JP5076586B2 - Embossing device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an embossing apparatus for a sheet-like print product, and more particularly to an embossing apparatus capable of preventing curling of a print product provided with irregularities by embossing.

  Some printed matter such as photographs have an embossed surface to reduce glossiness. As an apparatus for performing such embossing, an embossing roller having an uneven surface and a built-in heater, and an opposing roller disposed facing the embossing roller, an image was formed by thermal transfer. An apparatus is known in which an image receiving sheet is sandwiched between these rollers to provide unevenness on the image forming surface of the image receiving sheet.

  In the step of imparting the irregularities, the embossed roller heated to impart irregularities to the printed material, the embossed side of the printed material is expanded or contracted by heat, and the photographic paper is curved, that is, curled. Such a curled print is not preferable as a product, and may cause a feeding error in the subsequent process.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there are printers for printing products that are provided with a mechanism for removing curl. As such a curl removing mechanism, for example, a deformable roller and a counter roller are provided, and a print is provided therebetween. A mechanism that removes curl by passing the object through and curling in the opposite direction (see Patent Document 1), a mechanism that presses the two curl removal rollers against the outer peripheral surface of the transport roller, and passes the printed material between them. A mechanism in which a part of the curl removing belt wound around the pulley pair is pressed against the outer peripheral surface and the printed material is allowed to pass between them, and a mechanism in which the printed material is allowed to pass between the bending guides (see Patent Document 2). There is a mechanism (see Patent Document 3) for pressing the printed paper in the direction opposite to the curl direction when the paper is discharged.

JP 2000-143067 A JP-A-7-267454 Japanese Patent No. 2910345

  However, such an anti-curl mechanism is a mechanism that forcibly bends the printed material that has already been curled in the reverse direction to remove the curl. The curl may not be removed.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide an embossing apparatus capable of obtaining a printed product embossed without wrinkles and curls.

In order to achieve the above object, an embossing device (1) of the present invention comprises an embossing roller (15) having a surface with irregularities (17) and heating means (19), and the embossing roller (15 ) And a counter roller (16) disposed opposite to the sheet, and a sheet-like printed matter (between the embossing roller (15) and the counter roller (16) heated by the heating means (19). 2) In the embossing apparatus (1) for sandwiching the printed material (2) with the unevenness, the unevenness is formed on the printed material (2) between the embossing roller (15) and the opposing roller (16). A gap portion extending along the feeding direction of the printed matter (2) and passing through the printed matter (2) in a substantially flat state downstream of the portion to be applied with respect to the feeding direction of the printed matter (2) ( 28) Comprising a Le prevention guide (25), a paper discharge tray (39) provided for holding a printed product discharged from said curl prevention guide on the downstream side of the feed direction of the print object relative to the anti-curl guide, the embossed The roller and the opposing roller are arranged so that the center of the printed material discharged to the paper discharge tray is curled convexly with respect to the mounting surface of the paper discharge tray, and the paper discharge tray is center that holds a printed matter curled convex to the mounting surface of the paper discharge tray.

The printed material embossed by passing between the heated embossing roller and the counter roller is still in a high temperature state immediately after the processing. According to the present invention, the printed matter is inserted in a substantially flat state through the gap portion of the downstream curl prevention guide in a state where the temperature is high and the curl is not yet fixed. Since the sheet is naturally cooled while being conveyed in the gap in the flat state, the printed matter discharged from the curl prevention guide is in a flat state without curling. On the other hand, the printed matter may have some heat even after being discharged to the paper discharge tray, and the shape held during this time may be stored. That is, when the printed material is held in a curled shape on the paper discharge tray, the printed material may be curled even though it is prevented from being curled by the curl prevention guide. By holding the printed material so that the center of the printed material is convex on the paper discharge tray, curling can be corrected by the weight of the printed material.

  In one embodiment of the present invention, the gap (28) may extend in the thickness direction of the printed matter (2) to be inserted at the upstream end. According to this, even if the printed material sent from between the embossing roller and the counter roller is somewhat curled, the upstream end that becomes the entrance to the gap portion extends in the thickness direction of the printed material. The printed material can be easily inserted into the gap.

Further, in one embodiment of the present invention, the anti-curl guide (25) includes two flat plates (26, 27) extending in parallel with each other along a feeding direction of the printed matter (2), and the gap portion ( 28) may be formed by a gap between the two flat plates (26, 27). According to this, since the said gap | interval part is formed in the clearance gap between two parallel flat plates, manufacture is easy and it does not take a place. In one embodiment of the present invention, the paper discharge tray may have a flat shape.

  In addition, in the above description, in order to make an understanding of this invention easy, the reference sign of the accompanying drawing was attached in parenthesis, but this invention is not limited to the form of illustration by it.

