JP2012056291A - Image forming apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an image forming apparatus which has an inexpensive and compact body and can drive a surface property modifying sheet.SOLUTION: The image forming apparatus includes: a driving motor; first and second surface property modifying sheet reels for supplying or taking up the surface property modifying sheet; first and second thermal transfer sheet reels for supplying or taking up a thermal transfer sheet; and a driving force transmission mechanism including a first connecting/separating mechanism configured to transmit or not to transmit driving force of the driving motor to the first surface property modifying sheet reel, a second connecting/separating mechanism configured to transmit or not to transmit the driving force of the driving motor to the second surface property modifying sheet reel, a third connecting/separating mechanism configured to transmit or not to transmit the driving force of the driving motor to the first thermal transfer sheet reel, and a fourth connecting/separating mechanism configured to transmit or not to transmit the driving force of the driving motor to the second thermal transfer sheet reel. The driving force transmission mechanism makes connection/separation of the respective connecting/separating mechanisms different in accordance with a driving state of the driving motor.

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus.

  As one of the image forming apparatuses, there is a sublimation type image forming apparatus that forms an image by transferring a dye layer of a thermal transfer sheet onto a recording medium. In the sublimation type image forming apparatus, a transparent protective layer is formed on the image in order to protect the surface of the image formed on the recording medium. Specifically, the protective layer causes image deterioration. Blocks images from gas, absorbs ultraviolet rays to prevent discoloration and fading of images, prevents dyes that form images from shifting to plastic articles, and prevents image wear Protect images from sebum. The protective layer is provided, for example, by laminating on a ribbon-like substrate sheet, and is thermally transferred onto the image by a thermal head. By being thermally transferred onto the image, it is possible to prevent the recording medium from curling in addition to protecting the image.

  In addition, when the protective layer is thermally transferred using a thermal head, the surface state of the protective layer formed on the image of the recording medium may be modified to give glossiness, matte tone or silky tone. it can. As a method for modifying the surface state of the protective layer, a surface property modified sheet having a desired surface property is superimposed on an image and heated and pressed with a thermal head to soften the protective layer, A method for copying surface properties onto the surface of a protective layer is known.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a technique in which one ribbon cartridge is provided with a sheet in which YMC and a surface modification unit are repeatedly connected. As described above, by providing the ink and the surface modification unit in a single cartridge, it is possible to perform image formation and surface property modification with one cartridge. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-228561 discloses a technique in which YMC hot-melt ink is stored in different ink ribbon cartridges, and a cartridge of a color necessary for image formation is exchanged and mounted on a head to form an image. In the method described in Patent Document 2, a ribbon cartridge containing a surface property modifying sheet after image formation is mounted on the head after image formation to modify the surface property.

JP 10-315515 A JP-A-10-305601 JP 2009-166373 A JP-A-60-192668 JP 2000-043364 A

  However, since the surface property reforming portion is not originally consumed, it is only necessary to provide one image for surface property modification. However, in the configuration of the ribbon cartridge described in Patent Document 1, the same number as the YMC region is used. A surface modification part is required, and waste of resources and an increase in cost are inevitable. Further, the method of Patent Document 2 does not waste resources, but has a problem that the mechanism for exchanging the cartridge is complicated and the cost increases.

  Therefore, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the applicants of the present invention are configured as a ribbon that has a modified region for at least one surface and an opening for printing and can be conveyed bidirectionally. It has been proposed to heat and press with a thermal head over the ribbon (Patent Document 3).

  By the way, in the structure of patent document 3, it is necessary to carry and drive a surface property modification sheet and an ink ribbon appropriately according to an operation state. Patent Documents 4 and 5 disclose a method of driving paper conveyance and ink ribbon conveyance with a single drive source, but the method is applied to a conventional image forming apparatus that does not use a surface modification sheet.

  Further, Patent Document 5 requires a separate motor to drive the Allied arm corresponding to the contact / separation mechanism of the present application. Patent Document 4 uses a one-way clutch, but there is a concern that the conveyance accuracy may decrease due to slipping.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an object of the present invention is a novel and capable of driving a surface-modified sheet by making the main body low-cost and compact. An object of the present invention is to provide an improved image forming apparatus.

  In order to solve the above problems, according to an aspect of the present invention, a drive motor, first and second surface modified sheet reels for supplying or winding a surface modified sheet, and a thermal transfer sheet are supplied or The first and second thermal transfer sheet reels to be wound, the first contact / separation mechanism for contacting / separating the drive force of the drive motor to / from the first surface property-modified sheet reel, and the drive force of the drive motor to the second surface A second contact / separation mechanism for contacting / separating the property-reforming sheet reel, a third contact / separation mechanism for contacting / separating the drive force of the drive motor to / from the first thermal transfer sheet reel, and a drive force of the drive motor for the second A drive force transmission mechanism having a fourth contact / separation mechanism that contacts / separates the thermal transfer sheet reel, and the drive force transmission mechanism varies the contact / separation of each contact / separation mechanism based on driving of the drive motor. An image forming apparatus is provided.

