JPH081971A - Thermal transfer printer - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide a re-transfer type thermal transfer printer capable of obtaining an image of good quality. CONSTITUTION:An ink ribbon 1 is trained over a supply reel 5 and a taking-up reel 6 under tension and an intermediate recording medium 7 coated with a transparent material is trained over a supply reel 8 and a taking-up reel 9 under tension. The ink ribbon 1 and the intermediate recording medium 7 are fed to the gap between a thermal head 3 and a platen roller 4 and the thermal head 3 is heated to form an ink image on the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium 7. At this time, the intermediate recording medium 7 is held by the clamper 13 provided between the thermal head 3 and a heating roller 14. Thereafter, the clamper 13 is released to feed the intermediate recording medium 7 to the heating roller 14 and the ink image formed on the transparent material is transferred to the recording medium 2 along with the transparent material.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printing apparatus for transferring a meltable or sublimable ink onto a recording medium,
In particular, once an ink image is formed on the intermediate recording medium, then
The present invention relates to a retransfer thermal transfer printing apparatus that transfers an ink image formed on an intermediate recording medium to a recording medium.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a thermal transfer printing apparatus, as shown in FIG. 18, an ink ribbon 1 and a recording medium 2 are superposed, conveyed between a thermal head 3 and a platen roller 4, and applied onto the ink ribbon 1. Ink 1a for thermal head 3
The ink image is formed on the recording medium 2 by being melted or sublimated by. However, the ink ribbon 1 coated with the fusible ink 1a is used, and the recording medium 2
As shown in FIG. 19 (A), when a surface having a rough surface is used, the ink 1a cannot enter the concave portion, and the ink 1a has a weak adhesive force to the recording medium 2, so that the ink ribbon 1 is separated from the recording medium 2. At this time, the ink 1a is likely to come off, resulting in deterioration of image quality. Alternatively,
When the ink 1a is further melted and soaks into the recording medium 2, as shown in FIG. 19B, the ink 1a is not transferred to the convex portion, and the quality of the image quality is deteriorated. When the ink ribbon 1 coated with the sublimable ink 1a is used, it is necessary to use high-priced special synthetic paper or the like as the recording medium 2, and printing on plain paper such as official postcards. Can not.

Therefore, in order to print favorably even on plain paper having a rough surface and to reduce the running cost, an ink image is once formed on an intermediate recording medium with a meltable or sublimable ink, and thereafter, A retransfer thermal transfer printing apparatus that transfers the ink image formed on the intermediate recording medium to the recording medium has been considered, and various proposals have been made.

[0004]

However, in the prior art, when a full-color ink image is formed on the intermediate recording medium, color misregistration or ink loss occurs, or even when retransferred to the recording medium. It was difficult to completely retransfer, and it was not possible to obtain an image of sufficient quality.
The present invention has been made in view of such problems,
An object of the present invention is to provide a retransfer thermal transfer printing apparatus that can obtain an image of good quality.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention applies a fusible ink or a sublimable ink and stretches it between a supply reel and a take-up reel. An ink ribbon formed by applying a transparent material that is melted by heat to a belt-shaped base film, and an intermediate recording medium stretched between a supply reel and a take-up reel,
The ink ribbon includes a first heating unit that transfers the ink of the ink ribbon onto the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium, and a second heating unit that transfers the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium onto the recording medium. The ink ribbon and the intermediate recording medium are transported in a state where the ink application surface of the intermediate recording medium and the transparent material application surface of the intermediate recording medium are in close contact, and the ink of the ink ribbon is heated by the first heating unit. An ink image is formed on a transparent material of the intermediate recording medium, the intermediate recording medium after the ink image is formed is conveyed to the second heating unit, and the ink image formed on the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium is transparent. In a thermal transfer printing apparatus configured to transfer the material to the recording medium together with a material, when forming an ink image on the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium between the first heating unit and the second heating unit. Is the intermediate record Holding the body, when conveying the intermediate recording medium is to provide a thermal transfer printing apparatus characterized in that a clamping means for releasing said intermediate recording medium.

[0006]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of a thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view showing an ink ribbon 1 used in the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is an intermediate recording medium used in the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention. 7, FIG. 4 is a view for explaining the principle of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is an upper frame 10 of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention.
FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 7 is a partially exploded perspective view of the thermal head 3 and its vicinity in the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, and FIGS. 11 and 12 are partial sectional views of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, FIGS. 13 to 15 are partially enlarged sectional views of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 16 is a book. FIG. 17 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 17 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention. In the constituent elements of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, the same functional parts as those of the conventional one are designated by the same reference numerals.

In FIG. 1, the ink ribbon 1 is stretched between a supply reel 5 and a take-up reel 6 with the ink application surface facing down. The ink ribbon 1 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), three colors of meltable or sublimable yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) or yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan ( C) and four colors of black (K) ink 1a are periodically applied. As shown in FIG. 3, the intermediate recording medium 7 in which the transparent material 7a that is softened or melted by heat is applied on the belt-shaped base film 7b has the transparent material 7a on the upper side between the supply reel 8 and the take-up reel 9. It has been stretched. A thermal head 3 is arranged above the ink ribbon 1, and a platen roller 4 is arranged below it. Since the intermediate recording medium 7 is conveyed from the lower side of the guide member 10 to the upper side of the platen roller 4 and further to the lower side of the guide member 11, the ink 1 a of the ink ribbon 1 is interposed between the thermal head 3 and the platen roller 4. And the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7 face each other.

A heating roller 14 for retransfer is provided between the thermal head 3 and the platen roller 4 and the take-up reel 9, and a pressing roller 15 is disposed immediately above the heating roller 14. The intermediate recording medium 7 is inserted between the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15, and the recording medium 2 is conveyed between the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15 as will be described later, so that the intermediate recording medium 7 is transparent. The ink image formed on 7a is transferred to the recording medium 2 together with the transparent material 7a. Further, the intermediate recording medium 7 is provided between the thermal head 3 and the platen roller 4, and the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15.
The clamp base 12 is provided on the lower side and the clamper 13 is provided on the upper side of the intermediate recording medium 7.

The various components constituting the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention described above are housed in a housing 100.

First, the general operation of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention will be described. The thermal head 3 separated from the platen roller 4 is moved downward to press the ink ribbon 1 and the intermediate recording medium 7 against the platen roller 4. By rotating the platen roller 4 while supplying an electric signal to the thermal head 3 by a drive circuit (not shown) so as to form an image opposite to the ink image to be finally transferred to the recording medium 2, the thermal head 3 The ink 1a melted or sublimated by the generated heat is transferred onto the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7. At this time, the take-up reel 6 is rotated to wind up the ink ribbon 1, so that an inverted image as shown in FIG. 4A is formed on the intermediate recording medium 7. After that, the take-up reel 9 and the heating roller 14 are rotated to move the ink image of the intermediate recording medium 7 between the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15, and the recording medium 2 is moved between the intermediate recording medium 7 and the pressing roller 15. Transport between. Due to the heat of the heating roller 14 heated by the heat generating member 16 in the heating roller 14 and the pressure of the pressing roller 15, the transparent material 7 a
Melts and adheres to the recording medium 2. At this time, by winding the intermediate recording medium 7 by the winding reel 9,
On the recording medium 2, as shown in FIG. 4B, an orthoimage is transferred together with the transparent material 7a.

By the way, in the present embodiment, the width of the ink ribbon 1 is W1, the width of the intermediate recording medium 7 is W2, and the width of the heating portion of the thermal head 3 (that is, the width of the heating resistor) is W3 (FIG. 7). When the width of the recording medium 2 is W4, the relationship of W1 to W4 is W4 ≦ W1 ≦ W2 ≦ W3, whereby transfer recording can be performed on the entire surface of the recording medium 2.

Further, the construction and operation of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail. As shown in FIG. 5, the housing 100 includes a lower frame 100a and an upper frame 100.
The upper frame 100b is configured to be opened and closed by using the support shaft 17 as a rotation shaft. The lower frame 100a is positioned below the conveyance path of the intermediate recording medium 7, that is, the platen roller 4 and its driving means, the heating roller 14 and its driving means, the intermediate recording medium 7, the supply reel 8 and the take-up reel 9. And a drive means for them, the clamp base 12, etc. are housed, and the upper frame 100b is positioned above the transport path of the intermediate recording medium 7,
That is, the ink ribbon 1, the supply reel 5, the take-up reel 6 and their driving means, the thermal head 3, the pressing roller 15, the clamper 13, the supply means for the recording medium 2 and the like are stored. Then, as shown, the upper frame 10
Since 0b can be opened at an angle of 90 ° or more with respect to the lower frame 100a, maintenance of parts and replacement of consumables are easy.

In this state, as will be described later, since the supply reel 8 and the take-up reel 9 can be taken out only by removing them from the claws, the intermediate recording medium 7 can be easily replaced, and the supply reel 5 and the supply reel 5 can be easily replaced. Since the take-up reel 6 can also be easily removed, the transport path is opened and the film winding of the ink ribbon 1 for replacing the ink ribbon 1 is easily performed. A hook 18 is provided near the tip of the upper frame 100b with the shaft 18a as the center of rotation, and is biased by a spring 19 against a stopper 20. When the upper frame 100b is closed, the shaft 21 and the hook 18 fixed to the lower frame 100a are
The semi-circular cutout 18b formed in is engaged and locked. Furthermore, since the leaf spring 22 fixed to the lower frame 100a is brought into contact with the lower surface of the upper frame 100b, the upper frame 100b is always biased upward,
Positioning will be performed.

Further, the periphery of the supply reel 5 and the take-up reel 6 which are the transport mechanism of the ink ribbon 1 will be described with reference to FIG. The cylindrical supply reel 5 on which the unused ink ribbon 1 is wound and which has a notch at one end is
In a state in which the convex portion of the holding member 24 is supported by the holding member 23 having the rotating shaft and the holding member 24 having a convex portion at one end and having the rotating shaft, the convex portion of the holding member 24 is inserted into the notch at the one end of the supply reel 5. Retained. Support members 25a and 25b are fixed to both inner sides of the upper frame 100b.
A compression spring (not shown) is inserted between the gear 26 provided on the b side and the support member 25b so that the gear 26 is supported by the support member 2b.
It is pressed to the 5a side. Further, the rotation shaft of the gear 26 is designed so as not to deviate by an E ring (not shown) provided outside the support member 25b. In addition, the support member 25
A compression spring 27 is inserted between b and the holding member 23 so that the supply reel 5 does not come off. Holding member 23
Is moved in the direction of the arrow, the notch at one end of the supply reel 5 comes off the convex portion of the holding member 24, and the supply reel 5 can be removed.

