JPH085195B2 - Thermal transfer printing method and thermal transfer printing apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a thermal transfer printing method and a thermal transfer printing apparatus.

[Prior Art and Problems Thereof] Various copying methods have heretofore been developed in which an original is copied using heat.

 Examples of this type of method include the following.

(A) Printing method using a heat-sensitive stencil sheet As for this (a), for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication 59-192355
The heat sensitive stencil sheet and the heat sensitive stencil sheet are superposed in close contact with each other, and the light source is irradiated to heat the image part drawn on the document, and this heat pierces the heat sensitive stencil sheet to produce the original plate. To do.

Thereafter, ink is applied to the heat-sensitive stencil sheet, and stencil printing is performed on the recording paper placed on the base.

That is, according to the printing method of (a), two steps of the plate making step and the printing step are required to copy the original, the workability is poor, and wet ink is used in the printing step. Therefore, there is a problem that it is difficult to handle.

(B) A heat-sensitive copying method using a heat-sensitive recording paper in which a color-forming layer is provided on a base layer made of a transparent or translucent synthetic resin sheet.

This (b) was made in order to improve the printing method of the above (a) and was previously proposed by the applicant of the present invention (for example, Japanese Patent Application No. Copying method and apparatus ").

That is, in (B), the original and the thermosensitive recording paper set on the base are irradiated with light in a pressure-bonded state to perform thermosensitive copying, and the original is copied as a mirror image on the thermosensitive recording paper. Therefore, this image can be visually recognized as a normal image by seeing it through a synthetic resin sheet which is a transparent or semitransparent base layer.

According to the thermal copying method of (b), all the problems of the printing method of (a) are alleviated.

However, the printed sheet is a special sheet in which a light emitting layer is provided on a base layer of a synthetic resin sheet, and there is a problem that it cannot be recorded on so-called plain paper.

After all, there is a strong demand for copying or transferring originals on recording paper such as sheets and notebooks of any material, and moreover than the PPC (Carlson) copying machine (copy machine) that has been used in offices etc. Is small and easy to operate. Moreover, it is expected that a copying machine that does not require maintenance will be developed.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a method for easily copying an original onto plain paper, and more specifically, transferring the ink of a thermal transfer ink sheet to plain paper by heat. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a heat-sensitive transfer printing method and a heat-sensitive transfer printing apparatus that can easily obtain a copy of a document.

[Points of the Invention] The present invention has an important feature that a metal foil is used in a heat-sensitive transfer process. The metal foil is recorded by utilizing the heat capacity characteristics, heat transfer characteristics, and light blocking characteristics of the metal foil. With the recording paper, the thermal transfer ink sheet, the metal foil, and the original placed in close contact with each other, interposed between the thermal transfer ink sheet on the paper and the original, the light source is driven to drive the light from the light source. By irradiating the original with heat, the image area drawn on the original heats up, and the heat of this image area is transferred to the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet through the metal foil, while the light radiated to areas other than the image area is metallic. The point is that the foil is reflected on the surface of the foil and its passage is blocked so that the ink of the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet corresponding to the image portion is heat-transferred to the recording paper.

[Basic Principle of the Invention] As described above, the present invention utilizes the characteristics of a metal foil, and a thermal transfer ink sheet that transfers ink to a recording paper by a thermal reaction and a light source from a light source. It is characterized in that thermal transfer printing is performed by interposing it between a document directly receiving light irradiation and a document.

The present inventors have found and experienced what happens if light irradiation is performed without interposing a metal foil (for example, an aluminum foil). That is, when a document such as an infrared ray is irradiated as a flash of light, all parts of the document's paper, that is, the image on which the characters and figures are drawn and the blank part, are all heated on the thermal transfer ink sheet. A change (deterioration) occurs, and the original, the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet, and the recording paper are all stuck together, and copying cannot be performed.

It is believed that the total alteration on the thermal transfer sheet is due to the light rays being applied through a blank sheet.

On the other hand, the metal foil used as an inclusion according to the present invention has a small heat capacity, good heat conductivity, and
Light rays have the property that they are reflected at the surface or do not easily penetrate into the interior. In fact, according to the finding of the present inventor, by irradiating the original with light by interposing the metal foil as described above, a thermal reaction on the thermal transfer ink sheet which may occur is caused at the image portion of the original. Can be limited.

Further, the principle of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIG.

In FIG. 1 (1), M is an original document, and reference symbol m is its image portion. A metal foil A (for example, aluminum foil) is placed under this document. Further, the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet B is placed on the lower surface of the metal foil A. The upper portion of the thermal transfer ink sheet B is the support B-1 and the lower portion is the ink layer B-2. And this thermal transfer ink sheet B
Place a suitable recording paper C on the lower surface of the.

The above is the first step of the present thermal transfer printing method. Then, after that, the original M, the metal foil A, the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet B, and the recording paper C are pressed and radiated as a light source, preferably an infrared source as a flash (FIG. 1 (A)).
The arrow indicates infrared. ).

As a result, as shown in FIG. 1 (B), heat is generated in the image portion m by light absorption, the heat passes through the metal foil A, heats the corresponding portion of the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet B, and the ink layer B-2 is transferred to recording paper C.

This heat flow is indicated by the dashed arrow in FIG. 1 (B). Then, the light rays radiated to a plain area other than the image portion m are not substantially converted into thermal energy and are reflected by the surface of the metal foil as shown by solid arrows in FIG. 1 (B). become. This completes the second step of the thermal transfer printing method.

As a result, printing is completed as shown in FIG. That is, FIG. 1C shows a state in which the original M, the metal foil A, the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet B, and the recording paper C are separated after being irradiated with infrared rays as described above. A recording portion c is formed in a portion corresponding to the image portion m. That is, the recording portion c is formed by transferring the ink from the ink layer B-2 of the thermal transfer ink sheet B. In the figure, b is a defective portion formed by the ink being exhausted.

In this way, if the original M, the metal foil A, the thermal transfer ink sheet B, and the recording paper C are overlaid and light rays such as infrared rays are emitted as flash light, the printing is completed in an instant, and extremely. Easy. In addition, it is preferable because it can be carried out speedily and the hands and clothes are not soiled.

Further, as the thermal transfer ink sheet B, one having a black ink layer and one having various ink layers of red, blue, etc. have been put to practical use, and the original M is combined with the thermal transfer ink sheet B of each color. If used, it is possible to easily perform multicolor printing and also to perform clear printing to obtain a good printed matter.

[Embodiment] Next, an embodiment of the present invention in which printing is actually performed using the above-described basic principle of the present invention will be specifically described.

FIG. 2 shows a state in which an address printing is performed by using a postcard as a recording paper C. The light source device 1 for irradiating light rays such as infrared rays has a transparent sheet D and an address recorded in advance. The original M, the metal foil A, the thermal transfer ink sheet B, and the recording paper C are set, and by pressing the apparatus main body 5 from above, the original M is irradiated with flashing light to perform thermal transfer printing.

The transparent sheet D covers the surface of the original in order to prevent the glass plate 12 from being stained and protect the original M, which will be described later.

Next, the internal structure of the light source device 1 will be described with reference to FIG.

That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the portable device body 5 of the light source device 1 has a housing-like outer casing 6 having an opening at one end, and is vertically movable accommodated in the outer casing 6. The inner housing 7 and a light source housing case 8 are integrally attached to the opening of the inner housing 7. In this light source housing case 8, a lamp 9 (for example, a xenon lamp) that emits a flash for a predetermined time is disposed via a lamp mounting plate 8a. Protrusions 10 are formed on both sides of the light source housing case 8 to facilitate gripping.
Further, a reflection plate 11 made of aluminum foil or the like is stretched on the inner wall thereof in order to increase the efficiency of light irradiation from the lamp 9 to the original M. On the lower surface of the light source housing case 8, a transparent glass plate 12 forming a light transmitting portion is stretched. This glass plate 12 allows the light from the lamp 9 to pass therethrough, and also has a transparent sheet D,
The original M, the metal foil A, and the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet B work as a pressing plate that makes the recording paper C adhere to each other.

On the other hand, a power supply unit 14 used for driving the lamp 9 to be turned on is accommodated in the apparatus main body 5.
The power supply unit 14 is composed of a dry battery or a charger that can be charged by a commercial power supply. Also, the device body 5
At a predetermined position, specifically, the upper position of the internal unit 7,
A pressure sensitive switch mechanism 15 is provided which, when gripping the device body 5 and pressing the device body 5 with a pressing force of a predetermined amount or more, turns on the lamp 9 to drive the lamp 9 by the power supply current from the power supply section 14. ing. The pressure-sensitive switch mechanism 15 includes one spring piece 15a of a pair of spring pieces 15a and 15b formed by forming a substantially U-shaped cut portion 7a on the upper wall portion of the inner casing 7, and A pressure-sensitive switch 15c attached to the inner wall of the inner casing 7 and a pair of contact springs 15d and 15e constituting the pressure-sensitive switch 15c are provided on the inner wall of the outer casing 6 for on / off operation. It is composed of a pressing portion 15f.
The pressing portion 15f is vertically movably inserted into a guide hole 7b formed in the center of the upper wall portion of the inner casing 7, and at its tip, the outer casing 6 is prevented from coming off from the inner casing 7. A stopper 7c for fitting is fitted.

Next, a copying process when the characters and the like of the document M are printed on the recording paper C using the light source device 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.

First, as shown in FIG. 3, the recording paper C and the ink layer B-2 of the thermal transfer ink sheet B are placed facing each other on the base, and the metal foil A is placed on the base. The document M is set on the top of the document so that the image portion m faces the front, and the transparent sheet D is superposed on the document M.

After that, the apparatus main body 5 is gripped, and the glass plate 12 is pressed to press the transparent sheet D, the original M, the metal foil A, the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet B, and the recording paper C on the base. When the device body 5 is pressed by a predetermined force or more, the inner casing 7 is resisted against the elastic force of the pair of spring pieces 15a and 15b formed on the upper wall portion of the inner casing 7.
The outer casing 6 moves downward while being guided by the side wall surface of the. Then, as the outer casing 6 moves downward, the pressing portion 15f formed on the upper wall portion of the outer casing 6 causes the upper part of the pair of contact springs 15d and 15e to move upward as shown in FIG. Since the tip of the contact spring 15e at the position is moved downward, the contact spring 15e and the contact 15d at the lower position come into electrical contact with each other. As a result, the pressure sensitive switch mechanism 15 is turned on, and the tricker signal is applied to the lighting circuit, thereby applying the drive voltage suitable for flash lighting to the lamp 9. This allows the lamp 9
Automatically flashes, and this light passes through the glass plate 12 and the transparent sheet D and is applied to the original M. By this irradiation, the image part m
Only the other part heats up to a temperature sufficiently higher than the other parts, and the thermal energy causes the image part m of the original M to be copied onto the recording paper C by the thermal ink transfer of the thermal transfer ink sheet B according to the above-mentioned operating principle. It will be.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the portable light source device 1 is provided with the light source, the power supply unit, and the pressure sensitive switch mechanism.
The pressure sensitive switch mechanism is turned on by a simple operation of pressing the main body of the device, and based on this on operation, a power supply current can be supplied from the power supply unit to the light source, enabling easy and quick thermal transfer printing. become.

In the case of the present embodiment, the relationship between the image portion m drawn on the original M and the recording portion copied on the recording portion C is the same. On the other hand, when thermal transfer printing is performed with the document turned upside down so that the surface of the document M on which the image portion m is formed faces the metal foil, the image portion of the document M is printed on the recording paper C. An image having a relationship between m and the opposite sex (mirror image) will be recorded. Here, if the image portion m on the original M is previously formed as an inside-out image, by performing this thermal transfer printing, a normal image in which the image portion m is further turned over is obtained on the recording paper C. To be In this type of thermal transfer printing,
Since the image portion m of the document M comes into contact with the metal foil A, the heat generated in the image portion m is directly transmitted to the metal foil A, and it can be expected that more faithful copying is performed. Further, since the transparent sheet D is also unnecessary, there is an advantage that the energy efficiency is improved accordingly. The original on which the inside-out image is formed can be obtained by, for example, the copying method disclosed in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-241736.

The recording paper may be made of any material as long as it can be recorded with the ink transferred from the thermal transfer ink sheet B.

Further, if the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet is formed into a roll shape and automatically or manually pulled out each time printing is performed, the copying operation becomes easier.

[Advantages of the Invention] As described in detail above, the present invention focuses on the thermal characteristics and optical characteristics of a metal foil, and uses this metal foil as a heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet for transferring ink to recording paper. By interposing it between the recording paper, the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet, the metal foil, and the original, by interposing it between the original and the original irradiation surface of the light from the light source, and driving the light source. , Thermal transfer printing. Therefore, there is no limitation on the recording paper, and ordinary paper is sufficient, and the recording paper is easy to handle, and is most suitable for easy copying.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the basic principle of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an apparatus used in one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS.
The drawings are cross-sectional views in each step in the case of performing thermal transfer printing using the apparatus shown in FIG. 1 ... Light source device, 9 ... Lamp, M ... Original, m ... Image part, A ... Metal foil, B ... Thermal transfer ink sheet, C
……Recording paper.

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet in which an ink layer faces the recording paper between a light source and a recording paper such as plain paper, and the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet faces the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet. Irradiating light from the light source is substantially cut off, and a light reflector capable of locally transmitting heat and an image portion facing the light reflector are formed, and a document which can be irradiated with the light emitted from the light source is arranged. The image is obtained by driving the light source and irradiating the original with the light source under the state where the recording medium, the thermal transfer ink sheet, the light reflector, and the original are closely overlapped with each other. Part to generate heat and transfer the heat to the heat-sensitive transfer sheet, heat-transfer the ink of the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet at a portion corresponding to the image portion to the recording body, and then the image portion on the recording body. Corresponding to A thermal transfer printing method comprising: a step of thermal transfer printing an image portion of a normal image. 2. A light source for emitting a light beam, a light reflector for reflecting the light beam emitted from the light source, and a heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet having an ink layer and an ink support. An original having an image portion on its surface, a thermal transfer ink sheet at a lower position of the light reflector, and a recording medium at a lower position of the thermal transfer ink sheet. Under the condition, a light beam is emitted from the light source toward the original document, and only the light reflecting member and the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet portion corresponding to the image portion are generated by the thermal energy generated by the light ray. Heat-sensitive transfer printing, characterized in that the ink is heated and the corresponding ink layer portion of the heat-sensitive transfer ink sheet is heated and melted to heat-transfer onto the recording medium. Location.