JPH0214156A - Thermal transfer recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] Regarding a thermal transfer recording device that performs thermal transfer recording on plain paper using a thermal transfer film, the purpose of this invention is to easily perform thermal recording using thermal paper without removing the thermal transfer film. A head movement mechanism is provided to switch and move the head between a plain paper recording position using a thermal transfer film and a thermal paper recording position not using a thermal transfer film, and the head can be moved to the corresponding recording position by setting the plain paper recording mode and the thermal paper recording mode. The apparatus is configured to perform thermal transfer recording or thermal recording by controlling the movement of the thermal head.

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device that performs thermal transfer recording on plain paper using a thermal transfer film.

Facsimile machines, word processors, and the like use thermal transfer printers that record on plain paper using a thermal transfer film. In such a thermal transfer printer, thermal recording is possible by removing the thermal transfer film and using thermal paper, and it is desirable to be able to switch between thermal transfer recording and thermal recording with a simple operation. .

[Prior Art] Figure 7 shows a thermal transfer recording mechanism of a conventional device.
The thermal head (thermal head) 10 is moved from the initial position 10- to the plain paper 22 fed by the roller 20 in the direction of the arrow, and the thermal transfer film 12 placed between the thermal head 10 and the plain paper 20 is used. Thermal transfer recording is performed on plain paper 20 by driving the thermal head 10.

On the other hand, if the thermal transfer film runs out while using the thermal transfer printer, or if you want to reduce the running cost of the thermal transfer film, recording can be done using thermal paper without using the thermal transfer film.

For recording using thermal paper in this way, the thermal transfer film attached between the thermal head 10 and the recording paper shown in FIG. 7 is removed, and the thermal head 10 is directly attached to the thermal paper 24 as shown in FIG. It records heat sensitivity by applying it.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, when performing thermal recording using thermal paper without using a thermal transfer film in such a conventional thermal transfer recording device, the thermal transfer film must be removed manually. However, if one forgets to remove the thermal transfer film, there is a problem that the thermal transfer film is wasted and the printed characters recorded on the thermal paper become blurred.

The present invention has been made in view of such conventional problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer recording device that can easily perform thermal recording using thermal paper without removing the thermal transfer film.

[Means to solve the problem] FIG. 1 is a diagram explaining the principle of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, the present invention uses a thermal transfer recording device that performs thermal transfer recording on plain paper using a thermal transfer film 12 with a thermal head 10 as a counterweight, and the thermal head is connected to a thermal transfer film 12.
Plain paper recording position 10a and thermal transfer film 12 using
The head moving mechanism 14 switches and moves the thermal paper recording position 10b, which is not used, and controls the movement of the thermal head 10 to the plain paper recording position 10a in the setting of the plain paper recording mode. Heat-sensitive transfer record of 1o! head position U control unit 16 that controls movement to 10b;
In addition, recording paper with an identification mark to identify whether it is plain paper or thermal paper is used, and the paper identification section 1 is identified from the identification mark on the recording paper.
8 to identify whether it is plain paper or thermal paper, and automatically set the mode of the head position control section 16.

[Function] In the thermal transfer recording device of the present invention having such a configuration, even when the thermal transfer film is set,
By setting the plain paper recording mode or the thermal paper recording mode, the head movement to the corresponding recording position is controlled, and it is possible to perform thermal transfer recording on plain paper or thermal recording on thermal paper.

This eliminates the need to remove the thermal transfer film when recording on thermal paper, and there is no need to waste the thermal transfer film or reduce print quality due to uneven printed characters. It is possible to easily use the heat-sensitive recording method according to the need.

Furthermore, by attaching an identification mark to the recording paper to indicate whether it is plain paper or thermal paper, it is possible to automatically classify plain paper as thermal transfer recording and thermal paper as thermal recording, making handling extremely convenient. be.

[Embodiment] FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 26 denotes a main control section, which controls the entire apparatus including recording control of recording data received via the input interface section 28. For this purpose, a motor control section 30 and a recording section 32 are provided for the main control section 26, and the motor control section 30 drives a motor 34 to send the recording paper to the recording position, and the recording section 32 drives the thermal head 10. to perform the recording operation.

Such a configuration is the same as the conventional device, but in addition to this, the present invention has a thermal head position control section 16a.
, an actuator 36-1.36- that controls the movement of the thermal head 10 by the thermal head position control section 16a.
2 and a mark identification section 18affi for identifying whether the recording paper is plain paper or thermal paper based on the identification mark on the recording paper.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the head moving mechanism 14 used in the present invention, which includes actuators 36-1 and 36-2 whose movement is controlled by the thermal head position control section 16a of FIG. 2.

In FIG. 3, the thermal head 10 has one end connected to the recording paper 3.
The shaft 40 can be moved in the axial direction by an actuator 36-1, and the movement of the shaft 40 moves the thermal head 10 in the feeding direction of the recording paper 38. Allows for parallel movement. In addition, the actuator 36
-1, the tip of the shaft 42 is fixed in a direction substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction of the recording paper 38, and the shaft 42 is moved in the axial direction by the actuator 36-2. Thermal head 1 via actuator 36-L shaft 40
0 can be moved in a direction perpendicular to the feeding direction of the recording paper 38.

Of course, the thermal transfer film 12 is set between the thermal head 10 placed at the initial position and the recording paper 38, and the recording paper 38 is transferred to the thermal head by driving the roller 20 by the motor 34 shown in FIG. 10 to the recording position.

