JP2009000856A - Impression cylinder and embossing device using the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an impression cylinder which efficiently performs embossing and can lengthen the life, and an embossing device using the same. <P>SOLUTION: The impression cylinder 13 pushes a photo P to an embossing roller 12 and rotates so as to convey the photo P. The impression cylinder is equipped with a columnar body part 131, an elastic body layer 132 which is formed on an outer peripheral surface of the body part 131 and has elasticity, and an abrasion-resistant layer 133 which is formed on the elastic body layer 132 and has a friction coefficient lower than that of the elastic body layer 132. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an impression cylinder and an embossing apparatus using the same.

In order to suppress the gloss of a photograph or improve the feel of paper, embossing for forming a desired uneven shape on a workpiece such as a photograph may be performed. An embossing apparatus that performs this embossing includes an embossing roller having a concavo-convex shape on an outer peripheral surface, and an impression cylinder that is installed to press the embossing roller. Then, the embossing roller and the impression cylinder are rotated, and the workpiece is passed between them, thereby transferring the uneven shape of the embossing roller to the workpiece. In this impression cylinder, the outer peripheral surface is constituted by an elastic body layer made of a material such as rubber, and the uneven shape of the embossing roller is absorbed by the elastic body layer to efficiently transfer the uneven shape to the workpiece. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 5-74830

  In the embossing apparatus, the outer peripheral surface of the impression cylinder is constituted by an elastic body layer, and many materials such as rubber constituting the elastic body layer have a high friction coefficient. For this reason, when the workpiece passes between the impression cylinder and the embossing roller, the elastic layer of the impression cylinder increases the amount of wear due to friction with the workpiece, and the life of the impression cylinder is shortened. Problems arise.

  Then, this invention makes it a subject to provide the impression cylinder which can emboss efficiently and can lengthen a lifetime, and an embossing apparatus using the same.

  An impression cylinder according to the present invention is made in order to solve the above-described problems, and is an impression cylinder that rotates to convey a workpiece while pressing the workpiece against the machining means. A main body, an elastic layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body and having elasticity; and an abrasion-resistant layer formed on the elastic layer and having a static friction coefficient lower than that of the elastic layer. ing.

  Thus, the impression cylinder has an elastic layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body. Since this elastic body layer has elasticity, for example, when embossing a workpiece, when the workpiece is pressed against an embossing roller as a processing means by the impression cylinder, the uneven shape of the embossing roller is changed to that of the impression cylinder. The elastic layer absorbs the concavo-convex shape onto the workpiece efficiently. In the impression cylinder according to the present invention, a wear-resistant layer is further formed on the elastic layer. Since this wear-resistant layer has a lower coefficient of friction than the elastic layer, the impression cylinder on which the wear-resistant layer is formed wears due to friction with the workpiece as compared with the impression cylinder on which the elastic layer is arranged as the outermost layer. The amount is reduced, so that the life of the impression cylinder can be increased.

  The wear-resistant layer can take various configurations, and can be formed, for example, by forming the elastic body layer from rubber and impregnating the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body layer with a fluororesin. Alternatively, the elastic layer can be formed of rubber and the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer can be coated with a fluorine resin. The “rubber” is a concept including synthetic rubber and natural rubber, and the “fluorine resin” is a concept including polytetrafluoroethylene, a tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer, and the like. It is.

  An embossing device according to the present invention is an embossing device for embossing a workpiece, which is made to solve the above-described problem, and the impression cylinder according to any one of the above An embossing roller having an uneven shape on the outer peripheral surface and configured to rotate, and embossing the workpiece by sandwiching and pressing the workpiece between the impression cylinder and the embossing roller It is configured.

  According to this configuration, since the impression cylinder has the elastic body layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body, when the workpiece is sandwiched between the embossing roller and the impression cylinder, the elastic body layer of the impression cylinder is The uneven shape can be absorbed and the uneven shape can be efficiently transferred to the workpiece. Since the wear-resistant layer is formed on the elastic body layer of the impression cylinder, the wear amount can be reduced as compared with the impression cylinder in which the elastic body layer is arranged in the outermost layer. The lifetime can be extended.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while performing an embossing efficiently, the impression cylinder which can lengthen a lifetime, and an embossing apparatus using the same can be provided.

  Embodiments of an impression cylinder and an embossing apparatus using the same according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side cross-sectional view of the embossing apparatus according to the present embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing only a part of the embossing apparatus as viewed from the left direction of FIG. The left side of FIG. 1 is referred to as “upstream side” and the right side is referred to as “downstream side”.

