JPS63118295A - Thermal transfer method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To enable direct transfer of an image onto an image transfer recording medium not stiff enough through a single transferring operation, by feeding a base paper having stiffness with the image transfer recording medium adhered thereto or clamped between leaves thereof, and transferring the image onto the medium supported on the base paper. CONSTITUTION:A cloth P' not stiff enough is adhered to, or clamped between leaves of a base paper D for exclusive use. After a manuscript is placed on a manuscript mount base, the base paper D is supplied to a hand-feed paper supplying device 46. The manuscript is read. The base paper D thus supplied to the device 46 is fed through the parts of register rollers 43 and a first distributing gate 51, and a leading end part thereof is stretched around a platen 30. The base paper D is then fed at a fixed velocity, and heat generating elements of a thermal head 31 are driven to generate heat according to a printing signal, whereby an ink of a thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 is transferred onto the cloth P'. When the transfer of the ink 47 of one color is finished, the platen 30 is reversely rotated, whereby the base paper D is fed backward to a transfer- starting position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a thermal transfer method in an image forming apparatus for forming, for example, a color-separated image of an original onto paper or a T-shirt.

(Prior Art) Recently, a method of transferring (printing) a color-copied image onto a cloth such as a T-shirt or a handkerchief using a thermal transfer type color copying machine has been considered.

That is, the user selects a favorite picture (original) and makes a color copy of the original on special coated paper (paper A) using a thermal transfer type color copying machine.

Then, by placing this paper A on top of paper B and applying heat from above, the picture on paper A is transferred to paper B by inverting the image. After that, by placing B Ml on a handkerchief and applying heat from above, a picture of 8fd is transferred onto the handkerchief.

However, such a device requires /it and B paper, and also requires a transfer operation from A paper to Bfa and a transfer operation from B paper to a handkerchief, which is a problem in that it is time-consuming.

In addition, the above-mentioned cloth, such as a T-shirt or a handkerchief, has no elasticity and can jam during transport, making it impossible to insert the cloth into the device as is, resulting in the above-mentioned problems.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, paper A and paper B are required, and the transfer operation from paper A to paper B and from paper B to a handkerchief is necessary, which is time-consuming. This thermal transfer method eliminates the drawback that it takes a long time to transfer the image, and it is possible to directly transfer the image onto a layer-less image transfer medium with one-degree transfer without using special paper or performing any transfer operations. The purpose is to provide.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The thermal transfer method of the present invention performs transfer onto a flexible image transfer medium. A means of inserting a mount with a
The apparatus includes a transfer means for transferring the image onto the image transfer medium on the input mount, and a discharge means for ejecting the mount after the transfer by the transfer means.

(Function) The present invention, in which transfer is performed on a stiff image transfer medium, inserts a stiff mount to which the image transfer medium is stuck or sandwiched, and covers the image transfer medium on the inserted mount. The image is transferred onto an image transfer medium.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIGS. 2 and 3 show a thermal transfer color copying machine as an example of an image forming apparatus according to the present invention. That is, 1 is a main body of a copying machine, and an operation panel 2 is provided at the front of the upper surface of the main body 1. The left side of the main body 1 is a document scanning section 8 that scans and reads a document set on a document table 7, and the right side is an image forming (transfer) section 9.

Note that 10 is a document cover provided on the document table 7 so as to be openable and closable.

The document scanning section 8 is configured as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, for example. That is, the document table 7 is fixed to the main body 1, and the document 0 set on the document table 7 is placed below the document table 7 by reciprocating along its lower surface in the direction of arrow a in the figure. A scanner 11 is provided for optical scanning and reading. The scanner 11 includes illumination lamps 12, !, which illuminate the original O. It is composed of a photoelectric converter 13 that receives the reflected light from the document 110, an optical system 14 and □ that guides the reflected light from the document 0 to the photoelectric converter 13, and a carriage 15 that supports these. The photoelectric converter 13 photoelectrically converts the light reflected from the original 0 to separate and output the image of the original 0 as cyan, green, and yellow (or red, green, and blue) light color signals, for example. It is mainly composed of a CCD type line image sensor. As shown in FIG. 5, the carriage 15 is guided by a guide rail 16 and a guide shaft 17 so as to be able to reciprocate in the direction of arrow a. A scanning motor (for example, a pulse motor) capable of forward and reverse rotation is mounted on one end of the guide shaft 17.
A drive pulley 19 is driven by a drive pulley 18, and a driven pulley 20 is disposed at the other end thereof, and a timing belt 21 is stretched between these pulleys 19 and 20. One point of the timing belt 21 is fixed to the carriage 15 via a fixing member 22.

This allows the carriage 15 to move linearly by rotating the scanning motor 18 in the forward or reverse direction.

The image forming section 9 is configured as shown in FIG. 6, for example. That is, a platen 30 is disposed approximately at the center of the image forming section 9, and a thermal head 31 is disposed on the left side facing the platen 30. The thermal head 31 is attached to a heat radiator 33 that is integrally formed on the rear end surface of the holder 32.

A ribbon cassette 35 containing a thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 as an image transfer medium is detachably attached via a holder 32, and the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 is interposed between the thermal head 31 and the platen 30. It has become. As shown in FIG. 6, the ribbon cassette 35 has two parallel winding cores 36 and 37 around which both ends of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 are wound, and a midway portion of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 is wound around the cores 36 and 37. In order to be interposed between the platen 30 and the thermal head 31, it is covered with a case 38 with a part thereof exposed. When the ribbon cassette 35 is attached, the winding cores 36 and 37 are connected to a drive shaft of a motor (not shown) via a drive force transmission mechanism (not shown), and are rotated as necessary. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the ribbon cassette 35 can be inserted into the holder 32 and handled through an insertion/removal port 39 formed on the right side of the main body 1. Note that the insertion/removal port 39 is provided with a lid 40 that can be opened and closed.

A paper feed roller 41 is provided diagonally to the right and below the platen 30, and is configured to take out sheets of paper P as an image transfer medium stored in a paper feed cassette 42 one by one. The paper P taken out by the paper feed roller 41 is transferred to a registration roller 43 disposed diagonally above and to the right of the paper feed roller 41.
After being sent to and aligned with the tip thereof, it is transferred toward the platen 30 by the registration rollers 43, and the press is wound around the platen 30 by the rollers 44 and 45, thereby accurately feeding it. Here, the paper feed cassette 42 is installed and removed from the front surface of the main body 1. Note that 46 in FIG. 6 is a manual paper feeding device for manually feeding the paper P.

In addition, when using a flexible cloth (for example, a handkerchief, T-shirt, etc.) P- instead of the paper P as the image transfer medium, as shown in FIG. , with glue or the like, and this dedicated mount is supplied to the manual sheet feeding device 46.

Further, as shown in FIG. 2(b), the fabric P- is sandwiched between a two-fold special mount having a seal portion, and the dedicated mount is fed to the manual paper feeder 46. There is.

The thermal head 31 presses the paper P against the platen 3o via the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34, and heats and melts the ink 47 as a coloring material on the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 to transfer it to the paper P, as shown in the seventh factor. It is designed to be transcribed. The image transfer range in this case is, for example, A4 size. The thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 has yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ink portions 4 having a width approximately equal to that of the paper P, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, for example.
7Y, 47M, and 470.47e are sequentially stacked one on top of the other, and after transferring one color at a time, the paper P is returned to the transfer start position, and the sheets are accurately stacked one after another. Note that the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 may not have the black ink portion 47B, and in that case, approximately black can be produced by overlapping the three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan.

In addition, in the case of color copying, each ink part 47Y, 47M of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 is used as described above.

Image formation (transfer) is performed on one sheet of paper P using 47c and 47e.

During color copying, the paper P is reciprocated by the number of colors by the rotation of the platen 30, but the path of the paper P at this time is to the bottom surface of the paper output tray 48 which is provided on the main body 1 at an angle. The first film was sequentially deposited along the line. 2nd information board 49.50
be led upwards. This includes the platen 30 and the first. The first guide plates 49 and 50 are respectively provided between the ends of the second guide plates 49 and 50.
This is done by the second distribution gates 51, 52. That is, first, the paper P taken out from the paper feed cassette 42 is transferred through the registration rollers 43 and the first distribution gate 51, and its leading end is wound around the platen 30. Next, the platen 30 is rotated in the forward direction by a pulse motor (not shown) to transport the paper P at a constant speed, and the heating elements of the thermal head 31 arranged in a line tread along the axial direction of the platen 30 (not shown) generates heat in response to the print signal, and thereby the ink 47 of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 is transferred onto the paper P. Then, the leading edge of the paper P that has passed through the platen 30 is transferred to the second sorting gate 52 located at the solid line position.
Accordingly, the first
It is sent onto the guide plate 49. In this way, when the transfer of ink 47 of one color is completed, the platen 30 is rotated in the opposite direction, so that the paper P is reversely transported and returned to the transfer starting position. At this time, the rear end of the paper P is moved to the first guide plate 49 by the first image capturing gate 51 which is rotated to the position shown by the two-dot chain line.
is sent onto a second guide plate 50 provided along the lower surface of the . In this way, a plurality of colors are transferred by moving the paper P back and forth a plurality of times. Finally, the paper P, on which the transfer of ink 47 of all colors has been completed, is transferred to the second S gate 52 which is rotationally displaced to the position shown by the two-dot chain line.
The paper is guided to the paper ejection roller 53 by the paper ejection roller 53, and is ejected onto the paper ejection tray 48.

