JP5800230B2 - Thermal transfer system and thermal transfer method, winding device and winding method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermal transfer system and a thermal transfer method for transferring ink to a transfer target using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer. The present invention also relates to a winding device and a winding method for winding an ink ribbon that has been transferred with ink.

  2. Description of the Related Art A transfer system that uses an ink ribbon to print an image such as a character on a transfer object such as a card is widely used. The ink ribbon includes a ribbon (support layer) extending in a strip shape, and an ink layer formed on the ribbon and containing a dye or the like. In printing using an ink ribbon, ink is transferred to a transfer medium in a pattern corresponding to a desired image to be printed. In this case, a portion of the ink ribbon that has been subjected to ink transfer has ink that has been removed due to transfer to the transfer target in a pattern corresponding to the printed image. For this reason, it is possible to specify the printed image from the ink ribbon after ink transfer. Therefore, when information to be concealed such as ID information is printed on a transfer target using an ink ribbon, care must be taken in handling the ink ribbon that has been ink-transferred.

  In order to cope with such a problem, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a thermal transfer system in which an outermost ink ribbon wound around a winding unit is bonded to an ink ribbon positioned inside the outermost ink ribbon. ing. According to the thermal transfer system described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to integrate the ink transferred ink ribbon wound on the winding unit, and thereby, the printed image is transferred from the ink transferred ink ribbon. It can be prevented from being identified.

JP 2007-260912 A

  In the thermal transfer system described in Patent Document 1, it is considered that the winding unit is integrated with the ink ribbon that has been transferred to the ink and is wound around the winding unit. For this reason, when discarding the ink-transferred ink ribbon wound up by the winding unit, the winding unit is also discarded. That is, the winding unit cannot be used repeatedly, and the cost for processing the ink ribbon after ink transfer is increased.

  In addition, in the thermal transfer system described in Patent Document 1, since the ink ribbon that has been transferred onto the winding unit is bonded to the ink ribbon that is positioned on the inner side, the ink ribbon is once wound on the winding unit. It is difficult to feed the ink ribbon in the reverse direction. That is, the winding unit can only be driven in the direction of winding up the ink ribbon, and cannot be driven in the reverse direction (driving in the direction of feeding out the ink ribbon once wound up). It is thought that there is. For this reason, when the ink ribbon before being taken up by the take-up unit is caught by any obstacle, it is considered that the conveyance state of the ink ribbon cannot be improved by reversing the drive direction of the take-up unit. . Thus, in the thermal transfer system described in Patent Document 1, it is considered that the degree of freedom regarding the driving direction of the winding unit is low.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer system and a thermal transfer method, a winding device and a winding method that can effectively solve such problems.

  The present invention relates to a thermal transfer system that transfers ink to a transfer medium using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, and is disposed on the downstream side of the delivery section, the delivery section that sends out the ink ribbon, and the ink A first transfer device having a first heating body provided on the support layer side of the ribbon, and transferring the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer target in a first pattern; and the first transfer device. Is disposed on the downstream side of the ink ribbon, and is wound around the ink ribbon having the ink transferred thereon, and is provided in the vicinity of the winding portion, and is supported by the ink ribbon having the ink transferred onto the winding portion. A second heating body that abuts from the layer side and heats the ink ribbon from the support layer side, and the second heating body is disposed such that its longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the winding portion And said first The heating body heats the ink ribbon so that the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to a support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. It is a thermal transfer system.

  In the thermal transfer system according to the present invention, the second heating body includes a substrate extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the second heating body, and a plurality of second heating bodies arranged on the end face of the substrate and arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the second heating body. And a heating element including the heating section.

  In the thermal transfer system according to the present invention, a corner of the end surface of the substrate of the second heating body may be rounded.

  The present invention relates to an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, wherein the ink ribbon is wound with the ink ribbon having the ink transferred thereon in a first pattern onto the transfer target. A winding unit that winds up the ink ribbon that has been ink-transferred, and is provided in the vicinity of the winding unit, and comes into contact with the ink-transferred ink ribbon that has been wound up by the winding unit from the support layer side, and A winding-side heating body that heats the ink ribbon, and the winding-side heating body is arranged such that a longitudinal direction thereof is inclined with respect to a longitudinal direction of the winding portion, and the winding-side heating body The body heats the ink ribbon so that the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. Do A winding device.

  In the winding device according to the present invention, the winding-side heating body is provided on a substrate extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the winding-side heating body and an end surface of the substrate, and is parallel to the longitudinal direction of the winding-side heating body. And a heating element including a plurality of heating sections arranged in a line.

  In the winding device according to the present invention, a corner portion of the end surface of the substrate of the winding side heating body may have a roundness.

