JPS62119078A - Thermal transfer recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible to contact a platen with a thermal transfer head under pressure by always uniform contact force, by a method wherein both sides of the thermal transfer head are elastically supported by an elastic body and the thermal transfer head is further mounted to a mount member in a state supported to as to be slidable to left and right directions at the center thereof in left and right directions. CONSTITUTION:When a thermal transfer head 5 is contacted with a platen 6 under pressure, brackets 60, 60 revolved toward a platen 6 to revolve the thermal head 5 toward the platen 6 and both of the platen 6 and the thermal head 5 are contacted. Thereafter, the thermal transfer head 5 is pressed to the side of the platen 6 against the energizing forces of both leaf springs 40, 40 until the back surface thereof comes in contact with a support shaft 41. When the back surface of the thermal head 5 contacts the support shaft 41, because the support shaft 41 is positioned at the center of the heat generating element arranging direction of the thermal transfer head 5, the thermal transfer head 5 is brought to a state slidable to left and right directions around the support shaft 41. Therefore, the entire area of the thermal transfer head 5 in the heat generating element arranging direction thereof contacts the platen 6 by uniform pressure contact force.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention involves overlapping an ink sheet coated with ink with a recording paper, and thermally transferring the ink of Inksee I to the recording paper using a thermal transfer head. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device configured to record one character, one symbol, two figures, etc.

[Prior art]

An ink sheet coated with heat-melting ink and recording paper are superimposed and inserted into the opposing gap between the ζ platen and the thermal transfer head, and the heating elements arranged on the thermal transfer head are selectively heated. Characters and symbols 1 are printed by thermally transferring the ink on the ink sheet at the position corresponding to the heating element onto the recording paper.
2. Description of the Related Art A thermal transfer recording device configured to record figures and the like on recording paper has already been put into practical use.

Furthermore, in recent years, inks of the three primary colors (and black) are coated on an ink sheet sequentially, and the recording paper is moved back and forth repeatedly to thermally transfer the three primary colors of ink onto the same recording area. As time progresses, thermal transfer recording devices capable of so-called color recording are also put into practical use.

Problems to be Solved by Invention C] By the way, in a thermal transfer recording device capable of color recording as described above, it is necessary to transfer ink of a plurality of different colors onto the same recording area of recording paper in duplicate. Therefore, color misregistration will occur unless both the recording position and ink density are managed and controlled more strictly than in conventional thermal transfer recording devices of this type.

This is highly likely to cause deterioration in recording quality such as color unevenness.

For this reason, in thermal transfer recording devices that perform color recording, the recording position (the position of the ink sheet relative to the thermal transfer head) is determined by using a color sensor to detect the color of the ink applied to the ink sheet. Also, the pressure contact between the platen and the thermal transfer head can be adjusted in various ways! It was supposed to be done by the ff mechanism. This is because, in a general thermal transfer recording device, the direction in which the heat generating elements of the thermal transfer radiator are arranged is the width direction (direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the ink sheet and recording paper), and the direction is perpendicular to the direction in which the heat generating elements are arranged. Since thermal transfer recording is performed while conveying the ink sheet and the recording paper in the direction of the recording paper, in order to maintain a uniform density of the ink transferred to the recording paper, it is necessary to carry out thermal transfer recording over the entire area in the direction in which the heating elements of the thermal transfer head are arranged. This is because it is necessary to make pressure contact with the platen with uniform force.

However, in the past, adjustment of the pressure contact between the platen and the thermal transfer head was often done by adjusting the pressure contact force in the left and right direction uniformly by adjusting the tightening of screws, etc., and for this reason, in practice, The adjustment work had to be done by trial and error, and the reality was that there was little reward for the waste of time and effort.

A mechanism has been developed that automatically adjusts the pressure contact between the platen and the thermal transfer head, but its structure is complex, and when it is incorporated into an actual product, the number of parts is large, and the number of assembly steps is also reduced. There are problems such as an increase in the number of

Means for Solving Problem C] The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances described above, and includes elastic bodies that elastically support both sides of the thermal transfer head, and further supports the thermal transfer head in the left and right direction. (The direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the recording paper) The center is supported by a swinging part in the left and right direction, and it is attached to a member. Furthermore, this attachment is done by adopting a configuration in which the member is biased toward the platen. To provide a thermal transfer type recording device capable of always maintaining a constant concentration of ink transferred from an ink sheet to a recording paper by configuring the entire head in the width direction of the recording paper to come into contact with a platen with uniform pressure. With the goal.

