JPH08142443A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a thermal transfer printer capable of removing the slackening of an ink ribbon due to the head-up operation converting a thermal head from a head-down state to a head-up state. CONSTITUTION: A taking-up gear driving mechanism 33 revolving the taking-up gear 20 connected to the taking-up bobbin 18 engaged with the taking-up reel of a ribbon cassette in an ink ribbon taking-up direction C on the way of head-up operation in connection with the head-up operation converting a thermal head 8 from a head-down state to a head-up state is provided to a carriage 6.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer, and more particularly to a thermal transfer printer capable of removing looseness of an ink ribbon due to head-up operation of a thermal head.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, plain paper, O
HP paper, cardboard, postcards, and other paper, and an ink ribbon coated with a desired ink are supported, and the thermal head having a plurality of heating elements arranged therein is reciprocally moved along with the carriage along the platen. By unwinding the ribbon and selectively heating the heating elements aligned with the thermal head based on print information,
BACKGROUND ART A thermal transfer printer that prints an image such as a desired character on a sheet is widely used as an output device such as a computer and a word processor because of its high printing quality, low noise, low cost, and ease of maintenance.

In such a conventional thermal transfer printer, in a head-down state in which the thermal head is in pressure contact with the platen and is located at a printable print position, the ink ribbon is wound up as the carriage moves.
The ink ribbon winding operation is not performed in a head-up state in which the thermal head is located at a non-printable non-printing position separated from the platen.

In order to wind the ink ribbon, in order to simplify the ink ribbon take-up mechanism and reduce the cost and size of the entire thermal transfer printer, a separate drive source is used for taking up the ink ribbon. It is often used that the driving force of the carriage is used instead of the arrangement.

[0005]

However, in the thermal transfer printer using the drive force of the carriage for winding the above-mentioned conventional ink ribbon, the carriage return for returning the carriage moved along the platen to the home position by printing. When the thermal head is moved from the head-down state to the head-up state, as in the case of the time, the ink ribbon take-up part and the carriage drive system are disconnected, and the thermal head is moved from the head-down state to the head-up state. There is a problem that the ink ribbon may be loosened due to the head-up operation. This slack in the ink ribbon causes the tip of the paper to catch the ink ribbon when a new paper is inserted into the thermal transfer printer, causing the ink ribbon or paper to jam, or causing the next printing operation such as line feed. When performing, to move the carriage in the blank print state from the head down state of the thermal head to the start of printing in order to remove the loosened part of the ink ribbon used for printing and prevent over-printing. There is a problem that a long distance is required and the width of the thermal transfer printer (length in the moving direction of the carriage) must be widened.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and provides a thermal transfer printer capable of removing the slack of an ink ribbon due to a head-up operation for changing a thermal head from a head-down state to a head-up state. With the goal.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a thermal transfer printer of the present invention according to claim 1 is provided with a platen and a carriage capable of reciprocating along the platen and carrying a ribbon cassette. A thermal head that moves toward and away from the platen on the carriage, and in a head-down state of the thermal head, an ink ribbon winding operation is performed as the carriage moves, and a head-up of the thermal head is performed. A thermal transfer printer configured not to perform an ink ribbon winding operation in a state, in which a head-up operation is performed in conjunction with a head-up operation from the head-down state of the thermal head to the carriage. Connected to the take-up bobbin that engages the take-up reel of the ribbon cassette in the middle of The take-up gear which is characterized in that a take-up gear driving mechanism for rotating operation in the ink ribbon take-up direction.

A thermal transfer printer according to a second aspect of the present invention is the thermal transfer printer according to the first aspect, wherein the winding gear drive mechanism includes a claw portion that engages with a tooth portion of the winding gear. A rotatable bobbin drive arm that operates in conjunction with the contact / separation operation and a claw portion of the bobbin drive arm are engaged with teeth of the take-up gear during the head-up operation to take up the take-up gear. And a cam body that guides it to rotate in the direction.

[0009]

According to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention having the above-mentioned structure, the winding gear drive mechanism is driven in association with the head-up operation from the head-down state to the head-up state of the thermal head. By doing
The winding gear drive mechanism can wind the ink ribbon by rotating the winding gear connected to the winding bobbin of the ribbon cassette in the ink ribbon winding direction during the head-up operation of the thermal head. .

According to another aspect of the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, the drive arm is driven by driving the drive arm in conjunction with the head-up operation from the head-down state to the head-up state of the thermal head. The claw part is guided by the cam body and engages with the tooth part of the winding gear during the head-up operation to rotate the winding gear connected to the winding bobbin of the ribbon cassette in the ink ribbon winding direction. The ink ribbon can be wound up.

[0011]

The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

First, an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

1 to 3 show an essential part of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the essential part showing an outline of the entire construction, and FIG. 2 is a head-up. FIG. 4 is a partially cut plan view showing an essential part of the carriage in a state, and FIG. 3 is a partially cut plan view showing an essential part of the carriage in a head-down state.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present embodiment, a platen 3 having a flat plate shape is arranged at a substantially central portion of a frame 2 so that its printing surface is substantially vertical. A guide shaft 4 is arranged in parallel with the platen 3 below the platen 3 of the frame 2. A flange-shaped guide portion 5 is formed on the front edge of the frame 2, and a carriage 6 is attached to the guide shaft 4 and the guide portion 5. Then, the carriage 6 drives a drive belt 7 wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown) by a stepping motor (not shown), and moves along a double-headed arrow A in FIG. 1 along the guide shaft 4 and the guide portion 5. Can be reciprocally driven in the directions indicated by.

A thermal head 8 is provided at the tip of the carriage 6 so as to be opposed to the platen 3 and can be brought into and out of contact with the platen 3 by an appropriate head contacting / separating mechanism. The thermal head 8 includes a plurality of heat generating elements (not shown) arranged in an array that selectively generate heat based on desired print information input by an appropriate input device such as a keyboard (not shown).

A ribbon cassette 10 for accommodating an ink ribbon 9 to be described later and guiding the ink ribbon 9 between the thermal head 8 and the platen 3 is mounted on the upper surface of the carriage 6. .

Further, behind the platen 3, there is formed a paper insertion port 11 for feeding a plain paper, an OHP paper, a cardboard, a postcard (not shown) to the front of the platen 3, and the paper insertion. A paper feed roller 12 that conveys the paper at a predetermined speed is provided at the mouth 11. Below the paper feed roller 12, a pressure contact roller 13 that is in pressure contact with the paper feed roller 12 is rotatably arranged.
The paper inserted from the paper insertion port 11 is sandwiched between the paper feed roller 12 and the pressure contact roller 13 and conveyed.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the carriage 6 is provided with a thermal head mount 14 for disposing the thermal head 8 so as to face the platen 3. The thermal head 8 is attached to the head mount 14. The thermal head mounting base 14 is attached to the upper surface of a head lever 15 that constitutes a head contact / separation mechanism. The head lever 15 is a lever support shaft disposed slightly to the right of the center of the upper portion of the carriage 6. It is rotatably attached to 16.

The head lever 15 is driven by a driving means (not shown) such as a motor for driving the head contacting / separating mechanism and the ribbon traveling mechanism, as shown by a double-headed arrow B in FIG. In a head-up state (FIG. 2) in which the thermal head 8 is rotated and is positioned at a non-printable non-printing position separated from the platen 3, and the thermal head 8 is pressed against the platen 3 to perform printable printing. The head-down state (FIG. 3) located at the position can be selectively set. Further, a biasing spring 17 is disposed between the tip end portion of the head lever 15 located on the lower left side in FIG. 2 and the upper left side of the carriage 6, and the biasing spring 17 causes the head lever 15 to move. Keep the thermal head 8 on the platen 3
It is biased in the direction of pressing.

Further, a winding bobbin 18 and a sending bobbin 19 for the ink ribbon 9 constituting the ribbon traveling mechanism are arranged on the carriage 6 so as to project from the upper surface of the carriage 6. Below the winding bobbin 18, a winding meshed via a winding transmission gear (both not shown) that is freely movable to and from the driving means such as a motor for driving the ribbon traveling mechanism. The take-up gear 20 is coaxially attached via a slip mechanism (not shown). When the thermal head 8 is in the head-down state, the ribbon traveling mechanism rotates the take-up bobbin 18 in the counterclockwise direction, which is the ink ribbon take-up direction shown by the arrow C in FIG. 3, as the carriage 6 moves. The winding operation of the ink ribbon 9 is performed, and when the thermal head 8 is in the head-up state, the winding bobbin 18 and the winding transmission gear (not shown) are separated from each other, and the winding gear 20 is set in the free state to wind the ink ribbon 9. It is configured not to perform the picking operation.