FIG. 9 shows the operation panel 2, including a numeric keypad 63 for setting the number of copies, etc., a clear key 64 for clearing the set number, etc., a copy key 65 for starting the copying operation, and a numeric display 66 for displaying the number of copies, etc. , a status display section 67 for displaying operating status, etc. are provided.

FIG. 10 schematically shows the overall control system, including a main control section 81, a first sub-control section 82, and a second sub-control section 83.
have. The main control section 81 includes the operation panel 2, a correction circuit 84, a luminance/color difference separation circuit 85, and an image quality improvement circuit 86.
, a color signal conversion circuit 87, a binarization circuit 88, a first sub-control section 82, and a second sub-control section 83, and control these sections. The first sub-control unit 82 includes a light source control unit 89
, motor drive unit 90. It is connected to the photoelectric converter 13, the D/D converter 91, and the resolution converter 92, respectively, and controls these. The light quantity control section 89 is connected to the illumination lamp 12 and controls its light and leakage. A motor drive unit 90 is connected to the scanning motor 18 and drives it. The second sub-control unit 83 is connected to a thermal head temperature control unit 93, the thermal head 31, various detection switches 94, and a drive unit 95, and controls these. The drive unit 95 is connected to a drive system 96 such as a motor and a solenoid, and drives the drive system 96 .

The signal flow in FIG. 10 in such a configuration will be explained. The reflected light of the light irradiated onto the original from the illumination lamp 12 forms an image on the photoelectric converter 13 . Photoelectric converter 1
3 separates this light into analog color signals of cyan (C), green (G), and yellow (Y), and sends the light to an A/D converter 9.
Send to 1.

The A/D converter 91 converts each analog color signal into a digital signal and sends it to the resolution converter 92. The resolution conversion unit 92 performs resolution conversion to match the resolution of the photoelectric converter 13 and the resolution of the thermal head 31, and sends the result to the correction circuit 84. The correction circuit 84 performs correction processing on the C, G, and Y color signals sent from the resolution converter 92 to correct variations in the charging converter 13, and sends the results to the luminance color difference separation circuit 85. . The luminance/color difference separation circuit 85 performs various arithmetic processing on each of the C, G, and Y color signals sent from the correction circuit 84, and outputs a luminance signal (I), color difference signal 1 (C1), and color difference signal 2 (C2). The signal is separated into each signal and sent to the image quality improvement circuit 86. The image quality improvement circuit 86 analyzes the luminance signal, color difference signal 1, and color difference signal 2 sent from the luminance color difference separation circuit 85,
The image is subjected to image improvement processing such as edge enhancement and character identification, and then sent to the color signal conversion circuit 87. The color signal conversion circuit 87 receives a luminance signal, a color difference signal 1, and a color difference signal 2 that have been subjected to image quality improvement processing.
Performs color conversion based on , yellow (Y), magenta (
M), cyan (C).

Converts it into a color signal of any one of black (B) [three primary colors (Y, M, C) plus B during printing], and converts it into a binarization circuit 88
send to The binarization circuit 88 receives the color signals (Y, M, etc.) sent from the color signal conversion circuit 87.

gradation conversion, that is, binarization, is performed on one of C and B), and the binarized signal is sent to the thermal head temperature control section 93. The thermal head temperature control section 93 sends a print signal to the thermal head 31 based on the binarized signal sent from the binarization circuit 88 . The thermal head 31 performs printing (that is, transfer) according to this print signal.

Here, the color signal conversion circuit 87 will be explained in more detail with reference to FIG. Luminance signal (■), color difference signal 1 (CI), and color difference signal 2 sent from the image quality improvement circuit 86
(C2> signals are respectively sent to the color signal conversion circuit 87, where Y, M.

A binarization circuit 88 converts one of the color signals of C and B.
I am sending them to Y, M, and C.

The selection of the B color signal is performed by the main control section 81.

That is, as shown in the table below, the main control section 81 receives the signal a.
, b are sent to the binarization circuit 88 by the combination of Y, M
, C, and B color signals are selected. Note that the above color signal selection is, for example, Y-M → in normal color copying mode.
They are automatically selected sequentially in the order of C→B.

Next, the operation using the dedicated mount in the above configuration will be explained. That is, first, as shown in Fig. 1(a), a loose cloth P, such as a handkerchief or a T-shirt, is
Either attach it to the dedicated backing paper using cellophane tape or glue, or sandwich it between the dedicated backing paper as shown in Figure (b).

Then, after placing the original 0 on the original table 7, the dedicated holder is fed to the manual paper feeder 46. As a result, the above-described reading of document 0 is performed. Further, the special mount paper supplied to the manual paper feeder 46 is fed to the registration roller 43.
Then, it is transferred through the first distribution gate 51, and its tip end is wrapped around the platen 30. Next, the platen 30 is rotated in the forward direction by a pulse motor (not shown), so that the dedicated mount is transferred at a constant speed, and the thermal heads 31 arranged in a line tod shape along the axial direction of the platen 30 generate heat. An element (not shown) generates heat in response to a printing signal, thereby transferring the ink 47 of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 to the cloth P' on the special mount paper. Then, the leading end of the dedicated mount having passed through the platen 3o is sent onto the first guide plate 49 provided along the lower surface of the paper output tray 48 by the second distribution gate 52 located at the solid line position at this time. . In this manner, when the transfer of ink 47 of one color is completed, the platen 30 is rotated in the opposite direction, so that the special mount is reversely transported and returned to the transfer starting position. At this time, the rear end of the dedicated mount is moved to the second guide plate 50 provided along the lower surface of the first guide plate 49 by the first imaging gate 51 which is rotationally displaced to the two-dot chain line position.
sent to the top. In this way, multiple colors are transferred by reciprocating the dedicated backing paper multiple times.Finally, when the transfer of all the colors of ink 47 is completed, the dedicated backing paper is moved along the two-dot chain line. The paper is guided to the paper ejection roller 53 by the second sorting gate 52 which is rotated to the position,
The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 48 by the paper discharge roller 53.

As described above, when transferring to a soft cloth such as a handkerchief, T-shirt, etc., a special mount is used to attach or sandwich the cloth P'. As a result, it is possible to directly transfer the image onto a soft cloth with a -degree transfer without using special dedicated paper or performing a transfer operation thereon.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, it is possible to directly transfer an image onto a flexible image transfer medium without using special paper or performing a transfer operation on it. A thermal transfer method that can perform transfer can be provided.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings are for explaining one embodiment of the present invention.
Figure <a> shows the paper pasted on the special mount, Figure 1(b) shows the paper sandwiched between the special mounts, and Figure 2 shows the overall configuration partially cut away. 3 is an external perspective view schematically showing the overall structure, FIG. 4 is a side view schematically showing the structure of the document scanning section, and FIG. 5 is a schematic perspective view of the document scanning section. a perspective view showing a scanner moving mechanism;
FIG. 6 schematically shows the structure of the image forming section;
Fig. 7 is a perspective view for explaining the transfer operation state, Fig. 8 is a plan view showing the configuration of the thermal transfer ink ribbon, Fig. 9 is a plan view of the operation panel, and Fig. 10 is a schematic diagram of the overall control system. FIG. 11 is a block diagram for explaining the color signal conversion circuit in detail. O... Original, P... Paper (image transfer medium), P'... Cloth image transfer medium), D...
...Special mount, 2...Operation panel, 8.
...Original scanning section, 9... Image forming section, 1
1... Scanner, 30... Platen, 3
1... Thermal head, 34... Thermal transfer ink ribbon (image transfer medium). Applicant's agent Patent attorney Takeshi Suzue Sangyo 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 B Figure 7 Figure 9 Figure 10

Claims (2)

[Claims] (1) In a device that performs transfer to a flexible image transfer medium, a means for inserting a flexible mount onto which the image transfer medium is attached or sandwiched, and a means for transferring the image onto the inserted mount. A thermal transfer method comprising: a transfer means for transferring onto a medium; and a discharge means for discharging the mount after the transfer by the transfer means. (2) The thermal transfer method according to claim 1, wherein the image transfer medium is a loose cloth.