JP2013067073A - Printing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device capable of preventing separation failure of an intermediate transfer medium, or damage of a printing medium without upsizing the device.SOLUTION: The printing device includes: a printing unit for printing information on an image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer film; a transfer unit 40 which has a heat roller 42 and a heat insulation cover 46 covering the heat roller and which transfers the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer film 12 where the information is printed by the heat roller to the printing medium; a cooling mechanism 70 which cools the intermediate transfer film where the printing information is transferred by blowing cooling air to the film; an airflow orifice 76 which is openly formed in the heat insulation cover and introduces the cooling air between the heat roller and the intermediate transfer film; a shutter 78 which opens and closes the airflow orifice; and a shutter mechanism which has a controller for controlling the opening and closing of the shutter.

Description

  Embodiments described herein relate generally to a printing apparatus that prints on a sheet or the like using an intermediate transfer medium.

  One printing method that can print on a printing medium such as a paper sheet that has poor surface smoothness is a printing method that uses an intermediate transfer film. In general, an intermediate transfer film is coated with a thin film layer such as an image receiving layer (a peeling layer or an adhesive layer as required) on a substrate, and an ink ribbon and a thermal head are applied to the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer film in a printing section. An image is formed. Thereafter, the intermediate transfer film and the print medium are sandwiched between the heat roller and the backup roller at the transfer section to apply pressure and heat, and the formed image is transferred to the print medium surface together with the thin film layer. Subsequently, it peels by conveying the base material of an intermediate transfer film to a different direction from the printing medium in which the thin film layer was transferred in the peeling part. The heat roller is covered with a heat insulating cover for the purpose of shortening the start-up time, keeping the temperature, and preventing the temperature inside the apparatus from rising.

  At the time of peeling, if the temperature between the thin film layer of the intermediate transfer film and the substrate is high, the peeling force when the thin film layer of the intermediate transfer film peels off from the substrate is in a strong state, so there is no peeling failure or damage to the printing medium. May occur. Therefore, it is necessary to perform peeling after the temperature is sufficiently lowered. For this reason, a method has been proposed in which the peeling shaft is separated from the heat roller by more than the transfer length and is arranged downstream in the transport direction, and the print medium after transfer is stopped and cooled in a state where it is overlapped with the intermediate transfer film. .

JP 2003-103811 A JP 2008-055731 A

  In the printing apparatus, since the heat roller is covered with a heat insulating cover, the ambient temperature is high due to the heat particularly in the lower part of the heat roller. Therefore, it is difficult to sufficiently cool this part. If the heat insulating cover is eliminated in order to improve the cooling performance, the temperature at the lower part of the heat roller does not increase so much. However, in this case, since the heat radiation of the heat roller is increased, the heating time is extended, and excessive power is required to keep the temperature constant. Further, if the structure is cooled at a position away from the lower part of the heat roller, there is a problem that the distance between the heat roller and the peeling shaft is increased, and the entire printing apparatus is enlarged.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus capable of preventing an intermediate transfer medium from being peeled off and a printing medium from being damaged without increasing the size of the apparatus.

  According to the embodiment, the printing apparatus includes a printing unit that prints information on the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer film, a heat roller, and a heat insulating cover that covers the heat roller, and the information is printed by the heat roller. A transfer unit that transfers the image receiving layer of the transfer film to a printing medium, a cooling mechanism that cools the intermediate transfer film to which the printing information is transferred by cooling air, and an opening formed in the heat insulating cover, and the cooling air is And a shutter mechanism that includes a ventilation port led between the heat roller and the intermediate transfer film, a shutter that opens and closes the ventilation port, and a control unit that controls opening and closing of the shutter.

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically illustrating a printing apparatus according to a first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a perspective view illustrating a heat roller, a heat insulating cover, a shutter, and a shutter driving mechanism in the printing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a process of transferring a print image from a transfer medium to a passbook page as a print medium. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a passbook page as an example of a print medium. FIG. 5 is a side view showing a structure around a heat insulating cover and a cooling mechanism in a state where the shutter is closed. FIG. 6 is a side view showing the structure around the heat insulating cover and the cooling mechanism with the shutter opened. FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating a transfer operation and a cooling operation in the printing apparatus. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a printing apparatus according to the second embodiment. FIG. 9 is a side view showing a structure around a heat roller and a cooling mechanism of the printing apparatus according to the third embodiment.

Hereinafter, embodiments will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing the entire printing apparatus according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a structure around a heat roller and a shutter mechanism, and FIG. 3 is an intermediate transfer film and its transfer state. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a passbook and its printed page as an example of a print medium.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing apparatus 10 conveys the intermediate transfer film 12 along a predetermined conveyance path, and after the transfer, a film conveyance mechanism 14 that winds up the intermediate transfer film, and a transfer layer surface of the intermediate transfer film. The printing unit 30 for printing desired information and the desired information printed on the intermediate transfer film are superimposed on the surface of the printing page P of the passbook 16 as a printing medium, and the printing information is applied to the surface of the printing page P by pressure and heat. A transfer unit 40 for transferring, a medium transport mechanism 60 for transporting the print medium to the transfer position, and a cooling mechanism 70 for cooling the intermediate transfer film and the print medium at the peeling position after the transfer are provided.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the intermediate transfer film 12 includes, for example, a base material 13 a made of a PET film, a release layer 13 b sequentially applied to the base material surface, and an image receiving layer 13 c and adhesive layer. . The release layer 13b is made of, for example, a phenoxy resin, and the image receiving layer 13c / adhesion layer is made of, for example, a polyester resin. Further, the intermediate transfer film 12 can be provided with functional layers such as a hologram layer and a fluorescent coloring layer that emits light by ultraviolet rays, and these functional layers can be transferred simultaneously with the transfer to the transfer target.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the film transport mechanism 14 includes a feed roll 17 around which the intermediate transfer film 12 is wound, a take-up roll 18 that winds up the intermediate transfer film 12 after transfer, and an intermediate fed from the feed roll 17. A platen roller 20, a drive roller 22, a tensioner 24, guide rollers 25 and 26, and a peeling roller 27 are provided for moving the transfer film 12 along a predetermined conveyance path. Between the guide roller 26 and the peeling roller 27, the intermediate transfer film 12 is guided and traveled almost horizontally through the transfer position.

  In addition, the film transport mechanism 14 includes a drive mechanism 28 that drives the drive roller 22 to travel the intermediate transfer film 12. The drive mechanism 28 decelerates the driving force of the five-phase stepping motor 28a and the motor, for example. A speed reduction mechanism 28 b for transmitting to the drive roller 22 is provided. Further, the film transport mechanism 14 is provided between the feed roll 17 and the platen roller 20, and is positioned between the first position sensor 29 a that detects the hologram formation position mark on the intermediate transfer film 12 and the guide rollers 25 and 26. A second position sensor (transmission sensor) 29b that is provided and detects a transfer position mark formed on the intermediate transfer film 12 is provided.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the printing unit 30 includes a thermal head 32 that is provided adjacent to the platen roller 20, a ribbon transport mechanism 34 that sends an ink ribbon 35 between the platen roller and the thermal head, and an ink ribbon. And a feed amount sensor 36 for detecting the feed amount.

  In the printing unit 30, the ink ribbon 35 and the intermediate transfer film 12 are sandwiched between the thermal head 32 and the platen roller 20, and the thermal head 32 and the molten ink ribbon 35 are placed on the surface of the image receiving layer 13 c of the intermediate transfer film 12. To print a mirror image of print information such as characters and images. Since the speed of the transfer of the intermediate transfer film 12 is mainly determined by the driving roller 22, the driving roller 22 is accurately driven by the driving mechanism 28 described above. In addition, the information to be printed is a reverse image.

  The information to be printed may be single color printing such as black, or color printing by superimposing four colors of Y, M, C, and black, and the ink ribbon 35 may be applied in a single color or a plurality of colors repeatedly as necessary. Further, molten black ink for character printing and Y, M, and C sublimation dyes for color printing may be repeatedly applied. In the case of multi-color overlay printing, the intermediate transfer film 12 reciprocates the thermal head 32 as many times as the number of colors, thereby performing overlay printing.

  The printing unit 30 has a function of printing a “transfer position mark” on the intermediate transfer film 12 in addition to printing information to be transferred. This transfer position mark is detected by the second position sensor 29b at the time of transfer and is used for transfer position alignment.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, a medium transport mechanism 60 that transports the passbook 16 as a print medium to a transfer position includes a plurality of guide plates 62 arranged along a horizontal transport path 61 including the transfer position, A plurality of transport rollers 64 that transports the bankbook and a drive mechanism (not shown) that drives the transport rollers are provided. At the entrance of the transport path, an insertion sensor 66 that detects the insertion of a passbook that has been opened into the transport path after opening a desired print page P, and a transfer position take-in downstream of the transport, which controls the transfer position of the print medium. Therefore, a passbook position sensor 68 that detects the tip of the passbook 16 is provided.

