JPS6285965A - Thermal transfer recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a thermal transfer recorder not generating distortion, contamination or the like of records, small in size and low in running cost, by a construction wherein an ink is provided in the form of an ink roll, which is rotatably supported, one of the ink roll and a recording medium can be moved under the condition where they are pressed against each other, and the ink roll is rotated following the movement. CONSTITUTION:An ink roll 1 formed by solidifying a supercoolable ink in a roller form is fitted to a carriage 3 moved on a carrier shaft 2 in the direction of an arrow (a), both ends of the roll are supported by a core shaft 4 so as to be capable of being rotated in the direction of an arrow (c), and are energized upward by springs 5. Although the diameter of the ink roll 1 is gradually decreased with the progress of a recording operation, the roll 1 is pressed against a recording sheet 6 with a constantly fixed pressure because it is energized by the springs 5. In addition, the ink roll 1 is maintained in a freely rotatable condition. Accordingly, fretting will not occur between the ink roll 1 and the recording sheet 6.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Industrial Application Field> The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device using an ink roll formed by forming ink into a roll.

<Prior Art> Thermal transfer recording method has recently become widely used because it has general characteristics such as being small and lightweight and has no noise, as well as being able to record on plain paper.

This thermal transfer recording method generally involves coating a base film with heat-melting ink, superimposing the ink layer so as to contact the recording sheet, and heating it with a recording head to apply melted ink according to image information. It is transferred onto a recording sheet.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, the ink film used in the conventional thermal transfer recording method is formed by applying heat-melting ink to a heat-resistant plastic film, and is disposable only once. Therefore, there is a problem that running costs become high. In order to solve this problem, a method has recently been considered in which an endless rotating heald is used instead of the base film, and transfer recording is performed while applying heat-melting ink to the acid heald. It is not easy to install a coating process in the device, which increases the size of the device.Furthermore, if the speeds of the rotating belt and the recording sheet do not match, friction will occur between the two, causing distortion and staining of the recording. There were problems such as the occurrence of

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems and provide a thermal transfer recording device that does not cause distortion or stains in recording, is small in size, and has low running costs.

Means for Solving the Problems> The means of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned conventional problems is to heat ink according to image information and to transfer the ink to a recording medium in a thermal transfer recording device. is formed into a roll-shaped ink roll and held rotatably, one of which is movable with the ink roll and the recording medium in pressure contact, and the ink roll is driven to rotate in accordance with the movement. As shown in <((The composition is 1, Y sign.

<Operation> According to the above means, the surface of the ink roll is directly heated to form a latent image of molten ink on the surface, and when the molten ink is transferred to the recording medium, the relative movement between the recording medium and the ink roll is Since the ink roll rotates as a result of the ink roll, there will be no friction between the two, regardless of the diameter of the ink roll. Therefore, clear image recording without recording distortion or lη deviation can be performed with a small amount of thermal engineering effort.

<Example> Next, an example of a thermal transfer recording apparatus to which the above-mentioned means is applied will be described.

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an embodiment in which an ink roll rotates as a carriage travels. In the figure, an ink roll 1 is made by solidifying ink with supercooling characteristics into a roller shape, and is attached to a carriage 3 running on a carrier shaft 2 in the direction of arrow a, and both ends of the roll are connected by a core shaft 4. It is supported rotatably in the direction of arrow C and is attached so as to be biased upward in the drawing by a spring 5.

The above-mentioned ink having supercooling characteristics means that when it is heated and melted or softened and then cooled, it can be transferred to a recording medium even at a temperature below the ink's original melting point or softening point. This is an ink that maintains a solid state for a certain period of time, and is made by dispersing a coloring agent such as carbon black or other dyes and pigments singly or in a mixture of two or more in a supercooled thermofusible binder.

Examples of the supercooled thermofusible binder include plasticizers such as N-cyclohexyl-p-toluenesulfonamide, N-ethyl-p-toluenesulfonamide, and dicyclohexyl phthalate, which are supercooled substances; Polyduran, acetalinide, etc., or derivatives thereof, alone or in combination of two or more, can be used for conventional thermal transfer or thermoplastic resins such as polyacrylic resin, polyvinyl acetate resin, or copolymers of these. The ink roll 1 can be obtained by mixing it into a conventional hot-melt binder made of various natural or synthetic waxes, etc., and solidifying it into a roll shape in a mold.

Further, in the urging force direction of the ink roll 1, a recording sheet 6, which is a recording medium, is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow by a platen roller 7, and the ink roll 1 is configured to come into pressure contact with the recording sheet 6. ing.

Further, around the ink roll 1, a recording head 8 that generates heat according to image information is mounted on the upper side in the rotational direction of the ink roll 1 with reference to the pressure contact portion between the roll 1 and the recording sheet 6, and a spring 9 drives the ink. Even if the diameter of the roll decreases, it is arranged so as to be in pressure contact with the surface, and on the lower side in the rotational direction of the ink roll 1, a smoothing blade 10 that scrapes the surface of the ink roll 1 into a thin layer to make it smooth is also attached to the spring 1.
I'm at 1.

Incidentally, the carriage 3 is operated as described in 1. during recording. When it runs to the right end of the roller, it releases the pressure contact between the ink roll 1 and the recording sheet 6, returns to the left end of the sheet, and runs in the direction of arrow a again, and at that time, the recording sheet 6 is attached to the platen. It is configured to be conveyed one line by rollers 7 in the direction of the arrow.

Next, the operation when recording is performed by the apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

When recording starts, the ink roll 1 is moved by the recording head 8.
The surface of the ink roll 1 is heated in accordance with the image information, and a recorded latent image is formed on the surface of the ink roll 1 by the heating. At the same time as this heating, the carriage 3 moves in the direction of arrow a, but since the ink roll 1 is in pressure contact with the recording sheet 6 in a freely rotatable state, the ink roll 1 is driven to rotate in the direction of arrow C due to the frictional force between them. However, the recording latent image formed on the surface of the ink roll 1 is transferred to the recording sheet 6 when the ink roll 1 is brought into pressure contact with the recording sheet 6. Although some unevenness remains on the surface of the ink roll 1 to which the molten ink has been transferred, the unevenness on the surface of the ink roll 1 is scraped off and smoothed by the smoothing blade 10 that is in pressure contact with it.

When the carriage 3 travels to the right end of the recording sheet 6 and one line of recording is completed, the pressure contact between the ink roll 1 and the recording sheet 6 is released, and the carriage 3 returns to the left end of the recording sheet 6. At the same time, the recording sheet 6 is conveyed by one line in the direction indicated by the arrow by the platen roller 7, and eleven recording operations similar to those described above are performed.

The diameter of the ink roll 1 gradually decreases with the recording operation, but since the roll 1 is biased by the spring 5, it is always pressed against the recording sheet 6 with a constant pressure, and the ink roll 1 rotates freely. Because of this condition, no scratches occur between the recording sheet 6 and the recording sheet 6. Similarly, the recording head 8 and the smooth blade 10 also have springs 9 and 11.
Since the ink roll 1 is biased by the ink roll 1, the ink roll 1 is pressed against the ink roll 1 with a constant pressure even if the roll diameter decreases.

Next, FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of an embodiment in which the ink roll 1 rotates as the recording sheet 6 is conveyed.

This is because the ink roll 1 is formed to have approximately the same length as the width of the recording sheet 6, and is held parallel to the platen roller 7 so as to be freely rotatable, and in this state, the ink roll 1 and the recording sheet 6 are The ink roll 1 is in pressure contact with the recording sheet 6 in the entire direction, and the recording head 8 and the smooth blade 1 are in pressure contact with each other in the entire direction.
0 is similarly urged in the direction of the ink roll 1 by a spring or the like (not shown).

According to the above configuration, recording is performed for one line at the same time, and as the recording sheet 6 is conveyed, ink transfer is performed while the ink roll 1 in pressure contact with the recording sheet 6 is driven to rotate.

In the above embodiment, the pressure contact force between the recording gutter 8 and the ink roll 1 is 2 as long as the two are in sufficient contact.
kg/cm2 or less, and 1 to 5 kg for other pressurization processes
It is preferable to set it within the range of /cm2.

Further, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the recording heel [;
In case of adhesion to the ink roll 1, it is preferable to coat the heat generating part of the recording gutter 8 with a lubricant such as a silicone film, or to add a lubricant internally to the ink roll 1.

Further, the recording throat 8 described above is configured as a heat generating head that generates heat according to the image information, but as an alternative configuration, for example, the recording head can be configured with a pair of 1 m electric electrodes that are energized according to the image information, and conductive powder is used. The ink roll 1 may be configured to melt the mixed ink roll surface by applying Joule heat by applying an i1M electric current to the surface of the ink roll, or the ink roll 1 may be heated by a laser or the like in accordance with the image information. In the case of heating with the laser or the like, the head and the ink roll 1 are not in contact with each other, so that molten ink does not adhere to the head.

Further, in the above embodiment, the smoothing blade 10 is smoothed, but in other embodiments, for example, the ink roll 1 may be smoothed by scraping with a grinder's arm, or by pressing a heated roller. The surface of the recording medium may be softened and smoothed. Furthermore, if the amount of ink transferred is small, there is no problem in the recording operation even if a smoothing means such as the smoothing blade 10 is not provided.

Furthermore, in the above-mentioned embodiment, if an air sublier is disposed between the smooth blade 10 and the recording head 8 to blow air onto the surface of the ink roll 1, the supercooling property can be improved by the cooling effect of the air. The surface of the ink roll 1 can be quickly and reliably transferred from a heated molten state to a solidified state. However, the supercooling characteristics of the supercooled ink can be adjusted by adding an oil or the like to the supercooled binder, and further, the melt viscosity, adhesive strength, etc. can be adjusted by adding elastomers, etc. to the supercooled binder. You can also do that.

Next, the results of an experiment in which transfer recording was performed using the above-mentioned apparatus will be shown.

Experiment 1 First, in the apparatus shown in I+2+, the following ingredients were mixed and stirred using a sand mill to obtain a hot melt ink, and it was solidified to form an ink roll 1 with a diameter of 30 carbon dioxide. did.

Carbon black 10 parts Monkunwanox 20 parts Fine molecular weight polyethylene oxide 10 parts Paraffin wax 60 parts
Heat was applied with an application pulse of 1 m5 ec, and the molten ink was transferred and recorded by moving the carriage 3 while being pressed against a recording sheet 6 made of bond paper with a smoothness of 3 to 4 seconds at a linear pressure of 5 kg/cm.

In the above recording operation, even with a recording sheet with low smoothness such as bond paper, the image quality such as print density, transferability, sharpness, etc. is visually good, and under the same conditions, the smoothness is 1.
Ink roll l even when transfer recording is done on high quality paper for 20 seconds.
There was no scratching between the recording sheet 6 and the recording sheet 6, and there was no distortion or staining of the recording, and the image quality was good.

Furthermore, by changing the applied pulses of the recording head 8, the amount of ink transferred to the recording sheet 6 could be varied, and it was also possible to obtain a half-tone recorded image.

Experiment 2 As in Experiment 1, a heat-melting ink was obtained using the following ingredients, and recording was performed under the same conditions as in Experiment 1 except for the following.

Carbon blank 10 parts Polyamide resin 60 parts p-) Luenesulfonyl chloride 40 parts Ethyl acetate
300 copies In the above experimental results, as in Experiment 1, there was no scratching between the ink roll 1 and the recording sheet 6, and a good quality image was obtained without distortion or staining of the recording.

In addition, in the supercooled ink of Experiment 2, it is possible to provide an interval between the heat impression process and the recording process. Since the ink roll is configured to heat according to the information, it is possible to reduce the consumption of thermal energy during heating, and because the ink roll is configured to press against the recording medium and rotate as a driven, the ink roll and There is no scratching between the recording medium and the recording medium, so it is possible to prevent distortion and staining of the recording caused by scratching, and furthermore, it is not necessary to separately provide an ink application mechanism as in the case of using a conventional rotating belt. This device has features such as being able to make the entire device compact because there is no need for a device.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic explanatory diagram of another embodiment.

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a thermal transfer recording device that heats ink according to image information and transfers it to a recording medium, the ink is formed into a roll-shaped ink roll and held rotatably, and the ink roll and the recording 1. A thermal transfer recording device, characterized in that one of the ink rolls is movable in a state in which it is in pressure contact with a medium, and the ink roll is driven to rotate in accordance with the movement. (2) With reference to the contact position between the ink roll and the recording medium, a heating means for heating the surface of the ink roll according to image information is provided on the upper side of the rotation of the ink roll, and a heating means is provided on the lower side of the rotation of the ink roll. 2. A thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a smoothing means for smoothing the surface of said ink roll.