JPS623977A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent clogging, enable high-speed recording and obtain favorable recorded images, by a construction wherein the gap between a recording surface of a recording paper and heating elements at an edge part of a recording part guide extend toward the heating elements can be constantly fixed. CONSTITUTION:The recording part guide 31 is fixed with a thermal head 1 as a reference, and a sliding surface of the guide 31 is maintained at a predetermined spacing from the heating elements 3.... The recording paper 8 can be moved while maintaining a minute gap, e.g., a gap of 0.2mm between the recording surface thereof and the surface of a film 2 moved while making close contact with the heating elements 3... provided at a head part of the thermal head 1. The leading edge of the guide 31 is set at a distance of about 0.7mm from the elements 3..., and the gap between the recording surface of the paper 8 and the film 2 is securely maintained. Accordingly, clogging is prevented, high- speed recording can be performed, and favorable recorded images can be obtained.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field of the Invention) The present invention relates to a novel inkjet recording device applicable to, for example, printers, facsimile machines, and the like.

[Technical background of the invention and its problems]

Conventionally, various non-impact recording methods have been proposed, such as an electrostatic method, a thermal paper heating method, a thermal transfer method, an electrophotographic method, and an inkjet method.

Under these circumstances, the inkjet method is an extremely superior recording method that has various advantages such as low noise, low power, small size, easy multi-color printing, and inexpensive components. Various developments are underway from a certain point.

Examples of the inkjet method include a pressure element method, a static pressure acceleration method, and a bubble jet method. However, all conventional inkjet systems eject ink from the tip of a nozzle, and the problem of nozzle clogging has not been completely solved, so they have not been widely used. Furthermore, it has the disadvantage that the recording speed is slow because a large number of nozzles cannot be arranged closely together, making it difficult to record a large number of dots at the same time.

[Purpose of the invention]

The present invention has been made based on the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a completely new inkjet method that does not use a fixed nozzle, which is free from clogging, capable of high-speed recording, and which produces good recorded images. The purpose of this invention is to provide a recording device that can obtain the following.

[Summary of the invention]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention fills a recording medium with a large number of small holes or recesses with recording ink, and when the small holes or recesses filled with ink reach the surface of the heating element, the heating element is activated. By selectively heating the recording material, the ink in the small holes or recesses is ejected toward the recording material by the pressure of the generated bubbles, and recording is performed on the recording material. A recording material conveyance mechanism for conveying the recording material, and a recording section guide provided opposite to the recording material transportation mechanism for guiding the recording material are provided, and the recording material is transported at the edge portion of the recording section guide toward the heating element. The gap between the extended surface of the contact surface with the recording material and the heating element is kept constant, and even when recording members of different thicknesses come, the gap between the recording surface of the recording member and the heating element is always maintained. This allows it to be held constant.

[Embodiments of the invention]

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained with reference to an illustrated embodiment.

Figure 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the recording principle. In the figure, 1 is a thermal head, and 2 is a recording medium made of metal, organic material, etc., in which a large number of small holes (orifices) 2a with a diameter of 10 to 200717111 are formed. 3 is a heating element arranged in the head portion of the thermal head 1; 4 is recording ink (hereinafter simply referred to as ink); 5 is a small hole filled with ink; 6 is an ejected ink droplet; indicates a small hole from which an ink droplet was ejected.

When the film 2 is transferred in the direction of the arrow, the ink 4 is filled into the small holes 2a of the film 2 that have passed through the ink reservoir section storing the ink 4. Then, when the small holes 5 filled with the ink 4 reach the thermal head 1 where the heating elements 3 are installed, a voltage is selectively applied to the heating elements 3 for rapid heating. let

Then, air bubbles (
Recording is performed by ejecting ink droplets 6 due to the pressure of bubbles.

FIG. 2(a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view showing the recording apparatus of the present invention, and 8 in the figure is recording paper as a recording material;
A large number of recording sheets 8 are stored at once in a paper feed cassette 49 attached to the main body housing 134 of the apparatus, and the lower surfaces of these recording sheets are pushed upward by push-up springs 33, and the uppermost recording sheets are The paper 8 is in a state where it can be in constant contact with the first feed roller 9. Above paper feed cassette 49
When the rubber magnet 47 is attached to the device body casing 134, the rubber magnet 47 attached to its tip is magnetically attracted to the plate 48 provided on the device body casing 134 side, and is fixed to the device body casing 134. .

The shaft 139 to which the first feed roller 9 is attached is
As shown in FIG. 3, the paper feed solenoid 51
Paper feed spring clutch 63 and gear 5 turned OFF
6.55, it is configured to be interlocked with the paper conveyance motor 54. Then, the paper feed solenoid 51 is connected to the image/data processing device 133 (15th
The paper feed spring clutch 63 is turned on by being excited in response to a recording command (see figure), and the movement of the paper transport motor 54 is thereby transferred to the shaft 139 via the gears 55, 56 and the paper feed spring clutch 63. The uppermost recording paper 8 that is transmitted and comes into contact with the first feed roller 9 is fed.

Also, the paper feed cassette 49 is fed via the first feed roller 9.
The recording paper 8 taken out from the paper rises along the first paper feed guide 44, and is then sent to the first and second paper feed rollers via a pair of feed rollers 10 and 10 arranged in the transport direction and rolling into contact with each other. The paper is fed between the paper feed guides 44 and 45,
The recording material is fed until its leading end abuts the contact portion between the suction conveyance belt 15 of the recording material conveyance mechanism 43 and the stopped registration roller 11 that is in rolling contact with the suction conveyance belt 15, and waits in this state.

Note that this device is capable of feeding paper from the manual paper feed tray 17 in addition to feeding paper from the paper feed cassette 49, and can feed recording paper such as thick paper set all at once on the manual paper feed tray 17. 8 are sequentially taken out one by one starting from the lowest end by the action of the second feed roller 19 and separation roller 18, and are brought into rolling contact with the suction conveyance belt 15 in the same way as in the case of feeding from the paper feed cassette 49. It is fed until the tip touches the contact portion with the stopped registration roller 11, and waits in this state.

The registration roller 11 is designed to be interlocked with the paper conveyance motor 54 (see FIG. 3) via a clutch section (not shown), and rotated when the clutch section is turned on. The rotation start and stop timing of the registration roller 11 is such that the leading edge of the recording paper 8 is at the 11th ED.
After a certain period of time has elapsed since the first photosensor 22 was turned off by blocking the light of the recording paper 8, the leading edge of the recording paper 8 hits the front contact portion of the registration roller 11, causing an appropriate slack. It is being

By doing this, the leading edge inclination (skew) of the recording paper 8 is corrected, and the leading edge of the recording paper 8 is reliably pushed into the rolling contact portion of the registration rollers 11, and the recording paper 8 is It ensures a good bite.

Note that a paper waste removing brush 50 for removing paper waste adhering to the peripheral surface of the registration roller 11 is in sliding contact with the registration roller 11 to prevent the recording surface of the recording paper 8 from becoming dirty.

