Patent ID: 7576762

Claim:
A recording unit mounted on a thermal transfer printer in which heating or thermal elements of a thermal head are heated so that ink of an ink ribbon is thermally transferred to a recording material, the recording unit comprising: a head unit having the thermal head; and a cooling unit having a cooling medium flow path that circulates a cooling medium to thereby cool down the thermal head by the cooling medium, wherein the cooling unit is fixed at a predetermined position in a thermal transfer printer body, and the head unit is detachably attached to the cooling unit, wherein the head unit is provided with a cavity through which a head unit body is loosely fit to the cooling unit in a predetermined loose fit direction in such a manner as to surround the cooling medium flow path, the cavity being surrounded by a heat transfer member that is arranged so as to be opposed to the cooling medium flow path to receive heat generated from the thermal head in a state where the head unit body is loosely fit to the cooling unit and a holder having a wall portion opposed to the heat transfer member, wherein the cooling unit comprises: a lever that is pivotable between a first pivot position and a second pivot position; and a pressure contact and release mechanism that is configured to bring the cooling medium flow path into pressure contact with the heat transfer member in accordance with the pivot operation of the lever toward the first pivot position when the head unit body is at the loose fit state and to release the pressure contact of the cooling medium flow path in accordance with the pivot operation of the lever toward the second pivot position in a state where the cooling medium flow path is in pressure contact with the heat transfer member, and wherein the cooling unit is configured to cause the head unit to be held at an immovable state relative to the cooling medium flow path in such a manner as to surround the cooling medium flow path by the pressure contact of the cooling medium flow path by means of the pressure contact and release mechanism, whereby the head unit is attached to the head unit body in such a state that cooling of the thermal head can be carried out by the cooling medium flow path, and whereby separation of the head unit from the cooling unit body is allowed by the release of the pressure contact by means of the pressure contact and release mechanism.