KR20240038486A - A printing device that can check the printing operation without exposing the printing paper to the outside - Google Patents

Abstract

This technology applies colors to the printing paper one by one when performing color printing, preventing the printing paper from being exposed to the outside of the printing device during the process of transferring the printed matter, and at the same time, it relates to a printing device that allows the printing process to be identified from the outside of the housing. More specifically, in a printing device that transfers the ink applied to the ink ribbon to the printing paper from which the ink ribbon is unwound by applying heat to the ink ribbon unwound by a thermal transfer head, the printing device is installed on the upper part of the printing paper. It includes a guide member through which the printing paper onto which the printed matter is transferred enters and exits, and a transparent cover provided so that the inside of the guide member can be viewed and identified from the outside of the printing device, wherein the printing paper entering and exiting the guide member is transmitted to the control unit. It is characterized in that it enters the guide member or is discharged from the outlet of the printing device according to the rotation direction of the diverter controlled by.

Description

A printing device that can check the printing operation without exposing the printing paper to the outside}

This technology applies colors to the printing paper one by one when performing color printing, preventing the printing paper from being exposed to the outside of the printing device during the process of transferring the printed matter, and at the same time, it relates to a printing device that allows the printing process to be identified from the outside of the housing. will be.

Recently, with the development of digital technology, thermal transfer printing devices that instantly print photos taken at a terminal or provide various printed materials as part of a terminal application service are becoming popular.

The thermal transfer printing device uses a thermal transfer head (TPH: Thermal Print Head) to heat the ink ribbon and transfer the dye or pigment applied to the ink ribbon to the printing paper supplied within the device. do.

There are two ways in which printing paper is supplied: one is supplied as a single sheet, and the other is supplied by transporting a certain length while wound in a roll type. Roll-type printing paper is usually mounted in a cartridge and installed in a thermal transfer printing device.

After the roll-type printing paper is supplied as the cartridge is inserted and mounted in the printing device, the printing process is executed, and the printed printing paper is cut by a cutter and then provided to the user through an outlet.

Meanwhile, in the case of color printing using the conventional printing device described above, rather than printing various colors at once, one color is applied and printed through the process of printing paper entering and leaving the printing device. In this process, external contaminants are deposited on the surface of the printing paper before printing is completed, which causes the problem of deteriorating the quality of the printed material.

Domestic registered patent No. 10-0505294 (announcement date: 2005.10.12.)

In order to solve the above-described conventional problems, the present invention provides a printing device that can print without exposing the printing paper to the outside of the printing device to prevent contamination when performing color printing in which various colors are sequentially applied. The purpose is to improve the quality of printed materials.

In order to solve the above-described technical problem, a printing device having a function of preventing exposure to external contaminants when printing photos according to the present invention applies heat to the ink ribbon (IR) unwound from the thermal transfer head 14 to heat the ink ribbon (IR). ) In the printing device that transfers the printed matter to the printing paper (PA) from which the ink applied is ejected, the printing device is provided on the printing paper (PA), and the printing paper (PA) on which the printed matter is transferred goes in and out. It includes a guide member 20 and a transparent cover 40 provided so that the inside of the guide member 20 can be viewed and identified from the outside of the printing device, and the printing paper entering and exiting the guide member 20 ( PA) is characterized in that it enters the guide member 20 or is discharged from the outlet (EXIT) of the printing device according to the rotation direction of the diverter 16 controlled by the control unit.

In addition, the guide member 20 is formed in the shape of a plate, and has at least one guide roller 25 on its outer surface so that it can rotate in contact with the printing paper (PA), and a guide patch top 21 and the guide. It is preferable to include a cover top 23 disposed adjacent to the upper side of the patch top 21.

In addition, the printing device includes a rotatable roller member (11) that provides power to press the outer surface of the printing paper (PA) and move it toward the guide member (20) or the exit (EXIT) by rotation. , the roller member 11 preferably includes a pressure roller 11b that contacts the upper surface of the printing paper (PA) and a grip roller 11a that contacts the lower surface of the printing paper (PA).

In addition, it is preferable that the sight cover 40 is coupled to the upper part of the housing so that it can be opened, closed, or detached by rotation to enable maintenance of the guide member 20.

According to the present invention, unlike the conventional method, when printing color prints in which various colors are sequentially transferred to the surface of the printing paper, the printing paper is moved according to the rotation direction of the diverter by a guide member provided inside the printing device, not outside the printing device. The quality of printed matter can be improved by preventing external contaminants from being deposited on the surface of the printing paper by entering into the housing, and the user can easily identify this series of processes with the naked eye from outside the housing.

Figure 1 is a diagram showing the movement path of printing paper entering the paper evacuation path for a printing device that can confirm the printing operation without external exposure of the printing paper according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a diagram showing the movement path of printing paper entering the paper discharge path of a printing device that can confirm the printing operation without external exposure of the printing paper according to the present invention.
Figure 3 is a view showing a guide member for a printing device that can check the printing operation without external exposure of the printing paper according to the present invention.
Figure 4 is a view showing a transparent cover provided in a housing for a printing device that can check the printing operation without external exposure of the printing paper according to the present invention.

Hereinafter, various embodiments will be described in more detail with reference to the attached drawings. The embodiments described herein may be modified in various ways. Specific embodiments may be depicted in the drawings and described in detail in the detailed description. However, the specific embodiments disclosed in the attached drawings are only intended to facilitate understanding of the various embodiments. Therefore, the technical idea is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed in the attached drawings, and it should be understood that all equivalents or substitutes included in the spirit and technical scope of the invention are included.

Terms containing ordinal numbers, such as first, second, etc., may be used to describe various components, but these components are not limited by the above-mentioned terms. The above-mentioned terms are used only for the purpose of distinguishing one component from another.

In this specification, terms such as “comprise” or “have” are intended to indicate the presence of features, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof described in the specification, but are not intended to indicate the presence of one or more other features. It should be understood that this does not exclude in advance the possibility of the existence or addition of elements, numbers, steps, operations, components, parts, or combinations thereof. When a component is said to be "connected" or "connected" to another component, it is understood that it may be directly connected to or connected to the other component, but that other components may exist in between. It should be. On the other hand, when it is mentioned that a component is “directly connected” or “directly connected” to another component, it should be understood that there are no other components in between.

In addition, when describing the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of a related known function or configuration may unnecessarily obscure the gist of the present invention, the detailed description thereof is abbreviated or omitted.

Hereinafter, with reference to the attached drawings, the printing device according to the present invention (hereinafter simply referred to as 'printing device') that can confirm the printing operation without external exposure of the printing paper will be described in detail.

First, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the printing device 1 according to the present invention applies heat to the ink ribbon (IR) with a thermal transfer head (Thermal Print Head, 14) to ink the ink ribbon (IR). Printing is performed by transferring the applied ink, such as dye or pigment, to printing paper (PA) using heat.

Inside the printing device (1), the printing process is carried out by being driven by an engine for the printing device consisting of a motor and a gear device for printing, and the consumables, such as printing paper (PA) and ink ribbon (IR), are each cartridge (cartridge: 11) and is installed in the housing (printer body) in a wound state.

The printing process is largely carried out in a normal printing sequence, including the step of transferring the printing paper along with the ink ribbon to the thermal transfer head 14 for printing, and the step of withdrawing the printed printing paper out of the printer body after decaling, In order to clearly understand the gist of the present invention, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Meanwhile, in the present invention, a paper evacuation path (P-RE) refers to a branch point formed inside the printing device 1, that is, a movement path individually formed inside the printing device 1 to distinguish the printing path and the discharge path. A diverter 16 may be provided at the border of the paper discharge path P-EX and rotates under the control of the control unit 30 to determine the entry direction of the printing paper PA onto which the printed matter has been transferred.

In detail, as shown, the unwinding printing paper (PA) is supplied in the direction of the thermal transfer head 14 along with the ink ribbon (IR) wound in the form of a roll on the supply roll 12, thereby enabling the transfer of printed matter by heat. It is supplied in the direction of the diverter 16 to achieve this, and the heat transfer head has a structure in which the ink ribbon is pressed by the platen roller 15.

Here, the power required to move the transferred printing paper (PA) is a pressure roller (11b) rotatably facing the upper surface of the printing paper (PA) and the pressing roller (11b) opposing each other and the printing paper (PA) The printing paper PA is supplied in the direction of the diverter 16 through the rotation of the grip roller 11a that rotatably faces the lower surface.

In this process, as shown in FIG. 1, if the control unit determines that printing has not been completed on the printing paper (PA), the printing paper (PA) moving through the rotation of the diverter 16 moves to the paper evacuation path. It is possible to enter the guide member 20 through (P-RE), and when printing is completed, as shown in FIG. 2, the rotation direction of the diverter 16 is controlled in reverse to control the printing paper. (PA) is discharged through the paper discharge path (P-EX) to the outlet (EXIT) formed in the printing device (1).

At this time, it is preferable that the used ink ribbon (IR) is wound on a cartridge-shaped winding roll 13 and separated for disposal.

The printing device 1 in the present invention uses the thermal transfer head 14 to reciprocate the printing paper (PA) so that multiple colors (for example, C, M, Y, and K in total) can be applied to the printed matter. In the process of moving, before printing is completed through the rotation of the diverter 16, the printing paper (PA) is guided to enter the inside of the guide member 20 through the paper evacuation path (P-RE) to the outside. It is controlled to prevent contaminants from getting on the printing paper (PA), and when printing is completed, the diverter 16 is rotated in the reverse direction, that is, the printing paper (PA) is moved to the paper discharge path (P-EX). By controlling entry, the inflow of contaminants during the printing process is blocked.

For this purpose, the guide member 20 in the present invention is composed of a guide patch top 21 and a cover top 23, as shown in FIG. 3, and preferably the guide patch top 21 At least one guide roller 25 is rotatably provided on the outer surface so that the printing paper (PA) entering the guide member 20 enters stably and at the same time minimizes the contact area to prevent ink from spreading. Let it be done.

That is, when the printing paper (PA) on which printing is being transferred enters through the paper evacuation path (P-RE), the end of the printing paper (PA) is preferentially passed through the guide roller 25 provided on the lower side of the guide patch top 21. The printing paper (PA) moves reciprocally by penetrating the opening 27 and entering through the space between the upper surface of the guide patch top 21 and the lower surface of the cover top 23, without exposing its surface to the outside. This is to allow colors to be printed sequentially.

At this time, it is desirable to have a curved portion formed on the inner surface of the guide member 20 forming the opening 27 so that the printing paper PA stably flows into the space along the curved portion.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the upper part of the housing where the above-described guide member 20 is installed may be further provided with a transparent cover 40 molded from a synthetic resin material such as transparent plastic, and the transparent cover ( Although not shown, 40) may be rotatably coupled or detachably coupled to the housing to enable maintenance of the guide member 20 exposed to the outside through separation of the transparent cover.

As described above, the printing device 1 according to the present invention is different from the conventional one in that it prints color prints in which various colors are sequentially transferred to the surface of the printing paper (PA) according to the rotation direction of the diverter 16. The printing paper (PA) enters the guide member 20 provided inside, not outside, the printing device 1 to prevent external contaminants from being deposited on the surface of the printing paper (PA), thus improving the quality of the printed matter. It can be improved, and the user can easily identify this series of processes with the naked eye from outside the housing.

As described above, the present invention has been described with specific details such as specific components and limited embodiments and drawings, but this is only provided to facilitate a more general understanding of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. , those skilled in the art can make various modifications and variations from this description.

Therefore, the spirit of the present invention should not be limited to the described embodiments, and the scope of the patent claims described later as well as all things that are equivalent or equivalent to the scope of this patent claim shall fall within the scope of the spirit of the present invention. .

1: Printing device that can check the printing operation without external exposure of the printing paper according to the present invention
11: Roller member
14: Thermal transfer head
16: Diverter
20: Guide roller
21: Guide patch top
23: Cover top
25: Guide roller
30: control unit
40: Perspective cover

Claims (3)

In a printing device that applies heat to an ink ribbon (IR) unwound by a thermal transfer head (14) and transfers the ink applied to the ink ribbon (IR) to printing paper (PA) from which the print is unwound,
The printing device is
A guide member 20 provided on an upper portion of the printing paper (PA) through which the printing paper (PA) with printed matter transferred thereto enters and exits; and
A transparent cover 40 provided so that the inside of the guide member 20 can be viewed and identified from the outside of the printing device,
The printing paper (PA) entering and exiting the guide member 20 enters the guide member 20 or is discharged through the outlet (EXIT) of the printing device according to the rotation direction of the diverter 16 controlled by the control unit. A printing device capable of checking the printing operation without external exposure of the printing paper, characterized in that:
According to paragraph 1,
The guide member 20 is
A guide patch top (21) that has the shape of a plate and has at least one guide roller (25) on its outer surface so that it can rotate in contact with the printing paper (PA); and
A printing device capable of checking the printing operation without exposing the printing paper to the outside, comprising a cover top (23) disposed adjacent to the upper side of the guide patch top (21).
According to paragraph 1,
The transparent cover 40 is
A printing device capable of checking the printing operation without exposing the printing paper to the outside, characterized in that it is coupled to the upper part of the housing so that it can be opened, closed, or detached by rotation, thereby enabling maintenance of the guide member (20).