JPS6321168A - Transferring method - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Technical Field The present invention relates to a transfer method in a thermal printer that uses an ink sheet to transfer ink to recording paper.

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a conventional device of this type will be described with reference to FIG. First, a platen roll 1 connected to a drive device (not shown) is provided, and above the platen roll 1 there is a thermal head 2 in which a large number of heating elements (not shown) are arranged on a straight line along the platen roll 1. is provided. A recording paper 3 of a constant width and an ink sheet 4 of approximately the same width as the recording paper 3 are inserted between the thermal head 2 and the platen roll 1 so as to overlap each other. The recording paper 3 is fed by a feed roller 5,
The ink sheet 4 is wound around a supply shaft 6, and the used ink sheet 4 is taken up by a take-up shaft 7. The supply shaft 6 and the take-up shaft 7 are connected to a drive section (not shown) and driven together.

Thus, the recording paper 3 and the ink sheet 4 are driven synchronously by driving the platen roll l and the supply shaft 6 and the take-up shaft 7, and at the same time, thermal output is generated from the thermal head 2 according to the image signal. The printing operation progresses by melting the ink on the ink sheet 4 by its thermal output and transferring the ink to the recording paper 3.

The ink sheet 4 used in such a thermal transfer method is
It is made very thin for the purpose of good thermal conductivity.

For example, the base made of polyester or the like has a thickness of about 10 μm, and the thickness of the ink layer formed on one surface of the base is also about 1 OL. Therefore, it is troublesome to handle, and it is easily wrinkled or torn during feeding operation. Therefore, the mutual power of the supply shaft 6 and the take-up shaft 7 is balanced and synchronized with the feeding speed of the recording paper 3. In order to prevent wrinkles from forming on the ink sheet 4, a braking force is often applied to the ink feed side, but this increases the number of parts, complicates the structure, and results in an expensive device. . Further, in order to make the ink sheet 4 easier to handle, it is made into a cassette as shown by the dotted line in FIG. 5 to make it easier to handle, but this also makes the ink sheet 4 expensive, which is not preferable.

Furthermore, as a simple method, as shown in FIG. 6, there is also a method of adhering the end of the ink sheet 4 to the recording paper 3 with an adhesive tape 8, overlapping the ink sheet 4 and the recording paper 3, and feeding them as one unit. Exists. However, as described above, the ink sheet 4 is extremely thin, and it is very difficult to flatten it due to static electricity attraction. In addition, when adhesive tape is used, it may crease, and since the area other than the adhesive tape is in a free state, it may swell or shift during handling, causing wrinkles or folds. It is difficult to handle.

In addition, in each of the above-mentioned means, since both the recording paper 3 and the ink sheet 4 are fed at the same rate, the required amount of the ink sheet 4 is equal to the length of the recording paper 3, which is not actually used for printing. Even if the recording paper 3 is fed in this state, the ink sheet 4 will also be fed by the same amount, and there is a problem in that the amount of consumption is large.

OBJECTS The present invention aims to provide a transfer method in which an ink sheet is smoothly fed and there is no wasteful consumption of the ink sheet.

Structure The present invention provides a method of positioning a recording paper on the platen roll side between a platen roll and a thermal head that face each other, and inserting the recording paper and the ink sheet in a superimposed manner.
The recording paper and the ink sheet are pressurized in the thickness direction by the platen roll and the thermal head, and the recording paper is fed out by rotation of the platen roll. Therefore, feeding force is applied to the recording paper by the rotation of the platen roll, but when the ink on the ink sheet is transferred to the recording paper based on the heat generated by the thermal head, the adhesive force of the ink causes the ink sheet to be It is integrated with the paper and sent out at the same time, and when there is no recording signal, the recording paper and ink sheet slip and the ink sheet is not sent. As a result, the ink sheet is only sent as much as is necessary for transfer. In addition, since the ink sheet is fed with the recording paper by the adhesive force of the ink melted during transfer, the feeding force is stable over the entire width, and there is no possibility of wrinkles or folding during feeding. There is nothing to do.

A first embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 3. First, in FIG. 1, a platen roll 9 connected to a drive device (not shown) is mounted so that its axis can move vertically. A long thermal head 10 is provided. This thermal head 1
A large number of heating elements 11 are provided at the lower end of o, which are arranged in a straight line along its longitudinal direction. The thermal head 1o is mounted so as to be movable in the vertical direction.

Next, a tray 12 with an upward opening is provided on the - side, and an ink sheet 14 wound in a roll around a shaft 13 is thrown into this tray 12.

Further, the recording paper 16 is sent out by the feed roll 15,
The recording paper 16 and the ink sheet 14 are inserted between the platen roll 9 and the thermal head 10 so as to be overlapped with each other.

These recording paper 16 and ink sheet 14 are pressed with a constant pressure in their thickness direction between the platen roll 9 and the thermal head 10.

In such a configuration, the platen roll 9 is driven and rotated based on the paper feed signal, but when there is no printing command, the heating element 11 of the thermal head 10 is not energized, so the ink on the ink sheet 14 melts. Since the frictional force between the recording paper 16 and the ink sheet 14 is low, a slip occurs between the two, and only the recording paper 16 is sent out. Therefore, in this state, the ink sheet 14 is not consumed.

Next, when a print command is issued, the heating element 11 of the thermal head IQ is selectively energized, whereby the ink on the ink sheet 14 is melted and transferred onto the recording paper 16. As a result, the ink sheet 14 is transferred to the recording paper 16 through the ink.
When the recording paper 16 is fed, the ink sheet 14 is also fed at the same time. of course,
Since the adhesive force between the two through the ink is not very strong, once the platen roll 9 and the thermal head 1o pass through the pressure contact area, they are separated and only the ink is transferred to the recording paper 16. Become.

Next, what is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is a cassette of the ink sheet 14, and the cassette body 17 has a cylindrical storage section 18 and a guide section 19 protruding from the storage section 18. An opening 20 is formed at the tip of the second guide part 19, and a sawtooth-shaped cutter 21 is provided at the upper edge of this opening 20. Furthermore, a feeding window 22 is formed on the upper surface of the guide portion 19 to allow the ink sheet 14 to be fed out with a finger. Furthermore, a lid 23 is detachably attached to the side surface of the cassette body 17,
By opening this lid 23, the cassette main body 17
The ink sheet 14 can be stored inside the storage section 18.

By storing the ink sheet 14 in the cassette main body 17 in this manner, handling of the ink sheet 14 becomes easy.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described based on FIG. The same parts as in the previous embodiment are designated by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted. In this embodiment, a thermal head 10 is rotatably attached to a support shaft 24, and an arm 25 is attached to this thermal head 10.
A tension spring 26 is attached to the arm 25 so that the heating element 11 portion of the thermal head 10 is biased toward the platen roll 9. A motor 28 serving as a drive device is connected to the platen roll 9 via a belt 27.

In such a configuration, the recording paper 16 and the ink sheet 14 can be inserted by separating the thermal head 10 from the platen roll 9 against the tension of the tension spring 26, but after they are inserted, the thermal head 1
0 is urged toward the platen roll 9 by the force of the tension spring 26 and presses the recording paper 16 and the ink sheet 14 together. This embodiment is similar to the embodiment described above in that only the recording paper 16 is sent when there is no print signal, and when there is ink transfer during printing, the ink sheet 14 is sent together with the recording paper 16.

Effects Since the present invention is configured as described above, when a feeding force is applied to the recording paper due to the rotation of the platen roll, when the ink on the ink sheet is transferred to the recording paper based on the heat generated by the thermal head. Because of the adhesive strength of the ink, the ink sheet is integrated with the recording paper and sent out at the same time, and when there is no recording signal, the recording paper and the ink sheet do not slip and the ink sheet is not sent. The sheet is fed only as much as is necessary for transfer, reducing its consumption.Also, since the ink sheet is fed along with the recording paper due to the adhesive force of the ink melted during transfer, the feeding force is stable over the entire width. This has the advantage that the ink sheet does not wrinkle or break during feeding.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a side view showing a first embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional side view showing an example of an ink sheet in a cassette state, Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view thereof, and Fig. 4 is a booklet. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a second embodiment of the invention, FIG. 5 is a side view showing a conventional example, and FIG. 6 is a side view showing another conventional example.

Claims (1)

[Claims] A recording paper is positioned on the platen roll side between a platen roll and a thermal head that face each other, and the recording paper and the ink sheet are inserted in a superimposed manner, and the recording paper and the ink sheet are overlapped and inserted between the platen roll and the thermal head. A transfer method characterized in that the recording paper is fed out by pressing the ink sheet in the thickness direction and rotating the platen roll.