JP2022109007A - thermal transfer system - Google Patents

Abstract

To bond an outside ink ribbon to an inside ink ribbon by properly controlling a temperature of a heater without forming a stain such as a streak on a transfer object.SOLUTION: A thermal transfer system 10 comprises a transfer device 17 for transferring ink of an ink ribbon 13 to a transfer object 14, and a winding section 21 for winding the ink ribbon. A heater 22 for bonding the outside ink ribbon 13 to the inside ink ribbon is provided near the winding section 21. A second heating body 30 of the heater 22 has a metal plate 35 that includes a main body 31 of the heating body, a protruding section 36 and a depressed section 37.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4A

Description

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system that uses an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer to transfer ink from an ink layer to a transfer substrate.

2. Description of the Related Art A transfer system that uses an ink ribbon to print a face image and ID information on a transfer target such as a card is widely used. The ink ribbon has a ribbon (supporting layer) extending in a strip shape, and an ink layer formed on the ribbon and containing a dye or the like. In printing using an ink ribbon, ink is transferred onto a transfer target in a pattern corresponding to a desired face image and ID information to be printed.

In this case, the ink ribbon on which the ink has been transferred has a pattern corresponding to the printed face image and ID information, where the ink is missing due to the transfer to the transfer target. Therefore, it is possible to specify the printed face image and ID information from the ink ribbon to which the ink has been transferred. Therefore, when using an ink ribbon to print confidential information such as face images and ID information on a transfer medium, care must be taken in handling the ink ribbon to which ink has been transferred.

In order to deal with such a problem, for example, among the ink ribbons to which the ink has been transferred, which are wound around the winding section, the outermost ink ribbon is adhered to the ink ribbon positioned inside the outermost ink ribbon. Thermal transfer systems have been proposed. In this case, a technique has also been developed in which the outermost ink ribbon is heated using a heating device having a heating element provided in the vicinity of the winding section, and is adhered to the inner ink ribbon.

JP-A-2008-49663 JP 2018-108665 A

By the way, the ink ribbon to which the ink has been transferred swells when it is peeled off after the ink transfer. When the ink ribbon is taken up by the take-up unit, the tension of the ink ribbon may fluctuate.

When the tension variation occurs in the ink ribbon in this way, streak-like densities are formed in the printed information on the transfer-receiving body to which the ink has been transferred.

The heating device for heating the ink ribbon in the outermost layer has a heating element body extending in the width direction of the ink ribbon, but the technology for controlling the temperature of the heating element body uniformly along the entire width direction of the ink ribbon has not yet been developed. It has not been.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of such points, and the outer ink that has been transferred to the transfer medium is prevented from forming streaks of light and shade on the transfer target, and the temperature of the heating device is appropriately controlled. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer system capable of properly adhering a ribbon to an inner ink ribbon.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system for transferring ink to a transfer target using an ink ribbon having at least a support layer and an ink layer containing ink, a delivery section for delivering the ink ribbon, and a downstream of the delivery section. a transfer device having a first heating member provided on the support layer side of the ink ribbon, the transfer device for transferring the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer target; A winding unit disposed downstream of the transfer device for winding the transferred ink ribbon; and a heating device having a second heating element for bonding the outermost ink ribbon to the inner ink ribbon, wherein the second heating element includes a heating element main body extending in the width direction of the ink ribbon, and the heating element. a metal plate provided on the side of the ink ribbon of the main body, the metal plates being sequentially arranged in the width direction of the ink ribbon and projecting toward the ink ribbon; a lead-in for retracting from the ink ribbon.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system in which the protruding portion is formed thicker than the retracting portion.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system in which the metal plate extends over the entire width direction of the ink ribbon in the heating body main body.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system, wherein the protruding portion and the retracting portion of the metal plate are arranged in contact with each other.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system in which the protruding portion and the retracting portion of the metal plate are attached to the heating body main body via a holder.

In the present disclosure, the projecting portion and the retracting portion of the metal plate have an L-shaped cross section having a working surface on the ink ribbon side and a holding surface perpendicular to the working surface, and the projecting portion and the retracting portion The part is a thermal transfer system held on the carrier by inserting the holding surface into an opening provided in the carrier.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system, wherein the protruding portion and the recessed portion of the metal plate comprise different materials from each other.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system, wherein the protruding portion includes a material having a lower specific heat and a higher thermal conductivity with respect to the lead-in portion.

According to the present disclosure, the outermost ink ribbon can be positioned inside the outermost ink ribbon without forming stains such as streaks on the transferred object and while appropriately controlling the temperature of the heating device. can be reliably welded to

1 is a diagram showing a thermal transfer system according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an ink ribbon; FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the operation of the thermal transfer system; FIG. 4A is a detailed view showing a second heating element of the heating device; FIG. 4B is a diagram showing the positional relationship between the transferred body and the second heating body of the heating device; FIG. 4C is a diagram showing a projecting portion and a retracting portion of a second heating body of the heating device; FIG. 4D is a side view showing a second heating body of the heating device; FIG. 5A is a diagram showing the action of the second heating element of the heating device on the ink ribbon; FIG. 5B is a diagram showing the action of the second heating element of the heating device on the ink ribbon; FIG. 5C is a diagram showing the action of the second heating element of the heating device on the ink ribbon; FIG. 6A is a diagram showing a second heating body of a heating device as a comparative example; FIG. 6B is a diagram showing the temperature distribution in the second heating body of the heating device as a comparative example; FIG. 7 is a diagram showing the temperature distribution of the second heating element of the heating device according to the present embodiment; FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an IC card obtained from the thermal transfer system;

<Embodiment of the Present Disclosure>
An embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 8. FIG. First, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, the overall structure of thermal transfer system 10 will be described.

<Thermal transfer system>
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the thermal transfer system 10 uses an ink ribbon 13 having at least a support layer 11 and an ink layer 12 containing ink 12a to transfer the ink of the ink layer 12 onto a transfer target 14 such as an IC card. is to be transcribed.

For example, if the object 14 to be transferred is an IC card such as a driver's license including an IC chip 14A as shown in FIG. Name information 2, face image 3, ID information 4, and other information 5 such as address, issue date, operating conditions, etc. are printed.

The face image 3 printed on the transferred body 14 includes pupils 3a that characterize the face image 3. As shown in FIG.

Such a thermal transfer system 10 includes a delivery section 16 that delivers an ink ribbon 13 in the direction indicated by an arrow R1, a transfer device 17 arranged downstream of the delivery section 16, and a transfer device 17 arranged downstream of the transfer device 17. A winding unit 21 for winding the transferred ink ribbon 13 in the direction indicated by R2, and a heating device 22 provided near the winding unit 21 for heating the transferred ink ribbon 13 from the support layer 11 side. I have. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 13 is conveyed along a plurality of guide rollers 15. As shown in FIG. Further, the transferred material 14 is conveyed to the transfer device 17 by the conveying roller 15A.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the transfer device 17 includes a platen roll 19 that supports the transfer-receiving material 14, and a first platen roll 19 provided to face the platen roll 19 with the ink ribbon 13 and the transfer-receiving material 14 interposed therebetween. It has a heating element 18, for example a thermal head. As shown in FIG. 1, the first heater 18 is provided on the support layer 11 side of the ink ribbon 13 . The first heating member 18 heats the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 , thereby transferring the ink 12 a of the ink ribbon 13 to the transfer target 14 . Here, the term "thermal head" refers to a general heating means such as an edge head or a flat head having a plurality of heating elements. A scratching means 25 for scratching the ink ribbon 13 is provided between the transfer device 17 and the winding section 21 .

Next, the configuration of the ink ribbon 13 will be described. As shown in FIG. 2, the ink ribbon 13 has a support layer (base material) 11 and an ink layer 12 containing ink 12a.

In the present disclosure, the support layer (base material) 11 is heated during thermal transfer, so it is preferably made of a material having mechanical strength that does not interfere with handling even in a heated state. Materials for such a support layer include polyethylene terephthalate (PET) film, 1,4-polycyclohexylene dimethylene terephthalate film, polyethylene naphthalate film, polyphenylene sulfide film, polystyrene film, polypropylene film, polysulfone film, and aramid film. , polycarbonate film, polyvinyl alcohol film, cellophane, cellulose derivatives such as cellulose acetate, polyethylene film, polyvinyl chloride film, nylon film, polyimide film, ionomer film and the like. The thickness of the support layer is preferably 2 μm or more and 20 μm or less, more preferably 4 μm or more and 10 μm or less.

As the ink layer 12, a heat-fusible ink layer or a heat-sublimation ink layer can be used, which has high density and excellent sharpness, and is suitable for recording binary images such as characters and line drawings. , it is preferable to use a hot-melt ink layer. Hereinafter, the case of using a hot-melt ink layer will be described.

The ink layer is preferably formed from various colorants, waxes, resins, and the like. Examples of the coloring agent include black pigments or dyes such as carbon black and oil black, cyan, magenta, and yellow pigments or dyes, and these coloring agents are appropriately selected depending on the application field or purpose of use of the ink ribbon. be able to. Waxes include carnauba wax, candelilla wax, rice wax, montan wax, paraffin wax, microcrystalline wax, polyethylene wax, ester wax, oxidized wax, and Fischer-Tropsch wax (Sasol wax). Examples of resins include ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymers, styrene-butadiene copolymers, polyester resins, epoxy resins, rosin derivatives, terpene derivatives and styrene resins. The coating amount of the ink layer is generally 0.5 g/m<2> to 10 g/m<2>, preferably 2 g/m<2> to 6 g/m<2>. Incidentally, the ink layer is not limited to those described above.

As described above, the first heater 18 is provided on the support layer 11 side of the ink ribbon 13 . The first heating member 18 heats the ink ribbon 13 in a predetermined pattern corresponding to information such as face images and ID information, thereby causing the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 to transfer onto the transfer target 14. is transferred in a predetermined pattern.

Here, FIG. 2 shows a cross section of the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred. As shown in FIG. 2, in the ink ribbon 13 to which the ink has been transferred, the ink layer 12 consists of ink 12a remaining on the transfer target body 14 without being transferred, a predetermined pattern printed on the transfer target body 14, For example, it consists of an ink missing portion 12b corresponding to the ID information. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2, the pattern of the ink missing portions 12b on the ink ribbon 13 to which the ink has been transferred corresponds to the predetermined pattern on the first heater 18 described above. Therefore, it is possible to identify a predetermined pattern, such as ID information, printed on the transfer-receiving body 14 based on the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b.

Next, the take-up device 20 of the thermal transfer system 10 will be described in detail. The winding device 20 includes a roll-shaped winding unit 21 that winds the transferred ink ribbon 13, and a heating device that is provided near the upper side of the winding unit 21 and heats the transferred ink ribbon 13 from the support layer 11 side. a device 22; Of these, the heating device 22 includes a second heating element 30 made of a block-shaped heating element. The heating device 22 may be any mechanism as long as it drives up and down and heats as needed. For example, a mechanism may be employed in which the ink ribbon 13 is positioned upward during winding, is brought into close contact with the ink ribbon 13 of the winding portion 21 during heating, is efficiently heated, and can stand by upward when heating is not required.

In the winding section 21 of the present embodiment, the ink ribbon 13 is wound such that the support layer 11 of the ink ribbon 13 is located outside the ink layer 12 . In the present embodiment, of the ink ribbons 13 wound around the winding section 21, the outermost ink ribbon 13 is called the outer ink ribbon, and is wound around the winding section 21 inside the outer ink ribbon. The ink ribbon 13 taken and adjacent to the outer ink ribbon is referred to as the inner ink ribbon.

Next, the heating device 22 including the second heating body 30 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 4A to 4D. The second heating element 30 is a block-shaped heating element, and has a heating element main body 31 and a metal plate 35 provided on the ink ribbon 13 side of the heating element main body 31 . A heat characteristic adjusting section is incorporated in the main body 31 of the heating element, and a temperature sensor integrated with the heating element is attached to the main body 31 of the heating element on the side of the ink ribbon 13 .

The heating body 31 of the second heating body 30 extends across the width of the ink ribbon 13 (in the direction of arrow W in FIG. 3). It extends over the entire width direction W.

The heating body main body 31 of the second heating body 30 heats the outermost ink ribbon 13 from the support layer 11 side to adhere the outermost ink ribbon 13 to the ink ribbon 13 positioned inside.

Also, the metal plate 35 is provided on the ink ribbon 13 side of the heating element main body 31 . This metal plate 35 reduces the contact area with the ink ribbon 13 compared to the case where the heater body 31 directly abuts the ink ribbon 13, and as a result, there is a risk that the metal plate 35 will be formed on the transfer material 14 as will be described later. It suppresses stains such as streaks.

The metal plate 35 has a thick projecting portion 36 and a thin retracting portion 37 which are sequentially arranged in the width direction W of the ink ribbon 13 .

In the present embodiment, the protruding portion 36 of the metal plate 35 is formed thick and protrudes toward the ink ribbon 13 to come into contact with the ink ribbon 13 . The lead-in portion 37 is formed thin, is a portion that is recessed from the ink ribbon 13 , and normally does not come into contact with the ink ribbon 13 .

The protrusions 36 of the metal plate 35 are provided along the width direction W of the ink ribbon 13, for example, at three locations apart from each other. One lead-in portion 37 is provided outside each of the protrusions 36 on both sides, and two lead-in portions 37 are arranged between the three protrusions 36 .

Of the three protrusions 36, the central protrusion 36 corresponds to the pupil 3a of the face image 3 printed on the transfer-receiving body 14, and the protrusions 36 on both sides are the name information 2 printed on the transfer-receiving body. and ID information 4.

The center projecting portion 36 heats the outermost ink ribbon 13 at the portion of the pupil 3a of the face image 3 to adhere it to the ink ribbon 13 located inside, and the projecting portions 36 on both sides are the name information 2 and the ID information 4. The outermost ink ribbon 13 is adhered to the inner ink ribbon 13 at the portion .

Moreover, as described above, the lead-in portion 37 of the metal plate 35 does not contact the ink ribbon 13, and the contact area of the second heating element 30 as a whole with respect to the ink ribbon 13 can be reduced.

The projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 of the metal plate 35 are arranged along the width direction W of the ink ribbon 13 in contact with each other, but they do not necessarily need to contact each other.

The projecting portion 36 has a working surface 36a on the side of the ink ribbon 13 and a holding surface 36b orthogonal to the working surface 36a, and has an L-shaped cross section (see FIG. 4D).

The lead-in portion 37 also has a working surface 37a on the side of the ink ribbon 13 and a holding surface 37b perpendicular to the working surface 37a, and has a substantially L-shaped cross section (see FIG. 4D).

In this embodiment, a holder 32 having an opening 32a penetrating vertically is fixed to the side surface of the heating body 31, and the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 have holding surfaces 36b and 37b that extend through the opening 32a. It is held by the heating element main body 31 by being press-fitted into the heating element body 31 .

As described above, the protruding portion 36 is formed thick, and has a thickness of, for example, 1 mm. Also, the lead-in portion 37 is formed thin, and has a thickness of, for example, 0.5 mm.

When the projection 36 is attached to the holder 32, the holding surface 36b of the projection 36 is pressed into the opening 32a of the holder 32 as it is.

On the other hand, since the pull-in portion 37 is formed thin, the holding surface 37b of the pull-in portion 37 has a two-fold structure. Since the holding surface 37b of the lead-in portion 37 thus has a two-fold structure, it has substantially the same thickness as the holding surface 36b of the projecting portion 36. As shown in FIG. Therefore, when attaching the retracting portion 37 to the holder 32, the retaining surface 37b of the retracting portion 37 can be press-fitted into the opening 32a to be attached to the holder 32 in the same manner as the projecting portion 36 ( See Figure 4C and Figure 4D).

4C is a perspective view showing the projecting portion 36 and the lead-in portion 37, and FIG. 4D is a side view showing the projecting portion 36 portion of the metal plate 35. As shown in FIG.

The projecting portion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 of the metal plate 35 may be made of the same material, but the projecting portion 36 is thick and the lead-in portion 37 is thin. The heat dissipation between the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 may be balanced.

In the present embodiment, the thick protruding portion 36, for example, is made of a material having a small specific heat and a high thermal conductivity as compared with the thin lead-in portion 37, so that heat radiation from the protruding portion 36 can be greatly increased. The heat radiation from the portion 37 can be kept relatively small, and the heat radiation between the projecting portion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 can be balanced. Then, the heat dissipation between the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 is balanced, and as a result, the heating body main body 31 can be kept at a uniform temperature along the width direction W of the ink ribbon 13 .

In the present embodiment, for example, when carbon steel (specific heat of 461 J/kg°C, thermal conductivity of 45 W/mK) is used as the lead-in portion 37, copper ( A specific heat of 418 J/kg°C and a thermal conductivity of 372 W/mK) may be used for the protruding portion 36 to balance heat dissipation between the protruding portion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 .

In this embodiment, the metal plate 35 is provided with three protrusions 36, and each protrusion 36 is positioned on the transferred body 14 at a position corresponding to the pupil 3a of the face image 3 and at a position corresponding to the name information 2. , and ID information 4. Further, by arranging the lead-in portion 37 at other positions and inserting the protrusion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 into the holder 32, the protrusion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 can be easily and simply attached to the main body 31 of the heater. can be attached to the heater body 31 .

For this reason, compared to the case where a new metal plate having projections and recesses and integrally molded is manufactured and attached to the heating body main body 31 each time, corresponding to the information to be printed on the transferred body 14 . Thus, according to the present embodiment, the metal plate 35 including the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 can be attached to the heating body main body 31 easily and simply.

In the above-described embodiment, an example in which the projecting portion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 are attached to the heating body main body 31 via the holding body 32 is shown. and the lead-in portion 37 may be attached by screwing, or the projecting portion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 may be attached to the heating body main body 31 by welding.

Other components of thermal transfer system 10 will now be described. The scratching means 25 shown in FIG. 1 comprises, for example, a pair of gear wheels 25a, 25a, and the ink ribbon 13 can be scratched by the pair of gear wheels 25a, 25a. The pair of gears 25a, 25a extends over the entire width of the ink ribbon 13, but the gears 25a, 25a may extend only part of the width of the ink ribbon 13.

Furthermore, the scratching means 25 is not limited to the pair of gears 25a, 25a, and a roller cutter for scratching a portion of the ink ribbon 13, for example, may be used.

Each component of the thermal transfer system 10 , such as the delivery section 16 and the winding section 21 , is driven and controlled by a control section 50 incorporated in the thermal transfer system 10 .

<Action of the present embodiment>
Next, the operation of this embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5C. Here, as shown in FIG. 3, name information 2, a face image 3 including pupils 3a, and ID information 4 are printed on a transfer target 14 by the transfer device 17 of the thermal transfer system 10. The effect of bonding the outer ink ribbon 13 to the inner ink ribbon 13 by heating and pressing the ribbon 13 against the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13 by the second heating element 30 of the heating device 22 will be described. In this embodiment, the support layer 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13 is heated by the second heating element 30, and the support layer 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13 and the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13 are heated directly or the ink 12a is heated. is glued through.

First, an object to be transferred 14 such as an ID card is prepared. Next, the control unit 50 drives the conveying roller 15A to convey the transferred material 14 toward the transfer device 17. As shown in FIG. On the other hand, the control section 50 drives the winding section 21 to feed the ink ribbon 13 from the feeding section 16 toward the transfer device 17 . At this time, tension is applied to the ink ribbon 13 by a brake mechanism built in the feeding section 16 .

When the transferred material 14 reaches between the first heating member 18 and the platen roll 19 of the transferring device 17, the transferring device 17 is driven by the controller 50, and the first heating member 18 is heated to the ink as shown in FIG. The ribbon 13 is heated in a predetermined pattern corresponding to the name information 2, the face image 3 and the ID information 4 and is pressed against the transferred material 14. FIG. As a result, the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 is transferred onto the transfer target 14 in a predetermined pattern. As a result, the name information 2, the face image 3 and the ID information 4 are printed on the transferred body 14, and the ink missing portion 12b corresponding to the ID information is formed in the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13. FIG. A region 5A in which other information 5 to be printed in a post-process is printed is formed on the transfer-receiving body 14. As shown in FIG.

After passing through the transfer device 17, the ink ribbon 13 to which the ink has been transferred is scratched in its entire width direction by the scratching means 25 including a pair of gear wheels 25a, 25a. After that, the ink ribbon 13 is wound up by the winding section 21 of the winding device 20 . Then, in a state in which the ink ribbon 13 to which the ink has been transferred is wound by the winding unit 21 , the heating device 22 is driven by the control unit 50 , and the outer ink ribbon 13 is heated by the second heating element 30 of the heating device 22 . The support layer 11 is melted, and the support layer 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13 is adhered to the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13 directly or via the ink 12a.

Note that FIG. 3 does not show the scratching means 25 including the pair of gear wheels 25a, 25a for convenience.

Next, the operation of bonding the support layer 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13 to the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13 by the second heating element 30 of the heating device 22 will be described below.

After passing through the transfer device 17 as described above, the ink ribbon 13 to which the ink has been transferred passes through the peeling roller 40 and the scratching means 25. sent to the side.

At this time, a used portion 41A including the ink-transferred regions 41, 41 is formed on the ink ribbon 13. The ink-transferred used portion 41A should not overlap with the used portion 41A of the next transfer step. , ordinarily the ink ribbon 13 is idle-fed. Therefore, the used ink ribbon 13 is formed with a used portion 41A and an unused portion 42 in a ladder shape.

By the way, the used portion 41A of the used ink ribbon 13 is damaged by heat during transfer, and the lubricating effect provided on the back surface of the support layer 11 is reduced. Further, the ink ribbon 13 after the transfer is elongated due to the stress applied when it is separated from the transferred material 14 by the separation roller 40 . Therefore, the used portion 41A of the ink ribbon 13 is slackened.

Next, the behavior of the used portion 41A of the ink ribbon 13 when it passes through the second heater 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5A to 5C. When the ink ribbon 13 having the slackened used portion 41A reaches the second heating element 30, the used portion 41A of the ink ribbon 13 passes through the second heating element 30 (see FIG. 5A).

While the used portion 41A of the ink ribbon 13 passes through the second heating element 30 in this way, the slack of the used portion 41A moves downstream of the used portion 41A, causing the ink ribbon 13 to protrude (also referred to as a hump). ) 43 (see FIG. 5B).

After that, when the protrusion 43 of the ink ribbon 13 passes the second heating member 30, the load fluctuation occurs in the ink ribbon 13 being conveyed, and the tension of the ink ribbon 13 from the second heating member 30 to the transferred member 14 decreases. (see FIG. 5C).

When the tension of the ink ribbon 13 decreases, the conveying speed of the ink ribbon 13 fluctuates, and streak-like densities occur on the printed information on the transferred body 14 .

According to this embodiment, the second heating element 30 has a heating element main body 31 and a metal plate 35 . , name information 2 and ID information 4 are arranged. Therefore, the member that contacts the ink ribbon 13 can be limited to the three protruding portions 36, and the contact area that contacts the ink ribbon 13 can be minimized to reduce the tension variation applied to the ink ribbon 13. can be done. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the variation in the tension applied to the ink ribbon 13 and prevent or reduce streak-like shading on the printed information on the transfer medium 14 .

In addition, the name information 2, the eyes 3a of the face image 3, and the ID information 4, which are considered to be important among the information printed on the transfer medium 14, are processed by the three protruding portions 36 of the metal plate 35. By heating the outer ink ribbon 13, the outer ink ribbon 13 and the inner ink ribbon 13 can be reliably adhered. This allows the outer ink ribbon 13 to be integrated with the inner ink ribbon 13 . When the used ink ribbon 13 is rewound after that, since the outer ink ribbon 13 and the inner ink ribbon 13 are adhered, the outer ink ribbon 13 and the inner ink ribbon 13 are partially damaged. This makes it difficult to obtain printed information from the used ink ribbon 13 .

In particular, the outer ink ribbon 13 is adhered to the inner ink ribbon 13 in the portions corresponding to the name information 2, the pupil 3a of the face image 3, and the ID information 4, so that the name information 2, the face image 3, and the ID information 4 are attached. The ID information cannot be read from the ink ribbon 13, nor can these information be recovered.

Next, temperature control of the heating body main body 31 in this embodiment will be described in comparison with a comparative example.

As shown in the comparative example shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, when the second heating element 30 has a heating element main body 31 and three metal plates 45 provided on the heating element main body 31 and separated from each other, 3 The outer ink ribbon 13 corresponding to the portion of the pupil 3a of the face image 3, the name information 2 and the ID information 4 can be heated and adhered to the inner ink ribbon 13 by the sheet of metal plate 45. FIG.

However, in the comparative example, the portion of the heater main body 31 in contact with the metal plate 45 can effectively dissipate heat from the metal plate 45, but the portion of the heater main body 31 between the metal plates 45 is in contact with the air. Therefore, heat dissipation becomes insufficient.

A temperature sensor is provided in the heating body main body 31 , and generally this temperature sensor detects the average temperature inside the heating body main body 31 .

In the comparative example, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is A degrees, which is the average temperature of the heating body main body 31 . Further, the temperature of the portion of the heating element main body 31 in contact with the metal plate 45 becomes A degree-B degree, which is lower than the A degree by B degree due to heat radiation from the metal plate 45 . Further, the temperature of the portion between the metal plates 45 of the heating body main body 31 is (A+C) degrees higher than the A degree by C degrees because the portion is in contact with the air and cannot be expected to dissipate heat.

In the comparative example, since the metal plate 45 is a member that contacts and heats the outer ink ribbon 13, the portion of the heater body 31 corresponding to the metal plate 45 is heated to a temperature higher than (A−B) degrees, for example, A must be set in degrees. When the portion of the heating body 31 corresponding to the metal plate 45 is set to A degree in this way, the temperature between the metal plates 45 in the heating body 31 also rises, and the temperature between the metal plates 45 rises to It is also conceivable that the upper limit value D degrees of 31 is exceeded. In this case, if the temperature between the metal plates 45 rises and the heating body 31 exceeds the upper limit value D, the heating body may be damaged.

On the other hand, according to this embodiment, the second heating element 30 has a heating element main body 31 and a metal plate 35 provided on the heating element main body 31 . It has three thick protruding portions 36 sequentially arranged along the width direction W and a retracting portion 37 .

The projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 are arranged in contact with each other and attached to the heating body 31 via a metal holder 32 fixed to the heating body 31 . For this reason, the metal plate 35 consisting of the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 keeps the temperature of the heater main body 31 substantially uniform along the width direction W of the ink ribbon 13, more precisely, the temperature difference distribution is minimized. It is possible to easily and reliably control the temperature of the heating body main body 31 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7, the second heating element 30 has a heating element main body 31 and a metal plate 35 provided on the heating element main body 31 . It has three thick protruding portions 36 sequentially arranged along the width direction W and a retracting portion 37 . Then, the outer ink ribbon 13 corresponding to the pupil 3a portion of the face image 3, the name information 2 and the ID information 4 can be heated and adhered to the inner ink ribbon 13 by the three protruding portions 36. FIG.

In this case, since the heating body main body 31 of the second heating body 30 is covered with the metal plate 35 composed of the protruding part 36 and the lead-in part 37, heat is dissipated by the air to the heating body main body 31 as in the comparative example. parts will be lost. Therefore, the metal plate 35 can effectively dissipate heat from the heating body 31 .

A temperature sensor is provided in the heating body main body 31 , and generally this temperature sensor detects the average temperature inside the heating body main body 31 .

In the present embodiment, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is A1 degrees, which is the average temperature of the heating element main body 31 . Further, in the present embodiment, heat can be reliably radiated from the heating body main body 31 by the metal plate 35, so the average temperature A1 degrees is lower than the average temperature A degrees in the comparative example. Further, the temperature of the portion of the heating body main body 31 in contact with the protruding portion 36 is A1°C - B1°C, which is slightly lower than A1°C by B1°C due to the heat radiation from the thick protruding portion 36 . The temperature of the portion of the heating element body 31 in contact with the lead-in portion 37 is A1+C1, which is slightly higher than A1 by C1 due to heat radiation from the thin lead-in portion 37 .

Thus, according to the present embodiment, the average temperature A1 degrees can be made lower than the average temperature A degrees in the comparative example, as compared with the comparative example. Further, the temperature of the portion of the heating body main body 31 in contact with the protruding portion 36 can be set to A1°C - B1°C, which is slightly lower than A1°C by B1°C due to heat dissipation from the thick protruding portion 36, and The temperature of the portion of the main body 31 in contact with the lead-in portion 37 can be set to A1 degrees + C1 degrees, which is slightly higher than A1 degrees by C1 degrees. In this case, the B1 degree in the present embodiment is smaller than the B degree in the comparative example, and the C1 degree in the present embodiment is smaller than the C degree in the comparative example. Therefore, the temperature difference distribution of the heating body main body 31 can be kept smaller along the width direction of the ink ribbon 13 .

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the second heating body 30 has the heating body main body 31 and the metal plate 35, and the center protruding portion 36 of the metal plate 35 corresponds to the pupil 3a of the face image 3. , the outermost ink ribbon 13 is heated and adhered to the ink ribbon 13 located inside, and the projecting portions 36 on both sides heat the outermost ink ribbon 13 at the name information 2 and ID information 4 portions so as to be attached to the inner side. It is adhered to the ink ribbon 13 located.

Moreover, as described above, the lead-in portion 37 of the metal plate 35 does not contact the ink ribbon 13, so that the contact area of the second heater 30 as a whole with respect to the ink ribbon 13 can be reduced. By minimizing the area of contact with the ink ribbon 13, the variation in tension applied to the ink ribbon 13 can be reduced. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the variation in the tension applied to the ink ribbon 13 and prevent the printed information on the transfer medium 14 from being smeared with streaks or the like.

In this case, by arranging thermally conductive grease between the metal plate 35 and the ink ribbon 13 , the heat transfer efficiency between the second heating element 30 and the ink ribbon 13 is increased, and the ink is heated by the second heating element 30 . The ribbon 13 can be effectively heated. At the same time, the heat conductive grease provided between the metal plate 35 and the ink ribbon 13 can reduce the frictional resistance between the metal plate 35 and the ink ribbon 13 .

