JP2009012480A - Inkjet recording device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an inkjet recoding device which can uniformly make an ink receiving layer transparent including a thermoplastic resin particle in a front layer in the widthwise direction of a recording medium having the ink receiving layer over the widthwise direction of this recording medium in the case of making its ink receiving layer by transparent heating and pressing the recording medium. <P>SOLUTION: The inkjet recording device includes a recording head 3 for recording by discharging ink to the recording medium 1 having the ink receiving layer including the thermoplastic resin particle in the front layer, a heating and pressing means 4 for making the ink receiving layer of this recording medium 1 transparent by heating and pressing the recording medium 1, a temperature control means for holding the temperature of this heating and pressing means 4 in a predetermined temperature range, and a recording medium conveying means for conveying the recording medium 1 recorded by the recording head 3 to the heating and pressing means 4, wherein the heating and pressing means 4 is constituted to include a plurality of heaters 43 divided in the widthwise direction of the recording medium 1, and the temperature control means can independently control the plurality of the heaters 43. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus, and more specifically, after recording is performed by ejecting ink onto a recording medium having an ink receiving layer containing thermoplastic resin particles on a surface layer, the recording medium is heated by a heating and pressurizing unit. The present invention relates to an ink jet recording apparatus adapted to press.

  Inkjet recording systems that record images by discharging ink in the form of fine droplets onto the recording surface of a recording medium will enable high image quality close to that of silver halide photography and cost reduction of the apparatus due to recent technological advances. And it has come to spread rapidly.

  In such inkjet recording, the surface layer (image recording surface side) is thermoplastic for the purpose of imparting gloss to the surface of the recording medium on which the image is recorded and preventing blurring due to contact with water of the image and improving scratch resistance. An image is recorded and formed using a recording medium having an ink receiving layer containing resin particles, and then the recording medium is heated and pressurized to melt and smooth the thermoplastic resin particles in the ink receiving layer. A method of making the layer transparent has been proposed.

  In such a technique, a recording medium on which an image is recorded and formed by a recording head is conveyed to a heating and pressing unit by a conveying unit in order to make the ink receiving layer transparent. For example, a heating roller containing a heating element is used as the heating and pressurizing means, and the recording medium is conveyed and heated and pressurized by the heating roller in the process to make the ink receiving layer transparent.

  At this time, it is desirable that the ink receiving layer be uniformly transparent over the entire surface of the recording medium. However, if there is uneven heat generation in the heating element itself, the heating temperature becomes non-uniform. When heating and pressurizing while transporting the recording medium, there is a problem that unevenness occurs in the transparency over the width direction of the recording medium substantially orthogonal to the transport direction.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make a transparent recording medium uniformly transparent in the width direction of the recording medium when the recording medium having an ink receiving layer containing thermoplastic resin particles on the surface layer is heated and pressurized to make the ink receiving layer transparent. It is an object of the present invention to provide an ink jet recording apparatus that can be converted into an image.

  The object of the present invention is achieved by the following means.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a recording head for performing recording by discharging ink to a recording medium having an ink receiving layer containing thermoplastic resin particles on the surface layer, and the recording medium ink by heating and pressurizing the recording medium. A heating and pressing unit for making the receiving layer transparent; a temperature control unit for maintaining the temperature of the heating and pressing unit in a predetermined temperature range; and a recording medium on which recording has been performed by the recording head to the heating and pressing unit. In the ink jet recording apparatus having a recording medium transporting means for transporting, the heating and pressurizing means has a width capable of simultaneously processing a plurality of recording media recorded by the recording head in parallel, When the number of lines of the recording medium to be pressed is relatively small, the recording time per unit length in the conveyance direction of the recording medium is relatively shortened, and the heating and pressing time in the heating and pressing means is compared. An ink jet recording apparatus characterized by relatively high holding temperature of the heating and pressing means according to shortened and the temperature control means.

  As a result, even when the heating and pressing time by the heating and pressing means is shortened, the ink receiving layer of the recording medium can be satisfactorily transparentized. The speed of image print creation can be increased because image recording and heat-pressing processing can be performed at high speed.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, the heating and pressurizing unit includes a plurality of heating elements divided in the width direction of the recording medium, and the temperature control unit independently sets each of the plurality of heating elements. 2. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ink jet recording apparatus is controllable.

  As a result, the heating unevenness of the heating and pressurizing means due to the heat generation unevenness of the heating element can be eliminated, and the heating temperature by the heating and pressurizing means can be uniformly controlled to an appropriate temperature in the width direction of the recording medium. The surface of the recording medium can be made transparent without unevenness.

  The invention according to claim 3 is characterized in that the plurality of heating elements are arranged in parallel so that the length direction thereof is along the width direction of the recording medium and the end portions of the adjacent heating elements are overlapped with each other. The inkjet recording apparatus according to claim 2.

  In general, an end of the heating element is provided with an electrode for energizing the heating element, and when the heating element is viewed in the length direction, the heat generation amount in the vicinity of the end is larger than that in the vicinity of the center. There is a low tendency. For this reason, the end portions of the adjacent heating elements are overlapped with each other to prevent a partial temperature drop in a portion corresponding to the heating element end portion of the heating and pressurizing means along the width direction of the recording medium. Can do. Moreover, since the electrodes of the adjacent heat generating elements are not arranged to face each other, the distance between them can be ensured, and the risk of an electrical short circuit can be reduced.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, when the heating and pressurizing unit simultaneously processes a plurality of different types of recording media, the heating temperature of the recording medium is set to an optimum value according to the type of each recording medium. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the temperature control means controls the plurality of heating elements.

  As a result, even when a plurality of types of recording media are heat-pressed simultaneously and in parallel, they can be heated and pressed at an optimum temperature according to the type of each recording medium, regardless of the type of recording medium. It is possible to eliminate the unevenness of transparency and always form a good quality image print.

  According to the present invention, when the recording medium having an ink receiving layer containing thermoplastic resin particles on the surface layer is heated and pressurized to make the ink receiving layer transparent, the heating and pressing time by the heating and pressing means can be shortened. Since the ink receiving layer of the recording medium can be made transparent, the image recording time can be shortened and the heating and pressurizing time can be shortened at the same time. By being able to perform the processing, it is possible to provide an ink jet recording apparatus capable of speeding up image print creation.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described below.

  As shown in FIG. 5, a recording medium 1 mainly used in the ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention has an ink receiving layer 1B containing thermoplastic resin particles on the surface layer of a support 1A. An ink solvent absorbing layer 1C having a void layer that absorbs the ink solvent component after the colorant and the ink solvent component are separated on the surface of the ink receiving layer 1B may be adjacent to the inside of the ink receiving layer 1B. .

  As the support 1A, a support conventionally used as an inkjet recording medium can be used. For example, in addition to a paper support such as plain paper, art paper, coated paper and cast coated paper, plastic support And a paper support coated with polyolefin on both sides, and a composite support obtained by bonding them together can be used.

  Examples of the thermoplastic resin particles contained in the ink receiving layer 1B include polycarbonate, polyacrylonitrile, polystyrene, polyacrylic acid, polymethacrylic acid, polyvinyl chloride, polyvinylidene chloride, polyvinyl acetate, polyester, polyamide, poly Examples include ethers, copolymers thereof, and salts thereof. The thermoplastic resin particles are appropriately selected in consideration of ink acceptability, glossiness of an image after fixing by heating and pressing, image fastness, and releasability.

  The ink solvent absorption layer has ink solvent absorption ability, and this is exhibited by incorporating inorganic solid fine particles in the ink solvent absorption layer. Examples of inorganic solid fine particles used for this purpose include light calcium carbonate, heavy calcium carbonate, magnesium carbonate, kaolin, clay, talc, calcium sulfate, barium sulfate, titanium dioxide, zinc oxide, zinc hydroxide, zinc sulfide. , Zinc carbonate, hydrotalcite, aluminum silicate, diatomaceous earth, calcium silicate, magnesium silicate, synthetic amorphous silica, colloidal silica, alumina, colloidal alumina, pseudoboehmite, aluminum hydroxide, lithopone, zeolite, magnesium hydroxide, etc. Examples thereof include white inorganic pigments.

