KR0168281B1 - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

A thermal transfer printer capable of printing using an ink ribbon coated with a hot melt ink and printing using an ink ribbon coated with a sublimable ink.

The thermal head 7 is driven while moving the thermal head 7 mounted on the carriage 4 along the platen 2 with the ink ribbon 17 and the sheet to be brought into contact with the platen 2. A first recording mode in which printing is performed by thermal melting transfer on a paper by using a heat-melting ink ribbon 17a as the ink ribbon 17 as printing on the paper, and a thermal sublimable ink ribbon as the ink ribbon 17. The second recording mode for printing the paper by thermal sublimation transfer using (17b) has a control section 25 that can be selectively switched based on the mode signal.

Description

Thermal transfer printer

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

2 is a schematic side view showing the main part of the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment,

3 is a schematic side view of a carriage of the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment,

4 is a configuration diagram showing an ink ribbon sensing operation state of the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment,

5 is a configuration diagram showing a carriage return operation state of the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment,

6 is a configuration diagram showing a first recording state of the thermal transfer printer of this embodiment;

7 is a configuration diagram showing a second recording state of the thermal transfer printer of this embodiment,

8 is a perspective view showing the configuration of the peeling lever and the head lever in the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment;

9 is a plan sectional view showing a ribbon cassette of a heat-melt ink ribbon used in the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment,

10 is a plan sectional view showing a ribbon cassette of a thermal sublimable ink ribbon used in the thermal transfer printer of the present embodiment,

11 is a block diagram showing a control system configuration of the thermal transfer printer of this embodiment.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

1: thermal transfer printer 2: printing plate

3: guide shaft 4: carriage

5 ribbon cassette 6 drive belt

7: thermal head 8: parallel crank mechanism

9a, 9b: Link 10a ~ 10b: Pin

11: rotating crank mechanism 12: rotating plate

14: connecting link 16: bobbin

17: ink ribbon 18: first optical sensor

19: canopy 23: identification mark

24: reflection seal 25: motor

26: output pinion gear 27: transmission gear

28: cam 30: cam groove

32: support shaft 33: head lever

34: head attachment 36: head pressure lever

38: spring holding portion 40: rack

41: drive gear 42: support shaft

44: rocking plate 46: axis

47: transmission gear 48: winding gear

53: peeling lever 54: peeling roller

60: pressure plate 70: control unit

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 printing on a variety of different types of paper and capable of printing high quality images comparable to silver-lead photographs using exclusive paper. .

Generally, the ink head is released by reciprocating along the platen, such as a carriage, with a thermal head having a plurality of heat generating elements arranged thereon while supporting an ink ribbon coated with paper and desired ink on the front side of the platen. By selectively heating the heating elements arranged in the thermal head based on the printing information, the thermal transfer printer which prints images such as desired characters on the paper has high factor quality, low noise, low cost, ease of maintenance, and the like. It is widely used as an output device of a computer, a word processor, etc. for a reason.

As such a conventional thermal transfer printer, printing is performed on paper using an ink ribbon (heat-melt ink ribbon) coated with a heat-melting ink on a base film made of a plastic film, and a sublimable ink is applied on a base film. It is known to print a sheet using an ink ribbon (heat sublimable ink ribbon).

Thermal transfer printers (hereinafter referred to as thermal melt thermal transfer printers) which print on paper using a double heat-melt ink ribbon can print on a wide variety of paper types such as ordinary paper, thick paper, and postcards. It is an excellent convenience for writing.

On the other hand, a thermal transfer printer (hereinafter referred to as a thermal sublimation thermal transfer printer) which prints on a sheet using the other sublimable ink ribbon is comparable to a silver-lead photograph using a dedicated paper subjected to surface treatment as a sheet. High-quality print images can be obtained.

In addition, since the heat-melt type thermal transfer printer and the heat sublimation type thermal transfer printer differ from each other in the characteristics of the ink to be used, they are conventionally used as separate thermal transfer printers in the related art.

However, in the above-described conventional thermal transfer printer, since the thermal melting thermal transfer printer and the thermal sublimation thermal transfer printer are each practically used separately, they require a general printing on paper and a high quality printing comparable to silver-leaved photographs. In this case, it is necessary to use two thermal transfer printers different from the thermal melting thermal transfer printer and the thermal melting thermal transfer printer, which requires a large installation space and increases the economic burden. .

Therefore, it is desired to print using an ink ribbon to which a heat-melting ink is applied and to print using an ink ribbon to which a sublimable ink is applied by one thermal transfer printer.

The present invention has been made in view of these points, and an object thereof is to provide a thermal transfer printer capable of printing using an ink ribbon to which a heat-melting ink is applied and printing using an ink ribbon to which a sublimable ink is applied. .

It is another object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer printer for printing a sheet by driving the thermal head while moving the thermal head mounted on the carriage along the platen with the ink ribbon and paper sandwiched with the platen. A first recording mode for printing the sheet by thermal fusion transfer using a heat-melt ink ribbon as an ink ribbon, and a second printing process for thermal sublimation transfer on a sheet using a thermal sublimable ink ribbon as the ink ribbon. There is provided a thermal transfer printer having a control unit that can selectively switch a recording mode based on a mode signal.

Further, another object of the present invention is that the control unit makes the moving speed of the carriage in the second recording mode slower than the moving speed of the carriage in the first recording mode based on all the signals, and at the same time, in the second recording mode. The present invention provides a thermal transfer printer which controls the thermal energy per dot of the thermal head to be greater than the thermal energy per dot of the thermal head in the first recording mode.

Further, another object of the present invention is that the control unit is configured to control the pressure of the thermal head to the platen in the first recording mode and the thermal head to the platen in the second recording mode based on all signals. And a thermal transfer printer for selectively switching the pressure contact force and controlling the pressure contact force of the thermal head to the platen in the second recording mode to be weaker than the pressure contact force of the thermal head to the platen in the first recording mode. To provide.

Further, another object of the present invention is to arrange a plurality of ribbon cassettes including a ribbon cassette containing a thermally meltable ink ribbon therein and a ribbon cassette containing a thermal sublimable ink ribbon therein so as to face the carriage. At the same time, the control unit provides a thermal transfer printer which selects a desired ribbon cassette from among the plurality of ribbon cassettes based on all signals and controls the mountable on the carriage.

Another object of the invention is to have peeling position control means for selectively changing the peeling time until peeling of the ink ribbon after printing from the sheet in response to the mode signal to be executed, and in the second recording mode. The thermal transfer printer which controls the peeling time to be longer than the peeling time in the first recording mode.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the present invention. In the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present embodiment, the plate-shaped printing plate 2 has almost the recording surface 2a at a desired position of a frame (not shown). Arranged so as to be vertical, the guide shaft 3 is arrange | positioned in parallel with the platen 2 in the front lower side of this platen 2. And the carriage 4 divided up and down is attached to the suitable position of the guide shaft 3, and the one carriage 4a shown below becomes a lower carriage attached to the guide shaft 3, and is shown above. The other carriage 4b to which the ribbon cassette 5 mentioned later is attached is made into the upper carriage which can be folded up and down with respect to the lower carriage 4a. These carriages 4 freely reciprocate along the guide shaft 3 by driving a suitable drive belt 6 wound around a pair of pulleys (not shown) by a drive means (not shown) such as a stepping motor. To be driven. In addition, the carriage 4 can select one of two stages of the moving speed by the control part 70 mentioned later, a high speed and a low speed.

The carriage 4 is grounded by a well-known head moving mechanism (not shown together) which is opposite to the platen 2 and which can be operated with the driving force of the motor 25 described later with respect to the platen 2. The thermal head 7 which is free and which writes on the sheet | seat (not shown) on the printing plate 2 in the contact-contact state (head-down state) which abuts against the printing plate 2 is arrange | positioned. The thermal head 7 is provided with a plurality of arranged heat generating elements (not shown) which selectively generate heat based on desired recording information input by a suitable input device (not shown) such as a keyboard. . In addition, the thermal head 7 selects the pressure contact force against the platen 2 by the control unit 70 to be described later, and selects one of the low pressure contact and the low pressure contact, and applies the thermal energy of the thermal head 7. Either of two stages (in detail, two stages of energizing time for the heating element in a long time and a short time) can be selected.

In more detail with respect to the carriage 4, the carriage 4 is a plate-shaped upper carriage 4b almost parallel to the upper surface of the lower carriage 4a attached to the guide shaft 3, the parallel crank mechanism ( It is comprised by 8) freely moving in parallel so that it may fold with respect to the lower carriage 4a. As shown in FIG. 3, this parallel crank mechanism 8 is provided in one pair at both left and right ends of the carriage 4, and has a pair of links 9a and 9b which cross each other in an X shape. The intersecting positions of the links 9a and 9b are conically joined by the pins 10a, and the ends of the links 9a and 9b are pins 10b, 10c, 10d and 10d. 10e) freely slips through long holes (not shown) formed in the upper end portions of the left and right sides of the lower carriage 4a and the upper carriage 4b, respectively.

In addition, a rotary crank mechanism 11 is arranged in the lower carriage 4a, and the rotary crank mechanism 11 is adapted to perform parallel movement operation of the upper carriage 4b. The rotary crank mechanism 11 is conical-joined by a pin 13a to a rotating plate 12 that forms a rotating member supported to be driven by the lower carriage 4a and an eccentric position of the rotating plate 12. A connecting link 14 constituting the connecting member, and the tip of the connecting link 14 is conical-joined by the pin 13b to the state ridge 4b. And the rotating plate 12 is rotationally driven by suitable drive means (not shown), such as a motor.

Returning to FIG. 1, the plate-shaped arm 15 is also provided with engaging portions 15a having protrusions formed at the upper and lower ends on the right and left sides of the upper carriage 4b. It is provided at intervals almost equal to the width of the ribbon cassette 5. In the center of the upper carriage 4b, a pair of rotatable bobbins 16 are arranged so as to protrude upward from each other at predetermined intervals, and the ink ribbon 17 is predetermined by the bobbin 16. It is possible to run in the direction. One pair of bobbins 16 is a winding bobbin 16a which winds up the ink ribbon 17 on one side, and a delivery bobbin 16b which feeds the ink ribbon 17 on the other side. . In addition, on the far side of the platen 2 of the carriage 4, the first optical sensor 18 is arranged as a sensor for detecting the type of the ink ribbon 17 housed in the ribbon cassette 5. have. As this optical sensor 18, the reflection type is used in this embodiment. The first optical sensor 18 is connected to a control unit 70 to be described later, which constitutes a control unit for controlling control such as a recording operation of the thermal transfer printer 1 arranged at a desired position of the thermal transfer printer 1. It is.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the substantially flat plate-shaped canal supported by the opening and closing freedom path as shown by the double arrow A in FIG. A canopy 19 is arranged. This canopy 19 functions as a paper press on the exit side of a paper feeding mechanism (not shown) in a closed state, and is arranged so as to face the carriage 4 so that it is almost the same as the moving area of the carriage 4. It is in length.

A plurality of cassette holders (not shown) holding the ribbon cassette 5 are provided at predetermined positions on the lower surface of the canopy 19 that are opposed to the carriage 4 in parallel. The ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b as one example of the film cassettes (two in this embodiment) are arranged so as to be arranged in a row in the moving direction of the carriage 4. These ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b are an example of an ink film in which the heat-melting ink is applied to a substrate such as a plastic film in the present embodiment, and an ink ribbon (heat-melting ink ribbon) 17a is used. The ribbon cassette 5b in which the ribbon cassette 5a housed therein and the ink ribbon (heat sublimation ink ribbon) 17b as an example of the ink film in which the thermal sublimation ink was applied to the base of the same plastic film are housed therein. It is. Each of the ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b is operated by the parallel crank mechanism 8 operating in accordance with the rotary crank mechanism 11, as shown by the double arrow B in FIG. The exchange is selectively performed between the blood 19 and the upper carriage 4b.

Each of the ribbon cassettes 5a and 5b of the present embodiment is formed in the same shape and the same dimension, regardless of the type of the ink ribbon 17, and is a flat nearly rectangular case body 20 having a pair of upper and lower sides. A pair of reel (not shown) supported by the rotational freedom path, a pair of ribbon delivery rollers supported by the rotational freedom path, a plurality of guide rollers facing the ribbon path supported by the rotational freedom path, and the like are arranged. The ink ribbon 17 is wound between the pair of reels, and the center portion of the ribbon path of the ink ribbon 17 protrudes outward. When the ribbon cassette 5 is mounted on the upper carriage 4b, the pair of reels become a winding reel for winding one side of the ink ribbon 17 provided on the recording side, and the other side delivers the ink ribbon. It becomes a reel to say. The inner circumferential surface of each reel is provided with a plurality of key grooves spaced apart in the circumferential direction and formed in a spline shape. The inner circumferential surface of one reel is a winding hole 21a through which the winding bobbin 16 is caught, and the other reel is provided. The inner circumferential surface of is a discharge hole 21b to which the discharge bobbin 16b is caught. Moreover, the convex part 22 which the thermal head 7 faces is formed in the surface facing the printing plate 2 in the state mounted in the carriage 4 of the ribbon cassette 5, This concave part ( The middle part of the ink ribbon 17 protrudes in 22).

In addition, on the rear surface extending in parallel with the surface formed by the convex portion 22 of the ribbon cassette 5, an identification mark 23 for discriminating the type of the ink ribbon 17 contained in each ribbon cassette 5 is provided. ) Is arranged. The identification mark 23 of this embodiment is formed by the reflection seal 24 which has a different number of arc-shaped non-reflective parts 24a according to the kind of ink ribbon 17. As shown in FIG.

Then, this identification mark 23 is detected by the optical sensor 18a provided in the carriage 4, and this detection signal is output to the control part 70 of a printer, and each ribbon cassette in this control part 70 is carried out. By counting the number of identification marks 23 in (5), the type of ink ribbon 17 housed in the ribbon cassette 5 is determined.

As a result, a reflection seal 24A having four non-reflective portions 34a is disposed as the identification mark 23 in the ribbon cassette 5a shown on the left side in FIG. 1, and the right side shown in FIG. In the ribbon cassette 5b, a reflection seal 24B having two non-reflective portions 24a is disposed as an identification mark 23. As shown in FIG. Then, the left end of the rear surface pointing forward to the branch in FIG. 1 of the ribbon cassette 5 becomes the reference position BP for the detection of the identification mark 23, and the left end of FIG. The distance L to the right end surface of the non-reflective portion 24a to be positioned is the same for all the identification marks 23, and a desired type for identifying the type of the ink ribbon 17 in this distance L is obtained. The non-reflective portion 24a is formed. Then, the carriage 4 can be stopped in the state where the optical sensor 18a detects the identification mark 23 for use, and the ribbon cassette housed in the cassette holder in the state where the carriage 4 is stopped. (5) is to be replaced by the upper carriage 4b.