The present invention has a platen and heat-generating S elements arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of recording paper, and is biased toward the platen, and the heat generated by the heat-generating S elements is rotated around a central part in the arrangement direction of the heat-generating elements. A thermal transfer head having both ends in the element arrangement direction supported by the platen so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the platen, an ink sheet and a recording paper being superimposed and inserted into the opposing gap between the thermal transfer head and the platen, and the thermal transfer head 111 In a thermal transfer recording device configured to transfer and record ink from an ink sheet onto the recording paper, the thermal transfer head includes:
The mounting whose heat generating element array direction ends are biased towards the platen is resiliently supported by the member, and the mounting is caused by the reaction of the biasing force in the direction of the platen to cause the thermal transfer head 111 to move toward the platen. The present invention is characterized in that it includes a fulcrum member for supporting the thermal transfer head at its center in the heat generating element arrangement direction when pressed by a member.

〔Example〕

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described in detail below based on drawings showing embodiments thereof.

Figures 1.2.3 are sectional views of the configuration of a color printer as an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention, viewed from the visitor's side. It shows a state in which the blade 5 is released from the platen 6 and a state in which the upper part including the platen 6 is opened.

This color printer consists of a pair of left and right fixed side plates 80.80 erected parallel to each other inside the casing, an ink sheet 2 and a recording paper, which will be described later, in the front and back direction on the upper part of the fixed side plates 80.80. A pair of movable side plates 82, 82 that are rotatably mounted parallel to the transport direction of 13.
It is installed on.

Between the fixed side and 80.80, an ink sheet roll l with an ink sheet 2 wound around it toward the rear side (indicated on the right side in each figure), and a head block 50 equipped with a thermal transfer head 5 in the center were attached. The bracket 60 has a take-up roll 11 for the ink sheet 2 at the upper front side (on the left side in each figure), and a transport roller 8 for transporting the ink sheet 2 to a position between the bracket 60 and the take-up roll 1. In addition, an eccentric cam 6 whose rotation center is at a fan-shaped key position is located at the lower center part.
A cam support shaft 70 with a guide shaft 3 . LO etc. are provided.

The movable side plate 82.82 has one end pivotally supported by a rotating shaft 81 provided at the upper front side of the above-mentioned fixed side plate 80.80, and in normal use with the other end rotated to the rear side. The platen 6 and the thermal transfer head 5 can be brought into pressure contact with each other. That is, in the movable side plate 82, 82, in the use state, the recording paper roll 12 on which the recording paper 13 is wound is placed near the rear side (close to the other end), and the 1jM feed roller 16 and the first pressure roller 17 are placed in the center part. The insertion path 15 and the second
A discharge path 20 in which a 111 feed roller 18 and a second pressure roller 19 are brought into contact with each other, a rotatable roll-shaped platen 6, and a pressure roller 9 are provided slightly behind the rotating shaft 8I on the 111 side. . In use, the pressure roller 9 and the conveyance roller 8 are pressed against each other, and the respective positions are determined so that the platen 6 and the thermal transfer head 5 can be brought into pressure contact with each other.

Although the details of the bracket 60 will be described later, the rear portion of the bracket 60 is pivotally supported by a support shaft 63 to fixed side plates 80 and 80.
In addition, due to the tensile force of the spring 67 stretched between the i11 end portion and the shaft 66 attached to the fixed side plate 80.80, the Mj end portion is rotated around the shaft 63 as the rear upper blade (each (clockwise in the figure).

This bracket 60 includes a platen 6 and a thermal transfer head 5.
The first and second head guide shafts 4 and 7 are located on both sides of the front and rear of the platen 60 in a state in which they are in pressure contact with each other, and the thermal transfer head 5 is attached so that the platen 6 and the thermal transfer head 5 are in pressure contact with each other. block 50
are attached respectively, and a light source 11 of a color sensor 1H for detecting the color of the ink on the ink sheet 2 is also installed.
0 etc. is also installed.

