JPH10203095A - Method and machine for thermal transfer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To carry out the thermal transfer to bottles or the like of various kinds and various shapes and establish the mass productivity of the thermal transfer to bottles or the like. SOLUTION: A thermal transfer machine 1 is provided with an endless carrying device 4 for carrying stainless cylindrical vacuum-bottles 5 above a stand 3 with wheels 2, and V-blocks 6 supporting the vacuum bottles 5 in the direction crossing orthogonally the endless carrying device 4 are provided at the given intervals, and the V-blocks 6 are rotated around while being driven intermittently, and a stud 7 is stood upright on the stand 3, and a supporting frame 8 movable in the up and down direction of the stud 7 is provided, and a hot platen 9 is fixed on the lower end of the supporting frame 8, and a vacuum-bottle lifting/lowering mechanism 16 is disposed vertically below the hot platen 9 and also below the central section of a horizontal carrying section 40.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to a thermal transfer machine,
The present invention relates to a rigid container having a round cross section, such as a bottle, capable of performing thermal transfer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, thermal transfer machines have been used in various fields such as automobile parts, air conditioner cabinets and musical instruments. When performing thermal transfer on the surface of the transferred object, use an up-down type hot stamping machine to fix the transferred object to a jig and heat the hot plate with silicon rubber etc. attached to the surface of the aluminum plate with a heater, Was driven up and down to thermally transfer the transfer film (foil) to the object to be transferred. For example, the applicant of the present invention has previously proposed Utility Registration No. 2515288.

[0003] However, heat transfer has not been applied to rigid containers having a variety of curved surfaces having various shapes (length, radius, etc.), for example, bottles (bottles). This is inherently difficult to apply to bottles. For example, in order to cope with various types, it is necessary to manually replace jigs and the like, resulting in poor work efficiency. In addition, when the thermal transfer machine is installed in a small place, the slide method may be difficult to install because it takes place. Although not a thermal transfer, other techniques such as a technique of attaching an adhesive seal to a bottle, so-called water transfer, are performed, but these are completely manual operations and cannot be mass-produced.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to enable thermal transfer to various types of bottles and the like and to establish mass productivity of thermal transfer of bottles and the like.

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems In view of the above problems, Claim 1
The invention described has been made, and drives an endless transfer device provided with rigid container receiving portions for receiving a rigid container having a round cross section at predetermined intervals, and places the rigid container receiving portion on a lower side of a hot platen. Intermittently transporting in the horizontal direction to the container, raising the rigid container to separate it from the rigid container receiving portion when the rigid container receiving portion is stopped, and lowering and stopping the hot platen Rotating the transfer roll of the hot platen, sending a transfer film between the transfer roll and the rigid container to perform thermal transfer, raising and stopping the hot platen, Lowering the container and returning the container to the rigid container receiving portion. Accordingly, the rigid container can be transported together with the endless transport device, and the rigid container can be rotated while being separated upward from the endless transport device, thereby performing thermal transfer on the surface thereof. Therefore,
This makes it possible to perform thermal transfer to a wide variety of rigid containers having a round shape, and to establish mass productivity of thermal transfer of a rigid container having a round shape. The “rigid container” mentioned here includes a bottle, a can, a jar, and the like, and the material is not particularly limited, and examples thereof include plastic, metal, and ceramic, but are not limited thereto.

In view of the above problem, the invention according to claim 2 has been made, and comprises a rigid container having at least a horizontal transport section and having a round cross section in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal transport section. Plate comprising a plurality of rigid container receivers at predetermined intervals, an endless transport mechanism for intermittently driving the rigid container receivers, a transfer roll, and a heater for supplying heat to the thermal transfer rolls A transfer film supply mechanism that supplies a transfer film between the transfer roll and the rigid container that is an object to be transferred; a rotation drive mechanism that rotates the heat transfer roll; and an up-down mechanism that reciprocates at least the hot platen up and down. A drive mechanism and a lifting / lowering body that is disposed vertically below the hot platen and below the horizontal transport unit, and rotatably and horizontally supports a support roll for supporting the rigid container at an upper end thereof, A thermal transfer device, characterized by comprising a rigid container lifting mechanism that is configured to be protruded and retracted vertically to lift the conveying direction of the horizontal conveying section. This achieves the same object as the first aspect. For example, if the transfer film supply mechanism is installed on the hot platen side, the hot platen and the transfer film supply mechanism are reciprocated up and down. The mechanism includes various modes such as reciprocating the hot plate vertically.

In view of the above problems and to enhance controllability, the invention according to claim 3 has been made, and has at least a horizontal transport section, and has a circular cross section in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal transport section. Endless transport means provided with a plurality of rigid container receiving portions for supporting a rigid container having a predetermined shape at predetermined intervals, a heating plate configured to include a transfer roll and a heater for supplying heat to the thermal transfer roll, and the transfer roll, Transfer film supply means for supplying a transfer film between the rigid containers, which are objects to be transferred, rotary drive means for rotating the thermal transfer roll, up and down drive means for reciprocating at least the hot platen up and down, A lifting / lowering body disposed vertically below the board and below the horizontal transport section, and rotatably and horizontally supporting a support roll for supporting the rigid container at an upper end, the lifting / lowering body being A rigid container elevating means configured to be able to protrude and retreat perpendicularly to the transport direction of the horizontal transport unit, temperature control, transfer pressure control, and transfer speed control of the transfer roll, and intermittent feeding of the endless transport means And a control means for controlling the rigid container lifting / lowering means. As a result, the mass productivity of a particularly round rigid container can be remarkably improved.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The configuration of a thermal transfer machine 1 according to a first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS. The thermal transfer machine 1 has an endless transport device 4 above a gantry 3 having wheels 2. The endless transfer device 4 is for transferring a cylindrical thermos bottle 5 made of stainless steel (to the left in FIG. 1), and includes horizontal transfer units 40 and 41 and an oblique transfer unit 4.
2, 43. This endless transport device 4
As will be described later, a chain drive structure is used in which an endless chain 45 (see a dotted line portion in FIG. 1 and FIG. 5) is wound around a sprocket 44 (see FIG. 3). Further, a plurality of V blocks 6 capable of horizontally supporting the thermos 5 in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the horizontal transport unit 40 are arranged on the endless chain 45 at predetermined intervals, and the V blocks 6 are intermittent. It is designed to be able to go around and be driven. The V block 6 is made of silicone rubber having a V-shaped groove. The V-shaped groove of the V-block 6 can accommodate thermos bottles 5 of various diameters. In addition, stand 3
A support 7 is provided upright, and a support frame 8 that can move in the vertical direction of the support 7 is provided. A hot platen 9 is fixed to a lower end of the support frame 8. The hot platen 9 includes a transfer roll 10 and a far-infrared heater unit 11 for supplying heat to the transfer roll 10.
Further, a speed control motor 12 for rotating the transfer roll 10 is provided. The speed control motor 12 may generate a reverse torque depending on the center deviation between the transfer roll 10 and the thermos 5.
In order to prevent reverse rotation, the driving force of the transfer roll 10 generates a torque approximately twice as large as a required value. The transfer roller 10 is pressed against the thermos 5 by a constant pressure by the speed control motor 12, and the pattern of the transfer film 13 can be transferred onto the surface of the thermos 5 at the set transfer speed. Further, the transfer film 1 is inserted between the thermos bottle 5 and the transfer roll 10 so as to surround the hot platen 9.
3 is provided. The transfer film feed mechanism 14 is provided above the support frame 8 and can be moved up and down integrally with the hot platen 9. An air cylinder 15 is provided for moving the transfer roller 10 up and down by reciprocating the support frame 8 up and down. Further, a thermos raising / lowering mechanism 16 which is a feature of the present embodiment is disposed vertically below the hot platen 9 and below a central portion of the horizontal transport unit 40. This thermos lifting mechanism 16
As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, a pair of support arms 18 capable of rotatably supporting a support roll 17 at an upper end are provided at predetermined intervals. The pair of support arms 18 are arranged in a horizontal direction and a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the horizontal transport unit 40, that is, parallel to the V-block 6 (see FIGS. 5 and 5). Support roll 1
The interval 7 is set so that the thermos 5 can be supported. The support roll 17 can support various diameters and lengths of the thermos 5. Further, an air cylinder 19 for vertically driving the pair of support arms 18 is provided. Accordingly, the support roll 17 and the support arm 18 are configured to be able to protrude and retreat perpendicularly to the transport direction of the horizontal transport unit 40. Further, there are provided an operation panel 20 provided with operation buttons and the like, and an electronic control device 21 for controlling the entire control. Above, thermal transfer machine 1
The outline of the entire configuration has been described, and these will be described in detail below.

First, the thermos raising / lowering mechanism 16, which is a characteristic configuration of the present embodiment, will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. The thermos elevating mechanism 16 is fixed near the center of the inside of the gantry 3. Further, a pair of support rolls 17 are horizontally supported horizontally and rotatably supported by bearings (not shown) at the upper end portions of the pair of support arms 18, respectively. An O-ring (not shown) is attached to the bearing (not shown) in a sandwich structure, and a rotation of the support roll 17 is suppressed, thereby performing an aligning function. As shown in FIG.
Numeral 8 is composed of two vertical arms, and a pair of them is provided symmetrically as shown in FIG. 4 (a total of four arms are provided). Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the interval between the support arms 18 is set wider than the lateral width of the V block 6, so that the support arm 18 does not hit the V block 6 when vertically moving up and down. 6 (b)).
The length of the support roll 17 and the length of the support arm 18 are preferably substantially the same as the length of the V block 6, but are not limited thereto, and may be longer than the V block 6 within a range that does not hinder thermal transfer. It can be short. This support arm 18
Is fixed to the pedestal 60 at a predetermined interval. The pedestal 60 is fixed to the rod ends of two air cylinders 19 disposed below the pedestal 60 so as to be movable up and down. The movable range is set so that the thermos bottle 5 can be lifted preferably by a radius or more. Therefore, the support roll 17 is lifted to vertically lift the thermos 5 placed on the V-block 6, so that the thermos 5 can be reliably separated from the V-block 6 and lifted to a predetermined position while supporting the thermos 5. On both sides of the air cylinder 19, a guide shaft 61 and a guide shaft 62 (linear bush) as support metal fittings are arranged to stabilize the lifting operation of the air cylinder 19. The total air pressure of the two air cylinders 19 is set higher than the air pressure of the air cylinder 15, and is set so as not to defeat the transfer pressure of the transfer roll 10. With the above configuration, if the transfer roll 10 is lowered and rotated while the support roll 17 and the support arm 18 are stopped after being raised, the rotation of the transfer roll 10 also causes the support roll 17 to follow and rotate. Is surely performed. After such thermal transfer is performed, the support roll 17 and the support arm 18 can be lowered and retracted,
The thermos 5 can be returned to the V block 6. Therefore, the thermos elevating mechanism 16 can perform an important function of separating the thermos 5 from the reference system of the endless transport device 4 or allowing the thermos 5 to coexist with the reference system of the endless transport device 4. It is.

The transfer is not limited to the thermos 5 but may be made of other materials such as plastic and aluminum. Further, the transfer is not limited to the cylindrical shape such as the thermos bottle 5, but can be performed in other forms as long as the bottle is a rigid container having a round cross section, such as a drum shape. Furthermore, it is characterized in that it is possible to cope with different diameters (thicknesses). The length of the thermos 5 is preferably set to be equal to or smaller than that of the V block 6, and the transfer is performed more preferably than when the length is set to be larger. However, the length can be set larger. It is not interpreted. As an example of the size, assuming that the length of the V block 6 is 300 mm, the length of the thermos 5 is preferably about 260 mm.

As shown in FIG. 1, the endless transfer device 4 (endless chain transfer) is supported on the upper side of the gantry 3 and is configured to transfer and stop the thermos 5 at an intermittent pitch. Is what it is. As shown in FIG. 3, the endless transport device 4 is one in which an endless chain 45 (see FIG. 5, not shown in FIG. 3) is wound around four sprockets 44. The sprockets 44 are connected by a shaft 47, and the speed control motor 46 rotates the shaft 47. The speed control motor 46 is provided with a clutch brake unit (not shown) to cope with the intermittent operation. A plurality of V-blocks 6 each having a groove having a V-shaped cross section on the entire outer periphery of the endless chain 45 are provided at predetermined intervals in a horizontal direction and at a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction. As described above, the endless transport device 4
Horizontal transport section 40 and horizontal transport section 4 which are linear transport paths
1, an oblique transport section 42 and an oblique transport section 43. For the components other than the horizontal transport unit 40, a linear transport path is suitable, but is not particularly limited. The thermal transfer is configured to be performed while the thermos bottle 5 is being transported in the area of the horizontal transport unit 40. That is, in the center of the horizontal transport section 40, the thermos 5 is moved to the thermos lifting mechanism 1
6 to push up (push-up) for thermal transfer. In addition, in addition to a chain drive structure including an endless chain as is well known, various configurations such as a belt drive structure including an endless belt can be adopted in various modes.

Next, the hot platen 9 will be described. This hot platen 9 is a transfer roll 10 which can be in rolling contact with the surface of the thermos bottle 5.
have. The hot platen 9 is a transfer film feed mechanism 1
4 is fixed to a supporting frame 8 (reference system) by a supporting device (not shown), but the supporting device (not shown) is adjusted so that the vertical position thereof is within a movable range by an electric motor (not shown). Is configured to be adjustable. If the size of the thermos bottle 5 exceeds the vertical adjustment range of the air cylinder 15 depending on the size of the thermos 5, the reference system of the entire mechanism including the hot platen 9 and the transfer film feed mechanism 14 is displaced to cope with the problem. Is what you do. The hot platen 9 includes a proximity switch 22 and the proximity switch 2
2, the idle speed and the transfer speed are switched. That is, when the transfer roll 10 is located above the proximity switch 22, the speed control motor 12 performs idle rotation (about 5 rpm) by the speed control motor 12 in order to prevent local heating (also referred to as single burn) by the far infrared heater unit 11. On the other hand,
When the transfer roll 10 is located below the proximity switch 22, the speed control motor 12 controls the transfer roll 1.
That is, the rotation speed of 0 is changed to the transfer speed.
However, this rotation speed is switched to the original idle speed together with the transfer end command. Hot plate 9
Denotes a far-infrared heater unit 1 having a plurality of far-infrared heaters for heating, which is disposed close to the upper part of the transfer roll 10.
1 and a temperature detecting sensor 23 composed of a non-contact type infrared sensor so as to come into contact with the transfer roll 10. The temperature of the transfer roll 10 is detected based on the output signal from the temperature detection sensor 23, the amount of heat generated by the speed control motor 12 is automatically controlled, and the temperature of the surface of the transfer roll 10 is about 180 ° C. (an example). Is automatically controlled. A heat insulating material (not shown) is provided near the temperature detection sensor 23. The detailed structure of the hot platen 9 is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration No. 2515288, so please refer to it.

As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the transfer film feeding mechanism 14 includes a predetermined long pattern (for example, a character) drawn between the surface of the thermos bottle 5 and the transfer roll 10 at a predetermined interval. Transfer film 13 provided repeatedly
A winding member 25 for winding the transfer film 13 and a winding motor 26 for driving the winding member 25 are provided. From the feeding member 24 and the winding member 25, a guide mechanism 27 and a guide mechanism 28 including a roll member and a connecting mechanism for feeding the transfer film 13 are provided.
Is provided. Further, a torque motor 29 is provided on the feeding member 24, and by applying a constant load (torque in the reverse feed direction) to the transfer film 13, the tension of the transfer film 13 is kept constant, and the transfer film 13 is prevented from slackening. It can be removed. In addition, the peeling device (not shown) is configured to slide so that the transfer film 13 adhered to the surface of the thermos bottle 5 by thermal transfer can be automatically peeled from the surface.

As shown by the dotted line in FIG. 2, a holding portion 75 may be provided in order to correspond to the thermos bottle 5 having a long form, but is not always necessary for transferring the thermos 5 in all forms. The holding part 75 is fixed to the upper surface of the gantry 3, and is a fixed bottom holding part 76 for holding the bottom of the thermos 5.
And a movable bottle mouth holding portion 77 for holding the bottle mouth of the thermos bottle 5
And an air cylinder 78 that slides the bottle mouth holding portion 77
It consists of: The holding section 75 can be operated by an operation button (not shown), and can be held down when the thermos 5 rises. It is to be noted that the pressing portion 75 is not shown in FIG. 1 for convenience. In addition, instead of the operation button (not shown),
A position detection sensor (not shown) for the thermos bottle 5 is provided,
Those skilled in the art can implement a configuration in which 5 is automatically controlled. Needless to say, it is also possible to adopt a configuration in which the holding portion 75 is omitted.

The operation panel 20 shown in FIG. 7 will be described. The operation panel 20 includes an operation panel 30A, a display panel 30B including a plurality of LEDs, and a touch panel 30C including a liquid crystal display screen and touch switches. The operation panel 30A is provided with a start button 31, a transfer pressure adjustment knob 32, a transfer speed adjustment knob 33, a temperature adjustment knob 34, and a tension adjustment knob 35. The transfer pressure can be adjusted by adjusting the stroke of the air cylinder 15 by adjusting the transfer pressure adjustment knob 32. Normally, the transfer pressure is often adjusted by the stroke, but the pressure may be adjusted by reducing or increasing the air pressure of the air cylinder 15 as necessary. The rotation speed of the transfer roll 10 can be controlled by controlling the pressure of the speed control motor 12 by adjusting the transfer speed adjustment knob 33. The amount of heat generated by the far-infrared heater unit 11 is adjusted by adjusting the temperature adjustment knob 34, so that the temperature of the transfer roll 10 can be controlled. By operating the tension adjusting knob 35, the torque motor 29 is adjusted so that the tension of the transfer film 13 can be kept constant. The display panel 30B is provided with a temperature display section 36 and a transfer speed display section 37, and the temperature of the transfer roll 10 and the transfer speed of the thermal transfer machine 1 are digitally displayed. The touch panel 30C is provided with a manual touch button 38A, an automatic touch button 38B, an up / down touch button 39A, and a one pitch feed touch button 39B for intermittent feed. Details of these will be described later.

The electronic control unit 21 shown in FIG.
0, ROM 51, RAM 52, input interface 53, output interface 54, timer 55,
The counter 56 and the like are interconnected by a bus 57, and controls the thermal transfer. The input interface 53 includes a proximity switch 22, a temperature detection sensor 23,
Start button 31, transfer pressure adjustment knob 32, transfer speed adjustment knob 33, temperature adjustment knob 34, tension adjustment knob 3
5. Manual touch button 38A, automatic touch button 38
B, an up-down touch button 39A, a one-pitch feed touch button 39B, and the like are connected.
Various input signals corresponding thereto are received from these via the input interface 53, and the CPU 50 performs predetermined calculations and the like. The output interface 54 includes a speed control motor 12, an air cylinder 15, an air cylinder 19, a proximity switch 22, a winding motor 26, a torque motor 29, a temperature display section 36, a transfer speed display section 37,
The speed control motor 46, the air cylinder 78, and the like are connected, and the CPU 50 supplies various output signals to the respective units via the output interface 54. The electronic control unit 21 is provided with a voice synthesis circuit (not shown), from which a voice signal is output to the transfer speed display unit 37. The power supply circuit is not shown.

Next, the operation of the thermal transfer machine 1 of the present embodiment will be described. First, when a power supply (not shown) is turned on, a flag, a counter, and a timer are initialized, and then processing of each unit such as heating of the proximity switch 22 is started. When the start button 31 is pressed, as shown in FIG.
While looking at the transfer speed display section 37 and the like, the transfer pressure adjustment knob 32, the transfer speed adjustment knob 33, the temperature adjustment knob 34,
When the tension adjustment knob 35 is appropriately adjusted, each part is prepared so as to be operable, and enters a standby state. First, in S100, it is determined whether or not the transfer pressure adjustment knob 32 has been operated.
Is adjusted and the process proceeds to S120, and if NO, S1
Return to 00. In S120, it is determined whether or not the transfer speed adjustment knob 33 has been operated. If YES, the pressure of the speed control motor 12 is adjusted in S130, and the flow shifts to S140. If NO, the flow returns to S100. Then, in S140, it is determined whether or not the temperature adjustment knob 34 has been operated.
If S, the amount of heat generated by the far-infrared heater unit 11 is adjusted in S150, and the process proceeds to S160. If NO, the process returns to S100. Further, in S160, it is determined whether or not the tension adjusting knob 35 has been operated. If YES, the torque of the torque motor 29 is adjusted in S170, and the process returns to S100.
Return to 00.

Next, an automatic manual subroutine shown in FIG. 10 will be described for switching between the automatic mode and the manual mode. This subroutine is started every minute time by interruption processing. First, the manual touch button 3 in S200
It is determined whether or not 8A has been touched.
0, the mode is switched to the manual operation mode, and the process proceeds to S220.
If NO, the subroutine ends. In S220, it is determined whether or not automatic touch button 38B has been touched, and YES
If so, the mode is switched to the automatic operation mode in S230, and the subroutine ends. On the other hand, if NO in S220, the subroutine ends.

A thermal transfer operation to the thermos bottle 5 in the manual mode, which is a characteristic operation of the present embodiment, will be described with reference to FIG. When the one pitch feed touch button 39B is pressed, S
If YES is determined in 300, the speed control motor 46 is driven in S310 to feed the V block 6 by one pitch, and the V block 6 on which the thermos 5 is placed is sent directly below the hot platen 9. In step S <b> 320, the thermos bottle 5 is lifted while being driven by the air cylinder 19 while being supported by the support roll 17, and separated from the V block 6. That is, the thermos 5 is the V block 6
It will be in a state of floating just above. When the up-down touch button 39A is pressed, YES is determined in S330, and in S340, the air cylinder 15 is driven to transfer the transfer roll 1
0 falls (see the Y direction in FIG. 1). When the proximity switch 22 is turned on in S350, the rotation speed of the speed control motor 12 is changed in S360,
, Ie, the transfer speed. In S370, the lowering of the transfer roll 10 is stopped. At step S380, the transfer roll 10 rotates counterclockwise, and the transfer roll 13 comes into rolling contact with the thermos bottle 5 with the transfer film 13 interposed therebetween.
By driving the winding motor 26 and the torque motor 29, the transfer film 13 is fed from the feeding member 24 and is wound by the winding member 25, and the transfer film 13 is transferred between the surface of the thermos bottle 5 and the surface of the transfer roll 10. It is supplied continuously. 14 shows the thermal transfer machine 1 in the transfer state shown in FIGS. 12 and 13. During the transfer, the transfer roll 10 is pressed at a constant pressure against the surface of the thermos bottle 5 supported by the support roll 17 by the transfer pressure control by the transfer pressure control described above, and the transfer speed is controlled by the transfer speed control. Various controls, such as control of the control, are performed. As the transfer roll 10 rotates counterclockwise, the thermos bottle 5 rotates clockwise, and the support roll 17 rotates counterclockwise. In this way, the transfer roll 10 makes rolling contact with the thermos bottle 5 and only the picture portion of the transfer film 13 is thermally transferred. When the rolling contact is completed, a transfer end command is issued, and the feeding of the transfer film 13 is stopped in S390. Subsequently, in step S400, a spatula-shaped peeling device (not shown) slides, and the transfer film 13 is automatically peeled off from the curved surface of the thermos bottle 5. Then S
When the up / down touch button 39A is turned on at 410, the determination is YES, and at S420, the air cylinder 15 is driven to raise the transfer roll 10, and after the proximity switch 22 is turned on, the rotation speed of the transfer roll 10 is changed from the transfer speed to the idle speed. When the transfer roll 10 returns to the initial position, it stops rising and stops. S300, S410
If NO is determined, the subroutine ends. Also,
If NO is determined in S330, the process returns to S330. Further, if NO is determined in S350, the process returns to S340.

Although the manual mode has been described above, the automatic mode automatically and continuously transfers the thermos 5 to the thermos bottle 5 and can be easily implemented by those skilled in the art from the description of the manual mode. explain. For this, a feeder (not shown) is placed on the right side of FIG.
The thermos bottles 5 are supplied to the V block 6 of the thermal transfer machine 1 one by one. On the other hand, the thermos bottle 5 whose transfer has been completed is shown in FIG.
Is discharged to a discharge receiver (not shown) arranged on the left side of the. Up-down movement of the transfer roll 10 and intermittent feed of the V block 6 are automatically executed. Therefore, unattended operation of the thermal transfer machine 1 is enabled.

According to the embodiment described above, the thermal transfer to the thermos 5 is automatically executed, and mass production is possible. Furthermore, even if the thermos 5 is long, the thermal transfer machine 1 can be used without any change in the design of the thermal transfer machine 1. Further, even if the diameter of the thermos bottle 5 becomes smaller or larger, thermal transfer is still possible, and it is possible to realize the thermal transfer of the thermos bottle 5 of various types and other forms which could not be performed at all conventionally. Value is extremely large.

A description will be given of a thermal transfer machine 101 according to a second embodiment shown in FIGS. This changes the structure of the V block 6 and the thermos lifting mechanism 16 of the thermal transfer machine 1 of the first embodiment, and the thermos receiver 106 and the thermos lifting mechanism 116 respectively.
Further, a holding portion 175 of the thermos 105 is provided. Note that the components of the thermal transfer machine 101 are numbers obtained by adding 100's to the numbers of the corresponding components of the thermal transfer machine 1, and descriptions thereof will be omitted as appropriate.

First, the thermos receiver 106 is made up of four parts as compared with the case where the V-block 6 is integrated. Only the left and right ends are present and the middle is a gap. The left and right ends are also formed as half-splits, and the half-splits are provided at predetermined intervals. And
The inner surface is curved (curved) to receive the thermos 105. Therefore, the thermos 105 is a thermos receiver 106.
Is supported at both ends. In addition, these thermos receivers 106 are provided in the endless transport device 104 at predetermined intervals.

The thermos lifting mechanism 116 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), although the structure is basically the same as the thermos lifting mechanism 16 of the first embodiment, the thermos lifting mechanism 1
The driven roller 17 and the support arm 18 of the V6
The space between the driven roller 117 of the thermos raising and lowering mechanism 116 and the arm 118 is narrowed, and the space is provided inside the thermos receiving portion 106. The space can be raised and lowered. Note that the holding portion 175 of the thermos 105 has the same structure as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

Although the preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and those skilled in the art may make many modifications within the same scope as the technical idea of the present invention. What can be done is obvious.
For example, the shape, structure, combination with other members, and the like of the endless transporting device 4 and the thermos lifting mechanism 16 which are features of the present embodiment are not limited to the present embodiment, and are varied by those skilled in the art. Implementation is possible in an embodiment. Further, the transfer film supply mechanism 14 is moved up and down integrally with the hot platen 9, but is not limited to this. For example, the transfer film supply mechanism 14 may be installed in the endless transport device 4. For example, those skilled in the art can implement the present invention in various aspects, such as possible. In this case,
Usually, the transfer film supply mechanism 14 is fixedly provided,
Only the hot platen 9 moves up and down.

[0026]

According to the present invention, it is possible to perform thermal transfer to bottles and the like in a variety of forms, and it is possible to establish mass production of thermal transfer of bottles and the like. is there.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a thermal transfer machine according to a first embodiment of the present invention in a thermal transfer standby state.

FIG. 2 is a right side view of the same partial section.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a framework of the endless transport mechanism.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the thermos lifting mechanism.

FIG. 5 is a right side view of the same.

6A is a partially enlarged front view of a thermos transfer machine in a transfer state of a thermos bottle, and FIG. 6B is a partially enlarged front view of the same transfer execution state.

FIG. 7 is a plan view of the operation panel.

FIG. 8 is a block diagram of the electronic control device.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a main routine executed by the electronic control device.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart of an automatic manual switching processing subroutine executed by the electronic control unit.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a thermos thermal transfer subroutine executed by the electronic control unit.

FIG. 12 is a front view of the thermal transfer machine according to the first embodiment of the present invention in a thermal transfer execution state.

FIG. 13 is a right side view of the same partial section.

FIG. 14 is a front view of a thermal transfer machine according to a second embodiment of the present invention in a thermal transfer standby state.

FIG. 15 is a right side view of the same partial section.

16A is a partially enlarged front view of a thermos transfer state in the same thermal transfer machine, and FIG. 16B is a partially enlarged front view of the same transfer execution state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermal transfer machine 4 Endless conveying device 5 Thermos 9 Heating plate mechanism 10 Transfer roll 13 Transfer film 16 Thermos elevating mechanism 17 Follower roll 18 Arm 19 Air cylinder 20 Operation panel 21 Electronic control device

Claims (3)

[Claims] An endless conveying device provided with rigid container receiving portions for receiving rigid containers having a round cross section at predetermined intervals is driven,
A step of intermittently transporting the rigid container receiving portion to the lower side of the hot platen in a horizontal direction; and, when the rigid container receiving portion is stopped, raising the rigid container to separate it from the rigid container receiving portion. Lowering the hot platen to stop it, rotating the transfer roll of the hot platen, sending a transfer film between the transfer roll and the rigid container to perform thermal transfer, And a step of lowering the rigid container and returning the rigid container to the rigid container receiving portion. 2. A plurality of rigid container receivers having at least a horizontal transport unit and supporting a rigid container having a round cross section in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal transport unit are provided at predetermined intervals.
An endless transport mechanism that intermittently drives the rigid container receiving portion; a heating plate configured to include a transfer roll and a heater that supplies heat to the thermal transfer roll; and the rigid container that is the transfer roll and an object to be transferred. A transfer film supply mechanism for supplying a transfer film between the heat transfer roll, a rotary drive mechanism for rotating the thermal transfer roll, an up-down drive mechanism for reciprocating at least the hot platen up and down, and vertically below the hot platen and horizontally An elevator is provided below the transport unit and rotatably and horizontally supports a support roll for supporting the rigid container at an upper end, and the elevator is perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal transport unit. And a rigid container elevating mechanism configured to be able to protrude and retreat. 3. An endless transport means comprising at least a horizontal transport portion and a plurality of rigid container receiving portions for supporting rigid containers having a round cross section in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the horizontal transport portion at predetermined intervals. A heating plate configured to include a transfer roll and a heater that supplies heat to the thermal transfer roll; and a transfer film supply unit that supplies a transfer film between the transfer roll and the rigid container that is the transfer target. A rotary drive unit for rotating the heat transfer roll; an up-down drive unit for reciprocating at least the hot platen up and down; being disposed vertically below the hot platen and below the horizontal transfer unit, and supporting the rigid container. Container having an elevating body rotatably and horizontally supported at the upper end thereof for supporting rolls, the elevating body being configured to be able to protrude and retreat perpendicularly to the transport direction of the horizontal transport unit Control means for controlling the temperature control, transfer pressure control, and transfer speed control of the transfer roll, intermittent feed control of the endless transport means, and control of the rigid container elevating means. Thermal transfer machine.