JP2705261B2 - Current transfer recording method and current head - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an energization transfer recording method and an energization head used in the field of image formation which provides high-speed, high-sensitivity, high-quality images.

2. Description of the Related Art In order to realize a full-color image at high speed, a recording medium (consisting of an ink sheet provided with an ink containing a dye (sublimable dye) on a resistance sheet and an image receiving body provided with a dyeing layer on the surface). And an energizing dye transfer technique using an energizing head is suitable. The insulating support for holding the electrode array (multi-stylus) of the energizing head is generally made of ceramics such as alumina, glaze, thermosetting resin, or the like.
The same material is used regardless of the inside and outside of the electrode pair.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention When performing high-speed gradation recording using a sublimable dye as a coloring material in order to obtain a full-color high-quality image, a conventional energizing head has the following problems due to high recording energy. Have issues.

Optimization of the thermo-mechanical properties of the insulating support of the head has not been achieved, and high speed, high sensitivity, optimization of recording dots, and stable continuous recording traveling performance are insufficient, and have not been put to practical use. In particular, since the abrasion characteristics of the insulating support on the surface of the current-carrying head that slides with the resistance sheet of the recording medium under high-speed recording, that is, under high temperature and high pressure, were not controlled, poor contact between the electrode array and the resistance sheet occurred, and continuous recording traveling occurred In addition, image quality was a serious problem. Furthermore, since the thermal constant of the insulating support was not controlled, for example, when an insulating support having a small thermal diffusion coefficient was used, the sensitivity was improved, but the recorded image was turbid in color due to heat storage and the resolution was reduced. When an insulating support having a large thermal diffusion coefficient is used, there is a problem that the sensitivity is reduced and the characteristic of the energization transfer is lost.

An object of the present invention is to solve such problems of the related art.

Means for Solving the Problems The present invention relates to an energization transfer recording method using an energizing head and a recording body in which opposing electrode pairs are buried in an insulating support. A current-carrying head, wherein the amount of wear due to the recording medium insertion side is smaller than the amount of wear of the electrode-to-outside insulating support on the recording medium insertion side, and is larger than the amount of wear for the electrode-outside insulating support on the recording-body sending side; Is an energization transfer recording method.

When a signal current is applied to the working electrode pair, Joule heat is generated in the corresponding resistance sheet, and the dye is transferred to the image receptor and recorded. The amount of wear of the insulating support on the recording medium insertion side with respect to the electrode pair due to sliding of the recording body is equal to or greater than the amount of wear of the insulating support at the rear of the electrode pair. Contact with sheet. The same operation is performed on the two pairs of electrode pairs. On the other hand, since the thermal diffusion coefficient of the insulating support on the inside of the electrode pair of the current-carrying head and on the side where the resistance sheet is inserted is small, the heat generated in the resistance sheet is effectively used for dye transfer, and high-sensitivity recording is possible. At this time, the excess heat storage near the resistance sheet of the heat source is transmitted / dissipated to the insulating support having a large heat diffusion coefficient on the resistance sheet sending side by the traveling of the resistance sheet, and a high-quality image free from the heat storage is obtained. This phenomenon has a great effect particularly at the time of high-speed recording.

The same effect can be obtained by increasing the electrode cross-sectional area on the anode side arranged on the resistance sheet sending side. At the same time, increasing the electrode cross-sectional area on the anode side improves the electrode corrosion resistance.

As described above, high-speed, high-sensitivity, stable continuous recording can be performed.

Embodiment FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of an embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 2 to 5 show sectional views of other embodiments. 1 is an energizing head, 2 is an ink sheet, 3 is an image receiving body,
A recording medium includes 2 and 3 indicated by 4. In each figure, the running direction of the ink sheet is indicated by an arrow.

The ink sheet 2 has a color material layer 22 formed on a resistance sheet 21. 21 is a resistive film formed by mixing conductive particles such as carbon into a heat-resistant resin. As the heat-resistant resin, a film-forming resin such as polyimide, aramid, polycarbonate, polyester, polyphenylsulfide, polyetherketone, or the like is used. These resistive films are deposited to a thickness of about 4-15um and a surface resistance of about 1K ohm.

The color material layer 22 is formed of at least a sublimable dye and a binder resin.

The image receiving body 3 has a dyeing layer 32 provided on a base paper 31. The energizing head 1 is configured as a line head with an electrode pair row 16 (14 and 15 are electrode rows on the recording medium insertion and sending side, respectively) buried in insulating supports 11, 12, and 13. The electrodes are copper, phosphor bronze,
Tungsten, titanium, brass, chromium, nichrome, etc. are formed alone or in combination. The resolution of the electrodes is 6-16 dots / mm. Since one of the electrode rows is a common electrode, it is not always necessary to divide the electrode row and one electrode row may be used.

