JPS63125358A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce a machinery space and to shorten the time from the formation of an image to the printing of a T-shirt, by unifying an apparatus for forming the image of a manuscript on an image forming medium through color separation and a transfer apparatus for transferring the image of the image forming medium to the T-shirt or an exclusive sheet. CONSTITUTION:A feeding roller 41 is provided to the right-hand diagonally downward part of a platen 30 and the papers P being the image forming medii received in a feeding cassette 42 are taken out one at a time. An exclusive sheet P' (paper A) for T-shirt after the finish of transfer is guided to a feed roller 55 and a guide 56 by the first distribution gate 52 and third distribution gate 54 revolved to be displaced to a two-dot broken line position and further guided to a transfer part 57 constituted of heating rollers by the feed roller 55 and the guide 56. At this time, the exclusive sheet P'' (paper B) preliminarily inserted from an insert port 58 is set to the transfer part 57. By this constitution, operation can be simplified when an image is transferred to the T-shirt or the exclusive sheet.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention [Objective of the Invention] (Industrial Field of Application) The present invention is directed to, for example, forming an image of a color-separated original on paper specially designed for T-shirt printing, and then transferring the image onto the T-shirt. The present invention relates to a forming device.

(Prior Art) Recently, a method of transferring (printing) a color copy of an image onto a T-shirt 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 resin-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, paper B is placed on the T-shirt and heat is applied from above, so that the picture on paper B is transferred onto the T-shirt.

Such a device requires a reverse transfer operation to paper A and B paper and a transfer operation from paper B to a T-shirt, and has the disadvantage that the operation is very troublesome.

In addition, a heating device different from that used in color copying was used for reverse transfer from paper A to paper B and for printing from paper B to T-shirts. For this reason, there are also drawbacks such as an increase in equipment space and a time consuming process from copying to T-shirt printing.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) This invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks that the operation is very troublesome, the equipment space is increased, and the system setup time is required when transferring to a T-shirt or special sheet. When transferring to T-shirts or special sheets, operations can be simplified and equipment space can be reduced.
An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus that can shorten the time from image formation to T-shirt printing.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) The image forming apparatus of the present invention includes a scanning means for optically scanning a document and reading it as a plurality of types of color signals, and a scanning means for optically scanning a document and reading each color signal obtained by the scanning means. A color conversion means for converting into image formation signals of a plurality of colors, and a color conversion means for converting image formation signals into image formation signals of a plurality of colors; An image forming means for forming an image, a discharging means for discharging the image forming medium on which an image has been formed by the image forming means, and an image on the image forming medium discharged by the discharging means is transferred onto a T-shirt or a special sheet. and a transfer means.

(Function) The present invention integrates a device that separates the image of a document into colors and forms it on an image forming medium, and a transfer device that transfers the image on the image forming medium onto a T-shirt or a special sheet. It is.

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

FIGS. 2 and 3 show, as an example of the image forming apparatus according to the present invention, a thermal transfer type color copying machine capable of selectively performing multicolor color copying and T-shirt printing.

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 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 an illumination lamp 12 that illuminates the original O, a photoelectric converter 13 that receives reflected light from the original 0, an optical system 14 that guides the reflected light from the original 0 to the photoelectric converter 13, and supports these. Carriage 15
Consisted of. 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. 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. At one end of the guide shaft 17, a scanning motor (for example, a pulse motor) 18 capable of forward and reverse rotation is mounted.
A drive pulley 19 is driven by a drive pulley 19, and a driven pulley 20 is disposed at the other end of the drive pulley 19.
A timing belt 21 is stretched between 9° 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. 1, 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 forming 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. 1, 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. In order to be interposed between the platen 3o 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 or removed from the holder 32 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 below the right side of the platen 30, and takes out paper P (or special sheet PM for T-shirts) as an image forming medium stored in a paper feed cassette 42 one by one. The paper P taken out by the paper feed roller 41 is sent to the registration roller 43 disposed diagonally above and to the right of the paper feed roller 41, and after its leading edge is aligned, the paper P is transferred to the registration roller The paper feed cassette 42 is transported toward the platen 30 by the rollers 44 and 43, and is wound around the platen 30 by rollers 44 and 45, thereby accurately feeding the paper. Note that 46 in FIG. 1 is a manual paper feeding device for manually feeding paper P.

