JPH08123162A - Image recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide an image recorder in which the sticking force of toner to an intermediate recording medium is improved. CONSTITUTION: The image recorder 1 is equipped with a toner supply mechanism 20 with an aperture electrode body 10 mounted inside its main body frame 2, a rear electrode roller 32 which transports and fixes toner T by rotation and driving the intermediate recording medium 31, a heating roller 33, carry rollers 40-43 and guide plates 4-7 all of which are used for carrying a sheet of recording paper P, a pressure roller 34, a paper feeding cassette CS, and a paper ejecting table DT. The rear electrode roller 32 incorporates a halogen lamp 52 to heat the rear electrode roller 32 and also the intermediate recording medium 31 to about 80 deg.C, therefore toner T sticking to the intermediate recording body 31 becomes soft, the sticking force of the toner to the surface of the intermediate recording medium 31 becomes strong, and falling of the toner from the surface is prevented.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image recording apparatus for transferring toner ejected from an aperture of an aperture electrode body to an intermediate recording medium after temporarily adhering it to the intermediate recording medium and transferring it to the recording medium. The present invention relates to a toner having improved adhesion to toner.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an aperture electrode having a large number of minute openings formed in rows at minute intervals in the width direction of a recording medium and having electrodes around each of these many openings. A body is provided, and on one side of this aperture electrode body,
A toner supply mechanism that supplies toner to a large number of openings of the aperture electrode body is provided, and a counter electrode to which a high voltage is applied is provided on the other side, and the drive voltage supplied to each electrode of this aperture electrode body is individually provided. The recording medium is conveyed along the counter electrode while being controlled so that the toner supplied from the toner supply mechanism passes through the opening and is applied to the counter electrode by the electrostatic attraction force of the counter electrode. An image recording apparatus has been proposed (see U.S. Pat. No. 3,689,935) that jumps out, is attached to a recording sheet, and is then fixed by a fixing mechanism to record an image.

However, in this image recording apparatus, the toner supplied from the toner supply mechanism is reliably moved toward the counter electrode through the opening, and the gap between the aperture electrode body and the counter electrode is Since the thickness is set to about 1 mm or less, the thick recording medium cannot pass through the gap, so that the image cannot be recorded on the thick recording medium. Therefore, the applicant of the present application is disclosed in
In JP-A-4, a transfer drum (corresponding to an intermediate recording medium) partially contacting the counter electrode is provided between the aperture electrode body and the recording medium so as to be rotationally driven in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording medium. After the toner that has passed through the opening and is ejected toward the counter electrode is once attached to the transfer drum and the toner attached to the transfer drum is transferred to the transfer position,
An image recording apparatus has been proposed which is configured to be transferred to a recording medium and which can record an image on various thick recording media such as resin and metal.

[0004]

By the way, in the image recording apparatus provided with the transfer drum described in the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-152154, the electrostatic attraction force generated through the high voltage of the counter electrode, that is, The toner attached to the transfer drum (corresponding to the intermediate recording medium) through the opening due to the electrostatic force moves while moving away from the counter electrode due to the rotation of the transfer drum. At this time, the toner attached to the transfer drum is attached mainly due to a relatively large electrostatic force by the counter electrode, but the toner that is gradually not receiving the electrostatic force according to the rotation of the transfer drum is After that, by Van der Waals force or image force, it is transferred to the transfer position while barely adhering.

On the other hand, the toner particles are not neat spheres, but are spheres having a large number of protrusions, for example, "Konpeito". Therefore, the adhering surface of the transfer drum is the tip of these protrusions. It adheres only on the part and collectively in a layered manner over 2 to 3 layers, so when the Van der Waals force and the image force described above become extremely weak, these layers form Since the mass of the adhered toner group is large, the toner group may be partially dropped from the transfer drum during the transfer, which causes a problem that a beautiful image cannot be formed on the recording medium.

An object of the present invention is to apply heat to the toner that has passed through the opening of the aperture electrode body and adhered to the intermediate recording medium to soften the toner, thereby increasing the adhesive force of the toner and removing it from the recording medium. An object of the present invention is to provide an image recording device capable of sure transfer.

[0007]

An image recording apparatus according to a first aspect of the present invention is an aperture electrode body in which a plurality of openings are formed in rows in the width direction of a recording medium and each of the plurality of openings has an electrode. A toner supply mechanism for supplying toner to the openings of the aperture electrode body, and a toner control means for individually controlling the voltage supplied to each electrode of the aperture electrode body to control the toner passing through the openings. , An intermediate recording medium provided on the side opposite to the toner supply mechanism with respect to the aperture electrode body and for adhering the toner having passed through the opening to the transfer position, and the intermediate recording medium in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording medium. An image recording apparatus provided with a driving unit that is rotationally driven is provided with a pre-heating unit that applies heat to the toner to soften it in order to increase the adhesive force of the toner attached to the intermediate recording medium.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect, the heating means is configured to heat the intermediate recording medium and apply heat to the toner from the intermediate recording medium. is there.

An image recording apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the image recording apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the heating means directly heats the toner attached to the intermediate recording medium.

[0010]

In the image recording apparatus according to the present invention, the toner is supplied to the openings of the aperture electrode body by the toner supply mechanism, and the toner is supplied to the electrodes of the plurality of openings formed in the aperture electrode body. Since the voltage to be supplied is individually controlled by the control means, the toner passing through each opening is controlled. The intermediate recording medium provided on the side opposite to the toner supply mechanism with respect to the aperture electrode body is rotationally driven by the driving unit in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording medium, so that the toner passing through the opening is Collectively adhered to the intermediate recording medium in layers and conveyed to the transfer position.

At this time, the toner adhered in layers to the intermediate recording medium is heated and softened by the heating means, so that the layered toner adheres to each other and the adhesive force to the adhered surface of the intermediate recording medium increases. During transfer of toner to the transfer position, the toner does not fall off from the intermediate recording medium, and all toner adhering to the intermediate recording medium is reliably transferred to the transfer position and then transferred to the recording medium at the transfer position. .

As described above, since the toner adhered to the intermediate recording medium is heated and softened, all the toner adhered in layers is strongly adhered to the adhered surface of the intermediate recording medium. All the toner adhering to the medium is surely transferred to the transfer position and then transferred to the recording medium at the transfer position to form a beautiful image on the recording medium.

In the image recording apparatus of the second aspect, the heating means heats the intermediate recording medium and applies heat to the toner from the intermediate recording medium, so that the intermediate recording medium to which the toner adheres is heated. In addition, the adhesive force of the toner can be significantly improved, and the degree of freedom of the position where the heating means for heating the intermediate recording medium is provided is increased.

In the image recording apparatus of claim 3, since the heating means directly heats the toner attached to the intermediate recording medium, the toner can be efficiently softened and attached to the intermediate recording medium. The amount can be reduced.

[0015]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The present embodiment is a case where the present invention is applied to an image recording apparatus that records an image on a recording sheet by controlling the movement of toner supplied from a toner supply mechanism to an intermediate recording medium by an aperture electrode body. Is. As shown in Figure 1,
The image recording apparatus 1 includes a toner supply mechanism 20 having an aperture electrode body 10 mounted in a main body frame 2 thereof, and a toner transfer / fixing mechanism 30 for rotating and driving an intermediate recording medium 31 to transfer and fix the toner T. A transport mechanism for transporting the recording paper P is basically provided. Here, the transport mechanism includes guide plates 4 to 7 for supporting the transported recording paper P and transport rollers 40 to transport the recording paper P.
It consists of 43. On the front side of the main body frame 2, there is provided a paper feed cassette CS that stores a large number of recording papers P, and on the rear side of the main body frame 2, there is provided a paper discharge table DT that stores the recorded and discharged recording papers P. Has been.

First, the toner supply mechanism 20 will be described. In the toner case 21 having a width dimension substantially the same as the width of the recording paper P, the electrically insulating toner T having an electrical insulation property is accommodated, and the left and right sides are stored. A toner supply roller 22 and a toner transport roller 23 extending in the direction are rotatably supported respectively. The toner carrying roller 23 is formed by attaching a nickel sleeve to the outer circumference of the sponge roller body, and the toner supplying roller 22 and the toner carrying roller 23 are rotationally driven by a roller driving mechanism (not shown). .

By the way, one end of a toner regulating blade 24 having a thin plate-like elasticity is attached to the toner case 21, and a curved portion thereof is in pressure contact with the toner conveying roller 23, so that the toner supply roller is provided. The toner regulation blade 24 regulates the adhesion amount and the charge amount of the toner T, which is supplied by 22 and adheres to the surface of the toner conveying roller 23, to a predetermined amount.

At the upper end portion of the toner case 21, there is provided an aperture electrode body 10 which is inclined in a substantially roof shape so as to cover the toner case 21 and contact the upper end portion of the toner conveying roller 23 from above. It is attached at the front and rear ends. This aperture electrode body 10 is shown in FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 5, a heat-resistant base substrate made of a polyimide film having a thickness of about 25 μm has a diameter of about 60 to 65 at a substantially central position in the front-rear direction in the left-right direction.
A circular opening (aperture) 11 with a size of μm is approximately 127
At an interval of μm, for example, when printing on A4 paper, about 160
It is formed in one row for 0 pieces. Further, an annular toner control electrode 12 is formed on the upper surface of the outer periphery of each of the plurality of openings 11, and a thin conductive wire 13 extending from each toner control electrode 12 is formed on the base substrate. Then, as shown in FIG.
+ 30V or -30 depending on the image data
The drive voltage of V is individually supplied by the drive circuit 51 via the control line L.

Next, the intermediate recording medium 3 is provided immediately above the aperture electrode body 10 and is provided in the vertical direction.
1 shows a toner transfer / fixing mechanism 30 having
A description will be given based on FIG. The intermediate recording medium 31 is composed of an endless heat-resistant film having a width dimension substantially similar to the width of the recording paper P. The intermediate recording medium 31 is made of, for example, a polyimide resin or amide resin having a thickness of about 50 μm.

The intermediate recording medium 31 is disposed right above the aperture electrode body 10 in the left-right direction, and is rotatably supported by the main body frame 2 on the back electrode roller 32 and above the back electrode roller 32. A heat roller 33 that is provided in parallel with the back electrode roller 32 and is rotatably supported by the main body frame 2 is stretched. A rubber pressing roller 34 arranged in parallel with the heat roller 33 is pressed against the heat roller 33,
The heat roller 33 and the pressing roller 34 cooperate to convey the recording paper P while pressing it.

Here, the back electrode roller 32 is a hollow roller, and the back electrode roller 32 is in the center thereof.
A halogen lamp 52 (corresponding to a heating means) having a width similar to the width dimension is provided, and a drive voltage is supplied from a power supply circuit not shown. And this halogen lamp 52
Heats the back electrode roller 32 as shown by a dotted arrow in FIG. 2, and heats the intermediate recording medium 31 in contact with the back electrode roller 32 to, for example, about 80 ° C. It is configured to heat.

That is, the particles of the toner T stored in the toner case 21 are spheres having a large number of protrusions and having a diameter of about 10 μm, for example, “Konpeito”, and the surface on which the intermediate recording medium 31 is adhered. In addition, it is easily attached due to the Van der Waals force and the mirror image force that interact with the intermediate recording medium 31. Therefore, the intermediate recording medium 31 is heated, and the toner T attached to the intermediate recording medium 31 is softened by applying heat of about 80 ° C. to the intermediate recording medium 31 of the toner T. Of the toner T is prevented from dropping from the adhering surface of the intermediate recording medium 31.

Further, the heat roller 33 has a halogen lamp which is long in the width direction thereof, is heated to about 130 ° by a driving voltage supplied from a power supply circuit (not shown), and is transferred onto the recording paper P. T is melted and fixed. Further, the back electrode roller 32, the heat roller 33, and the pressing roller 34 are rotationally driven in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording paper P by a roller driving mechanism (not shown).

Next, the control system of the image recording apparatus 1 will be briefly described with reference to FIG. 2. A high voltage of about +1 KV is constantly applied to the back electrode roller 32 by the power supply circuit E1, and a minus voltage is applied. The toner T charged to the back is attracted to the back electrode roller 32 by a large electrostatic force. On the other hand, the plurality of conducting wires 13 of the aperture electrode body 10
Is connected to a drive circuit 51 via a control line L composed of a plurality of signal lines. The drive circuit 51 has a power supply circuit E2 that outputs two types of voltages of + 30V and -30V, a microcomputer, and the like. Is connected to the control unit 50, and the control unit 50 outputs a drive signal corresponding to the image signal to the drive circuit 51.
The drive circuit 51 is +30 V or − depending on the drive signal.
The drive voltage of 30V is switched and supplied individually to each conductor 13 via the control line L. The toner transport roller 23 is always grounded.

Then, when a voltage of +30 V is applied to the lead wire 13, that is, the toner control electrode 12 by the drive circuit 51, the potential difference between the toner control electrode 12 and the toner transport roller 23 causes the toner control electrode 12 to move to the toner transport roller. An electric field is generated toward 23, and the negatively charged toner T is subjected to an electrostatic force in the direction of a higher electric potential due to the electric field, passes through the opening 11 from the surface of the toner conveying roller 23, and reaches the toner control electrode 12. At the same time attracted,
The high voltage applied to the back electrode roller 32 passes through the opening 11 through the electrostatic force of the electric field generated between the back electrode roller 32 and the toner control electrode 12, and passes through the back electrode roller 32, that is, the intermediate portion. It is attracted to the recording medium 31 and adheres to its surface. However, the toner control electrode 1
2 is applied to the toner control electrode 12 from the toner carrying roller 23, contrary to the above.
The toner T on the surface of the toner transport roller 23 does not pass through the opening 11 due to the electric field directed toward.

Next, the operation of recording an image by transferring the toner T to the recording paper P according to the image signal by the image recording apparatus 1 will be described. When + 30V is applied from the drive circuit 51 to the toner control electrode 12 based on the drive signal received from the control unit 50, an electric field is generated from the toner control electrode 12 toward the toner transport roller 23 as described above, and Due to the electric field, the negatively charged toner T on the surface of the toner conveying roller 23 is
The toner conveying roller 23 receives electrostatic force in the direction of high potential.
From the surface of the toner through the opening 11 to be attracted to the toner control electrode 12. Further, the high voltage (about +1 KV) applied to the back electrode roller 32 causes the toner T that has passed through the opening 11 via the electrostatic force due to the electric field generated between the back electrode roller 32 and the toner control electrode 12. , The back electrode roller 32, that is, the intermediate recording medium 31, is attracted and jumps out, and adheres to the surface thereof. At this time, the toner T is collectively attached in a layered manner on the attachment surface of the intermediate recording medium 31.

The toner T adhering to the intermediate recording medium 31 due to the movement of the intermediate recording medium 31 due to the rotation of the back electrode roller 32 in a predetermined direction causes the recording paper P on the upper side of the toner T.
Is transferred to the transfer position. By the way, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, since the intermediate recording medium 31 is heated to about 80 ° C. by receiving the heat of the heated rear electrode roller 32 as described above, the intermediate recording medium 31 is heated. The layered toner T attracted and adhered to the toner is softened by the heat of about 80 ° C. to become a unified toner T, and the adhesive force to the intermediate recording medium 31 is increased, and the intermediate recording of the toner T is performed. It does not fall off from the surface where the medium 31 is attached. Then, the toner T in the softened state is transferred to the recording paper P after being transferred on the intermediate recording medium 31, and at the same time, is fixed on the recording paper P by heating by the heat roller 33, and a beautiful image is formed. Can be formed on the recording paper P.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 5, the halogen lamp 52A that heats the intermediate recording medium 31A to soften the toner T is transferred to the intermediate recording medium 31A from the attachment position where the toner T is attached. In the direction, it may be configured so as to be housed inside the rotary roller 53A that comes into pressure contact with the advance side. In this case, as shown by a dotted arrow in FIG. 5, the rotary roller 53A is heated by the heat generated by the halogen lamp 52A, and the rotary roller 53 is
The intermediate recording medium 31 in contact with A is heated to, for example, about 80 ° C.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the rotary roller 53B having the halogen lamp 52B housed therein is retarded in the transport direction from the attachment position where the toner T is attached to the intermediate recording medium 31B. You may provide so that it may press-contact. In this case, as shown by a dotted arrow in FIG. 6, the heat generated by the halogen lamp 52B causes the rotating roller 53 to rotate.
While heating B, the toner T in contact with the rotating roller 53B is directly heated to, for example, about 80 ° C. to be softened.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the halogen lamp 52C may be provided at a position closer to the retard angle side in the transport direction than the attachment position where the toner T is attached to the intermediate recording medium 31B. . Reference numeral 55 is a reflector that reflects the heat generated by the halogen lamp 52C. in this case,
The toner T attached to the intermediate recording medium 31B is directly heated to about 80 ° C. by the halogen lamp 52C and softened. In this way, the toner T on the intermediate recording medium 31B is directly heated by the heat generated by the halogen lamp 52C, so that the toner T can be efficiently softened and adhered to the intermediate recording medium 31C. Therefore, the heating amount of the halogen lamp 52C is reduced. be able to.

By the way, as shown in FIG. 8, a "yellow" toner supply mechanism 20E containing a yellow toner TE, a "cyan" toner supply mechanism 20F containing a cyan toner TC, and a magenta toner TM. And a toner supply mechanism 20G for "magenta" which accommodates the same, are provided in series in parallel with the conveyance direction of the recording paper P, and are stretched over these three toner supply mechanisms 20E to 20G and the heat roller 33D. The intermediate recording medium 31D is provided, and the power supply circuit 60 is provided corresponding to each of the toner supply mechanisms 20A to 20C.
A high voltage supplied from each of the three back electrodes 61 to 63 is applied to each of the back electrodes 61 to 63, and a halogen lamp 52D is built in each of the back electrodes 61 to 63. The color toners TE, TC, and TM that are output are controlled so as to be sequentially adhered in a softened state in synchronism with each other in a predetermined adhesion range of the intermediate recording medium 31D, and a color image is recorded. The image recording device 10D may be configured.

When the toner T that is finer than about 10 μm, for example, about 7 μm or about 5 μm in the form of fine powder is used, the temperature of heat applied to the toner T is appropriately adjusted. Alternatively, various modifications may be made based on the existing technology or the technology obvious to those skilled in the art within the scope of the technical idea of the present invention, such as providing a heating element instead of the halogen lamp. Of course, the present invention can be applied to various image recording apparatuses in which the adhesion of the toner T to the recording paper P is controlled by the aperture electrode body 10.

[0033]

According to the image recording apparatus of the first aspect, the aperture electrode body, the toner supply mechanism, the toner control means, and
The intermediate recording medium and the driving means are further provided, and the heating means is further provided to heat the toner adhered to the intermediate recording medium to soften it. Therefore, all the toner adhered in layers is integrally attached to the intermediate recording medium. Since the toner strongly adheres to the surface, all the toner adhered to the intermediate recording medium can be reliably transferred to the transfer position and then transferred to the recording medium at the transfer position to form a clean image on the recording medium.

According to the image recording apparatus of the second aspect, the heating means heats the intermediate recording medium and applies heat to the toner from the intermediate recording medium, so that the intermediate recording medium to which the toner adheres is heated. Therefore, the adhesive force of the toner can be greatly improved, and the degree of freedom of the position where the heating means for heating the intermediate recording medium is provided can be increased.

According to the image recording apparatus of the third aspect, since the heating means directly heats the toner attached to the intermediate recording medium, the toner can be efficiently softened and attached to the intermediate recording medium. The heating amount can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view illustrating an internal mechanism of an image recording apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating adhesion of toner to an intermediate recording medium.
FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged perspective view of an aperture electrode body.

FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged side view of the intermediate recording medium on which the softened toner adheres in layers.

FIG. 5 is a view corresponding to FIG. 2 according to a modification in which a rotary roller for heating the intermediate recording medium is provided on the advance side in the transport direction with respect to the toner adhesion position.

FIG. 6 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 according to a modification in which a rotary roller for heating the intermediate recording medium is provided on the retard side in the transport direction with respect to the toner adhesion position.

FIG. 7 is a view corresponding to FIG. 6 according to a modification in which a halogen lamp for heating toner is provided on the retard side in the transfer direction with respect to the toner adhesion position.

FIG. 8 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 according to a modification configured to record a color image.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Image Recording Device 10.10A to 10D Aperture Electrode Body 11 Opening Part 12 Toner Control Electrode 20.20E to 20G Toner Supply Mechanism 23 Toner Conveying Roller 30 Toner Transfer / Fixing Mechanism 31.31A to 31D Intermediate Recording Medium 32.32A to 32C Rear electrode roller 50 Control unit 51 Drive circuit 52 Halogen lamp E1 Power supply circuit E2 Power supply circuit T Toner

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An aperture electrode body having a plurality of openings formed in rows in the width direction of a recording medium, and an electrode having an electrode in each of the plurality of openings, and supplying toner to the aperture portions of the aperture electrode body. A toner supply mechanism for controlling the toner passing through each opening by individually controlling the voltage supplied to each electrode of the aperture electrode body, and a toner supply mechanism for the aperture electrode body. Image recording provided on the opposite side, which has an intermediate recording medium for adhering the toner having passed through the opening and transferring it to the transfer position, and a driving means for rotationally driving the intermediate recording medium in synchronization with the conveyance of the recording medium. The image recording apparatus, wherein the apparatus is provided with a preliminary heating unit for applying heat to the toner to soften the toner in order to enhance the adhesive force of the toner attached to the intermediate recording medium. 2. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit is configured to heat an intermediate recording medium and apply heat to the toner from the intermediate recording medium. 3. The image recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the heating unit is configured to directly heat the toner attached to the intermediate recording medium.