JP4804205B2 - Recording device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a recording apparatus that records an image by transferring ink from an ink ribbon to a recording sheet using a recording head.

  A recording apparatus having a function such as a printer, a copier, or a facsimile is configured to record an image (including characters and symbols) on a recording material such as recording paper by a recording head based on image information. ing. As a recording material for recording an image, a sheet-like recording material (hereinafter referred to as a recording sheet) such as paper, cloth, a plastic sheet, or an OHP sheet is used. Also, various types of recording apparatuses are used as means for printing image information from a personal computer or a digital camera. There are two types of scanning methods: serial type and line type. The serial type is a system in which an image is recorded while being alternately repeated using main scanning for moving the recording head along the recording sheet and sub-scanning for conveying the recording sheet at a predetermined pitch. The line type is a system in which an image is recorded only by feeding a recording sheet (sub-scan) while recording one line at a time. The recording apparatus can be classified into an ink jet type, a thermal transfer type, a laser beam type, a thermal type, a wire dot type, and the like according to a recording method.

  Among the above recording apparatuses, the present invention is particularly suitable for application to a thermal transfer recording apparatus that uses a thermal head as a recording head and transfers an ink ribbon ink onto a recording sheet by the thermal head to record an image. . FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view of a recording portion of a conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus. In FIG. 7, during image recording (printing or the like), the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 3 are pressed against each other with the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 interposed therebetween. In this state, the plurality of heating elements arranged in the longitudinal direction of the thermal head 2 are heated to transfer the ink applied to the ink ribbon 5 to the recording sheet 4. The recording sheet and the ink ribbon are respectively transported by a transport mechanism and a ribbon take-up mechanism disposed on the downstream side in the recording sheet transport direction. A desired image is formed by selectively generating heat from a plurality of heating elements in synchronism with the conveying operation.

  The portion where the recording sheet and the ink ribbon are transferred is conveyed by the respective conveying means, but the respective conveying paths are branched in the middle. After being branched, the recording sheet goes to the paper discharge port, and the ink ribbon is wound around the ribbon winding shaft. Until just before this branching, the recording sheet and the ink ribbon are stuck by thermal transfer, but both are peeled off at this branching point. At the branch point, the ink ribbon is peeled off from the recording sheet at an angle. At this branch point, a peeling member 10 serving as a branch start point is disposed.

  The peeling member 10 receives a force due to the tension of the ink ribbon 5. At this time, if the peeling member 10 is bent and deformed in a direction perpendicular to the drawing, the ink ribbon is contracted in the width direction, so that wrinkles are generated. May have adverse effects. Therefore, the peeling member 10 is generally formed of a metal member in order to give sufficient rigidity. For this reason, the sliding part of the peeling member 10 with the ink ribbon 5 is configured to slide the ink ribbon on the curved surface by performing hemming bending in consideration of the influence on the ink ribbon. In addition, when sliding on the end face of the sheet metal, secondary processing for smoothing the end face has been performed.

Further, in recent years, an improvement has been made in the peeling method, and not only peeling, but also a thermal transfer line that reduces damage to the recording sheet during peeling as disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 1. A printer has been proposed. That is, in Patent Document 1, the peeling member is formed so that the central portion in the width direction is the most convex, and the peeling starts from both ends of the ink ribbon, thereby reducing damage to the paper during peeling. Techniques to do this are disclosed. However, when the release plate having such a shape is formed in a sheet metal bending process, there is a problem that it is difficult to ensure sufficient dimensional stability with respect to a necessary shape and accuracy.
JP 2002-144614 A

  In the thermal transfer recording apparatus, when the ink ribbon is loaded into the apparatus main body, an interval for inserting the ink ribbon between the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 3 is required. In order to ensure such an interval, a method of retracting at least one of the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 3 is employed. However, the method of retracting the platen roller 3 has a problem that the ink ribbon 5 to be attached contacts the peeling member that does not retract or the end face of the thermal head 2 and the ink ribbon is likely to jam (clog or grip). . In order to solve such a problem, it is necessary to provide a guide member that covers the peeling member 10 and the thermal head 2. In other words, it is necessary to provide a guide member having such a shape that the ink ribbon can be guided into the apparatus so as not to cause a jam even when the ink ribbon comes into contact. However, even if such a guide member is provided, a step-like seam exists between the guide member and the peeling member or between the guide member and the thermal head, thus eliminating the possibility of jamming. It is not possible.

