JP3725092B2 - Ion generation control method, ion generation apparatus, and image forming apparatus including the same - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a completely new ion generation control method and ion generator used in a writing device such as a rewritable paper or an electrostatic recording apparatus, and an image forming apparatus including the same.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Among the various recording devices, the electrophotographic recording device is a non-impact recording method, so it has features such as low noise, good text recording, high recording speed, and relatively low running costs. have. For this reason, it has recently been used as an output terminal device for OA equipment, and the market is rapidly expanding.
[0003]
A configuration of a recording unit of a laser beam printer which is one of the electrophotographic recording apparatuses is shown in FIG. 6, and an outline of the electrophotographic recording apparatus will be described. In an electrophotographic recording apparatus, first, as shown in FIG. First, the surface of the photosensitive drum 100 is uniformly charged to, for example, about −800 V with a negative charge by a charging device 101 made of a corona charger. Next, the photosensitive drum 100 is irradiated with laser light 102 in accordance with the image signal. Since the resistance of the photosensitive drum 100 decreases only in the portion irradiated with light, the negative charge in the portion irradiated with the laser beam 102 is erased, and an electrostatic latent image is formed. Normally, one semiconductor laser is used as the laser, and the light modulated in accordance with the image is scanned by a rotating polygon mirror ( not shown). The electrostatic latent image formed in this way is developed by the developing unit 103. That is, the toner, which is colored fine particles that are negatively charged by reversal development, adheres to the portion of the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive drum 100 from which the negative charge has been erased. Visualization of the image is made.
[0004]
The recording paper 105 taken out from a paper cassette (not shown) by the paper supply roller 104 is conveyed in time with the image signal and comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 100. The toner image visualized here is transferred to the recording paper 105. In the transfer charger 106, for example, a positive charge is given from the back side of the recording paper 105, and thereby, an image developed by the negatively charged toner on the photosensitive drum 100 is attracted and transferred onto the recording paper 105. The recording paper 105 to which the image has been transferred is peeled off from the photosensitive drum 100 by the peeling charger 107. Finally, the toner is fixed on the recording paper 105 by overheating and pressurizing by the fixing device 111 including the heat roller 110 and the recording is completed.
[0005]
Note that residual toner remaining on the photosensitive drum 100 without being transferred to the recording paper 105 exists. The residual toner is scraped off by the cleaner 108 and the photosensitive drum 100 is cleaned, and then the entire surface is exposed by an erasing lamp 109 composed of an LED or the like to erase the charge on the photosensitive drum 100.
As described above, the electrophotographic recording apparatus forms an image through the steps of charging, latent image formation, development, transfer, and fixing. Further, the photosensitive drum 100 is finally cleaned in the cleaning process and can be used again. Each process may have a slightly different configuration depending on the model, but basically has such a configuration.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
In these electrophotographic recording apparatuses, as described above, in order to form an electrostatic latent image, the photosensitive drum 100 made of an organic material or an inorganic material which is an optical semiconductor is necessary. Since these photosensitive drums 100 are optical semiconductors, they are composed of a functional material whose resistance value changes when irradiated with light, and is sensitive to heat, and sensitivity deterioration is likely to occur when irradiated with light for a long time. There is a problem that the lifetime is short and a problem that the cost is high because the configuration is complicated. Further, in order to irradiate the photosensitive drum 100 with the laser beam 102 and form an electrostatic latent image, a laser unit having a rotating polygon mirror (not shown) is required. This laser unit has a problem that it is necessary to rotate the rotating polygon mirror precisely at a high speed and is very expensive and large in size.
[0007]
The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, an ion generation control method that can be controlled at a low voltage, an ion generator that can form an electrostatic latent image as small as possible, and can be formed at low cost, and An object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus including the same.
[0008]
The present invention relates to an ion generation control method for controlling the generation of ions by controlling the temperature of the discharge electrode, and it does not generate a discharge only by applying the voltage to each discharge electrode to which a voltage that generates a discharge by heating is applied . The generation of ions is controlled by controlling the presence or absence of discharge by changing the discharge start voltage depending on the presence or absence of heating . Thereby, it is not necessary to control the high voltage applied to each discharge electrode for each discharge electrode, and the ion generation can be controlled at a low voltage by controlling the temperature of each discharge electrode.
The present invention relates to an ion generator that selectively generates ions, and includes a discharge electrode and a heating element disposed corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes, and the discharge is performed only by applying the discharge electrode. It is characterized in that a voltage that generates a discharge by heating without being generated is applied, and the presence or absence of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode is controlled by heating the heating element .
By adopting this configuration, the ion generator of the present invention does not need to control the high voltage applied to each discharge electrode for each discharge electrode, and generates ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode. The ion generator can be controlled with a low voltage by controlling the heating of the heating element, and an ion generator as small as possible can be obtained at a low price.
[0009]
In addition, in an ion generator that selectively generates ions, the discharge electrode and the induction electrode are disposed with a dielectric interposed therebetween, and no discharge is generated only by applying between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode. A configuration in which a voltage that generates a discharge by heating is applied, and whether or not ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode are generated is controlled by heating of a heating element disposed corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes ; Therefore, the presence or absence of the generation of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode can be controlled at a low voltage by heating control of the heating element, and a low-cost and as small ion generator as possible can be obtained. .
[0010]
In addition, a discharge electrode and an induction electrode are arranged with a dielectric interposed therebetween, and a voltage that generates a discharge by heating without applying a discharge is applied only by applying between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode , It is configured to control the presence / absence of the generation of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode by heating of the heating elements provided corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes, and generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode An ion generator that can control whether or not ions are generated at a low voltage by controlling the heating of a heating element, selectively irradiates a rewritable recording medium with an electric field, and statically irradiates the surface of the recording medium. By forming an electrostatic latent image and selectively displaying it, an image forming apparatus as small as possible can be obtained at a low price.
[0011]
In addition, a discharge electrode and an induction electrode are arranged with a dielectric interposed therebetween, and a voltage that generates a discharge by heating without applying a discharge is applied only by applying between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode , It is configured to control the presence / absence of the generation of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode by heating of the heating elements provided corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes, and generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode An ion generator that can control whether or not ions are generated with a low voltage by controlling the heating of a heating element, selectively irradiates a dielectric image carrier with ions, and statically irradiates the surface of the image carrier. An electrostatic latent image is formed, the electrostatic latent image is visualized with toner or ink, a visible image of toner or ink is formed on the surface of the image carrier, and the visible image is transferred to a recording sheet. And forming a visible image on the recording paper. Ri, low-cost, compact image forming apparatus can be obtained as much as possible.
[0012]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 shows a configuration diagram of an ion generator 9 of the present invention, and FIG. 2 shows a cross-sectional view.
[0013]
Discharge electrodes 1 and induction electrodes 2 are provided on both surfaces of a dielectric 3 made of glass, ceramic, mica, resin, or the like. The discharge electrode 1 has a DC bias superimposed on a high voltage AC . The induction electrode 2 is grounded. A heating element 6 is provided corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes 1 with an insulator 8 interposed therebetween. The heating element 6 is in contact with the common electrode 4 and the individual electrode 5, and a low voltage applied to the heating element 6 , for example, DC 24 V is applied to the common electrode 4. The individual electrodes 5 are switched according to the data to control the heating elements 6 . By controlling the heating element 6 , the temperature of the discharge electrode 1 is also controlled according to the data. These ion generators 9 are supported by a support 7.
[0014]
FIG. 3 shows a dielectric 3 in which a discharge electrode 1 and an induction electrode 2 are formed on both sides of a 100-micron-thick mica plate by etching on both sides, and the discharge electrode 1 is a heating element 6 in a thermal head used in a conventional thermal FAX. This is a prototype head that is aligned and bonded to correspond to the above, and shows the state of discharge confirmed in the dark when the AC application condition is changed.
[0015]
As can be seen from FIG. 3, it can be seen that the discharge start voltage is different when the heating element 6 is heated and when it is not heated. This is the most important point in the present invention. The inventor has found that the discharge start voltage varies depending on the temperature of the discharge electrode 1 through detailed experiments, and has focused attention on this point.
That is, under the conditions in FIG. 3, if the applied voltage is set to a voltage value in the vicinity of 2.0 kVp-p to 2.5 kVp-p , the control of the discharge in the individual discharge electrodes 1 is performed by the control of the heating element 6. Can be done. That is, since the conventional thermal head and controls the DC 24 V at 5 V, it becomes possible to control the discharge at 5 V.
[0016]
In conventional ion generators, individual high voltages are applied to each discharge electrode and controlled. Therefore, it is necessary to individually switch the high voltage, and a control IC with a very high withstand voltage is required. It was a bottleneck in price and miniaturization.
That is, in order to control the ion generating device 300 DPI resolution, as long as the application of a high voltage 3kVp-p, it is necessary to control the discharge of 300 DPI partial high voltage 3kVp-p, Obviously it will be very expensive.
[0017]
Since ions discharged by the control of the heating element 6 are applied with AC voltage, negative ions and positive ions are generated. Therefore, only negative ions or positive ions can be extracted depending on the polarity of the DC bias superimposed on the discharge electrode 1. The object to be charged is charged by the extracted ions.
Another major advantage of the present invention is that after the common electrode 4 or individual electrode 5 for the heating element 6 is formed by etching or sputtering in the same manner as the conventional thermal head, the heating element 6 is printed. It is possible to form the induction electrode 2, the dielectric 3, and the discharge electrode 1 by the same method after the insulating material 8 is coated. That is, it can be manufactured with existing thermal head manufacturing equipment.
It is obvious that the same effect can be obtained by a heating method of a thermal head that is not described in this specification.
[0018]
In a second embodiment of the present invention, a discharge electrode and an induction electrode are disposed with a dielectric interposed therebetween, a heating element is provided corresponding to the discharge electrode, the temperature of the discharge electrode is controlled, and the discharge Appropriate high voltage is applied between the electrode and the induction electrode, and the discharge of the discharge electrode is controlled by heating of the heating element. Whether or not ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode are generated is determined. An ion generator that can be controlled at a low voltage by heating control of a heating element, selectively irradiates a recording medium rewritable by an electric field, and forms an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the recording medium. By selectively displaying, it is possible to obtain an image forming apparatus as small as possible at low cost.
[0019]
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 4 is a simple configuration diagram of the image forming apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention.
Reference numeral 9 denotes an ion generator according to the present invention, reference numeral 10 denotes a rewritable recording medium , and reference numeral 13 denotes a ground electrode roller provided to face the ion generator 9 with the recording medium 10 interposed therebetween . The recording medium 10 includes black and white microspheres 11 encapsulated in an elastomer 12 made of silicon rubber and the like, and the interface between the elastomer 12 and the black and white microspheres 11 is impregnated with silicon oil or the like so that the black and white microspheres 11 can be rotated. Is. It is well known that there is a difference in charge amount or charge polarity at the interface between the black and white microspheres 11 and the silicon oil, that is, the white and black surfaces. That is, when an electric field is applied to both sides of the black and white microspheres 11 having different charging amounts or charging polarities, the black and white microspheres 11 rotate depending on the direction of the electric field. An image is formed by controlling the direction of the black and white microspheres 11. The recording medium 10 has a sheet shape and is conveyed in the direction of the arrow. First, the recording medium 10 is conveyed between the opposing roller 14 and the refreshing roller 15, and the black and white microspheres 11 are uniformly aligned with the bias applied between the opposing roller 14 and the refreshing roller 15, and viewed from above. If so, make sure the white surface is on top. Then, according to the data of negative ions in the ion generating device 9 generates, to charge the surface of the recording medium 10 to the opposite polarity. Then, the black and white microspheres 11 inside rotate to form an image with the black surface facing up. The rotated black and white microspheres 11 can maintain an image even if the bias is removed. As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an image forming apparatus that is as small as possible and can be rewritten at a low price.
[0020]
An image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the description of the same components as in the conventional example is omitted. Reference numeral 16 denotes an image carrier, which uses an aluminum base tube coated with a resin dielectric or the like, or an aluminum base tube surface anodized. Reference numeral 17 denotes a static eliminator that performs corona discharge. Reference numeral 18 denotes a transfer fixing roller, which is an aluminum roller or the like coated with silicon rubber. First, the charge removing the image carrier 16 surface at static eliminator 17, in accordance with then the data in the ion generating device 9, thereby generating negative ions. The generated negative ions are charged on the image carrier 16 according to the data to form an electrostatic latent image. Next, the electrostatic latent image on the image carrier is developed by the developing unit 103, and toner or ink adheres to the surface. The adhered toner or ink is transferred and fixed to the recording paper 105 by the transfer fixing roller 18 by pressure. At this time, an aluminum base tube subjected to alumite treatment is used for the image carrier 16, a hard metal roller is used for the transfer fixing roller 18, and a toner for pressure fixing is used for the transfer fixing at the same time. What is characteristic in the present invention is that transfer and fixing can be performed simultaneously. A conventional electrophotographic recording apparatus must use a photoconductor as an optical semiconductor, and because it is very vulnerable to pressure and heat, it cannot be transferred and fixed simultaneously as in the present invention. It was necessary to fix. In the present invention, since the fixing device can be omitted, an image forming apparatus that is as small as possible can be provided at a low price.
[0021]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, there is provided an ion generation control method for controlling the generation of ions by controlling the temperature of the discharge electrode. The high voltage applied to each discharge electrode is controlled for each discharge electrode by controlling the occurrence of discharge by changing the discharge start voltage according to the presence or absence of heating to each applied discharge electrode. Therefore, it is possible to provide an ion generation control method that can control the generation of ions at a low voltage.
In addition, an ion generator that selectively generates ions includes a discharge electrode and a heating element disposed corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes, and discharge is generated only by applying to the discharge electrode. By applying a voltage that generates a discharge by heating without heating , and controlling the presence or absence of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode by heating the heating element, the high voltage applied to each discharge electrode There is no need to control each discharge electrode, and the generation of ions can be controlled at a low voltage, and an ion generator as small as possible can be provided at a low price.
In addition, in an ion generator that selectively generates ions, a discharge electrode and an induction electrode are disposed with a dielectric interposed therebetween, and heating is performed without generating a discharge only by applying between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode. In this configuration, a voltage at which discharge is generated is applied, and the presence or absence of generation of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode is controlled by heating of the heating elements disposed corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes. Therefore, it is possible to control whether or not the ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode are generated at a low voltage by controlling the heating of the heating element, and to provide a low-cost and as small an ion generator as possible. Can do.
[0022]
In addition, a discharge electrode and an induction electrode are arranged with a dielectric interposed therebetween, and a voltage that generates a discharge by heating without applying a discharge is applied only by applying between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode , It is configured to control the presence / absence of the generation of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode by heating of the heating elements provided corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes, and generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode An ion generator that can control whether or not ions are generated at a low voltage by controlling the heating of a heating element, selectively irradiates a rewritable recording medium with an electric field, and statically irradiates the surface of the recording medium. By forming an electrostatic latent image and selectively displaying the image, an image forming apparatus that is as small as possible can be provided at a low price.
[0023]
In addition, a discharge electrode and an induction electrode are arranged with a dielectric interposed therebetween, and a voltage that generates a discharge by heating without applying a discharge is applied only by applying between the discharge electrode and the induction electrode , It is configured to control the presence / absence of the generation of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode by heating of the heating elements provided corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes, and generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode An ion generator that can control whether or not ions are generated with a low voltage by controlling the heating of a heating element, selectively irradiates a dielectric image carrier with ions, and statically irradiates the surface of the image carrier. An electrostatic latent image is formed, the electrostatic latent image is visualized with toner or ink, a visible image of toner or ink is formed on the surface of the image carrier, and the visible image is transferred to a recording sheet. And forming a visible image on the recording paper. Ri, low cost, can provide as much as possible compact image forming apparatus.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an ion generator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ion generator according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a block diagram of an image forming apparatus according to a third embodiment of the present invention. Configuration diagram [Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Discharge electrode 2 Induction electrode 3 Dielectric material 4 Common electrode 5 Individual electrode 6 Heating element 7 Support body 8 Insulator 9 Ion generator 10 Recording medium 11 Black and white microsphere 12 Elastomer 13 Ground electrode roller 14 Opposite roller 15 Refresh roller 16 Image carrier Body 17 Static eliminator 18 Transfer fixing roller 100 Photosensitive drum 101 Charging device 102 Laser beam 103 Developing device 104 Paper feed roller 105 Recording paper 106 Transfer charger 107 Peeling charger 108 Cleaner 109 Erase lamp 110 Heat roller 111 Fixing device

Claims (5)

This is an ion generation control method in which the generation of ions is controlled by controlling the temperature of the discharge electrode, and heating is not applied to the discharge electrode when it is applied, but the voltage at which discharge is generated by heating is applied. An ion generation control method characterized in that the generation of ions is controlled by changing the discharge start voltage according to the presence or absence to control the presence or absence of discharge . In selective ion generator for generating ions, and discharge electrodes, anda disposed a heating element corresponding to each of the discharge electrodes, wherein a discharge only it is applied to the electrode discharge not occur An ion generating apparatus characterized in that a voltage that generates a discharge by heating is applied, and the presence or absence of ions generated from the discharge of the discharge electrode is controlled by heating the heating element . In selective ion generator for generating ions, disposed the induction electrode and the discharge electrode through with the dielectric, the discharge electrodes only at the discharge collector is applied between the induction electrode is heated does not occur characterized in that the discharge by applying a voltage generated is controlled by the heating of the heating elements, each disposed in correspondence to the discharge or et generated whether the discharge electrodes of the ion generation of the discharge electrodes by An ion generator. The ion generator according to claim 2 or 3 selectively irradiates a recording medium rewritable by an electric field to form an electrostatic latent image on the surface of the recording medium, and selectively displays the recording medium. An image forming apparatus. 4. The ion generator according to claim 2 or 3 , wherein an ion carrier is selectively irradiated with ions to form an electrostatic latent image on a surface of the image carrier, and the electrostatic latent image is formed. The image is visualized with toner or ink, a visible image of toner or ink is formed on the surface of the image carrier, the visible image is transferred to recording paper, and a visible image is formed on recording paper. An image forming apparatus.

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