JPS61213172A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a recorder capable of being used for both thermal recording and thermal transfer recording, by a construction wherein an ink ribbon and recording paper are separately provided, a detector for detecting the presence or absence of the ink ribbon is provided, and either one or both of a recording voltage supplied to a thermal head and a pulse width are controlled according to a signal from the detector. CONSTITUTION:A facsimile signal received through a circuit is subjected to electrical treatments such as demodulation, decoding and amplification, and the treated signal is supplied to an input terminal 74 for image signals. Then, signal treatments and amplification are conducted according to a recording mode by a driving circuit 73, and a driving pulse voltage is outputted. At this time, since the presence of the ink ribbon 44 is detected by an ink ribbon detector 70, a voltage in an optimum condition for thermal transfer recording is supplied from a DC power source circuit 72 to the driving circuit 73, and a driving pulse with the voltage value is impressed on the thermal head 25. A solid ink layer on the ink ribbon 44 is melted in accordance with the record patterns, and the melted ink is transferred onto a recording paper 80a maintained in close contact with the ribbon 44 by pressing by a platen roller 26, whereby recording is performed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a recording device, and more particularly to a recording device kK employing a thermal head.

[Technical Background of the Invention and Problems Therewith J Conventionally, facsimile receiving devices and printers employ electrostatic recording methods and thermal recording methods as means for recording images. Among these, the electrostatic recording method has the excellent feature of being capable of high-speed, high-resolution recording, but the development and fixing processes are essential, making the equipment complicated and expensive, and the recording paper is expensive to run. The disadvantage is that the cost is relatively high. On the other hand, thermal recording methods obtain images through primary color development using heat, so the development and fixing processes are expensive, and the device has the advantage of being relatively simple to configure. Therefore, the application of thermal transfer recording to facsimile receiving equipment, which has recently become possible to use inexpensive paper as a recording medium, is being considered.

FIG. 6 shows the principle of such a thermal transfer recording system. The thermal transfer recording method uses a base film such as paper or resin; an ink ribbon 1 which is a recording mask material provided with a hot bath meltable solid ink layer 1α containing an IAK coloring material;
The recording paper 2, which is plain paper, is layered in a dense layer so that the ink layer 1α is in contact with the recording paper 2, and the base film 1b is heated to a temperature of %"'y)"a. The resistor element 3GIIC is moved in the direction of the arrow while being pressurized by the platen roller 4 so as to come into contact with the resistor element 3GIIC. Then, when a pulse voltage 5 is selectively applied depending on the image signal to be recorded, thermal energy is generated in the heating resistor element 3a.
Through the base film IA of the ink ribbon 1,
The solid ink layer 1a thereon is made sticky with #I#111. The ink melted in the bath is platen row 2.
The image is transferred to the recording paper 2 by the pressure applied to the recording paper 2 and becomes permanent. This thermal transfer recording method does not require a Km image or constant layer process like the thermal recording method, so the device is simple and compact. , which has the advantage of being able to be produced at low cost. Furthermore, since plain paper with a binding pattern is used for the recording paper, and the ink has good coloring resistance, and the ink is transferred only to the necessary areas on the plain paper, the recording paper and the recorded image can be easily The storage stability and tamper resistance are significantly superior to those of the heat-sensitive recording method described above.

However, K, which applies this thermal transfer recording method to facsimile receiving devices and printers to record reception,
The requirements of the necessary dancers are not fully satisfied.