The thermal head 31 presses the paper P (special sheet for T-shirts P=: A paper) against the platen 30 via the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34, and as shown in FIG. The ink 47 as an agent is heated and melted and transferred onto the paper P. The thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 has yellow, magenta, cyan, and black ink portions 47Y with a width approximately equal to that of the paper P, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, for example.

47M, 47C, and 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 starting 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 47a, and in that case, substantially black can be produced by overlapping three colors of yellow, magenta, and cyan.

Note that during color copying, as described above, each ink portion 47Y, 47M, 47c, 47 of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34
Image formation is performed using e sequentially.

During color copying, the paper P (or special sheet P'' for T-shirts; A paper) is moved back and forth by the number of colors by the rotation of the platen 30, but the path of the paper P at that time is as follows:
The first paper trays are sequentially arranged along the lower surface of the paper discharge tray 48 which is inclined and protrudes from the main body 1. It is guided onto the second guide plate 49,50. This includes the platen 30 and the first. Second guide board 4
9.50 respectively provided between the ends of the first. Second
This is done by distribution gates 51,52. That is,
First, the paper P taken out from the paper feed cassette 42 is transported 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 sent onto the first guide plate 49 provided along the lower surface of the paper discharge tray 48 by the second distribution gate 52 located at the solid line position at this time. Thus, one color of ink 47
When the transfer is completed, the platen 30 is rotated in the opposite direction, so that the paper P is transported backwards and returned to the transfer starting position. At this time, the rear end portion of the paper P is sent onto the second guide plate 50 provided along the lower surface of the first guide plate 49 by the first distribution gate 51 which is rotationally displaced to the position shown by the two-dot chain line. 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 guided to the paper ejection roller 53 by the second distribution gate 52 which is rotationally displaced to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line. The paper is discharged onto the paper discharge tray 48 by the paper discharge tray 48.

Also, when the transfer of all colors of ink 47 is completed
At this time, the special sheet P' (paper A) for shirts is moved to the position indicated by the two-dot chain line at the first sorting gate 52. and third
The conveyance roller 55 and guide 56 are controlled by the S minute gate 54.
The transfer roller 55 and guide 56 guide the transfer portion 57 to a transfer section 57 which is made up of a heat roller. At this time, special sheets P=' (8 sheets), which have been inserted in advance from insertion 058, are set in the transfer unit 57. As a result, the transfer unit 57 is rotated by the drive of a motor (not shown), and the transfer unit 57 is moved downward with the exclusive sheet P- (paper A) and exclusive sheet P'' (paper 8) overlapping each other. Therefore, the transfer unit 57 transfers the dedicated sheets P=, P=
By applying pressure to the dedicated sheet P' at high temperature, the image on the dedicated sheet P' is transferred to the dedicated sheet P-''.Then, the dedicated sheets P' and P-' after the transfer are transferred to the guide 5.
9.59, it is discharged from the discharge port 60. The transfer section 57 is set to a high temperature state in advance.

FIG. 8 shows the operation panel 2, which includes a mode key 61 for selecting the normal mode (color copy mode) and T-shirt mode (dedicated sheet for T-shirts; transfer mode for 8 papers), setting the number of copies, etc. A numeric keypad 63 for clearing the set number of copies, etc., a clear key 64 for clearing the set number of copies, a copy key 65 for starting the copying operation, a numeric display 66 for displaying the number of copies, etc., a status display section 67 for displaying the operating status, etc. are provided. .

