JPH1058728A - Image forming device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To form a sharp image by getting over the defect of the image due to sublimation dye by a method wherein an image receiving layer is bonded to a body with an image to be formed thereon by pressing the side, on which the image is formed, of the image receiving layer under head onto the body with an image to be formed thereon so as to form the image, in which pigment is employed, between the body with an image to be formed thereon and the image receiving layer. SOLUTION: Pigment is employed in the coloring material of a thermal transfer ink layer 2a. The gradational representation is preferably performed by areal gradation or the combination of areal gradation and dither matrix. A heating roller 22 is provided so as to roll to the flowing direction of a film 1. When the predetermined transferring image of the film 1 locates above the sheet 5 of a stage 21, the heater 24 of the heating roller 22 is heated and the film 1 is stopped when the heater is judged to reach its proper temperature and, at the same time, the stage 21 is lifted and the heating roller 22 is rotated. As a result, a projected part 23 fixes the film 1 and a sheet 2 under heat and pressure together with the stage 21. In order to repeat the transferring of the sheet 5, a process is sent back again to the transfer positioning step of the film.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a record carrier (credit card, I
Representative examples include various types of cards such as C cards, optical cards, ID cards, license cards, etc.) and record carriers made of paper (passbooks such as deposits, passports, identification cards, licenses, etc.). The present invention relates to an image forming method and an image forming apparatus for recording, for example, a visual image or information read by a card reader or the like on a transfer target such as various booklets.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as an image forming technique, a color transfer image by thermal sublimation transfer recording is drawn by a thermal head on a transfer layer of an intermediate transfer medium in a primary transfer step, and then an intermediate transfer is performed in a secondary transfer step. An indirect transfer method has been proposed in which a medium is brought into contact with an object to be transferred, and the color transfer image is transferred to the object to be transferred together with the transfer layer by a heating / pressing means such as a heat roller (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 6-1994).
No. 72046, Japanese Patent Application No. 4-231952).

The indirect transfer method has been studied by the inventors, and issues cards and booklets in the field of finance, and checks the identity of each person by using them. It can be said that it is a technology that can meet the demands of the markets that operate them. According to this indirect transfer method, (a) the degree of curvature of the transfer surface of the transfer target, unevenness, the presence or absence of scratches, the transfer layer can be selected according to the presence or absence of ink adhesion, discoloration, fading, etc., [B] The ability to form full-color images with rich gradation by thermal sublimation transfer recording on the surface of paper that originally has poor acceptability for sublimation dyes. [C] The recorded content differs for each card, for example. In such cases (for example, ID
Since personal information to be recorded like a card usually differs for each sheet, it is necessary to record a different color image for each sheet, a recorded image for reading character information by machine, or character information.) In this case, the advantage of being able to respond quickly and economically, that is, being suitable is obtained.

[0004] For these reasons, not only plastic cards but also booklets, or transferred objects (curved parts, curved parts,
In addition to these, it is possible to form a full-color image with rich gradation, even if the surface has greater or lesser irregularities. It is a technology that offers a huge advantage that it can be dramatically expanded.

[0005]

However, the color image formed by the thermal sublimation transfer recording (the thermal sublimation transfer recording is performed in the primary transfer step as described above)
While there is no doubt that rich gradation is an advantage, it also has the following disadvantages. That is, (a) when the image quality of the color image obtained by the thermal sublimation transfer recording is strictly evaluated, a characteristic that is somewhat "blurred" can be seen as a whole. This image quality is due to the diffusion of the sublimated dye when the sublimable dye migrates to the receiving layer during thermal sublimation transfer recording, and this image was obtained, for example, by high quality printing. Compared to color images, the "sharp" quality of the image is inferior to the printed image. [B] In addition, a color image obtained by thermal sublimation transfer recording is not protected by providing a protective layer because the dye transferred to the receiving layer naturally sublimates again and has low weather resistance. And that the image deteriorates with time. [C] Further, in thermal sublimation transfer recording, only a dye which is a sublimable dye exhibiting sublimability can be used. This sublimable dye can be said to be unstable in color development as compared with pigments, and therefore has poor heat resistance, light resistance, chemical resistance, and durability, and is inferior in these respects than pigments. That you are. [D] When thermal sublimation transfer recording is applied to image formation in the indirect transfer method, the maximum value of the optical density is determined by the amount of the sublimable dye that can be accepted by the receiving layer, so that high-density image expression is possible. Absent. This is a disadvantage.

An object of the present invention is to overcome the above disadvantages of color image formation by thermal sublimation transfer recording without losing the advantages of the indirect transfer technique.

