JP3387194B2 - Protective film forming apparatus and protective film forming method - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a protective film forming method for forming a protective film on an object to be processed such as cards, booklets, forms, molded products and paper products.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, for example, when a color image is formed on the surface of a plastic card using a sublimable ink, the durability of the sublimable ink is poor. A method of fusing a laminate film on the top with a heat roller is generally known.

In this method, a thermoplastic laminate film is placed on a color image of a plastic card, the plastic card and the laminate film are sandwiched by a heat roller and a platen roller, and the heat roller is heated to color the plastic card. A laminated film is fused on the image.

[0004]

By the way, some of recent plastic cards have a rough surface portion for signature, a magnetic stripe, an IC chip, a hologram sticker or the like formed on the surface thereof. However, if such a rough surface portion for a signature, a magnetic stripe IC chip, or a portion on which a hologram image is formed is laminated, ink characters may not be fixed on the rough surface portion for a signature, or the magnetic stripe may come into contact with the magnetic head. However, in the case of an IC chip, the contact property of the terminal portion of the IC chip deteriorates. Further, when the hologram image is laminated on the hologram image, the hologram image is deteriorated.

Therefore, in the case of laminating, a plurality of heat rollers having a pressing surface shape for pressing a color image of a plastic card and not hitting a portion having terminals such as a magnetic stripe or an IC chip are prepared. It is necessary to replace the corresponding heat roller according to the color image on the card. For this reason, when the non-laminated portion of the plastic card or booklet to be processed has various shapes, a large number of heat rollers are required, and when the product to be laminated is a large variety of small items. Has a problem that it takes a lot of time to replace the heat roller.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The method of forming a protective film according to the present invention has been made by paying attention to such a problem. When forming a protective film on a color image of an object to be processed, a portion where a protective film is not formed is avoided. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for forming a protective film, which can form a protective film by using the protective film and easily change the shape of the portion where the protective film is not formed.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the protective film forming apparatus of the present invention is such that a laminated film having a protective layer is unwound from one side, and the unwound laminated film is A laminated film conveying means for guiding the image to be drawn so as to come into contact with the object to be processed, and heating and pressurizing the laminated film to the object to form a protective layer on the object to be processed. In the protective film forming apparatus having a heating and pressurizing means for performing the film transfer process from the unwinding position of the laminate film transfer means to the position of the object to be processed,
A peeling film which is in contact with the protective layer of the laminate film and can be transferred in the longitudinal direction of the laminate film, and a portion of the peeling film which is in contact with the peeling film through the laminate film and has no protective film formed thereon. And a thermal head capable of generating heat according to the position and shape of the.

The protective film forming method of the present invention comprises a film contact step of applying a protective layer of a laminate film having a protective layer onto a processed object on which an image is drawn, and the processed object through the laminate film. In the method for forming a protective film, wherein the protective layer is transferred onto the image of the object to be processed by a heating and pressurizing step of heating and pressing
After unwinding the nate film, the heating and pressurizing step is reached.
In the meantime, a peeling film is brought into contact with one surface of the laminate film on which the protective layer is formed, a thermal head is applied to the other surface of the laminate film, and heat generation of the thermal head is controlled so that The method may further include a step of transferring a predetermined shape of the protective layer to the peeling film.

[0009]

According to the protective film forming apparatus of the present invention, the peeling shape of the protective layer of the laminate film can be freely changed by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head according to the feeding speed of the laminate film. In addition to the image to be protected, when a protective film non-forming portion such as a magnetic stripe, an IC chip or a hologram seal is provided, the laminating film is used as a protective layer according to the position and shape of the protective film non-forming portion. Can be peeled off.

Therefore, when the object to be processed is coated with the protective layer of the laminate film by the heating and pressing means, it is possible to prevent the portion of the object to be processed where the protective film is not formed from being covered with the protective layer of the laminate film. At the same time, other parts of the object to be processed can be covered with a protective layer. that time,
Even if the object to be processed has various types and the non-covered parts have various shapes, the removal shape of the protective layer and the removal shape of the protective layer can be obtained only by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head using, for example, a personal computer. The removal position can be easily changed.

[0011] Further, according to the protective film forming process of the present invention, prior to
After unwinding the laminated film, the heating and pressurizing step
During up to, since the position and shape corresponding to uncoated sites were transferred to the release film is removed before forming the protective layer of the laminate film in the object, the object a protective layer of the laminate film It is possible to prevent the non-covered part of the workpiece from being covered with the protective layer when it is coated on the substrate.

Particularly, by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head, the peeling shape of the protective layer of the laminate film can be freely changed corresponding to the feeding speed of the laminating film and the feeding speed of the peeling film. Even if the uncoated part has various shapes, the removal shape and the removal position of the protective layer can be easily performed only by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head using a personal computer or the like. Can be changed.

[0013]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A protective film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a structure of a main part of a protective film forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a plastic card as a processing object whose surface is laminated by the protective film forming apparatus. Shows.

1 and 2, reference numeral 1 indicates a plastic card as an object to be processed.

In the present embodiment, the plastic card 1 is used as the object to be processed, but it has a booklet such as a passport or a notebook for personal identification, a form such as a chart or a paper card for entering data, or a curved surface. Since an image can be drawn on a plastic molded product, a paper product, etc., it can be applied as a processing object of the protective film forming method of the present invention.

The images formed on these objects to be processed include pictures, characters, photographs, graphics, etc. by various means such as printing, transfer, copying, printing with a printer, and handwriting. Materials for rendering these images include sublimable ink transferred by a thermal transfer film, but not limited to sublimable ink, ink for inkjet printers, toner for laser printers or dyes, pigments, stickers, photographs, etc. It is possible.

In this plastic card 1, the IC on the surface
The part excluding the chip 3 is the part where the protective film is formed,
On the surface of the plastic card 1, a photograph 2a and characters 2b are drawn as an image with sublimable ink. An IC chip 4 is attached to the protection film non-forming portion 3.
In addition to the IC chip 4, a magnetic stripe, a seal in which a hologram image is drawn, a rough surface portion for a signature, or the like may be provided in the portion 3 where the protective film is not formed.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 5 indicates the entire protective film forming apparatus. This protective film forming device 5 is usually used as an independent device as an overcoater, but it may be added to a printer for drawing a photograph 2a and characters 2b on a processing object such as a plastic card 1, for example.

The protective film forming apparatus 5 is provided with a laminate film conveying means 6, a heating and pressing means 7, a thermal head 8 and a peeling film 9.

The laminated film conveying means 6 comprises a take-up reel 10, a take-up reel 11, and a guide roller 1.
It consists of 2, 13. The take-up reel 11 is rotated in the take-up direction of the laminated film 14 by a servo motor (not shown). The take-up reel 10 is rotated by the take-up force from the take-up reel 11 and has a resistance against the take-up force so as not to loosen.

The laminated film 14 has a heat-fusible protective layer formed on the base film which is fused by heating. The protective layer is made of a plastic which adheres to the object to be processed (here, the plastic card 1) by heat. Has been formed. The distance between the guide rollers 12 and 13 for guiding the laminate film 14 to the plastic card 1 is constant, and a heat roller 15 and a feed roller 16 as heating and pressurizing means are provided in the central portion between the guide rollers 12 and 13. It is arranged.

In the process from the take-up reel 10 to the heat roller 14, the thermal head 17 and the platen roller 18 are arranged so as to face each other with the laminate film 14 and the peeling film 19 interposed therebetween. The peeling film 19 is fed from the unwinding reel 20 to the platen roller 1
It is wound on the winding reel 21 via 8. In addition, the peeling film 19 has a conveyance speed of the laminating film 1
This is the same as the transport speed of No. 4.

One end of the cylindrical heat roller 15 is supported by a support arm (not shown), and is rotated at a constant peripheral speed according to the transport speed V1 of the plastic card 1 by a servo motor and a gear mechanism (not shown). It A heater 22 is arranged inside the heat roller 15. The heater 22 projects from the other open end portion of the heat roller 15, and heat generation is controlled by an energization control device (not shown).

The plastic card 1 is the feed roller 1
6 is an area conveyed toward 6, and the feed roller 1
A detection sensor 23 including, for example, an optical sensor and a touch sensor is provided in the vicinity of 6 in the vicinity. Sensor 2
3 and the distance α between the laminating start position C2 are constant.

The feeding mechanism for feeding the plastic card 1 toward the feed roller 16 includes a pair of rubber rollers 24, which are rotationally driven by a servo motor (not shown).
24, the plastic card 1 is conveyed toward the feed roller 16 by the rotation of the rubber rollers 24, 24.

The winding amount of the take-up reel 11 per unit time changes with an increase in the winding amount of the laminate film 1, and the heated laminate film 1 extends. Therefore, the laminating start position is determined only by the angular velocity of the servo motor. The transport speed of the laminated film 1 is not defined. Therefore, the pulse generator for detecting the conveying speed of the laminated film 1 is mounted on the guide roller 12 before the laminated film 1 is heated. Then, the transport speed of the laminated film 1 is detected based on the radius of the guide roller 12 and the pulse generated by the pulse generator, so that the peripheral speed of rotation of the guide roller 12 matches the transport speed of the plastic card 1. The rotation of the roller 15 and the take-up reel 11 is controlled.

A servo motor for rotating the rubber rollers 24, 24, a servo motor for rotating the heat roller 15,
The servo motor that rotates the feed roller 16 and the servo motor that rotates the take-up reel 11 are controlled by a controller (not shown).

Next, heat generation control of the plastic card 1, the laminate film 1 and the thermal head 17 when the protective layer of the laminate film 1 is removed in conformity with the longitudinal region of the protective film non-formation portion 3 of the plastic card 1. Will be described.

The heat generation of the thermal head 17 is controlled by the length of the plastic card 1, the separation distance α of the sensor 23, the conveying speed V1, the distance L from the position C1 of the thermal head 17 to the laminating start position C2, and the protection of the plastic card 1. Region of the film non-formation site 3 (V1 · t1, V1 ·
It is controlled based on t2).

First, the peeling start position C1 between the thermal head 17 and the platen roller 18 and the laminating start position C at which the heat roller 15 and the feed roller 16 are closest to each other.
2 is kept constant. Then, the peeling start position C
The distance Lr that the laminate film 14 extends from 1 to the laminating start position C2 is set to be constant. This distance L is set longer than the total length Lc of the plastic card 1.

The conveyance speed V1 of the plastic card 1 conveyed toward the feed roller 16 by the rotation of the rubber rollers 24, 24 is constant. Therefore, the distance from the insertion front end portion 1a of the plastic card 1 to the starting position of the protective film non-forming portion 3 is represented by (V1 · t1), and the distance from the starting position of the protective film non-forming portion 3 to the end position is ( V1 · t2), and from the end position of the protective film non-forming portion 3 to the rear end of the plastic card 1 (V1 · t2)
3) is represented. Here, t1, t2, and t3 indicate the time obtained by dividing the corresponding distance by the transport speed V1, and can be converted into the number of pulses. Therefore, the total length of the plastic card 1 is {(V1
.T1) + (V1.t2) + (V1.t3)}, and the distance from the laminating start position C2 to the starting position of the protective film non-formation site 3 is expressed as {.alpha. + V1.t1}.
In addition, from the laminating start position C2 to the protective film non-forming portion 3
The distance to the end position is {α + (V1 · t1) + (V1
-T2)} is represented.

On the other hand, since the transport speeds when the plastic card 1 and the laminate film 14 are fused are equal, the distance from the position where the fusion of the laminate film 14 is started to the peeling start position of the protective layer is { α +
(V1 · t1)}, and the distance from the peeling start position of the protective layer of the laminate film 1 to the peeling end position is {V
1 · t2}.

Therefore, when the distance from the laminating start position C2 to the peeling start position C1 of the thermal head 17 is L, it is desirable that L ≧ (α + V1 · t1).
Since the laminating film 14 from the thermal head 17 to the laminating start position C2 is long, the peeling starting position C
For the distance L from 1 to the laminating start position C2,
If there is an extra distance of L- (α + V1 · t1) = β, the rubber rollers 24, 24 that convey the plastic card 1 by β / V1 = Δt are stopped. Since β changes depending on the length of the processing object, the delay time Δt is set according to the length of the processing object. As a result, the peeling start position of the protection film non-formation site 3 is specified. The peeling end position of the protective film non-forming portion 3 is set by V1 · t2.

The length in the width direction of the protection film non-forming portion 3 is stored in advance in the heat generation control device of the thermal head 17 as a target value in the width direction by the plastic card 1 which is the object to be processed.

As described above, according to the protective film forming apparatus and the protective film forming method of this embodiment, the laminated film 14 having the protective layer is unwound from one side, and the unwound laminated film 14 is applied onto the plastic card 1. After being guided so as to be in contact with each other, the laminate film 14 is heated and pressed onto the plastic card 1 to form a protective layer on the plastic card 1, and the heat roller 15 and the feed roller 16 are provided. During the process up to the laminating position C2, the peeling film 19 and the peeling film 19 are contacted via the laminating film 14 so that heat can be generated according to the position and shape of the protective film non-forming portion 3 on the plastic card 1. The thermal head 17 is provided.

According to the protective film forming apparatus of this embodiment, the heat generation of the thermal head 17 is controlled in accordance with the region of the plastic film 1 where the protective film is not formed 3 and the conveying speed V1 of the laminate film 14. Since the peeling shape of the protective layer of the laminate film 14 can be freely changed, the plastic card 1 is provided with a protective film non-forming portion 3 such as a magnetic stripe or an IC chip or a hologram sticker in addition to the image made of the heat sublimable ink. In this case, the protective layer can be peeled off from the laminate film 14 depending on the position and the shape 3 ′ of the non-protective film forming portion 3.

Therefore, when the protective layer of the laminate film 14 is laminated on the plastic card 1 by the heat roller 15 and the feed roller 16, it is possible to prevent the portion 3 where the protective film is not formed from being laminated by the protective layer of the laminate film 14. In addition, other parts of the plastic card 1 can be covered with a protective layer. At this time, even if the objects to be processed have various types and the non-covered portions have various shapes, the heat generation control of the thermal head is only performed by using, for example, a personal computer, etc. The removal shape and the removal position can be easily changed.

[0039]

According to the protective film forming apparatus of the present invention, the peeling shape of the protective layer of the laminate film can be freely controlled by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head in accordance with the feeding speed of the laminating film and the feeding speed of the peeling film. Therefore, in the case where a protective film non-forming portion such as a magnetic stripe, an IC chip or a hologram seal is provided on the object to be processed in addition to the image formed of the thermal sublimation ink, the protective film non-forming portion is formed. The protective layer can be peeled off from the laminate film depending on the position and shape of the protective film.

Therefore, when the object to be processed is coated with the protective layer of the laminate film by the heating and pressurizing means, it is possible to prevent the portion of the object to be processed where the protective film is not formed from being covered with the protective layer of the laminate film. At the same time, other parts of the object to be processed can be covered with a protective layer. that time,
Even if the object to be processed has various types and the non-covered parts have various shapes, the removal shape of the protective layer and the removal shape of the protective layer can be obtained only by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head using, for example, a personal computer. The removal position can be easily changed.

[0041] Further, according to the protective film forming process of the present invention, prior to
After unwinding the laminated film, the heating and pressurizing step
During up to, since the position and shape corresponding to uncoated sites were transferred to the release film is removed before forming the protective layer of the laminate film in the object, the object a protective layer of the laminate film It is possible to prevent the non-covered part of the workpiece from being covered with the protective layer when it is coated on the substrate.

In particular, by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head, the peeling shape of the protective layer of the laminate film can be freely changed according to the feeding speed of the laminating film and the feeding speed of the peeling film. Even if the uncoated part has various shapes, the removal shape and the removal position of the protective layer can be easily performed only by controlling the heat generation of the thermal head using a personal computer or the like. Can be changed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a configuration of a main part of a protective film forming apparatus according to this embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a plastic card as a processing object.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 plastic card 2 Protective film forming equipment 3 Protective film non-formed part 4 IC chip 10 Unwind reel 11 Take-up reel 12 Guide roller 13 Guide roller 14 Laminated film 15 Heat roller 16 Feed roller 17 Thermal head 18 Platen roller 19 Peeling film 20 unwind reel 21 Take-up reel 22 heater 23 sensors

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-3-284944 (JP, A) JP-A-62-248690 (JP, A) Practical development Sho-51-25687 (JP, U) (58) Investigation Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B29C 65/00-65/82 B41F 16/00

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A laminate film conveying means for unwinding a laminated film having a protective layer formed thereon from one side, guiding the unwound laminated film so that the protective layer comes into contact with an object to be processed, and then winding the laminated film. And a heating and pressurizing unit that heats and pressurizes the laminate film on the object to be processed to form a protective layer on the object to be processed, wherein: During the film transporting process to the position of the object to be processed, the peeling film which comes into contact with the protective layer of the laminate film and can be transferred in the longitudinal direction of the laminate film, and the peeling film through the laminate film are applied. And a thermal head capable of generating heat according to the position and shape of the protective film non-forming portion on the processing target. Protective film forming apparatus characterized by being e. 2. A film abutting step of applying a protective layer of a laminate film having a protective layer onto a processed object on which an image is drawn, and heating and pressurizing the processed object through the laminated film. In the method for forming a protective film, wherein a protective layer is transferred onto an image of the object to be processed through the steps of:
In the meantime, a peeling film is brought into contact with one surface of the laminate film on which the protective layer is formed,
A method for forming a protective film, comprising the step of applying a thermal head to the other surface of the laminate film and transferring the predetermined shape of the protective layer of the laminate film to the peeling film by controlling heat generation of the thermal head. .