JPS60208291A - Endless film for thermal transfer recording - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the load in the switching work in an operator and to enble the security of good recording quality, by reinforcing and coating an endless film. CONSTITUTION:Heat-sensitive ink 9 supplied onto an endless film formed of polyimide having heat resistance forms an ink layer 11 and naturally cooled and solidified. When the solidified ink layer 11 reaches a heating means 13, a heat generation element selectively heats the ink layer 11 and the locally melted heat-sensitive ink 9 is transferred to recording paper 9 and the operation is repeated to record a charactor or a figure. In this case, an ink layer 5 comprising ink same kind as the ink 9 is preliminarily formed to the same film surface as one to which an ink layer is formed at the time of recording. It is unnecessary to make the thickness of said ink layer 15 same to that at the time of recording and said thickness may be several 10mum or less. Because an endless film is reinforced and coated by preliminarily forming the ink layer as mentioned above, there is almost no deformation of a film nor generation of static electricity and there is no surface contamination even if the film is directly touched with a hand and the load of an operator in the replacement of the film is reduced to a large extent.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field] The present invention relates to an endless film for a thermal transfer recording device.

[Technical background]

In the endless film of a thermal transfer recording device, there are two types: one uses a one-time ink film, and the other has a mechanism for reapplying ink onto the film.

The remaining ink on the film is not used for the next recording (this is a so-called disposable method), whereas the latter is a method that replenishes ink on the film and uses it for other recordings many times, and the present invention relates to an apparatus belonging to this latter method. It concerns an endless film.

First, an outline of this type of device will be explained.

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the arrangement of an endless film in a thermal transfer recording device. 1 is a thin endless film made of heat-resistant polyimide, and platen rollers 2 and drive It is wound around roller 3, backup roller 4, and rollers 5 and 6.

T denotes a correction roller, and the correction roller γ is pressed against the backup roller 4 via the endless film 1 by means such as a spring (not shown), and is rotatably supported at both ends. Although not shown in the drawings, the straightening roller 7 has spiral grooves densely carved on its outer peripheral surface and has a heating element inside, and power is supplied to the heating element by a slip ring or the like. It's like I'm running a fever. Further, the correction roller 7 may be rotated by frictional force caused by contact with the endless film 1, or may be connected to a backup roller 4, which is rotated by the traveling drive of the end varnish film 1, through a gear or the like. good.

Reference numeral 8 denotes an ink tank containing thermal ink 9, and the ink tank 8 surrounds the correction roller 7 so that the correction roller 7 is partially immersed in the thermal ink 9. Note that in order to heat the ink tank 8 with the heat of the correction roller 7 and quickly melt the thermal ink 9 in the ink tank 8, a part of the bottom surface of the ink tank 8 is brought very close to the correction roller 7, or In addition to contacting the other parts, the correction roller 7
It is tilted towards.

10 ink reservoirs formed at the contact portion between the endless film 1 and the correction roller 7; 11 is the endless film 1;
an ink layer formed on the surface of the platen roller 2;
13 is a heating means such as a thermal head, and the heating means 13 is pressed against the platen roller 2 with the endless film 1 and the recording paper 12 interposed therebetween by means not shown.

Reference numeral 14 denotes a tank frame 6D configured to cover the ink tank 8, and the tank frame 14 is designed to block the heat of the ink tank 8 heated by the heat of the straightening roller 7 from escaping to the outside. Tank 8 is kept at high temperature. Note that in order to ensure the effect of keeping the ink tank 8 at a high temperature, the ink tank 8 and the tank frame 14 are
A heat insulating material such as glass wool may be filled in between.

Next, to explain the operation of the above structure, a temperature sensor (not shown) brought into contact with the surface of the correction roller 7 is used to detect the correction roller I.
When the driving roller 3 is rotated in the direction of the arrow (,) by a motor (not shown) while keeping the thermal ink 9 in the ink tank 8 at a specific temperature above its melting point by controlling the electric power applied to the heating element, While the endless film 1 runs in the direction of arrow (b), the correction roller 7 moves in the direction of arrow (b).
C) rotate in the direction.

This rotation of the straightening roller γ sucks up the molten thermal ink 9 in the ink tank 8 and forms an ink pool 10 at the contact portion between the straightening roller 7 and the endless film 1. A certain amount of thermal ink 9 is supplied and applied onto the endless film 1 through the groove.

At this time, most of the thermal ink 9 passing through the grooves of the correction roller 7 adheres to the endless film 1 whose temperature is lower than that of the correction roller 7.

In this way, the thermal ink 9 supplied onto the endless film 1 is caused by its surface tension as shown in Fig. 2(A), (
B) and (C) are spread over the endless film 1 in this order to form a smooth and uniformly thick ink layer 11 on the endless film 1, which is naturally cooled and solidified before reaching the heating means 13.

When the solidified ink layer 13 reaches the heating means 13, the heating element of the heating means 13 selectively generates heat to locally heat the ink layer 11, and this heating locally melts the thermal ink. 9 is transferred to the recording paper 12, and by continuously repeating this operation, characters, figures, etc. are recorded on the recording paper 12.

On the other hand, the untransferred part of the ink layer 11 is in a state where the thermal ink 9 remains 9, and when the endless film 1 is driven in this state, it comes into contact with the melted thermal ink 9 in the ink reservoir 10, melts and mixes, Similar to the process of forming the ink layer 11 described above, an ink layer 11 having a smooth and uniform thickness is again formed on the endless film 1.

The basic structure and operation have been described above. In this structure, the endless film 1 has a drive roller 3, a backup roller 4, rollers 5 and 6, and a heating means 13 on its inner surface, and a platen roller 2 on its outer surface. , straightening rollers 7 are inscribed and circumscribed, respectively.