[0007]

Means provided by the present invention in order to solve the above-mentioned problems are as follows.
A heat-sensitive transfer recording medium in which a coloring layer using a pigment as a coloring material is provided on a support, and an intermediate recording medium having an image-receiving layer for receiving a heat-transferred recording image thereby, The side is arranged so as to be in contact with the side of the image receiving layer, based on image data relating to the image desired to form an image, from either the support side of the thermal transfer recording medium or the side opposite to the image receiving layer of the intermediate recording medium. An image is formed by performing thermal transfer recording on the image receiving layer by selectively heating, and then the image receiving layer is heated and pressurized on the image receiving body on the image receiving layer side on which the image is formed. An image forming method comprising: adhering a layer to an image forming body; thereby forming an image using a pigment as a coloring material between the image forming body and the image receiving layer.

Thus, by performing thermal transfer recording using a thermal transfer recording medium using a pigment as a coloring material,
Even with sharp and high-density image quality, when there is no protective layer, or when the protection ability of the protective layer is low, there is almost no deterioration in image quality over time, and an image with high weather resistance can be obtained.

In the case where an image composed of a plurality of colors is formed on the image receiving layer, the thermal transfer recording of a required number of colors is performed on the image receiving layer on which the first color image is formed. 2. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein an image is formed by repeating.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, a thermal head is used for the selective heating, and the thermal transfer recording using the thermal head is performed by changing the amount of Joule heat with respect to the heating dots of the thermal head. 3. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the dot size is selectively changed, and thereby the gradation is expressed by the area gradation.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, a thermal beam exposure apparatus is used for the selective heating, and the thermal transfer recording using the thermal beam exposure apparatus is expressed in a gray scale by an area gray scale. 2. The image forming method according to any one of 2.

According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the image forming method according to the fourth aspect, the heat-sensitive transfer recording medium is provided with a light-to-heat conversion layer between the support and the coloring layer. is there.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the thermal transfer recording medium, the thickness of the coloring layer is 1 μm or less, and the thermal transfer recording using the coloring layer expresses gradation by area gradation. Item 6. The image forming method according to any one of Items 1 to 5.

(3) The image-receiving layer of the intermediate recording medium is provided so as to be detachable from a support in the intermediate recording medium, and the image-receiving layer on which an image is formed faces the image-receiving layer. 7. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein, when heating and pressing on the image forming body, the image receiving layer is left on the image forming body and the support is peeled off. It is.

Then, after the image receiving layer on which the image is formed is heated and pressed on the image forming body, a predetermined area is left on the image forming body. 7. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein the intermediate recording medium is punched.

In the image forming method according to the present invention, for example, the invention described in JP-A-7-117359 can be suitably utilized, and the heat-sensitive transfer recording medium described therein (in the publication, A high-quality color image can be obtained by an area gradation method using a thermal transfer recording material).

In order to adhere the image receiving layer of the intermediate recording medium to the transfer object (image formation object), for example,
(1) A method in which the image receiving layer itself is provided with a material that exhibits adhesiveness by heating, that is, by facilitating the image receiving layer and the adhesive layer, or (2) What is called the adhesive layer as the image receiving layer. It is separately prepared and is coated and / or laminated on the image receiving layer or the image forming body, or the adhesive sheet for the adhesive layer is sandwiched between the image receiving layer and the image forming body at the time of heating and pressurizing. It is designed by expressing adhesiveness when pressing, or by appropriately selecting a method or the like.

[0018]

FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration of an image recording apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a film as an intermediate medium having a first transfer layer 1a on one side, and reference numeral 2 denotes a thermal transfer as a transfer member having a thermal transfer ink layer 2a as a second transfer layer on one side. Reference numeral 3 denotes a first transfer layer 1 a of the film 1.
To the thermal transfer ink layer 2a on the first transfer layer 1a.
Is a first transfer device that transfers an image onto the first transfer layer 1a. Reference numeral 4 denotes a first transfer layer 1a on which a transferred film 1 is supplied while a thermal transfer ink layer 2a is transferred onto the sheet 5 and an image is formed, while holding a sheet 5 as a transfer object main body. This is a second transfer device.

In the thermal transfer ink layer 2a, a pigment is used as a coloring material, and gradation expression is preferably performed by an area gradation or by using an area gradation and a dither matrix in combination.

When a full-color image is formed, for example, the thermal transfer ink layer 2a has three colors of YMC (or four colors of YMCBk, where Bk indicates black).
A thermal transfer ribbon 2 having a thermal transfer ink layer 2a which is separately applied is used. Alternatively, one thermal transfer ribbon has Y
A thermal transfer ink layer of any one of three colors of MC (or four colors of YMCBk) is provided, and such a thermal transfer ribbon is prepared for three colors of YMC (or four colors of YMCBk). The thermal transfer recording is performed on the image receiving layer of the intermediate recording medium by sequentially using the thermal transfer ribbons having different colors to form one image.

The indirect transfer system according to this image recording apparatus is briefly described. The film 1 is sent from a roll 6 to a first transfer device 3 via a roller, and the first transfer device 3 transfers the film 1 from a transfer ribbon 2 to a second thermal transfer layer. 2a is transferred. The film 1 on which the thermal transfer ink layer 2a has been transferred includes (FIG. 2)
Is formed and sent to the second transfer device 4 via the roller 7. The sheet 5 is held by the second transfer device 4, and the first transfer layer 1 on the lower surface of the film 1 is held.
The image composed of a and the thermal transfer ink layer 2 a is transferred to the sheet 5, and is taken up by the take-up roller 9 via the roller 8 after the transfer to the sheet 5 is completed.