  FIG. 8 is a front view showing a state in the vicinity of the peeling member 10 when the ink ribbon cassette is mounted in the conventional recording apparatus. FIG. 9 is a front view showing a state in the vicinity of the peeling member 10 after the ink ribbon cassette is mounted in the conventional recording apparatus. 8 and 9, a guide member 13 is attached so as to cover the end face of the peeling member 10 and the thermal head 2 on the ink ribbon cassette insertion side. The peeling member 10 and the guide member 13 are separate members, and a step-like seam as shown in the figure is generated between them. Therefore, in order to prevent jamming when the ink ribbon 5 is mounted, it is necessary to arrange the guide member 13 so that the lower end of the guide member 13 is below the lower end of the peeling member 10 as shown in FIG. However, when such an arrangement is adopted, when the ink ribbon 5 is attached to the apparatus main body and then taken out from the apparatus main body again, the lower end of the ink ribbon 5 is caught by the lower end of the guide member 13 as is apparent from FIG. , Jams are likely to occur. Further, if the vertical positional relationship between the peeling member 10 and the guide member 13 is reversed, the ink ribbon is caught by the peeling member 10 when the ink ribbon 5 is mounted, and a jam is generated. Become.

  That is, when the peeling member 10 is made of a metal molded product as described above, the processing process for obtaining a shape capable of realizing a function necessary for the peeling member becomes complicated, and sufficient dimensional accuracy is stabilized. There was a problem that could not be obtained. Further, in the recording apparatus that retracts the platen roller or the recording head when the ink ribbon is attached to the apparatus main body, the guide member (cover member) 13 as described above must be provided in order to prevent the ink ribbon from jamming. Moreover, even if the guide member is provided, there is a problem that the possibility of jamming cannot be eliminated.

  The present invention has been made in view of such technical problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus including a peeling member that can easily reduce a sliding load with an ink ribbon and ensure sufficient rigidity without increasing the number of components. Another object of the present invention is to provide a recording apparatus that can easily realize the shape structure of a peeling member that can prevent jamming of an ink ribbon.

  The present invention relates to a recording head that records an image by transferring ink from an ink ribbon to a recording sheet, an opposing member that presses the recording sheet and the ink ribbon against the recording head when recording an image, and recording after image recording. In a recording apparatus comprising a sheet and a peeling member for peeling the ink ribbon, the peeling member is formed as an integrally molded product by plastic injection molding, and the length of the ink ribbon in the width direction of the peeling member is A guide shape that is longer than the width of the ink ribbon, forms a sliding portion of the peeling member with the ink ribbon in a curved surface, and covers at least a part of the end surface without a step on the end surface of the peeling member. It is formed by integral molding.

  According to the present invention, there is provided a recording apparatus including a peeling member that can easily reduce a sliding load with an ink ribbon and ensure sufficient rigidity without increasing the number of components. Also, a recording apparatus that can easily realize the shape structure of the peeling member that can eliminate the jam when attaching and detaching the ink ribbon without increasing the number of parts only by defining the shape of the end of the peeling member is provided. Is done.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be specifically described below with reference to the drawings. Note that the same reference numerals denote the same or corresponding parts throughout the drawings. FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a recording operation state of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, an apparatus main body 1 of a recording apparatus is provided with a thermal head 2 which is a recording head for forming an image based on image information. The thermal head 2 serves as a heat source for thermal transfer recording, and has a structure in which, for example, a circuit board is attached to the bottom of a square bar that is a metal pultruded product. The thermal head 2 in the present embodiment is a line type recording head, and a plurality of heating elements are arranged at a predetermined pitch in a direction perpendicular to the drawing on a circuit board on the face surface (the bottom surface in the drawing). A platen roller 3 as an opposing member for sandwiching the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 is disposed at a position facing the heating elements arranged in a line.

