JP2008279664A - Foil pressing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a foil pressing apparatus capable of operating a plurality of thermal transferring head while suppressing changing of constitution of respective parts. <P>SOLUTION: Foil pressing is performed on an article P to be transferred by pressing a thermal transferring head 2 heated at a specified temperature to a specified position of the article P to be transferred through a foil sheet H. The foil pressing apparatus is at least equipped with a horizontally moving means 1 capable of moving in the horizontal direction along the surface of the article P to be transferred, a plurality of the thermal transferring heads 2 capable of thermally transferring foils provided on the foil sheet H onto the article P to be transferred, a supporting means 3 which is supported by the horizontally moving means 1, supports a plurality of the thermal transferring heads 2 and is movable in the approaching and separating direction with respect to the article P to be transferred, and an upward energizing means 4 for energizing the supporting means 3 upward. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention draws a desired character, figure, pattern, or the like by placing a foil sheet on an object to be transferred, pressing it with the tip of a heated pen from above the foil sheet, and transferring the foil. is there.

Conventionally, a foil stamping apparatus capable of stamping a transfer object has been proposed. The foil stamping device is a device that puts a foil sheet on the object to be transferred and transfers it by pressing it with the tip of a heated pen from above the foil sheet to draw desired characters, figures, patterns, etc. is there. For example, what is described in Patent Document 1 can transfer a foil with desired contents and design by appropriately controlling the operation of a thermal pen by a computer.
Japanese Patent No. 3683866

  According to the patent document, when performing foil pressing on a plurality of transfer objects, the foil pressing is sequentially performed while appropriately moving the head one by one with respect to the transfer objects. It will take up.

  Here, it is conceivable to modify the number of thermal transfer heads that perform foil stamping. However, if the number of thermal pens is increased, the total weight of the thermal transfer head supported by the foil stamping device increases. On the other hand, the conventional foil stamping device does not have a drive mechanism that is supposed to increase the number of thermal transfer heads. Each member that supports the driving device and the thermal transfer head must be replaced with a large one that can withstand a larger load. On the other hand, assuming that the number of thermal transfer heads is increased, it is necessary to drive a driving device having a large driving force when the number of thermal transfer heads is reduced.

  The present invention has been made paying attention to such a problem, and a main object thereof is to provide a foil stamping device capable of operating a plurality of thermal transfer heads while suppressing changes in the driving device and the configuration of each part. is there.

  In order to achieve such an object, the present invention takes the following measures. That is, the foil stamping apparatus according to the present invention presses a heat transfer head heated to a predetermined temperature through a foil sheet against a predetermined portion of the transfer object, and performs foil pressing on the transfer object. Horizontal moving means that can move in the horizontal direction along the surface of the transferred material, a plurality of thermal transfer heads that can thermally transfer the foil provided on the sheet to be transferred, and the horizontal moving means that are supported by the horizontal moving means and It is characterized by comprising at least support means that supports the thermal transfer head and is movable in a direction in which the thermal transfer head is moved toward and away from the transfer object, and upper biasing means that biases the support means upward.

  In such a case, the foil pressing operation can be accurately performed with a small force by offsetting the loads by the plurality of thermal transfer heads by the upper biasing means. By doing so, it is possible to provide a plurality of thermal transfer heads without modifying the drive mechanism to a large one.

  In order for the upper biasing means to bias the support means upward with a stable biasing force regardless of the horizontal movement of the support means, the upper biasing means is supported by the horizontal movement means. Is desirable.

  In order to perform more efficient foil stamping according to the size of the foil stamping device itself and the size of the transfer object, it is preferable to configure the support means so that the number of supporting thermal transfer heads can be changed. In this case, since the weights of the plurality of thermal transfer heads supported by the support unit are different, it is desirable that the upper biasing unit be configured to change the biasing force biased upward.

  In order for the thermal transfer head to perform stable transfer, it is necessary to stably maintain the temperature of the thermal transfer head itself. Therefore, the upper biasing means is a heat insulating material that blocks conduction of heat from the support means. It is desirable to have a part. Specifically, it is preferable that the heat insulating portion is a string-like portion connected to the support means in order to limit the area through which heat is transmitted and to prevent the heat from being transmitted.

