JP2006181733A - Image printing method in intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image printing method capable of suppressing sticking of a sheet substrate to a recording medium when a film is released. <P>SOLUTION: The image printing method of the present invention comprises a re-transferring process wherein while the film F and a card S are forwarded, the film F is stuck on the surface of the card S, and a transparent image receiving layer 42 on which an image is thermally transferred is re-transferred on the surface of the card S, and a releasing process wherein the sheet substrate 40 of the film F stuck by the re-transferring process is pulled intermittently to release the sheet substrate 40 from the card S. In the releasing process, the sheet substrate 40 can be surely released from the recording medium by intermittently pulling the sheet substrate 40. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a printing method in an intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus for transferring a print image once onto a film and then transferring the image on the film onto the surface of a recording medium.

  Conventionally, there is JP-A 2000-187712 as a technology in such a field. The card recording apparatus described in this publication is an apparatus for printing a desired image on the surface of a card with a magnetic stripe, an IC card, or the like. That is, in this card recording apparatus, a film and a color ink ribbon are sandwiched between a thermal head and a platen, and the image is once thermally transferred (primary transfer) onto the film by the color ink ribbon, and then the image on the film and the surface of the card And the film is heated with a heat roller. At this time, by pressing the film against the card, the image on the film is retransferred (secondary transfer) to the surface of the card. Then, the film thermocompression-bonded to the card at the time of retransfer flows so as to peel from the card downstream of the heat roller, thereby completing the image transfer to the card.

JP 2000-187712 A Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-169692 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-261951 JP 2000-141727 A

After the retransfer, when the film is peeled from the card that continues to advance, the transparent image receiving layer is adhered to the surface of the card while the transparent image receiving layer is separated from the sheet base material of the film. At this time,
If the adhesive force between the film and the card is strong and the sheet base material is not peeled off from the card, the film may be dragged along the card conveyance path. In this case, the film dragged along the transport path is caught by the guide roller in the card transport path, and a film jam occurs.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a printing method capable of suppressing sticking of a sheet substrate to a recording medium at the time of film peeling.

  In the printing method according to the present invention, the image is thermally transferred to a transparent image-receiving layer provided on the sheet base material of the film based on the color arrangement on the ink ribbon by the cooperation of the thermal head and the platen. In an intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus in which a transparent image-receiving layer of a film is adhered to the surface of a recording medium by pressing the recording medium while being heated by a roller, the film is applied to the surface of the recording medium while the film and the recording medium are advanced. And re-transferring the transparent image-receiving layer on which the image has been thermally transferred to the surface of the recording medium, and intermittently pulling the sheet base material of the film attached in the re-transfer process, from the recording medium. And a peeling step for peeling the sheet base material.

  This intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing device is a type of printing device that performs primary transfer with the cooperation of a thermal head and a platen, and secondary transfer with a heat roller, and performs primary transfer while transporting a film and ink ribbon. Then, the secondary transfer (retransfer) is performed while the film and the recording medium are conveyed.

  In the above-described printing method, first, a retransfer process is performed in which the film and the recording medium are advanced, the film is attached to the surface of the recording medium, and the transparent image receiving layer on which the image is thermally transferred is retransferred to the recording medium. . In this step, since the image primarily transferred to the transparent image receiving layer is thermally transferred to the recording medium together with the transparent image receiving layer, an image is formed on the surface of the recording medium. Next, a peeling step is performed in which the sheet base material is peeled from the recording medium while leaving the transparent image-receiving layer of the film attached to the surface of the recording medium. At this time, depending on the material of the recording medium, the sheet base material of the film is difficult to peel off from the recording medium. For example, in this type of intermediate transfer thermal transfer printing apparatus, a vinyl recording medium, a PET recording medium, or the like is used. An adhesive layer for improving the transferability of the transparent image-receiving layer of the film may be provided on the surface of the PET recording medium. Since the film is strongly adhered to the recording medium by such an adhesive layer, the sheet base material of the film is hardly peeled off from the recording medium. As described above, the ease of peeling of the sheet base material from the recording medium also depends on the material of the recording medium, and depending on the material of the recording medium, there is a recording medium on which the sheet base material of the film is difficult to peel off.

  Therefore, in this printing method, during the above-described peeling step, the sheet base material is intermittently pulled to generate intermittently a force for separating the sheet base material from the recording medium. As a result, even when the adhesive force between the recording medium and the film is strong and the sheet base material is difficult to peel off, the sheet base material can be reliably peeled off from the recording medium. Therefore, it is easy to apply the recording medium to various materials, and a highly versatile apparatus is realized.

  In the peeling step, it is preferable that the sheet base material is pulled by the motor via the electromagnetic clutch, and the sheet base material is intermittently pulled by switching the electromagnetic clutch on and off. In this way, intermittent pulling of the sheet base material can be realized with a simple structure.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the sticking of the sheet base material with respect to a recording medium can be suppressed at the time of peeling of a film.

  DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, a preferred embodiment of a printing method in an intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus according to the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus 1 is also called a card printer, and once a printed image is transferred to a transparent film F having a thickness of about 20 μm, the recording medium (for example, plastic) is transferred from the film F. (Transfer cash card, credit card, prepaid card, IC card, etc.). Such a thermal transfer printing apparatus 1 is used when issuing the card S, and can print a high-quality image on the surface of the card S. Therefore, it is possible to issue a card S containing a face photo for the purpose of improving security.

  Such an intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus 1 has a stock unit 2 for setting a plastic card S to be printed in a stacked state. The cards S are fed out one by one from the bottom of the stock unit 2 by the forward and backward movement of the delivery claw 3, and the cards S fed out from the stock unit 2 are once loaded into the reversing unit 4. After the reversing unit 4 is rotated 90 degrees from the horizontal state, when the card S is raised by the feed roller 6, the card S is fed into the magnetic reading / writing unit 7. The magnetic reading / writing unit 7 writes predetermined information in the magnetic stripe of the card S or reads predetermined information in the magnetic stripe.

  On the other hand, when the card S is lowered by the feed roller 6, the card S is fed into the non-contact IC reading / writing unit 8. Then, the non-contact IC reading / writing unit 8 writes predetermined information in the IC of the card S or reads predetermined information in the IC. After that, the card S sent out from the reversing unit 4 passes through the detachable cleaning roller 10, and then the card S is moved by the conveying roller 11 until just before image printing while being supported on both sides by the guide groove 12.

  In addition, when magnetic detection or non-contact IC detection is not necessary, the reversing unit 4 is maintained horizontally. The card S determined to be inappropriate by the magnetic reading / writing unit 7 or the non-contact IC reading / writing unit 8 is discharged into the eject box 9 by the feed roller 6 after the reversing unit 4 rotates.

  Next, in order to enable image transfer to the card S, the thermal transfer printing apparatus 1 includes a recording unit (primary transfer unit) A that thermally transfers an image to the film F, an image transferred to the film F, and the card S. And a re-transfer portion (secondary transfer portion) B that thermally transfers the image to the card S, and a warp correction portion C that corrects the warp of the card S after the image transfer.

  Further, the thermal transfer printing apparatus 1 includes a film cartridge 13 and a ribbon cartridge 14 that can be exchanged by inserting and removing. In the film cartridge 13, the film F is wound around a pair of upper and lower bobbins 15 and 16, and in the ribbon cartridge 14, the color ink ribbon R is wound around a pair of upper and lower bobbins 17 and 18. The color ink ribbon R in the ribbon cartridge 14 is periodically coated with ink of three colors (or four colors including black) of meltable or sublimable yellow, magenta, and cyan as one frame. ing.

  Here, in the recording unit A described above, the film F is pushed onto the substantially half circumferential surface of the platen roller 20 by the cooperation of the film drawing rollers 19 a and 19 b that can advance and retreat in the horizontal direction and the platen roller (commonly referred to as “platen”) 20. The color ink ribbon R is pressed against the film F on the platen roller 20 by the thermal head 21. Then, the film F and the color ink ribbon R are sent downward while being synchronized, so that the first color (cyan) of the color ink ribbon R is thermally transferred onto the film F by the heated thermal head 21.

