JPH04152171A - Thermal transfer printer paper feeding mechanism - 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 [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer, and particularly to a suitable adjustment mechanism for stabilizing the conveyance of cardboard.

[Conventional technology]

Since there is no closest known example, the conventional technology will be described by citing the vertical printing technology of conventional general thermal transfer printers, that is, the printing technology of horizontal printers. As OA equipment continues to become more compact, the shape of printers is also becoming smaller. As a result, the product itself inevitably becomes thinner. Along with this thinning, the diameter of the platen in the paper feeding system of the printer has become smaller. As paper diameters become smaller, curling in printing on cardboard and postcards becomes a problem. Small diameter platen (φ12~φ
15), the only way to prevent curling is to transport the paper horizontally.

In other words, change the printer from horizontal to vertical.

This method involves loading the paper to be transferred from the bottom of the carriage. Currently, in horizontal paper transport, due to cost, complexity of mechanism, etc., it is only possible to transport paper that is approximately the thickness of a business card (0.4 to 0.5 cm).

Some customers have requested to be able to print on the cover or inside of cardboard (1 to 2 m thick) or notebooks (about 51 mm thick), and the present invention has developed a method for printing on super thick paper. The purpose is to satisfy the transportation technology.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In view of the above-mentioned problems, the present invention aims to stabilize the conveyance of super thick paper for notebooks etc. by utilizing the vertical printing of horizontal printers accompanying the thinning of thermal transfer printers. The goal is to provide customers with printers with stable performance. To this end, it is necessary to have a simple structure for changing the pressing force of the pressing roller and a mechanism for changing the gap between the platen and the thermal head.

[Means to solve the problem]

As a technical means to achieve the above purpose, it is necessary to apply pressure to the pressing roller when feeding cardboard.As a means for achieving this, the pressing roller is moved transversely perpendicular to the platen surface, so that the roller can be removed from the platen surface. The structure may be designed to increase the force with which the transfer paper is pressed. The present invention uses a rack and a pinion to convert rotational motion into linear motion, and at the same time, springs provided on the arm portion of the roller and the rack portion work. The spring force is set to become stronger as the rack moves further away from the platen surface. Conversely, the spring force is set to weaken as the rack approaches the platen surface. For thin paper, the carrying force is small, so use a weak spring force.

For thicker paper, it is necessary to increase the conveying force, which inevitably requires a function to strengthen the spring force.In the case of the present invention, currently, by rotating the pinion,
The rack is moved linearly manually by checking the paper thickness, but if cost and other issues are taken into consideration,
It is also possible to detect the paper thickness using a sensor or the like and automatically change the way it is pressed against the paper.

[Effect]

The present invention converts the rotation of the pinion into linear motion of the rack,
A spring pressed by the rack rotates the pressing roller clockwise and at the same time pressurizes the transfer paper on the main paper feeding roller. The transfer paper is transported by rotating the main paper transport roller, and if the pressure can be kept constant, there will be no malfunction. As a method of keeping the pressure constant, it is possible to twist the paper by providing stoppers in multiple stages for each paper thickness.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, the functions and effects of the configuration 2 of the embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

The present invention particularly relates to a paper feeding mechanism for thick paper in printing using a thermal transfer printer.

Before explaining the present invention in detail, an overview of thermal transfer printers will be given.

As shown in FIG. 2, printers of the vertical type are becoming more common. Compatible with slim and compact design. It is designed to be placed vertically to prevent postcards from curling. The thermal transfer printer includes a main body frame 1 and a carriage 2.

The carriage 2 is driven by a carriage motor 3 supported by the main body frame 1 so as to be able to move horizontally. The timing belt 4 is installed between the left and right sides of the main body frame 1.

The carriage 2 is connected to this timing belt 4. As the carriage motor 3 rotates, the carriage 2 is driven to move laterally through the gear 11. In front of carriage 2.

A thermal head 6 is provided. The ink on the transfer paper 13 and the ink ribbon 12 is transferred to the transfer paper 13 between the thermal head 6 and the platen 5. In this way, thermal transfer is performed. If the transfer paper 13 is thermal paper,
The ink ribbon cassette 7 is attached and detached from the carriage 2, and the heat generated by the thermal head 6 is transferred to the coloring medium to generate color. On the upper surface of the carriage 2, there are provided a winding shaft 8 for a winding core, a supply shaft 9 for a supply core, etc., which are required when the ink ribbon cassette 7 is mounted. 10 is a main paper feed roller, and this main paper feed roller 1
The transfer paper 13 is sent between the thermal head 6 and the platen 5 by o. Since the transfer paper 13 is fed by the rotation of the main paper feed roller 10, the feed speed of the main paper feed roller 1o must be kept constant. If the feeding speed is uneven, the printing position will be blurred and the transfer paper 13 will be bent (skewed). Reference numeral 14 denotes an ink ribbon sensor, which detects the transmittance of the ink ribbon 12 based on the output voltage of the sensor 14. A typical thermal transfer printer has a function to display, for example, that there is no ink ribbon 12 when the ink ribbon 12 is completely wound up. The drive circuit also operates a line feed motor 15 for feeding the paper, a carriage 2
The carriage motor 3 and the like that move the carriage laterally are controlled.