  In addition, as a specific configuration of the upper biasing means, it can be considered that the upper biasing means is constituted by an elastic member such as a spring. However, the upper biasing means includes a string-like portion having one end connected to the support means and an upper side of the support means. If it is constituted by a pulley portion positioned on the weight and a weight portion connected to the other end of the string-like portion on which the pulley is hung, a constant acting force can be applied regardless of the vertical position of the support means. Therefore, the thermal transfer head can be operated more stably.

  In order to effectively suppress fluctuations in the operation of the thermal transfer head due to rattling or the like during the lifting and lowering operation of the supporting means, the supporting means is supported by the horizontal moving means at one end side in the width direction and the other end side. Therefore, it is preferable to effectively avoid movement in the range of backlash that causes backlash.

  According to the present invention, the foil pressing operation can be accurately performed with a small force by offsetting the loads caused by the plurality of thermal transfer heads by the upper biasing means. By doing so, it is possible to provide a plurality of thermal transfer heads without modifying the drive mechanism to a large one. That is, it is possible to provide a plurality of thermal transfer heads while utilizing the configuration of the existing foil stamping device.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foil stamping apparatus A according to the present embodiment covers the transfer sheet P placed at a predetermined position on the stage S, and the foil sheet H is set to, for example, 130 ° C. from above. By pressing the thermal transfer head 2, foil transfer is performed on the transfer object P. 1 is an external view of the main part of the foil stamping apparatus A, and each figure after FIG. 2 is a configuration explanatory diagram schematically showing the configuration of the foil stamping apparatus A. FIG.

  Here, the foil stamping apparatus A according to the present embodiment presses the material to be transferred P by pressing the thermal transfer head 2 heated to a predetermined temperature via the foil sheet H against a predetermined portion of the material to be transferred P. A horizontal movement means 1 that can move in the horizontal direction along the surface of the transfer object P, a plurality of thermal transfer heads 2 that can thermally transfer the foil provided on the foil sheet H to the transfer object P, and A support means 3 that is supported by the horizontal movement means 1 and supports a plurality of thermal transfer heads 2 and is movable in a direction in which it is in contact with or separated from the transfer object P, and an upward bias that biases the support means 3 upward. And at least means 4.

  Hereinafter, a specific configuration of the foil stamping apparatus A will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the foil stamping apparatus A includes a horizontal moving means 1 and 13 thermal transfer heads 2 (2a, 2b, 2c, 2d, 2e, 2f, 2g, 2h, 2i, 2j, 2k, 2l, 2m), supporting means 3 and upward biasing means 4.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the horizontal moving unit 1 includes a depth moving unit 11 that moves the supporting unit 3 in the depth direction, and a width moving unit 14 that can move in the width direction while being supported by the depth moving unit 11. And have. The depth moving unit 11 includes a depth moving rail 12 provided along the depth direction, and a depth moving body 13 that can move along the depth moving rail 12. The width moving unit 14 mainly includes a width direction moving rail 15 attached to the depth moving body 13 and a width direction moving body 16 movable along the width direction moving rail 15. In the present embodiment, the horizontal moving means 1 can be moved to a desired position in the horizontal direction by being electrically controlled by an electric mechanism (not shown). Since a specific configuration employs an existing configuration, detailed description thereof will be omitted.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the support unit 3 mainly includes a vertical movement rail 31 attached to the widthwise moving body 16 and a head support portion 32 that can move along the vertical movement rail 31. Have. Specifically, a configuration is adopted in which the supported portion 32a provided on the head support portion 32 is slid on the rail surface 31a of the vertical movement rail 31 while the bearing 320 of the supported portion 32a is in contact therewith. As shown in FIG. 2, in the present embodiment, the support means 3 is such that the head support portion 32 can be moved in the vertical direction by the power of the drive portion 33. As an example of the configuration of the drive unit 33, in the present embodiment, a threaded surface is formed on the rotating shaft of the motor attached to the widthwise moving body 16, and the head support is provided along the screw feeding direction of the threaded surface by the rotation of the motor. A configuration in which the part 32 moves up and down is adopted. However, the configuration related to the drive unit 33 that moves the head support unit 32 is not limited to this configuration, and various configurations can be adopted.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the other head support portion 32 is supported on the opposite surface provided with the supported portion 32a while allowing the thermal transfer heads 2 to move up and down by engaging with a support bearing 273a described later. The head support rails 321 are provided in correspondence with the number and mounting positions of the thermal transfer heads 2.

