device 31.

Further, the outward transfer ribbon 2 is guided from the supply reel 10 to the take-up reel 4 by four guide balls 6.7° 8.9 protruding from the upper part of the cassette main body 1a.

On the other hand, the return transfer ribbon 3 is moved by three guide balls 12, 13, and 14 planted in the lower part of the cassette body 1a.
It is guided to the take-up reel 5 from the lower supply reel (not shown) of the supply reel 1o. Each ribbon running system is configured in this way. Reference numeral 16 denotes a head insertion recess serving as a printing section where thermal transfer is performed, and the ribbons 2 and 3 pass over this recess.

Next, the carriage section into which the cassette 1 is mounted will be explained with reference to FIG.

A cassette holder 35 having three hooks 34 for removably attaching the cassette 1 is mounted on the carriage 36.
Four pairs of guide shafts 37 and holes 38 are provided on both sides in order to be able to move up and down.

The carriage 36 is held by two shafts 39 installed on both sides (not shown) of the printer body so that it can slide parallel to the print lines on the paper. This carriage 3
A mounting plate 42 to which a print head 41 is fixed is supported by two arms 40 provided on one side edge of the cassette 6 via a shaft 43, and at the same time a spring (not shown) is tensioned to attach the head of the cassette 1. The head 41 is given a tendency to advance within the insertion recess 16. The head 41 is provided with 24 heating element rows 41a.

The other side edge of the carriage 36 is provided with a first transmission gear 46 that meshes with a rack 45, which will be described later. Furthermore, a second transmission gear (not shown) meshing with this gear and a third transmission gear 47 coaxial with this second transmission gear are provided. This third transmission gear 47 meshes with a drive gear 49 of a winding shaft 48 provided on the cassette holder 35.

A sleeve 51 pushed up by a spring 50 is integrally fitted onto the winding shaft 48, and two one-way clutches (not shown), upper and lower, acting in opposite directions on the outer periphery of the sleeve 51 (roller clutch) through the winding hub 52.53
will be attached. That is, the rotation of the sleeve 519 is transmitted clockwise (clockwise) to the upper hub 52 and to the left (counterclockwise) to the lower hub 53. Of course each hub 5
2.53 is engaged with each of the take-up reels 4 and 5 in the cassette 1 so as to be engageable with each other.

Two rollers 55 are provided at the bottom of the bookmark set holder 31, which can be moved on a lift lever 54, which will be described later.

Next, the head advancing/retracting mechanism 58 and the cassette elevating/lowering mechanism 59 will be explained based on FIG. 2.

Each gear group is arranged to transmit a rotating shaft gear 61 of a stepping motor (not shown) to a main gear 63 via a reduction gear train 62.

Two types of cams 64 and 65 are fixed to both sides of the main gear 63. That is, a first cam 64 for raising and lowering the cassette and a second cam 65 for moving the head forward and backward. The first cam 64 is approximately fan-shaped and has a small diameter portion 64a and a large diameter portion 64b, and the second cam 65 has a recess 65a at a symmetrical position on the circumference.
, 65b.

A substantially P-shaped lever 67 having a bottle 66 in contact with the second cam 65 embedded in the upper corner thereof is supported via a shaft 68 on the side wall of the printer body. A rotating lever 69 is provided which is held between the right end of this lever 67 and the lower end of the mounting plate 42. This lever 69 has its lower end attached to both sides of the printer body (1111
It is supported by a wall via a shaft 10, and is urged in the direction of the lever 67 by a spring (not shown).

On the other hand, a single-shaped lever 7 that can be slid horizontally by fitting the elongated hole 73 into the two fixed guide bins 72
4, one end of this lever 74 is brought into contact with the bin 66, and the other end of this lever 74 is connected to the lever 76 via a shaft 75.
Attach to one end of the shaft. This lever 76 has its central portion supported by a shaft 71 on the side wall of the printer body, and the other end has an elongated hole 78.
is drilled.

The rack 45 that meshes with the first transmission gear 46 is fixed to a rotating lever 80 and is swung by this lever 80. This lever 80 is supported by a shaft 81 on the side wall of the printer body, and the bin 80 slides in the long hole 78.
2 will be planted. Further, a spring (not shown) is provided between the bin 82 and the printer body to give the lever 80, ie, the rack 45, a rightward displacement tendency. As a result, the lever 74 is displaced to the left and comes into contact with the bin 66.

The above is the head advancing/retracting mechanism 58.

Next, the cassette lifting mechanism 59 will be explained.

The lift lever 54, which comes into contact with the first cam 64 below the movement range of the carriage 36, is supported by a support shaft 85 on both side walls of the printer body. A lever 86 that abuts and follows the lower surface of the left end of the lever 54 is also pivotally supported on both side walls of the main body by I@87. Further, the right end of this lever 86 and the left part of a lever 89 which is vertically held between the sliding piece 88 of the cassette holder 35 are supported by a shaft 90 on both side walls of the printer body.

91 is a platen that winds and feeds the paper.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.

As shown in FIG. 2, when a cassette 1a is used in which the forward transfer ribbon 2 is stored in the upper stage and the backward transfer ribbon 3 is stored in the lower stage, forward printing is performed when the cassette holder 35 is in the lowered position. That is, the rotation angle of the stepping motor (not shown) of the gear 61 is controlled so that the center portion of the small diameter circumferential portion 64a of the cam 64 comes into contact with the lever 54 as shown in FIG. At this time, lever 5
4 as well as the levers 86 and 89 are in a right-handed state.

In this state, a well-known printing operation begins. That is, the carriage 36 guided by the two shafts 39 starts horizontal movement by a horizontal drive mechanism (not shown) for the carriage 36 . Therefore, the head 41 and the cassette 1 are also displaced horizontally, and the energization of the 24 heating element arrays 41a of the head 41 is controlled, thereby transferring desired characters.

At this time, since the gear 46 moves and rotates on the rack 45 due to the horizontal movement of the carriage 36, the rotation of the gear 46 is transmitted to the winding hub 52, and the outward transfer ribbon 2 is wound up.

Stepping motor (not shown) upon completion of forward printing
, and rotate the main gear 63 approximately 45 degrees to the left. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 3, the circumferential portion 65c of the cam 65
As a result, the bottle 66 is pressed and displaced, and the lever 67 is rotated to the right.

Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the lever 69 rotates to the right, the head 41 retreats from the contact transfer position with the ribbon 2, and printing is interrupted.

At the same time, as the bin 66 is displaced, the lever 74 slides to the right, causing the lever 76 to rotate counterclockwise. Therefore, the lever 80 rotates clockwise, and the rack 45 retreats from the meshing position with the gear 46. In this way, the winding of the ribbon 2 is also interrupted.

The above-described interrupted state is maintained until the main gear 63 rotates half a rotation.

As the main gear 63 rotates, the large-diameter circumferential portion 64b of the cam 64 pushes up the lever 54, as shown in FIG.

Therefore, the right end of the lever 54 rises, and the lever 89 rises to a horizontal position via the lever 86, pushing up the cassette holder 35. As a result, the print head 41
The heating element array 41a faces the lower backward transfer ribbon 3.

The main gear 63 rotates roughly and the recess 65 of the cam 65
When the pin 66 falls into position b, the lever 67 rotates to the left.

That is, the lever 69 also rotates to the left, and the head 41 presses the lower glue bond 3 against the paper on the platen 91. Thus the fourth
As shown in the figure, printing on the return path is now possible, and the carriage 3
Transfer is performed with the horizontal movement of 6.

When the return printing is completed, the stepping motor (not shown) is restarted, the main gear 63 is rotated, and the main gear 63 is operated in the same manner as shown in FIG. Put it in a suspended state.

Then, as the large diameter circumferential portion 64b of the cam 64 moves downward due to the rotation of the main gear 63, the cassette elevating mechanism 59 descends until the bin 66 falls into the recess 65a of the cam 65 (FIG. 2). The main gear 63 is rotated by a stepping motor (not shown).

In this way, forward printing becomes possible again.

Note that even during printing, if the main gear 63 is rotated by 45 degrees, the printing operation and ribbon winding operation can be interrupted as described above. Then, by reversing the main gear 63 by 45 degrees, the printing operation can be resumed.

That is, in the case of blank printing, unused ribbon can be prevented from being wound up.

Furthermore, in the case of the cassette of the type shown in FIG. 6, two-color printing is easily possible by making the two ribbons housed in the cassette different colors (for example, black and red). Of course, in this case, the paper feed control mechanism is switched so that one line is printed in both directions.

Furthermore, the cassette compatible with the printer of the present invention does not necessarily have to accommodate two types of ink ribbons 2 and 3 in the cassette body as shown in FIG. It is sufficient if there are two levels.

For example, as shown in FIG. 7, a take-up reel 94 and a supply reel 95 are arranged coaxially within the cassette body 1a,
One ribbon pulled out from the supply reel 95 is placed in a guide ball 9 provided on one side of the head insertion recess 16.
6, it passes through guide bins 97 and 98 provided on the other side of the head insertion recess 16, is folded back, further passes through a guide ball 99 provided below the guide ball 96, and is wound up by the take-up reel 94. By doing so, one ribbon is arranged in two stages, upper and lower, in the insertion recess 16.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. That is, each mechanism of the present invention can be realized in various ways.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the present invention, since the head advancing/retracting cam and the gusset elevating/lowering cam are rotated by one common motor, the single driving source for these is economical, and both of the above-mentioned cams rotate the cam. The head advancing/retracting mechanism and the cassette elevating/lowering mechanism can be operated in a timely manner, and no malfunction occurs between the two mechanisms.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing an embodiment of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, Figs. 2 to 5 are front views showing the operation of the printer, Fig. 2 is during forward printing, and Fig. 3 is When forward printing is completed, FIG. 4 is during backward printing, and FIG. 5 is when backward printing is completed. FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of the thermal transfer ink ribbon cassette used in the printer of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing another embodiment of the cassette. 1... Ribbon cassette, 2.3... Ink ribbon, 16
...Head insertion recess as a printing section, 41.. Print head, 58.. Head advancement/retraction mechanism, 59.. Cassette elevating mechanism, 64.. Cam for cassette elevation, 65.. Cam for head advancement/retraction.

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) A thermal transfer printer that uses a ribbon cassette configured in two stages, upper and lower, corresponding to the forward and reverse directions of the ink ribbon running path in at least the printing section where thermal transfer is performed by the print head, A thermal transfer printer comprising: a head advancing/retracting mechanism for controlling the head to advance and retreat relative to the ink ribbon; and a cassette lifting/lowering mechanism for controlling the ribbon cassette to move up and down with respect to the print head in relation to printing operations on the outbound and return passes. A thermal transfer printer characterized in that the advancing/retracting mechanism and the cassette elevating/lowering mechanism have a head advancing/retracting cam and a cassette elevating/lowering cam that are rotated by one common motor.