KR102161508B1 - Thermal sublimation printer - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to a dye sublimation type printer, and more particularly, to a dye sublimation type printer capable of various tests such as print quality or operation state even before production of a printer having a housing by mounting a cartridge on a frame body.
A dye-sublimation type printer according to the present invention comprises: a printer main body including a frame, a head for supplying heat to a recording medium, and a conveying means for transferring the recording medium; And a cartridge including a ribbon frame on which a supply reel and a winding reel are mounted, a cassette in which a recording medium is accommodated, and a locking member provided on one side wall of the ribbon frame or the cassette and coupled to the frame.

Description

Dye sublimation printer{THERMAL SUBLIMATION PRINTER}

The present invention relates to a dye sublimation type printer, and more particularly, to a dye sublimation type printer capable of various tests such as print quality or operation state even before production of a printer having a housing by mounting a cartridge on a frame body.

In recent years, with the rapid spread of smartphones, many people are taking pictures of events or everyday life.

For this reason, in recent years, portable sublimation printers that can communicate with a portable smartphone by wired/wireless communication and print photos taken with a smartphone with high quality on the fly are gradually being developed and distributed.

As is well known, a dye-sublimation printer refers to a printer in which heat is applied to a thermal transfer ribbon coated with a dye so that the dye on the ribbon is transferred and fixed to a recording medium.

The structure of a conventional dye-sublimation printer will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

In the conventional dye-sublimation printer 200, a cartridge insertion hole 211 is formed so that the cartridge 100 is inserted from the side.

The printer 200 includes a printer body 210 having a cartridge insertion hole 211 formed on a side thereof, a side cover 220, and a pressure spring 230.

The printer body 210 has an outlet 212 through which the recording medium is drawn out, a first bushing 213, a second bushing 214 and a cartridge fixing protrusion 215 that are coupled to the cartridge 100.

The cartridge fixing protrusion 215 is a wedge-shaped member protruding from the inner surface of the printer body 210 for a certain length, and is fitted with the cartridge fixing hole 116 of the cartridge 100 inserted into the cartridge insertion hole 211 In combination, the cartridge 100 is guided to be disposed at a predetermined position of the printer 200 and is fixed at the same time, and the cartridge 100 is prevented from being separated from the printer 200.

The side cover 220 is rotatably installed on the side of the printer body 210 so that the cartridge insertion hole 211 is selectively opened and closed.

The pressure spring 230 is a leaf spring installed on the lower surface of the upper housing 210a of the printer body 210, and the upper surface of the recording medium receiving unit 111 of the cartridge 100 accommodated in the printer body 210 It is in close contact and provides an elastic force for pressing the recording medium receiving portion 111.

4 and 5 show a conventional cartridge. The cartridge 100 is a cartridge body integrally formed by arranging a recording medium storage unit 111, a supply reel 120 wound up the ink ribbon, and a winding reel 130 winding the printed ink ribbon in a row. It includes a portion 110, a cartridge cover portion 140, and a pressure spring hole 150.

In addition, the cartridge 100 is provided with a cartridge fixing groove 116 that is fitted with the cartridge fixing protrusion 215 so that the cartridge 100 is fixed to a predetermined position of the printer, and inserted into the printer 200 Prevents the cartridge 100 from being separated from the printer 200.

In addition, a handle 117 for gripping the cartridge 100 is installed so that the user can grip it when removing the cartridge 100 inserted in the printer 200 so that it can be easily removed from the printer 200.

In the conventional cartridge configured as described above, since the recording medium storage unit 111 is integrally formed with the cartridge body unit 110 on which the ribbon is mounted, it is not easy to transfer and store the cartridge.

In particular, when there is a defect in either the recording medium receiving unit 111 or the portion for mounting the ribbon, there is a problem that the entire cartridge needs to be replaced.

In addition, when the ribbon supplied from the supply reel is wound on the take-up reel, the ribbon is often twisted or wrinkled during the transfer path.

In addition, a certain inspection process goes through the production process of the printer. For example, after mounting the cartridge 100 to the printer 200, an image is printed to test the operation or image quality of the printer 200. However, in the conventional printer 200, when mounting the cartridge 100 to the printer, as described above, the cartridge fixing groove 116 is fitted and fixed with the fixing protrusion 215 formed in the housing 210A of the printer. . Therefore, in order to perform the above test, since the cartridge is fixed to the housing, the test can be performed only when the printer body 210 is completely assembled to the housing 210a, and the product is completely assembled according to the test result. There is a problem that needs to be discarded.

Alternatively, when the housing is not coupled to the printer body, there is a problem in that various tests can be performed only in a state where the cartridge is inserted into the printer body and then fixed using a temporary fixing jig.

Patent Publication 10-2015-0088402 Registered Patent 10-1507064 Patent Publication 10-2015-0088402 Registered Patent 10-1486327

The present invention has been conceived to solve the above-described problems, and an object of the present invention is a dye-sublimation printer capable of various tests such as print quality and operation status even before production of a printer with a housing by mounting a cartridge on a frame body In providing.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dye-sublimation printer including a separate cartridge in which a ribbon frame and a cassette are formed separately.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a dye-sublimation printer capable of preventing wrinkles or twisting of the ribbon when the ribbon supplied from the supply reel is wound on the winding reel.

In order to solve the above technical problem, the dye-sublimation type printer according to the present invention comprises: a printer main body including a frame, a head for supplying heat to a recording medium, and a transfer means for transferring the recording medium; And a cartridge including a ribbon frame on which a supply reel and a winding reel are mounted, a cassette in which a recording medium is accommodated, and a locking member provided on one side wall of the ribbon frame or the cassette and coupled to the frame.

In addition, a coupling hole is formed through the frame, and the locking member includes a locking protrusion formed to protrude inward from one side wall of the cartridge and fastened to the coupling hole; And a first gripper protruding outward from one side wall of the cartridge and integrally formed with the locking protrusion.

In addition, it is preferable that a second gripper protruding outward from one side wall of the cartridge in parallel with the first gripper is further provided.

In addition, it is preferable that the ribbon frame and the cassette are formed separately.

In addition, guide rails formed in the transverse direction on both side walls of the ribbon frame; And a guide bar protruding in the transverse direction on both side walls of the cassette and sliding along the guide rail.

In addition, it is preferable that the guide bar has a mounting protrusion protruding outward, and the guide rail has a seating groove or a seating hole in which the mounting protrusion is seated.

In addition, it is preferable that a cutout is formed between the cassette and the guide bar so that the mounting protrusion can be elastically retracted in the direction of the cassette.

According to the present invention, by mounting the cartridge to the frame body, various tests such as print quality and operation status can be performed even before production of a finished printer with a housing.

Therefore, there is an effect of modifying the product according to the test result before production of the finished product.

In addition, it is easy to transport and store by forming a structure in which the ribbon frame and cassette are separated and combined.

In addition, when there is a defect in either the ribbon frame or the cassette, only the defective part can be replaced, thereby reducing the replacement cost and manufacturing cost.

In addition, even if the ribbon frame and the cassette are formed separately, they can be easily and firmly combined for use.

In addition, when the ribbon supplied from the supply reel is wound on the take-up reel, tension is applied to the ribbon, so that the ribbon is not wrinkled.

1 to 3 show a conventional dye sublimation printer.
4 and 5 show cartridges mounted in a conventional dye-sublimation printer.
6 and 7 show a cartridge according to the present invention.
8 and 9 show a ribbon frame and a cassette of the cartridge according to the present invention, respectively.
10 and 11 show the state of conveying the ribbon in the cartridge according to the present invention.
Figure 12 shows the ribbon frame of the cartridge according to the present invention.
13 and 14 show a dye sublimation printer according to the present invention.
15 and 16 show a structure in which the cartridge is coupled to the printer body.

Hereinafter, the structure and operation of the cartridge according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

6 and 7 are perspective views of the detachable cartridge according to the present invention, and in the embodiment (1) according to the present invention, the ribbon frame 10 and the cassette 20 are separated and configured, and used in combination.

The ribbon frame 10 and the cassette 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. The ribbon frame 10 is provided with a supply reel mounting portion 12a so that the supply reel R1 of the ribbon (see'R' in FIG. 10) can be mounted, and a winding reel mounting portion so that the winding reel R2 can be mounted. (12b) is formed.

In addition, the cassette 20 is a component in which a plurality of recording media (not shown) such as print paper are stacked in the vertical direction.

In particular, guide rails 11 are formed on both side walls of the ribbon frame 10 in the transverse direction, and guide bars 21 are protruded on both side walls of the cassette 20 in the transverse direction. A rail groove 11a is formed in the guide rail 11 so that the guide bar 21 can enter.

Therefore, the guide bar 21 enters along the guide rail 11 to couple the cassette 20 and the ribbon frame 10.

In order to mount the cassette 20 and the ribbon frame 10 more firmly, it can be seen that the guide bar 21 has two mounting projections 21b formed outwardly. Two mounting holes 11b are also formed in the guide rail 11 corresponding to the mounting protrusion 21b.

Accordingly, the user can recognize whether the mounting protrusion 21b is mounted by pushing the cassette 10 until it is seated in the mounting hole 11b and mounting it on the ribbon frame 10.

The mounting hole 11b is formed in a trapezoidal shape so that the mounting protrusion 21b is stably mounted in the mounting hole 11b.

In addition, the front end of the guide bar 21 is connected to the cassette 20 and is integrally formed, but it can be seen that a cutout 21a is formed between the rear end where the mounting protrusion 21b is formed and the cassette 20. When the cassette 20 is formed of synthetic resin or metal, when the guide bar 21 slides along the guide rail 11 and enters, when the mounting protrusion 21b meets the guide rail 11, the incision Since the part 21a is formed, the mounting protrusion 21b is elastically retracted in the direction of the cassette 20, and in this state, when the guide bar 21 enters the inside of the guide rail 11 a little more The guide bar 21, which has been elastically deformed, is restored to its original shape and the mounting protrusion 21b is seated in the mounting hole 11b.

If the incision (21a) is not formed, when the mounting protrusion (21b) enters, the pair of guide rails 11 open outward and enter. If this operation is repeated, the guide rail 11 is damaged. Can be. In the present invention, since this problem is solved, the cutout portion 21a is formed.

In addition, a locking member 22 is provided on one side wall of the cassette 20, and the locking member 22 includes a cartridge 1 in which the cassette 20 and the ribbon frame 10 are coupled to a printer body (not shown). It is a configuration to fix on.

The locking member 22 has a hook 22a extending inward from one side wall of the cassette 20, and first and second grippers 22b are provided on the outside.

In this embodiment, two mounting protrusions 21b and two seating holes 11b are formed, but according to the present invention, the number of formations of the mounting protrusions 21b and the seating holes 11b can be variously changed. In addition, the guide rail 11 may have a seating groove instead of the seating hole 11b.

10 is a side view of the ribbon frame 10 according to the present invention. As shown, the supply reel mounting portion and the winding reel mounting portion are respectively equipped with a supply reel R1 and a winding reel R2.

In addition, a ribbon cover 13 is provided at one side of the supply reel R1 mounted on the supply reel mounting portion. A thermal printing head is positioned between the supply reel (R1) and the winding reel (R2) to form an image by sublimating the dye of the ribbon (R) onto the recording medium, which is applied from the head (not shown). The resulting heat adversely affects the ribbon R wound around the supply reel R1. In other words, the ribbon cover 13 is to protect the ribbon R wound around the supply reel R1 from heat or moisture, and prevent foreign substances from adhering to the ribbon. Accordingly, although the circumferential surface of the supply reel R1 may be entirely wrapped, in this embodiment, the ribbon cover 13 is formed only on one side facing the winding reel R1. Contamination of the ribbon is mainly done in the vicinity of the head, and is to reduce the overall weight of the cartridge. Therefore, the ribbon cover 13 is made of a constant curved surface so as to be in close contact with the supply reel R1, but the lower end 13a is bent so that the ribbon R supplied from the winding reel R1 is supplied to the lower side of the head. In particular, the bent part is processed with'R' to transfer the ribbon without friction.

The ribbon R that has passed through the lower end 13a of the ribbon cover 13 is used as the dye sublimates into a recording medium while passing through the head.

Through this process, the dye-sublimated ribbon (substrate) is wound by the winding reel R1 through the idle roller 14 and the bracket 15 under the head.

The idle roller 14 is provided below the front side of the winding reel R1 to provide a conveying path for horizontally conveying the ribbon R conveyed through the lower portion of the ribbon cover 13.

The ribbon R passing through the idle roller 13 is transferred to a position higher than the upper end of the winding reel R1 by the bracket 15 again. That is, the upper end 15b of the bracket 15 is located at a position higher than the center of the winding reel.

The bracket 15 is formed to obliquely downward in the direction of the idle roller 14 from the upper end 15b formed at a position higher than the upper end of the winding reel R1. In addition, a bent portion 15c extending downward from the upper end 15b of the bracket toward the winding reel is formed to extend.

On the other hand, since the ribbon R is in the form of a thin film, wrinkles or twists are often formed during transport. In particular, when the dye is sublimated, wrinkles or twists more frequently occur. In this way, if the ribbon R is wrinkled or twisted, it cannot be constantly wound on the take-up reel R2, and it cannot be transferred parallel to the recording medium under the head, but is transferred in a warped state to improve the quality of the image. It causes serious deterioration.

In the present invention, in order to prevent the ribbon from being wrinkled or twisted, protrusions 15a are formed on the bracket 15 to protrude the center of the ribbon R forward from both ends. 11 is a plan cross-sectional view showing the shape of the ribbon R at the position where the protrusion 15a is formed. As shown, in the ribbon R, it can be seen that the center R0 in the width direction protrudes forward by the protrusion 15a, and a curve is formed rearward toward both ends.

In this way, the center of the ribbon R0 is protruded forward to give the ribbon R an artificial tension in the width direction, so that wrinkles or twists do not occur during transfer of the ribbon.

In the present embodiment, the protrusion 15a is formed only on the bracket 15, but unlike this, it may be formed on the upper surface of the bent portion 15c. In this case, the center of the ribbon R protrudes upward in the width direction, and downward curves are formed at both ends of the ribbon R, so that wrinkles or twists are prevented for the same reason and may be wound on a reel.

Referring back to FIG. 10, in addition, the upper part of both ends of the bent part 15c prevents the ribbon from being lifted, and the anti-lift plate for guiding that the ribbon is wound in parallel with the take-up reel R2 (see '16' in FIG. 12). ) Is formed. When both ends of the ribbon are lifted, wrinkles or twists occur to prevent this.

In addition, it can be seen that the bent portion 15c is formed to be inclined downward toward the rear side, and the upper end of the bracket 15 protrudes from the front end of the bent portion 15c. This is for conveying the ribbon R while contacting only the upper end of the bracket and the rear end (end, 15d) of the bent portion. That is, the ribbon does not contact the bent portion 15c during transfer. The upper end 15b of the bracket is also processed with'R' to reduce the frictional force when transferring the ribbon.

Referring to FIG. 12, the idle roller 14 is detachably provided on the ribbon frame 10.

Since the idle roller 14 is detachably provided, it becomes very easy to mount the supply reel and the take-up reel.

Specifically, a supply reel with a ribbon wound is mounted on the supply reel mounting unit, and the tip of the ribbon passes through the lower end of the ribbon cover, and the upper end of the bracket is attached to the winding reel.

In this state, since the shaft of the idle roller 14 is mounted in the shaft hole 14b, mounting of the ribbon becomes very easy. If the idle roller cannot be separated from the ribbon frame, it is troublesome to insert and install the tip of the ribbon into a fine gap under the idle roller.

A dye sublimation printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. 13. As shown, the printer according to the present invention includes a cartridge 1 including a ribbon frame 10 on which a supply reel and a winding reel are mounted, and a cassette 20 in which a recording medium is accommodated, and the cartridge 1 is side Includes a printer body 30 in which the cartridge insertion hole 33 is inserted in the formed.

In the present embodiment, the cartridge 1 is the same as the cartridge shown in FIG. 6 in which the ribbon frame 10 and the cassette 20 are separately formed and then used in combination, so a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The printer main body 30 includes a frame 31, a head 32 for supplying heat to a recording medium, and a conveying means for transferring the recording medium.

Referring to FIG. 15, it can be seen that the frame 31 has a coupling hole 31a penetrating through one side wall.

In addition, a locking member 22 is provided on one side wall of the cartridge 1.

The locking member 22 is provided with a locking protrusion 22a protruding inward from one side wall of the cartridge 1.

The locking protrusion 22a is inserted into the coupling hole 31a formed in the frame 31 to fix the cartridge 1 to the printer main body 30, more specifically the frame 31. The end of the locking protrusion 22a is formed to be inclined so as to enter along the wall of the coupling hole 31, and a locking protrusion is formed so as not to be separated after insertion.

In addition, the locking member 22 is further provided with a first gripper 22b protruding outward from one side wall of the cartridge 1 and integrally formed with the locking protrusion 22a. The first gripper 22b is a configuration for a user to hold the cartridge 1 by hand when mounting the cartridge 1 on the printer main body 30.

In addition, the locking member 22 further includes a second gripper 22c protruding outward from one side wall of the cartridge 1 in parallel with the first gripper 22b.

The second gripper 22c is also a component for gripping the cartridge 1.

Referring to FIG. 16, the cartridge 1 may be inserted into the printer main body 30 by gripping the first gripper 22b and the second gripper 22c (see FIG. 16A).

In addition, when the user grabs the first gripper 22b and the second gripper 22c and applies pressure so that the outer ends approach each other, the locking protrusion 22a swings as a reaction to the engaging hole 31a. It deviates from (see Fig. 16(b)).

In this state, the cartridge 1 can be removed from the frame 30 by holding and pulling the first gripper 22b and the second gripper 22c.

In addition, when a large force repeatedly acts on the first gripper 22b, the first gripper 22b may be damaged. To prevent this, a protrusion 22b' protruding in the direction of the second gripper 22c is formed at an end of the first gripper 22b. The size of the protrusion 22b' is formed in consideration of a range in which the locking protrusion 22a can be separated from the coupling hole 31a. Therefore, even if a user applies a large pressure to the first gripper 22b, the protrusion 22b' contacts the second gripper 22c and thus does not swing any more.

As described above, in the present invention, the cartridge 1 can be mounted and fixed to the printer body 30 even before manufacturing a finished product by combining the housing (refer to 210A of FIG. 1) to the printer body 30. Therefore, it is possible to test the print quality, the operation state of each component, and the like while the cartridge 1 is mounted and fixed to the printer main body 30.

1: Example
10: ribbon frame
11: guide rail
12a: Supply reel mounting part
12b: reel mounting portion
13: Ribbon cover
14: idle roller
15: bracket
16: anti-lift plate
20: cassette
21: guide bar
22: locking member

Claims (7)

A printer main body including a frame, a head for supplying heat to the recording medium, and transfer means for transferring the recording medium; And
Includes; a cartridge including a ribbon frame on which a supply reel and a winding reel are mounted, a cassette in which a recording medium is accommodated, and a locking member provided on one side wall of the ribbon frame or the cassette and coupled to the frame,
A coupling hole is formed through the frame,
The locking member,
A locking protrusion protruding inward from one side wall of the cartridge and fastened to the coupling hole; And
And a first gripper protruding outward from one side wall of the cartridge and integrally formed with the locking protrusion.

delete The method of claim 1,
A dye sublimation printer, characterized in that further comprising a second gripper protruding outward from one side wall of the cartridge in parallel with the first gripper.
The method of claim 1,
Dye sublimation printer, characterized in that the ribbon frame and the cassette are formed separately.
The method of claim 4,
Guide rails formed in a transverse direction on both side walls of the ribbon frame; And
And a guide bar protruding in the transverse direction on both side walls of the cassette and slid along the guide rail.
The method of claim 5,
The guide bar has a mounting protrusion protruding outward,
Dye-sublimation printer, characterized in that the guide rail is formed with a seating groove or a seating hole in which the mounting protrusion is seated.
The method of claim 6,
Dye-sublimation printer, characterized in that a cutout is formed between the cassette and the guide bar so that the mounting protrusion can be retracted elastically in the direction of the cassette.

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