JP2024056583A - Thermal Transfer System - Google Patents

Abstract

[Problem] To reliably detect when the ink ribbon has been replaced while the thermal transfer system is interrupted. [Solution] A control unit 40 of a thermal transfer system 10 determines a first rotation speed ratio based on signals from a feed section rotation speed sensor 16c and a take-up section rotation speed sensor 21c. When the thermal transfer system 10 is interrupted and then resumed, the control unit 40 determines a second rotation speed ratio and compares the first rotation speed ratio with the second rotation speed ratio to determine whether the ink ribbon has been replaced. [Selected Figure] Figure 1

Description

This disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system that transfers ink to a receiving material using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer.

Transfer systems that use ink ribbons to print characters and other images on a receiving material such as a card are in widespread use. An ink ribbon has a ribbon (support layer) that extends in a strip shape, and an ink layer that contains dyes and the like that is formed on the ribbon. When printing using an ink ribbon, ink is transferred to the receiving material in a pattern that corresponds to the desired image to be printed.

In this case, the ink ribbon after ink transfer has areas where the ink has been removed due to transfer to the receiving material, in a pattern that corresponds to the printed image. Therefore, it is possible to identify the printed image from the ink ribbon after ink transfer. Therefore, when using the ink ribbon to print confidential information such as ID information on the receiving material, care must be taken when handling the ink ribbon after ink transfer.

To address this problem, a thermal transfer system has been proposed that includes a first transfer device that transfers the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to a transferee in a first pattern, a winding section that winds up the ink ribbon after the ink transfer, and a second transfer device that is provided near the winding section and heats the ink ribbon after the ink transfer from the support layer side. With this thermal transfer system, the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon heated by the second transfer device can be transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern in the first transfer device, thereby preventing the first pattern in the first transfer device from being identified from the ink ribbon after the ink transfer. In this case, a technology (termination process) has also been developed that more reliably prevents the first pattern from being identified from the ink ribbon by using the second transfer device to subsequently transfer the second pattern to the ink ribbon after the ink transfer in the first transfer device.

JP 2014-76617 A

As described above, by using the second transfer device to transfer the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern transferred by the first transfer device, it is possible to prevent the first pattern in the first transfer device from being identified. However, when the operation of the thermal transfer system is interrupted, the ink ribbon may be mistakenly removed from the thermal transfer system. In this case, the ink ribbon is removed without performing the termination process described above, which creates the risk that the first pattern may be identified from the ink ribbon.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to provide a thermal transfer system that prevents the ink ribbon from being removed by mistake when the operation of the thermal transfer system is interrupted.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system, comprising: a sending section that sends out an ink ribbon having an ink layer and a support layer; a first transfer device that is arranged downstream of the sending section, has a first heating body provided on the support layer side of the ink ribbon, and transfers the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to a transferee in a first pattern; a winding section that is arranged downstream of the first transfer device, winds up the ink ribbon after ink transfer; a second transfer device that is arranged near the winding section, has a second heating body that heats the ink ribbon after ink transfer from the support layer side, and transfers the ink of the ink layer to the inner ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern; The thermal transfer system includes a feed section rotation speed sensor that detects the speed, a winding section rotation speed sensor that detects the rotation speed of the winding section, and a control unit, and the control unit determines a first rotation speed ratio between the feed section and the winding section based on signals from the feed section rotation speed sensor and the winding section rotation speed sensor during operation of the thermal transfer system, and determines a second rotation speed ratio between the feed section and the winding section based on signals from the feed section rotation speed sensor and the winding section rotation speed sensor when the operation of the thermal transfer system is stopped and then resumed, and determines that the ink ribbon has been replaced if the second rotation speed ratio and the first rotation speed ratio are different.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system in which the control unit executes error processing when it determines that the ink ribbon has been replaced.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system further comprising an ink ribbon lock mechanism that prevents the ink ribbon from being removed to the outside, and the control unit activates the ink ribbon lock mechanism when the operation of the thermal transfer system is stopped.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system in which the control unit determines that the second rotational speed ratio is different from the first rotational speed ratio when the second rotational speed ratio is outside the range of 95% to 105% of the first rotational speed ratio.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a thermal transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows an ink ribbon after ink has been transferred in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a transfer medium onto which ink from an ink ribbon is transferred in a first pattern in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of the ink ribbon shown in FIG. 2A after ink has been transferred thereto. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a winding device of the thermal transfer system of FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second heating body of a second transfer device of the winding device shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from above. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of the second heating element and the ink ribbon shown in FIG. 5. FIG. FIG. 7A illustrates how ink from the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the inner ink ribbon in a second pattern in an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 7B illustrates how ink from the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the inner ink ribbon in a second pattern in an embodiment of the invention. FIG. 8A shows the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon after the transfer shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B has taken place. FIG. 8B shows the support layer of the inner ink ribbon after the transfer shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B has occurred. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a state in which the outer diameter of the take-up portion increases during thermal transfer. FIG. 10A is a diagram showing a state in which the second heating element is separated from the winding unit. FIG. 10B is a diagram showing a state in which the second heating body abuts against the winding portion. FIG. 10C is a diagram showing a state in which the second heating body is pressed against the winding portion. FIG. 11 is a flowchart showing the termination process. FIG. 12A is a perspective view showing a winding shaft of the winding unit. FIG. 12B is a perspective view showing the delivery shaft of the delivery section. FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing the operation of the present disclosure. FIG. 14A is a side view showing the ink ribbon lock mechanism. FIG. 14B is a perspective view showing the ink ribbon lock mechanism. FIG. 14C is a diagram showing a modified example of the ink ribbon lock mechanism.

<Thermal transfer system configuration>
A thermal transfer system according to the present disclosure will now be described with reference to the drawings, in which Figures 1 to 11 are diagrams showing a thermal transfer system according to the present disclosure.

First, let us explain the overall structure of the thermal transfer system using Figure 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, a thermal transfer system 10 that transfers ink 12a in a desired pattern to a transferee 14 using an ink ribbon 13 having a support layer 11 and an ink layer 12 includes a delivery section 16 that delivers the ink ribbon 13 in the direction indicated by the arrow R1, a first transfer device 17 located downstream of the delivery section 16, a winding section 21 that is located downstream of the first transfer device 17 and winds up the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred in the direction indicated by the arrow R2, and a second transfer device 22 that is provided near the winding section 21 and heats the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred from the support layer 11 side. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 13 is transported along a plurality of guide rolls 15. Here, the winding section 21 and the second transfer device 22 shown in FIG. 1 constitute a winding device 20.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first transfer device 17 has a platen roll 19 that supports the transfer target 14, and a first heating element 18 (e.g., a print head) that is arranged to face the platen roll 19 with the ink ribbon 13 and the transfer target 14 in between. As shown in FIG. 1, the first heating element 18 is arranged on the support layer 11 side of the ink ribbon 13. This first heating element 18 heats the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 in a predetermined pattern (first pattern) that corresponds to the ID information, whereby the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 is transferred to the transfer target 14 in the first pattern.

The delivery section 16, first transfer device 17, winding section 21, and second transfer device 22 are housed as a whole within the case 1. An opening 2 for inserting and removing the second transfer device 22 into and from the case 1 is provided on the top surface 1a of the case 1 near the second transfer device 22, and this opening 2 is covered so as to be freely opened and closed by a shutter 3 connected to the top surface 1a of the case 1 via a hinge 4. The case 1 is incorporated into the housing of an ID card printer that includes a supply section and a transport section for the transfer target 14.

2A is a diagram showing the ink ribbon 13 after the ink 12a has been transferred to the transferee 14 in the first pattern, as viewed from the ink layer 12 side, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the transferee 14 to which the ink 12a of the ink ribbon 13 has been transferred in the first pattern. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer shown in FIG. 2A, taken along line III-III. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, in the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer, the ink layer 12 consists of the ink 12a that remains without being transferred to the transferee 14, and the ink-free portions 12b corresponding to the ID information printed on the transferee 14. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2A, the pattern of the ink-free portions 12b in the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer corresponds to the first pattern in the first heating body 18 described above. Therefore, it is possible to identify the ID information printed on the transferee 14 based on the pattern of the ink-free portions 12b.

Next, the winding device 20 of the thermal transfer system 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. As described above, the winding device 20 has a roll-shaped winding section 21 that winds up the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer, and a second transfer device (transfer device for winding device) 22 that is provided near the winding section 21 and heats the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer from the support layer 11 side. Of these, the second transfer device 22 includes a second heating element 23 made of a block-shaped heating element, and a support mechanism 45 that supports the second heating element 23 so that it can move up and down in the direction of arrow D1.

As shown in Fig. 4, in the winding section 21 of this embodiment, the ink ribbon 13 is wound so that the support layer 11 of the ink ribbon 13 is positioned outside the ink layer 12. As shown in Fig. 4, in this embodiment, the ink ribbon 13 positioned at the outermost periphery of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21 is referred to as the outer ink ribbon 13A, and the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21 on the inner side of the outer ink ribbon 13A and adjacent to the outer ink ribbon 13A is referred to as the inner ink ribbon 13B.

As shown in Fig. 1 and Fig. 12A, the winding unit 21 has a winding shaft 21a that is rotated by a drive unit 21A that has a built-in drive motor, and a detection body 21b is attached to the winding shaft 21a. The detection body 21b attached to the winding shaft 21a is optically read by a detection body sensor 21c, and the signal read by the detection body sensor 21c is sent to a control unit 40 described later, and the control unit 40 can determine the number of rotations (also called the rotation speed) of the winding shaft 21a.

In addition, a current signal from the drive data of the drive unit 21A is also sent to the control unit 40, which can determine any output abnormalities in the drive unit 21A.

Next, the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 5 and FIG. 6. FIG. 5 is a view of the ink ribbon 13 and the second heating body 23 seen from above, and FIG. 6 is a side cross-sectional view showing the second heating body 23 and the ink ribbon 13 shown in FIG. 5. When the ink ribbon 13 is wound around the winding section 21, the wound ink ribbon 13 actually curves along the roll surface of the winding section 21, but in FIG. 6, for convenience, the ink ribbon 13 is drawn ignoring the curved state. Also, in FIG. 6, for convenience, a small gap is drawn between the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B in order to explain how the outer ink ribbon 13A is pressed by the second heating body 23 and a part of the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is pressed against the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B. However, this is not limited to this, and the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B may be in contact with each other without a gap over the entire surface.

As shown in Fig. 5 and Fig. 6, the second heating element 23 is print-controlled by the control unit 40 and includes a protrusion 23a formed at its lower end. Therefore, as shown in Fig. 6, when the second heating element 23 is print-controlled by the control unit 40 and the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated and pressed from the outside (support layer 11 side) by the protrusion 23a of the second heating element 23, a part of the ink 12a remaining in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred to the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in the second pattern. The temperature of the second heating element 23 is set low enough to prevent the ink 12a in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A from melting over the entire area, thereby bonding the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B.

The second pattern formed by the protrusions 23a of the second heating element 23, which is print-controlled by the control unit 40, is set to be different from the first pattern in the first heating element 18. Therefore, by transferring a portion of the ink 12a remaining in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B, the pattern of the ink-missing portion 12b consisting of the first pattern corresponding to the ID information in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A can be destroyed. This makes it possible to prevent the ID information printed on the transfer target 14 from being identified based on the pattern of the ink-missing portion 12b, as will be described in detail later.

In the winding section 21, as winding proceeds, the outer diameter of the roll body formed by the ink ribbon 13 being wound by the winding section 21 increases. To accommodate this increase in the outer diameter of the roll body, the second heating element 23 is supported by a support mechanism 45 so that it can move in the radial direction of the roll body (the direction shown by the arrow D1 in FIG. 4). In addition, by supporting the second heating element 23 by such a support mechanism 45, when the winding drive is stopped or when heating by the second heating element 23 is not required, it is possible to move the second heating element 23 in the direction of the arrow D1 to arbitrarily stop contact with the ink ribbon 13 being wound on the winding section 21.