Further, a bobbin drive arm 21 is attached to the head lever 15 of this embodiment. The bobbin drive arm 21 is formed in a substantially bell-crank shape, and the arm support shaft 23 is arranged such that a substantially central portion in the longitudinal direction of an upper arm 22 located at the upper side in FIG. 2 is arranged near the tip end portion of the head lever 15. Is rotatably attached to the arm support shaft 23, and is rotatable about the arm support shaft 23. The lever support shaft 16 is rotated about the lever support shaft 16 as a whole. It has become. At the free end of the upper arm 22 of the bobbin drive arm 21, there is formed a spring mounting portion 22a extending substantially upward in FIG. 2 from the free end. A spring member 25 is disposed between the left end portion of 15 and a claw portion 24, which will be described later, that constantly biases the claw portion 24 toward the tooth portion 20a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the winding gear 20. Further, a substantially triangular claw portion 24 is formed at the free end of the lower arm 26 shown below the bobbin drive arm 21 in FIG. The claw portion 24 is used for the winding gear 2
0 tooth portion 20a can be engaged, and its claw portion 24
Are arranged so that the tops of the teeth face the teeth 20a of the winding gear 20. The claw portion 24 is positioned so as to be located at a position apart from the tooth portion 20a of the winding gear 20 in the head-up state shown in FIG. 2 and the head-down state shown in FIG.

On the lower surface side of the free end of the lower arm 26 of the bobbin drive arm 21, a pin-shaped first boss 27a as a boss 27 is provided so as to project. Also, the bobbin drive arm 2
An auxiliary arm 28 is provided on the left side of the left end surface of the first lower arm 26. A base end portion 29 of the auxiliary arm 28 is attached near the bent portion of the bobbin drive arm 21,
The bobbin drive arm 21 has a parallel portion 30 extending substantially parallel to the left end surface of the lower arm 26. This parallel part 30 is
It has an elastic force, and the boss 2 is attached to the lower surface side of its free end.
A pin-shaped second boss 27b as a protrusion 7 is provided.

Two cam bodies 32 are provided on the carriage 6 so as to project therefrom. One of the cam bodies 32 is a first cam body 32a formed in a substantially arc shape, and the other is a second cam body 32b formed in a substantially linear shape. Then, each cam body 32 forms the first boss 27a and the second boss 27b during the head-up operation from the head-down state to the head-up state and the head-down operation from the head-up state to the head-down state of the thermal head 8. Guide the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21.
The movement locus L of the tip (top) of the is controlled as shown by the chain line in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. 4 shows an enlarged movement locus L of the claw portion 24.

In the present embodiment, the bobbin drive arm 21, the spring member 25 and the cam body 32 constitute a winding gear drive mechanism 33.

The ribbon cassette 10 used in the thermal transfer printer 1 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the outer appearance of the ribbon cassette used in the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

The ribbon cassette 10 of this embodiment is called a multi-time ink ribbon cartridge which can be used by reversing the front and back sides thereof, and as shown in FIG. 4, a pair of plane substantially rectangular cases. In the main body 34, a pair of rotatably supported reels 35 and a plurality of guide rollers 36 facing the rotatably supported ribbon path are arranged.

The pair of reels 35 are formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and the ink ribbon 9 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of each reel 35.
Are wound from both ends. When the pair of reels 35 is mounted on the carriage 6, one of the reels 35 is a take-up reel 3 that winds the ink ribbon 9 of the portion used for printing.
5a, and the other is a delivery reel 35b for delivering the ink ribbon 9.

On the inner peripheral surface of each reel 35, a plurality of key bodies 37 are formed in a spline shape at intervals in the circumferential direction, and one reel 35a shown on the left side in FIG.
The inner peripheral surface of the winding hole 3 is engaged with the winding bobbin 18.
8a and the other reel 35 shown on the right side in FIG.
The inner peripheral surface of b is a delivery hole 38b with which the delivery bobbin 19 is engaged. In the head-down state, the take-up bobbin 18 is driven in synchronization with the movement of the carriage 6, and a back tension is applied by the delivery bobbin 19 to run the ink ribbon 9.

Further, the case main body 34 of the ribbon cassette 10 on the side facing the platen 3 is formed with a recess 39 facing the thermal head 8 shown by an imaginary line in FIG. The middle part of 9 has been derived.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment having the above-described configuration will be described.

