JPH0768875A - Thermal transfer recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [PROBLEMS] To provide a thermal transfer recording apparatus capable of shortening the recording time or obtaining recording with little color shift and good image quality. [Structure] When the system controller 2 operates the mechanism unit 1 in the first discharging operation, after the chuck 113 passes under the thermal head 101, the thermal head 101 is pressed onto the drum 111 at the time of recording the final color. At the same time, the chuck 113 is pushed upward. Drum 11 in this state
1 is rotated to perform thermal transfer recording. The edge of the recording paper 110 passes through the gap between the chuck 113 and the drum 111, and is fed toward the roller 121. When the system controller 2 operates the mechanical unit 1 in the second discharging operation, after the recording of the final color is completed, the holding of the recording paper 110 by the chuck 113 is released, and the recording is performed while the thermal head 101 is pressed against the drum 11. The paper 110 is conveyed. When the end of the recording paper 110 reaches the roller 121, the thermal head 101 is levitated,
The roller 120 is pressed against the roller 121.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus in which recording paper is wound around a drum, the drum is rotated a plurality of times, and three primary color inks and the like are transferred and recorded sequentially. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus capable of selecting the discharging operation when discharging the outside of the apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a thermal transfer recording apparatus performs recording by superposing an ink paper and a recording paper on each other and pressing them against a drum, and heating the ink paper with a thermal head.
When color recording is performed, the three primary colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan are sequentially superimposed to realize color.

In such a color thermal transfer recording apparatus, in order to ensure the positional accuracy of transfer recording, the recording paper is often held on the drum before recording, and the recording paper is held during recording of three colors. The recording paper is held on the drum by means, and after the recording is completed, the holding means is released and the recording paper is discharged.

By the way, in the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, when discharging such recording paper, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
As described in JP-A-301275, the drum is rotated in the opposite direction to that during recording, and the recording paper is conveyed in the opposite direction while being discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

[0005]

As described above, in the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus, when the recording paper is discharged,
Since the drum is rotated in the opposite direction to that during recording and the recording paper is ejected while being conveyed in the opposite direction, there is a problem that the recording time per recording paper becomes long.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and, if necessary, to shorten the recording time per sheet of recording paper. In some cases, the recording time cannot be shortened that much, but It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer recording device capable of suppressing misalignment.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, when a plurality of colors are overlapped and color recording is performed, ejection of the recording paper is started immediately before recording with the last color. Then, a first recording paper discharging operation for discharging the recording paper while recording is provided.

Further, a second recording paper discharging operation for starting discharging the recording paper after the recording of the final color is completed is provided, and the two different discharging operations can be switched by an external operation.

Further, a discriminating means for discriminating the kind of the recording paper or the kind of the ink paper is provided, and according to the result of the judgment,
The recording paper discharge operation is switched.

Alternatively, a detecting means for detecting the remaining amount of the ink paper is provided, and the discharging operation of the recording paper is switched according to the detection result.

[0011]

In the case of the first discharging operation, the holding of the recording paper is released immediately before the recording of the final color is started, and the discharging operation is performed simultaneously with the recording operation. In this case, since the recording and the discharging operation are performed at the same time, the discharging operation is mostly finished at the same time when the recording is completed. Therefore, the recording time can be shortened.

On the other hand, the holding of the recording paper at the time of recording the third color depends only on the pressure contact between the thermal head and the drum. Therefore, when using recording paper with a low coefficient of friction on the back surface of the paper, sufficient frictional force cannot be obtained between the back surface of the recording paper and the drum surface, and as a result, the recording paper is not conveyed accurately and causes color misregistration. There is also.

When color misregistration occurs, the discharging operation is switched to the second discharging operation by an external operation, and after the recording of the final color is completed, the discharging operation is started. In this case, since the holding state of the recording paper does not change during the recording operation, the occurrence of color misregistration is suppressed.

Further, when the color misregistration does not pose a problem as in the case where the ink paper to be used is an ink paper coated with one color of black ink according to the result of the judgment by the judging means, the first discharging operation for discharging while recording. It operates to switch to. Alternatively, the discriminating means discriminates whether or not the recording paper is likely to cause color misregistration, and automatically switches the discharging operation.