  The platen roller 3 is rotatably supported at both ends thereof. The platen roller 3 is supported at both ends thereof so as to be movable so as to be pressed against and separated from the thermal head. The position of the platen roller 3 shown in FIG. 1 is a position when the platen roller 3 is pressed against the thermal head 2 during a recording operation (printing operation). During thermal transfer recording, the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 are held in pressure contact by the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 3. Accordingly, the ink applied to the ink ribbon 5 is transferred to the recording sheet 4 by driving the heating element of the thermal head 2 to generate heat. In the case of the line-type thermal head 2, printing for one line is performed collectively by one heat generation drive. A recording section for performing thermal transfer recording on the recording sheet 4 is constituted by the thermal head 2 as recording means and the platen roller 3 as an opposing member.

  The recording sheet 4 is nipped by a pair of rollers including a grip roller 6 and a pinch roller 7, and is conveyed in the direction of arrow A by the rotation of the grip roller 6 during a printing operation. At the same time, the ink ribbon 5 is also taken up by the take-up shaft 8 by driving the take-up mechanism and is also conveyed in the direction of arrow A. In synchronism with the conveyance of the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 in the direction of arrow A, each heating element of the thermal head 2 is selectively repeatedly driven based on image information to sequentially record images for each line. It will be done. As a result, the entire recording sheet is recorded. A protective member 11 is provided on the face surface of the thermal head 2 to prevent contact between the ink ribbon 5 and an electrical component such as a thermistor provided on the circuit of the thermal head. The protective member 11 is usually formed of a plastic injection molded product.

  In thermal transfer recording, when the ink is thermally transferred, and immediately after that, the ink that has returned to the solid is fixed between the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5, and the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 are adhered to each other. It has become. Thereafter, the recording sheet 4 is transported toward the paper discharge port by the pair of transport rollers 6 and 7, and the ink ribbon 5 is wound around the winding shaft 8, thereby winding the ink ribbon cassette 9. Stored on the side. For this reason, the conveyance path of the recording sheet 4 and the conveyance path of the ink ribbon 5 are branched downstream in the conveyance direction of the thermal head 2. At the time of branching, the recording sheet and the ink ribbon that have been pasted up to then are peeled off.

  A peeling member 10 that is a starting point of peeling is provided at the branch point. The peeling member 10 is provided on the ink ribbon 5 side. For this reason, the ink ribbon 5 is bent at a predetermined angle upward with respect to the recording sheet 4 starting from the peeling member 10 and then peeled off. After that, it is transported along each route. In the present embodiment, the branch point is set at a close position on the downstream side in the transport direction of the thermal head 2, and the peeling member 10 is disposed along the downstream surface (back surface) of the thermal head 2 in the transport direction. Yes.

  FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the vicinity of the peeling member 10 in FIG. 1 and 2, the peeling member 10 is a single part formed by injection molding of plastic. The length dimension of the peeling member 10 in the direction perpendicular to the drawing is selected to be larger than the width dimension of the ink ribbon 5 and protrudes about several millimeters at both end portions. A sliding surface with the ink ribbon 5 is formed at the lower end of the peeling member 10. The sliding surface is formed with a smooth curved surface so that the sliding resistance acting on the ink ribbon is minimized. Further, the peeling member 10 receives a resultant force of a tension acting on the ink ribbon 5 by winding of the winding shaft 8 and a tension generated by being held between the thermal head 2 and the platen roller 3.

