JPH044954B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Technical Field) The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device using a thermal transfer sheet.

(Prior art) Recording is performed by placing a transferred object on a heat-sensitive transfer sheet coated with heat-melting ink on one side, melting the ink in accordance with an image signal, and transferring it to the transferred object. A thermal transfer recording device is known.

FIG. 1 shows an example of such a thermal transfer recording device. In this thermal transfer recording device, a thermal transfer sheet 2 fed out from a roll 1 is
is pressed against a part of the circumferential surface of the platen roller 6 between the tension roller 3 and the friction roller 4 and the guide roller 5,
After being largely changed in direction by the guide roller 5,
It is wound onto the spool 7. On the other hand, paper feed tray 8
The recording paper 9, which is the transferred object stacked on top, is separated one by one by the action of the regulation plate 10, the brake plate 11, and the separation roller 12, and is sent to the platen roller 6.
After being recorded by the thermal head 13, it is separated from the transfer sheet 2 at the guide roller 5 and is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 14.

The separation roller 12 which is the first driving body, the platen roller 6 which is the second driving body, the guide roller 5 and the spool 7 are each driven by one motor 15 which can rotate in forward and reverse directions. The feeding of the transfer sheet 2 and the recording sheet 9 in the sub-scanning direction by the platen roller 6 is performed by rotating the platen roller 6 in a counterclockwise direction, and the rotation direction of the motor 15 at this time is called normal rotation. I'll decide.

When the motor 15 rotates in the normal direction, the platen roller 6, guide roller 5, and spool 7 rotate counterclockwise, and when the motor 15 rotates in the reverse direction, the platen roller 6 and the separation roller 12 rotate in the opposite clockwise direction. direction, while
The guide roller 5 and spool 7 are not rotated by one-way clutches 16-1 and 16-2 interposed in the power transmission system, and the platen roller 6
This acts as a load on the movement of the transfer sheet 2, which is rewound by the movement of the transfer sheet 2. Note that the rewinding of the transfer sheet will be described later.

Conversely, when the motor 15 rotates in the normal direction, the separation roller 12 does not receive the power of the motor 15 due to the one-way clutch 17 interposed in its power transmission system, and the separation roller 12 does not transmit the power of the motor 15 to the recording sheet 9 fed by the platen roller 6. Follows the movement and rotates. The drive body for the guide roller 5 and spool 7 includes:
Friction transmission mechanisms 18 and 19 are respectively provided,
A load is applied to the transfer sheet 2 taken up on the spool 7.

For example, the tension roller 3 is rotatably mounted on a free end of a lever (not shown) with its swing center at the center of the roll 1, and is swingable in the direction of the arrow, and applies tension to the transfer sheet 2. give,
I'm trying not to slack off on this. The friction roller 4 applies a load to the transfer sheet 2 to prevent wrinkles from forming thereon, and follows the transfer sheet 2 that moves together.

Next, referring to FIG. 1, the operation of feeding recording paper (hereinafter referred to as paper) 9 will be described. A large number of sheets of paper 9 are stacked and set on the paper feed tray 8. Since the paper feed tray 8 is disposed diagonally with its tip facing downward, the stack of sheets 9 that have been set moves toward the tip of the paper feed tray 8 due to its own weight.

The paper feed tray 8 has its leading end separated by a separation roller 1.
A brake plate 11 made of rubber and pressed against the surfaces of the regulating plate 10 and the separation roller 12 by a spring is disposed at the tip thereof. The accumulation of paper 9 that moved due to its own weight is
Although it is blocked by the regulation plate 10, there is a gap between the lower end of the regulation plate 10 and the surface of the separation roller 12, which is large enough to allow a small number of sheets of paper 9 to pass through. and is sandwiched between the brake plate 11 and the separation roller 12.

At this time, since the friction coefficient between the paper 9 and the surface of the separation roller 12 is made larger than the friction coefficient between the paper 9 and the separation roller 12, the Only the lowest part of the sheet of paper 9, that is, the paper 9 that is in contact with the separation roller 12, is connected to the separation roller 12 that rotates in the clockwise direction.
The transfer sheet 2 is conveyed by the transfer sheet 2, is sandwiched between the platen roller 6 and the transfer sheet 2, and is superimposed on the transfer sheet 2.

