JP3094706B2 - Indirect transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a first base film.
The present invention relates to an indirect transfer device that forms a second transfer layer on a transfer layer and performs multiple transfer on the surface of a transfer target such as a card.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an indirect transfer device for recording an image on a card or the like, there is known an indirect transfer device for directly recording on a card using an end face type thermal head and a transfer ribbon. However, it is difficult for such a material to print uniformly on the surface of the transferred material having different thicknesses, shapes, materials, and the like.

Therefore, recently, an image is transferred and recorded as a first layer on an intermediate medium film once, and then the intermediate medium film is wound around the circular drum so that the first layer is outside, The second transfer film having the second transfer layer formed on the surface of the intermediate medium film on which the first layer has been formed is fed to the second transfer film.
The second transfer layer formed on the transfer film is positioned on the first layer of the intermediate medium film, and the thermal head is heated to transfer the second transfer layer onto the intermediate medium film.
The transferred intermediate medium film is positioned on a desired medium, and the hot stamping plate / heat roller is heated and pressed through the intermediate medium film, so that the first layer and the second layer are formed on the surface of a card or the like.
A method of transferring a transfer layer is known.

[0004]

However, in such a system, the hot stamping plate and the hot roller are formed in a predetermined mold, and even if the hot stamping plate or the hot roller can be replaced, the hot stamping plate or the hot roller can be replaced. In such a case, there is a problem that it is necessary to wait for these to cool down, start a replacement operation, and perform printing again, which is troublesome and time-consuming.

[0005] For this reason, there are many types of objects to be transferred. For example, it is very difficult to transfer an object to be transferred having a portion that cannot be transferred to the surface, such as a card containing a magnetic tape, an IC card, or a sign panel. There was a problem that took time.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Therefore, the indirect transfer device according to the present invention provides a transfer portion when the primary or secondary transfer layer formed on each of the intermediate medium film and the second transfer film is finally transferred onto a card. The transfer can be performed in accordance with the shape of the object, for example, a transferred object having a portion that cannot be transferred to the surface, such as a card containing a magnetic tape, an IC card, a sign panel, etc. The purpose of the present invention is to facilitate the transfer operation of the image.

[0007]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an indirect transfer apparatus comprising: a base film having a first transfer layer; and a first transfer layer of the base film. A second transfer film having a second transfer layer to be transferred to the formed surface, a film support roller for winding the base film around the peripheral surface such that the first transfer layer is exposed to the outside, A base film fixing unit that rotates and presses or separates the base film wound on the support roller from the surface of the support roller, and the base film fixed to the peripheral surface of the support roller by the base fixing unit. A second transfer film that is rotatable integrally with the support roller by bringing a portion of the second transfer film where the second transfer layer is formed into contact with the surface on which the one transfer layer is formed. Film fixing means, a first transfer device for transferring a second transfer layer of a second transfer film to a base film fixed to the peripheral surface of the support roller, and a first transfer device for supporting an object to be transferred. A transfer object supporting device for mounting the base film, on which the first transfer layer and the second transfer layer are transferred by the support roller, on a transfer object, at least arranged in a width direction of the base film; By having a small pitch heating element array to face the transfer material support device via the base film, and by causing this heating array body to generate heat based on information of transfer pixels to be transferred to the transfer object, A second transfer device for transferring the first transfer layer and the second transfer layer onto the transfer surface of the transfer object.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the indirect transfer device according to the first aspect, wherein the second transfer device detects a portion of the base film where the second transfer is performed. Transfer part detecting means, and when the transfer part detecting means detects the alignment between the surface of the transfer object and the transfer part of the base film, the positional relationship between the base film and the transfer object is determined. After the positioning of the base film and the object to be transferred is determined by the positioning means to be fixed, the first and second transfer layers on the base film are moved by the information of the object to be transferred. When a thermal head for transferring to an object to be transferred, and when the thermal head is moved toward and away from the positioned base film and the object to be transferred during transfer by the thermal head, Characterized in that a relatively slidable drive mechanism.

[0009]

According to the indirect transfer device of the present invention, the base film is wound around the peripheral surface of the film supporting roller, and the base film is pressed against the surface of the supporting roller by the base film fixing means. When the transfer film is contacted and the second transfer film is fixed to the support roller by the second transfer film fixing means, the second transfer film is fixed.
Transfer with a transfer film becomes possible. In this state the first
After transferring the second transfer layer to the base film by the transfer device, the base film is sent to the transfer object supporting device, and the second transfer layer is transferred to the base film.
When the heating element of the transfer device is heated by the information to be transferred of the transfer object, the first transfer layer and the second transfer layer are transferred onto the transfer object.

