JP2007331143A - Method for recording image and image recording apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for recording an image with a high resolution and a highly fine coloring without mixing adjoining liquid droplets on a recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: The method for recording the image scans a recording head 20 delivering ink against the recording medium 100 to record a recording region. The method comprises a microwave generating source 60, and wave guiding tubes 61 and 62 which make the microwave emitted from the microwave generating source 60 branch respectively to the upstream side and the downstream side to the recording head 20. After making inks reach respectively at positions where the inks do not intersect each other on the surface of the recording medium 100, the ink regions reached are irradiated with microwaves from the wave guiding tubes 61 and 62 provided either on the upstream side or on the downstream side and heated to fix the inks. After making furthermore the inks reach at positions where the gaps of fixed inks are filled, the ink regions reached are irradiated with the microwaves from the upstream side or the downstream side to fix the inks. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an image recording method for fixing droplets on a recording medium using a microwave, and an image recording apparatus including a microwave generation source.

  Conventionally, when recording by ejecting droplets of ink or the like on a recording medium, when a droplet is further ejected in the immediate vicinity of an undried droplet, adjacent droplets are mixed to produce a high-resolution, high-quality image. Therefore, a recording method has been proposed in which the initial droplet is heated and dried by microwaves and then the next droplet is ejected.

  As such a recording method, in the ink jet recording method in which a carriage equipped with a recording head for ejecting ink droplets records a recording area by a main scanning operation and a sub scanning operation on a recording medium, a microwave is applied to the carriage. There is known an ink jet recording method and a recording apparatus that include a generating unit and irradiate the recording medium immediately after recording with the microwave during a main scanning recording operation (for example, see Patent Document 1).

  In addition, an ink composition comprising a water soluble vehicle, a colorant, and an ionic compound that can be at least partially ionized in a liquid vehicle is applied imagewise to the support, followed by exposing the support to microwaves, There is also known a recording method whereby an image is dried on a support (for example, see Patent Document 2).

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-314661 (pages 3, 4 and FIG. 1) JP-A-5-278259 (5th page, FIG. 7)

  In Patent Document 1, since the microwave generator is mounted on the carriage, the mass of the entire carriage increases, and in order to drive and control the carriage at high speed and high accuracy, high output and good controllability. A motor is required. Further, the drive system is also required to have high rigidity, and there is a problem that the recording apparatus is increased in size.

  Furthermore, wiring for supplying power to the magnetron is also necessary, and in the structure in which the microwave generator is scanned together with the carriage, the wiring also becomes a driving load.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 described above, the ink itself contains an ionic compound to impart conductivity, thereby increasing the heating efficiency by microwaves. However, it is considered that the addition of an ionic compound to the ink promotes a chemical reaction with the ink composition and leads to deterioration of ink performance such as ink durability, color developability, and color tone.

  Furthermore, there is a problem that the chemical reaction between the ionic compound and the ink composition is promoted by the heating by the microwave, and the deterioration of the ink performance is promoted, and the usable ink is limited to a special ink.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a high-resolution, high-definition image recording method and an image recording apparatus, in which adjacent droplets on the recording medium do not mix with each other. is there.

An image recording method according to the present invention is an image recording method for recording a recording area by scanning a recording head for ejecting droplets with respect to a recording medium, the recording head being upstream of the recording medium. A microwave irradiation unit is provided on each of the side and the downstream side, and after the droplets have landed on the surface of the recording medium at positions where they do not cross each other, the landed droplets are provided on the upstream side or the downstream side After fixing by irradiating with microwaves at the microwave irradiating unit, the liquid droplets are further landed at positions where the gaps between the fixed liquid droplets are filled, and then the landed liquid droplets are placed on the upstream side or the downstream side microwaves. It is characterized by fixing by irradiating with microwaves in the irradiation part.
Here, the term “fixing” means that the surface of a droplet landed on a recording medium is dried so that adjacent droplets are not mixed.

  According to the present invention, after a droplet is landed on a recording medium at a position where the droplet does not cross (mix), it is fixed by heating with microwaves, and then a gap between the already fixed droplets is filled. In addition, since the droplets are landed and fixed by heating with microwaves, mixing (color mixing) of the droplets and bleeding between the droplets can be prevented, and a high-resolution and high-definition image can be recorded.

  Furthermore, in this image recording method, the step of landing droplets on the surface of the recording medium and fixing by irradiating with microwaves at the downstream microwave irradiation unit or the upstream microwave irradiation unit are performed. Preferably, the steps are repeated alternately.

  As described above, the microwave irradiation unit is provided on each of the upstream and downstream sides of the recording medium with respect to the recording head, and droplet landing and fixing are alternately performed while reciprocating the recording medium to the recording head. By repeating, it is possible to increase the image recording speed of high resolution and high definition.

  In the image recording apparatus of the present invention, a recording head that discharges droplets is scanned with respect to a recording medium to record a recording region, and the droplets are discharged using a microwave emitted from a microwave generation source. An apparatus for recording an image to be fixed on a recording medium, comprising: a microwave irradiation unit at a position separated from a scanning area of each of the recording head on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium with respect to the recording head. It is characterized by being.

  According to the present invention, the microwave irradiation unit is provided on each of the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium with respect to the recording head, and droplet landing and fixing are alternately performed while reciprocating the recording medium to the recording head. By repeating the above, it is possible to provide an image recording apparatus that prevents color mixing and bleeding of droplets and increases the image recording speed.

  Further, since the carriage including the recording head can be reduced in weight compared to a structure in which a magnetron as a microwave generation source is mounted on the carriage as in Patent Document 1 described above, general recording without a microwave generator is possible. Enables high-speed drive of the recording head equivalent to the device. In addition, the structure of the carriage as the driving body can be simplified, and wiring for supplying power to the magnetron is unnecessary, and there is no driving load due to these wirings.

  Moreover, it is not necessary to employ a special ink in which an ionic compound is mixed in the ink in order to promote the heating by the microwave as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, and it can correspond to an ink having a composition used conventionally. it can.

  It is preferable that the apparatus further includes a waveguide that branches the microwave emitted from the microwave generation source into at least the recording area on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium.

  In this way, a single micro-generation source can cope with at least two microwave irradiation areas, and the structure of the image recording apparatus can be simplified.

  Further, it is preferable that the microwave generation source is provided at least on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium.

  As described above, by providing a plurality of microwave generation sources, it is possible to selectively set optimum microwave irradiation conditions on the upstream side and the downstream side. Furthermore, it becomes possible to irradiate microwaves to either the upstream side or the downstream side.

In the present invention, it is preferable that the microwave generation source is disposed in the direction of the back surface facing the front surface of the recording medium on which droplets are recorded.
Furthermore, it is preferable that the microwave generation source is disposed in the direction of the surface of the recording medium on which droplets are recorded.

  In this way, the droplets can be fixed regardless of whether the recording medium is irradiated with microwaves. Therefore, the microwave irradiation direction can be selected according to the structure of the image recording apparatus and the material of the recording medium. When the recording medium is a material that transmits microwaves, such as paper, the microwave irradiating unit may be disposed on either side, but when a metal material that does not transmit microwaves is used as the recording medium material, etc. The landed ink can be fixed by disposing the microwave generation source, that is, the microwave irradiation section, in the direction of the surface of the recording medium on which the ink is printed.

  It is preferable that the recording medium further includes a shield member that is spaced apart from the recording medium in the thickness direction and covers the microwave irradiation unit.

  Thus, by providing the shield member, leakage of microwaves outside the image recording apparatus can be prevented, and the safety of the user is improved.

Further, W ₁ > (1/4) λ, where W _{1 is} the distance from the end of the microwave irradiation unit to the end of the shield member, and λ is the wavelength of the microwave, and the shield member and the microwave It is desirable that T <(1/4) λ, where T is the distance from the upper surface of the irradiation section.

  By making the size and shape of the shield member in this way, sufficient leakage of microwaves can be suppressed without increasing the size of the shield member more than necessary.

Further, it is desirable that the shield member is formed of a metal mesh, and the size of the opening of the metal mesh is (1/8) λ or less when the wavelength of the microwave is λ.
Here, the metal mesh includes, for example, a plate material having a small diameter opening or a material knitted with a wire.

