JPS63104862A - Thermal transfer recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To prevent color misregistering from occurring during superimposing transfer of coloring agents, by providing a mechanism for giving a torque in a direction opposite to the payout direction of a continuous recording paper, and a counter for counting pulses outputted from an encoder for detecting the rotating angle of a detection roller. CONSTITUTION:A torque for rotation in a direction opposite to the payout direction of a recording paper is applied to a recording paper roll 1. A thermal head 3 presses against the recording roller 10 on a platen roller 2 through an ink sheet 11, and selective heating drive scan is conducted on the surface of one page of the paper 10, thereby thermally transferring a color information image in the first color. Pulses outputted from an encoder 24, which outputs the pulses according to the rotating quantity of a paper feed-detecting metallic roller 23 rotates by the paper 10, are counted up by a counter 25. When thermal transfer of the image in the first color is finished, an ink sheet 11 is subjected to location of the leading end of a coloring agent surface of the second color, and the paper 10 is accurately returned to the starting position of transfer recording in the first color through a counting-down operation of the counter 25. Thereafter, transfer recording in the second and latter colors is similarly performed. Therefore, full-color transfer recording with high image quality can be performed without color misregistered.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] The present invention provides a thermal transfer recording device that performs color transfer recording using a surface sequential recording method in which a plurality of primary color inks are selectively superimposed and transferred for each page of continuous recording paper. A constant tension is always applied to the recording paper that is transferred back and forth between the recording paper roll and the platen roller, and a paper feed detection roller is provided so as to wrap the recording paper between them, and the detection roller is used to detect the transfer of the paper during transfer recording. By detecting the amount of rotation and returning the recording paper by the same amount as the amount of rotation during transfer recording, overlapping transfer of each color ink is achieved due to the difference in the amount of feed when feeding and returning one page of the recording paper. This is to prevent color misregistration that occurs during printing and to obtain high-quality color transfer recording.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to the improvement of a thermal transfer recording device used as a print output device for data processing terminals, and in particular, the present invention relates to a color printing device using a field sequential recording method in which a plurality of primary color inks are selectively superimposed and transferred for each page of recording paper. The present invention relates to an apparatus configuration that prevents misalignment of overlapping color inks during recording.

Thermal transfer recording is a non-impact recording method that records prints or images by selectively heating a heat-melting ink layer formed on a sheet-like base material using a thermal head and transferring the molten ink to recording paper. In recent years, thermal transfer color recording has been developed as the types of recorded information have become more diverse, and various types of devices have been proposed.

The main method used to perform color transfer recording using such a thermal transfer recording device is a surface sequential recording method in which multiple primary color inks are selectively superimposed and transferred for each page of recording paper. In color transfer recording using this method, the return position of the recording paper for selectively overlapping and transferring each color ink will cause color shift if the brightness is poor, and the recording quality will deteriorate. A configuration is required that can accurately and stably achieve alignment.

[Conventional technology]

FIG. 3 shows a schematic configuration of a conventional thermal transfer color recording device using a field-sequential recording method. , 4 is a pinch roller, 5 is an ink sheet supply roll, 6.7 is an idle roller, 8 is an ink sheet winding roll, and 11 is an ink sheet.

Continuous recording paper 1 fed out from recording paper roll 1
0 is moved along the surface of the platen roller 2 by the pressure of the pinch roller 4, and a step motor is used to move the ink sheet 11 fed out from the ink sheet supply roll 5 and the thermal head 3 that is in pressure contact with the platen roller 2. The platen roller 2, which is rotated by the drive of 9, transfers the paper to a stacker (not shown).

The ink sheet 11 has colorants such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black applied sequentially on a resin sheet-like base material, and these colorants are melted by heating by the thermal head 3. The ink sheet is transferred onto the recording paper 10 and then wound onto the ink sheet take-up roll 8.

During color transfer recording, the thermal head 3 is horizontally scanned while being in pressure contact with the recording paper 10 on the platen roller 2 via the ink sheet 11, and the recording paper 10 is transferred to print one page of the recording paper 10. Thermal transfer recording of color information of a first color, for example, yellow, is performed on the surface.

