Incremental printing of symbolic information – Thermal marking apparatus or processes – Having an intermediate medium for transferring ink
Reexamination Certificate
2001-12-14
2004-03-09
Nguyen, Lamson (Department: 2861)
Incremental printing of symbolic information
Thermal marking apparatus or processes
Having an intermediate medium for transferring ink
Reexamination Certificate
active
06704037
ABSTRACT:
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus (e.g., a thermal transfer printer) and a thermal transfer recording method (e.g., a thermal transfer printing method). In particular, the present invention relates to a thermal transfer recording apparatus and a thermal transfer recording method in which a full-colored and high quality image can be formed on a plain paper at a high speed and a low cost, for example, in a digital mode.
BACKGROUND ART
A thermal transfer recording method in which a dye is transferred by heating can provide an image having a high quality which is substantially equivalent to that of the silver halide conventional full color photograph. Furthermore, the thermal transfer recording method is an excellent recording technique which puts less of a load on the global environment and which allows instant recording (or printing) (i.e., recording can be done immediately). An apparatus for such a method is compact and excellent in its maintainability.
However, it is necessary to use a substrate as an image receiver comprising pulp paper, both surfaces of which are laminated with a formed polyester (PET) film, etc. in order to reproduce a high quality image. Therefore, the thermal transfer recording method has a disadvantage in that the substrate, which is expensive, is to be used as the image receiver, and no other substrate can be selected. This means a lower degree of freedom as to the substrate selection. Several thermal transfer recording methods which are called re-transfer recording methods have been proposed in order to solve such a problem.
The first re-transfer recording method is a method wherein an image is recorded (i.e., printed) by thermal transfer of a dye on a dye receiving layer supporting sheet (a sheet which carries a dye receiving layer) which is obtained by forming the dye receiving layer (a layer on which the image is to be recorded (or printed)) on a thin sheet-form substrate such as a PET film with a method such as a coating method, and the dye receiving layer on which the image has been formed (or recorded) is re-transferred to a (final) image receiver such as paper (see, for example, Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No.63-81093). However, the dye receiving layer supporting sheet is made of the thin sheet-form substrate and the image is formed on the dye receiving layer on such a sheet-form substrate by thermally transferring the dye, so that the first re-transfer recording method has problems in that registration of the image is difficult and in that it is not always easy to handle the dye receiving layer supporting sheet in an apparatus. Therefore, a second re-transfer recording method has been proposed as a method which can solve those problems caused by the dye receiving layer supporting sheet.
The second re-transfer recording method is a method wherein an intermediate record support (a medium which temporarily keeps the dye receiving layer during recording (or printing)) is used which forms a closed loop such as a drum or a belt (e.g., an endless belt). The method in which the drum is used is disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No.4-156384 and the method in which the belt is used is disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No.8-67016. In this method, a dye receiving layer transferer (a medium which carries a dye layer to be transferred (moved) to the intermediate record support) is heated while being pressed, so that first, the dye receiving layer is transferred onto the intermediate record support from the dye receiving layer transferee. Seconds the dye is thermal transferred to the transferred dye receiving layer from a dye transferer such as an ink sheet, so that an image is formed. Last, the dye receiving layer on which the image has been formed on the intermediate record support is re-transferred to a (final) image receiver such as paper, i.e., in this method, the image is re-transferred. The second re-transfer recording method does not cause the problems which are caused in the first re-transfer recording method, since the dye receiving layer supporting sheet is not directly used so as to form the image.
When the method in which the drum is used as the intermediate record support forming the closed loop (the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No.4-156384) is employed in the second re-transfer recording method, the intermediate record support can move speedily and with stability. However, when the dye receiving layer on which the image has been recorded is re-transferred to the final image receiver in the method in which the drum is used, the dye receiving layer, such as paper, should be heated from its back surface (i.e., a surface which is opposite to a surface with which the drum contacts) or a drum as the intermediate record support should be heated. Therefore, it is difficult to control the heat upon re-transferring the dye receiving layer on which the image has been recorded to the image receiver, so that there is a problem in that it is difficult to re-transfer with stability.
In contrast, when the method in which the belt is used as the intermediate record support forming the closed loop (the method disclosed in Japanese Patent Kokai Publication No.8-67016) is employed, a heating roller or a halogen lamp can be provided inside the belt which forms the closed loop as a heating source so as to re-transfer the dye receiving layer, on which the image has been formed, to the image receiver. Therefore, since the dye receiving layer on which the image has been recorded can be re-transferred by heating the belt and not by heating the image receiver, it can be relatively easy to control heat for re-transferring. However, it is difficult to control meandering of the belt, so that there is a problem in that speedy and stable thermal transfer of the recording image is difficult. Particularly, the belt as the intermediate record support moves is an unstable fashion. Since the image receiving layer is transferred onto such a belt and the image is thermal transfer recorded on the dye receiving layer on such a belt, it is conceived that versatility of the second re-transfer recording method may be reduced. Further, the halogen lamp, etc. is used as the heating source inside the belt. Therefore, it is conceived that since it is difficult to control a temperature of the surface of the belt, the versatility of the second re-transfer recording method may be reduced.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
The present invention has been completed in order to solve the above problems. An object of the present invention is to provide a novel thermal transfer recording apparatus (such as a thermal transfer printer) for thermal transfer recording and a novel thermal transfer recording method (such as a thermal transfer printing method) which alleviate or substantially solve at least one of the problems in that a recording speed of an image is low, a stability of recording is poor, and a running cost of recording is high when the thermal transfer recording is carried out while recording a glossy and high quality image preferably in a digital mode. The thermal transfer recording method of the present invention is preferably carried out by using the thermal transfer recording apparatus of the present invention.
In an aspect of the present invention, a novel thermal transfer recording apparatus is provided, which comprises:
an intermediate record support which forms a closed loop and extends over a plurality of drums which are placed separately,
a dye receiving layer transfer section having a dye receiving layer transfer head which faces to a part of the intermediate record support on an outer periphery of one drum of the plurality of the drums,
an image recording section having at least one image recording head which faces to a part of the intermediate record support on the outer periphery of the one drum, and
an image transfer section having an image transfer head which faces to the intermediate record support inside of the closed loop.
According to the present invention, the intermediate
Feggins K.
Matsushita Electric - Industrial Co., Ltd.
Nguyen Lamson
Wenderoth , Lind & Ponack, L.L.P.
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