JPS63224979A - Thermal printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make a device small and to reduce the possibility of color deviation, by a method wherein a material to be subjected to transfer is wound round the periphery of a drum by one or more rotation and carried through between a platen and a thermal head two or more times by driving the drum or a thermal head. CONSTITUTION:A printer is provided with a dram 2 capable of being wound with a material to be subjected to transfer 6 by one or more rotation, a platen 20, and a thermal head 1 and so constructed that the transfer material 6 is carried through between the platen 20 and the thermal head 1 two or more times by driving the drum 2 or the platen 20. In this manner, the transfer material 6 is allowed to be wound round the periphery of the drum 2 by one or more rotation, whereby the diameter of the drum 2 is reduced and thereby the device can be made small. On the other hand, the drive of the drum 2 or the platen 20 is so controlled that the skew and wrinkle of the transfer material 6 can be prevented, whereby a high-quality transfer with little color deviation can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] This invention is a transfer type that transfers a colorant from a transfer material such as a thermal transfer material to a transfer material, and the transfer material is guided to a transfer section multiple times. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the transfer section of a conventional thermal printer, which transfers a predetermined image by repeating the transfer operation.
This is shown for other methods shown in . In Figure 3, 1
to thermal.

6 is a material to be transferred, 3o is a drum whose outer peripheral surface is covered with rubber or the like, and 7 is a clamper provided on the outer periphery of the drum 3o to clamp the material 6 to be transferred.

The operation of the drum system shown in FIG. 3 will be explained. A clamper 7 provided on the drum 30 clamps the transfer material 6 at the position shown in the figure, and the drum 30 rotates in the direction of the arrow in the figure due to the power of a pulse motor or the like.

When the clamper 7 passes the thermal head 1 which is pressed against the drum 3o by a spring or the like, the thermal head 1 is DVJKn from the drum 30, and after the clamper 7 passes the thermal head 1, the thermal head 1 is moved again. The head 1 is brought into pressure contact with the drum 30 and starts transferring. When the first color of the transfer material (the transfer material is not shown) has been transferred, the drum 30 is further rotated, and the transfer material 6 is guided again to the thermal head section, which is a transfer section, to transfer the second color. In this way, the drum 30 is rotated multiple times, and the transfer material 6 is guided to the transfer section multiple times to transfer a predetermined image.

- In the diagram, 1 is a thermal head, 6 is a material to be transferred, 12 is a transfer material roll in which the material to be transferred 6 is wound into a roll, and 13 is a transfer material in which the transfer material 6 is sandwiched between scissors together with a pinch roller 14. 6 indicates a capstan for feeding out, and 20 indicates a platen roll.

Next, the operation of the platen system shown in FIG. 4 will be explained. The transferred material 6 is pulled out from the transferred material roll 12,
First, it is guided between the platen roll 20 and the thermal head 1, and then it passes between the capstan 13 and the pinch roller 14 and is guided outside. When transferring the first color of the transfer material (the transfer material is not shown), the capstan 13 is driven by a pulse motor or the like, and the capstan 13 and pinch roller 14 pull out the transfer material from the transfer section. After transferring the first color, move the transfer material roll 13 in the direction that involves the transfer material 6.
Roll it up to the color transfer start position. Next, add the second color to 1
Transfer in the same way as the color and complete the transfer by repeating this operation multiple times.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

Conventional drum-type thermal printers are, for example, A.
When transferring to size 3 paper, the outer diameter of the drum should be 1
There was a problem that 80 cm was required, and the entire device became large.

In addition, in the conventional platen method, the transfer material is transferred back and forth multiple times, so in the case of roll paper, the roll itself acts as a brake, making it possible to control the skew of the transfer material to a small level. However, in the case of cut paper, there is a problem that it is difficult to control the skew of the transfer material because it only moves back and forth using rollers.

This invention has been made to eliminate the above-mentioned 111 problems, and aims to provide a thermal printer device that can be made compact and that is less likely to cause color misregistration.

[Means for solving problems]

A thermal printer according to the present invention includes a drum around which a material to be transferred can be wound one or more times, a platen, and a thermal head, and by driving the drum or platen, the material to be transferred is moved between the platen and the thermal head. It is designed to be transported multiple times.

[Effect]

The thermal printer according to the present invention uses a drum that wraps the transfer material around one rotation or more, so it can be made compact by reducing the diameter of the drum, and the drum or platen can be divided to produce images with less color shift. can be obtained.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIG. 1, 1 is a thermal head attached to a platen 20 by a cam or the like so that it can be pressed or separated, 2 is a drum around which a transfer material 6 is wound, and 3 is a platen 20.
The first pinch roller pressed to 0, 4 is the platen 20
5 is an ink donor film; 7 is a clamper provided on the outer peripheral surface of the drum 2 for clamping the transferred material 6;
2 is a roller that guides the ink donor film 5, 21 is a supply side ink donor roll, and 22 is a winding side ink donor roll.

The second operation of the thermal printer configured as above is explained below.
This will be explained using figures. In Fig. 2, figure a is the transferred material 6.
The transfer material 6 is inserted in the direction of arrow R while rotating the platen 20 with the thermal head 1 and the second pinch roller 4 separated from the platen 20. After the leading edge of the transferred material 6 passes the pinch roller 4, the pinch roller 4 is pressed against the platen 20 as shown in figure b, and in this state, the platen 20 is rotated in the direction of arrow Q, and the leading edge of the transferred material 6 is When it reaches the clamper 7 of the drum 2, the rotation of the platen 20 is stopped and the clamper 7 is closed. Next, as shown in Figure 0, move the pinch roller 4 again to the platen 2.
0, rotate the drum 2 in the direction of arrow T, and wrap the transfer material 6 around the outer periphery of the drum 2.

After the transfer material 6 is wound up on the drum 2, as shown in Figure d, the thermal head 1 and the pinch roller 4 are brought into pressure contact with the platen 20, and the platen 20 is driven in the P direction to start transfer. At this time, the drum 2 rotates in the direction of arrow S, but a brake is applied to the drum 2 to prevent the transfer material 6 from skewing and wrinkling. After completing one color transfer, 0
As shown in the figure, the thermal head 1 and the pinch roller 4 are separated from the platen 20, and the drum 2 is rotated again in the direction of arrow T to wrap the transfer material 6 around the outer periphery of the drum 2, as shown in figure f. After winding is completed, as shown in Fig. g, the thermal head 1 and the pinch roller 4 are brought into pressure contact with the platen 20 to transfer the second color. In this way, the transfer is completed by repeating the steps shown in Figures 0 to g a plurality of times.

On the upper side, the transfer material 6 is conveyed, and the platen 20 is used during transfer.
The rewinding is performed by driving the drum 2, but this can also be reversed. That is, the transfer may be performed by driving the drum 2, and the rewinding may be performed by driving the platen 20. In this case, there is no need to apply a brake to the drum 2.

Although the above embodiment describes a multicolor transfer thermal printer, it is of course applicable to other printers as well.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the present invention, the diameter of the drum is reduced so that the material to be transferred can be wrapped around the outer periphery of the drum for one or more rotations, thereby making the apparatus compact, and also enables high-quality transfer with less color shift. There are benefits to be gained.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing one embodiment of this invention in the form of a route map;
FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of its operation, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are side views showing a conventional thermal printer in a route map. In the figure, 1 is a thermal head S2, a drum 13, 4 is a pinch roller, 5 is an ink donor film, 6 is a transfer material,
7 is a clamper, and 20 is a platen. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or corresponding parts.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An image is formed by transferring an ink donor to a transfer material, and the transfer material is guided to a transfer section multiple times by reciprocating, and the transfer operation is repeated to form a predetermined image. Thermal printer includes a drum having a clamper on the outer periphery for clamping the tip of the transfer material and around which the transfer material can be wrapped one turn or more, a platen, and a thermal head, and the transfer material is wound around the drum. is conveyed between the platen and the thermal head. (2) The thermal printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the platen is driven to convey the transferred material during transfer to the transferred material. (3) The thermal printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the drum is driven to convey the transferred material during transfer to the transferred material.