JPS6189058A - Multi-color transfer-type thermosensitive recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To eliminate inducing causes for the deterioration in registing precision with the halving of a feeding frequency of recording paper by recording even during the reversing of recording paper under a design to make IDF and normal/ reversed feeding possible. CONSTITUTION:Recording paper 6 is fed normally between a platem roller 1 and a thermal head 2 in such a way that said paper is overlapped on a C color ink layer of IDF4, and C layer ink falling on the first color position is transferred to the recording paper 6. Next, M color ink layer is moved to a position where the C color ink layer once existed by feeding only IDF4 normally in a single section of ink layer along, and then the recording paper 6 is overlapped on the M color ink layer of IDF4. This time, said paper is reversed receiving the ink transfer of M layer ink falling on the second color position. Thus this recording method enables the halving of a passing frequency of the recording paper 6 between the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2 compared to the conventional printer. In addition, the incidence of generation of paper position shift during feeding is minimized.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium in which irregular widths are formed by sequentially and repeatedly forming ink layers of equal width for different colors on a single sheet of ultra-thin film base paper. This invention relates to a multi-pass type multi-color transfer type thermal recording device that performs multi-color recording using a heat-sensitive transfer recording medium and ordinary recording paper, and in particular prevents deterioration in registration accuracy caused by the complexity of conveying the thermal transfer recording medium and ordinary recording paper. and related to improvements to improve printing quality.

[Conventional technology]

For example, one example of a device that performs multicolor recording using a thermal transfer recording method is a dangling thermal transfer system that repeatedly forms ink layers of uniform width for different colors in the same order on a single sheet of ultra-thin film base paper. The recording medium (ink donor film 1 hereinafter referred to as IDF) has a single recording portion composed of a heat-sensitive recording layer, and is successively superimposed with each color ink layer of the dangling IDF that is sequentially conveyed in one direction. A sheet of recording paper is repeatedly conveyed so as to pass over the thermal recording head, and each color ink is transferred in accordance with the image information, and multicolor recording is performed by superimposing the color inks K. A so-called multi-pass type multicolor transfer type thermal recording device is known. FIG. 2 schematically shows the configuration of a conventional multi-color transfer type thermal recording device using this multi-pass method, which includes a platen roller 1 and a thermal head 2 detachably disposed on the platen roller 1.
The above-mentioned irregularly shaped IDF 4 wound around the IDF supply roller 3 is interposed between the IDF feed roller 3 so that it can be wound and conveyed to one side according to the rotation of the IDF take-up roller 5, and is fed from a paper feed mechanism (not shown). The recording paper 6 is provided with transport rollers 7 and 8 configured to transport the recording paper 6 in both forward and reverse directions while overlapping the irregular IDF 4 on the thermal head 2. Here, assuming that the irregular IDF 4 is formed with ink layers of three colors, for example, cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y), the printing operation in this device is shown in FIGS. 3(a) to (f). ) is executed according to the flow shown below. First, the 0th layer of the uneven IDF 4 and the recording paper 6 are overlapped and conveyed between the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2 (see FIG. 3<a>), and the thermal head is driven to generate image information. The zero layer ink is transferred in accordance with (see (b) in the same figure). Then, only the recording paper 6 onto which the 0 layer ink has been transferred is sent backwards to the recording start position (see (C) in the same figure), and from this position the recording paper 6 is then conveyed to be overlapped with the M layer. The M layer ink is transferred in response to the same operation of the thermal head 2 as described above (
(See figure (d)). Further, only the recording paper 6 is transported backwards to the first recording start position (see (e) in the same figure), and then conveyed from this position overlapping with the Y layer, and transfer of the Y layer ink is performed in the same way (see (e) in the same figure). f)). Like this K
A multicolor image is recorded on the recording paper 6 by overlapping these three color inks of C, M, and Y, and then the paper is discharged to a paper discharge tray or the like.

Such a multi-pass type multi-color transfer type thermal recording device has only one recording unit compared to a single-pass type which sequentially passes through a plurality of recording units configured independently for each color to obtain a multi-color record. Today, it is used in recording devices for many devices because it is economical and economical.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, with this type of conventional apparatus, recording can only be performed when paper is conveyed in a specific direction, so it takes time to reverse feed the recording paper to move on to recording the next color image information. Not only does the printing speed slow down, but also the position of the recording paper gradually shifts while the conveyance roller repeatedly transports the recording paper, resulting in a decrease in the registration angle between each color ink, resulting in a significant loss of print quality. Ta.

[Means for solving problems]

Therefore, in the present invention, not only the recording paper but also the irregular I
The DF is also configured to be able to be conveyed in both forward and reverse directions, and when the paper is fed in the reverse direction, the next color ink layer printed earlier than the random pattern is superimposed on this paper and is fed in the reverse direction. It is designed with K so that printing in a predetermined color can be performed even during reverse feeding.

[Effect]

Due to the removal K, the number of times the recording paper is conveyed between the platen roller and the thermal head can be halved, and the factors that cause the printing speed to slow down and the registration accuracy to deteriorate can be significantly reduced.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below based on the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 shows a mechanical diagram of a multi-color transfer type thermal recording device according to the present invention, which has almost the same components as the conventional device shown in FIG. 2, but with regard to control requirements. New innovations have also been made as shown below. First, the conveying rollers 7 and 8 are driven to rotate in both forward and reverse directions, and can convey the recording paper 6 in both forward and reverse directions in accordance with the rotation.