  The present invention relates to a thermal transfer method for transferring ink to a transfer target using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, and a step of feeding the ink ribbon; and an ink of an ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer target A first transfer step for transferring the ink ribbon in a first pattern, a step for winding the ink ribbon with ink transferred by a winding portion, and a support for the ink ribbon with ink transferred to the winding portion. A second transfer step in which a winding side heating body is brought into contact with the layer side, and the ink ribbon is heated from the support layer side by the winding side heating body, and in the second transfer step, the winding side The heating body abuts on the ink ribbon such that the longitudinal direction thereof is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the winding portion, and the winding-side heating body is configured such that the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon is the first pattern. To be transferred to a support layer of the ink ribbon to be located inside of the ink ribbon in a different second pattern, a thermal transfer method characterized by heating the ink ribbon.

  The present invention is an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, wherein the ink in the ink layer is wound around the transferred ink ribbon in which the ink has been transferred in the first pattern, A step of winding the ink ribbon with ink transferred by a winding unit; and a winding side heating element abutting from the support layer side to the ink ribbon with ink transferred by the winding unit, Heating the ink ribbon from the support layer side by a take-up side heating body, and in the heating step, the take-up side heating body has a longitudinal direction inclined with respect to a longitudinal direction of the take-up portion The ink ribbon is in contact with the ink ribbon, and the take-up side heating element is positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. To be transferred to a support layer, a winding method characterized by heating the ink ribbon.

  According to the present invention, a second heating body is provided in the vicinity of the take-up portion to contact the ink ribbon that has been transferred onto the take-up portion from the support layer side and heat the ink ribbon from the support layer side. It has been. This 2nd heating body is arrange | positioned so that the longitudinal direction may incline with respect to the longitudinal direction of a winding part. For this reason, a 2nd heating body can be made to contact over the desired range with respect to the ink ribbon after ink transfer wound up by the winding-up part. The second heating body heats the ink ribbon so that the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. be able to. As a result, it is possible to prevent the first pattern in the first transfer device from being specified from the ink ribbon that has been ink-transferred.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a thermal transfer system according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A is a view showing an ink ribbon that has been ink-transferred in the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a diagram in which the ink of the ink ribbon is transferred in a first pattern in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view along the line III-III of the ink ribbon after ink transfer shown in FIG. 4 is an enlarged view showing a winding device of the thermal transfer system of FIG. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a second heating body of the winding device shown in FIG. 4. FIG. 6 is a view showing a case where the second heating body of the winding device shown in FIG. 4 is viewed from the direction indicated by arrow VI. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the ink ribbon that has been transferred to the ink and has been transferred onto the winding unit. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an ink ribbon that has been transferred to the ink and wound on the winding unit. FIGS. 9A to 9D are cross-sectional views taken along lines IXa-IXa to IXd-IXd of a laminate of ink ribbons that have been transferred to the ink ribbon that has been wound around the winding portion illustrated in FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of the second heating body and the ink ribbon shown in FIG. 6. FIGS. 11A and 11B are diagrams showing how the ink in the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the inner ink ribbon in a second pattern in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 12A is a view showing the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon after the transfer shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B is performed, and FIG. 12B is a view shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B. The figure which shows the support layer of the inner side ink ribbon after the transfer shown is implemented. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing a modification of the ink ribbon that has been transferred to the ink and wound on the winding unit. 14A to 14D are cross-sectional views taken along lines XIVa-XIVa to XIVd-XIVd of a laminate of ink ribbons that have been subjected to ink transfer and wound around the winding portion illustrated in FIG. FIGS. 15A and 15B are views showing a modification of the pattern of transfer performed by the second heating body of the winding device. FIG. 16A shows an example in which the second heating body is movable along the longitudinal direction of the winding unit, and FIG. 16B shows an example in which a plurality of second heating bodies are used. .

First Embodiment Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the overall structure of the thermal transfer system 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in the thermal transfer system Figure 1, a thermal transfer system 10 for transferring the ink 12a in a desired pattern on the transfer member 14 with the ink ribbon 13 and a support layer 11 and the ink layer 12, in the direction indicated by the arrow R ₁ a sending unit 16 for feeding the ink ribbon 13, a first transfer device 17 disposed on the downstream side of the delivery unit 16, it is arranged downstream of the first transfer device 17, the already ink transfer in the direction indicated by the arrow R ₂ A winding unit 21 that winds up the ink ribbon 13 and a second heating body 22 provided in the vicinity of the winding unit 21 are provided. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 13 is conveyed along a plurality of guide rolls 15. Here, the winding unit 21 and the second heating body 22 shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the first transfer device 17 includes a platen roll 19 that supports the transfer target 14 and a first heating provided so as to face the platen roll 19 with the ink ribbon 13 and the transfer target 14 interposed therebetween. It has a body 18, for example a print head. As shown in FIG. 1, the first heating body 18 is provided on the support layer 11 side of the ink ribbon 13. The first heating body 18 heats the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 in a predetermined pattern (first pattern) corresponding to the ID information, whereby the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 is heated. The image is transferred to the transfer target 14 in the first pattern.

  FIG. 2A is a diagram illustrating a case where the ink ribbon 13 after the ink 12a is transferred to the transfer target 14 in the first pattern is viewed from the ink layer 12 side, and FIG. It is a figure which shows the to-be-transferred body 14 to which the ink 12a of the ribbon 13 was transcribe | transferred by the 1st pattern. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2A and FIG. 3, in the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred, the ink layer 12 is printed on the transferred material 14 and the ink 12 a remaining without being transferred to the transferred material 14. And the ink missing portion 12b corresponding to the ID information. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2A, the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b in the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred corresponds to the first pattern in the first heating body 18 described above. For this reason, it is possible to specify the ID information printed on the transfer medium 14 based on the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b.

Winding Device Next, the winding device 20 of the thermal transfer system 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The winding device 20 includes a roll-shaped winding unit 21 that winds the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred, and an ink-transferred ink ribbon that is provided in the vicinity of the winding unit 20 and wound on the winding unit 21. 13, a second heating body 22 (winding side heating body) 22 that abuts from the support layer 11 side and heats the ink ribbon 13 from the support layer 11 side.

(Winding part)
As shown in FIG. 4, in the winding unit 21 of the present 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 the present embodiment, the ink ribbon 13 positioned on the outermost periphery among the ink ribbons 13 wound around the winding unit 21 is referred to as an outer ink ribbon 13A, and the outer ink ribbon 13A. The ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 on the inner side and adjacent to the outer ink ribbon 13A is referred to as an inner ink ribbon 13B.

(Second heating body)
As shown in FIG. 4, the second heating body 22 includes a substrate 23 and a heating element 24 provided on the end surface 23 a of the substrate 23. Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a drive unit 25 may be further provided for causing a current to flow through the heating element 24 to cause the heating element 24 to generate heat. Hereinafter, the structure and arrangement of the second heating body 22 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the second heating body 22, and FIG. 6 is a view showing a case where the second heating body 22 in FIG. 4 is viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow V. 5 and 6, the driving unit 25 of the second heating body 22 is omitted for convenience of explanation.

First, the structure of the second heating body 22 will be described with reference to FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the second heating body 22 is provided on the substrate 23 extending in parallel to the longitudinal direction P ₁ of the second heating body 22 and the end surface 23 a of the substrate 23, and is wound around the winding unit 21. And a heating element 24 for heating the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred. Although not shown, the heating element 24 includes a plurality of heating sections arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction P ₁ of the second heating element 22. Each heat generating section is configured such that it can be independently driven by the drive unit 25 described above. Here, the dimensions of the heat generating sections and the intervals between the heat generating sections are appropriately set according to the resolution required for the second pattern described later. Thus, the 2nd heating body 22 is comprised from the thermal head generally called an end surface head. Preferably, the heating element 24 extends over substantially the entire region of the substrate 23 in the longitudinal direction.

  Preferably, as shown in FIG. 5, the corner 23 b of the end surface 23 a of the substrate 23 of the second heating body 22 is configured to be rounded. When the second heater 22 is brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 by rounding the corner 23 b of the end surface 23 a of the substrate 23, the ink ribbon 13 taken up by the take-up portion 21 is brought into contact with the second heater 22. It is possible to prevent the second heating body 22 from being damaged by the ink ribbon 13 and being caught by the ink ribbon 13.

Next, with reference to FIG. 6, arrangement | positioning of the 2nd heating body 22 with respect to the winding part 21 is demonstrated. As shown in FIG. 6, the second heating member 22 has its longitudinal direction P ₁ is arranged to be inclined relative to the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding section 21 _(the direction of the axis 21a of the winding portion 21) . Here, the "inclination" is the angle formed between the longitudinal direction P ₂ in the longitudinal direction P ₁ and the winding portion 21 of the second heating member 22 theta is greater than 0 degrees and smaller than 90 degrees It means that The angle θ when the second heating body 22 is disposed with respect to the winding unit 21 is a specific form of the winding unit 21 (for example, the winding diameter at the start and end of winding, the ink ribbon) The optimum value varies depending on the relationship with the width of 13). As an example, when the winding diameter at the end of winding is 54 mm and the width of the ink ribbon 13 is 56 mm, the angle θ is suitably about 3 degrees.

Next, the purpose of arranging the second heating body 22 so as to be inclined with respect to the winding portion 21 as described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 7 to 9A to 9D. Introduction With reference to Figure 7, the longitudinal direction P ₂ in the longitudinal direction P ₁ and the winding portion 21 of the second heating body is described problems that arise when are parallel.

  FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the ink ribbon 13 that has been transferred to the ink and has been transferred onto the winding unit 21. FIG. 7 shows an example in which the thickness of the laminated body of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding unit 21 is smaller in the central portion of the winding unit 21 than the end portion of the winding unit 21. Yes. That is, in the example shown in FIG. 7, the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbons 13 wound up by the winding unit 21 is concave. Various reasons can be considered for causing the contour of the laminated body of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 to be concave in this way. For example, the first ribbon corresponds to the ID information. It is conceivable that the ink missing portion 12 b is present more in the region corresponding to the central portion of the winding portion 21 than in the region corresponding to the end portion of the winding portion 21.

Further, FIG. 7 shows a state in which the second heating body is in contact with the laminated body of ink ribbons 13 having a concave contour. Here, FIG. 7 shows a case where the second heating body 122 whose longitudinal direction P ₁ is parallel to the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding portion 21 is used as the second heating body. . In this case, the end portion of the second heating body 122 abuts on the ink ribbon 13 before the central portion abuts on the ink ribbon 13. For this reason, even if the ink ribbon 13 taken up by the take-up unit 21 is pressed by the second heater 122 with a predetermined pressure, the vicinity of the end portion of the second heater 122 only abuts on the ink ribbon 13. It is considered that the central portion of the second heating body 122 cannot be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13. As a result, the problem that the ink ribbon 13 cannot be heated in a desired pattern by the second heating body 122, and the rotation of the winding unit 21 is hindered by the end portion of the second heating body 122 being caught on the ink ribbon 13. Issues and the like can arise.

Next, with reference to FIG. 8 and FIGS. 9A to 9D, effects obtained by inclining the second heating body 22 with respect to the winding portion 21 will be described. FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the ink ribbon 13 that has been transferred to the ink and is wound on the winding unit 21. FIGS. 9A to 9D are wound on the winding unit 21 shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line IXa-IXa to IXd-IXd of a laminated body of ink ribbons 13 to which ink has been transferred. In FIG. 9 (a) ~ (d) we are shown the longitudinal direction P ₁ is the same time winding unit 21 disposed IXa-IXa line ~IXd-IXd line and become as parallel 8 .

When viewed cross-section of the laminate of the winding member 21 and the ink ribbon 13 along a longitudinal line parallel to the direction P ₂ IXa-IXa in the winding section 21, as shown in FIG. 9 (a), the ink ribbon 13 The laminate has a concave outline. In this case, only the vicinity of the end portion of the second heating body 22 is in contact with the ink ribbon 13 as described above. In FIG. 9A, the distance between the central portion of the substrate 23 of the second heating body 22 and the outermost ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 is represented by reference numeral s.

On the other hand, when the cutting line is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction P < _b > ₂ of the winding portion 21, the degree of the concave shape in the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbon 13 is gradually reduced. That is, the distance s between the central portion of the substrate 23 of the second heating body 22 and the outermost ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 is smaller than that shown in FIG. It will become. This is because the thickness of the end portion of the cross section of the winding portion 21 decreases as the cutting line moves away from the axis 21 a of the winding portion 21, and as a result, the ink ribbon 13 wound around the end portion of the winding portion 21. This is because the position of the outermost surface is displaced inward (winding portion 21 side). When the inclination of the cutting line relative to the longitudinal P ₂ of the winding section 21 is set to a predetermined inclination, when the line IXb-IXb shown in Fig. 8 for example, a cut line, as shown in FIG. 9 (b) In addition, the outline of the portion of the laminated body of the ink ribbon 13 that faces the second heating body 22 becomes substantially flat. For this reason, according to the example shown in FIG. 9B, the second heating body 22 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 over a desired range. The “desired range” means a contact range between the second heating body 22 and the ink ribbon 13 that is necessary for realizing transfer in a second pattern to be described later.

Also, when viewing the cross section of the laminate of the winding member 21 and the ink ribbon 13 along the line IXc-IXc are further inclined to the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding section 21, in FIG. 9 (c) As shown, the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbons 13 is slightly convex, and the vicinity of the center portion of the second heating body 22 is in contact with the ink ribbon 13. Incidentally, the ink ribbon 13 is generally made of a material having predetermined flexibility and elasticity. Therefore, when the ink ribbon 13 is pressed with a predetermined pressure by the second heating body 22, the first of the ink ribbons 13. 2 The portion in contact with the vicinity of the central portion of the heating body 22 is pushed toward the winding unit 21. As a result, even if the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbon 13 is slightly convex, not only the vicinity of the center portion of the second heating body 22 but also the end portion of the second heating body 22 is not limited to the ink ribbon 13. It can be made to contact. As a result, the second heating body 22 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 over a desired range.

Incidentally, when viewing the cross section of the laminate of the winding member 21 and the ink ribbon 13 along a line which is further inclined relative to the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding section 21, for example, the longitudinal direction of the winding portion 21 when viewed cross-section of the stack of P ₂ along orthogonal lines IXd-IXd the winding unit 21 and the ink ribbon 13, as shown in FIG. 9 (d), the contour of the stack of the ink ribbon 13 is convex It becomes a shape. In this case, only the vicinity of the center portion of the second heating body 22 comes into contact with the ink ribbon 13.

In this way, the second heating body 22 is inclined with respect to the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 by inclining the longitudinal direction P ₁ of the second heating body 22 with respect to the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding portion 21. 22 can be brought into contact over a desired range. Incidentally, the degree of inclination, i.e. the angle θ formed between the longitudinal direction P ₂ in the longitudinal direction P ₁ and the winding portion 21 of the second heating element 22, the thickness and the width or the winding portion 21 of the ink ribbon 13 It may be fixed regardless of the dimensions. Alternatively, the angle θ may be appropriately determined according to the thickness and width of the ink ribbon 13 and the dimensions of the winding unit 21. In this case, the angle θ may be adjusted according to the thickness of the laminated body of the ink ribbons 13 wound around the winding unit 21.

  Next, with reference to FIG. 10, a state when the second heating body 22 comes into contact with the ink ribbon 13 that has been transferred onto the winding unit 21 and has been transferred will be described. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view taken along line XX of the second heating body 23 and the ink ribbon 13 shown in FIG. In addition, when the ink ribbon 13 is wound around the winding unit 21, the wound ink ribbon 13 is actually bent along the roll surface of the winding unit 21, but in FIG. The ink ribbon 13 is drawn ignoring the state. Further, FIG. 10 illustrates a state in which the outer ink ribbon 13A is pressed by the second heater 22 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. Therefore, for convenience, a slight gap is drawn between the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B. However, the present invention 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 any gap.

  As shown in FIG. 10, when the outer ink ribbon 13 </ b> A is pressed and heated from the outside (the support layer 11 side) by the end surface 23 a of the substrate 23 of the second heating body 22 and the heat generating section 24 a of the heating element 24, the outer ink ribbon Part of the ink 12a remaining on the 13A ink layer 12 is transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in the second pattern. The temperature of the heating element 24 is such that the phenomenon that the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is melted over the entire region and the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B are bonded to each other does not occur. It is set low.

  Here, the second pattern in the second heating body 22 is set to be different from the first pattern in the first heating body 18. Specifically, the pattern of the heat generating section 24 a to be heated among the heat generating sections 24 a of the heat generating body 24 of the second heating body 22 is selected to be different from the heating pattern in the first heating body 18. Therefore, by transferring a part 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 ID information in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred to the ID information. It is possible to destroy the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b including the corresponding first pattern. As a result, as will be described in detail later, it is possible to prevent the ID information printed on the transfer medium 14 from being specified based on the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b. The pattern of the heat generating section 24 a to be heated is determined in consideration of the degree of inclination of the second heating body 22 with respect to the winding unit 21.

  In the winding unit 21, the outer diameter of the roll body constituted by the ink ribbon 13 wound by the winding unit 21 increases as the winding proceeds. In order to cope with such an increase in the outer diameter of the roll body, the second heating body 22 can adjust the distance between the second heating body 22 and the winding unit 21 (not shown). May be supported so as to be movable. Further, by supporting the second heating body 22 by such a support mechanism, the winding of the second heating body 22 can be performed when the winding drive is stopped or when heating by the second heating body 22 is unnecessary. The contact with the ink ribbon 13 taken up by the take-up unit 21 can be arbitrarily stopped away from the take-up unit 21.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described. Here, the ID information is printed on the transfer target 14 by the first transfer device 17 of the thermal transfer system 10, and then the ink 12 a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13 A to which the ink has been transferred is transferred by the second heating body 22. The action transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in two patterns will be described.

  First, the transfer target 14 is prepared, and then the transfer target 14 is conveyed toward the first transfer device 17. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 13 is sent out from the sending unit 16 toward the first transfer device 17.

  When the transfer body 14 reaches between the first heating body 18 and the platen roll 19 of the first transfer device 17, the first heating body 18 heats the ink ribbon 13 in the first pattern corresponding to the ID information. Press against the transfer body 14. As a result, the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 is transferred onto the transfer target 14 in a first pattern (first transfer step). As a result, ID information is printed on the transfer medium 14, and an ink missing portion 12 b corresponding to the ID information is formed in the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13.

  The ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred after passing through the first transfer device 17 is taken up by the take-up unit 21 of the take-up device 20. Then, the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated in the second pattern by the second heating body 22 in a state where the ink ribbon 13 to which the ink has been transferred is wound by the winding unit 21 (second transfer step). Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 11A and 11B and FIGS. 12A and 12B, the operation of heating the outer ink ribbon 13A in the second pattern by the second heater 22 will be described in detail.

  First, as shown in FIG. 11A, the second heating body 22 is brought into contact with the outer ink ribbon 13A from the outside (the support layer 11 side). At this time, the outer ink ribbon 13 </ b> A is heated from the outside by the heat generating section 24 a of the second heating body 22. For this reason, a portion of the ink 12a remaining on 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. Accordingly, as indicated by reference numeral 12c in FIG. 11B, a part 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.

  FIG. 12A is a diagram showing a case where the outer ink ribbon 13A after the transfer by the second heating body 22 is viewed from the ink layer 12 side, and FIG. 12B is a diagram showing the second heating body. 22 is a diagram illustrating a case where the inner ink ribbon 13B after the transfer by 22 is viewed from the support layer 11 side. As shown in FIG. 12A, the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A has an ink missing portion 12b (1) having a first pattern based on the ID information print pattern in the first transfer device 17, and a second pattern. An ink removal portion 12b (2) having a second pattern 26 based on the heating pattern of each heat generating section 24a of the heating body 22 is formed. As shown in FIG. 12A, the first layer and the second pattern 26 are mixed in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A. Therefore, the ink composed of the first pattern corresponding to the ID information. The pattern of the missing portion 12b (1) is destroyed to the extent that it cannot be recognized. As a result, it is possible to prevent the identification information printed on the transfer medium 14 from being specified based on the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b.

  As shown in FIG. 12A, the second pattern 26 may be set to destroy only particularly important ID information such as name, address, or ID number in the ink missing portion 12b. That is, the degree and arrangement of the inclination of the second heating body 22 with respect to the winding unit 21 is determined so that the ink missing portion 12b corresponding to at least particularly important ID information in each region of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding unit 21. The second heating body 22 may be set so as to come into contact with the region where the is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 12B, the ink 12c is transferred from the outer ink ribbon 13A to the second pattern 26 by the second heating body 22 on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B. Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, the ink 12c is partially formed with an ink missing portion 12d having a pattern based on the ink missing portion 12b formed of the first pattern of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A. Has been. However, as shown in FIG. 12B, the ink missing portion 12d is only visually recognized in a region overlapping with the second pattern 26. Therefore, based on the pattern of the ink missing portion 12d, the transferred object is transferred. The ID information printed on 14 is not specified.

  As described above, the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred, which has been taken up by the take-up unit 21 of the take-up device 20, is heated by the second heating body 22 from the outside in the second pattern. A series of ink-transferred ink ribbons 13 are taken up by the take-up unit 21 and heated from the outside by the second pattern 26 by the second heating body 22, and then the ink ribbon 13 is removed from the take-up unit 21. Discard. At this time, no adhesion treatment is performed between the ink ribbons 13 wound on the winding unit 21, for example, between the outer ink ribbon 13 </ b> A and the inner ink ribbon 13 </ b> B. It can be easily removed from the winding unit 21. Therefore, the winding unit 21 can be used repeatedly. Accordingly, it is possible to reduce the cost for processing the ink ribbon 13 that has been ink-transferred, compared to the case where the winding unit 21 is discarded together with the ink ribbon 13 that has been ink-transferred.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the thermal transfer system 10 is arranged on the downstream side of the delivery unit 16 that sends out the ink ribbon 13 and on the support layer 11 side of the ink ribbon 13. A first transfer device 17 having a heating body 18 and transferring the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 to the transfer target body 14 in a first pattern; and a downstream side of the first transfer device 17. A winding unit 21 that winds up the ink ribbon 13 that has been subjected to ink transfer, and the ink ribbon 13 that has been transferred to the winding unit 21 and that has been wound around the winding unit 21 abuts from the support layer 11 side. And a second heating body 22 that heats the ink ribbon 13 from the support layer 11 side. For this reason, the second heating body 22 has an inner side located on the inner side of the outer ink ribbon 13A in which the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is a second pattern 26 different from the first pattern in the first transfer device 17. The outer ink ribbon 13A can be heated so as to be transferred to the support layer 11 of the ink ribbon 13B. As a result, it is possible to prevent identification of the first pattern in the first transfer device 17, i.e., the ID information printed on the transfer medium 14, from the ink ribbon 13 that has been ink-transferred.

