JP2004181817A - Heat fusing system - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To arrange a heat fusing system rationally such that even a wide recording medium can be recovered while being wound without requiring time or labor after transfer processing. <P>SOLUTION: The heat fusing system comprises a bending force applying means consisting of a first carry roller 51 for feeding a recording medium M heated at heating section to a feeding position, and a contact plate 52 for touching the forward end part of the recording medium M being fed from the first carry roller 51 and applying a force for bending the forward end part in the winding direction. A winding means R has a plurality of guide rollers 58 arranged in a winding case 56 to wind the recording medium fed from the bending force applying means in the applying direction of bending force. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO&NCIPI

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention heats a sheet-shaped recording medium having a base material and a permeable layer on which image information to be transferred to a fixing layer on the surface of the base material is printed, thereby printing the permeable layer with a sublimable ink. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for winding a recording medium after transfer and fixing, which includes a heating unit that transfers and fixes the transferred image information to a fixing layer.
[0002]
[Prior art]
As a technique similar to the above-mentioned conventional thermal fixing device, a colored underlayer (fixing layer of the present invention) also serving as a rust-preventing layer is formed on a metal substrate (substrate of the present invention), and a light-transmitting layer is formed thereon. As a resin layer, a transparent resin layer made of an acrylic resin, a polyester resin, or a urethane resin is formed, and an ink jet receiving layer (porous layer of the present invention) using porous alumina or the like is formed thereon to form a metal decoration. The colored pattern is formed on the inkjet receiving layer of the metal decorative body by inkjet printing using a sublimation-type coloring material. Then, the sublimation-type coloring material of the ink-jet receiving layer is sublimated by heating the metal decorative body in a heating furnace or a hot press, and enters the transparent resin layer, and the colored pattern formed on the ink-jet receiving layer becomes transparent in the transparent receiving layer. Formed. Then, after softening the ink jet receiving layer with warm water, the entire metal ink receiving layer on which a colored pattern is formed is completed by removing all the ink jet receiving layer by wiping with a cloth or the like (for example, see Patent Document 1). 1).
[0003]
Although it is different from the above-described recording medium, as a technique for winding photographic paper, the printing medium is fed to a winding core provided on a winding shaft while being guided by a printed and exposed paper, and is fed to the winding shaft. There is also a configuration in which a winding unit is configured to take up the paper, and the paper wound around the winding core in the winding unit is configured to be detachable (for example, see Patent Document 2).
[0004]
[Patent Document 1]
JP-A-10-297197 (paragraph numbers [0009] to [0013], FIGS. 1 to 4)
[Patent Document 2]
JP-A-7-5580 (paragraph numbers [0031], [0032], [0038], FIG. 1)
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
This type of recording medium not only does not require development equipment like silver-salt photographic paper, but also can easily form a wide material using inkjet printer technology when forming image information. The image information required for the image can be formed. It is also conceivable to use a relatively inexpensive and highly water-resistant material such as a resin sheet as a recording medium, so that it is used for advertising in the form of being attached to signboards installed outdoors or on the outer surface of a bus or vehicle. It is also considered.
[0006]
Here, considering that a recording medium is used as a large signboard, when image information is formed on a recording medium used for a large signboard and is transferred and fixed, a long recording medium having a wide width is used. It is necessary to continuously perform a process of forming image information on a medium, performing transfer by heating, and discharging the recording medium after the transfer and fixing. In particular, in the case of transferring image information by heating, the recording medium is ejected after the heat treatment, and when the recording medium uses a thermoplastic resin sheet, deformation or distortion occurs. Requires a process of recovering without inducing. Patent Document 1 discloses a technique for performing transfer, but does not show a technique for handling a recording medium. Therefore, it is conceivable to adopt a technique of collecting paper in a form of winding up as shown in Patent Document 2. However, in a mode in which the paper is wound around the core as in the technique of Patent Document 2, the core is required, so that not only is it troublesome to set the core, but also the recording medium having a wide width is required. When winding the recording medium, it is difficult to guide the recording medium to the winding core without applying an unnecessary external force to the entire width of the recording medium at the beginning of the winding, and there is room for improvement.
[0007]
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to rationally configure an apparatus that can recover a recording medium discharged after a transfer process in a form that takes up the recording medium without any trouble even if the recording medium has a wide width.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
The features, functions and effects of the heat fixing device according to claim 1 of the present invention are as follows.
〔Characteristic〕
By heating a sheet-shaped recording medium having a base material and a permeable layer on which image information to be transferred to a fixing layer on the surface of the base material is printed, the image information printed on the permeable layer with the sublimable ink is heated. In a thermal fixing device including a heating unit that transfers and fixes the recording medium to the fixing layer, the heating unit includes a transport mechanism that transports the recording medium, and a heating mechanism that heats the recording medium that is transported by the transport mechanism. And a discharging unit for feeding out the recording medium heated by the heating unit, and a bending force acting means for applying a force to bend in the winding direction by contacting the recording medium, The present invention has a winding means for winding the recording medium sent from the force acting means in the bending force acting direction.
[0009]
[Action / Effect]
According to the above feature, the recording medium on which the image information is printed is heated while being conveyed in the heating unit, and is discharged from the discharge unit after the heating. When the recording medium is discharged from the discharge section, the bending force acting means applies a bending force to the recording medium in the winding direction, and thereafter the winding means winds the recording medium in the winding direction. It becomes. That is, since a bending force is applied in the winding direction from the bending force applying means prior to the processing of winding the recording medium by the winding means, even if the recording medium has a wide width, The entire width can be easily deformed by applying a deformation force in the winding direction, thereby facilitating the winding process. As a result, an apparatus capable of reliably winding a recording medium having a wide width and a long length without applying an uneven external force to the recording medium after the transfer and fixing was rationally configured. .
[0010]
The features, functions and effects of the heat fixing device according to claim 2 of the present invention are as follows.
〔Characteristic〕
2. The heat fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the bending force applying unit is configured to contact a recording medium fed by the transport roller with a pair of transport rollers disposed at positions sandwiching the recording medium, and to bend in the bending direction. 3. And a contact plate for applying a force, wherein the winding means has a winding space having an opening for allowing introduction of the recording medium sent from the bending force acting means, and a plurality of winding spaces arranged at positions surrounding the space. And a guide plate for guiding the recording medium fed by the guide roller toward the opening toward the take-up space.
[0011]
[Action / Effect]
According to the above feature, the recording medium heated by the heating unit comes into contact with the contact plate by the transporting force from the transporting roller and receives a bending force to reach a curved state, and thereafter, is wound from the opening. When the recording medium is fed into the space, it is fed by a guide roller disposed at a position surrounding the winding space and reaches the opening, but is guided by the guide plate toward the winding space, and the recording medium is A winding state is reached in the winding space. As a result, it has become possible to specially provide a member for applying a winding force, such as a winding core, and to wind a recording medium without an operator performing a special operation at the time of winding.
[0012]
The features, functions and effects of the heat fixing device according to claim 3 of the present invention are as follows.
〔Characteristic〕
3. The heat fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit and the bending force acting unit are provided inside a main body case, and the winding unit introduces a recording medium discharged from the main body case. And a position that is separated from the main body case.
[0013]
[Action / Effect]
According to the above feature, when the winding by the winding means is not required as in the case of processing a recording medium having a relatively small size, the winding means is separated from the main body case, for example, a tray-like shape. The recording medium can be collected in a medium, and conversely, when collecting a wide and long recording medium in a wound state, the winding means can introduce the recording medium from the main body case. All that is required is to place them in a position. As a result, the recording medium can be collected according to an appropriate collection mode corresponding to the size of the recording medium.
[0014]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, an image forming apparatus Q that prints image information transferred from an image processing apparatus P on a recording medium M with a sublimable ink, cuts the print into a print size, fixes the print by heating, and then sends out the print. Have been.
[0015]
The image processing apparatus P has a general-purpose computer 1, a monitor 2, a keyboard 3, and a mouse 4, and stores a digital signal on a medium, a film scanner 6 for photoelectrically converting image information of a developed silver halide photographic film 5, and a digital signal. And a media drive 7 inside the computer so as to take out the obtained information. The media drive 7 is a generic name of a drive for extracting information from a medium made of a semiconductor such as a compact flash or a smart media as well as a disk-shaped medium such as a CD, CD-R, or MO. Shows a media drive for reading information of a CD and a CD-R.
[0016]
As shown in FIG. 4, the recording medium M is formed of a polyvinyl alcohol-based resin as a resin having an affinity for sublimation ink with respect to the surface of a film-shaped base material 11 made of PET (polyethylene terephthalate). A fixing layer 12 is formed of a polyvinyl acetal-based resin or the like, and a thin film-shaped permeation layer 13 such as a fluororesin or a silicon resin which is incompatible with the sublimable ink is formed on the surface of the fixing layer 12 so as to be peelable. They are superimposed and formed into a flexible sheet as a whole. When image information is to be formed on the recording medium M, the image is printed with the sublimable ink on the permeable layer 13 as shown in FIG. Has the function of fixing and forming image information on the surface of the substrate 11, and after the image information is transferred and fixed, the penetrating layer 13 is peeled off in a film form. By removing (exfoliating the surface layer), a clear image formed on the fixing layer 12 on the surface of the substrate 11 is exposed. Further, in the recording medium M, if the material of the base material 11 has a property of having an affinity for the sublimable ink, the surface of the base material 11 can be used as the fixing layer 12 as it is.
[0017]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the image forming apparatus Q includes a printing unit Q1 for printing image information on a recording medium M, and a recording medium on which image information is printed with sublimable ink in the printing unit Q1. The image forming apparatus includes a loop forming unit Q2 for temporarily storing M, and a heat fixing unit Q3 (an example of a heat fixing device) to which the recording medium M is sent from the loop forming unit Q2.
[0018]
In the image forming apparatus Q, the transport speed of the recording medium M in the heat fixing unit Q3 is lower than the transport speed of the recording medium M in the printing unit. A loop forming section Q2 is arranged at an intermediate position with respect to the heat fixing section Q3, and the printing section Q1, the loop forming section Q2, and the heat fixing section Q3 are configured as units that can be separated from each other. The transport speed of the recording medium M in the heat fixing unit Q3 is about 300 mm / min, and the transport speed of the recording medium M in the printing unit Q1 depends on the resolution of image information at the time of printing and the width of the recording medium M. Although it is determined, the speed is higher than the transport speed of the recording medium M in the heat fixing section Q3 even at the lowest speed.
[0019]
[Print section]
The printing unit Q1 is configured to feed the recording medium M in the form of a roll in the horizontal direction with respect to the inside of the main body case 20 by a plurality of pressure-conveying conveying rollers 21, and print image information by an ink-jet type print head 22. The main body case 20 is supported by the support legs 23, so that the recording medium M on which the image information is printed is sent out at a relatively high position in the horizontal direction. The print head 22 is configured to form image information by spraying sublimable ink stored in an ink cartridge or the like when the print head 22 reciprocates in the width direction (main scanning direction) of the recording medium M, and is not shown in the drawings. However, the print head 22 is provided with a blade body that can be switched between a position protruding toward the recording medium M and a position retreating so that the print head 22 can also be used as a cutter. Then, after the image information is formed, the print head 22 is operated in a state where the blade body is protruded, thereby functioning to cut the recording medium M into a print size.
[0020]
The printing section Q1 can print image information on a recording medium M having a width exceeding 1 meter. The ink stored in the ink cartridge or the like includes cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow. (Y) and black (K) are configured to use six colors using two intermediate colors in addition to at least four colors of ink. The sublimation ink used in this embodiment is 80 ° C. Sublimation starts at about the same temperature, and as described above, the recording medium M having the film-shaped PET substrate 11 attains an optimal transfer state by heating at 180 ° C. for about 2 minutes. This sublimable ink can easily sublimate the ink at about 170 ° C. to 200 ° C., and transfers and fixes a required image by heating at 200 ° C. for about 1 minute and at 170 ° C. for about 5 minutes. Is realized.
[0021]
[Loop formation unit]
The loop forming section Q2 includes a case 30, a turn roller 32 having three driven rollers 31 at a central position inside the case 30, and a pressure-supply type supply roller 33 that sends out the recording medium M. As shown by a virtual line in FIG. 2, a loop forming space for temporarily storing the recording medium M in the form of hanging down is formed on the upper side of the conveyance and the lower side of the conveyance with the turn roller 32 as a reference. .
[0022]
The path for transporting the recording medium M from the printing section Q1 to the turn roller 32 and the path for transporting the recording medium M from the turn roller 32 to the heat fixing section Q3 form the respective paths. The lower guide plate is configured to be freely openable and closable. By releasing the guide plate, the recording medium M is sent out to the loop forming space, and the recording medium M is temporarily suspended in a hanging form. It is configured to store. By forming a loop in this way, a speed difference between the printing speed in the printing unit Q1 and the heat fixing unit Q3 is absorbed.
[0023]
Specifically, when the recording medium M is sent out from the printing section Q1, the leading end of the recording medium M is sent to the turn roller 32 at the center position of the loop forming section Q2, and is driven by the turn roller 32. In a state where the recording medium M is held in pressure contact with the roller 31, the recording medium M is stored in the loop forming space on the upstream side of the transport from the turn roller 32 in a hanging manner. Next, when the trailing end of the recording medium M is detected, an operation of feeding the leading end of the recording medium M pressed and held by the turn roller 32 to the supply roller 33 is performed. By rotating the turn roller 32 at a high speed, the recording medium M stored in the loop forming space on the upper side of the transport of the turn roller 32 is sent out to the loop forming space on the lower side of the transport of the turn roller 32, and the recording medium is M is stored in a hanging form.
[0024]
(Heat fixing section)
The heat fixing section Q3 includes a horizontal transport mechanism C having a plurality of transport rollers 41 for transporting the recording medium M in the heating case 40 in the horizontal direction, and the recording medium transported by the transport rollers 41. A pre-heating mechanism PH for applying heat from the pre-heating plate 42 to M, a main heating mechanism MH for applying heat from the pre-heating plate 43 and the post-heating plate 44, and air heated by the air heater 45 An air heating mechanism AH for heating the recording medium M in a form in which air is circulated from the post-heating plate 44 to the pre-heating plate 43 by the cross-flow fan 46, and further sent out from the heating case 40. A slow cooling mechanism RH for releasing heat by applying heat from the low-temperature heating plate 48 while sending the recording medium M downward inside the slow cooling case 47, and feeding from the slow cooling mechanism RH. It is constituted by a winding mechanism R (an example of a winding means) that recovered in the form of winding the recording medium M, which is.
[0025]
The heating case 40 and the heat removal case 47 constitute a main body case of the heat fixing unit Q3. In the heat fixing unit Q3, the preliminary heating mechanism PH, the main heating mechanism MH, and the air heating mechanism AH Constitutes a heating unit for transferring and fixing image information to the fixing layer 12 of the recording medium M.
[0026]
The transport rollers 41 constituting the horizontal transport mechanism C are of a pressure-contact type that transports the recording medium M in such a manner as to sandwich the recording medium M from both front and back sides, and are configured to lightly contact the upper surface of the recording medium M to assist transport. The power from an electric motor (not shown) is transmitted so that each of the transport rollers 41 is driven at a set outer peripheral speed. The pre-heating plate 42, the pre-heating plate 43, the post-heating plate 44, and the low-temperature heating plate 48 are all disposed below the conveyance path for feeding the recording medium M, and the recording medium M contacts the upper surface thereof. The sheet heater is arranged on the lower surface side of a metal plate having a smooth surface and high thermal conductivity so that heat is transmitted to the recording medium M by being conveyed by the sheet heater.
[0027]
The slow cooling mechanism RH includes a curved guide plate 50 that comes into contact with the lower surface of the recording medium M sent out from the transport end (an example of a discharge unit) of the horizontal transport mechanism C and guides the recording medium M downward. The low-temperature heating plate 48 is located on the lower side in the transport direction of the recording medium M with respect to the guide plate 50, a first transport roller 51 that presses and transports both sides of the recording medium M, and the first transport A contact plate 52 sent from a roller 51 to contact the recording medium M to apply a force in a bending direction, and a second transport roller 53 for pressing the recording medium M from the contact plate 52 and sending it out. Have been.
[0028]
In the heat fixing section Q3, the temperature of the pre-heating plate 42 is set to 100 ° C. or less, the temperature of the pre-heating plate 43 is set to 150 ° C., and the temperature of the post-heating plate 44 is set to 180 ° C. It is necessary to set the temperature of the low-temperature heating plate 48 to a temperature sufficiently lower than 100 ° C. and to set the temperature of air sent from the cross flow fan 46 to the upper surface side of the post-heating plate 44 to 180 ° C. And a control system is formed to perform temperature control based on the detection results of these temperature sensors (not shown).
[0029]
The first transport roller 51 and the second transport roller 53 are configured by covering a metal roller-shaped core material with a rubber material such as urethane rubber, and the contact plate 52 is made of a metal material or relatively high in rigidity. It is configured using a resin material. The first conveying roller 51 and the contact plate 52 constitute a bending force acting unit.
[0030]
In other words, the first transport roller 51 has a transport direction set so that the transport path of the recording medium M that is sent obliquely downward along the surface of the low-temperature heating plate 48 is slightly changed and is sent substantially vertically downward. The contact plate 52 contacts the entire width of the recording medium M so as to send out the recording medium M sent from the first transport roller 51 in a substantially horizontal direction, and applies a bending force to the recording medium M. As a result, the recording medium M It functions to bend (curl) M. The first transport roller 51 and the second transport roller 53 are connected to the horizontal transport mechanism C so as to transport the recording medium M at a speed equal to the transport speed of the recording medium M by the horizontal transport mechanism C. It is linked and linked via a link mechanism of the mold.
[0031]
The bending force acting means is not limited to the configuration shown in FIG. 5, but may be an angle at which the first transport roller 51 makes strong contact with the contact plate 52 (an angle close to an angle perpendicular to the plate surface of the contact plate). ), The recording medium M may be sent out so as to easily obtain a bending force, and the first conveyance roller 51 and the contact plate 52 are further brought closer to each other so that the bending force is applied reliably. Is also possible. The relative positional relationship between the first transport roller 51 and the contact plate 52 can be set arbitrarily according to the material and thickness of the recording medium M, or the relative positional relationship using an actuator can be set. It is also possible to configure the bending force acting means to automatically set the bending force.
[0032]
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the winding mechanism R includes a winding case 56 having a caster 55 on the lower surface, a guide body 57 curved and formed into a substantially arc shape in a side view, The recording medium fed from the winding space S of the winding case 56 to the plurality of guide rollers 58 arranged at positions along the axis and the opening 56A formed at the top of the winding case 56. And a guide plate 59 that comes in contact with M and returns to the inside of the winding space S.
[0033]
The guide roller 58 forms a plurality of roller-shaped core members at predetermined intervals in the axial direction with respect to the metal shaft body 58A, and coats each core material with a rubber material such as urethane rubber. The guide body 57 is made of a metal or resin material and has a plurality of openings through which the guide rollers 58 are inserted. The guide plate 59 supports a metal plate or a resin plate so as to be swingable around a support shaft 60 in a posture parallel to the width direction of the recording medium M, and has a spring 61 so that the swing end can swing upward. The urging force is applied, and the posture shown in FIG. 5 is maintained by the contact with the stopper 62. When the pressure from the recording medium M acts, the guide plate 59 is swung so as not to come into strong contact with the recording medium M. The moving end is configured to be able to swing upward.
[0034]
The winding mechanism R includes an electric motor (not shown) operated by a control signal sent from the main body case side or driving power, and drives the guide roller 58 by a driving force from the electric motor. It has a chain-type or belt-type interlocking mechanism. The driving speed of the guide roller 58 is set such that the guide roller 58 is driven at a peripheral speed equal to the speed at which the recording medium M is fed from the second transport roller 53. Further, since the winding mechanism R includes the winding case 56 having the casters 55 at the bottom, it is necessary to perform the winding processing as in the case of processing the recording medium M having a small size, for example. If not, it is separated from the position shown in FIG. 5 and the operation of collecting the recording medium M using a collection mechanism such as a tray is realized, so that the space is not wasted.
[0035]
With this configuration, the temperature of the heat-fixing unit Q3 becomes slightly lower than 100 ° C. due to contact with the preliminary heating plate 42 of the preliminary heating mechanism PH while the introduced recording medium M is horizontally transported by the horizontal transport mechanism C at the set speed. After the temperature is raised to the temperature, the temperature is raised to about 150 ° C. by contact of the main heating mechanism MH with the pre-heating plate 43 and contact with the heated air from the air heating mechanism AH. By the contact and the contact with the heated air from the air heating mechanism AH, the temperature is raised to about 180 ° C. to perform the transfer reliably. After this heating, the recording medium M is conveyed in a state in which the recording medium M is not distorted while causing rapid heat radiation while avoiding rapid heat radiation by contact with the low-temperature heating plate 48 of the slow cooling mechanism RH. Is discharged by the transport force from the first transport roller 51 and the second transport roller 53.
[0036]
As described above, the leading end of the recording medium M discharged in this manner is gradually deformed in the bending direction as shown in FIG. It moves downward by its own weight in the state. By moving the recording medium M downward by its own weight, the leading end of the recording medium M is fed into the winding space S from the opening 56A at the top of the winding case 56 of the winding mechanism R. Along the guide roller 58 and the guide body 57 into the winding space S. Even after the introduction, even if the tip is to move upward from the side of the opening 56A, it is returned to the inside of the winding space S by contact with the guide plate 59, and as shown in FIG. It is wound up in a spiral. Since the guide plate 59 is swingable with respect to the support shaft 60, and the swing end is supported so as to be displaceable upward by the urging force of the spring 61, the recording medium M contacts with a strong force. Even if there is, the guide plate 59 swings, so that a strong force is applied from the guide plate 59 to prevent the recording medium M from being damaged.
[0037]
As described above, in the present invention, the heating system in which the heat fixing unit Q3 heats the recording medium M to perform the transfer and fixing, and the winding means (in which the recording medium M heated by the heating system is collected in a winding form) With the configuration including the winding mechanism R), even the recording medium M having a wide width and a long length is collected in a winding form to realize good handling. Further, when the recording medium M is sent from the heating system to the winding system, the contact plate 52 is positively brought into contact with the leading end of the recording medium M to bend and deform by the action of the bending force. Winding can be done easily. In particular, a winding case 56 having an opening 56A above the winding mechanism R, a plurality of guide rollers 58 provided therein, and a phenomenon that the recording medium M moves upward from the opening 56A is prevented. Since the recording medium M is provided with the guide plate, it is not necessary to provide a winding core for winding the recording medium M, and the recording medium M can be wound by a simple operation. The recording medium M that has been wound up can be easily pulled out from the opening 56A of the winding case 56 upward.
[0038]
[Another embodiment]
In the present invention, besides the above-described embodiment, for example, as a bending force acting means, a conveying path is formed in a curved shape using three or more conveying rollers, and the recording medium M is conveyed to the conveying path to generate a bending force. Or a speed difference may be set for the transport speeds of the plurality of pressure-feeding transport rollers, and a bending force may be generated by the speed difference.
[0039]
Further, in addition to the above-described embodiment, the present invention starts the drive rotation of the guide roller 58 when detecting that the recording medium M has been sent out from the second transport roller 53, and causes the second transport roller 53 to rotate. The control system may be configured to stop driving the guide roller 58 when a predetermined time has elapsed after the recording medium M has been fed, or the winding case 56 constituting the winding mechanism R may be moved to the position shown in FIG. When the winding mechanism R is used, plugs that can be connected to each other and supplied with electric power when the winding mechanism R is used are provided on the main body case side and the winding case 56 side. It is also possible to make it possible to easily attach and detach the signal system.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an image processing apparatus and an image forming apparatus.
FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the image forming apparatus.
FIG. 3 is a vertical sectional side view of a heat fixing unit.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view showing a process of transferring image information on a recording medium.
FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing a state before starting winding in a winding mechanism.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing a state at the time of winding in the winding mechanism.
[Explanation of symbols]
11 Substrate
13 Permeation layer
51 Transport roller
52 Contact plate
58 Guide Roller
59 Guide plate
C transport mechanism
M Recording medium
R winding means
S Rewind space

Claims (3)

By heating a sheet-shaped recording medium having a base material and a permeable layer on which image information to be transferred to a fixing layer on the surface of the base material is printed, the image information printed on the permeable layer with the sublimable ink is heated. A heat fixing device having a heating unit for transferring and fixing the fixing layer to the fixing layer,
The heating unit is configured to include a transport mechanism for transporting the recording medium, and a heating mechanism for heating the recording medium transported by the transport mechanism,
Bending force acting means for applying a force to bend in the winding direction by contacting the recording medium with respect to a discharge section for sending out the recording medium heated by the heating section, is provided from the bending force acting means. And a winding means for winding the recording medium in the direction of the bending force. The curving force acting means is constituted by a pair of conveying rollers arranged at a position sandwiching the recording medium, and a contact plate for applying a force in a curving direction by contacting the recording medium sent by the conveying rollers. A winding space having an opening allowing introduction of the recording medium sent from the bending force acting means, a plurality of guide rollers disposed at positions surrounding the space, 2. The heat fixing device according to claim 1, further comprising: a guide plate for guiding a recording medium fed to the opening toward the take-up space. The heating unit and the bending force acting unit are provided inside the main body case, and the winding unit is capable of introducing a recording medium discharged from the main body case, and a position separated from the main body case. 3. The heat fixing device according to claim 1, wherein the heat fixing device is configured to be switchable.

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