The recording material conveying mechanism 43 includes the first and second rollers 12.14 and the rollers 12.14 within the housing section 140.
A suction conveyance mechanism section 43a as a first floating section is formed into a unit by incorporating the suction conveyance belt 15 stretched over the air suction duct 30, and a suction conveyance mechanism section 43a as a first floating section. A belt pressing/retracting means 43 has a belt guide plate 27 as a second floating part, and presses and retracts the suction conveyance belt 15 toward the recording unit guide 31 side by displacing the belt guide plate 27.
It is composed of b.

The belt pressing/retracting means 43b has the following configuration. That is, the belt guide plate 2 as the second floating part
7 is rotatably supported at one end in the air suction duct 30 and housed in a state where the other end is constantly urged downward by the belt guide plate pressing spring 26, and the suction conveyor belt 15 is moved to the recording section. It is pressed against the guide 31.

Further, an adsorption member 141 is attached to the back surface of the pressing plate 27 in a state facing the electromagnetic coil 28, and when the electromagnetic coil 28 is excited, the pressing plate 27
is adapted to be displaced against the urging force of the pressing spring 26.

In addition, the suction conveyance mechanism section 43a as the first floating section is elastically moved by the roller pressing spring 25 hung on the tenth roller 12, and the belt guide plate 27 as the second floating section is elastically moved by the pressing spring 26. When thick recording paper 8 is supplied, it can be displaced by that amount.

In addition, the impact of the belt guide plate 27 as the second floating part is
II by the high viscosity fluid buffer 29! It's starting to be lied.

The recording material transport mechanism 43, which is composed of the suction transport mechanism section 43a and the belt pressing/evacuating means 43b and is provided floatingly with respect to the heating elements 3, is the 10-5th
It is configured to be rotatable around an axis 12, and can be rotated in the direction of the arrow claw in FIG. 2 in order to open the recording paper conveyance path.

As the registration rollers 11 start rotating, the leading edge of the recording paper 8 connects to the registration rollers 11 and the suction conveyance mechanism section 43.
The recording paper 8 is caught between the suction conveyor belt 15 of
is held under appropriate pressure by the urging force of the roller pressing spring 25. Then, the registration roller 11 and the tenth-
The paper is conveyed by the clamping conveyance force of the roller 12 and the suction conveyance force of the suction conveyance belt 15.

At this time, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the recording paper 8 is pressed against the recording section guide 31 made of a flexible film with a thickness of 0.2 # by the action of the belt pressing/retracting means 43b, and It is conveyed while being rubbed against the guide 31.

The recording section guide 31 is fixed with respect to the thermal head 1, and the rubbing surface of the recording section guide 31 is maintained at a constant distance from the heating elements 3. The recording surface (lower surface) of the recording paper 8 always maintains a minute gap, for example 0.2 #, with the surface of the film 2, which moves while being in close contact with the heating element 3 disposed in the head section of the thermal head 1. It has a structure that allows it to be moved while being maintained.

Note that the leading edge of the recording section guide 31 is set at approximately 0.7 yun from the heating element 3..., so that the gap between the recording surface of the recording paper 8 and the film 2 is reliably maintained. .

However, in experiments, it was found that the tip edges from heating elements 3... to 3# are flat in the vicinity of the heating elements 3..., so that a constant gap can be obtained.

In fact, according to the performance test of the example, it was confirmed that the gap between the surface of the film 2 and the recording surface must be between 0.1 and 0.3 m in order to maintain a resolution of 8 lines/M. It was done.

Therefore, the recording section guide 31 has a thickness of 0.1 to 0.3 m.
Of course, the flexible thin plate may also be used.

However, since the gap between the recording surface of the recording paper 8 and the film 2 is minute, there is a risk that the ink 4 on the film 2 will come into contact with the recording surface. has a water-blocking property, and since the edges toward the heating elements 3 have a knife shape, the ink 4 is drawn into the lower surface of the recording section guide 31 by the film 2 along the moving direction of the film 2. It was confirmed that this prevents expansion and seepage toward the recording surface.

However, if the gap is set to 0.1 # or less, the ink 4
It has also been confirmed that when the ink penetrates into the recording paper 8, this portion expands and the recording surface comes into contact with the surface of the film 2, creating a risk that the recording surface will be stained with the ink 4. Therefore, in this embodiment, the arm portion of the recording section guide 31 is pressed against the recording section guide fixing reference protrusion "135" (see FIG. 6) of the thermal head 1, and the gap is set to 0.2±0.05#. □In this way, since the edge portion of the recording unit guide 31 toward the heating element 3 is set in the vicinity of the heating element 3 to 3= or less, the recording material conveyance mechanism When lightly pressed against the film 2, it is pressed very close to the heating elements 3, so that the gap between the recording surface of the recording paper 8 and the film 2 can be kept constant.

Further, the recording section guide 31 has a thickness of 0. Since it is a flexible thin plate with a thickness of -1 to 0.3, it flexibly bends when pressed against the film 2 by the recording material conveying mechanism 43, which is floatingly supported with respect to the heating element 3'. Therefore, the recording paper 8 can be held and guided with an appropriate pressure without any difficulty.

In addition, since the edges of the recording unit guide 31 facing the heating elements 3 have a knife shape and are in smooth contact with the film surface, as the film 2 moves, the ink on the film 2 can be prevented from being drawn into the lower surface of the recording section guide 31 and expanding and leaking toward the recording surface side of the recording paper 8.

Further, since the surface of the recording section guide 31 has water-repellent properties, by forming it into a knife shape, the ink 4 on the film 2 can be easily drawn into the lower surface of the recording section guide 31.

The recording paper 8 is passed through the recording unit guide 31 to the heating element 3...
Since the heating element 3 is pressed lightly against the film 2 that is in close contact with the heating element 3, the gap between the recording surface of the recording paper 8 and the heating element 3 is determined by the recording section guide and the thickness of the film 2. The desired gap can be maintained accurately.

When the leading edge of the recording paper 8 advances further, the suction conveyance mechanism 43
The sheet is held and conveyed between the 20th roller 14 of a and the paper discharge roller 13. At this time, the recording surface of the recording paper 8 is supported in a dotted manner by the needle roller section 104 of the paper ejection roller 13, and reference roller sections 105 and 106 are in rolling contact with the suction conveyance belt 15 at both ends. Since the paper is transported without excessive pressure being applied, the undried recorded image is not disturbed. (See FIG. 7) Further, the recording paper 8 moves forward, and its rear end passes through the rolling contact portion of the registration roller 11 and the tenth roller 12. At this time, the rear end portion of the recording sheet 8 receives the full load of the recording material conveyance mechanism 43 and is conveyed while being rubbed against the recording section guide 31. In other words, the basic conveyance force of the recording paper 8 is only the suction conveyance force of the suction belt 15, and since the recording paper 8 is conveyed while being subjected to a large frictional force, the conveyance is accompanied by uncertainty.

However, in this embodiment, the force that presses the recording paper 8 against the recording section guide 31 is applied to the belt pressing/retracting means 43. The belt guide plate 27 as a second floating part passes through the high viscosity fluid buffer 29 while resisting the belt guide plate pressing spring 26 due to the reaction force from the recording section guide 31 to the belt guide plate 27. Adsorption conveyance 11 as the first floating part
The 41M portion 43a is pushed upward relative to the housing portion.