The lower carriage 4a of the carriage 4 freely reciprocating along the printing plate 2 is folded to the printing plate 2 of the thermal head 7 as shown in FIGS. 4 to 7. The motor 25 which performs operation | movement and winding control of an ink ribbon is arrange | positioned, The transmission gear 27 is meshed with the output pinion gear 26 of this motor 25. As shown in FIG. The transmission gear 27 is meshed with a gear portion 29 formed on the outer circumferential surface of the cam 28. On the upper surface of the cam 28, a head folding cam groove 30 and a head folding cam groove 30 are provided. ), The ribbon winding cam groove 31 formed wider and shallower is formed.

Moreover, the support shaft 32 is arrange | positioned in the vicinity of the printing plate 2 of the said lower carriage 4a. In this embodiment, this support shaft 32 is the said upper carriage as shown in FIG. It is formed so that it may protrude from the upper surface of 4b. An almost T-shaped head lever 33 is attached to the support shaft 32 around the support shaft 32, and a free swing path is attached to the support shaft 32. In the vicinity of the platen 2 of the head lever 33, The head mounting table 34 facing the printing plate 2 is fixed by screwing. The thermal head 7 is mounted on an opposing surface of the plate mounting plate 2 of the head mounting stand 34. A stopper 35 is attached to the head mounting stand 34. It protrudes so that the back surface may have predetermined space | interval.

In addition, an almost L-shaped head pressing lever 36 is attached to the support shaft 32 around the support shaft 32, and an oscillating free path is attached to the support shaft 32. The cam is connected to one end of the head pressing lever 36. The pin 37 which is caught by the head folding cam groove 30 of the 28 is formed. The other end of the head pressure lever 36 is disposed between the back surface of the head mounting bracket 34 of the head lever 33 and the stopper 35, and the other end of the head pressure lever 36 is provided at the other end of the head pressure lever 36. The spring holding part 38 is installed upright. A pressure contact spring (39) is fitted between the spring holding part (38) and the head mounting bracket (34), and the head pressure contact lever (36) is pushed by the pushing force of the pressure contact spring (39). Is held in contact with the stopper 35 of the head lever 33, and in this state, the head pressure contact lever 36 and the head lever 33 are integrally rotated by the rotation of the cam 28 at the time of head up-down. It is supposed to work.

In the carriage 5, drive gears 41 engaged with the racks 40 formed in the printer are provided with rotational free paths arranged around the support shafts 42. The support shafts 42 and the head levers 33 are arranged. ), A weak contact spring 43 having a spring pressure weaker than that of the pressure contact spring 39 applies a pushing force in the direction in which the head lever 33 always presses the thermal head 7 to the platen 2. To be granted.

In addition, a rocking plate 44 is freely attached to the support shaft 42 around the support shaft 42. At one end of the rocking plate 44, a ribbon of the cam 28 is provided. The pin 45 which catches on the cam groove 31 for winding is formed. Here, the pin 45 of the swing plate 44 is formed to be thicker than the width of the head folding cam groove 30, and the pin 45 does not fall into the head folding cam groove 30. A support shaft 46 protrudes from the other end of the oscillation plate 44, and a transmission freedom gear 47 meshing with the drive gear 41 is provided with a rotational freedom path.

As described above, the carriage 4 is provided with winding bobbins 16a and delivery bobbins 16b of the ink ribbon, but as shown in FIG. 4, the winding bobbins 16a At the bottom, a take-up gear 48 meshing with the transmission gear 47 is attached coaxially through a friction mechanism not shown. Moreover, in this embodiment, the 2nd winding bobbin 49 and the 2nd sending bobbin 50 are arrange | positioned at the said carriage 4, respectively, and below the said winding bobbin 49, the said winding bobbin. The 2nd winding gear 52 which engages by interlocking the transmission gear 47 to the winding gear 48 of 16a is attached coaxially through the friction mechanism which is not shown in figure. The take-up bobbin 16a and the second take-up bobbin 49 are rotated by engagement with the take-up gear 48 of the transmission gear 47 due to the swing of the swing plate 44. 16b and the 2nd delivery bobbin 50 are each freely rotatable.