[0022]

【Example】

<Example 1> Specifically, the film 1 before transfer was
Has a cross-sectional structure as shown in FIG. 2 and has a base material 10 made of a polyethylene terephthalate resin sheet.
a, release layer 10, security layer 11, image receiving layer 1
2 are stacked. Highly confidential data such as personal information is recorded on the security layer 11 by a transparent hologram or fine print. On the image receiving layer 12, an image such as a photograph of a face of an individual is recorded.

The ink for forming the thermal transfer ink layer of the transfer ribbon 2 includes four inks of magenta, yellow, cyan, and black.
One unit composed of four color inks is arranged at a constant pitch. As these inks, resin type inks (more specifically, inks in which a resin layer is peeled and bonded by heat) or hot melt transfer type inks are used. The transfer ribbon 2 is wound in a roll shape, and is sent from a roll 13 to a roller 14. Here, in order to obtain a high-quality full-color image, it is preferable to use the former resin type as the ink, and it is more preferable to perform full-color recording by area gradation. (See, for example, JP-A-7-117359)

The first transfer device 3 includes a drum 15 around which the film 1 is wound, and a film 1 around the drum 15.
Roller 1 as film fixing means for fixing
6, 17; press rollers 18 and 19 for bringing the transfer ribbon 2 into close contact with the film 1 on the peripheral surface of the drum 15; and a thermal head for transferring the thermal transfer ink layer 2a of the transfer ribbon 2 to the first transfer layer 1a of the film 1. 20.

The rotation of the drum 15 can be adjusted in the forward and reverse directions by a rotation driving device (not shown).
A number of marks p for detecting the rotation angle of the drum 15 are provided at equal pitches on the peripheral surface of the side end of the mark. The vicinity of the mark p is optical, mechanical or electrical. A sensor S1 (for example, a photocoupler or the like) that detects a sign by such a method is provided. The rotation amount of the drum 15 is calculated by transmitting the detection data from the sensor S1 to the rotation amount calculation means of the CPU.

As shown in FIG. 3, on the peripheral surface of the drum 15, a front end position A in the rotation direction of the first transfer layer 1 a provided on the film 1 and a rear end in the rotation direction of the first transfer layer 1 a are provided. Position B is set. When the drum 15 is at the rotation start position, the front end position A in the rotation direction of the first transfer layer 1a is located at a position where the heat generating portion 20a of the thermal head 20 performs the transfer, and is fixed at a constant pitch on the circumferential surface of the drum 15. Are positioned at the position of the sensor S1. When the drum 15 is stopped at the rotation start position, the film 1 moves along the peripheral surface of the drum 15 by rotating the roller 9. At this time, the film 1 is fed at the front end F in the rotation direction of the first transfer layer 1a.
Is stopped at the front end position A of the drum 15 in the rotation direction. The fact that the front end of the first transfer layer 1a is located at the front end position A of the drum 15 means that, for example, as shown in FIG.
This can be detected by providing an alignment mark M having a fixed positional relationship with the first transfer layer 1a on the film 1, and providing a sensor S2 such as a photocoupler on the drum 15 for detecting the alignment mark M. The flow chart of FIG. 7 shows the flow after the positioning of the first transfer layer 1a of the film 1 as described above.

The front end position F of the first transfer layer 1a of the film 1
Is positioned at the front end position A in the rotation direction of the drum 15, the actuator is contracted to press the press rollers 16, 17 against the drum 15 side, thereby fixing the film 1 to the drum 15.

After the film 1 is fixed to the drum 15, the roller 14 is rotated to transfer the yellow (y) transfer ink layer 2.
The corresponding portion of a is positioned at the transfer position of the thermal head 20, and the press rollers 18, 19 are pressed against the drum 15.

Next, the drum 15 is rotated to the yellow transfer position of the thermal transfer ink layer 2a so that the yellow transfer position of the first transfer layer 1a of the film 1 is located at the heating section 20a of the thermal head 20. When the drum 15 is rotated in this way, the heat generating portion of the thermal head 20 is moved to the drum 1
5 and the heat generating portion of the thermal head 20 generates heat.

These series of operations are performed based on the position data and the color data relating to the dot configuration of the image data to be recorded. The dot configuration data is stored in the image data area of the CPU, and the dot configuration data is transmitted to the heating section 20a of the thermal head 20 based on the rotation amount calculation result from the drum rotation amount calculation means of the CPU. The heat generation of the thermal head 20 is controlled.

The press rollers 16 and 17 can be displaced in the diameter direction of the drum 15 and have an arm mechanism (not shown) that comes into contact with and separates from the peripheral surface of the drum 15.
The rotation center line of the arm mechanism is located at a position deviated from the rotation center line of the drum 15 and extends parallel to the rotation center line, and the arm mechanisms are respectively rotated along their own rotation center lines. By doing so, the press rollers 16 and 17 can approach and separate from the drum 15.
Although not shown, rotation control of the arm mechanism is performed by a member that expands and contracts by electrical control such as an actuator.

When the transfer of the yellow portion of the thermal transfer ink layer 2a is completed by the thermal head 20, the press rollers 18 and 19 are separated from the drum 15 and the roller 14 is rotated to rotate the heat generating portion 20a as shown in FIG. The first portion of the magenta (M) is sent to the position, and the drum 15 is rotated in the reverse direction so that the frontmost row portion of the magenta dot transfer position of the first transfer layer 1a is positioned at the transfer position of the heat generating portion 20a of the thermal head 20. When the foremost part of the magenta dot transfer position of the drum 15 is located at the transfer position of the heating section 20a, the transfer ribbon 2 is fixed to the film 1 by the press rollers 18 and 19, and the heating section 20a of the thermal head 20 is pressed against the drum 15. The data relating to the magenta dot configuration is called from the image data area of the CPU, and the magenta dot configuration data is transferred to the thermal head 20 based on the rotation amount calculation result from the drum rotation amount calculation means of the CPU.
To the heating section 20a to control the heating of the thermal head 20.

The same applies to cyan (C) and black (Bk) of the transfer ribbon 2, and the flow returns to the step of fixing the press rollers 16 and 17 and the step of positioning the transfer ribbon 2 in the flowchart of FIG. , Yellow, and Magenta.

When the thermal transfer ink layer 2 a of the transfer ribbon 2 is transferred to the first transfer layer 1 a of the film 1, the roller 9 is rotated to move the transferred portion to the second transfer device 4. FIG. 6 shows this state, in which the press rollers 16, 17, 18, and 19 and the heat generating portion 20a of the thermal head 20 are separated from the drum 15, the rollers 9 and 14 rotate, and the film 1 Second transfer device 4
, And the transfer ribbon 2 is wound around a roller 14.
During the secondary transfer of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black, since the drum 15 repeats forward and reverse rotation, the film 1 may be loosened between the first transfer device 3 and the second transfer device 4. However, this eliminates slack with a tension roller for preventing loosening.

The second transfer device 4 includes a stage 21 for holding the sheet 5, an elevating means (not shown) for elevating and lowering the stage 21, and the film 1 on the upper surface of the stage 21 which has been raised to the lower surface of the film 1 by the elevating means. And a heat roller 22 for transferring the indirectly transferred image by thermocompression bonding. The heat roller 22 has a round cylindrical cross section, and is formed with a convex portion 23 having a cylindrical peripheral surface for thermocompression bonding on the peripheral surface.

FIG. 8 shows a flow chart of the second transfer device. The heat roller 22 is provided so as to roll in the direction in which the film 1 flows, and the stage 2
When a predetermined transfer image of the film 1 is positioned above the first sheet 5 (film transfer position setting step), the heater 24 of the heat roller 22 is heated (temperature appropriate determination),
When the film 1 stops, the stage 21 moves up,
The heat roller 22 rotates. As a result, the protrusion 24 thermocompression-bonds the film 1 and the sheet 5 together with the stage 21. When the transfer of the sheet 5 is repeated, the process returns to the film transfer position setting step.

FIGS. 9 and 10 show modifications of the drum. The drum 30 has a recess 31 extending in the axial direction. Press rollers 16 and 17 are provided within a distance shorter than the circumferential radius of the drum 30. For this reason, according to this modification, since the fixing means of the film 1 is provided in the concave portion 31, the transfer range can be made larger than that of the first embodiment, and multiple transfer of a larger sheet can be performed. .

FIG. 11 shows a modification of the thermal head. In this embodiment, since the thermal head 40 is of a vertical type, the contact area of the thermal head can be reduced, and the thermal head 40 can be precisely formed. Transfer is advantageous. still,
(FIG. 12), (FIG. 13), and (FIG. 14) show modifications of the second transfer device. The stage shown in FIG. 12 is of a fixed type, and the rollers 7, 8 and the heat roller 22, which stretch the film 1, move up and down. In FIG. 13, the stage is of a type that moves up and down in the same manner as in the first embodiment. The rollers 7 and 8 and the heat roller 22 are moved sideways as a unit, and in FIG. A slide-type stage 51 is used.

FIGS. 15 and 16 show the first embodiment of the first embodiment.
Reference numeral 100 denotes a drum, 101 and 102 denote rollers for feeding the film 1, and 103 denotes a modification of the transfer device.
Is an arm, 104 is a press roller, 105 is a coil spring, 106 is a guide roller, 107 is a guide roller arm, 108 is a stopper pin, 109 is a tension roller, and 110 is a tension roller arm.

A pair of support shafts 111 are provided at both left and right end portions of the drum 100, and the arms 103 are rotatably supported on the pair of support shafts 111 so as to be rotatable in directions approaching and separating from each other. . The press roller 104 provided at the rotation end of the pair of arms 103 can contact and separate from the drum 100 by the rotation of the pair of arms 103. The other end of the coil spring, one end of which is stopped at a fixed point of the drum 100, is stopped at an intermediate portion between the pair of arms 103. A pair of arms 1
03 and 103 are rotated by the guide roller arm 107,
The opening / closing operation of 107 is performed.

That is, as shown by the one-dot chain line in FIG.
By the rotation operation of 4 or the displacement operation in the axial direction, etc.,
When the guide roller arms 107 open in a direction away from each other, a tension is applied to the press rollers 104, 104 in a direction away from each other by the tension of the film 1, and the pair of arms 103, 103 resists the tensile force of the coil spring 105. And open. On the other hand, when the guide roller arms 107 are closed, the pair of arms 103 are closed by the tensile force of the coil spring 105 and stop against the stoppers 112, 112, and the press rollers 104, 104 contact the drum 100. The guide roller arms 107, 107
When the drum 100 is rotating, it does not open while the drum 100 is rotating.

Although only one tension roller arm 110 is shown in FIG. 15 (FIG. 15), it is actually provided on the left and right with the rod 114 as the center. A tension roller 109 is provided at a rotating end of the tension roller arm 110. Similarly, the pair of left and right tension roller arms 110 also rotate integrally with the drum 100 to remove the loosening of the film 1 and stop the drum 100 to stop the guide roller arms 107 and 10.
7 is opened and closed, the roller 100 is displaced between the rollers 101 and 102 to apply an appropriate tensile force
The moving frictional resistance of the film 1 on the peripheral surface is reduced.

In the portion where the transfer of the drum 100 is performed,
As shown in FIG. 16, the thermal head 120 comes into contact. The thermal head 120 is rotatable about a support shaft 121, and the transfer ribbon 2 is wound around the roller 14 from the roller 13 via the rollers 122, 123, 121. The drum 100 is provided with a plate 125 having an arc-shaped cross section that supports the film 1 against the urging force of the thermal head 120.

(FIG. 17) to (FIG. 20) show a second embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 201 denotes a tape-like film as an intermediate medium, reference numeral 202 denotes a transfer ribbon as a transfer member, reference numeral 203 denotes a housing of the image recording apparatus, reference numeral 210 denotes an intermediate medium supply device, and reference numeral 220 Is the first
The transfer device 230 is a second transfer device.

The housing 200 has an entrance 205 through which a plastic card 204 as an object to be transferred enters and exits. In the housing 200, a frame 206 on which the intermediate medium supply device 210 is disposed is provided upright.

The intermediate medium supply device 210 includes a frame 206
The first reel 211 and the second reel 212 mounted on the shafts 207 and 208 projecting from the first and second reels, respectively, the cleaner 213, the hologram sensor 214, and the guide roller 21
5, a stepping motor (not shown) for rotating the shafts 207 and 208, a stepping motor and a cleaner 213, and a microcomputer 217 for controlling the hologram sensor 214.

The stepping motor is controlled by the microcomputer in the forward and reverse directions of rotation, the number of rotations and the rotation speed.
The shafts 207 and 208 are rotated and adjusted in the forward and reverse directions by the microcomputer 217, and rotate in the counterclockwise direction L when the film 201 is sent from the first reel 201 to the second reel 202 (FIG. 17). , The shaft 207 generates torque in the direction of the arrow L1 and the shaft 208 generates torque in the direction of the arrow R2 to fix a predetermined portion of the film 201 to the plate 221.

The cleaner 213 has an adhesive resin such as silicon rubber on its surface so as to clean the film 201 of the first reel 211. The hologram sensor 214 irradiates the diffraction grating recorded on the film 201 with a laser according to a command from the microcomputer 217, and detects a predetermined diffracted light with the light receiving sensor 214a.
By transmitting the detection data to the microcomputer 17, the microcomputer 217 is notified that the predetermined portion of the film 201 is located at the predetermined portion of the plate 221. The rollers 215, 216
Is rotatable.

The first transfer device 220 includes a plate 221
, A carrier 222, a screw rod 223 that drives the carrier 222, a motor 224 that rotates the screw rod 223, and a belt mechanism 225 that transmits the power of the motor 224. In the carrier 222,
A third reel 226, a fourth reel 227, a thermal head 228 having a heating element on an end surface as a transfer head, and a sensor 228 for detecting a feed amount of the transfer ribbon 202
a, Motor 229 for moving thermal head 228 up and down
a, a gear mechanism 229b is provided.

The plate 221 extends substantially parallel to the running area of the film 201. On the lower surface of the plate 221, a sensor 221a for positioning the thermal head for the start position of the double transfer is provided. The sensor 221 a detects that the thermal head 228 of the carrier 222 is located directly below, and notifies the microcomputer 217 of the detection.