As the insulating support, a ceramic or glass-based material having a small coefficient of friction and high wear resistance is used. At this time, the amount of wear of the support 12 inside the pair of electrodes due to sliding of the recording medium 2 is equal to or smaller than the amount of wear of the support 11 on the recording medium insertion side, and the amount of wear of the support 13 on the recording medium delivery side is reduced. It is important that the amount is the same or larger. The abrasion of the electrode material is basically the same as the abrasion of the insulating support to which the electrode is attached. By designing the current-carrying head based on such a concept, the surface of the current-carrying head becomes the first due to the recording traveling of the recording medium.
From the figure, the state of FIG. 5 is always maintained, and the electrode pair row 16 stably contacts the back surface of the resistance sheet 21. As a result, stable continuous recording traveling performance can be obtained and deterioration of the recorded image can be prevented.
If the above-mentioned concept is not maintained and the support 12 is more worn than the support 11, the electrode wear will be so high.
Is lower than the surface of the support 11, and the contact with the running resistance sheet 21 deteriorates. Even when the support 13 is more worn than the support 12, the contact between the electrode row 15 and the resistance sheet 21 is deteriorated.

Next, when extending from the viewpoint of the thermal constant of the support material, the thermal diffusion coefficient A of the insulating support 11 and the electrode pair inner support 12 on the recording medium insertion side should be smaller than that of the support 13 on the recording medium sending side. is important. The value of A = k / dc (k: thermal conductivity, d: density, c: specific heat) is expressed in units of 10 ⁶ m ² / s, and the value of A of the support 13
In 1 * 10 ⁶ or more, 5 * 10 ⁶ or more is more preferable. Also,
The A of the former support 11, 12 5 * 10 ⁶ or less, more preferably 1 * 10 ⁶ or less. The material of such a support is an insulating support
Various glazes, mica glass, glass ceramics, crystallized glass, and minerals such as kaolin and talc with high hardness are used in 11,12. In the case where the mica glass is used for the layers 11 and 12, for example, it is necessary to devise a method of changing the composition of the glass component in order to make a difference in hardness between the two. Insulating support 13
In BN and BN ceramics (for example, BN-SiN, BN-Al
₂ O ₃ ), ALN, ALN-based ceramics (for example, ALN-BN-based composite material), alumina, glass ceramics having a small glass component, or a solid lubricant having high electric resistance are also used.

In the method of manufacturing the energizing head shown in FIG. 1, electrodes 14 and 15 formed in a pattern on an insulating support 12 or 13 are laminated and fixed together with the insulating support 11 with an inorganic adhesive. By polishing the surface of the head thus manufactured with a 1000 to 8000 number abrasive paper, the surface state as in the embodiment can be obtained. FIG. 2 shows a laminated structure in which the electrode array 14 is mounted on the support 11 and the electrode array 15 is mounted on the support 13. FIG. 3 shows a laminated structure in which electrode rows 14 and 15 are attached to both sides of the support 12. FIG. 4 shows the support 13 having the structure shown in FIG. 3 divided into a recording medium insertion side 13 'having high hardness and a sending side 13 "having low hardness. For 13 ″, BN or the like can be used as a heat sink. FIG. 5 shows the electrode row 14 on the support 11 and the electrode row.
15 is mounted on the support 12 to form a laminated structure.

 Next, a driving method will be described.

The signal current path applied between the electrodes 14 and 15 flows through the resistive layer parallel to the film. 23 is a heating part. The recording conditions at this time are as follows: the pulse width applied to one dot is 1 ms, the line recording cycle is 4 ms, and the peak temperature of the heat generating portion reaches 300 to 400 ° C. In the present invention, the heat storage and the heat radiation of the resistance sheet and the head are balanced and the contact between the electrode and the resistance sheet is stable, so that a high-sensitivity and high-quality image can be obtained. Under such high temperature and high pressure (5 kg / 100 cm), the ink sheet 2 and the image receiving body 3 run between the platen and the head. Relative speed recording is performed between the image receiving paper and the ink sheet in order to effectively use the sheet as needed. In order to enable smooth running recording between the head and the seat, the friction coefficient during this time is 0 at room temperature.
It was found experimentally that less than 3 was required. In order to promote this, the head may be configured so that the lubricating material springs out of the head surface at a high temperature, or may be configured so that the lubricating material springs out of the resistance sheet.

In the case of a serial head in which the head moves, the insulating support corresponding to 13 can be considered as a portion located behind the head in the head traveling direction.

 Hereinafter, more specific examples will be described.

(1) Energizing head: A6 size line head, resolution 8 dots /
mm (the stylus electrode material is Cr-Ni), the electrode pair outside 11 and the electrode pair inside support material 12 on the recording medium insertion side are mica glass having different hardness, and the insulating support body 13 on the recording medium delivery side is BN-A1N.
Composite. Constant velocity recording and relative velocity recording (relative velocity ratio n = 1-10) with an applied pulse width of 1 ms, recording cycle of 4 ms / line, and pressure of 5 kg / 100 mm.

In addition, the same electrode cross-sectional area was used for all the electrode pairs, and a prototype head was also produced in which the cross-sectional area of the anode electrode row on the recording medium sending side was double that of the insertion side.

(2) Resistance sheet: A sheet formed by mixing carbon into aramid resin to a thickness of 10 μm and a surface resistance of 1 K ohm.

(3) Coloring material layer: Indaniline-based cyan sublimable dye 1 and polycarbonate resin 1 formed to a thickness of 2 μm by weight solid content ratio.

(4) Image receiver: A 100 μm milky white PET film formed to a thickness of 8 μm based on a weight solid content ratio of polyester resin 1 and silica 0.2.

As a result of performing a recording experiment under the above conditions, a recording cycle of 4 s
With the recording energy of ³ J / cm ² per line, the image was not fogged and smooth gradation recording characteristics were obtained over a long distance at a relative speed ratio. This recorded image has the same image quality as that of dye transfer recording using a thermal head as recording means. A magenta color and yellow color were used in addition to the above-mentioned dyes, and a full-color A6 image was obtained in about 10 seconds. In addition, there was no electrode corrosion in the one with a larger sending-side electrode area.

Advantages of the Invention (1) High-speed, high-sensitivity full-color recording with a recording speed of 4 ms per line and a recording energy of ² J / cm ² has become possible.

(2) Large and uniform recording dots can be formed.

(3) The image is sharpened without color turbidity.

(4) A relative speed ratio n = 10 was obtained under the above recording conditions.

(5) There is no deterioration in image quality even after continuous recording for a long time.
No electrode corrosion was observed.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing the structure of one embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 5 are sectional views showing the structure of another embodiment of the present invention. 1 ... energizing head, 4 ... recording body, 11 ... insulating support outside the electrode pair on the side where the recording body is inserted, 12 ... insulating support inside the electrode pair, 13 ... electrode outside on the recording body sending side Insulating support, 14 ... Electrode row on the recording medium insertion side, 15 ... Electrode row on the recording medium sending side, 16 ... Electrode pair.

Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-1-174467 (JP, A) JP-A-1-275506 (JP, A) JP-A-1-266705 (JP, A)

Claims (12)

(57) [Claims] In an energization transfer recording method using a recording body and an energizing head in which opposing electrode pairs are embedded in an insulating support, the amount of wear of the insulating support inside the electrode pair due to sliding of the recording body is determined by the energizing head. A current-carrying head, wherein the current-carrying head is smaller than the wear amount of the electrode-outer insulating support on the recording medium insertion side and larger than the wear amount of the electrode-outer insulating support on the recording medium delivery side of the current-carrying head. Recording method. 2. An energizing transfer recording method using an energizing head and a recording body in which opposing electrode pairs are buried in an insulating support. 2. The energization according to claim 1, wherein the amount of wear is smaller than the amount of wear of the electrode-to-outside insulating support on the recording medium insertion side and the amount of wear of the electrode-to-outside insulating support on the recording medium delivery side of the energizing head. An energizing head used in a transfer recording method. 3. An electrode pair on the recording medium insertion side is directly provided on the insulating support inside the electrode pair, and an electrode pair on the recording medium sending side is directly provided on the insulating support on the recording medium sending side. The current-carrying head according to claim 2. 4. An electrode pair on the recording medium insertion side is directly provided on the insulating support on the recording medium insertion side, and an electrode pair on the recording medium sending side is directly provided on the insulating support on the recording medium sending side. The current-carrying head according to claim 2, wherein: 5. The current-carrying head according to claim 2, wherein the opposing electrode pairs are provided directly on the insulating support inside the electrode pairs. 6. An electrode pair on the recording medium insertion side is directly provided on the insulating support on the recording medium insertion side, and an electrode pair on the recording medium sending side is directly provided on the insulating support on the inside of the electrode pair. The current-carrying head according to claim 2. 7. The current-carrying head according to claim 2, wherein the recording medium insertion side and the insulating support on the inside of the electrode pair are made of a glass-based material. 8. The current-carrying head according to claim 2, wherein the insulating support on the recording medium sending side is made of a ceramic material. 9. The current-carrying head according to claim 2, wherein the insulating support on the recording medium sending side is made of a ceramic material having a higher hardness on the recording medium inserting side than on the sending side. 10. The current-carrying head according to claim 2, wherein each of the opposed electrode pairs has a sectional area on the anode side larger than a corresponding sectional area on the cathode side. 11. The current-carrying head according to claim 2, wherein the thermal diffusion coefficient of the insulating support on the recording medium sending side is 1 * 10 ⁶ m ² s ⁻¹ or more. 12. The method according to claim 2, wherein the thermal diffusion coefficient of the insulating support on the recording medium insertion side and the inside of the electrode pair is 1 * 10 ⁶ m ² s ^-1 or less. Energizing head.