Printing apparatus and method for controlling the printing apparatus

Abstract

The present invention provides a printing apparatus that performs inkjet printing on one side of the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet, and that can suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer. [Solution] In the printing apparatus 1, the media transport mechanism 12 includes a drive roller 45 that contacts the release sheet and a pinch roller 46 that is positioned opposite the drive roller 45 and can contact the adhesive layer. The state in which the drive roller 45 is stopped while the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer is defined as the drive roller stopped state, and the time when the drive roller stopped state is reached is defined as the drive roller stop time. When the control unit for controlling the media transport mechanism 12 has been in the drive roller stopped state for a predetermined time since the drive roller stop time, it performs a roller rotation operation to transport the media 3 by rotating the drive roller 45 by a predetermined amount.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present invention relates to a printing apparatus that performs printing by an inkjet method on one surface of an adhesive layer of a medium having the adhesive layer and a release sheet. The present invention also relates to a control method for such a printing apparatus.

BACKGROUND ART

[0002] Conventionally, an image transfer sheet for transferring an arbitrary image to a transfer target is known (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The image transfer sheet described in Patent Document 1 includes an upper transfer film, a release sheet, an adhesive layer formed on the upper surface of the release sheet, and an image layer disposed between the adhesive layer and the transfer film. The image layer is directly printed on the upper surface of the adhesive layer by an inkjet printer or the like.

PRIOR ART DOCUMENTS

PATENT DOCUMENTS

[0003]

PATENT DOCUMENT 1

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION

[0004] The inventors of the present application are developing a printing apparatus that performs printing by an inkjet method on one surface of an adhesive layer of a medium having the adhesive layer and a release sheet. The printing apparatus under development includes a printing mechanism for performing printing by an inkjet method on the adhesive layer of the medium having the release sheet disposed on one side of the adhesive layer, and a medium transport mechanism for transporting the medium.

[0005] The inventors of the present invention decided to improve the accuracy of media transport in a printing apparatus under development by transporting the media using a drive roller that contacts a release sheet located on one side of the adhesive layer and a pinch roller that is positioned opposite the drive roller and also contacts the adhesive layer, in order to improve the printing accuracy on the media. However, the inventors of the present invention have found that in this printing apparatus under development, for example, if the media remains stopped with the pinch roller in contact with the adhesive layer for a certain period of time after printing has stopped or finished, the adhesive of the adhesive layer may stick to the pinch roller over time, potentially hindering subsequent media transport.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a printing apparatus that performs inkjet printing on one side of the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet, and that can suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer. Another object of the present invention is to provide a control method for a printing apparatus that performs inkjet printing on one side of the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet, and that can suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] To solve the above problems, the printing apparatus of the present invention comprises a printing mechanism for printing on the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet disposed on one side of the adhesive layer using an inkjet method, and a medium transport mechanism for transporting the medium, wherein the medium transport mechanism comprises a drive roller that contacts the release sheet, a pinch roller disposed opposite the drive roller and capable of contacting the adhesive layer, and a roller holding part that rotatably holds the pinch roller, and the roller holding part is movable between a transportable position in which the pinch roller contacts the adhesive layer and a retracted position in which the pinch roller retracts away from the adhesive layer.

[0008] In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the roller holding portion, which rotatably holds a pinch roller that can contact the adhesive layer, is movable between a transportable position in which the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer and a retracted position in which the pinch roller is retracted away from the adhesive layer. Therefore, in the present invention, when the medium stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer, the roller holding portion can be moved to the retracted position to separate the pinch roller from the adhesive layer. Consequently, in the present invention, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer.

[0009] In the present invention, for example, the media transport mechanism includes a roller moving mechanism for moving the roller holding part between a transportable position and a retracted position. In this case, when the media stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer, the roller moving mechanism is used to move the roller holding part to the retracted position, thereby separating the pinch roller from the adhesive layer.

[0010] In the present invention, the media transport mechanism preferably comprises a plurality of pinch rollers and a plurality of roller holding parts that rotatably hold one or more pinch rollers and are arranged in the width direction of the media perpendicular to the media transport direction, and the roller moving mechanism preferably moves all roller holding parts together between a transportable position and a retracted position. With this configuration, even if the media transport mechanism is equipped with a plurality of pinch rollers, it becomes possible to easily separate the plurality of pinch rollers from the adhesive layer.

[0011] In the present invention, the width direction of the medium is parallel to the horizontal direction, the roller holding portion is rotatable between a transportable position and a retracted position with the width direction of the medium as the axis of rotation, the roller moving mechanism comprises a first lever member and a second lever member for rotating the roller holding portion, and a connecting member for connecting the first lever member and the second lever member, and if the direction perpendicular to the width direction and the vertical direction of the medium is defined as the front-rear direction, the first lever member is positioned on one side of the front-rear direction of the printing device, and the second lever member is positioned on the other side of the front-rear direction of the printing device, and the first lever member and the second lever member are rotatable with the width direction of the medium as the axis of rotation, and it is preferable that when either the first lever member or the second lever member rotates, the other of the first lever member or the second lever member also rotates.

[0012] With this configuration, the roller holder can be rotated from both the front and rear sides of the printing device using the first and second lever members. Therefore, even when the roller holder is rotated by manually rotating the first or second lever member, for example, the operation of rotating the roller holder can be performed efficiently.

[0013] Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, the printing apparatus of the present invention comprises a printing mechanism for printing on the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet disposed on one side of the adhesive layer using an inkjet method, a medium transport mechanism for transporting the medium, and a control unit for controlling the medium transport mechanism. The medium transport mechanism comprises a drive roller that contacts the release sheet, a pinch roller disposed opposite the drive roller and capable of contacting the adhesive layer, and a roller drive mechanism for driving the drive roller. The state in which the drive roller is stopped while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer is defined as the drive roller stopped state, and the time when the drive roller stopped state is reached is defined as the drive roller stop time. The control unit is characterized in that, if the drive roller stopped state continues for a predetermined first hour from the drive roller stop time, it rotates the drive roller by a predetermined amount to transport the medium.

[0014] In the printing apparatus of the present invention, the control unit performs a roller rotation operation to transport the medium by rotating the drive roller by a predetermined amount when the drive roller stops and the drive roller remains stopped for a predetermined first hour. Therefore, in the present invention, when the medium remains stopped while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer, the pinch roller is rotated together with the drive roller every first hour, making it possible to change the part of the pinch roller that is in contact with the adhesive layer every first hour. Consequently, in the present invention, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium is stopped while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer.

[0015] In the present invention, it is preferable that the roller rotation operation includes a first roller rotation operation that rotates the drive roller to one side in the direction of rotation, and a second roller rotation operation that rotates the drive roller to the other side in the direction of rotation. The inventors of this application have found that if printing is performed on the part of the adhesive layer that has been in contact with the pinch roller for a certain period of time or longer, the print quality may deteriorate. For this reason, it is preferable not to print on the part of the adhesive layer that has been in contact with the pinch roller for a certain period of time or longer, and this part may become unusable for printing. However, with this configuration, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, it becomes possible to narrow the range of the adhesive layer that has been in contact with the pinch roller for a certain period of time or longer in the direction of transport of the medium. In other words, it becomes possible to narrow the unusable area of ​​the medium in the direction of transport of the medium, and as a result, it becomes possible to make effective use of the medium.

[0016] In the present invention, for example, the amount of rotation of the drive roller in the first roller rotation operation and the amount of rotation of the drive roller in the second roller rotation operation are equal. When the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit performs a first repeat rotation operation in which the first roller rotation operation is repeated a predetermined number of times, and then performs a second repeat rotation operation in which the second roller rotation operation is repeated the same number of times as the first roller rotation operation in the first repeat rotation operation, and thereafter performs the first repeat rotation operation and the second repeat rotation operation alternately. In this case, it becomes possible to make the range of the adhesive layer that the pinch roller contacts in the medium transport direction during the first repeat rotation operation the same as the range of the adhesive layer that the pinch roller contacts in the medium transport direction during the second repeat rotation operation.

