Record receiver having plural interactive leaves or a colorless – Having plural interactive leaves
Reexamination Certificate
1999-03-18
2002-01-01
Hess, Bruce (Department: 1774)
Record receiver having plural interactive leaves or a colorless
Having plural interactive leaves
C428S195100, C428S488410, C428S913000, C428S914000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06335307
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to ink sheet and polymer layer transfer sheet used in thermal transfer printing using recording medium such as thermal head laser and other optical head, energizing head, etc. The ink sheet relates to an ink sheet for sublimation type thermal transfer recording and/or an ink sheet for molten type thermal transfer recording, and the polymer layer transfer sheet relates to a polymer layer transfer sheet for sublimation type thermal transfer recording and/or an ink sheet for molten type thermal transfer recording.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In sublimation type or molten type thermal transfer recording, a film of polyethylene terephthalate (PET) is generally used as the base material for the ink sheet, but since the heat resistance and running lubricity of the PET film are insufficient when used in the recording head such as thermal head, a heat resistant lubricating layer having heat resistance and lubricity is usually formed and used at the base material side of the ink sheet in contact with the recording head.
As such heat resistant lubricating layer, it has been widely proposed to use substances, for example, a reaction-cures cured product of thermoplastic resin having alcoholic OH group and isocyanate compound as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 58-187396, stick-prevent layer made of silicone graft polymer as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 1-214475, a heat resistant protective layer of amino denatured polysiloxane and polyisocyanate or reaction product of both as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 5-131770, a vinyl polymer by block or graft coupling of organopolysiloxane units as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 61-143195, silicone denatured urethane resin as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 62-82086, and a heat resistant protective layer of thermoplastic resin and denatured silicone oil as disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 6-316172.
The hitherto proposed heat resistant lubricating layer formed of resin having OH group and isocyanate is provided with heat resistance by forming a hardened matter, but in order to obtain running lubricity for the thermal head, it is required to add silicone substance such as silicone oil or lubricant such as wax. However, the hardened matter formed of resin having OH group and isocyanate is not so high in hardness as compared with, for example, a hardened matter obtained from epoxy acrylate known as so-called hard coating agent and reaction initiator, and therefore if the lubricant is added by the quantity necessary for obtaining running lubricity, thin lines may be formed in the recorded image.
This is because, when the heat resistant lubricating layer is formed by adding a lubricant to a hardened matter not so high in hardness, the substance favorably used as the lubricant is considerably low in molecular weight as compared with the resin forming the hardened matter, and therefore the heat resistance of the entire heating resistant lubricating layer is further lowered by addition of such lubricant of low molecular weight, or the film strength of the portion containing the lubricant is further lowered by addition of the lubricant, or the silicone derivative lubricant or fluorine derivative lubricant is large in surface dominant power and the hardening of the surface of the heat resistant lubricating layer is insufficient when existing dominantly on the surface of the heat resistant lubricating layer, and hence when running on the thermal head, fine running flaws are formed on the surface of the heat resistant lubricating layer and appear as thin lines in the recorded image.
When the heat resistant lubricating layer is made from the hitherto proposed silicone graft polymer, by grafting the silicone, the intrinsic film forming capability of the resin itself is relatively lowered, and the resin is likely to be scraped off by the thermal head, and the scraped resin contaminates the head, finally causing drop-out in the recorded image. Although the silicone graft polymer has lubricity because the silicone is grafted, the silicone content is small and it is still insufficient for obtaining a necessary running lubricity for the thermal head.
In the case of the heat resistant lubricating layer made from the hitherto proposed thermoplastic resin, denatured silicone oil, etc., when the ink sheet is wound and stored in the condition of high temperature and high humidity, since the heat resistance of the thermoplastic resin is not sufficient, fusion may occur between the color material layer and the heat resistant lubricating layer, or the running lubricity may be lowered after storage.
In a known method of forming a transfer image indirectly on an image receiving material such as plain paper, using an ink sheet having a color material, a resin layer transfer sheet having a resin layer, and an image receiving material, first the ink sheet and resin layer transfer sheet are laminated, the ink sheet is heated corresponding to the image signal applied from a thermal head, at least the color material of the ink sheet is transferred from the ink sheet to the resin layer of the resin layer transfer sheet to form an image on the resin layer transfer sheet, next the resin layer transfer sheet and image receiving material are laminated, and the resin layer forming the image on the resin layer transfer sheet is further thermally transferred to the image receiving material by heating means such as heat roll or thermal head, and finally the image is formed on the image receiving material.
In a method differing in the procedure of this recording process, first the resin layer transfer sheet and image receiving material are laminated, the resin layer on the resin layer transfer sheet is thermally transferred to the image receiving material by heating means such as heat roll or thermal head to form the resin layer on the image receiving material, next the image receiving material forming the resin layer and the ink sheet having a color material are laminated, and by heating the thermal head depending on the image similar same as above, at least the color material of the ink sheet is transferred to the resin layer of the image receiving material, and finally in image is formed on the image receiving material (for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 60-222267).
Or, in order to protect the recorded image on the image receiving material, it is known to transfer the resin layer on the image on the image receiving material, and coat at least one side of the image receiving material.
As the heating means for thermal transfer of the resin layer on the resin layer transfer sheet to the image receiving material, when the heat roll is used, there is no problem, but a new problem occurs when the thermal head is used. That is, in the case of the heat roll, when the laminated resin layer transfer sheet and image receiving material are passed through between two rolls under pressure at least one of which is a heat roll (heater incorporated roll), since both rolls are rotating rolls, it is easy to pass between the rolls, but in the case of the thermal head consisting of the thermal head and platen roll under pressure, since one of them, that is, the thermal head is a non-rotating element, the resin layer transfer sheet running at the thermal head side cannot run stably. That is, no resin layer transfer sheet has been ever known to be sufficient in running lubricity and heat resistance against the heat generation of the thermal head at the time of transfer of resin layer of resin layer transfer sheet to the image receiving material, and capable of running stably without forming running flaws on the resin layer transferred to the image receiving material when the resin layer transfer sheet runs on the thermal head.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The medium for thermal transfer recording of the invention comprises:
(a) a base material having a first surface and a second surface,
(b) a transfer medium layer placed on the first surface side, and
(c) a heat resistant lubricating laye
Imai Akihiro
Taguchi Nobuyoshi
Hess Bruce
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
McDermott & Will & Emery
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