  If the metal mesh as described above is used as the shield member, microwave leakage can be prevented, and moisture evaporated by microwave heating is discharged from the opening of the metal mesh to the outside, preventing condensation inside the device. In addition, stabilization of the microwave exposure amount of the droplet can be realized.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
1 and 2 show a schematic configuration of an image recording apparatus according to Embodiment 1 of the present invention, FIGS. 3 and 4 show an image recording method, FIG. 5 shows Embodiment 2, and FIG. 6 shows an image according to Embodiment 3. 1 shows a schematic configuration of a recording apparatus. In the fourth embodiment, illustration is omitted.
(Embodiment 1)

  FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of the image recording apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. The image recording apparatus includes an ink jet printer, a display manufacturing apparatus, an electrode forming apparatus, or a biochip manufacturing apparatus. In the present embodiment, an ink jet printer will be described as an example of the image recording apparatus. 1 and 2, an inkjet printer 10 according to the present embodiment includes, as main components, a recording head 20 that ejects ink, a platen 30 as a support portion of a recording area of the recording medium 100, and a conveyance mechanism of the recording medium 100. A feed roller 70, a microwave generation source 60 for generating and irradiating microwaves, and a shield member 50 for preventing leakage of the microwaves to the outside of the apparatus.

The recording medium 100 filled in the inkjet printer 10 is conveyed to the recording area of the recording head 20 by the feed roller 70.
The feed roller 70 has a structure capable of reciprocally transporting the recording medium 100 to both the upstream side where the recording medium 100 is carried into the recording head 20 and the downstream side where the recording medium 100 is carried out. The feed roller 70 is composed of two feed rollers 71 and 72, one of which is formed of a metal rod and the other of which is made of an elastic resin or a metal rod coated with a resin.

  A metal platen 30 is provided on the lower surface of the recording medium 100 in the recording area (corresponding to the operation area of the recording head 20). Further, a metal platen 30 is formed on both sides of the platen 30 in the width direction across the V-shaped opening. A base 40 is provided. The upper surfaces of the platen 30 and the base 40 are formed to be on the same plane. Accordingly, the platen 30 and the base 40 can be integrated, and the V-shaped opening can be formed as a V-shaped groove. A V-shaped space formed between the platen 30 and the base 40 corresponds to waveguides 61 and 62 described later.

  The recording head 20 is mounted on a carriage (not shown) and includes a plurality of color ink cartridges and an ink ejection mechanism. The carriage is configured to be movable in a direction defined by two guide shafts (not shown) (in the direction of arrow B in the figure). That is, the recording head 20 reciprocates and scans the recording area in the longitudinal direction of the inkjet device 10.

  A microwave generation source 60 for generating and irradiating microwaves is provided at the intersection of the V-shaped openings. The microwave generation source 60 prevents a reflected wave from a solid-state oscillator (not shown) that generates a microwave, an amplifier that amplifies the generated microwave, and an object (here, a recording medium) irradiated with the microwave. Isolators (not necessarily required) and an antenna. The amplifier or isolator and the antenna are connected by a coaxial cable. The microwave generation source 60 can be mounted inside the ink jet printer 10 main body or can be installed outside.

  It should be noted that the components of the micro-generation source 60 described above may be unitized and directly connected to a waveguide to irradiate microwaves. In this case, the antenna may be omitted.

  As a solid-state oscillator, a surface acoustic wave oscillator is preferable, and a dielectric oscillator using a piezoelectric ceramic material, an oscillator using a single crystal of crystal, an AlN thin film, ZnO, or the like can be used. As an example, diamond SAW exhibits excellent characteristics. Diamond SAW is formed by forming a diamond thin film on the surface of a substrate and forming IDT (Interdigital Transducer) on the surface.

  As the microwave generation source, a magnetron can be adopted in addition to the solid-state oscillator, but the above-described solid-state oscillator is small and is advantageous for being mounted on an inkjet printer.

The amplifier is preferably a solid-state amplifier that amplifies the microwave generated by the solid-state oscillator to a high-frequency output level at which ink molecules (moisture) resonate, and desirably employs a power efficiency of 50% or more. Microwaves from the antenna are branched into waveguides 61 and 62 and irradiated onto the recording area of the recording medium.
The waveguides 61 and 62 have a V-shaped cross section and are formed over the entire scanning area of the recording head 20.

  The frequency of the microwave is not particularly limited as long as it is a frequency band in which the ink can absorb energy and promote the temperature rise, but it is 2.45 GHz, 5.8 GHz of the ISM band regulated by the Radio Law, Centered on 76 GHz. Water efficiently absorbs microwaves and generates heat at 20 GHz, 30 GHz, and 300 GHz. Further, it is known that the absorption and heat generation efficiency is higher in the 1 to 10 GHz band than in the 1 GHz band. Further, there is no significant difference in heat generation efficiency in the range of 1 to 10 GHz. Therefore, the frequency band near 2.45 GHz or 5.85 GHz which is the ISM band is suitable.

  In the present embodiment, the antenna is disposed at the intersection of the waveguides 61 and 62, and is disposed so that the microwaves propagate through the entire interior of the waveguides 61 and 62. Therefore, when the scanning stroke of the recording head 20 is long, a plurality of antennas may be provided. For example, a patch antenna having a length corresponding to the scanning stroke can be employed.

  The shield member 50 is provided above the recording medium 100 with at least a gap that allows the recording medium 100 to pass therethrough. The shield member 50 has an opening 51 in the scanning region of the recording head 20, and covers the openings of the waveguides 61 and 62, that is, the microwave irradiation unit, on the upstream side and the downstream side with respect to the recording head 20. So that it is extended.

Here, the relationship between the shield member 50 and the microwave irradiation unit will be described with reference to FIG. Since the waveguides 61 and 62 and the shield member 50 are designed in the same relationship, the waveguide 61 will be described as an example. First, the planar direction will be described. When the distance between the end of the shield member 50 and the opening (microwave irradiation part) of the waveguide 61 is W ₁ and the wavelength of the microwave is λ, the relationship between W ₁ and λ is W _1. > (1/4) λ. When the distance between the upper surface of the platen 30 or the base 40 and the lower surface of the shield member 50 is T, the relationship between T and λ is set to T <(1/4) λ.

If the microwave frequency is 2.45 GHz, W ₁ should be 3 cm or more and T should be 3 cm or less. In consideration of the safety factor, if W ₁ is 5 cm and T is 1 cm, microwave leakage will occur. Can be suppressed. By doing so, the safety standard of the microwave oven that satisfies the leakage of electromagnetic waves at a position 5 cm away from the inkjet printer 10 to 5 mW / cm ² or less in the driving state is satisfied.

Similarly, the dimension of the shield member 50 is set on the scanning region side of the recording head 20. The distance W ₂ between the opening end of the waveguide 61 and the opening 51 side end of the shield member 50 may be set to W ₂ = W ₁ .

Although not shown, the shield member 50, the platen 30 and the end of the base 40 in the longitudinal direction are set in the same manner as W ₁ and W ₂ described above. In FIG. 1, the end portions in the longitudinal direction are not shown, and the end portions of the waveguides 61 and 62 are shown open, but in reality, the predetermined dimensions of W ₁ and W ₂ are secured. The end is closed.

The inkjet printer 10 configured as described above is driven, and ink is ejected as droplets 90 from the recording head. As shown in FIG. 2, the droplet 90 is landed at a position where adjacent droplets do not intersect (do not mix).
In the following, in the drawing, the ink represented by white dots represents an undried state, and the ink represented by black dots represents a fixed state.
The material of the recording medium 100 in the present embodiment is not particularly limited, but is particularly effective for a material that does not have an ink receiving layer and is difficult for ink to permeate, such as a transparent sheet.

Next, an image recording method (hereinafter sometimes referred to as a printing method) by the inkjet printer 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to the drawings.
3 and 4 are explanatory diagrams illustrating a printing method according to the present embodiment. First, in the step shown in FIG. 3A, the recording area of the recording medium 100 is transported to the lower part (scanning area) of the recording head 20, and ink is ejected as droplets 90 to land on the surface 101 of the recording medium 100. In the landed undried ink 91, adjacent droplets are separated and do not intersect.

  The recording medium 100 is further conveyed. The conveyance is synchronized with the ejection of ink by the recording head 20. Then, as shown in FIG. 3B, when the undried ink 91 landed on the surface of the recording medium 100 reaches the waveguide (microwave irradiation unit) 61, the microwave is irradiated.

  The ink irradiated with the microwave is heated and dried and fixed on the surface 101 of the recording medium 100 (indicated by reference numeral 92 in the figure). Further, even when the microwave is irradiated, the ink ejection operation is continued for a new recording area.

  At this time, the recording medium 100 is also irradiated with microwaves from the waveguide 62. As a result, the recording area of the recording medium 100 immediately before ink ejection is heated, and auxiliary overheating is performed to promote fixing of the ink ejected thereafter.

  Subsequently, the process proceeds to the step shown in FIG. While transporting the recording medium 100 to the upstream side, ink is ejected as droplets 90 so as to fill the gaps of the ink 92 fixed in the previous step. The ejected ink is not mixed even if it lands so as to cross the ink 92 fixed in the previous step. The landed ink 91a is fixed by irradiation with microwaves when passing through the waveguide 62. Further, since the microwave is also applied to the waveguide 61, the already fixed ink is dried deeper and the recording medium 100 is overheated.

  In FIG. 4D, while the recording medium 100 is further conveyed to the upstream side, the ink ejection and the fixing by the microwave irradiation are repeated for the other print areas. Further, the ink is ejected so that the ink adjacent to the predetermined range does not intersect the new print area.

  Then, while transporting the recording medium 100 to the downstream side again, the ink (droplet 90) is ejected so as to fill the space between the already fixed inks, and microwaves are irradiated from the waveguide 61 to fix (FIG. 4 (e), see). At this time, in the waveguide 62, the undried ink shown in FIG. 4D is fixed, and the already fixed ink 92 on the upstream side of the waveguide 62 is further fixed. Deepen it deeply.

  Therefore, according to the first embodiment described above, the ink (droplet 90) is landed on the recording medium 100 at a separated position where it does not cross (mix), and then heated and fixed by microwaves. After that, new ink is landed so as to fill the gap between the already fixed ink, and it is fixed by heating and heating with microwaves. This prevents mixing of adjacent inks (color mixing) and bleeding between inks. High-resolution, high-definition images can be recorded (printed).

  In this embodiment, since the ink is fixed by heating by microwave irradiation, it is particularly effective for a resin sheet having no ink receiving layer. Of course, it is an effective means because it can promote the fixing of ink even on a printing paper having a normal ink receiving layer (good ink permeability).

  Further, as described above, the inkjet printer 10 includes the microwave irradiation units on the upstream side and the downstream side with respect to the recording head 20. Accordingly, the ink landing and fixing are alternately repeated while reciprocating the recording medium 100 to the recording head 20, thereby preventing ink color mixing and bleeding and enabling high-resolution and high-definition image printing. Thus, it is possible to realize a printing method and an ink jet printer that can increase the printing speed.

  Further, since the carriage including the recording head 20 can be reduced in weight as compared with the structure in which the magnetron is mounted on the carriage as in Patent Document 1 described above, recording equivalent to a general recording apparatus that does not include a microwave generator is possible. Enables high-speed driving of the head. In addition, the structure of the carriage as the driving body can be simplified, and wiring for supplying power to the magnetron is unnecessary, and there is no driving load due to these wirings.

  Moreover, it is not necessary to employ a special ink in which an ionic compound is mixed in the ink in order to promote the heating by the microwave as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 2, and it can correspond to an ink having a composition used conventionally. it can.

  Further, by further providing waveguides 61 and 62 for branching the microwave emitted from the microwave generation source 60 to the upstream and downstream recording areas of the recording medium 100, one microwave generation is performed. The source can correspond to at least two microwave irradiation regions (recording regions), and the structure of the inkjet printer 10 can be simplified.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the shield member 50 which covers the opening part (microwave irradiation part) of the waveguides 61 and 62 is provided. At this time, the distance from the end of the microwave irradiation part to the end of the shield member 50 is the relationship between W ₁ and the wavelength λ of the microwave, and the distance from the upper surface of the shield member 50 and the platen 30 is T and the microwave. By making the relationship with the wavelength λ the above-described dimensional relationship, it is possible to suppress leakage of the microwave without increasing the size of the device for shielding the microwave.
(Embodiment 2)

Subsequently, Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. The second embodiment is characterized in that microwave generation sources are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium 100, respectively. Portions common to the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals.
FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of the inkjet printer 10 according to the second embodiment, and shows a cross-section corresponding to the AA cut surface shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 5, the inkjet printer 10 includes microwave generation sources 60 and 65 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium 100 with respect to the recording head 20. The microwave generation sources 60 and 65 are disposed on the back surface 102 side of the recording medium 100.

  As the microwave generation source, a microwave generation source having the same configuration as that described in the first embodiment can be employed. That is, it is composed of a solid-state oscillator that generates microwaves, an amplifier that amplifies the generated microwaves, an isolator for blocking reflected waves from an object (here, a recording medium) irradiated with the microwaves, and an antenna Has been. Of course, it is also possible to employ a magnetron.

  The antenna is attached to the ends of the waveguides 66 and 67, and the waveguides 66 and 67 penetrate through the platen 30 to the space where the recording medium 100 is conveyed.

A shield member 50 is provided above the space in which the recording medium 100 is conveyed so as to cover the openings of the waveguides 66 and 67 (that is, the microwave irradiation region). Taking the waveguide 66 as an example, the relationship between the distances W ₁ and W ₂ between the shield member 50 and the opening of the waveguide 66 and the microwave frequency λ, and the distance (gap) between the platen 30 and the shield member 50. The relationship between T and frequency λ is set in the same manner as in the first embodiment.

  In addition, the printing method using the inkjet printer 10 configured as described above can be performed by the same steps as those in the first embodiment (see FIGS. 3 and 4), and thus detailed description thereof is omitted.

Therefore, according to the second embodiment described above, by providing the microwave generation sources 60 and 65 on the upstream side and the downstream side, optimum microwave irradiation conditions can be selectively set on the upstream side and the downstream side, respectively. Can do. Furthermore, it becomes possible to irradiate microwaves to either the upstream side or the downstream side.
(Embodiment 3)

Subsequently, Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the third embodiment, the microwave generation sources 60 and 65 are provided on the back surface 102 side of the recording medium in the above-described second embodiment (see FIG. 5), and are provided in the direction of the front surface 101. It has the characteristics. Therefore, the difference will be mainly described. In addition, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected to the common function part.
FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of the ink jet printer 10 according to the third embodiment, and shows a cross section corresponding to the AA cut surface shown in FIG. In FIG. 6, the inkjet printer 10 includes microwave generation sources 60 and 65 on the surface 101 side (ink landing side) of the recording medium 100 on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium 100 with respect to the recording head 20. It is configured.

  Since the microwave generation sources 60 and 65 can adopt the same configuration as that described in the first and second embodiments, description thereof will be omitted.

Here, shield portions 66a and 67a extend on the periphery of the openings of the waveguides 66 and 67, respectively. The shield part 66a will be described as an example. The relationship between the distances W ₁ and W ₂ between the shield part 66a and the waveguide 66 and the microwave frequency λ, the distance (gap) T between the platen 30 and the shield part 66a, and the frequency The relationship with λ is set in the same manner as in the first and second embodiments. Leakage of microwaves to the outside is prevented by providing shield portions 66a and 67a.

  Since the printing method using the inkjet printer 10 configured as described above can be performed in the same steps as those of the first embodiment (see FIGS. 3 and 4), detailed description thereof is omitted.

  Therefore, according to the third embodiment, since the microwave generation sources 60 and 65 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium 100, the same effects as those of the second embodiment described above can be obtained.

Furthermore, since the ink is irradiated with microwaves from the surface 101 side (ink landing side) of the recording medium 100, even when the recording medium 100 is a metal sheet or the like that does not transmit microwaves, the landed ink is irradiated with microwaves. Can be fixed.
(Embodiment 4)

  Subsequently, Embodiment 4 according to the present invention will be described. The fourth embodiment is characterized in that the shield member 50 provided in the first and second embodiments or the shield portions 66a and 67a provided in the third embodiment are formed of a metal mesh. Therefore, only the differences will be described.

  Although illustration is omitted, the metal mesh includes a metal plate member in which a large number of small-diameter holes are opened and a metal wire material knitted and woven. At this time, when the wavelength of the microwave is λ, the size of the opening of the metal mesh is set to (1/8) λ or less.

If the metal mesh as described above is employed as the shield member 50 or the shield portions 66a and 67a described in the first to third embodiments, the leakage of the microwave can be suppressed even if the openings are provided in these. it can.
Furthermore, moisture and the like evaporated by microwave heating are discharged to the outside from the opening of the metal mesh, and it is possible to prevent condensation in the apparatus and stabilize the microwave irradiation amount of the droplets. .

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, but includes modifications and improvements as long as the object of the present invention can be achieved.
For example, in Embodiment 1 described above, the antenna is disposed at the intersection of the waveguides 61 and 62 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, but the waveguide communicates with the intersection of the waveguides 61 and 62. It is good also as a structure which further extends a pipe | tube and arrange | positions an antenna in the edge part.

  In the second and third embodiments described above, the microwave generation sources 60 and 65 are provided on the upstream side and the downstream side, respectively. By providing the switching circuit for switching the propagation of the microwave to one of the antennas until this time, an effect equivalent to that provided with two series of microwave generation sources can be obtained.

  Therefore, according to the first to fourth embodiments, it is possible to provide a high-resolution and high-definition image recording method and an image recording apparatus in which adjacent droplets do not mix on the recording medium.

1 is a schematic perspective view of a main part of an ink jet printer according to a first embodiment of the present invention. Sectional drawing which shows the AA cut surface of FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing method according to the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram illustrating a printing method according to the first embodiment of the invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of an ink jet printer according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing a main part of an ink jet printer according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Inkjet printer as an image recording apparatus, 20 ... Recording head, 50 ... Shield member, 60 ... Microwave generation source, 61, 62 ... Waveguide, 100 ... Recording medium.

Claims (10)

An image recording method for recording a recording area by scanning a recording head for discharging droplets with respect to a recording medium,
A microwave irradiation unit is provided on each of the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium with respect to the recording head,
After the droplets have landed on the surface of the recording medium at positions where they do not intersect with each other, the landed droplets are fixed by irradiating with microwaves at the microwave irradiation unit provided on the upstream side or the downstream side. And
The liquid droplets are further landed at positions where the gaps between the fixed liquid droplets are filled, and then the landed liquid droplets are fixed by irradiating microwaves at the upstream side or the downstream side microwave irradiation unit. And an image recording method. The image recording method according to claim 1,
Alternately repeating a step of landing droplets on the surface of the recording medium and a step of irradiating and fixing microwaves in the downstream microwave irradiation unit or the upstream microwave irradiation unit. An image recording method as a feature. An image recording apparatus for recording a recording area by scanning a recording head that discharges droplets on a recording medium, and fixing the droplets on the recording medium using microwaves emitted from a microwave generation source. There,
An image recording apparatus comprising: a microwave irradiation unit at a position separated from a scanning area of each recording head on the upstream side and the downstream side of the recording medium with respect to the recording head. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3.
An image recording apparatus, further comprising: a waveguide for branching microwaves emitted from the microwave generation source into at least the upstream and downstream recording regions of the recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 3.
An image recording apparatus, wherein the microwave generation sources are provided at least upstream and downstream of the recording medium. In the image recording device according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
An image recording apparatus, wherein the microwave generation source is arranged in a direction of a back surface facing a front surface of the recording medium on which droplets are recorded. In the image recording device according to any one of claims 3 to 5,
An image recording apparatus, wherein the microwave generation source is disposed in a direction of a surface of the recording medium on which droplets are recorded. In the image recording device according to any one of claims 3 to 7,
An image recording apparatus, further comprising a shield member that is separated from the recording medium in a thickness direction and covers the microwave irradiation unit. The image recording apparatus according to claim 8, wherein
W ₁ > (1/4) λ, where W _{1 is} the distance from the end of the microwave irradiation unit to the end of the shield member, and the wavelength of the microwave is λ, and the shield member and the microwave irradiation unit An image recording apparatus, wherein T <(1/4) λ, where T is the distance from the upper surface of the image recording medium. The image recording apparatus according to claim 8 or 9, wherein
The shield member is formed of a metal mesh;
An image recording apparatus characterized in that when the wavelength of the microwave is λ, the size of the opening of the metal mesh is (1/8) λ or less.

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