Referring again to FIG. 2, in order to enable the mark identification section 18a to identify whether it is plain paper or thermal paper, an identification mark is placed, for example, on the back or side of either plain paper or thermal paper used as recording paper. Or add a notch.

Next, the recording operation according to the embodiment shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 will be explained with reference to the operation flowchart shown in FIG.

First, when plain paper is used as the recording paper, the mark identification unit 18a provided on the feeding side of the recording paper 38 to the thermal head 10 in FIG. 3 identifies it as plain paper in step S1. Step S if
Proceeding to step 2, the thermal head position control section 16a moves the thermal head 10 by operating only the actuator 36-2 shown in FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 5, the shaft 42 is pushed out toward the plain paper 22 by the operation of the actuator 36-2.
The thermal head 10 is moved via the actuator 36-1 and the shaft 40 from the initial position 10- to the plain paper recording position where the thermal transfer film 12 is sandwiched between the positions indicated by the arrows.

Referring again to FIG. 4, when the movement of the thermal head 10 by the operation of only the actuator 36-2 is completed in step S2, one page is recorded under the conditions for plain paper in the next step S3. When the recording is completed, the process advances to step S4 and the thermal head 10 is returned to the initial position 10- again.

On the other hand, when thermal paper is used as the recording paper, the mark identification section 18a identifies it as thermal paper in step S1, and the process proceeds to step S5, where the actuator 36
-1.2 is operated to move the thermal head 10.

That is, as shown in FIG. 6, at the same time as the actuator 36-1 moves the shaft 42 toward the thermal paper 24 side, the shaft 40 is pulled in by the actuator 36-1 and moved in the recording paper feeding direction to the initial position 10''. The thermal head 10 is attached to the thermal transfer film 12 as shown in the figure.
Move the thermal paper to the recording position before it comes off.

Referring again to FIG. 4, when the movement of the thermal head 10 to the thermal paper recording position by the actuator 36-1.2 is completed in step S5, one page is recorded under the thermal paper conditions in the next step S6. After the recording is completed, the process advances to step S4 and the thermal head 10 is returned to the original initial position 10 again.

In the above embodiment, by providing an identification mark on either plain paper or thermal paper, the mark identification section 1
Although the plain paper recording mode and the thermal paper recording mode are automatically set based on the identification result in step 8a, the plain paper recording mode and the thermal paper recording mode may also be set manually by an operator.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, according to the present invention, the head movement can be controlled to the corresponding recording position by setting the plain paper recording mode or the thermal paper recording mode without removing the thermal transfer film. Thermal transfer recording on plain paper or thermal recording on thermal paper can be performed, eliminating the need to remove the thermal transfer film when recording on thermal paper, and eliminating wasted thermal transfer film and blurred printed characters due to forgetting to remove the thermal transfer film. There are no problems such as deterioration in print quality, and thermal transfer recording using plain paper and thermal recording using thermal paper can be easily used as necessary.

Furthermore, by attaching an identification mark to the recording paper to indicate whether it is plain paper or thermal paper, thermal transfer recording will be automatically performed for plain paper,
Furthermore, thermal paper can be used for thermal recording and is extremely convenient to handle.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram of the principle of the present invention; Fig. 2 is a configuration diagram of an embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the head moving mechanism of the present invention; Fig. 4 is an operational flow diagram of the present invention: Fig. 5 6 is an explanatory diagram of recording operation on plain paper according to the present invention; FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram of recording operation on thermal paper according to the present invention; FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of conventional plain paper recording; FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of conventional thermal paper recording. It is. In the figure, 10: Thermal head (thermal head) 12: Thermal transfer film 14: Head moving mechanism 16: Head position control section 16a: Thermal head position control section 18: Paper identification section 188: Mark identification section 20: Loaf 22: Plain paper 24: Thermal paper 26: Main control section 28 Two-person interface section 30: Motor control section 32: Recording section 34: Motor 36-1.36-2: Actuator 38: Recording paper 40° 42: Shaft winding date/month/ 17 脣, 4g, day and moon chart 1st figure Thermal hept 1 tadashi head me foot brother ii' prayer precepts 2nd figure ≧ t・hakkutsu month/l 橿1kui i tofuro -Ea 4th figure Shinshiji, WN /1 Genkai 1471. Wf4
q4. %KamimemiOtsuiemai←I; Maru-n j 5th figure 6th figure is also grass #,! ! Mr. 1st! 11-Bonju Sun Moon Chart Figure 7 Diagram A Table 5 Heat Translation Self-Trial Twenty Month Diagram Figure 8

Claims (1)

[Claims] (1) Thermal transfer film (12
) in a thermal transfer recording device that performs thermal transfer recording on plain paper, the thermal head (10) is connected to the thermal transfer film (12).
a head moving mechanism (14) that switches and moves between a plain paper recording position (10a) using the thermal paper recording position (10a) and a thermal paper recording position (10b) not using the thermal film (12); a head position control unit (16) for controlling the movement of the thermal head (10) to the plain paper recording position (10a) and controlling the movement of the thermal head (10) to the thermal paper recording position when a thermal paper recording mode is set; Use recording paper with an identification mark to identify whether it is paper or thermal paper, and insert the paper identification section (18
), the thermal transfer recording apparatus is characterized in that the mode setting of the head position control section (16) is automatically performed by identifying whether the paper is plain paper or thermal paper.