  The transfer medium such as the bankbook 16 is taken in from the printing device inlet with the printed page P to be transferred opened by the operator, and when the insertion sensor 66 detects the insertion of the bankbook, the medium transport mechanism 60 The conveyance roller 64 is driven to convey the printed page P through the transfer position at a predetermined speed. After the transfer, when the leading end portion of the printed page P in the conveyance direction is detected by the passbook position sensor 68, the medium conveyance mechanism 60 drives the conveyance roller 64 in the reverse direction, and after the transfer and separation, conveys in the direction of the take-in port. Take out from the intake.

  As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the transfer unit 40 includes a heat roller 42 provided on one side of a horizontal film conveyance path between the guide roller 26 and the peeling roller 27, and a film conveyance path. A backup roller 44 disposed opposite to the heat roller 42 and a heat insulating cover 46 covering the periphery of the heat roller except for the film conveyance path side. The heat roller 42 incorporates a heater 43 therein, and a part of the outer peripheral portion is cut out flat. The start position and the end position of the transfer are defined by both side edge portions of the flat cut surface 42a cut out of the heat roller 42. The heat insulating cover 46 has a function of preventing the inside of the printing apparatus from becoming high temperature due to the heat of the heat roller 42 and a function of keeping the heat roller 42 itself warm. A heat insulating material may be attached to the inner surface side of the heat insulating cover 46.

  The heat roller 42 is rotated at an accurate speed by a DC servo motor or a stepping motor (not shown). The backup roller is supported so as to be freely rotatable, and is biased toward the heat roller 42 by a coil spring 47.

  In the transfer unit 40, the printing surface (image receiving layer 13 c) of the intermediate transfer film 12 to which printing information is given by the printing unit 30 and the printed page P of the passbook 16 are overlapped, and pressure and heating are performed by the heat roller 42. The print information is transferred to a print page P that is a transfer target medium. At this time, the alignment between the intermediate transfer film 12 and the printed page P is performed as follows.

  1) After completion of printing in the corresponding transfer area of the intermediate transfer film 12, the intermediate transfer film 12 is fed in the direction of the heat roller 42, and a "transfer position mark" by printing ink newly formed by the printing unit 30 is in the middle of the path. As a result of detection by the second position sensor 29b, the intermediate transfer film 12 is conveyed to a transfer position determined with respect to the heat roller.

  2) On the other hand, the passbook 16 is taken in from the printing device take-in port in a state where the printed page P to be transferred is opened by the operator, and the passbook position sensor 65 detects the insertion end of the print page P, whereby the heat roller The passbook 16 is conveyed to the transfer position determined for 42.

  The intermediate transfer film 12 and the printed page P, which are positioned with respect to each other, are sandwiched between the heat roller 42 and the backup roller 44, and are pressed and heated in accordance with the rotation of the heat roller 42. The heat roller 42 is driven at an accurate speed by a DC servo motor or a stepping motor, and a pressure generated by a coil spring 47 is applied between the heat roller 42 and a freely rotatable backup roller 44.

  FIG. 3 schematically shows the transfer operation. As shown in this figure, the printing information given by the release layer 13b, the image receiving layer 13c, and the printing unit 30 of the intermediate transfer film 12 is transferred to the surface of the printing page P by the pressurization and heating operation by the heat roller 42. The After the transfer, the base material 13a of the intermediate transfer film 12 is guided by the peeling roller and peeled off, and then taken up by the winding roll 18.

  A rotary encoder (not shown) for measuring the amount of rotation is connected to the winding shaft of the winding roll 18 and is rotated by a pulse motor via a torque limiter. Winding rotation speed control means for controlling the winding rotation speed based on the measurement result of the rotary encoder is provided.

  After the transfer of the printing information is completed, the bankbook 16 is peeled off and then switched back in a state where the printing page P is opened, and is again discharged from the intake port toward the operator.

  Since the unused portion of the intermediate transfer film 12 is drawn into the apparatus after the transfer, the intermediate transfer film 12 is wound at a position where the next printing can be performed on the unused portion in order to prevent waste of the intermediate transfer film. return. Also in this case, the “transfer position mark” printed by the printing unit 30 is detected by a sensor located on the upstream side of the platen roller 20, for example, the third position sensor 29c arranged substantially in the same row as the first position sensor, Control the return amount.