  Based on the driving of the drive motor, the first, second, and third contact / separation mechanisms are separated, and the fourth contact / separation mechanism is connected to the first contact / separation state, and the first, third, and fourth states The second contact / separation mechanism is separated from the second contact / separation mechanism, and the second and third contact / separation mechanisms are separated from each other, and the first and fourth contact / separation mechanisms are connected. The third contact / separation state may be separated from the second, third, and fourth contact / separation mechanisms, and the first contact / separation mechanism may be connected to the fourth contact / separation state.

  In the first contact / separation state, an image forming operation is performed, in the second contact / separation state, the surface property modified region of the surface property modified sheet is conveyed to a predetermined position, and in the third contact / separation state, surface property is maintained. In the fourth contact / separation state, the modification processing may be performed, and the opening of the surface modification sheet may be conveyed to a predetermined position.

  In the third contact / separation state, the driving force may be transmitted so that the conveyance speed of the surface property modified sheet is different from the conveyance speed of the thermal transfer sheet.

  The first to fourth contact / separation mechanisms perform contact / separation between the planetary gears and the gears provided on the rotation shafts of the respective reels by changing the revolution positions of the planetary gears that revolve around the sun gear. You may let them.

  Before heating for the surface property modification treatment, it is desirable to start winding the surface property modified sheet and the thermal transfer sheet.

  As described above, according to the present invention, the surface-modified sheet can be driven with a low-cost and compact body.

1 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the structure of the thermal transfer sheet which concerns on the same embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing image forming processing by the image forming apparatus of the embodiment. 5 is a flowchart showing image forming processing by the image forming apparatus of the embodiment. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the driving | running | working of the surface property modification sheet accommodated in the thermal transfer sheet and the surface property modification sheet cartridge. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of the surface property modification process of the surface property modification sheet accommodated in the thermal transfer sheet and the surface property modification sheet cartridge. It is a front view which shows the layout of the gear train of the drive source of a surface property modification unit. It is a front view which shows the layout of the gear train of the drive source of a surface property modification unit. It is a front view which shows the layout of the gear train of the drive source of a surface property modification unit. It is a front view which shows the layout of the gear train of the drive source of a surface property modification unit. It is a front view which shows the layout of the gear train of the drive source of a surface property modification unit. It is a front view which shows the layout of the gear train of the drive source of a surface property modification unit. It is a table | surface which shows the contact / separation relationship of a gear. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing a contact / separation operation of the gear 28; FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing a contact / separation operation of the gear 28; FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing a contact / separation operation of the gear 32; FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing a contact / separation operation of the gear 32; FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing a contact / separation operation of the gear 36; FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing a contact / separation operation of the gear 36; FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing the contact / separation operation of the gear 40. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a layout of a gear train for showing the contact / separation operation of the gear 40.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. In addition, in this specification and drawing, about the component which has the substantially same function structure, duplication description is abbreviate | omitted by attaching | subjecting the same code | symbol.
1. 1. Schematic configuration of image forming apparatus 2. Image formation processing Driving source of thermal transfer sheet 150 and surface property modifying sheet 170

<1. Schematic configuration of image forming apparatus>
First, a schematic configuration of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a schematic configuration of the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment. The image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment is a thermal printer 100 that sublimates a dye of an ink film and transfers the dye to a recording medium, forms an image on the recording medium using a thermal transfer sheet, and protects the surface of the image A protective layer is formed.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the thermal printer 100 includes a thermal head 110, a platen roller 120 that holds a recording paper 200 that is a recording medium, a pinch roller 132, a capstan roller 134, and a supply reel for a thermal transfer sheet 150. 142 and a take-up reel 144, and a take-up reel 162 and a supply reel 164 of the surface property modifying sheet 170.

  The recording paper 200 is a recording medium on which an image is formed in the thermal printer 100. For example, a printing paper for sublimation transfer can be used. The platen roller 120 holds the recording paper 200 during printing and is provided to face the thermal head 110. The pinch roller 132 and the capstan roller 134 are provided in contact with each other so that the recording paper 200 can be inserted therethrough. The pinch roller 132 and the capstan roller 134 rotate synchronously in opposite directions to convey the recording paper 200 in a predetermined direction, and reverse the rotation direction to convey the recording paper 200 in a direction opposite to the predetermined direction. Conveying unit 130 is configured. The platen roller 120, the pinch roller 132, the capstan roller 134, and a roller driving mechanism (not shown) constitute a conveyance mechanism for conveying the recording paper 200.

  The thermal transfer sheet 150 is a sheet that holds a dye that is thermally transferred to the recording paper 200 to form an image. A detailed configuration of the thermal transfer sheet 150 is shown in FIG. The thermal transfer sheet 150 includes a dye layer 151 that holds a dye on a ribbon-shaped base sheet 153, and a protective material layer 156 that is thermally transferred to the surface of an image formed on the surface of the recording paper 200 and protects the image. The base material sheet 153 is formed side by side in the longitudinal direction. This thermal transfer sheet 150 is usually called an ink ribbon. In addition, the heat resistant slipping layer 154 is formed on the back surface side of the base material sheet 153, and the easy adhesion layer 155 is formed on the front surface side of the base material sheet 153.

  The dye layer 151 holds one or a plurality of color dyes. In this embodiment, the dye layer has three colors of yellow (Y) dye layer 151Y, magenta dye layer (M) 151M, and cyan dye layer (C) 151C. Holding. In addition, the dye layer 151 may include, for example, a black dye layer. In FIG. 2, the front end position of the yellow dye layer 151Y is represented by Y1s, the rear end position is represented by Y1e, the front end position of the magenta dye layer 151M is represented by M1s, the rear end position is represented by M1e, and the front end position of the cyan dye layer 151C is represented by C1s. The rear end position is represented by C1e. As shown in FIG. 2, the dye layer 151 is formed on the base sheet 153 via the easy adhesion layer 155, and is transferred onto the surface of the recording paper 200 by sublimation transfer or melt transfer.

  The protective material layer 156 is further formed on the easy-adhesion layer 155 formed on the surface side of the base sheet 153 via a release layer 157. In FIG. 2, the front end position of the protective material layer 156 is represented by L1s, and the rear end position is represented by L1e. The protective material layer 156 is transferred to the surface of the recording paper 200 in order to improve the wear resistance, chemical resistance, etc. of the image formed on the surface of the recording paper 200. In addition, by adding an ultraviolet absorber to the protective material layer 156, the light resistance of the image can be improved. As the protective material layer 156, for example, a thermoplastic resin such as polystyrene resin can be used. Alternatively, an adhesive layer (not shown) may be provided on the uppermost layer of the protective material layer 156 in order to improve the adhesiveness of the protective material layer 156 to the recording paper 200 and the image surface formed on the surface thereof. . For example, the protective material layer 156 may be configured as a two-layer structure in which an acrylic eccentric resin is provided on an upper layer of polystyrene resin.

  The thermal transfer sheet 150 is provided with a plurality of regions, each of which includes a region composed of four regions of the yellow dye layer 151Y, the magenta dye layer 151M, and the cyan dye layer 151C, and the protective material layer 156. It is done. Position detection marks 152Y, 152M, 152C, and 152L indicating the head positions of the respective areas are provided at the heads of the yellow dye layer 151Y, the magenta dye layer 151M, the cyan dye layer 151C, and the protective material layer 156 in each unit area. . The position detection marks 152Y, 152M, 152C, and 152L are linear markings formed by traversing the base sheet 153 in the width direction. The position detection mark 152Y of the yellow dye layer 151Y provided at the head of each unit area is composed of two lines, and the position detection marks 152M, 152C, and 152L of the magenta dye layer 151M, the cyan dye layer 151C, and the protective material layer 156. Consists of a single line.

  As shown in FIG. 1, such a thermal transfer sheet 150 is stretched by a supply reel 142 and a take-up reel 144 and stored in a ribbon cassette (not shown). The ribbon cassette is detachably provided on the image forming apparatus main body. When the ribbon cassette is mounted on the main body of the image forming apparatus, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is sandwiched between the thermal head 110 and the platen roller 120 and travels in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording paper 200. The supply reel 142 and the take-up reel 144 constitute a thermal transfer sheet running mechanism that runs the thermal transfer sheet 150 in a predetermined direction. Note that the thermal transfer sheet 150, the supply reel 142, and the take-up reel 144 do not necessarily have to be stored in the ribbon cassette, and can be provided and operated at predetermined positions of the main body of the image forming apparatus.

  An optical sensor 146 is provided in the middle of the travel path of the thermal transfer sheet 150 by the thermal transfer sheet travel mechanism. The optical sensor 146 detects the position detection marks 152Y, 152M, 152C, and 152L formed on the thermal transfer sheet 150. Based on the detection result of the optical sensor 146, the color dye layer to be transferred to the recording paper 200 is transferred. Set to position. Therefore, when the optical sensor 146 detects the position detection marks 152Y, 152M, 152C, and 152L, the corresponding dye layers 152Y, 152M, and 152C or the protective material layer 156 are positioned at the transfer position. As described above, the thermal head 110 and the platen roller 120 are provided at positions separated from each other by a predetermined distance.

  The surface modification sheet 170 is a ribbon-like sheet that serves as a surface modification member that modifies the surface state of the protective layer that protects the image formed on the recording paper 200. The surface property modification sheet 170 includes two leader sheets and a modification sheet provided between the leader sheets.

The leader sheet is a sheet having high tensile strength provided for positioning the surface property modified sheet 170, and an end portion thereof is fixed to the take-up reel 162 or the supply reel 164. The leader sheet is made of, for example, polyethylene terephthalate (PET).
The leader sheet fixed to the take-up reel 162 is provided with an opening formed to allow the thermal head 110 to escape.

  The opening is formed to pass the thermal head 110 through the opening and press the thermal head 110 against the thermal transfer sheet 150 when the dye is transferred to the recording paper 200 by the thermal transfer sheet 150. The width of the opening is formed slightly larger than the length of the thermal head 110 in the main scanning direction, and the thermal head 110 is pressed against the photographic paper through the thermal transfer sheet 150 during normal printing and protective layer formation. It is done. As a result, a normal printing operation can be performed in which an image is formed using the thermal head 110 while moving the photographic paper and the thermal transfer sheet, and a protective layer is further formed thereon.

  The modified sheet is a member used for performing the surface property modification treatment, and a sheet made of a material corresponding to the surface finish is provided. In the present embodiment, there is provided a modified sheet for performing mirror finishing to give gloss to the surface of the protective layer of the printed material. For example, a polyimide film having a very flat surface can be used as the modified sheet for mirror finishing, and specifically, Upilex S (registered trademark), Kapton (registered trademark), and the like. In addition to this, as the modified sheet, for example, polysulfone, polyetherimide, polyethylene terephthalate, or the like may be used.

  During the surface modification treatment, the protective layer is in a state of being appropriately softened and in close contact with the modified sheet, so that the surface state of the protective layer becomes flat following the surface state of the modified sheet. Then, after the heat treatment by the thermal head 110 is completed, the thermal head 110 is separated from the modified sheet, and after the protective layer is cooled, the recording paper 200 is peeled from the modified sheet. The surface of the protective layer of the printed product is thus finished to a very flat and glossy surface by transferring the flat surface of the modified sheet to the protective layer.

<2. Image formation processing>
In the image forming apparatus described above, an image is formed on the recording paper 200 by the processing shown in FIGS. 3A and 3B. Hereinafter, based on FIGS. 3A and 3B, an image forming process by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment will be described. 3A and 3B are flowcharts showing image forming processing by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment.

  Image forming processing by the image forming apparatus of the present embodiment is roughly divided into image forming processing (S100 to S114) using the thermal transfer sheet 150 and surface property modification processing (S115 to S134) of the formed image. . First, when image data to be formed on the recording paper 200 is input to the image forming apparatus, a control unit (not shown) of the image forming apparatus conveys the recording paper 200 in a predetermined direction, as well as the thermal head 110, The thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface modification sheet 170 are moved to the initial positions (S100). The recording paper 200 is conveyed in a predetermined direction by driving a platen roller 120, a pinch roller 132, and a capstan roller 134 by a roller driving mechanism (not shown). In the initial state, the surface property modifying sheet 170 is traveled by the surface property modifying sheet traveling mechanism constituted by the take-up reel 162 and the supply reel 164, and the opening 172 is located at the position where the thermal head 110 is pressed against the thermal transfer sheet 150. Is moved to be located.

  Next, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is moved by a thermal transfer sheet running mechanism including the supply reel 142 and the take-up reel 144 of the thermal transfer sheet 150. As a result, one of the dye layers 151Y, 151M, and 151C of the thermal transfer sheet 150 shown in FIG. 2 is positioned at a position where an image is formed on the recording paper 200. The alignment of the thermal transfer sheet 150 can be performed based on the detection result of a sensor (not shown) that can detect the position detection marks 152Y, 152M, and 152C formed on the thermal transfer sheet 150.

  In the present embodiment, three dye layers 151Y, 151M, and 151C of yellow (Y), magenta (M), and cyan (C) are provided on the thermal transfer sheet 150. For example, first, the thermal head 110 is pressed against the platen roller 120 via the thermal transfer sheet 150 in a state where the yellow dye layer 151Y is moved to the image forming position by the thermal transfer sheet running mechanism. In this state, thermal energy is applied to the thermal transfer sheet 150 by the thermal head 110, and the yellow dye layer 151Y of the thermal transfer sheet 150 is thermally transferred onto the surface of the recording paper 200, thereby forming a yellow image (S102). Thereafter, the recording paper 200 is returned to the initial position by the pinch roller 132 and the capstan roller 134 in order to form an image of the next color (S104).

  Next, as in the yellow image formation, the magenta dye layer 151M is moved to the image forming position to form a magenta image on the surface of the recording paper 200 (S106), and then the recording paper 200 is returned to the initial position again. (S108). Then, after moving the cyan dye layer 151C to the image forming position to form a cyan image on the surface of the recording paper 200 (S110), the recording paper 200 is returned to the initial position again (S112). As a result, an image is formed on the recording paper 200 by the desired dye layers 151Y, 151M, and 151C.

  Thereafter, the thermal head 110 is pressed against the platen roller 120 via the thermal transfer sheet 150 in a state where the image formed on the recording paper 200 and the protective material layer 156 of the thermal transfer sheet 150 face each other. In this state, thermal energy is applied to the thermal transfer sheet 150 by the thermal head 110, and the protective material layer 156 of the thermal transfer sheet 150 is thermally transferred onto the image formed on the recording paper 200 (S114). At this time, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is run by the thermal transfer sheet running mechanism. A sensor (not shown) detects the position detection mark 152L indicating the position of the protective material layer 156, thereby recognizing the position of the thermal transfer sheet 150, so that the protective material layer 156 of the thermal transfer sheet 150 is positioned at the image forming position. Can be aligned.

  When the protective material layer 156 is transferred to the surface of the recording paper 200, the surface state of the protective layer formed on the surface of the image has not been modified yet. Therefore, the protective layer is modified to the surface state designated by the user by the processes in steps S115 to S134. First, the control unit confirms the finishing type of the surface state designated by the user (S115). In the processing procedure shown in FIG. 3B, either the glossy finish or the matte finish can be selected as the surface state. This selection is performed by the surface property modifying unit provided in the surface property modifying sheet 170. Depends on the type of For example, when only the modified sheet 174 for performing the gloss finish is provided like the surface modified sheet 170 of the present embodiment, only the gloss finish process (S116 to S124) can be executed.

  When the gloss finish processing is designated, first, the recording paper 200 is run to the initial position (S116), and the thermal transfer sheet 150 is rewound (S118). At this time, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is rewound to a position before the protective material layer 156 is transferred to the recording paper 200, that is, the position of the leading end position L1s (S120). Thereafter, the surface modified sheet 170 is caused to travel by the take-up reel 162 and the supply reel 164 so that the modified sheet 174 is positioned at the image forming position from the opening 172 (S122). Thus, after the protective layer formed on the image of the recording paper 200 and the modified sheet 174 of the surface property modifying sheet 170 are aligned, they are heated while being pressed by the thermal head 110. When the modified sheet 174 is peeled off from the recording paper 200 after cooling, the flat surface of the modified sheet 174 is transferred to the protective layer, and the image surface is given gloss (S124).

  Similarly, when the matte finish processing is designated in step S115, first, the recording paper 200 is run to the initial position (S126), and the thermal transfer sheet 150 is rewound (S128). At this time, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is rewound to the position before the protective material layer 156 is transferred to the recording paper 200, that is, the position of the leading end position L1s (S130). Thereafter, the surface property modifying sheet 170 is caused to travel by the take-up reel 162 and the supply reel 164 so that the surface property modifying unit that performs matte finish from the opening 172 is positioned at the image forming position (S132). . As described above, after the protective layer formed on the image of the recording paper 200 and the surface property modifying portion for performing the matte finish of the surface property modifying sheet 170 are aligned, they are added by the thermal head 110. Heat with pressure. Then, when the surface property-modified portion is peeled off from the recording paper 200 after cooling, transfer to the protective layer is performed and the image surface becomes matte (S134).

  Surface property modification processing by other types of surface property modification sections can also be performed in the same manner as steps S116 to S134. Thus, when the surface property modification processing of the image is completed, the thermal transfer sheet 150, the surface property modification sheet 170, and the recording paper 200 are moved to the downstream side in the transport direction with the rotation of the platen roller 120 and separated from the thermal head 110. The Then, after the temperature of the thermal transfer sheet 150, the surface property modified sheet 170, and the recording paper 200 is approximately equal to or lower than a predetermined value and is cooled, the surface property modified sheet 170 is peeled from the recording paper 200.

  Next, after the surface property modification sheet 170 is moved and the property modification sheet 174 is retracted so that the opening 172 is located at the image forming position (S135), the thermal transfer sheet 150 is moved by the supply reel 142 and the take-up reel 144. The dye layer 151 and the protective material layer 156 that have been wound up are wound around the supply reel 144 (S136). Then, the dye layer 151 and the protective material layer 156 for forming an image on the next recording paper 200 are supplied from the supply reel 142 and run to the initial position (S138). On the other hand, the recording paper 200 is cut to a predetermined size by a cutting unit (reference numeral 180 in FIGS. 4 and 5) and then discharged from the discharge port of the image forming apparatus (S140). Thereafter, an end process is performed (S142), and the image forming process by the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment ends.

  Note that even when a plurality of prints are continuously performed and the surface finish state of each print product is different, the specified surface is obtained by repeatedly performing the processing of FIGS. 3A and 3B for each print product. A finished state can be realized.

<3. Driving Source of Thermal Transfer Sheet 150 and Surface Modification Sheet 170>
In the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment, drive sources for the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface property modification sheet 170 are disposed outside the ribbon tray (not shown) and the surface property modification sheet cartridge. The ribbon tray contains the thermal transfer sheet 150, and the surface property modified sheet cartridge 160 contains the surface property modified sheet 170. The surface property modified sheet cartridge 160 is installed in a ribbon tray. Accordingly, the surface property modifying sheet 170 can be easily attached and detached from the main body of the image forming apparatus, the apparatus can be miniaturized, and the maintainability can be improved. Hereinafter, based on FIG. 4, FIG. 5, the structure of the surface property modification sheet | seat cartridge 160 which concerns on this embodiment is demonstrated in detail.

[Surface modified sheet cartridge]
4 and 5 show the arrangement of the surface modified sheet cartridge 160 and the thermal transfer sheet 150 in the image forming apparatus according to the present embodiment.

  FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state of the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface modification sheet 170 accommodated in the surface modification sheet cartridge 160 during travel. The thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface property reforming sheet 170 are separated from each other so that the sheets do not affect each other during the positioning operation (running). The state shown in FIG. 4 is also a state when the surface transfer sheet cartridge 160 is detached from the ribbon tray.

  On the other hand, at the time of the surface property reforming process, as shown in FIG. 5, the thermal head 110 is raised from the standby position, and the photographic paper 200, the surface property modified sheet 170 and the thermal transfer sheet 150 are sandwiched between the platen roller 120. In this manner, the surface property modification process is performed by conveying the drawing paper 200, the surface property modification sheet 170, and the thermal transfer sheet 150 while being heated while being pressed.

  During the surface property modification treatment, the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface property modification sheet 170 need to be conveyed substantially in parallel. If an angle is generated in the transport direction, it may cause wrinkles or the like generated on the sheets 150 and 170 and the recording paper 200, thereby hindering surface quality. Therefore, the supply reel 142 and the take-up reel 144 of the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the take-up reel 162 and the supply reel 164 of the surface property modifying sheet 170 must be arranged in parallel.

  Further, the supply reel 142 and the take-up reel 144 of the thermal transfer sheet 150, and the take-up reel 162 and the supply reel 164 of the surface property modifying sheet 170 are each provided with a torque limiter (not shown) on the end side connected to the drive unit. Is provided). Thereby, tension can be generated in the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface property modification sheet 170.

[About the drive unit]
In order to realize the surface finishing continuous processing described above, there is a drive source that generates the tension of the surface property modifying sheet 170 when the surface property modifying sheet 170 is put in and out of the surface property modifying sheet cartridge 160 and the surface property modifying process. is necessary. Since the surface property modification process is a process different from the image forming process, if the units that perform the respective functions are configured as separate units, an increase in size and cost of the apparatus are expected. Therefore, in the present embodiment, a driving source for the thermal transfer sheet 150 provided in the conventional image forming apparatus is used as a driving source for the surface property modifying sheet 170. By using a common drive source for the surface modification sheet 170 and drive source for the thermal transfer sheet 150, the surface modification process can be realized with a small number of additional mechanisms compared to the conventional image forming apparatus. As a result, the image forming apparatus can be reduced in size and the cost increase rate can be reduced.

  In this embodiment, (1) a torque limiter (not shown) is provided coaxially with the take-up reel 162 around which the surface modification sheet 170 is wound. Thereby, tension can be generated in the surface property modifying sheet 170. (2) Since the torque limiter of the take-up reel 162 is slipped, the surface property modifying sheet 170 has a higher speed than the feeding speed of the thermal transfer sheet 150 while taking into account a change in the outer diameter of the thermal transfer sheet 150. Set the gear ratio of the drive train. Thereby, tension can be generated in the surface property modifying sheet 170.

  FIG. 6 shows an actual drive gear train. The drive source is a motor 10, and a gear 12 is provided in the motor 10. In FIG. 6, the right side of the drawing is the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 200 (the right and left are opposite to those in FIG. 1).

  The gears 58, 56, 54, 52 are provided in the ribbon tray, and the gears 62, 60, 50 are provided in the surface property modified sheet cartridge 160. On the other hand, the motor 1 and the gears 12, 14, 16, 34, 36, 18, 20, 30, 32, 38, 40, 22, 24, 26, and 28 are provided in the image forming apparatus.

  The gear 58 is coupled to the take-up reel 144 of the thermal transfer sheet 150. The gear 56 is always meshed with the gear 58. Then, when the gear 36 is connected to or separated from the gear 56, driving and non-driving of the take-up reel 144 coupled to the gear 58 are switched. The driving force of the motor 10 is transmitted to the gear 36 via the gear 12, the gear 14, the gear 16, and the gear 34. These gear trains drive the thermal transfer sheet 150 during the surface property modification process.

  The gear 54 is coupled to the supply reel 142 of the thermal transfer sheet 150. The gear 52 always meshes with the gear 54. Then, when the gear 32 is connected to or separated from the gear 52, the supply reel 142 coupled to the gear 54 is switched between driving and non-driving. The driving force of the motor 10 is transmitted to the gear 32 via the gear 12, the gear 14, the gear 16, the gear 18, the gear 20, and the gear 30. These gear trains rewind the thermal transfer sheet 150.

  The gear 62 is coupled to the supply reel 164 of the surface modification sheet 170. The gear 60 is always meshed with the gear 62. Then, when the gear 40 is connected to or separated from the gear 60, the supply reel 164 coupled to the gear 62 is switched between driving and non-driving. The driving force of the motor 10 is transmitted to the gear 40 via the gear 12, the gear 14, and the gear 38. These gear trains drive the surface modification sheet 170 during the surface modification process.

  The gear 50 is coupled to the take-up reel 162 of the surface modification sheet 170. Then, when the gear 28 is connected to or separated from the gear 50, driving and non-driving of the take-up reel 162 coupled to the gear 50 are switched. The driving force of the motor 10 is transmitted to the gear 28 via the gear 12, the gear 14, the gear 16, the gear 18, the gear 20, the gear 22, the gear 24, and the gear 26. These gear trains pull out the surface property modifying sheet 170 from the supply reel 164 side.

Hereinafter, the processing order will be described.
At the time of standby, as shown in FIG. 6, in order to replace the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the recording paper 200 in the image forming apparatus, the gear 56, the gear 52, the gear 60, and the gear 50 are the gear 36, the gear 32, and the gear 40, respectively. Then, the surface-modified sheet cartridge 160 can be taken out from the image forming apparatus main body.

  In the image forming process of the yellow dye layer 151Y, the magenta dye layer 151M, and the cyan dye layer 151C and the protective material layer 156, only the gear 56 and the gear 36 are connected as shown in FIG. Only the motor 10 is driven. As a result, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is wound from the supply reel 142 side to the take-up reel 144 side.

  Next, when the protective material layer 156 is transferred to the surface of the recording paper 200, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is positioned before the protective material layer 156 is transferred to the recording paper 200, that is, at the leading edge, due to surface property modification processing. It is rewound to the position of position L1s. In this rewinding process, as shown in FIG. 8, the gear 52 and the gear 32 are connected, the gear 56 and the gear 36 are connected, and only the thermal transfer sheet 150 is driven by the motor 10. As a result, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is taken up from the take-up reel 144 side to the supply reel 142 side.

  Further, the surface property modification sheet 170 is pulled out from the supply reel 164 side to the take-up reel 162 for the surface property modification process. In the process of pulling out the surface modified sheet 170, as shown in FIG. 9, only the gear 50 and the gear 28 are connected, and only the surface modified sheet 170 is driven by the motor 10. Then, the surface property modifying sheet 170 wound around the supply reel 164 is pulled out to a location where a storage position detection hole indicating the surface property modifying process start position formed on the surface property modifying sheet 170 is detected.

  In the surface property modification process, as shown in FIG. 10, the gear 56 and the gear 36 are connected, and the gear 60 and the gear 40 are connected. As a result, the thermal transfer sheet 150 is wound around the take-up reel 144, the surface property modified sheet 170 is rewound onto the supply reel 164, and the heat transfer sheet 150 and the surface property modified sheet 170 are conveyed in synchronization. At this time, the tension always acts on both the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface modification sheet 170 by setting the reduction ratio of the mechanism. In addition, a torque limiter connected to the supply reel 142 of the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the take-up reel 162 of the surface modification sheet 170 works, and tension is also applied to the side from which the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface modification sheet 170 are drawn. It has occurred.

  After the surface property modification process, the surface property modified sheet 170 is stored in the supply reel 164. In the storing process of the surface property modification sheet 170, as shown in FIG. 11, only the gear 60 and the gear 40 are connected, and only the surface property modification sheet 170 is driven. As a result, the surface modification sheet 170 is wound around the supply reel 164, and the surface modification sheet 170 returns to the state before the surface modification process.

  FIG. 12 is a table showing contact / separation states of the gears 36, 32, 40, and 28 in the above-described processes. ○ indicates that the gears 36, 32, 40, and 28 are connected to the gears 56, 52, 60, and 50, respectively, and × indicates that the gears 36, 32, 40, and 28 are respectively connected to the gears 56, 52, and 60 and 50 are shown apart from each other.

  The contact / separation operation of the gear 28 is performed by the operation of a lever 70 to which the gear 28 is attached, as shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. The gear 28 revolves around the gear 26 and is connected to or disconnected from the gear 50. The contact / separation operation of the gear 30 is performed by the operation of a lever 72 to which the gear 32 is attached, as shown in FIGS. 15 and 16. The gear 32 revolves around the gear 30 and is connected to or disconnected from the gear 52.

  The contact / separation operation of the gear 36 is performed by the operation of the groove cam 74 that guides the arm 76 to which the gear 36 is attached, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18. The gear 36 revolves around the gear 34 and is connected to or disconnected from the gear 56. As shown in FIGS. 20 and 21, the contact / separation operation of the gear 40 is performed by the operation of the groove cam 74 that guides the arms 78 and 80 to which the gear 40 is attached. The gear 40 revolves around the gear 38 and is connected to or disconnected from the gear 60.

  The operations of the levers 70 and 72 and the groove cam 74 are controlled and driven in accordance with the processing described above. The current position of the groove cam 74 is detected by a sensor (not shown). In the above-described mechanism, the planetary gears that revolve around the sun gears have different revolving positions, so that the gears provided on the rotation shafts of the reels and the planetary gears are brought into and out of contact with each other.

  In order to stabilize the tension of the thermal transfer sheet 150 and the surface modification sheet 170 during the actual surface modification process, a run-up distance is provided before heating is started, and heating is started from when the tension is reliably applied to both sheets. To prevent wrinkles.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, the surface state of the recording paper 200 formed by the sublimation method or other methods is formed in various desired surface finish states including glossy finish and matte finish by the surface modification treatment. In the image forming apparatus having the function to perform the above, the conventional thermal transfer sheet 150 is used as a driving source for generating tension on the surface property modifying sheet 170 during the surface modification process. It is a technology that can realize surface modification processing with a small number of additions to the conventional image forming apparatus without surface modification processing by sharing it with the drive source of the image forming apparatus. There are benefits.

  The preferred embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above with reference to the accompanying drawings, but the present invention is not limited to such examples. It is obvious that a person having ordinary knowledge in the technical field to which the present invention pertains can come up with various changes or modifications within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims. Of course, it is understood that these also belong to the technical scope of the present invention.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 Thermal printer 110 Thermal head 120 Platen roller 132 Pinch roller 134 Capstan roller 142 Supply reel 144 Winding reel 150 Thermal transfer sheet 151 Dye layer 156 Protection material layer 160 Surface property modification sheet cartridge 162 Winding reel 164 Supply reel 170 Surface property Modified sheet 200 Recording paper

Claims (6)

A drive motor;
First and second surface-modified sheet reels for supplying or winding the surface-modified sheet, and
First and second thermal transfer sheet reels for supplying or winding the thermal transfer sheet;
A first contact / separation mechanism for contacting / separating the driving force of the drive motor to / from the first surface-modified sheet reel;
A second contact / separation mechanism for contacting / separating the driving force of the drive motor to / from the second surface-modified sheet reel;
A third contact / separation mechanism for contacting / separating the driving force of the drive motor to / from the first thermal transfer sheet reel;
A fourth contact / separation mechanism for contacting / separating the driving force of the drive motor to / from the second thermal transfer sheet reel;
Has a driving force transmission mechanism with
The image forming apparatus in which the driving force transmission mechanism varies the contact / separation of each contact / separation mechanism based on driving of the drive motor. Based on the drive of the drive motor,
Separating the first, second, and third contacting / separating mechanisms, and the fourth contacting / separating mechanism is connected to the first contacting / separating state;
A second contacting / separating state in which the first, third, and fourth contacting / separating mechanisms are spaced apart, and the second contacting / separating mechanism is connected;
Separating the second and third contact / separation mechanisms and connecting the first and fourth contact / separation mechanisms to a third contact / separation state;
Separating the second, third, and fourth contact / separation mechanisms, and the first contact / separation mechanism is connected to a fourth contact / separation state;
The image forming apparatus according to claim 1, comprising: In the first contact / separation state, image forming processing is performed,
In the second contact / separation state, the surface modification region of the surface modification sheet is conveyed to a predetermined position,
In the third contact / separation state, a surface property modification treatment is performed,
The image forming apparatus according to claim 2, wherein in the fourth contact / separation state, the opening portion of the surface property modifying sheet is conveyed to a predetermined position.   4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein in the third contact / separation state, the driving force is transmitted so that a conveyance speed of the surface property modified sheet is different from a conveyance speed of the thermal transfer sheet.   The first to fourth contact / separation mechanisms perform contact / separation between the planetary gears and the gears provided on the rotation shafts of the respective reels by changing the revolution positions of the planetary gears that revolve around the sun gear. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4. The image forming apparatus according to claim 3, wherein winding of the surface property modified sheet and the thermal transfer sheet is started before heating for the surface property modification treatment.

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