A motor 28 which is a drive means for the supply reel 5.
Worm 29 and worm wheel 30 fixed to
Mesh with each other, and a gear 31 coaxial with the worm wheel 30 meshes with the gear 26. During printing and during the cueing operation of the ink ribbon 1, by stopping the motor 28, a rotational load is exerted on the supply reel 5 and a back tension can be applied to the ink ribbon 1, so that the ink ribbon 1 is not conveyed to the conveyance path. It is possible to prevent the entrainment of the ink and the wrinkles and looseness of the ink ribbon 1. Further, by rotating the gear 26 in the direction of the arrow by the motor 28, it is possible to give a larger back tension to the ink ribbon 1.

The sensor 32 is provided between the thermal head 3 and the supply reel 5, and one end of the ink ribbon 1 is inserted between the light emitting portion 32a and the light receiving portion 32b. Then, light is emitted from the light emitting portion 32a to the light receiving portion 32b, and Y
By detecting the difference in light transmittance between the ink and the C ink (in the case of FIG. 2A) or the Y ink and the K ink (in the case of the FIG. 2B), the Y ink, which is the first color ink, is detected. Cue. A roller 33 for sandwiching the ink ribbon 1 with a constant pressing force between the sensor 32 and the supply reel 5.
34 are provided. A rotating plate 35 having a large number of grooves formed on the outer peripheral portion is fixed to one end of the roller 34, and a sensor 36 is arranged in proximity to the groove. When the ink ribbon 1 is conveyed, the roller 34 rotates and the rotary plate 35 rotates at the same time, and the sensor 36 generates an electric pulse. The cue of the ink ribbon 1 is performed by counting the number of pulses obtained from the sensor 36. If cueing of the first color (yellow) of the ink ribbon 1 is completed, and if the sensor 36 generates the number of pulses corresponding to the length of each color in the transport direction, the head of the next color is the thermal head 3 after the second color. When it is determined that it is right below, the motor 43 of the take-up reel 6 is stopped and the cueing is completed.

A cylindrical take-up reel 6 wound with the used ink ribbon 1 and having a notch at one end has a holding member 38 having a rotating shaft and a convex portion at one end having a rotating shaft. It is supported by the holding member 39, and is held in a state in which the convex portion of the holding member 39 is inserted into the notch at one end of the take-up reel 6. Support members 40a and 40b are fixed to both inner sides of the upper frame 100b.
A compression spring (not shown) is inserted between the gear 41 provided on the b side and the support member 40b to move the gear 41 to the support member 4b.
It is pressed to the 0a side. A worm 44 fixed to the motor 43 meshes with the worm wheel 45, and a gear 46 coaxial with the worm wheel 45 meshes with the gear 41.

Therefore, during printing, the motor 43, which is a drive means for the take-up reel 6, is rotated to rotate the worm wheel 4.
By rotating 5 in the direction of the arrow, the rotational force is transmitted from the gear 46 to the gear 41 and further to the take-up reel 6, and the ink 1a adhered to the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7 and solidified is transferred to the ink ribbon 1. It can be peeled off from the strip-shaped base film 1b. Further, the cueing of the ink 1a of each color can be performed by rotating the motor 43. The gear 26 and the holding member 24 on the supply reel 5 side
Between the gear 41 and the holding member 39 on the take-up reel 6 side.
A friction member (not shown) is interposed between the gear 41 and the support member 40b so that the frictional force on the take-up reel 6 side is larger than the frictional force on the supply reel 5 side. The compression spring has a larger spring constant than the compression spring inserted between the gear 26 and the support member 25b.

By the way, the roller 33 is the upper frame 10.
Holding member 37 rotatably attached to both inner sides of 0b
Both ends are held by a and 37b. As shown in FIG. 1, the roller 33 is biased by the spring 47 against the roller 34 with a constant pressing force. When replacing the ink ribbon 1, by lowering the holding members 37a and 37b downward, a gap is formed between the rollers 33 and 34,
The ink ribbon 1 can be easily passed through.

Next, the periphery of the thermal head 3 and the platen roller 4 will be described with reference to FIGS. Figure 7
In, the L-shaped holding metal fitting 48 is located at the center of the thermal head 3 in the longitudinal direction, and the top bent portion of the holding metal fitting 48 and the slide shaft 49 are fixed by screws 50 to be integrated. Since the slide shaft 49 is inserted into the linear ball bearing 52 fixed to the support member 51 (shown in FIG. 8) fixed between the upper frames 100b, it can move up and down. The holding spring 48 has a pressing spring 53.
8 is fixed, and as shown in FIG. 8, the roller 55 whose one end is axially supported by the disk-shaped rotating member 54 is rotated and lowered to push down the pressing spring 53, and the thermal head 3 causes the ink ribbon 1 and the intermediate recording medium 7 to move. The platen roller 4 is pressed via the and.

The rotation descent stop position of the roller 55 is the shaft 5
When the groove of the rotary plate 57 fixed to 6 reaches the position of the sensor 58, the electric signal cuts off the electric current of the motor 60 and stops it. To release the pressing of the thermal head 3 against the platen roller 4, the motor 60 is rotated, and when the groove of the rotary plate 57 reaches the position of the sensor 59, the current of the motor 60 is cut off and stopped. Holding bracket 48 and linear ball bearing 52
A compression spring 61 (shown in FIG. 1) is fitted between and, and the slide shaft 49 moves up and down in the compression spring 61.
When the pressing of the thermal head 3 against the platen roller 4 is released, the compression spring 61 moves from the compressed state to the holding fitting 4
The thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4 in order to return to the original while pushing 8 upward.

Further, in order to maintain the close contact between the platen roller 4 and the thermal head 3, a shaft 62 is fixed to the holding metal 48 as shown in FIG. 7, and a thrust bearing 63 is inserted in the shaft 62. Further, a plate-shaped holding member 64
Is inserted, the spacer 65 is inserted, and the stop member 66 is fixed to the shaft 62 so that the above components are not removed.
The holding member 64 has fixing metal fittings 67 fixed to both ends thereof.
The thermal head 3 is fixed via a and 67b. Therefore, the holding member 64 can swing in the arrow direction between the thrust bearing 63 and the holding member 64 even with a small force.
Even if the thermal head 3 descends obliquely with respect to the platen roller 4,
By pressing, the entire thermal head 3 can be brought into close contact with the platen roller 4, and printing defects can be eliminated.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8, the platen roller 4 is rotatably supported at both ends by the lower frame 100a, and a compression spring 68 is fitted to one end of the shaft to keep the platen roller 4 at all times. It is biased in the thrust direction (axial direction) so that it is at a fixed position. Platen roller 4
Is transmitted from a pulley 70 fixed to the rotary shaft of the motor 69 to a pulley 72 by a timing belt 71 using a motor 69 which is a pulse motor as a drive source, and further, a pulley 73 integrated with the pulley 72 and the platen roller 4 The timing belt 7 is attached to the pulley 75 connected to the
4 is transmitted. As a result, the platen roller 4 is rotationally driven.

Further, the clamper 1 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The periphery of 3 will be described. In FIG. 9, the clamper 1
In the initial state, 3 clamps the clamp base 12 by the springs 76 provided in pairs on both sides in the width direction of the upper frame 100b, so that the intermediate recording medium 7 is held and fixed by the clamp means by the clamp base 12 and the clamper 13. Has been done. First, the intermediate recording medium 7
An ink image of the first color of Y ink is formed on the first ink, and when the second color of M ink is attached onto the Y ink, the intermediate recording medium 7 during printing is held and fixed, so that it is sent during the formation of the Y ink. This is to restore the original state with no slack exactly. In order to release the clamper 13 from the clamp, the cams 78a and 78b fixed to the rotary shaft 77 are rotated, and the holding members 79a and 7 to which the clamper 13 is fixed.
This is done by pushing up the shaft 80 connected to 9b to separate it from the clamp base 12.

As shown in FIG. 10, the operation is performed by the gear 82 connected to the shaft of the motor 81 fixed to the upper frame 100b and the gear 83 connected to the rotary shaft 77. In FIG. 9, sensors 85 and 86 are provided in the vicinity of a disk 84 fixed to one end of a rotary shaft 77 and having one recess on the outer peripheral portion. The sensor 86 detects the recess and detects the motor 81. The clamper 13 is set to be in a pressed state when the motor is stopped, and is set to be in a released state when the motor 81 is stopped by the sensor 85.

Next, the periphery of the supply reel 8 and the take-up reel 9 which are the transport mechanism of the intermediate recording medium 7 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 11, a cylindrical supply reel 8 having a notch at one end around which the intermediate recording medium 7 is wound.
Is supported by a holding member 87 having a rotating shaft and a holding member 88 having a rotating shaft partially having a convex portion, and the supply reel 8
The convex portion of the holding member 88 is in the notch. The compression spring 89 presses the gear 90 and the friction member 91, and the gear 90 meshes with the gear 92. Further, the worm wheel 93 is fixed to the rotating shaft of the gear 92,
The worm wheel 93 meshes with the worm 94 fixed to the rotation shaft of the motor 95. Therefore, even when the motor 95 is stopped, a frictional force is generated between the friction member 91 and the holding member 88 at the same time when the platen roller 4 rotates, and back tension is applied to the outlet side (right side in the figure) of the supply reel 8. Therefore, the intermediate recording medium 7 and the platen roller 4
The intermediate recording medium 7 is conveyed without slipping with respect to the platen roller 4, and color misregistration and wrinkles do not occur. When printing the next color, the motor 95, which is a drive unit for the supply reel 8, is rotated to rewind the intermediate recording medium 7.

On the other hand, a cylindrical take-up reel 9 having a notch at one end for winding the intermediate recording medium 7 after peeling and separating from the ink ribbon 1 has a holding member 9 having a rotating shaft.
6 and a holding member 97 having a rotary shaft having a convex portion at a part thereof, and the holding member 9 is provided in a notch of the take-up reel 9.
It is in a state where the convex portion of 7 enters. The compression spring 98 presses the gear 99 and the friction member 101 so that the gear 99 is
The gear 102 is in mesh with the worm wheel 103 which is meshed with the worm 104 fixed to the motor 105. Therefore, the rotational force is transmitted to the take-up reel 9 by the frictional force generated by the friction member 101 due to the rotation of the motor 105, a tension is generated between the heating roller 14 and the take-up reel 9, and the intermediate recording medium 7 is It is peeled off from the recording medium 2.

By the way, the thickness of the strip-shaped base film 7b of the intermediate recording medium 7 is set between 10 μm and 20 μm. As a result, the heat transfer by the heating roller 14 is not impaired, the deformation of the intermediate recording medium 7 itself due to heat is minimized, the occurrence of wrinkles in the intermediate recording medium 7 is suppressed, and the ink 1a of the ink ribbon 1 is transparent. It is possible to eliminate color shift when transferring three colors or four colors to the material 7a.

Further, the periphery of the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the heating roller 14 is cylindrical and hollow, and its surface is covered with silicone rubber. Also,
The heating roller 14 has bearings 106a, 10 at both ends thereof.
6b and supporting members 107a, 107b are rotatably supported, and holding members 109a, 109b are provided inside the hollow.
The heat generating member 16 held by is inserted.
A halogen heater is used as the heat generating member 16 in the present embodiment, but the present invention is not limited to this. Heating roller 1
A worm wheel 110 is fixed to one end of the motor 4, and the worm wheel 110 is a motor 112 that is a pulse motor.
Meshes with the worm 111 fixed to the rotating shaft of the.

Here, referring to FIG. 1 once, a temperature sensor 113 composed of a CA sensor whose resistance value greatly changes due to temperature change is provided immediately below the heating roller 14, and the temperature sensor 113 is provided by a leaf spring 114. The heating roller 14 is energized. Then, the heating roller 14
The surface temperature is controlled so that it is always within a certain range. Further, covers 115 and 116 are attached around the heating roller 14 to block heat. On the downstream side of the heating roller 14 in the transport direction of the intermediate recording medium 7, a separation claw 117 supported by a spring 118 and swingably supported is installed. The tip of the separating claw 117 is arranged near the outlet of the heating roller 14 so as to be located below the contact point between the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15 and to contact the upper surface of the intermediate recording medium 7. At the position, the intermediate recording medium 7 is separated and separated from the recording medium 2.

At this time, when a meltable ink ribbon 1 is used, the transfer / fixing state of the transparent material 7a onto the recording medium 2 and the influence on the ink image formed on the transparent material 7a are affected. Considering this, it has been confirmed that the best result is obtained when the heating temperature of the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7 by the heating roller 14 is set between 78 ° C and 88 ° C. When a sublimable ink ribbon 1 is used, the intermediate recording medium 7 by the heating roller 14 is taken into consideration in consideration of the transfer / fixing state of the transparent material 7a onto the recording medium 2 and the thermal deformation of the recording medium 2. The heating temperature of the transparent material 7a is 128 ° C.
It was confirmed that the best results were obtained when the temperature was between ˜138 ° C. This is a consideration when a plastic card is used as the recording medium 2.

The pressing roller 15 is, as shown in FIG.
Bearings 119a and 119b are inserted at both ends, and are vertically movable along an elongated hole provided in the upper frame 100b. Bearings 119a and 119b
The levers 127a, 127b are supported at their upper ends by one end rotatably supported by the upper frame 100b, and at the other end by springs 126a, 126b locked to the upper frame 100b. Therefore, when the upper frame 100b is closed, the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15 come into contact with each other, and the springs 126a and 126b are extended by further closing, so that a reaction force is generated between the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15. A pressing force can be obtained.

By the way, as the pressing roller 15, one whose surface is coated with silicon rubber or whose surface is coated with a Teflon coating layer is used. This is because when the width of the intermediate recording medium 7 is larger than that of the recording medium 2, the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7 melted by the heating roller 14 contacts the pressing roller 15 (especially at both ends in the width direction). This is because, if the surface of the pressing roller 15 is made of silicone rubber or a Teflon coat layer, the adhesion of the transparent material 7a can be prevented. If the transparent material 7a adheres to the surface of the pressure roller 15, not only the transfer state to the recording medium 2 is affected, but also the pressure roller 15 must be frequently cleaned.

As shown in FIG. 1, in the vicinity of the pressing roller 15, a pressing roller 121 for pressing the paper feeding roller 120 with a paper feeding roller 120 and a spring 122 is provided. Further, guide plates 124 and 125 are provided so that the recording medium 2 supplied from the insertion port 123 provided at the upper portion of the upper frame 100b is guided to the contact portion between the sheet feeding roller 120 and the pressing roller 121. Returning to FIG. 12 again, the worm 1 fixed to the motor 130
Reference numeral 29 meshes with a worm wheel 128, and a gear 131 integrated with the worm wheel 128 meshes with a gear 132 fixed to the shaft of the sheet feeding roller 120. A one-way clutch is press-fitted into the gear 132, and the rotation force is transmitted to the shaft when the gear 132 rotates in the sheet feeding direction, and the rotation force is not transmitted in the opposite case. The recording medium 2 is guided from the insertion port 123 to the guide plates 124, 1
25, and when a current is applied to the motor 130, the paper feed roller 120 is rotated and the recording medium 2 is conveyed to the heating section by the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15. Motor 13
0 stops when the trailing edge of the recording medium 2 passes the sensor 133 (shown in FIG. 1).

The operation at the time of ink image formation in the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention configured as described above will be described with reference to FIGS.
Will be described in more detail. 13, the motor 43 (shown in FIG. 6) rotates the take-up reel 6 in the arrow A direction to convey the ink ribbon 1. At this time, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4, and the clamper 13 presses the clamp base 12 to clamp the intermediate recording medium 7. The cueing of the ink ribbon 1 is performed as follows. The sensor 32 detects the boundary between the C ink and the Y ink or the K ink and the Y ink, and the pulse generated by the sensor 36 (shown in FIG. 6) corresponds to the distance from the thermal head 3 of the ink ribbon 1 to the sensor 32. After counting only, by stopping the motor 43, the tip of the Y ink of the first color can be located directly under the thermal head 3.

Next, referring to FIG. 14, the thermal head 3
Is pressed against the platen roller 4, and the motor 69 is driven so that the platen roller 4 rotates in the direction of arrow a.
And the intermediate recording medium 7 are conveyed. At this time, an electric signal is sequentially supplied to the thermal head 3 to melt or sublime the Y ink to transfer the ink image to the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7 and at the same time rotate the take-up reel 6 in the direction of arrow A. And wind up the ink ribbon 1. In addition, the clamper 13
Presses the clamp base 12 to clamp the intermediate recording medium 7. Therefore, as shown in the figure, the ink image portion printed on the intermediate recording medium 7 is between the guide member 11 and the clamper 13 as the printing progresses. It becomes loose. by the way,
The guide member 11 is rotatably held on one end of a lever 134, the lever 134 is rotatably held on the clamper 13, and a spring 135 is hooked on one end. When the clamper 13 is pressing the clamp base 12, the lever 134 moves the platen roller 4 via the intermediate recording medium 7.
Be urged by. As a result, the ink ribbon 1 and the intermediate recording medium 7 are favorably separated and separated during printing.

When a predetermined electric signal is supplied to the thermal head 3, the thermal head 3 is separated from the platen roller 4, and the front end positioning of the M ink of the second color is detected by the sensor 36.
It is performed by counting the pulses generated in. Next, while rotating the platen roller 4 in the direction of arrow C and rotating the supply reel 8 in the direction of arrow D, the intermediate recording medium 7 on which the ink image of Y ink is formed and in which slackness has occurred,
The intermediate recording medium 7 is returned to the initial state (the state where there is no slack between the clamper 13 and the supply reel 8). At this time, the platen roller 4 is reversely rotated by the same number as the number of pulses for moving the platen roller 4 while the thermal head 3 is being pressed, and the supply reel 8 is stopped after the reverse rotation of the platen roller 4 is stopped. As a result, the looseness of the intermediate recording medium 7 is removed and the intermediate recording medium 7 returns to the initial state. Then, the same operation as described above is repeated, and electric signals corresponding to the second color M ink image, the third color C ink image, and the fourth color K ink image are supplied to the thermal head 3, respectively. Then, a predetermined ink image is formed on the intermediate recording medium 7.

Next, as shown in FIG.
A current is passed through (illustrated in FIG. 10) to rotate the cams 78a and 78b to separate the clamper 13 and open the intermediate recording medium 7. When the clamper 13 is released halfway, the shaft 136 whose both ends are fixed to the lever 134 comes into contact with the left side surface of the clamper 13 in FIG. 15. Therefore, when the clamper 13 is further released, the platen roller is released. The guide member 11 is separated from 4 and the intermediate recording medium 7 can be conveyed.

Returning to FIG. 1 again, the heating roller 14 is rotated in the direction of arrow E, the take-up reel 9 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and the platen roller 4 is rotated in the direction of arrow A, and the ink image of the intermediate recording medium 7 is rotated. From the tip to the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 1
The intermediate recording medium up to a position where the length corresponding to the path to the contact point of No. 5 and the length corresponding to the path to the contact point of the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15 from which the recording medium 2 abuts are substantially the same. 7 is conveyed. Heating roller 14
Since the peripheral speed of the recording medium is set to be the same as the peripheral speed of the paper feeding roller 120, the motor 130 is driven to rotate the heating roller 14 and the paper feeding roller 120. 2 and the ink image on the intermediate recording medium 7 are superposed without deviation. afterwards,
The heat of the heating roller 14 melts the transparent material 7 a on which the ink image of the intermediate recording medium 7 is formed and adheres to the recording medium 2. Recording medium 2 on which an ink image is transferred together with the transparent material 7a
Is ejected in the direction of arrow mark.

By the way, when a meltable ink ribbon 1 is used, as shown in FIG. 16, the peeling direction of the intermediate recording medium 7 after passing through the contact points of the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15 is recorded. It was confirmed that the transparent material 7a and the ink image can be completely transferred to the recording medium 2 by setting the direction substantially opposite to the transport direction of the medium 2. This is for peeling the intermediate recording medium 7 from the recording medium 2 with a minimum force. As means for peeling the intermediate recording medium 7 in a direction substantially opposite to the conveying direction of the recording medium 2, the take-up reel 9 is wound. This can be realized by slightly delaying the start timing from the rotation start timing of the heating roller 14. In addition,
When a sublimable ink ribbon 1 is used, there is no problem even if the peeling direction is as shown by the broken line in FIG.

When the transfer onto the recording medium 2 is completed as described above and the initial state is restored for new printing,
The intermediate recording medium 7 is rewound so that the portion from which the used transparent material 7a is peeled off is closer to the heating roller 14 than the clamper 13. This is to use the intermediate recording medium 7 efficiently. When the intermediate recording medium 7 is rewound, the motor 112 of the heating roller 14 and the platen roller 4
Drive the motor 69 and the motor 95 of the supply reel 8 of the intermediate recording medium 7 so that the heating roller 14 is in the direction of arrow C, the platen roller 4 is in the direction of arrow C, and the supply reel 8 is in the direction of arrow D. Rotate. The heating roller 14 and the platen roller 4 have the same peripheral speed, their stop timings are the same, and the stop timing of the motor 95 is the same as that of the motor 1.
By delaying the stop timing of 12 and the motor 69, the intermediate recording medium 7 can be finally made slack.

The outline of the operation of the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention described in detail above will be explained again with reference to the flow chart shown in FIG. In FIG. 17, when the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention is started, initialization is first performed (step (S) 1), the motor 81 is driven, the clamper 13 is pressed against the clamp base 12, and the intermediate recording medium 7 is pressed.
Is fixed (S2). The motor 60 is driven to press the thermal head 3 onto the platen roller 4 via the intermediate recording medium 7 and the ink ribbon 1 (S3). A pulse current is applied to the motor 69 to rotate the platen roller 4 in the printing direction (S4). In this state, the motor 43 is driven to wind up the ink ribbon 1 (S5), and at the same time, a predetermined pulse current is applied to the thermal head 3 to generate heat, and the ink 1a is transferred (printed on the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7). ) Do (S
6).

After confirming that the predetermined printing is completed (S7), the thermal head 3 is separated (S7).
8), the motor 43 is stopped (S9), and the ink ribbon 1
To stop winding. After that, the motor 69 is rotated in the reverse direction, the motor 95 is further rotated to return the intermediate recording medium 7, and the intermediate recording medium 7 is stopped after a predetermined time has elapsed (S10). Printing from the second color onward is performed by repeating S3 to S10. After printing three or four colors of ink (S11), the clamper 13 is separated from the clamp base 12, and the intermediate recording medium 7
Is released (S12). Next, an electric current is passed through the heat generating member 16 to heat the surface of the heating roller 14 to a predetermined temperature (S13). And the motors 69, 105, 11
2 is rotated to move the ink image on the intermediate recording medium 7 (S14). The recording medium 2 is conveyed to the heating roller 14 by rotating the motor 130 (S15), the intermediate recording medium 7 and the recording medium 2 are superposed, and the transparent material on which the ink image is formed by the pressure of the heating roller 14 and the pressing roller 15 7a is retransferred to the recording medium 2 (S16). After that, the recording medium 2 is separated from the intermediate recording medium 7 and discharged (S17), the current of the heat generating member 16 is cut off, and the motors 69, 105 and 112 are cut off.
Is stopped (S18), and the process ends.

As described above, in the retransfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, the intermediate recording medium is provided between the thermal head 3 which is the first heating unit and the heating roller 14 which is the second heating unit. The clamper 13 for holding 7 is provided in order to prevent color misregistration when the intermediate recording medium 7 is reciprocated in order to perform printing of three colors or four colors, and the high quality of the transferred ink image is obtained. Contribute to Further, the heating temperature of the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium 7 by the heating roller 14 is 78 ° C. or higher and 88 ° C. or lower when the ink ribbon 1 coated with the meltable ink 1 a is used, and the ink ribbon 1 is sublimated. When using the one coated with the water-soluble ink 1a, the temperature is set to 128 ° C or higher and 138 ° C or lower.
Contribution to high image quality in that the transparent material 7a is satisfactorily transferred to the recording medium 2, and the direction in which the intermediate recording medium 7 is separated from the recording medium 2 is set to be substantially opposite to the transport direction of the recording medium 2. In particular, when the fusible ink 1a is used, it contributes to high image quality in that the transparent material 7a is satisfactorily transferred to the recording medium 2.

Further, the surface of the pressing roller 15 for pressing the heating roller 14 is made of silicone rubber or a Teflon coating layer, so that the transparent material 7a of the intermediate recording medium 7 is prevented from adhering to the pressing roller 15, and the heating roller 15 is heated. This contributes to high image quality in that the transparent material 7a is satisfactorily transferred onto the recording medium 2 by the pressure roller 14 and the pressing roller 15. Further, the thickness of the strip-shaped base film 7b of the intermediate recording medium 7 is set to 10 μm.
A thickness of m or more and 20 μm or less contributes to high image quality when an ink image is formed on the intermediate recording medium 7, and also contributes to high image quality in that the transparent material 7a is satisfactorily transferred to the recording medium 2. . The width W1 of the ink ribbon 1, the width W2 of the intermediate recording medium 7, and the width W of the heat generating portion of the thermal head 3.
3. The relationship of the width W4 of the recording medium 2 is W4 ≦ W1 ≦ W2 ≦
When W3 is set, good printing can be performed on the entire surface of the recording medium 2.

[0046]

As described in detail above, in the thermal transfer printing apparatus of the present invention, an ink ribbon coated with a meltable ink or a sublimable ink and stretched between a supply reel and a take-up reel. And a transparent material that is melted by heat is applied to the belt-shaped base film, and the ink of the intermediate recording medium stretched between the supply reel and the take-up reel and the ink of the ink ribbon are transferred onto the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium. A state in which a first heating unit and a second heating unit for transferring the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium to the recording medium are provided, and the ink application surface of the ink ribbon and the transparent material application surface of the intermediate recording medium are in close contact with each other. Conveys the ink ribbon and the intermediate recording medium, heats the ink of the ink ribbon by the first heating unit to form an ink image on the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium, and the second intermediate recording medium after the ink image is formed. Addition of Since it is a retransfer type thermal transfer printing apparatus that is designed to transfer the ink image formed on the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium to the recording medium together with the transparent material, the recording medium having good smoothness is Needless to say, in addition to the effect that an ink image can be formed on an object having poor smoothness without degrading the image quality and various recording media can be used, the following features are also provided. Have.

(B) When the ink image is formed on the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium, the intermediate recording medium is held between the first heating section and the second heating section, and the intermediate recording medium is conveyed. Since the clamp means for releasing the intermediate recording medium is provided when
It is possible to favorably prevent color misregistration when the intermediate recording medium 7 is reciprocated in order to perform printing of three colors or four colors. (B) When an ink ribbon coated with a fusible ink is used, the heating temperature of the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium by the second heating unit is set to 78 ° C. or higher and 88 ° C. or lower, and the ink ribbon is sublimable. When the one coated with the ink is used, if the heating temperature of the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium by the second heating unit is set to 128 ° C. or higher and 138 ° C. or lower, the transparent material is satisfactorily transferred to the recording medium. You can (C) By providing a means for separating the intermediate recording medium, which has passed through the second heating unit, from the recording medium in a direction substantially opposite to the conveying direction of the recording medium, the transparent material can be satisfactorily transferred to the recording medium. You can

(D) If the second heating portion is composed of a heating roller on the side of the belt-shaped base film of the intermediate recording medium and a pressing roller on the side of the recording medium, and the surface of the pressing roller is a silicone rubber or a Teflon coat layer, It is possible to favorably prevent the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium from adhering to the pressing roller. (E) The thickness of the belt-shaped base film of the intermediate recording medium is 10 μm
When the thickness is 20 μm or less, the heat transfer by the second heating unit is not impaired, the deformation of the intermediate recording medium itself due to the heat is minimized, and the wrinkles of the intermediate recording medium are suppressed, and the ink of the ink ribbon is suppressed. Can be satisfactorily transferred to the transparent material. (F) Ink ribbon width W1, intermediate recording medium width W2,
Assuming that the width W3 of the heat generating portion of the first heating unit and the width W4 of the recording medium are W4 to W4, the relationship of W1 to W4 is W4 ≦ W1 ≦ W2.
When ≦ W3, it becomes possible to form a high quality ink image on the entire surface of the recording medium.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an ink ribbon 1 used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an intermediate recording medium 7 used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the principle of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing a state in which the upper frame 100b of the present invention is opened.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a partially exploded perspective view of the vicinity of the thermal head 3 of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a partial perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a partial perspective view of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partial cross-sectional view of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the present invention.

FIG. 14 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the present invention.

FIG. 15 is a partially enlarged sectional view of the present invention.

FIG. 16 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 17 is a flow chart for explaining the operation of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a diagram showing a general thermal transfer printing apparatus.

FIG. 19 is a diagram for explaining a problem of a general thermal transfer printing apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Ink Ribbon 1a Ink 1b Strip Base Film 2 Recording Medium 3 Thermal Head 4 Platen Roller 5 Supply Reel 6 Winding Reel 7 Intermediate Recording Medium 7a Transparent Material 7b Strip Base Film 8 Supply Reel 9 Winding Reel 12 Clamp Base 13 Clamper 14 Heating Roller 15 Pressing roller 100 Case

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A meltable ink or a sublimable ink is applied, an ink ribbon stretched between a supply reel and a take-up reel, and a transparent material that is melted by heat are applied to a belt-shaped base film, An intermediate recording medium stretched between a supply reel and a take-up reel, a first heating unit for transferring the ink of the ink ribbon onto a transparent material of the intermediate recording medium, and the intermediate recording medium on the recording medium. Second transfer of transparent material
A heating unit for transporting the ink ribbon and the intermediate recording medium in a state where the ink application surface of the ink ribbon and the transparent material application surface of the intermediate recording medium are in close contact with each other, and the first heating unit To heat the ink of the ink ribbon to form an ink image on the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium, and convey the intermediate recording medium after the ink image formation to the second heating section, In a thermal transfer printing apparatus configured to transfer an ink image formed on a transparent material to the recording medium together with the transparent material, the intermediate recording medium of the intermediate recording medium is provided between the first heating unit and the second heating unit. A thermal transfer printing apparatus, characterized in that clamp means is provided for holding the intermediate recording medium when forming an ink image on a transparent material and releasing the intermediate recording medium when the intermediate recording medium is conveyed. . 2. When a meltable ink is applied as the ink ribbon, the heating temperature of the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium by the second heating unit is 78 ° C. or higher 88
C. or less, and when the ink ribbon coated with a sublimable ink is used, the heating temperature of the transparent material of the intermediate recording medium by the second heating unit is 128.degree.
The thermal transfer printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the temperature is 38 ° C. or lower. 3. A means for causing the intermediate recording medium, which has passed through the second heating section, to be peeled from the recording medium in a direction substantially opposite to the conveying direction of the recording medium. The thermal transfer printing apparatus according to any one of 1 and 2. 4. The second heating unit includes a heating roller provided on the side of the belt-shaped base film of the intermediate recording medium and a pressing roller provided on the side of the recording medium, and a surface of the pressing roller is provided. The thermal transfer printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thermal transfer printing apparatus is made of silicone rubber or a Teflon coat layer. 5. The thermal transfer printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of the strip-shaped base film of the intermediate recording medium is 10 μm or more and 20 μm or less. 6. When the width of the ink ribbon is W1, the width of the intermediate recording medium is W2, the width of the heat generating portion of the first heating portion is W3, and the width of the recording medium is W4, these W1
6. The thermal transfer printing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the relationship of W4 is W4 ≦ W1 ≦ W2 ≦ W3.