[0017] In the present invention, it is preferable that the pinch roller rotates once when the first repeated rotation operation is performed once. With this configuration, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, it is possible to prevent the adhesive layer from coming into contact with only a specific range in the circumferential direction of the pinch roller. Therefore, it is possible to effectively suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer.

[0018] In the present invention, the drive roller and pinch roller contact the medium before printing is performed by the printing mechanism, the medium transport direction is defined as the medium transport direction, the side on which the printing mechanism is positioned relative to the drive roller and pinch roller in the medium transport direction is defined as the downstream side in the transport direction, and the side opposite the downstream side in the transport direction is defined as the upstream side in the transport direction. When the first repetitive rotation operation is performed, the range of the medium in the medium transport direction that the pinch roller contacts is defined as the first roller contact range. In the first roller rotation operation, the medium is transported downstream in the transport direction, and in the second roller rotation operation, the medium is transported upstream in the transport direction. When the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, it is preferable that the control unit transports the medium downstream in the transport direction by at least the amount of the first roller contact range before performing the first and second repetitive rotation operations alternately a predetermined number of times. With this configuration, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, it is possible to prevent the pinch roller from continuously contacting only a specific range of the adhesive layer in the transport direction of the medium. Therefore, it becomes possible to effectively suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer.

[0019] In the present invention, the printing mechanism includes an inkjet head that ejects ink onto an adhesive layer, the drive roller and pinch roller contact the medium before printing is performed by the printing mechanism, the medium transport direction is defined as the medium transport direction, the side on which the printing mechanism is positioned relative to the drive roller and pinch roller in the medium transport direction is defined as the downstream side in the transport direction, the side opposite to the downstream side in the transport direction is defined as the upstream side in the transport direction, and the range of the medium in the medium transport direction that the pinch roller contacts from the time the first drive roller stops until printing is performed by the printing mechanism is defined as the second roller contact range. Preferably, when a predetermined second time has elapsed from the time the first drive roller stops until printing is performed by the printing mechanism, the control unit transports the medium downstream in the transport direction until, before printing is performed by the printing mechanism, the upstream end of the second roller contact range in the transport direction is positioned at the same position as the upstream end of the inkjet head in the transport direction in the medium transport direction, or the upstream end of the second roller contact range in the transport direction is positioned downstream of the upstream end of the inkjet head in the transport direction.

[0020] As described above, the inventors of this application have found that printing on the portion of the adhesive layer that has been in contact with the pinch roller for a certain period of time or longer may result in a decrease in print quality. Therefore, it is preferable not to print on the portion of the adhesive layer that has been in contact with the pinch roller for a certain period of time or longer. With this configuration, it becomes possible to prevent printing from occurring on the portion of the adhesive layer that has been in contact with the pinch roller for a certain period of time or longer.

[0021] Furthermore, in order to solve the above problems, a control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention is a control method for a printing apparatus that includes a printing mechanism for performing printing by an inkjet method on an adhesive layer of a medium having the adhesive layer and a release sheet disposed on one side of the adhesive layer, and a medium conveying mechanism for conveying the medium, wherein the medium conveying mechanism includes a drive roller that comes into contact with the release sheet, a pinch roller that is disposed to face the drive roller and is capable of coming into contact with the adhesive layer, and a roller drive mechanism that drives the drive roller. Taking a state where the drive roller is stopped while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer as a drive roller stopped state, and taking the time point at which the drive roller stopped state is entered as a drive roller stop time point, the method is characterized in that when the drive roller stopped state continues for a predetermined first time from the drive roller stop time point, a roller rotation operation of rotating the drive roller by a predetermined amount to convey the medium is performed.

[0022] In the control method for a printing apparatus of the present invention, when the drive roller stopped state continues for the predetermined first time from the drive roller stop time point, the roller rotation operation of rotating the drive roller by the predetermined amount to convey the medium is performed. Therefore, in the present invention, when the state where the medium is stopped with the pinch roller in contact with the adhesive layer continues, the pinch roller is rotated together with the drive roller every first time, so that the portion of the pinch roller that comes into contact with the adhesive layer can be changed every first time. Accordingly, if the printing apparatus is controlled by the control method of the present invention, adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium is stopped while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer can be suppressed. [Effects of the Invention]

[0023] As described above, according to the present invention, in a printing apparatus that performs printing by an inkjet method on one surface of an adhesive layer of a medium having the adhesive layer and a release sheet, adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller when the medium is stopped while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer can be suppressed. [Brief Description of the Drawings]

[0024] [Figure 1] It is a side view for explaining the configuration of the printing apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a schematic diagram for explaining the configuration of the medium shown in Figure 1. [Figure 3] This is a diagram for explaining the processing performed on the medium in the printing apparatus shown in Figure 1. [Figure 4] This is a rear view showing a part of the printing apparatus from the G-G direction in Figure 1. [Figure 5] This is a front view for explaining the configuration of the H portion in Figure 4 from the front side. [Figure 6] This is a side view for explaining the configuration of a roller elevating mechanism that collectively raises and lowers the plurality of pinch rollers shown in Figure 4. [Figure 7] This is a side view for explaining the configuration of a roller elevating mechanism that collectively raises and lowers the plurality of pinch rollers shown in Figure 4. [Figure 8] This is an enlarged side view for explaining the configuration of the roller elevating mechanism shown in Figure 6. [Figure 9] This is an enlarged perspective view showing the connecting portion between the lever member shown in Figure 6 and the rotating shaft shown in Figure 8. [Figure 10] This is an enlarged side view for explaining the configuration of a slide member for individually rotating the roller holding portions shown in Figure 5. [Figure 11] This is a block diagram for explaining the configuration related to the control of the medium transport mechanism shown in Figure 1. [Figure 12] This is a schematic diagram for explaining the control method of the printing apparatus shown in Figure 1 when the drive roller stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer. [Figure 13] This is a schematic diagram for explaining the control method of the printing apparatus shown in Figure 1 when the drive roller stops while the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer. [Figure 14] This is a schematic diagram for explaining the control method of the printing apparatus shown in Figure 1 when printing on the medium is started after the drive roller enters a stopped state. [Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

[0025] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[0026] (Overall configuration of the printing device) Figure 1 is a side view illustrating the configuration of a printing apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the configuration of the medium 3 shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a diagram illustrating the processing performed on the medium 3 in the printing apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1.

[0027] The printing apparatus 1 in this embodiment is a device for printing on one side of the adhesive layer 2 of a medium 3 having an adhesive layer 2 using an inkjet method, and for attaching a transfer sheet (application sheet) 4 to the printed side of the adhesive layer 2. The medium 3 and the transfer sheet 4 are formed in a long, narrow strip shape. The medium 3 before printing and the medium 3 after the transfer sheet 4 has been attached are wound into a roll. The transfer sheet 4 before being attached to the medium 3 is also wound into a roll.

[0028] As shown in Figure 2(A), the medium 3 comprises a release sheet 5 positioned on one side of the adhesive layer 2 and a release sheet 6 positioned on the other side of the adhesive layer 2. The adhesive layer 2 is formed, for example, by a pressure-sensitive adhesive. The release sheets 5 and 6 are, for example, resin release films. The medium 3 is composed of, for example, the adhesive layer 2 and the release sheets 5 and 6. The release sheet 5 is in contact with one side of the adhesive layer 2, and the release sheet 6 is in contact with the other side of the adhesive layer 2. The release sheets 5 and 6 may also be paper release paper.