For example, an ink ribbon used for thermal transfer recording has a structure as shown in FIG. 6, in which a pigment as a coloring agent, resin, wax, and oil as a binder are placed on an extremely thin base film 1b made of polyethylene terephthalate resin. A solid ink layer of 1 gram is formed by coating a mixture of other ingredients to have appropriate physical properties (melting point, fluidity, density, etc.) in a uniform thin layer, but the material cost and processing cost are relatively low. It's expensive. Moreover, when recording, the ink is approximately 10
Since the ink ribbon is transferred to 0X recording paper, the ink ribbon cannot be used repeatedly and is disposable for only 1' (b). Therefore, despite the fact that thermal transfer recording can use inexpensive Shinkagi as the recording paper, the running cost of the device is surprisingly low (
In some cases, the cost may be higher than that of thermal recording, which uses special paper as the recording paper.Furthermore, the recorded image on the ink ribbon after being used for recording 5 remains negative and clear, which may pose a security issue. □ In view of the above-mentioned circumstances, it is recommended that both methods be based on the common basic technology base of recording images by utilizing the heat generation effect of the thermal head in response to the recording signal. □Therefore, there is a desire for the emergence of a recording device that can be used for both thermal recording and thermal transfer recording.In other words, when low running costs and confidentiality of recorded images are required, thermal recording paper can be used. The purpose of use, such as loading an ink ribbon and performing thermal recording, and loading an ink ribbon and plain paper and performing thermal transfer recording when preservation and tamper resistance are required for the recorded image, It would be very convenient to use them differently depending on the purpose. However, thermal recording and thermal transfer recording generally have different optimal recording line depths. Figure 5 shows the relationship between the energy injected into the heat-generating resistor element of the thermal head and the recording density for the image recording method. The injection energy required for thermal transfer recording is approximately 59 m, T/■, whereas for thermal recording, it is approximately 70 m.
There is generally a difference such as mf/-. In addition, in order to obtain a sufficiently high concentration in thermosensitive recording, the injection energy was greatly reduced.
When thermal transfer recording is performed under the above-mentioned conditions, the base film of the ink ribbon becomes soft and stick development occurs between the ink ribbon and the thermal head, which may significantly impair recording quality.

[Purpose of the invention]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus which can compensate for the drawbacks of the above-mentioned thermal recording and thermal transfer recording systems, and which makes it possible to use raw materials for both systems.

Another object is to provide a recording device that can always provide optimal recording quality in any recording method.

[#1 Key Point of the Invention] In the present invention, an ink ribbon and a recording paper are provided separately, a detector is provided to detect the presence or absence of an ink ribbon, and the electric power, that is, the recording voltage and By controlling one or both of the pulse widths, the optimum recording conditions for thermal recording and thermal recording transfer are automatically set, thereby achieving the above-mentioned purpose.

[Embodiments of the invention]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown on the side.

1 to 3 show a facsimile receiving device as a recording device according to the present invention. This facsimile receiving device includes a main body frame 1OcL having an opening at the top, and a lid body that closes the opening. The frame 10.6 constitutes a device frame,
Lid body frame 1 (l is the main body frame 1 by the support shaft 11
It is rotatably supported at 0α. In this facsimile receiving apparatus, an apparatus mounting body 10 is formed of a plate covering the apparatus frame.This facsimile receiving apparatus has a recording paper transport path 20. This recording #l conveyance path 20 includes a paper holder 21, an ad recording guide plate 22, a conveyance roller 23, an auto cutter 24, a sensitive M head 25, a platen roller 26, a drive roller 27α, and a pinch roller. A transport roller 27 consisting of a roller 274, a transport row 228, a guide plate 29 installed across these elements, a guide block 30, guide grates 31α, 311I, and the transport row 228 come into contact with each other. It is composed of a flat spring 32 with a fixed angle. Then, the recording paper holder 21, the conveyance roller 23,
The auto cutter 24 and the thermal head 25 are arranged in a substantially horizontal direction, and the conveyance rollers 27 and 28 are arranged in a vertical direction. [, Among the above elements, the conveyance roller 23, auto cutter 24, guide plate 29, platen roller 26, drive roller 278 of the conveyance roller 27, conveyance roller 28, guide plate) 318° 31
b, a rotational drive source and a transmission device (not shown) for each of the platen roller 32, the platen roller 23, the platen roller 26, the drive roller 27α, and the conveyance roller 28 are attached to the lid frame 10b shown in FIG. ing.

The DD recording paper guide plate 22 has an arc-shaped thin plate structure with a leaf spring in the portion that comes into contact with the conveyance row 223.
The lid frame 10 is fixed to a shaft 33 which is rotatably fitted loosely into the main body frame 10g, and is operated by a lever mechanism (not shown).
It oscillates in response to the rotating operation of b, and facilitates the loading and replacement of the ink ribbon supply roll as described in detail.

The conveyance row 223 is connected to the recording paper guide plate 22 described above.
The recording paper is clamped with excessive pressure by a leaf spring (not shown) attached to the platen roller 2, and a stepping motor for driving the platen roller (not shown) is activated by a driving source (not shown).
26, the auto cutter 24 has a function of feeding the recording paper, and is composed of a fixed force 24g and a movable force 24b. It is connected to a rotary drive device such as a rotary lenoid, and has the function of cutting the recording paper by its urging.