In this way, after the trailing edge of the recording paper 8 has passed, the registration rollers 11 and the suction conveyance belt 15, which have been temporarily separated, come into rolling contact again, so that the pressure applied to the recording paper 8 is reduced and the belt guide plate 27 Smooth conveyance of the recording paper 8 is realized with only the total load and the urging force of the belt guide plate pressing spring 26.

Further, the recording paper 8 moves forward, and when the rear end of the recording paper 8 passes the edge portion of the recording unit guide 38 on the thermal head 1 side, the belt guide plate 27 receives no reaction force from anywhere.
Total load on belt guide plate 27 and belt guide plate pressing spring 26
It will be pushed down by the force of.

Therefore, as soon as the trailing edge of the recording paper 8 passes the edge portion of the recording section guide 31, the surface of the film 2 and the recording surface of the recording paper 8 come into contact, and the trailing edge of the recording paper 8 is covered with the ink 4. It has the problem of getting dirty.

However, in this embodiment, this problem is solved by the measures described below. First, since the belt guide plate 27 as the second floating part has already been pushed upward through the high viscosity fluid buffer 29 as described above, the rear end of the recording paper 8 passes through the edge part of the recording unit guide 31. Even if it moves downward, it will slowly descend due to the buffering effect of the high viscosity fluid buffer 29. Therefore, recording paper 8
The trailing edge of the recording paper 8 can be made to pass through the heating element 3 while the recording surface of the recording paper 8 approaches the surface of the film 2.

Further, in this embodiment, the leading edge or trailing edge of the recording paper 8 is folded or bent, and in order to prevent the recording paper 8 from coming into contact with the surface of the film 2, the leading edge or trailing edge of the recording paper 8 is heated. The electromagnetic coil 28 is excited so that the element 3... is moved away from the surface of the film 2 by ±6# at both ends, and the entire belt guide plate 27 as a second floating part is attracted upward. I try to do that.

In this way, the recording paper 8 does not come into contact with the film 2 and become dirty, and passes through the arrangement of the rollers 13 with an extremely small gap maintained, and is delivered to the paper output tray with a clean record still formed. The paper will be ejected onto 16.

Also, when the paper is ejected, the trailing edge of the recording paper 8 is placed in the second LE.
p23 and detects the rising signal of the second photosensor 24 to detect that the recording paper 8 has been reliably ejected.

Next, referring to FIGS. 2 and 3, the ink container 64
The supply of ink to the film cartridge 40 as a recording medium cartridge and the supply of ink from the ink supply section of the film cartridge 40 to the film 2 will be described.

The film cartridge 40 and the ink container 64 are separable. The ink 4 is stored in an ink container 64, and this ink container 64 is attached to the film cartridge 4o.
The ink container attachment is screwed into the part 65 and fixed. At this time, the transparent ink supply tube 71 of the ink container 64
pushes up the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40, which is in close contact with the ink container attachment seal 73, against the biasing force of the cartridge valve spring 69.

On the other hand, the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 pushes up the ink container opening/closing rod 70, and therefore pushes up the valve 67 of the ink container 64 against the valve spring 66, causing the ink 4 in the ink container 64 to flow out. . The ink 4 that has flowed out from the ink container 64 flows out until it fills the obliquely cut tip of the transparent ink supply tube 71, and then flows through the small hole opened around the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 and the inter-supply conduit. Fine ink supply channels 72 and 93 formed at the bottom of the container portion 77 of the film cartridge 40 via the 94 (see FIG. 6)
flows into.

The ink 4 further soaks into an ink supply member 37, 39 made of felt, and is passed through the ink supply member 37, 39 to the film 2.
The ink 4 is applied to the film 2, thus filling the small holes 2 of the film 2.
The ink 4 is filled in the ink 4, and is used as recording ink droplets 6 by the movement of the film 2 and the rapid heating of the heating elements 3, which create bubbles in the ink 4.

In this way, when the ink 4 is consumed and the level of the ink 4 falls below the diagonally cut portion at the tip of the transparent ink supply tube 71, air is sucked in from the air suction passage 74 provided in the ink supply section of the film cartridge 40. ,
This air flows into the ink container 64 through the diagonally cut portion of the transparent ink supply tube 71, causing new ink 4 to flow out.

By the way, the air suction passage 74 is located at the upper part of the ink supply section, and the air volume within the ink supply section is made as small as possible as seen from FIGS. 2 and 3. A first surplus ink scraping member 41.90 made of rubber and a second surplus ink scraping member 4
According to 2.89, air can enter and exit the ink supply section only when the small holes 2a of the film 2 pass through the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41.90.42.89. Therefore, replenishment of the ink 4 from the ink container 64 to the ink supply section is possible only when the film 2 is being moved, and is not performed during non-operation such as when the film cartridge 40 is replaced or when the film cartridge 40 is being moved. It looks like this.

Therefore, the problem of ink 4 being excessively supplied to the film cartridge 40 and leaking from the film cartridge 40 and scattering can be prevented.

Furthermore, since the ink 4 is supplied to the film 2 through an ink supply member 37, 79 made of felt as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the free surface as a liquid within the ink supply is Since the ink 4 is captured between the fibers by the force of surface tension, leakage of the ink 4 to the outside of the film cartridge 40 can be easily prevented.

Next, the operation for removing the ink container 64 from the ink container mounting section 65 of the film cartridge 40 will be described.

When the ink 4 in the ink container 64 is consumed by the above-described replenishment of the ink 4, the level of the ink 4 further decreases and reaches the transparent ink supply tube 71. At this time, light from the ink detection LDE 75 begins to pass through and the ink detection photosensor 76 begins to be turned on. The rise of this signal is detected to detect the absence of ink in the ink container 64.

Based on the ink-out detection signal, the device displays a message on the display portion of the device or the display portion of the image/data processing device 133 connected to the device, if the thermal head 1 is detected as described below. If there is ink 4 in the ink container 64, a message is displayed indicating that there is no ink in the ink container 64, that is, indicating that the ink container 64 should be replaced.

In this way, the ink container 64 is replaced. In this embodiment, the removal procedure and the valve 64 of the ink container 64 are replaced.
7. The operation of the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 is exactly the opposite of that during installation.

That is, the valve 68 of the film cartridge 40 is raised, and the ink container mounting portion is brought into close contact with the lower surface of the seal 73 by the force of the cartridge valve spring 69, and the ink 4 in the film cartridge 40 is released from the ink container mounting portion 65 to the outside. It is designed to prevent leakage and scattering.

By the way, the ink container 64 has a capacity of 100c in this embodiment.
Ink 4 except for the ink supply tube 71 mentioned above in c.
The container is opaque in consideration of its weather resistance, and the normal recording density is 2000 to 50 on A4 sheet recording paper.
On the other hand, the film cartridge 40 can record approximately 100,000 sheets/A4 due to problems such as paper dust, mold, and clogging due to dry ink.
, it will need to be replaced after about 3 years. For this reason, the film cartridge 40 and the ink container 64 are separable, and for this reason, the ink container 64 can be separated from the ink container 64.
The structure is such that leakage and evaporation of water can be easily prevented.