  This resultant force acts in the direction of arrow B from the sliding portion of the peeling member 10. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the step-shaped portion X for receiving the peeling member 10 is formed on the downstream surface in the transport direction of the line type thermal head 2 extending in the direction intersecting the transport direction. By attaching the peeling member 10 to the stepped shape portion X in a fixed state, it is possible to have sufficient rigidity against the force acting in the arrow B direction from the ink ribbon 5. That is, the long peeling member 10 has sufficient rigidity over the entire area of the ink ribbon 5 in the width direction.

  3 is a rear view of the peeling member 10 in FIG. 2 as viewed from the downstream side in the recording sheet conveyance direction. 2 and 3, the peeling member 10 has a substantially uniform overall thickness, and has a shape in which the lower side is convex at the center portion in the ink ribbon width direction when viewed from the back. Such a shape can be easily formed by plastic injection molding. The peeling member 10 has such a shape that the sliding portion with the ink ribbon has a smooth curved surface, and the central portion has a convex shape to prevent wrinkling and deformation of the ink ribbon 5. It is possible to easily realize the shape required for the above. Also, the rigidity comparable to that of the conventional metal peeling member can be ensured with respect to the rigidity against the force in the arrow B direction received from the ink ribbon 5.

  Note that if the force acting on the ink ribbon 5 becomes unstable or excessive at the junction between the recording sheet and the ink ribbon or the sliding surface of the peeling member 10, the ink ribbon 5 is deformed or bent. Such deformation or bending of the ink ribbon adversely affects the operation of thermal transfer recording on the upstream side in the transport direction and causes deterioration in image quality. Therefore, it is required to eliminate it as much as possible. According to the present embodiment, the shape and structure of the peeling member 10 as described above can eliminate the deformation and bending of the ink ribbon and improve the reliability of the recording apparatus.

  FIG. 4 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state when the ink ribbon cassette of the second embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention is removed. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the peeling member in FIG. 4 as viewed from the downstream side in the recording sheet conveyance direction. 4 and 5, the platen roller 3, which is a member facing the recording head 2, is configured to be retractable to a position separated from the thermal head 2. This is because the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 can be conveyed without resistance when the recording operation is not performed. Also in this embodiment, the peeling member 10 is disposed on the back surface of the thermal head 2 on the downstream side in the transport direction. On the other hand, when the ink ribbon cassette 9 (FIG. 1) containing the ink ribbon 5 is mounted on the apparatus main body, the ink ribbon 5 having a silhouette shape indicated by a dotted line in FIG. 4 is inserted in the depth direction of the drawing. .

  In the conventional example, as described above, when the ink ribbon cassette is inserted, the ink ribbon 5 may come into contact with the end face of the thermal head 2 or the peeling member 10 on the cassette insertion side to cause jamming. In order to prevent the occurrence of the jam, a guide member that covers a part or all of the end faces of the thermal head 2 and the peeling member 10 on the cassette attaching / detaching side is necessary. For this reason, in the conventional example, a guide member 13 made of a separate part as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 is attached. However, in such a conventional example, since a step-like seam is generated between the peeling member 10 and the guide member 13, the ink ribbon is caught in the seam when the ink ribbon is inserted or removed, and a jam ( Clogging) may occur.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the peeling member 10 is made of a plastic injection-molded product, and a shape portion for preventing jamming of the ink ribbon is integrally formed. That is, in the present embodiment, a guide shape 10b for smoothly guiding the ink ribbon 5 to be inserted and removed is integrally formed at the end of the peeling member 10 on the ink ribbon cassette 9 insertion side. The guide shape 10b is configured to smoothly cover part or all of the peeling member 10 and the cassette insertion side end surface of the thermal head 2 without causing a step. The recording apparatus according to the present embodiment has substantially the same configuration as that of the above-described first embodiment except for the above points.

  According to the second embodiment of FIGS. 4 and 5, in addition to the same effects as those of the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained by integrally forming the guide shape 10b by injection molding. Is obtained. That is, since the guide shape 10b is integrally formed with the peeling member 10, a step-like joint between them can be eliminated, and a smooth guide surface can be formed integrally with high accuracy. Thereby, it is possible to eliminate the jam of the ink ribbon that has occurred at the joint in the conventional example. Further, in the recording apparatus in which the platen roller 3 is retracted and the ink ribbon 5 is attached / detached, the occurrence of jamming of the ink ribbon when the ink ribbon is attached / detached can be eliminated without increasing the number of parts.

