JPH04344261A - Color printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a small size color printer which enables a high quality color image to be printed without any shear in registration. CONSTITUTION:A color printer is obtained wherein a cramper unit 20 cramping one end of recording paper 1 and a transfer mechanism 21 for reciprocating this cramper unit 20 on a traveling component are provided to be constructed so that the recording paper 1 is reciprocated. Positioning of the recording paper 1 is performed with the cramper unit above-mentioned 21 and besides, a recording start position is set with this cramper unit 20 and the detecting component 30 provided on the traveling component above-mentioned.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a compact color printer device capable of achieving high image quality.

0002

[Prior Art] Conventionally, various printer devices have been known that print color images by melting or sublimating color ink on the surface of transfer paper using heat from a thermal head and sequentially transferring it to recording paper. It is being As shown in FIG. 2, this type of printer device includes a clamper 3 that holds the front end of the recording paper 1, a platen roller 2 around which the recording paper is wound while being held by the clamper 3, and a transfer paper 4. A thermal head 8 is pivotally supported by a pair of wound rolls 5 and 6 and a shaft 7, and is pressed against the platen roller 2 via the transfer paper 4 and the recording paper 1 during the printing mode. It is equipped with The transfer paper 4 is coated with color ink of various colors such as yellow, magenta, cyan, and black sequentially in a random pattern in the longitudinal direction, and the width of each color ink is approximately one screen. It is equivalent.

Further, the thermal head 8 has a heat generating section made up of a plurality of heat generating elements arranged in a row parallel to the axis of the platen roller 2, and a predetermined signal current is supplied to each heat generating element to individually generate heat. By generating heat, printing for one line is performed simultaneously. In the printing operation of such a printer device, first, the recording paper 1 is fed from a paper feed tray (not shown) and held on the platen roller 2 by the clamper 3. Thereafter, the platen roller 2 is rotated by a platen motor (not shown), and the transfer paper 4 is wound onto the roll 5 on the winding side by the winding motor while being pressed against the platen roller 2. A signal current is applied to the thermal head 8, thereby transferring the color ink applied to the transfer paper 4 onto the recording paper 1. When the printing of the first color is finished, the platen roller
The transfer roller 2 is rotated at high speed to feed the recording paper 1 to the recording start position, and the transfer paper 4 is wound up by the winding side roll 5 to record the part coated with a new color ink. The above-described printing is performed again by bringing it into contact with paper 1. Thereafter, such operations are repeated to print color images by sequentially overlapping each color of color ink in a plane-by-plane manner.

When printing in all colors is completed, the thermal head 8 is rotated clockwise in the figure around the shaft 7 and separated from the platen roller 2, and the printed recording paper 1 is moved away from the platen roller 2 as shown in the figure. The print operation ends when the paper is ejected to the output tray. In addition, as another conventional example, Fig. 3
As shown in the figure, without holding the recording paper 1 against the platen roller 2, the recording paper 1 is pressed against the platen roller 2 by each pair of paper feed rollers 9 and 10, and this recording paper 1 is transferred to each of the above-mentioned paper feeds. A device that performs printing while being reciprocated by rollers 9 and 10 has been known.

[0005]

However, in the printer device shown in FIG. 2, the platen roller 2 has a large diameter and the thermal head 8 must also be large accordingly, making it expensive. This also has the drawback that the entire device becomes larger. In addition, in the configuration shown in FIG. 3, the apparatus can be made more compact by making the platen roller 2 smaller in diameter, but when recording is performed by reciprocating the recording paper, the recording start position of the recording paper is fixed. Since it is difficult to get the correct position, there is a drawback that registration misalignment occurs. For this reason, in the conventional printer device as described above, it has not been possible to obtain a compact color printer device that is capable of achieving high image quality.

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a particularly compact color printer device capable of achieving high image quality. . In order to achieve this object, the present invention reciprocates the recording paper and presses the thermal head against the recording paper via the transfer paper, so that the ink applied to the transfer paper is absorbed by the heat generated by the thermal head. A color printer device that transfers images onto the surface of recording paper, comprising a clamper unit that clamps one end of the recording paper, and a mechanism that reciprocates the clamper unit in the sub-scanning direction on a running member, Feeding is performed by driving a platen roller pressurized by the thermal head, and the recording paper is positioned by the clamper unit, and the recording start position is determined by the clamper unit and a detection member provided on the traveling member. The present invention provides a color printer device in which settings can be made.

[0007]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A preferred embodiment of a color printer device according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to FIG. For convenience of explanation, the same reference numerals are given to the same components as those shown previously, and the explanation thereof will be omitted. As shown in FIG. 1, the color printer device according to this embodiment includes a clamper unit 20 that clamps the recording paper 1, and a clamper unit 20 that is movable in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 (generally in the sub-scanning direction of the recording paper). It is generally configured to include a transfer mechanism 21 that supports the image forming apparatus, and a recording unit 22. The clamper unit 20 includes a clamper 23, a substantially L-shaped pulley portion 24 for transporting the clamper 23, and a solenoid 26 fixed to the pulley portion 24. In addition,
The clamper 23 is rotatably mounted by a shaft 25. Moreover, 24a and 24b are pulleys fixed to the pulley part 24. The recording unit 22 side of the clamper 23 is
The leading end is bent to better clamp the recording paper 1, and a solenoid 26 is provided at the other end to rotate the clamper 23. Further, the transfer mechanism 21 is
Drive pulleys 36, 37 to be described later
It is composed of a belt 28 and the like that is hung on the belt 7. As shown in FIG. 1, the belt 28 is provided at the lower end of the clamper unit 20 so as to be driven by a motor 27 fixed to the recording unit 22 via belts b and c. Further, the pulley portion 24 is fixed to a belt 28.

Furthermore, a pulley 2 fixed to the above-mentioned pulley portion 24 is provided.
A stage 29 for freely transporting the pulleys 4a and 24b in the sub-scanning direction is provided below the belt 28, and a mechanism (not shown) facilitates the transport of the pulleys 24a and 24b. The stage 29 is provided with a reflective positioning sensor 30 which is a detection member for determining the origin (recording start position) of the pulley portion 24. The recording unit 22 drives the motor 27 as shown in FIG. 1, and transmits the power to the platen roller 2 and feed rollers 9 and 10. The feed rollers 9 and 10 guide the feeding of the recording paper 1. The feed roller 9 is urged in the direction of the roller 10 by a mechanism (not shown) and is configured to slide on the recording paper 1.
0 is equipped with a one-way clutch so that the recording paper 1 can only be transported in one direction. In addition, the motor 27
motor 2 by counting a predetermined number of pulses.
An encoder configured to stop the rotation of 7 is installed inside.

Furthermore, this feed roller 10
The drive pulley 37 is configured to rotate at a higher speed than the drive pulley 37 by changing the gear ratio so that the drive pulley 37 is arranged without bending on the travel path.

Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a platen roller 2 is provided between the transfer mechanism 21 and the feed rollers 9 and 10 for receiving the pressure applied to the thermal head 8 during printing.
is provided. The thermal head 8 is configured to be rotatable about a shaft 7, and the above-mentioned pressure is applied by rotating an eccentric cam 31 as shown in FIG. It is designed so that a certain amount of pressure can be applied.

Further, a pair of transfer paper rolls 5 and 6 are wound around above the thermal head 8, and the transfer paper 4 wound around the transfer paper rolls 5 and 6 is connected to the thermal head 8 and the above-mentioned It is inserted between platen rollers 2. Further, guide rollers 32 and 33 are provided before and after the platen roller 2 to guide the transfer paper 4 to run smoothly. Further, the transfer paper 4 is coated with ink in the order of Y, M, and C, and a light emitting element 34 and a light receiving element 35 for locating the beginning of Y, for example, on the transfer paper 4 are provided near the guide roller 32. be.

Next, the operation of the color printer device configured as described above will be explained. A feature of the operation of this color printer device is that the clamper unit 20 clamps the recording paper 1 and reciprocates on the transport mechanism 21 three times. That is,
First, by energizing the solenoid 26 of the clamper unit 20, the clamper 23 is rotated and the recording paper 1 is firmly fixed at its tip.

Next, by driving the motor 27, the transfer mechanism 21 is driven via the belts b and c, and the clamper unit 20 is transferred in the sub-scanning direction, in this case toward the drive pulley 37. Then, the clamper unit 20
When the tip of the motor 27 comes into contact with the positioning sensor 30, which is a detection member, the motor 27 stops its rotation by a control circuit (not shown).

On the other hand, the other end of the recording paper 1, whose one end is fixed to the clamper 23 by the rotation of the motor 27, is placed between the platen roller 2 and the feed rollers 9 and 10, but as described above, the feed roller 10 is , because it is configured to rotate at a higher speed than the drive pulley 37, for example,
Even if the recording paper 1 placed at the position described above is bent, it will be appropriately fed in the winding direction by the feed rollers 9 and 10, and therefore, when the motor 27 stops rotating in the state described above. The recording paper 1 is hung between the clamper 23 and the feed rollers 9 and 10 with a desired tension.

When the motor 27 stops rotating as described above, the eccentric cam 31 is rotated and the thermal head 8 is brought into pressure contact with the platen roller 2 via the transfer paper 4 and the recording paper 1. Thereafter, the motor 27 is rotated (reversed) in the opposite direction to that described above by a control circuit (not shown). As a result, the drive pulleys 36, 37 and the belt 28 move the clamper unit 20 in the opposite direction. The recording paper 1, whose one end is fixed to the clamper 23 provided in the clamper unit 20, is transported in the same direction by being transported in the opposite direction. The rotational direction of the other end of the recording paper 1 is controlled by a one-way clutch, so that it is transported in the opposite direction while sliding between the feed rollers 9 and 10.

On the other hand, the transfer paper roll 5 is also driven accordingly, and, for example, printing of Y is started. An encoder (not shown) provided in the motor 27 counts the number of pulses, and when a predetermined number of pulses have been counted, the motor 27 stops its rotation, thereby completing the printing of one Y screen. At this time, the Y portion of the transfer paper 4 wound in a predetermined direction by the transfer roll 5 is also wound at the same time, and the next color M portion is brought between the light emitting element 34 and the light receiving element 35. , when this is detected, the transfer paper 4 stops at that position.

[0017] During this printing, the length of the transport mechanism 21 in the sub-scanning direction can be shortened by decelerating the transport amount of the clamper unit 20 to about one-third of the transport amount of the recording paper 1. Therefore, it is possible to cope with downsizing of the device. When the printing of Y is completed in this way, the compression of the eccentric cam 31 is released.

Next, by rotating the motor 27 in the same direction as described above, the clamper unit 20 is transferred in the sub-scanning direction (towards the drive pulley 37) as described above. When the tip comes into contact with the positioning sensor 30, which is a detection member, the motor 27 stops its rotation by a control circuit (not shown), starts printing M by the same operation as above, and ends the printing by the same operation. do. By repeating the same operation, C is printed in the same manner as described above, and full-color printing by overprinting the three colors of Y and MC is completed.

[0019]

Effects of the Invention As described above, in the present invention, the recording paper moves back and forth, and the thermal head is pressed against the recording paper via the transfer paper, so that the ink applied to the transfer paper is transferred by the heat generated by the thermal head. A color printer device configured to transfer images onto the surface of recording paper, comprising a clamper unit that clamps one end of the recording paper, and a mechanism that reciprocates the clamper unit in the sub-scanning direction on a running member, The paper is fed by driving a platen roller that is pressurized by the thermal head, and the recording paper is positioned by the clamper unit, and the clamper unit and the detection member provided on the traveling member start recording. By setting the position,
A high-quality color printed image without registration deviation can be obtained. Further, according to the present invention, since the platen roller and the like can be made smaller, the entire apparatus can be made smaller.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a color printer device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a conventional printer device.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing another conventional printer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Recording paper 4 Transfer paper 8 Thermal head 20 Clamper unit 21 Transfer mechanism 22 Recording unit 23 Clamper 24 Pulley part

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A recording paper is reciprocated, and a thermal head is pressed against the recording paper via a transfer paper, so that ink applied to the transfer paper is transferred to the surface of the recording paper by heat generated by the thermal head. This color printer device includes a clamper unit that clamps one end of the recording paper, and a mechanism that reciprocates the clamper unit on a traveling member in the sub-scanning direction, and the feeding of the recording paper is controlled by a thermal head. The recording paper is positioned by driving the pressed platen roller, and the recording paper is positioned by the clamper unit, and the recording start position is set by the clamper unit and a detection member provided on the traveling member. A color printer device featuring: