JPH033583B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a temperature control device for controlling the temperature of a transfer roller of a thermal transfer machine.

[Prior Art] In a conventional temperature control device for a thermal transfer machine, the surface of a rotating transfer roller is sequentially heated to a predetermined temperature by one heater disposed around the transfer roller.
There is no problem if the transfer speed is relatively slow, but if the transfer speed is fast, heating with one heater will not be able to sufficiently replenish the heat taken away by the transferred object, and the surface temperature of the transfer roller will be partially The thermal transfer rate decreases, making it impossible to obtain good thermal transfer.

In the temperature control device for a foil stamping machine as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-29367, preheating rollers are disposed before and after the heating roller to preheat the article to be foil stamped. This reduces the temperature difference between the temperature after the foil stamping and after the foil stamping, and prevents poor crimping of the foil. However, since there are parts of the heating roller that come into contact with the article being heated and parts that do not come into contact with it,
This may cause unevenness in the surface temperature of the heating roller, leading to partial failure of crimping of the foil. Furthermore, the overall size of the device increases, and the operating cost for heating the heating roller also increases.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] In view of the above-mentioned problems, an object of the present invention is to correct the partial decrease in surface temperature caused by the contact of the transfer roller with the transfer film immediately after thermal transfer, and to maintain a constant surface temperature at all times. An object of the present invention is to provide an economical temperature control device for a thermal transfer machine that can perform continuous thermal transfer.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the present invention has a configuration including a transfer roller for bringing the transfer film into contact with an object to be transferred, and a main heater disposed on the outer peripheral side of the transfer roller. , a plurality of auxiliary heaters arranged in parallel in the width direction on the side of the transfer roller moving away from the transferred object, and a first temperature control device arranged on the outer peripheral side of the transfer roller on the side where the transfer roller approaches the transferred object. Detected by a sensor, a plurality of second temperature sensors arranged corresponding to the auxiliary heater on the outer peripheral side of the transfer roller on the side where the transfer roller leaves the transferred object, and first and second temperature sensors. and a control device that controls the heating temperature of each auxiliary heater in response to the difference in temperature.

[Operation] The transfer roller 5 for pressing the transfer film 3 onto the transfer object x loses heat to the transfer object x during thermal transfer, so the surface temperature partially decreases. In order to compensate for the partial decrease in surface temperature, a plurality of auxiliary heaters 10 are arranged on the outer circumferential side of the transfer roller 5.
Further, a first temperature sensor 7 is disposed on the side of the transfer roller 5 approaching the transfer target x, and a plurality of second temperature sensors 8 are disposed on the side away from the transfer target x.

Detection signals from the first and second temperature sensors 7 and 8 are input to the control device 11, and the current of each auxiliary heater 10 is adjusted in proportion to the difference in surface temperature between the two. In this way, the partial decrease in the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 is recovered, and then the main heater 9
is heated to a predetermined temperature. Therefore, the surface temperature when the transfer roller 5 presses the transfer film 3 against the transfer object x is maintained substantially constant, so that continuous thermal transfer can be performed at high speed.

[Embodiments of the Invention] FIG. 1 shows the main structure of a transfer roller temperature control device according to the present invention. A transfer object x such as soap is sent to a thermal transfer section 2 by a feeding conveyor 1. As the transfer table 4 rises, the transferred object x sent to the transfer table 4 of the thermal transfer section 2 is transferred with the transfer film 3 having a picture pattern attached (printed or vapor-deposited) on the underside, sandwiched therebetween.
It is pressed against the rotating transfer roller 5. Transferred object x
The picture pattern etc. is thermally transferred from the transfer film 3,
The product is sent to the take-out conveyor 6 as a product.

During the transfer process by the feeding conveyor 1, the transferred material x is heated to an appropriate temperature by the preheater 12, and transferred to the thermal transfer section 2.
However, since the temperature of the transferred object x is lower than the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5, the transferred object x
absorbs the heat of the transfer roller 5 when being transferred. Therefore, the surface temperature after the picture pattern or the like is thermally transferred to the transfer object x is lower than the surface temperature before the thermal transfer. The partial decrease in the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 is
When performing thermal transfer at a low temperature, recovery is achieved by heating the heater (installed only in one location in conventional equipment) before performing the next thermal transfer, but when performing thermal transfer at high speed, the temperature is restored until the surface temperature reaches the appropriate temperature. It is not recovered and good thermal transfer cannot be obtained.

As shown in FIG. 2, in the present invention, the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 before thermal transfer is detected by the first temperature sensor 7, and the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 is detected in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances.
The surface temperature of each part after thermal transfer is detected by the second temperature sensor 8, and the first and second temperature sensors 7, 8
The detected signal is added to the control device 11 including a temperature comparator, and the control device 11
In addition, a signal from the control device 11 based on the temperature difference between the two is applied to the auxiliary heater 10 disposed upstream of the main heater 9 to control the heating temperature of the auxiliary heater 10 so that the transfer roller 5 This is to correct the surface temperature of each part that decreases due to heat being taken away during thermal transfer.

FIG. 2 shows a specific configuration of the main heater 9, auxiliary heater 10, first temperature sensor 7, and second temperature sensor 8 for the transfer roller 5. The auxiliary heater 10 includes a large number of heating elements 10a arranged in the width direction of the transfer roller 5, and finely heats the outer peripheral surface of the transfer roller 5. The second temperature sensor 8 that detects the surface temperature of each part of the transfer roller 5 also includes the same number of sensor elements 8a as the heating elements 10a, and detects the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 "finely" and sends a signal to the control device 11. Add to. The main heater 9 and the first temperature sensor 7 are configured not to locally heat the transfer row 5 and detect the local temperature, but to perform average heating and temperature detection. The sensor element 7a constituting the first temperature sensor 7 applies a detected signal to the control device 11.

Next, the operation of the temperature control device according to the present invention will be explained. The transferred object x sent onto the transfer table 4 by the feeding conveyor 1 comes into pressure contact with the rotating transfer roller 5 as the transfer table 4 rises. On the surface of the transferred object x by pressure contact with the transfer roller 5,
The pattern etc. on the lower surface of the transfer film 3 interposed between the transfer roller 5 and the transferred object x is thermally transferred, and the transferred object x is sent to the take-out conveyor 6 by the movement and rotation of the transfer film 3 and the transfer roller 5. It is extracted as a product.

By the way, since the transferred object x to be thermally transferred is sent to the transfer table 4 and subjected to thermal transfer at a temperature lower than the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5, heat is taken away from the transfer roller 5. Therefore, the surface temperature of the portion of the transfer roller 5 that has finished thermal transfer and has come into contact with the transferred object x is reduced by that amount. A decrease in the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 is detected by the second temperature sensor 8, and a detection signal is applied to the control device 11.

A detection signal of the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 before thermal transfer detected by the first surface temperature sensor 7 is already applied to the control device 11 . The detection signal from the first temperature sensor 7 and the detection signal from the second temperature sensor 8 are immediately compared by the control device 11, and the surface temperature of the transfer roller 5 is reduced due to contact with the transferred object x during thermal transfer. is calculated, and the control device 11
A temperature correction command signal is applied to the auxiliary heater 10 from the auxiliary heater 10 .

The temperature correction command signal is applied to the heating element 10a corresponding to each sensor element 8a of the second temperature sensor 8 that has detected the surface temperature of each part of the transfer roller 5. Therefore, each heating element 10a that receives the temperature correction command signal immediately operates to bring the transfer roller 5 to an appropriate temperature, and each part of the transfer roller 5 is heated by the amount corresponding to the decrease in surface temperature.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the case where the transfer member is the transfer roller 5 has been described, but it may also be a fan-shaped transfer roller configured to rotate by a predetermined angle.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, the present invention includes a transfer roller for bringing a transfer film into contact with an object to be transferred, a main heater disposed on the outer peripheral side of the transfer roller, and a structure in which the transfer roller is separated from the object to be transferred. A plurality of auxiliary heaters are arranged in parallel in the width direction on the retracting side, a first temperature sensor is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the transfer roller on the side where the transfer roller approaches the transferred object, and a first temperature sensor is arranged on the outer peripheral side of the transfer roller. A plurality of second temperature sensors are arranged corresponding to the auxiliary heaters on the side where the transfer roller leaves the transfer target, and a plurality of second temperature sensors are arranged in response to the difference in temperature detected by the first and second temperature sensors. Since the controller is equipped with a control device that controls the heating temperature of each auxiliary heater, a partial decrease in the surface temperature of the transfer roller taken away by the transferred object after thermal transfer is caused by the temperature of the first temperature sensor and the second temperature sensor. Based on the output of the control device that receives the signal, the auxiliary heater immediately makes corrections, and then the main heater heats the transfer roller to a predetermined temperature, so the surface temperature of the transfer roller is kept uniform and the transfer roller can be processed at high speed. Even when thermal transfer is performed continuously, there is no unevenness and very beautiful thermal transfer can be obtained.

Since the auxiliary heater heats only the temperature-decreased portion of the transfer roller, it is compact, has little heat loss, and reduces operating costs.

Since the heating device has a simple configuration, it is easy to manufacture and has fewer failures.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of a thermal transfer machine equipped with a temperature control device according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan view of the main parts thereof. 5: Transfer roller, 7: First temperature sensor, 7
a: sensor element, 8: second temperature sensor, 8a:
Sensor element, 9: Main heater, 10: Auxiliary heater,
10a: heating element, 11: control device, x: transferred object.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A transfer roller for bringing the transfer film into contact with the object to be transferred, a main heater disposed on the outer peripheral side of the transfer roller, and a plurality of heaters arranged in parallel in the width direction on the side of the transfer roller away from the object to be transferred. An auxiliary heater, a first temperature sensor disposed on the outer circumferential side of the transfer roller on the side where the transfer roller approaches the transferred object, and a first temperature sensor disposed on the outer circumferential side of the transfer roller on the side where the transfer roller moves away from the transferred object. A plurality of second temperature sensors arranged corresponding to the auxiliary heaters, and a control device that controls the heating temperature of each auxiliary heater in response to the difference in temperature detected by the first and second temperature sensors. A temperature control device for a thermal transfer machine, which is equipped with: