JP2887966B2 - Image transfer device with movable ironing roller - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image transfer device.
More specifically, the present invention relates to an image transfer apparatus provided with an image forming material applying apparatus which prevents generation of wrinkles and the like accompanying the impression cylinder of the image forming material and does not cause misregistration caused by the image forming material.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an image forming material having a photosensitive layer coated on one side of a support is image-exposed, and then the image formed on the photosensitive layer is generally heated, for example, on paper or the like. A single-color or multi-color prepress proof suitable for proof printing or the like transferred to an image receptor has been produced.

When an image formed on a photosensitive layer is transferred to paper by pressing a photosensitive layer of an image forming material onto an image receptor such as paper, four colors are printed on one sheet of paper. The images are transferred in an overlapping manner. In this case, if wrinkles or the like occur when the image forming material is attached to the impression cylinder or the like, misregistration occurs in the overprinted second and subsequent colors, and a beautiful printed matter suitable for the purpose of proof printing cannot be obtained.

The image forming material used in the present invention comprises a support, a photosensitive layer formed on one surface of the support, and a protective film. As the support and the protective film, a thin film or sheet made of a material such as cellulose acetate, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, or polyethylene terephthalate is used. Since the support and the protective film are made of such a soft material, they have a characteristic that wrinkles, slacks, and the like are easily generated at the time of attachment to the impression cylinder.

[0005] As an apparatus for preparing the prepress proof, an impression cylinder having an image forming material attached thereto and a transfer cylinder having an image receptor attached thereto are arranged such that a photosensitive layer of the image forming material and the image receptor are opposed to each other. An apparatus has been generally proposed in which both cylinders are contact-pressed and an image formed on a photosensitive layer is transferred to an image receptor at a nip between the cylinders. In such an apparatus, the development of an apparatus for easily attaching a soft sheet-like material such as an image forming material to a rotating object such as an impression cylinder and a transfer cylinder with excellent registration accuracy without causing wrinkles, sagging or the like. Although there has been a strong demand for such a device, a device satisfying such a request has not yet been developed.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an image transfer apparatus such as an apparatus for producing a prepress proof, which is a simple means for forming a soft sheet-like material such as an image forming material without wrinkling, sagging or the like. It is an object of the present invention to provide an image transfer apparatus which can be easily mounted and easily attached and detached.

According to the present invention, there is provided an impression cylinder having an image forming material attached thereto and a transfer cylinder having an image receptor attached thereto, and an image formed on a photosensitive layer of the image forming material is transferred between the impression cylinder and the transfer cylinder. Wherein the transfer device comprises an ironing roller for bringing the image forming material into close contact with the surface of the impression cylinder, wherein the ironing roller extends on both sides of the ironing roller. And a swing arm having the roller shaft inserted into the elongated hole, wherein the swing arm is eccentric from a center point of the impression cylinder, and is located at a position inside a surface including the impression cylinder circumferential surface and an extension surface thereof. So that the ironing roller is drawn toward the impression cylinder surface via an elastic member provided between the roller shaft and the swing arm. Become , The ironing roller provides a movable roller with the image transfer device, characterized in that the pivot between a contact position and a non-contact position to the impression cylinder surface by rotation of the swing arm.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of an image transfer apparatus provided with a movable ironing roller according to the present invention. An image forming material and an image receiving member (not shown) are attached to the impression cylinder 1 and the transfer cylinder 2, respectively, rotated in the direction of the arrow, and formed on the photosensitive layer of the image forming material by image exposure at the nip between the two cylinders. The resulting image is pressed onto an image receiver and transferred. A sheet support 4 and a magnet sheet 5 provided in a partially cutout portion 3 of the impression cylinder 1
The upper side of the image forming material is sandwiched between them, and then the impression cylinder 1 is rotated, and the lower side of the image forming material is adhered to the adhesive tape 6 to attach the image forming material to the impression cylinder 1. The image receiver is attached to the transfer cylinder 2 by a clamp 7. Any appropriate means can be adopted as the means for attaching the image forming material and the image receptor. Since the image forming material is made of a soft material, wrinkles, slacks, and the like are easily generated between the upper side of the image forming material and the lower side. In order to prevent the occurrence of such wrinkles and sagging, after the upper side of the image forming material is attached, the impression cylinder 1 is rotated while the image forming material is brought into close contact with the surface of the impression cylinder by an ironing roller 8, and then the image forming material is A method of attaching the lower side of the to the impression cylinder has been proposed in the past. The present invention discloses a movable ironing roller which is easy to handle and has an excellent ironing effect. The ironing roller is preferably coated with a heat-resistant resin such as silicone rubber and has an appropriate frictional force with the image forming material.