The IDF supply roller 3 and the take-up roller 5 are also configured to be rotatable in both forward and reverse directions, and the IDF 4 wound and stretched between these rollers can be conveyed in both forward and reverse directions, which is a novel control feature. Added as a requirement. In FIG. 1, for example, it is assumed that the IDF 4 is a dangling IDF 4 made of ink layers of three colors, C, M, and Y, which was also used in the conventional apparatus. The direction in which this irregular shape II) F4 and the recording paper 6 are conveyed from the right to the left in the figure is a forward direction, and the IDF supply roller 3 and IDF take-up roller 5 are used to convey both in this forward direction. It is also assumed that the rotation direction of the conveyance roller 7°8 is the forward rotation direction.

In addition, in order to facilitate the replacement of the uneven IDF 4 or the removal of paper jams in the recording section, the thermal head 2 is configured to be detachable from the platen roller 1, so that press contact and release can be arbitrarily controlled. It has become.

The recording operation in the apparatus of the present invention will be described below in FIGS. 4(a) to (f).
This will be explained in detail based on the conceptual diagram of the printing progress shown in ).

First, prior to recording, the thermal head 2 is pressed against the platen roller 1 with the IDF 4 interposed and stretched between the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2. Next, in the first step of recording, the timing is arranged so that the recording paper 6 is overlapped with the C color ink layer of the IDF 4 between the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2, and both of them are moved in the forward direction by the method described above. While conveying (see FIG. 4(a)), the thermal head 2, which is driven according to the image information, transfers the zero layer ink corresponding to the image information corresponding to the first color to the recording paper 6 (see FIG. 4(a)). (See figure (b)). Next, from this state, only the IDF 4 is conveyed in the forward direction by one section of the ink layer, so that the KM color ink layer is brought to the position where the C color ink layer is located at the time when the recording of the 0 color is completed as described above (the same figure). (See (C)). From this state, the ID, F
The thermal head 2 is then conveyed in the opposite direction so that the recording paper 6 is superimposed on the M color ink layer No. 4.
The Ml ink corresponding to the second color is transferred according to the image information (see (d) in the same figure). Then the ID
Only F4 is conveyed in the forward direction by one section of the ink layer, and the M color ink layer is brought to the position where the M color ink layer was placed when the above M color recording was completed (see FIG. 4(e)). Next, from this position, the above-mentioned 5J paper 6 is overlapped with the M-color ink layer of the above-mentioned IDF 4, and while conveying both of them in the forward direction, the thermal head 2 transfers the image information corresponding to the third color to the Y-color ink layer.
The layer ink is transferred (see (f) in the same figure). As a result, the image information is recorded in multiple colors on the recording paper 6 by overlapping the C, M, and Y color inks, and is then discharged by a paper discharge roller (not shown) or the like. In such a writing method, the paper 6 needs to be repeatedly conveyed by one and a half back and forth, and the number of passes between the platen roller 1 and the thermal head 2 is halved compared to the conventional device, and the paper 6 is transported by the roller 11. This reduces the possibility of paper position misalignment (printing speed and registration), resulting in good results for an orientation of 171 degrees.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the multicolor transfer type thermal recording device of the present invention, the IDF is also configured to be able to be transported in both forward and reverse directions, so that recording can be performed even when the recording paper is fed in the reverse direction. Since multi-color recording can be achieved with less turbulence, the paper return time and the possibility of paper misalignment are reduced, resulting in excellent effects such as contributing to a significant improvement in recording speed and registration accuracy.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a multicolor transfer type thermal recording device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the conventional device (1), and FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram conceptually showing the progress of printing in the conventional apparatus, and FIG. 7 is a diagram conceptually showing the progress of printing in the apparatus of the present invention shown in FIG. ...Thermal head, 3
. . . IDF supply roller, 4 . . . Random ink donor film (IDF), 5 . . . IDF take-up roller.
6... Recording paper, 7, 8... Paper transport roller. Figure 1 3 (e)' (f) Figure 2 Figure 2 (() (d) (a) (b) (e) (f) Figure 4 (c) (d)

Claims (1)

[Claims] In a multicolor transfer type thermal recording device that obtains multicolor recording using a dangling thermal transfer recording medium in which ink layers of equal width for each color are sequentially and repeatedly formed on a single substrate, a thermal recording head and a platen roller are used. Recording the first color by superimposing a recording sheet on the first color of the thermal transfer recording medium and conveying it in the forward direction during the interval, and then conveying only the thermal transfer recording medium in the same direction by one ink layer. Then, the recording paper for the second color is superimposed and the recording paper is conveyed in the opposite direction to record the second color, and then the recording paper for the third color is recorded by conveying only the thermal transfer recording medium by one ink layer in the same direction. The apparatus further comprises independent thermal transfer recording medium conveying means and recording paper conveying means for conveying the thermal transfer recording medium and the recording paper so that recording of a third color is carried out by superimposing them and conveying them in the forward direction. A multi-color transfer type thermal recording device.