Image relay device, image forming device, and image forming method

Abstract

To provide image formation using inexpensive image forming materials by holding a material for image formation on the surface of an intermediate body having a simple structure and realizing transfer onto the surface of an object. [Solution] An image relay device 40 that temporarily holds a created image and transfers it to the surface of an object is provided with a paste holding member 41 and a paste relay member 51 that hold a paste image P on outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s, and a slide mechanism 63 that moves a stage 61 that supports a flat plate member S of the object. By contacting the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s and rotating them relatively in opposite directions, and also sliding the flat plate member S relatively in the opposite direction, the paste image P1 on the outer peripheral surface 41s is transferred to the bottom surface Sb of the straight groove Sd of the flat plate member S via the outer peripheral surface 51s without turning it over, thereby forming an image.

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an image relay device, an image forming device, and an image forming method, which form an image by temporarily holding a material that is freely deformed before being closely held as an image in a desired area on the surface of a member, such as a molded paste material, and then transferring it to the surface of an object to be imaged. [Background technology]

[0002] When forming an image such as a character or a pattern on the surface of an image-forming object, it is known to form the image by, for example, attaching and fixing a paste material molded into the shape of the image on the surface of the object. Specifically, an indirect image-forming method is known in which an image is formed indirectly via an intermediate, such as offset printing, in which a paste material of an image-forming material is molded by screen printing and held on the surface of an intermediate, and then an image of the paste material (hereinafter also simply referred to as a paste image or an image-forming material) is transferred to the surface of the image-forming object and attached and fixed (see, for example, Patent Documents 1 and 2).

[0003] Here, in the above-mentioned screen printing, in order to achieve high-precision image formation, it is easier to handle the screen plate while it is flat, and in order to form an image on a curved surface, it is more advantageous to adopt a method in which a paste image is formed on the surface of an intermediate and then transferred (see, for example, Patent Document 2).

[0004] In the case of screen printing, it is possible to form an image by directly attaching and fixing a paste material to the surface of the object, but taking into consideration the working space and handling of the screen plate, the above-mentioned indirect offset printing method is widely used.

[0005] However, in forming an image using a paste material by such an indirect transfer method (offset printing), the paste image is molded onto the image forming surface of an intermediate body and temporarily held thereon, and the paste image is pressed against the entire surface of the intermediate body, and the paste image is transferred to the surface of the object to be imaged.

[0006] As a result, the paste image on the surface of the image-forming object is sandwiched between the surface of the intermediate body and is then transferred in a thinned state, and is turned over and transferred from the surface of the intermediate body to the surface of the image-forming object, resulting in a difference in the image between the surface of the intermediate body and the surface of the image-forming object.

[0007] Based on this, the applicant of the present application has realized an image relay device that can transfer a paste image held on the surface of an intermediate body directly onto the surface of an object to be imaged, thereby enabling stable image formation on the surface of the object to be imaged (Patent Document 3). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0008] [Patent Document 1] WO2014 / 050560 publication [Patent Document 2] JP 2016-107407 A [Patent Document 3] Patent No. 7220404 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0009] Incidentally, in the image relay device described in Patent Document 3, a holding sheet (intermediate surface) receives a paste image and holds it on one side while a knife-edge shaped tip is thrust against the surface of the object to deform it, thereby enabling the paste image on the holding sheet to be smoothly transferred directly onto the surface of the object, thereby achieving high-quality image formation.

[0010] However, for images made of freely deformable materials, including paste images made of paste materials, there is also a demand for transferring and forming an image on the surface of an image object without being too distorted, without being limited to a high-quality image transfer method, or for transferring and forming a single-color image on the surface of an image object, or for application, for example, to cases where the surface of the image-forming object is the inner surface of a narrow space.

[0011] In addition, if high quality is not required for the image formed on the surface of the image forming object, cost reduction can be expected by reviewing the components that form the image.

[0012] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENTLY PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention has an object to provide image formation using inexpensive image forming materials by holding an image forming material on the surface of an intermediate body having a simple structure and enabling transfer to the surface of an object. [Means for solving the problem]

[0013] One aspect of the invention of an image relay device that solves the above-mentioned problems is an image relay device that temporarily holds an image created based on acquired data and transfers it to the surface of an object on which an image is to be formed, and is equipped with an image holding member that holds at least a portion of a formed image made of an image forming material that forms the image on its outer surface, and a relative movement mechanism that moves the outer surface of the image holding member relative to the surface of the object in the extension direction of the formed image while directly contacting the surface of the object or contacting the surface via the formed image, wherein the image holding member has an outer surface that is rotatable in a circular manner and is indeformable, and an axis of rotation perpendicular to the circular rotation direction of the outer surface, and the relative movement mechanism rotates the outer surface of the image holding member in a circular manner at the contact point between the outer surface of the image holding member and the surface of the object, while relatively moving the surface of the object in the opposite direction to the circular rotation direction, thereby transferring the formed image from the outer surface side of the image holding member to the surface of the object without reversing the front and back of the formed image, thereby forming an image.

[0014] One aspect of the image forming device invention that solves the above problem is characterized by comprising the above-mentioned image relay device, a support device that supports the object, and a mechanism for adjusting the relative positional relationship between the image relay device and the support device.

[0015] One aspect of the invention of an image forming method that solves the above-mentioned problems is an image forming method in which an image created based on acquired data is temporarily held, and then transferred to the surface of an object to form an image, characterized in that at least a portion of the formed image made of image forming material created as the image is held on the outer surface side of an image holding member having a shape that can be circulated and an outer surface that is undeformable, and then the outer surface of the image holding member is moved relatively in the opposite direction to the surface of the object while being brought into direct contact with the surface of the object or in contact via the formed image, thereby transferring the formed image directly from the outer surface side of the image holding member to the surface of the object without reversing it, thereby forming an image. Effect of the Invention

[0016] Thus, according to one aspect of the present invention, the outer surface of an image-holding member (intermediate body) that rotates in a circular motion without deformation while holding at least a portion of the image-forming material is continuously brought into contact with the surface of an object that moves relatively in the opposite direction.

[0017] At this time, the image-forming material adheres to the surface of the object moving in the opposite direction (a separating direction, not a parallel direction) from the outer surface of the image-holding member, and is transferred from the position that maintains the surface in contact with each surface without being turned over.

[0018] Therefore, at the contact point between the outer surface of the image-holding member and the surface of the object, the image-forming material is transferred in the tangential movement direction of each surface, and an image can be formed by transferring the image-forming material from the outer surface side of the image-holding member in a form that follows the surface of the object without turning it over.

[0019] As a result, the image-forming material held on the outer surface of an image-holding member that does not need to be deformed can be transferred to the surface of an object, and the image-forming material can be formed with a simple and inexpensive structure. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an image forming apparatus in which an image relay device according to a first embodiment of the present invention is mounted together with an image production device and a support device to execute an image forming method, and is a front view showing a schematic overall configuration thereof. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view showing the image forming apparatus. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an object on which an image is formed. [Figure 4] Figure 4 is a diagram explaining the transfer of a paste image (image forming material) to the surface of an image forming object by an image relay device, where (a) is an explanatory diagram showing the state at the start of the transfer process, (b) is an explanatory diagram showing the state midway through the transfer process, and (c) is an explanatory diagram showing the state at the end of the transfer process. [Diagram 5] Figure 5 is a diagram explaining the transfer form of a paste image by an image holding member of an image relay device, where (a) is an explanatory diagram of the deformation of a paste image transferred between image holding members, and (b) is an explanatory diagram of the deformation of a paste image transferred from an image holding member to a target surface. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an image forming apparatus in which an image relay device according to the second embodiment of the present invention is mounted together with an image production device and a support device to execute an image forming method, and is a front view showing a schematic overall configuration thereof. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a side view showing the image forming apparatus. [Figure 8] FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the image forming apparatus. [Figure 9] FIG. 9 is a diagram for explaining a state at the start of a process of transferring a paste image (image forming material) onto a surface of an image forming object by an image relay device, (a) being a front view and (b) being a side view. [Figure 10]10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating a state during the transfer process following FIG. 9, where (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. [Figure 11] 11A and 11B are diagrams for explaining a state during the transfer process following FIG. 10, where (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. [Figure 12] 12A and 12B are diagrams for explaining a state during the transfer process following FIG. 11, where (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. [Figure 13] 13A and 13B are diagrams for explaining a state during the transfer process following FIG. 11, where (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. [Figure 14] 14A and 14B are diagrams for explaining the state at the end of the transfer process following FIG. 13, where (a) is a front view and (b) is a side view. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Figures 1 to 5 are diagrams showing an image forming apparatus that includes an image relay device according to a first embodiment of the present invention and executes an image forming method.

[0022] 1 and 2, the image forming apparatus 10 is constructed to include an image producing device 20, an image relay device 40, a support device 60, and a controller 90. The image forming apparatus 10 is constructed so that the controller 90 controls the various devices 20, 40, and 60 in a unified manner, and executes a process of forming a paste image (formed image) P2 of two straight lines by attaching a paste material (image forming material) to the bottom surface Sb of the straight grooves Sd as an object for image formation (see FIG. 3) on a flat plate member S having two straight grooves Sd on one side surface Ss. At this time, the image forming apparatus 10 executes an image forming method in which the controller 90 sucks and fixes the back side of the image forming surface of the flat plate member S to be image formed on the support device 60 by sucking, for example, the back side, and transfers the paste image P1 formed by the image producing device 20 based on the acquired image data to the flat plate member S via the image relay device 40 as described later to form the paste image on the bottom surface Sb of the straight grooves Sd. Here, the paste material for forming the paste image may be not only a material that has adhesiveness and can form an image by adhering to the surface of the object, but may also be a liquid material such as ink that adheres to the surface of the object with some adhesiveness without soaking into the surface of the object. In addition, it is preferable that the outer peripheral surfaces 41s and 51s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 of the image relay device 40 described later have a surface that adheres the paste material in a peelable manner or a surface that has excellent wettability for the liquid material. In addition, the object on which the image is formed is not limited to the flat plate member S having the linear grooves Sd, and may be, for example, a member having another surface shape such as a simple flat surface.

[0023] The image producing device 20 includes a screen plate 21, a plate support section 23, a slide mechanism 25, a squeegee 31, and a scraper 32, and forms two linear paste images P1 made of a paste material on an outer peripheral surface (outer surface) 41s of a paste holding member (image holding member) 41 of an image relay device 40 described later. The image producing device 20 is a so-called general-purpose screen printing machine, and a screen mesh screen plate 21 is supported by a plate support section 23 installed on the upper part of the image forming device 10, and the plate support section 23 is attached so as to be slidable in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 by a rail 25r of a slide mechanism 25. In addition, the image producing device 20 is configured such that the tip portions of the squeegee 31 and the scraper 32 contact the screen plate 21 with a desired pressure, and at the same time, the screen plate 21 moves relatively in the left-right direction in FIG. 1 while maintaining a state in which the tip portion of the squeegee 31 contacts the outer peripheral surface 41s of the rotating paste holding member 41 of the image relay device 40.

[0024] The image creating device 20 is configured to supply paste material to form a paste image P1 between the squeegee 31 and scraper 32 on the screen plate 21. For example, as the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 of the image relay device 40 described below rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 1, the screen plate 21 moves (runs parallel) in the tangential direction at the contact point with the outer peripheral surface 41s at the same speed, so that the paste material passing through the screen plate 21 adheres to the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 to form the desired paste image P1.

[0025] As described above, the image relay device 40 is constructed to include a paste retaining member 41 that forms a paste image P1 on its outer peripheral surface 41s, and a paste relay member (image retaining member) 51 that receives the paste image P1 on the outer peripheral surface 41s from the paste retaining member 41 and passes it to the bottom surface Sb of the linear groove Sd of the flat plate member S that is the object of image formation, thereby forming an image.

[0026] The paste holding member 41 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface 41s so as to receive the paste image P1 while being in close contact with the screen plate 21 of the image production device 20, and is rotated around the rotation axis 41x to move the outer peripheral surface 41s at a constant speed with the squeegee 31 of the image production device 20, etc., to receive the paste image P1. Here, the paste holding member 41 is, for example, made in a cylindrical shape having a diameter such that the circumferential length of the outer peripheral surface 41s is smaller than the length of the screen plate 21 corresponding to the moving direction of the squeegee 31 of the image production device 20, and is capable of forming and holding the paste image P1 to be formed on the target flat plate member S all around during one movement of the squeegee 31. However, the paste holding member 41 is not limited to this, and may have a circumferential length larger than the length of the screen plate 21 so that the paste image P1 can be formed by multiple movements of the squeegee 31.

[0027] The paste relay member 51 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface (outer surface) 51s so as to receive the paste image P1 while being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41, and is rotated around a rotation axis 51x parallel to the rotation axis 41x of the paste holding member 41, so that the outer peripheral surface 51s moves at a constant speed together with the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 to receive the paste image P1. Here, like the paste holding member 41, the paste relay member 51 is made in a cylindrical shape having a diameter such that the circumferential length of the outer peripheral surface 51s is smaller than the circumferential length of the paste holding member 41, so that the paste image P1 formed on the target flat plate member S can be received all around during one rotation of the paste holding member 41. However, the paste relay member 51 is not limited to this, and the paste image P1 can also be formed by rotating the paste holding member 41 multiple times.

[0028] That is, the image relay device 40 is configured to form an image by receiving the paste image P1 formed by the image creation device 20 with the paste holding member 41 (outer peripheral surface 41s) and transferring it to the paste relay member 51 (outer peripheral surface 51s) and transferring it to the flat plate member S (bottom surface Sb of two straight grooves Sd on the surface Ss) on which the image is to be formed. In this image relay device 40, the outer peripheral surfaces 41s and 51s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 are formed as undeformable continuous surfaces in which the cylindrical outer surfaces (curved surfaces) rotate in a direction perpendicular to the arc centers of the rotation axes 41x and 51x, respectively, and the paste holding member 41 functions as a front-stage holding member, and the paste relay member 51 functions as a rear-stage holding member. It goes without saying that the image relay device 40 may sequentially transfer the paste image P1, so that one or more middle-stage holding members may be disposed between the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51. Here, the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 are adapted to rotate in a circular cross-sectional continuous surface with a constant separation distance from the rotation axes 41x, 51x at the center of the arc, respectively. However, the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 are not limited to this, and may have a continuous surface with a cross-sectional shape of an ellipse, a triangle, a rectangle, a pentagon or more polygon, or an irregular shape formed to correspond to the planar shape of the image formation target, and in this case, the corners of the cross-sectional shape may be formed to be smoothly continuous, for example, in a curved shape.

[0029] In order to transfer the paste image P1 to the bottom surfaces Sb of the two straight grooves Sd on the surface Ss of the flat plate member S on which the image is to be formed and form an image, the paste relay member 51 has two ridge shapes 51f formed on its outer circumferential surface 51s, the ridge shapes 51f fitting into the two straight grooves Sd on the surface Ss of the flat plate member S. For this reason, the paste relay member 51 is configured so that the outer circumferential top surfaces 51t of the ridge shapes 51f come into contact with the outer circumferential surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 directly or indirectly via the paste image P1 to receive the paste image P1.

[0030] The paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 have rotating shafts 41x and 51x connected to the rotating shafts of the motors 43 and 53, respectively, and are rotatably supported by the slide mechanisms 45 and 55. The rotating shafts 41x and 51x are rotatably supported by support members 45s and 55s (bearings not shown) that are supported vertically and slidably by the supports 45p and 55p of the slide mechanisms 45 and 55. That is, the image relay device 40 arranges ridge shapes 51f at two (multiple) points in the extension direction of the rotating shaft 51x (extension direction of the rotating shaft) on the outer circumferential surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 to separate the outer circumferential top surface 51t of the outer circumferential surface of the member, thereby preventing the paste image P1 from adhering to unnecessary points.

[0031] The support device 60 is constructed with a stage 61 and a slide mechanism 63, and the stage 61 sucks and fixes the back side of the image forming surface of the flat plate member S on which the image is formed. In this support device 60, the slide mechanism 63 supports the stay 61b of the stage 61 so that it can slide freely on a slide rail 63r, and the slide mechanism 63 slides the stage 61 forward and backward in the rotation direction of the outer circumferential surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 based on a control signal from the controller 90.

[0032] The controller 90 includes a CPU (Central Processing Unit) and various memories, and is connected to the image creation device 20, the image relay device 40, and the support device 60 so as to be able to exchange various types of information with each other.

[0033] This controller 90 is preset with various position information and driving conditions of the image creating device 20, the image relay device 40, and the supporting device 60, and executes a prestored control program to coordinately drive the various devices 20, 40, and 60. As a result, the controller 90 executes an image forming process (image forming method) for transferring the paste image P1 formed by the image creating device 20 to the bottom surface Sb of the straight groove Sd of the flat plate member S on which an image is to be formed and which is supported by the supporting device 60, via the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 of the image relay device 40, without reversing the front and back.

[0034] 4(a), the controller 90 positions the screen plate 21 and the paste holding member 41 at positions where the outer peripheral surfaces 41s are in contact with each other so as to be able to perform screen printing, while positioning the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 and the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 in a contact state so that the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s of the paste relay member 51 are able to transfer the paste image P1 as described later, and at the same time, positions the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 at a position away from the surface Ss of the flat plate member S supported by the supporting device 60 so as not to come into contact with the surface Ss (pre-preparation). In this pre-preparation, the controller 90 moves the screen plate 21 to the screen printing start position, and rotates and positions the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 so that the holding start positions of the paste image P1, described later, of the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s coincide with their respective predetermined positions. In addition, the paste retaining member 41 and the paste relay member 51 may be rotated to position a predetermined position of the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s that has been set in advance as the retention start position for the paste image P1, but without being limited to this, by utilizing the drive timing of the motor, the entire circumference of the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s may be set as the retention start position to start retaining the paste image P1.

[0035] After this preparation, the controller 90 relatively moves the screen plate 21 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 4(a) so that the tangential direction of the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 at the contact point between the screen plate 21 and the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 and the sliding direction of the screen plate 21 rotates and slides leftward at the same speed in the same direction. As a result, the controller 90 forms a primary relay image by placing the paste image P1 from the screen plate 21 directly on the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 from the primary holding start position with high quality (primary relay image formation). At the same time, the controller 90 relatively moves the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s of the paste relay member 51 at the contact point between the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 and the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 in opposite directions to each other, in other words, rotates leftward so that the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 moves relatively in the opposite direction to the left rotation of the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 which rotates parallel to the moving direction of the screen plate 21. As a result, as shown in Figure 5 (a), the image relay device 40 transfers (transfers) the paste image P1 from the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 to the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 without turning it over from the secondary holding start position, thereby forming a secondary relay image (secondary relay image formation).

[0036] After these primary and secondary relay image formations, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the controller 90 separates the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 from the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 and brings it into contact with the bottom surface Sb of the linear groove Sd of the flat plate member S supported by the supporting device 60 (hereinafter also simply referred to as the bottom surface Sb of the flat plate member S). As a result, the controller 90 moves the flat plate member S supported by the supporting device 60 together with the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 so as to be in contact with the bottom surface Sb of the flat plate member S so that the paste image P1 can be transferred as a paste image P2 from the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 to the bottom surface Sb of the flat plate member S, as described later (relay preparation). In this relay preparation, the controller 90 moves the paste relay member 51 downward in the direction of the arrow in Figure 4 (b) and rotates it, and also slides the support device 60 (flat member S) to the right to position them so that the secondary holding start position of the paste image P1 on the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 coincides with the transfer start position of the paste image P2 on the bottom surface Sb of the flat member S supported by the support device 60.

[0037] After these relay preparations, as shown in Fig. 4(c), the controller 90 rotates the paste relay member 51 so that the tangential direction of the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 and the moving direction of the bottom surface Sb of the flat plate member S at the contact point between the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 and the contact point between the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 and the contact point between the bottom surface Sb of the flat plate member S supported by the support device 60 are opposite to each other, in other words, as shown by the arrow direction in the figure, the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 is rotated leftward while the bottom surface Sb of the flat plate member S is relatively moved leftward. As a result, as shown in Fig. 5(b), the image relay device 40 transfers the paste image P1 from the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 to the bottom surface Sb of the two straight grooves Sd of the surface Ss of the flat plate member S as a paste image P2 without turning it over, thereby completing the image formation (image formation completion).

[0038] Here, the controller 90 may detect and confirm the positions of the various components of the image creation device 20, the image relay device 40 and the support device 60 using sensors, image recognition, etc., and control the drive. Alternatively, for example, the controller 90 may start driving using a preset electrical or mechanical reference position of a motor, etc., such as a fitting, as the initial position, and execute a desired series of image formation processes in coordination (the same applies to the other embodiments described below).

[0039] At this time, at the contact point where the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51 move relatively in opposite directions, as shown in Figure 5(a), the paste image P1 on the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 comes into contact with and adheres to the top surface 51t of the ridge shape 51f of the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51, and is transferred as the paste image P1 in the middle of relaying without being flipped over while being subjected to a deformation load according to the included angle Dt1 sandwiched in the tangent directions of each.

[0040] Furthermore, in this image relay device 40, at the contact points where the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 and the bottom surface Sb of the flat member S supported by the support device 60 move relatively in the opposite direction, as shown in Figure 5 (b), the paste image P1 on the top surfaces 51t of the two ridge shapes 51f on the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 comes into contact with the bottom surfaces Sb of the two straight grooves Sd on the surface Ss of the flat member S and adheres thereto, and is subjected to a deformation load according to the included angle Dt2 in the respective tangent directions, and is then transferred as a paste image P2 for which relaying is complete (image formation is completed) without being turned over.

[0041] In this case, the paste images P1 and P2 transferred from the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 to the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 and from the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 to the bottom surface Sb of the flat member S of the support device 60 without being turned over are subjected to deformation loads according to the included angles Dt1 and Dt2 in the tangential directions, as shown in Figures 5(a) and 5(b), and are formed as images. In short, for images of, for example, very thin paste material or ink material that are less affected by deformation loads during transfer, images can be formed on the surface of the object with the quality of production by the image production device 20, and images can be formed without problems even in the case of monochrome images or rough images that are unlikely to cause problems in image quality. Here, the paste images P1 and P2 are transferred from the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 to the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51, and from the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 to the bottom surface Sb of the flat member S of the support device 60 without being turned over, and are transferred by being pushed out by a force that resists deformation of their own shape. In order to achieve a smoother transfer, the adhesiveness that maintains their own shape and the adhesion force with the surface to which they are attached may be adjusted to transfer them; in other words, the adhesion force with the downstream side may be greater than that with the upstream side, and they may be transferred.

[0042] Therefore, the image relay device 40 can transfer and mount the adhered and held paste images P1, P2 from one side to the other without flipping them over by moving relatively in the opposite direction while maintaining the contact between the outer peripheral surface 41s of the non-deformable paste holding member 41 and the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51, and between the outer peripheral surface 51s of the paste relay member 51 and the bottom surface Sb of the flat member S of the support device 60, and can form images on the bottom surface Sb of the straight groove Sd on the surface Ss of the flat member S.

[0043] In this manner, in this embodiment, a paste retaining member 41 and a paste relay member 51 having a simple and inexpensive structure that does not require deformation are used, and the paste images P1 and P2 held on their outer peripheral surfaces 41s and 51s can be transferred to the bottom surface Sb of the linear groove Sd on the surface Ss of the flat plate member S on which the image is to be formed, thereby forming an image.

[0044] 6 to 14 are diagrams showing an image forming apparatus that is equipped with an image relay device according to a second embodiment of the present invention and executes an image forming method. In this embodiment, the same components as those in the above embodiment are given the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0045] 6 to 8, the image forming apparatus 100 is constructed to include an image relay device 140 and a support device 160 in place of the devices of the above-mentioned embodiment in addition to the image creation device 20 and the controller 90 common to the above-mentioned embodiment. In this image forming apparatus 100, as in the above-mentioned embodiment, the controller 90 controls the various devices 20, 140, and 160 in a centralized manner, so that, for example, a cylindrical member C is used as an object for image formation, and a paste material is applied to the entire surface of its inner surface (inner circumferential surface) Ci to form a paste image P2 (not shown in the figure) on the entire cylindrical inner surface. At this time, the image forming apparatus 100 executes an image forming method in which the controller 90 causes the support device 160 to support the outer surface (outer circumferential surface) Co on the back side of the image formation surface of the cylindrical member C to be image-formed in a rotatable manner, and the paste image P1 formed by the image creation device 20 is transferred to the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C via the image relay device 140 as described later to form an image. Here, the object on which the image is formed is not limited to the cylindrical member C having a cylindrical shape with a complete circular inner peripheral surface that is continuous in the entire circumferential direction, but may be, for example, a cylindrical member with a slit having an incomplete circular inner peripheral surface with a slit extending in the axial direction so that the paste relay member 151 described later can enter, and the paste relay member 151 may enter the cylindrical member from the slit to apply the paste image P2 to the inner surface. In addition, it goes without saying that the object on which the image is formed can also be a flat member on whose surface the paste image P2 is transferred from the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 to be placed.

[0046] As in the above-described embodiment, the image creation device 20 is configured to form a paste image P made of paste material on the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 of the image relay device 140 described below. For example, when the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 6, the paste material passing through the screen plate 21 moving at the same speed adheres to the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 to form the desired paste image P1.

[0047] The image relay device 140 is constructed not only with a paste holding member 41 similar to that in the above-described embodiment, but also with a paste relay member 151 which receives the paste image P1 on the outer peripheral surface 41s from the paste holding member 41 and passes it to the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C as the object of image formation to form an image.

[0048] As in the above embodiment, the paste relay member 151 has a cylindrical outer peripheral surface (outer surface) 151s so as to receive the paste image P2 while being in close contact with the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41, and is driven to rotate about a rotation axis 151x parallel to the rotation axis 41x of the paste holding member 41, so that the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 and the outer peripheral surface 151s move at a constant speed to receive the paste image P. Here, the paste relay member 151 is manufactured in a cylindrical shape with a diameter smaller than the inner surface Ci of the target cylindrical member C so that the outer peripheral surface 151s can be inserted into the cylindrical member C, and the paste image P may be transferred to the entire circumference of the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C during one rotation, and the paste image P2 may be formed on the entire surface of the inner surface Ci by receiving the paste image P1 from the paste holding member 41 multiple times and transferring it to the cylindrical member C.

[0049] As in the above-described embodiment, the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 151 have rotating shafts 41x, 151x connected to the rotating shafts of motors 43, 153, respectively, and are rotatably supported by support members 45s, 155s of the slide mechanisms 45, 155, and the slide mechanisms 45, 155 support the support members 45s, 155s on pillars 45p, 155p so that they can slide vertically.

[0050] As described below, the paste relay member 151 is provided with a bearing 155sm rotatably supported by a slide support member 155ss that is retracted from the extension line of the rotation shaft 151x of the support member 155s of the slide mechanism 155 located on the opposite side of the motor 153 so as not to interfere with the operation of transferring the paste image P to the cylindrical member C of the target object, and the bearing 155sm of this rotation shaft 151x is connected to a bearing shaft 158 ​​that is moved by the shaft feed mechanism 157, and is supported rotatably in place of the slide support member 155ss.

[0051] The support device 160 is adapted to rotatably support the cylindrical member C at a desired position so that the paste image P2 can be transferred while bringing the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 into close contact with the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C of the object.

[0052] This support device 160 is equipped with pairs of support rollers 161 at four locations in total, which are spaced apart at both ends to allow rotational movement of the cylindrical member C of the object around its axis, a support width adjustment mechanism 163 which moves these support rollers 161 in forward and reverse directions in the spacing direction around the axis of the cylindrical member C, and an object feed mechanism 165 which moves the support rollers 161 and the support width adjustment mechanism 163 in forward and reverse directions in the axial direction of the cylindrical member C.

[0053] In addition to the group of support rollers 161, the support width adjustment mechanism 163, and the object feed mechanism 165, the support device 160 is also configured to include a cylindrical rotation drive member 171 that rotates while pressing the outer surface Co with its outer peripheral surface 171s so as to achieve stable rotation of the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C, a motor 173 connected to the rotation shaft 171x of the rotation drive member 171, and a slide mechanism 175 that is supported so as to be freely slidable in the vertical direction by commonly using the support member 175s that supports the rotation shaft 171x of the rotation drive member 171 together with the motor 173, and the support member 175s supports the rotation shaft 171x of the rotation drive member 171 together with the motor 173,

[0054] As in the above embodiment, the controller 90 is connected to the image creating device 20, the image relay device 140, and the supporting device 160 so as to be able to exchange various information among them, and drives the various devices 20, 140, and 160 in a coordinated manner. As a result, the controller 90 executes an image forming process (image forming method) for transferring the paste image P2 formed by the image creating device 20 to the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C on which an image is to be formed and which is supported by the supporting device 160, via the paste holding member 41 and the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 151s of the paste relay member 151 of the image relay device 140, without inverting the front and back.

[0055] 6 to 8, similarly to the above-described embodiment, the controller 90 positions the screen plate 21 and the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 at a contact position where screen printing is possible, and positions the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 151s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 151 in a contact state where the paste image P1 can be transferred between them (pre-preparation). In this pre-preparation state, the paste relay member 151 is separated from the cylindrical member C supported by the support device 160.

[0056] After this preparation, the controller 90 relatively moves the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 and the screen plate 21 in the direction of the arrow in the figure so as to rotate and slide leftward at a constant speed in the same direction, thereby placing the paste image P1 from the screen plate 21 on the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 with high quality to form a primary relay image (primary relay image formation). At the same time, the controller 90 rotates left so as to relatively move the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 in the opposite direction to the left rotation of the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41, thereby transferring (transferring) the paste image P1 from the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 to the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 without turning it over from the secondary holding start position, thereby forming a secondary relay image (secondary relay image formation).

[0057] After forming these primary and secondary relay images, the controller 90 moves the cylindrical member C supported by the supporting device 160 together with the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 so that the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 is separated from the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 and placed in contact with the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C supported by the supporting device 160 so that the paste image P1 can be transferred from the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 to the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C as a paste image P2, as described below (relay preparation).

[0058] 9, in this relay preparation, the controller 90 first lowers the cylindrical member C by using the support width adjustment mechanism 163 to widen the gap between a pair of support rollers 161 supporting both ends of the cylindrical member C so that the central axis of the cylindrical member C supported by the support device 160 coincides with the height of the bearing shaft 158 ​​moved by the axial feed mechanism 157. The controller 90 also lowers the rotating shaft 151x of the paste relay member 151 to a position that coincides with the axis of the lowered cylindrical member C and the height of the bearing shaft 158 ​​of the axial feed mechanism 157 (relay preparation 1).

[0059] After this relay preparation 1, as shown in Figure 10, the controller 90 causes the axial feed mechanism 157 to move the bearing shaft 158 ​​toward the bearing 155sm of the rotating shaft 151x of the paste relay member 151 as indicated by the arrow in the figure, and connects the bearing shaft 158 ​​to the bearing 155sm of the rotating shaft 151x so that it is supported rotatably together with the slide support member 155ss of the support member 155s of the slide mechanism 155 (relay preparation 2).

[0060] After this relay preparation 2, as shown in FIG. 11, the controller 90 retracts the slide support member 155ss of the support member 155s on the opposite side of the motor 153 so that it disengages (moves away from) the bearing 155sm of the rotating shaft 151x of the paste relay member 151, and causes the rotating shaft 151x to be rotatably supported by the bearing shaft 158 ​​of the axial feed mechanism 157 together with the support member 155s on the motor 153 side (relay preparation 3).

[0061] After this relay preparation 3, as shown in FIG. 12, the controller 90 moves the support width adjustment mechanism 163 together with the group of support rollers 161 of the support device 160 below the paste holding member 41 using the object feed mechanism 165 to maintain the axis of the supported cylindrical member C and its rotation axis 41x in a parallel state (relay preparation 3).

[0062] In these relay preparations 2 and 3, both ends of the rotating shaft 151x of the paste relay member 151 are rotatably supported by the support member 155s and the bearing shaft 158 ​​of the axial feed mechanism 157 through a bearing (not shown) on one end side and a bearing 155sm on the other end side, so that the paste relay member 151 can be rotated by the motor 153. In addition, in relay preparation 3, the paste relay member 151 is inserted into a cylindrical member C rotatably supported by a group of support rollers 161 of a support device 160 and placed in an internal state, so that the outer circumferential surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 faces the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C.

[0063] Then, after relay preparation 3, as shown in Figure 13, the controller 90 narrows the gap between a pair of support rollers 161 that respectively support both end sides of the cylindrical member C using the support width adjustment mechanism 163, as indicated by the arrows in the figure, to raise the cylindrical member C and bring the inner surface Ci of the raised cylindrical member C into contact with the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 (relay preparation 4).

[0064] Furthermore, after this relay preparation 4, as shown in Figure 14, the controller 90 controls the slide mechanism 175 to lower the rotation drive member 171 as indicated by the arrow in the figure, pressing the outer peripheral surface 171s against the outer surface Co of the cylindrical member C to rotate it, and also controls the motor 173 to rotate the paste relay member 151 to rotate the outer peripheral surface 151s in contact with the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C, thereby completing image formation (image formation completed).

[0065] When the image formation is completed, the tangential direction of the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 and the moving direction of the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C at the contact point between the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 and the contact point between the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C supported by the support device 160 are moved in the opposite directions relative to each other, in other words, the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 is rotated left while the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C is rotated right to move relative to each other. As a result, the image relay device 140, although not shown in the figure, can transfer the paste image P1 from the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 to the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C as a paste image P2 without turning it over, in a form similar to FIG. 5(b) of the above embodiment, and complete the image formation.

[0066] At this time, in the image relay device 140, at the contact point where the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 and the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C supported by the support device 160 move relatively in the opposite direction, the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 and the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C curved to the same side come into contact. For this reason, the paste image P2 transferred from the outer peripheral surface 151s of the paste relay member 151 to the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C of the support device 160 without turning it over is transferred while receiving a deformation load that is larger because the included angle between the respective tangent directions is smaller than that in the form shown in FIG. 5(b) of the above embodiment, and is transferred without being turned over. For this reason, as in the above embodiment, for example, in the case of an extremely thin paste image P that is less affected by the deformation load during transfer, an image can be formed on the surface of the object with the same quality as that produced by the image production device 20, and in the case of a single color or a rough image that is unlikely to cause problems in image quality, an image can be formed without any problems.

[0067] In this manner, in this embodiment, the same effects as those of the above-described embodiment can be obtained, and an image can be formed on the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C that is the image formation target.

[0068] Incidentally, in the above-described first and second embodiments, an example is described in which the image holding members include a front-stage paste holding member 41 and a rear-stage paste relay member 51, 151. However, this is not limited to this, and it goes without saying that the paste image P may be directly transferred from the outer peripheral surface 41s of one paste holding member 41 to the surface Ss of the target flat member S.

[0069] Furthermore, the image relay devices 40, 140 can expand and contract the image formed on the surface Ss of the flat plate member S or the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C in the relative movement direction by increasing or decreasing the relative speed of the outer peripheral surface 51s, 151s of the paste relay member 51, 151 relative to the outer peripheral surface 41s of the paste holding member 41 in the first and second embodiments described above, and the surface Ss of the flat plate member S or the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C supported by the supporting devices 60, 160 relative to the outer peripheral surface 51s, 151s of the paste relay member 51, 151. Here, the increase and decrease of the relative speed can be achieved by providing each speed detection unit and adjusting the rotational movement speed of each of the various motors, or by driving and controlling the various motors.

[0070] Furthermore, the image relay device 40, 140 can also be provided with a mechanism for supporting the outer peripheral surfaces 41s, 51s, 151s of the paste holding member 41 and the paste relay member 51, 151, or the surface Ss of the flat member S supported by the supporting device 60, 160, or the inner surface Ci of the cylindrical member C so that they can slide freely in a direction perpendicular to the relative movement direction, thereby making it possible to appropriately deform the formed image.

[0071] The scope of the present invention is not limited to the exemplary embodiments shown and described, but includes all embodiments that achieve the same effect as the object of the present invention. Moreover, the scope of the present invention is not limited to the combination of inventive features defined by each claim, but may be defined by any desired combination of specific features among all the respective disclosed features.

Claims

1. An image relay device that temporarily holds an image created based on acquired data and transfers it to a surface of an object to be imaged, an image-holding member for holding at least a part of the formed image on its outer surface; a relative movement mechanism that moves an outer surface of the image bearing member relative to a surface of the object in an extending direction of the formed image while bringing the outer surface of the image bearing member into direct contact with the surface of the object or into contact with the surface of the object via the formed image; Equipped with the image bearing member has a rotatable outer surface and an axis of rotation perpendicular to a direction of rotation of the outer surface; The relative movement mechanism rotates the outer surface of the image holding member in a circular manner at a contact point between the outer surface of the image holding member and the surface of the object, while relatively moving the surface of the object in a direction opposite to the circular rotation direction, thereby transferring the formed image from the outer surface side of the image holding member to the surface of the object without inverting the formed image.

13. An image relay device comprising:

2. The image bearing member has a cross-sectional shape perpendicular to the rotation axis that is circular, elliptical, polygonal, or irregular, and the outer surface is formed into a continuous surface that continues in the circulating rotation direction.

2. The image relay device according to claim 1.

3. The outer surface of the image bearing member is formed into a continuous surface that is smoothly continuous with a curved surface having an arc center on the rotation axis.

3. The image relay device according to claim 2.

4. The image holding member is constructed to include a front-stage holding member that receives the formed image on the outer surface, and a rear-stage holding member that transfers and places the formed image on the target surface.

2. The image relay device according to claim 1.

5. The image holding member is constructed to include one or more middle stage holding members that are disposed between the front stage holding member and the rear stage holding member, receive the formed image from the front stage holding member, and transfer the formed image to the rear stage holding member.

5. The image relay device according to claim 4.

6. The outer surface of the image bearing member has a convex curved surface that is smaller than the concave curved surface of the object surface.

2. The image relay device according to claim 1.

7. the image bearing member is formed in a cylindrical shape, the outer surface of the image bearing member having a convex curved surface smaller than the concave curved surface of the object surface; The relative movement mechanism is configured to insert the image bearing member into the circular inner circumferential surface so that the outer surface of the image bearing member faces the surface of the object and rotate the image bearing member in the circular inner circumferential surface, while the object has a surface on which the image is formed by the formed image.

7. The image relay device according to claim 6.

8. The image holding member is configured in a plurality of shapes arranged at a plurality of positions in the extending direction of the rotation shaft, and the respective outer surfaces are spaced apart from each other.

2. The image relay device according to claim 1.

9. The image holding member has an adhesion strength of the formed image that is smaller than the adhesion strength of the formed image with the surface of the object, and the formed image held on the outer surface is transferred to the surface of the object when the formed image contacts the surface of the object at the contact point.

2. The image relay device according to claim 1.

10. The image relay device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, A support device for supporting the object; a mechanism for adjusting the relative positional relationship between the image relay device and the support device; 1. An image forming apparatus comprising:

11. An image forming method in which an image created based on acquired data is temporarily held and then transferred to a surface of an object for image formation, comprising: A part or more of the formed image made of the image-forming material to be produced as the image is held on the outer surface side of an image-holding member having a circulatively rotatable shape and an undeformable outer surface, and then the outer surface of the image-holding member is moved relatively in the reverse direction in the extending direction of the formed image while directly contacting the surface of the object or contacting the surface via the formed image, thereby transferring the formed image from the outer surface side of the image-holding member to the surface of the object as it is without reversing the front and back, thereby forming an image.

1. An image forming method comprising:

Images