JP5861608B2 - Thermal transfer system and thermal transfer 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.

  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 recording apparatus that adheres the outermost ink sheet wound around the winding unit to the ink sheet located inside the outermost ink sheet. Has been. According to the thermal transfer recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, it is possible to integrate the ink sheet that has been transferred onto the winding unit and thereby print the image printed from the ink sheet that has been transferred to the ink. Can be prevented from being identified.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-156489

  In the thermal transfer recording apparatus described in Patent Document 1, as a technique for preventing leakage of recorded information from a used ink sheet, a technique for bonding and integrating the ink sheet by solidifying with an adhesive is disclosed. In the technique of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, it is necessary to supply the heat-sensitive adhesive to the ink sheet without interruption, and the adhesive is scattered because of the use of the adhesive, or may be fixed to other than the ink sheet. It was necessary to perform regular cleaning and replacement of adhesives, and it was necessary to perform complicated work that hinders the main business.

  It is an object of the present invention to provide a thermal transfer system and a thermal transfer 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. And a winding portion that winds up the ink ribbon that has been ink-transferred, and an ink ribbon that is provided in the vicinity of the winding portion and that is located outside the support layer side from the support layer side. and a support layer and a second transfer device having a second heating element for heating in the first heating energy which is not fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned on the inner side, in the second transfer device, the second heating The ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon heated by the ink is transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern, and the second heating body The support layer of the ink ribbon positioned outside the first heating energy is intermittently heated by the second heating energy fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside, and the support layer of the ink ribbon is positioned inside. The thermal transfer system is characterized in that the ink ribbon is fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon to be formed, and the ink ribbon located on the outside and the fused portion intermittently arranged by the ink ribbon located on the inside are formed .

  According to the present invention, in the winding unit, the ink ribbon is wound so that the support layer of the ink ribbon is positioned outside the ink layer, and the second heating body is wound up by the winding unit. The outermost ink ribbon is heated from the outside so that the ink in the ink layer of the outermost ink ribbon is transferred in the second pattern to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the outer ink ribbon. This is a thermal transfer system.

In the thermal transfer method using the thermal transfer system described above, the present invention operates the first transfer device to transfer the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer target in a first pattern; The second transfer device is operated to heat the ink ribbon with a first heating energy at which the support layer of the ink ribbon on which the second heating body is located outside is not fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon located on the inside. Transferring the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon to a support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern, wherein the second heating body is a first pattern. intermittently the ink ribbon with a large second heating energy support layer of the ink ribbon to be positioned outside the heating energy is fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned on the inner side Heated and fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned a support layer of the ink ribbon inwardly to form an ink ribbon located outside, the fused portion which is intermittently placed by an ink ribbon positioned inside This is a thermal transfer method.

  In the present invention, during the step of heating the ink ribbon with the first heating energy, the second heating body intermittently heats the ink ribbon with the second heating energy to melt the support layer of the ink ribbon inward. It is a thermal transfer method characterized by applying.

  According to the present invention, after the step of heating the ink ribbon with the first heating energy, the second heating body heats the ink ribbon with the second heating energy, and the support layer of the ink ribbon is positioned inside. A thermal transfer method characterized by fusing to a support layer of an ink ribbon.

  According to the present invention, the second transfer body of the second transfer device heats the ink ribbon with the first heating energy so that the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon is placed inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. Transfer to the ink ribbon support layer located. The second transfer member can heat the ink ribbon with a second heating energy larger than the first heating energy to fuse the ink ribbon support layer to the ink ribbon support layer located inside. For this reason, when the wound ink ribbon is unwound, the ink ribbon breaks starting from the fused portion of the outer ink ribbon and the inner ink ribbon. This makes it difficult to read the first pattern of the ink ribbon.

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 after ink transfer in the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is an ink ribbon ink in the first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a transfer object transferred with a first pattern. 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. 5 is a diagram showing a case where the second heating body of the second transfer device of the winding device shown in FIG. 4 is viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow V. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VI-VI of the second heating body and the ink ribbon shown in FIG. 5. FIGS. 7A and 7B are views showing a state in which 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. 8A is a view showing the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon after the transfer shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B is performed, and FIG. 8B is the view shown in FIGS. The figure which shows the support layer of the inner side ink ribbon after the transfer shown is implemented. FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a state in which the outer ink ribbon and the inner ink ribbon are fused.