As described above, the outer ink ribbon 13A wound around the winding section 21 is heated by the second heating element 23 of the second transfer device 22, and ink is transferred to the inner ink ribbon 13B. As the outer diameter of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21 increases, the second heating element 23 moves upwards due to the support mechanism 45 (see FIG. 9).

In this case, the outer ink ribbon 13A is not constantly heated by the second heating element 23. The second heating element 23 is temporarily moved upward from the outer ink ribbon 13A by the support mechanism 45, and then descends again to come into contact with the outer ink ribbon 13A. In this way, the second heating element 23 is gradually moved upward by the support mechanism 45. When the ink ribbon 13 is wound around the winding section 21, the second heating element 23 moves upward from the outer ink ribbon 13A, for example, every 10 turns of the ink ribbon 13 or every 20 sheets of the transfer medium 14 are printed, and then descends again to come into contact with the outer ink ribbon 13A.

Next, the support mechanism 45 will be described with reference to Figures 10A to 10C.

As shown in Figures 10A to 10C, the support mechanism 45 has a mounting plate 46 that supports the second heating element 23 and a stay 50 that is connected to the mounting plate 46 via a connecting shaft 49.

A spring 47 is attached to the outer periphery of the connecting shaft 49 that connects the mounting plate 46 and the stay 50.

The stay 50 is also connected to a drive cylinder 45A, and is moved up and down by the drive cylinder 45A.

Figure 10A is a diagram showing the state in which the second heating element 23 is moved upward by the support mechanism 45 and separated from the ink ribbon 13 in the winding section 21. As shown in Figure 10A, the stay 50 is lifted upward by the drive cylinder 45A, and the second heating element 23 is separated from the ink ribbon 13 in the winding section 21.

Next, as shown in FIG. 10B, the stay 50 is moved downward by the drive cylinder 45A, and the second heater 23 attached to the mounting plate 46 comes into contact with the ink ribbon 13 of the winding section 21.

Then, as shown in FIG. 10C, the stay 50 is moved further downward by the drive cylinder 45A. As shown in FIG. 10C, when the stay 50 moves downward, the spring 47 attached between the mounting plate 46 and the stay 50 is compressed. When the stay 50 moves further downward, the limit switch 48 provided at the lower end of the drive cylinder 45A comes into contact with the mounting plate 46 and operates, stopping the drive part (not shown) of the drive cylinder 45A.

At this time, since the distance between the mounting plate 46 and the stay 50 is fixed, the spring 47 attached between the mounting plate 46 and the stay 50 can press the second heating element 23 against the ink ribbon 13 of the winding section 21 with the same compression force. Also, if the operation of the drive cylinder 45A continues even after a predetermined time has elapsed since the limit switch 48 was activated, it is determined that there is an error in the drive cylinder 45A and the drive cylinder is stopped. Note that since the ink ribbon 13 is thin at 0.1 mm, while the second heating element 23 continues to abut against the ink ribbon 13 (for example, for 10 turns of the ink ribbon 13), the ink ribbon 13 does not become excessively thick, and the spring 47 can continuously press the second heating element 23 against the ink ribbon 13 with approximately the same pressure.

In this specification, "above" and "below" refer to the above and below when the thermal transfer system 10 is positioned as shown in FIG. 1.

Next, the feed section 16 will be described with reference to Figures 1 and 12B. The feed section 16 has a built-in brake mechanism that can apply a constant tension to the ink ribbon 13 being wound by the winding section 21. The feed section 16 also has a feed shaft 16a, to which a detection body 16b is attached. The detection body 16b attached to the feed shaft 16a is optically read by a detection body sensor 16c, and the signal read by the detection body sensor 16c is sent to the control section 40, which can then determine the number of rotations (also called the rotational speed) of the feed shaft 16a.

Of the above components, the delivery section 16, the first heating element 18, the winding section 21, the driving section 21A, the second heating element 23, and the support mechanism 45 are all driven and controlled by the control section 40.

As shown in FIG. 1, an optical sensor 30 is provided near the upstream side of the first transfer device 17 to detect the position of the terminal end of the ink ribbon 13. Leader films without ink are provided at the leading and trailing ends of the ink ribbon 13, but the leader films without ink are not part of the thermal transfer. The optical sensor 30 detects the end of the leader film without ink at the terminal end of the ink ribbon 13, i.e., the boundary between the part of the ink ribbon 13 with ink and the part without ink.

In addition to the optical sensor 30 provided near the upstream side of the first transfer device 17, an additional optical sensor 31 for detecting the end of the leader film may be provided near the downstream side of the delivery section 16.
<Normal processing action>
Next, a normal process of the embodiment having the above-mentioned configuration will be described. Here, the normal process is described in which the first transfer device 17 of the thermal transfer system 10 prints ID information on the transfer target 14, and then the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A, which has already been transferred, is transferred in a second pattern by the second transfer device 22 onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B.

First, a transfer object 14 such as an IC card is prepared, and then the transfer object 14 is transported toward the first transfer device 17. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 13 is sent from the delivery section 16 toward the first transfer device 17.

When the transferee 14 reaches between the first heating element 18 and the platen roll 19 of the first transfer device 17, the first heating element 18 presses the ink ribbon 13 against the transferee 14 while heating it in a first pattern corresponding to the ID information. This causes the ink 12a in the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 to be transferred onto the transferee 14 in the first pattern (first transfer process). This causes the ID information to be printed on the transferee 14, and also forms ink-free areas 12b in the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 that correspond to the ID information.

After passing through the first transfer device 17, the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred thereto is taken up by the take-up section 21 of the take-up device 20. Then, while the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred thereto is taken up by the take-up section 21, the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated in a second pattern by the second transfer device 22 (second transfer process). The action of heating the outer ink ribbon 13A in the second pattern by the second transfer device 22 will be described in detail below with reference to Figures 7A to 8B.

First, as shown in FIG. 7A, the second heating element 23 of the second transfer device 22 is print-controlled by the control unit 40. As a result, the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated from the outside by the protrusions 23a of the second heating element 23, and as a result, a portion of the ink 12a remaining in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is pressed against the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B while being heated. As a result, as shown by the reference symbol 12c in FIG. 7B, a portion 12c of the ink 12a remaining in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B.