At this time, since the heating elements of the second transfer device are arranged in the width direction of the base film, the heating elements are moved in the longitudinal direction of the base film while the base film and the object to be transferred are integrally supported. If the heating part of the heating element is controlled in accordance with the slide pitch, predetermined transfer can be performed on the transfer target.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the indirect transfer apparatus according to the first aspect,
The second transfer device detects a transfer portion of the base film by a transfer portion detection means, and after positioning the base film and the transfer target by the positioning means, performs transfer control by a thermal head, Since the thermal head is moved up and down, the shape of the transfer
Even if the thickness is different, transfer can be performed on the transfer target without replacing the thermal head.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An indirect transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an indirect transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention. Reference numeral 1 denotes a base film having an image layer 1a as a first transfer layer;
Reference numeral 3 denotes a supply roll of the base film 1, reference numeral 3 denotes a take-up roll of the base film 1, reference numeral 4 denotes a second transfer film having an ink layer as a second transfer layer, reference numeral 5 denotes a supply roll of the second transfer film 4, and reference numeral Reference numeral 6 denotes a take-up roll of the second transfer film, reference numerals 7a, 7b, 7c, 7d denote guide rollers,
Reference numeral 8 denotes a circular drum, reference numeral 9 denotes a cylinder as a base film fixing means for fixing the base film 1 to the circular drum 8, reference numeral 10 denotes a cylinder for fixing the second transfer film 4 to the base film 1 of the circular drum 8, reference numeral 11 Is a thermal head as a first transfer device, reference numeral 12 is a card as an object to be transferred, reference numeral 13 is a table on which the card 12 is mounted, reference numeral 14 is a thermal head as a second transfer device for recording on the card 12, and reference numeral 15 Reference numeral 16 denotes an optical sensor as a transfer portion detecting means, reference numeral 16 denotes a CPU, reference numeral 17 denotes an input keyboard, reference numeral 18 denotes a monitor as a display device, and reference numeral 19 denotes a memory as a storage device.

The base film 1 is unrolled from a supply roll 2 and wound around a circular drum 8 via a guide roller 7a. The base film 1 wound around the circular drum 8 is guided by guide rolls 7b, 7c, 7d and wound around the winding roll 3. The rotation direction and the transport interval of the supply roll 2 and the take-up roll 3 are determined based on the configuration of pixels to be transferred to the card 12 on the table 13, and the transfer data of the card 12 is read from the CPU 16 to the memory 19. After that, a command is output from the CPU 19 to the motors that are the driving sources thereof via the interfaces 2a and 3a. Guide rollers 7a, 7b, 7
Reference numerals c and 7d are rotatable so that the base film 1 runs idle.

The second transfer film 4 is fed from the supply roll 5 to the take-up roll 6 and has a transfer ink area of yellow, magenta, cyan and black as a second transfer layer. In order to transfer a multicolor print to the base film 1, the rotation is controlled in the forward and reverse directions. This rotation control is performed by a control command of the CPU 16, and is controlled via a drive circuit 5 a of a motor for rotating the supply roll 5 and a drive circuit 6 a for rotating the take-up roll 6. For example, when first transferring the pixels in the yellow portion of the second transfer film 4 and then transferring the pixels in the magenta portion, the base film 1 is fixed to the circular drum 8 by the pair of cylinders 9 and the pair of cylinders While positioning the second transfer film 4 on the base film 1 by the steps 10 and 10, the supply rolls 2 and 5 and the take-up rolls 3 and 6 are rotated in the reverse direction, and the circular drum 8 and the second transfer film 4 are moved in the opposite directions. send. When the transfer start position of the base film 1 returns to the position of the heating element of the thermal head 11 by the transfer in the reverse direction, the circular drum 8
Is stopped, the pair of cylinders 10 are separated from the base film 1, and the supply roll 5 and the take-up roll 6 are rotated from the reverse rotation to the forward rotation to transfer the magenta portion to the transfer start position. The same applies to the transfer of cyan and black after the end of magenta.

The circular drum 8 constitutes a film supporting roller which is a constituent element of the present invention.
The motor 20 is rotated by 0, is connected to the CPU 16 via the motor drive circuit 21, and rotates in the forward and reverse directions according to a control command from the CPU 16. The rotational driving force of the motor 20 is transmitted by a belt in this embodiment, but may be a chain mechanism or a gear mechanism.