The attachment of the film cartridge 40 to the recording apparatus will now be described.

In this apparatus, the thermal head 1 is fixed to the main body housing 134, and the film cartridge 40 is shown in FIG.
) and a container located in the film exposed portion 86 of the cartridge 40 shown in FIG.

That is, in FIG. 3, when the film cartridge first support part 60 is inserted into the main body housing 134 and the film cartridge second support part 61 provided at the other end is pushed down, the cartridge fixing spring 62 is moved to the right. , the head of the fixing spring 62 falls into the recess of the second film cartridge support portion 61, and the film cartridge 40 is fixed.

As mentioned above (because the container part of the film cartridge 40 has a window shape, the film cartridge 40
It has a structure that provides sufficient strength.

Furthermore, since the mounting is as described above, the film cartridge 40 can be easily attached and detached, and the ink container 64 can be easily attached and detached.
It can be easily attached and detached even if it is still attached. In other words, the color of the ink 4 can be easily changed. When the film cartridge 40 is attached or removed, the recording member 43 rotates as shown by arrow A in FIG. It is wide open and allows easy removal of paper jams in the recording section, paper waste from the film 2, and replacement of the film cartridge 40.

In addition, in order to prevent the ink 4 remaining in the film cartridge 40 from leaking or evaporating when the film cartridge 40 is removed, the film cartridge 40 is provided with a cartridge lid 85 as shown in FIG.
The lid 85 rotates as shown by the arrow to cover the exposed film portion 86, and the protrusion of the lid 85 is attached to the first excess ink scraping member 41 of the film cartridge 40.
．． 90 and second surplus ink scraping members 42 and 89 to tightly seal the film cartridge 40.

In addition, the ink absorbing members 34 and 35 shown in FIG. 2 allow the excess ink 4 accumulated in the upper part of the thermal head 1 when the film cartridge 40 is attached and detached to flow down through the wall surface of the thermal head 1 and into the apparatus. Although there is a problem of scattering, in this embodiment, the thermal head 1
An ink absorbing member 34, 35 that is in contact with the thermal head 1 is attached to the lower part of the ink absorbing member 34, 35, which absorbs the ink 4 that is about to run down and scatter, thereby preventing the above-mentioned problem.

Next, the operation when driving the film 2 will be described.

FIG. 4(a) is a side view of a drive section of a film moving mechanism serving as a recording medium moving mechanism, and FIG. 4(b) is a plan view of the same portion. The film 2 is rotated clockwise 26 and counterclockwise as viewed from the side of the film drive motor gear 58 as a recording medium drive motor gear of the film drive motor 52 as a recording medium drive motor, as shown in FIG. In (a), it moves upward and downward, respectively.

When the film drive motor gear 58 rotates clockwise, the film drive gear 78 rotates clockwise as viewed from the side of FIG. 4(a).

Drive shaft 8 for moving the film as a drive shaft for moving the recording medium
Since one end of the left-handed spring 84 fitted to the drive shaft 87 is engaged with the recess of the gear 78, clockwise rotation of the gear 78 is a direction in which the left-handed spring 84 is further wound around the film moving drive shaft 87. The power of the gear 78 is transmitted to the film moving drive shaft 87.

At this time, the film drive gear 59 as a recording medium drive gear also rotates clockwise, but the right-handed spring 83 fitted on the film movement drive shaft 88 as a recording medium movement drive shaft is relatively driven. It acts in the direction of loosening from the shaft 88. However, in the case of the embodiment, the drive shaft 8
Since the right-handed spring 83 and the right-handed spring 83 rotate in the same direction, a substantial slip between the drive shaft 88 and the right-handed spring 83 occurs.

By the way, when attaching and detaching the film cartridge 40, the film drive gear 59, 78 is connected to the motor gear 5.
8, there is a risk that the interlocking film 2 will remain loose or remain under too much tension. However, regarding the latter, in the configuration of this embodiment, the drive shaft 88 and the right-handed spring 83 slip, and such excessively strong tension can be alleviated.

Further, as shown in the perspective view of the moving mechanism of the embodiment in FIG. 6, the film cartridge 40 is provided with a film tension mechanism 142 as a recording medium tension mechanism on the side opposite to the drive shafts 87 and 88 for film movement. Therefore, there is no loosening of the film 2, and the film 2 can be formed while rubbing against the tip heating element 3 of the thermal head 1 with appropriate pressure. A ladder wheel 100 is fixed to one end of the film moving drive shaft 87 by a bin 101, and a left-handed torsion spring 95 with one end engaged with a torsion spring fixing portion 96 is fitted to one end of the drive shaft 88. , the other end of the torsion spring 95 engages with the recess 98 of the rudder wheel 97, and the rudder wheel 97
is connected to the ladder wheel 10 via the ladder chain 99.
Connected to 0.

By the way, when the ladder chain 99 is hung on the ladder wheel 97, 100, the recording medium is wound around the shaft 36 via the torsion spring 95, and the film is wound around the shaft 36 in the counterclockwise direction. For winding, the shaft 38 is attached by suitably twisting the torsion spring 95 in advance so as to bias it clockwise. Therefore, an appropriate tension can be applied to the form 2 according to the torsional force, that is, the torque, of the torsion spring 95.

In this way, when the film cartridge 40 is attached to the device, the problem of the film 2 coming loose is eliminated, and the film 2 always slides in close contact with the tip of the thermal head 1 with appropriate pressure. .

29 Next, referring to FIG. 4(a), drive gear 58 is connected to gear 5.
The installation of item 8 will be explained assuming that it rotates counterclockwise when viewed from the side.

At this time, the drive gear 59 rotates counterclockwise, and the right-handed spring 83 acts to become entangled with the film drive shaft 88. Thus, in this case, the film 2 is directed downwardly, and thus the clockwise direction of the film drive motor 52,
The film 2 can be moved back and forth according to the counterclockwise rotation, and the right-hand spring 83 and the left-hand spring 8
4 and the film tension mechanism 142 prevent the film 2 from loosening when the film cartridge 40 is attached or removed, and prevent damage to the film 2 or the thermal head 1 due to excessive tension. .

In any case, by the operation of the film drive motor 52 described above, the film 2 is moved back and forth, and the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 is filled with the ink 4 in the heating element 3 of the thermal head 1 to perform recording. is now possible.

Furthermore, the film 2 is guided by guide means consisting of side guides for the film 2, which are shown at 102 and 103 in FIGS. 6 and 9, located at both ends of the thermal head 1, so that the film 2 can be prevented from shifting laterally. It has become.

By the way, it is necessary to know where the beginning and end of the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 are, and when starting recording, make sure that the starting position of the multi-hole portion 92 in the moving direction of the film 2 is at the location of the heating element 3. You need to be able to start recording when you arrive. In this embodiment, FIG. 4(a),
As shown in (b), a film position indexing board 80 as a recording medium position indexing board is attached to the drive shaft of the film drive motor 52, and the starting position of the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 is indicated on this indexing board 80. A film position detector 7 is provided with a film first position detection slit 81 as a recording medium first position detection slit and a film second position detection slit 82 as a recording medium second position detection slit.
9, the position of the film 2 is detected.

When the film drive motor 52 rotates, the film position detector 79 senses short light pulses and reverse light pulses caused by the similar slits and long slits of the slit 81, and in response, the film position detector 79 detects short light pulses and reverse light pulses generated by the similar slits and the long slits of the slit 81, and in response, the film position detector 79 detects short light pulses and reverse light pulses generated by the similar slits and the long slits. In comparison with the clock pulse, at the rear end in the clockwise direction of the long slit of the slit 81, it is determined when the slit 81 is the first film position detection slit 1~, and the single light pulse of the slit 82 is detected as the film position detection slit 1~. The detector 79 detects this and determines that this is the slit for detecting the second film position. In this way, the film drive motor 52 detects the film first position detection slit 81 and stops.

At this time, the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2 (see FIG. 12)
Covering the exposed film portion 86 of the film cartridge 40, the multi-hole portion 92 covers the first and second portions of the film cartridge 40.
The second surplus ink scraping member 89,90 is housed in the ink supply section below. For this reason, the film cartridge 40 is held by the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2, so that the film cartridge 40 is sealed from the outside air.

Therefore, the ink 4 in the film cartridge 40 evaporates, the viscosity of the ink 4 increases, and the speed at which the ink 4 flies out from the small holes 2a of the film 2 decreases, or the viscosity is too high to eject, which adversely affects recording. This problem can be prevented from occurring.

Now, when recording, images and
Upon receiving a recording command from the processing device 133 (see FIG. 15) for processing character data, etc., the film 2 is held for a certain period of time, that is, before driving the first feed roller 9 to feed the recording sheet 8 to the recording section. The film drive motor 52 is moved by rotating it counterclockwise as shown by the arrow in FIG. The film 2 is moved in synchronization with the leading edge of the recording paper 8 upon arrival of the paper 8. At this time, the moving speed of the film 2 is 1/2 of the moving speed of the recording paper 8, 40 m/sec, 20111111/
Seconds.

In fact, even when the speed of the recording paper 8 is varied between 10 and 100#1I11/sec, the relative movement direction of the film 2 and the recording paper 8 is the same at the recording density of the recording paper 8, that is, the coverage rate is 75%. Regardless of the direction or reverse direction, if the moving speed of the film 2 is V/4 or more, then Dl, O (black solid,
It was found that the coverage rate was 75% or more.

The pattern of this experiment is shown in FIG. Therefore, the movement width of the film 2 can be made shorter than the recording length (recording direction) of the recording paper 8, and therefore the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2
The area of the film 2 could be reduced, and the production of the film 2 could be made easier. That is, if the area of the multi-hole portion 92 is large, it is difficult to make the diameter of the small holes 2a (25 to 30 μm) uniform over the entire area, and therefore, there is a problem that the diameter of the small holes 2a becomes smaller near the periphery, for example. This causes uneven recording density. In this embodiment, since the area can be reduced, such problems can be prevented.

Now, as the film 2 moves in this manner, the rear ends of the multi-hole portion 92 on the side of the first and second surplus ink scraping members 89 and 90 reach the heating element 3. At this time, the film position detector 79 detects the second film position detection slit 82. Of course, in order for the positions of each part of the film 2 and the relative positions of the first and second position detection slits 81 and 82 of the film position indexing board 80 to be in the above-mentioned relationship, it is necessary to During initial setting, the film 2 is used as the first and second surplus ink scraping members 89
．． 90 side, and the film drive motor 52 is set so that the film position detector 79 detects the long slit of the film first position detection slit 81, and the short slit of the pair of similar slits. It is necessary to detect and stop the

This embodiment is based on this assumption.

Now, when the recording paper 8 is continuously fed and an even numbered recording paper 8 is recorded, the first one of the multi-hole portion 92,
After the film 2 is wound up until the end on the side of the second surplus ink scraping member 89 and 90 reaches the film winding shaft 38 and the ink 4 is supplied, the film 2 is moved in the opposite direction to the moving direction of the film 2 described above. Recording is performed in synchronization with the leading edge of the recording paper 8 after a certain period of time for the terminal end to reach the heating element 3 .

In addition, in continuous recording, when recording on odd-numbered recording sheets 8, the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41
．． The end of the multi-hole portion 92 on the 42 side is the film winding shaft 36
After the ink 4 is supplied to the heating element 3.
... and film 2 in synchronization with the leading edge of recording paper 8.
It is supposed to move.

Since recording is continued by such reciprocating movement of the film 2, continuous recording is possible even if the film is not endless.

Now, next, the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41.
90 and 42.89 are arranged such that the contact positions with the film 2 are staggered as shown in FIG. It is located above 90. The necessity of this arrangement will be explained with reference to the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41 and 42.

First, the film 2 must be wound so that the axes 36 and 38 reach the apex of the thermal head 1 and are directed downwards, so that the recording area can be stored compactly and the recording paper 8 must be placed in a tight gap to the heating element 3. It is impossible to keep them close and transport them.

Therefore, if the first surplus ink scraping member 41.90 is positioned below the thermal head 1 side with respect to the film 2, the second surplus ink scraping member 42.89 The distance between and the area of the film exposed portion 86 of the film cartridge 40 of the film 2 can be reduced.

Therefore, the film cartridge 40 can be formed compactly. The effect of scraping off excess ink during movement of the film 2 is as follows.

First, the case where the film 2 moves in the direction of arrow G in FIG. 6 will be described. The film 2 supplied with ink 4 by the ink supply member 39 moves upward, and the first surplus ink scraping member 41 scrapes the surplus ink from the film 2. However, during recording, since the multi-hole portion 92 passes through the excess ink scraping member 41, the excess ink 4 moves by a certain amount to the side opposite to the thermal head 1 through the multi-hole portion 92.

Further, the ink 4 that has moved to the opposite side is scraped off by the second surplus ink scraping member 42, and moves to the thermal head 1 side again. In this way, when the film 2 moves in the G direction and the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2 passes the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41, 42, the film 2 has only the small holes 2a... Not film 2
A sufficient amount of ink 4 is applied and replenished over the entire surface.

Therefore, this makes it possible to reduce the film speed to 1/4 of the speed of the recording paper 8, as described above.

Now, let's consider a case in which the multi-hole portion 92 moves downward through the first and second surplus ink scraping members 41, 42.

In this case, the recording side surface of the film 2 is first scraped off by the second surplus ink scraping member 42.

Therefore, the excess ink 4 adhering to the surface of the film 2 is scraped off, and the dust and paper dust adhering to the film 2 are also scraped off. In this way, the ink 4 accumulated at the tip of the excess ink scraping member 42 moves to the thermal head 1 side through the small holes 2a of the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2.
Next, it is scraped off again by the first surplus ink scraping member 41 and accumulates at the tip of the first surplus ink scraping member 41 .

This scraped and accumulated surplus ink 4 is returned to the small holes 2 of the multi-hole portion 92 on the opposite side of the thermal head 1.
Move through a... In this way, the surplus ink 4 during recording is removed from the ink 4 of the film cartridge 40.
is collected in the supply section.

On the other hand, the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2 moves in the F direction, that is, downwardly toward the first and second surplus ink scraping members 4.
The state when passing 1.42 will be described. At this time, the surface of the film 2 opposite to the thermal head 1 has already been cleaned by the second surplus ink scraping member 89, so the second
There is no need to scrape off ink using the surplus ink scraping member 42.

However, paper dust and dirt accumulate at the tip of the second surplus ink scraping means 42.

On the other hand, since the film surface on the thermal head 1 side has also been cleaned in advance by the first surplus ink scraping member 90,
There is also almost no need for ink scraping by the first surplus ink scraping member 41.

In this way, the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2 becomes the film exposed portion 8 of the film cartridge 40, such as the recording medium exposed portion.
By covering the film cartridge 6, the exposed portion of the film 2 is cleaned thoroughly, and there is no danger of getting one's hands dirty when installing or removing the film cartridge 40.

Further, since the lengths M and N (see FIG. 12) of the non-hole portion 91 in the moving direction are longer than the film exposure width E (see FIG. 6) of the film cartridge 40, etc., the first surplus ink scraping member 41.90° Second surplus ink scraping member 4
It is possible to prevent air from entering and exiting through a gap of 2.89 mm.

Therefore, the evaporation of the ink 4 can be prevented, and the viscosity of the ink 4 can be prevented from changing, so that the quality of recording and printing can be maintained constant.

Next, the operation for removing paper waste adhering to the film 2 will be described.

As described above, when the film 2 is moved in the G direction, the paper scraps and dust accumulated on the tip of the second surplus ink scraping member 42 are moved together with the film 2 while remaining attached to the film 2, and the paper scraps and dust accumulated on the tip of the second surplus ink scraping member 42 are moved together with the film 2 while remaining attached to the film 2, and are removed from the thermal head 1. It comes to the heating element 3 part at the top of . At this time, transfer film 2 to thermal head 1.
The suction belt 1 is moved back and forth several times with the heating element 3 in between, and at the same time, the suction fan 53 shown in FIG.
Paper scraps and dust on the film 2 described above are sucked into the air suction guide 57 through the suction port 107 of No. 5.

In this way, paper dust and dirt attached to the film 2 can be removed, and the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2
This prevents the small holes 2a from becoming clogged with paper powder and dirt.

In this embodiment, the paper waste removal step is carried out after a certain period of time after a series of continuous recording is completed, so that the problem of reducing the recording speed does not occur.

In addition, as described above, since the paper waste removal process is performed on the non-porous portion 91 of the film 2, the ink 4 on the film surface is cleaned, so that the ink 4, etc. is sucked into the air suction guide 57. It is also possible to prevent problems such as the ink 4 being stuck to the suction belt 15.

Here, the operation of the film 2 when a series of recording operations is completed will be described.

After a series of recording operations is completed, the film 2 is moved for a certain period of time at a speed slower than the moving speed during recording.

This is done to prevent the ink 4 from being depleted from the heating elements 3 of the thermal head 1 until the series of recording operations is completed. after that,
The paper residue removal process described above is continued for a certain period of time, and then the exposed film portion 86 of the film cartridge 40 is covered with the non-perforated portion 91 of the film 2.

By the way, the first surplus ink scraping member 41.90 is made of an elastic member, and its edge toward the thermal head 1 is located on the lower surface of the film 2 and comes into close contact with the thermal head 1. The ink 4 flowing down through the wall □ can be collected into the ink supply section of the film car 1-ridge 40 through the small holes 2a of the multi-hole portion 92 of the film 2. Said first,
Second surplus ink scraping member 41.90, and d42.8
9 is made of a non-breathable material that prevents air and ink 4 from entering and exiting the film cartridge 40.

Next, the relationship between the diameter of the small holes 2a of the film 2 and the pitch between the small holes 2a will be explained with reference to FIG.

In the figure, the arrow ■ indicates the moving direction of the film 2, and the line connecting the centers of the small holes 2a is an equilateral triangle with one side perpendicular to the arrow ■. In the figure, H and V are the dimensions of the heating element 3, which are 100 μm to 125 μm, respectively. The diameter of the small hole 2a in the figure is 25 μm in the example.
The center-to-center distance P is 45 μm, and the minimum distance between the small holes 2a is 20 μm. According to experiments, using the above-mentioned symbols, if the maximum distance between adjacent small holes 2a is P, the relational expressions H≧2P and V≧2P+D are satisfied, and the resolution is 8 lines/# as in the example. In this case, in order to obtain good printing quality, it was necessary to set the diameter of the small hole 2a to be in the range of D-15 to 35 μm and P to be in the range of P-40 to 50 μm.

Special considerations are required to achieve good print quality and improve thermal efficiency during recording, regardless of the shape of the heating element 3.

FIG. 14 shows the cross-sectional shape of the heating element.

Here, the heating element 3 and the electrical conductor 108.121 are '
It is covered with a thin wear-resistant insulating film 136 such as An203. Now, a voltage is applied to the heating element 3 and it is rapidly heated, bubbles are generated, and due to this pressure, the ink 4 in the small hole 2a filled with ink 4 is rapidly ejected and recorded. In the example, the resistance of the heating element 3 is selected to be 300Ω, and 24V is applied with a pulse width of 10 μTrLsec to eject recording ink and perform recording. At this time, the energy consumed is approximately 2100erg/
It is element.゛This energy is almost constant when the thickness T of the gap 124 between the heating element and the film 2 is 3 μm or more;
When the thickness exceeds 0 μm, the jetting force becomes poor and the printing quality deteriorates. Furthermore, when ■ becomes less than 3μ, the energy consumption of ink per 3 heating elements becomes more than 210'O,
It was found that the smaller ``■'' is, the more energy is required. Therefore, in this example, T-3μm
And so. In the figure, 122 indicates a glass gelase layer.

Next, the following improvements have been made in terms of the durability of the heating element 3. '' That is, as proposed in Japanese Patent Application No. 118'51/1983, the heating element (heating resistor) is made of ruthenium oxide as a main component, M (M is Ca1Sr, Ba, P
A metal oxide thin film containing at least one type of oxide selected from b.

By using a metal oxide thin film in this way, there is no need to consider changes in resistance due to oxidation, as in the past, and it becomes possible to apply large amounts of power and reach high temperatures.
It also increases stability during long-term use. Further, since this metal oxide thin film has a relatively high sheet resistance value, a relatively small current is required to obtain a high heat generation density. Therefore, less current flows through the conductive layer connected to the heat generating resistor as in the conventional case, and heat generation from this portion can be reduced.

Therefore, so-called print blurring that occurs during printing can be reduced. Furthermore, since such a thin film has a positive resistance temperature coefficient, it can improve the drawbacks of SnO2-based materials, and has the advantage of being able to apply a large amount of power from the initial stage, and being suitable for increasing speed.

Next, the structure of the thermal head will be described based on FIG.

The structure of the heating element 3 has been described in FIG. 14, but in this embodiment, the heating element 3 and the electrical conductors 108, 121 are formed on a polyimide film 123 with a thickness of about 15μ, and this is made of metal made of aluminum. support body 137
It has a structure that is fixed with adhesive. It is estimated from the calculation of the consumed energy distribution that most of the energy consumed by the pulsed heating of the heating element 3 (70% or more) is not used for ejecting the ink 4, but is used for ejecting the polyimide film 123 or the film. etc. are accumulated. Note that 119 is a driver for the thermal head 1, and 12
0 is a protective cover.

In this way, if a line printer with 4 vertical feeds has a resolution of 8 lines/s and a recording speed of 40 mm/V as in the example,
For example, when performing high coverage recording such as graphic recording, the maximum total energy consumption of the thermal head 1 is about 120 W, of which about 107 W is accumulated in the polyimide film 123 and the film. Become.

Such heat accumulation raises the temperature of the film 2 and the ink 4 to near the boiling point of the ink 4, and therefore, the situation in which the ink 4 is ejected changes depending on whether there is heat accumulation or not. In other words, the thermal history of recording causes a problem in that the density of the recorded image becomes uneven.

In this embodiment, the heating element 3 is placed on the polyimide film 123 having a thickness of approximately 15 μm, and the heating element 3 is placed on the electrical conductors 108, 12.
1 is bonded to a metal support 137 made of aluminum, so that the heat energy generated and accumulated in the heating element 3 is quickly transferred to the metal support 137.
Spread.

Since the abutting support is made of metal, the thermal energy diffused into the metal support 137 conducts heat very quickly and acts to cool the heating element 3. thus,
The heating cycle of the heating element 3 can be shortened and the recording speed can be increased.

Next, according to Figures 9 and 10 (, a) and (b),
Ink presence detection element 109.112 of thermal head 1
The structure of is described below. In this embodiment, the thermal head 1
There is an exposed conductor portion 110° 111 of the ink presence/absence detection element with electrical conductors abutted against each other at both ends of the exposed conductor portion 1.
Nos. 10 and 111 do not have a wear-resistant/insulating film 136 and come into direct contact with the ink 4.

Incidentally, the conductivity of the ink is 10"3 S l cm, and when a voltage is applied, a small amount of current can flow through the ink.

This state is shown in FIG. 10(a). The exposed conductor portion 11
If the ink 4 is at the top of the thermal head 1 as shown in FIG. 10(a), the switch SW
When turned on, the voltage at point Q is the exposed conductor portion 110.
．． Since a current flows between 111 and 111, it temporarily decreases. This signal is amplified to detect the presence of ink. As shown in FIG. 10(b), when there is no ink 4, no current flows even if the switch SW operates as described above, so the voltage drop as described above does not occur.

With this, it is possible to detect that there is no ink 4, and it is possible to prohibit the recording operation. As described above, in this embodiment, ink presence detection elements 109 and 112 are further attached to both ends of the row of heating elements 3... of the thermal head 1, so that when there is no ink 4, the heating elements 3... It is possible to eliminate the problem of damaging the heating element 3 by heating and dry cooking.

In other words, even if there is ink 4 at one end of the heating element row 3 and no ink 4 at the other end, the presence or absence of ink can be detected by ANDing the signals of the ink presence detection elements 109 and 112. Therefore, it is possible to detect when there is no ink.

In this embodiment, as described above, the thermal head 1 is provided with the ink presence/absence detection elements 109 and 112, and the ink container 64 is also provided with replenishment ink presence/absence detection means consisting of an ink detection LED 75 and an ink detection photosensor 76. That's what happened. As described above, these ink presence/absence detection means each have their own roles, and at the same time, as described below, they can cause the recording apparatus of this embodiment to perform various operations depending on the combination of their respective states. .

First, in this embodiment, if a voltage is constantly applied to the ink presence/absence detection means 109 and 112 of the thermal head 1 described above,
There is a problem in that the ink 4 is electrolyzed and gases such as hydrogen and oxygen are generated and the exposed conductor parts 110 and 111 are corroded. The presence or absence of ink is detected by applying a voltage.

Furthermore, by doing this, it is possible to stop the recording operation during recording after the start of the recording operation, for example, after feeding the recording paper 8, and after a while has passed, that is, after the ink 4 has reached the thermal head 1. When the recording operation is restarted, the problem of the accurate position of the recording paper being shifted due to the inertia of the feed roller or the like can be prevented in advance.

Further, in this embodiment, when the absence of ink is detected by the ink presence detection operation of the thermal head 1, the film drive motor 52 is driven to move the film 2 for a certain period of time as shown by arrows G and F in FIG. After the reciprocating operation, the ink presence/absence detection operation of the thermal head 1 described above is performed again to detect the presence or absence of ink.

Therefore, even if the ink 4 evaporates from the heating element array 3 of the thermal head 1 due to a temporary stop, the ink reaches the inside of the film cartridge 40 by restarting the ink presence/absence detection operation. 4 is missing, it can also detect whether a new film cartridge 40 is missing or not.
It is also possible to check whether the ink 4 has reached the ink supply member 37, 39 inside the film cartridge 40 from the ink container 64 just after setting the film cartridge.

In this way, when it is detected that there is no ink in the thermal head 1, a status display regarding the lack of ink is displayed on the display section of the image, character, data, etc. processing device 133 to which the recording device is connected, and the operator is instructed to take appropriate action. It is meant to give instructions.

Incidentally, the ink presence/absence detection operation of the thermal head 1, the ink presence/absence detection signal, the replenishment ink presence/absence detection signal of the ink container 64, and the operation of the recording apparatus are closely related. In fact, in this embodiment, the recording material, that is, the recording paper 8, is fed toward the heating element 3 only when the detection signal of the presence of ink in the thermal head 1 and the detection signal of the presence of ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time. I try to do that. This can prevent the risk of running out of ink 4 during recording and having to interrupt the recording operation.

Further, as described above, when the detection signal indicating that there is no ink in the thermal head 1 and the detection signal that there is replenishment ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time, the film drive motor 52, the film movement drive shaft 87, 88, etc. By operating the film moving mechanism, it is possible to cut off the ink 4 from reaching the heating element 3 of the thermal head 1.

At this time, the film is moved at a speed of 20 shoes/cm during normal recording, but it is moved at a slower speed, 5 mm/V in the example.

As a result, when there is no ink 4, the electrical conductor 108.12 is caused by the friction between the thermal head 1 and the film 2.
This prevents the wear-resistant insulating film No. 1 from being damaged.

In this way, the film moving mechanism is operated to move the film 2 back and forth until the ink-absence detection signal of the thermal head 1 changes to an ink-present signal.

Then, the image or character or data processing device 13 described above
A "waiting" state is displayed in the display area 3 to inform that the ink 4 is being supplied to the thermal head 1.

By the way, when a detection signal indicating that there is ink in the thermal head 1 and a detection signal indicating that there is no replenishment ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time, an ink replenishment signal is sent to the display section of the recording device or the image, character, or data processing device 133. An instruction is displayed to prompt the operator to replace the ink container 64 and replenish new ink 4. In this way, a new ink container 64
is attached and the detection signal indicating that there is no refill ink in the ink container 64 changes to the detection signal indicating that there is ink, the recording operation is stopped for a certain period of time, that is, the recording paper 8 is transferred toward the heating element 3. It is also prohibited to do so. This is the ink supply member 37 in the film cartridge 40.
．． This ensures that a sufficient amount of ink 4 permeates the film 39 and that the ink 4 is always supplied to the film 2 in the same state.

In addition, in this embodiment, the film cartridge 40 is set in the recording apparatus by the means for detecting that the detection signal indicating that there is no ink in the thermal head 1 and the detection signal that there is no replenishing ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time. It is detected that it is not. This pattern is shown in FIG.

In fact, in the above-mentioned state, when the film cartridge 40 is not set, and even when the film cartridge 40 is set, neither the thermal head 1 nor the ink container 6
4 also shows that there is no ink 4, but,
In either case, the operator is instructed to replenish ink in a major sense, so yes.

As a result, even if there is no means for detecting whether or not the film cartridge 40 is set in the recording apparatus, it is possible to detect whether there is no ink in the thermal head 1 or not in the container 6.
No.4 refill ink occurs. In most cases, this means that the film cartridge 40 is not actually set. In this manner, in this embodiment, it is detected that the detection signals of no ink in the thermal head 1 and no replenishment ink in the ink container 64 are generated at the same time, and it is detected whether the film cartridge 40 is attached or detached.

Next, the overall structure of the thermal head 1 will be described according to FIG.

In the figure, 137 is a metal support made of aluminum, and the thermal head 1 has metal cooling members 114 and 115 on both sides of the metal support 137. It has sensing elements 117 and 118.

In the figure, reference numerals 11, 3, and 116 indicate heating elements of the thermal head 1, which are arranged parallel to and near the heating element 3.

In this embodiment, the heating elements 113 and 116 of the thermal head 1 are turned ON or 0FFL by the output signals of the temperature detection elements 117 and 118 in response to changes in the environment and the thermal history of the heating element 3.
, the top portion of the thermal head 1 is controlled to have a constant temperature.

First, the metal cooling members 114 and 115 are in direct contact with the film 2, and can effectively cool down the temperature rise of the thermal head 1 due to the rise in outside temperature and thermal layer history, and suppress the evaporation of the ink 4. The thermal layer history at the apex portion of the thermal head 1 is quickly conducted to the temperature detection element, and the temperature in the vicinity of the heating element 3 of the thermal head 1 can be controlled to be always constant.

Also, the metal cooling members 117 are provided on both sides of the heating element 3.
118 and heating elements 113 and 116 of the thermal head 1 are arranged, and the ink 4 and the ink-filled small holes 2a are conveyed to the surface of the heating element 3 even when the film 2 moves back and forth.
The area is preheated prior to recording, so that the energy supplied by the voltage pulse applied to the heating element 3 is reduced.

In FIG. 15, 119 is a thermal head driver, and 126 to 132 are drive circuit sections.

As explained above, according to the above embodiment, the gap between the extended surface of the contact surface of the recording paper 8 at the edge portion of the recording unit guide 31 facing the heating element 3 and the heating element 3 is constant. Therefore, even if recording sheets 8 of different thicknesses are fed, the gap between the recording surface of the recording sheet 8 and the heating element 3 can always be kept constant.
Therefore, it is possible to record images without degrading quality such as sharpness of the recorded image.

Further, since the contact surface of the recording section guide 31 with the recording paper 8 is determined based on the thermal head 1, the gap can be easily obtained with high precision.

Furthermore, since the recording section guide 31 can be rotated and retracted, the film cartridge 40 can be easily attached and detached.

Note that in the above description of the embodiment, the explanation was given for a film in which small holes were provided as a recording medium, but the present invention is not limited to this, and the same purpose can be achieved even with concave portions. Of course.

In addition, it goes without saying that the present invention can be modified in various ways without departing from the gist of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, the present invention fills a recording medium with a large number of small holes or recesses with recording ink, and selects a heating element when the small holes or recesses filled with ink reach the surface of the heating element. The configuration is such that recording is performed on the recording material by ejecting the ink in the small holes or recesses toward the recording material due to the pressure of the generated air bubbles, and the recording material is conveyed. a recording material conveying mechanism for transporting the recording material, and a recording section guide provided opposite to the recording material transporting mechanism for guiding the recording material, the recording material being conveyed at an edge portion of the recording section guide toward the heating element. The gap between the extended surface of the contact surface with the material and the heating element is kept constant, and even if recording members of different thicknesses come, the gap between the recording surface of the recording member and the heating element is always constant. It is designed so that it can be maintained. Therefore, it is possible to provide a recording apparatus that is free from clogging, capable of high-speed recording, and capable of producing good recorded images.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the recording principle, Fig. 2(a) is a schematic longitudinal sectional side view, and Fig.
Figure (b) is an explanatory diagram of the configuration of the main parts, Figure 3 is a schematic longitudinal sectional front view, Figure 4 (a) is a side view of the drive part of the film moving mechanism,
FIG. 4(b) is a plan view of the drive section of the film moving mechanism;
Figure 6 is a perspective view of the film cartridge, Figure 6 is a perspective view of the film moving mechanism and ink supply section, Figure 7 is a perspective view of the paper ejection roller section, and Figure 8 shows the diameter and pitch of the small holes and the shape of the heating element. 9 is a perspective view showing the ink presence/absence detection means of the thermal head, FIG. 10(a) is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the ink presence/absence detection means when ink is present, and FIG. 10(b) is a diagram showing the relationship.
1 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the ink presence/absence detection means when there is no ink.
Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of the thermal head, Figure 12 is an explanatory diagram of the shape of the multi-hole and non-hole parts of the film, Figure 13 is a diagram showing the relationship between film speed and recording density, and Figure 14 is the vicinity of the heating element. FIG. 15 is a schematic diagram of the electronic control circuit. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Thermal head, 2... Recording medium (film), 2a... Small hole, 3... Heating element, 4... Recording ink, 5... Small hole filled with ink , 6...
- Ejected ink droplets, 7... Small holes from which ink droplets were ejected, 8... Recorded material (recording paper), 31... Recording section guide, 43... Recorded material transport mechanism. Applicant's representative Patent attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 1 Figure 9 (a) (b) Figure 10 Figure 11 Figure 12

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) By filling a recording medium with a large number of small holes or recesses with recording ink, and selectively heating the heating element when the small holes or recesses filled with ink reach the surface of the heating element. , a recording apparatus that performs recording on a recording material by ejecting ink in the small holes or recesses toward the recording material using the pressure of generated air bubbles, the recording material conveyance for transporting the recording material; and a recording unit guide that is provided opposite to the recording material transport mechanism and guides the recording material, the contact with the recording material at an edge portion of the recording unit guide facing the heating element. A recording device characterized in that a gap between an extended surface of the surface and the heating element is constant. (2) The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the position of the contact surface of the recording section guide with the recording material is determined based on a thermal head comprising the heating element. (3) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the recording section guide can be rotated and retracted.