[0029] The widths of release sheets 5 and 6 are equal in the width direction of medium 3, which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of medium 3. In medium 3, release sheets 5 and 6 are positioned at the same location in the width direction of medium 3. The widths of release sheets 5 and 6 in the width direction of medium 3 are wider than the width of the adhesive layer 2 in the width direction of medium 3. In medium 3, the edge 2a of the adhesive layer 2 in the width direction of medium 3 is positioned inward in the width direction of medium 3 than the edge 5a of release sheet 5 and the edge 6a of release sheet 6 in the width direction of medium 3 (see Figure 2(B)).

[0030] Printing device 1 is, for example, a commercial inkjet printer. Printing device 1 continuously prints on medium 3 and continuously attaches transfer sheets 4 to medium 3. Printing device 1 prints on the adhesive layer 2 of medium 3 after the release sheet 5 has been peeled off. After printing, a printed layer 7 is formed on one side of the adhesive layer 2 of medium 3 (see Figure 3(A)). The release sheet 5 peeled off from medium 3 is wound into a roll. Printing device 1 also attaches the transfer sheet 4 so as to cover the entire surface of one side of the adhesive layer 2 where the printed layer 7 is formed (see Figure 3(B)).

[0031] The medium 3, on which the printed layer 7 is formed and the transfer sheet 4 is attached, is used to attach the printed layer 7 to the surface of a predetermined object to be transferred. When attaching the printed layer 7 to the surface of the object to be transferred, first, the release sheet 6 is peeled off. In that state, the adhesive layer 2 is pressed against the surface of the object to be transferred. After that, when the transfer sheet 4 is peeled off, the attachment of the printed layer 7 to the surface of the object to be transferred is completed.

[0032] The printing apparatus 1 includes a printing mechanism 11 for printing on the adhesive layer 2 of a medium 3 having an adhesive layer 2 and release sheets 5 and 6, after the release sheet 5 has been peeled off, using an inkjet method, and a medium transport mechanism 12 for transporting the medium 3. The printing apparatus 1 also includes a transfer sheet attachment unit 13 for attaching a transfer sheet 4 to the printed medium 3, a medium feed unit 14 to which a roll of unprinted medium 3 is attached, a medium winding unit 15 to which a roll of medium 3 with the transfer sheet 4 attached is attached, a release sheet winding unit 16 to which a roll of release sheet 5 is attached, a transfer sheet feed unit 17 to which a roll of transfer sheet 4 is attached, and an ionizer (static eliminator) 18 for suppressing static charge on the medium 3 after the release sheet 5 has been peeled off.

[0033] The media transport mechanism 12 transports the media 3 in the longitudinal direction of the media 3. That is, the media 3 is formed in an elongated shape with the transport direction of the media 3 by the media transport mechanism 12 being the longitudinal direction. The media feeding unit 14, the printing mechanism 11, the transfer sheet attachment unit 13, and the media winding unit 15 are arranged in this order in the transport direction of the media 3. The width direction of the media 3 handled by the printing device 1 is parallel to the horizontal direction. In the following description, the Y direction in Figure 1, which is the width direction of the media 3, will be referred to as the "left-right direction," and the X direction in Figure 1, which is perpendicular to the left-right direction and the up-down direction (vertical direction, Z direction in Figure 1, etc.), will be referred to as the "front-back direction." In the following description, the X1 direction side in Figure 1, etc., which is one side of the front-back direction, will be referred to as the "front" side, and the X2 direction side in Figure 1, etc., which is the opposite side, will be referred to as the "back" side.

[0034] The transfer sheet application section 13 is located in front of the printing mechanism 11. The media winding section 15 is located below the transfer sheet application section 13. The transfer sheet feeding section 17 is located in front of the crimping roller 83, which is part of the transfer sheet application section 13 and will be described later. The media feeding section 14 is located behind and below the printing mechanism 11. The release sheet winding section 16 is located below the media feeding section 14. The ionizer 18 is located behind the printing mechanism 11. The ionizer 18 is also located above the media 3 that is being transported toward the printing mechanism 11. The ionizer 18 blows ions toward the upper surface of the media 3.

[0035] In the media dispensing unit 14, the media 3 before printing is wound into a roll. The rolled media 3 is rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. The media dispensing unit 14 does not have a drive mechanism to rotate the rolled media 3. The rolled media 3 before printing rotates passively in response to the media 3 being transported by the media transport mechanism 12. In the media winding unit 15, the media 3 after the transfer sheet 4 has been attached is wound into a roll. The rolled media 3 is rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. The media winding unit 15 is equipped with a media winding mechanism 43, which will be described later and constitutes part of the media transport mechanism 12. The media winding mechanism 43 rotates the rolled media 3.

[0036] In the release sheet winding section 16, the release sheet 5 peeled from the medium 3 is wound into a roll. The roll of release sheet 5 is rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. As described above, the release sheet winding section 16 is located below the medium dispensing section 14. As shown in Figure 1, the release sheet 5 is peeled from the medium 3 in the medium dispensing section 14.

[0037] The release sheet winding section 16 is equipped with a release sheet winding mechanism that winds up the release sheet 5 peeled off from the medium 3. The release sheet winding mechanism is equipped with a motor as a drive source. The release sheet winding mechanism rotates the release sheet 5 wound into a roll. The release sheet winding mechanism is also equipped with a torque limiter located in the power transmission path from the motor. When the tension of the release sheet 5 between the medium dispensing section 14 and the release sheet winding section 16 exceeds a certain value, the torque limiter causes the roll of release sheet 5 to rotate freely.

[0038] In the transfer sheet dispensing unit 17, the transfer sheet 4 is wound into a roll before being attached to the medium 3. The roll of transfer sheet 4 is rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. The transfer sheet dispensing unit 17 does not have a drive mechanism to rotate the roll of transfer sheet 4. In the transfer sheet dispensing unit 17, the roll of transfer sheet 4 rotates passively in response to the transport of the medium 3 by the medium transport mechanism 12.

[0039] (Configuration of the printing mechanism) The printing mechanism 11 includes an inkjet head 22 (hereinafter referred to as "head 22") that ejects ink onto the adhesive layer 2, a carriage 23 on which the head 22 is mounted, a carriage drive mechanism 24 that moves the carriage 23 back and forth in the left-right direction, which is the main scanning direction, and a guide rail 25 that guides the carriage 23 in the left-right direction. The carriage drive mechanism 24 includes, for example, a belt to which a portion is fixed to the carriage 23, a pulley through which the belt is stretched, and a motor for rotating the pulley.

[0040] The print head 22 ejects ink downwards. Multiple nozzles for ejecting ink are formed on the underside of the print head 22. The print head 22 is equipped with piezoelectric elements (piezo elements) for ejecting ink from the nozzles. In this embodiment, the ink ejected by the print head 22 is UV-curable ink. The carriage 23 is equipped with an ultraviolet irradiator (not shown) that irradiates ultraviolet light toward the medium 3 in order to cure the UV ink ejected from the print head 22. The ultraviolet irradiator is equipped with an ultraviolet LED chip. In this embodiment, the print head 22 ejects white ink, color ink, and clear ink. The printed layer 7 is composed of a white ink layer, a color ink layer, and a clear ink layer that are stacked in order from the bottom relative to the adhesive layer 2.

[0041] The printing mechanism 11 includes a platen 36 on which the printing medium 3 is placed. The platen 36 is located below the head 22 and carriage 23. The upper surface of the platen 36 is the medium-supporting surface on which the medium 3 is placed. When printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11, the thickness direction of the medium 3 (i.e., the thickness direction of the medium 3 placed on the platen 36) coincides with the vertical direction. When printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11, the adhesive layer 2 constitutes the upper surface of the medium 3. Before printing, the medium 3 is transported from the rear to the upper surface of the platen 36, and after printing, the medium 3 is transported from the upper surface of the platen 36 to the front.

