JPH0880604A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain an image forming device capable of transferring a transfer image to a transfer medium without a boundary line. CONSTITUTION: A support member for placing a transfer medium 3 thereon is made of a thermally vulcanizable silicone rubber sheet 2 larger than the transfer medium 3 in longitudinal and lateral dimensions. At least the axial length of the heating and pressing surface of a heat roller 8 is determined to be larger than the width of the recording surface of the transfer medium 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for transferring an image written on a transfer film to a transfer medium by heating and pressing the image on the transfer medium, and more particularly,
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that transfers a seamless transfer image to a transfer target.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a transfer ribbon coated with a sublimable dye uniformly is placed on a transfer target, a thermal head is placed on the transfer ribbon, and the thermal head is operated based on image data. A method of transferring an image of a sublimable dye to a transfer target is known.

However, materials capable of dyeing sublimable dyes are
For example, polyester, acrylic resin, vinyl chloride resin, etc. are limited, so in the above method, various materials such as synthetic resin, metal, paper, glass, etc. which are not dyeable with sublimable dyes can be used. There is a problem that can not be transferred.

Therefore, as disclosed in JP-A-63-81093, first, an image is written on a film-like transfer film having an adhesive layer by a transfer ribbon of a sublimable dye and a thermal head, and then, A method has been proposed in which an image on a transfer film is heated and pressed on a transfer target together with the adhesive layer using a heat roller to transfer the image to the transfer target. According to this method, by selecting the adhesive layer, it is possible to transfer and form an image regardless of the material of the transferred material.

When the image on the transfer film is transferred to the transfer object by heating and pressurizing the heat roller, the heat of the heat roller and the adhesive layer on the transfer film may cause a portion other than the transfer object, for example, the transfer target. Since it is necessary to avoid reaching the member that holds the body and the member that conveys the body, the peripheral surface of the heat roller is divided into a contact surface and a non-contact surface, and a step is provided between the contact surface and the non-contact surface. Has been.

[0006]

However, in the case of the conventional image forming apparatus using a transfer film, since a step is provided on the contact surface and the non-contact surface of the peripheral surface of the heat roller, a part of the transferred object is formed. However, the transfer image could not be transferred, and the transfer image could not be formed all over the transfer target.

Further, there is a problem that a boundary line of the adhesive layer of the transfer film is formed on the transferred material, and the quality of the transferred material is deteriorated.

Further, the transferred material may be a factor that undesirably deteriorates the heating / pressurizing balance such as the thickness accuracy and the conveyance position accuracy, or the thickness of which is artificially varied such as a watermark. There is.

In order to reduce the influence of the deterioration of the heating / pressurizing balance caused by using these transfer films,
It is conceivable to hold the transferred material on the rubber sheet and apply heat and pressure. However, if the rubber sheet material has too strong adhesive force to the transferred material, the transferred material is removed from the rubber sheet after heating and pressing. There was a problem that it became difficult to peel it off.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is possible to transfer an image to every corner of the transfer target without causing a boundary line of the adhesive layer on the transfer target.
Not affected by factors that change the heating and pressing conditions, such as the thickness accuracy of the transfer film, the positional accuracy of the transfer film during transportation, or the use of a transfer target with a variation in the thickness of watermarks, etc. An object is to provide an image forming apparatus.

[0011]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention, the surface of the support member on which the transfer-receiving member is placed is the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the recording surface of the transfer-receiving member. It is made of a larger elastomer, and the heating and pressing surface of the heat roller is set larger than the recording surface of the transferred material.

An image forming apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the first aspect, characterized in that the elastomer is made of synthetic rubber of either silicon rubber or fluororubber.

An image forming apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein the silicone rubber is a heat-vulcanizing type silicone rubber.

An image forming apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the image forming apparatus according to the second aspect, a surface of the elastomer on which the transfer target is mounted is roughened by polishing.

An image forming apparatus according to claim 5 of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 4,
The elastomer is formed in a cylinder shape.

An image forming apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of the first to fifth aspects, wherein a surface of the elastomer which is in contact with the transfer target is a layer of a fluoropolymer compound. It is characterized by being.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the image forming apparatus according to the sixth aspect, the fluorine-containing polymer compound is poly-tetra-fluoro-ethylene or tetra-
It is characterized by being a copolymer of fluoro-ethylene and per-fluoro-alkyl-vinyl-ether.

An image forming apparatus according to claim 8 of the present invention is the image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the heat roller is provided with a silicon rubber coating layer on the surface of a metal cylindrical core metal. It is characterized by having a coating layer made of a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether on the surface of the silicone rubber coating layer.

[0019]

According to the image forming apparatus of the present invention, since the supporting member on which the transferred material is placed is made of an elastic elastomer, the transfer film is placed on the transferred material on the elastomer. Even when there is a variation in the film thickness of the transfer film or the thickness of the transfer target, the pressure can be uniformly applied when the sheet is placed and heated and pressed by the heat roller, and uneven adhesive strength can be prevented. Further, since the length of the heat roller in the axial direction is larger than the size of the transferred body in the width direction of the transfer film, it is possible to prevent the boundary line of the adhesive layer due to the heating and pressing of the heat roller from occurring.

Particularly, according to the image forming apparatus of claim 3 of the present invention, the surface of the elastomer is roughened by polishing,
Since the uneven density is fine, the transfer target can be easily loaded and unloaded in a short time, and the transfer target can be fixed with an appropriate holding force so as not to move during transfer. Also,
Since the unevenness is fine, there is no unevenness in the adhesive strength of the transfer image on the transfer film even when heated and pressed by the heat roller.

Further, since the thin layer of air is formed by the unevenness, the adhesive layer of the transfer film does not adhere or adhere to the supporting member. For this reason, it is possible to sufficiently heat and press through the transfer film even in a place where the transfer target does not exist.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, since the elastomer is formed in a cylindrical shape, the supporting member and the heat roller sandwich the transfer film and the transfer object, and the supporting member and the heat roller. The transfer image can be transferred while rotating and, and the transfer target after transfer is automatically separated from the heat roller, so that the transfer target can be taken out easily.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth and sixth aspects of the present invention, since the fluorine-type polymer compound is formed on the surface of the elastomer, the transfer-receiving member can be peeled off more easily.

According to the image forming apparatus of claim 7 of the present invention, since the fluorine-type polymer compound is formed on the surface of the heat roller, the transfer film does not easily stick to the heat roller even when heated, and the transfer film There is no displacement from the transferred material.

[0025]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 1 to 3 and 5 to 7 show a state in which transfer is performed by the image forming apparatus of this embodiment. An image is written in advance on the adhesive layer of the transfer film.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a metal base plate, and a silicon rubber sheet 2 as a supporting member is laid on the base plate 1. 3 is a transferred material, and this transferred material 3 uses a vinyl chloride card in this embodiment, but other transferred materials are made of polyethylene terephthalate sheet or various materials such as paper as a base material. It can be replaced with plastic cards, booklets such as passports and notebooks, and sheets. 4,
Reference numerals 5, 6 and 7 are transport rollers for transporting or holding the transfer film 9, and 8 is a heat roller. The heat roller 8 has a cylindrical aluminum metal core whose surface is coated with a fluorine-based polymer compound, and a halogen lamp (not shown) is incorporated therein as a heater. The inner surface of the cylinder of the aluminum core metal is blackened so as to efficiently absorb the heat radiation from the halogen lamp.

The vertical and horizontal dimensions of the base plate 1 are set larger than the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the silicon rubber sheet 2, and the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the silicon rubber sheet 2 are also set larger than the vertical and horizontal dimensions of the transferred body 3. ing. Here, in the vertical and horizontal directions in this embodiment, the longitudinal direction of the transfer film 9 is the vertical direction and the width direction of the transfer film 9 is the horizontal direction. The lateral width of the transferred material 3 is smaller than the width of the transfer film 9, and the lateral width of the silicone rubber sheet 2 is
Greater than the width of. The length of the heat roller 8 in the axial direction is set to be larger than the width of the transfer film 9, and the circumferential length of the heat roller 8 is set to be larger than the length of the transfer target 3 in the vertical direction.

As a result, the transferred body 3 is completely covered with the adhesive layer of the transfer film 9, and when the transfer roller 9 is heated and pressed, the adhesive layer at the end of the transfer film 9 in the width direction is transferred. Since the silicone rubber sheet 2 is located away from the end of the body 3 and has releasability, the transfer film 9
Does not transfer to the silicone rubber sheet 2. Therefore, the boundary line of the adhesive layer of the transfer film 9 is not formed on the transfer target 3, and the image can be transferred to the entire position of the transfer target 3, and the thickness accuracy of the transfer film 9 and the transfer film 9 can be improved.
Even if there is a factor that changes the heating and pressurizing conditions, such as the positional accuracy at the time of conveyance, or the use of the transferred body 3 having variations in the thickness such as watermark, it is not affected.

As the heat resistant elastomer as the supporting member, fluororubber can be used in addition to silicone rubber. Also, silicone rubber is a heat vulcanization type,
There is a room temperature vulcanizing type, but in this embodiment, a heat vulcanizing type silicone rubber is used.

In this embodiment, the transferred body 3, the base plate 1 and the silicon rubber sheet 2 holding it, and the transfer film 9 move during the transfer, and the heat roller 8 rotates. Of course, before applying heat and pressure, heat roller 8
Is located above the transfer film 9, and when the base plate 1 on which the transfer target 3 is placed moves together with the transfer film 9 to a predetermined position below the heat roller 8, the heat roller 8 descends and transfers with the base plate 1. The film 9 and the transferred material 3 are heated and pressed.

At the time of this heating and pressurization, the range of the transferred image by the transfer film 9 is larger than that of the transferred body 3, and the heating / pressurizing range A by the heat roller 8 is wider than that of the transferred body 3. Formation of a boundary line on the transfer body 3 by the adhesive layer of the transfer film 9 and the end portion of the heat roller 8 is prevented.

According to an experiment, with the above-mentioned structure, a coating layer of polytetrafluoroethylene is formed on the peripheral surface of the heat roller 8, and the silicon rubber sheet 2 has a thickness of 0.5 to 3
Using a heat-vulcanized silicone rubber sheet in the range of mm, heat roller temperature 110-170 ° C, heat roller peripheral speed 1
When transferred at 0-60 mm / sec, the transfer target 3
The transfer image and the adhesive layer of the transfer film 9 were transferred to the silicone rubber sheet 2 only, and the image and the adhesive layer were not transferred to the silicone rubber sheet 2 at all.

If the surface of the silicon rubber sheet 2 is finely roughened by grinding the surface with a grinder or the like, an appropriate fixing force for fixing and holding the transferred body 3 and slipperiness when the transferred body 3 is removed. When the coating with a fluorine-based polymer compound is performed, only very good slipperiness can be obtained.

Since the extremely thin air layer is formed between the transfer film and the supporting member by forming the rough surface in this way, the adhesive layer of the transfer film is supported even when covered or even with the elastomer alone. No adhesion or sticking to the member. For this reason, it is possible to sufficiently heat and press through the transfer film even in a place where the transfer target does not exist. Further, by making the size and depth of the fine irregularities different, it is possible to balance the fixing force and the slipperiness between the transferred body and the support member. On the contrary, if the surface is mirror-finished without polishing or coating, only strong fixing force can be obtained.

The fluorine-based polymer compound which covers the silicone rubber sheet 2 is, in addition to polytetrafluoroethylene, a tube coating of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkylvinylether, or tetrafluoroethylene. It was confirmed that good transfer can be obtained by using dispersion plating of per-fluoro-alkyl-vinyl-ether and the like. Further, the adhesive layer of the transfer film 9 is a mixture of a copolymer of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate and polyester, and the thickness of the adhesive layer is 2
Confirmed at ~ 8 μm.

FIG. 2 shows a second embodiment of the present invention, which is a modification of the heat roller shown in FIG.

In this heat roller 8 ', a silicon rubber layer 12 having a thickness of 1 mm or less is provided on the surface of an aluminum cylindrical core metal 13, and the surface portion thereof is coated with tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkylvinylether. It is a coating of layer 11.

When this heat roller 8'is used, a hologram made of ZnS or the like is previously provided inside the adhesive layer of the transfer film 9, and the transfer film 9 is used in the case of transferring a holographic image to the transferred body 3 together with the transfer. It is very effective when you want to gently and evenly pressurize. That is, since the silicon rubber layer 12 is formed on the heat roller 8 ', delicate transfer such as a hologram image can be performed. If the heat roller 8'is not provided with the rubber layer, the transfer is performed. Later holo layers may be destroyed. As the rubber layer, in addition to the above silicone rubber, heat resistant synthetic rubber (heat vulcanizing type silicone rubber,
Silicon rubber such as room temperature vulcanizing type silicone rubber, fluororubber) may be used.

The heat roller 8'has a halogen lamp heater 14 therein and has an aluminum cylindrical core 13
As in the first embodiment, the blackening process is performed so that the heat radiation from the halogen lamp heater 14 can be efficiently absorbed.

When the transfer film 9 having a transparent hologram image of ZnS was transferred to the transfer target 3 using the heat roller 8 ', only the transfer target 3 had an image of the transfer film 9 and the adhesive layer made of ZnS. The transparent hologram image was also transferred together, and neither the image nor the adhesive layer was transferred onto the silicone rubber sheet 2. In addition, the transfer conditions at this time are as follows.
The transfer rate was 0 ° C. and 10 to 60 mm / sec.

FIG. 3 has the same basic structure as the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and the position of the transfer film 9 in the axial direction of the heat roller 8 is located inside the end of the transferred body 3. In this case as well, it was confirmed that the end portion of the transfer film 9 was transferred onto the transferred body 3 cleanly even in this case.

FIGS. 4 to 6 all correspond to FIGS. 1 to 3, and the transfer target 3 and the transfer film 9 are fixed during transfer, and the heat roller 8 also moves together with rotation. Show.

FIG. 7 shows an example of a method of manufacturing the silicone rubber sheet 2 of each embodiment of the present invention. First, the silicon rubber before being molded by the heat-vulcanizing mold is put in the cylindrical mold 30 and is rotated while being heated and vulcanized. In this way, by molding while rotating, a silicone rubber sheet 31 having a very small thickness variation due to centrifugal force can be formed. A grindstone 32 of a grinder and a conveying roller 33 make fine irregularities on the surface, and the cut sheet 35 cut into an arbitrary size becomes the silicone rubber sheet 2 used in the above-described embodiment. The silicone rubber sheet 2 can balance the fixing force with the transferred material and the slidability depending on the size and depth of the fine irregularities formed on the surface.

[0045]

According to the image forming apparatus of the first to seventh aspects of the present invention, since the supporting member on which the transferred material is placed is made of an elastomer having elasticity, the transferred material on the elastomer is placed on the transferred material. When a transfer film is placed and heated and pressed by a heat roller, even if the thickness of the transfer film or the transfer target has a variation in thickness, a uniform pressing force can be applied to prevent uneven adhesive strength. Further, since the length of the heat roller in the axial direction is larger than the size of the transferred body in the width direction of the transfer film, it is possible to prevent the boundary line of the adhesive layer due to the heating and pressing of the heat roller from occurring.

Particularly, according to the image forming apparatus of the fourth aspect of the present invention, the surface of the elastomer is roughened by polishing,
Since the uneven density is fine, the transfer target can be easily loaded and unloaded in a short time, and the transfer target can be fixed with an appropriate holding force so as not to move during transfer. Also,
Since the unevenness is fine, there is no unevenness in the adhesive strength of the transfer image on the transfer film even when heated and pressed by the heat roller.

Further, by forming a rough surface, an extremely thin air layer is formed between the transfer film and the supporting member,
The adhesive layer of the transfer film does not adhere to or adhere to the support member at all even when coated or with the elastomer alone. For this reason, it is possible to sufficiently heat and press through the transfer film even in a place where the transfer target does not exist. Further, by making the size and depth of the fine irregularities different, it is possible to balance the fixing force and the slipperiness between the transferred body and the support member.

According to the image forming apparatus of the fifth aspect of the present invention, since the elastomer is formed in a cylindrical shape, the support member and the heat roller sandwich the transfer film and the transfer object, and the support member and the heat roller. The transfer image can be transferred while rotating and, and the transfer target after transfer is automatically separated from the heat roller, so that the transfer target can be taken out easily.