According to this embodiment, the second heating member 22 has its longitudinal direction P ₁ is arranged to be inclined relative to the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding section 21. For this reason, even if the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbons 13 taken up by the take-up unit 21 is concave in the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the take-up unit 21, the _second shape with respect to the ink ribbon 13 is used. The heating element 22 can be brought into contact over a desired range. As a result, the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b formed on the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred can be more reliably destroyed.

In the present embodiment, the example in which the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbons 13 wound around the winding unit 21 is concave is shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and even if the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbons 13 wound up by the winding unit 21 is convex, the thermal transfer system 10 and the winding according to the present embodiment. A take-off device 20 can be applied. Hereinafter, such an example will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14A to 14D. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the ink ribbon 13 that has been transferred to the ink and is wound on the winding unit 21. FIGS. 14A to 14D are wound on the winding unit 21 shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along lines XIVa-XIVa to XIVd-XIVd of a laminate of ink ribbons 13 to which ink has been transferred. In FIG. 14 (a) ~ (d) is shown the longitudinal direction _{P 1} is the same time winding unit 21 disposed XIVa-XIVa line ~XIVd-XIVd line and become as parallel 14 .

When viewed cross-section of the laminate of the winding member 21 and the ink ribbon 13 in the longitudinal direction P ₂ in a parallel line XIVa-XIVa the winding portion 21, as shown in FIG. 14 (a), the ink ribbon 13 The laminate has a convex outline. In this case, only the vicinity of the center portion of the second heating body 22 is in contact with the ink ribbon 13.

On the other hand, when gradually tilted in the longitudinal direction _{P 1} of the second heating member 22 with respect to the longitudinal direction _{P 2} of the winding section 21, as shown in FIG. 14 (b) ~ FIG 14 (d), the ink ribbon 13 The degree of convexity in the outline of the laminate changes depending on the degree of inclination. In this case, in the example shown in FIG. 14B, the degree of protrusion in the outline of the laminated body of the ink ribbons 13 is the smallest. As described above, the ink ribbon 13 is generally made of a material having predetermined flexibility and elasticity. For this reason, according to the example shown in FIG. 14B, the center portion of the second heating body 22 is pressed by pressing the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 with the second heating body 22 at a predetermined pressure. Not only the vicinity but also the end portion of the second heating body 22 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13. As a result, the second heating body 22 can be brought into contact with the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 over a desired range. Thus even if the contour of the stack of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 is a convex shape, the second heating member with respect to the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding section 21 22 of by inclining the longitudinal direction P _1, it can be brought into contact over a desired range of the second heating member 22 against the ink ribbon 13.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the second pattern 26 when the second heating body 22 transfers a part of the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B is the ink ribbon. The case where it consists of several lines extended in the direction parallel to 13 conveyance directions was shown (refer Fig.12 (a)). However, the present invention is not limited to this, and any pattern that can appropriately destroy the first pattern in the first transfer device 17 can be used as the second pattern 26. For example, as shown in FIG. 15A, the second pattern 26 may be composed of a plurality of lines extending in a direction non-parallel to the transport direction of the ink ribbon 13. Or as shown in FIG.15 (b), the 2nd pattern 26 may consist of a rectangular pattern continuously arranged on the ink ribbon 13. FIG.

Also in this embodiment, the second heating element 22 may be movable along the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding section 21. For example, as shown in FIG. 16A, consider a case where the position of the ink missing portion 12b (1) having the first pattern to be destroyed changes as the winding proceeds. Here, the ink omission portion 12b of the (2) having a second pattern formed by the second heating member 22, the range in the longitudinal direction _{P 2} of the winding section 21, before and after the change ink dropout portion 12b of (1) Suppose that it is not large enough to destroy all patterns. In this case, as shown in FIG. 16 (a), in accordance with the change of the ink dropout portion 12b (1) having a first pattern to be destroyed, the second heating in the longitudinal direction P ₂ of the winding section 21 By moving the body 22, it is possible to appropriately destroy the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b (1) before and after the change. Moreover, as shown in FIG.16 (b), the some 2nd heating body 22 may be provided. Even when the ink missing portion 12b (1) is distributed over a wide area, the pattern of the ink missing portion 12b (1) can be appropriately destroyed by using the plurality of second heating bodies 22 in this way. Can do.

  In the present embodiment, an example in which the ink ribbon 13 includes the support layer 11 and the ink layer 12 is shown. Here, the structure of the support layer 11 is not particularly limited, and the support layer 11 can be formed of various layers. For example, the support layer 11 may be configured by a base material layer (not shown) that supports the ink layer 12. Or a base material layer (not shown) that supports the ink layer 12, and a back surface layer (not shown) provided on the surface of the base material layer opposite to the surface that supports the ink layer 12, The support layer 11 may be configured as described above. In this case, the back layer is a layer that is heated and pressed by the first heating body 18 or the second heating body 22 of the first transfer device 17. Accordingly, the back layer is made of, for example, a material having predetermined heat resistance.

