JP2012187882A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermal transfer printer capable of precisely transferring a metal film to a printing object in a desired shape.SOLUTION: The printer is provided with a platen roller 4 and a print head 3, which has a plurality of heat generating elements and is in elastic contact with the platen roller 4. Printing is carried out while a print film 1 serving as the printing object and a ribbon 2 are fed to the part between the platen roller 4 and the print head 3 in a state that they are overlapped with each other. A material in which a metal membrane layer and an adhesive agent layer are formed on a base material is used as the ribbon 2. The plurality of heat generating elements are caused to generate heat in a predetermined pattern, thereby transferring the metal membrane layer to a predetermined print region of the print film 1 via the adhesive agent layer. A burr removing mechanism 6 which removes burrs of the metal membrane generated around the predetermined print region by sliding contact with a print surface 1a of the print film 1 after printing is further provided.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printer capable of performing printing by polymerizing an object to be printed and a ribbon and applying heat to a print head.

  Conventionally, the print head in which a plurality of heating elements are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the paper feeding direction is elastically contacted with the platen roller, and the ink ribbon and the paper are superposed and sent between them. Many thermal transfer printers that perform printing by causing a heating element to generate heat in a desired pattern and fixing a dye on an ink ribbon onto a sheet are known. Among them, for example, to enable printing of a higher quality image, for example, as described in Patent Document 1, the cleaning roller is brought into contact with the surface of an ink ribbon or paper before printing, so that the two adhere to both. There is disclosed a technique in which printing is performed after dust is removed.

JP 2002-120446 A

  As an effective utilization method of the high-quality image printing capability of the thermal transfer printer as described above, there can be considered uses such as production of RFID-related film antennas. In general, since such a device is manufactured by a technique such as a photolithography etching method, it takes time to manufacture, and if it can be easily manufactured by a thermal transfer printer, it leads to reduction in manufacturing cost and time, and there are many advantages.

  When a thermal transfer printer is used for such an application, the object to be printed is changed from paper to a smooth film, and the fixed object to the object to be printed is replaced from a dye to a metal foil. In order to realize this, instead of the conventionally used ink ribbon, a conductive thermal transfer type ribbon in which a metal film layer and an adhesive layer are formed on a resin film is used. Since the above-mentioned adhesive layer is generally made of a thermoplastic resin, the heating element of the print head is heated in a desired pattern in a state in which the printing object and the ribbon are polymerized, and the part concerned The adhesive is melted or softened and transferred to the printing object together with the metal film layer. Thereby, a metal film layer having an arbitrary shape can be formed on the printing object.

  However, a high-quality metal film layer cannot be formed by simply replacing the ribbon and the printing object as described above using a conventional thermal transfer printer. Specifically, by setting a print area of a desired shape and causing the heating element of the print head to generate heat with a pattern conforming to the print area, the adhesive layer is printed in an area substantially the same as the desired print area. The metal film layer can be firmly formed on the metal film layer, but the metal film layer firmly formed in this way has a part of the metal film layer that is not adhered to the base material of the ribbon. Peeling off results in a planar peeled material as a so-called burr. For example, as schematically shown in FIG. 9B, even if an attempt is made to set a rectangular print region 25 and transfer a metal film only to the portion, as shown schematically in FIG. In addition, an unnecessary metal film layer as the burr 26 may adhere around the printing area 25.

  The object of the present invention is to effectively solve such problems.

  In order to achieve this object, the present invention takes the following measures.

  That is, the thermal transfer printer of the present invention includes a platen roller and a print head having a plurality of heating elements and elastically contacting the platen roller, and the print object and the ribbon are disposed between the platen roller and the print head. Printing is performed while feeding in a polymerized state, and the ribbon is formed by forming a metal film layer and an adhesive layer on a base material, and the plurality of heating elements generate heat in a predetermined pattern. By configuring the metal film layer to be transferred to the predetermined print area of the print object via the adhesive layer, and by sliding the printed film on the print surface of the print object after printing. Further, a burr removing mechanism for removing a burr of the metal film generated around the predetermined printing area is further provided.