The carrier 222 is formed in a box shape as shown in FIG. 18, and a nut portion 223a that is screwed with the screw rod 223 is provided on the side surface.
A bearing 223c that slidably holds a guide rod 223b parallel to the screw rod 223 is provided on a side surface of the carrier 222. Screw rod 223
And a guide rod 223b, a pair of bearing plates 223d,
223d. A rolling bearing 222a is provided on the lower surface of the carrier 222.

The carrier 222 is provided with guide rods 226a and 227a for supporting the transfer ribbon 202 extending from the third reel 226 and the fourth reel 227. A thermal head 228 is provided between the guide rods 226a and 226b so as to be vertically movable. The thermal head 228 is sandwiched between guide plates 228b and 228b, and is guided vertically by guide rods 228c and 228c on the lower surface. A stage 23 on which the plastic card 204 is mounted is provided at an end of the carrier 222 on the motor 224 side.
1 is fixed. The left and right ends of the stage 231 are provided at the lower part of the housing 203, and a pair of guide plates 232,
232.

The carrier 222 is slid left and right by a screw rod 223 by the driving force of a motor 224. The motor 224 rotates in the forward and reverse directions according to a command from the microcomputer 217. The third reel 226 and the fourth reel 227 are rotated in forward and reverse directions by a motor (not shown). The rotation direction and the rotation amount of the motor for rotating the third reel 226 and the fourth reel 227 are adjusted by the microcomputer 217.

The second transfer device 230 includes a stage 231 mounted on a carrier 222, a heat roller 232 mounted on a frame 206 extending in a vertical direction,
An arm 233 that supports the heat roller 232 and an air cylinder (not shown) that rotates the arm 233 in the vertical direction are provided.

The heat roller 232 has a built-in heater whose heat is controlled by the microcomputer 217. Arm 2
Reference numeral 33 is supported by a bearing 234 attached to the frame 206, and is moved up and down by an air cylinder which is adjusted to expand and contract by a microcomputer 217.

The transfer start end 204 a and the transfer end end 204 b of the plastic card 204 are
Is reached by the optical sensor 232b.

In the air cylinder, the optical sensor 232b detects the transfer start position 204a of the plastic card 204, and detects the feed amount of the light receiving sensor 214a to detect the film 2
When the secondary transfer portion 01 is located below the heat roller 232, the heat roller 232 is lowered. The carrier 222 moves during the secondary transfer and the plastic card 2
04 is the optical sensor 232b
Is detected by the optical sensor 232b and the microcomputer 21
7 is notified that the secondary transfer has been completed, and the heat roller 232 moves upward. Note that 240 is the image recording device 2
A start / stop button 00 and a selection button 241 are used to select predetermined transfer data to be transferred to a predetermined plastic card 204.

Second Embodiment Next, the operation of the image recording apparatus 200 according to the second embodiment will be described.

First, when the image recording apparatus 200 is in a standby state, the carrier 222 is located near the entrance 205 so that the plastic card 204 can be mounted on the stage 231, and the third reel 226 and the fourth reel 227 are transferred. For example, the yellow portion to be printed first in the order of the transfer colors of yellow, magenta, cyan, and black on the ribbon 202, for example, is positioned above the thermal head 228 and waits.

From this standby state, the start button 240
Is turned on, and the plastic card 20 is placed on the stage 231.
4 is mounted, and when predetermined transfer data is selected by the selection button 241, a motor for rotating the first reel 211 and the second reel 212 rotates, and the film 201 is sent from the first reel 211 to the second reel 212.

When a predetermined diffraction grating of the film 201 cleaned by the cleaner 213 is detected by the light receiving sensor 214a of the hologram sensor 214, the first reel 2
11. The motor of the second reel 212 is stopped, and torque is applied to the first reel 211 and the second reel 212 in the direction in which the film 201 is pulled. Thus, a predetermined primary transfer portion of the intermediate medium is located at a predetermined position below the plate 221.

Next, a rotation command is output from the microcomputer 217 to the motor 214, and the screw rod 223 rotates a predetermined number of times to position the carrier 222 below the plate 221. When the sensor 221a of the plate 221 detects that the thermal head 228 is located at a predetermined position on the plate 221, the microcomputer 221 detects the thermal head 228 as shown in FIG.
7 rotates the motor 229a to rotate the thermal head 22
8, the third reel 226 and the fourth reel 227 are rotated, and dot data to be transferred to the heating element of the thermal head 228 is sent to perform indirect transfer to the film 201. When the indirect transfer of yellow, for example, is completed by the thermal head 228, the thermal head 228 is temporarily lowered, and the motor 224 is rotated in the reverse direction to rotate the carrier 222.
Is returned to the start position of the indirect transfer, and in order to transfer the next magenta, the third and fourth reels 226 and 227 are rotated to position the transfer start end of magenta above the thermal head 228. The thermal head 228 is raised, and a predetermined heat generation command for magenta dots is sent to the thermal head 228 to start transfer. Hereinafter, similar steps are repeated for cyan and black.

When the color dots to be transferred indirectly to the plastic card 204 are transferred to the film 201 as the intermediate medium, as shown in FIG.
End the heat generation in step 8 and lower the system. On the other hand, the third reel 2
26, the fourth reel 227 is rotated by a predetermined amount so that the new yellow transfer ink layer is positioned above the thermal head 228, and the microcomputer 217 is driven by the motor 22 so that the plastic card 204 is positioned near the entrance 205.
4 to output a rotation command. Further, the film 201 is sent from the first reel 211 to the second reel 212. The feed amount is determined by the hologram sensor 214 and the light receiving sensor 214a.
Is detected by. When the indirect transfer portion of the film 201 is located immediately below the heat roller 232 from the plate 221,
The first reel 211 and the second reel 212 are stopped, and a torque is applied to the first reel 211 and the second reel 212 so as to apply tension to the film 201 again.

When the indirect transfer portion of the film 201 is located immediately below the heat roller 232, the plastic card 2
The motor 224 is rotated so that the transfer start end 204 a of the drive unit 04 is located immediately below the heat roller 232. When the light receiving sensor 232b detects the transfer start end 204a of the plastic card 204, the heat roller 232 is heated and lowered to perform a secondary transfer to a predetermined portion of the plastic card 204.

During the secondary transfer process of the plastic card 204, the motor 224 rotates, causing the heater of the heat roller 232 to generate heat, thereby transferring the indirect transfer portion of the film 201 onto the plastic card. After the secondary transfer process, when the optical sensor 232b detects the transfer end end 204b, the heat generation of the heat roller 232 is stopped, and the heat roller 232 is raised.
22 is returned to the standby position.

Thus, the plastic card 231
Precise transfer with very little displacement is performed on the top.

FIG. 21 shows a third embodiment of the present invention.

The image recording apparatus 300 shown in FIG. 10 includes an intermediate medium supply device 310, a first transfer device 320, and a second transfer device 3.
30.

The housing 301 of the image recording apparatus 300 is provided with an entrance 303 for a plastic card 302.

The intermediate medium supply device 310 includes a first reel 312 for winding a film 311 as an intermediate medium and a second reel 313 for winding. Film 31
1 is cleaned from the first reel 312 by the cleaner 314,
The movement amount is detected by the hologram sensor 315. After being wound around the drum 321 of the first transfer device 320, the film 311 is guided by the tension roller 331 and the guide roller 332 and wound around the second reel 313.

The first transfer device 310 is connected to arms 322 and 323 provided at both ends of the drum 321 by using jig rollers 3.
24 and 325 are supported, and the film 311 is fixed to the drum 321. The arms 322 and 323 rotate integrally with the drum 321 and approach and separate from the peripheral surface of the drum 321 to fix and release the film 311.
The transfer film 326 contacts the drum 321. The transfer film 326 is sent from the third reel 327 to the fourth reel 328, and indirect transfer is performed by the thermal head 329. The thermal head 329 is the arm 32
9a, the arm 329a rotates around a shaft 329b. When performing the indirect transfer, the thermal head 329 presses the transfer film 326 toward the rotating drum 321 to perform the indirect transfer.
The transfer is repeated so as to conform to the color sequence No. 6 (yellow, magenta, cyan, black). A roller 329c guides the transfer film 326.

The second transfer device 330 includes a heat roller 33
3, an arm 334 that supports the heat roller 333, and a stage 335 on which the plastic card 302 is placed. The stage 335 is slidable below the heat roller 333 by a rack and pinion mechanism 336, and the heat roller 333 is rotated by the arm 334 to rotate the plastic card 302 on the stage 335.
The secondary transfer image is transferred to the image.

FIG. 22 shows a modification of the image recording apparatus shown in FIG. 21.
Since the arrangement position of 21 is arranged inside the housing 301, it is more compact than the image recording apparatus 300 shown in FIG. Other configurations are almost the same (Fig. 2
Since the configuration is the same as that of the image recording apparatus 300 of 1), the description thereof will be referred to.

[0074]