  As shown in FIG. 1, an embossing device 1 according to the present embodiment sends a photograph P (workpiece) into a loading unit 2 and a photograph P loaded from the loading unit 2 to the downstream side. The feeding unit 3 and the processing unit 4 for embossing the photograph P sent from the feeding unit 3 are configured.

  The input unit 2 includes a stacking plate 5 on which a plurality of photos P are stacked, and a pickup roller 6 that conveys the photos P stacked on the stacking plate 5 to the downstream side. The stacking plate 5 is configured such that the upstream end 51 is pivotally supported by a shaft 52 so that the downstream end 53 of the stacking plate 5 can rotate around the shaft 52 of the upstream end 51. Has been. A torsion spring 7 installed on a shaft 52 is disposed below the stacking plate 5, and the torsion spring 7 causes the downstream end 53 of the stacking plate 5 to move upward about the shaft 52 of the upstream end 51. It is biased to rotate. The movement of the stacking plate 5 is restricted by a stopper (not shown) so that the downstream end 53 does not move above the position horizontal with the upstream end 51. In addition, the photograph P is usually used for sublimation transfer, which tends to curl due to its characteristics, but such a photograph P is convex downward, and its upstream end and downstream end are from the loading plate. A plurality of sheets are stacked on the stacking plate 5 so as to float up.

  A pickup roller 6 is disposed above the stacking plate 5 so as to press on the downstream end (end in the traveling direction) of the photograph P. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the pickup roller 6 is fixed to a shaft 61 extending in the horizontal direction (direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1) from the apparatus main body. The shaft 61 is driven by a known motor (not shown) via a gear and rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1, so that the pickup roller 6 is also configured to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. Yes. Further, the shaft 61 is provided in the apparatus main body so as to be able to move up and down while maintaining its horizontal state, whereby the pickup roller 6 can be moved up and down. As shown in FIG. 1, in a state where a plurality of photographs P are stacked on the stacking plate 5, the pickup roller 6 is pushed upward by the photographs P and has enough play to move downward. In the initial state, that is, in a state where the photograph P is not stacked on the stacking plate 5, the pickup roller 6 is set so that its lower end is at the same height as the lower end of the feedback roller 4 due to its own weight. On the other hand, in a state where the photograph P is stacked on the stacking plate 5, the pickup roller 6 is pushed upward from the position in the initial state. The material of the pickup roller 6 is not particularly limited, but the outer peripheral surface is made of a material having a high coefficient of friction so that the photograph P can be conveyed to the downstream side by frictional engagement with the upper surface of the photograph P. For example, synthetic rubber or natural rubber can be used.

  The feed unit 3 located on the downstream side of the input unit 2 configured as described above includes a pair of upper and lower feed rollers 8 and a retard roller 9 that prevent double feeding of the photos P. A plurality of upper and lower pairs of feed rollers 10 are provided on the downstream side of the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9 and configured to send the conveyed photograph P to the processing unit 4. In addition, the feed unit 3 includes a double feed prevention mechanism 11 between the pickup roller 6 and the feed roller 8 to prevent double feed.

  The feed roller 8 is fixed to a shaft 81 extending in a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1) from the apparatus main body, and the shaft 81 is driven by a known motor (not shown) through a gear and is shown in FIG. By rotating counterclockwise, the feed roller 8 is similarly configured to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. A retard roller 9 is disposed immediately below the feed roller 8 so as to face the feed roller 8. The retard roller 9 is fixed to a shaft 91 extending in a horizontal direction (a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1), and is arranged so that the upper end thereof is in contact with the lower end of the feed roller 8. The shaft 91 is configured to stop halfway without rotating once. The shaft 91 is not connected to a motor or the like, and is a driven shaft that is rotated by the rotation of the feed roller 8. The material of the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9 is not particularly limited, but the outer peripheral surface is preferably made of a material having a high coefficient of friction so that it can be frictionally locked with the photograph P. Natural rubber or the like can be used.

  The feed roller 10 installed on the downstream side of the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9 is driven by a known motor (not shown) to convey the photograph P downstream. More specifically, the feed roller 10 disposed on the upper side rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the feed roller 10 disposed on the lower side rotates clockwise in FIG. And then conveyed downstream. The feed roller 10 can also be configured to function as a cleaning roller so as to remove dirt such as dust attached to the photograph P.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, two double feed prevention mechanisms 11 are provided between the pickup roller 6 and the feed roller 8 with a space in the left-right direction in FIG. FIG. 3 is a detailed view showing details of the double feed prevention mechanism 11 according to the present embodiment. The double feed prevention mechanism 11 includes a plate-like double feed prevention member 111 and an L-shaped auxiliary member 112. The double feed preventing member 111 extends in the vertical direction so as to be orthogonal to the traveling direction of the photograph P, and the upper end thereof is set at the same height as the contact portion between the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9. . Further, the downstream end of the photograph P loaded on the stacking plate 5 is in contact with the upstream surface of the multifeed preventing member 111. Furthermore, the thickness of the multi-feed preventing member 111 is set to 0. 0 from the viewpoint of easily separating the upper-layer photo P positioned above the upper end from the lower-layer photo P positioned below the upper end. The thickness is preferably 2 to 2.5 mm, and more preferably 0.4 to 2.0 mm. The material is not particularly limited, but metal, plastic, or the like can be used from the viewpoint of workability and rigidity.

  Two L-shaped auxiliary members 112 are provided at intervals so as to abut on the downstream side of each double feed preventing member 111 configured as described above. As shown in detail in FIG. 3, the auxiliary member 112 includes a vertical portion 113 and a horizontal portion 114. The vertical portion 113 is a plate-like member that is in contact with the entire downstream surface of the multifeed prevention member 111, and is installed so that its upper end is at the same height as the upper end of the multifeed prevention member 111. The horizontal portion 114 extends horizontally from the upper end of the vertical portion 113 toward the downstream side. The auxiliary member 112 preferably has a thickness of 0.2 to 1.5 mm, and more preferably 0.4 to 1.0 mm, from the viewpoint of workability and rigidity. Moreover, although a material is not specifically limited, A metal, a plastics, etc. can be used.

  A processing unit 4 for embossing the photograph P conveyed from the feeding unit 3 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 4. FIG. 4 is a side sectional view of the impression cylinder 13 according to the present embodiment. The processing unit 4 includes an embossing roller (processing means) 12 having an uneven shape on the outer peripheral surface, and an impression cylinder 13 installed above the embossing roller 12 so as to press the embossing roller 12.

  The embossing roller 12 has a cylindrical shape, and a predetermined uneven shape is formed on the outer peripheral surface. The uneven shape of the outer peripheral surface of the embossing roller 12 can take various shapes depending on the purpose of embossing, but when it is intended to suppress the gloss of the photograph P, its surface roughness Ra is 6.0. It is preferable to set it to -10.0 micrometers. Further, the embossing roller 12 is integrally formed with a shaft 121 extending in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. 1, and is rotated clockwise in FIG. 1 by a known motor (not shown) with the shaft 121 as a rotating shaft. It is configured. The width of the embossing roller 12 is set wider than the width of the photo P to be embossed, and it is preferable to use a roller of 210 to 230 mm for an apparatus for processing a photo having a maximum width of 8 inches. The diameter is preferably 40 to 80 mm. Heat generating means is installed inside the embossing roller 12 configured as described above. More specifically, the embossing roller 12 is made of a material such as aluminum or stainless steel and has a hollow cylindrical shape, and a known heater (not shown) is installed therein. By causing the heater to generate heat, the surface of the embossing roller 12 is heated. The surface temperature of the embossing roller 12 at this time is preferably 60 to 100 ° C. The heater has control means for adjusting the amount of heat generated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the impression cylinder 13 installed above the embossing roller 12 has a solid cylindrical body 131, and a shaft 130 is integrally formed on the body 131. Yes. An elastic body layer 132 made of rubber is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body 131, and the wear resistant layer 133 is formed on the impression cylinder by impregnating the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body layer 132 with a fluorine resin. 13 outermost layers are formed. The diameter of the impression cylinder 13 is preferably 40 to 80 mm, and is preferably the same as the diameter of the embossing roller 12. For example, when the diameter is 60 mm, the main body 131 preferably has a diameter of 59.4 to 59.6 mm, the elastic body layer 132 has a thickness of 400 to 600 μm, and the wear-resistant layer 133 has a thickness of 10 to 20 μm. . The elastic layer 132 preferably has a hardness of 50 to 70 degrees, and the wear resistant layer 133 preferably has a static friction coefficient of 0.04 to 0.08 and a hardness of 80 to 100 degrees. In addition, this hardness uses the value measured according to the prescription | regulation of JISK6253. The width of the impression cylinder 13 is preferably the same width as the embossing roller 12. The main body 131 is preferably made of stainless steel, the rubber constituting the elastic layer 132 is nitrile butadiene rubber (NBR), and the fluororesin constituting the wear resistant layer 133 is polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). It is preferable to do.

  The pressure drum 13 configured as described above is installed so as to press the embossing roller 12 and to rotate counterclockwise in FIG. 1 by a known motor (not shown) with a shaft 130 as a rotation shaft. Since the impression cylinder 13 is installed so as to press the embossing roller 12 in this way, when the photograph P is sandwiched between the embossing roller 12 and the impression cylinder 13 and passed between them, the photograph P becomes the embossing roller. As a result, the concavo-convex shape of the outer peripheral surface of the embossing roller 12 is transferred to the photograph P. In addition, it is preferable that the load applied to the impression cylinder 13 so as to press the embossing roller 12 is 4000 to 10000N. The rotational speed of the impression cylinder 13 is the same as the rotational speed of the embossing roller 12, and is preferably 1.5 to 7.5 rpm.

  Here, a manufacturing method of the impression cylinder 13 will be described. First, a cylindrical main body 131 made of stainless steel is prepared, and an adhesive is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the main body 131. Then, a sheet-like rubber processed to a desired thickness and size is prepared, the surface of the rubber is treated with a solvent, and this is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the main body 131 so that the outer peripheral surface of the main body 131 is wrapped around. An elastic body layer 132 made of nitrile butadiene rubber is formed. The main body 131 having the elastic layer 132 formed on the outer peripheral surface in this manner is placed in a vacuum chamber, and the chamber is evacuated. Polytetrafluoroethylene is injected into the vacuum chamber, and the vacuum state is released after maintaining this state for 60 to 120 minutes. This process is repeated about three times, and a portion of 10 to 20 μm from the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body layer 132 is impregnated with PTFE, whereby the wear resistant layer 133 is formed.

  Next, an operation method of the embossing apparatus 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 5. FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing a double feed prevention method using the double feed prevention member 111, the feed roller 8, and the retard roller 9 according to the present embodiment.

  First, as shown in FIG. 1, the stacking plate 5 is pushed down, and a plurality of curled photographs P are stacked on the stacking plate 5 so as to be sandwiched between the stacking plate 5 and the pickup roller 6. At this time, the photograph P is stacked on the stacking plate 5 so that the photograph P is rounded upward, that is, in a concave state on the pickup roller 6 side. In this state, the stacking plate 5 is biased upward by the torsion spring 7, and the downstream end of the photograph P pushes the pickup roller 6 upward against its own weight. After the curled photograph P is set on the stacking plate 5 in this way, the pickup roller 6 and the feed roller 8 are rotated counterclockwise to convey the photograph P downstream.

  The photograph P conveyed by the pickup roller 6 is highly likely to be conveyed in a superimposed manner, that is, to be multi-fed due to its curved shape. Therefore, description will be made with reference to FIG. First, the pick-up roller 6 is rotationally driven to move the plurality of photos P from the stacked state toward the double feed preventing member 111 (FIG. 5A). Of the group of photographs P that are conveyed in such a manner that a plurality of sheets are overlapped, the upper layer photograph P positioned above the upper end of the double feed prevention member 111 is passed downstream of the double feed prevention member 111 by the pickup roller 6. It is conveyed to. On the other hand, the lower layer side photograph P located below the upper end of the double feed prevention member 111 is separated from the upper layer side photograph P by the upper end of the double feed member 6. The lower layer photo P separated from the upper layer photo P is obstructed by the surface facing the upstream side of the double feed prevention member 111 and is not conveyed to the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9 (FIG. 5 ( b)). In this way, the double feed prevention mechanism 11 restricts the number of photographs P that can be processed by the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9 or only one photo P to the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9.

  In this way, a plurality (two in this embodiment) of photographs P exceeding the double feed preventing member 111 are conveyed to the feed roller 8 and the retard roller 9. Here, the upper photo P is sent further downstream by the feed roller 8 rotating counterclockwise, but the lower photo P stops halfway without the retard roller 9 rotating once, so the retard roller 9 It is frictionally locked to the outer peripheral surface of the sheet and is prevented from being conveyed downstream. Thereby, the double feed of the photograph P is prevented (FIG. 5C). When the upper photo P is completely conveyed downstream by the feed roller 8, the lower photo P comes into contact with the feed roller 8 and is conveyed downstream by the feed roller 8.

  In this way, the photograph P, in which only one sheet has been transported, is transported further downstream by the feed roller 10 and passes between the embossing roller 12 and the impression cylinder 13. Here, since the impression cylinder 13 is installed so as to press the embossing roller 12, when passing between the embossing roller 12 and the impression cylinder 13, the photograph P is moved to the embossing roller 12 side by the impression cylinder 13. By pressing so as to be pressed, the uneven shape of the outer peripheral surface of the embossing roller 12 is transferred. Then, the embossed photograph P is discharged to the receiving portion 15.

