JP7530575B2 - Thermal transfer system and control method thereof - Google Patents

Description

This disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system that transfers ink to a receiving material using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, and a control method thereof.

Transfer systems that use ink ribbons to print characters and other images on a receiving material such as a card are widely used. Ink ribbons have a ribbon (support layer) that extends in a strip shape, and an ink layer containing dyes and the like that is formed on the ribbon. In printing using an ink ribbon, ink is transferred to the receiving material in a pattern corresponding to the desired image to be printed. In this case, the ink ribbon after ink transfer has areas where the ink has been removed by transfer to the receiving material, in a pattern corresponding to the printed image. For this reason, it is possible to identify the printed image from the ink ribbon after ink transfer. Therefore, when using an ink ribbon to print confidential information such as ID information on a receiving material, care must be taken when handling the ink ribbon after ink transfer.

To address these issues, for example, Patent Document 1 proposes a thermal transfer system in which the outermost ink ribbon wound on the winding section is heated using a heater, and ink is transferred in a disturbed pattern to the ink ribbon located on the inside, while also bonding the ink ribbons together.

JP 2019-142038 A

However, even if a heater is used to transfer the ink from the outermost ink ribbon in a disturbance pattern to an ink ribbon located inside, and the outermost ink ribbon is then adhered to the ink ribbon located inside, if the adhesive strength between the two is weak, the two may peel off when the ink ribbon with the transferred ink is rewound, allowing confidential information such as ID information to be read. In such a case, it may be possible to apply a large amount of energy to the heater, but there is an upper limit to the energy that can be applied to the heater, and energy cannot be applied beyond this upper limit.

The present disclosure has been made in consideration of these points, and aims to provide a thermal transfer system and a control method thereof that makes it difficult to read confidential information, such as ID information, from an ink ribbon after transfer without applying a large amount of energy to the heating element.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system for transferring ink to a transferee using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, the system comprising: a sending section for sending out the ink ribbon; a first transfer device arranged downstream of the sending section and having a first heating body arranged on the support layer side of the ink ribbon, and transferring the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon in a transfer pattern to the transferee; a winding section arranged downstream of the first transfer device and winding up the ink ribbon after ink transfer; and a second heating body arranged near the winding section and contacting the ink ribbon after ink transfer wound up on the winding section from the support layer side to heat the ink ribbon from the support layer side, the second heating body heating the ink ribbon so that the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon. The thermal transfer system includes a second heating element and a control unit, and the control unit executes the steps of: activating the second heating element to heat the ink ribbon while winding the ink ribbon onto the winding unit, thereby transferring the ink of the ink layer to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a first disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern; and rewinding the ink ribbon from the winding unit and then rewinding the ink ribbon onto the winding unit. When rewinding the ink ribbon from the winding unit or rewinding the ink ribbon onto the winding unit, the control unit executes the steps of activating the second heating element to heat the ink ribbon and transfer the ink of the ink layer to the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a second disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system in which the shape of the first disturbance pattern and the shape of the second disturbance pattern are different.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system in which the first disturbance pattern and the second disturbance pattern are transferred synchronously.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system in which the first disturbance pattern and the second disturbance pattern are transferred in an overlapping manner.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system in which the first disturbance pattern and the second disturbance pattern are each transferred by the second heater using energy that is 60 to 100% of the rated energy of the second heater.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system in which the second disturbance pattern includes a strip-shaped solid pattern or a rectangular solid pattern.

The present disclosure is a thermal transfer system that rewinds the ink ribbon from the winding section within a range where the area of the ink ribbon heated by the second heating element reaches a point away from the ink ribbon located on the inside.

The present disclosure relates to a thermal transfer system that transfers ink to a transferee using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, the system comprising: a sending section that sends out the ink ribbon; a first transfer device that is arranged downstream of the sending section and has a first heating body provided on the support layer side of the ink ribbon and transfers the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transferee in a transfer pattern; a winding section that is arranged downstream of the first transfer device and winds up the ink ribbon after ink transfer; a second heating body that is provided near the winding section and abuts against the ink ribbon after ink transfer wound on the winding section from the support layer side to heat the ink ribbon from the support layer side, the second heating body that heats the ink ribbon so that the ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon; and a control unit. In addition, in the method for controlling a thermal transfer system, the control unit executes a step of activating the second heating element to heat the ink ribbon while winding the transfer pattern and the ink ribbon onto the winding section, thereby transferring the ink of the ink layer to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a first disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern, and a step of rewinding the ink ribbon from the winding section and then rewinding the ink ribbon onto the winding section, and further executes a step of activating the second heating element to heat the ink ribbon while rewinding the ink ribbon from the winding section or rewinding the ink ribbon onto the winding section, thereby transferring the ink of the ink layer to the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a second disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern.

According to this disclosure, it is difficult to read information from an ink ribbon that has already been transferred without applying a large amount of energy to the heating element.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a thermal transfer system according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2A shows an ink ribbon after ink has been transferred in an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2B is a diagram showing a transfer target onto which ink from an ink ribbon is transferred in a transfer pattern in the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III of the ink ribbon after ink transfer shown in FIG. 2A. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a winding device of the thermal transfer system of FIG. FIG. 5 is an enlarged view showing the second heating element and the ink ribbon. FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a method for controlling the thermal transfer system. FIG. 7A illustrates how ink from the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the inner ink ribbon in a first disturbance pattern. FIG. 7B illustrates how ink from the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the inner ink ribbon in a first disturbance pattern. FIG. 8A shows the ink layer of the outer ink ribbon after the first disturbance pattern has been formed. FIG. 8B shows the support layer of the inner ink ribbon after the first disturbance pattern has been formed. FIG. 8C shows the support layer of the inner ink ribbon after the second disturbance pattern has been formed. FIG. 8D shows the support layer of the inner ink ribbon after a modified second disturbance pattern has been formed. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the range in which the ink ribbon on the winding section is rewound. FIG. 10A is a diagram showing the effects of the first random printing process and the second random printing process. FIG. 10B is a diagram showing the effects of the first random printing process and the second random printing process. FIG. 10C is a diagram showing the effects of the first random printing process and the second random printing process. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a modified example of the thermal transfer system according to the present embodiment.

<Embodiments of the present invention>
Hereinafter, the present embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8. First, the overall structure of a thermal transfer system 10 will be described with reference to Figure 1.

As shown in FIG. 1, the thermal transfer system 10 transfers ink 12a in a desired pattern to a transferee 14 using an ink ribbon 13 having a support layer 11 and an ink layer 12. Such a thermal transfer system 10 includes a delivery section 16 that delivers the ink ribbon 13 in the direction indicated by the arrow R1, a first transfer device 17 arranged downstream of the delivery section 16, a winding section 21 arranged downstream of the first transfer device 17 that winds up the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred in the direction indicated by the arrow R2, and a second transfer device 22 that is provided near the winding section 21 and includes a second heating element 23 that is a heating element that heats the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred from the support layer 11 side. As shown in FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 13 delivered from the delivery section 16 is transported to the winding section 21 along a plurality of guide rolls 15.

As shown in FIG. 1, the first transfer device 17 has a platen roll 19 that supports the transfer target 14, and a first heating element 18, e.g., a print head, that is arranged to face the platen roll 19 with the ink ribbon 13 and the transfer target 14 in between. As shown in FIG. 1, the first heating element 18 is arranged on the support layer 11 side of the ink ribbon 13. This first heating element 18 heats the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 in a predetermined pattern (transfer pattern) that corresponds to the ID information, whereby the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 is transferred to the transfer target 14 in the transfer pattern (hereinafter also referred to as being printed).

2A is a diagram showing the ink ribbon 13 after the ink 12a has been transferred to the transferee 14 in the first pattern, as viewed from the ink layer 12 side, and FIG. 2B is a diagram showing the transferee 14 to which the ink 12a of the ink ribbon 13 has been transferred in the first pattern. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view of the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer shown in FIG. 2A, taken along line III-III. As shown in FIGS. 2A and 3, in the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer, the ink layer 12 consists of the ink 12a that remains without being transferred to the transferee 14, and the ink-free portions 12b corresponding to the ID information printed on the transferee 14. In this case, as shown in FIG. 2A, the pattern of the ink-free portions 12b in the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer corresponds to the transfer pattern in the first heating body 18 described above. Therefore, it is possible to identify the ID information printed on the transferee 14 based on the pattern of the ink-free portions 12b.