  If comprised in this way, the burr | flash which is the planar peeling thing of the metal film adhering to the circumference | surroundings of a predetermined printing area | region can be easily sheared and removed. Therefore, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer printer that can form a metal film accurately only in a desired printing region.

  The thermal transfer printer of the present invention includes a platen roller and a print head having a plurality of heating elements and elastically contacting the platen roller, and the print object and the ribbon between the platen roller and the print head. Printing is performed while feeding in a polymerized state, and the ribbon is formed by forming a metal film layer and an adhesive layer on a base material, and the plurality of heating elements generate heat in a predetermined pattern. And configured to transfer the metal film layer to the predetermined print region of the print object via the adhesive layer, and to roll the roller with respect to the print surface of the print object after printing. Further, a burr removing mechanism for removing the burr of the metal film generated around the predetermined printing area by moving it to the roller surface is provided.

  Even if comprised in this way, the burr | flash which is the planar peeling thing of the metal film adhering to the circumference | surroundings of a predetermined printing area | region can be easily sheared and removed. Therefore, it is possible to provide a thermal transfer printer that can form a metal film accurately only in a desired printing region.

  According to the present invention described above, the metal film layer can be transferred to the surface of the printing object, and a desired shape can be obtained by removing the burrs of the metal film adhering to the periphery of the printing region. A thermal transfer printer can be provided.

1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a burr removal mechanism used in the thermal transfer printer. The expansion perspective view which shows the 1st modification of the burr | flash removal mechanism used for the thermal transfer printer. The expansion perspective view which shows the 2nd modification of the burr | flash removal mechanism used for the thermal transfer printer. The expansion perspective view which shows the 3rd modification of the burr | flash removal mechanism used for the thermal transfer printer. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram of a thermal transfer printer according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view showing a burr removal mechanism used in the thermal transfer printer. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a thermal transfer ribbon used in a thermal transfer printer according to the present invention. The schematic diagram which shows a problem when transferring a metal film using the conventional thermal transfer printer.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

<First Embodiment>
As schematically shown in FIG. 1, the thermal transfer printer according to the first embodiment of the present invention has a print head 3 elastically contacted with a platen roller 4 and a print film 1 as a print object between them. And ribbon 2 are polymerized and fed. The printing film 1 is drawn out from a supply roll 1R formed in a roll shape, and then appropriately printed in a predetermined printing direction while its position and speed are regulated by the feed roller 51, the pinch roller 52, and the platen roller 4 described above. . Then, it is finally conveyed leftward in the drawing, cut to a predetermined size by a cutter unit (not shown), and then discharged to the outside of the thermal transfer printer. The ribbon 2 is configured to be supplied from one of the two ribbon rolls 2R and 2R and wound up by the other. The ribbon 2 running between the ribbon rolls 2R and 2R is regulated by the guide rollers 53 and 53, and is fed between the platen roller 4 and the print head 3 together with the printing film 1 to apply heat and print. Done.

  In the present embodiment, the above-described conductive thermal transfer type ribbon 2 is used as the ribbon 2 provided inside. Specifically, as schematically shown in FIG. 8, a PET resin film is used as a base material 21, and a thin metal film layer 23 is formed thereon (lower side in the drawing), and an adhesive layer 24 is further formed thereon. Is provided. The adhesive layer 24 is on the surface side in contact with the printing film 1 (see FIG. 1). In this embodiment, the metal film layer 23 is formed of copper by vapor deposition, and the adhesive layer 24 is formed of a thermoplastic resin adhesive. However, these materials can be changed depending on the purpose. is there. Further, a back coat layer 22 is provided on the back side of the ribbon 2 to reduce the sliding resistance of the running ribbon 2 and to make it easier to release from the front side when the ribbon 2 is pulled out from the roll shape. Considered.

  Further, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a burr removing mechanism 6 is provided on the discharge side (left direction in the drawing) downstream from the print head 3 and the platen roller 4.

  The burr removal mechanism 6 in the present embodiment removes burrs (see FIG. 9) as the above-described metal film planar peeled material in sliding contact with the printing surface 1 a of the printed film 1 after printing. .

  As shown in FIG. 2, the burr removing mechanism 6 in the present embodiment is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the traveling direction of the printing film 1, and a backup roller 62 that rotates while contacting the back surface 1 b of the printing film 1. The sheet-shaped sliding contact member 61 is provided so as to face the backup roller 62 and is in sliding contact with the front surface 1a of the film 1 whose position is regulated by the backup roller 62 from the back surface 1b side. The planar slidable contact member 61 configures the slidable contact portion 61b so that the slidable contact surface with respect to the print film 1 is flat and longer than the width of the print film, and the slidable contact portion 61b is supported by the holder portion 61a. It is configured. The sliding contact portion 61b is preferably rich in elasticity that does not cause scratches on the printing film 1, and is preferably composed of a nonwoven fabric or foamed rubber.

  Further, the burr removing mechanism 6 in FIG. 2 moves the planar sliding contact member 61 in a direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the printing film 1 while moving the printing film 1 in the discharging direction (direction indicated by X in the drawing). It can be reciprocated in the Y direction in the figure.

  By configuring as described above, as shown in FIG. 1, the print film 1 and the ribbon 2 are polymerized and fed between the print head 3 and the platen roller 4 to correspond to a desired print area. By causing the print head 3 to generate heat with a pattern, the metal film 23 on the substrate 21 shown in FIG. 8 can be transferred to the surface 1 a of the print film 1 via the adhesive layer 24. Immediately after this printing, as schematically shown in FIG. 9A, the burrs 26 adhering to the periphery of the printing area 25 are brought into sliding contact with the burr removing mechanism 6 (see FIG. 2), whereby the printing area 25 is printed. It is sheared and removed along the boundary 25a. At this time, as described above, since the planar sliding contact member 61 shown in FIG. 2 can reciprocate in the direction orthogonal to the traveling direction of the printing film 1, the printing region shown in FIG. The burrs can be reliably removed over the whole regardless of the direction of the 25 boundary portions 25a. For this reason, it is possible to accurately form the metal film only in the desired print region 25.

  By performing such burr removal, the metal film burr 26 (see FIG. 9) adheres to the surface of the sliding contact portion 61b of the planar sliding contact member 61 shown in FIG. The cleaning roller (not shown) is configured to periodically clean the surface.

  As described above, the thermal transfer printer according to the present embodiment includes the platen roller 4 and the print head 3 having a plurality of heating elements and elastically contacting the platen roller 4, and the platen roller 4, the print head 3, and the like. Printing is performed while feeding the print film 1 and the ribbon 2 as a print object in a polymerized state between the metal film layer 23 and the adhesive layer 24 on the substrate 21. And the metal film layer 23 is transferred to the predetermined printing region of the printing film 1 via the adhesive layer 24 by causing the plurality of heating elements to generate heat in a predetermined pattern. At the same time, the burr removing mechanism 6 removes the burr 26 of the metal film generated around the predetermined printing region by being brought into sliding contact with the printing surface 1a of the printed film 1 after printing. One in which further provided.

  Since it is configured in this manner, the metal film layer 23 can be easily transferred to the printing film 1 and the burr 26 which is a planar peeled-off metal film adhering to the periphery of the printing area can be easily obtained. Since it can be removed by shearing, a metal film having a desired shape can be formed on the surface 1a of the printing film 1 easily and accurately.

  In the first embodiment described above, the burr removing mechanism 6 is arranged on the discharge side from the print head 3 and the platen roller 4, but this is disposed on the supply roll 1 R side from the print head 3 and the platen roller 4. It is also possible to dispose the part after discharging the printed film 1 after printing.

  Hereinafter, a modified example in which the configuration of the burr removing mechanism 6 is changed based on the above-described first embodiment will be described.

<First Modification>
FIG. 3 shows a first modification in which the burr removal mechanism 6 in the first embodiment is modified. The burr removal mechanism 106 in the modified example shown in FIG. 3 is arranged so as to be orthogonal to the traveling direction of the printing film 1, and a backup roller 162 that rotates while contacting the back surface 1 b of the printing film 1, and the backup roller 162. And a brush-like slidable contact member 163 that slidably contacts the surface 1a of the film 1 supported from the back surface 1b side by the backup roller 162. The brush-like sliding contact member 163 includes a brush portion 163b that comes into sliding contact with the surface 1a of the film 1 and a holder portion 163a that supports the brush portion 163b. Furthermore, it is more preferable that the brush-like sliding contact member 163 is reciprocated in the orthogonal direction with respect to the traveling direction of the film 1. Even with the burr removing mechanism 106 having such a shape, the burr 26 (see FIG. 9) can be removed in the same manner as described above.

<Second Modification>
Next, FIG. 4 shows a second modification in which a part of the configuration is further modified based on the burr removal mechanism 106 shown in FIG. The burr removing mechanism 206 in this modified example does not include the backup roller 162 (see FIG. 3), and the brush-like sliding contact member 263 is slidably contacted with the film 1 supported by the front and rear rollers (not shown). It is something to be made. The brush-like sliding contact member 263 includes a brush portion 263b and a holder portion 263a that supports the brush portion 263b, as in the case of the first modification. A burr collecting case 264 extending in the width direction of the printing film 1 is disposed in the lower part of the brush-like sliding contact member 263 with the upper part opened. When this modified example is used, the brush-like sliding contact member 263 is slidably contacted while the printing film 1 is traveling in the reverse direction (R direction in the drawing) of the discharging direction. Then, the burr 26 (see FIG. 9) removed by passing the cut end 1e cut by the cutter unit (not shown) over the brush-like sliding contact member 263 from the top of the printing film 1 is a burr collecting case 264. The burr 26 (see FIG. 9) can be collected by dropping it in. After the burrs 26 (see FIG. 9) are removed in this way, the print film 1 is again run in the discharge direction and discharged as usual.

<Third Modification>
Next, FIG. 5 shows a third modification in which the burr removing mechanism 6 in FIG. 2 is configured with a member that is brought into sliding contact with the print film 1 as a rotating body. In the burr removing mechanism 306 in this modification, a backup roller 362 is provided on the back surface 1b side of the printing film 1, and a sliding contact roller 365 is provided so as to face the backup roller 362. The sliding roller 365 includes a roller body 365a that is arranged in parallel with the backup roller 362 and is rotatable by a driving source (not shown), and a brush portion 365b that is spirally provided on the circumferential surface thereof. The roller main body 365a is in a positional relationship such that only the brush portion 365b is in contact with the backup roller 362 while maintaining a separated position. Further, a burr collecting case 364 is provided in the lower left of the sliding contact roller 365 at the left back in the drawing.

  The sliding roller 365 provided in this way rotates against the printing film 1 traveling in the discharging direction (X direction in the figure) in the opposite direction, while the brush portion 365b is in contact with the surface 1a of the printing film 1. The burr 26 (see FIG. 9) can be removed by sliding contact. Then, the removed burr 26 (see FIG. 9) moves in the axial direction along the spiral of the brush part 365b and is collected in the burr collecting case 364 at the end.

  Hereinafter, a second embodiment different from the above-described first embodiment and modifications thereof will be described.

Second Embodiment
The thermal transfer printer according to the second embodiment of the present invention has the configuration schematically shown in FIG. About the same part as 1st Embodiment shown in FIG.1 and FIG.2, description is abbreviate | omitted using the same code | symbol. As shown in FIG. 6, the second embodiment is greatly different from the first embodiment in that the burr removing mechanism 7 is configured to roll on the printing film 1.

