Printing head and thermal transfer printer

Abstract

The invention relates to the technical field of edge pressing type printers, in particular to a printing head and a thermal transfer printer, the printing head is provided with a first limiting piece and a second limiting piece, and the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece are used for jointly limiting the moving track of the printing head; and the printing head does translational motion in a first working state and does rotary motion in a second working state. In the first working state (printing state), the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece jointly restrain the printing head to move along the fixed translation track, it is ensured that the contact angle between the printing head and a printed part is kept constant each time, the problem of poor printing caused by angle deviation is effectively avoided, the printing stability and consistency are remarkably improved, and the printing efficiency is improved. And in the second working state (the upper cover opening process), the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece allow the printing head to move along the rotating track, so that the upper cover opening process is smooth and labor-saving, and the mechanical jamming phenomenon is avoided.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of heat-sensitive thermal transfer printer, in particular to a side-press printing head and a thermal transfer printer. BACKGROUND

[0002] The printing head of the thermal transfer printer includes a flat-press printing head and a side-press printing head, wherein the thermal transfer printer adopting the side-press printing head is commonly used for printing hard labels such as metal nameplates, epoxy plates and acrylic plates, etc. The heating wire of the side-press printing head is printed on the edge chamfer of the printing head. Only the chamfer of the printing head is in contact with the hard label. Since the hard label cannot be bent and deformed, the side-press printing head needs to be precisely pressed on the hard label at an angle. A slight change in the angle during the printing process will result in poor printing effect.

[0003] At present, the thermal transfer printer adopting the side-press printing head generally controls the precise positioning of the printing head by using guide rails and other structures. However, for a miniature thermal transfer printer with a size of about 7cm x 8cm, there is no space to arrange guide rails and other structures. SUMMARY

[0004] The purpose of the present application is to overcome the defects of the prior art and provide a printing head and a thermal transfer printer. The first limiting member and the second limiting member are used to realize precise printing of the printing head without affecting the opening of the upper cover of the printer.

[0005] To solve the above technical problems, on the one hand, the present application provides a printing head, which is provided with a first limiting member and a second limiting member. The first limiting member and the second limiting member are used to jointly limit the movement track of the printing head, so that the printing head makes translational motion in a first working state and makes rotational motion in a second working state.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first limiting member includes a first sliding groove and a first sliding block. The first sliding block is connected with the printing head or the first sliding groove is connected with the printing head. The first sliding block is in sliding and rotational connection with the first sliding groove. Thus, the printing head makes translational motion along the first sliding groove in the first working state and makes translational motion along the first sliding groove and rotational motion around the first sliding block in the second working state.

[0007] In some embodiments, the second limiting member includes a second sliding groove and a second sliding block. The second sliding block is connected with the printing head or the second sliding groove is connected with the printing head. The second sliding block is in sliding and rotational connection with the second sliding groove. Thus, the printing head makes translational motion along the second sliding groove in the first working state and makes translational motion along the second sliding groove and rotational motion around the second sliding block in the second working state.

[0008] Further, in the first working state, the first sliding groove and the second sliding groove are parallel.

[0009] Further, in the second working state, the first sliding groove rotates by itself and drives the print head to rotate, and the print head drives the second sliding groove to rotate.

[0010] In some embodiments, one end of the first sliding groove or the second sliding groove is open, so that the first sliding block or the second sliding block can be separated from the first sliding groove or the second sliding groove during rotation.

[0011] In some embodiments, the second limiting piece comprises a positioning fork, the positioning fork is provided with a second sliding groove, and the second sliding block of the second limiting piece is a rubber roller shaft.

[0012] In some embodiments, the rubber roller shaft and the positioning fork make relative translational motion in the first working state, and the positioning fork and the rubber roller shaft make relative translational and relative rotational motion in the second working state.

[0013] In some embodiments, the print head is positioned by the positioning fork and the rubber roller shaft in the third working state.

[0014] In some embodiments, the open end of the positioning fork is provided with a guide part.

[0015] In some embodiments, in the second working state and the third working state, the upper cover rotates and drives the first sliding groove to rotate, the first sliding groove drives the print head to rotate, and the print head drives the second sliding groove to rotate.

[0016] In some embodiments, in the second working state, when the upper cover rotates by a certain angle, the rubber roller shaft is separated from the positioning fork.

[0017] The present application has the following advantages: 1. In the first working state (printing state), the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece jointly constrain the print head to move along a fixed translational trajectory, ensuring that the contact angle of the print head with the printed part remains constant each time, effectively avoiding the problem of printing difference caused by angle deviation, and significantly improving the stability and consistency of printing. In the second working state (upper cover opening process), the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece allow the print head to move along a rotational trajectory, making the upper cover opening process smooth and labor-saving, and avoiding the phenomenon of mechanical jamming. The present application eliminates the traditional positioning structure of guide rod, significantly saves space, and is suitable for miniature thermal transfer printers.

[0018] 2. The printer of the present application opens, the opening and closing action of the upper cover directly drives the printhead movement, without additional operation mechanism.

[0019] 3. In the third working state (upper cover closing process) of the present application, the automatic alignment of the rubber roller shaft and the second sliding groove is realized through the design of the guide slope at the bottom of the positioning fork, avoiding jamming or misalignment.

[0020] 4. The present application uses the shaft of the printing rubber roller as the second sliding block, simplifying the structure while optimizing the space layout, taking into account the compactness and functionality.

[0021] 5. The present application realizes the smooth transition of the printhead between the translation (printing), rotation (opening) and reset (closing) states through the synergistic effect of the first and second limiters, ensuring efficient and stable operation of the equipment under different working conditions. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0022] Figure 1 is a sectional view of the present application; Figure 2 is a schematic view of the cooperation of the printhead, upper cover and printing rubber roller of the present application; Figure 3 is an exploded view of the printhead, first limiter, second limiter and printhead support of the present application; Figure 4 is a structural schematic view of the side plate of the upper cover of the present application; Figure 5 is a structural schematic view of the cam upper top positioning fork of the present application; Figure 6 is a schematic view of the relative rotation of the positioning fork and the carrier roller shaft of the present application; Figure 7 is a schematic view of the disengagement of the positioning fork and the carrier roller shaft of the present application.

[0023] Reference signs: base 1; upper cover 2; side plate 21; first sliding block 3; first sliding groove 4; second sliding block 5; second sliding groove 6; printhead 7; printhead support 8; positioning fork 9; spring 10; cam 11; printing rubber roller 12; rubber roller shaft 13; rotating shaft 14; mounting hole 15; spring groove 16; guide slope 17. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] In order to make the technical problems, technical solutions and beneficial effects of the present application more clear and explicit, the present application will be further described in detail below in combination with the drawings and examples. It should be understood that the specific examples described herein are only used to explain the present application and do not limit the present application.

[0025] It is to be noted that when an element is referred to as being "fixed" or "set" on another element, it can be directly on the other element or indirectly on the other element, with one or more intervening elements. When an element is referred to as being "connected" or "coupled" to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or indirectly connected or coupled to the other element, with one or more intervening elements.

[0026] It is to be understood that the terms "length", "width", "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer" and the like, specify relative positions or orientations of an apparatus or element as shown in the drawings, and are used only for convenience in describing the present application and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that a specific orientation of the apparatus or element is required in order to practice the present application, unless otherwise specified.

[0027] In addition, the terms "first", "second", and the like, are used only for descriptive purposes, and do not connote or imply any relative importance or any priority of one element over another element, unless otherwise specified. Thus, a feature described as "first" can imply or connote that there is at least one other feature that is "second", and vice versa. In the description of the present application, the meaning of "a plurality" is two or more, unless otherwise specified.

[0028] In the description of the present application, the phrase "one embodiment" or "some embodiments" means that a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in connection with the embodiment is included in at least one embodiment of the application. The appearances of the phrase "in one embodiment", "in some embodiments", "in other embodiments", "in additional embodiments", and so on, in various places in the specification are not necessarily all referring to the same embodiment, unless otherwise specifically stated. The terms "including", "containing", "having" and variations thereof mean "including but not limited to", unless otherwise expressly specified. The term "plurality" means "two or more".

[0029] The present application provides a print head, the print head 7 is provided with a first limiting member and a second limiting member, the first limiting member and the second limiting member are used for jointly defining the moving track of the print head 7, so that the print head 7 makes translational motion in the first working state and makes rotational motion in the second working state.

[0030] The first working state is the state during printing by the thermal transfer printer, and the second working state is the state during the opening process of the top cover 2 of the thermal transfer printer. That is to say, in the first working state, the trajectory of the print head 7 along the first limiting member and the trajectory of the second limiting member are parallel to each other. Under the combined action of the two parallel movement trajectories, the print head 7 moves along a fixed translational trajectory. Since the translational trajectory is fixed, the contact angle between the print head 7 and the printed part is the same each time, ensuring the printing effect. The translational trajectory can be a straight line or a curve. In the second working state, the print head 7 rotates along a fixed rotational trajectory under the action of the first and second limiting members. There is no interference between the first and second limiting members and the print head 7, ensuring the smooth opening of the top cover 2.

[0031] In some embodiments, such as Figure 1 As shown, the first limiting member includes a first slide groove 4 and a first slider 3. The first slider 3 is connected to the print head 7 or the first slide groove 4 is connected to the print head 7. The first slider 3 and the first slide groove 4 are slidably and rotatably connected, so that the print head 7 moves along the first slide groove 4 in the first working state and moves along the first slide groove 4 and rotates around the first slider 3 in the second working state.

[0032] The second limiting member includes a second slide groove 6 and a second slider 5. The second slider 5 is connected to the print head 7 or the second slide groove 6 is connected to the print head 7. The second slider 5 and the second slide groove 6 are slidably and rotatably connected, so that the print head 7 moves along the second slide groove 6 in the first working state and moves along the second slide groove 6 and rotates around the second slider 5 in the second working state.

[0033] The first slide 4 and the second slide 6 are slides formed on two structural components. The first slide 4 is connected to the print head 7, that is, the structural component with the first slide 4 is connected to the print head 7. The second slide 6 is connected to the print head 7, that is, the structural component with the second slide 6 is connected to the print head 7.

[0034] In the first working state, to ensure that the trajectory of the print head 7 along the first limiting member and the trajectory along the second limiting member are parallel, the first slide 4 and the second slide 6 are set parallel to each other. It can be understood that the first slider 3 can slide and rotate relative to the first slide 4, and the second slider 5 can slide or rotate relative to the second slide 6. When both work together, the relative rotation of the first slider 3 with the first slide 4 and the relative rotation of the second slider 5 with the second slide 6 are mutually restricted. Therefore, in the first working state, the cooperation of the first and second limiting members restricts the print head 7 to move only along the directions of the first slide 4 and the second slide 6. The shapes of the first slide 4 and the second slide 6 correspond to the movement trajectory of the print head 7 in the first working state.

[0035] In the second working state, when the structure part opening the first sliding slot 4 is connected with the upper cover 2 and the structure part opening the second sliding slot 6 is connected with the printing head 7, in the process of opening the upper cover 2, the upper cover 2 rotates around the rotating shaft 14 and drives the structure part opening the first sliding slot 4 to rotate at the same time. At this time, the first sliding block 3 slides and rotates in the first sliding slot 4, and the first sliding slot 4 drives the printing head 7 to rotate around the rotating shaft 14 together with the upper cover 2. Under the driving of the printing head 7, the second sliding slot 6 also rotates around the rotating shaft 14, and the second sliding block 5 also slides and rotates in the second sliding slot 6. The first sliding slot 4 and the second sliding slot 6 gradually form an angle from parallel to each other, and the angle gradually increases with the rotation angle of the upper cover 2 around the rotating shaft 14. Since the first sliding block 3 slides and rotates in the first sliding slot 4 and drives the printing head 7 to rotate around the rotating shaft 14, and the printing head 7 drives the second sliding slot 6 to rotate around the rotating shaft 14, the second sliding block 5 also starts to slide and rotate in the second sliding slot 6, so it does not interfere with the movement of the printing head 7. Of course, the structure part opening the first sliding slot 4 is connected with the printing head 7, and the second sliding block 5 is also connected with the printing head 7, which can also achieve the above movement.

[0036] The first limiting part and the second limiting part can also adopt other structural forms. For example, in other embodiments, the first limiting part includes a first telescopic part, the second limiting part includes a second telescopic part, one end of the first telescopic part is fixedly connected with the upper cover 2, the other end of the first telescopic part is rotatably connected with the printing head 7, one end of the second telescopic part is fixedly connected with the printing head 7, and the other end of the second telescopic part is rotatably connected with a component in the printer. The first telescopic part and the second telescopic part can adopt a telescopic sleeve rod structure or a sliding slot structure, and can also achieve the translation movement of the printing head 7 in the first working state and the rotation movement of the printing head 7 in the second working state. When the first telescopic part and the second telescopic part adopt the sliding slot structure, the first telescopic part includes a first sliding slot rod and a first sliding block rod, a first sliding slot 4 is opened on the first sliding slot rod, and a square first sliding block 3 or two cylindrical first sliding blocks 3 are arranged on the first sliding block rod. The first sliding block 3 is slidably arranged in the first sliding slot 4, so as to change the length of the first telescopic part. The second telescopic part adopts the same structure as the first telescopic part.

[0037] In order to enable the upper cover 2 to be completely opened, in some embodiments, one end of the first sliding slot 4 or the second sliding slot 6 is opened, so that the first sliding block 3 or the second sliding block 5 can slide to the opening of one end of the first sliding slot 4 or the second sliding slot 6 in the passive sliding and rotating process, thereby being separated from the first sliding slot 4 or the second sliding slot 6.

[0038] The application further provides a thermal transfer printer, comprising a base 1 and an upper cover 2, the upper cover 2 is rotationally connected with the base 1 through a rotating shaft 14, a first limiting piece is connected with the upper cover 2, a second limiting piece is connected with the base 1, a first working state is a state when the thermal transfer printer is printing, a second working state is a state during opening of the upper cover 2, and the thermal transfer printer further comprises a third working state, and the third working state is a state during closing of the upper cover 2.

[0039] As shown in Figure 2 、 3 , a specific embodiment of the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece is illustrated; the first limiting piece comprises two first sliding grooves 4 and two first sliding blocks 3, the upper cover 2 comprises two side plates 21 and a top plate, as shown in Figure 4 , the two first sliding grooves 4 are arranged on the two side plates 21 of the upper cover 2, as shown in Figure 3 , the two first sliding blocks 3 are arranged at two ends of the print head 7, the first sliding block 3 is in a cylindrical shape, one end of the first sliding block 3 is inserted into the first sliding groove 4, so that the print head 7 can rotate around the first sliding block 3 and slide along the first sliding groove 4; the second limiting piece comprises two positioning forks 9 and two second sliding blocks 5, the two positioning forks 9 are arranged at two ends of the print head 7, a second sliding groove 6 is arranged on the positioning fork 9, and the bottom of the positioning fork 9 is open, as shown in Figure 2 , the second sliding block 5 is a roller shaft 13 of a printing roller 12 of the thermal transfer printer, so that the print head 7 can rotate around the end of the roller shaft 13 and slide along the second sliding groove 6.

[0040] As shown in Figure 1 、 3 , the thermal transfer printer comprises a print head support 8 and a cam 11, the first sliding block 3 and the positioning fork 9 are fixed on the print head support 8, a mounting hole 15 and a spring groove 16 are arranged on the print head support 8, the print head 7 is mounted at the bottom of the print head support 8 through the mounting hole 15 (the print head 7 and the print head support 8 can also be integrated), a spring 10 is arranged between the top of the print head support 8 and the upper cover 2, one end of the spring 10 abuts in the spring groove 16, and the other end of the spring 10 abuts on the top plate of the upper cover 2, the cam 11 is rotationally connected with the base 1, and the cam 11 is used for cooperating with the positioning fork 9, as shown in Figure 5As shown, the cam 11 rotates the upper positioning fork 9 to move the print head 7 away from the printing rubber roller 12, at this time, the hard label to be printed can be put in, and the positioning fork 9 moves up and down along the rubber roller shaft 13 under the action of the spring 10 when the cam 11 rotates, when the protruding part of the cam is away from the positioning fork 9, the print head 7 gradually approaches the hard label to be printed, and finally is pressed on the hard label to be printed, which corresponds to the first working state, in which the first sliding block 3 and the first sliding groove 4 and the positioning fork 9 and the rubber roller shaft 13 can only slide relative to each other and cannot rotate, so as to ensure that the angle of the print head 7 pressed on the hard label to be printed always remains unchanged. In the first working state, the first sliding groove 4 and the second sliding groove 6 always remain parallel.

[0041] It should be noted that when the upper cover is closed and not printing, the print head 7 is pressed on the printing rubber roller 12 under the action of the spring 10, at this time, the first sliding block 3 is located at a certain position in the middle of the first sliding groove 4, and the second sliding block 5 is located at a certain position in the middle of the second sliding groove 6, when the hard label to be printed is put in to prepare for printing, the print head 7 is tightly pressed on the hard label under the action of the spring 10, at this time, the first sliding block 3 is still located at a certain position in the middle of the first sliding groove 4, and the second sliding block 5 is still located at a certain position in the middle of the second sliding groove 6, so as to avoid that the first sliding block 3 and the second sliding block 5 are limited by the bottoms of the first sliding groove 4 and the second sliding groove 6, resulting in that the print head 7 cannot be pressed on the hard label or is completely pressed on the hard label.

[0042] For the second working state, as shown in Figure 6 , when the upper cover 2 is opened, the upper cover 2 rotates, the upper cover 2 drives the first sliding groove 4 to rotate, the first sliding block 3 translates to the bottom of the first sliding groove 4 and rotates with the rotation of the first sliding groove 4, thereby driving the print head 7 and the print head support 8 to rotate and move in the direction of obliquely upward, since the positioning fork 9 is in rotational sliding connection with the rubber roller shaft 13, the second sliding groove 6 of the positioning fork 9 can rotate and slide relative to the rubber roller shaft 13. In the second working state, the included angle between the first sliding groove 4 and the second sliding groove 6 gradually increases with the degree of opening of the upper cover 2, as shown in Figure 6 , 7 , the two dashed lines respectively represent the center lines of the first sliding groove 4 and the second sliding groove 6. In order to enable the upper cover 2 to be completely opened, the bottom of the positioning fork 9 is opened, so that the positioning fork 9 and the rubber roller shaft 13 can be detached. In addition, the first sliding groove 4 can also be opened at one end, so that the first sliding groove 4 and the first sliding block 3 can be detached, but during the opening of the upper cover 2, the upper cover 2 directly separates from the print head 7 and does not drive the print head 7 to move.

[0043] For the third working state, in order to ensure that the rubber roller shaft 13 can be smoothly inserted into the second sliding groove 6 of the positioning fork 9, the opening end of the positioning fork 9 is provided with a guide portion, which includes a guide inclined surface 17; when the upper cover 2 is closed in the third working state, the upper cover 2 drives the first sliding groove 4 to rotate, and the first sliding groove 4 drives the first sliding block 3, the print head 7 and the print head support 8 to rotate together with the upper cover 2; when the print head 7 and the print head support 8 move to above the rubber roller shaft 13, with the upper cover 2 being further closed, the rubber roller shaft 13 is gradually inserted into the second sliding groove 6 of the positioning fork 9 under the action of the guide inclined surface 17, so that automatic positioning is realized; thereafter, the upper cover 2 is further closed until it is completely closed; in this process, the upper cover 2 drives the first sliding groove 4 to rotate, the first sliding groove 4 and the first sliding block 3 slide and rotate relative to each other, and the print head 7 is driven to move close to the printing rubber roller 12, so as to force the rubber roller shaft 13 to slide and rotate relative to the positioning fork 9; in this process, the angle between the center line of the first sliding groove 4 and the center line of the second sliding groove 6 will gradually decrease until the two center lines are parallel, and the upper cover 2 is completely closed.

[0044] Of course, in other embodiments, the first limiting member and the second limiting member can also adopt the first telescopic member and the second telescopic member described above; when the first telescopic member and the second telescopic member are adopted, one end of the first telescopic member is fixedly connected with the upper cover 2, and the other end of the first telescopic member is rotatably connected with the print head 7, or one end of the first telescopic member is rotatably connected with the upper cover 2, and the other end of the first telescopic member is fixedly connected with the print head 7, and it is not necessary to open the first sliding groove 4 on the side plate 21 of the upper cover 2; one end of the second telescopic member is fixedly connected with the print head 7, and the other end of the second telescopic member is rotatably connected with the rubber roller shaft 13, or one end of the second telescopic member is rotatably connected with the print head 7, and the other end of the second telescopic member is fixedly connected with the rubber roller shaft 13; when one end of the second telescopic member is fixedly connected with the print head 7, and the other end of the second telescopic member is rotatably connected with the rubber roller shaft 13, the end of the second telescopic member rotatably connected with the rubber roller shaft 13 is provided with a circular arc-shaped rotating groove; when one end of the second telescopic member is rotatably connected with the print head 7, the other end of the second telescopic member is fixedly connected with the rubber roller shaft 13, and the second telescopic member adopts a sliding groove structure, the second telescopic member includes a second sliding groove rod and a second sliding block rod, the second sliding groove rod is fixedly connected with the rubber roller shaft 13, the second sliding block rod is rotatably connected with the print head 7, a second sliding groove 6 is opened on the second sliding groove rod, and a square-shaped second sliding block 5 or two cylindrical-shaped second sliding blocks 5 are arranged on the second sliding block rod, the second sliding block 5 is slidably arranged in the second sliding groove 6, and the end of the second sliding groove 6 facing the print head 7 is opened.

[0045] In addition, the heat transfer printing machine described above adopts the mode of moving the print head 7 and keeping the printing rubber roller 12 stationary to perform printing; in other embodiments, the heat transfer printing machine can also adopt the mode of keeping the print head 7 stationary and moving the printing rubber roller 12 to perform printing; at this time, in the first working state, the rubber roller shaft 13 moves in translation along the second sliding groove 6 of the positioning fork 9, and the second sliding groove 6 is stationary.

[0046] Different from Figure 2 The second slider 5 and the structure of the first sliding groove 4 shown in the drawings, in other embodiments, the second slider 5 can also be other structures in the heat transfer printer, for example, the fixed shaft fixed on the base 1; the first sliding groove 4 can not be opened on the side plate 21, and the U-shaped structure is directly fixed on the lower surface of the top plate of the upper cover 2, and the opening of the U-shaped structure is towards the top plate of the upper cover 2, that is, the first sliding groove 4 is formed.

[0047] The above-described embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, but not to limit it; although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments can still be modified, or some technical features can be replaced by equivalents; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, and should be included in the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A printhead, characterized in that: The print head (7) is provided with a first limiting member and a second limiting member. The first limiting member and the second limiting member are used to jointly limit the movement trajectory of the print head (7), so that the print head (7) makes a translational movement in the first working state and a rotational movement in the second working state.

2. The printhead according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first limiting member includes a first slide groove (4) and a first slider (3). The first slider (3) is connected to the print head (7) or the first slide groove (4) is connected to the print head (7). The first slider (3) and the first slide groove (4) are slidably and rotatably connected, so that the print head (7) moves along the first slide groove (4) in the first working state and moves along the first slide groove (4) and rotates around the first slider (3) in the second working state.

3. The printhead according to claim 2, characterized in that: The second limiting member includes a second slide groove (6) and a second slider (5). The second slider (5) is connected to the print head (7) or the second slide groove (6) is connected to the print head (7). The second slider (5) and the second slide groove (6) are slidably and rotatably connected, so that the print head (7) moves along the second slide groove (6) in the first working state and moves along the second slide groove (6) and rotates around the second slider (5) in the second working state.

4. The printhead according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the first working state, the first slide (4) and the second slide (6) are parallel.

5. The printhead according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the second working state, the first slide (4) rotates itself and drives the print head (7) to rotate, and then the print head (7) drives the second slide (6) to rotate.

6. The printhead according to claim 3, characterized in that: One end of the first slide (4) or the second slide (6) is open, so that the first slider (3) or the second slider (5) can disengage from the first slide (4) or the second slide (6) during rotation.

7. A thermal transfer printer comprising the printhead according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that: The thermal transfer printer includes a base (1) and a top cover (2). The top cover (2) is rotatably connected to the base (1). The first limiting member is connected to the top cover (2), and the second limiting member is connected to the base (1). The first working state is the state when the thermal transfer printer is printing. The second working state is the state when the top cover (2) is open. The thermal transfer printer also includes a third working state, which is the state when the top cover (2) is closed.

8. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 7, characterized in that: The second limiting member includes a positioning fork (9), the positioning fork (9) is provided with a second sliding groove (6), the second slider (5) of the second limiting member is a rubber roller shaft (13), the rubber roller shaft (13) and the positioning fork (9) make relative translational movements in the first working state, and the positioning fork (9) and the rubber roller shaft (13) make relative translational and relative rotational movements in the second working state.

9. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the third working state, the print head (7) is positioned by the positioning fork (9) and the rubber roller shaft (13).

10. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 9, characterized in that: The positioning fork (9) has a guide at its open end.

11. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 7, characterized in that: In the second and third working states, the upper cover (2) rotates and drives the first slide (4) to rotate, the first slide (4) drives the print head (7) to rotate, and then the print head (7) drives the second slide (6) to rotate.

12. The thermal transfer printer according to claim 8, characterized in that: In the second working state, when the upper cover (2) rotates at a certain angle, the rubber roller shaft (13) disengages from the positioning fork (9).

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