Transfer medium manufacturing apparatus and transfer medium

Abstract

To provide a transfer medium manufacturing device for manufacturing a transfer medium that transfers only a desired printed image to the transfer medium and improves the convenience, and to provide the transfer medium.SOLUTION: The transfer medium manufacturing device includes: a printing section 20 that accepts image data representing a print image and prints the print image on a release sheet based on the image data; an adhesive application section 30 that applies adhesive liquid to the release sheet on which the print image is printed; and a control unit 2 that controls the adhesive application section 30 so that the adhesive liquid is applied to the printed image in the transfer areas out of the transfer areas that are transferred to the transfer medium and the non-transfer areas that are not transferred to the transfer medium, which are included in the printed image.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

Technical Field

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[0001] The present invention relates to a transfer medium manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a transfer medium that transfers a printed image printed on a release sheet to a transfer medium, and to the transfer medium.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a transfer medium that transfers a printed image printed on a release sheet such as a film to a transfer medium has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] In recent years, the types of transfer media have also increased, and for example, a transfer medium that transfers a printed image to a fabric product such as a T-shirt has also been proposed.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] Here, for example, when transferring a printed image to a T-shirt using a transfer medium, there is a problem that the position of the printed image on the T-shirt is not stable because there is no reference for aligning the T-shirt and the printed image.

[0006] To solve such a problem, it is conceivable to print a reference for alignment such as a so-called arrow on the transfer medium, but there is a problem that the design becomes extremely poor when the arrow is transferred to the T-shirt.

[0007] Furthermore, beyond the registration marks mentioned above, there are patterns, characters, and images that we want to print on the transfer medium but not transfer to the target medium. For example, printing a management barcode or manufacturing date makes it easier to manage the transfer medium, but there are cases where we do not want such patterns and characters to be transferred to the target medium.

[0008] The present invention aims to provide a transfer medium manufacturing apparatus and a transfer medium that can manufacture a transfer medium that transfers only a desired printed image to a transfer medium while also improving convenience. [Means for solving the problem]

[0009] The transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention comprises a printing unit that receives image data representing a print image and prints the print image onto a release sheet based on the image data; an adhesive liquid application unit that applies an adhesive liquid to the release sheet on which the print image has been printed; and a control unit that controls the adhesive liquid application unit so that the adhesive liquid is applied to the print image of the transfer region, which is part of the print image that is transferred to the transfer medium and part of the non-transfer region that is not transferred to the transfer medium. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention, since the adhesive solution is applied to the printed image of the transfer region among the transfer region and non-transfer region included in the printed image, only the desired printed image of the transfer region can be transferred to the transfer medium, and the printed image of the transfer region can be used for purposes other than transfer, thereby improving convenience. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0011] [Figure 1] This figure shows a schematic configuration of one embodiment of the main body of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. [Figure 2] Figure 1 shows a block diagram illustrating the configuration of the control system for the main body of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus. [Figure 3] This figure shows an example of a printed image printed on one embodiment of the transfer medium of the present invention. [Figure 4] This figure shows a cross-sectional view in the thickness direction of one embodiment of the transfer medium of the present invention. [Figure 5] Flowchart illustrating the processing of one embodiment of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention. [Figure 6] A diagram illustrating a method for transferring a transfer image onto a T-shirt using one embodiment of the transfer medium of the present invention. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment is characterized by a method of applying adhesive liquid to the transfer medium, but first, the overall configuration of the main body of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus will be described. Figure 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of the main body 1 of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment. In this embodiment, the up, down, left, and right directions shown in Figure 1 are the up, down, left, and right directions of the main body 1 of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus, the direction towards the front of the paper in Figure 1 is the front direction of the main body 1 of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus, and the direction towards the back of the paper is the rear direction of the main body 1 of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus.

[0013] The main body 1 of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus in this embodiment includes a release sheet transport section 10, a printing section 20, an adhesive liquid application section 30, and a drying section 40.

[0014] The release sheet transport unit 10 transports the release sheet and supplies it to the printing unit 20, the adhesive liquid application unit 30, and the drying unit 40 in that order. The release sheet can be, for example, a film, but is not limited to this; any material that can print an image and transfer that image to the transfer medium is acceptable.

[0015] The release sheet conveying unit 10 includes a release sheet dispensing unit 11, a first conveying roller 12, a platen 13, a second conveying roller 14, and a release sheet winding unit 15.

[0016] The peeling sheet feeding section 11 is provided with a feeding-side core holding section 11a that detachably holds the core of the roll member around which the peeling sheet S is wound in a roll shape. The feeding-side core holding section 11a is linked to a feeding drive motor 11b (see FIG. 2) via a torque limiter (not shown), and is configured such that the feeding-side core holding section 11a rotates by the feeding drive motor 11b.

[0017] The peeling sheet winding section 15 includes a winding-side core holding section 15a that detachably holds the core for winding the peeling sheet S. The winding-side core holding section 15a is linked to a winding drive motor 15b (see FIG. 2) via a torque limiter (not shown), and is configured such that the winding-side core holding section 15a rotates by the winding drive motor 15b.

[0018] And between the peeling sheet feeding section 11 and the peeling sheet winding section 15, a first conveying roller 12, a platen 13, and a second conveying roller 14 are provided.

[0019] The first conveying roller 12 and the second conveying roller 14 are roller members extending in the front-rear direction, and convey the peeling sheet S fed out from the peeling sheet feeding section 11.

[0020] The first conveying roller 12 is provided upstream of the printing section 20 in the conveying direction, and the second conveying roller 14 is provided downstream of the drying section 40 in the conveying direction. And a platen 13 is provided between the first conveying roller 12 and the second conveying roller 14.

[0021] The first conveying roller 12 and the second conveying roller 14 are installed such that the tops of their respective circumferential surfaces are at the same height as the upper surface of the platen 13. Therefore, the peeling sheet S conveyed downstream between the first conveying roller 12 and the second conveying roller 14 is configured such that its back surface is in sliding contact with the upper surface of the platen 13.

[0022] The system is configured such that, as the unwinding core holder 11a and the winding core holder 15a rotate, the roll member (release sheet S) held in the unwinding core holder 11a is unwinded and wound onto the core held in the winding core holder 15a via the first conveyor roller 12, platen 13, and second conveyor roller 14.

[0023] The printing unit 20 prints on the release sheet S being transported on the platen 13. Specifically, the printing unit 20 is equipped with an inkjet head that ejects ink, and prints on the release sheet S by ejecting ink from the inkjet head.

[0024] The printing unit 20 is equipped with, for example, four inkjet heads, each ejecting C (cyan), M (magenta), Y (yellow), and K (black) inks. The printing unit 20 may be configured as a so-called serial head system, where the four inkjet heads are moved in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the release sheet S, or as a line head system, where multiple inkjet heads ejecting inks of the same color are arranged in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction to form a line head.

[0025] The adhesive application unit 30, like the printing unit 20, has an inkjet head, and instead of ink, it ejects adhesive liquid from the inkjet head to form an adhesive layer on the release sheet S on which the printed image is printed. The adhesive application unit 30, like the printing unit 20, may have a serial head configuration or a line head configuration. By ejecting adhesive liquid from the inkjet head to form an adhesive layer as in this embodiment, an adhesive layer can be formed in any area on the release sheet.

[0026] As the adhesive, any known adhesive can be used, but for example, a liquid containing tiny capsules encapsulating the adhesive, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2011-37014, can be used. The adhesive is dispensed from the nozzle of the inkjet head onto the printed image while the capsules are maintained, and adheres to it. Then, when the printed image is transferred, the capsules are broken by heating and pressurization, resulting in strong adhesion.

[0027] The drying unit 40 is equipped with a heater and a fan, and dries the adhesive by blowing hot air onto the release sheet S to which the adhesive liquid has been applied.

[0028] Next, Figure 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment. The main body 1 of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus shown in Figure 1 operates each of the controlled parts shown in Figure 2 in accordance with the control signals from the control device 2. In this embodiment, the control device 2 corresponds to the control unit of the present invention.

[0029] The control device 2 and the main unit of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus 1 are connected by USB (Universal Serial Bus). However, they may also be connected by a communication line such as a LAN (Local Area Network) or an internet connection.

[0030] The control unit 2 consists of a computer equipped with a CPU (Central Processing Unit), semiconductor memory, and a hard disk. Based on image data representing the printed image, the control unit 2 executes a control program pre-stored in a storage medium such as semiconductor memory or a hard disk, and operates electrical circuits to control the various parts shown in Figure 2.

[0031] In particular, the control device 2 controls the printing unit 20 to form a printed image on the release sheet S, and controls the adhesive liquid application unit 30 to apply adhesive liquid to the release sheet S on which the printed image has been formed.

[0032] Here, we will describe an example of a printed image produced by the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment. Here, we will describe the case where the transfer medium is a T-shirt.

[0033] When transferring a printed image from a transfer medium to a T-shirt, it is necessary to align the transfer medium with the T-shirt in order to transfer the printed image to the desired position on the T-shirt. In this embodiment, a positioning image (registration marks) for the above-mentioned alignment is printed on the release sheet S. Hereinafter, the printed image that is transferred to the T-shirt will be referred to as the transfer image.

[0034] As shown in Figure 3, IMG1 is the transfer image to be transferred to the T-shirt, and IMG2 is the positioning image. In other words, in this embodiment, the printable image printed on the release sheet S includes the transfer image to be transferred to the T-shirt and the positioning image used to align the transfer image.

[0035] Furthermore, since the positioning image used for aligning the transfer image needs to be kept from being transferred to the T-shirt, in this embodiment, adhesive is applied to the area of ​​the transfer image (transfer area) printed on the release sheet S, but not to the area of ​​the positioning image (non-transfer area).

[0036] Specifically, the control device 2 controls the ejection of adhesive liquid from the inkjet head of the adhesive liquid application unit 30 so that the adhesive liquid is applied only to the transfer image among the transfer image and positioning image printed on the release sheet S. Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view in the thickness direction of the transfer medium. IMG1 shown in Figure 4 is the transfer image printed on the release sheet S, and IMG2 is the positioning image, and GL is the adhesive layer formed on the transfer image. As shown in Figure 4, the adhesive layer is formed only on the transfer image.

[0037] The area to which the adhesive is applied is identified, for example, by the user specifying that area. Specifically, for example, the control device 2 displays a preview of the printed image on the display device 3 connected to the control device 2, based on image data representing the printed image. Then, the control device 2 accepts the specification of the area of ​​the transfer image on the previewed printed image, identifies the transfer area, and identifies the area other than the identified transfer area as the non-transfer area. The specification of the area of ​​the transfer image is done, for example, by the user setting and inputting using the input device 4 connected to the control device 2. As described above, when the transfer area and non-transfer area are identified based on image data, the transfer area and non-transfer area can be easily identified.

[0038] As mentioned above, instead of the user specifying the transfer area, the control device 2 may identify non-transfer areas by performing pattern recognition of a pre-set positioning image based on image data representing the printed image, and then identify the areas other than the identified non-transfer areas as transfer areas. For example, an area in an image with registration marks can be identified as a non-transfer area.

[0039] Furthermore, as described above, instead of the control device 2 identifying the transfer area and non-transfer area on the printed image based on the image data, the control device 2 may, for example, separately generate image data representing the transfer image of the transfer area and image data representing the positioning image of the non-transfer area. Then, the control device 2 may control the printing unit 20 based on the image data representing the transfer image and the image data representing the positioning image to print the printed image on the release sheet S, and then control the adhesive liquid application unit 30 based only on the image data representing the transfer image to apply the adhesive liquid. As described above, if the adhesive liquid application unit 30 is controlled based on image data that includes only the printed image (transfer image) of the transfer area among the transfer area and non-transfer area, the effort of the user to specify the transfer area can be saved.

[0040] Furthermore, the control device 2 applies various image processing necessary for printing, such as color conversion and halftone processing, to the image data representing the print image.

[0041] Next, the processing flow of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of this embodiment will be explained with reference to the flowchart shown in Figure 5.

[0042] First, the control device 2 generates image data representing the printed image (S10). The image data is generated by the user using an application installed on the control device 2, for example. However, the control device 2 may also accept image data read by a scanner connected to the control device 2.

[0043] Then, as described above, the control device 2 accepts the designation of the transfer area by displaying a preview of the printed image on the display device 3, and identifies the transfer area and the non-transfer area (S12).

[0044] Next, the control device 2 performs a color conversion process on the generated RGB image data to generate CMYK image data (S14).

[0045] The control device 2 then performs halftone processing on each of the C, M, Y, and K image data to generate inkdrop data. The inkdrop data in this embodiment is data that defines the number of inkdrops ejected from one nozzle of the inkjet head to form one dot of the printed image.

[0046] Next, the control device 2 generates adhesive solution application data based on the information of the transfer area (S16). The adhesive solution application data, like the ink drop data, defines the number of adhesive solution drops ejected from one nozzle for each dot of the transfer image. In this embodiment, adhesive solution application data is generated such that the same amount of adhesive solution is applied to each dot constituting the transfer image.

[0047] Then, the control device 2 controls the inkjet heads of each color in the printing unit 20 based on the inkdrop data for each color, which includes both the transfer area and the non-transfer area, to print the transfer image and the positioning image onto the release sheet S (S18).

[0048] Next, the control device 2 controls the adhesive application unit 30 based on the adhesive application data to apply the adhesive only to the area on the release sheet S where the transfer image is printed (transfer area) (S20).

[0049] Then, the release sheet S to which the adhesive liquid has been applied is dried by the drying unit 40 (S22), and the transfer medium is generated.

[0050] Figure 6 illustrates a method for transferring a transfer image to a T-shirt using the transfer medium manufactured as described above. As shown in Figure 6A, the transfer medium T is positioned on the T-shirt using the positioning image IMG2 printed on the transfer medium T. Specifically, the positioning is achieved by aligning the positioning image with the underarm corner of the T-shirt and with the end of the T-shirt extending downwards from the underarm.

[0051] Then, by heating and pressurizing the transfer medium while it is aligned, the adhesive layer dissolves, thereby transferring the transfer image IMG1 to the T-shirt. In this embodiment, since the adhesive liquid is applied only to the transfer image IMG1, the positioning image is not transferred.

[0052] According to the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the above embodiment, since the adhesive solution is applied only to the printed image of the transfer region among the transfer region and non-transfer region included in the printed image, only the desired printed image of the transfer region can be transferred to the transfer medium, and the printed image of the transfer region can be used for purposes other than transfer, thereby improving convenience.

[0053] Specifically, in the above embodiment, since a positioning image is printed, it is possible to easily align the transfer image with the T-shirt.

[0054] In the above embodiment, the printed image in the non-transfer area was used as a positioning image (registration mark), but the printed image in the non-transfer area is not limited to this. It can be any image, text, or predetermined pattern image that you want to print but do not want to transfer to the transfer medium, such as a management barcode or manufacturing date.

[0055] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and the components can be modified and implemented in practice without departing from the spirit of the invention. Furthermore, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining the multiple components disclosed in the embodiments described above. For example, all the components shown in the embodiments may be combined as appropriate. It goes without saying that various modifications and applications are possible without departing from the spirit of the invention.

[0056] The following further notes are disclosed regarding the present invention. (Note)

[0057] In the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above, the printed image of the non-transfer region can be used as a positioning image to determine the transfer position of the printed image of the transfer region on the transfer medium to which the printed image of the transfer region is transferred.

[0058] Furthermore, in the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above, the control unit can identify the transfer region and the non-transfer region based on the image data.

[0059] Furthermore, in the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus of the present invention described above, the control unit can control the adhesive liquid application unit based on image data that includes only the printed image of the transfer region among the transfer region and non-transfer region.

[0060] The present invention provides a transfer medium comprising a release sheet on which a printed image is printed and an adhesive layer, wherein the adhesive layer is formed on the transfer region of the printed image, among the transfer region and non-transfer region. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0061] 1. Main body of the transfer medium manufacturing apparatus 2 Control device 3 Display device 4 Input devices 10. Release sheet transport section 11. Release sheet dispensing section 11a Core holding part on the extension side 11b Payout drive motor 12 First conveyor roller 13 Platen 14. Second conveyor roller 15. Release sheet winding section 15a Winding side core holding part 15b Winding drive motor 20 Printing Department 30 Adhesive liquid application area 40 Drying section IMG1 Transfer image IMG2 Positioning image S Release Sheet T Transfer medium

Claims

1. A printing unit that receives image data representing a print image and prints the print image onto a release sheet based on the image data, An adhesive liquid application unit for applying adhesive liquid to a release sheet on which the aforementioned printed image is printed, The print image includes a print area that is transferred to a transfer medium and a non-transfer area that is not transferred to a transfer medium, and the adhesive application unit controls the adhesive application unit so that the adhesive is applied to the print image of the transfer area. A transfer medium manufacturing apparatus in which the control unit identifies the non-transfer region by performing pattern recognition of the image of the non-transfer region, which has been set in advance, based on the image data.

2. The transfer medium manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the printed image of the non-transfer region is a positioning image for determining the transfer position of the printed image of the transfer region on the transfer medium to which the printed image of the transfer region is transferred.

3. The transfer medium manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control unit controls the adhesive liquid application unit based on image data that includes only the printed image of the transfer region among the transfer region and the non-transfer region.

4. The transfer medium manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the adhesive liquid application section has an inkjet head for dispensing adhesive liquid onto the release sheet.

5. The aforementioned adhesive liquid includes a capsule containing adhesive, The transfer medium manufacturing apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the inkjet head is configured to eject the capsules onto the release sheet.

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