JPH0248435B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Summary] This invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device that prints on recording paper by selectively heating an ink ribbon using a printing head, and aims to improve the reliability of the thermal transfer recording device and reduce running costs. An ink ribbon comprising a carrier having a heat-resistant organic film adhered to one side of a thin metal plate provided with a large number of through holes, and an ink exhibiting thermoplasticity within the opening formed by the through holes. a transfer section equipped with a heating means that melts the ink by contacting the heat-resistant organic film of the ink ribbon filled with the ink, and an ink that becomes blank after transferring the ink to the recording paper. and an ink coating section for replenishing the ribbon with ink.

[Industrial application field]

The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device, and particularly includes an ink ribbon coated with a heat-resistant organic film to prevent thermal print head wear and ink leakage, and a device for supplying ink to the ink ribbon. The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording device that uses an ink ribbon for multiple transfers to reduce the running cost of the device.

An ink ribbon is formed by applying heat-melting ink onto a support such as polyester resin to form an ink layer. Recording paper is placed over this ink layer and selectively heated from the support side according to the printed information. A thermal transfer recording device that presses a thermal print head that melts the ink in the ink layer and transfers the ink to the recording paper does not generate noise during printing, making it suitable for offices and other locations that require a quiet environment. It is used as a small printer.

However, such an ink ribbon has poor transfer efficiency because the heat of the thermal printing head is transferred to the ink layer through the support. Therefore, if an attempt is made to reduce the thickness of the support, the mechanical strength of the ribbon will be weakened, and it is technically difficult to form a thin ink layer.

Furthermore, when ink is transferred to such an ink ribbon using a thermal printing head, the ink is discarded after one transfer, rather than being transferred multiple times, which poses the problem of increasing printer running costs. be.

For this reason, attempts have been made to recoat ink on the ink ribbon after transfer, but it requires a complicated mechanism to uniformize the thickness of the ink layer and recoat, which affects the quality of the transferred print. The current situation is to demand.

[Conventional technology]

As an ink ribbon that eliminates such drawbacks of conventional ink ribbons, the ink ribbon shown in FIG. 7 and its -
As shown in FIG. 8, which is a sectional view taken along the line '', a carrier is formed by providing a through hole 2 in a thin metal plate 1 such as stainless steel. The inside of the through-hole 2 of this carrier is filled with an ink 3 that is thermoplastic and solid at room temperature, and this ink 3 is directly irradiated with a laser light source to melt the ink 3 and transfer it to the recording paper, increasing the transfer efficiency. Japanese Patent Publication No. 59-36879 discloses an ink ribbon 4 which has increased durability and durability by using a thin metal plate as a carrier.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, as shown in FIG. 9, the recording paper 6 placed on the platen 5 is stacked on the ink ribbon 4, and the thermal printing head 7 is placed on the ink ribbon 4.
When an attempt is made to transfer and record the melted ink by pressing it onto the recording paper 6, some of the melted ink adheres to the heating element 8 of the thermal print head 7 and the head 7
There is a problem in that the head 7 becomes contaminated, thereby reducing the thermal efficiency of the head 7 and reducing the transfer efficiency.

Furthermore, when the ink ribbon carrier is formed of a thin metal plate 1 having through holes, the thermal printing head 7
As a result of experiments, it was confirmed that the head 7 could be damaged due to friction with the head 7.

[Means for solving problems]

The thermal transfer recording device according to the present invention is shown in FIGS. 1 to 6.
As shown in the figure, a carrier 1 has a heat-resistant organic film 14 adhered to one side of a thin metal plate provided with many through holes.
3 and an ink ribbon 11 equipped with an ink 15 in the opening 12 formed by the through hole.
a transfer section 17 equipped with a thermal print head 19 that melts the ink 15 by contacting the heat-resistant organic film 14 of the ink ribbon 11 filled with ink;
and an ink coating section 1 that replenishes the ink 15 into the opening 12 of the ink ribbon 11 which has become blank due to the transfer of the ink 15 onto the recording paper 16.
It is equipped with 8.

[Effect]

Since the ink ribbon 11 installed in this thermal transfer recording apparatus has a heat-resistant organic film 14 adhered to the side that comes into contact with the thermal print head 19, the thermal print head 19 will not be damaged. This thermal transfer recording device also includes an ink coating section 18 that refills ink 15 lost during printing.
Since the ink ribbon 11 is equipped with this, the life of the ink ribbon 11 is extended, and the running cost of the apparatus is therefore significantly improved.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, one embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermal transfer recording device of the present invention.
As shown in the figure, the thermal transfer recording device 20 of the present invention includes:
A transfer section 17 that is formed in an endless shape and that transfers the ink of the ink ribbon 11 onto the recording paper along the location where the ink ribbon 11 transported by a pair of transport rollers 21 moves, and a transfer section 17 that is separated from the transfer section 17. An ink coating section 18 is provided for supplying ink 15 to the opening 12 of the ink ribbon 11 transferred to the transferred position.

The structure of the ink ribbon 11 used in the apparatus of the present invention has a thickness of 10 to 100 μm, as shown in the plan view of FIG. 2 and the cross-sectional view of FIG.
For example, a thin stainless steel plate with a diameter of 10 to 100μ
A carrier 13 is prepared in which through holes serving as openings 12 of m are arranged in a staggered manner. A fluororesin film 14 having a thickness of 1 to 100 μm is formed on one side of the carrier 13 by heat fusion or the like, and the inside of this opening 12 is filled with a thermofusible ink 15 made of a dye and a thermofusible wax. has been done.

Using such an ink ribbon 11, the transfer section 1
In 7, the case of transferring ink to recording paper will be explained.

FIG. 4 shows the ink ribbon 11 in the transfer section 17.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the cross-sectional structure of the ink ribbon 11 and the transfer state of the ink ribbon 11. As shown in Figures 4 and 5,
In the transfer section 17, the heating element 22 of the thermal printing head 19 is brought into contact with the heat-resistant organic film 14 side of the ink ribbon 11. And the recording paper 16 installed on a pressing member such as a platen 23
Then, the opening side A of the opening 12 filled with the ink 15 of the ink ribbon 11 is brought into contact with the ink ribbon 11, and the ink ribbon 11 is pressed against the recording paper 16 using the thermal printing head 19.

The ink melted by the heating element 22 is in the area surrounded by the dotted line 24 in FIG.

Then, the ink 15 in the opening 12 of the ink ribbon 11 is melted onto the recording paper 16 by using the heating element 22 selectively heated by the print information of the thermal print head 19, and the ink 15 is penetrated and transferred onto the recording paper 16. do.

In this way, the side of the ink ribbon 11 that contacts the thermal printing head 19 is coated with the fluororesin film 14 which is heat resistant and has a low coefficient of friction against the thermal printing head 19. Accidents that could damage the heating element 22 of the device are eliminated.

Further, the molten ink 15 is prevented from penetrating into the thermal printing head 19 side, and accidents such as staining the thermal printing head 19 and causing a decrease in the thermal efficiency of the head 19 are eliminated.

The ink ribbon 11 to which the ink has been transferred in this way moves further and reaches the ink coating section 18, where it is melted by the heater 25 and is heated to a solid state at room temperature. sex ink 1
5 is inserted into the ink tank 26 in which the ink tank 5 is accommodated. Here, the ink 1 is again inserted into the opening 12 of the ink ribbon 11 to which the ink has been transferred in the transfer section 17.
5 is filled, the ink adhering to the surface of the ribbon 11 is scraped off by a flat resin blade 27 installed at the top of the ink tank 26, and the ink ribbon 11 is recoated. Used for the next transfer step.

By doing so, the ink ribbon 11 can be used repeatedly, thereby reducing the running cost of the apparatus.

Further, in the above embodiments, a fluororesin film was used as the heat-resistant organic film, but other heat-resistant organic films such as polyimide resin, which has a weak frictional force against the thermal printing head, may also be used.

In addition to dyes, the heat-melting ink may also use a coloring agent such as a pigment, and in addition to the heat-melting wax, a thermoplastic resin such as ethylene/vinyl acetate copolymer may be used. Further, a mixture of heat-fusible wax and thermoplastic resin may be used.

Further, in this embodiment, the ink ribbon 11 is endless, but instead of being endless, a single long ribbon may be used and used repeatedly for transfer recording.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the thermal transfer recording device of the present invention, one side of the ink ribbon used is coated with a fluororesin film that is heat resistant and has a small coefficient of friction against the thermal print head. Eliminates wear and tear. Further, this covered resin film can prevent an accident in which melted ink permeates into the thermal printing head side, staining the head and reducing the thermal efficiency of the head.

In addition, this recording device is equipped with an ink coating section that refills the ink ribbon with ink, so the ink ribbon can be used repeatedly for transfer recording, which has the effect of reducing the running cost of the device. be.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a thermal transfer recording device of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of an ink ribbon used in the device of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along the line -' in FIG.
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing the state of the ink ribbon of the present invention in the transfer section, FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing the state of the ink ribbon of the present invention in the transfer section, and FIG. 6 is the apparatus of the present invention. Fig. 7 is a plan view of a conventional ink ribbon;
The figure is a sectional view taken along the line -' in FIG. 7, and FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing an inconvenient state when using a conventional ink ribbon. In the figure, 11 is an ink ribbon, 12 is an opening, 13 is a carrier, 14 is a heat-resistant organic film, 15 is an ink, 16 is a recording paper, 17 is a transfer section, 18 is an ink coating section, and 19 is a thermal Print head, 20 is a thermal transfer recording device, 21 is a conveyance roller, 22 is a heating element, 23 is a platen, 24 is a dotted line indicating the transfer area, 25 is a heater, 26 is an ink tank, 27 is a blade, A indicates the opening side show.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An ink ribbon 1 comprising a carrier 13 having a heat-resistant organic film 14 adhered to one side of a thin metal plate having a large number of through holes of a predetermined diameter in a predetermined arrangement.
1, and a heating means for melting the ink 15 by contacting the surface on which the heat-resistant organic film 14 of the ink ribbon 11 is formed, the ink 15 exhibiting thermoplasticity being filled in the opening 12 formed by the through hole. 19, and an ink coating section 18 that replenishes the opening 12 of the ink ribbon 11, which has become blank due to the transfer of the ink 15 to the recording paper 16, with the ink 15.
A thermal transfer recording device comprising: and.