The basic operation of the thermal transfer type recording apparatus of the present invention, whose main parts are constructed as described above, is as follows.

The ink sheet 2 pulled out from the ink sheet roll 1 has, for example, yellow,
Inks of the three primary colors magenta, cyan, and black are applied sequentially, that is, repeatedly in this order. Then, the ink sheet 2 passes through the guide shaft 3 and the first head guide shaft 4, passes between the thermal transfer head 5 and the platen 6, and then passes between the second head guide shaft 7, the conveyance roller 8, and the pressure roller 9. Joint and guide shaft 9
The film is then wound onto a take-up roll 11.

On the other hand, the recording paper 13 pulled out from the 28 paper roll I2 is
The first plate is inserted through the guide roller 14 through the insertion opening 15a of the insertion path 15 in which two plates are attached with a slight gap between them.
After passing through the gap between the conveyance roller I6 and the first pressure roller 7, it passes through the gap between the thermal transfer head 5 and the platen 6, and then the gap between the 2111th feed roller 18 and the second pressure roller 19. The liquid is discharged from the discharge port 20a of the discharge passage 20, which is installed on a slope with a slight gap between the two.

As described above, when the ink sheet 2 and the recording paper I3 pass through the gap between the platen 6 and the thermal transfer pad 5, the ink sheet 2 is heated by the heat emitted from the thermal transfer head 5.
of ink is transferred onto the recording paper 13.

Figure 4 shows the bracket 60 to which the RAD 5 is attached to the thermal transfer.
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the head protector 50 to which the thermal transfer head 5 is attached and its attachment to the bracket 60. FIG.

Both brackets 60 and 60 each have a first
The branch part 6I and the second branch part 62 located on the lower side are formed in a V-shape expanded toward the iiJ side, and the joint part of both the branch parts 6I and 62 is connected to the fixed side plate by the shaft 63. 80°8
It is rotatably supported at 0. Note that, as described above, the brackets 60, 60 are rotationally biased at their -i'' side portions rearward and upward.

The first branch portion 61 includes a head block 50 to which the thermal transfer head 5 is attached, a first head guide shaft 4, and a second head guide shaft 4.
Head guide shafts 7 are arranged in parallel, and a cam pressure shaft 65 having a cam pressure roller 64 is arranged on the second branch 62 .

The cam pressure roller 64 is mounted on the cam pressure shaft 65 at a position opposite to the cam surface of the eccentric cam 68 mounted on the cam support shaft 70 described above. Therefore, when the cam support shaft 70 is rotated and the cam surface of the protrusion of the eccentric cam 68 comes into contact with the cam pressure roller 64, and further presses the cam pressure shaft 65 downward, the platens l-60, 60 are moved by the tension of the spring 67. The iii side portion thereof is rotated downward against the force, thereby separating the thermal transfer head 5 from the platen 6 as described later. Through such an operation, the thermal transfer head 5 is released from the platen 6.

Now, the feature of the thermal transfer type recording apparatus of the present invention lies in the mounting structure of the thermal transfer head 5. That is, the thermal transfer head 5 is assembled as a head block 50, and this head block 50 is fixed between the above-mentioned brackets 60 and 60 by screwing screws 51 and 52 into screw holes 45 and 46. There is.

The head block 50 includes a mounting member 42 that is slightly longer than the thermal transfer head 5 in the left-right direction, and side plates 43, 43 extending downward at both left and right ends of the member 42. The thermal transfer head 5 is attached to the member 42 in the left and right direction, and when it is moved, the ink sheet 1-2 and the recording paper 13 are attached.
Both sides are elastically supported by slope springs 40 and 40 in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction (six directions in which the heating elements are arranged),
The attachment is in a slightly floating state with respect to the member 42.

The lower surface of the thermal transfer head 5 is inserted into the gap between the upper surface of the member 42, and the attachment is located directly below the center of the heat generating element arrangement direction of the thermal transfer head 5, which is approximately in the center of the upper surface of the member 42 in the left-right direction. A support shaft 41 is attached at the position with the longitudinal direction extending in the front-rear direction (direction perpendicular to the arrangement direction of the heating elements of the thermal transfer radar 5). Note that 55 in the figure is a heating element array.