The thermal transfer printer 1 of this embodiment is driven,
In a print standby state before printing on a sheet (not shown), the head lever 15 is rotated counterclockwise about the lever support shaft 16, and the thermal head 8 is moved relative to the platen 3 as shown in FIG. The head-up state is located at a non-printing position where printing is not possible and is separated. The head lever 15 is disposed on the head lever 15.
The bobbin drive arm 21 and the spring member 25 that constitute the winding gear drive mechanism 33 that operates in conjunction with the rotation operation of the
As shown in FIG. 2, it is located at the retracted position farthest from the platen 3.

To further explain, as shown in FIG. 2, the bobbin drive arm 21 in the head-up state is located at the retracted position farthest from the platen 3, and the tip of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21. The (top) is spaced obliquely downward left of the winding gear 20 so as to face the tooth portion 20a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the winding gear 20. The first boss 27a of the bobbin drive arm 21 is in contact with the lower end of the cam surface 40 of the first cam body 32a formed on the carriage 6. The position on the movement locus L of the tip end of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21 in this head-up state is indicated by the symbol UP in FIG.

Next, when the printing operation by the printer 1 of the present embodiment is started, the paper (not shown) causes the ink ribbon 9
After being set between the head and the platen 3, the thermal head 8 is moved from the head-up state shown in FIG. 2 to the head-down state shown in FIG. The head-down operation of the thermal head 8 is shown in FIG.
This is performed by rotating the head lever 15 located in the retracted position shown in (1) clockwise around the lever support shaft 16. Then, by the head-down operation, the bobbin drive arm 21 and the spring member 25, which constitute the winding gear drive mechanism 33, rotate in the clockwise direction about the lever support shaft 16 in conjunction with the rotation operation of the head lever 15. Move to approach the platen 3. The movement of the bobbin drive arm 21 causes the second boss 27 of the auxiliary arm 28 to move.
b is moved by the elastic force of the parallel portion 30 along the left surface 41a of the cam surface 41 of the second cam body 32b formed on the carriage 6. At this time, the first boss 27a of the bobbin drive arm 21 moves in a state of being separated from the left surface 40a of the cam surface 40 of the first cam body 32a formed on the carriage 6. As a result, the claw portion 2 of the bobbin drive arm 21
4 has a tip (top) on the movement locus L shown in FIG.
In the state of being separated from the winding gear 20, the tooth portion 20 formed on the outer peripheral surface of the winding gear 20 is indicated by an arrow D in FIG.
The head moves down so as to face a.

Next, when the printer 1 of this embodiment is brought into a head-down state in which the thermal head 8 is positioned at a printable print position where the thermal head 8 is pressed against the platen 3, the printer 1 is disposed on the head lever 15 and As shown in FIG. 3, the bobbin drive arm 21 and the spring member 25, which constitute the winding gear drive mechanism 33 that operates in conjunction with the turning operation of the lever 15, are located at the forward position in pressure contact with the platen 3. .

To further explain, as shown in FIG. 3, the bobbin drive arm 21 in the head-down state is located at the closest forward position to the platen 3, and the tip of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21 is located. The (top) is spaced apart on the left side of the winding gear 20 so as to face the tooth portion 20a formed on the outer peripheral surface of the winding gear 20. And
The first boss 27a of the bobbin drive arm 21 is in contact with the upper end portion of the left surface 40a of the cam surface 40 of the first cam body 32a formed on the carriage 6. The position on the movement locus L of the tip of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21 in this head-down state is indicated by the symbol DP in FIG.

Then, in this head-down state,
While the carriage 6 moves along the platen 3,
In synchronism with the movement of the carriage 6, the winding gear 20 is driven as shown by an arrow C in FIG. 3 to selectively perform the winding operation of the ink ribbon 9 and the heat generation of the heating element (not shown) of the thermal head 8. And printed.

Next, when printing of one line or all of the paper is completed, the take-up bobbin 18 and the take-up transmission gear (not shown) are separated from each other, the take-up gear 20 is set in the free state, and the thermal head 8 is A head-up operation of moving from the head-down state shown in FIG. 3 to the head-up state shown in FIG. 2 is performed.

The head-up operation of the thermal head 8 is performed by the head lever 15 located at the forward position shown in FIG.
Is rotated counterclockwise about the lever support shaft 16. Then, by the head-up operation, the bobbin drive arm 21 and the spring member 25, which constitute the winding gear drive mechanism 33, rotate counterclockwise about the lever support shaft 16 in conjunction with the rotation operation of the head lever 15. Then, the platen 3 is moved away from the platen 3. By this movement of the bobbin drive arm 21, the first boss 27a of the bobbin drive arm 21 constantly urges the free end of the lower arm 26 of the bobbin drive arm 21 counterclockwise about the arm support shaft 23. The left surface 40a of the cam surface 40 of the first cam body 32a formed on the carriage 6 is moved by the biasing force of the spring member 25 that biases the tip of the claw portion 24 toward the tooth portion 20a of the winding gear 20. Move along. At this time, the second boss 27b of the auxiliary arm 28
Moves while separating the cam surface 41 of the second cam body 32b formed on the carriage 6 from the right surface 41b side. As a result, the tip (top) of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21 moves along the movement locus L shown in FIG. 4 as indicated by the arrow E in FIG.
3 engages with the tooth portion 20a of the take-up gear 20 to move the take-up gear 20 in the ink ribbon take-up direction indicated by an arrow C in FIG.
In this embodiment, the winding gear 2 is rotated after rotating about 9 degrees.
It is separated from 0 and the head-up state shown in FIG. 2 is restored.

That is, the claw portion 2 of the bobbin drive arm 21
4 causes the winding gear 20 to rotate in the winding direction of the ink ribbon 9 during the head-up operation, and the rotation of the winding gear 20 is coaxial with the winding gear 20. The take-up bobbin 18 disposed in the ink ribbon 9 is rotated in the ink ribbon take-up direction to prevent looseness of the ink ribbon 9 caused by the head-up operation of the conventional thermal head 8.
Can be reliably removed by winding.

Therefore, the thermal transfer printer 1 of this embodiment
According to this, since the slack of the ink ribbon 9 caused by the head-up operation of the thermal head 8 can be surely removed, when the new paper is inserted due to the slack of the conventional ink ribbon 9, the leading end of the paper is In order to prevent the ink ribbon 9 from being jammed or jammed, or when the next printing operation is performed, the loosened portion of the ink ribbon 9 used for printing is removed to prevent repeated ejection. It is necessary to increase the movement distance of the carriage 6 in the blank printing state from the time when the thermal head 8 is in the head-down state to the time when printing is started, and the width of the thermal transfer printer (length in the carriage movement direction) must be widened. The inconvenience of having to be eliminated is surely removed, and the thermal transfer printer 1
It is possible to surely reduce the size. In addition, each cam body 3
The shape of 2 may be any shape as long as the tip (top) of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21 rotates the winding gear 20 in the winding direction of the ink ribbon 9 during the head-up operation. It is not limited to the shape of this embodiment.

6 to 8 show the vicinity of the winding gear drive mechanism of another embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention, and FIG. 6 is a plan view of the main part showing the head-up state, FIG. 7 is a plan view of an essential part showing a head-down state, and FIG. 8 is a left side view of the cam body.

The take-up gear drive mechanism 33A of the thermal transfer printer 1A of the present embodiment is the thermal transfer printer 1 of the above-described embodiment.
The spring member 25 of the take-up gear drive mechanism 33 is not provided, and the height difference formed on the carriage 6 and the bobbin drive arm 21A which is elastically deformable and is formed of resin such as Duracon is used. One cam body 32A having
It is composed of Other configurations are similar to those of the above-mentioned thermal transfer printer.

A more detailed description will be given.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a curved spring portion 42 is formed at the free end of the upper arm portion 22 of the bobbin drive arm 21A of the thermal transfer printer 1A of this embodiment, and the free end thereof is formed. Is pressed against the right surface of the side wall 43 formed on the head lever 15 with an appropriate biasing force. The bobbin drive arm 21A does not have the pin-shaped first boss 27a as the boss 27, and the boss is provided only on the lower surface side of the free end of the parallel portion 30A of the auxiliary arm 28A formed in a substantially linear shape. 27A is formed. This boss 2
7A is always in pressure contact with the cam body 45 by the urging force of the spring portion 42. In addition, the carriage 6 has
Only one cam body 32A having a height difference is formed.

The cam body 32A of this embodiment is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG.
And a substantially trapezoidal projection 46 formed by protruding to the left above the base portion 45. The height of the protrusion 46 is, for example, about 0.7 mm, which is lower than the height of the base 45. The upper side surface of the protrusion 46 extends parallel to the upper end surface of the base portion 45, and the substantially upper half of the protrusion 46 gradually increases from the upper portion in contact with the carriage 6 to the lower portion. It is an inclined surface 47 that is inclined to.