During this time, the leading edge of the paper 9 is detected by the paper sensor 23 disposed on the guide plate 22 between the separation roller 12 and the platen roller 6, and is synchronized with the recording start signal in the thermal head 13.

Image information is recorded on the paper 9 superimposed on the transfer sheet 2 on the platen roller 6 by the thermal head 13, which is an example of a recording head. The thermal head 13 has a row of heating elements along the axial direction of the platen roller 6 at a recording position P of the recording section that is in contact with the platen roller, and the recording sheet 2 and the paper 9 are separated by this and the platen roller 6. The ink on the transfer sheet 2 is partially melted in response to the image signal applied to the heating element.
This is transferred onto paper 9 and recording is performed.

After recording, the transfer sheet 2 is largely changed in direction by the guide roller 5, and then transferred to the take-up spool 7.
However, since the paper 9 is stiffer than the transfer sheet 2, it cannot follow the transfer sheet 2 and change its direction significantly, and it is not able to move in the feeding direction of the platen roller 6 and guide roller 5, that is, in the tangential direction. Both are separated from each other and discharged onto the paper discharge tray 14.

By the way, in FIG. 1, when the trailing edge of the paper 9 finishes passing the P position, recording ends, and after this, the trailing edge of the paper 9 moves to the position of the guide roller 5 and moves toward the transfer sheet 2. After recording, the transfer paper moves along with the recording sheet by the distance from the P position to the guide roller 5, and as a result, the unused transfer paper is fed out by a length corresponding to that distance, and the transfer sheet becomes uneconomical. Therefore, in this recording apparatus, the unused portion of the transfer sheet is rewound and reused.

That is, first, the motor 15 is configured to rotate in reverse, and the paper 9 is separated and fed by the clockwise rotation of the separation roller 12, and the transfer sheet 2 is separated and fed by the clockwise rotation of the platen roller 6. Rewinding is now taking place. This unwinding amount is absorbed by the swinging of the tension roller 3. In this manner, by first feeding the transfer sheet in reverse, the previously described unused portion of the transfer sheet can be effectively utilized. Note that during recording performed after this rewinding, the motor 15 now rotates in the normal direction, and as a result, the platen roller 6
It rotates counterclockwise to feed the paper 9 and the transfer sheet 2 in the sub-scanning direction.

By the way, in FIG. 2, while the transfer sheet 2 is rewound by the clockwise rotation of the platen roller 6, the paper 9 is separated and fed by the clockwise rotation of the separation roller 12, and the leading edge of the paper 9 is separated from the transfer sheet. 2 and the platen roller 6, and reaches point A, where the leading edge of the paper 9 is inserted.

In this state, the platen roller 6 rotates counterclockwise, and at this time, the leading edge of the paper 9 is sandwiched between the transfer sheet 2 and the platen roller 6.
The point P is reached from the A point position, and recording is started from this P point position.

By the way, when conveying the paper 9 from point A to point P, in advance, the paper 9 is transported between the separation roller 12 and the platen roller 6 by a length at least equal to the circumferential distance of the platen roller from A to P.
need to be relaxed. This is because, if this is not done, when the leading edge of the paper 9 is conveyed from point A to point P, the separating paper feed section consisting of the brake plate 11 and separation roller 12 will act as a load, causing the leading edge of the paper to reach point P. This is because they cannot bring it back.

However, in order to form sufficient slack between the separation roller 12 and the platen roller 6,
Since the distance between both rollers must be set to be large to some extent, the device itself becomes bulky. Also, between both rollers, a guide plate 22 as shown in FIG.
If so, it is not possible to form a very large slack between both rollers. moreover,
In order to reduce the bulk of the device, if the distance between both rollers is set short, if the paper 9 is thin and weak, the paper will become combed between the two rollers and paper transport will be hindered. You won't be able to do it satisfactorily.

(Objective) The present invention solves the above-mentioned conventional drawbacks, even when the distance between the first driving body such as a separation roller and the second driving body such as a platen roller is short, and also when the transfer target is thick or thin. It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording device that can smoothly and reliably transport the leading edge to a recording position regardless of the situation.

(Structure) The structure of the present invention will be described below based on examples.

In Figure 3, motor 15 (see Figure 1)
At the beginning of the reverse rotation, the separation roller 12 and the platen roller 6 rotate clockwise, and the paper 9
The paper 9 is fed and the leading edge reaches the point A, and then both rollers 1
Paper feeding is continued by the separation roller 12 until a slight slack is formed between the paper sheets 2 and 6.

At this time, the separation roller 12 is rotated clockwise via the one-way clutch 17 (see FIG. 1) by the motor 15 rotating in reverse, and at the same time, the platen roller 6 is rotated clockwise via the one-way clutch 17 (see FIG. 1). rotate clockwise. In this state, the transfer sheet 2 is reversely fed by the clockwise rotation of the platen roller 6, but the length of the reversely fed transfer sheet is the length of the tension roller 3, as described above. It is absorbed by swinging in the direction of the arrow.

Here, the rotation ratio of both rollers 12 and 6 is determined so that the feeding amount of the paper 9 is larger than the reverse feeding amount of the transfer sheet 2, for example, about four times the paper feeding amount. This prevents the advance of the paper 9 from being obstructed by the transfer sheet 2 being fed in the opposite direction.

Next, in FIG. 3, after some slack is formed in the paper 9, the motor 15 rotates forward, and the platen roller 6 rotates counterclockwise. Note that at this time, the one-way clutch 1
7 (see FIG. 1) is released and the separating roller 12
is not driven. By the counterclockwise rotation of the platen roller 6, the leading edge of the paper 9 moves from the A position to the recording position P as shown in FIG.
It is transported to a position near point B. At this time, the slight slack formed between the rollers 12 and 6 in FIG. 3 is absorbed.

Next, the motor 15 is reversed again, the platen roller 6 and the separation roller 12 are rotated clockwise, and a slight slack is formed between the rollers 12 and 6 in the same manner as shown in FIG. 3, and further, The motor 15 is switched to normal rotation, and the leading edge of the paper 9 is moved from the B position to the P point position while absorbing the slack.

In this way, the reverse and forward rotations of the motor 15 are considered to be one cycle, and as this cycle is repeated one or more times, the leading edge of the paper 9 reaches the recording position P, and after that,
The motor 15 rotates normally, the transfer sheet 2 and the paper 9 are fed in a sub-scan by the counterclockwise rotation of the platen roller 6, and recording is started.

FIG. 5 shows a timing chart of the device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6 shows its control block diagram. In the control block diagram, the control section 29 is connected to the microcomputer and the I/O port. This control section is configured to perform interface control with the host machine 30 and driver control of the paper sensor driver 26, thermal head driver 27, and motor driver 28.

Next, the operation of this device will be explained in more detail based on the timing chart in FIG.
5, a step motor is used as an example.

Regarding a to b, first, a start is applied and the step motor 15 is reversed. The separation roller 12 is driven while being connected to the motor 15 via the one-way clutch 17, and one sheet of paper 9 on the paper feed tray 8 is separated and fed toward the recording section.

Regarding b to c, when the paper sensor 23 detects the leading edge of the fed paper 9, the motor 15 continues to rotate in reverse for a predetermined number of pulses. In this operation, the number of pulses of the motor is set so that at least the leading edge of the paper 9 reaches between the platen roller 6 and the transfer sheet 2, and some slack in the paper occurs between the platen roller 6 and the separation roller 12. Ru.

During periods a to c, the platen roller 6 rotates clockwise to rewind the transfer sheet 2 in the opposite direction to the recording direction. The rewound portion of the transfer sheet 2 is absorbed by the swinging motion of the tension roller 3. Furthermore, since the one-way clutches 16-1 and 16-2 are in the disconnected state, no driving force is applied to the guide roller 5 and take-up spool 7, and no load is applied when the transfer sheet is rewound. .

Regarding c to d, the motor 15 is rotated normally, the platen roller 6 is rotated in the recording direction, that is, counterclockwise, and the paper 9 is conveyed toward the point P. Note that the number of steps up to the timing point d is set to such an extent that the slack in the paper that occurs at the timing point c is absorbed.

Regarding d to e, the motor 15 is reversed again, and between the platen roller 6 and the separation roller 12,
Form slack in the paper. As mentioned before, the feed amount of the separation roller 12 is four times the reverse feed amount of the platen roller 6, so the tip position of the paper 9 is 5 times larger than the amount that the paper 9 can retreat by reversing the roller 6. This will result in twice as much slack in the paper.