FIG. 9 schematically shows the overall control system, which includes a main control section 81, a first sub-control section 82, and a second sub-control section 83. The main control unit 81 includes the operation panel 2, a correction circuit 84, a luminance/color difference separation circuit 85, an image quality improvement circuit 86,
Color signal conversion circuit 87, binarization circuit 88, first sub-control unit 8
2 and the second sub-III 1m section 83, respectively, and controls these. The first sub-control unit 82 includes a light source control unit 89, a motor drive unit 90, the photoelectric converter 13, an A/
It is connected to a D converter 91 and a resolution converter 92, respectively, and controls these. The light amount control section 89 is connected to the illumination lamp 12 and controls its light layer. A motor drive unit 90 is connected to the scanning motor 18 and drives it. The second sub-control section 83 is connected to a thermal head temperature control section 93, the thermal head 31, various detection switches 94, and a drive section 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 . Further, the main control section 81 controls the transfer section 57 and performs temperature control, movement, etc. of the transfer section 57.

The signal flow in FIG. 9 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 13
This light is cyan (C).

The signal is separated into green (G) and yellow (Y) analog color signals and sent to the A/D converter 91. 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
Resolution conversion is performed to match the resolution of the photoelectric converter 13 and the resolution of the thermal head 31, and the result is sent to the correction circuit 84. The correction circuit 84 includes a resolution converter 92
A correction process is performed on each of the C, G, and Y color signals sent from the photoelectric converter 13 to correct for variations in the photoelectric converter 13.
The result is sent to the luminance/color difference separation circuit 85. The luminance color difference separation circuit 85 receives the C, G, and Y signals sent from the correction circuit 84.
Various calculation processes are performed on each color signal of the luminance signal (I
), color difference signal 1 (C1), and color difference signal 2 (C2), and send them to the image quality improvement circuit 86. Image quality improvement circuit 8
6 analyzes the luminance signal, color difference signal 1, and color difference signal 2 sent from the luminance color difference separation circuit 85, performs image improvement processing such as edge emphasis and character identification, and converts the luminance signal to the color signal conversion circuit 87.
send to The color signal conversion circuit 87 performs color conversion based on the luminance signal, color difference signal 1, and color difference signal @2 that have been subjected to image quality improvement processing, and converts them into yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C).
), black (B) [three primary colors for printing (Y, M, C) plus 8], and sends it to the binarization circuit 88. The binarization circuit 88 performs gradation conversion, that is, binarization, on the color signal (any one of Y, M, C, and B) sent from the color signal conversion circuit 87, and converts the 21il The temperature control signal is sent to the thermal head temperature control section 93. The thermal head temperature control section 93 includes a binarization circuit 88
Thermal head 3
Send a print signal to 1. The thermal head 31 performs printing (that is, image formation) 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 (C1), 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 signals are automatically selected in sequence (for example, in the order of Y-+M→C-+8).

Next, the operation will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step S1, it is determined whether or not the T-shirt mode is selected. If the T-shirt mode is not selected, it is the normal color copying mode, and the process proceeds to step S2.

In step S2, it is determined whether or not the copy key 65 is turned on. If it is not turned on, the process returns to step S1, and if it is turned on, the process goes to step S3. In step S3, an image forming operation is performed. That is, in this case, since it is the color copying mode, each ink portion 47Y, 47M of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 of a plurality of colors is printed by the above-described operation.
, 47c, and 47s are used sequentially to perform color copying (image formation).

That is, first, the paper P taken out from the paper feed cassette 42
is transferred through the registration rollers 43 and the first imaging 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) or the like to transport the paper P at a constant speed, and the thermal heads 31 arranged in a hollow head shape along the axial direction of the platen 30
A heating element (not shown) generates heat in response to a print signal as a yellow image forming signal, and as a result, the ink 47 in the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 is transferred onto the paper P using the ink portion 47Y. In this case, the heating element of the thermal head 31 generates heat.

Then, the leading edge of the paper P that has passed through the platen 30 is sent onto the first guide plate 49 provided along the lower surface of the paper discharge tray 48 by the second distribution gate 52 located at the solid line position at this time. When the yellow ink portion 47Y has been transferred to the ink portion 47Y, the platen 30 is rotated in the opposite direction, thereby transporting the paper P in the opposite direction and returning it to the transfer starting position.

At this time, two points! By the first distribution gate 51 which is rotationally displaced to the 1111 position, the trailing end of the paper P is sent onto the second guide plate 50 provided along the lower surface of the first guide plate 49 .

In this way, by reciprocating the paper P, the magenta ink section 47 responds to the magenta image forming signal.
Transfer to M, transfer to cyan ink portion 47c in response to a cyan image forming signal, and transfer to black ink portion 47B in response to a black image forming signal are sequentially performed.

Then, the paper P on which the transfer has been completed is guided to the paper ejection roller 53 by the second distribution gate 52 which is rotated to the position shown by the two-dot chain line, and is ejected onto the paper ejection tray 48 by the paper ejection roller 53. Ru.

If the T-shirt mode is selected in step S1, it is the color copying mode for a special sheet for T-shirts, so the process advances to step S4. In step S4, it is determined whether or not the copy key 65 is turned on. If it is not turned on, the process returns to step S1, and if it is turned on, the process goes to step $5. In step S5, an image forming operation is performed.

That is, in this case, since it is the T-shirt mode, color copying (image formation) of an image is performed by sequentially using each ink portion 47Y 147M, 47c, 47a of the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 of a plurality of colors by the above-described operation.

That is, first, the special sheet P' taken out from the paper feed cassette 42 is transported through the registration rollers 43 and the first distribution gate 51, and the leading end of the special sheet P' is taken out from the paper feed cassette 42.
It will be in a state where it is wound around 0. Next, the platen 30 is rotated in the forward direction by a pulse motor (not shown) or the like.
While the dedicated sheet P' is transported at a constant speed, the heating elements (not shown) of the thermal head 31 arranged in a line tod shape along the axial direction of the platen 30 respond to a print signal as a yellow image forming signal. Heat is generated, and as a result, the ink 47 in the thermal transfer ink ribbon 34 is transferred onto the special sheet P- using the ink portion 47Y.

The heating element of the thermal head 31 generates heat.

Then, the leading end of the special sheet P' that has passed through the platen 30 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. It will be done. In this way, the yellow ink section 4
When the transfer to 7Y is completed, the platen 30 is rotated in the opposite direction, so that the special sheet P' is transported backwards and returned to the transfer starting position. At this time, the rear end of the special sheet P= is sent onto the second guide plate 50 provided along the lower surface of the first guide plate 49 by the first distribution gate 51 which is rotationally displaced to the two-dot chain line position. It will be done.

In this way, by reciprocating the dedicated sheet P', the magenta image is transferred to the ink portion 47v in accordance with the magenta image forming signal, the cyan image is transferred to the cyan ink portion 47c in accordance with the cyan image forming signal, and the black image is transferred to the cyan ink portion 47c in accordance with the cyan image forming signal. Transfer to the black ink portion 47B is performed sequentially in accordance with the image forming signal.

Then, the special T-shirt sheet P=(paper A) on which the transfer of ink 47 of all colors has been completed is reversed, and at this time, the first distribution gate 52 is rotated to the position shown by the two-dot chain line.
, and the third distribution gate 54 to a conveyance roller 55 and a guide 56, and by the conveyance roller 55 and guide 56 to a transfer section 57. As a result, the transfer section 57
The special sheets (8 sheets) set in advance in 1 and the special sheet (A sheet) pass through the transfer section 57.

As a result, by applying high temperature pressure to the special sheets P'', P=' for T-shirts by the transfer section 57, the image on the special sheet PIA paper for T-shirts is transferred to the special sheet P'IB.
(S6).

Thereafter, in step 7, the operator places the eight papers on the T-shirt and applies heat from above using an iron or the like, thereby transferring the pictures on the eight papers onto the T-shirt.

As a result, the same image as the original is transferred onto the T-shirt.

As mentioned above, the original image is color separated and a special sheet (A
A device that forms an image on paper) and an image on this special sheet
The transfer unit that transfers onto the special sheet for shirt transfer (8 papers) is integrated.This simplifies the operation when transferring to the special sheet for T-shirt transfer. , equipment space can be reduced, and the time from image formation to printing on a special sheet for T-shirt transfer can be shortened.

Note that in the above embodiment, the transfer from paper A to paper 8 was automatically performed, but the invention is not limited to this, and as shown in FIG.
, i may be used to perform the above transfer.

Furthermore, instead of paper A, the inverted image may be directly formed on 8 papers, and the images on these 8 papers may be transferred to the T-shirt at the transfer section. In this case, the original is a reversed image (mirror image) from the beginning.
In this case, the image may be printed on a dedicated sheet without inverting the image.

In addition, a mode key is provided on the operation panel, and the mode switching is performed using this mode key, but the present invention is not limited to this. The mode may be switched by.

Furthermore, instead of the mode key, a separately provided T-shirt selection switch may be used to specify printing on a special sheet for T-shirts and transfer to T-shirts.

[Effects of the Invention] As detailed above, according to the present invention, operations can be simplified when transferring onto a T-shirt or a special sheet, equipment space can be reduced, and everything from image formation to T-shirt printing can be simplified. Accordingly, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that can shorten the time required for image forming.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 11 are for explaining one embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a vertical side view schematically showing the configuration of an image forming section and a transfer section, and FIG. 2 is an overall view. FIG. 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; FIG. 5 6 is a perspective view showing the scanner moving mechanism of the document scanning unit, FIG. 6 is a perspective view for explaining the transfer operation state, and FIG. 7 is a plan view showing the configuration of the thermal transfer ink ribbon.
Figure 8 is a plan view of the operation panel, Figure 9 is a block diagram schematically showing the overall control system, Figure 10 is a block diagram explaining the color signal conversion circuit in detail, and Figure 11 is the operation. This is a flowchart for explaining the main part of the 12th
The figure is a diagram showing the configuration of a transfer section in another embodiment. O...Original, P...Paper (image forming medium), P'...Special sheet for T-shirts (image forming medium), T...・・T-shirt, 2・・・・
...Operation panel, 8...Document scanning unit, 9...
...Image forming section, 11...Scanner, 31...
... Thermal head, 34 ... Thermal transfer ink ribbon (image forming medium), 47 ... Ink,
47Y, 47M, 47C, 47e... Ink section, 57... Transfer section (transfer section r1), 61...
...Mode key (selection means), 63...Numeric keypad, 81...Main control section, 82.83...
... Adverb part, 87 ... Color signal conversion circuit, 88
. . . Binarization circuit, 93 . . . Thermal head temperature control section. Applicant's Representative Patent Attorney Takehiko Suzue Figure 3 Figure 4 Figure 5 Figure 7 Figure 9 Figure 10

Claims (6)

[Claims] (1) A scanning means for optically scanning a document and reading it as multiple types of color signals, a color conversion means for converting each color signal obtained by this scanning means into image formation signals of multiple colors, and a color conversion means for an image forming means for forming an image on an image forming medium using an image forming medium according to each image forming signal of the obtained plural color image forming signals; It is characterized by comprising: a discharge means for discharging the formed image forming medium; and a transfer means for transferring the image of the image forming medium discharged by the discharge means onto a special sheet or a T-shirt. Image forming device. (2) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein when transferring onto a T-shirt, the image forming signal is inverted to form the image. (3) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of color signals are cyan, green, and yellow, or three types of red, green, and blue. (4) Image forming signals of multiple colors include yellow, magenta,
Claim 1 characterized in that the four colors are cyan and black, or the three colors are yellow, magenta and cyan.
The image forming apparatus described in . (5) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming medium is a thermal transfer ink ribbon. (6) The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the image forming medium is paper or special resin coated paper.