  As described above, according to the embossing device of the present invention, when the printed product after embossing is cooled, the printed product is kept in a state where it cannot be curled, so that the printed product is flattened. It is possible to obtain a flat print with no color.

  FIG. 1 shows a schematic view of an embossing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The embossing device 1 is a device that applies a pressure to a sheet-like photographic paper 2 as a printed matter to give unevenness to the surface. In this embodiment, the photographic paper 2 is a photograph in which an image is thermally transferred to an image-receiving sheet using a paper as a base material and the surface is covered with a protective layer. The embossing device 1 is a surface on the protective layer side of the photographic paper 2. This is an apparatus for processing irregularities on the (image forming surface) and processing them into a matte shape with reduced gloss.

  The embossing apparatus 1 holds a photographic paper 2 before processing, a processing unit 4 for embossing the photographic paper 2 carried from the holding unit 3, and discharges the processed photographic paper 2. And a housing 6 that covers the processing unit 4. The housing 6 is provided with an inlet 7 and an outlet 8.

  The holding unit 3 includes a paper feed tray 10 that can hold a plurality of photographic papers 2 in a stacked state, and a pickup roller 11 that feeds the photographic papers 2 placed on the paper feed tray 10 to the processing unit 4 one by one. . The pickup roller 11 is rotated by a driving mechanism (not shown).

  The processing unit 4 includes a pair of conveyance rollers 13 a and 13 b rotated by a driving mechanism (not shown) for further conveying the photographic paper 2 sent by the pickup roller 11 of the holding unit 3, and the photographic paper 2. A cleaning roller 14 that removes dirt such as dust on the surface, an embossing roller 15 that performs embossing with the conveyance rollers 13a and 13b and the photographic paper 2 conveyed by the cleaning roller 14 interposed therebetween, and the embossing roller 15 A pair of opposed rollers 16.

  FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a portion from the embossing roller 15 and the opposing roller 16 to the discharge unit 5. The embossing roller 15 is a cylindrical member made of a hollow material made of aluminum or the like, and has an uneven surface 17 formed on the surface thereof as conceptually shown in FIG. A rotating shaft 18 is inserted in the center along the longitudinal direction, and a heating mechanism 19 that can set the surface temperature within a predetermined temperature range is provided inside the rotating shaft 18. The heating mechanism 19 includes a heating element such as a heater, and the surface temperature of the embossing roller 15 can be set by appropriately setting the amount of heat generated by the heater. Further, a driving mechanism (not shown) is connected to the embossing roller 15, and the embossing roller 15 is rotated by this driving mechanism.

  The opposing roller 16 includes a cylindrical member 20 formed of a material such as aluminum as with the embossing roller 15 and an elastic member 21 wound around the outer periphery thereof. Although the elastic member 21 uses rubber in this embodiment, the elastic member 21 is not limited to this and may be a member having cushioning properties. Similarly to the embossing roller 15, the counter roller 16 has a rotation shaft 22 inserted through the center in the longitudinal direction. The rotating shafts 18 and 22 of the embossing roller 15 and the counter roller 16 are fixed so as to be rotatable and parallel to each other with respect to support plates (not shown) provided at both ends of both the rollers 15 and 16 with bearings interposed therebetween. Has been.

  An anti-curl portion extending along the feeding direction of the photographic paper 2 on the downstream side of the photographic paper 2 between the embossing roller 15 and the opposing roller 16 of the processing unit 4 with respect to the feeding direction of the printed matter. A guide 25 is provided. The curl prevention guide 25 includes an upper flat plate 26 and a lower flat plate 27 that extend in parallel to each other, and a gap 28 that extends at a constant interval is provided between the upper flat plate 26 and the lower flat plate 27. Further, the upstream end portion of the upper flat plate 26 bends in a shape of an upward-facing portion, and the upstream end portion of the lower flat plate 27 is bent in a shape of a downward-facing portion, whereby the gap portion 28 is directed toward the upstream side. An insertion port 30 is formed which gradually spreads in the thickness direction of the inserted photographic paper 2 and has a funnel-shaped cross section.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 3, an upper conveyance roller 31 and a lower conveyance roller 32 that convey the photographic paper 2 in pairs between the downstream end portions of the upper flat plate 26 and the lower flat plate 27 are also provided. Is provided. Two pairs of the upper transport roller 31 and the lower transport roller 32 are provided so as to be perpendicular to the feeding direction of the photographic paper 2 and parallel to both the flat plates, and rotate about the same axis lines 33 and 34, respectively. ing. A paddle 36 having blade portions 35 extending radially from the same axis 34 as the lower transport roller 32 is attached to the opposite ends of the two lower transport rollers 32.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a door 38 that pivots and opens when the printed matter passes is provided at the outlet 8 of the housing 6 of the embossing device 1. Further, a sheet discharge tray 39 extending outward is attached to the lower side of the housing 6 outside the door 38.

  Next, operation | movement of this embossing apparatus 1 is demonstrated. First, when the surface of the photographic paper 2 on the protective layer side (image forming surface) is placed on the paper feed tray 10 of the holding unit 3, a part of the photographic paper 2 passes from the inlet 7 into the housing 6 as described above. It is held in the inserted form. When the embossing device 1 is operated, the pickup roller 11 rotates in contact with the photographic paper 2, and the photographic paper 2 is fed one by one to the processing unit 4 inside the housing 6. The photographic paper 2 transported to the processing unit 4 is transported by a pair of transport rollers 13a and 13b rotated by a driving mechanism, and dust and the like on the back surface of the photographic paper 2 are removed by the cleaning roller 14 at that time. Then, it is sent between the embossing roller 15 and the opposing roller 16 along the arrow x1 and passes between the embossing roller 15 and the opposing roller 16 heated by the heating mechanism 19, so that the surface of the photographic paper 2 is Fine irregularities are provided by the irregularities 17 on the surface of the embossing roller 15.

  At the time of this processing, as described above, the embossing roller 15 is heated so that the unevenness is satisfactorily imparted. Therefore, the photographic paper 2 immediately after being processed by the embossing roller 15 is also heated. In this heated state, the photographic paper 2 is inserted into a gap portion 28 provided between the upper flat plate 26 and the lower flat plate 27 of the curl prevention guide 25. At this time, since the upstream end portion of the gap portion 28 of the curl prevention guide 25 spreads in the thickness direction of the photographic paper 2 to form the insertion portion 30, even if the photographic paper 2 is somewhat curled, the gap It can be easily guided to the part 28.

  The photographic paper 2 guided to the gap 28 is further sent downstream in the gap 28 by the rotation of the embossing roller 15 and the counter roller 16. Since the vertical width of the gap 28 in the thickness direction of the photographic paper 2 is narrow and cannot be curled when the photographic paper 2 is cooled, the photographic paper 2 is in a flat state in the course of natural cooling. It is fixed while maintaining

  The photographic paper 2 fixed in a flat state is sandwiched between the upper conveyance roller 31 and the lower conveyance roller 32 downstream of the anti-curl guide 25 and is further conveyed downstream by the rotation of these rollers. It is done. At this time, the central portion of the photographic paper 2 is slightly lifted by the blade portion 35 of the paddle 36, is sent downstream along the arrow x 2, is pushed out of the housing 6 by pushing the door 38, and is sent to the paper discharge tray 39. It falls and is sequentially held on this paper discharge tray 39.

  As described above, according to the embossing device 1 of the present embodiment, after the photographic paper 2 is heated in the embossing process, it is sent to the narrow gaps 28 before cooling, and the gaps 28 are used in the gaps 28. Since it is cooled while being held flat, it does not curl. Therefore, an embossed photographic paper 2 free from wrinkles and curls can be obtained.

  Next, holding of the photographic paper 2 in the paper discharge tray 39 will be described. The photographic paper 2 still has some heat after being discharged to the paper discharge tray 39, and the shape held during this time may be stored. That is, when the photographic paper 2 is held in a curled shape by the paper discharge tray 39, the photographic paper 2 may be curled even though the curl prevention guide 25 prevents the curling. Accordingly, the paper discharge tray 39 corrects the curl due to the weight of the photographic paper 2. When the center of the discharged photographic paper 2 is curled convexly with respect to the mounting surface of the photographic paper 2 of the paper discharge tray 39, the photographic paper is more than when the center of the photographic paper 2 is curled concavely. The curl correction effect by weight of 2 is great. Further, the curl can be adjusted by adjusting the rotational speeds of the embossing roller 15 and the opposing roller 16.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the embossing roller 15 is disposed on the lower side and the opposing roller 16 is disposed on the upper side, the heating mechanism 19 in the embossing roller 15 is positioned on the lower side. The photographic paper 2 a having a convex center at the contraction is discharged to the paper discharge tray 39. As a result, the curl can be corrected on the paper discharge tray 39. Further, when the embossing roller 15 is adjusted so as to rotate faster than the counter roller 16, resistance at the time of rotation occurs at the contact portion between the embossing roller 15 and the counter roller 16 so that the center of the photographic paper 2 becomes more convex. The curl is adjusted. For example, this is effective when the center of the photographic paper 2 before passing through the embossing roller 15 and the opposing roller 16 is concave. As the rotational speed adjustment of the embossing roller 15 and the opposing roller 16, for example, the opposing roller 16 loaded with rotational torque may be rotated with respect to the embossing roller 15, or the opposing roller 16 may be provided with a drive mechanism. Even when the embossing roller 15 and the counter roller 16 rotate at a constant speed, the printing screen of the printing paper contracts due to the heat of the heating mechanism 19 and the center becomes convex, so that the curling of the printing paper 2a is corrected by its own weight. Is done.