The thermal head 25 is a line scanning type thermal head,
Microheating resistor elements are arranged at a predetermined density (e.g., 8 pieces/fi) in a (e.g., 20481 vA) row corresponding to the recording width (e.g., 256 fi in the case of B4 size), and the image quality to be recorded is placed on the array. By applying pulse current according to the information, the temperature of the ink ribbon that comes into contact with it is raised locally,
The solid ink layer is bath melted to form a visible layer on the recording paper.

The platen row 526 is a rubber-backed roller with a metal shaft in the center, and is located directly above the heating resistor element of the thermal head 250, and is connected to a rotational drive source and power transmission means, such as a stepping motor and gears that are common to the conveyance roller 23. Alternatively, it is rotated by a speed reduction mechanism using a timing belt, and has the function of feeding the recording paper and ink ribbon in accordance with the recording speed while keeping them overlapped.

Guide block 30, guide plate) 31α, 31b1 disposed behind the platen roller 26, conveyance roller 27
, 28 and a leaf spring 32 in contact with the conveying row 228.
The apparatus has a function of feeding the recording paper on which an image has been recorded so as to be ejected from the apparatus by rotationally urging the conveyance rollers 27 and 28 using a drive device (not shown), for example, a stepping motor. Note that 12 is a receiving paper tray, which temporarily stores ejected recording paper, and a plurality of recording papers may be stacked on top of each other.

Further, this facsimile receiving device has an ink ribbon transport path 40. This ink ribbon transport path 40 is
It is constituted by guide bars 41t42.43.

The ink ribbon 44 includes guide bars 41, 42,
Between the thermal head 25 and the platen roller 26, a guide/
1-43.

The ink ribbon 44 serves as a masking material for thermal transfer recording, and is a solid material that melts when instantaneously applied heat from one heat-sensitive head to an extremely thin polyethylene t-C film (about 6 μm thick, for example). It is made by coating an ink layer and is wound around an ink ribbon supply roll 45 and an ink ribbon take-up roll 46.These form a cassette 47, and the ink ribbon supply roll 45 and ink ribbon take-up roll 46 are It is loosely fitted into the case side plates 48 and 49 of the cassette 47 shown in FIG.
8 and 49 are connected to each other by a stay or the like. As shown in FIG. 1, this cassette 47 is pressed under the recording paper conveyance path 20.

FIG. 2 shows a structure in which this cassette 47 is held by frames 13 and 14 within the device iLM body 10. Frames 13.14 each have two axes 5G, 51, 5
2.53 are installed, and relays 54 are installed on their shafts.
155 #56 and 57 are loosely fitted. Among these reels, frame 131111 no reel 54.55 is
The end portion [is provided with one or more protrusions 54α, 55α, and the protrusions 544, 554 are attached to the ink ribbon supply roll 45.
and the ink ribbon take-up roll 41F)jlg [#I45 tX, 4'6atCa* formed on the ink ribbon take-up roll 41F), thereby locking the ink ribbon supply roll 45 and the ink ribbon take-up roll 46 to the reel 54.55. Also,
Axis 50.51 between reel 54.55 and frame 14
A joint member 58.59 is loosely fitted into the joint member 58.59.This joint member 58.59 is equipped with disks 58α and 59g at one end, and the disks are provided with 7 Rixie 7 Gray F 58 b , 59 b
' is attached. Furthermore, 1 this joint member 58. ! 59
Outside II! One-quay clutch 60, 61 on lI1 side
is disposed, and sprockets 62, 62 are disposed via the one-quay clutch. The joint members 58..., 59 are biased to the right in FIG. 2 by compression coil springs 64 and 65 disposed between the joint member and the frame 13,
5'J6 and press the reel 54.55 to the ink ribbon supply roll 45 and ink ribbon take-up roll 46.
On the other hand, the reels 56 and 57 are the compression coils RA6 arranged between the σ reel and the 7 frame 14.
6.67, the reels 56 and 57 are urged to the left in the second direction, and the end surfaces of the reels 56 and 57 are pressed against the ink ribbon supply roll 45 and the ink ribbon take-up roll 460m surface.

