Incremental printing of symbolic information – Thermal marking apparatus or processes – With transfer medium or driving means therefor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-11-14
2004-06-22
Tran, Huan (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Thermal marking apparatus or processes
With transfer medium or driving means therefor
C400S234000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06753894
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a thermal transfer type of image recording apparatus for recording a color image with an image recording means comprising a thermal head and a thermal transfer type of ink ribbon in an image recording medium wound around a platen drum based on image data recorded in an image data recording means or transmitted through a communication means and also relates to a thermal transfer type of ink ribbon and a thermal transfer type of ink ribbon cassette used in this image recording apparatus.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional type of image recording apparatus is shown in FIG.
1
. The image recording apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
comprises a thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
, an image recording medium
501
, a platen drum
502
, a thermal head
503
, a damper
504
, a platen drum driving motor
505
, and a recording medium hopper
506
. A contact section between the damper
504
and the recording medium
501
is covered with a frictional member
509
such as rubber adhered thereto. In
FIG. 1
, the thermal head
503
, a thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
, recording medium
501
, and platen drum
502
are arranged in this order. The thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
is colored with different colors cyclically and a wound around in the feeder core
507
in a rolled form, and is wound up around a winder core
508
in the opposite side. For instance, the three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan form one group. In some ribbons, black or a transparent overcoat material for coating the surface is added to the three colors described above. The following description of operations assumes a three-color ribbon. At first, a header section of the thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
with a given color is positioned at the starting position. Then the recording medium
501
is carried from the recording medium hopper
506
to the damper
504
and is wound around the platen drum
502
. Then recording medium
501
carried thereto is held between the platen drum
502
and damper
504
each loading a pressure thereto to hold it. The a rear surface of the damper
504
, namely a section contacting the recording medium
501
is made from a frictional member
509
such as rubber, and holds the recording medium
501
by means of the frictional force. When the recording medium
501
is firmly held, the thermal head
503
is moved to the platen drum
502
and a pressure is loaded to the thermal head
503
so that the thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
and recording medium
501
are closely adhered to each other. Then the platen drum driving motor
505
rotates with the thermal head
503
energized and heated in synchronism to start of rotation thereof according to an arbitrary dot so that the heated color material is transferred from the thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
onto the recording medium
501
and an image is formed thereon. After processing with the first color is finished, the thermal head
503
releases the pressure, moves away from the platen drum
502
, and feeds the thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
to position a section with the next color at its starting position with the platen drum
502
rotating in the image-forming direction to position the recording medium
501
at its starting position. Further, the same operations as those described above are repeated to form a image for a next color, and thus the operation sequence is repeated required times to form a color image.
The most important requirement in this operation sequence is that positioning of the recording medium
501
at its starting position is performed by controlling a position of the platen drum
502
. Therefore, to prevent change in a positional relation between the platen drum
502
and the recording medium
501
to be wounded therearound for each color, the platen drum
502
and the recording medium
501
are held by such a tool as the damper
504
with the frictional member
509
such as rubber adhered thereto.
In the conventional type of image recording apparatus as described above, recording medium
501
are fed one by one from the recording medium hopper
506
to the platen drum
502
, and a header section of this recording medium
501
is clamped by the damper
504
to the platen drum
502
with a rear edge section of the recording medium
501
held by a pinch roller between the pinch roller and the platen drum
502
. Because of this configuration, a load by the pinch roller gives effects over the platen drum
502
so that a driving load for the platen drum
502
disadvantageously increases.
In some of the image recording apparatuses based on the conventional technology, the recording medium
501
are not fed one by one, and the recording medium wound up into a roll form is cut into sheets, which are fed one by one. In this roll system, the recording medium
501
fed out from a roll is cut into a sheet of recording medium
501
, which is wound around the platen drum
502
, and then an image is recorded on this recording medium
501
with the thermal head
503
and thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
, and when the recording medium
501
with the image recorded thereon is to be discharged, the platen drum
502
is rotated in the reverse direction to liberate the recording medium
501
with the image printed thereon from the platen drum
502
, and a blank section having been held by the dampers
504
is cut off with a discharge cutter to form a sheet of recording medium
501
with the image having been recorded therein, but in this system, the paper feed means, recording means, paper discharge means and drive means are independently provided respectively, and operations of each means are controlled by a control circuit.
Because of this configuration, the size of the apparatus as a whole becomes larger, and two or more driving motors and two or more driving mechanisms including those for a paper feed cutter and a paper discharge cutter are required, which in turn makes the cost higher and also makes the size larger. In addition, although a time required for recording can be reduced by performing paper feed and paper discharge at the same time, a complicated control mechanism is required to control the two or more motors and the driving mechanisms synchronously, and a synchronism error easily occurs, and therefore it is necessary to make to some extent lower an operating speed in the operation sequence, and at present it takes about 30 seconds to finish a sheet of recording medium with an image recording apparatus using a normal type of thermal head and ink ribbon.
Further paper waste generated in cutting operations by the paper discharge cutter may sometimes be taken together with the recording medium in the paper discharge side, which may in turn cause the so-called paper jamming.
In the conventional type of image recording apparatus shown in
FIG. 1
, a two-roll type of ink ribbon having the ribbon cores
507
and
508
both in the feed-out side and in the wind-up side or a ribbon cassette with the two-roll type of ink ribbon incorporated therein is used for the thermal transfer type of ink ribbon
500
. When a ribbon core of this ribbon cassette is set in the image recording apparatus, the core
508
in the wind-up side is engaged with a core boss in the wind-up side driven directly or via a clutch mechanism by a motor, while the core
507
in the feed-out side is engaged with a core boss in the feed-out side loading a prespecified torque via a frictional clutch or the like to the core
507
in the feed-out side to give tension to the ribbon.
As clearly shown by the configuration, a torque loaded by the frictional clutch or the like to the conventional type of core
507
in the feed-out side is always kept at a constant level, so that the problems as described below occur.
1. When positioning a recording medium at its starting position, a torque loaded to the core
508
in the wind-up side is required to be larger than that loaded to the core
507
in the feed-out side. Therefore, when a ribbon wound i
McGlew and Tuttle , P.C.
Tran Huan
Wedg Co., Ltd.
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