  Next, the thermal head 21 is moved backward by the rack and pinion drive mechanism 22 so that the film F and the color ink ribbon R are separated from each other, while the platen roller 20 is reversed and the film F is raised to the original position. Return. Thereafter, while repeating the above-described transfer operation, colors are layered on the film F in the order of magenta, yellow, and black to create a desired color image on the film F.

  Thereafter, with the film drawing rollers 19 a and 19 b being separated from the platen roller 20, the recording image on the film F is moved to the front of the heat roller 23 by the rotation of the supply side bobbin 15 and the winding side bobbin 16. At this time, the leading edge of the card S is aligned with the leading edge of the recorded image on the film F, and the card S and the film F are sent to the retransfer section B in a state of being superimposed.

  In the re-transfer section B, the aligned card S and film F are sandwiched between the heat roller 23 and the pressure roller 24 in a superimposed state, and pressed with the heat roller 23 heated to 160 to 200 ° C. The recorded image on the film F is gradually transferred onto the surface of the card S while the card S and the film F are conveyed under pressure in cooperation with the roller 24. Thereafter, the film F is wound around the bobbin 16 while being peeled from the card S. Further, since the card S heated by the heat roller 23 is warped, the card S is sent out to the warp correction unit C, subjected to pressure treatment, and then discharged out of the apparatus 1 in a straight state.

  Here, in the above-described retransfer portion (secondary transfer portion) B, as shown in FIG. 2, the heat roller 23 needs to be brought into contact / separated with respect to the pressing roller 24. It is configured as a rocking type. In order to achieve the swing type, the heat roller 23 is rotatably held at the tip of the support member 34, and the base end of the support member 34 is rotatably held by a support shaft 35 attached to the apparatus main body side. ing. Then, the pressing plate 36 that is horizontally fixed to the upper portion of the support member 34 is pushed down from above by the rotation lever 37, so that the film F and the card S are pressed at a predetermined pressure between the heat roller 23 and the pressing roller 24. Can be pinched.

  Further, a base end portion 37 a of the rotation lever 37 is fixed to a drive shaft 33 that is rotated by a drive motor (not shown) provided on the apparatus main body side. A rolling roller 38 is provided to enable smooth contact with the roller. Further, in order to automatically separate the heat roller 23 from the pressing roller 24 when the rotating lever 37 is separated from the pressing plate 36, the support shaft 35 and the support member 34 are connected via a coil spring (not shown). It is connected.

  Therefore, when the drive shaft 33 rotates forward by a motor (not shown), the rolling roller 38 of the rotating lever 37 moves downward, and the heat roller 23 faces the pressing roller 24 against the spring force. Pushed down. On the other hand, when the drive shaft 33 rotates in the reverse direction, the rolling roller 38 of the rotation lever 37 moves upward, and the heat roller 23 rises with a spring force in a direction away from the pressing roller 24.

  Therefore, in the retransfer section (secondary transfer section) B, the card S and the film F are added in synchronization by the cooperation of the heat roller 23 heated to 160 to 200 ° C. and the pressing roller 24 that continues to rotate. The image on the film F can be gradually transferred onto the surface of the card S. Then, the film F is wound around the bobbin 16 while being peeled off from the card S.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, the film F has a structure in which a transparent image receiving layer 42 is provided on a sheet base material 40 via a release layer 41. Accordingly, a desired image can be transferred to the transparent image receiving layer 42 by the recording portion (primary transfer portion) A, and the transparent image receiving layer 42 is transferred to the sheet transfer base (secondary transfer portion) B by the release layer 41. It can be easily peeled off from the material 40. In contrast, the card S includes a card body made of PET. Since PET is a material in which the transparent image-receiving layer 42 of the film F is difficult to be thermally transferred, an adhesive layer is provided on the surface of the card S so that the transparent image-receiving layer 42 is easily thermally transferred onto the surface. Since the film F is strongly adhered to the card S by this adhesive layer, when the film F is peeled off from the card S, it is necessary to pull the sheet base material 40 intermittently and reliably peel it off.