Then, the ink revolver cassette 47 is removed by moving the cassette 47 to the right in FIG.
6 (57-) against the biasing force of the spring, thereby releasing the reel 54 (55) and the ink ribbon supply roll 4.
5 (ink ribbon winding outlet 46) and release the connection with [, mounting Utw body 1 '0 (1) 7 V-A 13 *
14 f) h... In addition, when the ink ribbon cassette 47 is mounted on the frame 1'3.14 of the apparatus body 10, the cassette 47
While pushing the reel 56 (57) against the effort of the spring 66 (67), press the ink ribbon supply roll 4.
5 (ink ribbon take-up roll 46)
(57), and then the other end tt9 of the ink ribbon/supply roll 45 (ink ribbon take-up roll 46)
- Engage with #54 (55) &it's good.

The ink ribbon supply roll 45 and the ink ribbon take-up roll 46 are rotated by, for example, a third storage drive mechanism VC in order to feed the ink ribbon 44 and the recording paper in complete synchronization during recording. Driven. In FIG. 3, reference numeral 68 is a roller chain consisting of a large number of links, push crystals, and bottles, and this roller chain 768 connects the ink ribbon supply roll 45 and the ink ribbon take-up roll 4.
It is wrapped around sprockets 62 and 63. These sprockets 62 and 63 are rotationally driven via a roller chain 768 by a tin rocket 69 fixed coaxially with the platen row 226 described above.

In the cassette 47 including the ink ribbon supply roll 45, the ink ribbon take-up roll 46, and the ink ribbon 44, the ink ribbon 44 is interposed between the thermal head 25 and the platen row 226 as shown in FIG. ,
And it is positioned so as to be in contact with the guide bar 41, 42, 43.

Further, the rolled recording paper 80 is held in a recording paper holder 21, and the recording paper 80α at the leading end of the recording paper 80 passes through a recording paper guide plate 22, a conveyance roller 23, an auto cutter 24, and a guide bar 42, and then passes through a thermosensitive It is pulled out until it reaches the space between the head 25 and the platen row 226, and is set so that its tip is located a few feet past the row of copying small heating resistor elements of the thermal head 25.

Furthermore, this facsimile receiving apparatus includes an ink ribbon detector 70 such as an optical sensor, and a power supply control means for increasing or decreasing the power supplied to the heating resistor element of the thermal head 250 based on the output signal of the ink ribbon detector. 71 is a block diagram showing such an ink ribbon detector 70 and power supply control means 71.

This control means 71 includes a power supply circuit 72, a drive circuit 73, and the like. The ink ribbon presence/absence signal detected by the ink ribbon detector 70 is transmitted to the power supply circuit 72.
is input to the ink ribbon 44 by the power supply circuit 72.
@The drive circuit 73 selects a voltage corresponding to the presence or absence of the voltage and outputs it to the drive circuit 73 at the input terminal 74. The heating resistor element of the thermal head 250 is selected based on the image signal input to the heating resistor element, and a pulse voltage corresponding to the recording voltage outputted from the heating resistor element pressure power supply circuit 72 is applied. 72 is a DC constant voltage power supply oil line consisting of a conventionally well-known rectifier circuit, smoothing circuit, reference voltage generation circuit, comparator circuit, amplifier circuit, control circuit, etc.
The control means 71 of the embodiment supplies the output signal of the ink ribbon detector 70 to the comparison circuit, so that different output voltages of 2111 m corresponding to the presence or absence of the ink ribbon 44 can be obtained. Further, the drive circuit 73 is conventionally well known. In such a receiving device, the recording m80g and the ink ribbon 44 are transported and recorded as follows.

The facsimile signal received through the line is aw4.
The image signal is subjected to electrical processing such as decoding and amplification, and is then supplied to the input terminal 74 of the image signal at the 4-th point. Then, the signal is processed and amplified in the drive circuit 73 according to the recording mode, and a drive pulse voltage is output. At this time, since the ink ribbon detector 70 detects the presence of the ink ribbon 44, as described above, the DC power supply circuit 72 supplies the drive circuit 73 with a voltage that is optimal for thermal transfer recording. A drive pulse having the voltage value is applied to the thermal head 25. For example, when trying to obtain an image density of 1.3 in custom-made thermal transfer recording as shown in Figure 5, when the pulse width is 1 ms, the area is 70 x 100
#In% The Norms voltage applied to the heating resistor element having a resistance value of 270Ω is approximately 9.7V. (Thus, in accordance with the heat-sensitive transfer recording method described in detail with reference to FIG. 6, the solid ink layer of the ink ribbon 44 is bath-melted according to the recording pattern, and is pressed into a dense layer by the platen roller 26 on the recording paper 80α. The image is transferred and recorded. Recording is performed for each scanning line, and when one line of scanning recording is completed, the recording paper 80α
The ink ribbon 44 is fed by the platen row 226 and the conveyance roller 23, which are driven by a common stepping motor, by a distance corresponding to the scanning line pitch. In this way, recording is performed one after another, and the recording paper 80α and the ink ribbon 44, which remain in a dense layer, reach the guide bar 43 and the stroke of the ink ribbon 44 suddenly turns, so the recording paper 80α tends to move straight due to its rigidity. The recording paper 8 is separated from the ink ribbon 44.
0α is along the guide: fV −) 31α531A,
Conveyance row 227 synchronized with the rotation of platen loaf F26
The rotation of the drive roller 27g and the conveyance roller 28, and the pinch roller 27b and leaf spring 32 that cooperate therewith.
Sent by. When recording of one page corresponding to the size of the transmitted document is completed, a stepping motor (not shown) that drives the platen roller 26, the conveyance roller 23, the ink ribbon supply roll 45, and the ink ribbon take-up roll 46 rotates in reverse at high speed. , the recording paper 80α and the ink ribbon 44 start to retreat while being tightly layered.However, the 1 ink ribbon/44 reaches the guide bar 42 and its stroke rotates suddenly, whereas the continuous recording paper 80α is pushed back by the conveyance roller 2.
3, the ink ribbon 44 moves back almost straight.
separate from The recording end position of one page of the recording paper 80α separated by m is determined by the fixed force 24α of the auto cutter 24 and the movable blade 24.
When the engagement point b, that is, the cutting position trap is reached, the stepper motor a is momentarily stopped there, and at the same time, the OT blade 24b of the auto cutter 24 is energized, and the recording paper 80α on which recording has been completed is cut to a length approximately equal to the length of the original to be sent. Immediately after the 0-cut operation for cutting is performed, the stepping motor that drives the platen row 226 and the conveyance rollers 23 and 27#28 is rotated forward at high speed to cut the recording paper 80α and the ink ribbon 4.
Move 4 forward again.

And IC moved forward! The printed paper J3Qa is overlapped with the ink ribbon 44 at the guide bar 42 and enters under the platen roller 26. After cutting, the tip of the unrecorded part of the new recording paper 80a5 ink ribbon crosses the row of heating resistor elements of the thermal head 250 several times, and the platen roller 26, the conveyance roller 23, the ink ribbon supply roll 45, and the ink ribbon take-up. Stop the stepping motor that drives roll 46? , prepare for the next facsimile reception record. On the other hand, the piece of recording paper on which the reception record has been made is transferred to the drive roller 2.
7α, the pinch row 227A, the conveyance roller 28, and the plate spring 32 cooperate to continue feeding the paper, eject it outside the device, and store it in the receiving paper tray 12. We have explained the effects and operations when applying thermal recording, but the difference is that when thermal recording is applied, there is no ink ribbon 44 including an ink ribbon supply roll 45 and a take-up roll 46, and the behavior of thermal recording paper is similar to thermal transfer recording. Recording paper 8
It is the same as that of 0eL. That is, it is loaded and extended at the same position as the recording paper roll 80, and the recording paper guide plate 22,
Conveyance roller 23, auto cutter 24 and guide bar 4
2, the thermal recording paper is pinched and fed by the platen roller 26 and is thermally biased according to the recording pattern by the thermal head 25 to develop color and perform recording.

At this time, the ink ribbon detector 70 supplies a signal indicating that there is no ink ribbon to the power supply circuit 72 (see Figure 4), and sets the drive voltage of the thermal head 25 to the optimum value for thermal recording. .