In the case of the second discharging operation, thermal transfer recording is not performed, but in order to convey the ink sheet and the recording sheet at the same time, an extra ink sheet corresponding to the recording sheet conveying length is required. If the trailing end of the ink paper is not long enough to be ejected, the ink paper will end and will not move forward during the ejection operation, and thus the recording paper may not be ejected. Therefore, the remaining amount of the ink paper is detected by the detection means, and when the remaining amount of the ink paper is small, the first discharging operation of discharging while recording is switched regardless of the setting from the outside. As a result, it is possible to avoid the situation in which the recording paper cannot be ejected even if the length of the ink paper is not sufficient at the end of the ink paper.

[0016]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention. In the figure, the mechanical section 1 represents the state during the ejection operation of the recording paper. FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a state of the mechanism section in FIG. 1 during a sheet feeding operation. Figure 3
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a state during a recording operation of the mechanism section in FIG. 1.

First, the configuration of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the figure, 1 is a mechanical portion of the thermal transfer recording apparatus,
Reference numeral 2 is a system controller for controlling the entire apparatus, 3 is a circuit section for driving the mechanism section and processing an image to be recorded, and 4 is an operation section for operating the apparatus from the outside.

Here, the mechanical section 1 is composed of the components described below. Reference numeral 101 is a thermal head, 102 is a head arm that supports the thermal head, 103 is a rotating shaft of the head arm, 104 is a heat radiating fin for radiating heat from the heat sensitive head, and 105 is an ink sensor installed on the heat radiating fin. . Thermal head 101, head arm 10
2. The heat radiation fin 104 and the ink sensor 105 are integrally united to rotate in the vertical direction about the rotation shaft 103. The ink sensor 105 is a photo-detecting element such as a phototransistor, and is provided on both sides of the front side and the back side of the mechanism section in the drawing.

Reference numeral 106 is an ink cassette, 107 is an ink paper housed in the ink cassette, 108 is a supply shaft around which the ink paper is wound, and 109 is an ink paper take-up shaft. The ink cassette 106 is inserted from the front side of the figure when the thermal head is in a floating state, and mounted in the apparatus.

Reference numeral 110 is a recording paper, 111 is a drum around which the recording paper is wound, 112 is a rotary shaft of the drum, 113 is a chuck for holding the recording paper on the drum, 114 is a spring attached to the chuck, and 115 is for driving the chuck. Is a drive arm, and 116 is a rotation axis of the drive arm. The chuck 113 is rotatable about the rotary shaft 112 and is movable in the radial direction of the drum 111. The chuck 113 is normally urged toward the center of the drum 111 by a spring 114, and is moved in the outer direction of the drum by rotating the drive arm 115.

Reference numeral 117 is a recording paper guide, 118 is an engaging portion provided on the guide 117, 119 is a recording paper guide, 120, 121 and 122 are rollers, and 123 and 124.
Is a sensor for detecting the recording paper. The engaging portion 118 is a protrusion on the guide 117, and when the chuck 113 is in a floating state, the chuck 113 hits the engaging portion 118, and even if the drum 111 rotates, the chuck 113 works so as to remain at that position. . The roller 120 is biased toward the roller 121 by a spring or the like (not shown), but is configured to float upward while the thermal head 101 is being pressed onto the drum 111. The roller 122 is pressed against the roller 121 and feeds the recording paper only when the recording paper is fed. The sensors 123 and 124 are elements such as a photo interrupter and detect the recording paper. The guide 119 located between the sensor 124 and the drum 111 has a sensor 1
A hole is provided at a position facing the recording paper 24.
It is possible to detect that 0 is inserted between the guide 119 and the drum 111.

On the other hand, in FIG. 2, reference numeral 201 denotes a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode, which is provided on both the front side and the back side of the mechanism section in the figure. In addition, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. Also in FIG. 3, similarly, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are denoted by the same reference numerals.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. First, the recording paper feeding operation and the like will be described with reference to FIG.

The chuck 113 rotates to a recess provided in the guide 119 and stands by. When the recording operation is started, the drive arm 115 rotates and pushes the chuck 113 downward. Then, the roller 122 is pushed up in the direction of the roller 121, and the recording paper 110 fed by the paper feeding means (not shown) is inserted. The roller 121 is given a rotational force in a direction opposite to the insertion direction of the recording paper 110 via a torque clutch (not shown). When the number of the inserted recording sheets 110 is one, the torque of the torque clutch is weak against the frictional force between the recording sheet 110 and the roller 122.
Rotate in the 0 insertion direction. Recording paper 110 inserted in reverse
When the number of sheets is 2 or more, the torque of the torque clutch is set so that the roller 122 rotates in the reverse direction to return excess recording paper. When the inserted recording paper 110 is detected by the sensor 124 and further conveyed by a predetermined distance, the recording paper 110 reaches the gap between the drum 111 and the chuck 113. Next, when the drive arm 115 is rotated in the direction of separating from the chuck 113, the chuck 113 causes the spring 114 to rotate the drum 1.
The recording paper 110 moves toward the center of the recording paper 11 and is held by being pressed against the drum 111 by the chuck 113.

