JPS61266277A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smooth off a sag of an ink ribbon in a stopped state and enable the position of a label to be set to a prescribed starting position when a transfer member is a label paper, by a method wherein when a power source is turned ON, a feeding part and a driving part are driven to feed a transfer member and an ink ribbon by predetermined amounts. CONSTITUTION:When the power source is turned ON, an auto-feeder so functions that the leading edge of a label 19 is detected by a label detector 26 on condition that a printer unit 12 is set in position. The transfer member 20 is fed until the leading edge is detected, whereby the label 19 is positioned irrespective of the position of the member 20. During printing, a solenoid 59 is momentarily energized to push a head-holding plate 45 upward through movable core 60, an arm 55 and a metallic connector 52, whereby a thermal head 47 is instantaneously levitated. As a result, the ink ribbon is set free and is pulled by a take-up roll 66, so that a local deformation, if any, is smoothed off under stretching, and causes of wrinkling are removed.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer that prints on wide labels and the like using an ink ribbon with a thermal head having a large printing width.

Conventional technology Conventionally, it has been common practice to print on wide thermal paper using a thermal head with a large printing width. In particular, when printing barcodes on label paper, it is difficult to form barcodes with continuous lines. Because of this, it is often used in label printers. However, printing of barcodes on label sheets made of general paper has not yet been actually carried out.

On the other hand, in order to print on plain paper, there is a method of printing by thermal transfer using an ink ribbon coated with thermally transferable ink. However, such a printing method uses a narrow ink ribbon, and there is no one that can print on wide labels or the like.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In order to print on a wide plain paper label or the like by thermal transfer, a wide ink ribbon may be set in the conventional label printer described above. However, in a wide ink ribbon, slack is likely to occur, and this slack induces wrinkles.

Further, in a label printer, labels are attached to a mount at regular intervals, but the label positions at the time of startup are not always constant.

Means for Solving the Problem When the power is turned on or when the printer unit is set, the feeding section and the driving section are driven to feed the transfer member and the ink ribbon by a certain amount. In addition to removing slack in the ribbon, when the transfer member is a label paper, the position of the label is set at a specified starting position.

Function: Since the ink ribbon is fed by a constant amount, the slack that occurs while the ink ribbon is stopped is eliminated, which eliminates the cause of wrinkles, and since the transfer member is also fed at the same time, the transfer member can be attached to the label paper. If so, the position of the label is set constant by controlling the amount of feed.

Embodiment First, a box-shaped main body case 1 is provided, and on the right side of the front side of this main body case 1, a label issuing port 2 is formed, and on the left side, an operation panel consisting of a power switch 3, a display section 4, etc. A panel 5 is provided.

The inside of the main body case 1 is divided into two parts, one of which is an electrical part 7 that houses electrical components 6 such as a printed wiring board connected to a host computer (not shown), and the other part that houses a mechanical part that will be described later. It is referred to as mechanism section 8.

An electrical shielding plate 9 is provided between the mechanical section 8 and the electrical section 7 so that static electricity generated in the mechanical section 8 does not adversely affect the electrical components 6.

Furthermore, an upper lid 10 is attached to the upper part of the mechanism part 8 so that the upper lid 10 can be opened and closed by being hinged in the direction of the center so that the inside thereof is opened.

Thus, inside the mechanism section 8, a fixing mechanism section 11 and a printer unit 12 are provided.

The fixing mechanism section 11 is formed by a transfer member holding section 13 located at the back thereof, and a mechanism described below attached to a fixing frame 14 located at the front side.

The transfer member holding section 13 has a transfer member holder 16 having holding walls 15 facing each other, and this transfer member holder 16
A holding shaft 21 is rotatably attached to the shaft holding part 17 for holding a transfer member 20, which has labels 19 pasted on a long mount 18 at predetermined intervals, wound in a roll. There is.

Further, below the fixing mechanism section 11, a transfer member passage 23 is formed by a transfer member guide 22 rotatably attached to the printer unit 12 as described later. The transfer member 2 is placed facing the transfer member passage 23.
Two tractors 24 and 25 serving as sending units for sending zero are fixedly provided to the fixed frame 14. Further, in a part of this transfer member passage 23, the label 1 of the transfer member 20 is located above and below the transfer member passage 23.
A label detector 26 for optically detecting the position of 9 is provided.