  In the above example, the printing paper 2 is held on the paper discharge tray 39 so that the printing screen for embossing is on the back side, but as shown in FIG. 5, the embossing roller 15a is on the upper side and the opposing roller 16a is on the lower side. It may be arranged on the side and held on the discharge tray 39 so that the printing screen of the photographic paper 2 is on the front side. Depending on the characteristics of the photographic paper 2, the center of the photographic paper 2 discharged to the paper discharge tray 39 may be convex even if the embossing roller 15 a is arranged above the opposing roller 16 a. . For example, when the center of the photographic paper 2 before passing through the embossing roller 15a and the counter roller 16a is strongly curled convexly, the printing screen of the photographic paper 2 is contracted by heat from the heating mechanism 19a and the curling is weakened. The paper 2a is discharged to the paper discharge tray 39. Thus, it is effective for correcting the curl of the photographic paper 2. In this case as well, the curling of the photographic paper 2 can be further corrected by adjusting the rotational speeds of the embossing roller 15a and the counter roller 16a as in the above example.

  Note that the curl prevention mechanism of the embossing device 1 according to the present embodiment is not limited to the form including the two flat plates as described above, and may be, for example, a structure in which a gap portion having a certain width is provided inside an integral block. . Further, the photographic paper transport mechanism may not be a mechanism sandwiched by the transport rollers as in the present embodiment, and may be transported by, for example, a conveyor.

  Furthermore, the embossing apparatus 1 of the present embodiment can be implemented alone, or can be implemented as a printing system in combination with the embossing apparatus 1 and a printer, for example. In this case, the printer may be configured as a sublimation type thermal transfer printer that forms an image by thermally transferring the ink of the transfer sheet onto the image receiving paper. Then, the photographic paper 2 formed by thermally transferring the image onto the image receiving paper by the printer is sent to the embossing apparatus 1, and then the unevenness is given by the processing unit 4. In addition, the printing system may be configured such that the control unit can selectively execute unevenness on the photographic paper 2 in accordance with the necessity of processing the photographic paper 2 formed by the printer. In this case, the photographic paper 2 with the unevenness and the photographic paper 2 without the unevenness can be obtained according to the preference of the user.

Schematic of the embossing apparatus provided with the curl prevention guide concerning one form of this invention. The enlarged view of the curl prevention guide part of the embossing apparatus shown in FIG. The schematic perspective view of a curl prevention guide. The figure which has arranged the embossing roller on the lower side and the opposing roller on the upper side. The figure which has arranged the embossing roller on the upper side and the opposing roller on the lower side.

Explanation of symbols

1 Embossing device 2 Printing paper (printed material)
15 Embossing roller 16 Opposing roller 17 Concavity and convexity 19 Heating means 21 Rubber (elastic member)
25 Anti-curl guide 26 Upper flat plate
27 Lower flat plate
28 Gap

Claims (4)

An embossing roller having an uneven surface and a heating unit, and a counter roller disposed to face the embossing roller, and the embossing roller heated by the heating unit and the counter roller In an embossing apparatus for sandwiching a sheet-like printed material between them and imparting irregularities to the printed material,
A portion between the embossing roller and the opposing roller that gives unevenness to the printed matter extends downstream from the printed matter delivery direction, and extends substantially along the delivery direction of the printed matter. It is equipped with an anti-curl guide provided with a gap to be inserted in a flat state ,
A discharge tray for holding the printed matter discharged from the anti-curl guide downstream of the anti-curl guide in the sending direction of the printed matter;
The embossing roller and the opposing roller are arranged such that the center of the printed matter discharged to the paper discharge tray is curled convexly with respect to the mounting surface of the paper discharge tray,
The embossing apparatus , wherein the paper discharge tray holds a printed material having a center of the printed material curled convexly with respect to a mounting surface of the paper discharge tray .   The embossing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the gap portion is widened in the thickness direction of the print to be inserted at an upstream end portion.   The anti-curl guide includes two flat plates extending in parallel with each other along a direction in which the printed material is delivered, and the gap portion is formed by a gap between the two flat plates. The embossing apparatus according to 1 or 2. The embossing device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the discharge tray has a flat shape .

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