Next, the head arm 102 descends to the position indicated by the dotted line in the figure, and the ink paper 107 is wound up by the winding shaft 109. When the ink sensor 105 detects the head of ink for one screen, the conveyance of the ink paper 107 is stopped, and the cueing of the ink paper is completed.

FIG. 6A, which will be described later, shows an ink paper used in this embodiment. For color recording, the ink paper 107 is coated with color inks in the order of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C). Further, a mark 601 for indicating a boundary of ink for one screen and a mark 602 for indicating a boundary between color inks are provided. Infrared rays are transmitted through the ink portion and infrared rays are not transmitted through the mark portion. Therefore, in the ink portion, the infrared rays emitted from the light emitting element 201 pass through the ink paper 107 and the ink sensor 1
However, the light does not reach the ink sensor 105 at the mark portion. Ink sensor 105 and light emitting element 2
Since 01 is provided on both the back side and the front side of the mechanism portion, it is possible to distinguish the boundary of ink for one screen and the boundary between colors.

Next, the recording operation will be described with reference to FIG. After the feeding of the recording paper 110 and the cueing of the ink paper 107 are completed, the drum 111 is rotated until the chuck 113 passes under the thermal head 101. Next, the thermal head 101 is pressed against the drum 111 with the ink paper 107 and the recording paper 110 sandwiched between them. In this state, the ink paper 107 is taken up by the take-up shaft 109 and the drum 111 is rotated.
Is energized to record thermal transfer. After the recording of the first color of yellow is completed, the thermal head is once floated to eject the second color ink, and after the chuck 113 passes under the thermal head 101, the thermal head 101 is moved to the drum 1.
Pressing 11 and recording of the second color is performed.

Next, the recording operation of the final color will be described with reference to FIG. When recording three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan for color recording, the third color, cyan, is the last color to be recorded. At the time of recording the final color, the thermal head 101 is once floated and the ink paper of the third color is cued up as in the case of the second color.
After passing under 01, the thermal head 101 is moved to the drum 11
Crimp to 1. At the same time, the drive arm 115 is rotated to push the chuck 113 upward. In this state,
The drum 111 is rotated to perform thermal transfer recording. The chuck 113 pushed up hits the engaging portion 118 and stays at that position. The edge of the recording paper 110 passes through the gap between the chuck 113 and the drum 111 by the rotation of the drum 111,
Further, it is sent toward the roller 121 through the gap of the guide 117. Since the roller 120 floats while the thermal head 101 is being pressed, there is no effect on the printing screen when the roller 120 rushes into the roller during recording.

After the recording is completed, the thermal head 101 is levitated. At the same time, the roller 120 is pressed against the roller 121 to nip the recording paper 110. Further, the roller 121 rotates and is discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

The thermal transfer recording is performed as described above. In the above description, the holding of the recording paper is released immediately before the recording of the final color, and the recording paper is ejected while recording.
This is the case of the discharging operation of

In the case of the above operation, since the recording of the final color and the ejection of the recording paper are performed at the same time, the operation time required for recording one recording paper can be shortened. However, at the time of recording the final color, as shown in FIG. 1, the recording paper is only sandwiched between the drum and the thermal head, and when the frictional force between the back surface of the recording paper and the drum is insufficient, the recording is stopped during recording. It also occurs when the recording paper is misaligned with the drum. When the recording paper is misaligned, it causes color misregistration, resulting in deterioration of image quality.

When a color shift occurs, the operation sequence is switched to the second discharge operation for discharging the recording paper after the recording of the final color is completed, by operating the operation unit 4 in FIG.
By this switching operation, it is possible to prevent deterioration of the image quality of the recorded image.