By heating the outer ink ribbon 13 by the second heating element 30 in this manner and bonding it to the inner ink ribbon 13 positioned inside, the outer ink ribbon 13 and the inner ink ribbon 13 can be integrated. When the used ink ribbon 13 is rewound after that, since the outer ink ribbon 13 and the inner ink ribbon 13 are adhered, the outer ink ribbon 13 and the inner ink ribbon 13 are partially damaged. This makes it difficult to obtain printed information from the used ink ribbon 13 .

Further, according to the present embodiment, the holding body 32 having the opening 32a penetrating vertically is fixed to the side surface of the heating body main body 31, and the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 are provided with respective holding surfaces 36b and 37b. It can be easily attached to the heating body main body 31 by pressing and inserting it into the opening 32a.

Furthermore, according to the present embodiment, for example, as the thick protruding portion 36, heat dissipation from the protruding portion 36 is reduced by selecting a material having a small specific heat and a high thermal conductivity with respect to the thin lead-in portion 37. It is possible to keep the heat radiation from the lead-in portion 37 relatively small by making it large, so that the heat dissipation between the projecting portion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 can be balanced. As a result, the heat dissipation between the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 is balanced. can be minimized, and the temperature control of the heating body main body 31 can be easily and reliably performed.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, the metal plate 35 is provided with three projecting portions 36, and each projecting portion 36 is positioned on the transferred body 14 corresponding to the pupil 3a of the face image 3 and the name information 2. It is arranged at the corresponding position and the position corresponding to the ID information 4 . Further, by arranging the lead-in portion 37 at other positions and inserting the protrusion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 into the holder 32, the protrusion 36 and the lead-in portion 37 can be easily and simply attached to the main body 31 of the heater. A metal plate 35 having a

For this reason, compared to the case where a new metal plate having projections and recesses and integrally molded is manufactured and attached to the heating body main body 31 each time, corresponding to the information to be printed on the transferred body 14 . Thus, according to this embodiment, the metal plate 35 including the projecting portion 36 and the retracting portion 37 can be attached to the heating body main body 31 easily and simply.

2 Name information 3 Face image 3a Pupil 4 ID information 10 Thermal transfer system 13 Ink ribbon 14 Transferee 15 Guide roller 15A Conveying roller 16 Delivery unit 17 Transfer device 18 First heating member 19 Platen roll 20 Winding device 21 Winding unit 22 Heating device 25 Scratching means 30 Second heating body 31 Heating body body 32 Holding body 32a Opening 35 Metal plate 36 Protruding part 36a Working surface 36b Holding surface 37 Retracting part 37a Working surface 37b Holding surface 40 Peeling roller 41 Ink-transferred area 41A Use Completed part 42 Unused part 43 Projection 50 Control part

Claims (8)

A thermal transfer system for transferring ink to a transfer target using an ink ribbon having at least a support layer and an ink layer containing ink,
a delivery unit for delivering the ink ribbon;
A first heating member is provided downstream of the delivery section and provided on the support layer side of the ink ribbon, and transfers the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer target. a transfer device;
a winding unit disposed on the downstream side of the transfer device for winding the transferred ink ribbon;
A heater having a second heating element provided in the vicinity of the winding section and heating the ink ribbon to which the ink has been transferred from the support layer side to adhere the outermost ink ribbon to the inner ink ribbon. a device;
The second heating element has a heating element main body extending in the width direction of the ink ribbon, and a metal plate provided on the ink ribbon side of the heating element main body,
The thermal transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the metal plate includes a protruding portion protruding toward the ink ribbon and a retracting portion recessed from the ink ribbon from the protruding portion, which are sequentially arranged in the width direction of the ink ribbon. 2. A thermal transfer system according to claim 1, wherein said protruding portion is thicker than said lead-in portion. 3. The thermal transfer system according to claim 1, wherein said metal plate extends over the entire width of said ink ribbon in said heater main body. 4. The thermal transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said projecting portion and said retracting portion of said metal plate are arranged in contact with each other. 5. The thermal transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein said projecting portion and said retracting portion of said metal plate are attached to said heating body via a holder. The projecting portion and the retracting portion of the metal plate have an L-shaped cross section having a working surface on the ink ribbon side and a holding surface perpendicular to the working surface,
6. The thermal transfer system according to claim 5, wherein said projecting portion and said retracting portion are held by said holder by inserting said holding surface into an opening provided in said holder. 7. The thermal transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein said protruding portion and said recessed portion of said metal plate comprise different materials. 8. The thermal transfer system of claim 7, wherein the protrusion comprises a material having a lower specific heat and a higher thermal conductivity than the lead-in.

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