  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 transfer device 22 that is provided in the vicinity of the winding unit 21 and heats the ink ribbon 13 that has been ink-transferred from the support layer 11 side 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 transfer device 22 shown in FIG. 1 constitute a winding device 20. The support layer 11 of the ink ribbon 13 is made of a synthetic resin material such as polyethylene terephthalate (PET).

  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.

  Further, the delivery unit 16, the first transfer device 17, the winding unit 21, and the second transfer device 22 are accommodated in the box 1 as a whole. An opening through which the second transfer device 22 is put into and out of the box 1 is provided in the vicinity of the second transfer device 22 on the upper surface 1 a of the box 1. The shutter 3 is covered so as to be openable and closable.

  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. As described above, the winding device 20 is provided in the vicinity of the roll-shaped winding unit 21 that winds up the ink ribbon 13 that has been subjected to ink transfer, and the winding unit 20. And a second transfer device (winding device transfer device) 22 for heating from the side. Among the second transfer device 22 includes a second heating element 23 made from a heater roll form, support mechanism for rotatably supported in the direction of a second heating member 23 in the arrow R ₃ (not shown) , Including.

(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 transfer device)
Next, the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a case where the second heating body 23 of FIG. 4 is viewed from the direction indicated by the arrow V. FIG. 6 is a VI-VI line of the second heating body 23 and the ink ribbon 13 shown in FIG. FIG. In addition, when the ink ribbon 13 is wound around the winding unit 21, the wound ink ribbon 13 is actually curved along the roll surface of the winding unit 21, but in FIG. The ink ribbon 13 is drawn ignoring the state. Further, FIG. 6 illustrates a state in which the outer ink ribbon 13A is pressed by the second heating body 23 and a part of the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is pressed against the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B. 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 FIGS. 5 and 6, the second heating body 23 includes protrusions 23 a arranged in a predetermined pattern (second pattern) on the outer periphery thereof. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, when the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated and pressed with the first heating energy from the outside (the support layer 11 side) by the protrusion 23a of the second heating body 23, the outer ink ribbon 13A A part of the ink 12a remaining in the ink layer 12 is transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in the second pattern. The temperature of the second heating body 23 when the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated with the first heating energy is such that the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is melted over the entire region, thereby supporting the outer ink ribbon 13A. It is set low enough that the phenomenon that the layer 11 and the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B are bonded does not occur.

  Here, the second pattern in the protrusion 23 a of the second heating body 23 is set to be different from the first 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.

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. To accommodate the increased outer diameter of such a roll member, the second heating member 23 does not support mechanism (illustrated so as to be movable in the (direction indicated by the arrow D ₁ in FIG. 4) radially of the roll body ). Further, by supporting the second heating body 23 by such a support mechanism, the second heating body 23 is moved to the arrow when the winding drive is stopped or when the heating by the second heating body 23 is unnecessary. is moved in the D ₁ direction, it is possible to arbitrarily stop the contact with the ink ribbon 13 that is wound around the winding portion 21.

  The second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 can heat the ink ribbon 13 with the second heating energy larger than the first heating energy. In this case, the support layer 11 of the ink ribbon 13 is positioned inside. It can be fused to the support layer 11 of the ink ribbon 13.

  Next, the operation of the present embodiment having such a configuration will be described. Here, 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 ink has been transferred is transferred by the second transfer device 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, in a state where the ink ribbon 13 that has been ink-transferred is wound up by the winding unit 21, the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated in the second pattern by the second transfer device 22 (second transfer step). Hereinafter, with reference to FIGS. 7A and 7B and FIGS. 8A and 8B, the operation of heating the outer ink ribbon 13A in the second pattern by the second transfer device 22 will be described in detail.

  First, as shown in FIG. 7A, while rotating the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 together with the winding unit 21, the second heating body 23 is moved from the outer side (the support layer 11 side) to the outer ink ribbon. Press against 13A. As a result, the outer ink ribbon 13 </ b> A is heated by the first heating energy from the outside by the protrusion 23 a of the second heater 23. 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. As a result, as indicated by reference numeral 12c in FIG. 7B, 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.