Figure 8A shows the outer ink ribbon 13A after transfer by the second transfer device 22 as viewed from the ink layer 12 side, and Figure 8B shows the inner ink ribbon 13B after transfer by the second transfer device 22 as viewed from the support layer 11 side.

As shown in FIG. 8A, the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is formed with an ink-missing portion 12b(1) having a first pattern based on the printing pattern of the ID information in the first transfer device 17, and an ink-missing portion 12b(2) having a second pattern 26 formed by the protrusions 23a of the second heating element 23 in the second transfer device 22. As shown in FIG. 8A, the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A contains a mixture of the first pattern and the second pattern 26, and therefore the pattern of the ink-missing portion 12b(1) consisting of the first pattern corresponding to the ID information is destroyed to an unrecognizable extent. This makes it possible to prevent the ID information printed on the transfer target 14 from being identified based on the pattern of the ink-missing portion 12b.

As shown in FIG. 8B, ink 12c is transferred from the outer ink ribbon 13A in a second pattern 26 onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B by the second transfer device 22. Also, as shown in FIG. 8B, this ink 12c has ink-missing portions 12d formed in part having a pattern based on the ink-missing portions 12b consisting of the first pattern of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A. However, as shown in FIG. 8B, the ink-missing portions 12d are only visible in the area overlapping with the second pattern 26, and therefore the ID information printed on the transfer target 14 cannot be identified based on the pattern of the ink-missing portions 12d.

During this time, if a malfunction occurs in the second transfer device 22 during normal processing, a malfunction signal for the second transfer device 22 is sent from the second transfer device 22 to the control unit 40, and the control unit 40 executes error processing based on the malfunction signal from the second transfer device 22. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Here, error processing by the control unit 40 includes processing in which the control unit 40 displays an alert on a display unit (not shown) or outputs an alert by voice. Alternatively, alert processing by the control unit 40 includes processing in which the control unit 40 activates a locking mechanism of the thermal transfer system 10 to prevent the ink ribbon 13 or the cassette 51 (see Figures 14A to 14C) that stores the ink ribbon 13 from being removed from the thermal transfer system 10.

After the error processing is completed, the user can resume the thermal transfer function.

In this embodiment, a malfunction of the second transfer device 22 may occur, for example, when the mounting plate 46 is tilted relative to the stay 50, causing the limit switch 48 of the drive cylinder 45A to fail to operate, or when the drive cylinder 45A does not stop even after a predetermined time has elapsed after the limit switch 48 is activated.

In this case, the second heating element 23 cannot be lowered properly. When a malfunction signal for the second transfer device 22 is sent from the second transfer device 22 to the control unit 40, the control unit 40 executes error processing based on the malfunction signal from the second transfer device 22. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Alternatively, a malfunction of the second transfer device 22 may be a broken wire in the second heating element 23 or some other defect in the second heating element 23 itself. In this case, the second heating element 23 will not operate normally. When a malfunction signal of the second transfer device 22 is sent from the second transfer device 22 to the control unit 40, the control unit 40 executes error processing based on the malfunction signal from the second transfer device 22. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Similarly, if the ink ribbon 13 becomes caught on some component during normal processing and cannot be fed stably, the control unit 40 will execute error processing. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

For example, if the ink ribbon 13 gets caught on some kind of component, and then the ink ribbon 13 becomes unhooked and is suddenly wound up by the winding section 21, the number of rotations of the feed section 16 obtained by reading the detector 16b provided on the feed shaft 16a with the detector sensor 16c may exceed the reference range.

Similarly, the rotation speed of the winding section 21 obtained by reading the detection body 21b provided on the winding shaft 21a with the detection body sensor 21c may exceed the reference range.

According to this embodiment, in such a case, when the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 or the rotation speed of the winding unit 21 exceeds the reference range, the control unit 40 determines that the ink ribbon 13 is not being fed stably and executes error processing. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

On the other hand, if the ink ribbon 13 gets caught on some part, the rotation speed of the delivery section 16 or the rotation speed of the winding section 21 may fall below the standard range.

According to this embodiment, in such a case, if the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 or the rotation speed of the winding unit 21 falls below the reference range, the control unit 40 determines that the ink ribbon is not being fed stably and executes error processing. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

During this time, a current signal from the drive motor of the drive unit 21A of the winding unit 21 is sent to the control unit 40. If the current value from the drive motor exceeds the reference range, the control unit 40 determines that the ink ribbon 13 is not being fed stably and executes error processing. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Next, we will further discuss the operation when the normal processing of the thermal transfer system 10 is interrupted (also called stopped).

In the thermal transfer system 10, the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 is transferred in a first pattern by the first transfer device 17 to a transfer target 14 such as an IC card.

The transfer object 14 onto which the ink 12a has been transferred is sent outward from the first transfer device 17.

Once the ink 12a has been transferred to a predetermined number of substrates 14, the thermal transfer system 10 suspends normal processing until it transfers the ink 12a to a new substrate 14.

When interrupting the normal processing of the thermal transfer system 10, it is possible that the ink ribbon 13 may be mistakenly removed from the thermal transfer system 10. In this case, the ink ribbon 13 will be removed to the outside without the termination processing described below being performed on the ink ribbon 13, and there is a possibility that the first pattern remaining on the ink ribbon 13 may be read.

In this embodiment, in order to prevent the ink ribbon 13 from being removed to the outside when the termination process has not been performed, the thermal transfer system 10 performs the following operations.

As shown in the flowchart in FIG. 13, the control unit 40 first receives a thermal transfer system operation start signal and then starts the normal processing described above.

Then, as described above, the control unit 40 winds up the ink ribbon 13 using the winding unit 21 and operates the delivery unit 16, causing the first transfer device 17 to start printing the first pattern on the transfer target 14 using the ink ribbon 13. Next, the control unit 40 operates the second transfer device 22 to start printing the second pattern on the ink ribbon 13.

During this time, as shown in FIG. 12B, the detection body 16b attached to the sending shaft 16a of the sending unit 16 is read by the detection body sensor 16c. The signal read by the detection body sensor 16c is sent to the control unit 40, which determines the rotational speed of the sending shaft 16a, i.e., the sending unit 16. The control unit 40 stores the rotational speed of the sending unit 16.

