JPH0357668A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the wasteful consumption of a transfer ink film by providing a draw-back device which draws back a transfer ink film and a storage device which stores a distance in which the transfer ink film is transported, and further adding a preset distance to the distance stored in the storage device and performing the draw-back control of the transfer film by the total distance value. CONSTITUTION:A paper feed motor 11 is a motor which can rotate a platen roller 6 forward and backward, and draws back a transfer ink film 3 by rotating the platen roller 7 backward. A counter 21 stores a distance where the transfer ink film is transported from a time when a thermal head ends its record output until a time when recording paper is peeled off. An estimated length e of the ink film 3 transported while recording paper 1 is supplied from a paper feed cassette 1A to an area between the thermal head 6 and platen roller 7 by a paper feed roller 2, is stored in memory 22 in advance. After the suspension of the platen roller 7, a control circuit 20 draws out a count value from the counter 21 and at the same time, draws out a pulse count prestored in memory 22, and then adds both together. The circuit 20 rotates a paper folding motor 11 backward by the total pulse count obtained by the addition, then draws back the transfer ink film 3 and winds it back onto a feed roll 4.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a thermal transfer printer that uses recording paper cut to a fixed size in advance as recording paper.

Conventional technology Conventionally, a recording paper is layered on a transfer ink film made by applying or impregnating an ink that melts or sublimates with heat onto the film, and this is conveyed while being pressed against a thermal head by a platen roller, and heated by the thermal head. Accordingly, thermal transfer printers configured to transfer ink on a transfer ink film to recording paper are widely used. The recording paper used here is usually rolled and long (for example,
(Refer to Utility Model Application Publication No. 156746/1983).

2. Description of the Related Art Recently, it has been proposed to use recording paper pre-cut to a fixed size instead of conventional roll paper for a thermal transfer printer equipped with a thermal head and a platen roller. As shown in FIG. 4, this type of device includes a paper feed roller 2 that feeds recording paper 1 cut to a fixed size one by one to a recording position, and an ink that melts or sublimates with heat onto the film. A supply roll 4 that feeds out the coated or impregnated transfer ink film 3, a take-up roll 5 that winds up the used transfer ink film 3, a thermal head 6 that performs one-dimensional linear recording, the transfer ink film 3 and the recording paper 1. a platen roller 7 that overlaps and presses and conveys the recording paper l to the thermal head 6; a peeling bar 8 that peels off the recording paper l and the transfer ink film 3 that are in close contact with each other; and a discharge port that discharges the peeled recording paper l. It has La 9 grade. To perform transfer recording in this thermal transfer printer, a recording paper l is fed between a thermal head 6 and a platen roller 7 by a paper feed roll 2, and a transfer ink film 3 is transferred by the platen roller 7 and thermal head 6. At the same time, the ink on the transfer ink film 3 melts or sublimates due to the heat generated by the thermal head 6 and is transferred onto the recording paper 1. Thereafter, the recorded recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3 are conveyed by the platen roller 7 and peeled off by the peeling bar 8, the transfer ink film 3 is wound up by the winding roll 5, and the recording paper 1 is transferred from the discharge port to the roller 9. is discharged from the device.

Thereafter, recording of the second and subsequent sheets is performed in the same manner.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention However, with this configuration, there is a problem that the transfer ink film is wasted and running costs increase.

The above problem arises for the following reasons. That is, since the recording paper 1 cut to a fixed size is used, when recording on this recording paper 1, the trailing edge of the recording paper 1 is preferably at least the residue that passes through the platen roller 7. is a housing through which the peeling bar 8 passes, and the transfer ink film 3 must be conveyed at the same speed as the recording paper 1. Therefore, even if printing is performed only on a part of the length of the recording paper 1, after the thermal head 6 finishes printing, the recording paper 1
The rear end passes at least the platen roller 7!
In this case, the transfer ink film 3 must be continuously fed, and the transfer ink film in that part is treated as used even though it is unused.