Next, the winding unit 21 of the thermal transfer system 10 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 4. As described above, the winding unit 21 is in the form of a roll that winds up the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer, and a second transfer device (transfer device for winding device) 22 including a second heating element 23 that heats the ink ribbon 13 after ink transfer from the support layer 11 side is provided near the winding unit 21.

As shown in FIG. 4, in the winding section 21 of this 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 this embodiment, the ink ribbon 13 positioned at the outermost periphery of the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21 is referred to as the outer ink ribbon 13A, and the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21 on the inside of the outer ink ribbon 13A and adjacent to the outer ink ribbon 13A is referred to as the inner ink ribbon 13B.

Next, referring to FIG. 5, the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 will be described in detail. When the ink ribbon 13 is wound around the winding section 21, the wound ink ribbon 13 actually curves along the roll surface of the winding section 21, but in FIG. 5, for convenience, the ink ribbon 13 is drawn ignoring the curved state. Also, in FIG. 5, a small gap is drawn between the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B for convenience in order to explain how 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. However, this 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 a gap over the entire surface.

As shown in FIG. 5, when the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated and pressed from the outside (support layer 11 side) by the second heating element 23, a portion 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 with a first disturbance pattern 26A or a second disturbance pattern 26B different from the transfer pattern 25. The temperature of the second heating element 23 is set low enough to prevent the ink 12a in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A from melting over the entire area, thereby causing the outer ink ribbon 13A and the inner ink ribbon 13B to adhere to each other.

The first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B by the second heating element 23 are set to be different from the transfer pattern in the first heating element 18. Therefore, by transferring a portion 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, it is possible to destroy the pattern of the ink-missing portion 12b consisting of the transfer pattern corresponding to the ID information in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A. This makes it possible to prevent the ID information printed on the transfer target 14 from being identified based on the pattern of the ink-missing portion 12b, as will be described in detail later.

In the winding section 21, as winding proceeds, the outer diameter of the roll body formed by the ink ribbon 13 wound by the winding section 21 increases. In order to accommodate this increase in the outer diameter of the roll body, the second heating element 23 is supported by a support mechanism (not shown) so as to be movable in the radial direction of the roll body (the direction shown by the arrow D1 in FIG. 4). In addition, by supporting the second heating element 23 by such a support mechanism, when the winding drive is stopped or when heating by the second heating element 23 is not required, it is possible to move the second heating element 23 in the direction of the arrow D1 to arbitrarily stop contact with the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding section 21.

In addition, each component of the thermal transfer system 10 in this embodiment is driven and controlled by the control unit 30.

<Operation of this embodiment>
Next, the operation of this embodiment having such a configuration will be described with reference to the flow chart of Fig. 6. Here, the ink 12a of the ink ribbon 13 is transferred (printed) onto the transferee 14 in a transfer pattern 25 corresponding to the ID information by the first transfer device 17 having the first heating body 18 of the thermal transfer system 10. After that, the ink 12a of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A, to which the ink has been transferred, is transferred (printed) onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in a first disturbance pattern 26A or a second disturbance pattern 26B different from the transfer pattern 25 by the second transfer device 22.

The thermal transfer system according to this embodiment is driven and controlled by the control unit 30.

First, as shown in FIG. 1, the transfer object 14 is transported toward the first transfer device 17. Meanwhile, the ink ribbon 13 is sent from the delivery section 16 toward the first transfer device 17.

When the transferee 14 reaches between the first heating body 18 and the platen roll 19 of the first transfer device 17, the first heating body 18 presses the ink ribbon 13 against the transferee 14 while heating it in a transfer pattern corresponding to the ID information. This causes the ink 12a in the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 to be transferred onto the transferee 14 in a transfer pattern corresponding to the ID information. This causes the ID information to be printed on the transferee 14, and also forms ink-free areas 12b in the ink layer 12 of the ink ribbon 13 that correspond to the ID information.

After passing through the first transfer device 17, the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred thereto is wound up by the winding section 21 of the winding device 20. At this time, the second heating element 23 of the second transfer device 22 has already been lowered, and the second heating element 23 is in contact with the outer ink ribbon 13A. Then, while the ink ribbon 13 with the ink transferred thereto is being wound up by the winding section 21, the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated by the second heating element 23 of the second transfer device 22 in a first disturbance pattern or a second disturbance pattern that is different from the transfer pattern (second transfer process). Hereinafter, the action of the outer ink ribbon 13A being heated by the second heating element 23 of the second transfer device 22 in the first disturbance pattern or the second disturbance pattern will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 6, FIG. 7A, FIG. 7B, and FIG. 8A to FIG. 8D.

(First disturbance printing process)
First, the disturbance printing process (also called the first disturbance printing process) using the first disturbance pattern is started. As shown in FIG. 7A, the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 presses the second heating body 23 against the outer ink ribbon 13A from the outside (the support layer 11 side). Next, the winding section 21 starts winding the ink ribbon 13, whereby the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated from the outside by the second heating body 23. As a result, a part of the ink 12a remaining in 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 shown by the reference symbol 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 by the first disturbance pattern 26A. At this time, the outer ink ribbon 13A is adhered to the inner ink ribbon 13B via the ink.

Figure 8A shows the outer ink ribbon 13A after transfer by the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 as viewed from the ink layer 12 side, and Figure 8B shows the inner ink ribbon 13B after transfer by the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 as viewed from the support layer 11 side. As shown in Figure 8A, the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A has an ink-free portion 12b (1) having a transfer pattern 25 corresponding to the transfer pattern of the ID information in the first heating body 18 of the first transfer device 17, and an ink-free portion 12b (2) having a first disturbance pattern 26A by the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22. As shown in Figure 8A, the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A contains a mixture of the transfer pattern 25 and the first disturbance pattern 26A, and therefore the pattern of the ink-free portion 12b (1) consisting of the transfer pattern 25 corresponding to the ID information is destroyed to an unrecognizable extent. This makes it possible to prevent the ID information printed on the transfer target 14 from being identified based on the pattern of the ink-missing portion 12b. In this case, the transfer pattern 25 formed by the first heating body 18 and the first disturbance pattern 26A formed by the second heating body 23 have completely different shapes, as described above. In FIG. 8A, for convenience, the first disturbance pattern 26A has a round or triangular shape, so it appears that the transfer pattern 25 is not sufficiently disturbed by the first disturbance pattern 26A, but in reality, the first disturbance pattern 26A has a slightly more complicated shape, and the transfer pattern 25 can be reliably disturbed by the first disturbance pattern 26A.

As shown in FIG. 8B, ink 12c is transferred from the outer ink ribbon 13A onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in the first disturbance pattern 26A by the second heating element 23 of the second transfer device 22. Also, as shown in FIG. 8B, ink missing portion 12d is partially formed in this ink 12c, having a pattern based on ink missing portion 12b consisting of the transfer pattern of the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A. However, as shown in FIG. 8B, the ink missing portion 12d is only visible in the area overlapping with the first disturbance pattern 26A, and therefore the ID information printed on the transfer target 14 cannot be identified based on the pattern of the ink missing portion 12d.

This completes the first random printing process.

Then, the transfer process in which the transfer pattern is transferred to the transfer target object 14 by the first heating element 18 is completed.

Next, the second heater 23 rises and moves away from the outer ink ribbon 12A.

In the first random printing process described above, the second heater 23 heats the outer ink ribbon 13A from the outside with 60% to 100% of its rated energy. Therefore, in the first random printing process, excessive energy is not applied to the second heater 23, and the second heater 23 is not damaged.

However, in the first disturbance printing process, the energy applied to the second heater 23 described above does not reach the rated energy, so it is possible that the ink 12a remaining in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is not sufficiently transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B. In this case, the degree of adhesion between the outer ink ribbon 12A and the inner ink ribbon 12B will decrease.

For this reason, in this embodiment, the first random printing process is followed by the rewinding process and the second random printing process described below.

(Rewinding process)
In this embodiment, the ink ribbon 13 is then rewound following the first irregular printing step.

First, the delivery unit 16 is operated to rewind the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding unit 21 by a predetermined distance. When rewinding the ink ribbon 13 from the winding unit 21, it is preferable to rewind the ink ribbon 13 by an area L3 (a range within the area L2) that is smaller than the area L2 where the area L1 of the outer ink ribbon 13A heated by the second heater 23 in the first random printing process reaches the point P where the area separates from the inner ink ribbon 13B (see FIG. 9).

By determining the range in which the ink ribbon 13 is rewound from the winding section 21 in this manner, it is possible to prevent the outer ink ribbon 13A, which is adhered to the inner ink ribbon 13B in the first disturbance printing process, from peeling off again from the inner ink ribbon 13B. In addition, it is possible to reliably form the second disturbance pattern 26B, which will be described later, by overlapping it on the first disturbance pattern 26A formed in the first disturbance printing process.

In the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding unit 21 is rewound by operating the delivery unit 16, but this is not limiting and, as shown in FIG. 11, an accumulator 31A including a movable roller 31 may be provided between the first transfer device 17 and the winding unit 21. In FIG. 11, by moving the movable roller 31 of the accumulator 31A, the ink ribbon 13 wound around the winding unit 21 can be rewound without operating the delivery unit 16.

Following the rewinding process, the second random printing process is carried out.

(Second disturbance printing process)
First, the second heating body 23 of the second transfer device 22 descends and presses the second heating body 23 from the outside (support layer 11 side) against the outer ink ribbon 13A. Next, the winding section 21 starts winding the ink ribbon 13, and then the outer ink ribbon 13A is heated from the outside by the second heating body 23. As a result, a part of the ink 12a remaining in 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, a part of the ink 12a remaining in the ink layer 12 of the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred by the second disturbance pattern 26B onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B. At this time, the outer ink ribbon 13A is adhered to the inner ink ribbon 13B via the ink.

Figure 8C shows the inner ink ribbon 13B after transfer by the second heating element 23 of the second transfer device 22, as viewed from the support layer 11 side.

As shown in FIG. 8C, a second disturbance pattern 26B having a different shape from the first disturbance pattern 26A formed by the second heater 23 in the first disturbance printing process is formed on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B. In FIG. 8C, the second disturbance pattern 26B is formed in a bold shape so as to cover the first disturbance pattern 26A.

In this embodiment, the first disturbance pattern 26A formed on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in the first disturbance printing process and the second disturbance pattern 26B formed on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in the second disturbance printing process are both different from the transfer pattern formed by the first heating body 18 of the first transfer device 17. In addition, the first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B may be formed on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in synchronization with each other. In this case, the first disturbance pattern 26A may be formed on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in a thin round shape or a triangular shape, and the second disturbance pattern 26B may be formed on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in a bold round shape or a triangular shape so as to completely cover the first disturbance pattern 26A.

In addition, when the first disturbance pattern 26A formed in the first disturbance printing process and the second disturbance pattern 26B formed in the second disturbance printing process are provided on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B in a synchronized manner, when the ink ribbon 13 wound on the winding section 21 is rewound, the rotation angle of the winding section 21 during rewinding is controlled, and then the second disturbance printing process is started, so that the first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B can be synchronized with high precision. Also, as shown in FIG. 8C, the second disturbance pattern 26B is formed in a bold shape so as to cover the first disturbance pattern 26A, and even if there is some positional deviation when the first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B are formed in a synchronized manner, the first disturbance pattern 26A can be reliably covered by the second disturbance pattern 26B.

Alternatively, the first disturbance pattern 26A may be formed in a circular or triangular shape on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B, and the second disturbance pattern 26B may be formed in a strip-shaped solid pattern or a rectangular solid pattern on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B that partially overlaps with the first disturbance pattern 26A (see FIG. 8D).

In this way, the second random printing process is completed. In the second random printing process, the second heater 23 heats the outer ink ribbon 13A from the outside with 60% to 100% of its rated energy. Therefore, in the second random printing process, the second heater 23 is not subjected to an excessive load, and the second heater 23 is not damaged.

Then, the winding section 21 finishes winding the ink ribbon 13, and the operation of the thermal transfer system ends.

As described above, according to this embodiment, in the first random printing process, the second heater 23 is operated by applying 60% to 100% of the rated energy, and in the second random printing process, the second heater 23 is operated by applying 60% to 100% of the rated energy. Therefore, in each of the first random printing process and the second random printing process, an excessive load is not applied to the second heater 23, and damage to the second heater 23 can be prevented.

Furthermore, according to this embodiment, for example, as shown in Figures 10A to 10C, in the first random printing process, the second heater 23 is operated by applying 60% to 100% of the rated energy. After that, in the second random printing process, the second heater 23 is operated by applying 60% to 100% of the rated energy, so that energy equal to or greater than the rated energy can be applied to the second heater 23 in the first random printing process and the second random printing process combined (Figure 10A).

In this case, in the first disturbance printing process, it is possible that a portion of the ink 12a of the outer ink ribbon 13A (an insufficiently transferred portion of the ink) 12e is insufficiently transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B (see Figure 10B).

At this time, in the first disturbance printing process, a portion 12e of the ink 12a of the outer ink ribbon 13A is formed on the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B with insufficient adhesive strength due to the first disturbance pattern 26A.

Next, in the second disturbance printing process, the ink 12a of the outer ink ribbon 13A is transferred onto the support layer 11 of the inner ink ribbon 13B by the second disturbance pattern 26B. At this time, by forming the second disturbance pattern 26B in synchronization with the first disturbance pattern 26A, a portion 12e of the ink 12a that was insufficiently transferred in the first disturbance printing process becomes ink 12c that is reliably transferred in the second disturbance printing process (see FIG. 10C).

The first disturbance pattern 26A formed in the first disturbance printing process is a thin round or triangular shape, and the second disturbance pattern 26B formed in the second disturbance printing process is a thick round or triangular shape. The first disturbance pattern 26A is completely covered by the second disturbance pattern 26B, so that the first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B can be overlapped. This makes it possible to reliably form disturbance patterns 26A and 26B on the ink ribbon 13 that make the transfer pattern unrecognizable through the first disturbance printing process and the second disturbance printing process (see FIG. 8C).

In this case, by making the first disturbance pattern 26A thin and the second disturbance pattern 26B bold, the first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B can be reliably synchronized even if they are not precisely synchronized.

In addition, by forming the first disturbance pattern 26A in a circular or triangular shape and forming the second disturbance pattern 26B in a strip-shaped solid pattern or a rectangular solid pattern that partially overlaps the first disturbance pattern 26A, the first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B can be overlapped without precisely synchronizing the first disturbance pattern 26A and the second disturbance pattern 26B (see FIG. 8D).

In the above embodiment, an example is shown in which the first disturbance pattern 26A is formed in a thin character shape and the second disturbance pattern 26B is formed in a thick character shape, but this is not limited thereto, and the first disturbance pattern 26A may be formed in a thick character shape and the second disturbance pattern 26B may be formed in a thin character shape.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the first random printing process is carried out while the ink ribbon 13 is being wound onto the winding section 21, then the ink ribbon 13 on the winding section 21 is rewound, and then the second random printing process is carried out while the ink ribbon 13 is being wound onto the winding section 21 again. However, this is not limiting, and the first random printing process may be carried out while the ink ribbon 13 is being wound onto the winding section 21, and then the second random printing process may be carried out while the ink ribbon 13 on the winding section 21 is being rewound.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example has been shown in which the first disturbance pattern 26A is formed in the first disturbance printing process, and the second disturbance pattern 26B is formed in the second disturbance printing process, but in addition to this, a third disturbance pattern may be formed in the third disturbance printing process, and further a fourth disturbance pattern may be formed in the fourth disturbance printing process.

10 Thermal transfer system 11 Support layer 12 Ink layer 12a Ink 12b Ink missing portion 12c Ink transferred onto support layer by second heating element 12e Insufficiently transferred portion of ink 13 Ink ribbon 13A Outer ink ribbon 13B Inner ink ribbon 14 Transferred object 15 Guide roll 16 Delivery section 17 First transfer device 18 First heating element 19 Platen roll 20 Winding device 21 Winding section 22 Second transfer device 23 Second heating element 25 Transfer pattern 26A First disturbance pattern 26B Second disturbance pattern 30 Control section 31 Movable roller 31A Accumulator

Claims (8)

A thermal transfer system for transferring ink to a transfer medium using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer,
a delivery section for delivering the ink ribbon;
a first transfer device disposed downstream of the delivery section, the first transfer device having a first heating body provided on a support layer side of the ink ribbon, and transferring ink from an ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transfer target body in a transfer pattern;
a winding unit that is disposed downstream of the first transfer device and that winds up the ink ribbon after the ink transfer;
a second heating element provided near the winding section, contacting the ink ribbon wound on the winding section from a support layer side after ink transfer to heat the ink ribbon from the support layer side, the second heating element heating the ink ribbon such 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;
A control unit.
a step of transferring ink of the ink layer in a first disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern to a support layer of the ink ribbon located on the inner side of the ink ribbon by activating the second heating element while the control unit is winding the ink ribbon on the winding portion;
and after unwinding the ink ribbon from the winding section, winding the ink ribbon again onto the winding section.
The thermal transfer system further executes a process of activating the second heating element to heat the ink ribbon and transfer the ink of the ink layer to the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a second disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern when rewinding the ink ribbon from the winding section or rewinding the ink ribbon onto the winding section. The thermal transfer system of claim 1, wherein the shape of the first disturbance pattern and the shape of the second disturbance pattern are different. The thermal transfer system according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the first disturbance pattern and the second disturbance pattern are transferred synchronously. The thermal transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the first disturbance pattern and the second disturbance pattern are transferred in a partially overlapping manner. The thermal transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first disturbance pattern and the second disturbance pattern are each transferred by the second heater with energy of 60 to 100% of the rated energy of the second heater. The thermal transfer system of any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the second disturbance pattern includes a strip-shaped solid pattern or a rectangular solid pattern. The thermal transfer system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein when the ink ribbon is rewound from the winding section, the ink ribbon is rewound within a range where the area of the ink ribbon heated by the second heating element reaches a point away from the ink ribbon located on the inside. A thermal transfer system for transferring ink to a transferee using an ink ribbon having a support layer and an ink layer, comprising: a delivery section for delivering the ink ribbon; a first transfer device disposed downstream of the delivery section, the first transfer device having a first heating element disposed on the support layer side of the ink ribbon, and transferring ink of the ink layer of the ink ribbon to the transferee in a transfer pattern; and a take-up section disposed downstream of the first transfer device, the take-up section taking up the ink ribbon after ink transfer.
A method for controlling a thermal transfer system, comprising: a second heating element provided near the winding part, contacting the ink ribbon wound on the winding part from a support layer side to heat the ink ribbon from the support layer side, the second heating element heating the ink ribbon such that ink in an ink layer of the ink ribbon is transferred to the support layer of the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon; and a control unit,
a step of transferring ink of the ink layer in a first disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern to a support layer of the ink ribbon located on the inner side of the ink ribbon by activating the second heating element while the control unit is winding the ink ribbon on the winding portion;
and after unwinding the ink ribbon from the winding section, winding the ink ribbon again onto the winding section.
The method for controlling a thermal transfer system further includes, when rewinding the ink ribbon from the winding section or rewinding the ink ribbon onto the winding section, a step of activating the second heating element to heat the ink ribbon and transferring the ink of the ink layer to the ink ribbon located inside the ink ribbon in a second disturbance pattern different from the transfer pattern.