Now, such a second discharging operation will be described. When the second discharging operation is switched by the operation of the operation unit 4 of FIG. 1, the system controller 2
Detects the switching, and causes the operation of the mechanical section 1 to be operated by the second discharging operation. Recording up to the second color is performed in the same manner as described above with reference to FIGS. Similarly to the second color, when recording the final color cyan, after the chuck 113 has passed under the thermal head 101, the thermal head 101 is pressed against the drum 111, and the chuck 113 causes the recording paper 110 to be pressed.
The thermal transfer recording is carried out while holding. After the recording of the final color is completed, as shown in FIG.
10 is released, and the recording paper 110 is held by the roller 121 at its end while the thermal head 101 is pressed against the drum 11.
Transport until it reaches. When the edge of the recording paper 110 reaches the roller 121, the thermal head 101 is floated and the roller 120 is pressed against the roller 121. After that, the recording paper 110 is nipped and conveyed by the rollers 120 and 121 and discharged to the outside of the apparatus.

The above is the operation contents of the second discharging operation.
In the case of the second discharging operation, since the holding of the recording paper by the chuck is not released until the recording of the final color is completed, the deterioration of the image quality due to the color shift is prevented.

As described above, in this embodiment, even if the recording paper does not have sufficient frictional force,
By switching the discharge operation by an operation from the outside, a high-quality recorded image without color misregistration can be obtained.

Next, another embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

The present embodiment is an example in which the type of ink paper or the type of recording paper is automatically determined and the discharge operation is switched.

FIG. 4 is a structural view of a mechanical portion in a thermal transfer recording apparatus as another embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which an ink cassette is not mounted. In the figure, 4
01 is a sensor for determining the type of ink cassette,
402 is a reel stand that fits on the ink paper take-up shaft, 4
Reference numeral 03 is a reel stand fitted to the ink paper supply shaft. In addition, the same components as those in FIG. 1 are designated by the same reference numerals. The cassette discrimination sensor 401 is composed of five sensors in this embodiment, and each sensor is an optical sensor such as a photo interrupter.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing an ink cassette mounted on the thermal transfer recording apparatus in FIG. In the figure, 501 is a reflection plate provided on the surface of the ink cassette,
106 is an ink cassette, 108 is an ink paper supply shaft,
Reference numeral 109 is an ink paper take-up shaft. Reflector 501
Is provided so as to face the cassette discrimination sensor 401 when the ink cassette 106 is attached to the mechanical portion of the thermal transfer recording apparatus in FIG. The cassette discrimination sensor 401 discriminates the type of the attached ink cassette, that is, the type of ink paper in the ink cassette by detecting the presence or absence of each of the reflection plates 501. In the case of this embodiment in which five reflectors and sensors are provided,
It is possible to determine 2 to the fifth power, that is, 32 kinds of ink types.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view for explaining the types of ink paper stored in the ink cassette shown in FIG.
FIG. 6A is an ink paper on which inks of three colors of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are sequentially applied.
Marks indicating the boundaries of the ink are provided on the boundaries between the colors and the ink area for one screen. FIG. 6B shows an ink paper provided with a finisher layer (F) in addition to the three color inks. The finisher layer is for improving the storability of a recorded image by transferring a transparent protective layer after color recording with three color inks.

In the case of the ink paper with the finisher shown in FIG. 6B, the protective layer is finally transferred. Since the transferred protective layer is transparent, even if a color shift occurs, it is not visually recognized as a color shift and the image quality does not deteriorate. Further, only when the protective layer is transferred, a region wider than the printing screen is transferred, and even if a color shift occurs, there is no problem if the transfer region of the protective layer covers the image printing region.

Therefore, in the thermal transfer recording apparatus in FIG. 4, when it is detected that the mounted ink cassette accommodates the ink paper with the finisher, the final color is recorded regardless of the discharge operation setting. While performing the discharging operation, the first discharging operation is performed.

In the present embodiment, when the type of ink paper is an ink paper whose color misregistration does not cause a problem of image quality deterioration, such as an ink paper with a finisher, regardless of the setting from the operation unit of the apparatus, the first By performing the discharging operation of, the time for performing the recording operation for one recording sheet can be shortened.

In the above description, the ink paper with the finisher has been described. However, for example, in the case of using an ink paper in which one color of black ink is applied to white recording paper, there is no problem of color misregistration. It is clear that the same operation should be performed. In addition, when a plain paper is used as the recording paper instead of the dedicated paper and the ink paper with the receiving layer is used as the ink paper for recording on the plain paper, the recording paper is not the dedicated paper but the plain paper. It is possible that the friction force of the recording paper is insufficient. In this case, it suffices to perform the second discharging operation that performs the discharging operation after completion of recording regardless of the setting.

In the present embodiment, the type of the ink cassette is determined by the reflection plate provided on the ink cassette. This is a method of instructing the type of the cassette from the outside by the operation of the operation unit. Is also good. Alternatively, a bar code indicating the type of ink cassette is displayed on the cassette surface,
Alternatively, a method may be adopted in which a ring-like attachment is made to the supply shaft of the ink paper and the reading is performed.

Next, determination of the type of recording paper will be described. FIG. 7 is a back view showing the back surface of the recording paper fed to the thermal transfer recording apparatus in FIG. In the figure, 110
Is a recording paper, and 701 is a mark provided on the back surface of the recording paper. The mark 701 is provided at a position symmetrical with respect to the center of the recording paper 110 so that the recording paper can be inserted from either direction. The sensor 123 in FIG.
The type of the recording paper 110 is detected based on the presence or absence of the mark 701 on the back surface of the recording paper when the paper is fed.

For example, when the mark 701 is present, the frictional force on the back surface of the recording paper 110 used is high and the mark 701 is present.
If there is not, it means that the frictional force is low. When the mark 701 on the back surface is detected by the sensor 123,
Since the frictional force of the recording paper 110 is high and color misregistration does not occur,
The first discharging operation is performed. If there is no mark 701 on the back surface, the frictional force of the recording paper 110 used is low and color misregistration is likely to occur, so that the second discharging operation is performed.

In the above description, the recording paper is discriminated by the presence or absence of the mark on the back surface. However, the number of marks or the length of the mark indicates the type of recording paper, and the sensor detects the number or the length. I don't care.

In each of the embodiments described above, thermal transfer recording is not performed in the case of the second discharging operation for discharging the recording paper after the recording is completed, but as shown in FIG. Since the recording paper and the ink paper are overlapped and conveyed by pressure bonding, in addition to the ink paper length required for actual recording, a length for conveying the recording paper at the time of discharging operation of the recording paper is required.

However, at the end of the ink paper, the length of the ink paper is not enough to convey the recording paper during the discharging operation, and the ink paper is firmly attached to the ink paper supply shaft. In such a case, the ink paper reaches the end during the discharging operation, and the ink paper cannot further advance, so that the discharging operation may not be performed.

Therefore, as another embodiment of the present invention, an embodiment which solves such a problem will be described with reference to FIGS.

In the present embodiment, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the remaining amount of ink paper is detected, and when the remaining amount of ink paper is low as a result of the detection, the recording operation is performed regardless of the discharge operation setting. However, the first discharging operation for discharging the recording paper is performed.

FIG. 8 is a structural view of a mechanical portion in a thermal transfer recording apparatus as another embodiment of the present invention, showing a state in which an ink cassette is not mounted. In the figure, 8
Reference numeral 01 is a reflector provided integrally with the reel base 403 fitted to the ink paper supply shaft, and 802 is a sensor for detecting the reflector. In addition, the same components as those in FIGS. 1 to 4 are designated by the same reference numerals.

During the recording operation, the ink cassette is mounted on the mechanical portion, the ink paper supply shaft is fitted to the reel base 403, and the supply shaft, the reel base 403, and the reflection plate 801 rotate integrally. Therefore, by detecting the reflector 801 with the sensor 802, a pulse signal is output from the sensor 802 as the reflector 801 rotates, and the rotation of the supply shaft can be detected.

In the thermal transfer recording apparatus shown in FIG. 8, after the recording is started and the paper is fed, the yellow ink is cued and the cyan ink is cued immediately before the third color is printed. 8 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of pulses output by the sensor 802 and the number of remaining ink sheets. As the ink paper approaches the end of winding, the diameter of the ink winding on the ink supply shaft side becomes smaller. Therefore, even when ink paper of the same length is sent out, the number of rotations increases and the number of output pulses of the sensor 802 also increases near the end of winding, where the winding diameter is small.

Based on the relationship shown in FIG. 9, the sensor 80
From the output pulse number of 2, it is possible to know the remaining amount of ink paper, that is, the remaining number of ink sheets. For example, when the count value of the number of pulses is n, it can be seen that the remaining number of inks is t.

In this embodiment, the number of output pulses of the sensor 802 is counted by the system controller, and when the count value becomes n or more, the first discharging operation is performed regardless of the setting of the operation unit. That is, when the remaining amount of ink is t or less, the first discharging operation is automatically performed. The determination as to whether or not to switch to the first discharge operation may be made before the recording of the cyan ink of the final color is started, so the number of pulses may be counted until the time of cyan cueing.

In the present embodiment, since the first discharging operation is automatically performed near the end of the winding of the ink paper, even if the setting is made to perform the second discharging operation, the end portion of the ink paper is terminated. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the problem that the discharging operation cannot be performed due to the insufficient length. Also, the number of pulses is counted for the length from the time when the yellow ink is cued to the time when the cyan ink is cued immediately before the recording of the third color, and the count length is the ink head. Accurate counting is possible because it depends on the pitch of the projecting mark. Further, since the counting is performed after the recording is started, there is no problem even when an ink cassette which is used halfway is mounted.

Further, in this embodiment, the rotation of the ink paper supply shaft is detected to detect the remaining amount of ink paper. However, the number of ink cassettes stored is detected by the cassette sensor, and the ink cassette is mounted. It may be a method of counting the cumulative number of recorded sheets from the beginning. Alternatively, the method may be such that the winding diameter of the ink is directly measured by means of contact or non-contact.

[0061]

According to the present invention, since the recording and the discharging operation are performed at the same time during the first discharging operation, the discharging operation is mostly finished at the same time as the recording is completed, and therefore the recording time can be shortened. Further, even when the color misregistration easily occurs due to the recording paper, the color misregistration can be suppressed by switching to the second discharging operation. That is, according to the present invention, if necessary,
The recording time per sheet of recording paper can be shortened, and in some cases, the recording time cannot be shortened so much, but color misregistration can be suppressed.

When the remaining amount of ink paper is small,
By switching to the first discharging operation for discharging while recording, the discharging operation of the recording paper can be reliably performed even when there is no margin in the length of the ink paper at the end of the ink paper.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a thermal transfer recording apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram showing a state of a mechanism unit in FIG. 1 during a sheet feeding operation.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a state during a recording operation of the mechanism section in FIG.

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a mechanical portion in a thermal transfer recording apparatus as another embodiment of the present invention.

5 is a front view showing an ink cassette mounted on the thermal transfer recording apparatus in FIG.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram for explaining the types of ink paper stored in the ink cassette in FIG.

FIG. 7 is a back view showing the back surface of the recording paper fed to the thermal transfer recording apparatus in FIG.

FIG. 8 is a configuration diagram of a mechanical portion in a thermal transfer recording apparatus as another embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a graph showing the relationship between the number of pulses output by the sensor in the thermal transfer recording apparatus in FIG. 8 and the number of remaining ink sheets.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Mechanism part, 2 ... System controller, 3 ... Circuit part,
4 ... Operation part, 101 Thermal head, 107 ... Ink paper, 1
10 ... Recording paper, 111 ... Drum, 113 ... Chuck, 4
01 ... Cassette discrimination sensor, 801 ... Reflector, 802 ...
Sensor.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A drum for rotating a rotation shaft in a fixed direction to wind and convey a recording paper fed from a paper feeding unit, and an end portion of the fed recording paper. A recording paper holding means for fixedly holding the outer periphery of the drum and a plurality of heating elements, and an ink paper formed by applying thermal transfer ink or the like to the recording paper wound around the drum is interposed therebetween. A heat sensitive head for thermally transferring the thermal transfer ink or the like applied to the ink paper to the recording paper by pressing the heating elements against each other to selectively generate heat. In a thermal transfer recording apparatus in which the recording paper is ejected from the paper ejection unit to the outside of the apparatus after performing the thermal transfer once or a plurality of times, the ejection operation when ejecting the recording paper is performed immediately before performing the final thermal transfer. The recording paper After releasing the fixed holding of the end portion of the recording paper by the holding means, and then performing the final thermal transfer, the first discharging operation of sequentially sending to the paper discharge portion from the end portion of the recording paper, and the final discharging operation. After the second thermal transfer is completed, the fixed holding of the end portion of the recording paper by the recording paper holding means is released, and the second discharging operation of sequentially sending to the paper discharge portion from the end portion of the recording paper is performed. The thermal transfer recording apparatus is characterized in that any one of them is selected. 2. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit that determines the type of the recording paper or the type of the ink paper, and the determination unit is selected from the first and second discharging operations. A thermal transfer recording apparatus, characterized in that the discharging operation is selected according to the determination result by the. 3. The thermal transfer recording apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit that detects the remaining amount of the ink paper, and the detection result obtained by the detection unit is selected from the first and second ejection operations. A thermal transfer recording apparatus characterized in that a discharge operation is selected according to the discharge operation.