Regarding e to f, the motor 15 rotates forward in the same way as the operations c to d, and the platen roller 6 rotates in the recording direction accordingly, absorbing the slack in the paper that occurs between d and e. The leading edge of the paper 9 is sent to the P point position. Note that the number of pulses in this case is set so that the leading edge of the paper reaches point P between b and f.

In this example, the forward and reverse operations are repeated twice between c and f, but it is necessary to repeat them at least once. However, it is better to repeat this process many times to reduce the amount of slack in the paper each time, and to ensure that the leading edge of the paper 9 enters the platen roller 6 and grips it smoothly and reliably. Thus, paper can be transported stably.

Regarding f to g, at time f, the leading edge of the paper is at point P, and a heated image signal is applied to the thermal head 13. At this time, the guide roller 5 and spool 7 are connected to and driven by the motor 15 via one-way clutches 16-1 and 16-2, and the transfer sheet 2 is wound onto the spool 7. On the other hand, the separation roller 12 is not driven because the one-way clutch 17 is in the disconnected state, but is rotated by the feeding force of the paper 9 by the platen roller 6.

Regarding g to h, when the trailing edge of the paper 9 passes the paper sensor 23, the thermal head 13 can be driven as an effective recording area by the number of pulses calculated by the feeding distance of the paper 9 from the detection position to the point P. It is.

Regarding h to i, the motor 1 is operated until the trailing edge of the paper 9 passes the point P (time h) and the paper 9 is ejected to the paper ejection tray 14 after passing through the guide roller 5.
After continuing the normal rotation of the motor 15, the motor 15 stops, and a series of recording operations is completed. At this time, the part of the unused transfer sheet that is not used for recording is
This unused portion exists between the point and at least the guide roller 5, but this unused portion is used without waste by rewinding the transfer sheet prior to the next recording.

As described above, the features of the device of the present invention are as follows.
The point is to bring the leading edge of the paper 9 to the recording position P while creating some slack intermittently. Therefore, since only a small amount of slack is needed each time, the separating roller 12 and the platen roller 6 There is no need to make the installation distance very large, so the device itself can be made smaller in size.

In addition, in the configuration in which the arrangement distance is short, the paper 9
Even if the paper is, for example, thin and stiff, the amount of slack is small, so there is no risk of the paper becoming combed or combed, and the paper can be conveyed smoothly and reliably. Furthermore, since the amount of slack in the paper 9 can be made small, it becomes possible to provide a guide plate 22 as shown in FIG. 1.

(Effects) As described above, according to the present invention, even if the distance between the first driving body that separates and feeds the transfer object and the second drive body that performs sub-scan feeding of the transfer object and the transfer sheet is short, Also, to provide a thermal transfer recording device that can smoothly and reliably transport the leading edge of a transfer object to a recording position regardless of the thickness or stiffness of the recording sheet, and can reduce the bulk of the device itself. be able to.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a schematic configuration diagram of a feeding and conveying device section for a transfer object and a transfer sheet used to explain the technical problems of the present invention. 3 and 4 are schematic configuration diagrams of the recording device section used to explain the intermittent formation of slack in the transferred object in the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a timing chart of the device and a control block diagram of the device of the above embodiment. 2...Thermal transfer sheet, 6...Platen roller as second driving body, 9...Recording paper as transfer target, 12...Separation roller as first driving body, 1
3...Thermal head as a recording head, 15...
motor.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Recording by placing a transfer object on a heat-sensitive transfer sheet coated with heat-melting ink on one side, melting the ink in accordance with an image signal, and transferring it to the transfer object. In a thermal transfer recording apparatus that performs the following steps, a first driving body separates stacked sheet-like transfer objects one by one and supplies them to a recording section, and records the supplied transfer objects together with the transfer sheet. a second driving body for sub-scanning feeding in the recording section; a recording head that is in contact with the second driving body via a transfer sheet and a transfer object, and that performs thermal transfer recording in the recording section that is in contact with the second driving body; one motor that can be switched between forward and reverse rotations for driving the first and second driving bodies, and when the motor is reversed, the first and second driving bodies
The first and second driving members rotate the motor in reverse until the leading edge of the transferred object reaches the recording section, while the driving member separates and feeds the transferred object and reversely feeds the transfer sheet. and the driving of the second driving body by normal rotation of the motor are repeated at least once, and during recording, the second driving body performs sub-scanning feeding of the transfer object and the transfer sheet by the normal rotation of the motor. A thermal transfer recording device characterized by: