JP2006143248A - Press device for transfer printing or adhesion - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a press device for transfer printing or adhesion capable of elevating/lowering a hot plate and pressing an object by jointly using an elevating/lowering air cylinder and a pressure-adjusting air cylinder, uniformly and tightly sticking a sheet even to an object of a large area, and providing a clear transferred pattern and sticking homogeneous face materials, mounting papers or the like. <P>SOLUTION: A hot plate mounted on a machine frame with an object to be treated placed thereon in an elevating/lowering manner is abutted on the object to be treated by one elevating/lowering air cylinder, and then, four pressure-adjusting air cylinders arranged, for example, on four corners are actuated to realize the entirely uniform pressure of the hot plate to the object. By setting the air pressure fed to the elevating/lowering air cylinder to be higher in the elevating mode of the hot plate than in the lowering mode, the heavy hot plate can be easily elevated even when the pressure required for the transfer is low. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a press device used when transfer printing or bonding a plate material sandwiched between hot plates.

When the transfer sheet coated with the sublimation dye is brought into close contact with the printed material and heated, the dye sublimated from the transfer sheet penetrates into the surface resin layer of the printed material, and transfer printing with a predetermined pattern is performed on the printed material. As long as the surface is provided with a resin layer that accepts sublimation dyes, various materials such as painted metal plates, painted tiles, woven fabrics, painted glass plates, painted ceramic boards, and resin molded products can be used as printed materials. Can be used.
In order to develop a printed pattern without unevenness, a hot plate that enables uniform contact between the printing material and the transfer sheet is employed. In a relatively small transfer device, a system in which a hot plate is attached to an upper lid that opens and closes in a hinged manner can be employed. However, the hinged opening and closing mechanism may interfere with work as the printing area increases. Accordingly, the present inventors have introduced an apparatus that incorporates a drawer-type work frame in place of opening and closing the upper lid on which a hot plate is mounted, and enables transfer printing on a large-scale substrate (Patent Documents 1 and 2).
JP 2003-137239 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-068862

In the transfer device introduced in Patent Document 1, two upper and lower work frames 1d and 1u are incorporated into the machine frame 2 by a pull-out method in order to start printing for the next process during a transfer operation to a substrate (FIG. 1). Work efficiency is improved by simultaneously performing work on the work frame 1d or 1u for overlaying the substrate and transfer sheet on the heat-resistant sheet 3 and work on the work frame 1d or 1u for sublimation transfer onto the substrate. is doing. In addition, air cylinders 5 a to 5 d for raising and lowering the hot plate 4 are arranged in the vicinity of the four corners of the machine frame 1 in order to uniformly adhere the transfer sheet to the substrate.
Moreover, in the transfer apparatus introduced in Patent Document 2, a single air cylinder is arranged on the upper part of the machine frame in order to move the hot plate up and down.

  In the apparatus introduced in Patent Document 1, when the air cylinders 5a to 5d move up and down completely in synchronism with each other, the transfer sheet comes into close contact with the substrate, but the air cylinders 5a to 5d are completely synchronized. Is very difficult. If the synchronization is incomplete, a difference occurs between the left and right lifting speeds, and a smooth lifting operation of the hot plate 4 cannot be expected. The rattling caused by the difference in the ascending / descending speed is also a cause of dislike for the operator. In addition, when sublimation transfer is performed at a relatively low transfer pressure, the air pressure necessary for raising and lowering the hot plate 4 tends to be insufficient. In particular, in the system in which the hot plate 4 is moved up and down to bring the transfer sheet into intimate contact with the substrate, the air pressure is too small and the hot plate 4 does not rise, which tends to cause poor adhesion.

The defect caused by the incomplete synchronization between the air cylinders 5a to 5d is eliminated by moving the hot plate 4 up and down with one air cylinder introduced in Patent Document 2. However, in this case, stress concentrates on the central portion of the hot plate 4 and the end pressure tends to be insufficient. In addition, when the hot plate 4 is partially deformed, large pressure unevenness occurs at the deformed portion, and after the deformation, the pressure cannot be adjusted.
The close contact state between the object and the sheet is not limited to transfer printing using a sublimation dye, but is the same when the face material, cover sheet, or the like is bonded to the base material using an adhesive.
In view of the drawbacks of using a plurality of air cylinders for raising and lowering a hot plate, and the disadvantages of using a single air cylinder, the present invention uses a lifting air cylinder and a pressure adjusting air cylinder in combination. It is an object of the present invention to provide a pressing device that allows a sheet to be evenly adhered to a large-area target object and enables a clear transfer pattern to be applied and a uniform surface material, cover sheet, or the like to be bonded.

In order to achieve the object, the transfer printing or bonding press apparatus of the present invention has a machine frame on which a substrate to be printed and a transfer sheet are stacked, a hot plate attached to the machine frame so as to be movable up and down, and a hot plate that moves up and down. And a plurality of pressure adjusting air cylinders for adjusting the pressing force of the hot plate against the work frame surface.
The air cylinders for pressure adjustment are all independent, and it is preferable that the pressure adjustment can be performed independently. And it is preferable to attach at least one each to the four corners of the hot plate. The piston rod tips of the air cylinders at the four corners are free.

Further, it is preferable that a regulator is incorporated in each of the hot plate lowering air supply circuits to the lifting air cylinder and the pressure adjusting air cylinder. Further, each hot plate lowering air supply circuit preferably includes a timer and a solenoid valve, and branches into two parallel circuits each including a regulator.
Furthermore, the air supply circuit to the lifting air cylinder incorporates a solenoid valve and a regulator for overall pressure in front of the regulator for adjusting the hot plate lowering pressure, and the whole pressure switched by the solenoid valve. It is preferable that the adjustment air is connected to a hot plate raising air supply circuit of the raising / lowering air cylinder.

In the press device of the present invention, the hot plate is moved up and down with one air cylinder, and pressure adjustment is performed using a plurality of pressure adjusting air cylinders provided separately from the lifting air cylinder, A uniform pressing force can always be applied to the entire transfer target. For this reason, even if the hot plate is partially deformed, it can be uniformly pressed without pressure unevenness.
The hot plate lowering air supply circuit and the hot plate rising air supply circuit are switched by a solenoid valve. The hot plate lowering air supply circuit has a hot plate lowering pressure adjusting regulator separately from the overall pressure adjusting regulator. Since it is incorporated, for example, even if the lower pressure on the hot plate necessary for transfer is set to a low pressure, the hot plate raising air pressure for raising the heavy hot plate can be increased.

  The press apparatus according to the present invention basically has a structure similar to that proposed in Patent Documents 1 and 2. However, no vacuum suction system is provided. For example, as shown in the overall perspective view of FIG. 1, two stages of work frames 1d and 1u may be horizontally arranged in the machine frame 1 so that they can be inserted and removed alternately by a drawer method. Further, depending on the structure of the machine casing, a single work frame may be intermittently conveyed from the front side in FIG. 1 to the back direction or from right to left, for example. Further, the printed material and the transfer sheet may be laminated on the lower arm of the lower part of the machine frame without using the work frame.

When two stages of work frames that can be alternately inserted and removed are arranged, the same manner as described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 is used.
That is, in FIG. 1, the lower work frame 1 d and the upper work frame 1 u are placed on the guide rail 6.
The guide rail 6 is provided with a rail (not shown) for running the lower work frame 1d on the inner side and a rail (not shown) for running the upper work frame 1u on the outer side. A stopper (not shown) is fixed to the front end surface of the guide rail 2 to prevent the lower work frame 1d and the upper work frame 1u from being pulled out to the front side.
The lower work frame 1d surrounds the heat-resistant sheet 3 with a rectangular frame 7d. Slide bearings for rolling the inner rails of the guide rail 6 are provided on the bottom surfaces of the edges protruding on both sides of the frame body 7d. Further, a handle 8d for facilitating the drawing operation of the lower work frame 1d is fixed to the front side surface of the frame body 7d.

  The heat-resistant sheet 3 can be a sheet of soft elastic material such as fluororesin, silicone resin, silicone rubber, fluororubber, butyl rubber, neoprene rubber, etc. In consideration, a fluororesin sheet or a silicon resin sheet excellent in heat resistance is preferable. In order to increase the strength of the heat-resistant sheet 3, glass fibers or metal fibers mixed in the sheet may be used. Moreover, you may laminate | stack a heat insulation cushion material on the heat resistant sheet 3 as needed.

  Similarly to the lower work frame 1d, the upper work frame 1u also surrounds the heat-resistant sheet with a rectangular frame 7u, and the edges protrude from both sides of the frame 7u. Since the upper work frame 1u is horizontally arranged with the lower work frame 1d straddling the edge, the edge is designed to take into account the thickness of the work frames 1d and 1u, and the outer rail of the guide rail 6 is rotated. A moving slide bearing is provided on the bottom surface. A handle 8u for facilitating the drawing work of the upper work frame 1u is also fixed to the front side surface of the frame body 7u.

  Although details are omitted, the hot plate 4 has a built-in heat source, and a heater panel is provided on the surface facing the work frame. As the heat source, a far-infrared heater, a mica heater, or the like is used, but it is preferable to use a mica heater in consideration of thermal responsiveness. In order to direct the heat from the heat source to the heater panel, the upper inner surface of the hot plate 4 is preferably lined with a heat insulating material. As a material for forming the hot plate, it is preferable to use an aluminum alloy in consideration of thermal conductivity and weight.

Above the work frame in the stowed state, one elevating air cylinder 10 and four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 for elevating the hot plate 4 on the upper wall of the machine frame 2 are attached. Only the piston rod of the lifting air cylinder has its tip fixed to the hot plate 4 (FIG. 2). In addition, linear bearing guides 12 are arranged at the four corners of the hot plate as guides for stably raising and lowering the hot plate.
When one lift cylinder 10 is driven by the command from the control control box to extend the piston rod, the hot plate 4 is translated downward and pressed against the work surface of the work frame. Thereafter, the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 are driven to equalize the pressing force on the work surface of the hot plate 4.

Here, the arrangement | positioning aspect of the one air cylinder 10 for raising / lowering and the several air cylinder 11 for pressure adjustment which is the biggest characteristics of this invention is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 2, one elevating air cylinder 10 and a plurality of pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 attached to the upper wall of the machine frame 1 are arranged in the center of the hot plate 4. The piston rod tip is fixed, and in the embodiment of FIG. 2, four independent pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 are arranged at the four corners. The tip of the piston rod of the pressure adjusting air cylinder 11 is not fixed to the hot plate 4 and is in a free state.
The piston rod of the pressure adjusting air cylinder 11 descends with a time difference after the piston rod of the elevating air cylinder 10 descends. On the contrary, when the piston rod of the pressure adjusting air cylinder 11 is lifted, the piston rod of the lifting air cylinder 10 is lifted with a time difference.

As shown in FIG. 3, a hot plate lowering air supply circuit 21 and a hot plate rising air supply circuit 22 are connected to the lifting air cylinder 10 via an electromagnetic valve 23, and the hot plate lowering air cylinder 10 is used. A regulator 24 is incorporated in the air supply circuit 21. The regulator 25 can also be incorporated in the circuit in the previous process of the electromagnetic valve 23. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 4, the hot plate lowering air supply circuit may be branched into two parallel circuits 31-1, 31-2 including a timer 36 and an electromagnetic valve 37. Regulators 34-1 and 34-2 are incorporated in the parallel circuits 31-1 and 31-2, respectively.
Also, the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 are each independently connected with a hot plate lowering air supply circuit and a hot plate rising air supply circuit via solenoid valves, like the lifting air cylinder, A regulator is incorporated in the hot plate lowering air supply circuit.

In the present invention, the hot plate 4 is lowered by the lifting air cylinder 10, and the piston rods of the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 are lowered with a time lag after the hot plate 4 comes into contact with the substrate. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, after the air supply circuit connected to the air cylinder is branched and the hot plate 4 comes into contact with the substrate by the operation of the lifting air cylinder 10, four pressure adjustments are made at a time difference. A timer and a solenoid valve (not shown) are incorporated so as to supply air for lowering the piston rod of the air cylinder 11. After the transfer printing, the timer and the solenoid valve, on the contrary, raise the piston rods of the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 to release the pressure to press the hot plate 4, and then the elevating air cylinder 10 has a time difference. The piston rod, that is, the function of switching the air supply for raising the hot plate 4 fixed to the tip of the piston rod is also achieved.
In FIG. 5, the hot plate lowering air supply circuit to the lifting air cylinder 10 may be a branch circuit as shown in FIG. Further, regulators may be incorporated in the hot plate pressure adjusting air supply circuits to the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 as shown in FIGS.

Next, a procedure for forming a transfer printing pattern on the surface of the coated steel sheet using the press device of the present invention will be described.
In an apparatus in which two upper and lower work frames are arranged, one work frame 1d or 1u can be used for print transfer, and the other work frame 1u or 1d can be used for next print transfer. In other words, the next transfer operation can be prepared on the heat-resistant sheet of the other work frame 1d while being used for the printing transfer of the work frame 1u. In the following description, a case where the lower work frame 1d is pulled out and transfer printing is performed using the upper work frame 1u will be described.
The storage position of the work frame 1u is positioned with respect to the guide rail 6 by an appropriate position detection sensor. The detection signal from the position detection sensor is also output to the hot-peel raising / lowering system mechanism and the heater control mechanism, and is used to drive or stop driving the respective mechanisms.

  In the work frame 1u in a state where transfer printing is performed, the substrate and the transfer sheet are superimposed on each other and disposed on the heat-resistant sheet, and are accommodated in a predetermined position in the machine frame 2. After confirming that the work frame 1u is stored in a predetermined position by a detection signal from the position detection sensor, the solenoid valves 23, 33 are connected to the hot plate lowering air supply circuits 21, 31 of the hot plate lifting air cylinder 10. Then, hot plate lowering air is supplied, and the hot plate 4 is lowered toward the heat-resistant sheet on the substrate by driving the air cylinder. At this time, since the regulator 24 is incorporated in the hot plate lowering air supply circuit 21, it is possible to avoid the pressing force exceeding the required pressure from being applied to the printed material. As shown in FIG. 4, when the hot plate lowering air supply circuit is branched into two circuits 31-1 and 31-2 equipped with timers, the hot plate is pressed once with a weak pressing force according to the set value of the regulator 34-1 After that, it is possible to press with a required strong pressing force according to the set value of the regulator 34-2.

  After the hot plate 4 is brought into contact with the substrate by the hot plate elevating air cylinder 10, the descent air is supplied to the independent descent air supply circuits of the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11. Since the regulator is installed in each descent air supply circuit, equal pressing force can be applied to the four corners of the hot plate. At this time, the air pressure supplied to the pressure adjusting air cylinder 11 need not be as high as the air pressure supplied to the hot plate elevating air cylinder 10. Since the hot plate 4 is already in contact with the substrate, the hot plate can be pressed against the substrate so that the entire surface has a uniform pressure even at a relatively low pressure. When the descent air supply circuit that supplies descent air independently for each of the four pressure adjustment air cylinders also branches into two circuits with a timer, once the hot plate is pressed with a weak pressing force, It is possible to press the entire surface evenly with a strong pressing force. In particular, when transferring to a material having a high coefficient of thermal expansion, once it is pressed with a weak pressing force, it is heated, and when the temperature of the transfer material is constant and the surface is expanded, it presses evenly with a strong pressing force. A clear transfer pattern can be obtained.

  In the above aspect, a laminate of a transfer object and a transfer sheet, which is a print object placed on a heat-resistant sheet held by the machine frames 7d and 7u, is conveyed to a predetermined position in the machine frame 2. It becomes. A so-called lower ridge is disposed below the predetermined position. When the upper hot plate is lowered toward the heat-resistant sheet on the printed material and comes into contact with the printed material, the heat-resistant sheet on which the printed material is placed is easily elastically deformed along the lower heel surface. Because of the deformation, the pressing force can be regarded as a pressing force on the substrate.

  With the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11, while the hot plate 4 is pressed against the entire surface of the printing material with equal pressure, the hot plate heat source is energized according to a preset control signal to heat the transfer sheet and the printing material. As a result, the sublimable dye sublimates from the pattern surface of the transfer sheet and moves to the printing material. When a coated metal plate having a resin coating film on the surface, a coated ceramic board, a painted gypsum board, or the like is used for a printed material, a sublimation dye penetrates into the resin coating film and a dye dyed layer is formed. When a woven fabric, a resin molded body, or the like having good dyeing properties is used for the printing material, the woven fabric, the resin molded body, etc. are directly dyed with a sublimation dye. By the sublimation transfer of the sublimation dye, the pattern surface is transferred to the printing material, and a printing pattern having a predetermined pattern is applied to the printing material.

In the apparatus in which the upper and lower work frames are arranged, the transfer object and the transfer object are transferred onto the heat-resistant sheet 3 of the lower work frame 1d pulled out from the machine frame to a predetermined position while transfer printing is performed on the work frame 1u. The sheets are stacked and prepared for the next transfer printing operation.
In a press apparatus in which the work frame is intermittently conveyed from the front to the back, preparation work for stacking and placing the transfer object and the transfer sheet is performed on the next work frame. .

  The printed material and the transfer sheet are stacked and placed on the heat-resistant sheet of the upper work frame 1u pulled out from the machine frame 2 to a predetermined position or on the heat-resistant sheet via a heat-insulating cushion material. At this time, they are superposed so that the pattern surface to which the sublimable dye is applied in a predetermined printing pattern faces the substrate. The printed material and the transfer sheet are fixed to each other so that no relative displacement occurs between the printed material and the transfer sheet. When stacking the printed material and the transfer sheet in this order on the heat-resistant sheet, place a sheet for preventing sublimation dye transfer between the transfer sheet and the hot plate so that the sublimation dye can escape from the opposite side of the pattern surface. It is preferable to prevent. In addition, when the transfer sheet and the printed material are laminated in this order on the heat resistant sheet, it is preferable to cover the printed material with thin paper to prevent direct contact between the printed material and the hot plate.

  After the transfer printing is completed, the heat source is turned off, and the hot plate 4 is raised when the transfer sheet and the printing material are cooled to a predetermined temperature. The hot plate is raised by switching the electromagnetic valves 23 and 33 and supplying air for raising the hot plate to the elevating air cylinder 10 via the hot plate raising air supply circuits 22 and 32. At this time, if the set pressure of the regulators 25 and 35 for overall pressure adjustment is set larger than the set pressure of the regulators 24 and 34 for lowering the hot plate pressure, a heavy hot plate can be easily raised.

Next, the lower work frame 1 d in which the substrate and the transfer sheet are arranged on the heat-resistant sheet 3 in a predetermined positional relationship is pushed into the machine frame 2, and the upper work frame 1 u after the completion of transfer printing is pulled out from the machine frame 2.
In the press device in which the work frame is intermittently conveyed from the front to the back, the next work frame is conveyed to a predetermined location in the machine frame 1.
Similarly to the previous transfer printing, when the hot plate elevating air cylinder 10 and the four pressure adjusting air cylinders 11 are driven to lower the hot plate 4 toward the heat resistant sheet 3 of the lower work frame, The printed material is pressed against the hot plate 4 with equal pressure and heated to perform thermal transfer printing.

In this way, in the present invention, the air cylinder that lowers the hot plate and presses the printing material and the adherend is divided into a hot plate lifting and lowering and a pressure adjustment that presses the printing material and the adherend, In addition, a plurality of pressure adjusting air cylinders are arranged independently of each other.
For this reason, even if the area of the hot plate becomes large, or even if the hot plate is deformed, it can be pressed evenly against a large area object, giving a clear transfer pattern or evenly Lamination of face materials, cover sheets, etc. becomes possible.
In addition, the air supplied to the hot plate lift air cylinder can change the pressure between the lift air and the lift air. Air pressure can be increased and heavy hot plates can be easily raised.

In the above aspect, the soot on the lower side is fixed, and the hot plate on the upper side is used in combination with the air cylinder for raising and lowering the hot plate and a plurality of pressure adjusting air cylinders with respect to the printing portion conveyed on the side. By pressing with equal pressure.
On the contrary, the upper plate is fixed, and the printed material conveyed on the hot plate which is the lower plate is pressed upward with the lower plate provided with the hot plate lifting air cylinder and a plurality of pressure adjusting air cylinders, It is also possible to take a form in which the printing material is pressed against the upper collar with a uniform pressure from the lower side.
In addition, the lower arm can be made into a hot plate simply by the same mechanism.
Furthermore, the transfer printing technique using the sublimation dye has been described above. However, the contact state between the object and the sheet is not limited to transfer printing, and the surface material, the cover paper, etc. are attached to the substrate using an adhesive. The same applies to the pasting.

Schematic perspective view of the transfer printing apparatus previously proposed by the present inventors The figure explaining the arrangement | positioning condition of the air cylinder according to this invention The figure explaining the air supply circuit to an air cylinder The figure explaining the other air supply circuit to an air cylinder The figure explaining the air supply circuit to the air cylinder for hot plate raising / lowering and the four air cylinders for pressure adjustment

Explanation of symbols

1d: Lower work frame 1u: Upper work frame 2: Machine frame 3: Heat-resistant sheet
4: Hot plate 5a, 5b, 5c, 5d: Air cylinder 6: Guide rail
7d, 7u: Frame 8d, 8u: Handle 10: Lifting air cylinder 11: Pressure adjusting air cylinder 12: Linear bearing guide 21, 31: Air supply circuit for lowering hot plate
22, 32: Hot plate raising air supply circuit 23, 33, 37: Solenoid valve
24, 34-1 and 34-2 :: Regulator for adjusting hot plate lowering pressure
25, 35: Regulator for overall pressure adjustment 36: Timer

Claims (6)

  A machine frame on which a substrate and a transfer sheet are stacked and mounted, a hot plate attached to the machine frame so as to freely move up and down, a single air cylinder for raising and lowering the hot plate, and pressing the hot plate onto the work frame surface A press apparatus for transfer printing or bonding, comprising a plurality of pressure adjusting air cylinders for adjusting pressure.   2. The transfer printing or bonding press apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pressure adjusting air cylinders are all independent so that the pressure can be adjusted independently.   The press apparatus for transfer printing or bonding according to claim 1 or 2, wherein at least one of the pressure adjusting air cylinders is attached to each of the four corners of the hot plate with a free end.   The transfer printing or bonding press apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a regulator is incorporated in each of the air supply circuits for lowering the hot plate to the lifting air cylinder and the pressure adjusting air cylinder.   Each of the hot plate lowering air supply circuits includes a timer and a solenoid valve, and is branched into two parallel circuits each having a regulator, and the transfer printing or bonding press device according to any one of claims 1 to 4. .   In the air supply circuit to the lift air cylinder, a solenoid valve and an overall pressure regulator are installed in front of the regulator for adjusting the lower pressure of the hot plate. The transfer printing or bonding press device according to claim 1, wherein the press device is connected to an air supply circuit for raising the hot plate of the raising / lowering air cylinder.

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