[0042] (Configuration of the media transport mechanism) Figure 4 is a rear view showing a part of the printing apparatus 1 from the GG direction in Figure 1. Figure 5 is a front view illustrating the configuration of section H in Figure 4 from the front. Figures 6 and 7 are side views illustrating the configuration of the roller lifting mechanism 48 that raises and lowers multiple pinch rollers 46 shown in Figure 4 all at once. Figure 8 is an enlarged side view illustrating the configuration of the roller lifting mechanism 48 shown in Figure 6. Figure 9 is an enlarged perspective view showing the connection between the lever member 54 shown in Figure 6 and the pivot shaft 52 shown in Figure 8. Figure 10 is an enlarged side view illustrating the configuration of the slide member 49 for individually rotating the roller holding section 47 shown in Figure 5. Figure 11 is a block diagram illustrating the configuration related to the control of the media transport mechanism 12 shown in Figure 1.

[0043] The media transport mechanism 12 includes a first media transport mechanism 42 that transports the media 3 from the media dispensing section 14 toward the platen 36, and a media winding mechanism 43 installed in the media winding section 15. In this embodiment, the media transport mechanism 12 is composed of the first media transport mechanism 42 and the media winding mechanism 43. As described above, in the media winding section 15, the media 3 after the transfer sheet 4 has been attached is wound into a roll. The media winding mechanism 43 is equipped with a motor as a drive source. The media winding mechanism 43 rotates the roll-shaped media 3 with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation, and winds up the media 3 after the transfer sheet 4 has been attached. The media winding mechanism 43 also transports the media 3 by winding it up.

[0044] The first media transport mechanism 42 includes a drive roller 45 that contacts the release sheet 6, a pinch roller 46 positioned opposite the drive roller 45 and capable of contacting the adhesive layer 2, and a roller drive mechanism 59 that drives the drive roller 45. The first media transport mechanism 42 includes one drive roller 45 and multiple pinch rollers 46. In this embodiment, the first media transport mechanism 42 includes 14 pinch rollers 46. The roller drive mechanism 59 includes a motor 60 as a drive source. The drive roller 45 is connected to the motor 60 via a power transmission mechanism such as a pulley and a belt. The printing apparatus 1 includes a control unit 61 for controlling the media transport mechanism 12. The motor 60 is electrically connected to the control unit 61.

[0045] The drive roller 45 is formed in an elongated cylindrical shape in the left-right direction. The pinch roller 46 is formed in a cylindrical shape with the left-right direction as its axis. The drive roller 45 and the pinch roller 46 are rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. The drive roller 45 is a metal roller. Numerous fine protrusions are formed on the surface of the drive roller 45 to increase the conveying force of the medium 3. Specifically, numerous fine protrusions are formed on the portion of the surface of the drive roller 45 that faces the pinch roller 46. In other words, the drive roller 45 is a grid roller. The pinch roller 46 is a roller made of resin or rubber. In this embodiment, the pinch roller 46 is made of silicone rubber. The pinch roller 46 is positioned above the drive roller 45 and is biased downward toward the drive roller 45.

[0046] The drive roller 45 and the multiple pinch rollers 46 are positioned behind the platen 36 and contact the medium 3 before printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11. The drive roller 45 and the multiple pinch rollers 46 transport the medium 3, with the release sheet 5 removed, sandwiched between the drive roller 45 and the multiple pinch rollers 46. In the following description, the transport direction of the medium 3 will be referred to as the "medium transport direction," the side of the medium transport direction where the printing mechanism 11 is positioned relative to the drive roller 45 and pinch rollers 46 will be referred to as the "downstream side in the transport direction," and the opposite side of the downstream side in the transport direction will be referred to as the "upstream side in the transport direction." The drive roller 45 and the multiple pinch rollers 46 are positioned upstream of the platen 36 in the transport direction. Also, the drive roller 45 and the multiple pinch rollers 46 are positioned downstream of the medium feeding unit 14 in the transport direction.

[0047] As described above, the release sheet winding section 16 is equipped with a release sheet winding mechanism that winds up the release sheet 5 peeled off from the medium 3, and the release sheet winding mechanism is equipped with a torque limiter located in the power transmission path from the motor. In this embodiment, the torque value of the torque limiter of the release sheet winding mechanism is set so that the medium 3 is transported without hindrance from the medium dispensing section 14 to the platen 36 by the first medium transport mechanism 42. More specifically, the torque value of the torque limiter of the release sheet winding mechanism is set so that the medium 3 is transported accurately from the medium dispensing section 14 to the platen 36 by the first medium transport mechanism 42.

[0048] The first media transport mechanism 42 includes a roller holding section 47 that rotatably holds the pinch rollers 46. In this embodiment, the first media transport mechanism 42 includes a plurality of roller holding sections 47. The roller holding section 47 rotatably holds a plurality of pinch rollers 46. In this embodiment, the roller holding section 47 holds two pinch rollers 46, and the first media transport mechanism 42 includes seven roller holding sections 47. The two pinch rollers 46 held by the roller holding section 47 are arranged with a gap between them in the left-right direction. The seven roller holding sections 47 are arranged in the left-right direction. That is, 14 pinch rollers 46 are arranged in the left-right direction. The pinch rollers 46 are rotatably held at the front end of the roller holding section 47.

[0049] The roller holding section 47 is movable between a transportable position 47A (see Figures 5, 8(A), and 10(A)) where the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2, and a retracted position 47B (see Figures 8(B) and 10(B)) where the pinch roller 46 is retracted away from the adhesive layer 2 (i.e., retracted upward). Specifically, the roller holding section 47 is rotatable with respect to the frame (not shown) with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B.

[0050] The first media transport mechanism 42 includes a roller lifting mechanism 48 that rotates the roller holding part 47 between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B to raise and lower the pinch roller 46. In this embodiment, the roller lifting mechanism 48 rotates all the roller holding parts 47 together between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B to raise and lower all of the multiple pinch rollers 46 together. The roller lifting mechanism 48 in this embodiment is a roller moving mechanism for moving the roller holding part 47 between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B, and moves all the roller holding parts 47 together between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B.

[0051] Furthermore, the first media transport mechanism 42 is equipped with a sliding member 49 for individually rotating each of the seven roller holding parts 47 between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B to raise and lower the two pinch rollers 46. In other words, the first media transport mechanism 42 is equipped with seven sliding members 49. Note that the sliding members 49 are not shown in Figure 8.

[0052] The roller lifting mechanism 48 includes an eccentric cam 51 that contacts the roller holding portion 47 and rotates the roller holding portion 47, a pivot shaft 52 to which the eccentric cam 51 is fixed, and a tension coil spring 53 that biases the roller holding portion 47 toward the transportable position 47A. The pivot shaft 52 is rotatably held on the frame of the printing device 1. The pivot shaft 52 is rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation, and the eccentric cam 51 is also rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. The eccentric cam 51 can contact the rear end of the roller holding portion 47 from above. The pinch roller 46 is biased toward the drive roller 45 by the biasing force of the tension coil spring 53.

[0053] The roller lifting mechanism 48 also includes two lever members 54 and 55 for rotating the pivot shaft 52, a connecting member 56 for connecting lever member 54 and lever member 55, a tension coil spring 57 for biasing lever member 54, and a detection mechanism 58 for detecting the position of lever member 55. The lever members 54 and 55 are rotatably held on the frame of the printing device 1. The lever members 54 and 55 are rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. Lever member 54 is located on the rear side (rear surface side) of the printing device 1. Lever member 55 is located on the front side of the printing device 1. That is, lever member 54 is located on one side of the printing device 1 in the front-rear direction, and lever member 55 is located on the other side of the printing device 1 in the front-rear direction.