Similarly, as shown in FIG. 12A, the detection body 21b provided on the winding shaft 21a of the winding unit 21 is read by the detection body sensor 16c. The signal read by the detection body sensor 21c is sent to the control unit 40, which determines the rotational speed of the winding shaft 21a, i.e., the winding unit 21. The control unit 40 stores the rotational speed of the winding unit 21.

In this embodiment, the detector sensor 16c that detects the detector 16b of the delivery section 16 is the delivery section rotation speed sensor, and the detector sensor 21c that detects the detector 21b of the winding section 21 is the winding section rotation speed sensor.

In this way, the control unit 40 constantly determines and stores the rotational speed of the delivery unit 16 and the rotational speed of the winding unit 21 while the thermal transfer system 10 is operating.

At the same time, the control unit 40 calculates the ratio (first rotational speed ratio) between the rotational speed of the delivery unit 16 during normal processing and the rotational speed of the winding unit 21.

After that, when the ink 12a has been transferred to a predetermined number of transfer media 14, the control unit 40 receives a signal indicating the end of normal processing and instructs the thermal transfer system 10 to stop operating. Then, the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 as a whole is stopped.

Then, the thermal transfer system 10 resumes operation on a new transfer medium 14. First, the control unit 40 receives a thermal transfer system operation start signal, and then resumes normal processing of the thermal transfer system 10.

When resuming normal processing of the thermal transfer system 10, the control unit 40 slightly operates the winding unit 21 to align the ink ribbon 13 with the new transfer medium 14 (positioning the ink ribbon head), and then resumes normal processing.

When normal processing is resumed, the rotation speed of the winding unit 21 is sent from the detection body sensor 21c to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 stores this rotation speed of the winding unit 21.

Next, the rotation speed of the sending unit 16 is sent from the detection body sensor 16c to the control unit 40. The control unit 40 stores this rotation speed of the sending unit 16.

At the same time, the control unit 40 calculates the ratio (second rotational speed ratio) between the rotational speed of the delivery unit 16 and the rotational speed of the winding unit 21 after normal processing is resumed.

Then, the control unit 40 compares the ratio between the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 and the rotation speed of the winding unit 21 during normal processing (first rotation speed ratio) with the ratio between the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 and the rotation speed of the winding unit 21 after normal processing has resumed (second rotation speed ratio).

The control unit 40 determines that the second rotational speed ratio is different from the first rotational speed ratio when the second rotational speed ratio is out of the range of 95% to 105% of the first rotational speed ratio. In this case, the control unit 40 determines that the ink ribbon 13 was removed from the thermal transfer system 10 and replaced with a new ink ribbon 13 while normal processing was stopped and then resumed.

When the ink ribbon 13 is removed from the thermal transfer system 10 while normal processing is suspended in this manner, the first pattern remaining on the ink ribbon 13 may be read because the termination processing described below has not yet been performed on the removed ink ribbon 13.

When the second rotation speed ratio is different from the first rotation speed ratio, the control unit 40 again halts the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 and performs error processing. Note that the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 may be halted again at the same time as performing the error processing.

On the other hand, if the second rotational speed ratio is not different from the first rotational speed ratio (if they are the same), the control unit 40 determines that the ink ribbon 13 has not been removed or replaced, and continues normal processing.

Here, error processing by the control unit 40 includes processing in which the control unit 40 displays an alert on a display unit (not shown) or outputs an alert by voice, as described above. Alternatively, alert processing by the control unit 40 includes processing in which the control unit 40 activates a locking mechanism of the thermal transfer system 10 to prevent the ink ribbon 13 or the cassette 51 (see Figures 14A to 14C) that stores the ink ribbon 13 from being removed from the thermal transfer system 10.

Next, we will further explain the ink ribbon locking mechanism provided in the cassette 51 mentioned above.

As shown in Figures 14A and 14B, when the ink ribbon 13 is stored in a cassette 51, the cassette 51 may be provided with an ink ribbon locking mechanism (also called an ink ribbon locking mechanism) 60A that prevents the ink ribbon 13 from being removed.

As shown in Figures 14A and 14B, the ink ribbon 13 is stored in a cassette 51. Specifically, a pair of receiving portions 52, 53 are provided on the wall of the cassette 51 by cutting out the wall. The winding shaft 21a of the winding section 21 is attached in the receiving portion 53, and the feeding shaft 16a of the feeding section 16 is attached in the receiving portion 52.

The receiving portions 52, 53 communicate with the outside through the openings 52a, 53a that expand outward.

As shown in Figures 14A and 14B, the winding shaft 21a of the winding section 21 is attached to the receiving section 53 through the opening 53a. The sending shaft 16a of the sending section 16 is attached to the receiving section 52 through the opening 52a.

In addition, elastic resin 52b is attached to the periphery of the receiving part 52 and the opening 52a, and elastic resin 53b is also attached to the periphery of the receiving part 53 and the opening 53a. Therefore, by simply pushing in the winding shaft 21a of the winding part 21, the elastic resin 53b is compressed, and the winding shaft 21a can be mounted in the receiving part 53 from the outside through the opening 53a. Conversely, by pushing out the winding shaft 21a of the winding part 21, the elastic resin 53b is compressed, and the winding shaft 21a can be taken out from the receiving part 53 to the outside through the opening 53a. Similarly, by simply pushing in the sending shaft 16a of the sending part 16, the elastic resin 52b is compressed, and the sending shaft 16a can be mounted in the receiving part 52 from the outside through the opening 52a. Conversely, by pushing out the sending shaft 16a of the sending part 16, the elastic resin 52b is compressed, and the sending shaft 16a can be taken out from the receiving part 52 to the outside through the opening 52a.

A lock plate 60 is attached to the wall of the cassette 51 at a position corresponding to the opening 53a via a swing shaft 61, and can swing freely. The lock plate 60 can be swung via the swing shaft 61 and positioned parallel to the wall of the cassette 51, allowing the lock plate 60 to cover (close) the opening 53a. By covering the opening 53a with the lock plate 60 in this way, the winding shaft 21a inside the receiving section 53 can be prevented from being ejected to the outside.