The base film fixing means which is a component of the present invention is constituted by a pair of cylinders 9 provided on a circular drum 8. The pair of cylinders 9, 9 extend in the direction of the rotation center axis of the circular drum 8, and are provided on arms 22 provided on both right and left sides of the circular drum 8.
Supported by The base end of the arm 22 is rotatably supported by the side end of the circular drum 8.
The two free ends pivotally support the end of the cylinder 10. An expanding / contracting end of an air cylinder 23 is rotatably supported on the free end of the arm 22. A base end of the air cylinder 23 is rotatably supported by a side end of the circular drum 8. The expansion / contraction operation of the air cylinder 23 is controlled by the CPU 16 via the air cylinder drive circuit 24.

That is, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, when the circular drum 8 around which the base film 1 is wound is rotated in the forward or reverse direction in order to rotate the base film 1 integrally with the circular drum 8. The air cylinder 23 contracts according to a control command from the CPU 16 to press the cylinders 9, 9 against the peripheral surface of the circular drum 8 to fix the base film 1 on the peripheral surface of the circular drum 8. When the base film 1 is not rotated integrally with the circular drum 8 and the base film 1 is simply fed to the take-up roll 3, the air cylinder 23 extends, and the rotation of the take-up roll 3 causes the supply cylinder 2 to rotate. The base film 1 is sent toward the winding roll 3.

The second transfer film fixing means, which is a constituent element of the present invention, is constituted by a pair of cylinders 10, 10 extending in parallel with the rotation axis of the circular drum 8.
The pair of cylinders 10, 10 are provided with an arm 25 pivotally supported on both left and right sides of the circular drum 8 and air for rotating the arm 25 to fix the second transfer film 4 on the base film 1 of the circular drum 8. Cylinder 26, air cylinder 26
And an air cylinder drive circuit 27 for driving the air cylinder.
Each arm 25 is rotatable, and is rotated by the contraction operation of the air cylinder 26 to immobilize the second transfer film on the base film 1 so as to be immovable or loosen so that the base film 1 can move. The air cylinder drive circuit 27 rotates the arm 25 according to a command signal from the CPU 16.

In order to position a predetermined portion of the ink layer of the second transfer film 4 on a predetermined portion of the image layer 1a of the base film fixed to the circular drum 8, the peripheral portion of the circular drum 8 is not shown. The first optical sensor and the second
An optical sensor is provided. The first optical sensor detects the image layer 1a of the base film 1 to be transferred, and the second optical sensor detects the ink layer of the second transfer film 4.
A light emitting element (not shown) that irradiates light toward the first optical sensor and the second optical sensor is provided outside the circular drum 8, and the first and second optical sensors are configured to emit light from these light emitting elements. Light is detected through the base film 1 and the second transfer film 4, and the predetermined transfer site of the base film 1 and the predetermined transfer site of the second transfer film 4 are positioned.
The base film 1 and the second transfer film 4 are each formed with a light-transmitting or light-blocking mark for specifying a portion to be transferred, and light from the optical element is transmitted or blocked by the mark. By doing so, the site to be transcribed is specified.

The thermal head denoted by reference numeral 11 constitutes a first transfer device which is a constituent element of the present invention. The thermal head 11 transfers the ink layer of the second transfer film 4 to the surface of the base film 1 fixed to the peripheral surface of the circular drum 8 on which the image layer 1a is formed. A heating element having a moving center and a size of a pixel to be transferred to the other end is provided. An extendable end of an air cylinder 28 is rotatably provided at an intermediate portion of the thermal head 11. The air cylinder 28 expands and contracts by receiving a control command from the CPU 16 via an air cylinder drive circuit 29. The thermal head 11 is brought into contact with the second transfer film 4 of the circular drum 8. The heating elements of the thermal head 11 are arranged in the width direction of the second transfer film 4 so as to make almost line contact with the second transfer film 4 wound around the circular drum 8. 30
The heat is controlled by the CPU 16 via the CPU.

The table denoted by reference numeral 13 constitutes an apparatus for supporting an object to be transferred on which the card 12 as an object to be transferred is mounted. In this example, the positioning of the card 12 on the table 13 is performed by using a card provided on the table 13. This is performed by a projection that abuts on the front, rear, left and right ends of 12. In addition, an air suction hole and a through hole are formed in the upper surface of the table 13, and a reflected light detection type optical sensor is provided in the through hole.
It is also conceivable to fix the card 12 by detecting the end portion or a predetermined portion of the card 12 with the optical sensor and sucking air.

The base film 1 moves above the card 12 on the table 13. The base film 1 is fixed to the upper surface of the table 13 by a pair of pressing rollers 31 which are moved up and down by a driving mechanism such as an air cylinder (not shown). A pair of holding rollers 31, 31 and the table 13
Constitutes a positioning means for fixing the positional relationship between the base film 1 and the card 12 according to the second aspect of the present invention.