Therefore, when replacing the endless film 1, it is necessary to insert the endless film 1 between the platen roller 2 and the heating means 13, and between the backup roller 4 and the straightening roller 7. , and is inserted between them.

Note that the width of the endless film 1 must be at least the recording size, and in order to record A4 size, it must have a width of at least 200 mm or more, but the film thickness directly affects the recording quality. Therefore, the recording resolution is reduced to 8 dots)/
In order to obtain about W, it is generally necessary to suppress the film thickness to several tens of microns or less.

When replacing the endless film 1, which is conventionally supplied only as a film medium because the printer itself has a coating mechanism, this extremely thin and wide endless film 1 is inserted into the gap between the mechanism parts. It is very time consuming to do so.

This is because if the endless film 1 is bent, scratched crease lines will be formed, which will have a negative effect on the recording quality. Static electricity is more likely to be generated, and parts of the endless film 1 are more likely to be scratched and bent, making the workability even worse.

When a person handles the paper directly with his or her hands, oil and fat from the hands get on the paper, making it difficult for the ink layer 11 to form on that part, which is one of the causes of deterioration in recording quality.

Once this oil and fat adheres, it is difficult to remove it, and it may be possible to wipe it off with a general alcohol-based liquid, but in this case, be careful not to affect the surface treatment medium of the endless film 1 In addition to the above, work efficiency deteriorates because it is necessary to handle the endless film 1 while wearing gloves to prevent oil and fat from adhering to it. It has the disadvantage of being a very heavy burden.

[Purpose of the invention]

An object of the present invention is to reduce the burden of replacement work on the operator by providing a reinforcing coating to the endless film, and to also ensure good recording quality.

[Summary of the invention]

To this end, in the present invention, an ink layer that is the same as the ink layer used for printing is formed in advance on the surface of a replacement endless film.

This ink layer reinforces the endless film, making it easier to handle and preventing oils and fats from sticking to the film medium.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an endless film showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a side view of a portion thereof.

In the figure, 1 is an endless film, and 15 is an ink layer formed on the outer peripheral surface of the endless film 1.

Conventional endless film is easily damaged as it is a film medium and cannot be touched directly by hand.This is a big problem, so it is better to make the film thicker and do some kind of processing on the film surface so that it does not cause any problem when touched by hand. Thickening the film affects the recording quality, so in the present invention, in order to increase the apparent thickness of the film, heat-melt ink for supply inside the device is added in advance to the same side on which the ink layer will be formed during recording. The ink layer 15 is formed of the same kind of material.

Note that the thickness of the ink layer 15 does not necessarily have to be the same as that during recording; in this embodiment, the ink layer 15 is coated to a thickness of approximately 5 μm, but may be as long as it is several tens of μm or less. In other words, if the ink is applied thickly, the ink is in a solid state at room temperature, etc., so when the bending angle of the endless film 1 becomes large, the ink layer 15
This is because it becomes easy to peel off.

This ink layer 15 reinforces the endless film 1 and makes it easier to handle, and dirt such as oil and fat does not adhere to the surface of the endless film 10 even when touched directly by hand, and when recording, it is melted and newly formed. Since recording is performed in the ink layer, there is no effect on recording at all.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained in detail above, in the present invention, an ink layer made of the same kind of heat-melting ink used for recording is formed in advance on the recording surface side of the endless film to provide a reinforcing coating to the endless film. When replacing endless film, the film deforms little, generates almost no static electricity, and does not stain the surface even when touched directly, which greatly reduces the burden on the operator when replacing endless film. There is.

In this way, by forming an ink layer on the endless film in advance, it can be replaced in about one silkworm time compared to the conventional endless film without an ink layer. 3. Even an amateur can easily change the film without using the replacement method such as 3.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing the arrangement of endless films in a thermal transfer recording device, and FIG. 2 (4)l (B). (C) is a partial side view of the endless film showing the process of forming an ink layer, FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view of the endless film showing an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged side view thereof. 1. Endless film 7. Orthodontic roller 8.
・Ink tank 9...Thermal ink 11.15...
・Ink layer patent applicant: Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Representative Patent Attorney Takashi Kanakura Nirei 1 Co. 31 5 Procedural amendment (method) July 4, 1980 Commissioner of the Patent Office Manabu Shiga 1, of the case Indication 1982 Patent Application No. 65222 2, Title of the invention: Endless film for thermal transfer recording 3, Connection with the case of the person making the amendment +1 Patent applicant's office: 1-7-12 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Name (
029) Nankai Hashimoto, representative of Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. 4, amends the agent as ``Figure 4 is''. Procedural amendment (voluntary) September 4, 1980 Manabu Shiga, Commissioner of the Patent Office1, Indication of the case 1982 Patent Application No. 0652222, Title of the invention Endless film for thermal transfer recording 3, Person making the amendment Case Relationship with Patent applicant address 1-7-12 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo Name (
029) Oki Electric Industry Co., Ltd. Representative Nankai Hashimoto 4, Agent 5 Date of amendment order Voluntary 7 Contents of amendment 1 The scope of claims is amended as follows. 1. In an endless film for thermal transfer recording on which a heat-melt ink made of a heat-resistant substance is repeatedly applied, the heat-melt ink is applied in advance to an ink thickness of about 30 μm.
An endless film for thermal transfer recording characterized by being coated with the following thickness: ” 2. On page 7, line 6 of the specification, replace “number ioμ” with r
Correct it as "lo number μ". 3. On page 1, page 1, line 5 of the specification, "several 10 microns" is corrected to "about 30 microns."

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an endless film for thermal transfer recording in which heat-melt ink made of a heat-resistant substance is repeatedly applied, the percentage image indicates that the heat-melt ink has been applied in advance to a thickness of several tens of microns or less. An endless film for thermal transfer recording.