Next, the lock plate 60 is swung via the swing shaft 61 so that the lock plate 60 is oriented perpendicular to the wall surface of the cassette 51. This allows the opening 53a to be released from the lock plate 60, so that the winding shaft 21a inside the receiving portion 53 can be easily removed to the outside.

In this embodiment, the lock plate 60 is swung by a drive unit (not shown) connected to the swing shaft 61. The control unit 40 operates the drive unit, and at least when the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 is stopped or when error processing is performed, the lock plate 60 is swung to cover (close) the opening 53a. This makes it possible to prevent the ink ribbon 13 from being removed from the cassette 51 and replaced with a new ink ribbon 13 when the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 is stopped. This prevents the ink ribbon 13 from being removed to the outside before the termination processing described below is performed.

In addition, when the control unit 40 performs error processing, the ink ribbon 13 is not removed from the cassette 51.

The control unit 40 may also operate the drive unit to swing the lock plate 60 and close the opening 53a from the normal processing until the termination processing described below is executed.

In this embodiment, the ink ribbon lock mechanism 60A is composed of a lock plate 60 and a swing shaft 61 that swings due to a drive unit (not shown).

In the embodiment shown in Figures 14A and 14B, an example is shown in which the locking plate 60 is opened from the opening 53a by orienting the locking plate 60 perpendicular to the wall surface of the cassette 51, but this is not limiting. As shown in Figure 14C, the locking plate 60 may be swung until it is parallel to the wall surface of the cassette 51 to open the opening 53a.

14C, when the lock plate 60 swings until it becomes parallel to the wall surface of the cassette 51 to open the opening 53a, a magnet 62 may be provided on the lock plate 60 so that the lock plate 60 maintains this open position, and the magnet 62 may attract the wall surface of the cassette 51. In FIG. 14C, a steel plate (not shown) to which the magnet 62 is attracted is attached to the cassette 51 side.
<Termination processing action>
Next, in this embodiment, when thermal transfer is to be ended, the following thermal transfer ending process is carried out after the normal process.

In other words, if the first transfer device 17 and the second transfer device 22 are stopped simultaneously to end the thermal transfer, only the first pattern remains in the portion 13a of the ink ribbon 13 between the first transfer device 17 and the second transfer device 22, and the second pattern is not transferred to this portion 13a, so that the first pattern can be easily seen from the portion 13a of the ink ribbon 13.

Therefore, in this embodiment, when thermal transfer is to be terminated, the first transfer device 17 is first stopped to stop the transfer of ink 12a to the transfer recipient 14.

Then, the winding section 21 winds up the ink ribbon 13 by the distance from the first transfer device 17 to the second transfer device 22 (corresponding to the length of the portion 13a), and during this time, the second transfer device 22 is operated.

In this way, both the first and second patterns can be transferred to the ink layer 12 of the portion 13a of the ink ribbon 13 from the first transfer device 17 to the second transfer device 22, so that only the first pattern does not remain on the ink ribbon 13.

The first transfer device 17 may be stopped, the second pattern may be transferred to the portion 13a from the first transfer device 17 to the second transfer device 22, and then the winding unit 21 may be further wound up only around the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13 on the winding unit 21. In this case, the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13 functions as a cover for the ink ribbon 13 wound by the winding unit 21, making it more difficult to visually confirm the pattern of the ink ribbon 13 wound on the winding unit 21.

The outermost portion of the ink ribbon 13 wound on the winding section 21 corresponds to the portion 13b of the ink ribbon 13 upstream of the first transfer device 17 that has the length of the outermost portion of the ink ribbon 13 on the winding section 21, but a cover may be formed by winding up about half the length of the outermost portion of the ink ribbon 13.

When the winding section 21 is further wound up by the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13, the first transfer device 17 is of course stopped, but the second transfer device 22 may be operated to transfer the second pattern to the ink ribbon 13, or both the first transfer device 17 and the second transfer device 22 may be stopped.

In this embodiment, the number of rotations of the winding section 21 is determined by the control unit 40 by reading the detection body 21b provided on the winding shaft 21a with the detection body sensor 21c, but the control unit 40 also counts the total number of rotations of the winding shaft 21a at the same time, and when the count reaches a predetermined value, it determines that the remaining amount of ink ribbon 13 is low and starts the termination process.

Alternatively, the first transfer device 17 may count the number of transfer recipients 14 onto which the first pattern has been transferred, and when the count value reaches a predetermined value, it may determine that the ink ribbon 13 is low on ink and start the termination process. In this case, the count value may be displayed on the display unit, and the user may instruct the start of the termination process from the operation unit based on the displayed count value. Also, when the count value reaches a predetermined value, the device may emit light in a predetermined light pattern or emit a sound to notify the user.

Alternatively, an additional optical sensor 31 provided near the downstream side of the delivery section 16 may detect the end of the leader film of the ink ribbon 13, i.e., the boundary between the ink-containing and ink-free portions of the ink ribbon 13. Based on a signal from this additional optical sensor 31, the control section 40 may determine that the ink ribbon 13 is low and start the termination process.

During this time, as shown in the flowchart of FIG. 11, if a malfunction occurs in the second transfer device 22 during the termination process, a malfunction signal for the second transfer device 22 is sent from the second transfer device 22 to the control unit 40, just as during normal processing, and the control unit 40 determines that it is difficult to continue the termination process based on the malfunction signal from the second transfer device 22. In this case, the control unit 40 executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Here, error processing by the control unit 40 includes processing in which the control unit 40 displays an alert on a display unit (not shown) or outputs an alert by voice. Alternatively, alert processing by the control unit 40 includes processing in which the control unit 40 activates the lock mechanism 60A of the thermal transfer system 10 to prevent the ink ribbon 13 or the cassette 51 that stores the ink ribbon 13 from being removed from the thermal transfer system.

After the error processing is completed, the user can resume the thermal transfer function.

In this embodiment, a malfunction of the second transfer device 22 may occur, for example, when the mounting plate 46 is tilted relative to the stay 50, causing the limit switch 48 of the drive cylinder 45A to fail to operate, or when the drive cylinder 45A does not stop even after a predetermined time has elapsed after the limit switch 48 is activated.