In addition, a peeling lever 53 to which the force is applied to the rotation shaft of the second winding bobbin 49 in a direction away from the platen 2 by a spring (not shown) is attached to the rotational freedom path. The peeling roller 54 which forms a peeling guide member protrudes in the front-end | tip part as if extending upward. In addition, in the vicinity of the peeling roller 54 of the peeling lever 53, a engaging pin 55 is attached to the upper and lower movable paths, and the engaging pin 55 is disposed on the upper surface side of the peeling lever 53. As shown in FIG. 8, a spring 56 for applying a force to the engagement pin 55 upward is arranged at the outer circumferential portion of the " The engagement pin 55 is maintained in a state in which the lower end thereof does not protrude downward of the release lever 53 by the pushing force of the spring 56, and pushes the engagement pin 55 to the spring 56. The engagement pin 55 is caught by the front end of the head lever 33 by pressing downward against the force and projecting the lower end portion below the release lever 53.

In addition, on the upper surface of the carriage 4, a second optical sensor 57 for detecting the end of the ink ribbon to be used is arranged.

Returning to FIG. 1, notch portions 48 into which the peeling rollers 54 are inserted are formed at both symmetrical positions of the convex portion 22 facing the thermal head 7 formed on each ribbon cassette 5. It is. Moreover, as shown in FIG. 9 and FIG. 10, the ribbon cassette 5 has a pair of hubs to which the ink ribbon 17 caught on the winding bobbin 16a and the delivery bobbin 16b is wound. A pair of guide rollers 60, which (59), (59) are arranged and are caught by the second winding bobbin 49 and the second delivery bobbin 50 to guide the ink ribbon 14, ( 60) are arranged.

In the heat-melt ink ribbon 17a housed in the ribbon cassette 5a shown in Fig. 9, the ink ribbon 17a is held while the ink of the ink ribbon 17a is in a molten state at the time of recording. Hot peeling from the paper is required. On the other hand, in the thermal sublimable ink ribbon 17b housed in the ribbon cassette 5b shown in FIG. 10, the ink of the ink ribbon 17b solidifies during recording, so that the ink ribbon 17b is peeled off from the paper. Cold peeling is necessary. Then, the pressing plates 58 which press the engagement pins 55 of the carriage 4 downward on the notches 58 of the ribbon cassette 5b in which the cold peeling ink ribbon 17b is housed. 61 is formed. When the ribbon cassette 5 for cold peeling is attached to the carriage 4, the engagement pin 55 is pushed downward by the pressure plate 61 to push the engagement pin 55 into the head lever. It is supposed to hang at (33). In addition, the notch 58 of the ribbon cassette 5a in which the ink ribbon 17a for hot peeling is accommodated is not provided with the press plate 61 like the said cold peeling ribbon cassette 5b. Even when the ribbon cassette 5a for hot peeling is attached to the carriage 4, the engagement pin 55 and the head lever 33 are not caught without pressing the engagement pin 55.

In addition, in this embodiment, since the so-called multi-time ink ribbon cassette 17 which can be reversely used is shown, the two notch parts 58 are located in the symmetrical position of the recess part 22 into which the thermal head 7 is inserted. In the case of a so-called one-time ink ribbon, only one notch portion 58 may be formed.

The control unit 70 is formed of a memory, a CPU, and the like, which are not shown. The control unit 70, as shown in FIG. 11, has a mode changeover switch arranged at a desired position of a frame (not shown). On the basis of the mode signal sent out from 71), the first recording mode in which thermal melting transfer recording is performed on paper such as plain paper using at least the heat-melt ink ribbon 17a uses the heat-sublimation ink ribbon 17b. The moving speed and the thermal head of the carriage 4 on the basis of the discrimination result of the mode discriminating unit 72 and the mode discriminating unit 72 for determining whether the second recording mode The first recording mode control unit 73 and the second recording mode which control the energization time to (7), the pressure contact force of the thermal head 7 to the platen 2, the ribbon cassette 5 and the like to correspond to each mode. It has the control part 74. In addition, the controller 70 controls the presence or absence of the ribbon cassette 5 and the ink ribbon 17 housed in the ribbon cassette 5 based on the output signal from the first optical sensor 18 according to the movement of the carriage 4. Ink ribbons from the second optical sensor 57 other than for determining or detecting the type of the device, the moving distance of the carriage 4 with respect to the home position, the open / closed state of the canopy 19, the distance between the ribbon cassettes 5, and the like. The drive of the carriage 4 or the like is controlled based on the end detection signal of (17).

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

The operator operates the mode changeover switch 71 so as to drive the thermal transfer printer 1 of the present embodiment to match the recording purposes, and transfer the thermal melt to a sheet of paper such as ordinary paper using the heat-melt ink ribbon 17a. The selection operation of the recording mode is performed by selecting either the first recording mode for recording by the second recording mode or the second recording mode for recording by thermal sublimation transfer on the dedicated paper using the thermal sublimable ink ribbon 17b.

When the recording mode selection operation is performed, a mode signal corresponding to one of the modes selected to the control unit 70 is sent out from all the switching switches 71, and the mode determination unit 72 of the control unit 70 It is determined whether the mode signals sent from all the changeover switches 71 are the first recording mode or the second recording mode, and based on the determination result, whichever of the first recording mode control unit 73 or the second recording mode control unit 74 is? One operation is performed to start the selection operation of the ribbon cassette 5 in which the ink ribbon 17 corresponding to either the first recording mode or the second recording mode is accommodated.

Next, when the selection operation of the ribbon cassette 5 is started, the home position is located by a command from the control unit 70 (in detail, either the first recording mode control unit 73 or the second recording mode control unit 74). The first optical sensor 18 arranged in the carriage 4 by moving (running) the carriage 4 detects the identification mark 23 of the ribbon cassette 5. Then, the first optical sensor 18 transmits to the control unit 70 a detection signal unique to each of the identification marks 23 due to the arrangement of the non-reflective unit 24a and the pitch, and the like. The identification mark 23 corresponding to the generated command is determined, and when the identification mark 23 corresponding to the command is stopped, the carriage 4 is stopped, and not the identification mark 23 corresponding to the command. In the case, the carriage 4 continues to move until the identification mark 23 corresponding to the instruction is detected. As a result, in the present embodiment, the ribbon cassette 5 (detailed ink ribbon 17) can be reliably discriminated by detecting the difference between the reflection seals 24 of the ribbon cassette 5 according to the type of the ink ribbon 17. .

Then, the ribbon cassette 5 containing the ink ribbon 17 corresponding to the selected recording mode therein is indicated by the double arrow 13 in FIG. 2 by the parallel crank mechanism 8 and the rotary crank mechanism 11. As described above, the canopy 19 and the upper carriage 4b are selectively exchanged, and the ribbon cassette 5 is attached to the carriage 4 to finish the selection operation of the ribbon cassette 5.

Then, when the selection operation of the ribbon cassette 5 is finished, a sheet corresponding to the selected recording mode is set by a human hand or a paper feeding device (not shown) between the platen 2 and the thermal head 7. At the same time, the hot peeling of the thermally meltable ink ribbon 17a and the cold peeling of the thermal sublimable ink 17b are performed.

First, as shown in FIG. 4, in the state where the cam 28 is rotated to the leftmost direction in the drawing, the pin 37 of the head pressure lever 36 is placed on the outermost circumference of the head folding cam groove 30. As shown in FIG. Since it is located, the head pressure lever 36 swings in the leftmost direction in FIG. 2 and the head pressure lever 36 stops the stopper 35 of the head lever 33 by the pushing force of the pressure contact spring 39. ), The head mounting table 34 operates as the head contact lever 36, so that the thermal head 7 is separated from the printing plate 2 by the swing of the head contact lever 36. Is maintained.

On the other hand, the swinging plate 44 is swung leftward by the ribbon winding cam groove 31, and the transmission gear 47 supported by the swinging plate 44 is engaged with the winding gear 51, and the carriage 4 When the drive gear 41 engaged with the rack 40 rotates by moving along the platen 2, the winding gear 51 and the second winding gear 52 are transferred through the transmission gears 47 and 49. Is rotated, and the winding operation of the ink ribbon 17 is performed by rotating the winding bobbin 16a and the second winding bobbin 49.

At the position of the cam 28, no recording is performed, and when the color ink ribbon 17 is used, color sensing by the photosensor 57 or loosening operation when the ink ribbon 17 is loosened is performed. .

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 7, when the cam 28 is rotated to the right by driving the motor 22 in the state of FIG. 6, the head pressure lever 36 does not swing, and the thermal head 7 prints. While maintaining the head-up state away from the plate 2, the swinging plate 44 is swung in the right direction by the ribbon winding cam groove 31, and the transmission gear 47 of the swinging plate 44 is the winding gear 51. Falls from). In this state, even when the carriage 4 is moved, the rotation of the drive gear 41 is not transmitted to the take-up bobbin 16a and the second take-up bobbin 49, and the winding operation of the ink ribbon 14 is not performed. It is used for the return operation of the carriage 4 or the ribbon save operation.

When the ribbon cassette 5a in which the thermally meltable ink ribbon 17 which performs thermal peeling is accommodated is attached to the carriage 4, recording is carried out on paper such as plain paper, as shown in FIG. In the state shown in FIG. 5, the head pressure contact lever 36 swings in the right direction by driving the motor 22 again to rotate the cam 28 in the right direction. The head lever 33 is also swinged through. In this state, since the pin 37 of the head press lever 36 is located closest to the rotation center of the head folding cam groove 30, the head press lever 36 is centered on the support shaft 32. The head press lever (36) is separated from the stopper (35) of the head mounting table (34), and is pressed down by the spring holding portion (38) of the head press lever (36). The head mount 34 is pressed through the contact spring 39. In this state, since the pushing force of the weak contact spring 43 is applied to the head lever 33, the pushing force of the pressure contact spring 39 and the weak contact spring 43 are applied to the head mount 34. The pushing force which totaled pushing force is provided, and the thermal head 7 is pressed against the printing plate 2 by a strong pushing force.

At this time, since the pressure plate 57 is not formed in the ribbon cassette 5 in which the heat-melt ink ribbon 17a shown in FIG. 9 is accommodated, the engagement pin 55 of the carriage 4 is not pressed. The engagement pin 55 and the head lever 33 are not caught. As a result, even when the head lever 33 is rotated, the peeling lever 53 does not rotate, and the peeling roller 54 is kept in the same position. have.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the carriage 5 forms the support shaft 32 which forms the rotation center of the head lever 33 which presses the thermal head 7 to the printing plate 2, and the head press contact lever 36. Since the long dimension is used to protrude from the upper surface of the head, the head lever 33 and the head contact lever 36 are not shaken and the head lever 33 can be supported with high accuracy, and the thermal head 7 ) Can be stably operated.

On the other hand, the swinging plate 44 is rotated in the left direction in the state shown in FIG. 5, and the transmission gear 47 of the swinging plate 44 meshes with the take-up gear 51 again to carry the carriage 5. The ribbon winding operation is performed by the movement of.

In this state, by moving the carriage 4, the drive gear 41 is rotated through the rack 40, and the winding gear 51 and the second winding gear through the transmission gears 47, 48. The rotary head 52 is rotated to rotate the winding bobbin 16a and the second winding bobbin 49, and the ink ribbon 14 of the ribbon cassette 5 is wound while the thermal head 7 is driven based on a desired recording signal. Is written on a predetermined sheet of paper. At this time, since the thermal head 7 is press-contacted with a strong pressing force, good recording can be performed.

Unlike ordinary recording, when the ribbon cassette 5b containing the heat-sublimable ink ribbon 17b, which requires cold peeling, is mounted on the carriage to record high quality on a dedicated paper, as shown in FIG. By driving the motor 22 in the state shown in FIG. 5 to rotate the cam 28 to the left again after passing through the state of FIG. 6, the head pressure lever 36 as shown in FIG. It swings in the right direction as shown in 33). In this state, the pin 37 of the head pressure lever 36 is located at the innermost circumference of the head folding cam groove 30, and the width of the head folding cam groove 30 at this position is large. A gap is formed between the pin 37 of the head press lever 36 and the head folding cam groove 30. As a result, the head press lever 36 is rotated to abut on the stopper 35 by the pushing force of the stepping spring 39 so that the thermal head 7 is driven by the pushing plate only by the weak press spring 43. 2), it is possible to perform recording by a weak pressing force as compared with the case of normal recording.

In addition, a ribbon plate 5b is provided on the ribbon cassette 5b in which the thermal sublimable ink ribbon is accommodated, and the engagement pin 55 is pressed downward by pressing the engaged 55 by the pressure plate 61. Since the head lever 33 is rocked, the release lever 53 is rotated through the engagement pin 55, and the platen plate 2 of the release roller 54 is rotated. ), The peeling distance with the sheet of the ink ribbon 14 after recording can be made long.

On the other hand, even when the cam 38 is rotated, the transmission gear 47 of the swing plate 44 is held in engagement with the take-up gear 51, so that the carriage 4 moves as in the case of hot peeling. By this, the winding operation of the ink ribbon 17b can be performed.

Thus, by selecting the position of the cam 28 in response to a necessary situation, it becomes possible to perform various operations required as a thermal transfer printer.

In addition, in the above description, the operation of sequentially selecting the positions of the cams 28 in the state shown in FIG. 7 from the state shown in FIG. 4 has been described. However, in the state shown in FIG. The cam 28 may be driven in a direction opposite to the above description in order to change to the state shown in FIG.

Next, when the recording operation is actually started, in the case of the first recording mode, the thermal to the platen 2 in the head-down state by a command from the control unit 70 (in detail, the first recording mode control unit 73). The pressure welding force of the head 7 is about 0.5 to 0.3 kg, the moving speed (recording speed) of the carriage 4 (thermal head 7) is about 10 to 50 cm / sec, and the thermal head 7 (in detail, the heating element) The energization time per dot of?) Is controlled to about 50 to 2000 microseconds, whereby the thermal melting transfer ribbon can be reliably recorded on paper such as ordinary paper by using the thermally meltable ink ribbon 17a.

In the case of the second recording mode, the pressure contact force of the thermal head 7 to the printing plate 2 in the head-down state by the command from the control unit 70 (in detail, the second recording mode control unit 74) Is about 0.2 to 1.5 kg, and the moving speed (recording speed) of the carriage 4 (thermal head 7) is about 0.2 to 25 cm / sec, and the energization time per dot of the thermal head 7 (specifically, the heating element). Is controlled to be repeated about 150 to 3000 mu sec or a plurality of times of energization, whereby high quality recording by thermal sublimation transfer can be reliably performed on a dedicated paper subjected to surface treatment using the thermal sublimable ink ribbon 17b. .

In addition, as described above, the pressing force of the thermal head 7 to the platen 2 in the second recording mode using the thermal sublimable ink ribbon 17b is obtained by using the thermally meltable ink ribbon 17a. By making it weaker than in the first recording mode, the wear of the thermal head 7 is reduced in the second recording mode in which more energy is applied to the thermal head 7 than in the first recording mode, thereby reducing the overall thermal head ( The durability of 7) can be surely improved.

Then, the moving speed (recording speed) of the carriage 4 (thermal head 7) in the second recording mode is slower than in the first recording mode, and at the same time, the thermal head 7 (in detail, heat generation) is performed in the second recording mode. The energization time per dot of the element) is longer than that in the first recording mode or repeated a plurality of times, so that the heat-sublimable ink that requires more heat energy than the first recording mode in which the heat-melting ink is melted and transferred to the paper is used. Since the recording in the second recording mode which sublimes and transfers onto the paper can be reliably performed, a high quality recording quality can be obtained comparable to a silver photograph.

In addition, in the second recording mode, the heat generation temperature of the heat generating element of the thermal head 7 when the energization time is simply lengthened by repeating the electric current per one dot of the thermal head 7 (in particular, the heat generating element) a plurality of times. The risk of damage beyond the permissible temperature can be reliably prevented.

In addition, the thermal transfer printer 1 according to the present embodiment switches the mode switching switch 71 in accordance with the recording purpose, thereby recording by thermal fusion transfer on a variety of different types of paper using the thermally soluble ink ribbon 17a. Since the first recording mode for performing the recording operation and the second recording mode for performing high quality recording on the silver-leaved photograph by thermal sublimation transfer on the dedicated paper using the sublimable ink ribbon 17b can be easily selected, recording can be performed. With one thermal transfer printer 1, it is possible to reliably record high-quality recording images comparable to general recording on silver sheets and silver-leaved photographs, and the installation space can be reduced more reliably than before.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the pressing pin 55 of the peeling lever 53 is pressed by the press plate 61 formed in the ribbon cassette 5, and this locking pin 55 is caught by the head lever 33, so that the head Since the peeling lever 53 is operated by the rotation of the lever 33 to fold the peeling roller 54 to the platen 2, a separate driving device for operating the peeling lever 53 is required. It is possible to easily control the drive device, eliminate the need to secure a large amount of installation space in the carriage 4, reduce the overall size of the device, and reduce the cost of parts, thereby making it inexpensive. It can manufacture.

In addition, since the pressure plate 57 for pressing the engagement pin 44 is formed only on the ribbon cassette in which the cold ribbon peeling ink ribbon 17 is housed in the ribbon cassette 5, the cold ribbon peeling ink ribbon 14 Only when the ribbon cassette 5 is mounted, the peeling lever 53 can be selectively operated.

In addition, this invention is not limited to the said embodiment, It can change as needed. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, although an ink ribbon is used as an ink film, when it is accommodated in a cassette, it is not limited to an ink ribbon but other types of ink films can also be used.

As described above, according to the thermal transfer printer of the present invention, a very excellent effect that the recording using the ink film to which the heat-melting ink is applied and the recording using the ink film to which the thermal sublimation ink is applied can be reliably performed in one unit are assured. Indicates.

Claims (5)

A carriage capable of reciprocating according to the printing plate, a thermal head having a plurality of heat generating elements mounted on the carriage, and a ribbon cassette accommodating a removable ink ribbon on the carriage. And a thermal transfer printer which selectively drives the heat generating element while printing the paper while moving the carriage while the thermal head is pressed against the plate by sandwiching the ink ribbon and the paper. A first recording mode in which printing is performed by thermal fusion transfer on the paper by using an ink ribbon, and a second recording mode in which printing by thermal sublimation transfer is performed on the paper by using a thermal sublimable ink ribbon as the ink ribbon. And a control unit which can be selectively switched based on a mode signal. The thermal control unit according to claim 1, wherein the control unit causes the carriage speed of the carriage in the second recording mode to be slower than the carriage speed of the carriage in the first recording mode on the basis of a mode signal. And thermal energy per dot of the thermal head is larger than thermal energy per dot of the thermal head in the first recording mode. The method of claim 1, wherein the control unit selectively selects a pressure of the thermal head to the platen in the first recording mode and a pressure of the thermal head to the platen in the second recording mode based on a mode signal. And making it switchable, controlling the thermal contact force of the thermal head to the platen in the second recording mode to be weaker than that of the thermal head to the platen in the first recording mode. printer. The method according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of ribbon cassettes including the ribbon cassette containing the heat-melting ink ribbon therein and the ribbon cassette containing the heat-sublimable ink ribbon therein are arranged so as to face the carriage, And the control unit selects a desired ribbon cassette from the plurality of ribbon cassettes based on a mode signal and controls the ribbon cassette to be mounted on the carriage. 2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: peeling position control means for selectively changing the peeling time until peeling of the printed ink ribbon from the sheet corresponding to the recording mode executed in response to the mode signal; And the peeling time is controlled to be longer than the peeling time in the first recording mode in the recording mode.