Further, a label peeling plate 27 is fixedly provided on the fixed frame 14 so as to face the label issuing port 2, and a roller-shaped platen 28 is rotatably attached adjacent to the label peeling plate 27. It is being A motor 31 serving as a drive unit is connected to the platen 28 via a wheel 29 and a belt 30. Further, a guide shaft 32 for winding and guiding the mount 18 is provided near the tractor 25, and the mount 18 whose feeding direction is determined by the guide shaft 32 is sharply bent at the tip of the label peeling plate 27. As a result, the label 19 is peeled off.

A pair of lock pins 33 of a fixed length are fixed to the front inner surface of the fixed frame 14 so as to face each other, and the upper part of the fixed frame 14 in the back direction is provided with a lock pin 33 that is fixed to the front inner surface of the fixed frame 14. A support shaft 34 serving as a fulcrum is fixed. Further, a ribbon motor 35 serving as a drive source for winding up an ink ribbon (described later) is attached to one outer surface of the fixed frame 14, and a drive gear 37 fixed to a motor shaft 36 of this ribbon motor 35 is It is located on the inner surface of the fixed frame 14.

Therefore, the printer unit 12 is attached to the support shaft 34.
A frame 38 is rotatably attached. A lock shaft 39 is provided in front of the frame 38 so as to extend from side to side, and lock pawls 40 that rotate to engage and disengage from the lock pin 33 are fixed to both ends of the lock shaft 39. . A handle portion 41 is attached to one of these lock claws 40.
is formed by bending.

One end of a damper 42 that exhibits a damping effect by hydraulic pressure is fixed to the end of the lock shaft 39 of the printer unit 12, and the other end of this damper 42 is attached to the fixed frame 14.

Next, a head support shaft 43 is provided on both sides of the frame 38, and a head holding plate 45 is attached to the head support shaft 43 via a leaf spring 44.
The head holding plate 45 is provided with a thermal head 47 having heating elements 46 linearly arranged and having a large printing width, and a rotatable guide roller 48 that guides an ink ribbon (described later). Further, a spring holding fitting 49 is attached above the head holding plate 45, and a guide shaft 50 fixed to the head holding plate 45 is slidably fitted into the spring holding fitting 49. Together with this spring holding fitting 49 and the head holding plate 4
A compression spring 51 is attached between the thermal head 47 and the thermal head 47 to urge it downward.

Further, a connecting fitting 52 is integrally formed with the head holding plate 45.
is provided to protrude upward, and this connecting fitting 52 is provided with an engaging pin 53 extending horizontally. An arm 55 is supported by a support shaft 54 on the frame 38.
is rotatably provided, and one leg 56 of this arm 55
is connected to the lower part of the engagement pin 53, and the other leg 5
An end portion of a movable core 60 of a solenoid 59 held by a solenoid holding fitting 58 is joined to 7. In this way, a head-up mechanism 61 is formed which engages the solenoid 59 and the arm 55 with the thermal head 47 and temporarily pushes up the thermal head 47.

Next, the frame 38 is formed with a shaft support part 62 that opens downward and a shaft support part 63 that opens upward. An ink ribbon holder 65 serving as a supply shaft around which a wide ink ribbon 64 is wound is attached to the shaft support portion 63.
An ink ribbon take-up roll 6G serving as a take-up shaft for winding up the ink ribbon 64 is inserted into the shaft support portion 63.

A hexagonal fixing plate 67 fixed to the frame 38 is rotatably attached to the ink ribbon holder 65, and a back tension adjustment spring 68 is attached between the fixing plate 67 and the rotation thereof. Resistance is determined. Furthermore, a passive gear 69 that meshes with the drive gear 36 connected to the ribbon motor 34 is fixed to one end of the ink ribbon take-up roll 66 .

Guide rollers 70 and 71 for guiding the ink ribbon 64 are attached to the upper side of the frame 38, and a guide roller 72 and a balancer mechanism 73 are attached to the lower side of the frame 38. This balancer mechanism 73 has a holder 7 suspended between the frames 38.
A roll-shaped balancer 76 is attached to a pin-shaped balancer fulcrum 75 fixed to the roller 4. That is, this balancer 76 has the balancer fulcrum 7
A long hole 77 is fitted into the frame 3 to allow slight vertical movement, and a vertically long hole 78 is fitted into the frame 3.
The small diameter portions 79 formed at both ends of the balancer 76 are fitted therein.

Therefore, the balancer 76 moves by pressing the ink ribbon 64 with its own weight, and when the left and right tension of the ink ribbon 64 changes, it tilts around the balancer fulcrum 75, causing the ink ribbon 64 to move. This is to eliminate the tension imbalance that has occurred.

A ribbon detector 80 is provided between the balancer 76 and the guide roller 72 to optically detect the presence or absence of the ink ribbon 64.

Furthermore, a transfer member guide fulcrum 81 is provided at one end of the lower surface of the printer unit 12, and the transfer member guide 22 is rotatably attached to this transfer member guide fulcrum 81. A transparent hole 82 is formed at the leading end of the transfer member guide 22, and one of the label detectors 26 is attached to this portion. The transfer member guide 22 is made of a ferromagnetic material such as iron, and is integrally connected to the frame 38 of the printer unit 12 by joining it to a magnet 84 extending downward through a support plate 83. It is installed so that

Further, a static eliminating brush 85 formed of a carbon brush or the like is attached to the front surface of the head holding plate 48 so as to contact the ink ribbon 64 and release static electricity.

Although not particularly shown, the discharge port of the mount 18 is formed as an opening in the bottom surface of the main body case 1.

Looking at the overall shape, the mechanism section 8 of the main body case 1 has a transfer member holding section 13 formed at a predetermined height on its back, and a transfer member passage 23 at the front lower part of this transfer member holding section 13. Since the printer unit 12 that holds the ink ribbon 64 is disposed above the transfer member passage 23, the height of the main body case 1 can be reduced, and the effective utilization rate of its internal volume is high.

In such a configuration, first, FIGS. 10 and 11
In the figure, when the power is turned on, initial settings such as various LSI initial settings, RAM clearing, and constant settings are performed.
Next, check the ROM and RAM, and check the thermal head 47.
A self-check such as checking for disconnection of the heating element 46 is performed, and the point A is reached. Then, autofeed shown in FIG. 11 is performed. That is, the label 19 is detected by the label detector 26 on the condition that the printer unit 12 is set. At this time, the leading edge of the label 19 is detected. The transfer member 20 is fed until this leading edge is detected, and the number of steps of the motor 31 is counted from that point on. That is, the number of steps n is counted from 0. This count number is label 1
When a value corresponding to the distance between two sheets of 9 is reached, motor 3
1 stops rotating.

This feeding operates so that the label 19 is positioned as shown in FIG. 11 no matter where the transfer member 20 is in the initial state. In other words, in a stationary state, the thermal head 47 touches the transfer member 2.
This prevents the label 19 from coming into contact with a position where no label 19 is present and remaining stationary while being sandwiched between the platen 28 and the platen 28. As a result, the ink ribbon 64
This prevents the ink from being transferred to the label 19 before printing and causing linear stains.

When the autofeed is completed in this way, the printer reaches point B and waits for a print request from the host computer.

When there is no printing request, the printer is constantly monitored to see if there is an abnormality in the printer, and if there is an abnormality, it is displayed. Also,
Process it.

Then, when there is a print request, it prints and also checks for printer errors. When the printer unit 12 is opened, it is immediately at point A, and when it is set, auto-feed is performed to feed two labels 19 as described above.

During this printing, the transfer member 20 is fed by driving the tracks 24 and 25, but it is the feeding speed by rotation of the platen 28 that controls accurate feeding for printing. The purpose of feeding by the track 24 is to lower the resistance of feeding the platen 28.
The purpose of this feeding is to peel off the printed label 19 from the mount 18. Further, during printing, the ribbon motor 35 rotates and the driving gear 37 drives the passive gear 69 to rotate the ink ribbon take-up roll 66, thereby forcibly winding the ink ribbon 64. Although the ink ribbon 64 becomes difficult to separate from the label 19 by transferring the ink to the label 19, this is to ensure that the ink ribbon 64 is separated even if adhesive force is applied between the two.

Further, the ink ribbon 64 receives heat from the heating element 46 of the thermal head 47, and since the heat is received unevenly over the entire width direction, the degree of deformation is also uneven in the width direction. Therefore, the ink ribbon 64 is partially deformed at the sandwiched portion between the platen 28 and the thermal head 47, and this deformation grows to cause wrinkles on the supply side of the ink ribbon 64. Therefore, during printing, the solenoid 59 is temporarily energized periodically or during a certain pause period, and as a result, the movable iron core 60, the arm 55,
The head holding plate 45 is pushed up via the connecting fitting 52,
As a result, the thermal head 47 momentarily rises.

Therefore, the ink ribbon 64 is in a free state, and since the ink ribbon 64 is being pulled by the ink ribbon take-up roll 66, if there is any local deformation, that part is expanded and flattened, thereby preventing wrinkles from forming. Eliminate the cause.

Next, the procedure for replenishing the transfer member 20 will be explained. In this case, first, open the top lid 10, grasp the handle portion 41 of the lock claw 40, and rotate the lock claw 40 to release the engagement with the lock pin 33. When pulled up in this state, the printer unit 12 rotates around the support shaft 34.

At the time of this rotation, since the transfer member guide 22 forming the transfer member passage 23 is integrally attached to the printer unit 12, the transfer member passage 23 is opened.

Therefore, an insertion operation is performed in which the rolled transfer member 20 is set in the transfer member holding part 13, passed under the printer unit 12, passed over the platen 28 and under the guide shaft 32, and engaged with the tractor 25. It is extremely easy to operate as it can be carried out without obstacles.

Then, after setting, the printer unit 12 is placed in the attached state again, and the lock claw 40 is engaged with the lock pin 33, so that the transfer member passage 23 is formed by the transfer member guide 22, and the transfer member 20 is also attached to the tractor 24. mesh together.

At this time, the fact that the lock claws 40 are engaged with the lock pins 33 on both sides of the printer unit 12 eliminates uneven contact between the thermal head 47 and the platen 28.
Uniform contact pressure for printing and feeding can be obtained throughout the width direction.

Next, the operation of exchanging the ink ribbon 64 will be explained. In this case, the printer unit 12 is rotated in the same manner, but after the rotation, the front edge of the transfer member guide 22 is pushed downward. As a result, the transfer member guide 22 that has been attracted by the magnet 84 rotates about the transfer member guide fulcrum 81, and the transfer member guide 22 becomes horizontal as shown in FIG. As a result, there is no obstacle to attaching and detaching the ink ribbon holder 65, and since the ink ribbon take-up roll 66 side is open in the back direction, the ink ribbon holder 65 and ink ribbon take-up roll 66 can be attached and detached. It's easy.

Although the printer unit 12 rotates in this manner, the parts attached to the frame 38 have no heavy objects such as a motor, so the overall weight is low and can be easily moved during operation. In addition, since the buffer damper 42 acts during rotation, the thermal head 47 does not collide with the platen 28, and the heating element 4
Effectively protect 6.

Effects of the Invention In the present invention, as described above, the fixing mechanism section and the printer unit are provided, and the fixing mechanism section is provided with heavy objects such as the drive section for driving the platen and the feeding section for feeding the transfer member. The unit can be formed lightly, which allows
It is easy to set by rotating the ink ribbon, and when the power is turned on or the printer unit is set, the drive unit and feed unit are driven to feed the transfer member and ink ribbon by a certain amount, so that the transfer member and ink ribbon can be easily set when stopped. It is possible to prevent the ink ribbon from becoming loose, and furthermore, when the transfer member is label paper, it is possible to accurately determine the position of the label.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of the main parts, FIG. 2 is an overall perspective view, FIG. 3 is a perspective view with the top cover open, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the main parts. Partial side view, Figure 5 is a perspective view when replacing the ink ribbon, Figure 6 is an enlarged side view of part of the printer unit, Figure 7 is a perspective view of the head-up mechanism, and Figure 8 is the balancer. FIG. 9 is a front view of the mechanism, FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view of the thermal head portion, and FIGS. 10 and 11 are flowcharts. 1... Main body case, 12... Printer unit, 1
3... Transfer member holding section, 14... Fixed frame, 2
0... Transfer member, 24. 25... Track (feeding section), 28... Platen, 31... Motor (drive section)
, 38... Frame, 47... Thermal head, 6
4... Ink ribbon, 65... Ink ribbon holder (supply shaft), 66... Ink ribbon take-up roll (take-up shaft) Applicant: Tokyo Electric Co., Ltd. Nokawakuni

Claims (1)

[Claims] A transfer member holding portion for holding a roll-shaped transfer member is formed at one end of a fixed frame of the main body case, and a platen for driving the transfer member is provided at the other end, and a drive for driving the platen is provided on the fixed frame. and a feeding section for feeding the transfer member to form a fixing mechanism section, and a thermal head pressed against the platen and an ink ribbon supply shaft and a take-up shaft form a printer unit attached to a frame. , the printer unit is rotatably or movably attached to the fixing mechanism section, and when the power is turned on or when the printer unit is inserted, the driving section and the feeding section are driven to move the ink ribbon and the transfer member. A thermal transfer printer characterized by feeding a fixed amount of and.