In this case, the second heating element 23 cannot be lowered appropriately and accurately. When a malfunction signal for the second transfer device 22 is sent from the second transfer device 22 to the control unit 40, the control unit 40 determines that it is difficult to continue the termination process based on the malfunction signal from the second transfer device 22, and executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Alternatively, a malfunction of the second transfer device 22 may be a broken wire in the second heating element 23 or some other defect in the second heating element 23 itself. In this case, the second heating element 23 will not operate normally. When a malfunction signal for the second transfer device 22 is sent from the second transfer device 22 to the control unit 40, the control unit 40 determines that it is difficult to continue the termination process based on the malfunction signal from the second transfer device 22, and executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Similarly, if the ink ribbon 13 becomes caught on some component during the termination process and the ink ribbon 13 cannot be fed stably, the control unit 40 executes error processing, just as it does during normal processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

For example, if the ink ribbon 13 gets caught on some kind of component, and then the ink ribbon 13 becomes unhooked and is suddenly wound up by the winding section 21, the number of rotations of the feed section 16 obtained by reading the detector 16b provided on the feed shaft 16a with the detector sensor 16c may exceed the reference range.

Similarly, the number of rotations of the winding section 21 obtained by reading the detection body 21b provided on the winding shaft 21a with the detection body sensor 21c may exceed the reference range.

According to this embodiment, in such a case, when the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 or the rotation speed of the winding unit 21 exceeds the reference range, the control unit 40 determines that it is difficult to continue the termination process because the ink ribbon 13 is not being fed stably, and executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

On the other hand, if the ink ribbon 13 gets caught on some part, the rotation speed of the delivery section 16 may fall below the standard range, or the rotation speed of the winding section 21 may fall below the standard range.

According to this embodiment, in such a case, when the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 or the rotation speed of the winding unit 21 falls below the reference range, the control unit 40 determines that it is difficult to continue the termination process because the ink ribbon is not being fed stably, and executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

During this time, a current signal from the drive motor of the drive unit 21A of the winding unit 21 is sent to the control unit 40. If the current value from the drive motor exceeds the reference range, the control unit 40 determines that it is difficult to continue the termination process because the ink ribbon 13 is not being fed stably, and executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Furthermore, if the end of the leader film of the ink ribbon 13 is detected by the optical sensor 30 provided near the upstream side of the first transfer device 17 during the termination process, the control unit 40 determines that the remaining amount of ink ribbon 13 is extremely low based on the signal from the optical sensor 30. In this case, the control unit 40 further performs the following action, determines that it is difficult to continue the termination process, and executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

Specifically, the control unit 40 has a built-in value of the length l of the ink ribbon 13 required for the termination process. The control unit 40 also determines the length of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding unit 21 from the start of the termination process to the time when the optical sensor 30 detects the end of the leader film of the ink ribbon 13, i.e., the length a of the ink ribbon 13 after the termination process. At the same time, the control unit 40 determines the distance b from the optical sensor 30 to the second heater 23 based on the signal from the optical sensor 30.

The control unit 40 then performs the following calculation using l, a, and b. That is, when l≧a+b, the control unit 40 determines based on the result of this calculation that the length of the ink ribbon 13 required for the termination process cannot be secured, and that it is difficult to continue the termination process, and executes error processing. Note that the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing.

If the optical sensor 30 does not detect the end of the leader film of the ink ribbon 13, the termination process continues. If the ink ribbon or the cassette storing the ink ribbon is removed from the thermal transfer system during the termination process, it becomes difficult to continue the termination process, so error processing is executed. The termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 may be stopped at the same time as the error processing. In the above embodiment, the case where the ink ribbon 13 or the cassette storing the ink ribbon 13 is removed is described, but there may be a case where there is no cassette and the ink ribbon is directly loaded into the thermal transfer system 10. In that case, error processing is executed when the ink ribbon is removed from the thermal transfer system 10. Alternatively, the termination process of the thermal transfer system 10 is stopped at the same time as the error processing.

After the winding unit 21 has thus wound up the length of ink ribbon 13 required for the termination process, the control unit 40 displays "Ink ribbon replacement" on the display unit (not shown) to complete the termination process. In this case, the control unit 40 counts the total number of rotations of the winding shaft 21a based on a signal sent from the detection body sensor 21c of the winding shaft 21a, and can determine based on this count that the winding unit 21 has wound up the length of ink ribbon required for the termination process.

After this thermal transfer completion process is performed, the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 is stopped, and the ink ribbon 13 or the cassette 51 containing the ink ribbon 13 is removed.

As described above, according to this embodiment, the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred thereto, which is wound by the winding section 21 of the winding device 20 in the normal process, is heated from the outside in the second pattern by the second transfer device 22. Then, a series of ink ribbons 13 with the ink transferred thereto are wound by the winding section 21, and after being heated from the outside in the second pattern 26 by the second transfer device 22, the ink ribbons 13 are removed from the winding section 21 and discarded. At this time, no adhesive treatment is applied between the ink ribbons 13 wound on the winding section 21, for example, between the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B, so that the ink ribbons 13 can be easily removed from the winding section 21. Therefore, the winding section 21 can be used repeatedly. This makes it possible to reduce the cost of processing the ink ribbons 13 with the ink transferred thereto, compared to when the winding section 21 is discarded together with the ink ribbons 13 with the ink transferred thereto.

Thus, according to this embodiment, the thermal transfer system 10 includes a sending section 16 that sends out the ink ribbon 13, a first transfer device 17 that is arranged downstream of the sending section 16 and has a first heating body 18 provided on the support layer 11 side of the ink ribbon 13 and transfers the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 to the transferee 14 in a first pattern, a winding section 21 that is arranged downstream of the first transfer device 17 and winds up the ink ribbon 13 after the ink transfer, and a second transfer device 22 that is arranged near the winding section 21 and has a second heating body 23 that heats the ink ribbon 13 after the ink transfer from the support layer 11 side. Therefore, the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A heated by the second transfer device 22 can be transferred to the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B located inside the outer ink ribbon 13A in a second pattern 26 different from the first pattern in the first transfer device 17. This makes it possible to prevent the first pattern in the first transfer device 17, i.e., the ID information printed on the transfer target 14, from being identified from the ink ribbon 13 on which the ink has been transferred.