  Therefore, as shown in FIG. 10, the drive shaft 51 of the bobbin 16 is connected to the drive shaft 54 of the drive motor 53 via the electromagnetic clutch 52. The bobbin 16 is applied with a driving force from the driving motor 53 via the electromagnetic clutch 52, and rotates in the direction of winding the film F or the direction of feeding the film F. The electromagnetic clutch 52 can be switched on and off based on a drive signal from a control means (not shown) in the apparatus 1. When the electromagnetic clutch 52 is on, the rotation of the drive shaft 54 of the drive motor 53 is transmitted to the drive shaft 51 of the bobbin 16, and the bobbin 16 rotates. On the other hand, when the electromagnetic clutch 52 is off, even if the drive shaft 54 is rotating, the rotation of the drive shaft 54 is not transmitted to the drive shaft 51 and the bobbin 16 stops. Thus, with a simple structure using the electromagnetic clutch 52, the rotation and stop of the bobbin 16 can be switched while the drive motor 53 is always rotated.

  Further, when the film F is peeled from the card S, it is necessary to appropriately suppress the occurrence of burrs such as the transparent image receiving layer 42 being torn at the front end Sa and the rear end Sb of the card S. Therefore, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a front end peeling pin (first peeling portion) 44 is disposed on the film F conveyance path between the winding side bobbin 16 of the film F and the heat roller 23. ing. The front end peeling pin 44 is arranged on the downstream side of the heat roller 23 in the conveyance path of the film F, and extends in the horizontal direction so as to be orthogonal to the conveyance direction. Further, the front end peeling pin 44 is fixed to the apparatus main body side and is disposed between the guide pin 13 a and the heat roller 23 that are integrally provided on the lower side of the film cartridge 13. The front end peeling pin 44 functions as a member for separating the transparent image receiving layer 42 from the film F while shearing and peeling the film F from the front end side of the card S when the card S advances (see FIG. 9).

  On the other hand, a rear end peeling pin (second peeling portion) 46 is disposed on the film F conveyance path between the heat roller 23 and the platen roller 20. The rear end peeling pin 46 is arranged on the upstream side of the heat roller 23 in the conveyance path of the film F, and extends in the horizontal direction so as to be orthogonal to the conveyance direction. Further, the rear end peeling pin 46 is integrally fixed to the film cartridge 13, and a guide pin provided on the lower side of the film cartridge 13 functions as the rear end peeling pin 46. The rear end peeling pin 46 functions as a member for separating the transparent image receiving layer 42 from the film F while shearing the film F from the rear end side of the card S when the card S is retracted (see FIG. 8). ).

  Further, a first guide roller 47 is disposed on the upstream side of the heat roller 23 and a second guide roller 48 is disposed on the downstream side of the heat roller 23 on the transport path of the card S. The first guide roller 47 includes a pair of upper and lower guide rollers 47 a and 47 b and is provided on the apparatus main body side in the vicinity of the rear end peeling pin 46. The second guide roller 48 includes a pair of upper and lower guide rollers 48 a and 48 b and is provided on the apparatus main body side in the vicinity of the front end peeling pin 44. Note that the upper guide roller 48a is spring-biased with respect to the lower guide roller 48b.

  Further, in the vicinity of the rear end peeling pin 46, a plate-like stopper portion 50 is provided at a position where the rear end Sb of the card S abuts at the time of rear end peeling (see FIG. 8). The stopper portion 50 is fixed to the apparatus main body side and has a stopper surface 50a extending in the vertical direction. The linear distance between the second guide roller 48 and the stopper surface 50a of the stopper portion 50 is set to be equal to or shorter than the length from the front end Sa to the rear end Sb of the card S (so-called card length). Thereby, overrun of the card S is prevented, and even when the card S moves backward, the front end Sa of the card S does not come off from the second guide roller 48 on the transport path of the card S, and the card S moves backward. When the card S is moved forward later, the card S can be smoothly introduced into the transport path of the card S.

  Next, the operation at the time of secondary transfer of the intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus 1 will be described.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the card S moving forward on the transport path of the card S is sandwiched between the heat roller 23 and the pressure roller 24 heated to 160 to 200 ° C. while being guided by the first guide roller 47. To flow. At this time, the image formed on the transparent image-receiving layer 42 of the film F and the predetermined position of the card S are aligned in advance, and in this state, as shown in FIG. F is conveyed under pressure. As a result, a desired image is gradually transferred to the surface of the card S while the transparent image-receiving layer 42 of the film F is stuck to one surface of the card S. At this time, by setting the winding side bobbin 16 in a free state, a predetermined amount of the film F is fed out from the winding side bobbin 16 following the advance of the film F.

  And the image of the film F is completely transcribe | transferred to the card | curd S by sticking the transparent image receiving layer 42 over the whole one surface of the card | curd S. FIG. As described above, the transparent image-receiving layer 42 to which the recorded image is transferred is stuck on the card S, whereby an image is formed on the card S, and the retransfer process is completed. Thereafter, the drive shaft 33 is reversely rotated by a motor (not shown), the rolling roller 38 of the rotating lever 37 is moved upward, and the heat roller 23 is spring-forced in a direction away from the pressing roller 24. Raise (see FIG. 2). Thereby, the heat roller 23 is separated from the pressing roller 24, and preparations for peeling the film F from the card S are prepared.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6, the excess film F is taken up by the take-up bobbin 16 while rotating the supply-side bobbin 15 in the direction in which the card S moves backward. As a result, the card S starts retreating together with the film F. At this time, the film F is not peeled from the card S until the trailing edge Sb of the card S reaches the trailing edge peeling pin 46.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the supply-side bobbin 15 is continuously rotated so that the card S further moves backward, the film F starts to be peeled from the rear end side of the card S. Then, as the card S moves backward, the film F continues to peel from the rear end side of the card S at the position of the rear end peeling pin 46. At this time, the transparent image receiving layer 42 is separated from the sheet base material 40 of the film F, and the transparent image receiving layer 42 is adhered to the surface of the card S. In this way, the film F is peeled off from the rear end side of the card S, whereby the reliable rear end peeling of the card S is achieved, and the occurrence of burrs on the transparent image receiving layer 42 at the rear end Sb of the card S is suppressed. Is done.

  Further, the rear end Sb of the card S abuts against the stopper surface 50a of the stopper portion 50, and immediately after this, the rotation of the supply-side bobbin 15 is stopped and the backward movement of the card S is stopped. Accordingly, the front end Sa of the card S is not detached from the second guide roller 48, and the card S can be smoothly introduced into the transport path when the card S is advanced after the card S is retracted. That is, when the rear end is peeled, the backward distance of the card S is regulated by the stopper portion 50, and the card S is appropriately prevented from being difficult to return to the transport path due to the backward movement of the card S.

  Thus, after partial peeling of the rear end side of the card S, the drive motor 53 and the electromagnetic clutch 52 are driven while the card S is advanced as shown in FIG. Start winding. At this time, since the film F is strongly adhered to the card S, it is necessary to surely peel the sheet base material 40 from the card S when the film F is wound. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 11, between the start of peeling and the end of peeling, while the drive motor 53 is always on and the drive shaft 54 continues to rotate, the electromagnetic clutch 52 is periodically switched on and off. Done. As a result, the bobbin 16 periodically rotates and stops in response to the on / off of the electromagnetic clutch 52, and the sheet base material 40 is periodically pulled while being wound around the bobbin 16.

  In this case, at the moment when the bobbin 16 is switched from the stop state to the rotation by turning on the electromagnetic clutch 52, the sheet base material 40 is switched from a slack state to a sudden tension state. Is generated, and a large force for separating the sheet base material 40 from the card S is generated. And whenever the bobbin 16 repeats rotation and a stop, the force which separates the sheet | seat base material 40 from the card | curd S will generate | occur | produce repeatedly. With this force, as shown in FIG. 9, as the card S advances, the sheet base material 40 continues to be reliably peeled off at the position of the front end peeling pin 44. In this way, the rotation and stop of the bobbin 16 are repeated four times, and the sheet base material 40 is completely separated from the card S. Note that the rotation time of the bobbin 16 is relatively long immediately before the end of peeling.

  The transparent image-receiving layer 42 thus separated is left on the surface of the card S and pasted, an image is formed on the surface of the card S, and the peeling process is completed. Thus, in the peeling step, the sheet base material 40 is reliably peeled from the card S by being pulled intermittently with a predetermined period. In addition, reliable front end peeling of the card S is achieved by the above, and the occurrence of burrs on the transparent image receiving layer 42 at the front end Sa of the card S is also suppressed.

  As described above, according to the above-described peeling process, even if the card S is made of PET that sticks strongly to the film F, the film F is reliably peeled off, so that the film F is dragged by the transport path of the card S. The occurrence of jamming of the film F is suppressed. Moreover, naturally the peeling process mentioned above is applicable also to the printing with respect to the card | curd made from a vinyl chloride whose adhesive force with the film F is comparatively weak. Therefore, according to this peeling process, the application to various materials of a recording medium becomes easy, and a highly versatile intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus is realized.

  When the film F is peeled off, the electromagnetic clutch 52 is turned on / off at a constant cycle. However, the electromagnetic clutch 52 is not turned on / off at a fixed cycle, and may be switched while changing the cycle. Well, you may switch randomly.

  And after the peeling process of the film F, the card | curd S is sent out to the curvature correction part C, and after being pressurized, it is discharged | emitted out of the apparatus 1. FIG.

It is sectional drawing which shows an example of the intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus for enforcing the printing method which concerns on this invention. It is a side view which shows the rocking | fluctuation structure of the heat roller in a retransfer part (secondary transfer part). It is sectional drawing which shows a film. It is a side view which shows the state just before transferring an image to a card | curd. FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state where image transfer to a card is completed. It is a side view which shows the state just before peeling a film from the rear end of a card | curd. It is a side view which shows the state which the back end of the card | curd contact | abutted to the stopper part. It is a principal part expanded sectional view of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the state in the middle of peeling the film from the front end of a card | curd. It is a side view which shows the drive mechanism for driving a film cartridge and the bobbin for film cartridges. It is a timing chart which shows the on / off timing of the electromagnetic clutch with respect to a drive motor.

Explanation of symbols

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus, 20 ... Platen roller (platen), 21 ... Thermal head, 23 ... Heat roller, 40 ... Sheet base material, 42 ... Transparent image receiving layer, 52 ... Electromagnetic clutch, 53 ... Drive motor (motor) ), S ... card (recording medium), F ... film, R ... color ink ribbon (ink ribbon).

Claims (2)

With the cooperation of the thermal head and the platen, the image is thermally transferred to the transparent image-receiving layer provided on the sheet base material of the film based on the color arrangement on the ink ribbon, and this film is heated on a recording medium while being heated by a heat roller. In the intermediate transfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus for adhering the transparent image-receiving layer of the film to the surface of the recording medium by pressing,
A retransfer process in which the film and the recording medium are advanced, the film is attached to the surface of the recording medium, and the transparent image receiving layer on which the image is thermally transferred is retransferred to the surface of the recording medium; ,
A printing method comprising: a peeling step of peeling the sheet base material from the recording medium by intermittently pulling the sheet base material of the film attached in the retransfer step.   The said peeling process pulls the said sheet | seat base material intermittently by switching ON / OFF of the said electromagnetic clutch while pulling the said sheet | seat base material via an electromagnetic clutch with a motor. Printing method.

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