Further, when the paper feed roller 2 transports the recording paper l to the position of the platen roller 27, the platen roller 7 rotates in synchronization with the paper feed roller 2, so that the recording paper 1 is transported to the position of the paper feed roller 27.
During the period from when the transfer ink film 3 begins to be fed out by the platen roller 7 to when the leading edge thereof is supplied between the platen roller 7 and the thermal head 6, the unused transfer ink film 3 is transferred to the platen roller 7 even though no recording is being performed. and is treated as used. In this way, when recording on a fixed-sized recording paper with a length that is shorter than the length of the recording paper, there are three
An unused transfer ink film was conveyed by the platen roller 7 through the thermal head 6 and was wasted.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a thermal transfer printer that can reduce waste of transfer ink film and reduce running costs.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems. A pull-back means for pulling back the transfer ink film by pressing a button on a thermal transfer printer that uses recording paper cut in advance to a fixed size, and storing the distance traveled by the transfer ink film from the end of the recording output of the thermal head until the recording paper peels off. a storage means, and further configured to add a preset distance to the distance stored in the storage means and control the pulling back means to pull back the transfer ink film by the total distance. . Here, the preset distance means that the transfer ink film is conveyed between the time the paper feed roller starts feeding the recording paper and the leading edge of the recording paper is fed between the thermal head and the platen roller. The distance from the button to the button is 0. Effect The present invention uses the above-described configuration to perform a predetermined recording on a recording paper of a fixed size, and after ejecting the recording paper, the peeling end 1 starts after the recording output ends. Then, pull back the unused portion of the transfer ink film that was conveyed together with the recording paper, and then
The used part of the transfer ink film can be pulled back by the length of the transfer ink film that is transported before the paper feed roller operates and feeds the recording paper to the thermal head position, making it possible to prepare for the next recording. The unused portion of the ink film is not wasted, and running costs can be reduced.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a thermal transfer printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, and the same parts as those of the conventional example shown in FIG. 4 are designated by the same reference numerals. Reference numeral 1 denotes recording paper that has been cut to a fixed size in advance, and is housed in a paper feed cassette IA and set at a predetermined position. 2 is a paper feed roller that feeds out the recording paper 1 one by one; 3 is a transfer ink film; 4 is a supply roll that supplies unused transfer ink film 3; 5
1 is a take-up roll that winds up the used transfer ink film 3; 6 is a thermal head that performs linear recording; 7 is a platen roller that presses the transfer ink film 3 and the recording paper 1 against the thermal head 6 and conveys it; 8 is the recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3, and 9 is the recording paper 1.
This is the outlet for discharging the water. 11 is the platen roller 6
This is the paper feed motor that drives the. This paper feed motor 11
In order to rotate the platen roller 6 not only in the forward direction indicated by arrow A, but also in the reverse direction indicated by arrow B, a roller capable of forward and reverse rotation is used.
When not recording, it is possible to reversely rotate the platen roller 7 to pull back the transfer ink film 3. Therefore, the paper feed motor 11 and the platen roller 7 also serve as pull-back means for pulling back the transfer ink film. 12 is a supply roll shaft for attaching the supply roll 4, and 13 is a take-up roll shaft for attaching the take-up roll 5, which is configured to rotate in conjunction with the platen roller 7 via a drive transmission mechanism 14. There is. Among them, a torque limiter (not shown) is installed on the supply port roll shaft 12 and the take-up roll shaft 13, respectively.
And a one-way club bench 15.16 is provided and the button is pressed.
It is configured to be forcibly driven only in the directions of arrows C and D, and the transfer ink film 3 can be wound up. In addition,
Although not shown, the paper feed roller 2 and the discharge port roller 9 are also driven by the paper feed motor 11.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing the forcing circuit. 1.8 is a recording control circuit that controls the thermal head 6 to perform predetermined recording; 19 is a motor drive circuit that controls the paper feed motor 11; 20 is a control circuit that controls the whole; 21;
is a counter, and 22 is a memory. As will be described later, this counter 21 stores the distance (more precisely, the number of clock pulses corresponding to the distance) that the transfer ink film is conveyed from the end of the recording output of the thermal head to the time when the recording paper is peeled off. . The memory 22 stores the approximate length e (@ densely , the corresponding number of clock pulses). Memorize it in advance and press the button.

The operation of the thermal transfer printer configured as described above will be described below with reference to timing charts shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 3.

When the button is pressed before the start of recording, the recording paper 1 is stored in the paper feed cassette IA and the transfer ink film 3 is suspended on the thermal head 6 as shown in FIG. At this time, the boundary P between the unused part and the used part of the transfer ink film 3 is at a position pulled back from the recording part of the thermal head 6 by a predetermined length e. This length e is the length of the button k through which the transfer ink film 3 is conveyed while the paper feed roller 2 supplies the recording paper 1 from the paper feed cassette 1A between the thermal head 6 and the platen roller 7.

To perform recording, first, the control circuit 20 controls the motor drive circuit 19 to drive the paper feed motor 11 in the forward direction.As a result, the paper feed roller 2 starts operating, and the paper feed cassette l-IA Feed out recording paper 1 inside. At this time, since the platen row 27 also rotates in the forward direction (arrow A direction), the transfer ink film 3 is also conveyed in the arrow E direction. When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 reaches the platen roller 7, the transfer ink film 3 has been conveyed by a length e (at this time, the used portion S in FIG. 3 passes through the thermal head 6). Therefore, the leading edge of the recording paper 1 almost coincides with the leading edge P of the unused portion of the transfer ink film 3. Thereafter, the recording paper 1 is placed on the unused portion of the transfer ink film 3 by the platen roller 7, and is pressed against the thermal head 6 and conveyed in the direction of arrow E.