According to this embodiment, during normal processing, the control unit 40 constantly determines the ratio (first rotation speed ratio) between the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 and the rotation speed of the winding unit 21. Next, when the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 is stopped and normal processing is resumed, the control unit 40 determines the ratio (second rotation speed ratio) between the rotation speed of the delivery unit 16 and the rotation speed of the winding unit 21. Next, the control unit 40 compares the first rotation speed ratio with the second rotation speed ratio, and if the first rotation speed ratio and the second rotation speed ratio are different, the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 is stopped again and error processing is performed. This makes it possible to detect in advance that the ink ribbon 13 has been removed from the cassette 55 or the thermal transfer system 10 and replaced with a new ink ribbon 13 while the operation of the thermal transfer system 10 is stopped. This prevents the ink ribbon 13 that has not undergone the termination processing in the subsequent process from being taken out to the outside, and the first pattern remaining on the ink ribbon 13 is not read.

According to this embodiment, the thermal transfer is terminated after the termination process. In this case, the first transfer device 17 is stopped to stop the transfer to the transferee 14. Next, the winding unit 21 winds the ink ribbon 13 by the distance from the first transfer device 17 to the second transfer device 22, and the second transfer device 22 is operated, so that the first pattern does not remain on the ink ribbon 13. Furthermore, the winding unit 21 winds the ink ribbon 13, and a part that functions as a cover can be provided on the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13. In addition, the control unit 40 calculates whether the termination process can be continued based on the remaining amount of the ink ribbon 13, and then executes error processing by the thermal transfer system 10 based on the calculation result, or stops the termination process, so that the ink ribbon 13 that has not been terminated is not discharged to the outside.

Furthermore, the case 1 is provided with an opening 2 for inserting and removing the second transfer device 22, so that the second transfer device 22 can be inserted into the case 1 through this opening 2, and the second transfer device 22 inside the case 1 can be easily removed to the outside through the opening 2. Furthermore, by covering the opening 2 with a shutter 3, the first pattern of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21 can be prevented from being viewed from the outside through the opening 2.

In the above embodiment, an optical sensor 30 is provided near the upstream side of the first transfer device 17, and the control unit 40 calculates whether the termination process can be continued based on the remaining amount of ink ribbon 13 based on a signal from the optical sensor 30, and then executes error processing by the thermal transfer system 10 or stops the termination process based on the calculation result. However, this is not limited to the above, and the control unit 40 may immediately determine that it is difficult to continue the termination process based on the signal from the optical sensor 30 without calculating whether the termination process can be continued, and execute error processing by the thermal transfer system 10 or stop the termination process. In this case, the optical sensor 30 does not need to be provided upstream of the first transfer device 17, and may be provided downstream of the first transfer device 17.

In the above embodiment, an example has been described in which the second transfer device 22 has the second heating element 23 made of a block-shaped heating element, but as another example, the second transfer device 22 may be configured with a second heating element made of a roll-shaped heating element.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Case 2 Opening 3 Shutter 10 Thermal transfer system 11 Support layer 12 Ink layer 12a Ink 12b Ink-missing portion (first pattern)
12c Ink transferred onto support layer by second transfer device 13 Ink ribbon 13A Outer ink ribbon 13B Inner ink ribbon 14 Transferred object 15 Guide roll 16 Delivery section 16a Delivery shaft 16b Detection body 16c Detection body sensor 17 First transfer device 18 First heating body 19 Platen roll 20 Winding device 21 Winding section 21A Driving section 21a Winding shaft 21b Detection body 21c Detection body sensor 22 Second transfer device 23 Second heating body 23a Protrusion 26 Second pattern 30 Optical sensor 31 Additional optical sensor 40 Control section 45 Support mechanism 45A Drive cylinder 46 Mounting plate 47 Spring 48 Limit switch 49 Connecting shaft 50 Stay 51 Cassette 52 Receiving section 52a Opening 52b Elastic resin 53 Receiving portion 53a Opening 53b Elastic resin 60 Lock plate 60A Ink ribbon lock mechanism 61 Swing shaft 62 Magnet

Claims (4)

In a thermal transfer system,
a delivery section for delivering an ink ribbon having an ink layer and a support layer;
a first transfer device disposed downstream of the delivery section, the first transfer device having a first heating element provided on the support layer side of the ink ribbon, and transferring ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to a transfer target body in a first pattern;
a take-up unit that is disposed downstream of the first transfer device and that takes up the ink ribbon after the ink transfer;
a second transfer device provided near the winding section and having a second heating body for heating the ink ribbon having the ink transferred thereto from the support layer side, and for transferring the ink of the ink layer to the ink ribbon on the inside in a second pattern different from the first pattern;
a rotation speed sensor for detecting a rotation speed of the delivery unit;
a winding section rotation speed sensor for detecting a rotation speed of the winding section;
A control unit.
the control unit determines a first rotational speed ratio between the supply unit and the take-up unit based on signals from the supply unit rotational speed sensor and the take-up unit rotational speed sensor during operation of the thermal transfer system;
A thermal transfer system, wherein when operation of the thermal transfer system is stopped and then resumed, a second rotational speed ratio between the feed section and the winding section is calculated based on signals from the feed section rotational speed sensor and the winding section rotational speed sensor, and when the second rotational speed ratio is different from the first rotational speed ratio, it is determined that the ink ribbon has been replaced. The thermal transfer system of claim 1, wherein the control unit executes error processing when it determines that the ink ribbon has been replaced. further comprising an ink ribbon lock mechanism for preventing the ink ribbon from being removed to the outside;
3. The thermal transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the control unit activates the ink ribbon lock mechanism when the operation of the thermal transfer system is stopped. The thermal transfer system of claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit determines that the second rotational speed ratio is different from the first rotational speed ratio when the second rotational speed ratio is out of a range of 95% to 105% of the first rotational speed ratio.