As described above, according to the present invention, the advantages of the indirect transfer method are as follows: (a) the degree of curvature, unevenness, presence or absence of scratches on the transfer surface of the transfer object, and the adhesiveness, discoloration, and fading of the ink. The transfer layer can be selected according to the presence or absence of [2], etc. [b] Forming full-color images with rich gradation by thermal sublimation transfer recording on the surface of paper that originally has poor receptivity to sublimable dyes [C] Cases in which the recorded content differs for each card (for example, personal information to be recorded such as an ID card usually differs for each card, so different color images for each card) In the case where it is necessary to record a recorded image for reading character information machine or character information, etc.), it is possible to respond promptly and economically, that is, it is preferable that ] And [c] lose their strength And no still able to enjoy the benefits, moreover, it is possible to obtain an image of extremely high quality gradation representation by area gradation using a pigment colorant. That is, according to the present invention, instead of the effect of [b] which has been contributed by the conventional technology,
Able to overcome the drawbacks of images due to sublimable dyes, and [a] To obtain a very "sharp" image, approaching a color image obtained by extremely high quality printing. [B] An image having high weather resistance and almost no image deterioration can be obtained without intentionally providing a protective layer for protecting the formed image. [C] The obtained image has much better heat resistance, light resistance, chemical resistance and durability than images conventionally obtained with sublimable dyes. [D] The obtained image is capable of expressing an image at a very high optical density, and is far superior in image expressibility at a high density than an image conventionally obtained by a sublimable dye. . That is, an image far superior to the conventional one can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a schematic configuration of a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a layer cross-sectional configuration of a film.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of a drum rotation start position and a marker for detecting the amount of rotation.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a transfer ink layer of a film.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the position of a transfer film is changed by rotating a drum in reverse.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of feeding a secondary-transferred film by releasing a press roller or the like.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a process of transferring ink of a transfer film to a film.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart showing a transfer process in a second transfer device.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view of a modification in which an axial concave portion is formed in the drum of the first embodiment.

FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating a rotation state of a drum according to a modified example of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a view showing a modification of the installation of the thermal head.

FIG. 12 is a configuration diagram of a modified example of the film locking roller of the second transfer device.

FIG. 13 is a configuration diagram of a modified example of a roller and a heat roller of the second transfer device.

FIG. 14 is a configuration diagram of a modification of the stage of the second transfer device.

FIG. 15 is a diagram illustrating another configuration example of the first transfer device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram of another configuration example of the first transfer device according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view of an image recording apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 18 is a cross-sectional view of the carrier according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 19 is a side view of a state in which the thermal head is pressed against the plate of the second embodiment to move the carrier.

FIG. 20 is a side view showing a state where the heat roller of the second embodiment is pressed against a card on a support plate to perform secondary transfer.

FIG. 21 is a side view illustrating a schematic configuration of an image recording apparatus according to a third embodiment.

FIG. 22 is a side view showing a modification of the image recording apparatus according to the third embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 ... Film (intermediate medium) 1a ... First transfer layer 2 ... Transfer film (transfer member) 2a ... Transfer Ink layer 3 First transfer device 4 Second transfer device 5 Sheets 6, 7, 8, 9 Roller 10a Base material 10 Release layer 11 Security layer 12 Image receiving layer 13, 14 Roller 15 ... Drums 16, 17 ... Press rollers (fixing means) 18, 19 ... Press rollers 20 ... Thermal head 21 ... Stage 22 ... ... Heat roller 23 ... Protrusion

 ────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Atsushi Kijima 1-5-1, Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo Inside Toppan Printing Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Tomoyuki Marugame 1-1-5-1 Taito, Taito-ku, Tokyo Letterpress Printing Co., Ltd.

Claims (8)

[Claims] 1. A heat-sensitive transfer recording medium in which a coloring layer using a pigment as a coloring material is provided on a support, and an intermediate recording medium provided with an image-receiving layer for receiving a heat-transferred recorded image. The colored layer side is arranged so as to be in contact with the image receiving layer side, and based on image data relating to an image desired to form an image, on the support side of the thermal transfer recording medium or on the opposite side of the image receiving layer of the intermediate recording medium. From either side, an image is formed by performing thermal transfer recording on the image receiving layer by selectively heating, and then the side of the image receiving layer on which the image has been formed is heated on the image forming body. An image forming method, wherein the image receiving layer is adhered to the image forming body by pressing, thereby forming an image using a pigment as a coloring material between the image forming body and the image receiving layer. 2. When forming an image of a plurality of colors on the image receiving layer, the image is formed by repeating the thermal transfer recording for the required number of colors on the image receiving layer on which the first color image is formed. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein: 3. A thermal transfer recording method using a thermal head for the selective heating, wherein the thermal transfer recording is performed by selectively changing the dot size to be transferred by changing the amount of Joule heat with respect to the heating dots of the thermal head. 3. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein gradation expression is performed by area gradation. 4. The image according to claim 1, wherein a thermal beam exposure apparatus is used for the selective heating, and the thermal transfer recording using the apparatus is expressed in gradation by area gradation. Forming method. 5. The image forming method according to claim 4, wherein the thermal transfer recording medium has a light-to-heat conversion layer provided between the support and the coloring layer. 6. The thermal transfer recording medium according to claim 1, wherein the colored layer has a thickness of 1
The image forming method according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the thermal transfer recording using the recording medium is represented by gradation by area gradation. 7. An image receiving layer of the intermediate recording medium is provided so as to be detachable from a support in the intermediate recording medium, and the side of the image receiving layer on which an image is formed is heated and pressed on the image forming body. 7. In this case, the support is peeled off while leaving the image receiving layer on the image forming body.
The image forming method according to any one of the above. 8. The method according to claim 1, wherein after the image receiving layer on which the image is formed is heated and pressed onto the image forming body, the intermediate recording medium is punched out while leaving a predetermined area on the image forming body. The image forming method according to claim 1, wherein: