JPS63137865A - Recorder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To contrive enhancement of the transferability of an image to a recording material and the releasability of a transfer recording medium and the recording material from each other, by controlling a feeding force for the recording material at a fixing part to a value lower than that at a transferring part. CONSTITUTION:A recording paper 8 fed to a fixing part 13 is pressed by a fixing roller 14a being rotated and a pressure roller 13b rotated following the roller 13a, and is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater 13c, whereby a transfer image is firmly fixed to the paper 8, and then the paper 8 is discharged into a discharging tray 11. In the fixing part 13, a slip clutch 14e prevents a rotating torque of higher than a fixed value from being transmitted to the fixing roller 13a, so that the roller 13a will not forcibly pull the paper 8. Where the circumferential velocity of the fixing roller 13a is set to be lower than that of a transferring roller 4a, the fixing roller 13a naturally will not pull the paper 8. Therefore, the transfer at a transferring part and the release of the paper 8 and a transfer recording medium 1 from each other at a releasing roller 5 are performed stably and securely.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION <Field of Industrial Application> The present invention relates to a recording device that can be used in printers, copying machines, facsimile machines, and the like.

<Prior Art> In recent years, with the rapid development of the information industry, various information processing systems have been developed, and recording devices suitable for each information processing system have also been developed.

One of the above-mentioned recording devices is a thermal transfer recording device. This is a method for recording on recording paper using an ink ribbon made by coating a ribbon-shaped support with a heat-sensitive ink made by adding 11 tons of colorant to a heat-melting material. be.

That is, the ink ribbon is overlapped so that its heat-fusible ink layer is in contact with the recording paper, the ink ribbon and the recording paper are conveyed between the thermal head and the platen, and the ink ribbon is heated from the support side of the ink ribbon. An ink image corresponding to the applied heat is recorded on the recording paper by applying pulsed heat using a thermal head in accordance with the image signal and pressing the two to transfer the melted ink onto the recording paper. It is.

The above recording apparatus has been widely used in recent years because it is small and lightweight, makes no noise, and can record on plain paper.

<Problems to be Solved by the Invention> However, conventional thermal transfer recording devices are not without problems.

The reason is that in conventional thermal transfer recording devices, the transfer recording performance, that is, the image quality, is affected by the surface smoothness of the recording paper.
Although good image recording can be performed on recording paper with high smoothness, there is a risk that the quality of image recording will deteriorate when recording paper with low smoothness is used.

Furthermore, when attempting to obtain a multicolor image with a conventional thermal transfer recording device, it is necessary to repeat transfer to overlap the colors. For that purpose, do you have to install multiple thermal heads, or stop and reverse feed the recording paper? ! ! There are problems in that not only the movement must be made in a rough manner, color misregistration is unavoidable, but also the entire device becomes large and complicated.

<Means for solving the problem> Therefore, the present applicant uses a photothermal sensitive material, and when thermal energy and light energy are applied, the reaction of the material proceeds rapidly and the transfer characteristics change irreversibly. Then, we proposed a recording device that forms an image based on the difference in characteristics according to the image signal and transfers it to a recording medium (Japanese Patent Application No. 1986-15).
No. 0597).

According to this recording device, it is possible to record high-quality images even on recording media with low surface smoothness, and when applied to multicolor recording, it is possible to make complex movements on the recording medium. Uniquely, multicolored images can be obtained.

An object of the present invention is to further develop the above-mentioned recording device, and to provide a recording device that can improve the transferability of an image to a recording medium and the peelability between the transfer recording medium and the recording medium. The purpose is to capture and provide.

The means for this purpose is a device that records an image on a recording medium using a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change by applying multiple types of energy, and which conveys the transfer recording medium. a recording section having an application means for applying the plurality of types of energy to the transfer recording medium provided along the transfer path of the transfer recording medium conveyed by the conveyance means, and the recording section a transfer section for transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium onto the recording medium being conveyed; a fixing section for fixing the recording medium, the transfer section and the fixing section have a function of conveying the recording medium, and a means for regulating the conveyance force of the recording medium at the fixing section to be less than the conveyance force at the transfer section. It is characterized by having Φ.

Effect> According to the above means, when the transfer recording medium and the recording medium are set in the apparatus and recording is performed, multiple types of energy are applied to the transfer recording medium in the recording section to form an image, and the cough image is The image is transferred to the recording medium in the transfer section.

Further, since the recording medium conveyance force in the fixing section is regulated to be less than the conveyance force in the transfer section, the fixing section does not forcibly pull the recording medium conveyed by the transfer section. Therefore, the image formed on the transfer recording medium is stably transferred at the transfer section, and the 711 images between the transfer recording medium and the recording medium are also stable.

<Example> Next, an embodiment of the present invention to which the above means is applied will be described.

FIG. 1(A) is a cross-sectional schematic explanatory diagram of the recording device, and the first
Figure (B) is a perspective explanatory view.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 denotes a transfer recording medium in the form of a long sheet, which is wound into a roll and used as a supply roll 2 in the apparatus main body M.
It is removably incorporated into the.

That is, the supply roll 2 is removably loaded onto a rotatable shaft 2a provided in the main body 4 of the apparatus.

Therefore, first, the leading edge of this transfer recording medium 1 is transferred to the supply roll 2.
It passes through the guide roller 12a, the recording head 3a, and the guide roller 12b, and is changed direction from between the transfer roller 4a and the pressure roller 4b by the peeling roller 5 and the guide roller 12c to reach the winding roll 6, and the tip thereof is wound. Take roll 6
It is locked by means such as a gripper (not shown). Thereafter, by driving and rotating the take-up roll 6 by a known driving means, the transfer recording medium 1 is fed out in the direction of arrow a, and is sequentially wound around the circumferential surface of the take-up roll 6.

Note that during the winding, a certain back tension is applied to the supply roll 2 by, for example, a hysteresis brake (not shown), and this tension and the guide rollers 12a and 12b cause the transfer recording medium 1 to be recorded.
It is configured to be conveyed while being pressed against the throat 3a at a constant pressure and at a constant angle.

Further, a fixing section 13 is located downstream of the roller pair 4a, 4b of the transfer section.
is installed.

Next, the configuration of each of the above-mentioned parts will be individually explained.

First, as shown in FIG. 2, the transfer recording medium 1 has a transfer recording layer 1 which has the property of forming an image when both thermal energy and light energy are applied on a sheet-like support la.
It is formed by attaching b.

To explain an example thereof, as shown in Part 2, the transfer recording layer 1b uses the components shown in Tables 1 and 2 as the cores lc and ld, and forms microcapsule-shaped image forming elements by the following method. It forms.

In other words, 10 g of the ingredients shown in Tables 1 and 2 are first mixed with 20 parts by weight of methylene chloride, and then a surfactant with an HLB value of at least 10, such as a cation or nonion, and 1 g of gelatin are mixed. Mix with 200 d of dissolved water and mix with a homomixer under heating at 60°C to 8,000 to 10.00 Or
Stir at pm to emulsify and obtain oil droplets with an average particle size of 26 μm.

Stirring was continued at 60°C for 30 minutes, and the methylene chloride was distilled off to give an average particle size of 10 pm. Add 20 - of water in which 1 g of gum arabic was dissolved, and add Nl + 408 (ammonia) water while cooling slowly.
Obtain a microcapsule slurry by adding 20% glutaraldehyde aqueous solution 1.0 ml
to harden the capsule wall.

Thereafter, solid-liquid separation is carried out using a Nutsche Ill filter, and drying is carried out at 35° C. for 110 hours in a vacuum dryer to obtain image forming elements in the form of microcapsules.

This image forming element has cores lc and l shown in Tables 1 and 2.
d is a microcapsule covered with a shell le, which is formed to have a particle size of 7 to 15 μm and an average particle size of 10 μm.

To explain this in more detail, the adhesive 1f, which is made by dissolving 3 cc of toluene in the polyester adhesive Polyester LP-022 (solid content 50%) lee manufactured by Nihon Gosei Kagaku Kogyo Co., Ltd., is applied to a thickness of 6 circles. The mixture is coated on a support la made of a polyethylene terephthalate film. after that,
When the solvent was removed by drying and the thickness was measured, it was approximately 1-. Since this adhesive 1f has a glass transition point of 115°C, a slight tank remains even at room temperature, making it possible to easily adhere the image forming element formed as described above to the support 1a. .

Next, a microcapsule-shaped image forming element using the materials shown in Tables 1 and 2 obtained as above as a core material was prepared.
They were mixed at a ratio of 1:1, and this was sprinkled to adhere. Thereafter, when the excess image forming element was brushed off, the image forming element was disposed on the adhesive layer in approximately one layer and at a ratio of 90%.

Thereafter, the image forming element is firmly fixed onto the support 1a by applying a pressure of about 1 kg/cot and thermal energy of about 80° C. to form the transfer recording medium 1.

The photoinitiator in the image forming element shown in Table 1 absorbs light in the band of graph A in the light absorption characteristics shown in FIG. The photoinitiator in the image-forming element shown in Table 2 absorbs light in the band shown in graph B in FIG. 3 to start a reaction, and the color becomes blue during image formation.

Next, the recording section 3 will be explained. The recording section 3 is composed of heating means and light irradiation means.

The heating means generates heat on the surface of the recording head 3a according to the image signal! ! HQ, 2 East 1 and 8 dots/Seiho's A-
The heating element rows 3b of four sizes and line type are arranged, and as described above, the heating element rows 3b are
It is configured to be pressed against with a predetermined pressure. The image signal is generated from a control unit (not shown) of, for example, a facsimile, an image scanner, or an electronic whiteboard, depending on the purpose.

- On the other hand, on the transfer recording layer lb side facing the recording head 3a, two fluorescent lamps 3c and 3d, which are 2OW type light irradiation means having spectral characteristics as shown in FIG. 4, are installed on the transfer recording medium 1.
They are spaced approximately 15 to 35 seals apart.

Furthermore, a fluorescent lamp 3c is provided only in the area directly above the heating element row of the transfer recording medium 1 that is in pressure contact with the recording head 3a.

The housing 3e is provided at a distance of approximately 0.5 mm from the transfer recording medium 1 and has an opening width of 0.5 mm so that the housing 3e is irradiated with direct light of 3d.

In this example, one of the fluorescent lamps 3C having the spectral characteristics shown in graph A of FIG.
A W health line fluorescent lamp PL205E is used, and as the other fluorescent lamp 3d having the spectral characteristics shown in graph B, a 20W fluorescent lamp FL10A70E39 manufactured by Toshiba is used.

Next, the transfer section 4 will be explained. The transfer section 4 is disposed downstream of the recording section 3 in the conveyance direction of the transfer recording medium 1, and includes a transfer roller 4a that is driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow as shown in FIG. and a pressure roller 4b. The transfer roller 4a is composed of an aluminum roller whose surface is coated with silicone rubber having a thickness of 11 degrees and a hardness of 70 degrees, and the surface is heated to a temperature of 90 to 100 degrees by a built-in 800W halogen heater 4C.
It is configured to be held in

The pressure roller 4b is made of an aluminum roller coated with silicone rubber having a hardness of 70 degrees, and the pressing force with the transfer roller 4a is 6 to 1 kgf7cm using a pressure means (not shown) such as Hough. It is set.

Furthermore, recording paper 8 as a recording medium loaded in the cassette 7
is the feed roller 9. The register roller pair 10a, 10b is configured to feed the recording medium 1 to the transfer section 4 in synchronization so as to overlap the image area of the recording medium 1.

Next, the fixing section 13 will be explained. The fixing section 13 is disposed on the downstream side of the transfer section 4 in the conveyance direction of the recording paper 8, and the fixing roller 13a and the pressure roller 13b are supported by springs or the like (not shown). The pressing force of both is 10 by the pressurizing means.
~12 kg f/cm, and the surface of the cough roller 13a is maintained at 120~130°C by a heater 13c built into the fixing roller 13a.

Further, the transfer section 4 and the fixing section 13 have a function of transporting the recording paper 8. That is, the transfer roller 4a and the fixing roller 1
3a is configured to be driven and rotatable by a driving means 14.

Here, to explain the driving means 14, the 112th
As shown in I(B), the transfer roller 4a has a gear train 14a.
A drive motor 14b is connected via the motor 1.
The transfer roller 4a is driven to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow 4b, and the transfer recording medium 1 and the recording paper 8 are conveyed by this rotation.

Further, the driving means 14 is also connected to the fixing section 13.

That is, the drive motor 14b is a double-shaft motor, and the other shaft of the motor 14b is connected to a slip clutch 14e via a pulley 14c and a timing belt 14d, and the slip clutch 14e is connected to a fixed shaft via a gear train 14f. It is connected to the roller 13a.

Note that the slip clutch 14e is connected to the drive motor 14b.
When driven, a rotational torque slightly larger than the torque required to rotate the fixing roller 13a is transmitted to the fixing roller 13a, and the fixing roller 13a is rotated in the direction of arrow C. The fixing roller 13a is set to forcibly pull and convey the recording paper 8 conveyed by the roller 4a so that slipping occurs when the fixing roller 13a attempts to transmit the torque necessary to convey the recording paper 8.

Next, the operation when recording is performed by the recording apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

In the embodiment described below, an example will be shown in which heat is applied in accordance with an image signal and light is applied uniformly.

An image is formed by driving a motor (not shown) to sequentially feed out the transfer recording medium l from the supply roll 2, and applying light and heat to the transfer recording layer 1b of the transfer recording medium 1 in the recording section 3 according to the image signal. be done.

That is, when the transfer recording layer 1b is exposed to light and heat of a predetermined wavelength, its softening point temperature increases and it is no longer transferred to the recording paper 8. Therefore, as shown in the timing chart of FIG. In addition, when recording magenta color, the heating element corresponding to magenta of the back image signal of the heating element row 3b is not energized,
A portion of both signals corresponding to white (recording paper 8 is white) is energized for 25 m5, and the fluorescent lamp 3C is uniformly irradiated with a delay of 5+ns. The irradiation time at this time was 45 m.
5.

Next, when recording blue color, after 50 chapters have passed after the end of the irradiation, that is, 100W after the energization time, the heating elements corresponding to the blue color of the image signal in the heating element row 3b are not energized, and the image signal is 251118 is applied to the portion corresponding to white, and after the SMS, the fluorescent lamp 3d is uniformly irradiated. The irradiation time at this time was also 45 m5 as described above.

In the manner described above, the recording head 3a is controlled according to the blue, magenta, and white image signals to form a negative image on the transfer recording layer lb, and the transfer recording medium is synchronously transferred at a repetition period of 200 m5/line. Transport 1. Furthermore, in the transfer section 4, the transfer recording layer 1b on which the image has been formed is pressed against the recording paper 8 and heated, thereby making it possible to transfer the two-color transfer image of blue and magenta onto the recording paper 8.

Thereafter, the peeling roller 5 transfers the recording medium 1 and the recording paper 8.
The transfer recording medium 1 is taken up on a take-up roll 6, and the recording paper 8 on which the image of the desired color has been recorded is conveyed to the fixing section 13.

The recording paper 8 conveyed to the fixing unit 13 is pressurized between a rotating fixing roller 13a and a pressure roller 13b driven by the rotating fixing roller 13a, and is heated to a predetermined temperature by a heater 13c, whereby the transferred image is transferred to the recording paper 8. The recording paper 8 is firmly fixed on the recording paper 8 and is discharged onto the discharge tray 11.

In the fixing section 13, rotational torque exceeding a certain level is not transmitted to the fixing roller 13a by the slip clutch 14e. Even if the rotational peripheral speed of the transfer roller 4a is set higher than that of the transfer roller 4a, the fixing roller 13a does not forcefully pull the recording paper 8. That is, the recording paper 8 is conveyed in accordance with the rotational speed of the transfer roller 4a, and the fixing roller 13a is rotated in accordance with this conveyance speed. Furthermore, fixing roller 1
If the rotational circumferential speed of the fixing roller 3a is set to be slower than the rotational circumferential speed of the transfer roller 4a, the fixing roller 13a will not pull the recording paper 8, as a matter of course.

As described above, since the fixing roller 13a and the pressure roller 13b do not forcibly pull the recording paper 8, the transfer at the transfer unit 4 and the separation of the recording paper 8 and the transferred recording medium 1 at the peeling roller 5 are prevented. is carried out stably and reliably.

As described above, two-color recording with a stable transferred image can be performed in one shot.

Other examples First, another embodiment of the recording section 3 will be described.

In the above embodiment, in the recording section 3, light of a predetermined wavelength corresponding to a desired color is uniformly irradiated from the transfer recording layer 1b side of the transfer recording medium 1, and light of a predetermined wavelength corresponding to the desired color is irradiated from the support 1a side. j
Although the configuration has been described in which heat is applied twice, as another embodiment, a configuration may be adopted in which heat is applied uniformly and predetermined light is irradiated in accordance with an image signal.

Furthermore, if the support 1a is made of a translucent material, the support 1a can be made of a transparent material.
A configuration may be adopted in which light is irradiated from the a side and heat is applied from the transfer recording layer 1b side.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, light irradiation and heat application were performed with the support 1a in between, but image formation is also possible by performing both light irradiation and heat application from one side of the support 1a. .

Further, as the heating means, in addition to the method using the recording head 3a described above, a method of selectively heating using a YAG laser and a polygon mirror, etc. may be used.

Further, as the light irradiation means, the above-mentioned fluorescent lamp 3c is used.

In addition to the method using 3D, for example, a method using an LED array, a method using a xenon lamp and a filter matching the light absorption characteristics of the material, etc. can be used.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, light energy and thermal energy were applied to the transfer recording layer 1b at the same time. However, even if the optical energy and thermal energy are applied separately, the result is that both energies are applied separately. Any configuration that is given is acceptable.

Furthermore, although the above-mentioned embodiment has been explained using an example of two-color recording, as disclosed by the applicant in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-128814, the types of colorants and photoinitiators constituting the image-forming element can be changed. By appropriately selecting a light source with a wavelength that causes the photoinitiator to react, and using the process related to the above application, it is possible to obtain a monochromatic, multicolor (three or more colors), or full-color recorded image.

Furthermore, in the above embodiment, an example was shown in which an image is transferred and recorded onto a recording paper by changing the softening point temperature of the transfer recording layer ib made of a material containing a colorant using light energy and thermal energy. Images may be transferred and recorded based on differences in adhesive properties to paper or sublimation properties. Alternatively, an image can be recorded by providing a transfer recording medium with a layer that imparts color development to the recording paper and changing the color development characteristics of the recording paper, and transferring the image formed on the transfer recording medium to the recording paper. It may be configured so that it can be obtained.

Furthermore, the plurality of types of energy applied to the transfer recording layer 1b are not limited to the above-mentioned heat and light energy, and images may be formed using, for example, pressure energy or other types of energy.

In addition to the above-mentioned polyethylene terephthalate, the material for the support 1a may also be polyamide, polyimide, condenser paper, cellophane paper, or the like.

Further, as the transfer recording layer 1b, it is possible to appropriately select and use a material having properties such as heat melting property, heat softening property, or heat sublimation property.

Furthermore, the recording medium is not limited to the above-mentioned recording paper, but can be used, for example, with an overhead projector (OH
Of course, plastic sheets for P) can also be used.

Furthermore, the members constituting the transfer section 4 and the fixing section 13 are not limited to roller-shaped members as described above, but may be of any construction that can provide a desired pressure, such as a rotating heald.

<Effects of the Invention> As described above, the present invention sequentially performs the formation of an image on a transfer recording medium and the transfer of this image to a recording medium, so that an image can be formed even on a recording medium with a relatively low surface smoothness. can be recorded well. Furthermore, when the present invention is applied to multicolor recording, a multicolor image can be obtained without making any complicated movements on the recording medium.

In addition, since the recording medium is not forcibly conveyed in the fixing section, there is no problem with transferability or the relationship between the recording medium and the transfer recording medium.
, +1 Good releasability and clear image transfer,
Further, the transferred image can be firmly fixed.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 (A) and (B) are overall schematic explanatory diagrams of an embodiment of the present invention, Figure 2 is an explanatory diagram of the structure of a transfer recording medium, and Figure 3 is an optical absorption characteristic of a photoinitiator in the transfer recording medium. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing the spectral characteristics of the light irradiation means, and FIG. 5 is a timing chart for applying heat and light. 1 is a transfer recording medium, 1a is a support, 1b is a transfer recording layer,
lc and ld are the core, 1e is the shell, 1r is the adhesive, 2 is the supply roll, 2a is the supply roll shaft, 3 is the recording section, 3a is the recording head, 3b is the heating element array, 3c and 3d are fluorescent lamps,
3e is a slint plate, 4 is a transfer section, 4a is a transfer roller,
4b is a pressure roller, 4c is a heater, 5 is a peeling roller, 6
is a winding roll, 7 is a cassette, 8 is a recording paper, 9 is a feeding roller, :Oa, 10b is a register roller, 11 is an output tray, 12a, 12b, 12c are guide rollers, 13 is a fixing section, 13a is fixed cola, i3b
1 is a pressure roller, 13c is a heater, 14 is a driving means, 1
4a gear train, 14b motor, 14c pulley, 14
d is the timing belt, 14e is the slip flanch, 1
4f is a gear train.

Claims (3)

[Claims] (1) An apparatus for recording an image on a recording medium using a transfer recording medium having a transfer recording layer whose transfer characteristics change when multiple types of energy are applied, comprising means for conveying the transfer recording medium; , a recording section having an applying means for applying the plurality of types of energy to the transfer recording medium provided along the conveyance path of the transfer recording medium conveyed by the conveyance means; a transfer section for transferring the image formed on the recording medium onto the recording medium being conveyed; and a transfer section located downstream of the transfer section in the conveyance direction of the recording medium and for fixing the transferred image on the recording medium. a fixing section, the transfer section and the fixing section have a function of conveying the recording medium, and a means for regulating the conveyance force of the recording medium at the fixing section to be less than the conveyance force at the transfer section. A recording device that is a feature. (2) The transfer section and the fixing section each include a pair of rotating rollers, and the driving force for rotating the roller pair of the transfer section is transmitted to the roller pair of the fixing section via a slip clutch. The recording device according to item 1. (3) The recording device according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of types of energy are composed of thermal energy and optical energy.