JPS62158067A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable a recording medium and a recording sheet to be replaced safely and securely through a simple operation, by a method wherein an ink sheet fitted to a cover openably provided at a side face on the operating side of a recorder and the recording medium contained in the interior of the recorder are exposed through the same opening part. CONSTITUTION:A take-up side ink sheet roll 3 and a payout-side ink sheet roll 4 are rotatably supported on a cover member 2 so supported that it can be opened and closed through a shaft 2a for the entire part of an operating-side wall surface, and a fresh part of an ink sheet is constantly supplied to the front side of a thermal head 9. When the cover member 2 is oscillated with the shaft 2a as a center, the ink sheet rolls 3, 4 are exposed to the operating side. When the opening action of the cover member 2 is detected by a limit switch 20, a motor connected to a gear 14 is rotated in the direction of an arrow, whereby a rack 13 is moved, and a recording paper roll 5 supported by a roll holder 12 is exposed through an opening part.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Field of Industrial Use] The present invention relates to a recording device, particularly a recording medium such as paper or a plastic sheet, and a sheet-like or ribbon-like ink sheet as a recording material are housed in the device. This relates to a recording device.

[Prior Art] A thermal transfer recording device is known as a typical recording type that uses an ink sheet. Thermal transfer recording devices are classified as a type of thermal printer, and in addition to having a simple structure and low operating noise, which are unique to thermal printers, thermal transfer recording devices use ink sheets in various shapes such as sheet or ribbon shapes as recording materials. It has the advantage that it can also be recorded on plain paper.

In thermal transfer recording devices that use ribbon-shaped ink sheets,
Some apparatuses are known that perform printing by scanning left and right with a recording head that has several dots of heat-generating elements in the vertical direction, but there are also known apparatuses that do not perform scanning with a head that has heat-generating elements arranged over the same scanning width. ing.

All of the above devices basically have the same basic structure as a recording device that uses thermal paper, so they constitute a dual-purpose device that can perform recording using both thermal paper and ink sheets. It is also easy.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the latter device described above, the ink sheet as a recording material must also have a width corresponding to the width of the head, and therefore, when storing a large ink sheet member in the device, Some problems arise.

That is, in many cases, the ink sheet is wound into a roll and placed in the device, and a portion of the ink sheet must be transported so that it is always positioned in front of the recording head. Since it is necessary to replace a worn-out ink sheet roll, it is required that the ink sheet can be attached and removed by a simple operation, and that the structure described above does not increase the size of the entire apparatus. A wide and large ink sheet roll has good operability in the above-mentioned respects, but has a major disadvantage in forming a compact device.

Especially when considering operability, when using roll-shaped recording media to be stored in the device, it is extremely important to maintain good operability in both loading and unloading of the roll-shaped recording medium and loading and unloading of the ink sheet. It is difficult to

Conventionally, when storing an ink sheet and a recording roll (which have approximately the same length) in an apparatus, a cover that can be opened and closed is provided on the top and side of the apparatus, and by opening and closing the cover, the ink sheet and recording medium can be stored. It has a structure that allows it to be attached and detached.

However, if the attachment/detachment operation is performed from the top or side of the device, the user may have to move his/her body to attach/detach the device, making it extremely difficult to replace the ink sheet or recording medium. In particular, when a cover that can be opened and closed is provided on the side of the device, it is necessary to secure a space necessary for opening and closing the cover, which poses the problem of greatly limiting the installation location of the device.

In addition, since the ink sheet needs to be loaded by passing through the ink sheet travel path several times, the sheet is often exposed outside the device when the cover is released, but roll-shaped In the case of recording media, this consideration is often lacking because the transport path is simple.
Conventionally, a configuration in which an operator inserts his/her hand into the apparatus to exchange rolls has often been used. Therefore, replacing the recording medium is not only troublesome but also dangerous.

In view of the above problems, a method has been considered in which ink sheets or recording media are stored in cassettes and the entire cassette is replaced, but the above problems cannot be solved by simply creating cassettes. This is because, as described above, in an apparatus that does not perform head scanning, the recording medium and recording sheet are considerably larger than the shape of the apparatus. Even if cassettes are used, if the operability of replacement work is not improved, the cost increase required for cassettes will be wasted.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above problems, the present invention provides a recording device in which a recording medium and an ink sheet as a recording material are stored in the device. A cover is provided, an ink sheet is arranged to run inside the cover member, and a recording medium is arranged so as to be able to be recorded by the ink sheet and to be movable in accordance with the opening/closing operation of the cover member. The ink sheet and the recording medium are moved at least partially to a position where the ink sheet and the recording medium can be exchanged in conjunction with the opening of the cover member.

[Function] According to the above configuration, not only the ink sheet attached to the cover member but also the recording medium stored inside the cover member are exposed through the same opening, and both can be exchanged easily and safely. .

[Example] Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on the example shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a first embodiment of a recording apparatus according to the present invention. The installation shown here is a thermal transfer recording device that functions alone as a recording device of a facsimile machine or a recording output device of a computer system.

It is assumed that the apparatus is configured to be operated from the right side in the figure, and therefore, the operation systems such as switches (not shown) are arranged so as to face the operation side in the right side of the figure. The entire wall surface on the operating side (right side in the figure) of the case l of the device is a cover member 2 supported via a shaft 2a such as a boss so as to be openable and closable. Two ink sheet rolls 3.4 on the winding side and the supply side are rotatably supported on the cover member 2, and the ink sheet is moved in front of the thermal head 9, which is also arranged inside the cover member 2, by a drive mechanism (not shown). New parts are constantly being supplied.

The ink film in the intermediate part of the two ink sheet rolls 3.4 is guided by two force-id rollers 6.7 and is wound around the half circumference of the platen roller 8.

Further, the recording paper 10 unwound from the recording paper roll 5 along with the ink sheet 11 passes between the thermal head 9 and the platen roller 8. Therefore, by rotating the platen roller 8, the recording paper 10 is fed, and by driving the thermal head 9 based on predetermined recording data, the ink of the ink sheet 11 is transferred onto the recording paper 5, and thermal transfer recording is executed. In synchronization with the rotation of the platen 8, the ink sheet roller 3 is rotated in the direction of the arrow by a drive mechanism (not shown), and a new portion of the ink sheet 11 is always moved in front of the recording head 9. The recorded recording paper 10 is discharged from an inclined discharge port 1a provided on the upper surface of the case l, and is discharged onto a tray 16. The discharge port 1a is provided with a paper cutter or the like for cutting the recording paper 10, which is continuous paper, into a predetermined size, if necessary.

The recording paper roll 5 is supported by a roll holder 12. The roll holder 12 has a substantially trapezoidal cross-sectional shape as shown in a partially cutaway view, and even if the diameter of the roll 5 changes due to consumption of the recording paper 10, it can smoothly rotate the recording paper roll 5 and maintain the recording head position. It is configured so that recording paper can be supplied to the printer. In this embodiment, the roll holder 12 is fixed to two wooden racks 13 arranged in the left-right direction of the case l.

The rack 13 is supported slidably in the left-right direction in the figure via a groove 15 provided inside the case l.
A gear 14 is engaged with the rack teeth provided on the lower edge of 3. Gear 14 is coupled to a predetermined drive source such as a motor.

Further, a limit switch 20 is disposed at the edge of the lower side wall of the case l that comes into contact with the cover member 2, and the open/closed state of the cover member 2 can be detected by the limit switch 20.

The above gear 1 is set by the detection signal of the limit switch 20.
4 is controlled.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained.

The cover member 2 can be locked in the closed state by a known latch mechanism or the like, and when this lock is released and the cover member 2 is swung around the shaft 2a, the cover member 2 will move as shown in the figure. The ink sheet roll 3 swings to the right and falls down, and the ink sheet roll 3 swings toward the operator's side as shown in FIG.
．． Expose 4.

At this time, the opening operation of the cover member 2 is performed by the limit switch 2.
0, and a detection signal from the limit switch 20 causes the motor connected to the gear 14 to rotate in the direction of the arrow. As a result, the rack 13 moves to the right in the figure, and the recording paper roll 5 supported by the roll holder 12 is moved to the cover member 2.
exposed as shown through an opening defined by.

Therefore, the ink sheet roll 3 provided on the cover member 2
．． Not only the recording paper roll 4 can be attached and detached, but also almost all of the recording paper roll 5 can be moved out of the apparatus, so that replacement work can be easily performed.

The recording paper roll 5 can be easily removed by simply lifting it from the roll holder 12, and the ink sheet rolls 3 and 4 can be easily removed from the operating side by releasing a locking mechanism (not shown) configured in the same manner as before. It can be removed at hand.

Regarding the loading of the recording paper 10, a new recording paper roll 5 is placed on the roll holder 12 as shown in FIG. It can be easily loaded by closing it. This is because the ink sheet in the middle part of the ink sheet rolls 3, 4 is supported by the guide roller 6.7 at an angle with respect to the cover member 2 as shown in the figure, and the middle part of the guide roller 6.7 is This is because by pressing the recording paper 10 on the platen roller 8, the recording paper 10 and the ink sheet 11 can be brought into close contact with the platen roller 8.

As described above, both the ink sheet roll and the recording paper roll can be exposed to the operation side when attachment/detachment is required, and the work of replacing them can be easily and safely performed. According to the above-mentioned embodiment, the ink sheet roll and the conveyance mechanism of the ink sheet are housed inside the cover portion 4t2, and the replacement work of the recording paper roll and the ink sheet roll is restricted due to the structure and operation of the opening/closing mechanism of the cover member. Since a mechanism is provided to expose both of them to the outside of the device, the overall structure of the device can be made more compact and its operation can be performed easily and safely. In particular, since both the ink sheet and the recording paper roll can be operated from the operating side, there are no restrictions on where the device can be installed, and compared to a configuration in which the recording paper roll can be replaced using a cover that opens on the side or top surface, the installation is easier. The overall size can be kept small.

In the above configuration, when the cover member 2 is closed as shown in FIG. The motor driving the gear 14 may be controlled by detecting the closing of the cover member, or a separate reset switch or the like may be used to reverse the motor driving the gear 14.

In the above configuration, a drive source for moving the recording paper roll was required, but this drive source can be omitted by using the configuration shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. That is: 1
As shown in FIG. II3, the roll holder 12 is installed on the bottom surface of the case l, and supported via a shaft 17 so as to be swingable. A pin 19 is provided on the side surface of the roll holder 12, and a lever 18 is attached to the pin 19 near the shaft 2a of the cover member 2.
It is integrally formed so that it can be engaged with 9. The other configurations are the same as those in FIGS. 1 and 2.

According to such a configuration, there is no need for a reset switch or a drive source for moving the recording paper roll, and by simply opening the cover member 2, the lever 18 is moved to the roll holder via the pin 19 as shown in FIG. 12 is rotated around the shaft 17, the roll paper 5 can be swung and exposed outside the apparatus.

With the above configuration, the same effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained more easily and at lower cost.

The mechanical interlocking mechanism that does not use a driving source as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 can also be used to move the recording paper roll in parallel, as in the case of FIGS. 1 and 2. In this case, by coupling the roll holder supported so as to move in parallel and the cover member 2 via a member such as a link, a configuration that does not require a drive source and a detection mechanism can be realized.

Although a thermal transfer recording device has been exemplified as the recording method above, the same configuration can be implemented using other methods. In that case, the shape of the ink sheet may be different, such as a ribbon shape.

[Effect] As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, in a recording device that stores a recording medium and an ink sheet as a recording material in the device, a cover that is provided on the side surface of the operation side of the device so as to be openable and closable. an ink sheet arranged to run inside the cover member, and a support that supports the recording medium so that it can be recorded by the ink sheet and can be moved in accordance with the opening and closing operations of the cover member. A member is provided, and at least a part of the ink sheet and the recording medium is moved to a position where the ink sheet and the recording medium can be replaced in conjunction with the opening of the cover member. It is possible to provide a compact and excellent recording device in which the recording medium and the recording sheet can be replaced by simple operations, and the installation location of the device is not limited.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 and 2 are cross-sectional views showing the structure and operation of a thermal transfer recording device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
Each figure is a sectional view showing the structure and operation of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. 1... Case 2... Cover member 3.4.
... Ink sheet roll 5 ... Recording paper roll 8 ... Platen roller 9 ... Thermal head 12 ... Roll holder 13 ... Rack 14 ... Gear 15 ...
Guide groove 18... Lever 19... Pin

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1) In a recording device that stores a recording medium and an ink sheet as a recording material in the device, there is provided a cover that can be opened and closed on the operation side of the device, and a cover that runs inside the cover member. an ink sheet arranged as shown in FIG. A recording apparatus characterized in that the ink sheet and the recording medium are moved at least part of the ink sheet and the recording medium to a position where the ink sheet and the recording medium can be exchanged. 2) The supporting member horizontally moves the recording medium in conjunction with the opening operation of the cover member, and exposes part or all of the recording medium to the outside of the apparatus. recording device. 3) The supporting member swings the recording medium in conjunction with the opening of the cover member, thereby exposing part or all of the recording medium to the outside of the apparatus. Recording device.