  Even if the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated with the first heating energy by the second heater 23, the support layer 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13A and the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B are not fused. FIG. 8A is a diagram illustrating a case where the outer ink ribbon 13A after being transferred by the second transfer device 22 is viewed from the ink layer 12 side, and FIG. 8B is a diagram illustrating the second transfer device. 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. 8A, the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A has an ink missing portion 12b (1) having a first pattern based on a print pattern of ID information in the first transfer device 17, and a second pattern. An ink removal portion 12b (2) having a second pattern 26 based on the arrangement pattern of the protrusions 23a of the second heating body 23 in the transfer device 22 is formed. As shown in FIG. 8A, 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. 8B, the ink 12 c is transferred from the outer ink ribbon 13 </ b> A by the second pattern 26 onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13 </ b> B by the second transfer device 22. Further, as shown in FIG. 8B, 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. 8B, 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 second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 heats the outer ink ribbon 13A with the first heating energy, and a part of the ink 12a remaining on the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred to the inner ink ribbon. The second heating body 23 intermittently heats the outer ink ribbon 13 </ b> A with the second heating energy larger than the first heating energy while being transferred to the support layer 11 of 13 </ b> B in the second pattern.

  As described above, when the second heating body 23 heats the outer ink ribbon 13A with the second heating energy, the support layer 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13A and the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B are fused together, and the outer ink ribbon 13A side. Further, the fused portions 30A and 30B are formed on the inner ink ribbon 13B side.

  The fused portions 30A and 30B formed on the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B are intermittently formed along the winding direction of the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B. For this reason, when the wound ink ribbon 13 is unwound, the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B are ruptured starting from the fused portions 30A and 30B of the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B. For this reason, it is difficult to read the first pattern remaining on the ink ribbon 13.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the thermal transfer is finished, the following operation is performed.

  That is, when the first transfer device 17 and the second transfer device 22 are stopped at the same time in order to complete the thermal transfer, the portion 13a of the ink ribbon 13 between the first transfer device 17 and the second transfer device 22 is not Only one pattern remains, and the second pattern is not transferred to this portion 13a, and the first pattern can be easily visually recognized from the portion 13a of the ink ribbon 13.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, when the thermal transfer is finished, the first transfer device 17 is first stopped, and the transfer of the ink 12a to the transfer target 14 is stopped.

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

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

  Next, the winding unit 21 is further wound by the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13 of the winding unit 21. In this case, since the outermost periphery of the ink ribbon 13 functions as a cover for the ink ribbon 13 wound up by the winding unit 21, the pattern of the ink ribbon 13 wound up on the winding unit 21 can be visually confirmed. It becomes more difficult.

  The outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21 is the length of the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13 of the winding section 21 on the upstream side of the first transfer device 17 in the ink ribbon 13. The cover 13 may be formed by winding about half the length of the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13.

  Further, when the winding unit 21 is further wound by the outermost circumference of the ink ribbon 13, the first transfer device 17 is of course stopped, but the second transfer device 22 is operated to apply the second pattern to the ink ribbon 13. Transfer may be performed, and both the first transfer device 17 and the second transfer device 22 may be stopped.

  Thus, the thermal transfer using the thermal transfer system 10 is completed.

  As described above, the ink ribbon 13 having been transferred by the ink taken up by the take-up unit 21 of the take-up device 20 is heated by the second transfer device 22 from the outside in the second pattern. Then, a series of ink-transferred ink ribbons 13 are taken up by the take-up unit 21 and heated from the outside with the second pattern 26 by the second transfer device 22, and then the ink ribbon 13 is removed from the take-up unit 21. Discard.

  The second heating body of the second transfer device heats the outer ink ribbon 13A with the first heating energy, and the ink 12a remaining on the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred to the inner ink ribbon 13B in a second pattern. Although the example in which the outer ink ribbon 13A is intermittently heated with the second heating energy while being transferred to the support layer 11 is shown, the present invention is not limited to this, and the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated with the first heating energy to After the second pattern is transferred to the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B and the transfer of the ink 12a to the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B is completed in the second pattern, the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred with the second heating energy. By heating, the support layer 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13A and the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B are fused to form the outer ink ribbon 13A. And fused portion 30A on each of the inner ink ribbon 13B, may be formed 30B.

  In the above-described embodiment, the second heating body 23 made of a roll-shaped heating element has been described. However, as another example, a second heating body made of a thermal head may be provided. Good.

  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 to which ink has been transferred, and a second heater 23 that is provided in the vicinity of the winding unit 21 and that heats the ink ribbon 13 to which ink has been transferred from the support layer 11 side. A transfer device 22. For this reason, the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A heated by the second transfer device 22 is positioned inside the outer ink ribbon 13A with a second pattern 26 different from the first pattern in the first transfer device 17. Can be transferred to the support layer 11 of the inner 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.

  Further, according to the present embodiment, when the thermal transfer is finished, the first transfer device 17 is first stopped to stop the transfer to the transfer target 14. Next, the winding unit 21 winds the ink ribbon 13 by a distance from the first transfer device 17 to the second transfer device 22 to operate the second transfer device 22, so that only the first pattern remains on the ink ribbon 13. There is no. Furthermore, the ink ribbon 13 can be wound up by the winding unit 21, and a portion functioning as a cover cover can be provided on the outermost periphery of the ink ribbon 13.

In addition, since the opening 2 through which the second transfer device 22 is put in and out of the box 1 is provided, the second transfer device 22 is inserted into the box 1 through the opening 2, or the second transfer in the box 1 is inserted. The device 22 can be easily taken out through the opening 2. Furthermore, by covering the opening 2 with the shutter 3, it is possible to prevent the first pattern of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding portion 21 from being visually recognized through the opening 2 from the outside. When the body 23 heats the outer ink ribbon 13A with the second heating energy, the fused portions 30A and 30B can be formed on the support layers 11 of the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B. Therefore, when the wound ink ribbons 13A and 13B are unwound, the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B are ruptured starting from the fused portions 30A and 30B. This makes it difficult to recognize the first pattern remaining on the ink ribbons 13A and 13B from the outside.

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 transfer apparatus 13 Ink ribbon 13A Outer ink ribbon 13B Inner ink ribbon 14 Transfer object 15 Guide roll 16 Sending part 17 1st transfer device 18 1st heating body 19 platen roll 20 winding device 21 winding part 22 2nd transfer device 23 2nd heating body 23a protrusion part 26 2nd pattern 30A, 30B fusion | fusion part

Claims (5)

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;
The first heating energy is provided near the winding unit, and the ink ribbon having the ink transferred thereon is not fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned on the inner side of the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned on the outer side from the support layer side. A second transfer device having a second heating body for heating,
In the second transfer apparatus, the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon heated by the second heating body is applied to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern. Transcribed,
The second heating body intermittently heats the ink ribbon with the second heating energy that is fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon that is positioned on the inner side of the support layer of the ink ribbon that is positioned outside the first heating energy. The support layer of the ink ribbon is fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned on the inner side, and the ink ribbon positioned on the outer side and the fused portion intermittently disposed by the ink ribbon positioned on the inner side are formed. And thermal transfer system. In the winding unit, the ink ribbon is wound so that the support layer of the ink ribbon is positioned outside the ink layer,
The second heating body transfers the ink of the ink layer of the outermost ink ribbon in the second pattern to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the outermost ink ribbon wound up by the winding unit. The thermal transfer system according to claim 1, wherein the outermost ink ribbon is heated from the outside. In the thermal transfer method using the thermal transfer system according to claim 1,
Actuating the first transfer device to transfer the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer object in a first pattern;
The second transfer device is operated to heat the ink ribbon with a first heating energy at which the support layer of the ink ribbon on which the second heating body is located outside is not fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon located on the inside. Transferring the ink in the ink layer of the ink ribbon to a support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside the ink ribbon in a second pattern different from the first pattern,
The second heating body intermittently heats the ink ribbon with a second heating energy at which the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned outside the first heating energy is fused to the support layer of the ink ribbon positioned inside. Fusing the support layer of the ink ribbon to the support layer of the ink ribbon located on the inner side to form a fusion part intermittently arranged by the ink ribbon located on the outer side and the ink ribbon located on the inner side. A characteristic thermal transfer method.   During the step of heating the ink ribbon with the first heating energy, the second heating body intermittently heats the ink ribbon with the second heating energy to fuse the support layer of the ink ribbon to the inside. The thermal transfer method according to claim 3.   After the step of heating the ink ribbon with the first heating energy, the second heating body heats the ink ribbon with the second heating energy, and supports the ink ribbon positioned inside the support layer of the ink ribbon. The thermal transfer method according to claim 3, wherein the thermal transfer method is fused to the layer.

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