Further, in the present embodiment, an example has been shown in which the second heating body 22 contacts the ink ribbon 13 over almost the entire area in the longitudinal direction (see FIGS. 9B and 9C). That is, the length of the second heating member 22 in the longitudinal direction P ₁ is an example that is shorter than the width of the ink ribbon in the longitudinal direction P _1. However, it is not limited thereto, the length of the second heating member 22 in the longitudinal direction P ₁ may be made longer than the width of the ink ribbon 13 in the longitudinal direction P _1. In this case, the corner 23 b of the substrate 23 of the second heating body 22 is located outside the extending range of the ink ribbon 13. For this reason, even when the corner 23b of the end surface 23a of the substrate 23 of the second heating body 22 is not configured to be rounded, for example, when the corner 23b is formed with an acute angle, It is possible to prevent the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 from being damaged by the second heating body 22 or being caught by the ink ribbon 13.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Thermal transfer system 11 Support layer 12 Ink layer 12a Ink 12b Ink omission part 12c Ink transferred on support layer by 2nd heating body 13 Ink ribbon 13A Outer ink ribbon 13B Inner ink ribbon 14 Transfer object 15 Guide roll 16 Sending part 17 First Transfer Device 18 First Heating Body 19 Platen Roll 20 Winding Device 21 Winding Unit 21a Axis 22 Second Heating Body 23 Substrate 23a End Surface 23b Corner 24 Heating Element 25 Drive Unit 26 Second Pattern

Claims (8)

In a thermal transfer system that transfers ink to a transfer object using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer,
A delivery section for delivering the ink ribbon;
A first heating element is provided on the downstream side of the delivery unit and provided on the support layer side of the ink ribbon, and the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to the transfer target in a first pattern. A first transfer device,
A winding unit that is disposed on the downstream side of the first transfer device and winds up the ink ribbon after ink transfer;
A second heating body that is provided in the vicinity of the winding unit and heats the ink ribbon from the support layer side by coming into contact with the ink ribbon that has been transferred onto the winding unit from the support layer side; With
The second heating body is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the winding part,
The second heating body heats the ink ribbon so that the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. A thermal transfer system characterized by that.   The second heating body includes a substrate that extends in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the second heating body, and a heating element that is provided on an end surface of the substrate and includes a plurality of heat generating sections arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the second heating body. The thermal transfer system according to claim 1, further comprising:   The thermal transfer system according to claim 2, wherein a corner portion of the end surface of the substrate of the second heating body has a roundness. In an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, the take-up device winds up an ink ribbon that has been transferred with the ink of the ink layer transferred in a first pattern onto the transfer target,
A winding unit for winding up the ink ribbon that has been subjected to ink transfer;
A winding-side heating body that is provided in the vicinity of the winding unit and heats the ink ribbon by contacting the ink ribbon that has been transferred to the winding unit with the ink-transferred ink ribbon from the support layer side;
The winding side heating body is arranged such that its longitudinal direction is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the winding part,
The winding-side heating element heats the ink ribbon so that the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to a support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. A winding device characterized by that.   The winding-side heating body includes a substrate extending in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the winding-side heating body, and a plurality of heat generating sections provided on an end surface of the substrate and arranged in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the winding-side heating body. The winding device according to claim 4, further comprising a heating element.   The winding device according to claim 5, wherein a corner portion of the end surface of the substrate of the winding side heating body has a roundness. In a thermal transfer method for transferring ink to a transfer medium using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer,
Sending out the ink ribbon;
A first transfer step of transferring the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer object in a first pattern;
A step of winding the ink ribbon after ink transfer by a winding unit;
A second heating body is brought into contact with the ink ribbon that has been transferred to the winding unit from the support layer side, and the ink ribbon is heated from the support layer side by the winding side heating body. A transfer process,
In the second transfer step, the winding side heating body abuts on the ink ribbon so that the longitudinal direction thereof is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the winding portion, and the winding side heating body is an ink ribbon. The ink ribbon is heated so that the ink in the ink layer is transferred to a support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. In an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, the winding method for winding the ink transferred ink ribbon in which the ink of the ink layer is transferred in a first pattern onto the transfer target,
A step of winding the ink ribbon after ink transfer by a winding unit;
A step of bringing a winding-side heating body into contact with the ink ribbon that has been transferred onto the winding portion from the support layer side and heating the ink ribbon from the support layer side with the winding-side heating body; With
In the heating step, the winding-side heating body abuts on the ink ribbon such that the longitudinal direction thereof is inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the winding portion, and the winding-side heating body is formed of the ink ribbon. A winding method, wherein the ink ribbon is heated so that the ink of the ink layer is transferred to a support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern.

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