  Ink ejected from a recording head described later toward the ink receiving layer 1B of the recording medium 1 is absorbed by the ink receiving layer 1B and the ink solvent absorbing layer 1C, and an image is recorded. In the recording medium 1 on which the image is recorded in this manner, the surface of the ink receiving layer 1B is heated and pressurized, so that the thermoplastic resin particles contained in the ink receiving layer 1B are melted and smoothed. It becomes transparent and a transparent protective layer is formed on the surface of the recording medium 1.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention.

  The recording medium 1 is supplied by a supply means (not shown), conveyed to the right in the figure by a recording medium conveying means (hereinafter simply referred to as a conveying means) 2, and recorded by a recording head 3 disposed on the downstream side of the conveying means 2. A predetermined image is recorded and formed on the recording surface of the medium 1.

  In the illustrated example, the recording medium 1 is an example using a long roll paper wound in a roll shape. However, the recording medium 1 is not limited thereto, and is a sheet-shaped recording medium appropriately cut into a size. Also good.

  The transport unit 2 includes a transport roller 21 that is rotationally driven by a driving unit (not shown), and a driven roller 22 that sandwiches the recording medium 1 between the transport roller 21. In a state of being sandwiched between the transport roller 21 and the driven roller 22, the transport roller 21 is rotationally driven so as to transport a predetermined amount in the right direction (sub-scanning direction) in the figure according to image recording by the recording head 3 to be described later. It has become.

  The recording head 3 is disposed on the downstream side of the conveying unit 2 and is movably attached to a scanning guide 31 that is installed across the width of the recording medium 1 so as to be substantially orthogonal to the conveying direction of the recording medium 1. The main scanning movement is made along the scanning guide 31 by the driving means that does not.

  The recording head 3 has a plurality of ink tanks in which inks of respective colors such as Y (yellow), M (magenta), C (cyan), and K (black) are stored. In this manner, predetermined ink is ejected at a predetermined timing in accordance with image data while moving in the main scanning direction, thereby cooperating with the conveyance of the recording medium 1 by the conveying means 2 on the recording surface of the recording medium 1. The image is recorded and formed.

  A recording medium holding unit 32 is disposed on the opposite side of the recording head 3 with the recording medium 1 interposed therebetween. The recording medium 1 is sucked and held on the surface of the recording medium 1 by suction means (not shown). The recording head 1 is prevented from being lifted when an image is recorded and formed by the recording head 3.

  The heating and pressurizing unit 4 is disposed on the downstream side of the recording head 3 so as to heat and press the recording medium 1 after the image is recorded and formed by the recording head 3. The pressure roller 42 is sandwiched between the heating roller 41 and the heat roller 41.

  The heating roller 41 is formed of a hollow roller and is configured to be rotationally driven by a driving means (not shown), and has a built-in heating element 43 such as a halogen lamp heater, a ceramic heater, or a nichrome wire as a heat source. The heating roller 41 is heated by the heat of the body 43 to melt the thermoplastic resin particles contained in the ink receiving layer of the recording medium 1. The heating roller 41 is preferably formed of a material having a high thermal conductivity so that the recording medium 1 can be efficiently heated by the heat generated from the heating element 43, and a metal roller is preferably used. The surface is preferably coated with a fluororesin to prevent contamination by ink when the recording medium 1 is heated and pressurized. In addition, a silicon rubber roller coated with heat-resistant silicon can be used.

  Further, the pressure roller 42 is urged so as to be pressure-bonded to the heating roller 41 with a predetermined pressing force by sandwiching the recording medium 1 by an urging means (not shown), and presses the recording medium 1 between the heating roller 41. Press.

  The nip region formed between the pressure roller 42 and the heating roller 41 allows the recording medium 1 to be pressed against the surface of the heating roller 41 with a large contact area so that a longer heating and pressing time can be obtained. It is desirable to have a certain width. Therefore, it is preferable that at least the surface of the pressure roller 42 has elasticity. For example, an elastic roller in which the surface of the metal shaft is covered with elastic rubber is preferably used.

  The recording medium 1 on which a predetermined image is recorded and formed by the recording head 3 is conveyed to the heating and pressing unit 4 by the conveying unit 2. In the heating and pressing unit 4, the recording medium 1 is sandwiched between the heating roller 41 and the pressure roller 42 and conveyed at a predetermined speed by the rotational driving of the heating roller 41, and the recording medium 1 is heated and pressed in the process. Then, the thermoplastic resin particles in the surface ink receiving layer are melted and smoothed to be transparent.

  FIG. 2 shows a configuration of the heating roller 41 in which the heating element 43 is built. FIG. 2A shows a case where a wide recording medium 1 a that covers substantially the entire width of the heating roller 41 is used.

  The heating element 43 is configured by a plurality of heating elements 43 a, 43 b, 43 c divided in the width direction of the recording medium 1 a, and these are arranged in parallel in the heating roller 41 along the axial direction of the heating roller 41. . Note that the number of divisions is not limited to three as shown. In addition, the length of each of the heating elements 43a, 43b, 43c can be arbitrarily set as appropriate.

  The heating and pressurizing means 4 includes a temperature control means (not shown), and the temperature of each of the heating elements 43a, 43b, 43c can be controlled independently by this temperature control means. The heating roller 41 is provided with temperature sensors 5a, 5b, and 5c in positions and numbers close to the surface of the heating roller 41 and corresponding to the heating elements 43a, 43b, and 43c, respectively. By detecting the surface temperature of the heating roller 41 with the temperature sensors 5a, 5b, and 5c, the temperature of the corresponding heating elements 43a, 43b, and 43c is changed to the thermoplastic resin contained in the ink receiving layer on the surface of the recording medium 1a. Each of them can be appropriately maintained within a predetermined temperature range necessary for melting the particles.

  As described above, the temperature of each heating element 43a, 43b, 43c can be controlled independently, whereby the temperature of the heating roller 41 can be finely controlled in the axial direction. Therefore, the heating unevenness in the axial direction of the heating roller 41 due to the heating unevenness of the heating element itself is eliminated, and the heating temperature by the heating and pressurizing means 4 including the heating roller 41 is set appropriately over the width direction of the recording medium 1a. Therefore, the surface of the recording medium 1a can be made transparent without unevenness.

  FIG. 2B shows a case where the heating and pressurization is performed on the relatively narrow recording medium 1b using the same heating roller 41 as in FIG.

  In this case, since the contact portion 41a between the recording medium 1b and the heating roller 41 is only a part of the heating roller 41 in the axial direction (substantially the central portion in the illustrated example), the heating element 43 is also divided into a plurality of parts. Only the central heating element 43a having the same length as the width of the recording medium 1b in this case is maintained at an appropriate temperature by the temperature control means, and the temperatures of the heating elements 43b and 43c at both ends thereof are adjusted. The temperature of each heating element 43a, 43b, 43c is changed and controlled from the state shown in FIG. 2A according to the width of the recording medium 1b by lowering or stopping energization to these heating elements 43b, 43c.

  Since the surface of the heating roller 41 through which the recording medium 1b other than the contact portion 41a between the recording medium 1b and the heating roller 41 does not pass is not deprived of heat by the recording medium 1b, each heat generation occurs according to the width of the recording medium as described above. By changing the temperature control of the bodies 43a, 43b, 43c, it is possible to prevent an excessive increase in temperature at a portion of the heating roller 41 that is not directly involved in the heating of the recording medium 1b. As a result, the heating and pressing means 4 and the recording medium The contact surface temperature with 1b can be made uniform over the width direction of the recording medium 1b, and waste of power consumption can be reduced.

  FIG. 3 shows a mode in which a plurality of recording media are arranged in parallel and an image is simultaneously recorded and formed by one recording head.

  In FIG. 3A, the two recording media 11 and 12 can be conveyed in parallel, and the scanning range W1 of one recording head 3 extends across the width direction of the two recording media 11 and 12. Thus, the recording head 3 simultaneously records and forms images on the recording media 11 and 12. In the illustrated embodiment, the recording media 11 and 12 have different widths, and an image is recorded and formed simultaneously on the relatively narrow recording medium 11 and the relatively wide recording medium 12. ing. The recording apparatus according to the present invention is particularly effective when performing image recording and heating / pressurizing processing on a plurality of recording media 11 and 12 having relatively different widths in parallel.

  The heating and pressurizing means 4 has a width in which a heating roller 41 and a pressure roller (not shown) can heat and press each of the parallel recording media 11 and 12 simultaneously, and an image is recorded by the recording head 3. The formed recording media 11 and 12 can be heated and pressed simultaneously to make the respective ink receiving layers transparent.

  In this embodiment, the heating element 43 incorporated in the heating roller 41 is divided into three parts 43a, 43b, and 43c, and the temperature sensors 5a, a number of positions and numbers corresponding to the heating elements 43a, 43b, and 43c, respectively. By detecting the surface temperature of the heating roller 41 by means of 5b and 5c, the temperature of the heating elements 43a, 43b and 43c is independently controlled by the temperature control means.

  In the mode shown in FIG. 3A, since both the narrow recording medium 11 and the wide recording medium 12 are in contact with the heating roller 41 at the contact portions 41a and 41b, the heating elements 43a, 43b, The temperature of 43c is controlled by temperature control means, respectively, and the heating roller 41 is heated and held at an appropriate temperature for the recording media 11 and 12, respectively.

  On the other hand, in the ink jet recording apparatus having the heating and pressurizing means 4, as shown in FIG. 3 (b), the recording medium 11 is not used, or the image recording on the recording medium 12 is completed. When the image is recorded and formed by the recording head 3 using only one row, the narrow recording medium 11 and the heating roller 41 are only in contact with the width of the recording medium 11 at the contact portion 41a. Therefore, the temperature control of each of the heating elements 43a, 43b, 43c divided into a plurality of parts is performed, and the heating element 43a corresponding to the position of the contact portion 41a is heated to make the ink receiving layer of the recording medium 11 transparent by the temperature control means. At the same time, the temperature of the heating elements 43b and 43c not directly involved in the heating of the recording medium 11 is lowered or the energization is stopped. Change control.

  In addition, although the case where it changed from the two rows of recording media 11 and 12 (FIG. 3 (a)) to the one row of recording media 11 (FIG. 3 (b)) is illustrated here, the temperature control means is The temperature of each heating element 43a, 43b, 43c is changed and controlled according to the number of recording media to be heated and pressurized simultaneously, the width of each recording medium, and the position in the width direction where each recording medium and the heating and pressing means 4 are in contact.

  This makes it possible to make the contact surface temperature between the recording medium and the heating and pressing means 4 uniform in the width direction regardless of the number and width of the recording media that are simultaneously heated and pressurized. That is, in the case where the plurality of recording media 11 and 12 are simultaneously heated and pressurized, it becomes possible to prevent the occurrence of uneven transparency between the recording media 11 and 12, and the plurality of recording media. 11 and 12 (the recording medium 11) is in contact with only a part in the width direction of the heating and pressurizing means 4 and subjected to the pressure heating treatment, the heat generation at the portion not directly related to the heating of the recording medium 11 The temperature of the bodies 43b and 43c is reduced or the energization is stopped to prevent a partial increase in the temperature of the heating roller 41. As a result, the contact surface temperature between the heating and pressing means 4 and the recording medium 11 is changed in the width direction of the recording medium 11. In addition, the power consumption can be reduced.

  In the illustrated example, the heating element 43 is divided into three parts 43a, 43b, and 43c. However, each of the heating elements 43a, 43b, and 43c may be further divided into a plurality of parts. Each of the heating elements 43a, 43b, and 43c is further divided into a plurality of parts so that the temperature can be controlled independently, whereby the temperature of the heating roller 41 is more finely controlled in the width direction of each of the recording media 11 and 12. It is possible to make the ink receiving layers of the recording media 11 and 12 more transparent.

  Incidentally, when the width of the recording medium is relatively narrow as shown in FIG. 2B, or when the number of columns of the recording medium is relatively small as shown in FIG. Sometimes the recording width at which the recording head 3 operates (the scanning range when the recording head 3 scans and moves along the width direction of the recording medium as shown in the present embodiment) W is recorded on the wide recording medium 1a. When recording on the narrow recording medium 1b with respect to the recording width W1 at the time of recording (FIG. 2 (a)) and when simultaneously recording a plurality of rows of recording media 11 and 12 (FIG. 3 (a)) (FIG. 2). (B)) and the recording width W2 when recording on only one row of the recording media 11 (FIG. 3B) is such that W1> W2, so that the recording head 3 in the case of the recording width W1. For the scanning period t1, the scanning period t2 of the recording head 3 in the case of the recording width W2 is t1> t2. It is possible to shorten the image recording time. At this time, it is desired to shorten the processing time by speeding up the heating and pressurizing process by the heating and pressurizing means 4. However, if the heating and pressurizing time is simply reduced, the ink receiving layer of the recording medium 11 is removed. There is a possibility that heat and pressure treatment sufficient for transparency cannot be performed.

  Therefore, as the recording width W necessary for the operation of the recording head becomes smaller, that is, as the width of the recording medium becomes narrower as shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, or FIG. (A) When the recording time per unit length in the conveyance direction of the recording medium is relatively shortened as the number of rows of the recording medium that are simultaneously heated and pressurized as shown in (a) and (b) decreases. The heating and pressurizing time of the recording medium in the heating and pressurizing unit 4 is relatively shortened accordingly, and the temperature of the heating elements 43a, 43b and 43c is controlled by the temperature control unit, so that the holding temperature of the heating roller 41 is increased. Is relatively high. In order to shorten the heating and pressurizing time of the recording medium by the heating and pressing means 4, adjustment can be made by relatively increasing the rotation speed of the heating roller 41.

  As a result, even when the heating and pressing time by the heating and pressing means 4 is shortened, the ink receiving layer can be satisfactorily transparentized. Therefore, it is possible to perform image recording and heat-pressing processing at high speed, and it is possible to speed up image print creation.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3A, different types of recording media 11 and 12 that are simultaneously heated and pressurized can be used.

  The type of the recording medium here is different when the material of the support of the recording medium is different, when the thickness of the support is different, or when the thermoplastic resin particles contained in the ink receiving layer of the recording medium are different. The surface quality (silk texture, gloss, etc.) of the recording medium surface is different.

  As described above, when different types of recording media 11 and 12 are processed at the same time, the heating temperature of the recording media 11 and 12 is set to an optimum value according to the type of each of the recording media 11 and 12. It is preferable to control the heating elements 43a, 43b and 43c by controlling the temperature control means. For example, when the support medium is a thick recording medium 11 and a thin recording medium 12 processed in parallel, the heating temperature required to make the ink receiving layer transparent can be different due to the difference in heat capacity. If they are uniformly controlled, there is a possibility that unevenness occurs in the transparency of the recording media 11 and 12. Therefore, by setting the target control temperature T1 of the contact portion 41a between the recording medium 11 and the heating roller 41 and the target control temperature T2 of the contact portion 41b between the recording medium 12 and the heating roller 41 to T1> T2, The heating temperature is controlled to be suitable for each recording medium 11 and 12.

  As a result, even when a plurality of types of recording media 11 and 12 are heated and pressurized simultaneously in parallel, they can be heated and pressurized at an optimum temperature according to the type of each recording medium 11 and 12. , Regardless of the mutual type, it is possible to eliminate unevenness in transparency and always form a good quality image print.

  In the above description, the heating roller 41 is disposed on the recording surface side of the recording medium 1, but the heating roller 41 may be disposed on the opposite side of the recording surface of the recording medium 1. It is also preferable that the pressure roller 42 is also formed by a hollow roller and has a heating element with a heating function. In this way, the recording medium 1 can be heated and pressed by both the heating roller 41 and the pressure-bonding roller 42 having a heating function, so that the heating and pressing time can be shortened and the speed can be further increased. Processing is possible.

  In the above description, the length direction of each of the plurality of heating elements 43a, 43b, 43c,... Has been described as being arranged substantially uniaxially along the axial direction of the heating roller 41. FIG. As described above, it is also preferable that the plurality of heating elements 43a, 43b, 43c, 43d,... Are arranged in parallel so that the length direction thereof is along the width direction of the recording medium 1 and the ends of the adjacent heating elements are overlapped with each other. .

  In general, an electrode or the like for energizing the heating element 43 is provided at the end of the heating element 43. When the heating element 43 is viewed in the length direction, the vicinity of the end is compared with the vicinity of the center. Since the heat generation amount tends to be low, if the length directions of the heating elements 43 a, 43 b, 43 c... Are arranged substantially uniaxially, the heating and pressurizing means 4 is arranged along the width direction of the recording medium 1. In some cases, the temperature of the portion corresponding to the end of the heating element is partially lowered. In such a case, the end portions of the adjacent heating elements 43a, 43b, 43c, 43d,... Are overlapped with each other, so that the heating element end portions of the heating and pressurizing unit 4 are aligned along the width direction of the recording medium 1. It is possible to prevent a partial temperature drop of the corresponding part (parts A1, A2, A3... Indicated by a one-dot chain line in the figure). Moreover, since the electrodes of the adjacent heat generating elements are not arranged to face each other, the distance between them can be ensured, and the risk of an electrical short circuit can be reduced.

1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of an ink jet recording apparatus according to the present invention. The cross-sectional configuration of the heating roller is shown, (a) is a plan cross-sectional view showing a case where a wide recording medium is used, and (b) is a plan cross-sectional view showing a case where a narrow recording medium is used. The sectional configuration of the heating roller is shown, (a) is a plan sectional view showing a case where two rows of recording media are used, and (b) is a plan sectional view showing a case where one row of recording media is used. Plan sectional drawing which shows the other aspect of a heating roller Sectional view showing the laminated structure of the recording medium

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1, 1a, 1b, 11, 12 Recording medium 2 Recording medium conveyance means 3 Recording head 4 Heating and pressing means 41 Heating roller 42 Pressure roller 43, 43a, 43b, 43c, 43d Heat generating body 5a-5c Temperature sensor

Claims (4)

A recording head that performs recording by ejecting ink to a recording medium having an ink receiving layer containing thermoplastic resin particles on the surface layer, and a heating application that heats and pressurizes the recording medium to make the ink receiving layer of the recording medium transparent. Pressure means, temperature control means for maintaining the temperature of the heating and pressing means within a predetermined temperature range, and recording medium conveying means for conveying the recording medium recorded by the recording head to the heating and pressing means. In the inkjet recording apparatus, the heating and pressurizing unit has a width in which a plurality of recording media recorded by the recording head can be arranged in parallel and processed simultaneously, and the number of columns of the recording media to be simultaneously heated and pressurized is relative to each other. If the time is less, the recording time per unit length in the conveyance direction of the recording medium is relatively shortened, the heating and pressing time in the heating and pressing means is relatively shortened, and the temperature is increased. Ink jet recording apparatus characterized by relatively high holding temperature of the heating and pressing means by the control means. The heating and pressing unit includes a plurality of heating elements divided in the width direction of the recording medium, and the temperature control unit is capable of independently controlling each of the plurality of heating elements. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 1. 3. The ink jet recording according to claim 2, wherein the plurality of heating elements are arranged in parallel so that the length direction thereof is along the width direction of the recording medium and the ends of the adjacent heating elements are overlapped with each other. apparatus. When the heating and pressurizing unit simultaneously processes a plurality of different types of recording media, the temperature control unit includes the plurality of temperature control units so that the heating temperature of the recording medium becomes an optimum value according to the type of each recording medium. 4. The ink jet recording apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the heating element is controlled.

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