Furthermore, the control circuit controls the ink ribbon sensor 14, the energy applied to the thermal head 6, the position sensor that detects the position of the carriage 2, and the like.

Next, an embodiment in which a mechanism according to the present invention is provided will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 3, and 4.

FIG. 1 is an enlarged sectional view of a paper feeding system of a printer in which the paper thickness adjustment mechanism of the present invention is arranged. When the transfer paper 13 is super thick paper such as a notebook, the rack 21 is moved downward in the figure by rotating the pinion 22 counterclockwise. As a result, the spring A18a is pulled, and the transfer paper 13 is applied to the pressing roller 16 via the roller arm 17 of the pressing roller 16.
Gives the force to push. The transfer paper 13 is conveyed by rotating the main paper feed roller 10 clockwise to send it to the gap between the platen 5 and the thermal head 6 for printing. The paper guide 23 is provided integrally with the pressing roller 16 because the pressing roller 16 moves up and down. 19
A is a hook A that hooks one end of a spring A18a provided on the roller arm 17. 19b is the spring A1
Hook B is the opposite of 8a. When the transfer paper 13 is thick paper, both springs A 18 a have a structure in which the transfer paper 13 presses the surface. If the transfer paper 13 is thin paper, rotate the pinion 22 counterclockwise to remove the rack 21.
By sending the material upward in the figure, no force is applied to spring A, and the material is conveyed only by spring B. In this case, if the pressing force is too strong, paper wrinkles etc. may occur.

FIG. 3 shows an enlarged perspective view when printing on the label of the floppy disk 24. According to the present invention, even a floppy disk 24 made of plastic can be transported.

According to the present invention, if the plate thickness is about 5 mm, the pressing force is 600 g.
If it is a certain degree, it can be transported smoothly. FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view showing an example of application of the present invention. Pressing roller 1
6 is fixed, and the toothed lever 26 is attached to the main paper feed roller 10 side.
It moves by. In order to secure the printing position, the platen 5 and the main paper feed roller 10 are integrated with the fixed base 25, and by switching the toothed lever, the gear C of 27 is
It has a structure in which a fixed base 25 integrated with the holder can be moved up and down from the figure. In the case of Fig. 4, the settings for thick paper are shown, but when using thin paper, the platen 5 is moved slightly to the right and lowered, so the width of the platen 5 is increased accordingly, and the thermal head 6 However, the structure is such that it does not deviate from the width of the platen 5.

〔Effect of the invention〕

According to the description of the embodiments and the like, the present invention has the following effects.

(1) It becomes possible to print on ultra-thick paper with a length of about 5 m, and the printing range of printed matter is greatly expanded.

(2) The mechanism for adjusting paper thickness is simple and can be put to practical use in terms of cost.

(3) It is possible to improve the usability of a vertical printer (horizontal printer).

Due to the above-mentioned effects, it is possible to provide customers with a thermal transfer printer with excellent performance and ease of use.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is an enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of a paper feeding system showing the main parts of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a perspective view for explaining the outline of a thermal transfer printer, Fig. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing when super thick paper is conveyed by the paper thickness adjustment mechanism of the present invention, and Fig. 4 shows the platen and main paper feed roller integrated. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing an example of application of the present invention that allows adjustment in the direction of the angle of view. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Body frame, 2... Carriage, 3... Carriage motor, 4... Timing belt, 5... Platen, 6... Thermal head, 7... Ink ribbon cassette, 8... Winding shaft, 9... Supply shaft, 10... Main paper feed roller, 11... Gear, 12... Ink ribbon, 1
3... Transfer paper, 14... Ink ribbon sensor, 1
5... Line feed motor, 16... Pressing roller, 17... Roller arm, 18 a-Spring A, 18
b-...Spring B, 19a...Hook A, 19b...
・Hook B, 20...Spring guide, 21...Rack, 22...Pinion, 23...Paper guide, 24...
・Floppy disk, 25...Fixed stand, 1st! Fig. 2 ≦ Thickness diagram

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A thermal head, a platen against which the thermal head is pressed, an ink ribbon whose surface is coated with solid ink, a carriage cover that restricts the transfer paper to the platen side, and the thermal head is mounted, A thermal transfer printer consisting of a carriage that moves laterally, etc., characterized in that a paper thickness adjustment mechanism is disposed in a part of the conveyance path to adjust the gap between the platen and the thermal head according to the thickness of the paper to be transferred. Thermal transfer printer. 2. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism for increasing the platen pressing force when printing on thick paper. 3. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, wherein the pressing roller has a mechanism for transversely moving in a direction perpendicular to the platen surface. 4. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 2, characterized in that it has a structure in which pressure is applied to the transfer paper by a plurality of springs, and the pressure can be controlled depending on the paper thickness. 5. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1, characterized in that the platen and the main paper feed roller are integrally constructed, having a mechanism that can be adjusted on the platen and main paper feed roller sides.