  As described above, according to the above embodiment, the impression cylinder 13 has the elastic body layer 132 made of rubber formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body 131. Since the elastic layer 132 made of rubber has elasticity, when the photo P is pressed against the embossing roller 12 by the impression cylinder 13, the elastic layer 132 of the impression cylinder 13 passes through the photo P through the embossing roller 12. The uneven shape can be absorbed, and the uneven shape can be efficiently transferred to the photograph P. The impression cylinder 13 further has an abrasion resistant layer 133 formed on the elastic layer 132. If the abrasion-resistant layer 133 is not formed and the elastic layer 132 is the outermost layer, the elastic layer 132 has a high friction coefficient, and therefore, particularly in the width direction of the photo P due to friction with the photo P. The amount of wear at the position facing both end portions on the side increases. However, the impression cylinder 13 of the above embodiment has a wear-resistant layer 133 formed on the elastic layer 132, and the wear-resistant layer 133 has a lower friction coefficient than the elastic layer 132. As a result, the life of the impression cylinder 13 can be extended.

  As mentioned above, although embodiment of this invention was described, this invention is not limited to these, A various change is possible unless it deviates from the meaning of this invention. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the wear resistant layer 133 is formed by impregnating the fluororesin on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 132 for the impression cylinder 13, but the present invention is not limited thereto. The wear resistant layer 133 can be formed by coating the outer peripheral surface of the elastic body layer 132 with a fluororesin. In this case, the fluororesin constituting the abrasion resistant layer 133 is preferably tetrafluoroethylene / perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether copolymer (PFA), and the rubber constituting the elastic body layer 132 is silicon rubber. It is preferable that A method for manufacturing the impression cylinder 13 in this case will be described. First, a main body 131 made of stainless steel is prepared, and an adhesive is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the main body 131. Then, a sheet-like rubber processed into a desired thickness and size is prepared, the surface thereof is treated with a solvent, and this is wound around the outer peripheral surface of the main body 131, thereby elastic layer 132 made of silicon rubber. Is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main exterior 131. Then, the wear resistant layer 133 is coated on the outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer 132 by applying the body 131 on which the elastic layer 132 is formed by spraying the main body 131 in a container filled with PFA by dipping or spraying. The impression cylinder 13 can be manufactured by EB curing.

  Further, in the above embodiment, the workpiece to be embossed has been described as a single sheet separated by a certain size, but the invention is not particularly limited to this, for example, the workpiece by a roll It can also be a continuous sheet as supplied.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a preheating roller 14 may be installed upstream of the embossing roller 12 and the impression cylinder 13 in the processing unit 4. The preheating roller 14 is formed in a hollow cylindrical shape like the embossing roller 12, and heat generating means (not shown) such as a heater is installed therein. This heat generating means has a control means capable of controlling the heat generation amount, and it is preferable that the heat generating means can be controlled so that the outer peripheral surface of the preheating roller 14 is 50 to 70 ° C. Thus, by preheating the photo P with the preheating roller 14, the temperature of the photo P sent to the embossing roller 12 and the impression cylinder 13 can be kept constant.

It is side surface sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the embossing apparatus which concerns on this invention. It is a schematic front view which shows a part of one Embodiment of the embossing apparatus seen from the left direction of FIG. It is detail drawing which shows the detail of the double feed prevention mechanism which concerns on this embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows one Embodiment of the impression cylinder which concerns on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the double feed prevention method by the double feed mechanism, feed roller, and retard roller which concern on this embodiment. It is side surface sectional drawing which shows other embodiment of the embossing apparatus which concerns on this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Embossing apparatus 12 Embossing roller 13 Impression drum 131 Main part 132 Elastic body layer 133 Wear-resistant layer P Photograph (workpiece)

Claims (4)

An impression cylinder that presses the workpiece against the processing means and rotates to convey the workpiece,
A cylindrical body,
An elastic body layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of the main body and having elasticity;
An abrasion-resistant layer formed on the elastic layer and having a lower coefficient of static friction than the elastic layer;
An impression cylinder with   The impression cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the wear-resistant layer is formed by impregnating a fluorine-based resin on an outer peripheral surface of the elastic body layer made of rubber.   2. The impression cylinder according to claim 1, wherein the wear-resistant layer is formed by coating a fluororesin on an outer peripheral surface of the elastic layer made of rubber. An embossing device for embossing a workpiece,
An impression cylinder according to any one of claims 1 to 3,
An embossing roller having an uneven shape on the outer peripheral surface and configured to rotate,
An embossing apparatus configured to emboss a workpiece by sandwiching and pressing the workpiece between the impression cylinder and an embossing roller.

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