The attachment of the thermal transfer head 5 to the member 42 as described above depends on the configuration, such as when the head 5 is released from the platen 6 by rotation of the eccentric cam 68, or when the movable side plates 82 and 82 are moved upwardly and forwardly. When the thermal transfer head 5 and the platen 6 are not in pressure contact with each other due to rotation, the thermal transfer head 5 is resiliently supported by the slope springs 40 and 40 in a state where it is suspended from the mounting member 42.

On the other hand, when the thermal transfer head 5 is pressed against the platen 6, the brackets 60, 60 rotate toward the platen 6, so that the thermal transfer head 5 is pressed against the platen 6.
The thermal transfer head 5 is rotated ``ζ'' toward the platen so that they come into contact with each other, and then the thermal transfer head 5 is further pushed toward the platen 6 against the biasing force of both leaf springs 40 and 40 until its back surface comes into contact with the support shaft 41. When the back surface of the thermal transfer head 5 comes into contact with the support shaft 41, since the support shaft 41 is located at the center of the P5 transfer head 5 in the heating element arrangement direction, the thermal transfer head 5 moves in the left-right direction around the support shaft 41. It will be in a state where it can swing.

Therefore, even if the thermal transfer pad 5 and the platen 6 are not completely parallel when the thermal transfer pad 5 is released from the platen 6, the thermal transfer head 5 generates heat when the thermal transfer head 5 is pressed against the platen 6. The entire area in the element arrangement direction comes into contact with the platen 6 with uniform pressure.

FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the invention.

In this embodiment, the mounting structure is such that consideration is given to ease of mounting the member 42 to the platen 1-60°60. That is, for attachment, an elongated hole 48 that opens rearward and an engagement hole 47 that widens toward the front side and are opened ``ζ'' are provided on each side of the member 42 and 43, 43.

In such a configuration, attachment of member 42 to platen 60, 60 is accomplished as follows.

First, for installation, the rear side of the member 42 is directed downward, and after fitting the screw 52 (a pin may be used) of the bracket 60 into the elongated part 48, the member 42 is rotated forward about the screw 52. This allows the installation to be performed on member 42.
The screw 51 of the bracket 60 automatically engages with the engagement hole 47 of the bracket 60 .

〔effect〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, a thermal transfer type recording device in which a platen and a thermal transfer head are always brought into contact with each other with uniform pressing force without having to adopt a complicated configuration or assembling many parts. The device is easily realized. In addition, when the present invention is used in a thermal transfer type color printer, when each color ink is transferred onto recording paper in duplicate,
It becomes possible to easily manage and control the ink concentration uniformly at all times, and it becomes possible to improve and maintain recording quality.

Note that although 4:J Jichio has shown an example in which the present invention is applied to a color printer, the present invention can be applied to conventional printers that use only black (or other colors) ink. ! Of course, it can be used with the J1 transfer type recording device as well! (Yes, it is true that recording quality can be improved and maintained in this case as well.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show embodiments of the present invention, and are shown in Fig. 1.2.3.
The figures are side sectional views showing the configuration of the apparatus of the present invention. Figure 1 shows the normal state in which the thermal transfer head and platen are in pressure contact, Figure 2 shows the state in which both are released, and Figure 3 shows the state in which they are released. FIG. 4 shows a state in which the upper member is opened, and FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the configuration of a bracket for mounting the thermal transfer head.
Figure 5 is a perspective view showing the structure of the head block, Figure 6 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the head block.
The figure is a perspective view showing another embodiment.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A platen and a heating element arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of recording paper, biased toward the platen, with the center of the heating element arranged in the direction as the center of rotation. , a thermal transfer head whose respective ends in the heating element arrangement direction are supported by the platen so as to be able to come into contact with and separate from the platen, an ink sheet and a recording paper are inserted in a superimposed manner into the opposing gap between the thermal transfer head and the platen, In a thermal transfer recording device configured to transfer and record ink from an ink sheet onto the recording paper using a thermal transfer head, the thermal transfer head is elastically supported at both ends in the heating element arrangement direction by a mounting member biased toward the platen. and the mounting member is a fulcrum member for supporting the thermal transfer head at its center in the heating element arrangement direction when the thermal transfer head is pressed against the mounting member due to a reaction of the biasing force toward the platen. A thermal transfer recording device comprising: