JP7645534B2 - Transfer device and foil stamping device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a transfer device and a foil stamping device.

A transfer device is known that transfers a transfer material such as foil from a transfer web transported roll-to-roll to a transfer target such as a sheet.

JP 2007-276472 A

It is preferable that the transfer device be capable of reliably transferring the transfer material from the transfer web to the object to be transferred.

The present invention has been made in light of these circumstances, and one exemplary purpose of one embodiment of the present invention is to provide a transfer device that can more reliably transfer a transfer material from a transfer web to a transfer target.

In order to solve the above problems, in a transfer device according to one embodiment of the present invention, a transfer web having a transfer substance held on a base sheet is wound along a predetermined path, and in a transfer section which is a part of the predetermined path, the transfer web is brought into contact with a sheet-like object to be transferred, thereby transferring the transfer substance to the object to be transferred. In the transfer device, a leading end directing portion is formed at a predetermined position on the transport path of the object to be transferred in the transfer section, so that the leading end of the object to be transferred at the predetermined position faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section,
The transfer section includes a pair of upstream nip rollers that are arranged at the upstream end of the transfer section and clamp both the transfer web and the object to be transferred, and the axis of the roller of the upstream nip roller pair that is on the object to be transferred is located downstream in the conveying direction from the axis of the roller on the transfer web side, and the tip-side directing portion is the nip portion of this upstream nip roller pair.

Another aspect of the present invention is also a transfer device. In this device, a transfer web, which has a base sheet carrying a transfer substance, is wound along a predetermined path, and in a transfer section, which is a part of the predetermined path, the sheet-shaped object is brought into contact with the transfer web, thereby transferring the transfer substance to the object. In the transfer device, a rear end side directing portion is formed at a predetermined position of the transport path of the object in the transfer section, so that the rear end side of the object at the predetermined position faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section , and
The transfer section includes a downstream nip roller pair that is disposed at the downstream end of the transfer section and clamps both the transfer web and the object to be transferred, and the axis of the roller of the downstream nip roller pair that is on the object to be transferred is located upstream in the conveying direction from the axis of the roller on the transfer web side, and the rear end directional portion is the nip portion of this downstream nip roller pair.

Yet another aspect of the present invention is also a transfer device. In this device, a transfer web having a transfer substance held on a base sheet is wound along a predetermined path, and in a transfer section that is a part of the predetermined path, the transfer web is brought into contact with a sheet-like object to be transferred, thereby transferring the transfer substance to the object to be transferred. In the transfer device, a leading-end directing portion is formed at a first predetermined position of a transport path for the object to be transferred in the transfer section, such that the leading end side of the object to be transferred at the first predetermined position faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section, and further, a trailing-end directing portion is formed at a second predetermined position of the transport path for the object to be transferred in the transfer section, such that the trailing end side of the object to be transferred at the second predetermined position faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section,
The transfer roller includes an upstream nip roller pair that is arranged at the upstream end of the transfer section and clamps both the transfer web and the object to be transferred, and a downstream nip roller pair that is arranged at the downstream end of the transfer section and clamps both the transfer web and the object to be transferred, wherein the axis of the roller of the upstream nip roller pair that faces the object to be transferred is located downstream in the conveying direction of the axis of the roller of the transfer web side, and the axis of the roller of the downstream nip roller pair that faces the object to be transferred is located upstream in the conveying direction of the axis of the roller of the transfer web side, the leading end directional portion is the nip portion of the upstream nip roller pair, and the trailing end directional portion is the nip portion of the downstream nip roller pair.

A further aspect of the present invention is a foil stamping device. This device performs foil stamping by transferring foil from a foil-holding film, which is a film on which foil is laminated, to a transfer target, and has the configuration of any of the transfer devices described above as a configuration for transferring foil from the foil-holding film to the transfer target.

According to the present invention, the transfer material can be reliably transferred from the transfer web to the transfer target object.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a printing system according to an embodiment. FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating a printing system according to an embodiment. 2 is a top view showing details of a resist portion 24. FIG. This is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. 5(a) to (d) are diagrams showing the state of foil stamping by a foil stamping device according to a comparative example. FIG. 2 is a side view of the foil stamping device of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a side view of the foil stamping device of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the foil stamping area and its surroundings. 9 is a further enlarged view of the periphery of the sheet conveying guide 82 shown in FIG. 8 . FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the foil stamping area and its surroundings. 11 is a further enlarged view of the periphery of the sheet conveying guide 82 shown in FIG. 10. FIG. FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the foil stamping area and its surroundings. 1 is an enlarged view of the foil stamping area when nip rollers 62, 64 are in the raised position. FIG. 14(a) to (f) are diagrams illustrating the feed back by the foil stamping device of FIG. 15(a) and (b) are diagrams showing the state of foil stamping.

The present invention will be described below based on preferred embodiments with reference to the drawings. The embodiments are illustrative and do not limit the invention, and all features and combinations described in the embodiments are not necessarily essential to the invention. The same reference numerals are used to denote identical or equivalent components, parts, and processes shown in each drawing, and duplicate descriptions will be omitted as appropriate.

Figures 1 and 2 are schematic diagrams showing a printing system 10 in which a foil stamping device (transfer device) 16 according to an embodiment is used. Figure 1 is a side view, and Figure 2 is a plan view. The printing system 10 is a device that performs a predetermined printing on a sheet while transporting the sheet. The material of the sheet varies, including paper, cloth, resin, and metal. Hereinafter, the direction in which the sheet is transported (the direction from right to left in Figures 1 and 2) is referred to as the transport direction Y, and the direction perpendicular to the transport direction Y (the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in Figure 1 and the up-down direction in Figure 2) is referred to as the width direction X.

The printing system 10 comprises a paper feeder 12 that feeds sheets one by one, a varnishing device 14 that applies varnish to the sheets fed one by one, a foil stamping device 16 that performs foil stamping by transferring foil to the varnish on the sheet using the tackiness of the varnish, a stacker 18 that accumulates sheets, and a control device 20 that performs overall control of the printing system 10. The paper feeder 12, varnishing device 14, foil stamping device 16, and stacker 18 are arranged in a line in this order from the upstream side in the conveying direction Y (the right side in Figures 1 and 2). The control device 20 is connected to the paper feeder 12, varnishing device 14, foil stamping device 16, and stacker 18 via a network 2.

The paper feeding device 12 includes a feeder 22, a corona treatment section 26, and a registration section 24. The feeder 22 includes a table 28 and a suction head 30. Sheets are loaded on the table 28. The table 28 is configured to be capable of being raised and lowered. The suction head 30 feeds the sheets loaded on the table 28 one by one, starting from the top.

The corona treatment section 26 (surface modification section) includes an electrode 36 (applied electrode) arranged above the transport path 34, and a dielectric roller 38 (opposing electrode) arranged below the transport path 34 so as to face the electrode 36 from above and below. The corona treatment section 26 performs surface modification of the sheet sent out by the feeder 22 by corona discharge between the electrode 36 and the dielectric roller 38. Specifically, hydrophilic groups are generated on the surface of the sheet to improve wettability. When the sheet is transported in a state where it is adsorbed to the transport path 34 by the air suction section 40, the distance between the electrode 36 and the sheet becomes constant, and the corona discharge becomes stable. The air suction section 40 generates negative pressure by arranging one of the suction ports of an exhaust blower (not shown), but it may also be configured to generate negative pressure by arranging a suction fan.

The registration section 24 aligns the position of the sheet in the width direction X sent out by the feeder 22 by abutting it against the registration reference guide 32.

The varnish application device 14 includes a sheet sensor 42, a pair of CCD sensors 44, at least one varnish discharge unit 46, a semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48, and a final curing ultraviolet lamp 50. The pair of CCD sensors 44, the varnish discharge unit 46, the semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48, and the final curing ultraviolet lamp 50 are arranged in this order from the upstream side. In the illustrated example, the varnish application device 14 includes three varnish discharge units 46, but this is not limited thereto, and the varnish application device 14 may include one varnish discharge unit 46 extending over the entire width direction X, or may include two or four or more varnish discharge units 46. The semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48 and the final curing ultraviolet lamp 50 use LEDs that irradiate ultraviolet rays, but other light sources such as light bulbs and fluorescent lamps may be used as long as they irradiate ultraviolet rays. It is preferable that the light source has adjustable output.

The sheet sensor 42 detects the sheet fed from the paper feed device 12.

The varnish ejection unit 46 is a line-type inkjet head, although there is no particular limitation. The varnish ejection unit 46 is triggered by detection of the leading edge of the sheet by the sheet sensor 42, ejects ultraviolet-curable varnish according to the varnish ejection data, and applies the ultraviolet-curable varnish to the sheet. The varnish ejection data is data that indicates where on the sheet the varnish is to be applied.