The table 13 can be vertically displaced by a lifting device 32. The lifting device 32 is
It has a guide mechanism for guiding the table 13 in the vertical direction, a gear mechanism for moving the table 13 up and down, a motor for providing a driving force, and a motor drive circuit for driving the motor. Table 13 is moved up and down in response to the control command.

For example, when the base film 1 is
From the take-up roll 3 to the supply roll 2 or from the take-up roll 3 to the supply roll 2, the table 13 stands by at the lowered position. When the transfer of the second transfer film 4 is completed by the thermal head 11 as the first transfer device, the transfer completed portion of the base film 1 is located above the card 12 of the table 13, and the transfer completed portion of the base film 1 is Is detected by the optical sensor 15, the rotation of the supply roll 2 and the take-up roll 3 is stopped, and the pair of press rollers 31, 31 is displaced toward the table 13 so that the base is fixed to the table 13 and the press rollers 31, 31. The film 1 is fixed. After fixing the base film 1 on the table 13, the table 13 is raised by the elevating device 32, and the transfer portion of the base film 1 is transferred onto the upper surface of the card 12 by the thermal head 14 located above the table 13.

Thermal head 14 as second transfer device
Are provided with a heating element on an end face, and the heating elements are arranged in the width direction of the base film 1. Thermal head 14
Is the ball screw 33 and the ball screw 3 via the gear mechanism.
And a ball screw 33 for rotating the
And a slider 35 displaced in the longitudinal direction of the base film 1 by rotation of the ball screw 33 by being screwed into
The thermal head 14 is supported by the slider 35. The base film 1 is provided at the lower end of the thermal head 14.
A large number of heating elements arranged in the width direction are formed. The heating state of this heating element is controlled by the CPU 16 via the heating element drive circuit 36. In an initial state, the thermal head 14 is located on one of the front and rear ends of the card 12, and in this example, it is located on the left side of FIG.

That is, the card 12 of the table 13 is positioned by the positioning protrusion, and the base film 1 is fixed to the upper surface of the card 12 by the pressing rollers 31, 31.
When the table 13 is raised by the elevating device 32, the motor 34 is rotated to move the slider 35 to the right side of the card 12 while controlling the energization of the heating element of the thermal head 14 located on the left side of the card 12.

At this time, since the advancing pitch of the heating element with respect to the card 12 is constant depending on the rotation angle of the motor 34, the feed pitch is calculated while detecting the angle of the motor 34, and the pitch is calculated according to the dot matrix to be transferred to the card 12. To control the heating of the heating element. The dot matrix to be transferred to the card 12 is set with the feeding direction of the base film 1 as the X axis and the width direction of the base film 1 as the Y axis. The size of the pixels constituting the dot matrix in the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction is determined by the size of the heating element in the X-axis and Y-axis directions. The order of the pixels to be transferred in the X-axis direction is determined by the rotation angle of the motor, and the order of the pixels in the Y-axis direction is determined by the order of the heating elements in the Y-axis direction.

Therefore, when setting a portion which is not to be heated or transferred, such as an IC chip or a magnetic stripe, on the upper surface of the card 12, the X-axis and Y-axis coordinates described above are provided in the dot matrix of the card 12 to be transferred. Is set in advance, and the set information is stored in the memory 19. When the transfer is performed on the card 12 fixed on the upper surface of the table 13, the memory 19
Then, the transfer dot matrix of the card is called to the CPU 16 and the heat generation of the heating element is controlled via the heating element drive circuit 36 based on the transfer dot matrix data. The rotation angle of the motor 34 is determined by an angle detection sensor 37.
As a result, the advancing pitch of the heating element is detected based on a predetermined number of pulses detected by the angle detection sensor 37, so that the heating of the heating element can be controlled. Even when the transfer temperature of the ink material constituting the image layer 1a and the ink material of the ink layer is different, a portion where the image layer 1a is transferred and an area where the ink layer is transferred are set in the dot matrix, and heat is generated in each area. By changing the heating voltage of the body, it is also possible to obtain an optimum transfer state.

The driving mechanism according to a second aspect of the present invention comprises the elevating mechanism 32 of the table 13, the ball screw 33, the motor 34, and the slider 35.
Since the slide of the thermal head 14 is relative, the table 13 may be moved. or,
It is of course conceivable to move the thermal head 14 up and down.

According to the indirect transfer device of this embodiment,
The base film 1 is wound around the peripheral surface of the circular drum 8, the base film 1 is pressed against the circular drum 8 by a pair of cylinders 9, 9, and the second transfer film 4 is brought into contact with the base film 1 of the circular drum 8. Cylinders 10, 10
When the second transfer film 4 is fixed to the base film 1, the transfer by the thermal head 11 becomes possible. In this state, after the transfer layer of the second transfer film 4 is transferred to the base film 1 by the thermal head 11, the base film 1 is sent to the table 13 and the thermal head 14 generates heat. Then, the image layer 1a and the ink layer are transferred.

At this time, since the heating elements of the thermal head 14 are arranged in the width direction of the base film 1, the thermal head 14 is moved in the longitudinal direction of the base film 1 while the base film 1 and the card 12 are integrally supported. If the heat generating portion of the thermal head 1 is controlled in accordance with the slide pitch, even if the card 12 has an IC which must not be transferred like the card 12 shown in FIG. , And a predetermined transfer can be performed.

[0033]

According to the indirect transfer device of the present invention, after the second transfer layer is transferred to the base film by the first transfer device, the base film is sent to the transfer object supporting device, and the heating element of the second transfer device is removed. When heat is generated by the information to be transferred of the transfer object, the first transfer layer and the second transfer layer are transferred onto the transfer object. At this time, since the heating elements of the second transfer device are arranged in the width direction of the base film, the heating elements are relatively slid in the longitudinal direction of the base film while the base film and the object to be transferred are integrally supported. By controlling the heat generating portion of the heat generating element in accordance with the slide pitch, predetermined transfer can be performed on the transfer target. Therefore, for example, a card containing a magnetic tape, an IC card,
It is possible to easily perform a transfer operation of an object to be transferred having a portion on the surface which should not be transferred, such as a sign panel.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the indirect transfer apparatus according to the first aspect,
The second transfer device detects a transfer portion of the base film by a transfer portion detection means, and after positioning the base film and the transfer target by the positioning means, performs transfer control by a thermal head, Since the thermal head is moved up and down, the shape of the transfer
Even if the thickness is different, transfer can be performed on the transfer target without replacing the thermal head.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an indirect transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing a state of a cylinder for fixing a circular drum, a base film, and a second transfer film according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state of a cylinder for fixing a circular drum, a base film, and a second transfer film according to the present embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of a card transferred by the indirect transfer device of the embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a state where the image is transferred by the indirect transfer device of the present embodiment

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 1 base film 4 second transfer film 8 circular drum 9 pair of cylinders 10 pair of cylinders 11 thermal head (first transfer device) 12 card (transfer target) 13 table 14 thermal head 15 optical sensor 16 CPU 20 motor 31 press roller 33 Ball screw 34 Motor 35 Slider 36 Heating element drive circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B41J 2/32-2/325 B41M 5/26

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A base film having a first transfer layer; a second transfer film having a second transfer layer transferred to a surface of the base film on which the first transfer layer is formed; A film support roller wound around the peripheral surface so that one transfer layer is exposed to the outside; and a film that rotates integrally with the support roller and presses or separates the base film wound on the support roller against the surface of the support roller. A base film fixing means, and a portion of the base film, on which the first transfer layer is formed, fixed to the peripheral surface of the support roller by the base fixing means, where the second transfer layer of the second transfer film is formed And a second transfer film fixing means rotatable integrally with the support roller, and a second transfer film fixed to the base film fixed to the peripheral surface of the support roller. A first transfer device for transferring a second transfer layer of a film, and a base for supporting an object to be transferred, wherein the first transfer layer and the second transfer layer are transferred by the first transfer device and the support roller. A transfer object support device for mounting a film on a transfer object, and a small pitch heating element array arranged at least in the width direction of the base film and facing the transfer object support device via the base film. The first transfer layer and the second transfer layer are transferred onto the transfer surface of the transfer object by causing the heating array to generate heat based on information of transfer pixels to be transferred to the transfer object. And an indirect transfer device, comprising: 2. The indirect transfer device according to claim 1, wherein
The second transfer device includes: a transfer portion detecting unit that detects a portion of the base film on which the second transfer has been performed; and a positioning of a surface of the object to be transferred and a transfer portion of the base film by the transfer portion detecting unit. When is detected, positioning means for fixing the positional relationship between the base film and the object to be transferred, and after the positioning between the base film and the object to be transferred is determined by the positioning means, A thermal head for transferring the first and second transfer layers on the base film to the object to be transferred based on information of the object to be transferred; and An indirect transfer device, comprising: a drive mechanism that moves the thermal head closer and further away and that can relatively slide.