KR880001449Y1 - Method and apparatus for making a trasferable dye medium - Google Patents

Abstract

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Description

Dyestuff Media Production Equipment

1 is a cross-sectional view of a transferable dye medium of the prior art to be mass produced with the present invention.

2 is a cross-sectional view of the transferable dye medium produced by the present invention.

3 is a schematic diagram of one embodiment of an apparatus used to practice the present invention.

4 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an apparatus used to implement the present invention.

5 is a schematic diagram of another embodiment of an apparatus used to practice the present invention.

6 is a cross-sectional view of a pressure reducing roller that can be used in the present invention.

* Explanation of symbols for main parts of the drawings

10, 10 ': dye medium 12: base layer

14, 14 ': dye layer 26: dryer

28: glossy roller 30: heating roller

32: compression roller 50: heater

52: heating source

The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing a transferable dye medium configured for easy use in a thermal printer, and more particularly, to an apparatus for producing a transferable dye medium that can be reused over several times without significant deterioration of the printed image. will be.

Thermal printers capable of printing "hard copies" of video images are described in pending US Application Nos. 382, 284. In this printer, a web of thermally transferable material is advanced between the thermal print head component and the recording medium. By properly heating the thermally transferable medium from the thermal printhead part, the dye is evaporated from the web and transferred to the recording medium, and a visible image is formed on the medium. In order to form a complete color image, the web of the above-mentioned thermally transportable media is provided with a continuous section or area having thermally transportable media of different colors such as blue, red and yellow.

The thermally transportable medium used in the above mentioned web is a dye that can be sublimed. Various sublimation dyes with the desired color may be used to form the webs of the continuous zones or compartments mentioned above. In one technique for making webs of thermally transportable media, it is suitable for base layers such as paper. Dye material is coated. This dye material can be uniformly dispersed in a binder such as cellulose and supplied as a liquid to the base layer. The dye material is then dried so that the dye coated base layer becomes a transferable dye medium for use in a printer of the type mentioned above.

In the above-described technique for producing a transferable dye medium, the dye layer, that is, the layer coated with the dye lipid on the surface of the base layer may not be uniform. Therefore, the dye density in some areas may be higher than in other areas. As a result, an irregular image may be printed if a transportable dye medium is used to print the visible image.

Another disadvantage of the transferable dye media produced by the above-mentioned techniques is that the dye layer is placed only on the surface of the base layer. As a result, the bonding between the base layer and the dye layer is relatively good, and thus, most of the dye material is transferred to the recording medium following a single printing operation. Therefore, the transportable dye medium cannot be reused over several times. This requires a large amount of dye medium to perform agpin printing on aberrations, which is not economically beneficial. Moreover, both the dye layer and the base layer tend to adhere to the recording medium during printing. This not only damages the automatic thermal printing apparatus in which the dye medium is used, but may also cause failure.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved apparatus for producing a transferable dye medium which can be used in a thermal printer, overcoming the above-mentioned drawbacks.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for producing a transportable dye medium that can be reused over several times to form a clear and high quality visual image during reuse.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a relatively simple and economical device for producing a transferable dye medium that can be used in a thermal printer.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for producing a transferable dye medium in which at least another part of the dye medium layer is injected into the base layer.

These and other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following description of the embodiments, and particularly, novel features of the appended claims.

According to the present invention there is provided an apparatus for manufacturing a transferable dye medium, which is configured to be easily used in a thermal printer for printing a visible image. The dye material layer is supplied to the surface of the base layer to form a dye-coated base layer, and the dye material layer is softened by heating to polish the dye-coated base layer. In one embodiment, the dye material layer is heated and at the same time polishes the base layer coated with the dye. In that embodiment, this process is performed by the polishing roller and the compression roller which are heating rollers. As a result, the dye layer soaks into the base layer by a certain thickness.

In another embodiment, the permeation of the dye material into the base layer is enhanced by reducing the ambient pressure of the base layer to suck up a portion of the dye material. The ambient pressure may be reduced, for example, by passing the compression roller over the base layer. The heater may be disposed on the opposite side of the pressure reducing roller or on top of the roller to soften the dye material so that the softened material is absorbed in the base layer. After the dye material is softened and penetrated into the base layer, the dye-coated base layer is polished to remove the irregularities of the dye material surface.

In another embodiment, an electromotive force acts on the charged dye material by supplying a charge to the dye medium to form an electric field on the base layer coated with the electrically charged dye material such that a portion of the dye material is transferred to the base layer. It is trying to improve the penetration of materials. The charge can be supplied by a corona inverter, and the electric field can be supplied, for example, by moving it through a base layer coated with a pair of roller dyes subjected to a suitable field generating voltage. One of these rollers may have the function of a heater, so that the charged dye material may be softened. The charge penetration of the dye material may be further improved by reducing the peripheral pressure of the base layer and passing the dye-coated base layer through the electric field. This may be achieved by using the other roller as a pressure reducing roller. The dye is then coated to lubricate the base layer with the dye therein.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The same reference numerals are used for the same parts in the drawings, and FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of the transferable dye medium 10 'made by the prior art, and the characteristics of the dye medium are not so desirable. The transferable dye medium 10 'may be formed as a web having a base strip 12, such as a long strip or ribbon or paper, with a dye material layer 15 (as shown in FIG. 1) on its top surface. It is covered. As mentioned above, the dye material is preferably sublimable in order to be easily transported and evaporated onto the recording medium in contact with or near the dye material when heated. Furthermore, the dye material contained in the dye layer 14 may exhibit a desired color such as blue, red or yellow.

The dye material contained in the dye layer 14 is preferably a sublimable dye, that is, a dye dispersed in a binder such as ethyl cellulose. Examples of the dye material include 1-aminoanthraquinone, 2-aminoanthraquinone, 1,4-dihydroxyanthraquinone, 1-amino-2-phenoxy-4-highoxy-anthraquinone, 1,4 -Diamino-5-nitroanthraquinone, 1, 4-diamino anraquinone, 1, 4, 5-triamino atlaquinone 1, 4, 5, 8-tetra animoanthraquinone, 1-amino-2- (4-bromphenoxy) -4-oxyanthraquinone, 4-amino-2- (4-aminophenoxy) -4-oxyanthraquinone, 1-oxy-4-anilinoanthraquinone, C, I. Disperse Orange 13, C, T. Disperse Blue 56 and Dianics Brilliant Tread Bs-E. The dye sublimation temperature of the dye material is in the range of about 155 ° C to about 260 ° C at normal atmospheric pressure (for example, 1), and the dye is selected accordingly. When heated to or above the sublimation temperature, the dye material is evaporated to agglomerate on the recording medium. In phase, the dyes in which the dye is dispersed have a melting point slightly above the dye's sublimation temperature.

2 is an open sectional view of the transferable dye medium 10 formed by the present invention. It can be seen from FIG. 2 that the dye layer 14 is absorbed at a predetermined depth on the upper surface of the base layer 12. 2 shows the triplet of the base layer, and it can be seen that the dye layer 14 is coated on the upper surface and penetrated thereunder. This penetration allows the transportable dye medium to be reused over several times without significantly degrading the quality of the phase formed therefrom. Thus, the transferable dye medium can be uniformly printed, and there is no inconvenience in that the strip, ribbon or web adheres to the recording medium in use.

3 shows a schematic diagram of an embodiment of forming the transferable dye medium 10 of FIG. 2 by the apparatus used by the present invention and will be described with reference to this. The illustrated device includes a dye layer feeder, a dryer 26 and a gloss roller 28. The base layer 12, which may be paper, is disposed relative to the roller 24, and is transferred in the direction of arrow A, as will be described later. The roller 24 covers the exposed surface of the base layer with the dye layer 14. It is disposed adjacent to the dye layer feed roller (20). The feeder roller 20 cooperates with the container 16 of the dye material 18, and the latter dye material is a material which is uniformly dispersed as a binder as mentioned above. The dye material 18 may be in liquid form. The feeder roller 20 is provided with lands 21 and rotates counterclockwise to bury the dye material from the container 16. This material is buried in the area between the lands 21, the blade 22 to remove the excess dye material on the outer periphery of the feed roller (20). The feed roller may be a suitable metal roller such as chromium plated iron or copper, or may be a platen or drum. The uniform coating of the dye material is a uniform coating of the dye material on the drum, ie the outer circumference of the roller 20, and since the drum is rotated continuously, this uniform coating on the surface of the exposed base layer 12 around the roller 24 is achieved. One coating is provided.

The roller 24 is rotated with the feeder roller 20 and the base layer is driven relative to the roller 24 so that the dye material layer is transferred from the periphery of the feeder roller to the surface of the base layer. The base layer 12 covered with the dye layer 14 then passes through the dryer 26. This dryer may be one used in the related art and dries the liquid dye material of the dye-coated base layer 10 '.

It can be seen that the base layer coated with the dye passing through the vicinity of the dryer 26 is of the type shown in FIG. The dye-coated base layer may be treated directly with the transportable medium 10 shown in FIG. 2, or may be stored or wound on a roll for continuous processing. For convenience, it is assumed that the base layer coated with the dye is directly treated to become the improved transferable dye medium shown in FIG.

The process of the dye-coated base layer undergoes fixing to soften the dye layer 14 to polish the base layer coated with the softened dye. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the dye layer 14 is softened when heat is applied. That is, this dye layer is suitably heated by the heating roller 30 water shortage. As shown, the heating roller 30 cooperates with the compression roller 32, and the combination of these two rollers constitutes the glossy roller 28. As shown in FIG. Therefore, the process of softening with the heating of the dye layer 14 to give the gloss of the dye-coated base layer is performed at the same time. Of course, if necessary, the dye layer 14 may be heated by other heating means (not shown), and it goes without saying that a simple compression roller may be used instead of the glossy roller. Alternatively, the means may be used to soften the dye layer 14 in addition to heating. For example, if the depicted apparatus is continuously processed, the dye-coated base layer 10 'passing through the dryer 26 may become as if the dye layer is not completely dried and still remains soft.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, the gloss roller 30 is preferably in the form of being heated by the supplied fluid means. The fluid heating source 34 is connected to the heating roller 30 via the supply pipe 36, and the return pipe 38 supplies the relatively cooled fluid to the heating source 34, where the fluid is heated and again. It is supplied to a heating roller. By way of example, the fluid used in the heating roller 30 may be oil heated with steam or a conventional heatable hydraulic fluid.

The compression roller 32 may include a metal roller and is rotatably supported by an arm that can be pivoted. The latter is pivotable with respect to pivot bearing 44. Hydraulic pump 40 is connected to the pivotable arm 42 by the conventional hydraulic means to act the clockwise to the arm so that the extrusion roller 32 is acting toward the heating roller 30. The hydraulic pump 40 may use a hydraulic fluid such as that used for the heating roller 30, so that the driving action of the pivotable arm 42 and also the heating fluid from the heating source 34 are heated. The pumping to 30 results in two actions.

The heating roller 30 is preferably an iron roller plated with chromium, and is configured to heat the dye layer 14 below the evaporation temperature of the dye material and the melting temperature of the binder in which the dye material is dispersed. As an example, the heating roller 30 is heated to a temperature of about 100 ℃ to 150 ℃ is lower than the evaporation temperature of the dye material and the melting temperature of the binder, but is sufficient to soften the dye layer. The extrusion roller 32 need not be limited to the metal roller. Conventional general materials used for polish rollers may also be used for extrusion rollers.

As apparent from FIG. 3, the heating roller 30 acts to soften the dye material, and the pressure applied to the base layer coated with the dye is softened by a combination of the heating roller and the compression roller 32. The layer is smoothed to push the layer to a constant depth of the base layer 12. As an example, the pressure exerted by the gloss roller 28 (ie, the combination of the heating roller 30 and the compression roller 32) is about 20 kg / cm 2 to 200 kg / cm 3. In addition, the heating roller 30 and the compression roller 32 are rotated by a suitable motor means (not shown) to advance the dye-coated base layer at a speed of about 5 to 30 Cm / sec in the direction of arrow A. Let's do it.

In the embodiment of FIG. 3, there is a possibility that some dye material adheres to the surface of the heating roller 30. This adhesive is removed with a suitable scraper blade or with a treatment tool that is rotated with the heating roller. In an alternative embodiment, the polish roller 28 is heated by other means. For example, an infrared heater may be used for heating and softening the dye layer 14. An example of such an infrared heater is shown in FIG. As shown, the heater 50 is arranged on top of the polish roller 28 so that the dye-coated base layer 10 'passes through this infrared heater before reaching the polish roller. Typically, the infrared heater 50 includes an infrared heating source 52 partially wrapped in the reflector 54 so that infrared heat is exposed to the dye layer 14. The means for supplying the dye layer 14 to the surface of the base layer 12 is the same as that shown in FIG. 3, and thus the description of this means is omitted.

4 also shows a means for improving the penetration of the dye layer 14 absorbed into the base layer 12. In this embodiment, this means consists of a pressure reducing roller 56 to reduce the ambient pressure in the base layer 12 to absorb at least a portion of the dye layer 14 into the base layer. As shown in FIG. 4, the dye layer 14 penetrates the base layer 12 by a depth 14 'since the base layer coated with the dye appears from the vicinity of the pressure reducing roller 56. As shown in FIG. One embodiment of the pressure reducing roller is further described with reference to FIG. It can be seen that the reduced pressure roller is formed in the form of a hollow roller having a through hole 58 formed on its surface and penetrated therein. The hollow inner part of the pressure reduction roller 56 penetrates through the pressure reduction source 64, such as a vacuum pump, by the pipe 62 means. The reduced pressure source reduces the pressure inside the roller 65, and the through hole 58 transmits this reduced pressure directly to the outside of the roller. Since the base layer 12 is in contact with or disposed adjacent to the roller 56, the pressure of the base layer, in particular the pressure at its bottom (i.e., the surface of the base layer opposite to the surface on which the dye layer 14 is covered) Is reduced. This reduced pressure causes the softened dye layer 14 to be sucked into the base layer. If the base layer 12 is made of paper, it can be seen that the dye material is absorbed into the fiber of the paper. In one embodiment of the pressure reducing roller 56, the through hole 58 is relatively small. This is because, when such a through hole is large, the smooth passage of the dye-coated base layer onto the pressure reducing roller may be prevented. Thus, a fibrous sleeve 60 is provided on the outer surface of the roller 56.

In an example, the reduced pressure source 64 reduces the internal pressure of the roller 56 to about 760 mmHg to 300 mmHg at normal air pressure. In an alternative, the reduced pressure roller 56 may be replaced with full vacuum to allow the base layer 12 to pass through. However, the dark roller is better to move the dye-coated base layer uniformly and smoothly in the A direction. Although the heater 50 is shown as an infrared heater, it is worth mentioning that other heating devices such as a fixing member disposed on the dye layer 14 may be heated by, for example, electricity, heating fluid, etc. as necessary. none. Heat generated for the heater 50 is preferably about 100 ℃ to 150 ℃, in any case it is better than the evaporation temperature of the dye material and the melting temperature of the binder. In FIG. 4, the heater 50 is disposed side by side with the pressure reducing roller 56, but the heater may be located relatively upward away from the pressure reducing roller.

The dye with the dye layer 14 'infiltrated into the base layer 12 is advanced toward the coated base layer 10' polish roller 28. In this embodiment, the glossy rollers may be substantially identical to each other and are shown as compression rollers 32 and 72 rotatably mounted to pivotable arms 42 and 74, respectively, which arms are shown in FIG. Pivoted for each pivot bearing 44 and 76. The hydraulic pump 40 described above can also be used to pivot the arms 42 and 74 and actuate the compression rollers 32 and 72 towards each other to soften and advance the dye-coated base layer. Polished.

The embodiment shown in Figure 4 solves the difficulty caused by the dye material is adhered to the heating roller shown in Figure 3. That is, the dye layer 14 'is softened only when the base layer coated with the dye reaches the gloss roller 28, but the compression rollers 32 and 72 are neither heated nor adhered to the softened dye material. It doesn't work. The embodiment shown in FIG. 4 improves and improves the permeability of the dye layer to the base layer together with the various variants described above. Thus, strips or ribbons or webs of the transferable dye medium can be reused over a number of times, from which the quality of the printed image is not degraded and there is no undesirable adhesion of the transferable dye medium to the recording medium.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, penetration of the dye layer 14 into the base layer 12 is performed at least partially by reducing the ambient pressure of the base layer 12. Other penetrating means may be replaced or supplemented, and this decompression technique is shown in FIG. 5, which charges the base layer 12 by supplying charge to the dye layer and applying electric charge to the dye material, which is charged with charge. A device in which the dye layer acts is provided. In this embodiment, the means for supplying the dye layer 14 to the base layer 12 may be substantially the same as that used in the embodiment of FIG. The electric charge supplied to the dye layer 14 is generated by the corona discharge device 80, for example. The corona discharge device may be of a conventional technique including a corona electrode 82 partially stacked by the shielding electrode 84. The corona discharge device 80 is coupled to a suitable high voltage source 86, for example, a power supply of 5 KV to 15 KV to generate a negative corona, and supplies the negative charge to the dye material. Therefore, a relatively negative voltage is supplied to the corona electrode 82, and a relatively positive voltage is supplied to the shielding electrode 84. When the corona discharge device 80 generates corona discharge, the above-mentioned high voltage is supplied between the corona electrode and the shielding electrode by closing the switch or other suitable device, so that the dye layer 14 exhibits a negative charge ion. do. In the illustrated embodiment, the dye layer is dried, and thus the dried dye layer has a negative charge. Although not shown, a ground roller or plate is arranged with and disposed below the corona discharge device 80 and, as can be seen in FIG. 5, the bottom surface of the base layer 12 is in contact with it. The corona charge of the ground roller or the dye layer 14 is improved.

Underneath the corona discharge device 80 is a combined heater / field generator. In this embodiment, the heating roller 88 is preferably formed of the conductive roller 90 on which the electrical insulation layer 92 is disposed. This conductive roller is electrically coupled to the negative terminal of the high voltage source 86. The heating roller is heated by means of suitable heating fluid or the like as mentioned above with respect to the embodiment shown in FIG. As shown, the outer circumference of the heating roller contacts the dye layer 14 to supply heat, thus softening the dye layer.

The base layer 12 is configured to receive a reference potential, and in the illustrated embodiment, the conductive roller 94 is in contact with the bottom of the base layer. This conductive roller is coupled to the positive terminal of the high voltage source 86. The high voltage power source has a good direct current source and generates E so as to be direct current across the conductive rollers 90 and 94, respectively. This electric field exerts an electromotive force on the charged dye layer. That is, this is conveyed between the rollers 90 and 94. Since the roller 90 acts to soften the dye layer by heating, for example, the charged and softened dye material is electrically acted into the base layer 12 by the electric field E generated at both ends of the roller. The dye-coated base layer 10 'into which the dye layer 14 penetrates is polished by the gloss roller 28. These gloss rollers may be as shown in FIG. 4, or the pressure applied to the elastic gloss roller 28 in contact with the dye layer 14 is about 20 Kg / cm 2 to about 200 Kg / cm 2.

As the replaceable conductive roller 94, a fixed conductive plate, a rod, or the like may be used. The replacement member may be supplied with a reference potential or may be coupled to the positive terminal of the high voltage source 86. As another alternative, a heater, such as infrared heater 50, may be disposed underneath the corona discharge device 80, and roller 90 may be replaced with a simple conductive roller, electrically coincident plate or rod, or the like. have. That is, the heater softens the charged dye layer, and the field generating means used as a replacement of the conductive rollers 92 and 94 generates an appropriate electric field E to form the charged softened dye material as the base layer. 12) It is enough that it can penetrate into.

In order to further improve the permeability of the dye layer 14 into the base layer 12, the conductive roller 94 may be formed of a reduced pressure roller similar to the reduced pressure roller 56. As a result, the charged softened dye material penetrates into the base layer 12 by the combination of a decrease in air pressure and electric power. It can be seen that a suitable high voltage generating means (not shown) is used to generate a DC high voltage used in the illustrated embodiment to form a DC electric field across the rollers 90 and 94.

The pressure reducing roller 56 used in the embodiments of FIGS. 4 and 5 is shown in FIG. The pressure reducing roller is provided with a hollow in which the through hole 58 is formed, and penetrates the hollow inside and the atmosphere. The tube 62 supplies a reduced pressure (e.g., about 300 mm Hg as described above) into the roller. Thus, the surface pressure of the roller 56 is also reduced. Since the base layer 12 is in contact with the surface of the roller, the pressure of the base layer is also reduced and thus negative pressure acts so that at least a portion of the softened dye layer 14 is absorbed into the base layer 12. In FIG. 6, the fibrous sleeve 60 is omitted, but it is not necessary to make the drawings clear. The roller 56 may be formed of an electrically conductive material to be used together with the conductive roller 90 to generate an electric field as in the embodiment of FIG.

In the embodiment of Fig. 5, it is preferable that the electric insulation layer 92 is provided on the surface of the conductive roller 90. Further, a fibrous sleeve 60 is formed around the conductive roller 94, and the fibrous sleeve is made of an electrically insulating material. Thus, in the embodiment of FIG. 5, the dye layer 14 is penetrated into the base layer 12, and the penetrated base layer 10 'is polished by the gloss roller 28. FIG. While the invention is shown and described with reference to specific embodiments, those skilled in the art can readily appreciate that many modifications and variations can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. For example, the means for penetrating the dye layer 14 into the base layer 12 may be, for example, in the form used in conventional gravure printing, offset printing, lithographic printing and the like. In addition, the material used with the gloss roller 28 may be used for ordinary gloss purpose. In addition, as mentioned above, heating for softening the dye layer 14 before penetration and glossing is performed is suitable, but other softening means may also be employed which can be combined with the dye material used in the present invention. In addition to the foregoing, various other modifications or variations are to be construed as being included in the appended claims.

Claims (8)

An apparatus for manufacturing a transferable dye medium for a thermal printer, wherein the dye medium is a base layer coated with a dye having a base layer having a dye material layer formed on a surface thereof, and the apparatus is a base layer coated with a dye. Dyeing medium comprising softening means for softening the dye material of the material, glossing means for softening the base layer coated with the dye, and means for moving the base layer coated with the dye Production device. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the softening means comprises a heating means to heat the dye material of the dye-coated base layer to soften the dye material. The dye medium manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the gloss means comprises a pressing roll means. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the heating means comprises a heating roll means. 5. The dye medium according to claim 4, wherein the heating roll means and the pressing roll means are arranged side by side to accommodate the dye-coated base layer to simultaneously heat the dye material and polish the heated dye material. Production equipment. 6. The apparatus of claim 5, wherein the pressing roll means includes a pressing means for applying a hydraulic pressure to the pressing roller and the pressing roller, and means for supplying a hydraulic fluid to the pressing roller, wherein the heating roll means includes a heating roller and the And a means for supplying a heated fluid to a heating roller and a means for heating a fluid of the same type as a hydraulic fluid. A device for producing a dye carrier according to claim 1, characterized in that a penetration means for penetrating at least a portion of the dye material into the base layer is provided. 8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the penetrating means includes pressure reducing means for reducing the peripheral pressure of the base layer so that at least a portion of the dye material is absorbed onto the surface of the base layer.