The sheet fed by the paper feed device 12 may have a base image and a number of registration marks printed in advance, which serve as a reference for identifying the position of the base image. The varnish application device 14 applies varnish so that it has a predetermined relationship with the base image according to varnish discharge data that defines the portion of the sheet to be varnished. For example, the varnish may be applied so that it overlaps the base image.

Here, the base image of the sheet may be misaligned or distorted. Therefore, when applying varnish so that it has a specified relationship with the base image, it is necessary to correct the varnish discharge data taking into account the misalignment or distortion. For example, the CCD sensor 44 may capture an image of the sheet triggered by detection of the sheet by the sheet sensor 42, and the control device 20 may perform image analysis of the captured data by the CCD sensor 44, and correct the varnish discharge data of the area surrounded by the registration marks based on the difference from the theoretical positions of the multiple registration marks. Note that the method described in JP 2016-083898, previously filed by the applicant, may be applied for this correction.

The semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48 irradiates the varnish on the sheet with relatively weak ultraviolet light to semi-cure the varnish. Semi-curing refers to curing the varnish lightly (for example, to a state where it can be further cured) to a degree that reduces the fluidity of the varnish but does not completely cure it. By semi-curing at least the surface of the varnish, it is possible to prevent the varnish from flowing on the sheet while maintaining the tackiness of the varnish, and to stabilize the position of the varnish on the sheet. The semi-cured varnish is then fully cured in the foil stamping device 16. When foil is not transferred to the sheet (foil stamping is not performed), the semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48 is usually turned off. The semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48 may be used when foil stamping is not performed. For example, when the varnish applied to the sheet is prone to bleeding, the semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48 is turned on to semi-cure at least the surface of the varnish. This makes it possible to prevent the varnish from bleeding.

The final curing ultraviolet lamp 50 irradiates the varnish applied to the sheet with ultraviolet light to final cure the varnish. When transferring foil to the sheet (foil stamping), the final curing ultraviolet lamp 50 is turned off.

In other words, when foil stamping is performed on a sheet, the varnish is semi-cured by the semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48, and the semi-cured varnish is fully cured by the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 of the foil stamping device 16. In this case, the fully curing ultraviolet lamp 50 is turned off. When foil stamping is not performed on a sheet, that is, when varnish is only applied to a sheet, the varnish is fully cured by the fully curing ultraviolet lamp 50. In this case, the semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48 and the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 of the foil stamping device 16 are turned off. As mentioned above, the semi-curing ultraviolet lamp 48 may be turned on even when foil stamping is not performed. In addition, an LED that irradiates ultraviolet light is used as the light source for the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66, but other light sources that irradiate ultraviolet light may be used.

Note that in FIG. 1, the sheet is depicted as being transported on a single rotating belt in the portions facing the varnish discharge section 46, the UV lamp for full curing 48, and the UV lamp for semi-curing 50; however, the portions facing the varnish discharge section 46, the UV lamp for full curing 48, and the UV lamp for semi-curing 50 may each be configured so that all or part of them are transported on separate rotating belts.

The foil stamping device 16 transports the web (transfer web) 52 in a roll-to-roll manner. In this embodiment, the web 52 is a foil-holding film in which a foil such as a metal foil is held (laminated) on a long film (base sheet). In the foil stamping device 16, the web 52 and the sheet are brought into contact while being transported. The foil held by the web 52 adheres to the semi-cured varnish on the sheet due to its tackiness. In this state, that is, in a state in which the foil is held by the web 52 and adheres to the semi-cured varnish, the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 irradiates the varnish with ultraviolet light to fully cure the varnish. When the varnish is fully cured, the force of the fully cured varnish to adhere the foil is stronger than the force of the web 52 to hold the foil. In this state, when the sheet is transported and the sheet and the web 52 are separated, the foil held by the web 52 is transferred to the portion of the sheet on which the varnish is applied.

The stacker 18 accumulates the sheets discharged from the foil stamping device 16.

The control device 20 is an information processing terminal such as a PC. The control device 20 accepts input regarding the definition of a print job. The control device 20 may display a specified job management screen and accept input regarding the definition of a job via the job management screen. The job definition includes, for example, the number of sheets to be printed (number of copies to be printed), the sheet size of the sheets to be printed, varnish ejection data, whether or not to perform corona treatment, whether or not to perform foil stamping, and adjustment of the pinning strength (degree of hardening of semi-cured paper). The control device 20 controls the paper feed device 12, the varnish applicator 14, and the foil stamping device 16 based on the job definition.

The above is the basic configuration of the printing system 10.

As a variant, the printing system 10 may include a printer, instead of the paper feeder 12, that prints a base image and registration marks on the sheets, and feed the sheets one by one from the printer.

The printing system 10 may also include a post-processing device between the foil stamping device 16 and the stacker 18 that cuts and staples the sheets.

Figure 3 is a top view showing the details of the registration section 24, and Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A in Figure 3. The registration section 24 includes a registration reference guide 32, a slanted feed mechanism 102, an entrance guide 104, a conveying guide 106, and an exit guide 108. Sa and Sb indicate sheets conveyed through the registration section 24.

The registration reference guide 32 is provided on the upper side in FIG. 3 (the right side in the conveying direction Y, the left side in FIG. 4, hereinafter referred to as the "reference side") in the width direction X. The registration reference guide 32 extends in the conveying direction Y.

The registration reference guide 32 has a horizontal support surface 32a, a reference surface 32b that rises upward at a right angle from the support surface 32a, and a ceiling surface 32c that is parallel to the support surface 32a and faces the support surface 32a in the height direction (see FIG. 4). The reference surface 32b is parallel to the transport direction Y and extends in the transport direction Y over substantially the entire area of the registration section 24.

The oblique feed mechanism 102 is provided on the registration reference guide 32 side in the width direction X. The oblique feed mechanism 102 is composed of an oblique feed belt 110 and a suction chamber 112. The oblique feed belt is driven to rotate at an angle with respect to the conveying direction Y so that the more downstream it is, the closer it is to the registration reference guide 32. In this embodiment, four oblique feed belts 110 are provided at intervals in the width direction X. Note that the number of oblique feed belts 110 is not limited to four.

The suction chamber 112 is provided on the inside of the rotating oblique belt 110 (see FIG. 4). The suction chamber 112 has a plurality of openings 110a in a portion corresponding to the gaps between the plurality of oblique belts 110 spaced apart in the width direction, in other words, in a portion that avoids the oblique belts 110 in a plan view, or in other words, in a portion that is exposed and not blocked by the oblique belts 110 in a plan view. The openings 112a are arranged at a predetermined interval along the outer side of the end of the oblique belt 110 in the width direction X. When a suction fan (not shown) is turned on, a negative pressure is created in the suction chamber 112, and air is sucked in through the openings 112a.

The entrance guide 104 extends in the width direction X adjacent to the upstream end of the resist section 24 in the transport direction Y, i.e., adjacent to the corona treatment section 26. The exit guide 108 extends in the width direction X adjacent to the downstream end of the resist section 24 in the transport direction Y, i.e., adjacent to the varnish application device 14.

The transport guide 106 is a plate member provided on the opposite side in the width direction (hereinafter referred to as the "anti-reference side") from the reference side where the oblique feed mechanism 102 is provided. The entrance guide 104, the transport guide 106, and the exit guide 108 receive the underside of the sheet being transported. The entrance guide 104, the transport guide 106, and the exit guide 108 are, for example, flat stainless steel plates, and are preferably made of runner stainless steel plates with good sliding properties.

The sheet that has passed through the corona treatment section 26 enters the registration section 24 with its lower surface guided by the entrance guide 104. The upper surface of the oblique conveying belt 110 rotates in a direction from right to left in FIG. 3. The lower surface of the sheet is attracted to the oblique conveying belt 110 by air suction from the opening 112a, and is conveyed by the oblique conveying belt 110. While the sheet is conveyed along the rotation direction of the oblique conveying belt 110, its position in the width direction X changes from a position (sheet Sa) away from the reference surface 32b to a position (sheet Sb) where the reference side edge of the sheet abuts against the reference surface 32b. After that, the sheet is conveyed along the reference surface 32b with the reference side edge abutting against the reference surface 32b, and is fed into the varnish application device 14 with its lower surface guided by the exit guide 108. Therefore, the position of the reference side edge of the sheet in the width direction X is registered at a fixed position defined by the reference surface 32b, and the sheet is sent to the varnish application device 14.

The resist reference guide 32 has a fixed position in the width direction X near the reference side of the device. Therefore, the sheet is always registered with the reference side edge at the fixed position where the reference surface 32b is located. In other words, the sheet is sent to the varnish application device 14 with the reference side edge as the reference. Alternatively, the position of the resist reference guide 32 in the width direction X may be adjusted according to the size of the sheet in the width direction X so that the center position of the sheet in the width direction X is always a predetermined position in the width direction X of the device. This makes it possible to apply the resist reference guide 32 to a device that uses the center position of the sheet in the width direction X as the reference. In this case, it is also preferable that the oblique feed belt 110 is movable together with the resist reference guide 32.

The upper surface of the inclined conveying belt 110 is at approximately the same height as the support surface 32a of the registration reference guide 32. Therefore, a sheet whose lower surface is adsorbed to the conveying belt 110 moves over the support surface 32a and abuts against the reference surface 32b without bending downward. In addition, since a ceiling surface 32c is formed near the reference surface 32b in the width direction X, the sheet is also prevented from bending upward. This makes it possible to prevent problems such as buckling when the reference side edge of the sheet abuts against the reference surface 32b.

The upper surface of the conveying guide 106 is lower than the upper surface of the oblique conveying belt 110. Therefore, the sheet that is attracted to and conveyed by the oblique conveying belt 110 is less susceptible to friction with the conveying guide 106, allowing for stable conveyance and registration, and preventing the sheet from being damaged by friction with the conveying guide 106. The upper surface of the conveying guide 106 is formed, for example, 2 to 3 mm lower than the upper surface of the oblique conveying belt 110.

The corona treatment section 16 (surface modification section) uses corona discharge to generate hydrophilic groups on the sheet surface and increase wettability, so that varnish repelling can be effectively prevented. However, if the corona treatment section 16 is placed near the varnish application section 14, the effect of corona discharge on the varnish application section 14 is a concern. In particular, if an inkjet head is used for the varnish application section 14, durability will be significantly reduced due to the effect of corona discharge. On the other hand, the resist section 24 resists the sheet by abutting it against the reference surface 32b while transporting it on the oblique transport belt 110, so that the sheet is not stopped, and therefore the processing efficiency is good, but a certain transport length is required. In this embodiment, the resist section 24 is placed between the corona treatment section 16 and the varnish application section 14, so that the varnish application section 14 can be separated from the corona treatment section 16, and the decrease in durability of the varnish application section 14 due to the effect of corona discharge can be suppressed. Therefore, a device with good sheet processing efficiency in the resist section and excellent durability can be obtained.

Next, a comparative example will be used to explain the problem to be solved by the foil stamping device 16 according to this embodiment. In the following, the section of the web transport path, which is the transport path of the web 52, for transferring foil to the sheet will be referred to as the "foil stamping section."

Figures 5(a) to (d) are diagrams showing the state of foil stamping by a foil stamping device according to a comparative example. Figures 5(a) to (d) show foil stamping scenes in chronological order. In Figures 5(a) to (d), the web 52 shown by a solid line indicates an unused web (i.e., a web on which foil is being held). The web 52 shown by a dotted line indicates a used web (i.e., a web from which at least a portion of the foil has been peeled off due to the transfer of foil to sheet S1, or a web facing the varnished region R on sheet S1 in the foil stamping section P and from which the transfer of foil to sheet S1 has begun).

In FIG. 5(a), the sheet S1 is passing through the stamping section P, and the foil is transferred from the web 52 to the varnished region R on the sheet S1. As shown in FIG. 5(b), the sending out of the web 52 is stopped when the rear end of the sheet S1 reaches the downstream end of the stamping section P, i.e., when the sheet S1 passes through the stamping section P. As shown in FIG. 5(c), the sending out of the web 52 is resumed when the next sheet S2 reaches the stamping section P. In FIG. 5(d), the sheet S2 is passing through the stamping section P, and the foil is transferred from the web 52 to the varnished region R on the sheet S2. In particular, the foil is transferred from the web 52, which was located upstream of the stamping section P in FIG. 5(c). In the example of FIG. 5, the sending out of the web 52 is stopped when the rear end of the sheet S1 reaches the downstream end of the stamping section P (FIG. 5(b)), but it may be stopped when the rear end of the varnished region R on the sheet reaches the downstream end of the stamping section P. Similarly, the timing at which the feeding of the web 52 is resumed may also be the timing at which the varnished region R on the sheet reaches the foil stamping section P.

Here, the web 52 is sent out only while the sheet passes through the stamping section P, or only while the varnished region R on the sheet passes through the stamping section P. This makes it possible to reduce the amount of the web 52 that is taken up unused on the take-up roll 76. However, even if this is done, the web 52 that is present in the stamping section P when the sheet S1 has passed the stamping section P, i.e., when the sheet S1 has passed the stamping section P, as shown in FIG. 5C, will not be used for transfer to the next sheet S2, and will therefore be taken up unused on the take-up roll 76. In other words, this results in a waste of the foil-holding film.

If the web 52 present in the stamping section P in FIG. 5(c) is returned upstream of the stamping section P before the next sheet S2 arrives at the stamping section P, it can be used for transfer to the next sheet S2, reducing wasteful consumption. To achieve this, it is possible to reverse the unwinding roll to rewind the web 52, but wrinkles may occur in the foil rewound onto the unwinding roll. In addition, the foil stamping device 16 according to this embodiment uses friction shafts for the unwinding shaft and the winding shaft as described below, and the shaft core of the friction shaft of the unwinding shaft is fixed to the housing of the device, and since it does not have a drive motor for reversing the rotation, it is not possible to reverse the unwinding roll in the first place. Therefore, the foil stamping device 16 according to this embodiment realizes a "return" in which at least a part of the web 52 that has passed the upstream end of the stamping section P, i.e., at least a part of the web 52 present in the stamping section P, is returned upstream of the stamping section P without rewinding the web 52 onto the unwinding roll.

Next, the configuration of the foil stamping device 16 will be described in detail. Figures 6 and 7 are diagrams showing the foil stamping device 16. Figures 6 and 7 are side views. Figure 6 shows the nip rollers etc. in the lowered position, and Figure 7 shows the nip rollers etc. in the raised position.

The foil stamping device 16 includes a plurality of conveying rollers 54, an unwinding shaft 56, a winding shaft 58, a plurality of guide rollers 60, a first nip roller 62, a second nip roller 64, an ultraviolet lamp 66 for foil stamping, and a sheet detection sensor 77.

The multiple transport rollers 54 transport the sheet downstream in the transport direction (to the left in Figures 6 and 7) while pinching the sheet between the paper pressure roller 72, the nip rollers 62, 64, or the paper pressure roller 73.

The paper pressing rollers 72 are spherical, and a pair of paper pressing rollers 72 are arranged spaced apart in the width direction X relative to one conveying roller 54. At least one of the pair of paper pressing rollers 72 is configured to be movable in the width direction X according to the width of the sheet to be conveyed. With this configuration, only both ends of the sheet to be conveyed in the width direction X are sandwiched between the paper pressing roller 72 and the conveying roller 54 and conveyed. If only one of the pair of paper pressing rollers 72 is movable in the width direction X, a roller-shaped paper pressing member may be used instead of the other paper pressing roller 72 that does not move in the width direction X. The semi-cured varnish on the sheet is exposed upstream of the foil stamping section P in the conveying direction Y (to the right in FIG. 6). If the conveying member comes into contact with the exposed varnish, problems such as the varnish application state being disturbed or the conveying member being soiled may occur. In contrast, the paper pressing rollers 72 press only both ends of the sheet in the width direction X, thereby preventing this problem from occurring.

The paper pressure roller 73 is a member in which multiple roller portions 73a are intermittently arranged on a single rotating shaft 73b extending in the width direction X. The multiple roller portions 73a are configured not to move in the width direction (axial direction) X. Because the varnish on the sheet is fully cured downstream of the foil stamping section P in the conveying direction Y, the sheet can be conveyed without the above-mentioned problems occurring even if the roller portion 73a of the paper pressure roller 73 comes into contact.

The unwinding shaft 56 supports a roll of unused web (hereinafter referred to as the unwinding roll 74). The unwinding shaft 56 and the winding shaft 58 are configured as friction shafts. This friction shaft has an outer ring that holds the paper tube that is the core of the unwinding roll 74 and the winding roll 76, and a shaft core portion that rotatably holds the outer ring, and is configured to be adjustable in the holding torque that acts as resistance when rotating the outer ring relative to the shaft core portion. When an external force acts to rotate the outer ring relative to the shaft core portion, if the rotation torque due to this external force is greater than the holding torque, the outer ring rotates relative to the shaft core portion, and if the rotation torque is smaller than the holding torque, the outer ring remains stopped relative to the shaft core portion. The shaft core portion of the unwinding shaft 56 is fixed to the housing of the device, and the shaft core portion of the winding shaft 58 is rotated by a drive source (not shown). The unwinding shaft 56 has a holding torque set so that when a force acts to rotate the web 52 along with the sheet or the transport roller 54 in the foil stamping section P, and a force acts to pull the web 52 out of the unwinding roll 74, the outer ring rotates relative to the fixed shaft core.

The multiple guide rollers 60, the first nip roller 62, and the second nip roller 64 define a generally U-shaped web transport path from the unwind roll 74 to the take-up roll 76. The second nip roller 64 is adjacent to the first nip roller 62 on the downstream side of the web transport path. The first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64 define a horizontally extending section of the web transport path. In this embodiment, this section corresponds to the foil stamping section P.

One of the multiple guide rollers 60 that define the web transport path upstream of the foil stamping section P (hereinafter also referred to as guide roller 60a) and one of the multiple guide rollers 60 that define the web transport path downstream of the foil stamping section P (hereinafter also referred to as guide roller 60b) are configured to be movable in the transport direction Y. Guide roller 60a is provided upstream of the other guide rollers 60 in the transport direction Y in the section of the web transport path upstream of the foil stamping section P, where the web 52 moves roughly vertically downward. Guide roller 60b is provided downstream of the other guide rollers 60 in the transport direction Y in the section of the web transport path downstream of the foil stamping section P, where the web 52 moves roughly vertically upward.

Guide rollers 60a and 60b are both connected to bracket 80. Therefore, guide rollers 60a and 60b are linked. When bracket 80 is moved upstream in conveying direction Y (to the right in Figures 6 and 7) by a drive device (not shown), guide rollers 60a and 60b also move upstream in conveying direction Y, and when bracket 80 is moved downstream in conveying direction Y (to the right in Figures 6 and 7), guide rollers 60a and 60b also move downstream in conveying direction Y.

When the guide rollers 60a and 60b are moved upstream in the conveying direction Y, the conveying path upstream of the stamping section P in the web conveying path becomes longer and the conveying path downstream becomes shorter. Also, when the guide rollers 60a and 60b are moved downstream in the conveying direction Y, the conveying path upstream of the stamping section P in the web conveying path becomes shorter and the conveying path downstream becomes longer. Preferably, when the guide rollers 60a and 60b are moved in the conveying direction Y, the conveying path upstream of the stamping section P in the web conveying path and the conveying path downstream of the stamping section P in the web conveying path increase and decrease complementarily. When the guide rollers 60a and 60b are moved upstream in the conveying direction Y, the holding torque of the friction shaft of the unwinding shaft 56 is controlled to be increased, and the unwinding from the unwinding roll 74 is stopped so that the outer ring does not rotate relative to the shaft core. As a result, at least a part of the web 52 that has passed the upstream end of the stamping section P, i.e., at least a part of the web 52 present in the stamping section P, is returned upstream of the stamping section P. In other words, the web 52 that has reached the foil stamping section P can be returned without rewinding the web 52 that has been unwound from the unwinding roll 74 back onto the unwinding roll 74. If the resistance to moving the web 52 during rewinding is smaller than the holding torque of the unwinding shaft 56, rewinding is possible with unwinding from the unwinding roll 74 stopped, without controlling to increase the holding torque.

Between the first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64, the web 52 and the sheet come into contact. At this time, the foil is transferred from the web 52 to the semi-cured varnish on the sheet. During the transfer, the varnish on the sheet and the web 52 are temporarily adhered to each other, so the web 52 is fed at the same speed as the sheet. The second nip roller 64 may be driven to rotate and the web 52 may be fed at the same speed as the sheet. Here, if a drive source is provided to drive the nip rollers 62 and 64 to rotate and a speed difference occurs between the surface movement speed and the opposing conveying roller 54, a speed difference occurs between the web 52 that holds the foil and contacts the nip rollers 62 and 64, and the sheet to which the foil is transferred and contacts the conveying roller 54, causing wrinkles in the foil. In contrast, in this embodiment, a drive source is not provided to drive the nip rollers 62 and 64 to rotate, and the nip rollers 62 and 64 are configured to rotate in response to the movement of the web 52, thereby suppressing the generation of wrinkles in the foil.

The winding shaft 58 winds up the web 52 unwound from the unwinding roll 74 in a roll shape. Hereinafter, the roll-shaped web 52 wound by the winding shaft 58 is referred to as the winding roll 76. The winding shaft 58 is composed of a friction shaft. The holding torque of the winding shaft 58 is set to be smaller than the holding torque of the unwinding shaft 56, and the axial core of the winding shaft 58 is driven to rotate by a driving source (not shown). The friction shaft also has multiple outer peripheral rings in the axial direction, and has a structure that allows the rotation speed to differ depending on the position in the axial direction (i.e., the width direction X). Specifically, only some of the multiple outer peripheral rings may rotate and the other outer peripheral rings may stop, and further, the rotation speeds of the rotating outer peripheral rings may differ from each other.

At least one of the guide rollers 60 is fitted with an encoder (not shown) for detecting the number of rotations. It is desirable that the guide roller 60 fitted with the encoder has a surface made of a material with a high coefficient of friction, for example, to reduce slippage with the web 52. In the foil stamping section P, the foil on the outer circumferential surface of the web 52 comes into contact with the surface of the sheet or the conveying roller 54, and moves downstream in the conveying direction Y of the sheet by rotating with these surfaces. The control device 20 calculates the moving speed of the web 52 based on the detection result by the encoder, and controls the number of rotations of the unwinding shaft 56 so that the unwinding speed of the web 52 from the unwinding roll 74 is slower than the calculated moving speed of the web 52. At this time, the moving speed of the web 52 is faster than the unwinding speed caused by the rotation of the unwinding shaft 56, but the circumferential surface of the unwinding shaft 56, which is a friction shaft, rotates relative to the drive input shaft, and the circumferential surface rotates faster than the drive input shaft, so that the web 52 can be unwound so as to be at the same speed as the moving speed of the sheet in the foil stamping section P while maintaining the web 52 in a taut state.

The control device 20 also controls the number of rotations of the drive rotation of the axial core of the winding shaft 58 so that the winding speed of the web 52 by the winding roll 76 is faster than the moving speed of the web 52. At this time, the moving speed of the web 52 is slower than the winding by the rotation of the unwinding shaft 56, but the outer ring forming the circumferential surface of the winding shaft 58 made of a friction shaft rotates relative to the axial core which is the drive input shaft, and the drive input shaft rotates freely relative to the circumferential surface. This allows the web 52 to be wound up so that the speed is the same as the moving speed of the sheet in the foil stamping section P while keeping the web 52 in a taut state.

The foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 is provided above the web transport path between the first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64.

The first nip roller 62, the second nip roller 64, the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66, and some of the guide rollers 60 are each configured to be able to move up and down between a lowered position in FIG. 6 and an elevated position in FIG. 7. The elevated position is a position where the web 52 cannot come into contact with the sheet being transported. The elevated position is a position where the web 52 can come into contact with a sheet being transported that is adjacent to and parallel to the web 52. For example, the control device 20 positions the nip rollers etc. in the elevated position when the sheet is not being foil stamped (i.e., when the sheet is only being varnished), and positions the nip rollers etc. in the lowered position when the sheet is being foil stamped.

Among the multiple guide rollers 60 that define the web transport path upstream of the foil stamping section P, the guide roller (hereinafter also referred to as guide roller 60c) located immediately upstream of the first nip roller 62 is arranged in close proximity to the first nip roller 62 and moves up and down together with the first nip roller 62 between the lowered position shown in FIG. 6 and the raised position shown in FIG. 7. Among the multiple guide rollers 60 that define the web transport path downstream of the foil stamping section P, the guide roller (hereinafter also referred to as guide roller 60d) located immediately downstream of the second nip roller 64 is arranged in close proximity to the second nip roller 64 and moves up and down together with the second nip roller 64 between the lowered position shown in FIG. 6 and the raised position shown in FIG. 7. By providing a guide roller 60 that is arranged in close proximity to the nip rollers 62, 64 and moves up and down together with the nip rollers 62, 64, such as the guide roller 60c or the guide roller 60d, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of wrinkles in the web 52 compared to a configuration that does not include such a guide roller 60.

The sheet detection sensor 77 is a sensor that detects the timing of transfer in the foil stamping section P. The sheet detection sensor 77 detects the presence or absence of a sheet at the detection position, and can detect the timing of the leading edge and trailing edge of the sheet passing based on the detection result. When the nip rollers, etc. are in the raised position, the nip rollers, etc. are moved toward the lowered position at a predetermined timing after it is detected that the leading edge of the sheet to be foil stamped has passed the detection position of the sheet detection sensor 77. In addition, after it is detected that the trailing edge of the sheet to be foil stamped has passed the detection position of the sheet detection sensor 77, the nip rollers, etc. are moved from the lowered position toward the raised position at a predetermined timing as necessary.

Figure 8 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the foil stamping section P. Although not shown in Figures 6 and 7, the foil stamping device 16 is provided with a sheet transport guide that supports the sheet and guides the transport of the sheet. At least a portion of the sheet transport guide 82 corresponding to the foil stamping section P (i.e., provided below the foil stamping section P) protrudes above the nip line L that passes through the first nip point N1 at the upstream end of the foil stamping section P and the second nip point N2 at the downstream end. The first nip point N1 is a point between the first nip roller 62 in the lowered position and the transport roller 54 that faces it above and below, and exists on a line segment that connects the rotation axis of the first nip roller 62 when in the lowered position and the rotation axis of the transport roller 54 that faces it above and below. The second nip point N2 is a point between the second nip roller 64 in the lowered position and the transport roller 54 that faces it above and below, and exists on a line segment that connects the rotation axis of the second nip roller 64 in the lowered position and the rotation axis of the transport roller 54 that faces it above and below.

As described above, the semi-cured varnish has tackiness, so when the sheet is sandwiched between the first nip roller 62 and the transport roller 54, the foil held by the web 52 adheres to the varnish. However, if the sheet separates from the web 52 while being transported through the foil stamping section P, for example due to the stiffness of the sheet, the varnish may harden in a state where the foil that was not adhered to the varnish has peeled off from the varnish, and the transfer may fail. In response, at least a portion of the sheet transport guide 82 protrudes above the nip line L, so that the sheet is pressed against the web 52 in the foil stamping section P, increasing the degree of adhesion between the sheet and the web 52 and preventing the foil from peeling off from the varnish.

The material of the sheet transport guide 82 is not particularly limited, but since ultraviolet rays from the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 are irradiated, a material with high heat dissipation and heat resistance such as metal is preferable. Some light sources that irradiate ultraviolet rays that can be used for the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 generate ozone during irradiation, depending on the type of wavelength of the ultraviolet rays irradiated. When using a light source that generates ozone during irradiation as the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66, it is preferable that the material of the sheet transport guide 82 is resistant to ozone.

The sheet transport guide 82 is not particularly limited as long as it is a guide that supports the sheet, and may be a plate, a block, or a roller. In the illustrated example, the sheet transport guide 82 is a plate that is curved upwardly and convexly. Preferably, at least a portion of the sheet transport guide 82 protrudes above the nip line L in the irradiation range of the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66.

Figure 9 is a further enlarged view of the area around the sheet transport guide 82 shown in Figure 8 (the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 is omitted in Figure 9). When the web 52 is stretched without the sheet transport guide 82, the path of the web 52 between the first nip point N1 at the upstream end of the foil stamping section P (transfer section) and its downstream end, i.e., the tension line, coincides with the nip line L. That is, at least a portion of the sheet transport guide 82 protrudes above this tension line. Therefore, the web 52 is pushed up by the sheet transport guide 82, and actually follows the path shown by the bold line in Figure 9.

The sheet transport guide 82 has an upper surface 82x formed of an upwardly convex curved surface. In the range C1 where the web 52 is in contact with this upper surface 82x, the web 52 has an upwardly convex curved surface similar to the upper surface 82x. In this range C1, the sheet passes between the web 52 and the upper surface 82x. Then, in this range C1, the leading edge of the sheet always faces the tangent direction of the curved surface forming the upper surface 82x in the sheet transport direction Y. This tangent direction is a direction toward the outside of the curved surface forming the upper surface 82x, that is, a direction intersecting the path of the web 52. For example, when the leading edge of the sheet reaches a predetermined position D1 in the range C1, the leading edge of the sheet faces the tangent direction D2. Therefore, a leading edge direction portion is formed throughout this range C1 so that the leading edge side of the sheet faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the foil stamping section P.

Furthermore, in this range C1, the rear end of the sheet always faces in the tangent direction in the sheet conveying direction Y of the curved surface that forms the upper surface 82x. This tangent direction is a direction toward the outside of the curved surface that forms the upper surface 82x, that is, a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52. For example, when the rear end of the sheet reaches a predetermined position D3 in range C1, the rear end of the sheet faces in the tangent direction D4. Therefore, a rear end direction portion is formed throughout this range C1, which causes the rear end side of the sheet to face in a direction that intersects with the path of the transfer web in the foil stamping section P.

When the first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64 are in the raised position, the web 52 is separated from the sheet transport guide 82, as shown in FIG. 13(a). When they move to the lowered position, the web 52 comes into contact with the sheet transport guide 82, as shown in FIG. 9. The leading end directional portion and the trailing end directional portion are formed when they are in this lowered position.

This movement to the lowered position may occur after a portion of the sheet near the leading edge has entered the foil stamping section P. For example, this may occur when the varnished area R, which is formed only near the trailing edge of the sheet, is moved to the lowered position at the same time as it enters the foil stamping section P. In such a case, the first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64 move to the lowered position while a portion of the sheet has already entered the foil stamping section P, forming a leading edge oriented portion. At that point in time, at position D1, the leading edge of the passing sheet faces the tangential direction D2. Therefore, in the leading edge oriented portion, the leading edge of the passing sheet faces in a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

Movement to the raised position may also occur before a portion of the sheet near the rear end exits the stamping section P. For example, this may occur when the sheet is moved to the raised position in time with the varnished region R, which is formed only near the front end of the sheet, exiting the stamping section P. In such a case, the first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64 move to the raised position while a portion of the sheet still remains in the stamping section P, and the rear end side directional portion is eliminated. Until just before this elimination, at position D3, the rear end side of the passing sheet faces the tangential direction D4. Therefore, in the rear end side directional portion, the rear end side of the passing sheet faces in a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

Figure 10 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the foil stamping section P, showing another example of the sheet transport guide 82. In this example, the sheet transport guide 82 is a block, and has a flat upper surface (horizontal surface) 82a that protrudes above the nip line L in the irradiation range of the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66.

Figure 11 is a further enlarged view of the area around the sheet transport guide 82 shown in Figure 10 (the ultraviolet lamp 66 for foil stamping is omitted in Figure 11). When the web 52 is stretched without the sheet transport guide 82, the path of the web 52 between the first nip point N1 at the upstream end of the foil stamping section P (transfer section) and the second nip point N2 at the downstream end, i.e., the tension line, coincides with the nip line L. Therefore, the upper surface (horizontal surface) 82a of the sheet transport guide 82 protrudes above the tension line.

The sheet transport guide 82 further has an upwardly sloping surface 82b that is continuous with the upstream end of the upper surface 82a in the transport direction Y and forms an upward gradient toward the transport direction Y. The sheet transport guide 82 also has a downwardly sloping surface 82c that is continuous with the downstream end of the upper surface 82a in the transport direction Y and forms a downward gradient toward the transport direction Y.

The web 52 is pushed up by the sheet transport guide 82, and follows the path shown by the thick line in FIG. 11. That is, from the first nip point N1 toward the second nip point N2, the web 52 first forms an upward gradient 52a and reaches the upstream end of the upper surface 82a in the transport direction Y. Then, while remaining in contact with the upper surface 82a, it forms a horizontal path up to the downstream end of the upper surface 82a in the transport direction Y. Then, it forms a downward gradient 52b and reaches the second nip point N2.

When a relatively weak sheet has semi-cured varnish applied to it near its leading edge, the tackiness of the varnish causes the sheet to adhere to the web 52, and the leading edge of the sheet advances along the upward slope 52a of the web 52. When the sheet reaches a predetermined position D5, the leading edge of the sheet faces the same direction D6 as the upward slope 52a. Because the web 52 is horizontal on the downstream side of its conveying direction Y, the direction D6 intersects with the path of the web 52. Therefore, at this upward slope 52a, a leading edge directional portion is formed so that the leading edge of the conveyed sheet in the conveying direction faces in a direction intersecting the path of the web 52.

If the sheet is relatively stiff, or if the sheet is relatively weak but no semi-cured varnish has been applied to the sheet near its leading edge, the leading edge of the sheet advances along the nip line L and comes into contact with the upward slope 82b. The leading edge of the sheet then ascends the slope along the upward slope 82b. When the sheet reaches a predetermined position D7, the leading edge of the sheet faces in a direction D8 which is an extension of the line connecting the first nip point N1 and position D7. If the direction D8 is extended, it will intersect with the path of the web 52. Therefore, a leading edge directional portion is formed on the upward slope 82b so that the leading edge of the sheet in the conveying direction faces in a direction which intersects with the path of the web 52.

When a relatively weak sheet has semi-cured varnish applied to it near its rear end, the tackiness of the varnish causes the sheet to adhere to the web 52, and the rear end of the sheet advances along the downward slope 52b of the web 52. When the sheet reaches a predetermined position D9, the rear end of the sheet faces the same direction D10 as the downward slope 52b. Because the web 52 is horizontal on the upstream side of its conveying direction Y, the direction D10 intersects with the path of the web 52. Therefore, at this downward slope 52b, a rear end direction portion is formed that causes the rear end side of the conveying direction of the sheet to face a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

When the sheet is relatively stiff, or when the sheet is relatively weak but no semi-cured varnish is applied to the sheet near its rear end, the rear end of the sheet passes the downstream end of the upper surface 82a in the conveying direction Y and moves away from the web 52 and down the slope along the downward slope 82c. When the sheet reaches a predetermined position D11, the rear end of the sheet faces in a direction D12 that is an extension of a line connecting the position D11 and the second nip point N2. If the direction D12 is extended, it will intersect with the path of the web 52. Therefore, a rear end side directing portion is formed on this downward slope 82c so that the rear end side of the conveying direction of the sheet being conveyed faces in a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

When the first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64 are in the raised position, the web 52 is separated from the sheet transport guide 82, as shown in FIG. 13(b). When they move to the lowered position, the web 52 comes into contact with the sheet transport guide 82, as shown in FIG. 11. The leading end directional portion and the trailing end directional portion are formed when they are in this lowered position.

Even if this movement to the lowered position occurs after a portion of the sheet near the leading edge has entered the foil stamping section P, if the leading edge of the sheet has reached the upper surface 82a at the time of descent, the leading edge of the passing sheet will face in direction D6 at position D5. Therefore, in the leading edge oriented section, the leading edge of the passing sheet will face in a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52. If the leading edge of the sheet has not yet reached the upper surface 82a at the time of descent, the leading edge of the sheet will abut against the slope 82b and move up the slope 82b, and will face in direction D8 when it reaches position D7. Therefore, in the leading edge oriented section, the leading edge of the sheet will face in a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

In addition, even if the movement to the raised position is performed before a portion of the sheet near the rear end leaves the foil stamping section P, if the rear end of the sheet remains on the upper surface 82a at that point, the rear end side of the passing sheet faces direction D10 at position D9 just before that. Therefore, in the rear end side directing section, the rear end side of the passing sheet faces in a direction intersecting with the path of the web 52. If the leading edge of the sheet has not yet reached the upper surface 82a at the time of the rise, the rear end of the sheet abuts against the slope 82c and descends the slope 82c, and faces direction D12 when it reaches position D11. Therefore, in the rear end side directing section, the rear end side of the sheet faces in a direction intersecting with the path of the web 52.

In the examples of Figures 9 and 11, a roller member may be used instead of the sheet transport guide 82. That is, the roller member is positioned so that at least a portion of it protrudes above the nip line L that passes through the first nip point N1 at the upstream end of the foil stamping section P and the second nip point N2 at the downstream end. As a result, the outer peripheral surface of the roller member pushes up the web 52.

For example, the roller members may be arranged with rollers of the same diameter at the same height and spaced apart in the transport direction Y. In this case, a leading-end directional portion is formed in the portion where the outer peripheral surface of the roller member arranged on the upstream side in the transport direction Y pushes up the web 52, and a trailing-end directional portion is formed in the portion where the outer peripheral surface of the roller member arranged on the downstream side in the transport direction Y pushes up the web 52.

The roller member may also be a single roller with a relatively large diameter, positioned between the first nip point N1 and the second nip point N2. In this case, as in the example of FIG. 9, the leading end directional portion and the trailing end directional portion are formed over the entire portion of the curved outer circumferential surface of the roller member that contacts and pushes up the web 52.

Figure 12 is an enlarged view of the periphery of the foil stamping section P in yet another example (the foil stamping ultraviolet lamp 66 is omitted in Figure 12). In this example, a sheet support guide 83 is provided. The sheet support guide 83 has a flat upper surface 83a. This upper surface 83a is a horizontal surface and coincides with the conveying lower surface line L2 connecting the uppermost points of the outer circumferential surfaces of the conveying rollers 54 facing the nip rollers 62 and 64, respectively. In the example of Figure 12, the conveying roller 54 facing the lower side of the nip roller 62 will also be called conveying roller 54a, and the conveying roller 54 facing the lower side of the nip roller 64 will also be called conveying roller 54b.

The sheet support guide 83 further has an upwardly sloping surface 83b that is continuous with the upstream end of the upper surface 83a in the conveying direction Y and forms an upward gradient toward the conveying direction Y. In addition, the sheet support guide 83 has a bent-back portion 83c that is continuous with the downstream end of the upper surface 83a in the conveying direction Y and is bent downward in the opposite direction to the conveying direction Y.

The path of the web 52 is shown by the bold line in FIG. 12. That is, the web 52 is stretched horizontally between the nip rollers 62, 64. The height positions of the nip rollers 62, 64 are set so that the web 52 is stretched with a gap D13 from the upper surface 83a of the sheet support guide 83. This gap D13 is slightly smaller than the thickness of the sheet to be transferred. The height of the nip rollers 62, 64 may be adjustable according to the thickness of the sheet to be applied.

The axis of the transport roller 54a is offset downstream in the transport direction Y from the axis of the nip roller 62 by a distance D14. The height difference D15 between the axis of the transport roller 54a and the axis of the nip roller 62 is the sum of the radius of the transport roller 54a and the radius of the nip roller 62 plus the distance D13.

When the leading edge of the sheet is pressed and pinched between the conveying roller 54a and the nip roller 62, due to the offset between the conveying roller 54a and the nip roller 62 in the conveying direction Y, the leading edge of the sheet faces a direction D17 that is approximately perpendicular to a line D16 that connects the axial centers of the conveying roller 54a and the nip roller 62. The direction D17 intersects with the path of the web 52. Therefore, in the area sandwiched between the conveying roller 54a and the nip roller 62, a leading edge directing portion is formed that causes the leading edge side of the conveyed sheet in the conveying direction to face a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

The axis of the transport roller 54b is offset by a distance D18 upstream in the transport direction Y with respect to the axis of the nip roller 64. In the example of FIG. 12, the distance D18 is the same as the distance D14, but is not limited to being the same. The height difference D19 between the axis of the transport roller 54b and the axis of the nip roller 64 is the sum of the radius of the transport roller 54b and the radius of the nip roller 64 plus the distance D13.

Just before the rear end of the sheet leaves the pressure-clamped grip between the transport roller 54b and the nip roller 64, due to an offset between the transport roller 54b and the nip roller 64 in the transport direction Y, the rear end of the sheet faces a direction D21 that is approximately perpendicular to a line D20 connecting the axial centers of the transport roller 54b and the nip roller 64. The direction D21 intersects with the path of the web 52. Therefore, in the area sandwiched between the transport roller 54b and the nip roller 64, a rear end direction portion is formed that causes the transport direction rear end side of the transported sheet to face a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

The distance D13 is smaller than the thickness of the sheet, and is set to such an extent that when the sheet enters between the transport rollers 54a, 54b and the nip rollers 62, 64, it can advance between them in the transport direction Y while being pressed and sandwiched between the transport rollers 54a, 54b and the web 52 along the outside of the nip rollers 62, 64. In addition, in the portion between the nip rollers 62 and 64, the sheet is supported from below by the sheet support guide 83, preventing the sheet from escaping downward. Therefore, contact between the sheet and the web 52 can be promoted throughout the entire foil stamping section P.

When the first nip roller 62 and the second nip roller 64 are in the raised position, the web 52 is far away from the sheet support guide 83, as shown in FIG. 13(c). When they are moved to the lowered position, the web 52 and the upper surface 83a of the sheet support guide 83 are separated by a distance D13, as shown in FIG. 12. The leading end directional portion and the trailing end directional portion are formed when they are in this lowered position.

Even if this movement to the lowered position occurs after a portion of the sheet near the leading edge has entered the foil stamping section P, the leading edge of the passing sheet faces direction D17 at position D16. Therefore, in the leading edge directing section, the leading edge of the passing sheet faces in a direction that intersects with the path of the web 52.

In addition, even if the movement to the raised position occurs before part of the rear end of the sheet leaves the foil stamping section P, the rear end of the passing sheet faces direction D21 at position D20 until just before that. Therefore, in the rear end directing section, the rear end of the passing sheet faces in a direction that intersects with the path of web 52.

As a variation of the example of FIG. 12, the conveying roller 54a may be positioned slightly higher than in the example of FIG. 12. That is, the height difference D15 between the axis of the conveying roller 54a and the axis of the nip roller 62 may be slightly smaller than the sum of the radius of the conveying roller 54a and the radius of the nip roller 62 plus the distance D13. By positioning them in this way, the leading edge of the sheet that has entered between the conveying roller 54a and the nip roller 62 faces further upward than the direction D17. Therefore, the directivity of the leading edge directing portion can be increased.

Similarly, the transport roller 54b may be positioned slightly higher than in the example of FIG. 12. That is, the height difference D19 between the axis of the transport roller 54b and the axis of the nip roller 64 may be slightly smaller than the sum of the radius of the transport roller 54b and the radius of the nip roller 64 plus the distance D13. By positioning it in this way, the rear end of the sheet that has entered between the transport roller 54b and the nip roller 64 faces further upward than the direction D21. Therefore, the directivity of the rear end side directivity portion can be increased.

When the tension line of the web 52 and the top surface of the sheet to which the foil is to be transferred are completely parallel, even if the web 52 is designed to contact the top surface of the sheet, there is a problem that the web may be slightly separated due to component errors, or the contact pressure may be insufficient even if the web 52 is in contact, resulting in poor transfer. However, in each of the examples in Figures 9, 11, and 12, the leading edge of the sheet faces in a direction that intersects with the foil path in the leading edge directional portion, which promotes pressure bonding between the sheet and the foil at the leading edge of the sheet. Also, the trailing edge of the sheet faces in a direction that intersects with the foil path in the trailing edge directional portion, which promotes pressure bonding between the sheet and the foil at the trailing edge of the sheet. This allows the sheet and the foil to be reliably pressed together, and the foil to be reliably transferred to the sheet.

Note that the leading end directing portion and the trailing end directing portion may both be provided, or only one of them may be provided. In addition, in the case of a thin sheet, the gap D13 may be set to zero, that is, the sheet may wait with the web 52 in contact with the upper surface 83a of the sheet support guide 83. Also, if the gap D13 is smaller than the thickness of the sheet, the upper surface 83a may be lower than the conveying lower surface line L2.

The above is the detailed configuration of the foil stamping device 16. Next, we will explain the operation of the foil stamping device 16.

Figures 14(a) to (f) are diagrams explaining the return by the foil stamping device 16. Figures 14(a) to (f) show the return scenes in chronological order. In Figures 14(a) to (d), the web 52 shown in solid lines indicates an unused web, and the web 52 shown in dotted lines indicates a used web.

In Figure 14(a), sheet S1 is passing through the foil stamping section P, and foil is being transferred from web 52 to varnish-coated area R on sheet S1. As shown in Figure 14(b), the feeding of web 52 is stopped when the rear end (upstream end in transport direction Y) of varnish-coated area R on sheet S1 reaches the downstream end of foil stamping section P. Based on the varnish ejection data, control device 20 can determine the timing when the rear end of varnish-coated area R on sheet S1 reaches the downstream end of foil stamping section P.

As shown in FIG. 14(c), the nip rollers etc. are moved to the raised position, and the web 52 is separated from the sheet S1 and the conveying roller 54 (not shown). In FIG. 14(d), the guide rollers 60a, 60b are moved upstream in the conveying direction Y. As shown in FIG. 14(e), the nip rollers etc. are moved to the lowered position at the timing when the front end of the varnished region R of the next sheet S2 reaches the upstream end of the foil stamping section P. By the operations of FIG. 14(c) to FIG. 14(e), at least a part of the web 52 present in the foil stamping section P is returned to the upstream side of the foil stamping section P. In other words, a return is realized. Preferably, a return is realized so that all of the unused web 52 present in the foil stamping section P is returned to the upstream side of the foil stamping section P, specifically, so that the web 52 located at the downstream end of the foil stamping section P is located at the upstream end of the foil stamping section P.

In FIG. 14(f), sheet S2 is passing through the stamping section P, and foil is being transferred from web 52 to varnished area R on sheet S1. At this time, first, guide rollers 60a, 60b are moved downstream in conveying direction Y to send web 52, which is upstream of stamping section P and was in stamping section P in FIG. 14(b) and FIG. 14(c), to stamping section P. Once guide rollers 60a, 60b have been moved to a predetermined position (e.g., the limit of the movable range downstream in conveying direction Y), web 52 is sent to stamping section P by unwinding it from unwind roll 74 (not shown in FIG. 14).

In FIG. 14(c), when the nip rollers etc. are raised, the web transport path becomes shorter, so the nip rollers etc. may be raised while the web 52 is being wound by the winding roll 76 to prevent the web 52 from slackening. In this case, when the nip rollers etc. are lowered in FIG. 14(e), that is, when the transport path becomes longer, the web 52 may be unwound from the unwinding roll 74. Note that this unwinding causes a small amount of unused web 52 to be sent out into the foil stamping section P, so the guide rollers 60a, 60b may be moved in FIG. 14(d) to take this amount into consideration.

The present invention has been described above based on an embodiment. This embodiment is merely an example, and those skilled in the art will understand that various modifications are possible in the combination of each component and each processing process, and that such modifications are also within the scope of the present invention. Below, such modifications are described.

(Variation 1)
15(a) and (b) are diagrams showing the state of foil stamping. In this example, there are multiple varnished areas R-i (i = 1, ... N) on the sheet. In this case, as shown in Fig. 15(a) and (b), the web 52 that was in contact with the area Rb-k between the varnished area R-k (k = 1, ... N-1) and the varnished area R-k+1 becomes unused.

In FIG. 15(a), the length of region Rb-1 in the transport direction Y is less than or equal to the length of the foil stamping section P. In this case, when the rear end of varnish application region R-1 reaches the downstream end of the foil stamping section P, varnish application region R-2 has already reached the foil stamping section P. In this case, since it cannot be sent back, the web 52 that was in contact with region Rb-k is wound up on the winding roll 76 unused.

In FIG. 15(b), the length of region Rb-1 in the transport direction Y exceeds the length of the stamping section P. In this case, when the rear end of varnish-coated region R-1 reaches the downstream end of the stamping section P, varnish-coated region R-2 has not yet reached the stamping section P. In this case, the web 52 that was in contact with region Rb-k can be used by feeding it back.

Specifically, at a predetermined timing at the start of a job, the control device 20 identifies the existence of two varnish-coated areas R-1, R-2 based on the varnish discharge data. Next, it checks whether the length of region Rb-1 between the two varnish-coated areas R-1, R-2 exceeds the length of the foil stamping section P. If the length of region Rb-1 is equal to or less than the length of the foil stamping section, region Rb-1 is not fed back. If the length of region Rb-1 exceeds the length of the foil stamping section, the feeding of web 52 is stopped when the rear end of varnish-coated region R-1 reaches the downstream end of the foil stamping section P, and the web 52 corresponding to region Rb-1 is fed back.

This modified example further reduces waste of foil.

(Variation 2)
In the embodiment, the guide rollers 60a and 60b are connected via the bracket 80 and driven by a single driving device, but the present invention is not limited to this. The guide rollers 60a and 60b may not be connected to each other and may be driven by separate driving devices. In this case, the guide rollers 60a and 60b may be moved in conjunction with each other so that the transport path upstream of the foil stamping section P becomes longer, and the guide roller 60b is moved so that the transport path downstream of the foil stamping section P becomes shorter.

(Variation 3)
In the embodiment, the return feed is realized by moving the guide roller 60a on the upstream side and the guide roller 60b on the downstream side of the stamping section P, but the return feed may be realized by moving only the upstream guide roller 60a, that is, by increasing or decreasing only the upstream transport path. More specifically, the return feed may be realized by unwinding the used web 52 from the winding roll 76 while moving the guide roller 60a so that the upstream transport path becomes longer. In this case, the outer peripheral ring of the friction shaft of the winding shaft 58 rotates in the opposite direction to that during winding.

(Variation 4)
Instead of the guide rollers 60a, 60b, a non-rotating guide may be provided, in which case the guide surface is preferably designed to have low friction.

(Variation 5)
The technical concept of the embodiment is not limited to the case where the foil is transferred to a sheet, that is, the object to which the foil stamping device 16 transfers the foil may be something other than a sheet.

(Variation 6)
The transfer material held by the web 52 and transferred in a transfer section such as the foil stamping section P is not limited to a thin metal layer called "foil" but may be a thin layer of a material other than metal. It may also be a substrate such as an ink ribbon onto which a transfer material such as ink is applied. The long substrate sheet carrying the transfer material is not limited to a film but may be any material such as a strip of woven fabric that can hold the transfer material and transfer it to the object to be transferred in the transfer section.

Any combination of the above-mentioned embodiments and modifications is also useful as an embodiment of the present invention. A new embodiment resulting from the combination has the effects of the combined embodiments and modifications. In addition, it is understood by those skilled in the art that the functions of the constituent elements described in the claims are realized by each of the constituent elements shown in the embodiments and modifications alone or in conjunction with each other. For example, the conveying system described in the claims is realized by a combination of the unwinding shaft 56, the winding shaft 58, the multiple guide rollers 60, the nip rollers 62, 64, and the sheet detection sensor 77. In addition, the transfer means described in the claims is realized by a combination of the nip rollers 62, 64, the conveying roller 54 facing the nip rollers 62, 64, and the ultraviolet lamp 66 for foil stamping. In addition, the web conveying path changing mechanism described in the claims is realized by a combination of the guide rollers 60a, 60b, the bracket 80, and a driving device (not shown) that moves the bracket 80.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a semiconductor device, comprising:
[Aspect 1]
A transfer device in which a transfer web having a transfer substance supported on a base sheet is wound along a predetermined path, and a sheet-like object to be transferred is brought into contact with the transfer web in a transfer section which is a part of the predetermined path, thereby transferring the transfer substance to the object to be transferred,
A transfer device characterized in that a leading end direction portion is formed at a predetermined position of the transport path of the transfer object in the transfer section, so that the leading end side of the transfer object at the predetermined position faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section.
[Aspect 2]
A transfer device in which a transfer web, which has a transfer material held on a base sheet, is wound along a predetermined path, and in a transfer section which is a part of the predetermined path, the transfer web is brought into contact with a sheet-like transfer target, thereby transferring the transfer material to the transfer target.
A transfer device characterized in that a rear end side directing portion is formed at a predetermined position on the transport path of the transferred object in the transfer section, so that the rear end side of the transferred object at the predetermined position faces a direction that intersects with the path of the transfer web in the transfer section.
[Aspect 3]
A transfer device in which a transfer web, which has a transfer material held on a base sheet, is wound along a predetermined path, and in a transfer section which is a part of the predetermined path, the transfer web is brought into contact with a sheet-like transfer target, thereby transferring the transfer material to the transfer target.
A leading end directing portion is formed at a first predetermined position of the conveying path of the transfer target in the transfer section, so that the leading end side of the transfer target at the first predetermined position faces a direction intersecting with the path of the transfer web in the transfer section;
A transfer device characterized in that a rear end side directing portion is formed at a second predetermined position of the transport path of the transferred object in the transfer section, so that the rear end side of the transferred object at the second predetermined position faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section.
[Aspect 4]
a pair of upstream nip rollers disposed at an upstream end of the transfer section and configured to hold the transfer web and the object to be transferred together;
the axis of the roller of the upstream nip roller pair that is adjacent to the transfer object is located downstream in the conveying direction with respect to the axis of the roller of the transfer web side;
4. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the tip-side directing portion is a nip portion of the upstream nip roller pair.
[Aspect 5]
a downstream nip roller pair disposed at a downstream end of the transfer section and nipping the transfer web and the object to be transferred together;
the axis of the roller of the downstream nip roller pair that is adjacent to the transfer object is located upstream of the axis of the roller of the transfer web in the conveying direction;
4. The transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the trailing edge side directing portion is a nip portion of the downstream nip roller pair.
[Aspect 6]
a sheet support guide having a support guide surface that supports from below an object to be transferred that is transported within the transfer section;
A transfer device as described in any one of aspects 1 to 5, characterized in that the gap between the support guide surface and the tension line when the transfer web is stretched within the transfer section is smaller than the thickness of the transfer target material being transported.
[Aspect 7]
a sheet support and transport guide having a support guide surface that supports from below an object to be transferred that is transported within the transfer section;
A transfer device according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, wherein the support guide surface coincides with a tension line when the transfer web is stretched within the transfer section.
[Aspect 8]
a sheet conveying guide having a conveying guide surface that supports from below an object to be transferred conveyed within the transfer section,
The transport guide surface is formed with a protruding portion at least in a part of the transport direction, the protruding portion protruding upward from a tension line when the transfer web is stretched without the sheet transport guide,
4. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the tip directing portion is formed at least on the upstream end of the protruding portion.
[Aspect 9]
a sheet conveying guide having a conveying guide surface that supports from below an object to be transferred conveyed within the transfer section,
The transport guide surface is formed with a protruding portion at least in a part of the transport direction, the protruding portion protruding upward from a tension line when the transfer web is stretched without the sheet transport guide,
4. The transfer device according to claim 2, wherein the rear end directing portion is formed at least on a downstream end of the protruding portion.
[Aspect 10]
The transfer web and the object to be transferred, which are in contact with each other and pass through the transfer section, are provided with an ultraviolet light source that irradiates ultraviolet light from the transfer web side.
A transfer device according to any one of aspects 1 to 9.
[Aspect 11]
A foil stamping device that performs foil stamping by transferring a foil from a foil holding film having a foil laminated on a film to a transfer target, comprising:
A foil stamping device comprising the configuration of the transfer device according to any one of aspects 1 to 10 as a configuration for transferring foil from the foil holding film to the transfer target.

10 Printing system 16 Foil stamping device 52 Web 74 Unwinding roll 82 Sheet transport guide 83 Sheet support guide
?

Claims (7)

A transfer device in which a transfer web having a transfer substance supported on a base sheet is wound along a predetermined path, and a sheet-like object to be transferred is brought into contact with the transfer web in a transfer section which is a part of the predetermined path, thereby transferring the transfer substance to the object to be transferred,
A leading end directing portion is formed at a predetermined position of the conveying path of the transfer target in the transfer section, so that the leading end of the transfer target at the predetermined position faces a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section;
a pair of upstream nip rollers disposed at an upstream end of the transfer section and configured to hold the transfer web and the object to be transferred together;
the axis of the roller of the upstream nip roller pair that is adjacent to the transfer object is located downstream in the conveying direction with respect to the axis of the roller of the transfer web side;
The transfer device is characterized in that the tip side directing portion is a nip portion of the upstream side nip roller pair . A transfer device in which a transfer web carrying a transfer substance on a base sheet is wound along a predetermined path, and a sheet-shaped object to be transferred is brought into contact with the transfer web in a transfer section that is a part of the predetermined path, thereby transferring the transfer substance to the object to be transferred, the device comprising: a rear end side directing portion formed at a predetermined position on a transport path of the object to be transferred in the transfer section, the rear end side of the object to be transferred at the predetermined position being oriented in a direction intersecting the path of the transfer web in the transfer section ;
a downstream nip roller pair disposed at a downstream end of the transfer section and nipping the transfer web and the object to be transferred together;
the axis of the roller of the downstream nip roller pair that is adjacent to the transfer object is located upstream of the axis of the roller of the transfer web in the conveying direction;
The transfer device is characterized in that the rear end side directing portion is a nip portion of the downstream side nip roller pair . A transfer web having a transfer substance held on a base sheet is wound along a predetermined path, and in a transfer section which is a part of the predetermined path, a sheet-like object to be transferred is brought into contact with the transfer web, and in this transfer device, a leading end directing portion is formed at a first predetermined position of a transport path of the object to be transferred in the transfer section, such that a leading end side of the object to be transferred at the first predetermined position faces a direction intersecting with the path of the transfer web in the transfer section;
A rear end side directing portion is formed at a second predetermined position of the conveying path of the transfer target in the transfer section, so that the rear end side of the transfer target at the second predetermined position faces a direction intersecting with the path of the transfer web in the transfer section;
an upstream nip roller pair disposed at an upstream end of the transfer section and nipping the transfer web and the object to be transferred together; and a downstream nip roller pair disposed at a downstream end of the transfer section and nipping the transfer web and the object to be transferred together,
the shaft center of the roller of the upstream nip roller pair that is adjacent to the transfer medium is located downstream in the conveying direction of the shaft center of the transfer web side roller, and the shaft center of the roller of the downstream nip roller pair that is adjacent to the transfer medium is located upstream in the conveying direction of the shaft center of the transfer web side roller,
a pair of nip rollers disposed on the upstream side of the transfer roller and a pair of nip rollers disposed on the downstream side of the transfer roller ; a sheet support guide having a support guide surface that supports from below an object to be transferred that is transported within the transfer section;
4. The transfer device according to claim 1 , wherein a gap between the support guide surface and a tension line when the transfer web is stretched within the transfer section is smaller than a thickness of the transferred object being transported . a sheet support and transport guide having a support guide surface that supports from below an object to be transferred that is transported within the transfer section;
4. The transfer device according to claim 1 , wherein the support guide surface coincides with a tension line when the transfer web is stretched within the transfer section . 6. The transfer device according to claim 1 , further comprising an ultraviolet light source for irradiating ultraviolet light from the transfer web side to the transfer web and the object to be transferred, the transfer web and the object being in contact with each other and passing through the transfer section. A foil stamping device that performs foil stamping by transferring a foil from a foil holding film having a foil laminated on a film to a transfer target, comprising:
7. A foil stamping device comprising the transfer device according to claim 1 , as a configuration for transferring foil from said foil holding film to said transfer target .

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