FIG. 2 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a specific configuration of the ironing roller of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a partial front view of an image transfer device including the ironing roller of the present invention. A roller shaft 9 extending from the side of the ironing roller 8 is inserted through an elongated hole 11 provided at an end of a swing arm 10. The other end of the swing arm 10 is mounted on a swing arm shaft 13 that is supported by a frame 12 of the image transfer device. The swing arm shaft 13 is supported by a guide rail support member 25 attached to the frame 12 at a position eccentric from the center axis of the impression cylinder 1, and by rotation of the swing arm shaft 13, the ironing roller 8 is moved to the surface of the impression cylinder. It can move between a contact position and a non-contact position. The ironing roller 8 in the non-contact position is shown by a broken line in FIG. An elastic member 15 having one end fixed to the swing arm 10 is attached to the roller shaft 9 of the ironing roller 8. With this elastic member, the contact pressure between the ironing roller 8 and the surface of the impression cylinder is adjusted.

When the ironing roller 8 is at a position where it comes into contact with the surface of the impression cylinder, a guide rail 16 is arranged so as to come into contact with a guide roller 14 attached to the tip of the roller shaft 9. The guide rail 16 prevents the ironing roller 8 from moving with the rotation of the impression cylinder when the ironing roller 8 rotates in contact with the surface of the impression cylinder.

The swing arm 10 is rotated manually or electrically. 2 and 3 show the case of electric power. A pulley 17 is attached to a swing arm shaft 13, and a pulley 2 attached to a swing arm operating shaft 19 driven by the pulley 17 and a motor 18.
The belt 21 is connected between the two. The swing arm operating shaft is supported by the front and rear frames 12 of the impression cylinder. Thereby, the front and back swing arms 10 are simultaneously operated.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, a cover 22 is provided on the ironing roller 8, and a movable cover 24 provided at the tip of a body exterior cover 23 is rotated by the rotation of the ironing roller 8. It is preferable to open and close the movable cover 24 from the viewpoint of safety.

The operation of the image transfer apparatus with a movable ironing roller according to the present invention will be described below. After the upper side of the image forming material is held by the impression cylinder with the magnet sheet 5, the ironing roller 8 is driven by the swing arm shaft 13 to rotate toward the guide rail 16. The guide roller 14 provided at the tip of the roller shaft 9 moves along the guide rail 16, and the ironing roller 8 contacts the impression cylinder surface at the cut portion of the guide rail. The contact pressure between the ironing roller 8 and the impression cylinder surface is adjusted by the elastic member 15. The adjustment of the contact pressure has a great effect on the occurrence of wrinkles, sagging and the like in the image forming material, and therefore it is necessary to appropriately adjust the contact pressure with an elastic member.

After the ironing roller 8 is brought into contact with the impression cylinder,
The impression cylinder 1 is rotated, and the ironing roller also rotates as the impression cylinder rotates, whereby the image forming material is brought into close contact with the surface of the impression cylinder. Next, the lower side of the image forming material is adhered to the adhesive tape 6.

[0016]

According to the present invention, there is provided an image transfer apparatus with a movable ironing roller which can easily eliminate the cause of misalignment such as wrinkles of an image forming material. Further, according to the present invention, there is provided an image transfer device with a movable ironing roller capable of bringing the image forming material into close contact with the surface of the impression cylinder by a simple operation. When the ironing roller is not used, the ironing roller is housed in the outer cover, which is preferable in terms of workability.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram of an image transfer device.

FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged schematic cross-sectional view of the image transfer device.

FIG. 3 is a partial front view of the image transfer device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Impression cylinder 2 Transfer cylinder 8 Ironing roller 10 Swing arm 14 Guide roller 15 Elastic member 16 Guide rail

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of front page (56) References JP-A-5-27418 (JP, A) JP-A-5-27416 (JP, A) JP-A-1-172957 (JP, A) JP-A-1-274957 141072 (JP, A) Japanese Utility Model Showa 64-50957 (JP, U) (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁶ , DB name) G03F 7/26 521

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An image forming apparatus comprising: an impression cylinder having an image forming material attached thereto; and a transfer cylinder having an image receptor attached thereto, wherein an image formed on a photosensitive layer of the image forming material is nipped between the impression cylinder and the transfer cylinder. Wherein the transfer device is provided with an ironing roller for bringing the image forming material into close contact with the surface of the impression cylinder, the ironing roller having a roller shaft extending to both sides of the ironing roller, and A swing arm having a roller shaft inserted into the elongated hole, the swing arm being eccentric from the center point of the impression cylinder, and having a circumferential surface of the impression cylinder .
And a swing arm shaft supported by a frame of the transfer device at a position inside a surface including the extension surface thereof, and the ironing roller is an elastic member provided between the roller shaft and the swing arm. And the ironing roller is rotated between a contact position and a non-contact position on the impression cylinder surface by rotation of the swing arm. Image transfer device with movable roller. 2. The image transfer device according to claim 1, wherein
With a movable roller, a guide rail that prevents the ironing roller from moving with the rotation of the impression cylinder is installed near the impression cylinder surface so as to contact the guide roller provided at the tip of the roller shaft Image transfer device. 3. The image transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The tip side of the outer cover on the impression cylinder side is a movable cover,
An image transfer device with a movable roller, wherein the movable cover is opened and closed by rotation of an ironing roller.