In the head-up state shown in FIG. 6, the boss 27A of this embodiment is in contact with the left side surface of the base portion 45 of the cam body 32A in a state of being separated from the protrusion portion 46 of the cam body 32A. It is located below 46, and along with the head-down operation, the protrusion 4 is formed along the left side surface of the base 45.
After moving toward the lower end surface of 6, the left side of the protrusion 46 is moved along the side surface of the protrusion 46. Then, in the head-down state shown in FIG.
Is located in the vicinity of the left end of the upper side surface, and moves along the head-up operation on the inclined surface 47 of the protrusion 46 toward the left side surface on the upper end side of the base portion 45 by the elasticity of the auxiliary arm 28A. , Moves downward along the left side surface of the base portion 45, then, after overcoming the protrusion 46, returns to the head-up state shown in FIG. The operation of the boss 27A is similar to the operation of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21 to the tip of the claw portion 24 of the bobbin drive arm 21 described above, and the take-up gear 20 is moved in the ink ribbon take-up direction during the head-up operation. It is controlled to drive.

With this structure, this embodiment has the same effects as the above-described embodiments, and the winding gear drive mechanism 33A has the bobbin drive arm 21A.
Since it can be configured by one cam body 32A having a height difference formed on the carriage 6, it is possible to surely reduce the number of components, and reduce the labor and economic burden of inventory management of the components. You can

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, but can be modified as necessary.

[0050]

As described above, according to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, at the time of head-up operation, the tip of the claw portion of the bobbin drive arm of the winding gear drive mechanism is wound in conjunction with the head-up operation of the thermal head. Engage with the teeth of the take-up gear,
The take-up gear is driven in the ink ribbon take-up direction, and the drive of the take-up gear causes the take-up bobbin, which is interlocked with the take-up gear, to rotate in the ink ribbon take-up direction so that the ink ribbon in the ribbon cassette is moved. Since the ink can be wound up, the slack of the ink ribbon due to the head-up operation for changing the thermal head from the head-down state to the head-up state can be surely removed, which is an extremely excellent effect.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic main part of an overall configuration of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view showing a main portion near a carriage in a head-up state of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway plan view showing an essential part near a carriage in a head-down state of an embodiment of a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view for explaining a movement locus of a claw portion of an embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the outer appearance of a ribbon cassette used in the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a main part in the vicinity of a winding gear drive mechanism in a head-up state of another embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an essential part near a winding gear drive mechanism in a head-down state of another embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a left side view showing a cam body of another embodiment of the thermal transfer printer according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1, 1A Thermal Transfer Printer 6 Carriage 8 Thermal Head 9 Ink Ribbon 10 Ribbon Cassette 15 Head Lever 16 Lever Support Shaft 18 Winding Bobbin 20 Winding Gear 20a (Take-up Gear) Teeth 21, 21A Bobbin Drive Arm 23 Arm Support Shaft 24 Claw portion 25 Spring member 27, 27A Boss 28, 28A Auxiliary arm 32, 32A Cam body 33, 33A Take-up gear drive mechanism 35a Take-up reel B Head lever rotation direction C Ink ribbon take-up direction D During head-down operation Direction of movement on the movement locus of the claw portion of the bobbin drive arm E Movement direction on the movement locus of the claw portion of the bobbin drive arm during head-up operation L Movement locus of the claw portion of the bobbin drive arm UP Bobbin drive in the head-up state Position on the moving path of the arm claw DP Bobbin drive in the head-up state Position on the moving locus of the claw portion of the arm

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A head of the thermal head, comprising: a platen, a carriage capable of reciprocating along the platen and capable of mounting a ribbon cassette, and a thermal head for moving the carriage to and from the platen. A thermal transfer printer configured to perform an ink ribbon take-up operation in accordance with movement of the carriage in a down state and not perform an ink ribbon take-up operation in a head-up state of the thermal head. In conjunction with the head-up operation from the head-down state to the head-up state of the thermal head, the take-up bobbin connected to the take-up bobbin that engages with the take-up reel of the ribbon cassette during the head-up operation. A winding gear drive mechanism that rotates the gear in the ink ribbon winding direction is provided. Thermal transfer printer and butterflies. 2. A bobbin drive arm having a rotatable bobbin drive arm, which is provided with a claw portion that engages with a tooth portion of a take-up gear, and is interlocked with a contact / separation operation of the thermal head. And a cam body for guiding the take-up gear to rotate in the ink ribbon take-up direction by engaging the claw portion of the drive arm with the tooth portion of the take-up gear during the head-up operation. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 1.