While the recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3 are conveyed by the platen roller 7 in close contact, the control circuit 20 controls the recording control circuit 18 and the motor drive circuit 19, and the thermal head 6 adjusts the recording paper conveyance speed by the platen roller 7. Records and outputs in synchronization to record two-dimensional images. The portion of the transfer ink film 3 transported during this time is the portion in use T in FIG.

Even after the recording output of the thermal head 6 is finished, the platen roller 7 continues to rotate. The recording paper 1 and the transfer ink film 3, which are sequentially fed by the platen roller 7, become adhesive due to the viscosity of the molten ink and are separated by the peeling bar 8, and the transfer ink film 3 is transferred to the take-up roll. 5, and the recording paper 1 is conveyed toward the outside of the apparatus. The platen roller 7 continues to rotate at 1 when the rear end of the recording paper 1 passes through the thermal head 6 and further passes through the peeling bar 8, and then stops. During this time, the transfer ink film 3 is transferred to a portion (length d) shown as an unused portion U in FIG.
passes through the thermal head 6.

On the other hand, simultaneously with the end of the recording output of the thermal head 6, the control circuit 20 starts the operation of the counter 21. Thereby, the counter 21 counts the number of pulses of the circuit clock. This counting continues at the point where the platen roller 7 stops. Therefore, the counter 21 counts and stores the number of black pulses corresponding to the distance d that the transfer ink film is conveyed in the recording paper separation 1 from the end of the recording output of the thermal head.

After the flatten roller 7 has stopped, the control circuit 20 extracts the count value from the counter 21 and also extracts the number of pulses (the number of pulses for conveying the transfer ink film 3 by the length e) stored in the memory 22 in advance. , add both of them, and move the paper feed motor 1 by the amount of the added pulse.
Rotate 1 in the opposite direction. As a result, the platen row 27 reversely rotates in the direction of arrow B, pulling back the transfer ink film 3 and rewinding it onto the supply roll 4. The pullback length of the transfer ink film 3 at this time is d+e.

Therefore, the transfer ink film 3 has an unused portion U (length d
) is not only pulled back, but also the portion of length e of the used portion T is also pulled back, resulting in the state described at the beginning.

The same operation is repeated for the next recording paper. In this way, in the recording operation for each recording paper,
When the leading edge of the recording paper 1 is fed to the thermal head 6, the leading edge always almost coincides with the leading edge of the unused part of the transfer ink film, and therefore the transfer ink film always starts from the leading edge of the unused part. used for recording. Therefore, the unused portion of the transfer ink film is not wound up on the take-up roll as being used, and the transfer ink film can be used effectively.

Effects of the Invention As is clear from the above description, the present invention provides a thermal transfer printer that uses recording paper of a fixed size, in which the distance traveled by the transfer ink film from the end of the recording output of the thermal head to the time when the recording paper peels off 1. Provide a storage means to memorize the
A distance preset to the distance stored in this storage means (after the feeding/finishing roller starts feeding the recording paper, the leading edge of the recording paper is fed between the thermal head and the platen roller 1) Since the transfer ink film was configured to be pulled back by the total distance (distance around the button where the transfer ink film is conveyed), it was possible to record on the recording paper and separate the recording paper from the transfer ink film. Afterwards, the unused portion of the transfer ink film that has passed through the thermal head is pulled back, and the paper feed roller is activated to send the recording paper to the thermal head position. The finished part can also be pulled back, so when the recording paper is sent to the thermal head position for the next recording, the leading edge of the recording paper is almost overlapped with the leading edge of the unused part of the transfer ink film, and the unused part is used from the leading edge of the transfer ink film. This has the effect that the transfer ink film can be used effectively without wasting it, and running costs can be reduced.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a thermal transfer printer according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a block diagram schematically showing a control circuit thereof, FIG. 3 is a timing chart of the thermal transfer printer, and FIG. The figure is a side view showing a schematic configuration of a conventional thermal transfer printer. Supply roll, 5... Take-up roll, 6... Circular head, 7... Platen roller, 8 - Peeling bar, 9... Discharge port-ra, 1... Paper feed motor.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A thermal head that performs recording in a line, a transfer ink film provided to pass through the thermal head, a platen roller that presses and conveys the transfer ink film and recording paper in an overlapping manner against the thermal head. a paper feed roller that feeds recording paper cut in advance into small pieces between the thermal head and the platen roller;
a pull-back means for pulling back the transfer ink film; a storage means for storing the distance traveled by the transfer ink film from the end of the recording output of the thermal head until the recording paper peels off; and a distance preset to the distance stored in the storage means. and means for controlling the retracting means to add a distance and retract the transfer ink film by the total distance.