JPS6295264A - Printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a printing apparatus enhanced in a transfer property, imparting good image quality and reduced in recording energy, by arranging a recording substrate and a platen so that the angle formed by the recording substrate and the platen is made larger than the angle formed by the recording substrate and the end surface thereof and providing a mechanism for pressing a recording head to the platen. CONSTITUTION:A recording substrate 6 and a platen 11 are arranged so that the angle 21 (theta2) formed by the recording substrate 6 and the platen 11 is larger than the angle 20(theta1) formed by the recording substrate 6 and the end surface 7 thereof and a recording head 4 is pressed to the platen 11. By pressing an ink film 10 and receiving paper 12 to the platen 11 by the cut end part at the side not equipped with electrode needle 5 of the end surface 7 to the platen 11, transfer pressure is concentrated to the cut end part to certainly transfer molten ink from the ink film to the receiving paper. Further, the ink film 10 is pulled in the direction of an arrow 15 and tension is applied to the said film to penetrate the leading end part of the recording needle 5 into a resistance layer 3 to secure a current supply property. The film 10 is fed to the recording head 4 at the angle theta3 formed by the film and the recording head 4. The angle theta3 is smaller than the angle theta1.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a printing device, and more particularly to a printing device using an electrically conductive thermal transfer recording method.

[Prior Art] As a technology for realizing a full-color printing device that uses a conventional current-carrying thermal transfer recording method and is high speed, high image quality, high reliability, and low cost, there is a "printing device" (Japanese Patent Application No. 186496/1983).
No.) was there. The outline will be explained below.

FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view of the structure of the ink film 10 for electrically conductive thermal transfer recording. Melting ink layer 1 is a layer in which pigment or pigment and dye are dispersed in wax at 60 to 80°C.
It has the property of melting in a certain degree.

The support layer 2 is a resin film made of PET or the like or a capacitor paper. The resistance layer 3 is a layer in which fine carbon powder is dispersed in a resin and is electrically conductive. FIG. 3 shows a recording section of a recording head of an energized thermal transfer recording method. The recording section of the recording head 4 includes a plurality of recording needles 5 and a recording substrate 6 equipped with the recording needles.
It consists of The angle 20 formed between the end surface 7 of the recording substrate and the recording substrate 6 is specifically denoted by θl in the figure. FIG. 4 shows a conventional method of contact between the recording head 4 and the ink film IO. Transfer paper 12 and ink film 1 are placed on platen 11.
0 and press the recording head (pressing direction 13)
. To perform recording, the platen 11, transfer paper 12, and ink film 10 are moved at a constant speed in the direction of an arrow 14. As shown in the figure, the angle 21 between the platen and the recording substrate is θ2, and by making θ2 smaller than θ1, a good electrical connection can be achieved between the recording needle and the resistive layer. In this way, the tip of the recording needle is pressed against the resistive layer and a voltage is applied between adjacent recording needles to energize the resistive layer and generate heat, melting the melting ink layer and transferring it to the transfer paper. to form pixels. Conventional printing apparatuses have been constructed using the above recording method.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, the above-mentioned conventional techniques have problems in that the transferability is reduced, resulting in a reduction in image quality due to transfer unevenness and an increase in recording energy. The reason for this is that by using the contact method shown in Figure 4 above, a good electrical connection is established between the recording needle and the resistance layer, and electricity is supplied, heat is generated, and the melted ink layer is melted. In a recording method in which electricity is passed between adjacent recording needles, this melting occurs between the adjacent recording needles, and the force that presses the recording head against the platen is concentrated directly below the recording needles, causing the adjacent recording needles to melt. This is because almost no pressure for transfer is applied between the recording substrate and the platen between the needles. The present invention is intended to solve these problems, and its purpose is to provide a printing device that improves transferability, provides good image quality, and uses less recording energy.

[Means for Solving the Problems] The printing device of the present invention uses an ink film having a resistive layer and a melting ink layer, and has a recording head consisting of a plurality of recording needles and a recording substrate having the recording needles on one surface. by bringing the recording needle into contact with the resistance layer and applying a voltage between the adjacent recording needles to energize the resistance layer and generate heat;
In a printing device that melts the melted ink layer and transfers it to transfer paper to form pixels, the angle formed between the recording substrate and the platen is made larger than the angle formed between the recording substrate and the end surface of the recording substrate. The apparatus is characterized by having a mechanism for pressing the recording head against the platen.

[Example] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a method of contacting a recording head 4 and an ink film 10 in an example of the present invention. The difference from the conventional example shown in FIG. 4 is that the recording head 4 is pressed at an angle. In this embodiment, the recording substrate 6 and the platen 1 are
By arranging the angle 21・(θ2) made by 1 at a large angle,
The recording head 4 is pressed against the platen 11. In the present invention, the ink film 10 and the transfer paper 12 are pressed against the platen 11 at the broken edge of the end face 7 of the recording substrate on the side where the electrode needles 5 are not provided, so that the transfer pressure is concentrated on the broken edge, It has a structure that reliably transfers the melted ink from the ink film to the transfer paper. Furthermore, in order to ensure electrical contact and conduct electricity, the recording stylus was pulled in the direction of arrow 15, tension was applied, and the tip of the recording stylus was embedded in the resistive layer 3, thereby ensuring electrical conductivity. The transport direction (arrow 16) of the ink film 10 is the opposite direction to the arrow 15. The ink film 10 is carried into the recording head 4 at an angle θ3 with respect to the recording substrate 6. θ3 is θ1 or θ2
It is a smaller angle.

The present invention recognizes that both electrical conductivity and transferability are important in the recording mechanism of the current-conducting thermal transfer recording system, and in particular, when the melted ink is transferred to the transfer paper,
This was realized by focusing on the large pressure dependence. Furthermore, the ink used in the melting ink layer of the present invention has thermal hysteresis and has the property of not solidifying for a while after being melted by applying electricity. This was achieved by focusing on the property that no problem occurs even if the time is slightly changed. The conventional example shown in Fig. 4 is a pressing method that focuses on electrical contact, so the transfer part exists incidentally around the current-carrying part, and the pressure on the transfer part is uneven. However, the image quality deteriorated due to non-uniformity of transfer, and in addition, the pressure was low and there were some areas where the ink film and the paper being transferred were in contact with each other without any pressure, resulting in poor transfer efficiency! The recording energy was low and required a correspondingly high recording energy. On the other hand, when recording was carried out using a printing apparatus constructed using the method of contacting the recording head and ink film according to the embodiment of the present invention, the image quality was significantly improved, and no image deterioration due to uneven transfer was observed. Furthermore, the recording energy can be reduced by about 10 to 15% compared to the conventional method.

[Effects] The present invention separates the two functions of energization and transfer into the energization section and the transfer section in the recording mechanism of the energized thermal transfer recording system, thereby fully functioning both functions, improving transferability and improving image quality. This provides a printing device that is high quality and uses less recording energy.Moreover, the pressing of the recording substrate can be done simply by changing the angle, thereby realizing an epoch-making printing device that does not cause a price increase. It is.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a method of contact between a recording head and an ink film in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the structure of an ink film for electrically conductive thermal transfer recording. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a recording section of a recording head of an energized thermal transfer recording method. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a conventional method of contacting a recording head with an ink film. Melting ink layer 11.1, resistance layer...3, transfer paper...12, ink film...10, recording substrate 10.6, recording needle 00.5, recording head 03.4, end surface of recording substrate 10.7, Platen, 11. Angle between the recording substrate and the end face of the recording substrate 20 Angle between the recording substrate and the platen, 21 Fig. 1

Claims (1)

[Claims] Using an ink film having a resistive layer and a melting ink layer,
Using a recording head consisting of a plurality of recording needles and a recording substrate with the recording needles on one surface, the recording needles are brought into contact with the resistance layer, and a voltage is applied between the adjacent recording needles to increase the resistance. In a printing device that applies electricity to a layer to generate heat to melt the molten ink layer and transfer it to transfer paper to form pixels, the relationship between the recording substrate and the platen is determined based on the angle formed by the end surfaces of the recording substrate and the recording substrate. 1. A printing apparatus characterized by having a mechanism for pressing the recording head against the platen by arranging the recording head at a large angle.