For example, when trying to obtain an image density of 1.3 in a thermal recording having the characteristics shown in Fig. 5, the field difference of the thermal recording, the thermal head, and its driving pulse width are the same, so the driving pulse width is the same. The voltage will be approximately 13.67. (Thus, the thermal recording paper recorded under the optimum DD recording conditions is fed along the guide block 30, and after passing through the guide bar 43,
The sheet is conveyed along the guide plate 31α531bK by the drive roller 27α and the m-feed roller 28, which are synchronized with the rotation of the platen roller 26, and the pinch roller 274 and leaf spring 32 that cooperate therewith. When one page of recording corresponding to the size of the transmitted document is completed, the thermal recording paper moves backward at high speed, and is cut when the end of the recording reaches the cutting position of the auto cutter 24, and then immediately moves to the platen row 526.
rotate in the normal direction, and place the leading end of the unrecorded thermal recording paper on the thermal head 2.
The row of minute heating resistor elements No. 5 is advanced to a position several inches beyond. On the other hand, the piece of thermal recording paper on which the received recording has been made is completely transferred to the guide plate 31α by the cooperation of the drive rollers 27α, 28, the pinch roller 27b1, and the leaf spring 32, as in the case of the recording paper in thermal transfer recording.

31h and stored in the receiving paper tray 12. In the above embodiment, the power supply voltage that supplies the optimum recording conditions for thermal transfer recording and thermal recording to the drive circuit of the thermal head is controlled. [However, as mentioned in the technical background of the invention, it is sufficient that the energy required for trap recording differs depending on the image recording method. You can control it.

Further, in the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a 7-axis receiving device has been described, but it goes without saying that the present invention can be similarly applied to other recording devices such as printer devices.

Further, in the above embodiment, the ink ribbon detector 70 is connected to the thermal head 25 and the ink ribbon winding roll 4.
However, the ink ribbon detector 70 is installed in the ink ribbon transport area of the threshold between the thermal head 25 and the ink ribbon supply roll 45, for example, the ink ribbon transport area of the thermal head 25 and the ink ribbon supply roll 45. Furthermore, by detecting attachment and detachment of the ink ribbon cassette 47, the presence or absence of the ink ribbon 44 can be confirmed. It may be installed.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, in the recording apparatus related to the main area, a guide block is provided that extends from the vicinity of the row of heating resistor elements of the thermal head to the guide bar on the downstream side of the recording paper conveyance path.
A detector was installed to detect the presence or absence of an ink ribbon, and this was used to control the voltage supplied to the drive circuit of the thermal head, making it possible to perform both thermal transfer recording and thermosensitive recording with the same device. Furthermore, each device can be used under optimal recording conditions, and the user of the device can select the recording method according to his/her purpose, which provides flexibility.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing an ink ribbon holding structure in the recording device, and FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the recording device. Fig. 4 is a block diagram showing the power supply control means for the thermal head, and Fig. 5 shows the injection applied to the heating resistor element of the thermal head in thermal transfer recording and thermal recording. FIG. 6, a graph showing the relationship between energy and recording ambiguity, is a conceptual diagram showing a general thermal transfer recording system. 10-Device housing, 1 (1-Main body frame% 10b-Lid 7 frame, 11-Spindle, 12-Receiving paper tray, 20-Recording paper conveyance path, 22-Recording paper guide plate, 23-Conveyance roller , 24-auto cutter, 25-thermal head, 26
-Platen roller, 27.28-Conveyance roller, 40-Ink ribbon conveyance path, 41942.43-Ga4)"/(-
%44-ink ribbon, 45-ink ribbon supply roll, 46-47 ribbon take-up roll, 47-ink ribbon cassette, 62.63-sprockets), 68-chain, 69-sprocket, 70-ink ribbon detector, 7
1-supply power control means, 72-m1 source circuit, 73-drive circuit, 74-input terminal, 80-recording paper roll, 80α・
- Recording paper. 1-+, +KTHI Figure 2 Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5

Claims (1)

[Claims] A recording paper transport mechanism that transports the recording paper between the thermal head and the platen roller, an ink ribbon transport mechanism that transports the ink ribbon between the thermal head and the platen roller, and an ink ribbon detection that detects the presence or absence of the ink ribbon. When the presence of the ink ribbon is confirmed by the ink ribbon detector and the ink ribbon detector, the power supplied to the heating resistor element of the thermal head is set to a value suitable for thermal transfer recording, and the ink ribbon detector detects the presence of the ink ribbon. A recording apparatus characterized by comprising: power supply control means for reducing the power supplied to the heating resistor element of the heat-sensitive head to a value suitable for heat-sensitive recording when the presence of the heat-generating resistor element cannot be confirmed.