[0054] As shown in Figure 9, the end of the pivot shaft 52 is fixed to the front upper end of the lever member 54. The lever member 54 is rotatable around the pivot shaft 52 as its pivot point. The rear end of the connecting member 56 is rotatably connected to the front lower end of the lever member 54. The front end of the connecting member 56 is rotatably connected to the upper end of the lever member 55. When either the lever member 54 or the lever member 55 rotates, the other lever member 54 or the lever member 55 also rotates. In this embodiment, the operator of the printing device 1 manually rotates the lever members 54 and 55. A gripping portion 54a for the operator is formed at the rear end of the lever member 54. A gripping portion 55a for the operator is formed at the front lower end of the lever member 55.

[0055] When lever member 54 or lever member 55 is rotated manually, the eccentric cam 51 and pivot shaft 52 also rotate. When the roller holding portion 47 is positioned in the transportable position 47A, the eccentric cam 51 is not in contact with the roller holding portion 47 (see Figure 8(A)). Also, at this time, the gripping portions 54a and 55a are lowered (see Figure 6). When gripping portion 54a or gripping portion 55a is lifted upward and lever members 54 and 55 are rotated, the eccentric cam 51 and pivot shaft 52 rotate, the eccentric cam 51 comes into contact with the roller holding portion 47, and the roller holding portion 47 moves to the retracted position 47B (see Figures 7 and 8(B)). In this embodiment, lever member 54 is a first lever member for rotating the roller holding portion 47, and lever member 55 is a second lever member for rotating the roller holding portion 47.

[0056] The detection mechanism 58 is, for example, a transmissive optical sensor having a light-emitting part and a light-receiving part. The detection mechanism 58 is electrically connected to the control unit 61. The lever member 55 has a light-shielding part 55b that blocks the space between the light-emitting part and the light-receiving part. When the roller holding part 47 is positioned in the transportable position 47A, the light-shielding part 55b is separated from the space between the light-emitting part and the light-receiving part of the detection mechanism 58. When the roller holding part 47 is positioned in the retracted position 47B, the light-shielding part 55b blocks the space between the light-emitting part and the light-receiving part of the detection mechanism 58. Based on the detection result of the position of the lever member 55 by the detection mechanism 58, it is detected whether the roller holding part 47 is positioned in the transportable position 47A or in the retracted position 47B.

[0057] The slide member 49 is held by a frame that rotatably holds the roller holding portion 47. The slide member 49 is movable in the front-rear direction relative to the roller holding portion 47. The roller holding portion 47 has a cam surface 47a that the rear end of the slide member 49 can contact. When the eccentric cam 51 is not in contact with the roller holding portion 47 and the roller holding portion 47 is positioned in the transportable position 47A, moving the slide member 49 backward relative to the roller holding portion 47 causes the rear end of the slide member 49 to contact the cam surface 47a, and the roller holding portion 47 moves to the retracted position 47B (see Figure 10(B)). In this embodiment, the operator of the printing device 1 manually moves the slide member 49.

[0058] (Configuration of the transfer sheet application area) An after cover (after platen) 81 is positioned in front of the platen 36. The after cover 81 is made of metal. In this embodiment, the after cover 81 is made of steel plate. A convex curved guide surface 81a is formed on the surface of the after cover 81 for guiding the medium 3. The width of the guide surface 81a in the left-right direction is wider than the width of the medium 3. The medium 3 is transported along the guide surface 81a from the platen 36 toward the front, and then transported toward the downward. A heater 82 for heating the printed medium 3 is positioned inside the after cover 81. The heater 82 is positioned inside the after cover 81 so as to be aligned with the guide surface 81a.

[0059] The after cover 81 constitutes part of the transfer sheet application section 13. That is, the transfer sheet application section 13 is equipped with the after cover 81 as a configuration for applying the transfer sheet 4 to the printed medium 3. The transfer sheet application section 13 is also equipped with a pressure roller 83 facing the front lower end of the after cover 81 from the front. The pressure roller 83 is made of foam material. In this embodiment, the pressure roller 83 is made of chloroprene rubber sponge. The pressure roller 83 is rotatable with the left-right direction as the axis of rotation. The length of the pressure roller 83 (length in the left-right direction) is longer than the width of the medium 3.

[0060] In the transfer sheet application section 13, the transfer sheet 4 is pressed against the medium 3 between the after cover 81 and the pressure roller 83 to adhere the transfer sheet 4 to the printed medium 3. When attaching the transfer sheet 4 to the medium 3, the medium 3 is heated by the heater 82. For example, the medium 3 is heated to 60-70°C by the heater 82. In other words, in the transfer sheet application section 13, the transfer sheet 4 is attached while heat is applied to the medium 3. The after cover 81 contacts the release sheet 6 from the rear. The pressure roller 83 contacts the transfer sheet 4 from the front. The pressure roller 83 is a driven roller that rotates in accordance with the medium 3 being transported by the medium transport mechanism 12, and there is no drive source for the pressure roller 83.

[0061] (Control method for printing equipment) Figures 12 and 13 are schematic diagrams illustrating the control method of the printing apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 when the drive roller 45 stops while the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2. Figure 14 is a schematic diagram illustrating the control method of the printing apparatus 1 shown in Figure 1 when printing on the medium 3 starts after the drive roller has stopped.

[0062] According to the inventor's research, in the printing apparatus 1, for example, if the medium 3 remains stopped with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2 after printing by the printing mechanism 11 has stopped or after printing by the printing mechanism 11 has finished, (i.e., the drive roller 45 remains stopped with the medium 3 sandwiched between the drive roller 45 and the pinch roller 46) for a certain period of time, the adhesive of the adhesive layer 2 may stick to the pinch roller 46 over time, potentially hindering the subsequent transport of the medium 3.

[0063] As described above, in this embodiment, the roller holding part 47 can be rotated from the transportable position 47A where the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2 to the retracted position 47B by manually rotating the lever member 54 or lever member 55, so that the pinch roller 46 can be manually separated from the adhesive layer 2. Therefore, when the medium 3 stops with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller 46 when the medium 3 stops with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2 by moving the roller holding part 47 to the retracted position 47B before a certain amount of time has elapsed.

[0064] On the other hand, if the medium 3 stops with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2, and the roller holder 47 remains in the transportable position 47A for a certain period of time, the adhesive of the adhesive layer 2 may stick to the pinch roller 46 over time, potentially hindering the subsequent transport of the medium 3. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the medium 3 remains stopped with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2 (i.e., with the roller holder 47 in the transportable position 47A), the control unit 61 performs the following control in the printing apparatus 1 to suppress the adhesive from sticking to the pinch roller 46. The control unit 61 determines whether or not the roller holder 47 is in the transportable position 47A based on the detection result of the detection mechanism 58.

[0065] The state in which the drive roller 45 is stopped while the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2 (i.e., the state in which the medium 3 is stopped while the roller holding unit 47 is positioned at the transportable position 47A) is defined as the "drive roller stopped state," and the time when the drive roller stopped state is reached is defined as the "drive roller stopped time." If the drive roller stopped state continues for a predetermined first hour from the drive roller stopped time, the control unit 61 starts the motor 60 to rotate the drive roller 45 by a predetermined amount. In other words, if the drive roller stopped state continues for a first hour from the drive roller stopped time, the control unit 61 rotates the drive roller 45 by a predetermined amount to perform a roller rotation operation to transport the medium 3.

[0066] The first time interval can be set by the control unit 61 and is pre-set in the control unit 61. The first time interval is also stored in the control unit 61. In this configuration, if the drive roller remains stopped for 5 minutes from the time the drive roller stops, the control unit 61 performs a roller rotation operation. When the roller rotation operation is completed, the drive roller 45 is stopped again with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2, so the time when the roller rotation operation is completed is the time when the drive roller stops.

[0067] The roller rotation operation consists of a first roller rotation operation, which rotates the drive roller 45 to one side in the direction of rotation, and a second roller rotation operation, which rotates the drive roller 45 to the other side in the direction of rotation. In the first roller rotation operation, as shown in Figure 12(A), the drive roller 45 rotates in the counterclockwise direction in Figure 1 (hereinafter referred to as the "counterclockwise direction"), and the medium 3 is conveyed downstream in the conveying direction (indicated by arrow V1). In the first roller rotation operation, the pinch roller 46 also rotates in the clockwise direction in Figure 1 (hereinafter referred to as the "clockwise direction"). In the second roller rotation operation, as shown in Figure 12(B), the drive roller 45 rotates clockwise, and the medium 3 is conveyed upstream in the conveying direction (indicated by arrow V2). In the second roller rotation operation, the pinch roller 46 also rotates counterclockwise.

[0068] The amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the first roller rotation operation is equal to the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the second roller rotation operation. The amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the first roller rotation operation and the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the second roller rotation operation can be set by the control unit 61 and are preset in the control unit 61. In addition, the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the first roller rotation operation and the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the second roller rotation operation are stored in the control unit 61.

[0069] In this configuration, during the first and second roller rotation operations, the pinch roller 46 rotates 72° following the drive roller 45. When the first roller rotation operation is repeated 5 times, or when the second roller rotation operation is repeated 5 times, the pinch roller 46 completes one rotation. In this configuration, the circumference of the pinch roller 46 is 25 mm, and during the first and second roller rotation operations, the medium 3 is conveyed by 5 mm.

[0070] If, after the drive roller has stopped, for example, printing on the medium 3 by the printing mechanism 11 has not started and the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit 61 performs a first repeated rotation operation in which the first roller rotation operation is repeated a predetermined number of times, and then performs a second repeated rotation operation in which the second roller rotation operation is repeated the same number of times as the first roller rotation operation in the first repeated rotation operation, and thereafter performs the first repeated rotation operation and the second repeated rotation operation alternately.

[0071] In this configuration, the first repetitive rotation operation is performed five times, and the second repetitive rotation operation is performed five times. After one first repetitive rotation operation, the medium 3 is transported 5 mm downstream in the transport direction every 5 minutes, and after one second repetitive rotation operation, the medium 3 is transported 5 mm upstream in the transport direction every 5 minutes (see Figure 12(C)).

[0072] When the first repetitive rotation operation is performed once, or when the second repetitive rotation operation is performed once, the pinch roller 46 rotates once. That is, when the first or second repetitive rotation operation is performed once, the pinch roller 46 rotates 360°. Specifically, when the first repetitive rotation operation is performed once, the pinch roller 46 rotates once clockwise, and when the second repetitive rotation operation is performed once, the pinch roller 46 rotates once counterclockwise. When the first and second repetitive rotation operations are performed once each, the medium 3 returns to its original position. That is, the contact point between the pinch roller 46 and the adhesive layer 2 at the start of the first repetitive rotation operation (i.e., the contact point between the pinch roller 46 and the medium 3) is the same as the contact point between the pinch roller 46 and the adhesive layer 2 at the end of the second repetitive rotation operation.

[0073] When the first repetitive rotation operation is performed, if the range of the medium 3 in the medium transport direction that the pinch roller 46 contacts is defined as the first roller contact range CR, then in this embodiment, the length of the first roller contact range CR in the medium transport direction is 25 mm. When the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit 61, after the first repetitive rotation operation and the second repetitive rotation operation have been performed alternately a predetermined number of times, transports the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction by at least the length of the first roller contact range CR before performing the first repetitive rotation operation and the second repetitive rotation operation alternately.

[0074] In this embodiment, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit 61 transports the medium 3 30 mm downstream in the transport direction after the first and second repeating rotation operations have been performed alternately 15 times each. Then, it again alternates between the first and second repeating rotation operations. That is, when the first and second repeating rotation operations have been performed alternately 15 times each, the control unit 61 transports the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction by a distance slightly longer than the first roller contact range CR. Alternatively, when the first and second repeating rotation operations have been performed alternately 15 times each, the control unit 61 may transport the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction by the same distance as the first roller contact range CR.

[0075] If the range of the medium 3 in the medium transport direction that the pinch roller 46 contacts from the time the first drive roller stops until printing by the printing mechanism 11 is performed is defined as the second roller contact range, then when a predetermined second time has elapsed from the time the first drive roller stops until printing by the printing mechanism 11 is performed, the control unit 61 transports the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction until the upstream end of the second roller contact range in the transport direction is positioned at the same location as the upstream end of the head 22 in the transport direction (i.e., the rear end of the head 22), or until the upstream end of the second roller contact range in the transport direction is positioned downstream of the upstream end of the head 22 in the transport direction.

[0076] The second time interval can be set by the control unit 61 and is pre-set by the control unit 61. The second time interval is also stored in the control unit 61. In this configuration, if 5 minutes have elapsed from the time the first drive roller stops until printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11, the medium 3 is transported downstream in the transport direction as described above before printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11.

[0077] For example, if the time from the initial stop of the drive roller to the time before printing by the printing mechanism 11 is about 50 minutes, and if the first and second repetitive rotation operations are performed once each between the initial stop of the drive roller and the time before printing by the printing mechanism 11, then the second roller contact range becomes the first roller contact range CR. In this case, if the distance between the head rollers in the media transport direction between the upstream end of the head 22 in the transport direction and the contact point between the pinch roller 46 and the adhesive layer 2 (the contact point between the pinch roller 46 and the media 3) is defined as the head roller distance L (see Figure 14), then the control unit 61 transports the media 3 downstream in the transport direction by, for example, the sum of the head roller distance L and the first roller contact range CR before printing by the printing mechanism 11.

[0078] Specifically, since the head roller distance L in this embodiment is 70 mm, the control unit 61 transports the medium 3 95 mm downstream in the transport direction before printing by the printing mechanism 11 begins, after 5 minutes have elapsed from the time the first drive roller stops until printing by the printing mechanism 11 begins. When the medium 3 is transported 95 mm downstream in the transport direction, the upstream end of the head 22 in the transport direction and the upstream end of the first roller contact range CR in the transport direction are positioned at the same location in the medium transport direction.

[0079] In this configuration, regardless of the range of the second roller contact area, if 5 minutes have elapsed from the time the first drive roller stops until printing by the printing mechanism 11 begins, the control unit 61 uniformly transports the medium 3 95 mm downstream in the transport direction before printing by the printing mechanism 11 begins. For example, if the time from the time the first drive roller stops until printing by the printing mechanism 11 begins is about 10 minutes, and the first roller rotation operation is performed twice between the time the first drive roller stops until printing by the printing mechanism 11 begins, the length of the second roller contact area in the transport direction of the medium will be 10 mm. Even in this case, the control unit 61 uniformly transports the medium 3 95 mm downstream in the transport direction before printing by the printing mechanism 11 begins. In this case, when the medium 3 is transported 95 mm downstream in the transport direction, the upstream end of the second roller contact area in the transport direction is positioned downstream in the transport direction of the head 22.

[0080] (Main effects of this form) As explained above, in this embodiment, the roller holding part 47 is movable between a transportable position 47A in which the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2 and a retracted position 47B in which the pinch roller 46 is retracted away from the adhesive layer 2. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the medium 3 stops with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2, the roller holding part 47 can be moved to the retracted position 47B before a certain amount of time has elapsed, thereby suppressing the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller 46 when the medium 3 stops with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2.

[0081] In this embodiment, the media transport mechanism 12 is equipped with a roller lifting mechanism 48 for moving the roller holding part 47 between a transportable position 47A and a retracted position 47B. Therefore, in this embodiment, as described above, by manually rotating the lever member 54 or lever member 55, the roller holding part 47 can be rotated from the transportable position 47A, where the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2, to the retracted position 47B, thereby separating the pinch roller 46 from the adhesive layer 2.

[0082] In this configuration, the roller lifting mechanism 48 moves all the roller holding parts 47 together between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B. Therefore, in this configuration, even if the media transport mechanism 12 is equipped with multiple pinch rollers 46, it becomes possible to easily separate the multiple pinch rollers 46 from the adhesive layer 2.

[0083] In this embodiment, the roller holding section 47 can be rotated between the transportable position 47A and the retracted position 47B by manually rotating the lever member 54 located on the rear side of the printing device 1 or the lever member 55 located on the front side of the printing device 1, thereby rotating the eccentric cam 51 and the pivot shaft 52. In other words, in this embodiment, the roller holding section 47 can be rotated from both the front and rear sides of the printing device 1 using the lever members 54 and 55. Therefore, in this embodiment, even when the roller holding section 47 is rotated by manually rotating the lever member 54 or the lever member 55, the operation of rotating the roller holding section 47 can be performed efficiently.

[0084] In this embodiment, the control unit 61 performs a roller rotation operation to transport the medium 3 by rotating the drive roller 45 by a predetermined amount when the drive roller stops and the drive roller remains stopped for a predetermined first hour. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the medium 3 remains stopped while the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2, the pinch roller 46 is rotated together with the drive roller 45 every first hour, making it possible to change the point where the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2 every first hour. Consequently, in this embodiment, it is possible to suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller 46 when the medium 3 is stopped while the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2.

[0085] According to the inventor's research, printing on the portion of the adhesive layer 2 that has been in contact with the pinch roller 46 for a certain period of time or longer may result in a decrease in print quality. Therefore, it is preferable not to print on the portion of the adhesive layer 2 that has been in contact with the pinch roller 46 for a certain period of time or longer, as this portion may become unusable for printing. In this embodiment, since the roller rotation operation includes a first roller rotation operation and a second roller rotation operation, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, it becomes possible to narrow the range of the adhesive layer 2 that is in contact with the pinch roller 46 for a certain period of time or longer in the media transport direction. In other words, in this embodiment, it becomes possible to narrow the unusable area of ​​the media 3 in the media transport direction, and as a result, it becomes possible to effectively utilize the media 3.

[0086] In this embodiment, the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the first roller rotation operation is equal to the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the second roller rotation operation. Furthermore, in this embodiment, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit 61 performs a first repeat rotation operation in which the first roller rotation operation is repeated a predetermined number of times, and then performs a second repeat rotation operation in which the second roller rotation operation is repeated the same number of times as the first roller rotation operation in the first repeat rotation operation, and thereafter alternates between the first repeat rotation operation and the second repeat rotation operation. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to make the range of the adhesive layer 2 that the pinch roller 46 contacts in the medium transport direction during the first repeat rotation operation the same as the range of the adhesive layer 2 that the pinch roller 46 contacts in the medium transport direction during the second repeat rotation operation.

[0087] In this embodiment, the pinch roller 46 rotates once when the first repetitive rotation operation is performed once. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, it is possible to prevent the adhesive layer 2 from coming into contact with only a specific range in the circumferential direction of the pinch roller 46. Consequently, in this embodiment, it is possible to effectively suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller 46 when the medium 3 stops while the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2.

[0088] In this embodiment, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit 61, after the first and second repeated rotation operations have been performed alternately a predetermined number of times, transports the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction by at least the amount of the first roller contact range CR before performing the first and second repeated rotation operations alternately. Therefore, in this embodiment, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, it is possible to prevent the pinch roller 46 from continuously contacting only a specific range of the adhesive layer 2 in the medium transport direction. Consequently, in this embodiment, it is possible to effectively suppress the adhesion of the adhesive to the pinch roller 46 when the medium 3 stops while the pinch roller 46 is in contact with the adhesive layer 2.

[0089] As described above, according to the inventor's research, printing on the portion of the adhesive layer 2 that has been in contact with the pinch roller 46 for a certain period of time or longer may result in a decrease in print quality. Therefore, it is preferable not to print on the portion of the adhesive layer 2 that has been in contact with the pinch roller 46 for a certain period of time or longer. In this embodiment, once a predetermined second time has elapsed from the time the first drive roller stops until printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11, the control unit 61 transports the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction until the upstream end of the second roller contact area is positioned at the same location as the upstream end of the head 22 in the transport direction, or until the upstream end of the second roller contact area is positioned downstream of the upstream end of the head 22 in the transport direction. Therefore, in this embodiment, it is possible to prevent printing from being performed on the portion of the adhesive layer 2 that has been in contact with the pinch roller 46 for a certain period of time or longer.

[0090] (Other embodiments) The above-described embodiments are examples of preferred embodiments of the present invention, but are not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made without altering the essence of the invention.

[0091] In the above-described configuration, the roller lifting mechanism 48 does not necessarily have to include a lever member 55 and a connecting member 56. Also, in the above-described configuration, the roller lifting mechanism 48 does not necessarily have to rotate all the roller holding parts 47 at once. Furthermore, in the above-described configuration, the roller lifting mechanism 48 may include a drive source such as a motor for rotating the pivot shaft 52 and a power transmission mechanism for transmitting the power of the drive source to the pivot shaft 52. In this case, when the medium 3 remains stopped with the pinch roller 46 in contact with the adhesive layer 2 for a first hour, the control unit 61 may control the drive source of the roller lifting mechanism 48 to automatically move the roller holding parts 47 to the retracted position 47B. When the control unit 61 automatically moves the roller holding parts 47 to the retracted position 47B, the control unit 61 does not need to perform a roller rotation operation.

[0092] In the above-described configuration, if printing quality can be ensured even when printing is performed on the portion of the adhesive layer 2 that has been in contact with the pinch roller 46 for a certain period of time or longer, the control unit 61 does not need to transport the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction before printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11, even if a second period of time has elapsed between the time the first drive roller stops and before printing is performed by the printing mechanism 11. Furthermore, in the above-described configuration, if the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit 61 does not need to transport the medium 3 downstream in the transport direction even if the first repeated rotation operation and the second repeated rotation operation are performed alternately a predetermined number of times.

[0093] In the above-described configuration, the amount of rotation of the pinch roller 46 in the first roller rotation operation and the second roller rotation operation may be less than 72° or greater than 72°. Also, in the above-described configuration, the amount of rotation of the pinch roller 46 when the first repeated rotation operation is performed once may be less than 360° or greater than 360°. Furthermore, in the above-described configuration, the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the first roller rotation operation and the amount of rotation of the drive roller 45 in the second roller rotation operation may be different.

[0094] In the above-described configuration, the number of times the first roller rotation operation is repeated in the first repetitive rotation operation may be different from the number of times the second roller rotation operation is repeated in the second repetitive rotation operation. Also, in the above-described configuration, the drive roller 45 may rotate clockwise in the first roller rotation operation and counterclockwise in the second roller rotation operation. Furthermore, in the above-described configuration, the roller rotation operation may consist only of the first roller rotation operation, or only of the second roller rotation operation.

[0095] In the above-described configuration, the media transport mechanism 12 does not need to include a roller lifting mechanism 48. Also, in the above-described configuration, the printing device 1 does not need to include a media winding unit 15. In this case, for example, a storage box for which the media 3 after the transfer sheet 4 has been attached is installed below the transfer sheet attachment unit 13. Furthermore, in the above-described configuration, the media 3 may be cut to a predetermined length before being set in the printing device 1. That is, the media 3 does not need to be formed in a long shape. In this case, the media feeding unit 14 and the media winding unit 15 become unnecessary. Also, in this case, the printing device 1 does not need to include a release sheet winding unit 16.

[0096] In the above-described configuration, the number of pinch rollers 46 held by one roller holding section 47 may be one or three or more. Also, in the above-described configuration, the transfer sheet application section 13 may be equipped with a pressure roller instead of the after cover 81. Furthermore, in the above-described configuration, it is also possible to install a conveyor belt that contacts the release sheet 6 and transports the medium 3 instead of the drive roller 45 and the pinch roller 46. In this case, an adhesive may be applied to the surface of the conveyor belt that contacts the release sheet 6. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0097] 1 Printing device 2 Adhesive layer 3 Medium 6. Release sheet 11 Printing mechanism 12. Media transport mechanism 22 heads (inkjet heads) 45 Drive rollers 46 Pinch Roller 47 Roller holding part 47A Transportable position 47B Evacuation position 48. Roller lifting mechanism (roller moving mechanism) 54 Lever member (first lever member) 55 Lever member (second lever member) 56 Connecting member 59 Roller drive mechanism 61 Control Unit CR 1st Roller Contact Range X Anteroposterior direction Y: Width direction of the medium

Claims

1. The system comprises a printing mechanism for printing on the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet disposed on one side of the adhesive layer using an inkjet method, and a medium transport mechanism for transporting the medium. The media transport mechanism comprises a drive roller that contacts the release sheet, a pinch roller positioned opposite the drive roller and capable of contacting the adhesive layer, and a roller holding portion that rotatably holds the pinch roller. The printing apparatus is characterized in that the roller holding portion is movable between a transportable position in which the pinch roller contacts the adhesive layer and a retracted position in which the pinch roller retracts away from the adhesive layer.

2. The printing apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the media transport mechanism includes a roller moving mechanism for moving the roller holding portion between the transportable position and the retracted position.

3. The media transport mechanism comprises a plurality of pinch rollers and a plurality of roller holding portions that rotatably hold one or more of the pinch rollers and are arranged in the width direction of the media perpendicular to the transport direction of the media. The printing apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the roller moving mechanism moves all of the roller holding parts together between the transportable position and the retracted position.

4. The width direction of the aforementioned medium is parallel to the horizontal direction. The roller holding portion is rotatable between the transportable position and the retracted position, with the width direction of the medium as the axis of rotation. The roller moving mechanism comprises a first lever member and a second lever member for rotating the roller holding portion, and a connecting member for connecting the first lever member and the second lever member. If the direction perpendicular to the width direction and the vertical direction of the aforementioned medium is defined as the front-to-back direction, The first lever member is positioned on one side of the printing apparatus in the front-rear direction. The second lever member is positioned on the other side of the printing device in the front-rear direction, The first lever member and the second lever member are rotatable with the width direction of the medium as the axis of rotation. The printing apparatus according to claim 3, characterized in that when either the first lever member or the second lever member is rotated, the other of the first lever member or the second lever member also rotates.

5. The system comprises a printing mechanism for printing on the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet disposed on one side of the adhesive layer using an inkjet method, a medium transport mechanism for transporting the medium, and a control unit for controlling the medium transport mechanism. The media transport mechanism comprises a drive roller that contacts the release sheet, a pinch roller positioned opposite the drive roller and capable of contacting the adhesive layer, and a roller drive mechanism that drives the drive roller. If the state in which the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer and the drive roller is stopped is defined as the drive roller stopped state, and the time at which the drive roller stops is defined as the drive roller stop time, The printing apparatus is characterized in that, when the control unit stops the drive roller and the drive roller remains stopped for a predetermined first hour, it performs a roller rotation operation to rotate the drive roller by a predetermined amount to transport the medium.

6. The printing apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that the roller rotation operation includes a first roller rotation operation that rotates the drive roller to one side in the rotational direction, and a second roller rotation operation that rotates the drive roller to the other side in the rotational direction.

7. The amount of rotation of the drive roller in the first roller rotation operation and the amount of rotation of the drive roller in the second roller rotation operation are equal. The printing apparatus according to claim 6, characterized in that, when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit performs a first repeat rotation operation in which the first roller rotation operation is repeated a predetermined number of times, then performs a second repeat rotation operation in which the second roller rotation operation is repeated the same number of times as the first roller rotation operation in the first repeat rotation operation, and thereafter performs the first repeat rotation operation and the second repeat rotation operation alternately.

8. The printing apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that the pinch roller rotates once when the first repeated rotation operation is performed once.

9. The drive roller and the pinch roller come into contact with the medium before printing is performed by the printing mechanism. If the conveying direction of the medium is defined as the medium conveying direction, the side on which the printing mechanism is positioned relative to the drive roller and the pinch roller in the medium conveying direction is defined as the downstream side in the conveying direction, the side opposite to the downstream side in the conveying direction is defined as the upstream side in the conveying direction, and the range of the medium in the medium conveying direction that the pinch roller contacts when the first repeated rotation operation is performed is defined as the first roller contact range, In the first roller rotation operation, the medium is conveyed downstream in the conveying direction. In the second roller rotation operation, the medium is transported to the upstream side in the transport direction. The printing apparatus according to claim 7 or 8, characterized in that when the roller rotation operation is performed repeatedly and continuously, the control unit, after the first repeated rotation operation and the second repeated rotation operation have been performed alternately a predetermined number of times, transports the medium downstream in the transport direction by at least the amount of the first roller contact range, and then performs the first repeated rotation operation and the second repeated rotation operation alternately.

10. The printing mechanism includes an inkjet head that ejects ink onto the adhesive layer, The drive roller and the pinch roller come into contact with the medium before printing is performed by the printing mechanism. If we define the medium transport direction as the medium transport direction, the side on which the printing mechanism is positioned relative to the drive roller and the pinch roller in the medium transport direction as the downstream side in the transport direction, and the side opposite the downstream side in the transport direction as the upstream side in the transport direction, and if we define the range of the medium in the medium transport direction that the pinch roller contacts from the time the drive roller first stops until printing is performed by the printing mechanism as the second roller contact range, The printing apparatus according to any one of 5 to 8, characterized in that, once a predetermined second time has elapsed from the time the drive roller first stops until printing is performed by the printing mechanism, the control unit transports the medium downstream in the transport direction until, before printing is performed by the printing mechanism, the upstream end of the second roller contact range in the transport direction is positioned at the same location as the upstream end of the inkjet head in the transport direction in the medium transport direction, or the upstream end of the second roller contact range in the transport direction is positioned downstream in the transport direction of the inkjet head.

11. A control method for a printing apparatus comprising: a printing mechanism for printing on the adhesive layer of a medium having an adhesive layer and a release sheet disposed on one side of the adhesive layer using an inkjet method; and a medium transport mechanism for transporting the medium, wherein the medium transport mechanism comprises a drive roller that contacts the release sheet, a pinch roller disposed opposite the drive roller and capable of contacting the adhesive layer, and a roller drive mechanism that drives the drive roller, If the state in which the pinch roller is in contact with the adhesive layer and the drive roller is stopped is defined as the drive roller stopped state, and the time at which the drive roller stops is defined as the drive roller stop time, A control method for a printing apparatus, characterized in that, if the drive roller remains stopped for a predetermined first hour from the time the drive roller stops, a roller rotation operation is performed to rotate the drive roller by a predetermined amount to transport the medium.

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