Next, when recording of the first color is completed, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 2, and the recording paper 10 is returned to the transfer recording start position of the first color by reverse rotation of the platen roller 2, and the ink sheet 11 In this case, the colorant surface of the first color is wound up on the ink sheet take-up roll 8, and the colorant surface of the second color, which is made of magenta, for example, is cued.

Next, in this state, the thermal head 3 is transferred to the recording paper 10 on the platen roller 2 via the ink sheet 11.
The color information image consisting of the second color magenta is superimposed on the surface of the recording paper 1o on which the color information image of the first color consisting of yellow is recorded, using a transfer process similar to the thermal transfer of the first color, and transfer recording is performed. conduct.

Thereafter, the color information images of the third and fourth colors are sequentially superimposed and transferred and recorded using a similar thermal transfer process, thereby obtaining a recording of a full-color information image for one page.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

By the way, in the conventional thermal transfer color recording apparatus having the above-mentioned configuration, in the process of performing transfer recording by sequentially overlapping a plurality of colorants, one page of the recording paper 10,
Alternatively, the transfer operation of reciprocating one screen multiple times is performed by the platen roller 2, which is rotated by the forward and reverse rotation drive of the step motor 9.

For this reason, the state of deformation of the surface portion of the platen roller 2 may differ due to play (bank crush) in the forward/reverse rotation drive system of the platen roller 2 and whether or not the thermal head is in pressure contact when feeding and returning the recording paper 10. Due to this, even if the step motor 9 is reversely rotated with the number of feeding drive pulses for one page when returning the recording paper 10, the recording paper 10 will return to a position different from the original transfer recording start position for the one page. Due to this return position shift, color misregistration occurs between the overlapping transfers of each coloring agent, resulting in a disadvantage that the recorded image quality deteriorates.

In view of the above conventional drawbacks, the present invention eliminates play in the forward and reverse rotation drive system of the platen roller by always applying a constant tension to the recording paper that is reciprocated between the recording paper roll and the platen roller. Another object of the present invention is to provide a new thermal transfer recording device that eliminates color shift during overlapping transfer of each coloring agent, which is caused by the different deformation states of the platen roller surface during forward and reverse rotation.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides a recording paper roll that feeds continuous recording paper onto a platen roller facing a thermal head with a torque imparting mechanism that rotates in a direction opposite to the feeding direction of the paper, and A paper feed detection roller is provided between the paper roll and the platen roller so as to wrap the supplied continuous recording paper around the platen roller surface, and the detection roller is further provided with an encoder for detecting the rotation angle and an output from the encoder. The configuration includes a counter that counts pulses.

[Effect]

In the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention, the recording paper roll is provided with a torque applying mechanism that rotates in the opposite direction to the feeding direction of the paper, and the continuous recording paper to be supplied is placed between the recording paper roll and the platen roller so that the continuous recording paper is applied to the platen roller surface. Since a paper feed detection roller is provided to wrap the paper around the paper roll, the paper that is transported back and forth between the paper roll and the platen roller is always under a constant tension, which prevents play in the forward/reverse rotation drive system of the platen roller. disappears. Furthermore, the detection roller can be rotated faithfully without slipping during the conveyance of the recording paper due to its positional configuration.

Therefore, the rotation amount of the detection roller rotated by the recording paper fed out during transfer is detected by an encoder by a counter that is reset at the start of transfer recording of one page or one screen, and the output pulse is counted up, and When the recording paper is returned to its original position, the amount of the returned paper is counted down, and when the counter value reaches zero, the drive of the platen roller is stopped, and the number of pages that have been fed out, or The recording paper for one screen is accurately returned to the original transfer recording start position.

〔Example〕

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention.

In the figure, 1 is a recording paper roll wound with continuous recording paper 10, 2 is a platen roller equipped with a step motor 9 for driving forward and reverse rotation, 3 is a thermal head, 4 is a pinch roller, and 5 is an ink sheet. A supply roll, 6.7 is an idle roller, 8 is an ink sheet winding roll, and 11 is a resin sheet-like base material on which each coloring agent, for example, yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, is applied in sequence. It is an ink sheet.

A certain back tension is applied to the ink sheet 11 wound on the ink sheet take-up roll 8 to prevent deviation or slack due to scanning of the thermal head 3 or the like. The configuration up to this point is the same as the conventional one.

In contrast to these configurations, the present invention includes a driving DC motor 21 and a constant current driver 22 that applies torque to the rotating shaft of the recording paper roll 1 in a direction opposite to the feeding direction of the continuous recording paper 10. A torque applying mechanism consisting of the following is attached.

Further, a metal roller 23 for detecting paper feed is disposed between the recording paper roll 1 and the platen roller 2 so as to wrap the continuous recording paper 10 to be supplied around the two surfaces of the platen roller. An encoder 24 for detecting the rotation angle of the shaft and a counter 25 for counting output pulses from the encoder 24 are attached to the shaft.

The diameter of the detection metal roller 23 and the number of angular divisions of the encoder 24 are set so that one pulse is output every time the recording paper 10 is moved, for example, by 1/16 line.

Furthermore, 26 is a control unit that outputs a paper feed pulse to a step motor 9 attached to the platen roller 2 via a motor drive 27.

The recording paper roll 1 at the time of transfer recording uses a constant current driver 22.
The continuous recording paper 10 is driven at a constant torque by the driving DC motor 21 in the direction opposite to the feeding direction of the continuous recording paper 10, and rotates in the feeding direction of the recording paper 10 under the rotational driving force of the platen roller 2. is given a bank tension F expressed by the following equation, where r is the radius of the recording paper roll 1 and Te is the constant torque.

FB= Te /r On the other hand, when the recording paper 16 is returned, it tries to rapidly rotate in the original rotation direction, but the torque is constant torque T
Since the recording paper 10 is controlled to the reverse rotation speed of the platen roller 2, the recording paper 10 is wound up with a back tension F applied thereto.

Further, in this embodiment, the paper feed detection metal roller 23 provided between the recording paper roll 1 and the platen roller 2 is such that the tensioned recording paper 10 is wound around an angle of approximately 90 degrees. The recording paper 10 is rotated to prevent idle slippage between the sheets 10, and is faithfully rotated as the recording paper 10 is transported in the forward and reverse directions.

Next, the operation of performing thermal transfer color recording using the apparatus configuration of this embodiment will be described.

As shown in Fig. 1, during transfer recording, the thermal head 3
is brought into pressure contact with the recording paper 10 on the platen roller 2 via the ink sheet 11.

During this time, the ink sheet 11 is transferred, and the thermal head 3 is selectively heated and scanned in the width direction on one page of the recording paper 10 fed out by the rotation of the acid platen roller 2. For example, the first color information image of yellow is thermally transferred.

At this time, the rotational drive of the platen roller 2 is controlled by the control unit 2.
This is done by a step motor 9 that is driven at a predetermined speed by paper feed pulses output from the platen roller 6, and the step motor 9 drives one line in microsteps of 16 pulses, thereby transporting the recording paper by the rotation of the platen roller 2 with high precision. It has become

On the other hand, at the same time as the thermal transfer of the first color information image onto the first page of the recording paper 10 is started, the counter 25 is reset to zero by a signal from the control section 26, and the record is fed out during the transfer of the first page. The output pulses from the encoder 24 are incremented by the counter 25 in accordance with the amount of rotation of the paper feed detection metal roller 23 rotated by the paper 10 .

Next, when the thermal transfer of the color information image of the first color is completed, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 2, and the ink sheet 11 is wound up with the colorant side of the first color on the ink sheet take-up roll 8 side. Then, the surface of the second color, which is magenta, for example, is located at the beginning, and the recording paper 10 is returned to the transfer recording start position of the first color by reverse rotation of the platen roller 2.

When returning the paper, the counter 25 counts down the return output pulse from the encoder 24, and when the count value of the counter 25 becomes zero, the step motor 9 is driven by a control signal from the control section. Since the pulse is cut off and the reverse rotation of the platen roller 2 is stopped, the page surface of the first color of the recording paper 10 is accurately returned to the transfer recording start position of the first color.

Next, in this state, the thermal head 3 is transferred to the recording paper 10 on the platen roller 2 via the ink sheet 11.
The color information image consisting of the second color magenta is superimposed on the 10 sides of the recording paper on which the color information image of the first color consisting of yellow is recorded, using a transfer process similar to the thermal transfer of the first color, and transfer recording is performed. conduct.

Thereafter, the color information images of the third and fourth colors are sequentially superimposed and transferred and recorded using a similar thermal transfer process, thereby obtaining a full-color information image recording for one page.

As described above, in the apparatus configuration of this embodiment, in any situation when the recording paper 10 is fed out when performing transfer recording by sequentially overlapping color information images of a plurality of colors, or when it is returned to the original transfer recording start position, Also, since tension is always applied and no slack occurs, there is no deviation in the return position of the recording paper 10 due to bank crush of the forward/reverse rotation drive system of the platen roller 2, and when the recording paper 10 is returned, it is returned by the same amount as the amount fed out. It is possible to accurately return the recording paper 10 to the original transfer recording start position by a return amount of .

Therefore, since overlapping transfer recording of a plurality of colors can always be started from the same transfer recording start position, color shift during overlapping transfer is prevented.

In the above embodiment, the paper feed detection metal roller 23 provided between the recording paper roll 1 and the platen roller 2 is
Although the explanation has been given using an example in which the device is placed in direct contact with the transfer recording surface of the recording paper 10, the present invention is not limited to this example.
For example, as shown in the schematic diagram of FIG. 2, the detection metal roller 23 may be installed so as to be in contact with the non-transfer back surface of the recording paper 10, and the same effect can be obtained.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the thermal transfer recording apparatus according to the present invention, the displacement of the return position of the recording paper during overlapping transfer of color ink by the field sequential recording method is eliminated, and the overlay accuracy of the color ink is improved. Since it is well stabilized, it has the excellent advantage of enabling clear, high-quality, full-color transfer recording without color shift, and is extremely advantageous when applied to this type of thermal transfer recording device.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of an embodiment of the thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of the thermal transfer recording device according to another embodiment of the invention; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram of the main parts of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus. 1 and 2, 1 is a recording paper roll, 2 is a platen roller, 3 is a thermal head, 4 is a pinch roller, 5 is an ink sheet supply roll, 8 is an ink sheet winding roll, 9 is a step motor, 10 is a continuous recording paper, 11 is an ink sheet, 2r is a DC motor, 22 is a constant current driver, 23 is a metal roller for detecting paper feed, 24 is an encoder, 25 is a counter,
Reference numeral 26 indicates a control unit, and 27 indicates a motor driver. Figure 2 of H7 Tanbu Homoseijori, which refers to the construction of Kuzucho inkstones.

Claims (1)

[Claims] The recording paper roll (1) is fed out, and the platen roller (
2) The thermal head (3) is driven through an ink sheet (11) on which a plurality of colored ink surfaces are sequentially provided on a continuous recording paper (10) guided above, and thermal transfer color is printed by a surface sequential recording method. In an apparatus configuration for recording, the recording paper roll (1) is provided with a torque imparting mechanism that rotates in a direction opposite to the paper feeding direction, and the recording paper roll (
A paper feed detection roller (23) is provided between the roller 1) and the platen roller (2) so as to wrap around the continuous recording paper (10) to be fed out, and the rotation angle is further detected by the detection roller (23). An encoder (24) and a counter (25) that counts output pulses from the encoder (24)
A detection roller (23) is attached and rotated by the recording paper (10) fed out during transfer by a counter (25) that is reset at the start of transfer recording of one screen.
The output pulses of the encoder (24) are counted up according to the amount of rotation of the recording paper (10).
) is returned to its original position, the output pulses of the encoder (24) are counted down in reverse, and when the count value reaches zero, the drive of the platen roller (2) is stopped. A thermal transfer recording device.