According to the image forming apparatus of the sixth and seventh aspects of the present invention, since the fluorine-type polymer compound is formed on the surface of the elastomer, the transfer-receiving member can be peeled off more easily.

According to the image forming apparatus of claim 8 of the present invention, since the fluorine-containing polymer compound is formed on the surface of the heat roller, the transfer film does not easily stick to the heat roller even when heated, and the transfer film There is no displacement from the transferred material.

Therefore, according to the image forming apparatus of the present invention,
An image can be transferred to all corners of the transfer target without creating a boundary line of the adhesive layer on the transfer target, and the thickness accuracy of the transfer film, the position accuracy when the transfer film is conveyed, or the thickness of the watermark, etc. Even if there are factors that change the heating and pressing conditions, such as the use of a transfer film with unevenness, the effect is not affected.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1A is a diagram showing a cross-sectional configuration of a main part of an image forming apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1B is a plan view showing a superposed state of the base plate, the silicon rubber sheet, and the transfer film heat roller of FIG.

FIG. 2A is a sectional view showing a sectional structure of a main part of a second embodiment of the present invention. 2B is a plan view showing a superposed state of the base plate, the silicon rubber sheet, and the transfer film heat roller of FIG. 2A.

FIG. 3A is a sectional view showing a sectional structure of a main part of a third embodiment of the present invention. 3B is a plan view showing a superposed state of the base plate, the silicon rubber sheet, and the transfer film heat roller of FIG. 3A.

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view of a configuration in which a heat roller is rotated in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 1A. FIG. 4B is a plan view showing a superposed state of the base plate, the silicone rubber sheet, and the transfer film heat roller of FIG. 4A.

5A is a cross-sectional view of a configuration in which a heat roller is rotated in the image forming apparatus of FIG. 2A. FIG. 5B is a plan view showing a superposed state of the base plate, the silicon rubber sheet, and the transfer film heat roller of FIG. 5A.

FIG. 6A is a cross-sectional view of a configuration in which a heat roller is rotated in the image forming apparatus of FIG. FIG. 6B is a plan view showing a superposed state of the base plate, the silicone rubber sheet, and the transfer film heat roller of FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a method for forming the silicone rubber sheet shown in FIGS. 1 (a) to 6 (b).

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Base Plate 2 Silicon Rubber Sheet 3 Transfer Target 4, 5, 6, 7 Conveying Roller 8 Heat Roller 9 Transfer Film 11 Covering Layer (Fluorine Polymer) 12 Silicon Rubber Layer 13 Aluminum Cylinder Core

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A transfer material having a uniform thickness is placed on a supporting member, and a transfer film having a transfer image is bonded by heat and pressure onto the transfer material so that the transfer image faces the transfer object. In the image forming apparatus, the heat roller is placed on the transfer film to heat and press the transfer image to the transfer target, and then the transfer target and the supporting member are separated from the transfer film. The surface of the member on which the transfer target is placed is formed of an elastomer larger than the longitudinal and lateral dimensions of the recording surface of the transfer target, and the heating and pressing surface of the heat roller is set to be larger than the recording surface of the transfer target. A characteristic image forming apparatus. 2. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the elastomer is made of synthetic rubber of silicon rubber or fluororubber. 3. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the silicone rubber is a heat-vulcanizing silicone rubber. 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein a surface of the elastomer on which the transfer target is mounted is roughened by polishing. 5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1 or 4, wherein the elastomer is formed in a cylinder type. 6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the surface of the elastomer in contact with the transferred material is a layer of a fluoropolymer compound. apparatus. 7. The image forming apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the fluorine-containing polymer compound is polytetrafluoroethylene or a copolymer of tetrafluoroethylene and perfluoroalkyl vinyl ether. An image forming apparatus, wherein the image forming apparatus is any one of: 8. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein the heat roller is provided with a silicon rubber coating layer on the surface of a metal cylindrical core metal, and the surface of the silicon rubber coating layer is tetrafluorocarbon.・ Ethylene and perfluoro
An image forming apparatus having a coating layer made of a copolymer of alkyl vinyl ether.