  FIG. 4 shows an example of the bankbook 16 after printing. On the print page P, the passbook serial number is printed in black characters in addition to the passport holder's color face image F printed by the intermediate transfer printing method and the owner and other security information S. These face image F and security information S are covered with a thin film overcoat layer 45 having a hologram pattern.

  Next, the cooling mechanism 70 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 1, 2, and 5, the cooling mechanism 70 guides the cooling fan 72 and the cooling air from the cooling fan to the intermediate transfer film 12 between the heat insulating cover 46 and the peeling roller 27. And a ventilation duct 74 that blows onto the intermediate transfer film 12 at the peeling position after the transfer.

  The cooling mechanism 70 includes a plurality of ventilation openings 76 formed on the downstream side wall of the heat insulating cover 46, that is, the side wall on the peeling roller 27 side, and a shutter mechanism that opens and closes these ventilation openings 76. . The shutter mechanism includes a shutter 78 that opens and closes the ventilation opening 76, a shutter drive unit 80 that drives the shutter to move up and down, for example, a solenoid 80a and a plunger 80b, and a control unit 82 that controls the opening and closing operation of the shutter drive unit. Yes.

  The plurality of ventilation openings 76 are formed in the vicinity of the lower end on the conveyance path side on the downstream side wall of the heat insulating cover 46 and are arranged side by side along the lower end edge. The shutter 78 is formed in an elongated plate shape having a size capable of simultaneously closing the plurality of ventilation openings 76, and is attached to the side wall of the heat insulating cover 46 so as to be movable up and down. Further, the plunger 80b of the shutter drive unit 80 is connected to the shutter 78 and excites the solenoid 80a, whereby the plunger 80b is pulled upward, thereby the shutter 78 is pulled up to the open position and the ventilation port 76 is opened. . Further, when the excitation of the solenoid 80a is stopped, the plunger 80b is pushed down by a spring or the like (not shown), and the shutter 78 is lowered to the closed position where the vent hole 76 is closed.

  As shown in FIG. 5, while the shutter 78 is closed, the cooling air supplied from the cooling fan 72 is shielded by the shutter 78 and the heat insulating cover 46 and hardly flows into the heat insulating cover. As shown in FIG. 6, when the shutter 78 is opened and the ventilation opening 76 is opened, the cooling air supplied from the cooling fan 72 passes through the ventilation opening 76 between the lower portion of the heat roller 42 and the intermediate transfer film 12. The intermediate transfer film 12 is cooled by being ventilated in between.

The operation of the printing apparatus 10 configured as described above will be described.
Basic operation of intermediate transfer printing
1) The winding shaft of the intermediate transfer film 12 is set so that the peripheral speed becomes higher than the printing conveyance speed via a torque limiter in order to give an appropriate tension to the intermediate transfer film 12 during the printing operation in the printing unit 30. Driven at different speeds. The winding peripheral speed of the intermediate transfer film 12 becomes the same as the printing speed by the action of the torque limiter, but the winding rotation amount is measured by a rotary encoder, and the winding diameter is calculated from the result and the printing speed.

2) The heat roller 42 is rotated until the flat cut surface 42a which is the initial position is in a state parallel to the conveyance path 61 of the print medium.
3) As shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, the printing page P of the passbook 16 as a printing medium is inserted into the conveyance path 61 from the insertion port, conveyed by the medium conveying mechanism 60, and heated by the heat roller 42. Set to the lower transfer operation start position. At this time, when the leading edge of the printed page P is detected by the passbook position sensor 68, the passbook 16 is returned to the insertion opening side by a predetermined distance, and the transfer start position is finely adjusted. Further, it is desirable that the backup roller 44 is in a released state so that the intermediate transfer film 12 and the printed page P do not come into strong contact.

  4) As shown in FIG. 7C, after the backup roller 44 is raised and the intermediate transfer film 12 and the printing page P are sandwiched between the heat roller 42, the transfer roller 64 and the heat roller 42 are transferred respectively. Rotate at peripheral speed. As a result, the side edge of the flat cut surface 42a of the heat roller 42 comes in contact with the passbook 16 and the joint, and the transfer operation is started. At the same time, the intermediate transfer film 12 is wound by the winding rotation speed control means at a conveyance speed that is substantially the same as the transfer conveyance speed from the winding diameter obtained in 1) above.

  5) Print information (for example, a print image), the image receiving layer 13c, and the like on the intermediate transfer film 12 are transferred to the surface of the print page P on the arc-shaped outer peripheral surface of the heat roller 42. The thin film layer of the intermediate transfer film 12 is adhered to the printed page P by the heat and pressure of the heat roller 42, but after the transfer, a predetermined time elapses between the thin film layer and the base material 13a of the intermediate transfer film 12. Until the temperature becomes low, the adhesive strength between them is higher than the mechanical strength of the print medium.

  6) The conveyed print page P and the intermediate transfer film 12 are nipped by the heat roller 42 and the backup roller 44 in a superimposed state, and are conveyed while maintaining the state at the time of transfer.

  7) As shown in FIG. 7D, the heat roller 42 is rotated to the initial position after the transfer and conveyance are finished, and then stopped. At the same time, the conveyance roller 64 also stops rotating, and the passbook 16 and the intermediate transfer film 12 are stopped between the peeling roller 27 and the heat roller 42. Further, the backup roller 44 is lowered and separated from the print page P. Here, since the peeling roller 27 is disposed at a position separated from the heat roller 42 by a transfer length or more, it is possible to leave the passbook 16 and the intermediate transfer film 12 in an overlapped state. In this state, as shown in FIG. 7E, the shutter 78 is opened, and the intermediate transfer film 12 is air-cooled and cooled by the cooling mechanism 70.

  8) The shutter 78 is closed after the temperature of the printed page P of the bankbook 16 and the intermediate transfer film 12 is equal to or lower than a predetermined temperature after being left for a preset time. Further, as shown in FIG. 7 (f), the bankbook 16 is conveyed by the conveyance roller 64 and discharged from the insertion port. At the same time, the intermediate transfer film 12 is conveyed in the winding direction by the winding shaft, whereby the printed page P of the bankbook 16 and the base material 13a of the intermediate transfer film 12 are peeled off.

  9) In this way, the temperature between the thin film layer of the intermediate transfer film 12 and the base material 13a is sufficiently lowered, and the peeling force when the thin film layer of the intermediate transfer film 12 peels off from the base material 13a is mechanically applied to the printing medium. Since peeling is performed after the strength becomes weaker, it is possible to solve the problems of conveyance failure, transfer failure, and print medium damage.

  Since the intermediate transfer film 12 controls the winding rotation speed so that the peripheral speed and the conveyance speed of the print medium are substantially the same, there is no great difference between the conveyance of the print medium and the intermediate transfer film. Therefore, it is possible to prevent deformation or destruction of the print medium due to shearing force generated by the speed difference.

On the other hand, the opening / closing operation of the shutter 78 will be described.
10) In the operations from 1) to 6), the shutter 78 is closed so that the wind of the intermediate transfer film cooling device does not flow inside the heat insulating cover 46. By doing so, the heat roller 42 is not directly air-cooled, and the atmospheric temperature in the heat insulating cover 46 is kept at a high temperature, so that temperature radiation from the surface of the heat roller 42 can be suppressed. Since the temperature of the heat roller 42 is not easily lowered, the printing apparatus can be started up in a short time, and power consumption can be suppressed.

  11) After the conveyance by the heat roller 42 in the above 7) is completed, that is, after the transfer operation is completed, the control unit 82 drives the shutter driving unit 80 and opens the shutter 78 after a preset time has elapsed. . Thereby, the cooling air flows into the lower part of the heat roller 42 to cool the intermediate transfer film 12.

  12) After the start of the peeling conveyance in 8), the control unit 82 closes the vent hole 76 after the shutter 78 is closed after a preset time has elapsed. Thereby, it is possible to prevent the cooling air for cooling the intermediate transfer film from flowing into the heat insulating cover 46 and to prevent the temperature of the heat roller 42 from being lowered as much as possible.

According to the printing apparatus configured as described above, the heat roller 42 can be kept warm and the lower part of the heat roller can be switched by opening and closing the shutter 78, thereby extending the startup time of the printing apparatus. Therefore, the intermediate transfer film 12 can be efficiently cooled. Further, since cooling is possible at the lower part of the heat roller 42, it is not necessary to increase the cooling transfer distance of the intermediate transfer film, and the size of the entire apparatus can be reduced. In the case of a print medium that does not require cooling of the lower portion of the heat roller 42, the shutter 78 can be prevented from being opened, and the heat retaining effect of the heat roller 42 can be further enhanced.
From the above, it is possible to obtain a printing apparatus that can prevent the intermediate transfer medium from being peeled off and the printing medium from being damaged without increasing the size of the apparatus.

  Next, a printing apparatus according to another embodiment will be described. In the various embodiments described below, the same parts as those in the first embodiment described above are denoted by the same reference numerals, and detailed description thereof is omitted, and the parts different from those in the first embodiment. Will be described in detail.

(Second Embodiment)
FIG. 8 shows the structure around the heat roller and the cooling mechanism 70 of the printing apparatus 10 according to the second embodiment. In the first embodiment described above, the ventilation opening 76 of the heat insulating cover 46 is an opening formed in the side wall. However, according to the present embodiment, the ventilation opening 76 is cut off at the lower end edge of the side wall of the heat insulating cover. Consists of notches. Even in this case, the same effect as the first embodiment can be obtained.

(Third embodiment)
FIG. 9 shows a printing apparatus according to the third embodiment. As shown in this figure, according to the third embodiment, the printing apparatus 10 further includes a single sheet hopper 90 capable of storing a plurality of single sheets T in a stacked state, and a passbook insertion / discharge port 92. Yes. When printing a passbook, the passbook is inserted into the transfer path 61 from the passbook insertion slot 92, transferred to the transfer start position, then transferred back and transferred, peeled off, and discharged from the discharge port. Yes.
When printing on a single sheet T, the medium transport mechanism 60 transports the single sheet T fed one by one from the single sheet hopper 90 to the transfer start position, and then performs transfer / peeling and discharges it from the discharge port 92. .

The shutter drive unit 80 has a function of switching the shutter open / close mode depending on the type of medium to be printed. For example, as a passbook characteristic, the peelable temperature is high and cooling of the lower portion of the heat roller 42 is not necessary. Therefore, when the print medium is a passbook, control is performed so that the shutter 78 is closed during cooling, and when the print medium is a single sheet T, control is performed such that the shutter 78 is opened during cooling.
Also in the printing apparatus configured as described above, it is possible to obtain the same functions and effects as those of the first embodiment described above.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.
For example, the print medium to be processed is not limited to a passbook or a single sheet, but can be applied to various media such as a label sheet and a card.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Printing apparatus, 12 ... Intermediate transfer film, 14 ... Film conveyance mechanism, 16 ... Passbook,
28 ... Drive mechanism, 30 ... Printing unit, 32 ... Thermal head, 35 ... Ink ribbon,
40 ... transfer unit, 42 ... heat roller, 44 ... backup roller,
46 ... heat insulating cover, 60 ... medium transport mechanism, 70 ... cooling mechanism, 72 ... cooling fan,
74 ... Ventilation duct, 76 ... Ventilation opening, 78 ... Shutter, 80 ... Shutter drive unit,
82: Control unit, 90: Single sheet hopper, P: Print page

Claims (6)

A printing unit for printing information on the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer film;
A transfer unit having a heat roller and a heat insulating cover covering the heat roller, and transferring the image receiving layer of the intermediate transfer film on which the information is printed by the heat roller to a print medium;
A cooling mechanism that cools the intermediate transfer film to which the printing information is transferred by applying cooling air;
An opening formed in the heat insulating cover and guiding the cooling air between the heat roller and the intermediate transfer film; a shutter that opens and closes the ventilation port; and a control unit that controls opening and closing of the shutter. A shutter mechanism;
A printing apparatus comprising:   When the intermediate transfer film is cooled by the cooling mechanism after the transfer is completed, the control unit opens the shutter and guides the cooling air between the heat roller and the intermediate transfer film. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printing apparatus is controlled to close the shutter.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the control unit has a mode for changing opening / closing of a shutter according to a type of a printing medium. After the completion of the transfer, a peeling member for peeling the base material of the intermediate transfer film from the printing medium is provided, and the cooling mechanism cools the intermediate transfer film between a cooling fan and the heat roller and the peeling member. A ventilation duct for guiding,
The printing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein a plurality of the air vents are formed on the side wall on the peeling member side in the heat insulating cover.   The printing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the ventilation port is formed by a plurality of notches formed at a lower end of the side wall of the heat insulating cover on the intermediate transfer film side.   The printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shutter is supported by the heat insulating cover so as to be movable up and down.

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