  As shown in FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the thermal transfer head 2 is pressed against the transfer object P from the state that the thermal pen 24 at the tip is heated to a predetermined temperature and covered with the foil sheet H. The foil of the foil sheet H can be transferred to the transfer object P. In addition to the thermal pen 24 described above, the thermal transfer head 2 includes a holder 21 supported by the head support portion 32 through a thermal pen support portion 273 described later while allowing vertical movement, and a heat insulating material on the holder 21. A thermal pen holder 23 that supports the thermal pen 24, a heater 25 that applies heat to the thermal pen 24, a heater wire 26 that supplies power for heating the heater 25 from a power source (not shown), and a holder 21 And a pressing force adjusting mechanism 27 that adjusts the pressing force that the thermal pen 24 applies to the transfer object P by lifting it from above with a spring 272. The pressure adjustment mechanism 27 includes a spring 272, a spring support 271 supported by the head support 32 and suspended so that the spring 272 can be adjusted in the vertical position, and a head support 32 of the holder 21 by a support bearing 273a. And a thermal pen support portion 273 that supports while allowing the vertical movement relative to each other. That is, the pressure adjusting mechanism 27 can adjust the pressure applied to the transfer target P of each thermal transfer head 2 by adjusting the vertical position of the spring 272, respectively. In this embodiment, the 13 heat transfer heads 2 are supported by the head support portion 32. However, the number of supported heat transfer heads 2 can be changed by appropriately removing the heat transfer heads 2 or the like. In this embodiment, the heater 25 is set so that the temperature of the thermal pen 24 is always 130 ° C. However, different temperature settings may be used depending on the type of the foil sheet H. Moreover, in this embodiment, according to the design to carry out foil stamping, it is also possible to exchange with another thermal pen 24 having a different thickness.

  The upper biasing means 4 is mainly supported by the horizontal moving means 1 by supporting the pulley section 42 described later on the width direction moving body 16 in the horizontal moving means 1. Specifically, the upper biasing means 4 includes a wire 41 that is a string-like portion having one end connected to the head support portion 32, and a pulley portion that is positioned above the head support portion 32 while being supported by the widthwise moving body 16. 42 and a weight portion 43 connected to the other end of the wire 41 hung on the pulley portion 42. The wire 41 corresponds to the heat insulating part and the string-like part according to the present invention, and the heat of the head support part 32 is transmitted to the upper biasing means 4 by reducing the area in contact with the head support part 32. By suppressing the temperature, the temperature of the thermal transfer head 2 can be suitably maintained. In this embodiment, the pulley portion 42 adopts a single pulley. However, the pulley portion 42 is not limited to such a configuration. For example, an embodiment employing a plurality of pulleys or a pulley employing a moving pulley is employed. The configuration described above may be adopted. In the present embodiment, the weight portion 43 has a weight of about 2 kg so as to correspond to the 13 thermal transfer heads 2 described above, but the weight portion 43 has a different weight depending on the number of thermal transfer heads 2 to be attached. The weight part 43 can be replaced.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, one end side in the width direction of the support means 3 is a base end side that is supported by the width direction moving body 16, and the wire 41, that is, the other end side that is the front end side. It is assumed that the movement in the range of the backlash BL, which causes the rattling when the head support portion 32 moves up and down, can be effectively avoided by connecting to the upper biasing means 4 and biasing upward. With such a configuration, it is possible to effectively avoid problems such as an error in the finish of foil pressing due to rattling and a variation in the finish of foil pressing among the plurality of thermal transfer heads 2. The foil pressing operation performed by the plurality of thermal transfer heads 2 can be performed accurately and uniformly.

  By adopting the configuration as described above, the foil stamping apparatus A according to the present embodiment includes the upper biasing means 4 so as to cancel the loads caused by the plurality of thermal transfer heads 2, thereby performing the foil stamping operation with a small force. Can be performed accurately. By doing so, it is possible to provide a plurality of thermal transfer heads 2 without modifying the drive mechanism to a large one.

  In order for the upper biasing means 4 to bias the support means 3 upward with a stable biasing force regardless of the horizontal movement of the support means 3, the upper biasing means 4 is applied to the horizontal moving means 1. I support it.

  In this embodiment, the number of supporting means 3 supporting the thermal transfer head 2 can be changed in order to perform more efficient foil pressing according to the size of the foil stamping apparatus A itself and the size of the transfer object P. It is supposed to be. In this case, since the weights of the plurality of thermal transfer heads 2 supported by the support means 3 are different, the upward biasing force can be changed by replacing the weight part 43 with the upward biasing means 4. It is configured.

  In order for the thermal transfer head 2 to perform stable transfer, the upper biasing means 4 includes a heat insulating portion that blocks heat conduction from the support means 3 in order to stably maintain the temperature of the thermal transfer head 2 itself. Is provided. Specifically, a wire 41 that is a string-like part connected to the support means 3 is employed in order to limit the area through which heat is conducted and to prevent the heat from being transmitted.

  Further, regarding the upper urging means 4, as another specific structure, a structure in which the upper urging means 4 is urged upward by an elastic member such as a coil spring or a leaf spring is conceivable. 3 is constituted by a string part connected to 3 and a pulley part 42 positioned above the support means 3 and a weight part 43 connected to the other end of the string part on which the pulley is hung. Regardless of the vertical position, a constant acting force is applied, so that the thermal transfer head 2 can be operated more stably.

  In particular, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5, in order to effectively suppress fluctuations in the operation of the thermal transfer head 2 due to rattling or the like when the support means 3 moves up and down, As one that is supported by the horizontal movement means 1 on one end side in the direction and connected to the upper biasing means 4 on the other end side, the movement within the range of the backlash BL that causes backlash can be effectively avoided. It has become.

  Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the specific configuration of each unit is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

  For example, in the present embodiment, an aspect in which the thermal transfer heads are arranged in a row in the width direction is disclosed, but the present invention is not limited to this aspect, and a plurality of aspects may be arranged in the depth direction. Further, in the same embodiment, the stage is arranged on a horizontal plane and the foil is pushed by a lifting operation, but for example, the transfer object is arranged along the vertical surface, and the transfer object is arranged in a so-called vertical direction. The heat pen may be moved horizontally. Of course, even in such a case, the upward biasing means biases upward against gravity in order to cancel the loads of the plurality of thermal transfer heads.

  In addition, the specific configuration of each part is not limited to the above embodiment, and various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The external view which shows the foil stamping apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. The typical structure explanatory view which concerns on the same embodiment. Structure explanatory drawing which shows the principal part which concerns on the same embodiment. Same as above. Action | operation explanatory drawing which concerns on the same embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Horizontal moving means 2 ... Thermal transfer head 3 ... Support means 4 ... Upper biasing means 41 ... Heat insulation part, string-like part (wire)
42 ... pulley unit 43 ... weight unit A ... foil pressing device H ... foil sheet P ... transferred material

Claims (8)

Foil pressing is performed on the transfer object by pressing a thermal transfer head heated to a predetermined temperature via a foil sheet against a predetermined portion of the transfer object,
Horizontal movement means movable in the horizontal direction along the surface of the transfer object;
A plurality of thermal transfer heads capable of thermally transferring the foil provided on the foil sheet to the transfer object;
A support unit that is supported by the horizontal moving unit and supports the plurality of thermal transfer heads, and is movable in a direction of coming into contact with and separated from the transfer object;
A foil stamping device comprising at least an upward biasing means for biasing the support means upward. 2. The foil stamping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper biasing means is supported by the horizontal movement means.   The foil stamping apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the supporting means is configured to change the number of supporting the thermal transfer head. The foil pressing device according to claim 3, wherein the upward biasing means is configured to change a biasing force biased upward.   The foil stamping apparatus according to claim 1, 2, 3, or 4, wherein the upper urging means has a heat insulating portion that blocks heat conduction from the support means.   The foil stamping apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the heat insulating part is a string-like part connected to the supporting means. The upper biasing means includes a string-like part having one end connected to the support means, a pulley part positioned above the support means, and a weight part connected to the other end of the string-like part on which the pulley is hung. The foil stamping device according to claim 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or 6. The said support means shall be supported by the said horizontal movement means at the one end side in the width direction, and shall be connected to the said upper biasing means at the other end side. Foil stamping device.

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