  Specifically, the burr removing mechanism 7 in the second embodiment is configured as shown in FIG. 7, and the backup roller 72 that supports the print film 1 from the back surface 1 b side and the backup roller 72 are arranged to face each other. A rolling roller 76 is provided. The backup roller 72 and the rolling roller 76 are configured to roll according to the traveling speed of the printing film 1 while holding the printing film 1 from the printing surface 1a and the back surface 1b.

  The rolling roller 76 includes a roller main body 76a and an elastic roller outer layer 76b made of an adhesive sheet formed so as to be wound around the outer periphery thereof. The roller outer layer 76b can be formed of a nonwoven fabric or the like.

  With this configuration, the burr 26 (see FIG. 9A) generated on the surface 1a of the printing film after printing is sheared and removed by the adhesive roller outer layer 76b. Further, when the roller outer layer 76b is formed of a nonwoven fabric as described above, the burr 26 (see FIG. 9) is sheared and removed so as to be taken into the fiber.

  As described above, the thermal transfer printer according to the present embodiment includes the platen roller 4 and the print head 3 having a plurality of heating elements and elastically contacting the platen roller 4, and the platen roller 4, the print head 3, and the like. Printing is performed while feeding the print film 1 and the ribbon 2 as a print object in a polymerized state between the metal film layer 23 and the adhesive layer 24 on the substrate 22. And the metal film layer 23 is transferred to the predetermined printing region of the printing film 1 via the adhesive layer 24 by causing the plurality of heating elements to generate heat in a predetermined pattern. At the same time, the roller 76 is rolled with respect to the printing surface 1a of the printed film 1 after printing, so that the burr 26 of the metal film generated around the predetermined printing area In which further provided with a burr removing mechanism 7 is moved and removed to 6b.

  Since it comprises in this way, the metal film layer 23 can be easily transcribe | transferred with respect to the printing film 1 similarly to the above-mentioned 1st Embodiment, and the surface shape of the metal film adhering to the circumference | surroundings of a printing region Since the burr 26 which is a peeled material can be easily sheared and removed, a metal film having a desired shape can be formed on the surface 1a of the printing film 1 easily and accurately.

  The specific configuration of each unit is not limited to the above-described embodiment.

  Other configurations can be variously modified without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

1. Printing film (printing object)
2 ... Ribbon 3 ... Print head 4 ... Platen roller 6 ... Deburring mechanism (first embodiment)
7: Deburring mechanism (second embodiment)
25 ... Metal film (bonding part)
26 ... Burr 51 ... Feed roller 52 ... Pinch roller 53 ... Guide roller 61 ... Planar sliding contact member 62 ... Backup roller 76 ... Rolling roller 163, 263 ... Brush-like sliding contact member 264, 364 ... Burr collection case 365 ... Sliding Contact roller

Claims (2)

A platen roller and a print head having a plurality of heating elements and elastically contacting the platen roller, and printing is performed while feeding a print object and a ribbon in a polymerized state between the platen roller and the print head. A thermal transfer printer for performing a predetermined printing of an object to be printed by using a ribbon having a metal film layer and an adhesive layer formed on a base material, and heating the plurality of heating elements in a predetermined pattern. The metal film layer is transferred to the print area via the adhesive layer, and is generated in the periphery of the predetermined print area by being brought into sliding contact with the print surface of the printed object after printing. A thermal transfer printer further comprising a burr removing mechanism for removing the burr of the metal film. A platen roller and a print head having a plurality of heating elements and elastically contacting the platen roller, and printing is performed while feeding a print object and a ribbon in a polymerized state between the platen roller and the print head. A thermal transfer printer for performing a predetermined printing of an object to be printed by using a ribbon having a metal film layer and an adhesive layer formed on a base material, and heating the plurality of heating elements in a predetermined pattern. The metal film layer is transferred to the print area via the adhesive layer, and a roller is rolled with respect to the print surface of the printed object after printing to surround the predetermined print area. A thermal transfer printer, further comprising a burr removing mechanism that moves and removes the generated burrs of the metal film to the surface of the roller.

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