  Also in this embodiment, a protective member 11 is provided so as to cover the hair face of the thermal head 2 and prevent electrical components such as a thermistor on the circuit of the thermal head from coming into contact with the ink ribbon 5. ing. Since the protective member 11 is also formed of a plastic molded product, it can be taken into the peeling member 10 and molded integrally. That is, the protective member 11 can be provided as a protective shape having the same function on a part of the peeling member 10. With such a configuration, it is possible to more reliably eliminate jamming of the ink ribbon when the ink ribbon is attached / detached without increasing the number of parts in the platen roller retractable type recording apparatus, and further increase the reliability of the recording apparatus. Improvement is possible.

  FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the vicinity of the peeling member of the third embodiment of the recording apparatus according to the present invention. In FIG. 6, in order to precisely control the peeling phenomenon when the ink ribbon is peeled off from the recording sheet after thermal transfer recording, the face surface (bottom surface) of the thermal head 2 and the sliding portion (illustrated) of the peeling member 10 are illustrated. It is preferable to adjust the distance to the lower end portion of the head. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a metal adjustment member 12 having an L-shaped cross section for adjusting the vertical position of the peeling member 10 is provided. The adjustment member 12 that is long in the width direction of the recording sheet 4 is fixed to the rear surface of the thermal head 2 on the downstream side in the conveyance direction by screwing or the like so that the position can be adjusted in the vertical direction in the figure. The peeling member 10 is uniquely positioned and fixed with respect to the adjusting member 12.

  Therefore, by adjusting the vertical position of the adjustment member 12 with respect to the thermal head 2, the positional relationship between the peeling member 10 and the face surface (the bottom surface in the drawing) of the thermal head can be adjusted. This adjustment makes it possible to precisely control the peeling operation when the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 are peeled off by the peeling member 10. Further, the force (for example, the force in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 2) acting on the peeling member 10 due to the tension of the ink ribbon 5 at the time of printing is transmitted to the adjusting member 12 as it is. For this reason, the peeling member 10 can fully ensure the rigidity with respect to bending in the drawing depth direction whole region in an attachment state by receiving the back support of the adjustment member 12 with high rigidity made of metal.

  The third embodiment in FIG. 6 has substantially the same configuration as the first embodiment or the third embodiment described above, except for the configuration described above. Therefore, according to the present embodiment, in addition to the effects of the above-described embodiments, the separation from the thermal head 2 is ensured while ensuring the rigidity equivalent to that of the conventional metal separation member with respect to the force acting from the ink ribbon 5. There is an effect that the position of the member 10 can be adjusted. This makes it possible to precisely control the peeling phenomenon between the recording sheet and the ink ribbon after thermal transfer recording, eliminating the adverse effects on thermal transfer recording caused by unstable peeling and deformation of the ink ribbon, and recording. The reliability of operation can be further improved.

  According to the embodiment described above, since the peeling member 10 is a plastic injection-molded product, the degree of freedom in shape is increased, and the sliding portion with the ink ribbon can be easily formed with a smooth curved surface with less load. it can. Further, even when the central portion of the peeling member 10 is convex so as not to damage the recording sheet 4 when the ink ribbon 5 is peeled off, such a shape can be easily and precisely realized. In this case, molding with higher dimensional accuracy than bending of the sheet metal is possible. In particular, in a recording apparatus in which the platen roller 3 can be separated from the recording head 2, a guide shape 10 b that covers at least a part of the end surface without any step is formed integrally with the end surface of the peeling member 10. . Thereby, jamming of the ink ribbon can be prevented without increasing the number of components, and the reliability of the recording apparatus can be improved.

  That is, as specifically described in the first embodiment, the peeling member 10 is formed as an integrally molded product by plastic injection molding. For this reason, it is possible to easily and accurately form a smooth curved surface at the sliding portion with the ink ribbon 5 and a convex shape at the central portion in the ink ribbon width direction. Also, the rigidity with respect to the force received from the ink ribbon 5 can be easily ensured to the same degree as the conventional metal peeling member. In addition, as specifically described in the second embodiment, the guide shape 10b having a shape that covers the end surface of the peeling member 10 on the ink ribbon insertion side is integrally formed, so that the ink when the ink ribbon is attached or detached is formed. Ribbon jams can be eliminated. Thereby, the reliability of the recording apparatus can be improved.

Further, by providing the adjustment member 12 as specifically described in the third embodiment, the separation with respect to the recording head 2 is ensured while ensuring the rigidity with respect to the force received from the ink ribbon to the same level as the conventional metal separation member. The position of the member 10 can be adjusted. By adjusting the peeling position, the peeling phenomenon between the recording sheet 4 and the ink ribbon 5 can be precisely controlled, and adverse effects on the thermal transfer operation due to unstable peeling and deformation of the ink ribbon can be eliminated. The first, second, and third embodiments described above exemplify the embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention can be implemented, for example, by appropriately combining these embodiments, thereby A synergistic effect can be achieved.
In the above embodiment, the case where the recording apparatus is a thermal transfer type is exemplified. However, the present invention is also applicable to other recording apparatuses as long as the apparatus records an image on a recording sheet using an ink ribbon. It can be applied and the same effect can be obtained.

FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a recording operation state of the recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the vicinity of the peeling member in FIG. FIG. 3 is a rear view of the peeling member in FIG. 2 as viewed from the downstream side in the recording sheet conveyance direction. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows a state when the ink ribbon cassette of 2nd Embodiment of the recording device by this invention is removed. FIG. 5 is a rear view of the peeling member in FIG. 4 as viewed from the downstream side in the recording sheet conveyance direction. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the vicinity of the peeling member of 3rd Embodiment of the recording device by this invention. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the recording part of the conventional thermal transfer recording apparatus. It is a front view which shows the state of the vicinity of a peeling member when mounting an ink ribbon cassette in the conventional recording device. It is a front view which shows the state of the vicinity of the peeling member after mounting an ink ribbon cassette in the conventional recording device.

Explanation of symbols

2 Recording head (thermal head)
3 Opposing member (platen roller)
4 Recording Sheet 5 Ink Ribbon 6 Grip Roller 7 Pinch Roller 8 Take-up Shaft 9 Ink Ribbon Cassette 10 Peeling Member 10b Guide Shape 11 Protection Member 12 Adjustment Member

Claims (7)

A recording head for transferring an image from an ink ribbon to a recording sheet to record an image, a facing member that presses the recording sheet and the ink ribbon against the recording head when recording an image, a recording sheet after recording an image, and an ink ribbon In a recording apparatus provided with a peeling member for peeling
Forming the peeling member as an integrally molded product by plastic injection molding,
The length of the peeling member in the width direction of the ink ribbon is longer than the width of the ink ribbon,
Forming a sliding portion of the peeling member with the ink ribbon in a curved surface ;
A recording apparatus , wherein a guide shape that covers at least a part of the end surface without any step is formed by integral molding on an end surface of the peeling member .   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sliding portion has a shape in which a central portion is convex.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the facing member is separable from the recording head.   4. The separation member according to claim 1, wherein the peeling member is disposed at a branch point of the recording sheet and the ink ribbon on the downstream side in the transport direction with respect to the recording unit including the recording head and the opposing member. The recording apparatus according to claim 1.   The recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the peeling member is provided on a surface on the downstream side in the transport direction of the recording head. The peeling member, the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it is positioned and fixed to the adjusting member which is positioned adjustably fixed to the recording head. Wherein the peeling member, the recording apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5 protection shape to cover the circuit portion of the recording head, characterized in that it is formed by integral molding.

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